All posts by 5Q

Changing Course?

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“Your word [God’s Word] is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”1

The following was circulated in an email some time ago but has a timely message that is good to be reminded about.

As the large ship cruised ahead through the night darkness, a message from ahead was received: “Make a course adjustment to avoid a collision.”

Immediately the ship responded: “I am an admiral. You make a course adjustment.”

“I am a petty officer. You make a course adjustment,” came the reply.

“I am an aircraft carrier. You had better turn quickly,” the admiral commanded.

The petty officer responded: “I am a lighthouse. You are the one who had better turn.”2

For the Christian, God’s Word is our guide through all of life, through the good days as well as through the dark nights. Every instruction, every commandment is there for our protection, for our safety, for our well-being. We disregard it to our peril. As Solomon wrote, “Despise God’s Word and find yourself in trouble. Obey it and succeed,”3 and again, “Every word of God proves true. He defends all who come to him for protection.”4

God’s Word is the “course adjustment” lighthouse for us. If we’re heading in a dangerous direction, we are the ones who need to heed the directions and change course.

Suggested prayer: “Thank you God that ‘Your Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ Give me the good sense and the courage to always follow in your ways so my life will never be shipwrecked. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 119:105 (NIV).

2. Source unknown.

3. Proverbs 13:13 (TLB)(NLT).

4. Proverbs 30:5 (TLB)(NLT).

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You Can Never Get Enough of What You Don’t Want

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“According to your faith will it be done to you.”1

I read an interesting quote that said, “You can never get enough of what you don’t want.” I had to stop and think about this one. Why would I ever want what I don’t want?

An over-simplification of what I believe this quote means is that if I have a craving for chocolate ice-cream, no matter how much vanilla ice-cream I get, it would never satisfy my hunger for chocolate ice-cream.

To apply this principle to a higher cause means that sometimes we settle for less than what is best for us because of the challenge to achieve what we truly want to achieve if we are determined to do so.

For the Christian, God wants the very best for us. The question for each of us is, Do we want what God wants for us?

God wants us not only to be members of his family, but growing members who are becoming more and more like Christ in every way, who don’t settle for anything less than complete wholeness, complete recovery, a healthy lifestyle, a worthwhile work (either paid or voluntary) into which we can put our best efforts, loving relationships, and for us to discover and fulfill his divine purpose for our life.

It is no “chocolate ice-cream party” to achieve any of these goals let alone all of them. The half-hearted never make it. “Vanilla ice-cream living” is so much easier to achieve, but it has no “nutritional” (spiritual) value.

Are you and I settling for “vanilla ice-cream” when we could have the gold of God’s “chocolate ice-cream” life?

Suggested prayer: “Oh God, please don’t let me ever get satisfied with an abundance of what I don’t want—anything less than all that you have planned and envisioned for me to become and do. Please give me faith and determination, and with your help, to achieve all your goals for my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 9:29 (NIV).

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The Impact of One Faithful Witness

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Jesus said, “You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.”1

Many will have read about “layman Edward Kimball who gathered the nerve to witness and win the soul of a young shoe salesman named D.L. Moody to Christ. D.L. Moody went on to become one of the greatest evangelists in his day. But, do you know the rest of the story? D.L. Moody went to England and worked a profound change in the ministry of F.B. Meyer. F.B. Meyer, with his new evangelistic fervor, influenced J. Wilbur Chapman. Chapman helped in the ministry of converted baseball player Billy Sunday, who had a profound impact upon Mordacai Ham. And Mordacai Ham, holding a revival in North Carolina, led Billy Graham to Christ. And the man who started it all was a layman, Edward Kimball, who took seriously Christ’s commission to be a witness in his world.”2

And we all know the incredible way God has used Billy Graham to reach millions of people worldwide with the gospel.

You and I are not too likely to ever become a Billy Sunday or a Billy Graham, but every single one of us can be an “Edward Kimball” witness for Christ.

As the hymn writer so eloquently said, “When we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be, when we all see Jesus we’ll sing and shout the victory.” And how wonderful it will also be to meet the ones who are in heaven because of your and my witness for Jesus. Only heaven will reveal who these ones are.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I’m available for you to use; please use me today and every day to be an effective witness for you, and to be ‘as Jesus’ in some way to every life I touch. And grant that they, seeing Jesus in me, will want you for themselves. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

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

2. Submitted by Deward Hurst. Cited on the Sermon Fodder list. To subscribe please send an e-mail to Sermon_Fodder-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

P.S. I happened to graduate from Moody Bible Institute, the school that D.L. Moody founded. Furthermore, several of the folk in Australia who have been involved in the ACTS ministry in Australia came to Christ during the Billy Graham Crusades in Australia. Furthermore, I am now doing the website for Dr. Jerry Beavan who was the architect of the Billy Graham international crusades. I first heard Dr. Beavan speak in Australia in 1958. His website is American News Commentary at: www.evangelical-viewpoint.com/. It is absolutely amazing what God can and will do through any one of us when we make ourselves available for him to use for his glory. And believe me I came from a very dysfunctional family background and never cease to thank and praise God for his saving, and using me.

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Warning! Danger Ahead

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A word from God’s Word: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse [and military might] is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.”1

One of today’s great tragedies is that as a nation, the U.S. is moving farther and farther away from God as more and more we are pushing God out of our society. God certainly is no longer LORD of our nation. In removing God from our society we are removing—or have already removed ourselves—from God’s protection. The question today is not where is God—He is where He has always been—but where are we?

Much of today’s national problems started, or at least were greatly accelerated, when we banned the Bible from public schools. As a student report stated, “In 1963, when the Bible, the Christian’s standard of absolute truth and morality, was banned from the schools, a great ideological shift began. … As the American people soon found out … Sexually transmitted diseases went up 226%. Violent crimes went up 995%. Unwed birth rates went up 325%. Divorce went up 111%. Unmarried couples living together went up 536%. Child abuse went up 2300%, and illegal drug use went up 6000%…. I don’t think that we have seen the end of this, either. Our country will collapse if Christianity is extinguished, and therefore morality is snuffed out.”2

Think too, of the relentless attacks against the U.S. in recent years by radical Muslims whose religion, Islam, declares itself to be a religion of peace and yet we are vividly reminded every year how, “On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States…. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., including more than 400 police officers and firefighters.”3

True, not all Muslims are terrorists, but where is the real outcry from moderate Muslims who oppose worldwide terrorism attacks promulgated by Muslim terrorists? According to a report on Wikipedia, there have been numerous Islamic terrorist attacks since 2001. See a partial listing of these online at: http://tinyurl.com/8n7bvsd. It is frightening!

America, we need to awaken! As our moral decline is accelerating, so is our moving father and father away from God and His protection. As George Washington, in his Farewell Address, stated, “And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion… reason and experience forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please send a great spiritual awakening to the U.S.A. so that our eyes will be open to see the direction this once great Christian nation is heading. Help us to see and face the truth, for only the truth will set us free. And let your work begin in me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 33:12, 16-17 (NIV).

2. “The Bible: In and Out of School,” Jessica S. http://tinyurl.com/9pp86xg. Jessica quotes the following source for her statistics: http://tinyurl.com/9altkvy, and states that author, Dr. Hovind, got them from Wallbuilders (http://www.wallbuilders.com/).

3. History.com website at: http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks.

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Resurrection from Death

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“But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man [Adam], now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man [Jesus Christ]. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.”1

“Max Lucado in his book, Six Hours One Friday, tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily. A hospital was not too far away—across the river—but the Indians would not cross it because they believed the river was inhabited by evil spirits. And to enter its water would mean certain death.

“The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed. But they were not impressed. He then took them to the bank and placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river. Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He raised a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water and escaped. It was then that the Indians broke into a cheer and followed him across.

“Isn’t that what Jesus did? He entered the river of death and came out on the other side so that we might no longer fear death, but find eternal life in Him.”2

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that Jesus, after he died on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins, arose from the grave. Because of this your Word assures me that if I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, I will also rise from death to live with you in heaven forever. Please help me to be sure that I am a real Christian and follower of Jesus Christ. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: If you are not sure that you will be raised from death, please read “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NLT).

2. SermonCentral.com at: http://www.sermoncentral.com/articleb.asp?article=Easter-Illustrations-PowerPoints#illustrations

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His Opportunity to Change the World

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“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”1

Some years ago when Apple Computer fell on hard times, Apple’s co-founder and chairman, Steven Jobs, went from California to New York City. “His purpose was to convince PepsiCo’s John Sculley to move west and run his struggling company. As the two men overlooked the Manhattan skyline from Sculley’s penthouse office, the Pepsi executive started to decline Jobs’s offer. ‘Financially,’ Sculley said, ‘you’d have to give me a million-dollar salary, a million-dollar bonus, and a million-dollar severance.’ Flabbergasted, Jobs gulped and agreed—if Sculley would move to California. But Sculley would commit only to being a consultant from New York.

“At that, Jobs issued a challenge to Sculley, ‘Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want to change the world?’ In his autobiography, Oddesy, Sculley admits Jobs’s challenge ‘knocked the wind out of me.’ He said he’d become so caught up in his future at Pepsi, his pension, and whether his family could adapt to life in California that an opportunity to ‘change the world’ nearly passed him by. Instead, he put his life in perspective and went to Apple.”2

Let me ask you a question, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling “sugared water”—or doing what you are doing today for the rest of your life? Or do you want to help change at least your world?” There’s nothing wrong with selling sugared water … or doing a million other things; but there’s nothing earth-changing about many of these undertakings either. The question is, “Is what you are doing making a difference in someone’s life—or that of many lives—and that for eternity? Do you want to join hands with Jesus Christ and help make an impact on your world? If your answer is yes, he may call you to be a prayer intercessor, to give sacrificially, to change your profession, or he may call you to leave your comfort zone to go out into the world of Christian service.

Whatever you choose to invest your life in, be sure that what you are doing is investing in people’s lives for all eternity, and in so doing, storing treasure in heaven.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the tremendous opportunity to serve you while here on earth. Please help me to see what is the best way for me to do this so my life is invested in eternal values—and so I am storing treasure in heaven. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV).

2. Leadership, Spring, 1991, Vol. XXII, No. 2, p. 44.

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Diamonds in the Rough

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“We proclaim him [Jesus Christ], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect [complete and mature] in Christ.”1

It is true that God loves and accepts us as we are, but he loves us too much to leave us as we are.

God’s design for each one of us is that we become the person he envisioned us to be—not only to receive forgiveness for our sins and the gift of eternal life, but also to grow and become mature, to be made whole, to resolve any and all impaired relationships, and to learn to love and accept ourselves, others, and God more fully.

Forgiveness and eternal life are gifts from God. There is nothing we can do to earn them. We receive them by faith in Jesus Christ. But growth and maturity are a life-long process. These are our responsibility. When we begin, we are like diamonds in the rough. To be polished takes a lot of time and hard work.

As Stuart Briscoe said, “The same sun that melts wax hardens clay.” In the same way God’s discipline hardens some folk and they become bitter; in others it produces gentleness, a loving spirit, growth and maturity. God’s will is the latter but the choice is ours.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in every trial please help me to see what I need to learn, what I need to change, and how I can keep growing to become the person you have envisioned for me to be. And please give me the grace and courage I need to submit to your molding. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Colossians 1:28 (NIV).

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Love’s Most Amazing Story … Part III

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“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”1

As already noted, sin is much more than external acts. It is our damaged inner condition that results in our wrong or sinful acts. Our sinful nature contaminates everything we do. It not only shows itself in external acts, but also twists our motives and damages our emotions. It is behind every broken home, every empty life, every sorrow and grief. The disease of sin weakens nations, produces sick societies, and causes physical, mental and spiritual suffering. It causes men and nations to fight, kill and destroy. And as the Bible says, its end result is death.

We need to understand that God is not opposed to nor outraged by our breaking his commandment for his sake, but primarily for our sake. As Cecil Osborne also said, “Adultery (or any other sin) is not wrong because it is forbidden in the Ten Commandments; it is forbidden in the Ten Commandments because it is destructive of human personality. God is against whatever is destructive to us. His love for us is so great that he cannot see us destroying ourselves without suffering himself. It is the suffering of God, symbolized by the cross, which is involved in sin. We suffer in our sins. Christ suffered because of them. His suffering becomes redemption for us when we are able to confess the right sins with true contrition.”

Because Christ himself was sinless, only he could die to pay the penalty for and thereby save us from our sins. We simply cannot save ourselves. No matter how good (or bad) we are, we are all afflicted with the terminal disease of sin for which Jesus Christ is the only cure.

I read once about a drowning boy who was struggling frantically to save himself. On the bank his distraught mother pleaded with a man to save her son, but the man made no move. When the boy weakened and gave up the struggle to save himself, the man then jumped into the stream and rescued him.

“Why didn’t you save my boy sooner?” the mother asked.

“I couldn’t as long as he struggled,” the man replied. “He would have dragged us both to death. When he gave up the struggle to save himself, it was easy to rescue him.”

We, too, need to give up the struggle to save ourselves from our sin. Only Christ can do that. As we confess our sins to him and thank him for dying on the cross for us, he gives us his free pardon and the gift of eternal life. Why not pray to ask Christ to do this for you today? For help to do this, click on the God’s Invitation link at: www.actsweb.org/invitation.php.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you love me so much that you gave your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross in my place to save me from the penalty and consequences of my sin. And Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God and thank you for dying in my place to save me from my sins. I accept you as my personal Lord and Savior. Please forgive me for all my sins. Thank you for doing this and for giving me your gift of eternal life in heaven. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Please note: For further help be sure to read, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian,” at: www.actsweb.org/christian and discover how to know for certain that your sins are forgiven, and that you have God’s gift of eternal life.

1. Romans 6:23 (NIV).

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Love’s Most Amazing Story … Part II

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“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”1

The question is asked, “If God loves us unconditionally, why is he so vehemently opposed to our sin?” It is because sin is so completely destructive of human personality. It totally destroys those whom God loves—us. Nevertheless, God still loves the sinner. That’s why he gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. And now, through Christ’s death God can save us from our self-destructive sin.

Sometimes we view God as a hard taskmaster running around with a “big stick” waiting to rap us on the knuckles if we break his commandments. In fact, one person I knew felt that if he committed certain sins, God would actually kill him.

This false view of God is usually formed in childhood. If, for example, we had a very punitive earthy father or mother, we tend to feel that God, the Heavenly Father, is exactly the same. But God isn’t like that at all. In fact, we can totally ignore or reject him, and he will still keep on loving us.

Sometimes we falsely see sin only as specific acts that God happens to oppose. But sin is much more than this. We tend to see only the external acts, but God sees the heart, too. He is just as concerned with sins of the spirit—pride, jealously, lust, greed, envy, hatred, false motives, emotional dishonesty, resentment and other super-charged negative emotions (including the ones we have repressed and consequently denied)—as he is with such things as murder, rape, and stealing. In fact, many of our external sins are the symptoms of our inner, hidden sins that are equally or some even more destructive than the ones we can see.

In his excellent book, The Art of Understanding Yourself, Dr. Cecil Osborne wrote, “It is extremely naive to think of sin simply as an isolated act—a lie, a theft, immorality, dishonesty, etcetera—for sin is all that is less than perfection. It is rejecting God—’falling short’ of the perfection which God envisioned for us. Sin is being impaired, not simply performing a wicked act. It is having impaired relationships and attitudes. It is being less than whole. It is having mixed motives. Sin is the clever rationalization by which we seek to escape from facing ourselves. It can consist in responding to a set of rigid moralistic ‘oughts’ rather than obeying the spirit of God which dwells within us,” and then feeling very self-righteous about our pious attitude and behavior.

To be concluded…

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to grasp the destructiveness of sin and understand why you are so opposed to it. Help me to see my sinfulness, confess it to you, and ask for your forgiveness. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Romans 5:7-9 (NIV).

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Love’s Most Amazing Story … Part I

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“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”1

Karl Barth, famous though controversial, contemporary Swiss theologian, was a great thinker, a prolific writer, and a professor at several European universities. On one occasion he was confronted by a reporter who wanted a brief summary of his twelve thick volumes on church dogmatics. Barth could have given an impressive intellectual reply, but didn’t. Quoting from the popular child’s hymn, he simply said, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

And there is no greater proof of this love than when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave his life for us.

As Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” His own love, however, went much further than this. He laid down his life for his enemies as well as his friends.

Imagine the torturous agony Christ must have endured when nailed to the cross. This was the price he paid to die for our sins. Added to his physical suffering was his sense of utter rejection by being forsaken, not only by his few remaining friends, but also by God. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus cried out in utter despair from the cross.2

But so great was his love even for those who caused his excruciating pain—those who nailed him to the cross, thrust a spear into his side, mocked him, spat in his face—that in the midst of this inhuman torture he prayed, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”3

Referring to this prayer, Thomas Carlyle said, “The sublimest words that ever fell from human lips.”

Human love is often conditional. If we are what others want us to be, and do what they want us to do, we are loved. If not, we are often rejected. Fortunately, God’s love is never conditional. It is never based on who we are or what we do or have done—good or bad. God loves us simply because we are his creation.

To be continued…

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for loving me even though I am a sinner? Help me to understand the depths of your love for me and, as a result, surrender and dedicate my life to live for you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen. ”

1. John 15:13 (NIV).

2. Mark 15:34.

3. Luke 23:34.

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