Monthly Archives: May 2011

Give Me a Thankful Heart

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“Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. You are the LORD God.”1

How easy it is to take God’s blessings and provisions for granted. I’ve lived in Southern California for several years and have experienced earthquakes which shook the good old terra firma I was standing on. I’ve seen the results of ravaging fires that destroyed scores of homes, riots that destroyed scores of properties, and floods and mud slides that also caused great losses.

Southern California is little more than converted desert and what amazes me is where all the water comes from to meet the needs of some twenty-plus million people! I’ve lived through several years of drought and still there was enough water. Most of the water comes from the most marvelous water storage system ever created, and it’s not just from the many man-made dams and reservoirs, as wonderful and as necessary as these are. It’s from the snow that stores water for many months of the year and releases it basically as it is needed. If it weren’t for the magnificent mountains and the amazing supply of snow, Southern California would still be little more than a desert.

It also amazes me how so many people complain about rainy days when we get good rains in such a dry and thirsty land—rains that fill up the rivers, dams, and reservoirs and store billions of gallons of water in the form of snow over thousands of square miles of rugged mountains—rains that keep us alive!

All God has to do is turn off the sky’s faucet or blot out the sun for long enough and every living thing would die.

As the Levites said, truly God gives life to everything.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for all the incredible blessings you provide for all of us all of the time. May I be ever mindful of these and thankful for them. Help me to always have a grateful heart and live in an attitude of gratitude. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note:

If you have never accepted God’s greatest blessing ever, please read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: https://learning.actsweb.org/christian.

And be sure to accept God’s forgiveness and his gift of eternal life.

1. Nehemiah 9:5-7 (NIV).

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I Needed the Quiet

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“Blessed be … the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we have received from God.”1

Some time ago when I was going through a time of loss and sorrow, a friend wrote to me saying, “You sent the following poem to me a long time ago when I was in the hospital. I’ve treasured and kept it in my Bible ever since. I thought you might appreciate it now.”

If you are going through a time of sickness or sorrow, I’d like to pass it on to you, too.

I needed the quiet so he drew me aside

Into the shadows where we could confide,

Away from the bustle where all the day long

I hurried and worried when active and strong.

I needed the quiet tho at first I rebelled,

But gently, so gently my cross he upheld,

And whispered so sweetly of spiritual things,

Tho weakened in body, my spirit took wings

To heights never heard of when active and bright,

He loved me so greatly he drew me away.

I needed the quiet, no prison my bed,

But a beautiful valley of blessings instead —

A place to grow richer in Jesus to hide

I needed the quiet so he drew me aside.

– Alice H. Mortenson

And so, my friend, if you are going through a time of loss or sickness, I trust this message will also speak to your heart.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to always learn what you are seeking to teach me in every trial I face, so that I will not only have my life enriched, but also to be used by you to comfort and enrich the lives of others who are facing trials. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 2:3-4 (NIV).

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Where Has All the Security Gone?

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“‘I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,’ says the LORD Almighty.”1

The sun set last night and rose again this morning as it has for thousands or millions of years. While some things never change, we can’t say that about life in the last few decades—not to mention what lies ahead in the coming years!

I read that if we were to put the entire world’s knowledge from the beginning of time until 1845 on a graph it would measure only one inch tall. From 1845 to 1945—just 100 years—the graph would measure three inches tall. But from 1945 until today the graph would be as tall as [or much taller than] the Washington monument in Washington, DC.

Change today is the order of the day. It has been said that today’s average worker will need to be retrained at least three times during his working career to keep up with all the changes. Changes in technology, lifestyle, philosophy, morals, etc., are happening so fast it is difficult to keep up with them all.

Furthermore, the security that so many of us knew in earlier times has pretty much vanished. With escalating terrorism worldwide, unless we have an anchor for the soul, we can be left drifting on a restless changing sea of uncertainty. But for those who have faith in God, of this one thing we can be absolutely sure: He never changes! His love is from everlasting to everlasting and he is still in control of the world and universe no matter what. As the Bible says, “I the Lord do not change.”2

Americans have engraved on their coins, “In God we trust.” But until that commitment is engraved on people’s hearts and we genuinely trust in the God who changes not, we will have no lasting security.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help us as a nation to come to the realization that blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, and that without our trust in you, there is no security. And please start your work in my heart. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Malachi 3:6-7 (NIV).

2. See Psalm 15:4 (NKJV).

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Be Prepared

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“Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer.”1

Sometimes the seemingly simple things in life can teach us some of the most important lessons. Take ants, for example. Even though their “brain” (central ganglion or nerve) is less than one-tenth the size of a pinhead, ants live in highly organized social colonies. Some collect food, others build the nest and keep it clean, and some look after the queen ants. Nurse ants clean and feed the larvae. Soldier ants guard and protect the food-collecting ants. No wonder the Bible says, “Go to the ant … consider her ways and be wise.”2

Among other lessons, the ants “who store up their food in the summer” teach us the importance of being prepared ahead of time for whatever might come our way. The Chinese proverb, “Dig your well before you’re thirsty” makes the same point. Children need to be prepared for life, teenagers and young adults need to be prepared for entering the work force, and for taking care of themselves. Those who are planning to be married need to prepare in advance for it; unfortunately, too many don’t. And all adults need to prepare ahead for retirement and old age.

Most important of all, we need to prepare for life after life when we will meet our Maker face to face. As God’s Word says, “Prepare to meet your God,”3 and as Jesus taught about his return to earth, “Be ready; for when you least expect it, I will come.”4 How tragic beyond all measure for those who aren’t prepared for life after death or that day when Jesus returns for all his true followers.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to trust in you and, in so doing, always be prepared for whatever lies ahead—especially for life after death and for the day of your return. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: To make sure you are prepared for life after death and/or for the day of Christ’s return, read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. Proverbs 30:25 (NIV).

2. Proverbs 6:6

3. See Amos 4:12

4. See Matthew 24:44

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Fat Airplane

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“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”1

I remember reading about an airplane used by missionaries that gained two-hundred extra pounds in weight since it was manufactured sixteen years previously. Nobody knows where the extra weight came from.

“We’ve been joking about the only plane in Weight Watchers,” said the pilot. “But it’s really a serious matter. Unless we can shed the extra weight, the plane’s utility is seriously limited. We just can’t carry an extra two-hundred pounds and have space for the cargo we need to deliver.”

Many of us, like the missionaries’ airplane, are carrying extra weight that can stop us from being fully functional and fully alive. For some, the extra weight may be physical, which can lead to ill health. For others, it may be unresolved emotional or spiritual issues. For example, if I am carrying an overload of guilt, fear, grief, hurt, anger, or resentment, or have some unconfessed sin or unresolved addiction in my life. Any of these can keep me bogged down and hinder my being fully productive.

God is not out to clobber us because of these things, but he wants us—with his help and that of supportive friends—to resolve and overcome our issues so that we can get rid of the weight that holds us back and thereby free us to “run with patience the race set before us” and win!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to find and trim the “fat” in my life—those things that so easily beset me and keep me from becoming and doing all that you have envisioned for me to be and do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Hebrews 12:1 (NIV).

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Faith Vs. Presumption

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“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”1

I remember reading years ago in Reader’s Digest about a company who glued a mustard seed to a brochure that was advertising the product they were manufacturing. Beneath the mustard seed they had words to the effect that: “If you have faith as much as a grain of mustard seed in our product, it will produce profound results for you.”

Some months later a customer wrote back to the company saying, “You will be interested to know that I planted your mustard seed and it has already grown into a very robust plant bearing healthy tomatoes!”

There’s a fine line between faith and presumption. We all have “mountains” in our lives that can only be removed by strong faith and a lot of hard work. Your “mountain” may be a bad habit, unresolved resentment, an addiction, or a toxic person in your life who is destroying you. We know it is God’s will for us to deal with and overcome our “mountains” whatever they might be.

Sometimes, however, we want to do something for our own ends, and to justify it we say it is God’s will, or God is leading me, or God told me to do such and such. When we do this, it is not faith but presumption.

True, we need faith to do what God wants us to do, but we need to be certain that our faith is in the right seed!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me always to be real, to examine my motives and discern the difference between faith and presumption, and please deliver me from the sin of self-centered presumption. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 17:20 (NIV).

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Earning the Right to Criticize

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“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior.”1

Dwight L. Moody, the famous evangelist, was once told by an irate church lady, “Mr. Moody, I don’t like the way you do your evangelism.”

In reply, Mr. Moody said, “I don’t necessarily like all of it either, but it’s the best way I know how. Tell me, how do you do it?”

“Oh, I don’t,” was the reply.

“Well,” said Moody, “I like the way I’m doing it better than the way you’re not doing it.”

It’s always easy to know what to do when we don’t have to do the job, and very easy to criticize others when we’re not doing the work ourselves.

Some time ago when I was a member of a large group and things weren’t going too well, I was asked what I thought about the situation and what could be done to improve things. I said I didn’t feel I had the right to criticize unless I was prepared to do something about it. I was, however, prepared to help, and with several of us working together things greatly improved.

In this instance as in most other instances, criticism without offering help would have only made matters worse and caused greater dissension among group members—something that happens to be detestable to God! So, if we’re not willing to put our shoulder to the wheel and help, let’s not stir up dissension through negative criticism.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be positive in all that I say and do and not have a negative, critical attitude when I am not prepared to do anything to bring about creative and helpful change. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Ephesians 4:31 (NLT)

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God’s Chosen

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“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”1

Mike Barnicle, a former columnist for the Boston Globe and more recently with the New York Daily News, tells about a baby born to Mary Teresa Hickey and her husband in 1945. The parents came from Cork, Ireland. The baby was a Down’s Syndrome boy. Mary Teresa held the baby tightly, saying, “He’s ours and we love him. He is God’s chosen one.”

The family lived in the Dorchester section of Boston. Their other boy was Jimmy. The dad died young of a heart attack, and Mary was left to raise the two boys, nine-year-old Jimmy and seven-year-old Danny. To pay the rent she scrubbed floors at a chronic care hospital.

Jimmy took good care of Danny. Dan felt at home with all the kids because no one told him he was different. Then one day, as they were boarding a trackless trolley, some strange kids shouted, “No morons on the bus!” That was the day Jimmy Hickey learned to fight. It was also the day Jimmy decided to be a priest. Little Danny attended the Kennedy school in Brighton and eventually obtained a job.

In 1991, Mary Teresa Hickey died at age ninety-one after showering her sons with unyielding love all their lives. Father Jim Hickey had been a priest for thirty years. In every parish to which he was assigned, Danny went along with him. The people were favored with both men.

In October 1997, Danny was in the hospital. His fifty-two-year-old body was failing. One night when ordinary people were eating supper, watching a ball game or going to a movie, a simple story of brotherly love played itself out at the bedside of a man who never felt sorry for himself or thought he was different.

Father Jim held his brother and asked, “Do you trust me, Danny?”

“I trust you.”

“You’re going to be OK.”

“I be OK.”

Eight hundred people stood in line at his wake. Parishioners packed the church for his funeral. They sang and cried and prayed. Later that day, Daniel Jeremiah Hickey was gently laid beside his parents at New Calvary cemetery. The granite headstone bore his name and the inscription: “God’s Chosen.”2

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for your promise that you are preparing a place in Heaven for all who have accepted you as their Lord and Savior and have put their trust in you. All of these are your chosen ones too. Thank you for this blessed hope knowing that when our time on earth is over, we will go to be with you in Heaven and live with you forever. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: To discover how you can be a chosen one of God, be sure to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. Jesus in John 14:1-3 (NIV)

2. Reverend Dr. Gary Nicolosi, Sermon: “God’s Chosen.”

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Devious Devices

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“For we are not ignorant of his [Satan's] devices.”1

Satan, our arch enemy, is the father of lies—a liar from the beginning. His most effective device is to keep us in denial—to keep us from seeing the truth about God, ourselves, the plan of salvation, and above all, about himself and the nature and effects of sin.

To give us a clearer picture and understanding of sin the Bible uses three different words or attributes to describe sin’s various facets.

First, transgression—which means to rebel against and/or ignore God’s laws, to make up our own rules, and go our own sinful way.

Second, iniquity—which is the expression of our sinful nature. For instance, a person is not a sinner because he sins, but rather, he sins because he is a sinner.

Third, missing the mark. As the Bible teaches, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory [standard] of God.”2 God’s mark is perfection which means completeness, wholeness, and maturity. Therefore, anything in my life that falls short of these is sin. This would include failing to face and resolve hurts from the past, my secret sins, sins of resentment, pride, anger, bitterness, denial, my failing to resolve my areas of immaturity, and so on. It also includes sins of omission; that is failing to do things we know that we should and need to do, such has helping a neighbor who reaches out to me for help.

Once we understand the nature of sin and Satan’s devices, with deep honesty and God’s help, we are free to work on overcoming the sins and problems that so easily beset us.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me the courage to face my total ‘dark side’ and every secret and known sin so I can bring these areas of my life to you for your healing and recovery. And please help me to always live in harmony with your Word and your will. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 2:11 (NIV)

2. Romans 3:23

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Approval Vs. Affirmation

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“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness.”1

As a youth I never felt fully loved. For many years I substituted approval for love. I got lots of approval for the many good things I did and, yes, it felt good at the time, but it never satisfied or lasted. Why?

Approval is based on what we do. Affirmation is based on who we are. Approval is a good thing when given and received for the right reasons, but when substituted for love, it can become another addiction to avoid facing the pain of not feeling loved.

Many of us codependents suffer from this affliction. We only feel good when we feel needed. But deep down what we really need is to feel loved and affirmed at the core of our being—for who we are and not for what we do. Most of all, we need to experience love and affirmation from God the heavenly Father. Only when we feel so affirmed, can we get off the merry-go-round of doing things to get approval.

And how do we experience God the Father’s love and affirmation at the core of our being? First, by believing that God loves us because his Word says so. And second, by sharing my total self (including my dark side) with one or two safe and trusted friends who will love and accept me just as I am—warts and all. As they love and accept me in this way, little by little, I come to love and accept myself, and in so doing, I open myself to accepting God the Father’s love and acceptance through them.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to believe, know, and experience your love for me in the core of my being. Help me to find a trusted friend who reflects your unconditional love and with whom I can share my total self, ‘warts and all,’ and experience your love through them. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

For further help, see articles on “Recovery: Healing the Wounds That Bind Us,” online at: https://learning.actsweb.org/articles/Recovery.php.

1. Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV).

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