All posts by 5Q

El Camino Real — The King’s Highway

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“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.”‘”1

At the memorial service remembering the anniversary of the terrible abduction and murder of young Samantha Runnion, Bradley Scott, aged 4, had a question for Sheriff Mike Carona—the sheriff who was so emotionally involved in the capture of Samantha’s killer. Bradley asked the sheriff how he could go to heaven without dying.

“That’s an incredible question, pal,” Carona replied. “Sorry, I don’t have an answer.”2

I can vividly remember as a kid how I believed the way to heaven was by being good. I figured that if I did enough good things to outweigh the bad things I did, that would satisfy God and I would go to heaven.

Wrong. In today’s Scripture we read how John the Baptist was warning the people of ancient Israel that the long-promised Messiah (Jesus the Christ) was coming and to prepare El Camino Real (Spanish for the King’s highway or the Highway of the King) for him. This was all about Jesus’ first coming to die for our sins and that only through accepting him as our Savior and receiving his forgiveness could we get to heaven.

Today we, too, need to prepare El Camino Real for Jesus Christ’s second coming to earth. Jesus himself promised his disciples and followers that if he went away (back to Heaven), which he did, that he would return for all his true followers. One of these days, the heavenly trumpet will sound announcing the climax of mankind’s history with the coming again of Jesus, the Messiah, to take all his true followers to be with him in Heaven forever and ever.

I trust, dear reader, that you are safely on the heavenly Camino Real—the King’s Highway—knowing without a shadow of doubt that when Jesus comes, you will not be left behind, but on your way to Heaven to be with God for all eternity. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”3

Note: To be sure you are on the King’s Highway read “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: https://learning.actsweb.org/christian.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have provided the Camino Real as mankind’s only way to Heaven which is via the cross of Jesus who died to save me from my sins. Help me to know without a shadow of doubt that I have accepted Jesus as my Savior and am safely on the Highway of the King, bound for Heaven. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 3:2-3 (NKJV).
2. The Orange Country Register, July 16, 2003, p. Local 2.
3. John 14:6 (NIV).

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Does God Heal People Today?

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“Therefore confess your sins [and faults] to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”1

When it comes to divine healing, there is never a shortage of quacks. There are faith-healers and there are fake-healers. And when it comes to some TV so-called evangelists, I sometimes wonder which ones are in the majority.

Among us ordinary people some claim that God still heals today. Others aren’t sure. Some agree that God can heal but they don’t believe he will heal them. Others say that if it’s God’s will, or if we have enough faith, God will heal us. And some say we are as sick as we choose to be. Personally, I like the saying I heard the other day: “Christians shouldn’t be any sicker than they ought to be.”

Regarding faith, as Jesus pointed out, we only need faith the size of a mustard seed to receive God’s blessings. Furthermore, if I understand it correctly, the faith of the faith-healer is just as necessary (perhaps even more so) as that of the one being prayed for. With fake-healers when a person they pray for (often prey on) isn’t healed, they pass the blame onto the sick person telling them they just didn’t have enough faith. Yeah, right!

What James is saying is tremendously important in that to be healed of many ills, we need to first confess our sins and faults. What the Bible taught 3,000 years ago and what modern medical science has confirmed is that “A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.”2

When we fail to resolve past hurts, bitterness, guilt, anger, hostility, a critical spirit and so on, and bury, repress, and deny these negative emotions, we never bury them dead but very much alive. Either we confront and resolve these issues in a creative way or they will express themselves in a destructive way. This can be through any or all of the following ways: (1) emotionally in depression, anxiety, fears, stress, and/or through impaired relationships; (2) spiritually in our relationship to God, feeling that he is distant or we get angry at him; and/or (3) through a physical illness. Regarding the latter, what we often don’t realize is that many of our ills are either caused by or greatly aggravated by these super-charged repressed negative emotions.

To be healed we need to follow God’s instructions and confess and resolve all of our sins, our negative spirit, and all of our super-charged repressed negative emotions—the things that make us sick. As Peter said, “Get rid of all malicious behavior and deceit. Don’t just pretend to be good! Be done with hypocrisy and jealousy and backstabbing.”3 Repressing these harmful emotions does not get rid of them.

Some illnesses are simply because we live in a sinful, broken world and are all affected. Other ills may be allowed by God to help us grow. The Apostle Paul had some ailment that he prayed three times for God to heal. God didn’t. Through this, Paul learned the efficiency of God’s grace which helped him to live with his problem.

Jesus said to those who were infirm, “Do you want to be made well?” As I’ve said before, wishes don’t wash. We need to genuinely want to be made well and accept personal responsibility for doing our part in the healing process. God doesn’t go against his own laws. We either resolve our sins and issues or suffer the natural consequences.

Speaking personally, in my youth I was taught that Christians should never be angry and that you can’t trust your feelings—so I learned early in life to repress and deny my pent-up negative emotions. By the time I was in my early 30s I suffered from painful bursitis in both shoulders and miserable hay-fever. But when I got into recovery and resolved my anger, hurts, grief and fears, I was healed. I haven’t suffered from either bursitis or hay-fever in years, for which I am very thankful.

Thus I believe it is true that “Christians shouldn’t be any sicker than we ought to be.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in all of my problems, conflicts or ills, please help me to understand the nature of my issue so that I will know if there is anything that I can and need to do to be healed. Help me not to settle for anything less than what you have for me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. James 5:16 (NIV).
2. Proverbs 17:22 and 15:13 (NASB).
3. See 1 Peter 2:1-2 (NLT).

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Willie-Wag-Tails

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“A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones. A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.”1

Another pretty little black and white bird that is found where I grew up is appropriately named a willie-wag-tail. This is because these birds continually wag their long, feathered tail. Like a dog with a wagging tail, willie-wag-tails project a bright, cheery spirit wherever they go and are a delight to see.

Have you ever noticed in a group of people when a certain person walks into the room, the entire group lights up with pleasure, obviously delighted to see the person who just walked in? And then there are those who, when they walk into a room full of people, the room goes quiet because of the negative vibes that person projects.

In light of today’s and the previous two Daily Encounters, the question to ask myself is this: “Am I a wheel-kicker with a negative, critical attitude looking for pegs to hang my anger on; a magpie that, when it pecks at others, is projecting a reflection of his or her own self-image; or am I a willie-wag-tail projecting an attitude of joy and contentment wherever I go?”

“If it’s going to be, it’s up to me”—regardless of my past. I can choose to stay as I am and blame my parents, society, God or the devil for the type of person I am and the attitude I have. Or with God’s help I can choose to overcome my past, grow towards wholeness, and become the person God wants me to be—thereby allowing his love, peace and joy to be reflected by me in some way to every life I touch.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have a wonderful plan for my life—not only to save me for all eternity, but also to make me whole, so that my life will reflect your glory, and bring ‘Son-shine’ into the life of others everywhere I go. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 17:22 and 15:13 (NASB).

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Magpies

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“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word [God's Word, the Bible] but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”1

Yesterday we talked about wheel-kickers. This reminds me of an attractive black and white bird (that is found where I grew up), called a magpie. Magpies are a little bigger than a pigeon and are extremely protective of their young. If you come too close to a mother magpie’s nest, you’d better watch out for your head as these birds with their long, sharp beak are just as likely to dive at you.

Magpies also have a strange but amusing habit. They spend seemingly tireless effort in repeatedly jumping into and pecking at their own reflection in the shiny hub caps of cars … never realizing that they are pecking at their own image.

Some people are kind of like that. When we habitually peck at, put down, and criticize others, we are reflecting an image of ourselves. Or, as the old saying goes, when we point a finger at others, we are pointing four fingers back at ourselves. Pity we can’t see it—greater pity that we don’t want to see it. It’s so much easier to play the blame-game and project our problems onto others than to accept the fact that we are the problem. And remember, when we play the blame-game, we will “be-lame.”

If we truly want to grow, become more whole and mature, we can start by looking at our attitude towards and treatment of others. If we have a critical spirit, an ongoing negative attitude, and repeated conflict with others, we can be certain that both the problem and the cure lie within ourselves.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, rather than ‘pecking at others’ help me to see myself in your Word and, not forgetting what I see and, with your help, confront and resolve my issues so that I become more and more like Jesus in every way. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. James 1:22-24 (NIV).

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Wheel-Kickers

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“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”1

Wheel-kickers—we’ve probably all seen them. Ask any used car salesman about them. Wheel-kickers are a pain in the neck and a thorn in the flesh of the salesperson. They go from car to car; first they kick the front wheels, then they kick the back ones. Next they want to look under the hood and check the engine. But all they do is find fault: the wheels are rickety; the tires are no good; the engine is really bad. Wheel-kickers are on a witch-hunt looking for any fault they can find. And when they can’t find any legitimate faults, they make up some—but they never buy the car. They waste the salesman’s time and take him away from serving legitimate customers.

Wheel-kickers have a chip on their shoulder. They have a critical, mean spirit. Beneath it all they are angry people looking for a peg on which to hang their anger. They play the blame-game and never stop to look and see that they, and only they, are the cause of their negative, critical spirit. They rarely even realize who they are and what they are doing because they always justify their actions.

Wheel-kickers are not only seen in used-car lots. There are politician wheel-kickers who drive you crazy tearing down their opponents over absurd issues while ignoring and/or hiding their own self-serving motives and weaknesses. There are legalistic preacher wheel-kickers who condemn all churches but their own; parent wheel-kickers; spouse wheel-kickers; teenage wheel-kickers; business wheel-kickers; and everyday Dick and Jane wheel-kickers! Actually there are wheel-kickers in just about any field you wish to name.

Wheel-kickers are like that … when they are kicking other people’s wheels, they’re kicking the wrong person. What they need to be doing is giving themselves a swift kick in the seat of their own pants.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, if by any chance I am a wheel-kicker, please help me to see the error of my ways and, with your help, do something about overcoming my negative, critical spirit. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Ephesians 4:31-32 (NIV).

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The Parable of Brother Leo

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“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”1

Michael Josephson tells about “an old legend … of a monastery in France well-known throughout Europe because of the extraordinary leadership of a man known only as Brother Leo. Several monks began a pilgrimage to visit Brother Leo to learn from him. Almost immediately the monks began to bicker as to who should do various chores.

“On the third day they met another monk who was also going to the monastery and he joined their party. This monk never complained or shirked a duty, and whenever the others would fight over a chore, he would gracefully volunteer and simply do it himself. By the last day the other monks were following his example, and they worked together smoothly.

“When they reached the monastery and asked to see Brother Leo, the man who greeted them laughed. ‘But our brother is among you!’ And he pointed to the fellow who had joined them late in the trip.”2

Not all, by any means, but unfortunately many today who want to be leaders—be it in the church, the community, politics, or in the business world—want it for the wrong reason. They want the position for attention, prestige, prominence, control, money, or to manipulate for power to push their particular brand of product, belief, or philosophy (be it good or bad), or for other varied false motives.

There is an urgent need today for leaders—the kind modeled by Brother Leo—and more importantly, the kind modeled by Jesus who came to serve and to give of himself.3 His motive was loving concern for others. It’s called “servant leadership.” This type of leader leads by example and not by command or demand.

And as Josephson said, “Can you imagine how much better things would be if more politicians, educators and business executives saw themselves as servant leaders?” To which I would add preachers, teachers and, most important of all, to be modeled in the home by we men who call ourselves fathers.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be a servant leader in whatever capacity I find myself, and with your help, always strive to be like Jesus in everything I do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Romans 12:10 (NIV).
2. Michael Josephson, Character Counts (313.3). http://www.charactercounts.org/.
3. See Philippians 2:6-8.

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Give and Grow Rich

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Jesus Christ said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.“1

Giving from the heart is really an outward expression of gratitude. In life there are two types of people: grateful givers and selfish takers. When it comes to giving help, time, or money, takers are closed- fisted. They give little and live primarily for themselves and, “being wrapped up in themselves, make a very small package.” On the other hand, givers who give from the heart give of themselves as well as of their time, talents, help, love, support, and of their resources and money. They may or may not be financially secure, but regardless, they are rich in generosity and the things that matter most in life.

In his young struggling years, W. L. Douglass, the shoe manufacturer, “had been unemployed so long that he was down to his last dollar. Nevertheless, he put half of it—fifty cents—in the collection basket of his church. Next morning he heard of a job in a neighboring town. The railroad fare to that town was one dollar. To all appearances it would have been wiser if he had kept that fifty cents. However, with the half-dollar remaining he bought a ticket and rode halfway to the desired place. He stepped from the train and began to walk to the town.

“Before he had gone one block he heard of a factory right in that town where they were employing men. Within thirty minutes he had a job at a salary five dollars more a week [a good sum back then] than he would have received had he gone on to the other town.“2

It is a fact of life, the more we give—whether it is of ourselves, our help, our love, our support, and/or of our resources—the richer we become. And the richer we become, the more we have to give. And when it comes to giving to God, we simply cannot out-give him.

Question: Among your friends and contacts would you be considered a giver or a taker? Being a giver is a choice. You can start that today by being a friend and giving someone a kind word of encouragement and a warm smile. In addition, of course, there is the keeper. He doesn’t give nor does he take, he just keeps?

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, knowing that Jesus is the supreme example of a Giver, please help me to become more and more like him, and be a giver in every area of life—knowing that I will reap what I sow. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Luke 6:38 (NIV).
2. Arthur Tonne, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, p. 478.
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Overcoming Addictions Part III

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“The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”1

First a word of warning to those of us who say, “I don’t have any addictions. That’s not my problem.”

We all need to realize that anything we habitually do or use to avoid facing our inner pain is an addiction—no matter how good what we are doing may appear to be. A codependent person, for example, is addicted to the addict in his or her life. Others of us hide behind our busyness, our intellectuality, our position, or whatever. Some people escape into religion and claim they are standing on the Word of God, when in fact they are hiding behind the Word of God. They use God’s Truth as a defense against facing the truth about themselves—a very subtle, self-deceiving, and self-destructive course to take.

Also, some people, as John Powell said, treat God as if he were a giant Bayer’s aspirin. “Take God three times a day and you won’t feel any pain!” It’s not that simple. What is realistic is that God will help us but he will not do for us anything we need to do for ourselves, but he will bend the heavens to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves—that’s why Jesus came to earth and died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins and mine.

So when we ask God to help us to overcome our addictions, how can we pray to get our prayers answered?

First, pray honestly. The beginning point to resolve any problem is to admit that I have a problem. Only those who say, “I have a problem. I need help,” can ever find help.

Second, pray sincerely. We need to want to overcome our problem with all our heart and be totally committed to do what we need to do about our recovery if we want God to help us. A wish won’t wash. It has to be a genuine want. As Jesus would say, “Do you want—not wish—to be made well?”

Third, pray for truth. If, for example, I am an alcoholic, I need to (1) not only admit to myself that I am an addict but also admit/confess to God and at least one other person that I am an alcoholic (or whatever my addiction is); (2) that my life is out of control; (3) that I need help: and (4) ask God to confront me with the truth about myself; to show me the cause/s behind my addiction no matter how much it may hurt. This can be painful. I know because there have been times when I have prayed for God to confront me with the truth about myself. The good news is, once I see the truth about myself and the cause/s behind my problems, I know what I need to do to overcome. As Jesus taught, it’s the truth that sets one free.

Remember the “LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” So the way to pray to get prayer answered is to pray for truth—the truth, the whole truth about yourself.

Fourth, ask for guidance. When we pray, we need to ask God to lead us to the help we need to overcome our problem—and never give up until we find that help.

Fifth. accept responsibility. Part of our recovery, after we ask God for help and guidance, is to actively seek the help we need to overcome our problem, and to do what we need to do in order to recover.

Sixth, commitment. It took many years to become who and what we are so we don’t overcome our struggles overnight. We need to be so committed that we never give up until we work through and resolve our problem so that we become more and more the person God envisioned for us to be—and that is to be made whole. God’s goal goes much deeper than seeing us delivered from our addictions. It is that we are made whole, for only to the degree that we are made whole will our lifestyle, actions, attitudes, behaviors and relationships become wholesome.

Jesus’ question to you and me is this: “Do you want to be made whole?” God will do his part. It’s up to you and me to do our part. We need to pray the right prayer, want deliverance with all our heart, and do our part in the recovery process.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you are waiting to help me when I pray the truth from my heart. Help me always to be honest with myself and with you knowing that when I am, you will always hear and answer my prayers. Help me, too, to always pray the right prayer. Thank you for hearing and answering me. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 145:18 (NIV).

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Overcoming Addictions Part II

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

Yesterday we explained how addictive behavior patterns are the presenting problem—and are more often than not the fruit of a deeper root. We also noted that addictions are usually used to medicate the pain of an unresolved inner conflict. Today we ask the question, “How do we overcome addictive behaviors that are the fruit of a deeper root?”

First, face reality. Addicts are very adept at avoiding reality, are steeped in denial, and have all sorts of devious ways of denying their addiction. Like the man who says, “Sure I drink a lot but I’m not an alcoholic,” even though he has a dozen or so beers a day and often comes home either drunk or half-drunk. Or like the wife who is a closet drinker. She will do everything in her sneaky-power to avoid being caught and is in deep denial about her addiction.

Thus, the first step in overcoming any addiction is to face reality and admit, “I have a problem. I need help.” Even God limits himself from helping us until we admit we have a problem, acknowledge that our life is out of control, and that we need help.

Second, accept responsibility. The addict needs to get into an effective recovery program—such as a Twelve-Step or similar program—that will help him to stop acting out through his addiction, and to confront his inner reality and pain head on. This can be extremely difficult and very painful because for much of his life he has avoided facing his reality and feeling his pain. However until he stops medicating his pain and feels and faces it, chances are that he will never do anything about overcoming his problem.

Some time ago a friend who had tried without success for twenty years to stop smoking asked me for help. He admitted he had a problem but didn’t really want to confront the cause behind it. I asked him a simple question: “Why do you need to smoke?” He mumbled a few incoherent sentences and walked away. Sadly, he died a few years later from cancer. The reality is that if we don’t get the cause behind our symptoms, the symptoms will get us.

If you have an addiction, ask yourself, “Why do I need this ________ (name it) addiction?” We will fight tenaciously against even asking this question claiming vehemently that we don’t need it. But we do in that we need it to keep us from facing reality.

Also, if you happen to be living with an addict, it is tremendously important that you stop rescuing him (or her) from the natural consequences of his/her self-destructive behavior. If you continue to rescue him/her, you become a part of the sickness and may need to get into a recovery/support program for yourself. Tough love with consequences is an absolute must dealing with an addict.

Third, and most important of all, is to pray the right prayer. As James points out in today’s Scripture, many of our prayers aren’t answered because we pray amiss; that is, we pray the wrong prayer with wrong motives.

We pray, we plead, we beg, we cry: “Oh God, deliver me from my addiction!” And never get delivered. Why? Because we’re praying the wrong prayer. We’re addressing the symptom rather than the cause. God isn’t going to deliver me from my addictive behavior if I am unwilling to face the cause or causes behind it.

Furthermore, our mind can play tricks on us deceiving us into believing we have been cured when all we’ve done is exchange one symptom for another. I recall hearing one speaker claiming that when he accepted Jesus as his Savior, he was immediately delivered from alcoholism. Trouble is, he hadn’t confronted and resolved the root cause of his alcoholism and was now a rage-aholic! Denial is deadly. If we don’t admit, confront, and deal with our unresolved issues in a creative and healthy way, they will come out in some destructive, unhealthy way.

So how do we pray the right prayer? We will answer this question in tomorrow’s Daily Encounter.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me always to pray the right prayer focusing not so much on my symptoms but on the causes behind them so that I can receive your help, and any other help I need, to overcome my addiction/s and live victoriously. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. James 4:2-3 (NKJV).

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Overcoming Addictions Part I

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“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”1

A Daily Encounter reader writes: “I am a controlling person and a perfectionist and am being self-destructive as I don’t know how to give up my addictions. I keep trying and keep failing. I promise I will do better the next day and fail again … and again … and again. Please help me.”

It helps to realize that God is merciful in that, when we have unresolved personal issues, he allows us to have symptoms. To put it another way, symptoms are nature’s warning signal—a flashing red light—telling us that something within us is amiss and needs fixing. Symptoms can be emotional, physical, spiritual, an addiction, or a combination of any or all of the above.

Symptoms are also called the presenting problem; that is, the problem that we see. They are almost always the fruit of a deeper root.

For instance, a controlling person is one who is very insecure and needs to be in control of others and their circumstances to feel safe and secure. But this is a false sense of security as a secure person doesn’t have a need to be in control of everything. The more insecure the person, the more need they have to control. They can be very difficult to live with.

The perfectionist is also an insecure person. For them to feel secure everything has to be perfect. They can never quite please themselves in what they do no matter how good it is. Neither can you please them no matter how hard you try and how well you do. They will search for a fault, and if there isn’t one, they will make one up. They, too, can be very difficult to live with.

Regarding the addict, his or her addictions are usually a means of escape used to medicate or anesthetize the pain of their inner struggle. When they feel their pain—whether it is an overwhelming sense of emptiness, loneliness, anxiety, depression—they reach for the booze and another drink, another cigarette, more sex, become super-busy, go on a shopping spree, or whatever—a never-ending, self-defeating, downward spiral.

So how do we overcome? To be continued in Part II.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that your desire for me is that I lay aside every weight and overcome the sins that set me back. Help me to understand why I act the way I do and lead me to the help I need to overcome so that my life will glorify you in everything I do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV).

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