“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

I recall reading about a missionary in Africa who taught the nationals that Christians gave each other gifts on Christ’s birthday as an expression of their joy. A student of this missionary gave his teacher a beautiful seashell as a gift. When asked where he had discovered such an extraordinary shell, the native said he had walked many miles to a certain bay, the only place where these shells could be found.

The missionary was deeply moved and told the young man how much he appreciated his gift, to which the native replied, “Long walk, part of gift.”

This indeed is a gift from the heart with a pure motive. I’m not sure all our giving (including mine) is with pure motives, as there are all sorts of reasons why we give. However, the only true giving is that which comes from the heart with a pure motive. Sadly, sometimes some giving is manipulative; that is, it’s giving to get which isn’t giving at all. For instance, if I keep giving gifts to my boss as a means to get a promotion, that’s not giving. It’s manipulating.

It is reported that an English nobleman just before his death said, “What I spent, I had. What I kept, I lost. What I gave, I have.” When motives are pure this is true. In all of our giving to God, may it always be from a generous and grateful heart in thanksgiving to God for the most precious and profound gift of all time—the gift of His Son, Jesus, who gave his life to pay the penalty for all your sins and mine, at Christmas 2,000 years ago.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to learn the joy of giving and be a cheerful giver—from the heart with pure motives—not only of my resources but also of myself, first to you and then to others. So help me God. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV).

In ancient days, as in the days of Ezekiel some 500-600 years BC, many cities built large stone walls several feet thick—sometimes a double wall—surrounding their entire city to protect them from invading armies. Tall towers were built at the corners of the wall in which watchmen were stationed to keep a look out for any approaching hostile forces. More watchmen kept watch by walking on the walls while other watchmen were on guard at the city gates. When the watchmen saw an enemy army approaching, they were to blow the warning trumpet to alert their troops and to warn the people of the approaching enemy. If the watchmen failed to warn the city, they would pay for their failure with their life.

God also commissioned the prophet Ezekiel to warn the people of Israel against living ungodly lives saying, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.”²

Today, God is calling every Christian to be a watchman/woman to inform people that “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”³ That is, every person will, when they die, stand before God to give an account of his/her life, and unless one has received God’s forgiveness for all their sins, they will have to bear that judgment for themselves—the just penalty being to spend eternity totally separated from God and all loving relationships in the place the Bible calls Hell—whatever and wherever that may be. However, the good news is that God has given his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to pay the penalty for all mankind’s sins so all who choose to do so can receive God’s pardon for all their sins and receive God’s gift of eternal life to live forever with Him in Heaven. As God’s Word says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”⁴

Equally important is that every Christian is also called to be a watchman/woman having been commissioned by Jesus Christ to let everyone know that God has provided a way of escape from the punishment of Hell by providing a full pardon for all who choose to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. As Jesus commissioned his followers saying: “You are to go into all the world and preach [God's] Good News to everyone, everywhere.”⁵

The Word of God gives a solemn warning to all mankind regarding judgment after death. It also notes a solemn responsibility for every Christian to be actively involved in informing people regarding God’s warning and for sharing God’s message of forgiveness through the saving gospel of Jesus Christ —the only hope for lost mankind and our sin-sick world.

Will you answer God’s call to be a Watchman/woman for Jesus Christ? To help you do this in a simple and attractive way, please prayerfully consider joining with ACTS as a People Power for Jesus Partner. There is no charge and simple helps are provided for every person who has an e-mail address and access to the Internet. For more information and to join with us please go to: www.actsweb.org/people_power/. Please don’t delay, join with us today as 150,000 people a day are dying—most of whom are going to a lost eternity without Jesus Christ and without hope.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in appreciation for your giving your life to pay the just penalty for all my sin, and for your forgiveness and the gift of eternal life with you in Heaven forever, I surrender my heart and life to you and choose, with your help, to be a watchman or watchwoman to help share the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with as many people as possible. I admit that I am afraid, but I am available for you to do your work through me. Thank you for your help, for using me, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

If you prayed this prayer and truly meant it, I encourage you to join with us as a People Power for Jesus Partner. You can do this at: www.actsweb.org/people_power/.

NOTE: If you have never received God’s full pardon for all your sins, please read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

1. Ezekiel 33:6 (NIV).

2. Ezekiel 3:17-19 (NIV).

3. Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV).

4. John 3:16 (NKJV).

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

Most of us will be familiar with the story of how Daniel, supposedly because of his religious beliefs, was thrown into a den of hungry lions. No question, Daniel got a dirty deal. He was set up by jealous lesser men who wanted him out of the way. It seemed as if they were about to succeed except for one thing: They overlooked Daniel’s trust in God.

The interesting thing, however, about Daniel being thrown into the den of lions is that God didn’t deliver him out of the den before Daniel first found deliverance in it.

Imagine if Daniel had fought against being thrown into the den (which he would have been justified in doing), and gone into the den fighting against it every inch of the way. Chances are that the lions would have torn him to pieces before he hit the floor of the den. But Daniel didn’t struggle. He accepted his lot, and trusted his life to God who shut the lion’s mouths.

On more than one occasion when in a very frustrating situation, I have asked God that if I am not going to be delivered out of my “lion’s den,” would he please help me find deliverance in it.

Sometimes God has a lesson for us to learn through a difficult situation, and before he delivers us out of it, like Daniel, he delivers us in it. It is also important not to base our beliefs and actions on the way we feel. Keep in mind that it is the Word of God, the Bible, which is our final voice of authority—not the way that we feel. We need to find deliverance in it. The good news is that once we learn the needed lesson, we don’t have to go through the same experience again.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, regardless of my feelings and my circumstances, I choose to trust my life to you in the frustrating situation in which I find myself at this time. And like the father whose child had a dumb spirit said to you, I also say, ‘Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Daniel 6:16 (NIV).

Prior to his death, Winston Churchill planned his funeral and requested that at his funeral a bugler, positioned high in the dome of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, play “Taps,” the signal that the day is over. However, as soon as “Taps” was finished, a second bugler positioned on the opposite side of the dome was to play “Reveille,” signaling that a new day is beginning and that “It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up in the morning!”

Churchill had it right. Death is not the end of life. It’s just the end of life on earth, for the human spirit is immortal. For the non-Christian death is eternal disconnection or separation from God, the author of all life and love. For the Christian, death is but the end of their “day” on earth and the beginning of a new day—the entrance into eternal life in heaven to be “forever with the Lord.”

What a wonderful hope to have. If you are not absolutely certain that you have this hope of life beyond the grave, I encourage you to read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian. Herein you will find how you, too, can have hope and the promise of life beyond death.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to prepare today for eternity’s tomorrow, and help me always to remember that: ‘Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Corinthians 15:55.

Pedro was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn’t find a parking place.

Looking up toward heaven, he said, “Lord, take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of my life and give up tequila.”

Miraculously, a parking place appeared. Pedro looked up again and said, “Never mind­—I found one.”

We’ve all heard about fox-hole promises—promises that are made to God when we are caught in a difficult situation or when our back is against the wall. And as soon as the problem passes, the promise we made to God in our hour of desperate need is quickly forgotten.

Unfortunately we are living in a day where the word of far too many people doesn’t mean a thing either to God or others. Commitments are made and forgotten. Promises are made and readily broken. The ability to keep one’s word, promises, and commitments are a mark of character. And as Michael Josephson constantly reminds us, “character counts!”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to become a man/woman of noble character who always keeps his/her commitments and promises to you and to everyone else. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Ecclesiastes 5:5 (NIV and NLT).

Not so long ago, Joy and I were visiting our then ACTS office in New Zealand and, while there, we spent a few days sightseeing some of the beautiful NZ countryside. It seemed like everywhere we went there were sheep, sheep, sheep and more sheep.

What we saw were flocks of sheep but, as Max Lucado points out, what the shepherd sees is a sheep—an individual sheep—and knows the characteristics of every one of his sheep. And, at least in New Testament times, the shepherd apparently knew each of his sheep by name.

When Jesus, the Good Shepherd, sees you and me in a crowd, he doesn’t see the crowd. He sees every one of “his sheep” as individuals and knows each one of us by name. He knows our joys, our sorrows, our gains, our losses, our successes, our failures—and he loves each one of us devotedly. We are not a crowd to him. We are his individual children.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that when I accept Jesus as my Savior, you know me by name, know everything about me, and always want the best for me because you care deeply about me and love me devotedly. Please help me always to remember that I am one of your special ‘sheep’ and love you devotedly too. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John 10:27-28 (NKJV).

To defeat an enemy it is imperative to understand his modus operandi. Satan, our archenemy, is the father of lies and a liar from the beginning. One of his most dangerous devices is to keep us in denial—to keep us from seeing the truth about God, about ourselves, about God’s plan and our need of salvation, and above all to keep us from seeing the truth about the totally destructive nature and effects of sin.

To give us a clearer picture and understanding of sin, the Bible uses three words to describe sins’ various facets.

First, is the word “transgression” which means to rebel against and/or disobey God’s laws, to make up our own rules and go our own way. Rebellion can be willful and deliberate or it can be passive and even unconscious.

Second, is the word “iniquity” which is the expression of our sinful nature. For instance, we are not sinners because we sin, but rather, we sin because we are sinners. It is our nature to do so.

The third facet of sin is to “miss the mark”—God’s mark or target of holiness. As Paul wrote, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory [standard or target] of God.”² God’s mark is the perfection or wholeness he envisioned for us. Therefore, anything in my life that falls short of God’s standard is sin. Besides obvious external acts such as stealing, lying, adultery, murder, etc., etc., it also includes failing to resolve hurts from the past, sins of resentment, pride, anger, bitterness, denial, failing to resolve my pockets of immaturity, and so on.

Once we understand the nature of sin and Satan’s devices, with deep honesty and God’s help, we are free to work on overcoming the sins and problems that so easily beset us.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, give me the courage to face my total ‘dark side’ and confess every secret and known sin. Help me to see wherever I fall short of your standard so I can bring these areas of my life to you for your healing and recovery. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 2:11 (NIV).

2. Romans 3:23 (NIV).