Monthly Archives: June 2014

Parable of the Sparrows

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“Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God … not on earthly things.”1

Once upon a time a loaf of bread fell from a bakery truck and as it hit the ground a crumb broke loose. Three sparrows all eyed the crumb and swooped down to grab it, but began fighting over it.

Eventually one of the sparrows succeeded in scooping up the crumb in its beak and flew away with it—hotly pursued by the other two sparrows. A frenzied aerial fracas took place until the crumb was completely consumed.

The only thing these sparrows saw was the crumb. None noticed the loaf still on the ground.

How often we consume our energies squabbling over trivialities while the true riches of life go unnoticed and escape us. And how often we concentrate our energies on non-essential issues while the needs of the hurting are neglected and the lost go to hell!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me the wisdom to see and the good sense to major on the majors and not get carried away majoring on the minors. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name. Amen.”

1. Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV).

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The Story and Purpose of Father’s Day

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Wishing All Fathers a very Happy Father’s Day

“Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.”1

According to an article on the Holistic Living web site, “Sonora Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a ‘father’s day’ in 1909. Dodd was inspired with the idea of Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at church. She wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd’s mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.

“The first Father’s Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. At about the same time in various towns and cities across America, other people were beginning to celebrate a ‘father’s day.’ In 1926 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father’s Day. Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father’s Day [for the U.S.A]. It has since been adopted by Canada, Europe and several other countries.

“Father’s Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all to be honored on Father’s Day.”2

I wish it were true that every one of us had a father like Sonora Dodd had because, in spite of what many women’s libbers and same-sex marriage advocates are claiming to the contrary, the role of a healthy, emotionally involved father (and mother) is critical for the emotional healthy development of both boys and girls.

“According to Dr. T. Berry Brazelton [child development expert], a father’s involvement with a child increases the child’s IQ, the child’s motivation to learn, and the child’s self-confidence. In addition, children with involved dads are more likely to develop a sense of humor as well as an ‘inner excitement.’”3

And for all fathers on this Father’s Day, let us not only appreciate the love of our children—and grandchildren—but let us also realize the importance and responsibility of the God-given role we have been entrusted with in the emotional development and health of our children.

Suggested prayer, “Dear God, as a father please help me to realize the role of my God-given responsibility and be the best possible father I can be. And if in any way I have failed to be the father I should have been, please forgive me, and help me wherever possible to do whatever I need to do to restore my relationship with my children. And thank You for all the love that I do receive from them. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Colossians 3:21, (NIV).

2. Compiled from several sources on the internet by Bob Proctor. Cited on Holistic Living web site. http://tinyurl.com/jog24

3. Source: Victor Parachin, “The Fine Art of Good Fathering,” Herald of Holiness, February 1995, pp. 32-33.

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Togetherness

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“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”1

Some of the most fascinating trees I have ever seen are the magnificent California and West Coast redwoods. They reach their leafy arms heavenward, commonly growing 200 to 275 feet tall. The tallest one in Humboldt County, California, towers 368.6 feet in height. These trees stand like sentinels of time and have done so for hundreds of years. Some were living at the time Christ walked on earth.

They’ve been through winds, earthquakes, fires and storms—still they stand. Nothing seems to deter them.

What is so amazing is that these trees, among the tallest in the world, have a comparably shallow root system and yet they rarely ever fall. How do they keep standing even in the wildest of storms? It’s because the redwood’s root systems reach out for great distances and are intertwined with one another. They literally hold each up other up.

If you and I are going to reach our full potential, we too need the support of each other, not to be overdependent but inter-dependent.

None of us can stand alone. As Solomon also said, “If two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”2

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be like a mighty redwood tree giving and receiving support to and from my fellow Christian friends so that I, too, can reach the heights of my God-given potential. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name. Amen.”

1. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV).

2. Ecclesiastes 4:11-12 (NIV).

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Life’s Challenges

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“The testing of your faith develops perseverance.”1

For a number of years I lived in the shadow of 10,000-foot-high high Mt. Baldy in California where we were protected from most of the high winds that roar down a canyon pass a few miles east of us. At times when the high winds did reach us, numerous trees were toppled.

Here, the trees, when planted, are tied tightly to stakes to hold them firmly when the winds blow. However, because of being tied too tightly to the stakes, they don’t develop a strong root system. In South Australia I lived at the top of the Adelaide hills, about 2,000 feet high, where strong gusty winds are common. There we planted the trees when they were very small—with just enough support to stop them from toppling—so the winds would help them develop a sturdy root system. When fully grown, rarely were they toppled by the winds.

That’s what makes us strong too. The winds of adversity that are par for life’s course can either motivate us to grow strong or we can allow them to topple us. This is the reason James said, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers [and sisters], whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”2

Remember, too, “Kites rise against the wind, not with it.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to grow and become strong through the “valleys of despair and winds of adversity” that You allow to come into my life—and thereby help me to become the person You want me to be. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name. Amen.”

1. James 1:2 (NIV).

2. James 1:2-4 (NIV).

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Lord, Make Me an Instrument

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“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”1

One of my favorite prayers set to music is the beautiful prayer of St. Francis of Assisi who lived in the 13th century. What a difference we would make in today’s world if every Christian prayed this prayer from the heart regularly:

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Thank You, God, for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Matthew 5:15-16 (NIV).

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The Sense of a Supreme Being

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“For the truth about God is known to them [all mankind] instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.”1

Dorothy Bull asks:

Why does the earthworm always look clean,

When you consider where it has been?

How does the butterfly with new-formed wings

Know how to fly with such cumbersome things?

Where does the spider keep all its thread?

Who put the web-pattern into its head?

How does the ant carry food twice its size,

And store for the winter?

Who made it so wise?2

We can say it was chance or we can say it was God. No matter what we say, belief in God is instinctive. Every person is born with an innate sense of a divine, all-powerful Supreme Being. To act on this belief, however, is a choice. We basically believe what we want and choose to believe.

Sometimes doubts are genuine and cause us to think, and that is good. But sometimes they are a smoke screen to hide a moral problem … we fear that if we come to Christ, believe in him and accept him as our Savior, we will have to give up some things we know instinctively are wrong.

Thus it is choice, not chance, that determines our beliefs and therefore our eternal destiny. As God’s Word says, “Choose today whom you will serve.”3

Indeed, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”4

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, if You have planted in the heart of all mankind a sense of Your divine being, please open the eyes of my understanding so that I will see and know that You are indeed the God of all creation. In so doing please give me the courage this day to truly serve and live for You. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer, gratefully in Jesus’s name. Amen.”

1. Romans 1:19-20 (NLT).

2. Dorothy Bull, Cited in Encounter magazine,
Sep/Oct, 2001.

3. Joshua 24:15 (NLT).

4. Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV).

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Does God Send Earthquakes?

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Jesus said, “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”1

While visiting a church one Sunday in the town where there was an earthquake the night before, the pastor and people testified to the “fact” that God sent the earthquake as a wake-up call to the people of this city.

But was this true? Does God also send floods, tornadoes, forest fires, hurricanes and cyclones as wake-up calls for people to turn to God? He may, but I doubt it. We just happen to live in a world where natural disasters happen. For me, if I don’t want to experience earthquakes, one thing is certain, I need to move out of Southern California. But if I choose to stay here and an earthquake destroys my home, will it be God who does it?

Or will it be because I have knowingly chosen to live in a place that is prone to earthquakes?

Also, if I choose to live in a low lying area close to a river that is prone to flooding and my home is washed away, will it be God who causes me to lose my home? Hardly.

As Jesus said, if we build our house on the sand and the rain pours down, and the streams rise, and the winds blow, we can expect our home to be destroyed.

And if I don’t build my life on a solid, godly foundation and live an upright, moral life, I can’t blame God if I crash. God may use my crash as a wake-up call to bring me to my senses, but it won’t be God who causes me to crash. I will do it to myself.

And if I fail to accept God’s free pardon for all my sins and his gift of eternal life, it won’t be God who will keep me out of heaven and send me to hell, it will be me. I will do it myself.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to be wise, not only regarding the important matters of this life, but especially so regarding the life to come. Help me to build my life on the Solid Rock—the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name. Amen.”

1. Matthew 7:26-27 (NIV).

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Redeeming the Time

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“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.”1

Chuck Colson tells about one prisoner he met who had been on death row for fifteen years. His name was John Irving.

John was allowed out of his cell for only one hour a day. The rest of the time he was studying to become a minister—preparing to serve God.

Noticing that John had nothing in his cell but a few books, Colson offered to give him a TV.

“Thanks,” John said, “but no thanks. You can waste an awful lot of time with those things.”

Can you imagine wasting time on death row?

Colson goes on to say, “The real evils of the entertainment industry are not the violence and profanity—offensive though they are. No, it’s the banality: the sheer waste of time. When we turn the TV on, we turn our minds off; studies have shown that the analytical areas of the brain nearly shut down during extended TV viewing.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, without going to extremes and ignoring TV altogether and/or becoming a workaholic, may I learn to use my time wisely, including quality time with my loved ones and making time to take proper care of myself with adequate rest and relaxation … and making time to spend with You. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Ephesians 5:15-16 (RSV).

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Being V’s Doing

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“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”1

As a kid growing up in Australia I never ever felt loved and approved of because of who I was and learned early how to get approval through the things that I did. As a teen I was fairly gifted in making things, fixing things, and doing things around our home that got me lots of approval. However, eventually I learned that all the approval in the world never made me feel loved. I’m not saying that approval is wrong. What I am saying is that if we mistake approval for love, we will never feel loved. We need to feel loved for being who we are and not for what we do.

As an adult I considered myself as a Mr. Fixit. If something went wrong, my question was always, “Okay what can I do to fix this problem?” Even in my prayers I have repeatedly prayed, “Dear God, what can I do about this problem? What can I do to help fix ‘So-and-so’s’ problem?”

At this time we have a friend in need and I said to Joy last night, “What can we do to help our friend resolve her problem?” We couldn’t think of anything that we could do that would be effective. And then it dawned on me so I said to Joy, “We’re praying the wrong prayer. What we need to pray is, not what can we do, but what can we be to our friend?”

As today’s Scripture teaches us, If we present our bodies [ourselves] as a living sacrifice to God … and be transformed by the renewing of our mind, we will automatically do the will of God! The point I am trying to make is this: Being is more important than doing; that is, being needs to be the foundation for discerning what can be done. To put it another way, if we be the persons God wants us to be, we will do the things God wants us to do. In other words being needs to precede doing. Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to present my body/myself to You as a living sacrifice and therein become the person You want me to be and then do the things You would have me to do. And be and do all for Your glory and not mine. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Romans 12:1-2 NKJV).

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Shoot the Flare!

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“For the wages of sin is death ["eternal death in the place God’s Word calls Hell], but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”1

On “May 26, 2002, Memorial Day weekend, a barge pilot passed out and hit a bridge span of I-40 over the Arkansas river. This accident dropped a 600 foot span of the bridge 62 feet into the swift flowing river below. Eleven people (and a trailer full of show horses) died as their cars and 18-wheelers dove over the edge of the missing span, one piling on top of another. There were several fishermen on the river in a bass competition, who saw the bridge collapse. Realizing that the cars and trucks were still coming, one of the fishermen below the bridge reached into his boats’ emergency kit for the emergency flare. Whipping the flare up into firing position, the fisherman let the missile fly….

“That one flare providentially hit the windshield of the next 18-wheeler speeding down I-40 at 70 miles an hour. The shocked driver hit his brakes, and his front tires slid over the drop-off. Putting his truck into reverse, he pulled his wheels back up onto the bridge, warning the other drivers.

“Another boat of fishermen saw a man under the damaged barge, who was holding on for dear life, and got a floatation device to him and pulled him into their boat, effecting the rescue….”2

Could we even begin to imagine the further devastation and loss of lives had these fishermen sat by and did nothing to help save so many who were heading for certain death? Such a thought is unthinkable.

But what about the millions of lost souls—without Christ and without hope for life beyond the grave—in today’s world? I was teaching about effective evangelism in one church and sharing how, at that time, the church I was attending had a fairly extensive budget for numerous projects and activities, but such a tiny amount in their budget for evangelism. One man spoke out immediately saying that in his church (the one where I was teaching) they didn’t even have evangelism in their budget!

I recently shared with two pastors offering to donate 30,000 printed copies of the ACTS brochure, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian,” if we could work together to place a copy of this gospel message in  one of the 30,000 family homes in their town. Neither pastor showed the slightest interest.

So what is the purpose of the Church? It is to glorify God in everything that it does; it is to build up and strengthen its members and give them all the opportunity to serve by using their God-given spiritual gifts; it is to serve one another and help meet the needs of those who are unable to meet their own needs; and it is to be involved in the Great Commission given by Jesus Himself to His disciples when He said to them: “You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News [the gospel] to everyone, everywhere.”3

And, as the late great missionary statesman, Oswald J. Chambers of Canada said, “The supreme task of the Church is the evangelization of the world.”

Jesus also said to Peter and his fishermen partners, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”4 If you and I are going to be true followers of Jesus, we too, will be involved in “fishing” for those who are without Christ and on their way to a lost eternity.

In this day and age never before has it been so simple and so easy to help reach people who are without hope and without Jesus Christ as it is today via the electronic media. To see how you can be involved in evangelism and learn how to be a missionary right from your own home, and therein have a vital part in worldwide gospel outreach by becoming an ACTS People Power for Jesus Partner, click on https://learning.actsweb.org/people_power_invite.php.

It is extremely simple, very effective and there is no cost.

Please, if you are concerned about family, friends, and people in your circle of contacts who need God’s forgiveness and His gift of eternal life, please prayerfully consider becoming a People Power for Jesus Partner today.

Suggested Prayer: “Dear God, I thank You with all of my heart for forgiving my sins and for giving me the gift of eternal life. I am available; please use me to help spread the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to family, friends, and contacts and thereby help win others to Jesus. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. 1. Romans 6:23 (NKJV).

2. Source: https://bible.org/illustration/shoot-flare

3. Mark 16:15 (TLB).

4. Matthew 4:18-19 <NKJV).

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