I was recently discussing the subject of homosexuality with a person who claims to believe in God, but when I shared with her what God’s Word has to say about this subject, she said, “I respectfully disagree with you.”

The fact is, however, she wasn’t disagreeing with me, she was disagreeing with God’s Word, the Bible, and to disagree with the Bible, is to disagree with God. Quite a superior stand to take! Putting one’s self above God is an insidious and ultimately self-destructive stand to take.

Doing this is precisely the essence of sin and is how sin entered the human race through Adam and Eve, the first man and woman. God had given both total freedom to eat of every fruit in the Garden of Eden except for just one fruit. This was a test and an opportunity for them to choose to follow God or to oppose him. When Satan, the devil, disguised as a serpent, came to tempt Adam and Eve, in referring to the forbidden fruit, he said to Eve, “Has God said?”

And then extended to Eve a part truth in order to deceive her. He said to her, “If you eat of the forbidden fruit, you will be as the gods knowing the difference between good and evil.” This was the part truth, but what Satan didn’t say was that if she ate of the forbidden fruit, she would be forever confirmed in a state of sin/evil which would cause her to be separated from God. Sadly, Eve bought into the lie, took of the forbidden fruit, ate it and shared it with Adam, and he ignored God’s directive too.

So Eve set herself up as the judge between God and Satan. In doing this, she fell for the trap, ate of the forbidden fruit as did Adam, and in doing so they brought sin into the human race. In essence Adam and Eve were, through their actions, saying to God, “I respectfully disagree with you.”

So when it comes to issues such as homosexuality, gay marriage, and many other moral issues, has God said? Indeed he has—very clearly in his Word. Whether it be by an individual, a church, a denomination, or a country—we oppose God’s Word and God’s instructions to our peril! The reality is that while God loves all sinners, He hates sin because it is so totally destructive of those whom he loves, and that is you and me. It is also destructive of families and entire nations.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me a genuine love for, and an appreciation of, Your Word as found in the Bible, knowing that Your Word is always truth and Your directions for all of life—for this life and preparing us for life beyond the grave in eternity. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Genesis 3:1 (KJV).

A Daily Encounter reader asks, “How does one know that God is speaking to him or her? I am very confused because I do not know what God wants me to do with my life.”

In younger days I used to struggle with the same question; that is, how can I know the will of God for my life? The following comes from what I learned:

First, and most important, is that it is always God’s will for us to put God first in our lives and to live in harmony with what His Word, the Bible, teaches.

Second, ask God to help you discover what your God-given life purpose is, and then do what is necessary to fulfill this purpose. This will be achieved by developing and using your God-given natural gifts and talents to serve Him. Realize, too, that we serve God by serving/helping people.

Third, when fulfilling the above, you will enjoy and find fulfillment in the work/service (either paid or volunteer) that you do. Referring to Jesus, David, the Psalmist, wrote: “I take joy in doing your will, my God.” When we live in harmony with and do the will of God, we, too, will find joy and fulfillment.

Fourth, unless we have a “specific call” from God for a specific task such as being a missionary (or other ministry), we can do any of a number of things and still be doing God’s will. For instance, picture God’s will as traveling on a “train” that will take you to heaven when your life on earth is ended. While God is in charge of that train, we have all the freedom to move around in that train, and be involved in varied activities using our abilities to serve others. Should God be calling you to a specific task, it will be much like what Oswald Chambers once said: “The call of God is like the call of the sea to a sailor.” That is, a man who senses the call of the sea, will never rest until he launches out to sea to answer that inner urging. For more details on the call of God, see the article, “Baffling Call of God,” online at: http://tinyurl.com/callofGod.

Fifth, realize that God is not co-dependent. He will give wisdom and guidance if we ask Him to (see Proverbs 3:5-6), but He doesn’t make our decisions for us. So don’t wait for a special vision, just put to use the talents you have in serving others through your local church, a para-church organization, with a volunteer service organization, through visiting the sick or shut-ins, helping a neighbor, or just in one or more of normal, everyday activities.

Sixth, every morning pray and commit and trust your life and way to God and trust Him to lead you in the way that is best for you to go. I have prayed this prayer almost every day since my youth and, as I look back, can see how God has answered this prayer in so many ways that I never would have dreamed possible.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to discover my God-given life purpose, to live in harmony with Your will, and to develop and use my God-given gifts and talents in a way that will best serve You and fulfill Your purpose for my life—and therein find joy and fulfillment. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Psalm 40:8 (NLT).

Flack is a normal part of front-line action. Whenever a person invests his or her life in a worthwhile cause and does a good job, especially if he or she doesn’t follow the party line, is not acting in a “politically correct” manner, or swims against the tide of current thought, he or she will inevitably become a target for criticism from those who feel threatened or are in some way jealous. The Apostle Paul’s life is a prime example.

The point is, flack is a part of the price of leadership. If we don’t want flack, all we need to do is to stay a part of the status quo, don’t rock the boat, be politically correct, or stay at home. But safety is not the way of true success. As one poet wrote:

I would rather stumble a thousand times
Attempting to reach a goal,
Than to sit in a crowd
In my weather-proof shroud,

A shriveled and self-satisfied soul.
I would rather be doing and daring
All of my error-filled days,
Than watching and waiting, and dying
Smug in my perfect ways.
I would rather wonder and blunder,
Stumbling blindly ahead,
Than for safety’s sake
Lest I make a mistake
Be sure, be safe, be dead.

– Author Unknown

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me a passion to live for and serve You. Help me always to take a stand for all that Your Word, the Bible, teaches. And please give me the courage to not shrink back because of the attacks of those who oppose truth and Your work. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 11:24-26 (NIV).

“Down the streets of Portsmouth, two hundred years ago, 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 incurables, 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.”²

More than two thousand years ago God informed Ezekiel, the prophet, that he was looking for a man to “stand in the gap” to save the land. God, today, is still looking for men and women who will stand in the gap to help bring people to Jesus, for without him perishing souls are lost forever. God uses ordinary people to fulfill his goals on earth—the major qualification is not our strength but having a stout spirit and being available for God to use.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in spite of my inadequacies, I come to You and am available for service. Please make me usable and use me to stand in the gap to help bring the lost to Jesus. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

NOTE: For simple helps so you, too, can “stand in the gap,” please consider joining with ACTS as a People Power for Jesus Partner. There is absolutely no charge to join. See https://learning.actsweb.org/people_power/.

1. Ezekiel 22:30.

2. Lt. General Ira C. Eaker.

In his book, Confidence, Alan Loy McGinnis talks about a famous study entitled “Cradles of Eminence” by Victor and Mildred Goertzel, in which the family backgrounds of 300 highly successful people were studied.

Many of the names of those in the study were well-known to most of us—including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Winston Churchill, Albert Schweitzer, Gandhi, and Einstein—all of whom were brilliant in their field of expertise.

The results of this study are both surprising and encouraging for many of us who came from a less than desirable home life. For example: “Three-quarters of the children were troubled either by poverty, by a broken home, or by rejecting, over-possessive or dominating parents.

“Seventy-four of 85 writers of fiction or drama and 16 of the 20 poets came from homes where, as children, they saw tense psychological drama played out by their parents.

“Physical handicaps such as blindness, deafness, or crippled limbs characterized over one-quarter of the sample.”

These people who had confidence in their abilities and put them to creative use had more weaknesses and handicaps than many who have all of their faculties intact and who had a reasonably good home life background. So, what made the difference? Probably by compensating for their weaknesses they excelled in other areas.

One man reported, “What has influenced my life more than any other single thing has been my stammer. Had I not stammered I would probably have gone to Cambridge as my brothers did, perhaps have become a don and every now and then published a dreary book about French literature.” The speaker who stammered until his death was W. Somerset Maugham, as he looked back on his life at age 86.

“By then he had become a world-renowned author of more than 20 books, 30 plays, and scores of essays and short stories.”

It’s not what we have or don’t have that matters in life but what we do with what we have. All God expects of us is that we don’t allow our past to determine our future, and that with his help we use what we have to the best of our ability.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank You for the gifts You have given to me, no matter how small or large, help me to develop and use them to my total God-given potential, and to use them for Your glory. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 12:9.

One of my favorite quotes, which I like to repeat from time to time, is from Theodore Roosevelt who said: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”²

Not long before a close friend of mine died of cancer, I asked him what it felt like to be forty-four and in his predicament. Among a number of things he said, “I feel angry because there was so much more I wanted to do with life. I feel bad about being so busy and not spending more time with my family.” And then, after a thoughtful pause he said, “I can’t help but wonder what I have done with my life that has been truly worthwhile.”

His words were sobering and I know that when I get to the end of my journey and stand before the Savior, I want to know that I have invested my life wisely for eternity and have earned the Savior’s welcome words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

Whether we live for forty, eighty, or a hundred years, our time here on earth is but a drop in the ocean compared to eternity. And as Amy Carmichael said, “We have all eternity to celebrate the victories, but only a few short hours to fight and win the battles.” So, let’s keep daring greatly for God!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in glad surrender I yield my life totally to You. Help me to live always for You and invest my life wisely in eternity by being a part of what You are doing in the world today. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. 2 Timothy 4:7.

2. Theodore Roosevelt.

George Washington Carver, whose research won him international fame, was an African American born to slave parents. “A week after his birth, George was kidnapped along with his sister and mother from the Carver farm by raiders from the neighboring state of Arkansas. The three were sold in Kentucky, and among them only the infant George was located by an agent of Moses Carver and returned to Missouri.”²

Someone claimed that when growing up, George had a lot of faith, and when he was still young, prayed: “Lord, tell me all about the universe.”

But God said, “George, that’s a tall order. Why don’t you pray for something more your size?”

So George said, “All right, Lord, tell me all about the peanut.”

God answered him and George discovered more than three hundred uses for the peanut—ranging from salad oil to soap.”

Greater still, George overcame his humble beginnings to discover the miracles in his life.

Whether this story about George’s prayer is real or just an allegory, it is an excellent parable for each of us to stop and evaluate our life, and ask ourselves if we have discovered the “miracle” in our life that God has planned for each of us, and to become the person he envisioned us to be.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank You that You have a wonderful miracle-purpose for my life, and will or have already given me all that I need to achieve this miracle. Please help me to see what that ‘miracle’ is, and give me the courage and help to do all that I need to do to fulfill this God-given life purpose miracle. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 9:29 (NKJV).

2. See also: http://www.biography.com/people/george-washington-carver-9240299.

It’s an old saying but still appropriate as we commence another New Year: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

For better or worse, last year is gone forever—even though many of its effects will live on forever. However, we can’t go back and do what we should or could have done. And we can’t undo those things we regret having done any more than we can un-ring a bell.

But the good news is that, if we are so inclined or determined, we can put the past behind us and accept the New Year as a new opportunity to grow emotionally and spiritually, to serve God and our fellow man, and to achieve something worthwhile that will last for time and eternity.I am encouraged because I know God has a purpose for your life and mine this year—something to live for that is bigger than we are that makes life worth living.

We serve God by serving people and sometimes this task, because of the great needs people have, can seem overwhelming. However, God has a part for every one of us and if we each play our part and work together, we can get God’s work done and we can each make a difference in somebody’s life and therein help make our world a better place in which to live.

Frank McInnes wrote, “During World War II, the munitions factory at Lithgow in Australia had as its motto five letters: I-A-D-O-M! Large posters with these letters printed on them were placed throughout the factory in strategic places.

And what did I-A-D-O-M stand for? “It All Depends On Me!”

Let’s work together this year to do God’s work and share his love and good news with more of our fellow countrymen than ever before. With God’s help and a willing spirit we can each have a very fruitful and productive year. And remember, as Henry Van Dyke put it: “What you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else. But what you are will be yours forever.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, I am available. Please make me usable and use me this year to be a part of what you are doing in the world today—the privilege for which I am truly thankful. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Philippians 3:13.

Dr. Leslie Flynn writes about the time when the English and French were at war in colonial Canada. “Admiral Phipps, in charge of the British Fleet, was ordered to anchor outside Quebec, a city on the St. Lawrence River. He was to await the coming of the British infantry and then join the land forces in attack.

“Arriving early, Admiral Phipps, an ardent nonconformist, was annoyed by the statues of the saints that adorned the roof and towers of the Catholic cathedral. So he spent his time shooting at them with the ships’ guns. How many he hit we don’t know, but history recorded that when the infantry arrived and the signal was given for attack, the admiral found himself out of ammunition. He had used it for shooting out the saints.”

I often wonder in the church how much of our efforts are poured into fighting among ourselves over insignificant trivialities instead of uniting our efforts to attack the real enemy, and do everything possible to reach the lost with the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ—the only hope of our sin-sick world.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me not to waste my time and energy and resources on trivialities nor majoring on minors, but always to major on the majors that are important to you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Peter 3:8-9, (NIV)