You sit with your head in your hands thinking you’re a total failure. “I’ve blown it again,” you mutter to yourself in despair.

Hold it right there! Did you know that Walt Disney went broke seven times and had a nervous breakdown before he became successful?

And that Enrico Caruso failed so many times with his singing that his teacher advised him to quit. He didn’t. His mother saw to that. And he became one of the world’s greatest tenors.

And Thomas Edison was called a dunce at school. Later, he failed more than six thousand times before perfecting the first electric light bulb.

Think, too, of King David in the Bible. He blew it big time. He not only committed adultery with Bathsheba and got her pregnant, but had her husband killed and took her as another wife. When he admitted his failure, God forgave him and gave him another chance. In fact, Bathsheba became the mother of King Solomon through whose line Jesus Christ came.

And remember Paul the apostle, he was so opposed to Christianity that he was running around having Christians killed when God got ahold of him and turned his life around and used him in an incredible way.

God wants to turn your and my life around too when we fail. So, if you feel like giving up, don’t. Remember failure is an event, not a person. Now is the time to give God a chance. It starts with being honest with yourself, with a trusted friend, and with God—admitting how and where you’ve failed and asking God to forgive you and to help you.

For real encouragement, read all of Psalm 51. And listen to these words also written by David: “There was a time when I wouldn’t admit what a sinner I was. But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration. All day and all night your hand was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water on a sunny day until I finally admitted all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, ‘I will confess them to the Lord.’ and you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”²

What a gracious, loving, forgiving God we have.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please be merciful to me a sinner. I confess all my sins (name the ones you’ve never confessed before) to you. Have mercy on me and forgive me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 51:10.

2. Psalm 32:3-5 (TLB)(NLT).

Note: If you have never received God’s forgiveness for your sins and failures, please do that today. For help read, “How to be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

Francis McNutt, author of the classic book, Healing, and director of Christian Healing Ministries points out how God’s answer to the church in one generation can become a problem in the next or in following generations.

McNutt, in one of his monthly news reports, The Healing Line, gave the following example: “In the Old Testament God instructed Moses to set up a bronze serpent on a stick, so that whoever might look at it was healed of a snake-bite during their wanderings in the desert. But then, centuries later, the good, reforming King Hezekiah ‘broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made’ because the Israelites had started to worship it!”

If we knew how Peter “gave the invitation for people to come to Christ” on the Day of Pentecost when 3,000 people were converted, we would cling to this method religiously and tenaciously. We would even fight over it and allow it to split churches. Fortunately, the New Testament is almost totally silent on methodology. What God is concerned about is our heart—not our methods! As E.M. Bounds said, “Men are looking for better methods. God is looking for better men [and women].”

One of the biggest battles in the church today is over the music and manner of worship. The reality is that God isn’t concerned with our method of worship be it contemporary, traditional, or whatever, but with the spirit of our worship—the attitude of our hearts. As Jesus said to the woman at the well when she mentioned the “proper” place to worship, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”² Like the brass serpent, when “old traditions or modern methods of worship” become the focus of our worship, we may be going through the motions, but totally missing the point—and missing out on God!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be real and not to get bogged down in traditions or methods that are not relevant, but always be open to the work of your Spirit in my heart and life—and in my church. And please help me to always worship you in spirit and in truth—from the heart. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Karl Barth, famous though sometimes controversial contemporary Swiss theologian, was a great thinker, a prolific writer, and a professor at several leading 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 or a profound theological dissertation. He didn’t. Quoting from the popular children’s hymn, he simply replied, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

This favorite hymn was written by Anna Bartlett Warner (1820-1915) who, with her sister Susan, wrote to supplement the family income when her father lost much of his fortune in the panic of 1837 and the family fell on hard times.

I have read that this hymn is one of the first hymns that missionaries teach new converts. It was a favorite of Francis Schaeffer, the intellectual Christian scholar and teacher. And Amy Carmichael, the famed Irish missionary to India, was converted to Christ after hearing this hymn sung at a children’s mission in Yorkshire, England.

“Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.” What greater truth in the entire world can any of us ever know? No matter what we have ever done or failed to do, Jesus loves us totally, completely, fully, and unconditionally. All we need to do is accept and embrace this love—including his forgiveness. It’s available to all who acknowledge their need of a Savior.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me not only to know that you love me but to feel your love at the very core of my being—and express it in some way to every life I touch. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

For help, be sure to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Christian … without having to be religious” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. John 15:13 (NIV).

In his book, A Kick in the Seat of the Pants (don’t you love the title?), Roger von Oech talks about developing a certain mind set. For example, look around you and pick out a number of items that have the color red or blue in them. You’ll find them all over the place. You’ll see things you never noticed before. When you take up jogging, you’ll notice more joggers than ever before. Or when you buy a new car, you’ll be noticing that make and model of car just about everywhere you go.

When you are looking for something, it’s amazing how often you see it.

Sometimes, perhaps oftentimes, God may seem far away, distant, or even absent and our prayers don’t seem to rise beyond the ceiling. The problem isn’t that God has moved. There can be many reasons for this, one of which being that we haven’t developed a “God” mindset. Once we do, we will see evidence of his presence everywhere we look. There is at least a measure of truth in the saying: “What you see is what you get!” Or perhaps we could put it this way, “What we see is who we are,” and “What you are looking for is what you will find.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please open the eyes of my heart and understanding so I can see you everywhere I look. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV).

Fear is unquestionably a problem common to all. Somebody has said that there are 365 “fear nots” [or the equivalent thereof]* in the Bible—one for every day of the year!

Healthy fear is a God-given emotion. Without it we would get into all sorts of dangerous situations. We rightly fear, or should fear, driving through a red light or walking alone at night (or in broad daylight) in a dangerous area. If we don’t, we’re out of touch with reality.

The fears that give us problems are those that cause anxiety, sleepless nights, give us ulcers, cause us to fail in our relationships and in our work, etc., etc.

On the surface these fears may seem to be irrational. Usually they’re not in the sense that they have their roots in past frightening or traumatic experiences. Even a dog, if it has been abused by a human in the past, will be afraid of humans—so will people.

So how do we overcome our fears?

First, like David, we need to trust in the Lord and seek his guidance to find the help we need to resolve our fears.

Second, if our fear is caused by a traumatic experience in childhood or in the past, very often skilled therapy is needed so the root cause can be resolved and trust restored.

Whether God heals us directly or through a counselor doesn’t matter. The important thing is that we choose to trust God and ask him to give us the courage to face our fears-and lead us to the help we need to overcome them. As King David said, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”

When I am afraid, I keep quoting David who also said, “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do unto me?”²

May our trust be stronger than our doubts and our love greater than our fears—for the God who brought us this far will not desert us now.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me the courage to get in touch with and face all my fears so I don’t set myself up to fail. And please lead me to the help I need to overcome them so I can honestly say with David, ‘I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.’² Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 56:3-4 (NLT).

2. Psalm 118:6 (NIV).

3. Psalm 34:4.

See “Conquering Fear” at: http://tinyurl.com/rhlho

* * * * * * *

* How Many “Fear Nots” are there in the Bible?

It’s been said that there are 365 “Fear nots” in the Bible, one “Fear not” for every day of the year—actually there are more than 365 “Fear nots” in the Bible! Thank God because we need to be reminded to “Fear not” and trust God every day.

Many people say, “It’s a nice thought to say that there are 365 ‘Fear nots’ in the Bible, but it’s not true.” Indeed, there is not a version of the Bible that 365 times says, quote unquote, “Fear not.” For instance, the King James Version says “Fear not” or “Be not afraid” 103 times, but not 365 times.

So why do I say that there are more than 365 “Fear nots” in the Bible?

“Fear” is spoken of over 500 times in the KJV. Furthermore, in addition to the “Fear nots” many times it’s saying “Fear God,” which really means reverence God alone and do not fear anyone or anything else. Expanding the search to look at verses encouraging us not to worry or not to be anxious would add many, many more “Fear not” Scriptures. This is why I say that there are more than 365 “Fear nots” in the Bible.

From Soul Shepherding by Bill Gaultiere © 2010 http://www.soulshepherding.org/

The story is told about a lone shipwrecked survivor who landed on a lonely, uninhabited island. He managed to build a simple hut and stock it with items he was able to save from his sinking ship.

He prayed that somehow God would send someone to save him. Day by day he anxiously watched the horizon to hail any passing ships.

He was devastated when his hut caught on fire and he lost all that he had. He felt utterly forsaken by God.

The very next day a ship arrived to rescue him. “We saw your smoke signal,” said the captain.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to trust you even in my darkest hour knowing that my times are in your hands. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Deuteronomy 33:27 (NIV).

Dan Vellinga talks about a true soldier of the cross, Martin of Tours. “He was a Roman soldier and a Christian. One cold winter day, as he was entering a city, a beggar stopped him and asked for alms. Martin had no money; but the beggar was blue and shivering with cold and Martin gave what he had. He took off his soldier’s coat, worn and frayed as it was; he cut it in two and gave half of it to the beggar man. That night he had a dream. In it he saw the heavenly places and all the angels and Jesus in the midst of them; and Jesus was wearing half of a Roman soldier’s cloak. One of the angels said to him, ‘Master, why are you wearing that battered old cloak? Who gave it to you?’ And Jesus answered softly, ‘My servant Martin gave it to me.’”²

Reminder: “Only one life, ’twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to remember that whenever I give even a cup of cold water in your name, I am giving it as unto you. Please help me to always be a true giver and never a half-giver. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 25:37-40 (NIV).

2. Dan Vellinga, “What Would You Do?”

Today’s Scripture was written by the prophet Ezekiel at a time when ancient Israel was in captivity because they had turned from God to worship idols. God was looking for someone who would stand in the gap to lead the people back to him—but he found no one to do this. How tragically sad this was.

This Scripture reminds me of the lyrics of “Who Will Answer?” by Ed Ames written in 1968 during the Vietnam War. This chanting song had a tremendous impact on me the first time I heard it. I can still remember exactly where I was when I heard it and who sang it!

Back then it was a time of turmoil with many unanswered questions. Ed’s lyrics were a cry from the human heart wanting answers. They spoke about people searching from the canyons of their mind, stumbling blindly while searching for the truth. They spoke about the emptiness of faded dreams from a failed marriage; of a youthful soldier whose arms would never hold his child because he was dying on a distant battlefield; of desperate souls committing suicide; and the ongoing threat of nuclear war with a desperate plea: “Dear God, Oh, why, oh, why? The final question being, “Who will answer?”²

World conditions have not improved since Ed Ames wrote these lyrics. In fact they have deteriorated considerably—especially so since the suicide attacks by al-Qaeda on the World Trade Towers in New York on September 11, 2001. And they continue to deteriorate incrementally with the never ending threat of terrorism—not knowing where radical Muslim fanatics will strike next as they hate and want to kill Jews, Christians, and Americans. And according to ACT for America,³ “British intelligence has uncovered the newest threat from Islamic terrorism—bombs surgically implanted inside the bodies of jihadists.”

Tragically, more and more, at least here in the U.S.A., like ancient Israel, we too are increasingly turning away from God which can readily lead to the path of self-destruction. Consequently, God is looking for committed people “who will answer” life’s questions, and who will stand in the gap to point the way back to God. There are also millions of people worldwide for whom God is also looking for people to stand in the gap to point them to God.

The person/s God is looking for are simply those who make themselves available for him to use. So, will you, today, be one for whom God is looking and pray from the heart: “I am available God, please use me?”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I hear your call for people to stand in the gap to bring lost souls to you. I am available. Please make me usable and use me to help bring others to you. I am willing to be made willing to go where you want me to go and to do what you want me to do. So help me God. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Please Note: If you prayed this prayer and truly meant it, will you please join with us as a People Power for Jesus Partner and we will share with you many simple tips on how you can stand in the gap to help introduce others to God. To do so go to www.actsweb.org/people_power/subscribe.php and fill in the simple form. And may God greatly bless and use you to help bring others to God. Please be sure to tell friends, too, of your decision to stand in the gap for God and encourage them to do likewise. “When many people each do a little, great feats for God can be achieved.”

1. Ezekiel 22:30(ASV).

2. The lyrics of Ed Ames, “Who Will Answer?” can be seen at:

www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/e/ed_ames/who_will_answer.html.

3. ACT for America, http://www.actforamerica.org/.

Do you ever stop to think about the meaning of words? Think of “Christmas” for example which comes from Christ–mass which refers to the time of Christ’s birth at Bethlehem 2000 years ago.

Year after year with “tireless regularity and eternal patience” God reminds the world every Christ-mass that he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to save lost mankind. Christ-mass is also God’s continual reminder that Jesus is coming back to earth for all who have accepted him as their personal Lord and Savior.

As Jesus himself promised when here on earth, “I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me.”¹

Jesus’ first coming is an indisputable fact of history. His second coming to end this world age will be just as certain.

According to Bible scholars there are some 1,845 references in the Old Testament about Christ’s coming back to earth and 318 in the New Testament. This means for every prophecy in the Bible about Christ’s first coming—every one of which was fulfilled in minute detail—there are eight in relation to his second coming!

Jesus Christ is coming again. God has promised this in his Word, the Bible. Jesus himself promised it as well. The angels at the time of Christ’s return to heaven also promised: “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”²

And all the signs that Jesus and the Bible said would immediately precede his return are evident today, also reminding us that Christ’s return could be soon. If it were today, would you be ready? For help to be sure you are ready, read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

Christmas is also a reminder to all Christians that Jesus has commissioned all of us to help spread his message of Christ’s salvation to everyone everywhere.³ Jesus said that, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”⁴ Never has this been more possible than it is today because our generation has the greatest means of worldwide communications the world has ever seen.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I thank you with all my heart for your great CHRISTmas love gift to me and to the world. In appreciation for all you have done for me, I surrender my heart and life afresh to you. Please make me usable and use me, in whatever way you will, to be a part of your plan to spread the gospel to the world in which I live and in some way to people around the world. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John 14:2-3 (NIV).

2. Acts 1:11 (NIV).

3. Mark 16:15.

4. Matthew 24:14 (NIV).