He who whispers down a well

About the things he has to sell,

Doesn’t get as many dollars

As he who climbs a tree and hollers!

Have you ever noticed that the vast majority of non-church people aren’t knocking down our doors in a rush to hear us preach the gospel? At least I’ve never seen it anywhere where I’ve lived.

It’s like an old preacher friend of mine used to say, “You don’t catch fish in the bathtub … you have to go where the fish are.”

With the ongoing acts of evil aggressive terrorism overseas, and here at home the growing rejection of Christianity, God and the Bible, plus the accelerated acceptance of anti-Christian religions—if ever there was a time when we Christians in the West need to hear God’s wake-up call and let our voice be heard and let our light shine, it’s today.

But whether it’s in secular business or God’s business, he who whispers down a well is not going to get a hearing. And he who fishes in the bathtub isn’t going to catch any fish! Or he who hides his light under a basket isn’t going to have it seen!

As Christians we need to do everything in our power to abate the forces of evil by demonstrating and communicating the love of God and the gospel message of Jesus Christ in some way to every life we touch and to all people everywhere.

However, to win some we need to be winsome—that is, before people will listen to our message, they need to see Jesus in us and in so seeing, want Jesus for themselves.

Remember the kid’s song we used to sing in Sunday school: “See this little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine, See this little light of mine, I’m going to let shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.” Not under a basket. Not down a well. But in everything we do, wherever we go, and by every legitimate means available to us.

Simple message! Great theology! Powerful evangelism!

Remember too, that all the darkness (evil) in the world cannot put out the light of even the smallest candle!

May God help each of us to be candles for Jesus and let our light shine ’til he comes!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to stop, stand still, and listen—with my heart—and hear your wakeup call echoing out of today’s terrorism and the increasing rejection of Christianity, and do everything I can to let my light shine and thereby demonstrate your message of love and salvation to every life I touch. Help me too, to do what I can to support, not only my church, but missionaries and those who are taking your message of love and salvation to the ends of the earth. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 5:15 (NKJV).

The following questions are always asked: “Where was God when my baby sister died suddenly?” “When my husband died in the prime of life?” “When my child was kidnapped, murdered, and raped?” This question is as old as Job and as fresh as today. So many also ask this question when we see acts of terrorism, massive suffering caused by evil leaders, and other tragedies.

So where is God when mankind suffers? God is where he always was and is. He is present. He knows all. He sees all. And I believe that as Jesus wept when his friend Lazarus died, so God also weeps over the suffering of mankind.

So why doesn’t God stop all this suffering? Why didn’t he stop Hitler massacring millions of Jews and why didn’t he stop Stalin and others who have slaughtered millions? And why doesn’t he stop terrorists, rapists, kidnappers, and murderers? For the simple reason that he has given mankind a free will to choose—either to follow and obey Him or to go our own sinful, evil way. It’s mankind’s choice. It is every individual’s choice. God never created or wanted puppets on a string. We all have been given a free will.

However, when mankind chooses the way of evil, the heart of God grieves, In fact, because God loved us so much, he gave his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and deliver us from evil and from sin’s eternal consequences—hell and eternal separation from him, the source of all love and life.

As the hymn writer, Frank E. Graeff, expressed in words:

Does Jesus care?

O yes he cares,

I know he cares,

His heart is touched with my grief,

The long hours weary

So sad and dreary

I know my Savior cares.

Suggested prayer: “Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that when I hurt, you feel my pain and grieve with me. Thank you, too, that you also grieve when evil in the world is unleashed and people are struck down in the prime of life. And thank you that you have the gift of salvation for all who come to you confessing their sinfulness and their need to be delivered from all evil, sickness, sadness, sorrow, death, and eternal death. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John 11:34-36 (NIV).

Tragically, terrorism (which continues unabated throughout the world) is not only a reign of terror but a reign of lies. And when justified in the name of “god” or “Allah” and religion, it becomes even more deceptive and dastardly. It is evil incarnate!

Today’s extremist Islamic terrorists who are wreaking havoc and murder in various parts of the world (Al-Queada is thought to be operating in as many as 60 countries) are taught and believe that they are waging a just war in the name of “god/Allah” and religion. They have convinced themselves that they have the truth and that Jews and Christians are the infidels and must be destroyed.

The fact is that we live in a world of both good and evil and it seems to me that the bottom line between the battle between good and evil is fundamentally a battle between truth and lies.

God is truth and in him is no darkness. He is symbolized by light. Satan, on the other hand, is the father of lies and a liar from the beginning. He is symbolized by darkness and transforms himself to appear as an angel of light.

Hitler’s reign of terror was a reign of lies. Tragically, too many believed his lies that the Jews were an inferior race and had to be done away with. Millions were slaughtered.

Stalin’s reign of terror was a reign of lies. Communism was claimed to be the greatest way of life and democracy had to be destroyed. Millions were killed.

Every dictator in his lust for power who seeks to destroy and kill all who oppose him (and his self-glorifying ambitions) is a messenger of evil, a master of deceit, and an agent of Satan, the devil.

These masters of deceit dress their lies in an attractive garment fabricated with an element of truth that makes their message appeal to those who walk in darkness and not in the light of God’s truth. Evil’s messengers may be dressed in sheep’s clothes, but inside they are murderous wolves.

Let us not be lulled to sleep: (1) by those whose aim is to be politically correct and whitewash or soften the voice of evil, (2) by those who would have us believe that educated, civilized man is becoming more tolerant and peaceful, (3) by those who think that the Osama bin Ladens and the “would-be Hitlers” of the world are no threat to Western society, or (4) by those who would have us believe the lie that all roads lead to God!

No! All roads do not lead to God, otherwise why would Jesus Christ have to come to earth to die on the cross to redeem lost mankind? Jesus made it very clear that he was the only way to God.²

And no! Educated, civilized mankind is not getting better. Remember Hitler was the leader of one of the most educated and informed people on earth—and a master of deceit.

Evil dictators will stop at nothing—I repeat, nothing—to fulfill their self-centered, lustful, power-monger ambitions.

As the Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”³ This is why our world desperately needs the Savior. Jesus Christ is not only the hope of the world, but the only hope of the world and of lost mankind.

Against all evil and its lies, we need to know the truth of what God’s Word teaches and be on our guard. And may we be reminded once again that “eternal vigilance is still the price of freedom.” And among other things, we need to oppose the message of terrorism by urgently demonstrating and proclaiming to all people the gospel message of God’s forgiveness, hope, healing, love, and peace.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, these very sobering times. Grant that our nation will see that there is a reign of terror and evil throughout the world and may we, seeing our plight and our need, turn to you—the only hope for our broken world and lost mankind. Help us to see all events of terrorism as a wakeup call to turn back to you. I implore you to send us a revival of the Spirit. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 (NKJV).

2. See John 14:6.

3. Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV).

Down the hot, dusty Jericho Road, leaving with his disciples and a host of followers thronging around him, Jesus was trying to move on from Jericho. Farther down the road two blind men (probably beggars) were sitting by the wayside. Wondering what all the commotion was about, they inquired about what was happening.

“I think it’s the man they call Jesus—that unorthodox religious fellow,” they heard someone say. “They say he goes against many of our religious traditions and the leaders hate him because of it. But he also heals people of all sorts of ills. It will be great to hear him. He’s coming this way.”

The blind beggars knew all about Jesus but they’d never “seen” him this close before. “Now’s our chance,” they said to each other. Somehow they knew that this might be their only chance to ever come anywhere near this man they call Jesus. He would be passing right by them.

As the crowd neared them and they sensed that Jesus was somewhere near, they yelled at the top of their voice, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

The crowd rebuked them and tried to shut them up, but with dignity thrown to the wind, they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

And Jesus stood still! Amazing words. Amazing action. The Son of God stood still.

Imagine it! The winds and the waves couldn’t stop Jesus. The crowds couldn’t block him. The Roman soldiers had no power over him without his permission. King Herod failed to have him killed when he was just a baby. And the religious leaders couldn’t silence him. But the cry of two blind, lonely beggars caused the Son of God to stop dead in his tracks. And listen!

And Jesus called to them, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

And Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

“Lord, have mercy on me,” is one cry that God always hears and for which Jesus always stands still and listens, and says to you and me through his Word, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that two blind beggars had the power to stop you and you had the power to heal them. Help me to see my deepest need and confess this to you. Have mercy on me and forgive all my sins, and grant to me the healing of my wounded soul and the gift of eternal life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer just as you heard and answered the cry of the two blind me. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

NOTE: For further help read “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: How to Be Sure: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9

1. Matthew 20:29-30 (NIV).

Can you imagine it? Jesus was in church (synagogue) and he noticed a man who had a withered hand—and the religious leaders watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal this man on what they considered to be “the Lord’s Day”—a day in which people were not to do any unnecessary work. Jesus was angry at them because of their hardness of heart. But he healed the man anyhow, and lo and behold the religious Pharisees planned how they could kill him; Jesus, that is!

And why was Jesus so angry at these bigots? It was because of their non-feeling, stubborn, theologically rigid, cold, hard hearts. Because of this, they loved their ridiculous man-made rules more than they loved people—or God.

For some strange reason, people who are theologically rigid have deceived themselves into believing that their rigidity is a form of spirituality, when in fact, it is a symptom of emotional rigidity, which in turn, is a form of denial (self-deception). This in turn leaves them with a hard, non-feeling, cold heart! They are out of touch with their own reality (their true inner feelings and motives), and being out of touch with their own feelings, are insensitive to everybody else’s. They also tend to be authoritarian and dogmatic.

Sadly, those who are rigid in their personality don’t know or admit that they are rigid. What they also fail to realize is that people who are rigid, dogmatic and authoritarian, are riddled with self-doubts, are insecure, and fearful—and, living in denial, they seek to hide their insecurities behind a phony mask of super-spiritual superiority.

While Jesus was the supreme example of genuine authority and always spoke with authority, he was never an authoritarian. And while he was also the supreme example of Truth, he was never dogmatic about it.

Furthermore, God is not into rules, religion, or rigidity! He is into growth, recovery, wholeness and loving relationships—not only for us to have with him, but also with others and our own selves.

So be very much aware of any religion that is based on rules, religiosity, and rigidity—it is not of God no matter how appealing or plausible it may appear to be. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty—not rigidity!²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please deliver me from self-deception, denial and theological rigidity. Help me to always be honest with you and myself so that I will always be real, genuine and authentic in all that I say and do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Mark 3:4-6 (NIV).

2. See 2 Corinthians 3:17.

I have read how, in days of yesteryear, people used ice-houses in order to preserve their food. I heard how one man lost his pocket watch while working in one of these ice-houses. He searched diligently for it raking through all the sawdust on the floor—but without success. Fellow workers also failed to find it.

A boy who wanted to know what all the fuss was about went into the ice-house, closed the door, and before long he emerged with the watch.

“How did you do it?” the men asked.

“I closed the door,” the boy replied, “lay down with my ear in the sawdust on the floor, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking.”²

Many people ask, “Does God speak to people today?” And how would I know if God spoke to me?

Actually God speaks to us in a myriad of ways. But unless we stand still long enough and listen with our heart, we may never hear him. God may not speak in an audible voice but he “speaks” very specifically through his Word, the Bible. But we need to read and study it to get his message. And God “shouts” to us through creation. As his Word, the Bible, says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”³

God also speaks to us through various circumstances. Unfortunately, some of us don’t stop and listen until a crisis hits us and causes us to slow down and take stock of our life.

Basically, however, in life we see what we want to see, we hear what we want to hear, and we pay attention to what we want to pay attention. Hearing God’s voice is a choice. If we truly want to hear it, we will.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have revealed yourself clearly to all of mankind especially through your Word, the Bible, and through your creation. Please help me to slow down and listen with my heart to what you are saying to me. Help me to not only hear, but also to obey. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 46:10 (NIV).

2. Story taken from “Directions” by James Hamilton.

Donald William Dotterer wrote, “Steven Jobs is the man who founded the enormously successful company called Apple Computer. Jobs decided that Mr. John Sculley was the man he needed to help him fulfill his dream of building a completely different kind of computer company, one which [Jobs dreamed] would make computers available to every person in the world. However, Mr. Sculley was comfortably and safely entrenched as president of the Pepsico Corporation, the makers of the soft drink Pepsi.

“In this position, John Sculley had achieved everything that a man could want: power, prestige, public recognition, an enormous salary and a secure future. The thought of a career change requiring a move to the West Coast frightened him. He was concerned about losing pensions and deferred compensation and the adjustment to living in California, in other words, ‘the pragmatic stuff that preoccupies the middle-aged.’

“John Sculley knew that he was safe at Pepsico. But he also knew that he had grown to dislike the competitive nature of the business. He also knew how bored he was. Steven Jobs at Apple Computer sensed this. And so he finally confronted his new friend with this pointed question. He said to John, ‘Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?’ That question penetrated deep into the heart and mind of John Sculley. It changed the course of his life. He therefore went to Apple Computer and helped it to grow into one of the most successful corporations in the world. Mr. Sculley’s life was changed because he took the risk and decided to invest. Was it a risk? Yes. But without it, there would be no reward.”²

I’m not suggesting that you should change your job (though some of you may need to), but I am asking, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life doing only what you are doing now, or do you want to help to truly change the world—one person at a time?”

You can. Here are a few of many simple ways you can do this:

First, make yourself available to God every day and ask him to use you to be as Jesus to every life you touch and that people seeing Jesus in you will want him for themselves.

Second, become involved in serving others through your local church or a fine voluntary organization and help make a difference in your local community.

Third, you can send copies of suitable Daily Encounters to friends and loved ones and share with them these non-preachy Christian messages that speak directly to their personal needs. Hundreds of people are being reached with the gospel and Christian message in this way and it, too, is helping to change the world—one person at a time.

Fourth, besides financially supporting your local church, help support faith organizations that are making a difference and those that are spreading the gospel. There are many such organizations that are dependent on the support of concerned Christians for their operation. And in your giving, please consider becoming a partner with ACTS International (publisher of Daily and Weekend Encounter) through your prayer and financial support and therein be a part of a work that is sending the gospel around the world via E-mail and the Internet every day of the year.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for Jesus, the Savior, the hope of lost mankind, and the only one who has the power to truly change the world. I am available—please guide me in how I can best invest my time, talents, and money in your work, and use me today and every day to be as Christ to every life I touch and therein help change the world in which I live—one person at a time. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Mark 16:15 (TLB-NLT).

2. Donald William Dotterer, “Living the Easter Faith,” CSS Publishing Company, 1994. Cited on www.eSermons.com, 2002.

In his book, Beginning Again, Terry Hershey writes, “God not only says that failure is never the final word, but that your area of weakness will become your area of strength. Where you were weak and learned grace will become a means whereby you can reach out and touch the lives of others who need the same good news.

“God is not only working to heal you, but to heal others through you, to make you what Henri Nouwen called a ‘wounded healer.’

“Such healing doesn’t happen through the man or woman who has all the answers. It happens through the man or woman who understands pain and grace. Nouwen explains, ‘For a deep understanding of his own pain makes it possible for the [wounded healer] to convert his weaknesses into strength and to offer his experience as a source of healing to those who are often lost in the darkness of their own misunderstood suffering.’”

I believe it was Ernest Hemingway who first used the phrase, “Growing strong in the broken places.” The idea being that where a bone is broken and heals, it becomes the strongest part of the bone.

The same is true of our broken places—where we have been hurt, have fallen, or failed. When we bring these to Christ for his healing, his strength is then made perfect in and through our weaknesses. This is certainly true in ministering effectively to other people. They are helped, not through our brilliant logic, nor persuasive speech, but through the sharing of our struggles, and how, with God’s help, we have overcome. It is a case of one beggar showing other beggars where to find bread.

This is why the Apostle Paul could say, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to see my broken places and find your healing so that I, too, can be used of you to be a wounded healer. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 1:4 (NLT).

2. Romans 8:28 (NKJV).

Temptation. It befalls all of us. It can come directly from the devil, a devil’s advocate, through a friend, or from my own self.

We are all open to temptation for, like a lawn bowl that has a bias (weight) on one side that causes it to curve away from the goal, we have a bias that, unless guarded, causes us go astray and miss the mark of God’s goal for us. The bias is our sin nature that we are all born with.

So how do we defend against temptation?

First and foremost, as author Max Lucado suggests in his book, On the Anvil, there are two very simple strategies for protecting ourselves from sin and temptation. The first is to recognize Satan. So often, we are lured into a sin because it looks so attractive, so fulfilling, so right at the time. So we find ways to rationalize our actions and make excuses for our attitudes. Instead, we must be like Jesus in the desert and call Satan by name. No more sugar-coating the truth. Don’t try to water down the power of sin. Call it what it is.

Second, we can guard against some temptations by making sure we get legitimate needs met in legitimate ways. For instance, after fasting for forty days, Jesus was hungry. This is when Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread. Satan always has a way to tempt us at our weakest and/or neediest point. For another example, many singles when they are lonely, instead of getting their companionship needs met in healthy ways, turn to sex as a poor substitute for love.

Third, realize that God’s salvation begins at the point where we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord of our life—and as we grow in wholeness and maturity. As Jesus often asked, “Do you want to be made whole?” Wholeness is a requirement for wholesome living, for only to the degree that we are made whole will our lifestyle, our actions, our thoughts (the beginning point of temptation), our behavior, and our relationships be wholesome.

Fourth, walk with God. Growing in wholeness is a life-long process, so in the meantime to avoid giving in to temptation, we need not only to make sure we get our needs met in healthy ways, but also to walk with God. That is, we need to know what his Word teaches by reading and studying it faithfully, and we need to commit and trust our life to God every day, and seek his guidance and help to live a life that will glorify him in all that we are and do.

Fifth, be filled with God’s Spirit who gives us the insight to recognize temptation for what it is and the power to overcome its onslaughts.

Sixth, pray. Sometimes a simple prayer such as, “Help, God, Help,” can be the best antidote against falling pray to temptation’s alluring charms.

Lastly, when we do give in to temptation and sin, remember that God says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”² The important thing is to get up, put things right where needed and possible, and go on.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have provided a way of escape from giving in to temptation for me through your so great salvation. Help me to keep growing in faith, love, maturity and wholeness, and fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I will have the strength to overcome temptation. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Joyfully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. James 1:14 (NASB).

2. 1 John 1:9 (NKJV).

The following formula for resolving problems, I believe, came from Norman Vincent Peale. He said to visualize … prayerize … actualize.

Visualize. We need to see a problem for what it is, and usually what we see isn’t the real problem at all. Often it is the symptom of a deeper, hidden problem, the fruit of a hidden root! As somebody else said, “God is merciful. When we have unresolved personal problems, he gives us symptoms.” Only as we see the cause of any problem can we ever resolve it. Once we do this, we need to visualize (see) what we need to do to overcome the problem as well as visualizing or seeing the final outcome.

Prayerize. We also need to ask God to give us the wisdom and courage to see and confront the real cause of our problem. Then pray realistically, not only by committing our problem to God and asking for his guidance to help to find a solution, but also to give us the courage to do our part.

Actualize. Finally, we need to realize that we are responsible for resolving our problems. No matter what happens to us, we are always responsible for our reactions, feelings, and what we do about resolving our problems. God will give us wisdom if we ask for it, insight if we desire it, and courage if we need it, but he won’t do for us what we can and need to do for ourselves. If he did, it would keep us over-dependent and immature.

Accepting responsibility for our problems, emotions, behavior, and our life is the heart of adult maturity. As we do our part to overcome our difficulties, God will do his part. As another has said, “God feeds the sparrows but he doesn’t throw the food into their nests.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in all of life’s difficulties help me to face reality and see my responsibility and what I can and need to do to overcome. Please lead me to the help I need so to do. Also, help me to accept every problem as a challenge and opportunity to grow and thereby become a better, healthier and more loving person. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. James 1:5 (NIV).