All posts by 5Q

Promises … Promises

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“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”1 In other words, God always keeps his word and his promises.

As a school child I was taught the importance of keeping my word and my promises. “It is a mark of character,” my teacher emphasized. Unfortunately, the following story which I read some time ago, typifies far too many people in today’s “hang-loose” society and, pathetically, far too many business people.

According to the story, “There was a rich young man who became critically ill and was taken to the hospital. His condition worsened, and his doctor told him that he wasn’t sure if he’d recover, but that they would do all they could for him. The man was terrified and said to the doctor, ‘Please, doctor, do everything you can, I don’t want to die, I have so much to do yet in life, and if you can help me get better, I’ll even donate $10,000 to the fund for the new hospital.’ The young man happily began to improve and recovered, and a few weeks later was released and went home.

“Several months later he ran into the doctor who asked him how he was doing. The young man said, ‘Doc, I haven’t felt better any time in my life.’ The doctor said, ‘that’s great because I wanted to ask you about the money you said you would donate to the new hospital fund. You remember you said if you got well, you’d like to donate $10,000. We could really use that now.’ The young man said, ‘Man, if I said that, I must have been really sick.’”2

Keeping one’s word and his/her promises is indeed a mark of character. May it be said of you and me, “He is a man of his word,” and/or “If she says she’ll do it, you can count on her to do it.” And what about our promises to God? May we always keep them.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that I can always depend on your word, knowing that you always keep your promises. Help me to be a person of my word and always keep my promises. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Isaiah 55:11 (NIV).

2. Author and source unknown.

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Pornography and Sexual Addiction

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“When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he said unto him, Would you be made whole?”1

Another Daily Encounter reader asks for help saying, “I have a problem with pornography and masturbation. I am 24 years old, and ever since I was in my early teens I have not been able to shake my addiction to these habits. I have resolved many times to put an end to these habits, but each time I find myself returning and am unable to control myself. I feel so guilty about praying because I will have to ask for forgiveness over something for which I have asked forgiveness before. But I can’t help myself when I start wanting these things. Pornography has taken over my life.”

Dear Henry (not his real name), regarding being addicted to pornography and masturbation. By admitting that you are addicted to these behaviors, you have taken the first step in your recovery.

Sometimes external acts of sin (such as what you are struggling with) are the fruit of a deeper root. If this is so, when we are hiding this deeper sin or fault, we tend to confess a lesser sin all the more vigorously. You indicated that you came from a very dysfunctional family background so your addiction could easily have its roots in your not ever feeling loved as a child. As a result your addictive behaviors are used to anesthetize the pain caused by this deeper painful root.

So first of all, pray and ask God to show you if your addiction is the fruit of a deeper unresolved problem or unmet need in your life, and to reveal to you what that issue is.

Second, to overcome your addiction it is important that you get into a sexual addiction or similar support group to help you stop acting out through pornography and masturbation so you can confront and resolve the pain that is the root cause of your addiction.

Third, pray and ask God to lead you to the help you need to overcome. Most of us are not able to resolve these issues alone. If necessary, seek capable Christian professional counseling to help you resolve these issues because, if you don’t overcome the pornography, it could readily destroy your relationships, especially within a marriage. Addictive masturbation can do the same.

Remember, too, that God doesn’t expect us to become perfect, as that is impossible as long as we live in this broken sinful world. God’s goal is not to make us good either. It is to make us whole; for only to the degree that we are made whole will our lifestyle, our actions, our behaviors, our attitudes and our relationships be wholesome. So always pray that God will help you to become whole and to lead you to all the help you need to be made whole.

For those whose struggle may not be with this issue, remember that any habit we consistently use to avoid facing our inner, hidden pain is also an addiction—such as being a workaholic, a shopaholic, a TV-aholic, a chocoholic, food-aholic, a religious-aholic, an intellectual-aholic . . . and any of a score of other addictive behaviors.

Suggested prayer: “In the words of the hymn writer, ‘Search me, O God and know my heart today / Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray / See if there be some wicked way in me / Cleanse me from every sin and set me free.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John 5:6 (ASV)(NIV).

NOTE: For suggested “Resources in Counseling” visit http://tinyurl.com/counseling-resources.

Also, see the article, “Masturbation: Is it a Sin?” at: http://tinyurl.com/naqhru.

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Imagine There Is a Heaven

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You may recall that, On March 4, 1966, the following quote of John Lennon of Beatles fame was printed in an interview by reporter Maureen Cleave in the London Evening Standard:

“Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue with that; I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first—rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.”

This caused quite an uproar but I wonder if, at that time, The Beatles across the UK society might have been more popular than Jesus. And just how popular is Jesus today in the UK? I don’t know but the way so many people in the U.S. today want to get Jesus out of the public arena, do they perhaps believe that they or the leaders they put their trust in are more popular than Jesus? And do they agree with John Lennon’s song, “Imagine” which said:

Imagine there’s no Heaven

It’s easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today.

Imagine there’s no countries

It isn’t hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace.

The tragedy is that John Lennon was murdered in December of 1980 and at some point, if not already, will discover that there is both a heaven and a hell and will know in which one he is—or in which one he is not!

It doesn’t matter if The Beatles were more popular than Jesus to some or many in their heyday. Jesus remains forever and will always have the last say for both time and eternity. Furthermore, when here on earth Jesus promised that he would come again and take all his true believers to be with him in Heaven forever.

Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house [Heaven] are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”1

Men will come and go. False Christs and false prophets will come and go, even heaven and earth as we now know them will pass away, but the Word of God—including God’s promises—will remain forever.2

Please read the article, “What If There Is a Heaven?” online at: http://tinyurl.com/8jcepz and whatever you do, make sure you have your “Passport for Heaven” before leaving earth. It’s totally without charge. You can see how to get it at: http://tinyurl.com/passport-heaven.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for your promise that you are preparing a place in heaven for all your true followers. Please help me to be sure that I am ready for heaven should you come today or when I pass from this life—whichever should come first. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

For further help see the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian

1. John 14:1-3 (NIV).

2. See Matthew 24:35.

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God: Our Refuge and Strength

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“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”1 “For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”2

The online video, “The Cougar vs. Bear,” a film by Jean-Jacques Annaud, is a powerful and moving illustration of how God knows when his children are in need and is an ever-present help in time of trouble … and of how God takes care of his children when we daily commit and trust our life to him.

To watch this video on your computer go to: http://www.flixxy.com/bear-animal-nature-film.htm or www.flixxy.com/game-of-survival.htm.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you always hear the cry of your children, and are always an ‘ever-present help in trouble.’ Again today I commit and trust my life and way to you. Please help me never to stray from you and thereby distance myself from your help and protection when needed. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV).
2. Psalm 61:3-4 (NIV).

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Remember

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“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”1

I have read how, when Henry Ford purchased a large insurance policy, a longtime friend who had been an insurance agent for many years, was upset with Ford for not purchasing the policy from him and wanted to know why. To which Ford replied, “You never asked me.”

I wonder how many loved ones, friends, and contacts you and I have to whom we have never shared or sent the message of God’s love and eternal salvation. I had one friend a few years ago with whom I planned to send a copy of a gospel message. Sadly, before I got around to it, I received a notice to let me know that he had passed away.

I am reminded of the anonymous poem, “Remember.”

Remember the day I borrowed your brand
new car and I dented it?
I thought you’d kill me, but you didn’t.
And remember the time I dragged you to the
beach and you said it would rain, and it did?
I thought you’d say, “I told you so.” But you didn’t.
Do you remember the time I flirted with all the
guys to make you jealous, and you were?
I thought you’d leave me, but you didn’t.
Do you remember the time I spilled strawberry
pie all over your car rug?
I thought you’d hit me, but you didn’t.
And remember the time I forgot to tell you the
dance was formal and you showed up in Jeans?
I thought you’d drop me, but you didn’t.
Yes, there were lots of things you didn’t do.
But you put up with me, and you loved me,
and you protected me.
There were lots of things I wanted to make up to
you when you returned from Vietnam.
But you didn’t.

Dear reader, is there someone with whom you need to share the gospel message and have been putting it off? Remember, today is the only day we ever have. For an extremely simple and non-offensive way to reach family, friends and contacts with the gospel go to: https://learning.actsweb.org/people_power02.php.

Furthermore, if you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior, be sure to do this today as this is also a day of opportunity for you. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”1 For help, be sure to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian,” go to: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to see that life is full of opportunities—opportunities to reach out to share your love and the gospel with others. Help me always to be ready and use these opportunities to glorify you. And above all, help me to be sure of my salvation and not end my life eternally lost without hope. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NKJV).

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I Did It! I Did It!

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“Casting all your care upon Him [God], for He cares for you.”1

One Sunday our pastor told us about an experience author Max Lucado had on a family outing. Their goal was to visit and reach the top of a snow-capped mountain. They were able to drive most of the way in their SUVs, but for the last mile they had to hike on foot. As soon as they were out of their vehicles and standing in snow, Lucado’s youngest daughter, about three or four, said to her father, “Pick me up. Pick me up.” As the going was tough, other family members took turns carrying the child.

As soon as they reached the top and put the child down, excitedly she exclaimed, “I did it! I did it!”

For those of us who are followers of Jesus, do we regularly consider all that God has done for us—how he has saved some of us from a life of debauchery, defeat, and despair … how he has carried us through the storms of life, protected us from evil, and delivered us from many temptations? Or do we, like the little child, pat ourselves on the back for our goodness, take pride in our self-righteousness, and say at least within our heart, “I did it! I did it!”

Or, like the hymn writer do we constantly say from our heart, “To God be the glory, great things he has done?”

This one thing I know, but for the grace of God I wouldn’t be where I am today. I tremble to think where and how I would have ended up. It certainly wouldn’t be where I am today.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, how do I appreciate ‘thee’? Let me count the ways. Endless they would be. How I thank you for saving me, for delivering me, for keeping me, for forgiving me, for inviting me to be a part of your family, for making me the person I am today and, above all, for dying for me and giving me the gift of eternal life. Help me to live a life that is a thanksgiving offering to you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV).

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People Vs Program-Centered

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“So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.”1

I once asked a class I was teaching what, in their opinion, was the number one weakness in today’s church. One humorist answered, “Apathy, but who cares?”

If I were asked this question, I’d say that in many instances we have become program centered rather than people centered. Some are even too Bible or too doctrinally centered. Now, before you write me off as a heretic, let me explain what I mean.

True, in our relationship to God we need to be Christ-centered. In our doctrinal teaching and manner of living we need to be Bible centered, but when ministering to people we need to be people-centered—whether it’s from the pulpit or among we lay people in our one-on-one relationships to others.

The majority of religious leaders in Jesus’ day were doctrine centered. That is, they loved their doctrinal teachings more than they loved people—and used their teachings to control and condemn people. Some religious leaders still do this today. Other leaders love their programs and use people to support and work their programs. Not good. Instead of loving people and using programs, they love programs and use people.

In ministry Jesus was never program-centered, but rather, was always people centered. That is, he started with people’s needs and applied his message and what he did to meet those needs.

To Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector, the little fellow who climbed a tree to get a good look at Jesus when he came to town. Jesus, sensing his need for acceptance, didn’t preach at him or quote Bible verses to him. He simply said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” Upon entering his home, Zacchaeus began confessing his sins. Amazing. When Jesus met his presenting need for acceptance which was a social and emotional need, Zacchaeus then became aware of his deeper spiritual need. To the blind man, and other needy people, Jesus’ basic question was, “What do you want me to do for you?”

If our churches and you and I are to be as Christ to others, whether we are leaders, teachers, or lay persons, we, too, need to be aware of people’s presenting needs and seek, in Christ’s name, to minister to those needs. Little point in preaching the gospel to homeless, hungry people without trying to first feed them and find them shelter. Thank God for the missions who are seeking to do this. Furthermore, there’s little point of telling hurting, lonely, disappointed people, that God loves them if we do little or nothing to help meet their present need. True, there is a need to tell the gospel, but before we tell it, we need to live it and demonstrate it in what we do much more than in what we say.

At that point, though not discernable, when we change from being people centered to becoming program centered, we begin to lose our effectiveness and begin to die.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be understanding and Christ-like in reaching out to others and seek to minister to their presenting need. Help me to love people and use programs to meet their needs, and never use people to promote my personal programs to meet my needs. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Luke 19:4-6 (NIV).

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Only Sinners Can Relate

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“Get into the habit of admitting your sins to one another; so that you can pray for one another so that you may be healed.”1

Em Griffin, in his book, The Mind Changers, says about today’s Scripture: “This is the most ignored bit of advice I know of in Scripture, probably because we’re afraid that people won’t like us or trust us when they see how crummy we really are. But the reverse is true. They’ve got the same sin problem. As we openly reveal our innermost struggles, the plastic masks we wear begin to slip. Human warmth escapes and people begin to respond in trust.”

As Richard Halverson, former chaplain of the U.S. Senate, said, “Only sinners can relate.

“Sinners enjoy authentic fellowship. Saints don’t!

“People who pose as saints aren’t liberated to remove their masks.

“Under pressure to project conventional piety, they are unable to open up and share themselves.

“Upholding the traditional religious image, they remain invulnerable in human relationships because they dare not expose their real selves.

“They major in propositions rather than persons . . . share their victories but never their failures . . . congratulate one another in their little mutual admiration society.

“Meeting head to head instead of heart to heart, protecting themselves against discovery, they ricochet against each other like marbles.

“The authentic saint is oblivious to his sainthood, deeply aware of his unworthiness, sensitive to his failure, confesses he is a sinner, which makes possible true fellowship.

“Sinners acknowledge their inadequacy, lean heavy on God’s grace, and identify quickly with need in others.

“Recognizing all men are sinners, unwilling to hide from the truth, they share their weaknesses, confess their sin to one another, and do not fear vulnerability.

“They come together like crushed grapes, crushed and fragrant, dependent upon each other and God.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to be open and honest with at least one trusted friend with whom I feel safe to confess my, faults and failures, so that I can experience true connection and fellowship, and be healed as your Word promises. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

*NOTE: Today’s Daily Encounter is taken from I Hate Witnessing—A Handbook for Effective Christian Communications, by Dick Innes, pp. 63-64 (2003 edition). Available at: www.actscom.com/store.

1. James 5:16 (Phillips and NIV).

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Weep With Those Who Weep

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“When Jesus saw her [Mary] weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ‘Where have you laid him [Lazarus]?’ he asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him.’”1

Chuck Swindoll in his book Killing Giants, Pulling Thorns, tells about “a little girl who lost a playmate in death and one day reported to her family that she had gone to comfort the sorrowing mother.

“‘What did you say?” asked her father.

“‘Nothing,’ she replied. ‘I just climbed up on her lap and cried with her.’”

What did Jesus do when his friend Lazarus died? He wept.

Rare is the friend who knows how to weep with those who weep.

Also, know when to be silent. In the same book, Chuck tells about Joe Bayly, who lost three of his children. He quotes from Joe’s book, The view from a Hearse. Joe writes: “I was sitting, torn by grief. Someone came and talked to me of God’s dealings, of why it happened, of hope beyond the grave. He talked constantly. He said things I knew were true. I was unmoved, except to wish he’d go away. He finally did.

“Another came and sat beside me. He didn’t talk. He didn’t ask me leading questions. He just sat beside me for an hour or more, listened when I said something, answered briefly, prayed simply, left.

“I was moved. I was comforted. I hated to see him go.”*

This visitor and the little girl were being as Jesus to hurting people. May God help us all to be and do likewise.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me a tender and sensitive heart and help me to be as Jesus to hurting and sorrowing people. Help me to be silent when I need to be silent, speak kindly when a tender word is needed, and to weep with those who weep. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John 11:33-36 (NIV).

*NOTE: Today’s Daily Encounter is taken from I Hate Witnessing—A Handbook for Effective Christian Communications, by Dick Innes, pp. 82-83 (2010 edition). Available at: www.actscom.com/store.

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Selective Attention

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“Aware of their [the disciples] discussion, Jesus asked them: ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?’ ‘Twelve,’ they replied’”1

“Have you ever seen a baseball player argue with an umpire’s decision in an important situation even when it was obvious to everyone else that the call was correct? The player wants the call to go the other way so badly that he might actually have perceived it differently from that of the umpire. I remember one case where a player even swore to his teammates that a called third strike was a ball. Later, when he was shown a videotape of the pitch, which was right down the middle, he couldn’t believe it. He wanted it to be a ball so badly that he had actually perceived it to be a ball.”

One’s mind is like his eye. The moment a foreign object threatens to intrude, the eye closes. So does the mind. It will close to anything that threatens a person’s self-esteem, his personal life-style, his strongly held attitudes, values, and beliefs, and to anything that is not relevant to his felt or perceived needs and wants.

As communicators remind us, all of us have selective exposure, selective attention, selective comprehension or perception, selective distortion, and selective retention.

Selective exposure shows that people are only open to messages they want to receive.

Selective attention shows that people hear only what they want to hear.

Selective comprehension or perception shows that people will perceive things the way they want to see them.

Selective distortion shows how people change messages to match their self-concept or twist them to match their perception of reality.

Selective retention shows that people remember only what they want to remember.*

Everything else is filtered or blocked out. We are all capable of doing this. The fact is we see things not the way they are, but the way we are. However, the answer for seeing reality; that is, seeing the truth as it really is, is by our being ruthlessly honest with ourselves. The more dishonest I am with my inner self, the more I will distort all truth to make it match my distorted perception of reality and twist it to say what I want it to say. But the more honest I am with my inner self, the more I will see all truth—including God’s truth—the way it really is, and not as I may want it to appear. As Jesus reminds us, it’s the truth that liberates us.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please make me to be a man/woman of truth. Help me to be honest with myself and with you so that I will see all truth the way it is, and see things the way they are and not twist them to say what I want them to say. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Mark 8:17-19 (NIV).

*NOTE: Today’s Daily Encounter is adapted from I Hate Witnessing—A Handbook for Effective Christian Communications, by Dick Innes. See pages 136 following (2010 edition). Available at: www.actscom.com/store.

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