Monthly Archives: April 2013

Warning! Danger Ahead

Leave a comment

A word from God’s Word: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse [and military might] is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.”1

One of today’s great tragedies is that as a nation, the U.S. is moving farther and farther away from God as more and more we are pushing God out of our society. God certainly is no longer LORD of our nation. In removing God from our society we are removing—or have already removed ourselves—from God’s protection. The question today is not where is God—He is where He has always been—but where are we?

Much of today’s national problems started, or at least were greatly accelerated, when we banned the Bible from public schools. As a student report stated, “In 1963, when the Bible, the Christian’s standard of absolute truth and morality, was banned from the schools, a great ideological shift began. … As the American people soon found out … Sexually transmitted diseases went up 226%. Violent crimes went up 995%. Unwed birth rates went up 325%. Divorce went up 111%. Unmarried couples living together went up 536%. Child abuse went up 2300%, and illegal drug use went up 6000%…. I don’t think that we have seen the end of this, either. Our country will collapse if Christianity is extinguished, and therefore morality is snuffed out.”2

Think too, of the relentless attacks against the U.S. in recent years by radical Muslims whose religion, Islam, declares itself to be a religion of peace and yet we are vividly reminded every year how, “On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States…. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., including more than 400 police officers and firefighters.”3

True, not all Muslims are terrorists, but where is the real outcry from moderate Muslims who oppose worldwide terrorism attacks promulgated by Muslim terrorists? According to a report on Wikipedia, there have been numerous Islamic terrorist attacks since 2001. See a partial listing of these online at: http://tinyurl.com/8n7bvsd. It is frightening!

America, we need to awaken! As our moral decline is accelerating, so is our moving father and father away from God and His protection. As George Washington, in his Farewell Address, stated, “And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion… reason and experience forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please send a great spiritual awakening to the U.S.A. so that our eyes will be open to see the direction this once great Christian nation is heading. Help us to see and face the truth, for only the truth will set us free. And let your work begin in me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 33:12, 16-17 (NIV).

2. “The Bible: In and Out of School,” Jessica S. http://tinyurl.com/9pp86xg. Jessica quotes the following source for her statistics: http://tinyurl.com/9altkvy, and states that author, Dr. Hovind, got them from Wallbuilders (http://www.wallbuilders.com/).

3. History.com website at: http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks.

<:))))><

Resurrection from Death

Leave a comment

“But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man [Adam], now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man [Jesus Christ]. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.”1

“Max Lucado in his book, Six Hours One Friday, tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily. A hospital was not too far away—across the river—but the Indians would not cross it because they believed the river was inhabited by evil spirits. And to enter its water would mean certain death.

“The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed. But they were not impressed. He then took them to the bank and placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river. Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He raised a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water and escaped. It was then that the Indians broke into a cheer and followed him across.

“Isn’t that what Jesus did? He entered the river of death and came out on the other side so that we might no longer fear death, but find eternal life in Him.”2

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that Jesus, after he died on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins, arose from the grave. Because of this your Word assures me that if I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, I will also rise from death to live with you in heaven forever. Please help me to be sure that I am a real Christian and follower of Jesus Christ. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: If you are not sure that you will be raised from death, please read “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NLT).

2. SermonCentral.com at: http://www.sermoncentral.com/articleb.asp?article=Easter-Illustrations-PowerPoints#illustrations

<:))))><

His Opportunity to Change the World

Leave a comment

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”1

Some years ago when Apple Computer fell on hard times, Apple’s co-founder and chairman, Steven Jobs, went from California to New York City. “His purpose was to convince PepsiCo’s John Sculley to move west and run his struggling company. As the two men overlooked the Manhattan skyline from Sculley’s penthouse office, the Pepsi executive started to decline Jobs’s offer. ‘Financially,’ Sculley said, ‘you’d have to give me a million-dollar salary, a million-dollar bonus, and a million-dollar severance.’ Flabbergasted, Jobs gulped and agreed—if Sculley would move to California. But Sculley would commit only to being a consultant from New York.

“At that, Jobs issued a challenge to Sculley, ‘Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want to change the world?’ In his autobiography, Oddesy, Sculley admits Jobs’s challenge ‘knocked the wind out of me.’ He said he’d become so caught up in his future at Pepsi, his pension, and whether his family could adapt to life in California that an opportunity to ‘change the world’ nearly passed him by. Instead, he put his life in perspective and went to Apple.”2

Let me ask you a question, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling “sugared water”—or doing what you are doing today for the rest of your life? Or do you want to help change at least your world?” There’s nothing wrong with selling sugared water … or doing a million other things; but there’s nothing earth-changing about many of these undertakings either. The question is, “Is what you are doing making a difference in someone’s life—or that of many lives—and that for eternity? Do you want to join hands with Jesus Christ and help make an impact on your world? If your answer is yes, he may call you to be a prayer intercessor, to give sacrificially, to change your profession, or he may call you to leave your comfort zone to go out into the world of Christian service.

Whatever you choose to invest your life in, be sure that what you are doing is investing in people’s lives for all eternity, and in so doing, storing treasure in heaven.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the tremendous opportunity to serve you while here on earth. Please help me to see what is the best way for me to do this so my life is invested in eternal values—and so I am storing treasure in heaven. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV).

2. Leadership, Spring, 1991, Vol. XXII, No. 2, p. 44.

<:))))<<

Diamonds in the Rough

Leave a comment

“We proclaim him [Jesus Christ], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect [complete and mature] in Christ.”1

It is true that God loves and accepts us as we are, but he loves us too much to leave us as we are.

God’s design for each one of us is that we become the person he envisioned us to be—not only to receive forgiveness for our sins and the gift of eternal life, but also to grow and become mature, to be made whole, to resolve any and all impaired relationships, and to learn to love and accept ourselves, others, and God more fully.

Forgiveness and eternal life are gifts from God. There is nothing we can do to earn them. We receive them by faith in Jesus Christ. But growth and maturity are a life-long process. These are our responsibility. When we begin, we are like diamonds in the rough. To be polished takes a lot of time and hard work.

As Stuart Briscoe said, “The same sun that melts wax hardens clay.” In the same way God’s discipline hardens some folk and they become bitter; in others it produces gentleness, a loving spirit, growth and maturity. God’s will is the latter but the choice is ours.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in every trial please help me to see what I need to learn, what I need to change, and how I can keep growing to become the person you have envisioned for me to be. And please give me the grace and courage I need to submit to your molding. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Colossians 1:28 (NIV).

<:))))><

Love’s Most Amazing Story … Part III

Leave a comment

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”1

As already noted, sin is much more than external acts. It is our damaged inner condition that results in our wrong or sinful acts. Our sinful nature contaminates everything we do. It not only shows itself in external acts, but also twists our motives and damages our emotions. It is behind every broken home, every empty life, every sorrow and grief. The disease of sin weakens nations, produces sick societies, and causes physical, mental and spiritual suffering. It causes men and nations to fight, kill and destroy. And as the Bible says, its end result is death.

We need to understand that God is not opposed to nor outraged by our breaking his commandment for his sake, but primarily for our sake. As Cecil Osborne also said, “Adultery (or any other sin) is not wrong because it is forbidden in the Ten Commandments; it is forbidden in the Ten Commandments because it is destructive of human personality. God is against whatever is destructive to us. His love for us is so great that he cannot see us destroying ourselves without suffering himself. It is the suffering of God, symbolized by the cross, which is involved in sin. We suffer in our sins. Christ suffered because of them. His suffering becomes redemption for us when we are able to confess the right sins with true contrition.”

Because Christ himself was sinless, only he could die to pay the penalty for and thereby save us from our sins. We simply cannot save ourselves. No matter how good (or bad) we are, we are all afflicted with the terminal disease of sin for which Jesus Christ is the only cure.

I read once about a drowning boy who was struggling frantically to save himself. On the bank his distraught mother pleaded with a man to save her son, but the man made no move. When the boy weakened and gave up the struggle to save himself, the man then jumped into the stream and rescued him.

“Why didn’t you save my boy sooner?” the mother asked.

“I couldn’t as long as he struggled,” the man replied. “He would have dragged us both to death. When he gave up the struggle to save himself, it was easy to rescue him.”

We, too, need to give up the struggle to save ourselves from our sin. Only Christ can do that. As we confess our sins to him and thank him for dying on the cross for us, he gives us his free pardon and the gift of eternal life. Why not pray to ask Christ to do this for you today? For help to do this, click on the God’s Invitation link at: www.actsweb.org/invitation.php.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you love me so much that you gave your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross in my place to save me from the penalty and consequences of my sin. And Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God and thank you for dying in my place to save me from my sins. I accept you as my personal Lord and Savior. Please forgive me for all my sins. Thank you for doing this and for giving me your gift of eternal life in heaven. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Please note: For further help be sure to read, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian,” at: www.actsweb.org/christian and discover how to know for certain that your sins are forgiven, and that you have God’s gift of eternal life.

1. Romans 6:23 (NIV).

<:))))><

Love’s Most Amazing Story … Part II

Leave a comment

“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”1

The question is asked, “If God loves us unconditionally, why is he so vehemently opposed to our sin?” It is because sin is so completely destructive of human personality. It totally destroys those whom God loves—us. Nevertheless, God still loves the sinner. That’s why he gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. And now, through Christ’s death God can save us from our self-destructive sin.

Sometimes we view God as a hard taskmaster running around with a “big stick” waiting to rap us on the knuckles if we break his commandments. In fact, one person I knew felt that if he committed certain sins, God would actually kill him.

This false view of God is usually formed in childhood. If, for example, we had a very punitive earthy father or mother, we tend to feel that God, the Heavenly Father, is exactly the same. But God isn’t like that at all. In fact, we can totally ignore or reject him, and he will still keep on loving us.

Sometimes we falsely see sin only as specific acts that God happens to oppose. But sin is much more than this. We tend to see only the external acts, but God sees the heart, too. He is just as concerned with sins of the spirit—pride, jealously, lust, greed, envy, hatred, false motives, emotional dishonesty, resentment and other super-charged negative emotions (including the ones we have repressed and consequently denied)—as he is with such things as murder, rape, and stealing. In fact, many of our external sins are the symptoms of our inner, hidden sins that are equally or some even more destructive than the ones we can see.

In his excellent book, The Art of Understanding Yourself, Dr. Cecil Osborne wrote, “It is extremely naive to think of sin simply as an isolated act—a lie, a theft, immorality, dishonesty, etcetera—for sin is all that is less than perfection. It is rejecting God—’falling short’ of the perfection which God envisioned for us. Sin is being impaired, not simply performing a wicked act. It is having impaired relationships and attitudes. It is being less than whole. It is having mixed motives. Sin is the clever rationalization by which we seek to escape from facing ourselves. It can consist in responding to a set of rigid moralistic ‘oughts’ rather than obeying the spirit of God which dwells within us,” and then feeling very self-righteous about our pious attitude and behavior.

To be concluded…

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to grasp the destructiveness of sin and understand why you are so opposed to it. Help me to see my sinfulness, confess it to you, and ask for your forgiveness. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

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

<:))))><

Love’s Most Amazing Story … Part I

Leave a comment

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”1

Karl Barth, famous though controversial, contemporary Swiss theologian, was a great thinker, a prolific writer, and a professor at several European universities. On one occasion he was confronted by a reporter who wanted a brief summary of his twelve thick volumes on church dogmatics. Barth could have given an impressive intellectual reply, but didn’t. Quoting from the popular child’s hymn, he simply said, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

And there is no greater proof of this love than when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave his life for us.

As Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” His own love, however, went much further than this. He laid down his life for his enemies as well as his friends.

Imagine the torturous agony Christ must have endured when nailed to the cross. This was the price he paid to die for our sins. Added to his physical suffering was his sense of utter rejection by being forsaken, not only by his few remaining friends, but also by God. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus cried out in utter despair from the cross.2

But so great was his love even for those who caused his excruciating pain—those who nailed him to the cross, thrust a spear into his side, mocked him, spat in his face—that in the midst of this inhuman torture he prayed, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”3

Referring to this prayer, Thomas Carlyle said, “The sublimest words that ever fell from human lips.”

Human love is often conditional. If we are what others want us to be, and do what they want us to do, we are loved. If not, we are often rejected. Fortunately, God’s love is never conditional. It is never based on who we are or what we do or have done—good or bad. God loves us simply because we are his creation.

To be continued…

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for loving me even though I am a sinner? Help me to understand the depths of your love for me and, as a result, surrender and dedicate my life to live for you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen. ”

1. John 15:13 (NIV).

2. Mark 15:34.

3. Luke 23:34.

<:))))><

How’s Your Aim?

Leave a comment

“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

Somebody has facetiously said, “Blessed be he who aimeth at nothing for he shall surely hit it!”

On the same theme, Bill Bernbach made the following insightful comment: “If you stand for something, you will always find some people for you and some against you. If you stand for nothing, you will find nobody against you and nobody for you!”

It is true, if we aim for and stand for right, for justice, for integrity, for truth, and are committed to doing the will of God, there will always be opposition. Chances are the more worthy our cause, the greater will be the opposition—and the temptation to discouragement.

However, when we get to the end of life’s journey, how rewarding it will be to have the Savior welcome us to Heaven with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord!”

What Jesus will say to us when we meet him face to face will totally depend on what we are doing and how we are living today. We have that opportunity now. As a favorite one-liner puts it, “It is choice, not chance, that determines our destiny.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, grant that I will so live that when I meet you face to face, I will hear your wonderful 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).

<:))))><

The Baffling Call of God

Leave a comment

“The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’”1

What does it mean for the word of the Lord to come to us? That is; how does God call people today? Quite probably it is different for everyone who has ever been called of God for special service.

Speaking personally, I could count on one hand the times that I have felt that God challenged me “with a ‘special word’ from the Lord.” No, I’ve never heard an audible voice from heaven, nor have I ever seen any “writing on the wall.” The first occasion was when I was in the hospital following a minor accident on a construction site. I was all stitched up and feeling pretty sore when I turned on my bedside radio and “just happened” to pick up the only religious program on air for that entire day. The moment my radio came on these were the very first words I heard: “If I should stand before the Master tonight, would I empty handed go?”

Wham! It felt like an invisible arrow had pierced my heart. For 2-3 years I had been struggling with “the still small voice within” drawing me towards Christian service and ministry. I just hadn’t recognized it as the call of God. As I look back, however, had God not been calling me, I would never have been struggling with it. But on that hospital bed there was no more doubt in my mind. I “heard” God’s call loud and clear and prayed, “Okay, God, you win. I know what I need to do.” That was the day I made the decision to go back to college to train for Christian service. For some of us God has to hit us over the head with a “4 by 4″ as it were in order to get our attention.

True, God doesn’t call everyone to be a Jonah, a missionary, a pastor, or a specialized Christian worker, but he does call every one of us to be a faithful servant and witness for Jesus.

So, if you should stand before the Master tonight, would you empty handed go? Or would you hear God’s welcome, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord?”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have called me to be a faithful servant and witness for you. Please help me to be faithful in service and effective in my witness, and please use me in some way to help bring others to you so that when I meet you face to face I will not be empty handed. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jonah 1:1-2 (NIV).

<:))))><

Mountaintop Experiences

Leave a comment

“Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land [the Promised Land]….”1

On this day, April 3, 1968, on the eve of his assassination, Martin Luther King delivered his last sermon at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee. His closing remarks were: “Well, I don’t know what will happen now; we’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life—longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. So I’m happy tonight; I’m not worried about anything; I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”2

Dr. King certainly had a mountaintop experience. Many years before, Moses also had a mountaintop experience. God showed him the land he was promising to the nation of Israel and commissioned Joshua to “arise, go, and possess” this Promised Land. Was it easy to do this? No, not at all. Following Martin Luther King’s mountaintop experience it was left to his followers to “arise, go, and possess” the promised land that Dr. King saw. Was it easy for them? No, not at all.

Jesus had a mountaintop experience too. It was at Calvary where he, seeing the whole world lost in sin, gave his life as a sacrifice for all. After his resurrection, he gave his followers a vision/dream too—actually a commission. It was, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.”3 Now it’s up to us to “arise, go, and possess” the vision God has for the world—reaching people with the gospel message—one person at a time! Will it be easy? No, not at all. However, knowing this is God’s vision and his will, with his help there will always be a way to fulfill it.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, open my eyes that I will clearly see your vision to reach everybody in the world with the saving gospel message of Jesus Christ. And help me to arise and do my part. Also, help me to be as Jesus to every person in my world and grant that they, seeing Jesus in me, will want him for themselves. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: For a simple and effective way to reach people with the gospel, please see our Global Communications Outreach website at: www.actsweb.org/people_power02.php.

1. Deuteronomy 34:1 (NIV).

2. Martin Luther King, speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” Memphis, Tennessee (3rd April, 1968). http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmountaintop.htm

3. Mark 16:15 (NLT).

<:))))><