It has been said that if you stand for something worthwhile, you will have some people for you and some against you. If you stand for nothing, you will not have anybody against you, but neither will have anyone for you.

In today’s society there is tremendous pressure to be open-minded and politically correct. That is, to accept just about every belief except for Christianity—and for what Christians stand for. To agree with the latter means to be identified as narrow-minded, rigid and fanatical.

What many don’t realize is that if you stand for nothing, you can fall for anything. Or as E. Stanley Jones put it, “The difference between a swamp and a river is that a river has banks, and a swamp has none—it spreads over everything. Some people are rivers: they know where they want to go, and they confine themselves to the banks that lead to that goal. But some people are swamps: they spread over everything; their minds are so open they cannot hold a conviction.”

I’d much rather be a “river for God” and know where I stand and where I’m headed and be labeled narrow-minded than be a swamp for “anything goes” and be politically correct and popular with the crowd.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to always live to please you and not the crowd. Give me the courage to stand for what you teach as moral and right, and stand against that which you condemn. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. James 1:8.

“These boys won’t make it. Go back to Liverpool, Mr. Epstein, you have a good business there.” This is what a recording company executive told the Beatles’ manager at their first audition!

“That kid can’t play baseball. He can’t pull the ball,” is what the manager of the Brave’s Triple A team said about Hank Aaron in 1952. Aaron went on to hit 755 home runs, breaking all previous records.

Remember, no matter what the critics say, in God’s economy, everybody has a purpose and everybody has something of value to offer. Never give up until you know what your talent is; then sharpen it, dedicate it to God, and give it all you’ve got. Take courage. Nothing you do for God will ever be in vain. Remember, too, that one of the greatest ways we can serve God is by helping others—and every one of us can do that every day.

Also, as long as what you are choosing to do is in harmony with God’s will, then dream big dreams, work hard, trust God and in time you will reap what you sow and be richly rewarded. Know your God-given dreams and keep hope alive no matter what the setbacks and never ever give up.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to know my God-given life purpose and dream. Help me to be faithful to this calling and keep hope alive so that I will never give up and in due course will receive the reward that comes from serving you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. Proverbs 13:12 (TLB)(NLT).

A young man, accepted for the African missionary field, reported at New York for “passage,” but found on further examination that his wife could not stand the climate in Africa. He was heartbroken, but he prayerfully returned to his home and determined to make all the money he could to be used on spreading the Kingdom of God over the world. His father, a dentist, had started to make, on the side, an unfermented wine for the [church] communion service. The young man took the business over and developed it until it assumed vast proportions—his name was “Welch,” whose family still manufactures “grape juice.”²

As the old saying goes, “When God closes one door, he opens another.” True, it can be a challenging time “waiting in the hallway” for the next door to open, but as long as we commit and trust our life and way to God every day, in good time the next door will open. Of this we can be sure—during the waiting time there is always a lesson of some kind that God is seeking to teach us and wanting us to learn.

Sometimes it takes a crushing disappointment to make us effective and fruitful and ready for the next door to open.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to see in every disappointment and setback what you are seeking to teach me. Help me to learn that lesson so that I will be ready and prepared for any new door or opportunity you may open for me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. Gal. 6:10 (NIV).

2. The Presbyterian Advance, cited in Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, Paul Lee Tan, p. 479.

“Down the streets of Portsmouth [more than two] hundred years ago,” said Lt. General Ira C. Eaker in a speech he was making, “walked a sailor with one arm, one eye, a persistent state of nerves, and unable to tread a ship’s deck without being seasick. Indeed he would probably have been in a home for the incurable were not his name Admiral Lord Nelson. The man’s spirit drove the flesh. The point is, when weighing the characteristics of a leader, remember a stout spirit can drive a weak body a long way.”

I believe this same principle applies to all who seek to live in harmony with God’s will and serve him; that is to people with the right attitude and a determined spirit.

When God says that not many of those he uses to do his work are wise or influential by the world’s standard, I don’t believe he is saying that we shouldn’t be prepared or well qualified. What he is saying is that he uses ordinary people who are available, who use the gifts they have and have stick-ability, a stout spirit, and hang in and hang on when the going gets tough, but don’t hang up! These are those who trust in God, who believe in a noble cause—God’s cause—and dedicate their lives to help fulfill it; and who know at the end they will be welcomed into Heaven by Jesus himself with his words, “Well done good and faithful servant . . . enter into the joy of your Lord!”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you choose and use ordinary people to do extra-ordinary as well as ordinary tasks for your Kingdom. I am available and pray that you will use me to be a part of what you are doing in the world today. No matter how small or large my calling may be, help me to be faithful, and give me a stout, determined spirit so that I will never give up. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (NIV).

2. Matthew 25:23.

Brennan Manning, in his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, tells about a child caught on the second floor of his house when it was on fire. The family members were all running out of the house when the smallest boy panicked and ran back upstairs.

Terrified, he screamed from a smoke-filled window. Below his father could see him and cried out, “Jump, Son, jump! I’ll catch you.”

“But I can’t see you,” the boy cried.

“I know,” the father called, “but I can see you.”

Many a time when we are in difficult situations and panic on the inside, if not on the outside, we long for God to help us. Not being able to see him or sense his presence, we don’t know what to do. However, let us always remember that God is there regardless of our sight or our feelings, and he can see and hear us. When we call on him for help and choose to put our trust in him, he hears our prayer no matter how feeble it is, and will help us. Underneath are his everlasting arms and he “is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”²

And that may be all we need to know.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to trust you when darkness surrounds me and I am lost and do not know the way. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. Deuteronomy 33:27 (NIV).

2. Psalm 46:1 (KJV).

A store manager overheard a clerk saying to a customer, “No, ma’am, we haven’t had any for some weeks now, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll be getting any soon.”

Alarmed by what was being said, the manager rushed over to the customer who was walking out the door and said, “That isn’t true, ma’am. Of course, we’ll have some soon. In fact, we placed an order for it a couple of weeks ago.”

Then the manager drew the clerk aside and growled, “Never, never, never, never say we don’t have something. If we don’t have it, say we ordered it and it’s on its way. Now, what was it she wanted?”

The clerk smiled and said, “Rain.”²

Job, in the midst of all his sufferings, understandably questioned God and, like most of the rest of us, had to learn the hard way that there are many things we can’t order, change, fix, or do. Job began to get on top of his painful circumstances only as he accepted his situation and chose to trust God. “Though He [God] slay me,” Job said, “yet will I trust Him.”³

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to know what I can do, but also be aware of my human limitations while all the while appreciating more and more your unfathomable greatness, goodness, mercy and love. And please help me to remember that honesty is still and always will be the best policy. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Job 38:12, 32, 34-35; 39:19 (NIV).

2. Alan Smith, White House, Tennessee. www.TFTD-online.com.

3. Job 13:15 (NKJV).

Jacob Riis wrote, “I’d look at one of my stone-cutters hammering away at a rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet, at the hundred and first blow, it would split in two, and I knew it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”²

Like the Apostle Paul, if we are to live a meaningful life that will reap eternal rewards, we too, need to have a worthwhile purpose for which to live. When we know that our purpose is in harmony with God’s will, it is imperative that we never give up working to fulfill that purpose. In time, we will reap if we don’t faint. Certainly we will have setbacks, disappointments, and failures, but remember the only real failure is not to get back up one more time than we’ve fallen or been knocked down.

Like Michelangelo who said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free,” we need to see in our mind’s eye our God-given life purpose and keep “carving and hammering away” until it is achieved.

As God’s Word also says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”³

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to see clearly your purpose for my life and keep ‘hammering away’ until that purpose, with your help, is fulfilled in my life. And grant that my life will thus help others and bring glory to you so that I will never feel that I have lived my life in vain. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 4:1 (NLT).

2. Jacob A. Riis. Cited on: Inspire, http://www.inspirelist.com/

3. Galatians 6:9 (NIV).

Sunday is Super Bowl Football Sunday in the U.S.A. and, at least a couple of years ago, media people claimed it would be televised to 186 countries in 18 languages! Thus, on Sunday millions of people around the world will be glued to their TV set watching a bunch of hefty men throw a leather ball filled with air, catch it and run—and belt the stuffing out of each other while they’re at it—and get paid unbelievable mega-dollars for doing it!

Apparently major sports events are not only a health hazard for the players, but also for viewers. An issue of the British Medical Journal reported that on the day in June of 1996 when the Dutch team was knocked out of the European football championship, there was a 50% increase in heart attacks of men—not women! They said it was probably caused, not only by the emotional stress of screaming and hollering when your team is either winning or losing, but at the same time consuming too much alcohol and fatty foods!

Super Bowl parties with friends can be lots of fun, but what boggles the mind are the things we value most in today’s society. Sports for millions is almost a religion! In fact, According to Wikipedia, “Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. In most years, the Super Bowl is the most-watched American television broadcast; Super Bowl XLIV, played in February 2010, became the most-watched American television program in history, drawing an average audience of 106.5 million viewers.”²

As Chuck Colson stated, “Every once in a while, events line up in a way that allows us to see things as they really are. [An] example was the deaths of Princess Diana and Mother Teresa within a week of each other. The juxtaposition of the hype and hysteria over the jet-setter, Diana, and the muted response to the death of Mother Teresa gave us a glimpse into how shallow and empty our culture truly is.”³

I’m not against sports—except about some of the “obscene” pay scales—in some professional sports, which, again, shows where today’s values are (at least in the West). Pity school teachers and those who are making an impact on our society that they aren’t given more recognition and appreciation.

Having said this, for Christians our values are not here on earth (hopefully) but in heaven where God keeps the books and gives rewards—rewards that are eternal! We won’t be judged for our sins because Christ accepted that judgment for us on the cross, but we will be judged and rewarded according to our faithfulness in loving and serving God.

If only we Christians were as enthusiastic about reaching as many people around the world with the gospel as will be reached with football this Sunday!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, it is so easy for some of us, including me, to get caught up in the values of this world. Help me to always remember that this life is temporal and to live with eternal values in mind. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV).

2. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl

3. BreakPoint, Chuck Colson. Copyright (c) 2001 by Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. BreakPoint with Chuck Colson is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

A Daily Encounter reader wrote to me saying that Christ’s promise of “ask and you will receive” was a painful lie.

I think that for some people prayer is like a magic wand that is supposed to remove all of life’s difficulties. Not so. Neither is prayer a lucky charm to gain special favors. Nor is it a painkiller like taking a giant aspirin: “Take God three times a day and you won’t feel any pain!” as John Powell put it.

These things are never the purpose for prayer. First, for God to answer prayer, we need to be in a right relationship with him through Jesus Christ. Second, we need to pray in harmony with God’s will as seen in his Word, the Bible. Third, our prayers need to be sincere and truthful from the heart. In fact, prayer is communicating our heart to God. When we adhere to these requirements, God always answers our prayers. Sometimes the answer is “yes;” sometimes it is “no;” and sometimes it is “wait a while.” God always knows what is best for us. He will give us wisdom, guidance, and direction if we ask for it, but he will not do for us what we can and need to do for ourselves.

When Abraham sent his servant to seek a bride for his son, Isaac, the servant said, “I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”² There he found Rebekah who agreed to become Isaac’s wife. The point I am making is this: when Abraham’s servant acted responsibly and did his part, God did his part and directed him in the way that he should go.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please open the eyes of my understanding so I that can read and understand what your Word, the Bible, teaches and therein see the direction of my life that you would have me take. Help me always to pray in harmony with your will and see what my part is and act responsibly. Every day I will commit and trust my life and way to you, and trust you to guide me in the way that you would have me go. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.

For further help read, “How to Pray Effectively” online at: http://tinyurl.com/good-morning-God

1. Psalm 145:18 (NIV)

2. Genesis 24:7 (KJV).

A Daily Encounter reader wrote, “I’m still out there seeking what God’s plan for me is, but how can I go from the cradle to the grave without ever having any prayers answered. I have stepped out of my so-called comfort zone often in my life, but no great discoveries or blessings have I found. How do I get a job like yours where I can publish doggerel and shopworn biblical phrases for fun and profit?”

“Dear, Terry,” (not his real name), I replied, “You can get a job just like mine—minus the doggerel, the shopworn biblical phrases and the profit—if you do the same as what I had to do; that is, spend several years getting trained in Bible school, college and graduate school, and working part time all the while, to pay for the privilege, at any job I could find, including scrubbing floors. It also took many years to build the ministry of ACTS International, and I continue to work 60-70 hours a week, including working a second part-time job to help support myself.”

True, God feeds the birds of the air, but he doesn’t throw the food into their nest. God’s will is never handed to us on a silver platter. God gave the ancient Israelites the Promised Land but, even with his help, they had to battle to gain every inch of it. Had God not given it to them, they never would have been able to conquer it. God has a plan for you and me too, but we also have to work diligently—with God’s help—to see it achieved in our life.

The reality is that what we see is what we get. It all lies in our perception, and that, no matter how distorted, becomes our reality. Distorted perception, like distorted eye lenses, distorts everything we see in life. It also distorts our prayer life, our faith, and our view of God. Jesus gave us a divine principle when he said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.” With distorted faith our prayers will be distorted and the results will match our distorted perception of reality.

So how do we get to the stage where our perception is based on reality instead of our “reality” being based on our perception? Not easy. However, we get there by becoming real; that is, honest at the gut level with one’s self (that includes our true emotions and our motives), with God, and with at least one trusted friend. The fact is, the more dishonest I am with my inner self, the more I will distort all other truth—including God’s truth. Only personal gut-level honesty will deliver us from distortion so we can see reality as it truly is—and as God sees it.

As God’s Word says, “Behold, You [God] desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.”²

For further help be sure to read, “Dare to Be Honest” at: http://tinyurl.com/dare-to-be-honest.

Suggested prayer: Dear God, please confront me with the truth about me. Help me to see myself as you see me so that I can, with your help, resolve every issue in my life that causes me to distort reality, so that I will become truly authentic in every area of my life—honest with myself, honest with others, and honest with you for the glory of your name. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 9:29 (NIV).

2. Psalm 51:6 (NASB).