All posts by 5Q

Where’s the Scent?

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“The Lord disciplines those he loves … for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”1

Earl Nightingale told how on one National Secretaries Day he gave his secretary flowers and she remarked how beautiful they were. She also said that she couldn’t understand why they didn’t have any scent.

He informed her that the flowers came from a hothouse and explained that because flowers raised in this type of environment have everything done for them, they don’t have to attract insects to pollinate them. As a result, they lose their scent. In the same way fruit raised in a hothouse, because it doesn’t need to attract insects to scatter its seeds, doesn’t taste as good as fruit grown in its natural environment.

It’s similar to the child who wanted to help a butterfly out of its cocoon by putting a slit in it and, in so doing caused it to die. He didn’t realize that the struggle to get out of the cocoon is needed to strengthen the butterfly’s wings, which enables it to fly.

When people do too much for us or overprotect us, especially in our early developmental years, they can do serious harm to us. And even in adulthood it’s the problems and difficulties we have that strengthen us, build out character, and teach us wisdom, understanding, and compassion—if we let them—and enable us to “fly.” This is why God disciplines those whom he loves by allowing us to go through difficult times. The same principle applies to us if and when we want the government to do for us that which we are capable of doing for ourselves.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to yield to your discipline and to see in all the struggles of life that you are wanting me to ‘grow in faith and love and every grace, more of your salvation know and seek more earnestly your face.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Note: for further help read, “Lessons from Suffering” at: http://tinyurl.com/exuyw.

1. Hebrews 12:6, 10, 11 (NIV).

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You, too, Can Be Successful

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

“David Levenson has written a book titled, The Seasons of a Man’s Life. In examination of the factors that contribute to the development, growth, and success of people, he discovered three primary factors that seem to be essential to success. The first is a great vision; a driving dream that moves and motivates you to do something with your life. Those who give themselves to the fulfillment of something worthwhile experience a great sense of accomplishment.

“The second thing common to the successful people he studied was that they had each found a teacher who could instruct and help them along the way. Not only do we need a vision, we need some folks who have had visions before us, who can walk beside us and point the way.

“There was another commonality among these successful people. They each had a deeply personal and significant relationship with at least one other person, someone who would support them in accomplishing their dreams. These were the folks who would walk with them through the difficult times, even when it seemed as though the dream would never come true. In short, they had a friend.”2

We don’t have to be famous to be successful … all we need is a vision, a good teacher, and a faithful, supporting friend. To this I would add that our vision needs to be in harmony with and a vital part of our God-given life purpose.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to know what my God-given life purpose is and a realistic goal to work towards fulfilling that purpose. Give me a clear vision of what you want me to be and do, a good teacher to show me how to do it, and at least one trusted and faithful friend to support and encourage me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: For further help read, “You, too, Can Be a Winner” at: http://tinyurl.com/true-winner.

1. Proverbs 29:18 (KJV).

2. Cited on www.sermons.com.

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Is Hate Ever Acceptable?

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“Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion.“1

So what are the six-plus-one things that God hates?
eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family.2

The fact is that God hates all evil because it is diametrically opposed to his nature which is perfect holiness. Another reason God hates evil is because it is destructive to those whom God loves: us!

Furthermore, we too are to hate evil; that is, the actions of evil people. As God’s Word instructs his people, “Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts.”3 In other words we are to love the things God loves and hate the things God hates—naturally, for the right, not selfish motives. What is more, if God didn’t hate evil, he wouldn’t be God and he wouldn’t be good. And if you and I don’t hate evil, we can be sure that we don’t love righteousness.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to become more and more God-like in my daily living and hate all evil, and never be guilty of committing the seven things that you loathe and all other evil practices. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 6:16 (The Message).

2. Proverbs 6:17-19 (The Message).

3. Amos 5:15 (NIV).

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Divine Encounter

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Down the long, dusty road on their way from Jericho to Jerusalem, almost two thousand years ago, trod Jesus with His motley band of twelve disciples. Because of the long journey, they were hot, sweaty, and weary. But because Jesus was at the height of His popularity, a great crowd of people were following him. They were jabbering endlessly. Asking questions. Seeking favors.

“Hey, what’s all the noise?” blind Bartimaeus asked his friend as they sat by the highway begging. “It’s Jesus,” a passerby informed them.

“You mean Jesus of Nazareth, the fellow they claim can heal the sick and the blind?” Bartimaeus excitedly asked.

“That’s the One,” came the reply.

“I can’t believe it,” shouted Bartimaeus to his friend. “This just has to be my lucky day. I’ve got to get to Jesus. I know He can heal me.”

“Hey, Bart, there He is,” cried Bartimaeus’s friend, “but how will you ever get His attention?”

Seeking to drown out the noise of the crowd, Bartimaeus yelled at the top of his voice, “Jesus, have mercy on me! O Lord, son of David, have mercy on me!”

People tried to silence Bartimaeus but he became all the more determined to get to Jesus. He couldn’t see, but he sure could yell, and cried out all the louder. His voice rang out like a great clarion call, “Jesus, O Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! Jesus, O Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

And Jesus stood still.

And the crowd stood still

The winds and the waves couldn’t stop the Savior. Neither could angry mobs. Crowds of people couldn’t stop Him either. But the call of a lone, blind beggar did.

And Jesus with His great heart of compassion asked for Bartimaeus to be brought over to Him. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.

“Lord,” Bartimaeus nervously replied, “please give me my sight.”

And Jesus did. “Go your way,” he said, “your faith has made you whole.”

Immediately Bartimaeus could see and he followed Jesus along the way.1

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you always hear the cry of every person—rich or poor, young or old—who genuinely calls out to you for help. And thank you that you always hear and answer my prayers according to your will and not necessarily according to my wants. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Question: Have you ever “cried” out to Jesus for his gift of forgiveness and eternal life. If not, I encourage you to do that today. For help read “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. See Mark 10:46-52.

Note: Adapted from I Hate Witnessing by Dick Innes, Chapter Nine.

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How to Be Filled with God’s Holy Spirit, Part III

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Today we conclude the series on “How to Be Filled with God’s Holy Spirit” by sharing the final key and explaining how to maintain the filling of the Spirit. The first four keys were: 1. Present your life to Jesus Christ. 2. Obey God on every Issue. 3. Want sincerely to be filled. 4. Entreat God for His filling. We continue with the fifth key, R:

5. Receive the filling by faith. The Bible says, “By this he [Jesus] meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.“15 And again, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”16

If you adhere to God’s principles for the filling of the Holy Spirit—Present, Obey, Want, Entreat, and Receive— God will fill you with his Spirit regardless of how you feel. God’s Word doesn’t say that you will receive “good feelings” when you are filled with the Holy Spirit (although you may or may not) but that you will receive POWER. We need to take God at his Word, believe him, and act accordingly.

What is the evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit? The sure-fire evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit, according to God’s Word, is power—power to be an effective witness for Christ, power to serve Christ, power to live a life that is in harmony with God’s will, and power to bear the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.“17

Having a gift or gifts of the Spirit are not necessarily evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit because a person may have many gifts of the Spirit but be anything but filled with God’s Spirit.

How to maintain the filling of the Holy Spirit: The filling of the Spirit is not a once-for-all experience. It is a continual action and a daily need. The literal translation of the command to be filled with the Spirit18 is to “keep on being filled with the Spirit.” The disciples of Jesus were repeatedly filled with the Holy Spirit.19 Learn to continually abide in Christ who said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”20 We abide in Christ by spending time regularly with him in his Word and in prayer and by daily maintaining the five key steps.

A suggested prayer for the filling of the Holy Spirit: “Lord Jesus, I surrender my heart and life unconditionally to you. Please take complete control of my life, forgive me for every sin, and fill me with your Holy Spirit and power so that my life will always be lived for you and thereby glorify your name. Thank you for taking control of my life, forgiving me for all my sins, and filling me with your Holy Spirit as you have commanded and promised to all who obey you, ask for, and believe. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Remember P-O-W-E-R.

15. John 7:39 (NIV).

16. Mark 11:24 (NIV).

17. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV).

18. Ephesians 5:18 (NIV).

19. See Acts 2:4, 4:31, 9:17 and 13:9.

20. John 15:5 (NIV).

Adapted from the online article, “How to Be Filled with God’s Holy Spirit,” at: http://tinyurl.com/gods-spirit

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How to Be Filled with God’s Holy Spirit, Part II

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Yesterday we spoke of the need for being filled with God’s Holy Spirit in order to empower us for successful Christian living. The first key for how to be filled was “Present Your Life to Jesus Christ.” Today we mention four more keys and start with the second key.

2. Obey God on every issue. The second step to being filled with God’s Spirit is obedience; that is, obedience to every command and direction of God as found in his Word, the Bible. His Word says, “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given to those who obey him.”5

We need to realize that, like the laws of the land, all of God’s laws are for our benefit, protection and well-being. They are not to keep us bound in rigid, false-religion legalism. Thus it is imperative to search the Scriptures daily to learn what is essential for living in harmony with all that God’s Word teaches.

Realize, too, that disobedience to God’s laws is sin and this grieves the Holy Spirit which, in turn, breaks communion and fellowship with God.6 Thus all sin needs to be confessed and forgiveness received from God, which God always gives to those who confess their sins to him.7 Should you fall down, get up immediately, confess, ask God for forgiveness, and go on.8

3. Want sincerely to be filled. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst [strongly desire] for righteousness, for they will be filled.”9 This principle also applies to being filled with God’s Holy Spirit. As Jesus also stated, “‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.“10

And as Jesus said to the lame man lying by the pool of Bethesda who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years, “Do you want to get well?”11 He didn’t say, “Do you wish to get well?” He said, “Do you want to get well?” So we, too, to be filled with God’s Spirit need to want this with all of our heart and be willing to meet the requirements that God says are needed to be filled.

4. Entreat God for His filling. Entreat simply means to ask. Jesus said, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”12 And again, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.“13

We can ask God with confidence because we know that it is his will for every Christian to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In fact, God has commanded it saying, “… be filled with the Spirit.“14 Therefore “ask and you will receive.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me always to depend on your Holy Spirit for guidance and direction in my daily living, and to empower me to be an effective Christian witness. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

5. Acts 5:32 (NIV).

6. See Ephesians 4:30 and 1 Thessalonians 5:19.

7. 1 John 1:9.

8. See Proverbs 24:16.

9. Matthew 5:6.

10. John 7:37-39 (NIV).

11. John 5:6 (NIV).

12. Luke 11:13 (NIV).

13. 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV).

14. Ephesians 5:18 (NIV).

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How to Be Filled with God’s Holy Spirit, Part I

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On one occasion the late evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, holding up an empty drinking glass, asked one of his audiences: “Tell me, how can I get the air out of this glass?” One man said, “Suck it out with a pump.” Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass.” After many impossible suggestions, Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. “There,” he said, “all the air is now removed.” He then went on to show that victory in the Christian life is not by sucking out a sin here and there, but rather by being filled with the Spirit of God.1

As genuine Christians if we are to live a successful Christian life—one that empowers us to overcome sinful ways, gives us a sense of inner peace, and empowers us to live a fruitful life that glorifies God—it is essential that we are filled with God’s Holy Spirit.

In fact it is God’s will that every Christian “be filled with the Spirit,”2 the evidence of which is P-O-W-E-R. As Jesus said to his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy 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.”3 So the question is: How can we be filled with God’s Holy Spirit? Following are five key steps:

P – Present your life to Jesus Christ

O – Obey God on every issue

W – Want sincerely to be filled

E – Entreat or ask God to be filled

R – Receive the filling by faith

1. Present your life to Jesus Christ. To be filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit for fruitful and dynamic living, it is essential that we daily present, commit and trust our life to Jesus Christ in unconditional surrender—in deed and not just in word. The Bible says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”4

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit given to empower me to be an effective witness for you and to help me live a victorious and meaningful Christian life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Lee Tan, Paul, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, Assurance Publishers, Rockville, Maryland 20851, p. 555. © 1979 by Paul Lee Tan.

2. Ephesians 5:18 (NIV).

3. Acts 1:8 (NIV).

4. Romans 12:1-2 (NASB).

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Apathy: The Silent Killer Among Us

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“Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.“1

On one occasion when I was teaching a class I asked the question, “What would you say was the number one sin of people who claim to be Christians?”

One jokester from the back of the room shouted, “Apathy, but who cares?” He may very well have been correct because, as the old saying goes “many a true word is spoken in jest.”

Chuck Colson recently stated in Breakpoint, “Many Christians, once motivated by protecting the sanctity of life, religious freedom, and traditional marriage, seem inconsolable—as if the fight is over and there’s nothing we can do about it.”2

Embracing this attitude is a certain prescription for disaster.

Here in America, when the thirteen colonies were still a part of England, it is claimed that the Scottish writer, Professor Alexander Tyler,* wrote the following about the fall of the Athenian republic over two thousand years previous to that time:

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.”3

According to Chuck Colson, Don Reeverts of the Denver Leadership Foundation “thinks we [the U.S.A.] are entering the stage of apathy…. Apathy manifests itself in how people dress, how they talk, how they care for each other—and how concerned they are about the great issues of the day…. Apathy inevitably leads to dependency. And once we become dependent on Big Brother [the government], we are back in bondage. Can anybody really watch the dramatic growth of governmental power and not be alarmed? For the fact of the matter is that the more government acts as God, the less people depend on the one true God.”4

If ever there was a time when Christians need to stand up and be counted it is today. Like the frog in the kettle that, because of the deadening of its response, allows itself to slowly but surely be boiled to death, we too will allow our nation and ourselves to be overrun by those who are determined to destroy every vestige of Christianity in our nation. Little by little it is already happening.

However, at this time it has never been easier to stand up and be counted by actively communicating the message of God’s salvation and his Truth by a tactful use of the electronic media by forwarding suitable messages and websites to all of our contacts. For further helps please see the ACTS People Power for Jesus website at: www.actsweb.org/people_power.

Suggested prayer: Dear God, please open the eyes of my understanding so that I will clearly see what is happening in our ever increasing secularized and anti-God, anti-Christian world. Please give me the courage to be a living witness for you and do everything in my power to stand up and be counted and to communicate your saving gospel to as many people as I possibly can. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Revelation 3:3 (NIV).

2. Chuck Colson, Breakpoint, August 7, 2009. http://www.breakpoint.org/commentaries/12141-rejecting-apathy

3. Ibid.
*Note, there is doubt regarding the validity of the author of this quote. See http://www.lorencollins.net/tytler1.html

4. Ibid.

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Go Fish

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“And then he [Jesus] told them, ‘You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.’”1

From my youth up I have believed that people who have never accepted Jesus as their Savior and have had their sins forgiven by God, according to God’s Word, the Bible, will be lost and without hope for all eternity. Because of this belief I have done my best to do something about this calamity. Every year during my teenage years our small church had a week of “revival meetings,” the purpose of which was to reach our community with the gospel. But we didn’t spend any money on advertising to make these meetings known to the community. Furthermore, one of the pastor’s teenage sons and myself (also a teenager) were the only ones who would ever go house to house to invite our neighbors to attend our special meetings. One year I was the only one to do this.

So many Christians say that we are concerned about winning the lost to the Savior but, in reality, how many of us do anything about it? I agree with the Buddhist monk who said, “To know and not to do is not yet to know.” To translate this into our Christian terminology it could be stated this way: “To believe and not to act is not yet to believe because I only truly believe that which motivates me to action.”

According to Mickey Anders, “Someone suggested that we imagine this fishing club where the members merely sit around swapping fish stories about the big one they landed, the whopper that broke away, but they never stepped into a boat or cast their line in the water. What kind of a fishing club would it be whose members were content to admire the trophies on the wall, but never go out and actually go fishing?

“A lot of churches are like that. They sit around bragging about the days when their boat was full of fresh fish. They look nostalgically to the days when the main purpose of their church was to go fishing, to reach others for Christ. But they never actually go fishing; they merely talk about going fishing. That’s not what we’re [supposed to be] about as a church.”2

As Jesus said to his followers, “You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.”3

For a very simple and attractive way to actually do what Jesus told his followers to do, please go to the ACTS “People Power for Jesus” website at https://learning.actsweb.org/people_power/

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that when I go and tell others about you and your saving gospel message, you have promised to always be with me.4 I admit that I am afraid but I am available for you to use me to share the gospel with others and to be ‘as Jesus’ in some way to every life I touch. I cannot do this of myself so please fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to do this. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Mark 16:15 (TLB)(NLT).

2. Mickey Anders, “Go Fish.”

3. Mark 16:15 (NLT).

4. See Matthew 28:19-20.

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Planned Parenthood Disaster

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“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.“1

According to Chuck Colson in Breakpoint (August 3, 2009), “In the 1960s, the average South Korean woman gave birth to six children during her lifetime. Forty years later, South Korea has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world—slightly more than one child per woman.

“The sharp decline in fertility threatens the social harmony and ‘sustainable development of Korean society.’ Concern over the ‘national crisis of super-low fertility’ has prompted calls for political and cultural changes from unexpected quarters.“2

Korea’s low birthrate, unless arrested, will eventually threaten its survival as Japan’s low birthrate is currently doing to Japan.

If societies and nations recommend only one child per couple, they are recommending a program for national extinction.

South Korea has realized this. Recognizing the needs of Society, Choi Seon-jeong, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of Korea, and the Korean government—”after years of encouraging families to have only one child”—have done an about-face and are now promoting “child-bearing and child-rearing.”

As Colson points out, we don’t hear the American Planned Parenthood officials talk about the needs of society. Their concern is that of an individual woman’s right to choose—regardless of the ultimate consequences of society and the nation. Anything less than this is considered an attack on their freedom. This is just another tenet of our self-centered, me-first generation.

When we abandon our moral foundation and keep pushing God out of society, we also abandon personal responsibility and will reap the consequences. Tragically, the so called “politically correct” and self-centered people just don’t get it.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please deliver me from being a part of the self-centered, me-first generation and help me to become more and more like Jesus in every way and therein be a genuine example for my family, friends, and all the people in my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Galatians 6:7 (NKJV)

2. Breakpoint, August 3, 2009, http://www.breakpoint.org

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