Monthly Archives: August 2012

Do You Want to Be Made Well?

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“Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?”1

You may have heard the story (a fable to be sure) about the father who knocks on his son’s door. “Jaime,” he says, “wake up!” Jaime answers, “I don’t want to get up, Papa.”

The father shouts, “Get up, you have to go to school.” Jaime says, “I don’t want to go to school.” “Why not?” asks the father. “Three reasons,” says Jaime. “First, because it’s so dull; second, the kids tease me; and third, I hate school.” And the father says, “Well, I am going to give you three reasons why you must go to school. First, because it is your duty; second, because you are forty-five years old, and third, because you are the headmaster.”

When I ask people in seminars how many believe that God has a life-purpose for them, most raise their hand. But when I ask how many know what it is, only a few have any idea what it might be, and even fewer have clearly defined it. Most say they want to know what it is but don’t diligently seek God to discover what it is.

Many people say they want to overcome their problems too, but are not prepared to do their part to make it happen. Even the best psychologists will tell you that “people don’t really want to be cured. What they want is relief; a cure is too painful.” One surgeon said that many patients who come to him with a problem would rather that he operate on their body than they operate on their lifestyle, and that only about 25 percent of his patients accept responsibility for their wellness.

Jesus didn’t say, “Do you wish to be made well, but rather, do you want to be made well?” To be made well needs to be more than a wish. It needs to be a true desire, with determination and commitment to do what one has to do to get well. As a Chinese proverbs puts it, “Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes.”

Do you want to get well … to achieve something worthwhile with your life … to become happy and fulfilled … and to go to Heaven when you die? Or do you just wish all these things? Remember that wishes don’t make it. If you truly want to go to Heaven be sure to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me the want to get well in every area of my life, and reveal to me any areas of resistance so I can deal with these issues, and accept full responsibility for my wellness. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John 5:5-6 (NKJV).

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How Does Your Garden Grow?

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“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”1

I read about one atheist who objected strongly to teaching religion in public schools. His argument was that children should be allowed to reach maturity then decide for themselves what they choose to believe.

Coleridge the poet, who heard the atheist invited him to join him in his garden which happened to be overgrown with weeds.

“What do you see?” asked Coleridge.

“It’s nothing but a patch of weeds,” replied the atheist.

“Yes,” said Coleridge, “I decided to let the garden decide for itself what it should grow.”

To leave a child without guidance would be a disaster and if we don’t want to influence his thinking, why send him to school?

To train him in the way he should go involves training in every area of life—physically, intellectually, socially, emotionally, and spiritually—so that he becomes well balanced in every area of life and a mature, healthy, interdependent adult.

This takes a lot of wisdom, guidance, and instruction. It doesn’t take care of itself. And what is the first and most effective teaching method? Modeling by example what we want our children to learn.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to model for my family the kind of person you want me to be so that they, seeing what you have done in my life, will want the same for themselves. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 22:6 (NIV).

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Preparation for Eternity

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“Prepare to meet your God.”1

“I came home from work last evening,” said David E. Leininger a while ago, “greeted the family, changed clothes, and began reading the mail. The Newsweek magazine was there, so I began flipping through it. Early on I came to this rather striking ad: it said, ‘… You’re DEAD. What do you do now? Just for a minute, think the unthinkable. Think about when suddenly you’re not there.’2 And then the ad goes on to try to sell life insurance. Years ago, a friend of mine who was an insurance agent would approach potential clients on the street and say, ‘I had a dream about you last night … I dreamt you died … and you didn’t have insurance!’ The amazing thing to me is that his approach actually worked—he made a fine living.”3

I find it interesting that the first thing many people read in the daily newspaper is the obituary notices. I don’t know why except it is an admission of sorts that death is a fact of life.

Other people avoid reading the obituary notices altogether as they don’t want to even begin to think of death. This is sad because sooner or later it happens to us all, for nobody gets out of this place alive. In younger days death seemed a lifetime away—and it was. The years passed, then my father died, then my mother, then my oldest sister … and now, along with my younger sisters, I’m next in line. Dying doesn’t bother me, but the process can be frightening if one should lose his or her health and, especially, his or her mind. Over that we have little or no control.

However, what we do have control over is life after death. Should you have a dream tonight that you died, what would happen to you? Where would you spend eternity if this were a reality and not a dream? Better still, where will you spend eternity when it is a reality?

God has an insurance plan exactly for this purpose and it is totally without charge to you. You can read about it by clicking on: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian and read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian—Without Having to Be Religious.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for letting me know in your Word that I need to be prepared to meet you at the end of my life here on earth. And thank you for showing me the way you have provided for such preparation by accepting your Son, Jesus, as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Amos 4:12 (NIV).

2. Ad for the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education, Newsweek, 2/26/96.

3. In a sermon by the Rev. Dr. David E. Leininger, “Thinking About the Unthinkable.” (Unfortunately, the web site is no longer available.)

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One Step at a Time

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“Precept upon precept; line upon line.”1

Before I wrote a book, the task seemed impossible. “No way,” I said to myself, “that I could ever write a book.” A friend suggested I tackle it just one page at a time.

“Good idea,” I thought and that’s exactly what I did. Several years ago I wrote 365 daily devotionals hoping to get them published in a book—but little did I know that I would end up using these to get Daily Encounter started back in 1998 with just a handful of subscribers. I also wrote these messages just one at a time. And that’s how I still write Daily Encounter—just one at a time!

Are you facing a daunting task, a major responsibility, or just need to clean your garage. If it’s the latter, start in one corner and work your way around it in a clockwise pattern picking up one thing at a time and either store it in its proper place, put it in a pile to be given away, or throw it away.

Treat cleaning your house the same way, systematically tidying one room at a time. As you see one corner and then one room tidied, each of these successes will help keep you motivated. Just don’t jump all over the place or discouragement will quickly dampen your enthusiasm. Apply the same principle to any task you have to face. Do it one step at a time—one day at a time. As the old saying goes, “Inch by inch anything’s a cinch” to which a friend added, “but yard by yard it’s miles too hard.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to take care of today’s responsibilities one thing at a time and quit worrying about what I need to do tomorrow. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Isaiah 28:10.

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Church: To Be or Not to Be

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“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”1

You’ve probably read about the man who quit attending church and was visited by his pastor.

According to the story, “It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember’s flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.

“Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The Pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.”

“As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, ‘Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday.’”2

Note: Be sure to read, “Benefits of a Good Church” at: http://tinyurl.com/bs9jf

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to realize the need to be involved in a good church where the people believe in your Word and live in harmony with the principles found therein. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV).

2. Author unknown.

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Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

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“When all was ready, he sent his servant around to notify the guests that it was time for them to come. But they all began making excuses. One said he had just bought a field and wanted to inspect it, so he asked to be excused. Another said he had just bought five pair of oxen and wanted to try them out”1

“Douglas Bernstein, a psychology professor at the University of Illinois, recently asked faculty members for the ‘most unusual, bizarre and amazing student excuses’ they had ever heard. He got dozens.” Following are a few:

“An old favorite, but one professor’s class established some sort of record when 14 out of 250 students reported their grandmothers’ deaths just before final exams. In another class a student reported that he could not take the mid-term because his grandmother had died. When the instructor expressed condolences a week later, the student replied, ‘Oh, don’t worry. She was terminal, but she’s feeling much better now.’

“I had an accident, the police impounded the car, and my paper is in the glove compartment.”

“I can’t be at the exam because my cat is having kittens, and I’m her coach.”

“I need to take the final early because the husband of the woman I’m seeing is threatening to kill me.”2

Excuses go all the way back to Adam and Eve who said when they blew it, “The devil made me do it.” Yeah. Right!

Sir Walter Scott put it realistically when he wrote, “Oh, what tangled webs we weave / When first we practice to deceive.”

Of one thing we can be sure. God sees all and knows all. We can never deceive him. There will be no excuses when we stand before him on our final examination day, “As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”3 To make sure you are prepared for your final exam be sure to read, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” online at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please deliver me from the self-deception of excuses. Help me always to tell the truth and accept responsibility for my foul-ups. And above all, help me to admit and confess to you all my failures and sins and seek your forgiveness. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Luke 14:17-19 (NLT).

2. Dynamic Illustrations, Mar/Apr 1995. Cited in a sermon by Rev. Dr. David E. Leininger.

3. Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV).

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Things That Bug Us

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“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”1

As the ditty goes, “It’s the little things that bother us and put us on the rack, you can sit upon a mountain but you can’t sit on a tack.”

And isn’t that the truth? It’s the little annoyances in life that get us tied in a knot. A slight criticism, a driver who cuts us off on the freeway, a green light that turns red before we get to it, a friend running late, and so on.

Let us realize, however, that somebody’s negative reaction may have more to do with them than us. A criticism may be somebody projecting their unresolved issues onto us. Somebody failing to thank us may indicate that they are having a “bad hair” day, and somebody cutting us off on the freeway may be an indication of their impatience—as well as a reflection of ours!

What somebody else does to me may or may not be a problem. How I react, though, is always my issue, and when I overreact, that is always my problem. What the other person does is their issue. How I act, react, or overreact is always my issue and my responsibility.

If we’d remember that “whatever others think of me is none of my business,” I would at least learn to cope much better with many of life’s little annoyances. I know it’s easier said than done, but it is a goal to work towards. Furthermore, the more mature and whole I become, the less life’s little annoyances will bother me. I’m still working on this issue.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, as it is your purpose for me, please help me to grow through the circumstances of life that ‘push my hot buttons’ and so become more and more like Jesus in every way. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV).

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Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

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“What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.”1

If I fear that I will get sick, dwell on it, and believe it, chances are more than likely that I will get sick. If I fear that I am going to be rejected and believe it, I will act in such a way to set myself up to be rejected and, like Job, the thing I fear will happen to me.

If because of a fear of failure, criticism, of not being perfect, and so on, I never step outside my comfort zone and take risks to achieve what God envisioned for me to do, I will never discover what I could achieve with my life.

Personally speaking, if I feel strongly about a project and sense God is leading me to do this, I would rather try, put it to the test, and even fail rather than through fear of failure never step out to follow my God-given life purpose and dream. I appreciate the words of the unknown poet who wrote:

I would rather stumble a thousand times

Attempting to reach a goal,

Than to sit in a crowd

In my weather-proof shroud

A shriveled and self-satisfied soul.

I would rather be doing and daring

All of my error filled days,

Than watching, and waiting, and dying

Smug in my perfect ways.

I would rather wonder and blunder,

Stumbling blindly ahead,

Than for safety’s sake

Lest I make a mistake

Be sure, be safe, be dead.

As I suggested to a friend recently, let your decisions about what to do be based on love for serving God and others, and never on your fears.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I admit my fears and I bring them all to you. Grant that all of my decisions will be based on direction from and love for serving you, and never on my fears. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Job 3:25 (NIV).

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Hello, Lord

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“Pray without ceasing.”1

Ivor Bailey prayed: “I enjoy talking to you every night, Lord. I tell you what’s on my mind—the things that bug me, the people I meet, the challenges I face, questions I can’t answer.

“Because you’re my friend, I don’t feel I have to dress up or use out-dated language. I can relax with you.

“Isn’t that what prayer is all about, Lord? You and I sharing things we think are important. Thank you, Lord.”

Besides the Lord’s Prayer this is another excellent way to approach prayer—just share with God what’s on your heart, what’s on your mind, what you are feeling, your joys, sorrows, and so on.

Sharing feelings is what intimacy, communication and connection are all about—not only with people, but also with God. We can do this not only at night but anytime, anywhere.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to be open, honest, and real with you. You desire truth in the innermost being. Help me to share my inner truth with you—the good, the bad, the indifferent—share it all, God, no matter what. Thank you for hearing, accepting all my feelings, and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

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Well Done

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“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”1

Theodore Roosevelt said, “It’s not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of good deeds could have done better.

“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena: Whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again…

“Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause…

“Who, at best, knows the triumph of high achievement…

“And who, at worst, if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Every one of us has been given at least one talent; many have been given several. Regardless of whether we have one or many talents, what is important is to use well what God has given and entrusted to us and therewith give life our best shot.

Remember, too: “Only one life ’twill soon be past / Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, grant that I will so live today that when I stand before 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.”

1. Matthew 25:21 (NIV).

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