All posts by 5Q

Come and See

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“Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ ‘Nazareth!’ exclaimed Nathanael. ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’ ‘Come and see for yourself,’ Philip replied.”1

“A Mercedes TV commercial a few years ago showed a Mercedes crashing into a concrete wall during a safety test. An engineer in a white lab coat walks over after the crash and kneels down to examine the damage, which is minimal. A reporter then asks the engineer about Mercedes’ energy absorbing car body. After the engineer tells all about the unique design, the reporter asks him why Mercedes doesn’t enforce their patent on the design, a design evidently copied by several 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. There are many things in life that fall into this ‘too important not to share category.’ Advances in science, in medicine, in technology. But all of these pale in importance to that of sharing the gospel.”2

As Billy Graham said, “I am convinced the greatest act of love we can ever perform for people is to tell them about God’s love for them in Christ.”

Whenever I eat at a restaurant, I always leave one of my business witness cards, “Thank you for your friendly service,” with the tip, and whenever the opportunity arrives (without being pushy), I ask the person I am visiting with if I may give him or her one of my cards—one that is suitable as we have a variety. Each card has a link to a website that has many articles that address the felt needs of the average person and a link to the clear gospel message, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian—without having to be religious.”

The only person who has ever refused to accept one of my cards was, of all people, a man at my church! Most people thank me very much for the card that I give to them, especially the card, “Thank you for your friendly service.”

Giving one of these cards is a very easy, attractive, and non-offensive way to be a witness for Jesus Christ. It is a tactful way to basically say, “Come and see what Jesus Christ can do for you!”

It is true, the gospel message of Jesus Christ is far too important not to share. I encourage you to send for a package of 50 of the ACTS business witness cards to give to your friends and contacts.

You can see the available cards at: https://actscom.com/wcards_store.php and order the one that best meets your needs from this same page. They come in packages of 50. We charge only enough to cover our printing and postage costs.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, with all of my fears and weaknesses, I am available. Please use me to be an effective witness for Jesus, and help me today to be ‘as Jesus’ in some way to every life I touch. And as the opportunity arises, please give me the courage to also invite others to ‘come and see’ what Jesus can do for them either verbally or by giving them an attractive and suitable business witness card. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. John 1:45-47 (NLT).

2. Rev. Steve Jackson, Sermon: “Come and See.”

P.S. If you have never met Jesus and accepted His forgiveness for all your sins, and received His gift of eternal life, I encourage you to also “come and see” by reading the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

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The Big IF

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This edition is for professing Christians.

“If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow—perhaps it all will.”1

And as Jesus said to His followers, “But you will receive power when the Holy [God's] Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”2

Recently in a Sunday morning worship service our church congregation was singing with great enthusiasm the old hymn: “Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born,” while the reality is that far too many of us don’t even “go tell it” across the street. We have excellent community services, but we mostly don’t even make any helpful gospel literature available.

I remember reading years ago the tongue-in-cheek comment of a fellow Christian who in a take off on the hymn, “Onward Christian Soldiers marching as to war,” said we should really be singing, “Like a mighty tortoise moves the church of God, brothers we are treading where we’ve always trod.”

The sad reality is that, according to the highly respected Barna Research Group, the church in the U.S.A. today is in decline. Furthermore, according to an adjunct professor from Fuller Seminary, “The fastest growing church in America today is the church of none.” That is, more and more people are dropping out of the organized church.

Jesus commissioned His followers saying that they were to “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone,”3 and again, Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”4 Thus, if we are not actively involved in fishing for lost souls, are we truly following Jesus?

Some years ago I prayed and in my prayer I said to God, “I hate witnessing and I’m quitting because I am too scared. However, God, if you want to use me, I’m available, but You’ll have to do it through me because I’m too afraid.”

A few hours after that, I was traveling on an airplane, sitting alone reading Hal Lindsay’s book, ‘The Late Great Planet Earth.’ At one point a fellow passenger got out of his seat, sat down in the empty seat beside me and, after introducing himself, asked me about the book I was reading.

I told him it was a book about the return of Christ to earth coming for all His true followers. He asked, “Do you believe that Christ will return to earth?”

When I told him I did, he said, “Will you please tell me all about it?”

Now I love to witness like that and it all happened because I admitted to God that I was afraid to witness, but that I was available for God to use me to share the gospel message with others—and I’ve been sharing the gospel with mega thousands of people ever since, primarily through the printed page, e-Mail and the Internet.

After all these many years I still pray the following prayer every morning and plan to keep doing so for the rest of my life. I encourage you to do the same:

“Dear God I am available again today. Please make me usable and use me to be an effective witness for Jesus today, and please help me to be ‘as Jesus’ in some way to every life I touch. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

NOTE: for practical tips, helps and tools to easily keep on sowing the seed of the gospel and be an effective witness for Jesus go to: https://learning.actsweb.org/people_power02.php

1. Ecclesiastes 12: 4, 6 (TLB).

2. Acts 1:8 (NIV).

3. Mark 16:15 (NLT).

4. Matthew 4:19 (NKJV).

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Overcoming Alcoholism

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“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”1

June (name changed), A Daily Encounter reader, writes, “My daughter has been suffering from mental illness (schizophrenia) since she was 20. She has been on medication for 7 years. Because of her illness I took to drinking so I could get to sleep at night. Now I’m addicted to alcohol and can’t break the habit. I’ve been trying for two years to overcome but to no avail. Can you please help?”

Unfortunately this anguished mother is not alone. In a survey report from George Barna: “One out of every eight (12%) noted that they are ‘dealing with an addiction’ that personally haunts them.”2

Following is what I suggested to June: Giving up any addiction is never easy and you need to realize that you can’t overcome this kind of struggle in your own strength or by going it alone. We’re not meant to do this. The Bible teaches us to “bear one another’s burdens.” This is why you need the support of understanding “fellow strugglers” such as those in an AA (Alcohol Anonymous) support group—as well as God’s help.

Oftentimes, too, there is a deeper hidden cause behind addictions. So I suggest that you ask God if there is a deeper cause that he will reveal this to you. Also ask God to lead you to the help you need to resolve this cause as well as overcome your addiction.

I also urge you to join an AA twelve-step support group as this can be a vital part of your recovery. For Alcoholic Anonymous (and other addictive) Groups your pastor, doctor or the social services in your area should be able to tell you how to find and contact a local AA group. Or you can get information from the AA web site at http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/. For additional counseling resources go to: https://learning.actsweb.org/counseling_resources.php

Whatever you do, don’t try to go it alone. We all need understanding and support at times like this. You have taken the first step by saying, “I have a problem—I need help.” The second step (if you haven’t already done this) is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior* so you can be honest with God and pray for his help. The third step is to join an AA twelve-step support group. The Fourth step is to find and join a loving, understanding and accepting church that has support groups for struggling members. And, if necessary, the fifth step may be to seek the help of a qualified, well-trained professional counselor.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, whatever problem I have, please give me the courage to admit that I have this problem (name it) and that I need help. And please lead me to the help I need to overcome so my life will bring glory to Your name. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

*NOTE. To accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and be sure you are a real Christian go to: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9.

1. Galatians 6:2 (NKJV).

2. Barna Research Group, http://tinyurl.com/j3p5f.

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When Your Prayers Don’t Get Answered

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“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”1

A Daily Encounter subscriber writes: “Devotions like this instill hope that God is, yet being the doubting Thomas that I am, I struggle with doubts. I see many things going wrong in my life but my prayers never seem to be answered. I feel that they fall on deaf ears, and I have come to the conclusion that if the power of prayer was effective today, there would be less death, sickness and turmoil. I struggle with it all.”

Dear James, thank you for sharing your struggles regarding prayer. I agree with you in that sometimes it can be difficult to understand why prayers for some people get answered, while for others they never seem to be answered.

The fact is that sometimes God answers, “Yes” to our requests. Sometimes he answers, “No,” and sometimes it’s, “Wait a while.” Other times our prayers don’t get answered because we are praying the wrong prayer. As today’s Scripture reminds us, sometimes we pray with the wrong motives.

Furthermore, some prayers don’t get answered because we may be focusing on the symptoms of our problems, rather than facing and dealing with the deeper cause or causes. For instance, there’s no point in praying for healing from ulcers if they are caused by an overload of stress caused by unresolved personal problems. Also, no point in praying for deliverance from alcoholism unless we face and deal with the deeper cause or causes. In most of these cases the ulcers and the alcoholism are symptoms of deeper problems—often in the subconscious mind.

When praying about any problem or situation, to ensure that our prayers will be heard and answered by God, we need, first of all, to pray in Jesus’ name, as it is only through him that we can come to God. Jesus Said, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”3

Second, we also need to pray “in truth.” God’s Word says that “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”2 That is, we need to be ruthlessly honest, first with ourselves, and then with God asking him to confront us with the truth of what we may be contributing to the symptoms we are struggling with; to give us the courage to face and deal with any deeper cause/s; and to lead us to find the help we need to resolve the cause/s.

Third, we need to pray believing. Faith, too, is essential for effective prayer. As Jesus said, “All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive,”4 and “according to your faith will it be done to you.”5

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank You for the wonderful privilege You have given to all mankind in that we can always come to You in prayer through Jesus Christ Your Son and our Lord. Please help me to always pray ‘in truth’ and always be honest with myself and with You, pray with pure motives, and always pray in harmony with Your Word and Your will, so that I will be sure that You will hear and answer my prayers. Thank You for hearing and answering this prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

NOTE: For further help see the article, “How to Get Prayer Answered.” It’s at: http://tinyurl.com/positive-praying. please take time to read it. I trust it will be of help.

1. James 4:3 (NKJV)

2. Psalm 145:18 (NIV).

3. John 14:13-15 (NIV).

4. Matthew 21:22 (NIV).

5. Matthew 9:29 (NIV).

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Love

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“There are three things that remain—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”1

Many years ago, when I was a youth, I read the following poem that I have never forgotten. It was written by John Oxenham:

Love ever gives, forgives outlives,
And ever stands with open hands,
And while it lives, it gives.
For this is love’s prerogative–
to give, and give, and give.

As the Apostle Paul wrote in perhaps the greatest literary masterpiece on love ever written: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”2

Love is much more than sentiment and even a feeling. It’s a commitment of one imperfect person to another. It’s a choice. It’s a byproduct of growth and maturity. It is a gift from God. It also needs to be learned. We learn it from loving people who know us totally—warts and all—and still love us. And we learn it from others who model it, the supreme example being the Lord Jesus.

And remember, we always need to do the loving thing—even when we don’t feel loving.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in the words of John Powell, ‘Please don’t let me die without having fully lived and fully loved.’ Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Paul the Apostle (1 Corinthians 13:13, TLB).

2. 1 Corinthians13:1-3 (NIV).

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Life’s Little Things

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“Be kind to each other.”1

Chances are you’ve been bitten by a mosquito, an ant, a gnat, a bee or a wasp, but have you ever been bitten by a lion or an elephant? Not too likely.

The point is that it’s usually the little things in life that get under our skin and upset our apple cart more often than the biggies.

It’s also the little things that make a big difference to the quality of our life. A simple thank you, a kindly word, a word of encouragement, a telephone call, a note, an email, a greeting card, a smile, a word of appreciation, a flower, and so on. As another put it: “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.”

Why not determine to do something kind every day for someone, and especially for your loved ones as well as to friends and work mates. As someone else said, “When we deserve love the least is when we need it the most!”

Do it today!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to always remember the important little things in life and give such gifts every day, not only to my loved ones and friends, but also to those who cross my path who need it—including those whom I don’t especially like. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Paul, the Apostle (Ephesians 4:32).

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Faith Without Works

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“Choose you this day whom you will serve.”1

“We’re all self-made,” said one self-made philosopher, “but only the rich will admit it.”

The fact is life is a series of choices. I am where and who I am today and doing what I want to do because of choices I made many years ago. Furthermore, who I am and what I do tomorrow will be largely affected by choices I make today. To do nothing is also a choice even if it is made unconsciously.

As Brian Tracy puts it, “It’s choice, not chance, that determines our destiny.”

For example, I may have been victimized in the past but if I remain a victim that is my choice and in so doing I become a willing volunteer. No matter what my background was or what happened to me in the past, I am now fully responsible for what I do about it and for what I become.

With God’s help and the support of loving friends and, if needed, the help of a well-trained counselor, I can become the person God wants me to be and fulfill the purpose he has for my life. It’s up to me, however, to find out what that purpose is and do my part in fulfilling it.

It boils down to choice. As Joshua said to the ancient Israelites, “Choose you this day whom you will serve … As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” And he did for the rest of his life.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to discover Your purpose for my life and accept full responsibility for becoming the person You want me to be and for doing what You have planned for me to do. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Joshua 24:15.

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When the Heart Is Breaking

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“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”1

E. Kittredge wrote, “‘I am trying to trust,’ said one who had heard the earth falling on the casket which held the cold form of the dearest human friend, ‘I am trying to trust,’ and so I have seen a bird with a broken wing trying to fly. When the heart is broken, all our trying will only increase our pain and unrest. But if, instead of trying to trust, we will press closer to the Comforter, and lean our weak heads upon his sufficient grace, the trust will come without our trying, and the promised ‘perfect peace’ will calm every troubled wave of sorrow.”

Unfortunately, resolving grief is not quite this simple. Learning to resolve grief and trust God is not an event—it is a process, a process that takes time. To feel deserted by one whom we love leaves us destitute. We can be angry at God for taking our loved one and even angry at the one who left us. Whether we should or shouldn’t feel this way is beside the point. We feel what we feel. That’s the reality and these feelings need to be expressed in healthy ways to understanding friends who lovingly accept us and our feelings. Then there is the unrelenting grief that tears the heart apart. Tears—gut level tears—need to be sobbed out over and over until all the pain is dissipated. Again, this takes time. Tears are God’s gift to drain the pain of unrelenting grief. Until we resolve all these painful emotions, it can be very difficult for many, if not impossible, to feel God’s loving presence.

Also, at times of loss the support of loving friends is also critical. Certainly, one may need to withdraw for a brief season but not for too long. Loving support from friends is critical at this time … often for a long time.

Yes we need God but we also need people. One of the first things Jesus did at the commencement of his public ministry was to choose “twelve that they might be with him.”2 And one of Jesus’ hurts prior to his crucifixion was being abandoned by his disciples. If Jesus needed loving relationships, how much more do we?

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be a loving and supporting friend with whom grieving people feel safe to unburden the pain of their broken heart. And deliver me from the curse to give advice when all that is needed is a loving heart and a listening and understanding ear. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Psalm 34:18 (NIV).

2. Mark 3:14.

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Born to Fly

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“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”1

Today’s Daily Encounter is from the book, Broken Chains, by Doug Batchelor.

A naturalist visiting a farm one day was surprised to see a beautiful eagle in the farmer’s chicken coop. Befuddled, he asked, “Why in the world is that eagle living with chickens?”

“Well,” answered the farmer, “I found an abandoned eagle’s egg one day and laid it in the coop, and a chicken adopted it and raised the creature after it hatched. It doesn’t know any better; it thinks it’s a chicken.” The eagle was even pecking at grain and strutting awkwardly in circles.

“Doesn’t it ever try to fly out of there?” asked the naturalist, noticing that the bird never lifted its gaze. “No,” said the farmer, “I doubt it even knows what it means to fly.”

The naturalist asked to take the eagle a few days for experiments, and the farmer agreed. The scientist placed the eagle on a fence and pushed it off, bellowing, “Fly!” But the bird just fell to the ground and started pecking. He then climbed to the top of a hayloft and did the same thing, but the frightened bird just shrieked and fluttered ungraciously to the barnyard, where it resumed its strutting.

Finally, the naturalist took the docile bird away from the environment to which it had grown accustomed, driving to the highest butte in the county. After a lengthy and sweaty climb to the hillcrest with the bird tucked under his arm, he peered over the edge and then spoke gently: “You were born to soar. It is better that you die here today on the rocks below than live the rest of your life being a chicken. It’s not what you are.”

Then, with its keen eyesight, the confused bird spotted another eagle soaring on the currents high above the bluff, and a yearning was kindled within it. The naturalist threw the majestic beast up and over the edge, crying out, “Fly! Fly! Fly!”

The eagle began to tumble toward the rocks below, but then it opened its seven-foot span of wings and, with a mighty screech, instinctively began to flap them. Soon it was gliding gracefully, climbing in ever-higher spirals on unseen thermals into the blue sky. Eventually, the mighty eagle disappeared into the glare of the morning sun. The bird had become what it was born to be.2

Have you discovered your God-given purpose and potential—and have become or are becoming all that you were born to be?

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to discover my God-given life purpose and potential and become all that You have envisioned for me to be and do. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

Note: Be sure to check You Can’t Fly With a Broken Wing at www.actscom.com/store.

1. Isaiah 40:31 (NIV).

2. Doug Batchelor, Broken Chains, Pacific Press, 2004. Cited in WITandWISDOM, Richard Wimer. http://www.witandwisdom.org/.

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Evolution or Intelligent Design

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“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.“1

Chuck Colson in BreakPoint talked about evolution scientists who “came up with the ‘million monkeys’ theory to show that Shakespeare’s genius was nothing special, that his works could have come about purely by chance. And, the theory goes, ‘If monkeys could knock out a Shakespearean tragedy given enough time, then what about creating Shakespeare himself? Couldn’t he be almost as easily explained on Darwinian grounds?’

“But do you know what happened when scientists tried to test their theory? Obviously, they couldn’t test it for a million years, but they thought they could get some idea about the truth of the theory by testing it for a month. The monkeys pressed some random letters on the keyboard, bashed the computer with stones, and—to put it as delicately as possible—used it as a toilet. ‘Suffice it to say,’ the authors remark dryly, ‘their literary efforts fall a good deal short of the Bard’2 [goal].

“It’s difficult to see how extending this farce for a million years would have made any difference at all. In fact, a scientist at MIT used a computer simulation to prove that it could not have happened.”3

It seems to me that it takes a whole lot more “faith” to believe in evolution than it does to believe in intelligent design and a divine Creator.

Everybody believes in something—and what we believe in is a choice. Choose wisely for what you choose will determine your eternal destiny. Eternity is forever and that is an awful long time.

For help on choosing to believe in God and accept his way, go to: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please open the eyes of my understanding so that I will see the truth about life, about You, and about my eternal destiny with or without You. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Psalm 19:1 (NIV).

2. Benjamin Wiker and Jonathan Witt, A Meaningful World.
3. Chuck Colson, “What Has Darwin to Do with Shakespeare?” BreakPoint, October 12, 2006. http://www.breakpoint.org/.

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