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Security

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Addie

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”1

Pardon my sentimentality but for the first time in my life I have a dog . . . a small but beautiful Shih Tze puppy named Addie (short for Adelaide where I last lived in Australia). My sons both had dogs when they were kids and I loved their pets, but having my own dog (Joy’s and mine) is something else. My mother not only had a dog for a pet when I was growing up, but also a pet parrot (a pink and gray galah) that had its wing cut so it pretty much had access throughout our home. It was fascinating watching it waddle along following behind my mother wherever she went. It was amazing how attached it was to her. And now, as a senior, I with Joy, are the proud owners of a dog that we adore and where there is a mutual attachment.

The point I am making, however, is that we are Addie’s security. I have seen her, when she was afraid of a bigger dog, almost fly into my arms, she would leap so hard to reach my arms. The same thing happens when we take her for a walk. When she is afraid, she just wants to be in our arms. For Addie, our arms are her security.

For the Christian when we are afraid, may we always remember that underneath are the everlasting arms of God for he is always there for us. He is our safety—our security for both time and eternity. What a blessed hope we have because of Jesus.

When King Saul was so extremely jealous of David that he was hunting him down to kill him, David was certainly justified in being afraid. But he said, “The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”2

May God help you and me to have the same trust in God as David did. He’s the same God and offers the same security.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, when I am afraid, please help me to remember your Word that says, ‘The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them’3 and that ‘Underneath are your everlasting arms.’1 Thank you for your wonderful assurance of always being with me, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Deuteronomy 33:27 (NIV)

2. Psalm 118:6 (NIV)

3. Psalm 145:18-19 (NIV).

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Responsibility

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“For it is written: ‘As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”1

True, I wasn’t responsible for my coming into the world, nor was I responsible for my upbringing. However, unless I am mentally impaired, I am totally responsible for what I do about my past, what I become, what I do, and for how I choose to behave and live my life.

The following is how one person expressed how many people in today’s world view responsibility:

“If a man cuts his finger off while slicing salami at work, he blames the restaurant.

“If you smoke three packs of cigarettes a day for 40 years and die of lung cancer, your family blames the tobacco company.

“If your neighbor crashes into a tree while driving home drunk, he blames the bartender [or the tree for being in the way].

“If your grandchildren are brats without manners, you blame television.

“If your friend is shot by a deranged madman, you blame the gun manufacturer.

“And if a crazed person breaks into the cockpit and tries to kill the pilot at 35,000 feet, and the passengers kill him instead, the mother of the deceased blames the airline.

“I must have lived too long to understand the world as it is anymore. So, if I die while my old, wrinkled face is parked in front of this computer, I want you to blame Bill Gates!”2

What we need to teach and emphasize today from the cradle to the grave—and from the highest leadership positions in the land to the most humble positions no matter what these may be—is personal responsibility!

As Roy Smith said, “The ability to accept responsibility is the measure of the man.” And as today’s Scripture reminds us, all are responsible to and before God.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you will do for me what I cannot do, such as giving Jesus to die for my sins, but will not do anything for me that I am able to do for myself. Help me to learn to always be responsible and (if you have children) train my children by my example to learn responsibility. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Romans 14:11-12 (NKJV).

2. Author and source unknown.

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Freedom and Responsibility

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“Why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat . . . [and] each will give an account of himself to God.”1

Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of England, said, “I remember being taught by my parents, from my earliest childhood, that the one thing about being British was you did not have to be told what to do. You rose to your responsibilities and took the initiative. Religious belief played a fundamental part in shaping that character because, whether you take the Old Testament or the New Testament, it puts the emphasis on the dignity and responsibility of the individual. You are accountable because you have freedom.”

We, too, have freedom which is a priceless privilege. However, some people seem to think they can use their freedom to do as they please both before man and God. As such they are not free but are in bondage to their own selfishness, passions, and lust. They confuse liberty with license forgetting that the price of freedom is still eternal vigilance, which includes moral and ethical responsibility. Ultimately, if we continue to abuse our freedom and privileges, we will lose them.

With freedom comes responsibility and with responsibility, accountability. We are accountable to our fellow man and above all we are accountable to God. As God’s word says, “For we must all stand before God’s judgment seat.” And again, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”2

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to so live that I will always act responsibly, that my life will always bring glory to your name, and that I will not be ashamed when I stand before you face to face. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Romans 14:10, 12 (NIV).

2. Hebrews 9:27.

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No Greater Love

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

George Robertson, a parachute safety and training adviser and a veteran of several hundred parachute jumps, followed six other sky divers out of a plane some 2.25 miles (3.6 kilometers) above the ground.

At approximately one mile (1.6 kilometers) the six attempted to link hands. One of the divers, Debbie Williams, accidentally collided with one of the other skydivers and knocked herself unconscious. Seeing her plight, Roberson tucked his arms to his side and, using his shoulders to steer himself, went after Debbie, Plunging downward at 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, he was able to catch her. Maneuvering her into a sitting position, Robertson yanked her rip cord. They were at 3,200 feet (823 meters)! At less than 2,400 feet (610 meters), he opened his own chute. Ten seconds later he would have slammed into the ground.

As Jesus said, there is no greater love than someone being willing to give or even risk his or her own life to save another’s. But God’s love for us is so much greater. As the Bible says, “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.”2

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, because you loved me enough to die for me, please help me to love you enough to live for you every day for the rest of my life. And please use me to be a vital part of what you are doing in the world today to help save those who are plummeting toward eternal death without Christ and without hope. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Note: To help reach others with the gospel in a simple and attractive way, please consider becoming a People Power for Jesus Partner (there is no cost involved). See https://learning.actsweb.org/people_power02.php.

Also: If you have never thanked God for giving his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay the penalty for all your sins and have never accepted Jesus as your Savior, I urge you to do this today—now. For help, please read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. John 15:13.

2. Romans 5:7-8 (NIV).

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Slippers for Sale

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“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings.”1

On May 25, 2001, a set of Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” sold for $660,000.00 at an auction of movie and TV memorabilia titled “A century of Hollywood” at Christie’s East. According to an auction house spokesperson, the famous shoes had sold in 1988 for $150,000 at Christie’s. The evening auction brought in more than $1.6 million.

Dorothy’s ruby slippers sold for $660,000.00! Imagine that! In comparison, what is an eternal soul worth? There is no comparison! Obviously, the world thinks much more of earthly fame and material possessions than it does about eternal values.

I wonder how many Christians do the same, at least concerning material possessions. The answer to this question is found in how we spend our money and resources and on what we spend these. I have read that the average church spends 95% of its income on itself . . . and that only 3% of Christians tithe of their income to support God’s work here on earth. What we do and what we give—and to what we give it—speaks volumes as to what we value in life.

Suggested prayer: “Dear Jesus-God, thank you that you valued my soul so much that you gave your life to die on the cross to save me from sin’s eternal damnation. Please help me place the same value on every human soul as you do and live and give accordingly—not just in words but in my actions and in my giving. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Malachi 3:8 (NIV).

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Two Great Abilities

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“Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.”1

Comedian Bill Cosby received a lot of flack because he told his own people to quit blaming anyone else for the problems they have, to act responsibly, and develop and use the abilities they have. This is a message we all need to hear regardless of the color of our skin or the circumstances of our background.

In fact, two of life’s greatest abilities are depend-ability and response-ability. Dependability is keeping one’s word. It’s being there when we say we are going to be there, and doing what we say we are going to do. It’s keeping the commitments we make.

Responsibility is realizing that I am totally responsible for what I say, what I want, what I feel, and for what I do or don’t do. True, I was not responsible for my background or my upbringing, but I am totally responsible for what I do about overcoming my background if it were less than desirable, for what I become, and for every area of my life. As long as I blame my past, my parents, my background, the government, or anyone else, I will stay in a self-pitying and self-defeating mode going nowhere fast.

Unless some think I am an armchair-theorist coming from a highly privileged background telling others what they should do, they are mistaken. I came from a very dysfunctional family background, was not allowed to attend high school, made to go to work fulltime when I was still 13, and came overseas to get an education without any help from anyone (worked my way through college and worked three jobs at once during the summers). I made up my mind while still a teen that I wanted to fulfill God’s will for my life, and for my life to amount to something so I did what I needed to do to make it happen.

What I did have going for me was a firm belief that God had a purpose for my life. I didn’t know what it was at the time but I knew that I needed to prepare myself for whatever it might be. Sure there were obstacles to overcome and challenges to meet, but these made me all the stronger. Today it has paid off tremendously. I count it a tremendous privilege to be able to publish the gospel and Christian message and be communicating it around the world to multiplied thousands of people. There is nothing better in life that I could have wanted or wished to do.

The point is, every one of us needs to know that God has a plan and purpose for his or her life, and then employ all of his/her powers for the achievement of that purpose. God will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, but he will never do for us what we can and need to do for ourselves—otherwise he would be acting irresponsibly by keeping us immature and over-dependent.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to discover what my God-given life purpose is, and with your help, act responsibly to overcome all setbacks, and develop all of my abilities to achieve my life purpose. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Galatians 6:4-5 (NIV).

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No Defeat Before the Battle

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“Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”1

When she was only nineteen months of age, Helen Keller suffered an illness that left her blind and deaf. Soon she was unable to speak. By the age of seven she was extremely frustrated because of her inability to communicate. Fortunately, her parents were able to hire a twenty-year-old teacher to come and live with them.

The teacher, Anne Sullivan, was a very capable and loving individual and was able to help Helen by teaching her to communicate with the use of her fingers. Helen was greatly encouraged, learned to read by Braille, and then read everything she could lay her hands on.

She desperately wanted to earn a university degree and, passing the entrance exams to Radcliffe, pleaded with officials to allow her to attend and bring Anne Sullivan with her to translate the lectures into her manual code. The following is part of what she wrote to the admission office:

“I realize that the obstacles in the way of my receiving a college education are very great—to others they may seem insurmountable; but, dear sir, a true soldier does not acknowledge defeat before the battle.” Helen Keller was a true warrior and a real winner! She “was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.”2

Being courageous doesn’t mean the absence of fear. It means acknowledging the fear but not allowing it to control you.

Once you know your God-given life purpose—or your purpose for the present—God’s Word to Joshua is also applicable to you and me today: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me the courage to face all the obstacles in my life that would hinder my fulfilling my God-given life purpose—including your will for me today. Help me to always remember that you will always be with me and never leave or forsake me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Joshua 1:9 (NIV).

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller.

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Prophets or Propheteers?

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“Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”1

A few years ago Ralph Blodgett, who has researched psychic predictions for several years, found that in a given year, out of 250 specific predictions by thirty of the nation’s leading psychics, less than three percent could be listed as “reasonably fulfilled.”

Blodgett said, “I used to think psychics had to be led either by God or the devil. Now I’m convinced that they are being led most of the time by no one at all.”

In Old Testament times it was an extremely serious offence to be a false prophet. As God’s Word says, “But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”2 Tough words to be sure.

And in the New Testament we are warned not to believe every spirit but to put them to the test to make sure their word is from God.

I believe some people do have a gift of knowledge, but I certainly don’t. So how do I know if God is “speaking” to or leading me? Sometimes it comes from his Word, the Bible; sometimes through circumstances; and at other times through an inner conviction. To know whether it is from God or from myself all three of the above need to be in harmony. And if anything is out of harmony with God’s Word, I can be certain it is not from God. Furthermore, when I sense God is leading me, I like to put whatever it is to the test to make sure it is of God and not of me.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me the ability to discern your guidance and to recognize when a message or leading is from you, and also when it is not from you. And help me to discern that which is spoken by a false prophet. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 John 4:1 (NIV).

2. Deuteronomy 18:20 (NIV).

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How’s Your Self-Worth?

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“Love your neighbor as yourself.”1

While Jesus said we were to love our neighbor as ourselves, somebody else said, “Heaven help your neighbor if you hate yourself.” The fact is I can only love and accept others to the degree that I have learned to love and accept myself; that is, in a healthy and not a conceited sense.

This has nothing to do with self-aggrandizement. It has to do with how I see myself, what I think about myself, how I feel about myself, and how well I accept myself, as this will largely determine how well I do in love and life. In other words, we need to see ourselves as God sees us—with our strengths and weaknesses—and accept ourselves as God accepts us.

Take a bar of iron and make it into nails and it will be worth a few dollars, make it into weight-bearing posts and its value will increase, refine it and make it into stainless steel pots and it will be worth even more. Refine it ever further and use it to make finely tuned space-age rocket engines and it will be worth a fortune.

Life’s like that. If you believe in yourself and accept yourself the way God believes in and accepts you, with his help and refining (plus a lot of hard work), you can become the person God wants you to be. Then you will be able to do with your life what God wants you to do and therein gain a deep sense of satisfaction because your life is contributing to God’s Kingdom and the betterment of others. This gives one’s life a high and noble purpose and great value.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to see and accept myself as you see and accept me and refine my life so it can be best lived for others and therein bring glory to you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Mark 12:31 (NIV).

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A View from the Heart

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“When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed [for king] stands here before the Lord.’ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”1

Today’s society, at least here in America, places tremendous emphasis on physical appearance—for both men and women. If, for example, two men of equal qualifications apply for the same job, the tallest man is most likely to be appointed.

Carlos Romulo, a Foreign Secretary of the Philippines, is only 1.626 meters (approximately 5’4″). He was very self-conscious about his height until he visited Tussaud’s Wax Museum in London and discovered that he was 50 millimeters (2 inches) taller than Napoleon Bonaparte (who became known as “the little corporal”). He promptly discarded his elevated shoes.

William Wilberforce was another small man. He was known for his eloquence and, in 1780 at the age of twenty-one, entered the British Parliament. Six years later he joined Thomas Clarkson and began his fight against slavery even though the bill to end the slave trade didn’t become law until 1807—twenty-one years later. More than any other person, Wilberforce helped end the British slave trade.

Often in life many of the great achievements have been accomplished by those who have had a serious setback, a major limitation or handicap, or a significant failure of one kind or another, but have overcome their defect and risen above their circumstances to achieve the worthwhile goals they had set for themselves.

With God’s help you and I can do the same. It’s not our outward appearances that God looks on. He sees our heart and wants us to use the gifts we have been given—not the gifts that others have.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I’m available for you to use. Help me to see and believe in myself as you do and set to work to fulfill my God-given life purpose. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Samuel 16:6-7 (NIV).

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