All posts by 5Q

The Impact of Unity

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“Locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks.”1

In younger days I trained in Australia’s National Service in the Engineer Corps. When constructing bridges over rivers we would use large folding boats that were manned by six oarsmen and one helmsman. When the oarsmen pulled together in harmony we moved along very well. However, it took only one oarsman to be out of sync and our boat would get off course immediately. Until we learned to work in unison there were times we went in circles and a time or two we ran into another boat or into the river bank. With practice we eventually learned to pull together and work as a team. Only then did we get the job done.

Even if stronger people have to slow down a little (which can be difficult for some) to allow weaker ones to keep up, pulling together as a team at home, work and play makes life much more fulfilling and harmonious. It also gets you to where you want to go. Without this we spend lots of energy going in circles.

Working together in harmony and unity is a very valuable lesson we learn from locusts.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be a team player at home, at work and at play, and especially in the work you have for me to do as a part of what you are doing in the world today. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 30:27 (NIV).

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The Need for Precaution

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“Conies [rock-badgers] are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags.”1

While the ants teach us many lessons, including the importance of being prepared as much as possible for whatever lies ahead, the conies or rock badgers show us the need for precaution and being responsible for taking care of ourselves.

These small animals hide behind the rocky crags jutting up in the mountains where no eagle can get to them. They also hide close to the rocks where they remain unseen by prowling lions. Away from the safety of the rocks they would be dead meat.

Too many people today are over-dependent, expecting somebody else or the government to take care of them. God’s goal for each of us is that we mature and grow up, not be independent nor over-dependent, but interdependent. If we don’t take care of ourselves and accept responsibility for getting our needs met in healthy ways, nobody else is going to do it for us. Rock-badgers, if they didn’t exercise precaution and take care of themselves, would either starve or be eaten. If we don’t learn to do the same, we will, in the long run, “be eaten up!” And when we expect others, including for some the government, to do for us what we can and need to do for ourselves, we remain immature, over-dependent and irresponsible.

Furthermore, in life, the reality is that we can’t trust everybody. Jesus didn’t trust himself to everybody either. And like him, the more we know and understand ourselves, the more we will be able to sense whether we can trust somebody else or not. And we certainly can’t trust our arch enemy, the devil. As Peter put it, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”2

We don’t want to become cynics, but we do need to be careful, take necessary precautions against all forms of moral ineptitude, wrong-doing and evil, and accept full responsibility for every area of our life. Above all we need to daily trust our life and way to God as did David who said, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge … He is my stronghold.”3

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in the words of the hymn writer, ‘Rock of Ages cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee.’ Help me never to stray from you, and always be responsible for every area of life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 30:26 (NIV).

2. 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV).

3. 2 Samuel 22:2-3 (NIV).

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Be Prepared

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“Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer.”1

Sometimes the seemingly simple things in life can teach us some of the most important lessons. Take ants for example. Even though their “brain” (central ganglion or nerve) is less than one-tenth the size of a pinhead, ants live in highly organized social colonies. Some collect food, others build the nest and keep it clean, and some look after the queen ants. Nurse ants clean and feed the larvae. Soldier ants guard and protect the food-collecting ants. No wonder the Bible says, “Go to the ant …consider her ways and be wise.”2

Among other lessons, the ants “who store up their food in the summer” teach us the importance of being prepared ahead of time for whatever might come our way. The Chinese proverb, “Dig your well before you’re thirsty” makes the same point. Children and teenagers need to be prepared for life, for entering the work force, and for taking care of themselves. Those who are planning to be married should be prepared ahead for it; unfortunately too many aren’t. And among taking care of various responsibilities, adults need to be prepared ahead for retirement and old age.

And most important of all, we need to be prepared for life after death when we will meet our Maker face to face. As God’s Word says, “Prepare to meet your God,”3 and as Jesus taught about his return to earth, “Be ready; for when you least expect it, I will come.”4 How tragic beyond all measure for those who aren’t prepared for life after death. Whatever you do, don’t let this happen to you. For help see “To Know God and be sure you’re a real Christian” on line at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to learn well from the ants and always be prepared for whatever lays ahead—especially my eternal well-being. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 30:25 (NIV).

2. Proverbs 6:6.

3. Amos 4:12.

4. Matthew 24:44.

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In the Beginning God

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“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”1

I appreciate the way the Bible opens. No fanfare. No fancy words. Just the simple statement: “In the beginning God.” It is a totally non-defensive statement. God isn’t trying to prove himself or defend his existence. He doesn’t have to. We can take his statement or leave it. It’s up to us. It’s our choice.

In his booklet, The Reason Why, Robert Laidlaw shared how a former president of the New York Scientific Society once gave eight reasons why he believed in God.

“The first one is this. Take ten identical coins and mark them one to ten, place them in your pocket, then take one out. There is one chance in ten that you will get number one. Now replace it, and chances that number two will follow number one are not one in ten, but one in one hundred. With each new coin taken out the chances that it too will follow in the right order are multiplied by ten, so that the chance of all ten following in sequence is one chance in ten billion.”

George Gallup, the famed American statistician, is reported to have said, “Take the human body alone—the chance that all the functions of the individual would just happen is a statistical monstrosity.”

The bottom line is that belief in God is a choice. For some it’s a faith choice. For others it’s a moral choice. I say a moral choice because if we choose to believe in God, we know that we are morally responsible. If we choose not to believe in God, we deceive ourselves into thinking that we are not morally responsible for how we live and, thus, can live any way we like. Whatever choice we choose, the choice we make will make us. It will also determine our eternal destiny. Forever.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me the wisdom to know and the desire and courage to always make the right choices—faith wise and moral. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Genesis 1:1 (NIV).

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Obsession With Confession

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“Don’t recite the same prayer over and over as the heathen do, who think prayers are answered only by repeating them again and again.”1

Confession of all sins and wrongdoing is not only essential for receiving God’s forgiveness, but also for achieving physical, emotional and spiritual healing and total well-being. However, a word of warning: Confession without repentance is a game.

Repentance means to turn around and go a different way; that is, turning from negative to positive behavior. To confess and not genuinely seek to discover and resolve the causes behind our negative behavior/s means that we don’t want to face the real issues and are using confession as a salve to soothe our conscience. When we keep repeating this pattern, our confession may have become an “obsession with confession” and nothing but a smoke screen behind which to hide our real selves.

As Jesus said, “When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”2

The bottom line for effective prayer and genuine confession is the motive behind the prayer; that is, being honest with ourselves and with God with a genuine desire to overcome the sins and faults we are confessing.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me never to use confession or any religious ritual as a means of hiding from my true self. Help me to always be honest with myself and with you. And may my confessions always be genuine; and grant that, with your help, I will overcome my sins and faults. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus name, amen.”

1. Mathew 6:7 (TLB)(NLT).

2. Mathew 6:7-8 (NIV).

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Urgent National Need

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“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”1

When Arnold Toynbee, the renowned British historian, was 83, he made the following observations about Western society:

1. “There’s a decline in honesty, and absence of common purpose in the Western world.”

2. “Material success and gross national product are aims of Western peoples and governments.”

3. “Nations rise or fall in relation to the moral unity of the family and the moral purpose of the state—both in decline in the West.”

Even though Toynbee was pessimistic about the West he believed if leaders of government would appeal to the ideals of the people and not just to their pocketbooks, there could be hope for an ethical revolution.

True, we need an ethical revolution but even more we need a spiritual revolution. But unless we turn to God and acknowledge his rightful place in our hearts and as the One who made our nation possible, and rebuild our nation’s moral foundation based on his directives as found in his Word, the Bible, neither an ethical nor a spiritual revolution is likely to happen.

This needs to begin with each one of us and together we need to pray that God will turn our nation back to him.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please send a spiritual revolution to my country and let your work begin in me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 14:34 (NIV).

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GIGO

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“If you want a happy life and good days, keep your tongue from speaking evil, and keep your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Work hard at living in peace with others.”1

Most readers will be aware of “computerese” language that has developed in relation to computers, email and the web. Words, or letters rather, with specific meanings such as: HTML, FTP, PDF, CSS, LOL, RSS, GIGO etc., etc. GIGO stands for “garbage in garbage out.” That is, if we put garbage (nonsensical information) into our computer we will get nonsensical information out of it. It’s the same with life.

For instance, you may have read the story about the mother who was cleaning and slicing vegetables for a salad when her daughter came into the kitchen to ask permission to go to a movie—one with sufficient rating to indicate that it had “adult” language and other material offensive to Christians.

“All the kids are going,” she said, “and their parents don’t think it will hurt them.”

As she talked, she saw her mother pick up a handful of the scraps and throw them into the salad. Rather startled, she shouted, “Mother, you’re putting the garbage into the salad!” “I know,” her mother replied, “but I thought if you didn’t mind garbage in your heart and in your mind that you wouldn’t care about a little in your stomach.

Thoughtfully, the girl picked the peelings from the salad and then smiled at her mother. “I guess I’ll just tell them I’m staying at home tonight,” she said as she went through the kitchen door.2

The world we live in is plagued by evil and moral filth. As Christians a vital part of living a happy, meaningful and fulfilling life is, as God’s Word instructs us, “turn away from evil and do good.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me the insight to immediately recognize those things that are morally wrong and the good sense to turn from them. Help me to maintain a pure heart and live a life that is pleasing to you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Peter 3:10-11 (NLT).

2. Chuck Webster, “Protecting Our Minds,” The Words of Truth, Vol. 42, No. 4, April 2005, Ted Burleson, editor.

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Overcoming Addictive Behaviors

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“When you ask [pray], you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”1

A Daily Encounter reader writes: “I am writing because I need to confess some things I am struggling with. I have a drinking, smoking, and pornography problem and am irresponsible with spending. As a result I have lost my home. I don’t want to do these things and repent over and over but keep doing them. I am so sick of this filth that’s inside of me. I feel like I’m going down this shame spiral. I feel very frustrated, depressed and angry. I want to change in a hurry before something more drastic happens.”

Dear Tim (name changed), thank you for sharing your struggles. This is the beginning point of recovery. Unfortunately, I can’t offer you a quick fix as it takes commitment, time and hard work, as well as God’s help, to overcome problems that have established themselves in our life over a period of years.

The next step in recovery is to learn how to pray the right prayer; that is to pray honestly with the right motive. For instance, it is imperative that you admit that you are an addict—addicted to drinking, smoking, pornography and over-spending. Realize that any habit that controls us is an addiction. When we want God to deliver us only from our addictive behaviors without admitting the real issue of being an addict and dealing with the cause or causes (often hidden) of the addictive behaviors that enslave us, we are praying the wrong prayer with the wrong motive.

True, while your addictive behaviors are problems that need to be confronted, they are not the main issue, but the symptoms of a deeper problem—the fruit of a deeper root. It’s at that deeper root level that God wants to heal you. When we focus our prayers only on the symptoms, we tend to reinforce them, for what the mind dwells on, the body acts on.

From what you have shared about your family background, it is obvious that you are suffering a deep love-deprivation need that goes all the way back to your childhood. It is at this level where you need healing. Your addictive behaviors have been used as a defense against feeling this pain and as a means to medicate and deaden it.

You need help to stop acting out in addictive behaviors so you can feel your pain, face it, confront it, and resolve it. Start by praying the right prayer. Admit to God that you are an addict, that you are powerless to overcome your addictions in your own strength, and ask God to help you see the real cause of your problem, and to lead you to the help you need to overcome it.

Also, realize that you can’t overcome your problem alone. You have already learned that this doesn’t help. A recovery program such as an AA (Alcoholic Anonymous) group can help you to stop acting out in addictive behaviors. This will allow you to get in touch with and resolve the cause or causes of your addictive behaviors.

Chances are that you are going to need help from a capable counselor who can help you work through and resolve your childhood hurts and lack of meaningful love—which is undoubtedly at the root cause of your addiction. (See below for helpful information.)

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in all my praying, please help me to be honest with myself and with you, admit what I really am (an addict that needs help … or name whatever problem you are struggling with), and see the root cause of my addictive behaviors. And please lead me to the help I need to resolve and overcome my problem. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: For help to locate a counselor/counseling in your area see “Suggested Resources for Counseling” at: https://learning.actsweb.org/counseling_resources.php

1. James 4:3 (NIV).

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Forgiveness: The Power That Heals

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“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.”1

In response to a recent Daily Encounter on the relation between confession and healing I received the following email from a man I will call John:

“Dear Dick, I am a pastor of 39 years of age and have found what you said about confession and physical healing to be absolutely true. It has happened to me.

“This occurred after I confessed guilt regarding holding onto bitterness against a person who hurt me when I was a child. Even though I had often said that I had let the hurt and the bitterness go, I hadn’t.

“But God showed me I needed to confess and repent of my bitterness and I heeded His voice this time. And so I told this person’s marriage partner, who is a dear friend of mine, that I needed forgiveness for having borne that grudge for so many years. I received it—with love and affirmation—and since I confessed my guilt I have lost a severe backache which had afflicted me for 17 years (and for which I had many medical sessions of manipulation, etc). You see, the root of my problem had actually been a spiritual [as well as an emotional] issue and not merely a medical/physical one.

“So, thank you for your insightful and thoroughly Biblical spiritual ministry.”

God has given us directives and/or principles that cover every area of life and death. The smartest thing we can do is to adhere to and follow these.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for your Word that contains directives and principles for healing, wholeness and happiness. Give me the hunger to learn these, the wisdom to understand them, and the good sense to apply and follow them. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

See online article on Forgiveness:The Power That Heals at http://tinyurl.com/btwy7

1. James 5:16 (NLT).

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Conscience

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“David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.’”1

I’m not sure why God didn’t want David to take a count of his “armed forces” unless it was that God wanted David to stay dependent on him—not on his military might. At any rate, David went against God’s directives and became conscience-stricken.

Conscience can be a tricky thing. We weren’t born knowing what was right or wrong but with the ability to learn this. The word “conscience” is comprised of the prefix “con” meaning “with” and “science” meaning “knowledge” and literally means “with knowledge.”

At birth our conscience was like a blank tape that was programmed by those who shaped our early life. If you grew up in a rigid, legalistic, punitive home, church or religious group, chances are you will have a rigid, legalistic and punitive conscience. Some of these people feel so controlled, restricted and smothered that they end up rebelling against or even deadening their conscience. On the other hand if you grew up in a very liberal or loose environment, you may do some things God’s Word teaches are wrong and not feel a twinge of conscience.

As a result of faulty teaching, some of us sometimes feel guilty (conscience-stricken) when we shouldn’t and don’t feel conscience-stricken when we should.

As adults, to have a healthy conscience many of us need to deprogram the legalism and other faulty teaching we received in the past, and reprogram our conscience with knowledge based on what God’s Word teaches so that we know what is right and what is wrong so our feelings no longer confuse, control or lead us astray.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, sometimes I am confused so please help me to always know what is the right thing to do and the courage to do it. And help me to know what wrong things not to do, and the wisdom and strength not to do them—based on the truth of your Word and not on the basis of how I feel. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Samuel 24:10 (NIV).

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