Monthly Archives: May 2012

God Uses F-A-T People

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“I [God] sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”1

Whenever God has a job to do and a gap to be filled, he always starts by choosing and calling an individual. While men use methods, God’s methods are men and women.2

To start a nation to use as his special witness on earth, God chose and called Abraham to be the father of ancient Israel. When God wanted to lead this young nation out of slavery in Egypt, he chose and called Moses. And so it was with Joseph, Samuel, Esther, David, John the Baptist, Mary, Peter, Paul and scores of other lesser known individuals.

God today is still urgently looking for people who are willing to stand in the gap to help save lost souls from a lost and hopeless eternity and to do his work here on earth. The kind of people God is looking for, chooses, and calls are F–A–T people. That is: Faithful … Available … Teachable.

F – Faithful. You don’t have to be a Peter, Paul or a John the Baptist for God to use. Think of the twelve disciples. What a motley crew—rugged fishermen, a despised tax gatherer and the like—they were. God uses other ordinary people like them too, people who daily trust their life and way to God and, with his help, seek to serve and obey him faithfully in all the circumstances of life.

A – Available. Years ago I told God that I was too afraid to be a witness for him and that I was quitting. “However, God,” I prayed, “if you want to use me to share the gospel with others, I’m available, but you’ll have to do it through me because I’m too scared.” The result? Today God is using our small organizations to reach thousands around the world with the gospel and Christian message every day. This is because I made—and make myself available every day—for God to use. He will in some way do the same for you if you daily make yourself available to him to use.

T – Teachable. One reason God used the disciples was, not only because they were faithful and available, but also because they were teachable. Naturally they spent three years with the Master Teacher par Excellence and had a lot to learn about the Christian way, especially because it was brand new to them and everyone else in their day. We also need to be teachable and learn God’s ways more clearly by studying and knowing what his Word, the Bible, teaches and applying the principles found therein in our everyday living.

So, if you want God to use you to be a part of what he is doing in your world today, I urge you to pray and tell God you are available—and renew that prayer and commitment every day. To be an “Andrew” by quietly helping to bring others to Jesus click on: https://learning.actsweb.org/announce.php to see how you can do this in a simple, non-threatening way.

Remember that “when many people each do a little, great feats for God can be accomplished.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I’m available again today. Help me to be faithful and teachable to learn your ways more clearly, and please use me to be as Jesus in some way to every life I touch today. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Ezekiel 22:30 (NKJV).

2. E.M. Bounds.

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ACTS “Andrew Club”

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“One of His [Jesus'] disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, ‘There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?’”1

A TV commercial showed a Mercedes car crashing into a concrete wall during a safety test. An engineer then examined the damage, which was minimal. A reporter then asked the engineer about Mercedes’ energy-absorbing car body and wanted to know why Mercedes didn’t enforce their patent on the design, a design evidently copied by other companies because of its success.

The engineer then replied matter-of-factly, “Because some things in life are too important not to share.” How true this is. And of all the discoveries that are too important not to share they all pale in significance to that of sharing the gospel.

Today for those of us who are timid to share their Christian faith we have a very simple, non-offensive, and attractive way to do this.

For instance, you and I can be an “Andrew” by forwarding suitable copies of Daily Encounter, and/or web articles that speak to the needs readers feel, to friends, family, and contacts. The best messages to forward are the ones that deal with relationships and other everyday life issues, and those that share a clear gospel message. See http://actsweb.org/announce.php.

I say “Andrew” because wherever we read about Andrew (one of Jesus’ disciples) in the gospels, in his own quiet way he was bringing someone to Jesus. He introduced Peter to Jesus as well as the boy with the loaves and fishes that Jesus used to feed the multitude.

Today God is still looking for other “Andrews”—men and women and teenagers who will in their quiet way introduce others to Jesus. So, will you say “Yes” to God today to be an “Andrew” and make a commitment to pray for unsaved friends and loved ones, and send them suitable copies of Daily Encounter and/or articles as found on the ACTS web site at: http://actsweb.org/announce.php

As another has said, “Our greatest legacy will be those who live eternally in heaven because of our efforts.” This you can achieve by working together with ACTS as an “Andrew” to help reach the lost for Jesus.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I’m available and want to be used by you as an ‘Andrew’ to help win others to Jesus. Please use me to be as Jesus in some way to every life I touch, and give me the courage to share the gospel and Christian message in non-offensive ways to the friends, family and contacts for whom I am praying. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: Another way you can be an “Andrew” is by joining with us as a “People Power for Jesus Partner. There is no charge. Check it out at: http://tinyurl.com/people-power. Remember that when many people each do a little, great feats for God can be accomplished.

1. John 6:8-9 (NKJV).

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God’s Time Is Now

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“I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”1

I don’t think it was an accident that the first book ever printed mechanically was the Bible. It was printed in 1455 or 1456 by Johannes Gutenberg, the German who invented the first printing press with movable type—an invention that revolutionized worldwide communications. For several hundred years following, the Bible was the most printed book in the world.

Today the commercial world, false cults, pornographers, and political groups are taking the fullest possible advantage of super high-speed computer controlled printing presses to publish and promote their messages either for good or evil. They are doing the same with the Internet and e-mail—and every other means of modern communication.

I believe God gave Gutenberg the ability to invent movable type and the printing press primarily to print the Bible so people worldwide could receive the gospel and Word of God in their own language. The same goes for radio, television, film, the World Wide Web of the Internet, and every other God-given modern means of communication—perhaps today more than ever—to reach a lost and dying world with the gospel in preparation for Christ’s possible soon return. Jesus indicated that when the gospel was preached [proclaimed] in all the world then the end would come.2

Like the printing press of old, today the Internet has absolutely revolutionized worldwide communications—it is the most economical way ever to reach millions world-wide with the gospel. ACTS alone in the past month has seen visitors to our websites from more than 194 countries and territories, and at the time of writing, in the last four months we have received 1,095 salvation and re-commitment to Jesus Christ responses from 77 countries. People need the Lord, but it is your and my responsibility to take God’s message of salvation to them, and invite them to make a commitment of their life to Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, in Christendom we are mostly using all these modern and incredible means of communication to talk to ourselves. There’s nothing wrong with this except that the balance is way out of proportion. Furthermore, almost all of the money given to churches is spent on ourselves with only an average of 5 percent being spent on missions. Also, take the average church website and you will be hard pressed to find a presentation of the gospel. They are mostly an electronic bulletin board for church members.

And yet, as the late Oswald J. Smith of Canada said, “The supreme task of the church is the evangelization of the world.” And this is certainly in direct harmony with Jesus’ commission to his followers to “go into all the world and preach [communicate] the Good News to everyone, everywhere.”3 This is God’s plan and the wisest thing we can do is to get in on his plan and what he is doing in the world today.

And how can you and I do this? It’s incredibly simple and we’ll answer this question in tomorrow’s Daily Encounter.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I don’t ask that you bless my plans, but please help me to be a part of your plans and what you are doing in the world today. And please use me to be an effective witness for the gospel in everything I do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 (NIV).

2. Matthew 24:24.

3. Mark 16:15 (NLT).

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We Do Have Choices

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“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care … not lording it over those entrusted to you.”1

Em Griffin, author of The Mind Changers, tells about a good friend from the University of Michigan who went as a medical missionary to Bangladesh. When he arrived on the mission field, he was informed that he couldn’t keep his four children with him but that they would have to go away to boarding school. This was the policy of the mission and he didn’t have a choice.

He responded, “Sure I have a choice! Our kids need us. Evangelization in the home first, then on the mission field.” He then proceeded to raise more money, found a teacher, and established a mission school right on the hospital grounds.

Certainly we need to follow our God-given leaders. However, when they are obviously in the wrong, it is important to confront them in Christian love where necessary, and do what is right. As Peter pointed out, no leader has a right to control (lord it over) anybody else.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please don’t let me play God or the role of the Holy Spirit in other people’s lives by telling them what they should or shouldn’t do, nor by seeking either consciously or unconsciously to control anyone. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Peter 5:2-3 (NIV).

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The Power of Vision

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“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”1

Author Marabel Morgan told how for three long months prior to the birth of her second daughter she was flat on her back in the hospital with no visitors allowed. She was bored out of her mind and longed to have something constructive to do but was too drugged to even read, let alone write. Eventually her baby was born and she returned home. Her life now was filled with things to do, taking care, not only of the new baby, but another daughter as well, her husband, household chores, and innumerable other responsibilities—not the time to write a book. But she did!

She said, “Once you set your goal, then picture it done. Without this finished picture in your mind, you’ll give up halfway. With it, there’s no limit to what you might accomplish.”

Somebody else said, “Faith is visualizing what God wants you to do.” Good point. Once we see what that is, it is so much easier to start doing it!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me a vision of what you are doing in the world today, the world in which I live, and help me to see how I can be a part of that. Let your vision for me be my vision for you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 29:18.

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Because We Are What We Are

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“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”1

Have you ever felt in the pits when a well-meaning friend told you that you shouldn’t feel that way? It makes you feel worse. Right? Whether we should or shouldn’t feel what we feel is beside the point. We feel what we feel because we are who and what we are.

Feelings are neither right nor wrong. They just are. It’s what we do with them that counts. And, contrary to what many of us were taught, feelings are important. They are a God-given vital part of our humanity.

In one sense feelings are an “emotional thermometer.” They tell us what’s going on inside of us—what our emotional temperature is and, when interpreted correctly, can indicate when we are emotionally well or if there is some issue in our life we need to resolve.

When feelings are repressed, one’s “thermometer” is out of order. It’s a very unhealthy way to live. You don’t even know when you are sick (emotionally and/or spiritually). Furthermore, people whose feelings are repressed may be clever but can, at the same time, be very cold, calculating, insensitive, callous, and—in the extreme—even murderous.

Feelings can be trusted. What we can’t always trust is our interpretation of them. That’s the difficult part, but with help it can be learned and learn it we must if we are to be emotionally, spiritually and physically healthy.

Learn to listen to your emotions. Take time to write a daily journal. Record what you are feeling without any kind of self-judgment. David did a lot of this in the Psalms. Get into a support, recovery or therapy group where it is safe to express your feelings and get them out into the open where they can be accepted and examined. If emotions are deeply buried, chances are you will need a capable therapist to help you work through and resolve the barriers in your life that are blocking your feelings.

Be aware, too, that the negative emotions we fail to talk out creatively we will inevitably act out in one way or another destructively. Also remember that Jesus never told us how to feel or how not to feel—only how to act.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to get in touch with all of my emotions—both positive and negative—and learn how to express them creatively in a healthy manner so that I will become an honest and real person as David was. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus in Matthew 5:4 (NIV).

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More on Projection

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“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”1

Sometimes, though not always, the thing that upsets us in others is the problem that we have never resolved in ourselves.

On one occasion right after I conducted a short personality test, which included only one brief question about sexual attitude, I was approached by a woman who said to me, “Wow, you sure have hang-ups about sex, don’t you!”

I replied, “And how old were you when you were sexually abused?”

She looked at me in amazement and said, “How did you know?”

I said, “You just told me.”

Another common example is when a preacher or a moralist continually condemns a particular sin that he is obsessed about, you can be pretty sure that that’s his problem—either overtly or covertly. These people project their own problem onto others. Because it’s their problem, they suspect it’s other people’s problem too. Or to compensate for their guilt they condemn others for what they themselves are doing or secretly want to do.

It’s no wonder Jesus told us to get rid of the plank out of our own eye before we tried taking a speck of sawdust out of anybody else’s.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please face me with all of my character issues and faults so I won’t project or dump them onto others, and so I can bring them to the light for your healing touch. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus in Luke 6:42 (NIV).

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Gossip

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“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him … a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”1

Somebody has said that most of us wouldn’t think of stealing a man’s transportation but think nothing of stealing his reputation, which is what gossip does.

Unfortunately, with gossip, once it’s out, it’s out. And like the ever widening concentric circles of a pebble thrown into a pool, its effects can keep reaching out into ever widening circles. And it can’t be taken back any more than one can “unring a bell.”

Gossip can come in many forms besides saying negative things about someone. When a person’s name comes up all we need to say is, “Oh. Him?” in a tone of voice that immediately casts a doubt on that person. And we would deny vigorously that we ever gossiped about that person!

Gossip is not wrong because the Bible says so but rather, like any sin, the Bible says it’s wrong because it is damaging to human personality. Remember, too, that God listed the sin of gossip with other sins such as homosexuality, evil, greed, depravity, envy, murder, deceit, malice, and slander.2 A sobering thought.

True, we need to be warned against dangerous people. On the other hand it can be very difficult to discern what needs to be said about another and what is malicious gossip. With God’s wisdom and help, let us strive to avoid destructive gossip at all cost.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, some gossip can be such a juicy morsel in my mouth. Help me to develop a real bad taste for it—both for speaking it and for listening to it. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 6:16,19 (NIV).

2. Romans 1:24-32.

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Shooting the Wounded

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“Praise be to the God … the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”1

Someone has facetiously said that Christians form the only army that shoots its wounded! A sad commentary but too often too true. For example, some church people still judge people suffering from depression and other emotional problems saying they lack faith, have unconfessed sin, or are not involved in enough Bible study and prayer.

According to the author of the book, Beyond Seduction, “There is no such thing as mental illness; it is either a physical problem in the brain … or it is a moral or spiritual problem.” Another well-known Christian leader basically agrees. In his book, Our Sufficiency in Christ, he writes, “There is no such thing as a ‘psychological problem’ unrelated to spiritual or physical causes. God supplies divine resources sufficient to meet all those needs completely.”

Whew! Can you imagine what it does to a person who is mentally ill to hear that there is no such thing? It makes him or her more depressed. Certainly some depression is caused by a physical (biological) or a spiritual problem, but certainly not all by any means. Some is caused by psychological or emotional problems and needs to be resolved with psychological tools just as medical problems need to be resolved with medical tools. Even Paul said to Timothy, “Take a little wine for your stomach’s sake.”

And, how about Moses, Elijah, Job and Jeremiah who all experienced times of depression.2 David, too, was often downcast and depressed. Martin Luther also suffered from long bouts of depression as did Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, and J.B. Phillips the great Bible scholar.

What I believe God wants us to do when we are depressed or mentally ill is to get the help we need (professional if necessary) to find and treat the cause/s. What we don’t need is judgmental “friends” who Christianize complexes and condemn us when we are down or tell us we shouldn’t feel the way we feel. What we need is supportive friends who will listen to us, give us their understanding, and help comfort us with the comfort they themselves have received in their times of trouble. Isn’t that what Jesus was all about?

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please deliver me from being cursed with the affliction to give unsolicited advice to, or to be judgmental toward, those who are emotionally down, depressed, or mentally ill. In all situations please give me the grace, compassion and understanding so that I will be as Jesus to friends and neighbors who hurt. And please use me to be a wounded healer. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

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

2. See Numbers 11; 1 Kings 19; Job 3; and Lamentations 1-5.

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People Who Need People

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“One standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple braided cord is not easily broken.”1

Many readers will be familiar with the song made popular by Barbara Streisand, “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” She’s right of course.

Jesus was very definitely a people person. He was a friend to and of sinners and ordinary people alike. True, he needed space at times to be alone with God, but he always came back to be with people. He rarely, if ever, ministered alone (except for going to the cross which he alone could do for us). And he relaxed with friends, both male and female.

We all need some close, supportive friends. “Bear one another’s burdens” and “love one another” is at the very heart of Christianity.

Make time to develop and maintain close friendships. In a day of trouble you will need them. You will also need them in good days. We were created for relationships and can only live healthy lives when we are in healthy relationships.

A poet wrote:

I went out to find a friend,

But could not find one there.

I went out to be a friend,

And friends were everywhere.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me first of all to be a loving friend and then find loving friends to be with. And thank you that you are a friend of sinners, such as I. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Ecclesiastes 4:12 (TLB)(NLT).

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