All posts by 5Q

Perseverance

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“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

At the turn of the last century, Julia Woodward went to Ecuador as a missionary to minister to a tribe of some 15,000 Indians. In her half–century of work, she saw only a handful of these people accept the gospel and come to Christ. However, she taught the people to read and write and began to translate some of the Bible into their language. After 50 years of faithful service, she retired and was replaced by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Clawson who, after a relatively short time, saw almost this entire tribe embrace the Christian faith and become Christians. This was made possible because of the seed sown by Julia Woodward.

As another has said, “Don’t ever underestimate the power of a seed. In 1959, there were one-million Roman Catholics and 600,000 Protestants in China. That may sound like a lot, but when you compare it to a population that is rapidly approaching one billion, you understand what a tiny seed that represented…. When China closed its doors to the outside world, many people began to wrap a burial shroud around the Christian church in China. They said that it would never survive. In 1979 China again opened its doors to the West and to the rest of the world. And a strange thing had happened. That tiny seed 20 years earlier had taken root. The number of Roman Catholics during those dark years rose from one-million to three-million and the number of Protestants rose from 600,000 to three-million. The church in a time of persecution and hardship had grown 53% in a twenty-year period!”2

You and I may never be a Paul or a Julia Woodward, but we can keep sowing seeds of the gospel and of God’s love. Here an encouraging word … there an encouraging word to a friend in need … little acts of kindness all along the way … praying with one who is discouraged and/or hurting … being as Christ to every life we touch…. Such seeds are never wasted—only God knows the eternal influence and impact of such. As Solomon wrote, “Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow—perhaps it all will.”

Suggested prayer. “Dear God, please help me to keep on sowing the seed of your Word and the gospel in the way that I live and act, and through well spoken and timely words. Please use me to help others to find you and/or come closer to you. Use my life as a living investment in eternity. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Ecclesiastes 11:4, 6 (TLB).

2. www.eSermons.com

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Tradition

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“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”1

I have read how, as a boy in the Midwest, Dale Carnegie used to amuse himself by holding a stick across a gateway that the sheep had to pass through.

After the first few sheep jumped over the stick, Dale would take it away. Oddly enough, all of the remaining sheep would also leap through the gateway over the imaginary barrier. The only reason for their jumping was that those in front of them had jumped.

Sheep are not the only ones with this tendency. Many of us are prone to do what we have seen others do, believe what others believe, and often accept without question what our leaders teach.

Traditions can be a blessing or a bane. Some religious traditions are good and help keep healthy ties to the past. Other traditions, especially man-made religious traditions, can keep people in bondage and stop them from seeing the truth. For one example … take the music in today’s Christian churches. It is one of the biggest areas of conflict. Some want to cling only to the old hymns; others want to do away with much of the past and sing only “praise choruses.” The interesting thing about the latter, I have recently read how some of the younger generation are now wanting to go back to the old hymns as they already see “praise choruses” as being traditional and don’t want to be singing the same music in church that they hear in the secular world every day!

I know of one church where some members rebelled not against singing praise choruses in their Sunday morning worship service, but against having a screen on which to view the words. They said they couldn’t worship God with a screen in the front of the church sanctuary! That church clung so tightly to tradition that it was unable to move from the old ways to any of the new, and died. It no longer exists.

There’s much truth in what Gloria Steinem is credited as having said: “The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.”

Saddest thing of all was that the religious people of Jesus day, while they were waiting for the promised Messiah, didn’t recognize or accept him when he came. Tradition blinded them to reality.

But there are also good traditions that we need to keep. Accepting Jesus as your Savior and Lord is a 2,000–year–old tradition. It has never changed. It never will. Jesus is still the only way to God. As Jesus himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father [God] except through me.”2

As today’s Bible verse points out, the early Christians in Berea constantly examined the Scriptures to make sure that Paul’s teachings were in harmony with the Word of God. We need to do the same—and cling to that which is true and discard that which is untrue or no longer relevant. As the Apostle himself taught, “Test everything. Hold on to the good.”3 Besides, have you ever noticed how silent the New Testament is on methodology? I think God had a good reason for that.

Suggested prayer. “Dear God, please help me to keep a healthy balance between the old and the new, to discern the difference between traditions that are in harmony with your Word and those which are man–made irrelevant traditions. Please give me the wisdom to know the difference between the two, the courage to cling to that which is true, and the willingness to discard that which is not of you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Acts 17:11 (NIV).

2. John 14:6 (NIV).

3. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (NIV).

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Miners Rescued

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

It’s hard to even begin to imagine what the nine coal-miners felt in Quecreek, Pennsylvania, back in 2002 when they were trapped 244 feet below the surface in the 50-degree cold while struggling for survival in a pocket of air in the flooded coal-mine. Thinking they were doomed, several wrote farewell notes to their loved ones. Miner Blaine Mayhugh, 31, asked his boss for a pen when the water in the shaft kept rising. “I want to write my wife and kids to tell them I love them,” he said. Then, fearing their death, the miners tied themselves together so all of their bodies would be found if they drowned. It must have been a terrifying experience.

What a relief it was when we learned of their amazing rescue and thanked God for the team who worked feverishly day and night for three days to save the trapped miners—and marveled how they not only found exactly where the men were trapped, but also how they were able to rescue all nine miners.

The New York Times (July 29, 2002) described how a wave of exultation swept out from the floodlit rescue scene as the first words resounded up from below with the news that all the missing miners had survived their ordeal. People were weeping and cheering at village roadsides and television sets at the news that the disastrous flood deep underground had left no fatalities among the harried night crew that disappeared on Wednesday deep in the Quecreek mine.

If only the church as a whole and today’s Western Christians had the same commitment to rescue those who are bound for a lost eternity in darkness without God and without hope.

Here in ACTS International, while we are just a tiny organization, we are among those who are doing everything in their power to reach the lost for Christ. Never before has the church had the technology that makes it possible to reach so many … by so few … for so little comparative cost.

But like so many others who are doing this work all we lack is the support. God has given his church the life-saving message, the methods to communicate it to untold thousands of people worldwide, but we just don’t have the sufficient means.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please move among the hearts of your people to join with and support the rescue teams who are on the front line of action seeking to win the lost to Jesus. Help me to realize the full impact of the unthinkable doom of those who are lost in darkness who, without your salvation, are doomed for eternal damnation and will be lost forever without hope. And grant with your help that I will do my part in obeying your commission to help take the gospel to everyone, everywhere. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

P.S. To see how you can help ACTS share the gospel see http://www.actscom.com

1. Mark 16:15 (NLT).

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Perfectionism

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“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”1

A Daily Encounter reader writes, “I am a Christian, but here is my dilemma. I see Christians who have such a joy in the Lord, but I find that Christianity is a very difficult walk, knowing that it is impossible for me to achieve perfection. Thus, I constantly fail, which makes for a depressing life (yes, I’m quite the perfectionist). And yet logic tells me that if I were a Christian, I would have the joy of the Lord, and that life wouldn’t be such a battle.”

How sad! Just because we are God’s children doesn’t in any way take away our human weaknesses and doesn’t heal us of our emotional wounds. Perfectionism is an emotional issue and, while it will affect us spiritually, it isn’t a spiritual problem any more than a bad cold is, which can also make us feel depressed.

The word “perfect” in the Bible, can equally be translated complete, whole or mature. Knowing this can help us avoid the perfectionism trap. True, we need to strive for excellence, but perfectionism is an emotional sickness. It is also a curse, as it keeps the perfectionist forever in a state of bondage.

Perfectionism usually goes back to one’s developmental years where a child has to “be perfect” in order to feel loved—but this isn’t love. It’s conditional “love” and control and is based on one’s performance rather than on one’s being. Therefore, a perfectionist cannot be happy in this state of mind because nothing he ever does is perfect and therefore not good enough—and he can never feel loved for who he is. And he can be nigh to impossible to live with because those around him cannot reach perfectionism either.

So what can the perfectionist do to overcome his/her problem?

First, he needs to see and admit that he is a perfectionist. Admission is the first step in resolving any problem. Denial keeps one forever stuck.

Second, he needs to see that perfectionism is an emotional sickness, and that he needs healing.

Third, he needs to ask God to help him see the root cause/s of his perfectionism and to lead him to the help he needs to overcome it. Remember, too, that “God is merciful—when we have unresolved problems, he gives us symptoms.” Perfectionism is the symptom—or the fruit—of a deeper root and one needs to resolve that deeper issue to overcome the symptom.

Fourth, I would encourage him to see a competent Christian (professional) counselor to help him work through and resolve his problem; otherwise he will struggle with it for the rest of his life.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to realize that I don’t have to be perfect for you to love me, but also that you want me to keep growing in both spiritual and emotional maturity so I can know and experience your peace in my everyday life. Help me to admit every area in my life where I need healing and lead me to the help I need to fully recover. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 5:48 (NIV).

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Brave Hearts

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“Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.”1

Author, James Moore, wrote: “A popular movie some years ago was an entertaining film based on the female major-league baseball teams of the 1940s. In one of the most powerful scenes in the movie, the star catcher of the Rockford Peaches, played by Geena Davis, threatens to quit. She’s tired; she’s worn out; she’s worried about her husband who has gone to war; and in a low moment, she is ready to ‘throw in the towel.’ This star catcher, by far the best player in the league, complains that the game is just ‘too hard.’ The manager of the Rockford Peaches, played by Tom Hanks, tries to talk her out of quitting.

“When she said, ‘It’s too hard,’ he replied, ‘Well, baseball’s supposed to be hard. If it weren’t hard, everybody would do it.’ And then he said, ‘Hard is what makes it great!’ The same thing could be said about the Christian life: ‘Hard is what makes it great!’”2

And as another has said, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” And as the poet expressed it so well:

‘Tis not the softer things of life
which stimulate man’s will to strive;
but bleak adversity and strife
do most to keep man’s will alive.
O’er rose-strewn paths the weaklings creep,
but brave hearts dare to climb the steep.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the trials that you have allowed me to go through to help me become a better, healthier, more mature, and more loving person. And thank you for helping me to hang in when I wanted to hang up. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

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

2. James W. Moore, “Some Things Are Too Good Not To Be True,” Dimensions (1994), pp. 83-84. (Cited on esermons.com )

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False Fears

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“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”1

Business professors Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad wrote about an experiment with four monkeys. In their cage was placed a pole with a bunch of bananas suspended at the top. When one of the monkeys climbed the pole, just as he reached out to grasp hold of a banana, he was doused with a torrent of cold water. Squealing, he quickly scampered down the pole. The same thing happened to the three other monkeys. After several more attempts, they abandoned all hope of reaching the bananas.

The researchers then replaced one of the monkeys with another monkey, and as soon as the newcomer monkey began to climb the pole, the other three monkeys pulled him away. After several more attempts, he too gave up. A second one of the four original monkeys was replaced and the same thing happened to him. He, too, was pulled away from the pole when he attempted to climb it. In time all four of the original monkeys were replaced … none of whom dared climb the pole even though they never knew why and had never been doused with cold water.2

False fears, which may have had validity at one time but are no longer valid, are not only taught and learned by monkeys, but also by people. Such fears can be learned through an early traumatic experience—or learned from a parent—and be firmly programmed into our unconscious mind, and hold us back from becoming and doing all that God envisioned for us to be and do. For some people, irrational fears can be crippling. Only as we see and know the truth can we begin to be set free.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to confront all of my fears and see them for what they are. Help me to overcome them and be set free to become and do all that you planned for me to be and do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

For help be sure to read the article, “Conquering Fear,” at: http://tinyurl.com/rhlho

1. John 8:32 (NIV).

2. From Failing Forward, by John C. Maxwell. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

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Turning Stress Into Success, Part II

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“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”1

To overcome stress, as we said yesterday, first realize that some stress is helpful. Second, be aware that stress is only troublesome when it continues for too long or if there is too much of it. And, third, recognize symptoms as early as possible.

Fourth. Identify causes. As already mentioned, change is one of the chief causes of stress. An accumulation of life’s everyday annoyances can also build up a significant stress level—perhaps even more than one single traumatic event. As the old saying puts 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.

Whatever the cause of your stress is, identify it so you can do something about it.

Fifth. Seek a practical cure.

1. The starting point to turn stress into success is to lessen your load. Fifty percent of the cure can come from writing down all your cares and responsibilities in order of priority, then eliminating the least important.

2. Remember that Superman and Superwoman exist only in comic books and films. Everybody has a breaking point, so recognize yours and call a halt before you reach your limit.

3. With stress come pent-up feelings. Get them “off your chest” by sharing them with a trusted friend or counselor. This brings some immediate relief and helps you to think and plan more objectively.

4. Stop fighting situations that can’t be changed. As one father told his impatient teenager, “If you would only realize and accept the fact that life is a struggle, things would be so much easier for you.” Learning to live with and get on top of struggles is what helps us grow and mature.

5. Try to avoid making too many major life changes during the course of a single year.

6. If you hold resentment towards another person, resolve your difference right away. Never “let the sun go down while you are still angry.”2

7. Make time for rest and relaxation. Learn to “come apart and rest awhile before you come apart.”

8. Watch your diet and eating habits. When under stress we tend to overeat—especially junk food which increases stress. A balanced diet of proteins, vitamins, and fiber, without white sugar, caffeine, too much fat, alcohol and nicotine, is essential for lowering stress and its effects.

9. Get plenty of physical exercise. This keeps you healthier and helps burn up excess adrenaline caused by stress and its accompanying anxiety.

10. The ultimate answer to turning stress into success is to learn to trust God and live in harmony with his will for your daily life. As our Scripture verse for today says, “Don’t worry about anything, instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.”

God’s peace comes through accepting, and trusting to God, those circumstances that can’t be changed, however difficult they may be. Perhaps this is what Christ meant when he spoke of taking up our cross daily and following him. Certainly he fully accepted his cross and trusted his situation to God and thereby was totally vindicated.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, again today, I commit and trust my life and way to you. Please help me to live in harmony with the principles for daily living as found in your Word, the Bible. And help me to remember even in my darkest hours, that my times are in your hands and, like David, help me to trust and not be afraid. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: “Test Your Level of Stress” at: https://learning.actsweb.org/stress_test.php

1. Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT).

2. See Ephesians 4:26 (NIV).

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Turning Stress Into Success, Part I

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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight [direct your paths].”1

A “friend” invoices you for considerably more than his original quote. A family member is taken seriously ill and is in the hospital for months. Responsibilities and expenses soar. At the same time, you’re in the middle of a major building project at your business for which you are responsible—and your loan falls through.

The result? Stress!

I know because these things all happened to me in the course of a single year. Stress is a normal part of contemporary living. We all have our share. Ignore it and it can take years off our lives. Accept it and deal with it creatively and we can turn our stress into success.

How can we do this?

First: Realize that some stress is helpful. It provides motivation. For instance, if it weren’t for the stress of having to pay our bills—and eat—we may not want to go to work.

Second: Be aware that stress is only troublesome when it continues for too long or if there is too much of it.

I read about a ten-ton-limit bridge that had been serving a community very well for over fifty years. During the course of those years it had carried millions of tons of weight. But one day the driver of a logging truck ignored the ten-ton load limit sign. The bridge collapsed. Life is like that. All of us can carry our ten-ton load day after day, year after year, but only one load at a time. Overload us and we collapse, too.

Most readers will probably be familiar with the research Thomas Holmes has done on stress. He found that too much change at one time was the greatest cause of stress. An accumulation of 300 or more “life changing units” in any one year may mean an overload of more stress than an individual can carry. On his scale, death of a spouse equals 100 units, divorce 73, marital separation 65, marriage 50, major changes in finances 38, and so on (see note below). So in tough times, try not to make unnecessary changes.

Third: Recognize symptoms as early as possible.

Writing in Eternity magazine (now out of publication) Fred Stansberry talked about “stress-related diseases such as cancer, arthritis, heart and respiratory diseases, migraines, allergies and a host of other psychological and physiological dysfunctions which are increasing at an alarming rate in our Western culture.”

Other symptoms of stress have been listed as, “tense muscles; sore neck, shoulders and back; insomnia, fatigue, boredom, depression, listlessness, dullness; lack of interest; drinking too much; eating too much or too little; diarrhea, cramps, flatulence, constipation; palpitations-heart-skip; phobias; twitches; restlessness and itching.”

To be continued…

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to do all I can to lessen my load and lower my stress level and learn to trust you in all situations—so that I can reasonably relax in the midst of the storms of my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: “Test Your Level of Stress” at: https://learning.actsweb.org/stress_test.php

1. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV).

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Please Help Me-I Have a Problem

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“And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’”1

Years ago when I was doing a counselor training course, one of the instructors made the statement, “Whatever bothers you is your problem!”

“Hmmm,” I thought to myself, “that’s an interesting concept—never thought of that before.”

At the time I was going through a rough situation personally and was in despair about it. During the course of the training, I explained to my counselor about my predicament and he said, “That must make you angry.”

“No,” I replied, “I’m just hurt.” And he left me with the thought, “That must make you angry!”

Shortly after that I went for a long walk, thinking about, “That must make you angry.” Then the truth hit me like a bolt of lighting! “Whew,” I admitted to myself, “I am angry—very angry!”

I was never able to change the person whom I felt had rejected and hurt me so badly, but I was able to change me, and come to terms with my feelings (which I had learned to bury and deny at an early age), and resolve them. It also helped me to deal with the anger I had towards my father from whom I had been estranged for many years and resolve that impaired relationship. Fortunately, I was able to do this a few months before he died. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.

What others do to me may or may not be a problem, but how I react and feel is always my responsibility. However, to the degree that I overreact, that is always my problem.

It is true; whatever bothers me is my problem. This can be a hard pill to swallow, but until we accept this reality, we will continue to blame others for our feelings and possibly never resolve our hurts/anger or impaired relationships.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the people in my life whom you have used to confront me with truth and reality. They have been angels in disguise. Help me to always recognize them as such and use their insights to help me become a better, healthier, and more loving and accepting person. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Luke 18:13 (KJV).

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Tigers in the Dark

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“In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies.”1

I read recently how a well-known television circus show developed a Bengal tiger act that was performed live before a large audience. One evening, the tiger trainer went into the cage with several tigers to do a routine performance. The door was locked behind him. The spotlights highlighted the cage, the television cameras moved in close, and the audience watched in suspense as the trainer skillfully put the tigers through their paces.

In the middle of the performance, the worst possible fate befell the act: the power went out! For thirty long seconds the trainer was locked in with the tigers. In the darkness they could see him, but he could not see them. A whip and a small kitchen chair seemed meager protection under the circumstances. But he survived, and when the lights came on, he calmly finished the performance.

In an interview afterward, he was asked how he felt knowing the tigers could see him but that he could not see them. He first admitted the chilling fear of the situation, but pointed out that the tigers did not know that he could not see them. He said, “I just kept cracking my whip and talking to them until the lights came on. And they never knew I couldn’t see them as well as they could see me.”2

Do you ever feel caught in the dark with the “tigers of your heart” or circumstances that seem to be out of your control? I sure have. Two things I do in these situations. First, I keep quoting today’s Scripture, “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” I’m sure David kept saying this when King Saul was out to kill him—and David couldn’t know where he was most of the time. Second, I ask God to confront me with the truth and reality of what I might in any way be contributing to the situation I am in.

It’s not until I pray for what I am contributing to “my dark nights of despair” that I see the light—and know exactly what I need to do to change my circumstances wherever this is possible, or at least to overcome my tigers of fear.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that my life is in your hands and that you are always with me in my dark days of despair just as you are in my happy days of rejoicing. Thank you, too, for your promise that you will never leave me nor forsake me. Help me to always remember this, and trust my life to you, and be willing to face what I am contributing to my situation, change what I can change, and learn to accept joyfully what I cannot change. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

For further help read: “Conquering Fear” at: http://tinyurl.com/rhlho

1. Psalm 118:5-7 (NIV).

2. Thomas Lane Butts, cited on KneEmail, http://www.oakhillcoc.org.

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