June 1, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: You have no questions to ask of any body, no new way that you need inquire after; no oracle that you need to consult; for whilst you shut yourself up in patience, meekness, humility, and resignation to God, you are in the very arms of Christ, your heart is His dwelling-place, and He lives and works in you as certainly as He lived in and governed that body and soul which He took from the Virgin Mary. - William Law
"Weapons with Which to Win"
"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." - 1 Peter 5:8
When in the fourth century the Huns were ravaging Europe, Ursula, a holy woman in England, is said to have raised an army of 11,000 virgins to fight them. It was an uneven battle, and the results were disastrous. All were slaughtered at Cologne, Germany. The Virgin Islands were named in their honor.
History knows of other uneven fights, and so does the Bible -- Samson versus the Philistines, David versus Goliath, Peter in Gethsemane versus the mob that came to arrest Jesus. No contest, however, is as unevenly matched as when human beings try to overcome their greatest enemy, Satan. As Saint Paul wrote, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12).
While Satan is a spiritual opponent, his temptations are very much down-to-earth -- very materialistic and sensual: the love of money, greed, sexual immorality, drink and drugs, dirty gossip.
In order to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, we need weapons other than those used in human combat. We need spiritual weapons, and Saint Paul tells us what they are: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the footgear of the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17).
With spiritual weapons we can prevail, because Jesus Christ has won the major battle against the devil with His death and triumphant resurrection. Fortified by faith in Him -- faith in the Word of the Gospel -- we will not only hold our own with Satan but will win the victory.
Taken from "Each Day with Jesus"
Copyright 1994, Concordia Publishing House.
June 2, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I deserve to be damned, I deserve to be in hell, but God
interfered!"
- Dying remark of John Allen of the Salvation Army
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"Updated Love"
Romans 10:10
When England's Queen Mother died, the British people poured out their affection and respect by lining up for hours to honor her. Her crown was displayed, including the massive, 105-carat diamond - what is known as the Kohinoor Diamond. Actually, Kohinoor means "mountain of light". The story, as I was told it, is that years ago that diamond was given to Queen Victoria by an Indian maharajah when he was a boy. Later, as a grown man, he visited the queen and requested that the diamond be brought from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace. Kneeling before the queen, he gave it back to her saying, "Your Majesty, I gave you this jewel when I was a child, too young to know what I was doing. I want to give it to you again in the fullness of my strength, with all of my heart and gratitude, now and forever, fully realizing all that I do."
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Updated Love."
A childhood commitment, updated and confirmed as an adult. That's important when it comes to your relationship with the King - the King of all kings, that is. It may be that many years ago you made a childhood commitment to Jesus Christ. And a child's commitment to Jesus can be very real. In fact, Jesus didn't say children had to believe with adult-like faith - He said adults need to come to Him with faith like that of a little child.
But there can be two problems with a childhood Christian experience. One is that your life has grown, but your commitment has not. Maybe you're trying to run your grownup life on the strength of something you did with Jesus as a child. But what have you done with Jesus lately? He told us to "take up your cross daily." (Luke 9:23)
Once you begin your relationship with Christ, it's important that you give Him each new day, that you enlarge the sphere of His control daily by giving Him today's temptations - today's struggles, today's challenges - giving Him today's you, not just settling for a one-time experience you had with Him many years ago as a child. If you're wondering why your relationship with Jesus doesn't seem more real, maybe it's because you've never given Him the grownup you!
The other problem with a childhood Christian experience can be that maybe you never really had your own personal saving transaction with Jesus. You agreed with what you heard ... maybe somebody prayed for you ... maybe you went through a ritual that you thought gave you Jesus. But listen to Romans 10, beginning with verse 10, our word for today from the Word of God. "It is with your heart (not just your head) that you believe and are justified ... everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Now, it could be that somehow in your childhood Christianity, you missed Christ. Maybe today you need to backtrack, step up to the cross where Jesus died for your sins, and really give yourself to Him. And if you have any doubt if you've ever done that, do it for sure today - so you'll know from today on.
It's time to give all that you know about you now to all that you know about Jesus.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
June 3, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. - Eleanor Roosevelt
"Christian Fruitfulness"
"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." - Ephesians 5:21
Child and spousal abuse seem to abound in our society. It should not be so. While the writer of Proverbs does say that "he who spares the rod hates his son," he goes on to say, "but he who loves him is careful to discipline him" (Proverbs 13:24). Discipline can help a youngster overcome bad tendencies. But to bring out the good in him, something else is needed: love that comes in response to God's love.
That is illustrated by many biblical examples. Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, raised a godly son (1 Samuel 1:20-28), not by trying to beat the bad out of him but by praying with and for him, by teaching him the Word of God, by bringing him to the temple. In the New Testament, Eunice and Lois, mother and grandmother, respectively, of Timothy, prepared him for a life of service, not by beating him, as some child-abusing parents try to do, but by sharing their faith with him. Thus, as Saint Paul reminds Timothy, he knew from childhood the Holy Scriptures which made him wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 1:5 and 3:15).
And as for a man's relationship to his wife, there is to be no beating, no abuse. Rather, Scripture says, "Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25). Such love comes in response to the love of God in Jesus Christ that reaches into our lives and makes them productive. It makes us like trees planted by streams of water that yield their fruit in their season.
Taken from "Each Day with Jesus"
Copyright 1994, Concordia Publishing House.
June 4, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace. - Martin Luther
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"The Great Lighthouse Shortage"
Matthew 4:16
Because we lived along the East Coast for so many years, we've had the opportunity to see many of America's old lighthouses. I love them. But not long ago we came up over the top of a hill on an interstate and I saw what I certainly never expected to see hundreds of miles from any ocean. It was a lighthouse. With a bright, functioning light on top. Obviously, it wasn't there to point any ships in the right direction. Actually, it was part of a church that stands right near the highway. See, this lighthouse is for people!
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Great Lighthouse Shortage."
It seems to me that Jesus intended for every church to be a lighthouse, whether or not they have a lighted tower as part of their building. And He intended for every Christian to be a lighthouse, every ministry. Tragically, with so many lives around us headed for disaster, there is a terrible lighthouse shortage.
We know that Jesus said that those who belong to Him are "the light of the world." (Matthew 5:16) And Matthew 4:16, our word for today from the Word of God, tells us which direction our light should be pointing. Jesus says, "The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned." See, it's the people in spiritual darkness, the people who are spiritually dying who should be the focus of all this light God has given us.
The problem is that often we are content to have all the lights inside the church, shining on those who are already headed for heaven. Meanwhile, we let countless lost people just get another day closer to hell. We do what's easy - we just work with the sheep who are already in - when Jesus said He would leave ninety-nine of those just to go out and find one lost one. But notice - you have to go out to find them. You can't just stay in the Christian cocoon waiting for someone to stick their head in the door and say, "Excuse me, but is there any light in here?" The lighthouse needs to be out where they are!
We can go to all our Christian meetings, fellowship with all our Christian friends, enjoy all our Christian books and programs, and we feel like we must be winning. Not when two-thirds of Americans can't tell you half of the Ten Commandments or who did the Sermon on the Mount! Not when the number of people who say they believe in nothing has doubled in the last ten years - and the number of those who are self-declared witches has grown over 1,500% in the past decade. Even in one Bible Belt state, the statistics just came in - two-thirds of the people even there are essentially unchurched! You have working near you, living near you, going to school with you people who have no idea that what Jesus did on the cross was for them and that He's their only hope! If our Christian subculture makes us feel like we're winning, it's the illusion of winning.
How can we be content to spend all our time with the already-rescued when we are living surrounded by a sea of dying people? How can we say that we are following the One who came, as He said, to "seek and save what was lost" - and not be doing that with all our heart? If you're following Jesus, I'll tell you where He's going. He's always headed for a sea of lost people. That should be where we end up too. Oh, it's bright inside the lighthouse, but it's very dark outside the walls.
So many headed for eternal destruction - they desperately need a lighthouse that is out where they are, pointing them to life in Jesus Christ. Be their lighthouse!
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
June 5, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Each of these foregoing states has its time, its variety
of workings, its trials, temptations, and purifications, which can only be
known by experience in the passage through them. The one only and
infallible way to go safely through all the difficulties, trials,
temptations, dryness, or opposition of our own evil tempers is this: It is
to expect nothing from ourselves, to trust to nothing in ourselves, but in
everything to expect and depend upon God for relief. Keep fast hold of this
thread, and then let your way be what it will -- darkness, temptation, or
the rebellion of nature -- you will be led through it all, to an union with
God: for nothing hurts us in any state but an expectation of some thing in
it and from it, which we should only expect from God.
- William Law (1686-1761), Christian Perfection
Encouraging Word For The Week From Brother Steve
This past Saturday, my oldest son's baseball coach enlisted my wife and I to do concession stand duty at the ball field. Last weekend was the conclusion of the 13 & 14 year-old boys baseball tournament and my son's team had the assignment.
When we got there, sales at the concession stand were slow enough that I wasn't needed. So, I had to find something else useful to do.
As I looked around, immediately it struck me where my attention was needed -- GARBAGE. There was garbage everywhere. Almost without exception, all the trash barrels -- the 55 gallon variety -- were overflowing with nasty, pungent, fly-drawing waste. As a result, people had started throwing their garbage at the base of the barrels or stacked it as high as it would go on the volcano-like trash receptacles.
With the assistance of another parent, we tried to empty these containers into 30 gallon bags. It was not as easy as it sounds. With one person holding the opened bag and the other tipping the barrel, the result was often cans, bottles, and napkins hitting the ground. The whole time we are doing this, the other parent was saying, "this is nasty" or "gross". Eventually, we figured out how to best transfer the trash into the bags and got the place looking much better.
This other parent had been at the field all day and I asked her a question -- "Why hadn't this been done earlier in the day before the barrels overflowed?" Her response was quick and to the point: "There was no one here to do it!"
I thought to myself, "Surely it was obvious that the cans were full. Anyone can see that this stuff needed attention." However, the fact that there was need didn't mean there would be action. Frankly, had I not been called to work that evening, it is likely that I could have been at the field and overlooked the overflowing trash, too.
In our church, and thousands like it around America, we are entering the time of year where we ask people to serve in various positions. Everything from teaching classes to counting money to displaying flowers to directing departments will be considered. All of these are important jobs.
What I have learned in the past is that unless I seek to be involved in the church I will likely notice the overflowing trash barrels but will do nothing about them. It is those people who serve in the various positions of leadership that tend to have a greater awareness of the needs of the church and seek to meet them. These folks are willing to wade into flies, decomposing nacho cheese, and moldy hamburger buns in order to see the church function better. They will spend hours on site and at home in order to see to it that men & women and boys & girls have the best environment available to hear about the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ. They are less likely to ask why things aren't being done, and instead do something about it themselves.
My job as a pastor is to encourage those in the church to step up and face the challenge of serving the Lord. My first Sunday night as pastor in Doyline, I preached on Ephesians 4:1-16. On this evening, the subject was -- "The Work of the Pastor". Verses 12 & 13 explain this well: "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
In many ways, First Baptist Church of Doyline is similar to the baseball field down the street. The more people who are working to serve the Lord, the less trash there will be that is overflowing. Yet, when the bleachers are full of spectators who feel no responsibility beyond watching the game, then is when all the little problems become obvious.
Today, I want to encourage you to enjoy the aspects of worshipping, learning and observing when you come to God's house. In addition, consider where you fit in to make it better. Each part of the body that functions make us a better functioning body.
Also, in the days ahead, many of you may be approached to serve in various capacities. If you are, then receive the invitation with joy and consider it a privilege to serve your King and His people. You'll be glad you did and God's Kingdom will benefit because of you.
Serving Jesus and you,
Bro. Steve
First Baptist Church, Doyline, LA
June 6, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: We are looking for our own virtue, our own piety, our own
goodness, and so live on and in our own poverty and weakness -- today
pleased and comforted with the seeming firmness and strength of our own
pious tempers and fancying ourselves to be somewhat. Tomorrow, fallen into
our own mire, we are dejected, but not humbled; we grieve, but it is only
the grief of pride at the seeing our perfection not to be such as we had
vainly imagined. And thus it will be, till the whole turn of our minds be
so changed that we as fully see and know our inability to have any goodness
of our own as to have a life of our own.
- William Law (1686-1761), Christian Perfection
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"The Store Is Yours!"
Jeremiah 33:2-3
A visit to a Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream Shop is one of life's simple pleasures. We used to have one near our house, and the kids always enjoyed going there as a treat. And we'd look at all those unusual flavors and we'd have to make that stressful choice as to which one we could get. Well, several years ago I was in a city to speak, and the committee member who picked me up stopped by his store with me on the way back from the airport - his Baskin-Robbins store. It was closed, so he took me in, pointed to all the cases of ice cream with all those great flavors and said those mind-blowing words - "Take whatever you want!" No, not just a single scoop of one little flavor - it's all available to you, boy! Go for it!
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Store Is Yours!"
It's pretty exciting when the person who owns it all throws open his store to you. That's exactly what God has in mind for us when we pray to Him. The One who owns it all opens up His resources and says, "They're yours - for what you're facing right now." But so often we either neglect to go to the owner, or we go in asking for a single dip when He wants to give us so much more.
God throws open the door in our word for today from the Word of God in Jeremiah 33:2-3. "This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it - the Lord is His name." OK, there's no doubt about it - the One who is about to make this promise is the one who owns it all, made it all, controls it all. And He says to you and me, "Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know."
So, when you're saying, "I don't know," God is saying, "Then pray big." Your mission impossible, your staggering need, your emotional or physical weakness - those are the canvasses on which "He who made the earth" paints some of His most magnificent works. That's why Paul got to the place where he said he would "delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties." Why? "For when I am weak, then I am strong." In other words, when you're the most desperate and powerless and clueless, God shows up with His amazing and powerful interventions.
When we forget the size of the God we're praying to, we under pray, and we under live. Right now there are some God-sized things you need to be trusting Him for - things so big that only God can do them. You are in the "God Alone Zone" - God alone can do this one! Prayer is God's access code to the unlimited resources of heaven - all the grace you need for what's going on ... all the comfort ... all the physical and emotional strength ... all the wisdom to know how to figure this out. So pray like it! Let prayer - not planning or politicking or scheming - let prayer be your primary method of getting things done!
At a conference recently the praise band led us in a chorus that repeats these words - "Touching heaven, changing earth, touching heaven, changing earth." God has thrown open His storehouse to His children. He's unlocked His infinite resources and promised that our prayer of faith would unleash those resources and aim them at the need we have, the situation we face, or the person we love. When you are praying, don't ever forget - you really are touching heaven, changing earth.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
June 7, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: We have observed that in at least two cases the sayings of our Lord imply an appeal behind the Law of Moses to the order of creation. While, therefore, the Law of Moses is from one aspect the first stage of revelation, leading up to the Law of Christ, in another aspect it is a temporary expedient on the way from the Law of Nature to the Law of Christ, serving certain limited purposes, which fulfilled, it may be set aside, leaving mankind in Christ confronted by the original law of his creation. - C. H. Dodd
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"Taming the Final Frontier"
Jeremiah 17:9
I know advertisers must hate it, but the truth is that a lot of times we remember their commercial, but we forget their product. Recently, I saw a commercial like that - the ad really impressed me, but I have no idea what they were advertising. Anyway, it showed some scenes from recent explorations of space and some appropriate galactic scenery. Then, these words appeared on the screen - "The last frontier isn't space." OK, then what is it? The next words answered that question. "It's the human imagination." Hmm.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Taming the Final Frontier."
I'd say that idea is close, but not the prize winner. The last frontier isn't outer space - in fact, it's inner space ... what's inside you and me. Which includes our imagination, but plenty more. God's view would seem to be that the "last frontier is the human heart." That is the vast and violent wilderness that remains untamed inside us. And it's usually the people closest to us who can attest to the fact that our dark side is alive and well - and yes, it's untamed. They get to see and feel it all too often.
In our word for today from the Word of God in Jeremiah 17:9, our Creator says: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Then God reveals that He isn't going to judge us based on the exterior that humans can see - He says, "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind."
What the Lord finds in our heart may be things others can't see, but things we know all too well - things we are either ashamed of, or ought to be ashamed of. God knows all about the stubborn selfishness in our heart, the unspeakable desires, the lust, the arrogance, the anger, the moral pollution. But it's not just God who knows that dark side of us. The people around us ... often the people we love ... experience it through the way we treat them sometimes, the devastating things we say, the meanness, the self-centeredness, the dirt.
Beneath our carefully cultivated image, beneath our impressive religiosity, is this untamed monster God has called "sin." And no person - no matter how religious - can have a relationship with a perfect God or live in His perfect heaven with this sin not dealt with. But God, who knows all about us, knew that all of our best human efforts to tame the monster, all our best efforts at being good, were no match for the beast inside us.
So, God sent His Son to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. In I John 4:9-10, He put it this way: "God sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." When Jesus died on the cross, He absorbed all the guilt, all the depravity, all the hellish death penalty of our sin. So we could have every wrong thing we've ever done erased from God's records. So we could live the rest of our life totally forgiven, possessing His power to beat what has always beaten us, and knowing we are going to heaven when we die.
So if you're tired of that darkness in your heart ... if you're ready to put your total trust in Jesus Christ to forgive you and change you, just tell Him that right now. And if that's what you want, I want to send you my booklet, "Yours For Life," that I wrote about beginning a personal relationship with Jesus.
Something very miraculous, something transforming happens when Jesus enters the darkness in our heart. The lights go on. The darkness isn't winning anymore. He's waiting to make that miracle your miracle.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
June 8, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: He said not Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be distressed; but He said, Thou shalt not be overcome. - Juliana of Norwich
"How Good is Your Reputation?"
"Live such good lives among the pagans that...they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us." - 1 Peter 2:12
A good reputation is an asset. The manuscript of novelist William Kennedy's best seller "Ironweed" was turned down by 13 publishers, but after he had established his reputation, publishers would buy his manuscripts before they were ever written.
A good reputation is important. The apostle Peter writes, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deed and glorify God" (1 Peter 2:12). This tells us why God's people look to their reputation and try to keep it good, true, and honest: to glorify God, to be walking exemplars of the God they serve. So they lay aside "the old self," as Saint Paul puts it, the lifestyle of selfishness. They are "made new in the attitude of [their] minds; and...put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:23-24).
Our reputation should stand for what we really are, not for what people think we are. More is involved than a surface glitter, more than a show of uprightness. Reality is the key word here. In a recent commercial one workman doing sloppy work tells another, "Why be so careful? Who'll ever know?" The other replies, "We would know it." And to that we have to add, God would know it.
A good reputation based on true virtue is not an accident; it is nothing automatic. It comes as a fruit of faith in Jesus Christ, who changed things around in our hearts and lives when He "made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and...became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:7-8).
Be like Christ, and your good reputation will be established.
Taken from "Each Day with Jesus"
Copyright 1994, Concordia Publishing House.
June 9, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I depart from life as from an inn, and not as from my home. - Marcus Cicero
When the Trumpet Blows
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
When it comes to discussing the End Times and the return of Jesus Christ, the elaborate symbolism used to describe these events can confuse many believers. Clearly, there are some mysteries of the end of life as we know it, that God has chosen not to present in certain terms.
One revelation, however, is quite clear: we can be certain of the sights, sounds, and feelings surrounding the moment when Jesus returns. Today's text from 1 Thessalonians 4 describes the scene in of His Second Coming in detail. We will hear: the voice of the Lord descending from heaven, the voice of the archangel, and the sound of a trumpet of God. (verse 16)
We will see: the Lord Jesus Christ, the archangel, and the awe-inspiring resurrection of the saints of God who have gone on before us. (verses 16-17) We will feel: our bodies instantly transformed as we are "caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord" (verse 17).
With these miraculous happenings laid out before us as truth in God's Word, there is no reason to feel fearful about the return of our Savior. No matter what happens in the world around us from now until then, we know that we can place our confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as He promised, He will return, accompanied by the archangel and announced by a trumpet, to take His children home for eternity.
Written by Charles Stanley
www.intouch.org
Copyright � 2002, In Touch Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
June 10, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: There never was a pain that befell a man, no frustration or discouragement, however insignificant, that, transferred to God, did not affect God endlessly more than man and was not infinitely more contrary to Him. So, if God puts up with it for the sake of some good He foresees for you, and if you are willing to suffer what God suffers, and to take what comes to you through Him, then whatever it is, it becomes divine in itself; shame becomes honor, bitterness becomes sweet, and gross darkness, clear light. Everything takes its savor from God and becomes divine; everything that happens betrays God when a man's mind works that way. Things have all this one taste; and therefore God is the same to this man alike in life's bitterest moments and sweetest pleasures. - Meister Eckhart
How Can Moral Men Find Saving Truth?
I hope that God can burn this frightful fact into our souls- the truth that men and women can be respectable and religious and prayerful and careful and eager and ask the right questions and talk about religion-and still be lost.
In our churches today, we feel that we have found a real treasure if we find someone who appears be eagerly seeking the truth of God. Actually we rarely find anyone who seems to be as eager as the rich young ruler who came to Jesus.
They don't seem to be coming to us in the churches. We have to go out to them-joke with them, talk about their sports, try to find some common ground, and then gingerly tell them that if they will receive Jesus they will have peace of mind, good grades in school and everything will be alright.
They have not come into the Kingdom of God through repentance and trust and abandonment. The result is exactly what we would expect in those who have been "leaked" into the Kingdom of God, taken between the cracks, crawling in through a side window. There is no inner witness. There is no inner assurance. There is no inward peace.
When we think we have found someone who is a seeker, we settle back and say, "That's wonderful ! He will be alright- he is a seeker". Here is the caution, brothers: If you could see all the seekers who are in hell today who were seekers while they were on earth, you would know that many have sought AND FOUND OUT what they had to do- and then they REFUSED TO DO IT.
The rich young ruler was a seeker. The churches today would have put his name down on a card and would have counted him among the statistics. But he walked away and turned his back on the offer and appeal of Jesus Christ.
By A.W. Tozer
From "Who Put Jesus on The Cross"
June 11, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"Missing Those You Love"
I Thessalonians 1:19-20
I've only been to Israel once, and that was only for a short visit - but I will never forget the thrill of seeing the places where Jesus walked when He was here, and watching all those names and places in the Bible suddenly come alive. It was really one of the highlights of my life - except for one thing. I went alone, on my way back home from a ministry trip to Africa. As I stood on the Mount of Olives, as I walked the streets of old Jerusalem, as I experienced the feel of Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee, I kept thinking, "I want my wife to see all of this. I want to experience this with my kids!" Yeah, Israel was terrific ... but I really wanted to share it with the people I love.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Missing Those You Love."
I guess that's just the way it is when you're enjoying a special place - you want the people you care about to be there, sharing it with you. That must include the most special place of all - heaven.
Imagine that you get to heaven and you see Jesus. After you fall on your face in adoration and awe, you begin to thank Him for all He did to get you to heaven. And then you ask a question that's been on your mind since you arrived ... "Lord, is Scott here? Is Linda here?" What if Jesus says, "Oh, did you bring him? Did you bring her?" See, Jesus was counting on you to help those people you love understand what He did for them on the cross - and to point them to the only One who could get them to heaven.
In our word for today from the Word of God, Paul anticipated the joys he was expecting when he got to heaven. In I Thessalonians 1:19-20, he says, "For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy." Now, when Paul sees Jesus, his joy is going to be that the people he loved - that he loved enough to introduce to Jesus - will be there with him.
I wonder who you'll be looking for when you get to heaven - people who, as far as you know, may not be headed there right now. If you want them to be there in heaven with you, you'll have to tell them how they can know the Savior who died to get them there. In fact, that's why God has you in their lives - to help them go to heaven with you. How are you doing? There are very few sadnesses deeper in life than standing by the casket of someone you could have told about Christ - you should have told about Christ - but you didn't. We can't have any of those opportunities back, but we do have the friends and neighbors and co-workers and loved ones who are still with us. And we still have time to tell them. But no one knows how much time.
This very day, you could start praying what I call the "3-open prayer." First, "Lord, open a door" - that's a natural, God-given opportunity to bring up your relationship with Jesus Christ. Then, "Lord, open their heart." And finally, "Lord, open my mouth." You don't even have to pray, "If it's Your will" - it is His will. "Lord, open a door. Lord, open their heart. Lord, open my mouth." Begin to seek and pursue opportunities to tell the people in your personal world about the Son of God who paid for their sin so they don't have to.
If there are people you want to have in heaven with you, well please - while there's time - share with them the message that will get them there.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
June 12, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: If we would indeed know God in growing intimacy, we must go this way of renunciation. And if we are set upon the pursuit of God, He will sooner or later bring us to this test. Abraham's testing was, at the time, not known to him as such, yet if he had taken some course other than the one he did, the whole history off the Old Testament would have been different. God would have found His man, no doubt, but the loss to Abraham would have been tragic beyond the telling. So we will be brought one by one to the testing place, and we may never know when we are there. At that testing place there will be no dozen possible choices for us; just one and an alternative, but our whole future will be conditioned by the choice we make. - A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
Encouraging Word For The Week From Brother Steve
This coming Sunday is Father's Day. This will be the tenth time that I will observe this holiday since my father died. Therefore, I will not send a card or make a phone call. I will not spend an afternoon at his home in his honor. This year, I'll do what I've done for the last decade -- remember.
When I think back over the first twenty-seven years of my life, when my Dad was alive, two things stand out about Reuben Kelly. He loved God and he loved me. These two things were not only convictions of his heart, but were expressions of his lifestyle. You didn't have to be around him long to view the evidence of these beliefs.
As a pastor, I am constantly barraged with people's excuses. So many don't have time for God, or don't feel healthy enough to sit through church services although they do other things that are much more physically demanding, or they got hurt years ago and haven't gotten over it.
My Dad would have been the perfect candidate to live with excuses not to serve God. In the late 1950's, he was a sergeant in the United States Air Force and was stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana. He served as a fireman and had the primary responsibility to put out airplane fires.
One day, during an ordinary call, he went out on the flight line to the scene of a fire. As a crew chief, he arrived on location prior to the fire trucks. While waiting for the equipment to arrive, one of these large vehicles had a brake failure and in the process of seeking to avoid hitting aircraft and people, the driver maneuvered the truck in the direction of my Dad and ran directly over his legs. Dad was critically injured and even the doctors assumed the worst would happen. However, after months in the hospital, he recovered and spent the next thirty-five years as a crippled man.
From the time I was age five, until he died, my Dad was in church every time possible. The only times he would miss was when his legs swelled up so much that he could barely walk or when he was working. This faithfulness taught me a lot about my own need to be committed. How could I make excuses when my handicapped father didn't
I recall my Dad sitting at the kitchen table and reading his Bible. I remember seeing him at home in personal times of prayer. I have memories of him making hospital visits as a deacon and watching him prepare Sunday School lessons as a teacher. All of these things, in addition to his overall lifestyle, clearly conveyed to me that Reuben Kelly loved the Lord Jesus Christ. In many ways, I am the product of his faithful example.
Because of the way he led his life, I have sought to communicate the same values to my children. I want them to hear me praying. I want them to see me reading my Bible at home. I want them to know that I visit sick people in the hospital and share the gospel with the lost. I don't want them to see this as an extension of me being a pastor, but as a result of me being a Christian. It is my hope that they would get the message that this is the norm for a man who is seeking to be a disciple of the Lord.
One of the most cherished memories I have of my Dad relates to his outward showing of affection. Until the day he died I thought nothing of it for him to kiss me and for me to return it. He would verbalize "I love you" without a second thought because such was the feeling of his heart. My mother has told me numerous times that I was "the apple of his eye". He loved my brother and sister, but because I was the youngest and was born after his accident, this gave my birth added meaning to his life.
Hours before he died, I stood next to his bed and expressed to him how much I loved and cherished him. By this time he was in a coma and couldn't respond. These were not words to relieve my heart of regrets or unexpressed emotions, but just to do what I had been doing with him for years. I was sharing with him what he had taught me throughout my life: If you love someone, express it.
As a result, I tell my children how much I love them. I kiss them when they allow me to (My twelve-year-old is getting too cool to be kissed). I cherish holding my 32-month-old little girl and hugging and kissing her. I attribute all of this to a father who was willing to express his love to me.
All things considered, I will have a good Father's Day. It will give me the opportunity to reflect on a great example and will once again challenge me to pass on to my children the heritage that was left with me.
As for you, let me encourage you to embrace the two things I shared earlier: Love God and Love your family. Be expressive and faithful in both relationships. Let the two intertwine such that your interaction with your loved ones is inseparable from your personal relationship with God. You'll be glad you did and your family will be the better for it.
Blessed of God,
Bro. Steve
First Baptist Church, Doyline, LA
June 13, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I require not the grace that was given to Paul; I demand not the kindness which was given to Peter; But as Thou gavest to the thief on the cross, I pray, give also to me. - Copernicus
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"Rewinding Your Fall"
1 John 1:9
Our 3-year-old grandson was talking with his grandmother on the phone. And all was well. Then he handed the phone over to his Mom and took off across the room to play. Suddenly, Grandma heard him crying in the background. He had tripped over something and actually he had fallen pretty hard. Nothing serious, but he was hurting. Well, he walked back over to Mom and he cried through his tears - "I want to rewind and talk to Grandma!"
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Rewinding Your Fall."
Our grandson is definitely a child of the VCR Age - when he has a bad fall, he wants to rewind to before the fall. Well, so do some of us. We've had some falls - spiritually, morally - and we wish we could rewind and do it over. Obviously, we can't. But, in a way, God does offer us an opportunity to rewind our falls to get back to where we were before we fell.
His plan for recovering is spelled out in 1 John 1:9, our word for today from the Word of God. Here's what He says: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." God says that recovering from a fall begins with "confessing your sins." The Greek word for "confess" actually means "agreeing with God" about your sin - you call it what He does, you treat it as seriously as He does. To confess, you have to admit you're wrong ... you have to understand the seriousness of what you did in light of the price Jesus paid for it on the cross ... and you determine to turn your back on living that way.
And what does God do when you get serious about your sin? First, He forgives it the Bible says. He erases all traces of it from His "videotape" in heaven, taking away any guilt for what you've done. Now, you may still feel guilty, but the Judge of the universe is ready to treat you as if you never did that sin. But God does better than just forgiving, as amazing as that is. He "purifies" you too. That means you're not only forgiven, but you're totally clean. God's "shower" washes off all the dirt and mud you fell into and you emerge clean in His eyes. You do not ever have to be defined by your fall again. Heaven says it's over.
In the words of Hebrews 10:17, "Their sins ... I will remember no more!" There is no more beautiful picture of how God rewinds our falls than the return of the Prodigal Son to his father. This one who had wasted everything his father had given him, who had gone to the depths of depravity, returns home saying, "I will ... go back to my father and I will say to him: 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.'" Amazingly, not only does his father run to meet him and welcome him home, but he treats him like a son who has never been gone. That's exactly what God wants to do for you - if you'll turn around today and come home to Him. Your fall is not final. You can be fully forgiven - and fully restored.
You've fallen down. You've thought you could never get up - you couldn't rewind and ever get back to where you were with Jesus. Oh, but you can - because of His amazing grace. Come on home.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
June 14, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Desire only God and your heart will be satisfied. - Augustine of Hippo
What Does "Born Again" Mean?
John 3:1-20
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature." 2 Corinthians 5:17
In today's Scripture passage, Jesus instructs Nicodemus that no one can enter into the kingdom of God unless he is first "born again." This concept may be familiar to us today, but Nicodemus was confused. "How can a man be born when he is old?" he asked. "He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" (John 3:4).
Nicodemus could not grasp the image that Jesus was describing. But the real question is: do we understand the concept any better today than Nicodemus did then?
"Born again" is not simply a common catch phrase. It is an apt description of what it means to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Our lives are not changed when we enter into a relationship with Christ; rather, our old lives are effectively ended and we are completely reborn in the Spirit.
Therefore, it makes perfect sense to say that we are "born again." It means that we are no longer who we once were in sin, but rather a new creation that exists to glorify God. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Does your life in Christ reflect the glory of God, or are you still clinging to your old ways of living? It is important to understand that God does not want to change you; instead, He wants to remake you, and there is a difference. As you pray today, ask Him for the courage to live a life that proclaims that your old self has died. What He desires to make you is better by far.
Written by Charles Stanley
www.intouch.org/
Copyright � 2002, In Touch Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
June 15, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: But as many things entice us to apostasy, so that it is difficult to keep us faithful to God in the end, [Jude] calls the attention of the faithful to the last day. For the hope of that alone ought to sustain us, so that we may at no time despond; otherwise, we must necessarily fail every minute. - John Calvin (1509-1564)
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"The Composer and the Performers"
I Corinthians 2:2
Let's say you have a friend who's a classical music fan - and he really likes the music of this composer named Beethoven. Now, you don't know much about this Beethoven guy, but you accept your friend's invitation to go to a concert where Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is going to be presented. The performers are the local junior high band. Now your friend has told you repeatedly that Beethoven was a genius and his music spectacular. But, after hearing the squeaking and squawking of 13-year-olds giving that symphony a go, you walk out saying, "Man, forget this Beethoven guy and his music!"
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Composer and the Performers."
Of course the problem with that concert was not Beethoven - it was how that band performed what he wrote. Jesus has that same problem with those who try to "perform His music" - that is, try to live what He taught. Now, the Composer is still a genius - but don't judge Him by those who play His music imperfectly.
It may be that you've been burned by religion ... hurt or disillusioned by religious people. Or even by religious leaders. From a fallen tele-evangelist to an adulterous pastor to an abusing priest, most of us have known or known of some "spiritual leader" who has fallen. For believers, it is like a kick in the stomach. For those who already are skeptical about Christianity, it is just another reason not to believe.
But in spite of these flawed performances, Jesus is still the genius who has brought peace and meaning to millions of lives over the years. Not Christianity. Not the Christian religion. Jesus. The great tragedy of seeing the failures of those who play Jesus' "music" imperfectly is that you can miss Jesus. And He's too good to miss. And the cost of missing Him is much too expensive to pay.
Our word for today from the Word of God - I Corinthians 2:2 - bottom lines the central issue on which yours and my eternity depends. Jesus' great ambassador, Paul, says, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." That's it - nothing except Jesus and His cross. The cross where the Son of God died to bear the death penalty for every wrong thing you've ever done. It's all about Jesus and what He did for you because He loves you so much.
Everywhere Jesus went, He extended a two-word invitation - "Follow Me." (Mark 1:16) He didn't say, "Follow My religion" or "My leaders" or "My followers." Christians aren't the issue. It's all about Jesus. Now - and on Judgment Day. Because all God is going to want to know is, "What did you do with My Son?" Christianity, the religion, has sometimes wounded people and let people down. But Jesus never has. And He is the issue. For now - and forever.
If you've never experienced the love and the peace of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the hole in your heart could be filled by Him this very day. If you'll give yourself to this Man who gave Himself for you. Just tell Him - "Jesus, I'm Yours. I'm putting all my trust in You, and You alone, to forgive my sins, to get me to heaven, and to take down the wall between me and God."
In a world where trust has been broken so many times, Jesus is the one safe place for your searching heart. He died for you. He will never do you wrong.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
June 16, 2002
Father's Day
QUOTE OF THE DAY: The greatest teacher is not experience; it is example. -
John Croyle
I have been waiting for months to share this devotion with you today. The minute I read it, I knew it was specifically for this day. I hope it blesses you as much as it blesses me. Happy Father's Day! - Jonathan
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"Father Fallout"
Proverbs 1:8
During our most recent mission to South Africa, our hosts were kind enough to take me to an incredible game park where I could see African animals in the wild. And I did! Rhino, giraffe, ostrich, baboon - not the kind of animals you usually see wandering around the New York area! But the highlight was coming around this curve and meeting a great bull elephant in the road. He put on a real show for us for several minutes. Recently, I picked up my local newspaper and saw a news article with that game park as the dateline. The article was about the young male elephants there - the ones the rangers call there "teenagers." Apparently, in the last few months, these teenage male elephants have been on a reign of terror in the park, doing things that elephants don't usually do. They have attacked other animals like rhinos. They have attacked tourists, inflicting death or serious injury. And finally, the park officials have figured out what's gone wrong with these young males. When they were newborn, they were taken from another game park and brought to this one. But their fathers - the bull elephants - were not brought with them. So these teenage elephants grew up without a model of how a grownup male should act - and they're out of control.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Father Fallout."
It isn't just some young elephants that are out of control - it's some young people. For the elephants, the cause is the absence of a father. The problem is the same for all too many young people, too. Yes, the young males, but even the young females as well.
It is obvious that God's created order assumes that a father will be a major force in shaping the life of a child. Our word for today from the Word of God comes from a sampling of God's statements about this central human relationship. Proverbs 13:1 - "A wise son heeds his father's instruction." Proverbs 1:8 - "Listen, my son, to your father's instruction." Then from Proverbs 4, "Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction; pay attention to gain understanding ... When I was a boy in my father's house, still tender ... he taught me and said, 'Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commandments and you will live.'"
Well, it's very clear from God's Word: the father connection is critical in a son learning how to live. Even with elephants, if the male role model is not there, the young males don't know how to act or react ... and they end up going out of control. A father deficit is a major crippler in any child's life.
There can be a father deficit in a child's life because there is no father around ... or because Dad is around but not really there for you. He's disconnected, he's distant, he's often unavailable. Or he's there but he's modeling the wrong things. Because God has set up the father-figure as being so influential in human development, a child - especially a son - will tend to make important what seems important to Dad. He'll make unimportant what seems unimportant to Dad. He'll react as Dad reacts. He'll treat different people as Dad treats them. And research shows that Dad's relationship with a daughter is critical, too: she'll tend to relate to men the rest of her life as she relates to her father. Being a father is a powerful role and a huge responsibility.
So Colossians 3:21 says, "Father, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged." Ephesians 6:4, "Father, do not exasperate your children; bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Dad, you have enormous power to build up your child ... or tear them down. And the ultimate responsibility for their spiritual development is up to you, not up to Mom.
If you're a Dad, realize you have nothing more important to do. And don't even try it without the power and wisdom of God that belongs only to those who know Christ as their Savior.
In an African game park, they are reaping the awful fallout of children raised without a father to follow. With the priorities and power of our Heavenly Father, we don't have to make the same mistake ... and reap a harvest of children with no inner guidance system.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
June 17, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Formal prayer is a practical device, not a spiritual necessity. It makes direct suggestions to our souls: it reminds us of realities which we always tend to forget. - Evelyn Underhill, Concerning the Inner Life
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"The 'Next To Daddy' Difference"
Psalm 34:4-8
My friend John had a sick little boy on his hands. Little David was only about three years old, and he had serious respiratory problems. The little guy would often wake up at night gurgling and finding it hard to breathe, and that created panic. Well, during that siege, Dad set up camp all night just outside of David's door. And as soon as John heard him cry, he was right there to help. Night after night, John would awaken to that same frightened cry. But eventually David figured out where his Dad was. So, he would simply go out in the hall and snuggle up next to him. And after that, you guessed it, there were no more fearful cries in the night. He had found the best place to be when you're scared.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The 'Next To Daddy' Difference."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes, not from the life of little David, but from big David in the Old Testament. And the fears he has are very big fears. The king wants him dead, and he has an all-out manhunt going on all around David's hiding place. That is stress. That is something to be afraid of. Now before we read his words, I want you to think about some uncertainties you're facing right now. Maybe you can finish these sentences - "One thing I'm anxious about right now is ... " or "I'm afraid that ... "
OK. That's your personal context for our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 34:4-8, "I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; and He saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed in the man who takes refuge in Him."
When can you really taste the Lord? In the dark moments ... the scary times. Hiding out in that cave, fearing for his life, David went and curled up with his Heavenly Father - and he relaxed. Panic is replaced by the presence of the Most High God.
Could that happen with the fear and anxiety that you're facing? Maybe it's medical uncertainty or job uncertainty. It could be you're dealing with the fear of losing someone you love, of failing, of a future full of question marks, or a present that's full of pressures and dangers and unanswered questions. And you've lost your peace because you've been looking at the mountain instead of the Mountain Mover!
Ironically, when the pressure is on and we need our Heavenly Father the most, our snuggle time with Him often gets the most neglected. Sound familiar? If you aren't taking time to consciously focus on Him, if you're not making prayer your major method of dealing with this, well, you're going to make bad choices. You're going to be a slave to your fears unless you insist on experiencing His presence intimately and regularly.
When you're aware of God's closeness, God's personal love, God's awesome power, you can relax. You can respond with peace and poise. You know in your soul that He's totally competent to handle the threat.
When little David was going through his breathing crisis, his father was there all the time. But that didn't help him - until he recognized that his father was with him and he went to be with him. You have your Heavenly Father's presence all the time, but it's knowing He's there ... consciously being with Him that changes panic to peace. And that awareness comes from regular, meaningful time spent with Him alone and by keeping in regular touch with His Throne Room throughout the day.
So, major on cultivating that conscious sense of your Father's presence. He will "deliver you from all your fears" even if He hasn't delivered you from the situation. You can discover again what a little guy named David did in the middle of his scary nights: it's safe next to Daddy.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
June 18, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: The purpose of the covenant, in the Hebrew Bible and some subsequent writings, was never simply that the creator wanted to have Israel as a special people, irrespective of the fate of the rest of the world. The purpose of the covenant was that, through this means, the creator would address and save his entire world. The call of Abraham was designed to undo the sin of Adam. - N. T. Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said
God Is In Control
Psalm 103:19-22
"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want." - Psalm 23:1
Oftentimes in Scripture, God is portrayed in ways that are easy for us to understand. Perhaps the most touching and poignant representation of God is found in Psalm 23, in which David describes Him as a shepherd.
In ancient times, shepherds entered into a special relationship with their flocks. They spent each day with the animals, guiding their paths, protecting them from danger, and corralling those who went astray. To the sheep, the shepherd was a constant companion, to the extent that the sheep actually grew to recognize the shepherd's voice and, therefore, to respond only to his call.
In Psalm 23, David acknowledges his position as a wandering sheep under the direction of the Great Shepherd. As such, he rejoices that he is part of the Lord's "flock," and that God is such a gracious, loving Guide.
Because of his assurance of God's protection and guidance, David was able to boldly exclaim, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me" (Psalm 23:4). This is truly a remarkable statement, because it reveals that David was aware he would face hard times, and yet he was able to rest in the confidence that God would safely see him through the ordeal.
Just as a shepherd knows his flock, so does God know you. Thank Him today for allowing you to graze in the pasture of His blessings.
Written by Charles Stanley
www.intouch.org
Copyright � 2002, In Touch Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
June 19, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to
serve as a horrible warning.
- Catherine Aird
Encouraging Word For The Week From Brother Steve
For me, one of the most challenging parts of ministry is staying fresh. It is very easy to get into the rut of running the same paths and revisiting the same ideas. Unlike a lot of other professions that rely strictly upon the repetitive, the work of the Lord is best when it is varied, vibrant and new.
When we lived in Iowa, many of our church's members worked at the local pork processing plant. Most of these were on the assembly line where they repeated the same process day after day after day. As a result of such continuous motion, many of these required surgery in their wrists due to damage that was caused through doing such repetitive activity. This was very common throughout the plant's hundreds of employees.
When you would talk to these folks you would hear them share that their job was strictly a means to an end -- a paycheck. It wasn't exciting or stimulating. Most of these were bored with it and would do something else if the opportunity presented itself.
Outside of the ministry, I have been employed in retail sales, banking, and security work. In each of these cases, freshness was not an issue. I could perform most of my assigned tasks without seeking personal revitalization. Granted, the more new things I learned about my job and our products made me a better employee, but most of it followed the same pattern and was predictable.
The challenge of ministry is basically identical in nature to the discipleship of the Christian life. Neither are repetitive activities because they are both based upon a relationship with God. Unlike selling shoes, processing hogs, or guarding buildings, a personal fellowship with God is not so cut and dried. I can't do the same old thing everyday and still have a growing, vital walk with the creator of the universe.
Relationships require change or they will grow cold and die. They must have constant nurturing, work, and effort in order to make them survive. Personal contact is a must to keep a relationship going. Decaying relationship are always the result of the parties involved not mutually putting in the labor to make them work.
For the Christian, this vitality with the Lord begins with the daily quiet time. It is not only to be a once-a-day activity, but an anticipated conversation with God. You pray in order to speak to the Savior of your soul. You read the Bible desiring to hear a message from your master.
Many of you practice such a discipline in your daily schedule but don't experience freshness in your relationship with the Lord. The problem is not a failure to do the right things, as much as it is allowing such activity to become routine. Our approach to a daily "quiet time" will impact everything we do in it.
This is also true with church attendance. The way we enter the service at eleven o'clock will often determine how we leave at noon. Again, the issue is not the activity, but the approach and attitude.
The potential for every Christian is to become someone with good intentions, but with poor results. You can do the right things for God and still not have a growing relationship with Him.
Earlier, I mentioned those in the pork processing plant having problems with their hands. Generally, they would develop a numbness and/or pain in their wrists that caused them to not be able to perform their jobs. Surgery was required to relieve the loss of function and allow them to be useful again.
Are you a Christian who has "Repetitive, Going-through-the-Motions Syndrome"? Is there a numbness in your soul? Are you doing "spiritual" things without experiencing internal fulfillment? In a word, are you "fresh" or "stale"?
If you identify with the situation, you may need to examine what you are doing and then go deeper and ask, "Why am I doing this?" You don't need to change God, but instead how you approach Him. If this is true for you, don't despair. Instead, be willing to adjust to God and do what is necessary to get back into a fresh relationship with your Lord.
Seeking freshness,
Bro. Steve
First Baptist Church, Doyline, LA
June 20, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: If a man is called a street sweeper, he should sweep the
streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or
Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the
hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a street sweeper who
did his job well.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"Fresh Each Day"
Exodus 16:4
I'll confess. I can drive by the candy store. I can drive by the ice cream shop. I can pass up the pizza place - but it's very hard for me to not stop at the bakery. Yes, bakeries are my weakness. It's a good thing I don't work in one - I'd weigh 500 pounds. Now most bakeries have this discount stuff in a corner - it's the day-old baked goods. Oh it's cheaper, but there's a reason. There's a big difference between day-old and fresh baked. That line at the bakery early in the morning; that is not for yesterday's goodies. Those folks are there to get the doughnuts or the bread that just came out of the oven.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Fresh Each Day."
Getting it fresh - that's not only a good idea at the bakery, but when it comes to picking up your provisions from heaven, too. God's got new resources for you each new day. Mercies that are "new every morning" according to the Bible. (Lamentations 3:23) The reason so many of us are spiritually up and down, lacking the power we need, the strength we need, constantly being overwhelmed by the day's events is that we aren't stopping at God's "bakery" each morning to pick up that day's "bread."
God gives us an enlightening picture of how to stay spiritually strong in our word for today from the Word of God. Exodus 16, beginning in verse 4, records God's delivery system for feeding His people as they wandered in the desert: "'I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day.' ... So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites ... 'In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord.'"
Through Moses, the Lord went on to command His people not to store any of His manna overnight. "However," the Bible says, "some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell." That is day-old at its worst! But God's plan worked. The Bible says, "Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed."
That's been God's plan ever since - that each of His children would gather each morning all the spiritual resources he or she needs for that day. Speaking of Himself, Jesus said, "The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (John 6:33) Each day, we are to get a fresh helping of Jesus - His thinking, His perspective, His strength, His outlook. And that means consistent time with Him, through His love letter, the Bible, each new day.
You can't store up the resources to live the Christ-life anymore than the ancient Jews could store up manna. You can't let your personal Jesus-time be something that you do occasionally or when you feel like it or if you can fit Him in to your busy schedule. Make your daily time with Jesus Christ non-negotiable - everything else is going to have to revolve around your time with Him instead of what usually happens, your time with Him having to revolve around everything else.
If you'll anchor your day to a personal time with Jesus Christ, you will start to experience a realness, a closeness, a consistency, a victory in your relationship with Him that you've always wanted but maybe never had. You need to hear from heaven each day if you're going to live for heaven while you're on earth. And day-old or week-old stuff just won't cut it for this new day. You need what Jesus has prepared for you fresh each day!
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
June 21, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: As we get older, we know what we need most from forgiveness is not suspension of punishment, but assurance that love is unbroken even when we are separated... We must realize that God is against us when we are sinning; yet we dare trust that His gracious love reaches to us across the chasm which separates us from Him. When we understand His loving attitude and accept His Grace, He releases His love in us. By that love we are able to begin to keep His commands for us -- to love Him with heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. - K. Morgan Edwards
No Statute Of Limitations
Resource reading - Psalm 130.
"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." - Matthew 6:14,15
The night before Robert Alton Harris was executed for the brutal murder of two teenage boys, he placed a phone call to a friend who had worked with him in prison and said, "If I had only known there was forgiveness [with God], I would never have killed those two boys." Early in his life, wrongdoing had started the downhill slide, and once he felt that there was no forgiveness and no exit to his life of crime, one thing led to another and then another. Eventually the downward spiral culminated in the murders of two young men, which eventually sent him to the gas chamber at San Quentin.
How different his life and the lives of many other people might have been, had he only known what David cried out long ago: "But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared" (Psalm 130:4). As Harris was led to the gas chamber, he looked into the face of the father of one of the boys who had been slain and said, "I'm sorry," but it was too late.
David's three words are powerful psychiatry: "There is forgiveness." Harris was but one of many who lived in a prison of bitterness, hatred, and anger, not knowing the power of forgiveness.
Newspaper columnist Abigail Van Buren carried a column on forgiveness and how it liberates us. Van Buren described the response to it as "amazing." Among the many who told what it had meant to them personally was a woman who wrote, "I have spent at least 30 of my 42 years hating my mother, who is no longer living. She was unspeakably cruel to me all my life. Your column isn't long enough to print all the abuses I suffered at her hands. After reading your column, I was able to say, 'I forgive you, Mama.'"
A woman told of coming home on St. Valentine's Day to find her husband of eight years in the arms of another woman, who was a family friend. She said, "As I sat and wept, many questions arose: `Was it my fault? Is this the end of my marriage? What about the children? Can I ever forgive him?'" Pasting the article on the door of the refrigerator where the woman would see it every morning helped her to get on with her life and to understand the great power of forgiveness.
There are three important aspects to forgiveness, and like a three-legged stool, which can't stand without all three working equally, forgiveness involves seeking and finding God's forgiveness, giving and receiving the forgiveness of others, and forgiving ourselves.
There isn't enough time to tell you how deadly is the poison of bitterness and an unforgiving spirit--not to the other person, but to yourself. Actually, bitterness hurts you far worse than the other person who is the object of your hatred. Awaiting your moment of vengeance, bitterness and anger eat away at your body, affecting your heart, your circulation, your digestion, and, certainly, your soul.
Jesus said, "If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14,15).
Friend, do you understand that there is forgiveness for you with God? Had Ray Alton Harris known that, how different would have been his life. David was right as he said, "If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O LORD, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared" (Psalm 130:3,4). Most of the time we think we know better than we do, but if today's commentary has pricked your conscience, yield to that inner voice of God's Spirit and forgive or ask for forgiveness. It's there, and it's powerful medicine for the healing of our broken, hurt lives.
By Harold J. Sala
Guidelines International Ministries
www.guidelines.org
� Guidelines International
June 22, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Knowing the One who is in control is everything. - Alexander Michael
God is in Control
Mark 9:17-27
In today's Scripture passage, a father brings his demon-possessed son to Jesus. Nothing is more important to this father than to see his son restored, and he knows that Jesus has the power to do it.
When he finally reaches Jesus, the father experiences a slight falter in his faith. He requests, "If You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" (9:22). Jesus, sensing the man's subtle doubts, replies, "'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes" (9:23).
Without hesitation, the father realizes the disparity between his words and his actions, and he pleads, "I do believe; help my unbelief" (9:24). What an odd statement! What are we to think-does this man have faith or not?
Yet, when we look closer, we realize that this father was crying out in complete, unashamed honesty. He knew that there was no point in attempting to "puff up" his faith before Jesus. Instead, he humbly admits that, while he does in fact believe in Jesus' saving power, there are still some things-such as concern for his son-that can interfere with his faith in God.
Do you believe that God has the power to change your life? Do you allow outside influences to affect your faith in Jesus? If so, be honest with God about your fluctuating faith, but always remember that His power does not ebb and flow along with our confidence in Him. Regardless of how we feel, God is always in control.
Written by Charles Stanley
www.intouch.org/
Copyright � 2002, In Touch Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
June 23, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Salvation comes through a cross and a crucified Christ. - Andrew Murray
God is in Control
Acts 4:12
When Jesus lived on the earth, He issued a general call of salvation to mankind saying, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). This passage gives each of us the assurance that, if we respond, God will rescue us from the guilt, penalty, and punishment of sin and restore us through a relationship with Himself.
Salvation is not something we acquire or earn, but something God gives to us freely. When a person thinks he is morally good enough to be saved, he has allowed his own pride to deceive him. The essence of pride tells a person that he does not need God, but can earn the rewards of heaven through self-righteousness.
Romans 3:10-12 reveals to us God's view of the human heart: "There is none righteous, not even one." No one can take credit for his own salvation. None of us come into this world saved. We are born as lost souls because of the condition of our hearts, not due to our actions or behavior.
The only thing we can do about our salvation is to get on our knees before almighty God in absolute, total humility and thank Him and praise Him for reaching down and saving us out of our sinfulness. For in His mercy, grace, goodness, and love, He makes us His true children, writing our names in the Lamb's Book of Life for eternity. When God saves us, He saves us forever.
Written by Charles Stanley
www.intouch.org/
Copyright � 2002, In Touch Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
June 24, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: The words "divine service" should be reassigned and no longer used for attending church, but only for good deeds. - G. C. Lichtenberg
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"The King Will Never Leave"
Hebrews 13:5
When Queen Elizabeth's mother - affectionately known to the British as the "Queen Mum" - died at the age of 101, reporters did a lot of reflecting on her special place in British hearts. Much of it was traced to the way she stood by and supported her husband, the king - as well as the British people - during the darkest days of World War II. Night after night, the German bombers would rain down destruction on England's largest cities. London lived largely underground at night, trying desperately to hold out against Hitler's determination to conquer their little nation. At one point, there was a rumor that Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret - then just little girls - were going to be sent to another country for their safety. When the "Queen Mum" was asked about that, this was her famous reply: "The girls can't leave unless I leave and go with them, and I can't leave unless the King leaves. And the King will never leave."
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The King Will Never Leave."
That's a powerful promise - especially when the hour is very dark. It's a promise you have - or you can have, beginning this very day from the King of all kings. One of the most amazing, most significant promises Jesus Christ ever made is contained in these eight words from Hebrews 13:5, our word for today from the Word of God - "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
No loopholes. No room for disappointment or a change of heart. The Son of God promises to every person who belongs to Him that He will never leave them. Which may be the kind of unloseable love, the kind of anchor-relationship you need - because there have been way too many people who did leave. Someone who's reading right now knows what it is to be abandoned, to be betrayed, to be disappointed, or dropped, or ignored. Or maybe you've lost people close to you - by their choice or by their death.
All the people who have left have been preparing you for the One who will never leave you, and that's Jesus Christ. And it's almost ironic that He's our never-leaving One because of all the times we have left Him. We have, according to the Bible, gone "our own way" (Isaiah 53:6) rather than His way. We've lied when we should have told the truth, we've made so many things more important than Him in our life, we've done things with our body, our mind, our mouth, the people we love that we never should have done. But in spite of our turning our back on God and His plans for us, He has not turned His back on us. In fact, He sent Jesus, His Son, to die to pay for everything we've done against Him!
Here's what He says in Isaiah 49 - "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! I have engraved you on the palms of My hands." Jesus looks at His hands and He sees there the nail prints that are there because of how much He loves you.
Isn't it time you resigned from running your own life and opened up to the never-leaving love of Jesus Christ? If you want to begin your personal relationship with Him, tell Him that right now, putting all your trust in Him and His death for you.
The bombs may be falling. The hour may be dark. Others may not be there for you. But once you give yourself to King Jesus, the King will never leave! You have His word on it. You have His life on it.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
June 25, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I destroy my enemy when I make him my friend - Abraham Lincoln
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"The Worst Trade in the World"
Genesis 25:29
I've got a friend who has a lot more beautiful jewelry than her income can afford. She's just really good at getting terrific deals in pawn shops. She only goes to the reputable ones and over the years, she's managed to keep trading up. My friend has an unbelievable instinct for a good deal and she's got the savvy to land that deal. The other day I saw her with this beautiful full-carat diamond ring on. The store price was $2,000 - which there was no way she had. But she had her little bag of trading treasures with her. She traded items that didn't really matter much to her - and she ended up getting that ring for $200.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Worst Trade in the World."
OK, now, good traders try to end up getting something better than what they gave away. It doesn't always happen. In our word for today from the Word of God, Esau made what was arguably the worst trade anyone has ever made. He traded a priceless treasure for a relatively worthless trinket. Tragically, someone reading today may be making a trade like that right now.
Esau is the older brother in his Jewish family, which gives him automatically the birthright - which means double inheritance upon Dad's death, authority over the family and its assets. His younger brother Jacob wants that birthright as we enter this scene in Genesis 25, beginning with verse 29.
"Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, 'Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!' ... Jacob replied, 'First sell me your birthright.' 'Look, I am about to die,' Esau said. 'What good is the birthright to me?' But Jacob said, 'Swear to me first.' So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob." Man, you just feel like yelling at the Bible, "Don't do it Esau!" "Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left."
Now, Hebrews 12 says that Esau "for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward ... when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears." So here was the trade that Esau regretted the rest of his life - give up something precious to meet an immediate need.
Do you know how many people have made that same kind of tragic trade? You're trying to meet what seems like a huge need right now - for money, for love, for acceptance, for getting ahead, for getting out of a jam. But to get it, you give up something you'll need and want for the rest of your life - maybe your integrity, your virginity, your reputation, a close relationship, your ministry, your self-respect, even the favor of God.
You could be on the edge of a terrible trade right now. And God is sending you this loving warning - don't give up that lifetime treasure to meet that immediate need. It's a trade you'll regret for the rest of your life.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
June 26, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: The feeling of futility and incompetence is not a bad one, because it comes near His beatitude---Poverty in brain and body and heart is blessed if it will drive us on to His fathomless resources. If not, it ends in wounded vanity. and a sense of being thwarted. - Keith Green
A Healthy Dose of Love
"Love...is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it--pays no attention to a suffered wrong." - (1 Corinthians 13:4-5, The Amplified Bible)
Walking in love is good for your health. Did you know that?
It's true! Medical science has proven it. Researchers have discovered that hostility produces stress that causes ulcers, tension headaches, and a host of other ills.
Now when you think of hostility, you may think of the type of anger you feel when something serious happens. But according to the experts, that kind of thing isn't what causes the worst problems. It's the little things: when the dry cleaners ruin your favorite outfit, for example. Or when the cafeteria lady puts gravy on your mashed potatoes after you've specifically told her not to. Sound familiar?
Just think how much stress you could avoid by being quick to forgive, by living your life according to 1 Corinthians 13 and not counting up the evils done to you. Imagine physical and emotional benefits of living like that!
If you've allowed yourself to be habitually bound by hostility, that may sound like an impossible dream, but it's not! Because as a born-again believer, you have the love of God inside of you.
If you'll yield to that love, it will set you free. Remember when Jesus called Lazarus forth from the grave? He was alive but still bound in the grave clothes. Jesus commanded the bindings to be loosed so that Lazarus could be free to walk.
Jesus wants that same kind of freedom for you. So get into agreement with Him. Say to those deadly habits that have you bound, "In the Name of Jesus, loose me and let me go! I'm putting hostility, unforgiveness and selfishness behind me. I'm going on with God. I'm going to live the life of love!"
Remember: It doesn't take a medical miracle to turn your life around. All it takes is a decision to yield to the force of love. Do it today.
From "Faith To Faith" by Gloria Copeland
www.kcm.org
Copyright Kenneth Copeland Ministries
June 27, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Let God operate in thee; Hand the work over to Him and do not disquiet thyself as to whether or no He is working with nature or above nature, for His are both nature and grace. - Meister Eckhart
"Ravens: Bad News, Good News"
"Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!" - Luke 12:24
For the poet Edgar Allen Poe, the raven was bad news. Having lost his beloved Lenore, Poe lets the raven be, as he says, "emblematical of mournful and never-ending remembrance."
But ravens stand also for good news. During a great famine, God sent the ravens to feed the prophet Elijah. This was good news then, and it is good news now, for us. We know that God cares for us. He may not always send ravens to help us. Maybe you've read the story about a hungry widow and children in Holland and how the oldest boy opened the front door to let the ravens bringing food fly in. Well, God sent no ravens, but He did move the mayor passing by, to inquire about the open door on a cold, winter night -- and to send food after learning the circumstances.
Through the ravens, God fed Elijah; but who feeds the ravens? The psalmist answers, "[God] provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call" (Psalm 147:9). Jesus said, "Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them" (Luke 12:24). Doesn't God do the same for us?
The Son of God became man -- a poor, homeless man who had less than the birds with their nests. We know the reasons why He became poor: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). In Christ we are rich in forgiveness and eternal life.
PRAYER: Lord God, give me a faith that will enable me to rely on You for the help I need. Amen.
Taken from "Each Day with Jesus"
Copyright 1994, Concordia Publishing House.
June 28, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: The science of Christ crucified can only be learned by heart. - Charles Spurgeon
The Heart of the Cross
Isaiah 53:4-5
"Could not God have come up with a better idea for the salvation of man than the cross?" This question is sometimes posed during debates regarding the purpose for the brutal punishment Jesus endured at Golgotha.
Yet, apart from our human understanding, and in His infinite wisdom, God had a perfect plan for the Cross. The circumstances of the day were never out of His control or in conflict with His will.
Instead, the Cross revealed who God is and what He is like-compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth. (Exodus 34:6)
The Cross also exposed Satan for what he is and, at the same time, took away his power. Though Satan's final defeat will occur at the end of time, the Cross invalidated the need for a physical payment for sin for those who would accept Christ's ultimate atoning sacrifice made for us all.
Finally, the Cross unveiled a new covenant relationship with God, which gives all people the opportunity to experience eternity through Jesus Christ. Matthew 27:51 tells us that at the moment of Christ's death, the temple veil (which had allowed only high priests access to God) was torn in half from top to bottom. This act signified the beginning of a new type of access to God through Jesus Christ, our Intercessor.
Was God's perfect will carried out at the Cross? Yes. Even in death His love was demonstrated to the world He created to receive His blessings.
Written by Charles Stanley
www.intouch.org/
Copyright � 2002, In Touch Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
June 29, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Christ's call is to save the lost, not the stiff-necked;
He came not to call scoffers but sinners to repentance; not to build and
furnish comfortable chapels, churches, and cathedrals at home in which to
rock Christian professors to sleep by means of clever essays, stereotyped
prayers, and artistic musical performances, but to capture men from the
devil's clutches and the very jaws of Hell. This can be accomplished only by a red-hot, unconventional, unfettered devotion, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the Lord Jesus Christ.
- C. T. Studd (1860-1931)
What JESUS Has Done!!
Ohhhh, how we want Jesus to find faith when He returns! The kind of faith that believes His Word is true and holds onto it. The next time you're tempted to be snappy with somebody, prideful, boastful, selfish, or impatient, fearful, lazy, gluttonous.I beseech you in the name of Jesus to reckon yourself dead to sin. Is this an act of willpower? No, it is simply saying, "I understand and comprehend what Jesus did on the cross. He made a public spectacle of satan, humiliating him before the hosts of Heaven and the people of the earth. He knocked out satan's teeth, and now he has nothing but gums to bite with. He drove satan right into a place of powerlessness, rendering him harmless." We reckon and declare that these things are true! "What Jesus has done is the issue, not what I have done, or what I am capable of overcoming--that's what we now say to you, oh hosts of heaven and peoples of the Earth." What Jesus has done is the issue and we hold that up in satan's face in times of trial and temptation and discouragement and failure.
And the more we believe and rest in that and hold out what Jesus has done, the more we will see the manifest power of God in our lives. Like Peter, a mere human, who walked on water. and like Paul, you can say, "You know how holy and righteous and blameless I was. Come on, follow me as I follow Christ." The ability to speak that way with a clear conscience, confirmed by God in the Holy Spirit, is based on our willingness to believe what Jesus has done and is doing. Nothing more. "This is the work of God, to believe on the One whom He sent." "The spirit of prophecy is a testimony of Jesus." Let that testimony reign in your heart. Let it well up in every attitude and every word that comes out of your mouth.
Let your mind be transformed and renewed by the Promise and Person of God in the face of Jesus Christ, high and lifted up, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY! "He's my Security, He's my Hope, my Fortress, my High Tower, my Rock, my Door, my Way, my Truth, my Life, my Good Shepherd." He's the Light of the world --Jesus of Nazareth. Glory to His Name!! Let it reign in your heart. Let it fill your heart and mind, saturating you in every circumstance, and like Nathaniel, you too will see the Glory of God. You too will see angels ascending and descending to the Throne of God and the footstool of God. As you believe the promises that are "Yes" and "Amen" in Jesus Christ, you'll see things like that---.incredible things! Don't let sin reign in your mortal bodies. Sin no longer has mastery over you! Why? Real simple answer: JESUS, the Christ of God; Friend, Brother, and King.
Submitted by Molly & transcribed by Mike Peters
June 30, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Again the loneliness of our Lord comes to me more and more. How few of us are concerned about satisfying His heart. How I hear Him saying, I thirst, Give me to drink. May my Lord never let me grow cold in my longing to be a cup in His hand for the quenching of His own royal thirst - Jim Elliot
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"In the Middle of Your Love"
Malachi 2:13-15
As the kids were growing up, Karen and I would sometimes sneak into the kitchen to - well, the kids said it was to "smooch." We were known to occasionally grab a quick hug and kiss in what we thought was a private spot. One time when I started "smooching" with Karen, I forgot that our baby son Brad was sitting there in his high chair. Suddenly, in the midst of this romantic moment, I hear this laughing ... and clapping ... and banging on his high chair tray. It was like he was saying, "Go for it, Mommy and Daddy!" And over the years, Karen and I would be hugging sometimes when we suddenly felt a little person wiggling in between us - sometimes two little persons, or even three. And invariably, we'd see big blue eyes looking up at us, and one of our kids saying, "Mommy, Daddy - can I be in the middle of your love?"
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "In the Middle of Your Love."
If you're a parent, that's exactly where your children are supposed to be - in the middle of your love for your husband or wife and their love for you. God makes that very clear in our word for today from the Word of God in Malachi 2:13-15.
God's people are wondering why they seem to be getting no response from God in spite of all their spiritual activity. God says, "You flood the Lord's altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, 'Why?' It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His." So, God says people are not experiencing His blessing because they aren't keeping their promises that they made to the person they married. He intends for them to be functioning in unity.
Then comes the surprising reason why God is so concerned that a husband and wife be loving each other as they should. He says, "And why one? Because He was seeking godly offspring." In other words, God is saying, "If Mom and Dad are treating each other right, the kids will turn out right. If Mom and Dad's love isn't what it should be, who knows how the kids are going to turn out?"
Your children are supposed to be caught in the overflow of you and your spouse loving one another, not loved instead of you loving one another. And it may be that you have allowed that love to atrophy, to drift, to turn to resentment ... or coldness ... or neglect. And while your child is still getting loved, they aren't in the middle of your love for one another. A child's security, a child's stability is in knowing that the love from which they came is still going strong!
So maybe it's time to do whatever you must do to rekindle the original flame. There was a time when you thought you couldn't live without that person. Would you focus on the things you once loved, on the hope factors in your relationship, on whatever apologizing, forgiving, counseling, or communicating it's going to take to rekindle that love?
Your son or daughter is quietly asking, "Mommy, Daddy - can I be in the middle of your love?" Do whatever it takes to make sure the answer is yes.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft