November 1, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Visit, I beseech thee, O Lord, this habitation with thy mercy, and me with thy grace and salvation. Let thy holy angels pitch their tents round about and dwell here, that no illusion of the night may abuse me, the spirits of darkness may not come near to hurt me, no evil or sad accident oppress me; and let the eternal Spirit of the Father dwell in my soul and body, filling every corner of my heart with light and grace. Let no deed of darkness overtake me; and let thy blessing, most blessed God, be upon me for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. - Jeremy Taylor
How Can You Live A Lifestyle Of Worship?
Many of us live in cities where sunsets and mountain horizons have become distant memories. The majestic stars are blocked out by the smoky mists of industry. Just as our capabilities have grown exponentially, our capacity for wonder seems to have withered.
Before we can say anything about worship, we must come to grips with this idea of wonder. For worship can never be the sole work of the rational mind. In the presence of Almighty God, as the Apostle John discovered, the sense of wonder comes naturally and leaves us changed. But without the capability of awe, where we stand at the edge of ourselves and gaze beyond, we will never come into His presence.
Experience vs. Event
Since the days of our first parents in the Garden of Eden, worship has walked a tightrope between lifestyle and liturgy. When God walked in the Garden with His first children in the cool of the day, Adam and Eve worshiped Him as we should-without interruption. The Creator and His creatures experienced a continual, ongoing exchange of provision and praise. God provided everything Adam and Eve needed, and they responded with praise-with gratitude, reverence, honor, submission, and holy fear.
Yet the experience of worship was soon transformed into an event. Adam and Eve sinned, their state of worship was interrupted, and they were expelled from God's presence. The next thing we see is their sons engaged in an act of worship-the bringing of offerings to the Lord. Instead of worship being the uninterrupted experience of man, sin necessitated the scheduling of worship to a time and a place (Genesis 4:3-4).
Appointed vs. Perpetual
Reading the elaborate and detailed plans God gave to Israel by which they were to worship in the Tabernacle illustrates the legitimacy of appointed times and places of worship. And yet as a backdrop to the appointed times of worship were the perpetual acts of worship which went on before the Lord day and night (Exodus 30:8; Leviticus 6:12; Leviticus 24:5-9).
But when we get to the New Testament, we find something different. Christians are the new temple and priests of God (I Timothy 3:15; I Peter 2:5, 9). Like the priesthood of old, we are to worship at appointed times as well as to worship perpetually.
Be regular at appointed times of corporate worship.
It has become increasingly popular in our culture for Christians to exempt themselves from corporate worship. Not only is this unbiblical (Hebrews 10:24-25), it has the same effect as pulling a log out of a fire. The personal fire for worship of God burns bright when fueled by the worship of many.
Be regular at appointed times of personal worship.
It has also become widespread for Christians to plan time with God while driving, showering, exercising, and mowing the lawn. I am convinced that this practice should not be a substitute for a personal "quiet" time with God. Distractions do just that-they distract! Make sure you are setting aside priority time daily to be alone with God in prayer, Bible reading, and worship.
Cultivate the practice of unscheduled worship.
Everyone has times during the day when discretionary minutes present themselves. Instead of turning on the television, flipping through a magazine, calling a friend, or dozing off, get in the practice of redeeming the time to focus on the Lord. Communing continually with God throughout the day and night is the experience of worship (Psalm 16:7; 63:6; 119:48).
Offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God. This is an exhortation in the strongest of terms from the Apostle Paul (Romans 12:1). When we make the transition in our thinking from offering a sacrifice of worship to becoming a sacrifice of worship...we are moving toward reclaiming the experience of worship which we have lost. We offer our sacrifice of worship-time, talent, and treasure-but we are the sacrifice God desires most.
Living every moment in the wonder of worship will change the way you live every day.
By Dr. David Jeremiah
Turning Point Ministries
www.turningpointonline.org
November 2, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: We Christians too often substitute prayer for playing the
game. Prayer is good; but when used as a substitute for obedience, it is
nothing but a blatant hypocrisy, a despicable Pharisaism... To your knees,
man! and to your Bible!
Decide at once! Don't hedge! Time flies! Cease your insults to God, quit
consulting flesh and blood. Stop your lame, lying, and
cowardly excuses. Enlist!
- C. T. Studd
"If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." - Romans 5:10
I am not saved by believing---I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me---repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural miracle of God's grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am saved, even though I don't know how it was accomplished.
The salvation that comes from God is not based on human logic, but on the sacrificial death of Jesus. We can be born again soley because of the atonement of our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creations, not through their repentance or their belief, but through the wonderful work of God in Christ Jesus which preceded all of our experience (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19). The unconquerable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We do not have to accomplish these things ourselves---they have been accomplished through the atonement of the Cross of Christ. The supernatural becomes natural to us through the miracle of God, and there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done---"It is finished!" (John 19:30).
By Oswald Chambers
My Utmost for His Highest
November 3, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: A faith that hasn't been tested can't be trusted. - Adrian Rogers
BTW (By The Way), God LIKES You!
Did you know that? Did you know God LIKES you? You know He loves you! He's supposed to love you, right?...but did you know that God LIKES you? That's a little harder to accept, isn't it? But here's His words:
The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing ." (Zephaniah 3:17)
For the LORD takes delight in his people; He crowns the humble with salvation. (Psalm 149:4)
As a young man marries a maiden, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:5)
God rejoices over us...with singing! He delights in us. He likes us...He really, really likes us. God likes you so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die for you...that if you believe in Him you will not perish (be separated eternally from the God who loves you) but might have everlasting life (be restored to His presence where He has always wanted you to be from the beginning of Creation).
God DOES love us...and God likes us, too. Warts, wrinkles, pimples, mistakes, failures, poor choices, bull-headedness, foolishness and all. He loves you AND He LIKES you and takes delight in you. How else can we respond to that but to jump into our Heavenly Father's lap and enjoy His love of us?
Gary Zanow
The Grace Cyber Cafe
www.new-mercies.org
November 4, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: A man's heart is right when he wills what God wills. - Thomas Aquinas
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"Nuzzles And Nips"
Proverbs 3:11, 12
Our friend just got two beautiful new horses. The mother is half Morgan, the filly is mostly a Morgan horse - one of our favorites. The filly has a silky brown coat that is so smooth to touch and she's got this white blaze on her face that makes her look pretty striking. Of course, she's still a baby. She's still getting around on a foal's spindly legs. And it's interesting to watch the interaction between mother horse and baby horse. There are times when the mother nuzzles her filly lovingly and protectively. But there are also times when she nips her baby, usually when her little girl is doing something mom considers out of line or dangerous - like when she starts mixing with a strange horse that the mother isn't sure of.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have 'A Word With You' today about "Nuzzles And Nips."
Apparently, little horses need both - nuzzles and nips. So do little people. And sadly, too many parents are giving a lot of one to their child and not much of the other. Some give the nuzzles, but not the nips. Some are giving a lot of nips, but not many nuzzles. Even horses know that young ones need both.
God shows the link between loving a child and disciplining a child in our word for today from the Word of God in Proverbs 3:11 and 12. He says, "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in." So, if you love your child, you'll care about how far they get. Proverbs 13:24 makes clear that "he who loves his son is careful to discipline him."
Now discipline isn't you dumping your anger on your child - that's punishment, from which they will learn little but rebellion. Discipline establishes consequences for wrong actions based on whatever consequences the child will learn the most from, and you're not going to think that through clearly when you're angry and out of control. And out of control is what so many children are today - probably because of a parent who has not laid out consistent boundaries for their child and consistent penalties for going out of bounds.
It's like sports. You can't have a game unless everyone first knows exactly where the boundaries are and what you get fouls or penalties for. And those penalties are clear before one play takes place in the game. For many children, the boundaries in their family keep moving around all the time, and they're confused about what's wrong and losing respect for authority that's all over the map. Settle in advance with your children where the boundaries are and why those boundaries are there, and what happens if you go beyond them.
A major university study a few years ago identified four kinds of parents, based on how they showed love for their children and how they controlled their children's behavior. The authoritarian parent was high in control, but low in support - lots of nips, not many nuzzles. Now, the permissive parent was low in control, but high in support - "I love you and hey, do what you please." The neglectful parent was low in both control and support. And then there was the authoritative parent, who was high in control and high in support. That would actually be a Biblical parent.
The researchers found that the parent most likely to raise a rebel against all authority was the authoritarian parent - the one who was very controlling but didn't show much love or encouragement. And the parent who produced a child who was most likely to respect authority and follow their parent's faith was the one who blends often-expressed love and affirmation with fair and consistent discipline.
Or, in simple horse sense, your child needs to be able to count on two things - lots of loving nuzzles - and the loving nip of correction when they're headed in a direction that will hurt them.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
November 5, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: There is neither encouragement nor room in bible religion
for feeble desires, listless efforts, or lazy attitudes. All must be
strenuous, urgent, ardent, flamed desires, impassioned, unwearied insistence
delight heaven. God would have His children incorrigibly in earnest and
persistently bold in either efforts.
- E.M. Bounds
Encouraging Word For The Week From Brother Steve
I'll keep it brief this week. On Tuesday, November 5th, it is the responsibility of every Born Again Believer in Jesus Christ to vote their convictions on Election Day. Since the convictions of the Christian are to be the convictions of the Savior, this should dictate the type of candidates that are elected.
In Proverbs 14:34 it says, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people." Much of the sin in our nation is legitimized through the passing of laws by our elected representatives on both the state and national level. Therefore, part of exalting the righteousness of a nation is through voting for people that we understand are seeking to follow God.
The words "Democrat" and "Republican" are no where to be found in the Bible, but holiness, righteousness, and godliness are written everywhere. According to studies, the majority of Christians vote according to their pocketbooks. Forty-five percent of "Evangelicals" said that economic issues are more important than moral issues, when it came to voting. The Lord would tell us to vote according to His Holy Book on election day and everyday.
Sadly enough, an increasing amount of Christians are not voting at all. According to the web site of Focus on the Family, the following figures were stated: "We know that between 1992 and 1996, Christian voter turnout declined in America 17 percent. We know that between 1996 and 2000, it declined an additional 23 percent, so we've had a 40 percent drop in Christian voter turnout over the last four elections." This is a sad commentary.
As a pastor, one of my greatest pet peeves is to have people in the church complain about things when they are doing nothing to help in God's work. I believe the same holds true at election time. If you don't like the way things are going in America, then vote. If you wont vote, then shut your mouth, because when you had your opportunity to express yourself in a voting booth you blew it.
Is this an encouraging word? It sure is.
VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Taking advantage of freedom,
Bro. Steve
First Baptist Church, Doyline, LA
November 6, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. - Isaac Watts
Hungering and Thirsting for God
Psalm 63:1-8
It has been said that our spiritual journey parallels our physical growth. At salvation, we are "born again" as infants in our newfound faith. As we delve into God's Word, we enter our adolescence of learning. And then, as adults, we "put away childish things" (1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV) and move from "milk" to "meat" in our spiritual growth.
When we reach this stage of maturity, several changes should accompany our progress-one of which is an inward longing to know and please God. Our love for Him should increase daily in conjunction with our praise for His faithfulness.
But in order to experience this stage to its fullest, we must intimately know the God worthy of praise. To be able to say that we hunger and thirst for Him requires a passion for knowing our heavenly Father and His perfect will.
Also, when a person develops a hunger for God, time spent alone with Him will become a priority. This person will want to have fellowship with God, and he or she will make time to do so. Prayer and meditation on His Word will be rewarding and satisfying-like a feast for the soul.
When we act upon our hunger and thirst for God, we will experience freedom from the daily tugs and pulls of the world. Our burdens will become lighter, and we will continually anticipate new opportunities to learn and grow in faith.
Are you still relying on "milk" for your sustenance? Ask God to give you an appetite for "solid" spiritual food.
Written by Charles Stanley
www.intouch.org
Copyright � 2002, In Touch Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
November 7, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: The call to love is not for the halfhearted. - George Sweeting
Hungering and Thirsting for God
Psalm 42:1-2
Have you ever found yourself thirsting for God? Do you understand what David felt as he wrote, "My soul thirsts for God" in Psalm 42?
In reality, each of us will "hunger" and "thirst" for many things in our lives. Studies show that, aside from the basic need for food and water, all humans share a set of spiritual and emotional needs. Love, acceptance, and security are among these basic hungers.
It is not uncommon for people in our society to spend years searching for someone or something that will satisfy their needs. What they fail to realize is that God is the source of ultimate satisfaction. In Him is the acceptance, security, love, joy, and peace for which they long.
What can we learn from this as believers? Here is the lesson: we may not have a lot of "things" in life, but what really matters is that we have God. And because we are His children, we should continually pursue the yearning desire within us to know Him better.
The more we hunger and thirst for God, the more of Himself He will reveal to us. And the more He reveals, the more we will love and trust Him.
So many people will live their lives wondering if God ever loved them. But when we desire Him and pursue Him, He will open our hearts and minds to see things we could not have seen any other way. Best of all, we will experience greater levels of joy, peace, and happiness that are available only through Him.
Written by Charles Stanley
www.intouch.org
Copyright � 2002, In Touch Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
November 8, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: The very breath of prayer sustains the Christian life. - Carl F. H. Henry
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"The Myth of 'Plenty of Time'"
James 4:13
It's still okay for grownups to read the comics in the newspaper. I mean, sometimes you actually stumble upon one of those "hmmm" kind of insights in a comic strip. Last week I had one of those "hmmm" moments. It was a "Family Circus" cartoon where the Dad and the little boy were in a cemetery looking at Grandpa's gravestone. Pointing to the epitaph on the tombstone, Dad says, "Those two dates are the year Granddad was born and the year he died." Then, pointing to the mark between his grandfather's date of birth and date of death, the little guy says, "That means that little dash between the years is Granddad's lifetime!" Hmmm.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Myth of 'Plenty of Time.'"
That's something to think about - my life is ultimately the dash between the day I was born and the day I die. In the "Family Circus" cartoon, the little boy walks away saying of his Granddad, "I wish his dash had been a lot longer."
If your life is like mine, it is full of things to do, places to go, goals to achieve. With all that I've got going, the thought of the dash just suddenly ending is hard to imagine. And yet we don't dare forget how short our dash really is, or we may miss the only things that will matter when our dash on earth is over. With every passing year I think we all begin to understand what Dr. Billy Graham was talking about when asked what the greatest surprise in his life has been. He simply said, "The brevity of it."
We're running fast; we're feeling immortal. But the Bible helps us put life into its true perspective so we can secure insurance for the eternity that is so much closer than we want to think about. For example, in James 4, beginning in verse 13 - our word for today from the Word of God, the Bible says, "Now listen you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even known what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
Only a mist, a dash between two dates, and then eternity. You may have taken steps to be sure that you're ready for any medical emergency you may face, steps to improve your fitness, to be ready for retirement. Many people who have prepared for their brief future here, though, are fatally unprepared for the eternity that follows. And the Bible makes it clear that there's only one way to be prepared for eternity, and that's to be sure every sin you've ever done has been forgiven by God. Or you have no chance of heaven - no chance of eternal life.
That's why you have nothing more important to settle than whether or not you have begun a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Because He's the only One who paid the death penalty for your sin when He died on the cross. The Bible, therefore, clearly states, "Everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through His name." (Acts 10:43) When you respond to what Jesus did for you - when you tell Him, "Lord Jesus, I believe You're my only hope of being forgiven, my only hope of ever entering God's heaven" - that's when you finally experience the peace of knowing that you're ready for eternity, whenever it comes.
If you've never begun your life-saving relationship with Jesus Christ - and you want to - tell Him that right now.
You've put off getting things settled with Jesus many times. But the stakes are way too high, and life is way too fragile and unpredictable to postpone belonging to Jesus one more day. In God's words, "Now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
November 9, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Real prayers come not from gritting teeth but from falling in love. - Richard Foster
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"In Touch With The Tower"
Nehemiah 2:4, 5
I was meeting with an FAA official in preparation to speak at a meeting of private pilots. The only pilot I know much about, of course, is Pontius, but I had been asked to speak on the subject of peace and stress. Mr. FAA happened to mention to me that there were 10,000 private pilots in the New York area. That's when I became especially grateful for a special group of people called flight controllers. When you're up there in an airplane - and you think about all the other airplanes that are up there with you - it's nice to know that the pilot isn't just trying to figure out by himself where to fly. All across the country, he's got the help of that man or woman in the tower who can see the whole picture of what's going on in the sky and or even on the ground. And that pilot doesn't check in just every once in a while. He makes sure he stays in touch with the tower!
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "In Touch with the Tower."
A pilot needs to stay in constant contact with the person who guides him through his entire flight. And as we try to pilot the life God has given us through all the "dangers, toils, and snares," we really need to stay in touch with our Flight Controller in heaven - the God who can see what we could never see, who can guide us on a path that we could never figure out on our own.
Recently, I have been tremendously challenged and inspired by a man in the Bible who understood that prayer isn't just some spiritual compartment in your life - it's an all-day lifestyle. Nehemiah ultimately learned he was God's man to lead the seeming "Mission Impossible" of rebuilding God's city against tremendous odds and opposition. He worked for the most powerful man in the world, the king of Persia. When the king discovers his servant's deep burden for the plight of Jerusalem, he suddenly asks Nehemiah a loaded question, "What is it you want?"
In Nehemiah 2:4-5, our word for today from the Word of God, he says, "Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king." I like that. Pray, then answer. He probably didn't kneel down there in the throne room, bow his head, close his eyes, and fold his hands. But in his heart, he knew that he must get instructions from the tower before he flew into answering this important question. The result, by the way, was the king's full support of the project and resourcing the project that God had laid on Nehemiah's heart.
When Nehemiah had first gotten a report on the devastation of God's city, the Bible says, "When I heard these things ... for some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven." (Nehemiah 1:4) Praying before you answer someone. Praying when you get bad news. When enemies threatened an attack, it says, "We prayed to our God and posted a guard." (Nehemiah 4:9) Praying about obstacles and dangers. When he was wearing out, he says, "I prayed, 'Now strengthen my hands.'" (Nehemiah 6:9)
It's a powerful secret of spiritual greatness - pray your way through your day, not just when it's your "prayer time." Pray before you make that call, pray before you write that letter or email, or turn on your computer or the television, pray before a date, pray before you go into that hotel room, pray before a deal, pray before a purchase, pray before you decide, pray before you start your day, and pray before you go to sleep at night.
Stay in touch with heaven. As the Bible says, "Pray continually." (1 Thessalonians 5:17) That's how you'll avoid a crash. That's how you'll avoid a course that will cost you. That's how you'll arrive safely at your destination. Throughout your flight, stay in constant touch with the Tower!
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
November 10, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Too many of us have a Christian vocabulary rather than a Christian experience. We think we are doing our duty when we're only talking about it. - Charles F. Banning
Open My Eyes Lord
But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, `Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or `Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming... - Romans 10:6-8
"Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. - 2 Kings 2:14
Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah? He's right here right now. In the words of Buckaroo Banzai: "Wherever you go, there you are" ...and in the words of Gary Z: "Wherever you are, there God is too."
Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah? He is near you. He was never far away to begin with. I'm sometimes inclined to think that when I sin God goes away and when I pray or when I worship He comes back...but the truth is that He never left in the first place. God is omnipresent...always present at all times and in all places. He never left. When we pray or when we worship He doesn't come into our presence...WE come into HIS PRESENCE. Like a child who hasn't learned yet that closing his eyes doesn't make everything go away, we need to learn that God never goes away...He is here right now because He never left.
"Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You." Psalm 139:7-12
Sometimes when I'm driving alone in my car I talk to God out loud. When I'm driving I pray with my eyes open ;-) and I also tend to talk to God out loud when I'm alone with Him. If I'm around other people in anything other than a prayer or worship situation, I either talk to God silently in my mind or I don't talk to Him at all.
I want to get a better handle on recognizing His presence all the time and in all places...not that I need to talk to Him out loud when I'm browsing the aisle of a grocery store...but then again, if He is truly there beside me, why not?
"People will think you're nuts!" Absolutely. Yes, they will. The irony is that while people may think I'm nuts or that I'm pretending that God is there with me; the truth is that He IS THERE with me and much of the time Christians like myself go everywhere in the world (outside of church) pretending AS IF God isn't there.
If my wife followed me wherever I went but I never acknowledged her presence or allowed her to join a conversation or asked her opinion as I went about my business; how would she feel? I mean, what if I only talked to her in our house or as we were driving in the car...but never in public? If I never even looked at her in public? If I pretended as if she wasn't even there? Yet I am convicted that THAT is exactly how I treat God sometimes...as if He weren't there. I am convicted and ashamed. How can I be a witness to the God of the Universe if I won't acknowledge His presence when I'm in front of non-believers: co-workers, neighbors, family, friends?
I want to get a better handle on recognizing His presence all the time and in all places...even if it means people think I'm nuts. If I won't shine my light in the darkness, who will? And if you don't shine your light in the darkness, how will anyone ever see?
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge." Psalm 19:1
And yet, day after day people go through their routines completely blind to a God who has chosen to reveal Himself to His creations. I want to know Him, I want to see His face and I want to live in His manifest presence wherever I'm at and wherever I go...no matter who's watching or what they think of me. He is here, even now. He never left and He's not going anywhere soon. In the words of Elizabeth Barrett Browning:
"Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God. But only he who sees takes off his shoes, the rest sit round it and pluck blackberries."
He sees you...do you see Him?
Gary Zanow
The Grace Cyber Cafe
www.new-mercies.org
November 11, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: We cannot think rightly of God until we begin to think of Him as always being there, and there first. - A. W. Tozer
Is Your Worship Wandering?
Our hearts and affections are fickle. Even as Christians we can wander off like dull sheep, following other bypaths, chasing other goals and gods, falling in love with lesser things. When we give our hearts to Christ, our old natures don't die. We're given new natures, but the old ones have not yet been eradicated. The moment we quit walking in dependence on the Holy Spirit, we're in danger of misplaced affections, of wandering after the world.
It happened to Noah. After the Genesis flood, he became a farmer and vineyard keeper, and on one occasion became too attached to his wine. His resulting drunkenness created a family scandal (Genesis 9:20-24).
It happened to Abraham. Despite his faith in God, his love and concern for his beautiful wife Sarah drove him to deceit on two occasions (Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-18).
It happened to Gideon. The Lord used him to lead Israel, but he took from them their gold, and "Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house" (Judges 8:27).
It happened to Samson. Here was a man whose birth was predicted in advance, who was dedicated to the Lord from infancy, and who was gifted by God with supernatural strength through the Spirit. Yet his passions continually led him astray.
It happened to David. The man who wrote, "O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth.," had a wandering eye that led him into adultery, murder, and cover-up.
It happened to Solomon. During an intense moment of worship, the young king beseeched God for wisdom, and the Lord answered abundantly. Yet Solomon wandered off, married foreign women, and when he was old, "his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God" (I Kings 11:4).
It happened to Peter, prompting Jesus to say, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (Matthew 16:23).
It happened to Demas, who, having accompanied Paul on his journeys, finally forsook him for this present world (II Timothy 4:10).
It even happened to the church of Ephesus, who had counted among its pastors Paul, Timothy, and John. In Revelation 2:4, Jesus said: "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love."
It can happen to you and me.
What Happens When We Wander - The result is that instead of becoming more Christlike, we become increasingly like our new "god." But if we love the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds, and souls, we'll become increasingly like Christ, for we are "created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24, NIV).
How To Avoid Wandering - How can you avoid wandering from wholehearted worship?
Rededicate yourself to Christ each day. Just months before his death, missionary David Livingstone wrote in his diary: "Birthday. My Jesus, my King, my life, my All; I again dedicate my whole self to Thee."
Ask God to search you. We're expert self-deceivers, and we often don't know our own hearts. But the Bible suggests this prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart." (Psalm 139:23, KJV).
Replace wandering with wondering. Evangelist Gypsy Smith used to say, "I have never lost the wonder." Take time to relish the beauty of God's majestic creation.
Give your tithes and offerings. Where your treasure is there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21).
Pray for a blessing in attending church every Sunday. Train your mind to concentrate on the words of hymns and songs you sing, on the prayers offered, and on the sermons preached.
Maintain your personal devotions. It's hard to wander too far away when you' re meeting Him day by day in Bible study and prayer.
Have you replaced your worship of God with a misplaced affection? A relationship? A goal? A hobby that's taken over your life? A house, car, boat, or some other "big ticket" item? Confess this to God, turn back to Christ, realign your priorities, and have no other gods before Him.
David Jeremiah
www.turningpointonline.org
Copyright, Turning Point For God
November 12, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Let us in childlike confidence cast our burden upon the Lord. - C.H. Spurgeon
What Are You Doing Here?
If so, then you're in good company. The Old Testament prophet, Elijah, reached a point in his ministry in which he felt that way too. Ironically, the discouragement he experienced came after the greatest victory of his life and ministry.
God had chosen Elijah as a prophet to the nation of Israel. One day, he stormed into the court of wicked King Ahab and said, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word" (1 Kings 17:1). God noticed that the nation of Israel had turned to outright idolatry. To get their attention, He was going to send a three-year drought.
The Lord then told Elijah to go and hide himself. During this time, God would prepare him for what was ahead. When he came out of hiding in the final year of the drought, Elijah challenged King Ahab to a showdown on Mt. Carmel. Now, this was more than a face-off between mortal men. This was a battle of the gods to determine who indeed was the true ruler of the universe: the Lord God of Israel or the idols of Baal.
The king accepted Elijah's challenge and assembled his prophets on Mt. Carmel. Elijah and the prophets of Baal and Asherah were to offer sacrifices to their respective gods, and the one who answered by fire would be known as the true God.
The prophets of Baal and Asherah went first. For hours, they frantically tried to evoke a response from their god, but to no avail. Elijah's turn came. He built an altar, prepared his sacrifice, and soaked it with water. Then he prayed. In an awesome display of power, God answered Elijah. Not only did fire fall from heaven, but it also consumed the sacrifice and everything around it. The stunned people of Israel finally acknowledged who the true God was.
Elijah called for the execution of the false prophets, then turned and prayed to the Lord once again. This time he asked for an end to the drought, and again, the Lord answered his prayer and sent a rainstorm.
Meanwhile, King Ahab made his way back to the palace and gave a full report to his wife. Infuriated with Elijah, Queen Jezebel sent a message to him, saying he was a dead man. On the heels of great victory, Elijah turned and ran for his life.
Here was a mighty prophet, giving in to fear and discouragement. What brought Elijah to this point?
First of all, Elijah was not thinking clearly. His emotions had gotten the best of him. He allowed his difficulties to be magnified while God was temporarily forgotten.
Second, Elijah isolated himself. When we are depressed, it is not the time to isolate ourselves from God's people. Just a few statements from another believer can get us back on course. That is why the Bible says, "Two are better than one . . . for if they fall, one will lift up his companion" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
Third, after a great victory often comes a great attack. The battle of the gods had taken place, and the Lord had won. A rainstorm ended the drought, confirming God's word through His prophet. Elijah had been running on adrenaline, and he needed food and rest. So, the Lord sent an angel to provide for his needs (1 Kings 19:5).
Elijah made his way to Mt. Horeb, where he found a cave to sleep in. There, the Lord appeared to him and said, " 'What are you doing here Elijah?' " (1 Kings 19:9).
Maybe God would say that to some of us today. What are you doing here? Why have you isolated yourself from your Christian friends, allowed your problems to be magnified, and forgotten your God? What are you doing here?
Elijah came to his senses, left his cave, and got back to serving the Lord. If you are feeling a little down or depressed, then like Elijah, you need to get things back into perspective. God is still on the throne. He is sovereign. He will accomplish His will. He is going to finish what He has begun.
By Greg Laurie
A New Beginning
www.harverst.org
November 13, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Read not to contradict, Nor to take for granted, But to
weigh and consider and change.
- Francis Bacon, Scientist, Scholar
(1561-1626)
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"Worth More Than You Can Imagine"
1 John 4:9, 10
It's hard to believe, but it's true. This man went into antique stores basically for one reason - he was interested in old baseball cards - which can be worth a lot of money sometimes. Well, in this one store he didn't see any on display, so he asked the owner if he had any baseball cards. The shopkeeper produced a cigar box with some very early baseball cards which dated back to the early 1900s. He said, "I don't put these out for everyone to see. I keep them in a drawer most of the time." Among those cards, the shopper found one of the most valuable baseball cards there is - one of those rare cards featuring Hall of Famer Honus Wagner. When the shopper inquired about the price, the owner said, "Well, I bought all of these from a woman for $20.00. But I know they're worth a lot more. I'll sell them to you for $200.00." Well, knowing the real value of just that one card alone, and desperately trying to keep a poker face, the shopper took him up on his offer. Later he sold that Honus Wagner card on the Internet - that one he got for $200.00 - for something like $200,000!
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Worth More Than You Can Imagine."
The woman who sold that card to the store owner didn't know what it was really worth. The store owner didn't realize its value either - and he let it go for what turned out to be very cheap.
Now, it's one thing to undervalue a baseball card and let it go for cheap. It's another thing for a person to undervalue himself or herself and let themselves go for cheap. Maybe it's a mistake you've been making. You don't understand how much you're worth - and you've been making hurtful choices because of it. It could well be that some people in your life have treated you like you're not worth much - and you've believed it. Maybe you've been told you're not worth much, or you've let your inadequacies and limitations and your failures convince you that you must not have much value.
What a mistake - and it leads to so many other mistakes. You end up trashing yourself or settling for less than God intended for you because you think it's all your deserve. But our Creator says, "We are God's workmanship." (Ephesians 2:10) You're a unique, handmade original, made by a God who only does masterpieces. All those people who treated you like you don't matter have no idea who you really are! No one on earth gave you your worth and no one on earth can take it away!
Knowing how much you're really worth comes from being close to the God who gave you your worth. But we've trashed ourselves by doing things our way instead of God's way: lying, hurting others, dirtying sex, living selfishly. Our sin has separated us from the One who made us. But then Jesus came and showed how much we matter to God. In 1 John 4: 9-10, our word for today from the Word of God, He says, "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him ... He sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
God paid for the sin that you've done against Him with the life of His one and only Son. You will never be close to your Creator ... you'll never experience His love and your worth until you belong to the One who thought you were worth dying for. And that's a relationship you could begin this very day if you'll tell Jesus, "I'm Yours, Lord."
The life of the one and only Son of God was given for you. That's how much you're worth to Him. Surrender your life to the One who loves you the most, and experience for yourself what it's like to be loved by God!
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
November 14, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Grant to us, O Lord, to know that which is worth knowing, to love that which is worth loving, to praise that which pleaseth Thee most, to esteem that which is most precious unto Thee, and to dislike whatsoever is evil in Thins eyes. Grant us with true judgment to distinguish things that differ, and above all to search out and do what is well pleasing unto Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Thomas a Kempis
Encouraging Word For The Week From Brother Steve
Next week will be my last "Encouraging Word For The Week". I have accepted the call to be the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Many, Louisiana and will be moving the week of Thanksgiving. This congregation is larger than my current church and the responsibilities will be much greater. Therefore, I think it wise to stop writing my weekly article, for the time being, until I'm able to gauge how busy I will be.
I have really enjoyed doing this for the last few years and hope that the ministry of Cross Exam continues to flourish. I'll be praying for you, and ask you to do the same for us.
In His Service,
Bro. Steve
Scott Shaffer is a hero. At least this is true for those who were in the movie theater in Van Wert, Ohio this past Sunday when a half-mile wide cyclone came through town.
Shaffer is the manager of the local five-screen cinema. As patrons were watching such movies as The Santa Claus 2, Scott was listening to the theater weather alert radio and heard that a major storm was headed their way. He quickly got his other employees to shut down all the movies and got the people into a brick hallway and restrooms in hopes of finding safety.
His foresight paid off as the storm ripped into the movie house and literally tore away parts of the walls and roof. The theater that had been filled with kids watching the Santa movie experienced severe damage, as three automobiles were thrown into the front seating area.
Through all this, there was no one seriously hurt.
For me, this raises some important questions. Understanding the weather conditions, why would anyone be out watching a movie? The fact is, most of these were probably ignorant of the intensity of the storm. Secondly, why was the manager listening to the radio? Aren't there more pressing jobs for him to be doing? Doesn't he need to make sure those $5.00 bags of popcorn and $3.00 soft drinks are selling? Shouldn't he be walking around the place making sure no one is creating problems or inflicting damage? Is listening to the radio really the job of the theater manager?
This is a picture of our world today. A huge twister called "Sin and Death" is whipping across the countryside. It is causing havoc as it steals, kills, and destroys. Most people are completely ignorant of its potential and the venom it can unleash. Therefore, they go about their lives being entertained and enjoying themselves, not realizing that their existence is but a vapor and that they could be within moments of eternity.
However, as the winds blow, there are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who are listening to the voice of God. The leadership of the Holy Spirit compels them to sound the alarm and interrupt the fun and games of an unconcerned world. It is only through these discerning, diligent servants, that most lost people will find salvation.
The problem with most Christians, however, is that they have turned their radios off, or are not listening to the broadcasts of heaven with much urgency. Many of these listen to God's voice on Sunday, but never barge into the theaters of their community on Monday with a word of deliverance. In fact, for many the message of the Lord becomes nothing more than weekly noise that has no impact on their actions.
Most theater managers are not like Scott Shaffer, and would have never crashed into the individual theaters and stopped the show. Why? They wouldn't want to offend their customers. What if the storm didn't hit? Would people get mad at them? Would they have to issue rain checks for a future showing? What would their bosses think if their caution would have been for naught?
According to the Associated Press, Mr. Shaffer had only five minutes between the radio warning and the impact of the tornado. He would not get a second opportunity to make the right decision.
This is what disturbs me most -- most Christians know the storm will hit, yet are unwilling to snatch people from the path of destruction. This says one of two things about them: either they don't believe in the reality of the storm or the severity of the storm. The reason for such an understanding comes from not listening to the warnings issued by God and taking them seriously.
Let me encourage you to be a hero for God. Be a Christian who is not only willing to listen to God's word, but are convicted enough about it to share it with others. As it says in James 5:20 -- "Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins."
Tuned in,
Bro. Steve
First Baptist Church, Doyline, LA
November 15, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Unrequited Love...
From the beginning of time...
Unrequited love has been the agonized wellspring of
etchings on primitive dwellings,
cities' shellings,
philosophers' thought
precious gifts' rot.
In a thousand poets' musing
painfully confusing.
Tears through endless night
heart's most torturous fight.
...Unrequited Love
Imagine how JESUS feels,
if we lend OUR hearts to other suitors,
or simply neglect to return His Love?
Let's Together pour out our full hearts towards all He is and wants!!!
-From the saints in Indianapolis and transcribed by Mike Peters
A Word With You
By Ron Hutchcraft
"Today's Battles, Yesterday's Weapons"
1 Corinthians 9:22
Whether you're a Yankee or Confederate at heart, you can't take much joy in what happened at what's called the "High Water Mark of the Confederacy." If you're a Civil War buff, you know that that's where the Union Army turned back Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. Some 15,000 Confederate soldiers marched courageously across a field in a tight-packed formation, advancing on 40,000 Union soldiers. Only 150 of those Southern soldiers made it. General Lee had made an honest but tragic mistake. See, he'd been trained at West Point in Napoleon's war tactics - masses of men, advancing against imprecise, short-range weapons until they could overwhelm the opposing troops in hand-to-hand combat. Unfortunately, things had changed since that kind of strategy had won battles for Napoleon. Recent technology had greatly improved the range and the accuracy of the rifles the Union Army was using - which meant those masses of men were brought down long before they could ever reach enemy lines.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Today's Battles, Yesterday's Weapons."
Robert E. Lee, the great general that he was, made the fatal mistake of fighting today's battles with what used to work. A lot of us are still making that fatal mistake - when it comes to fighting the battle for which Jesus gave His life - turning people from the death penalty of their sin to the eternal life that only Jesus can give them. When we lose that battle, a soul is lost - forever.
The message that Jesus died for our sin and came back from the dead to be our living Savior - that's a message that never changes. The Good News about Jesus always has been and always will be the unchanging "power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." (Romans 1:16) That message is always relevant, always powerful, never to be tampered with, watered down, or compromised.
But the methods by which we present His message are always subject to change. And frankly, many of us haven't changed our methods for a long time. We're still trying to reach people with what used to work. But today's lost people don't know the Bible, don't understand the "Christianese" words we use to explain what Jesus did, don't ever plan to come to a religious meeting to hear a religious speaker talk on a religious subject in a religious place - which describes most of the ways we try to reach them.
The Apostle Paul, who never compromised the message, was the same one who said in 1 Corinthians 9:22, our word for today from the Word of God, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." In terms of method, Paul tells us to be willing to do whatever it takes, within Biblical boundaries, to rescue the dying.
Which today may mean going to where they are instead of where we are; doing outreach in places where they feel comfortable instead of in our religious building; communicating Christ in non-religious words that a lost person can understand. Delivering the message in music that is their musical language instead of ours; and realizing that it's going to be the everyday believer we'll have to depend on to rescue the lost more than those programs we keep creating. The program of God for rescuing the dying is the people of God.
If we insist on fighting today's battle for the lost with what worked yesterday, we'll keep on reaching who we've already been reaching - while most of the spiritually dying people around us live and die without God and without hope. We can't lose them because we insist on doing what we've always done, sticking to what's in our comfort zone. The eternity of people all around us is at stake - this is a battle that's too costly to lose!
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
www.gospelcom.net/rhm/
Copyright (c) 2002, Ron Hutchcraft
November 16, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, 'I haven't had this experience or that experience'! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides-He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith "in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God-and righteousness and sanctification and redemption ." We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ-who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.
All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief. - Oswald Chambers
"Total Discipleship"
"Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple." - Luke 14:33
A New York City play director, Jose Quintero, laid it on the line for drama students when he said, "The theater has to be more than a career; it has to be an obsession. Theater requires your complete and total preoccupation. If you enter it, it is for life."
Jesus, the divine director of the drama of life, likewise calls for total commitment. He says, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). Again: "Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:27). Our Savior rules out half-hearted performances as well as attempts to serve two masters. He disapproves a Sunday-only Christianity, a part-time discipleship. He wants it all.
Our Lord does not say that one has to spend all hours of the day and night in prayers, or that discipleship means forsaking one's home and vocation in order to be a missionary. True, He does call for some full-time church ministries, but for most Christians total discipleship means staying in one's vocation and serving Christ in faithful daily work. He calls on all His followers to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Total discipleship consists in worshiping the Lord and in working and witnessing for Him.
This is not hard, for our hearts are filled with love and gratitude to Jesus. In all He said and did -- all the way to the cross -- He made Himself a sacrifice for our good. Our response is to follow Him all the way. It is not hard. Our Lord declares, in inviting us to come to Him, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30).
From "Each Day with Jesus"
Copyright 1994, Concordia Publishing House.
November 17, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Pray as if everything depended on your prayer. - William Booth
Solving Problems Through Prayer
Psalm 55:22
Have you evaluated your spiritual life lately? If you were to take time to do a thorough assessment of your attitudes toward and perspective of God, you might be surprised by what you find.
Millions of Christians have received Christ as their Savior, but still give in to the allure of sin. Faith becomes merely a habit or an accessory, rather than a heart conviction and a way of life.
When pulled in two directions, such people compromise themselves because they are convinced that they can't live the way Christ did. There are several reasons for this kind of erroneous thinking. First, they are probably ignorant of God's Word and the power He gives us to live out authentic Christianity. Second, they may think that their behavior is acceptable because they see other Christians living the same way-they are looking at their friends, not at Christ. Finally, those who refuse to surrender completely to the Lord will never know the power of His Spirit to overcome sin.
If you struggle with any of these issues, remember that you are a new creation in Christ. You can draw strength from God's divine nature, which lives in you. (2 Peter 1:3) It is available for the asking. When you pray, ask God to extinguish your love for the world and to replace it with a love for Him and His Word. Pray for Him to fill you with His Spirit so that you can discern wisely.
"And you will be . . . like a spring of water whose waters never fail" (Isaiah 58:11) .
Written by Charles Stanley
www.intouch.org
Copyright � 2002, In Touch Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
November 18, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Let me love Thee so that the honour, riches, and pleasures of the world may seem unworthy even of hatred -- may not even be encumbrances. - Coventry Patmore
"Surprises"
"Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last." - Luke 13:30
Many find Jesus' words in the reading from Luke's gospel full of surprises. Should not Jesus, in order to attract people, lower the threshold and make Christianity easy? Should He not stand at the main entrance and say, "Come right in and be comfortable; no great effort is required of you to be a Christian"? Instead He says this: "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door" (Luke 13:24).
Some expect Jesus, the Lord of love, to say, "Come to Me anytime -- whenever you feel like it; My door is always open." But the Savior does not misrepresent Himself as always at our beck and call, as one unconcerned whether we come to Him today, tomorrow, or the next day. He tells us that if we spurn His grace, thinking we can come to Him on our own terms and at times most convenient for us, He will say, "I don't know you."
A third surprise is that the ones to be seated at the table of grace in Christ's kingdom are not necessarily the ones we might logically expect -- those who took His acceptance of them for granted because of long-standing membership in His church. If they lack faith and love, they will be on the outside looking in, while strangers from east, west, north, and south will fill the places.
Our Lord's words of warning take nothing away from His promises of salvation to those who rely on him, their Savior: "Come to Me ... I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28); "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16); "My peace I give you" (John 14:27). Jesus invites you and me -- sinners that we are. That is the greatest surprise of all.
From "Each Day with Jesus"
Copyright 1994, Concordia Publishing House.
November 19, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: The Lord who vacated His tomb has not vacated His throne. - G.R. Beasley-Murray
Christ's Resurrection
The physical resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of our faith. Without it, Christianity crumbles. It is precisely because the physical resurrection of Christ is at the very heart of Christianity that it is constantly under attack. Our culture frequently denies the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ due to a bias against miracles. It is common for aberrant Christianity and cultism to deny the physical resurrection of Christ as well. For these reasons, we must be equipped to defend this essential of essentials. To do so, let's look back at the biblical and historical records of Christ's resurrection.
First, the physical resurrection of Christ is affirmed in the canon of Scripture. When the Jewish leaders asked for a miraculous sign, Jesus answered, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days" (John 2:19). Scripture confirms that the temple he was speaking of was the temple of his own body (see v.21). John states: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched -- this we proclaim concerning [Jesus] the Word of Life" (1 John 1:1).
Furthermore, the confessions of Christianity are replete with references to the physical resurrection of the Redeemer. Cyril of Jerusalem proclaimed, "Let no heretic ever persuade thee to speak evil of the Resurrection. For to this day the Manichees say that the resurrection of the Savior was phantom-wise, and not real."
Like the church fathers, the medieval church and the Reformation produced compelling confessions concerning the bodily resurrection. Thomas Aquinas condemns those who "have not believed in the resurrection of the body, and have strained to twist the words of holy Scripture to mean a spiritual resurrection." the Westminster Confession assert: "On the third day he rose from the dead, with the same body in which he suffered; with which also he ascended into heaven, and there sittith at the right hand of the Father."
Finally, the characteristics of Christ's body bear eloquent truth to his physical resurrection. Jesus invited the disciples to examine His resurrected His resurrected body so that they would know beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was the exact same one that had been fatally tormented. He also ate food as proof of the nature of His resurrected body.
Jesus provided the final exclamation mark for His physical resurrection by telling the disciples that His resurrected body was comprised of "flesh and bones." "Touch me and see;" He says, "a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have" (Luke 24:39).
By Hank Hanegraaff
Christian Research Institute
www.equip.org/index.html
November 20, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Such an idol is Self, who pleads and promises that if we will but let it stand, it has pleasures, gifts, and treasures to enrich us at command. This hateful idol will spend years in intriguing to escape from the hand of God. Not in listening to its pleadings, however, but in delivering the idol to utter destruction shall we find our true wealth and pleasure, for jewels of priceless worth await those who have learned the secret of losing their life for Christ's sake that they may find it. - Gregory Mantle
Encouraging Word For The Week From Brother Steve
In April of 1999, I began writing the Encouraging Word For The Week. A friend of mine, who was on a church staff in Florida at the time, told me that he was sending out announcements and other notes to the kids in his youth group over the E-mail and that it was working well. As I pondered this, the idea for the Encouraging Word began to take shape.
During much of the three years I served in Baton Rouge, I wrote for the religion page of the local Baker Observer newspaper, and really enjoyed the challenge of writing on alternating weeks with another pastor. It kept me fresh and constantly required my mind to be working for the next article. So, I suppose the combination of the newspaper work and my friend's idea got this thing going.
This will be my last week writing the Encouraging Word. It has been a great joy to communicate both truth and laughter through this weekly medium. I pray that it has encouraged you and helped you to grow in your faith and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today, I want to use the process by which I have written these weekly devotionals as my theme.
For me, the greatest pleasure in writing the weekly Word has been that of figuring out what God wanted me to share and what you needed to hear. Sometimes, it would flow off of my fingers and onto the computer screen with no effort at all. Other times, I would have to back away and return at a later time because my mind wasn't clear enough to write.
On most occasions, I would just be walking around in my normal activities of the day, and the Lord would impress me with a spiritual concept that would hang on an otherwise insignificant observation. Looking through my file, I've spoken in the last few months on such topics as: windy days, buying a computer, observing baseball practice, eating at a restaurant, mowing the lawn, and road signs.
All of the above are pretty mundane and boring things. However, it is through the basic and ordinary activities of life that the Lord Jesus often spoke. He communicated truth through bread, water, light, and fishing. He took those things that people often took for granted and opened up a new way of understanding the greatness of God.
I wonder how many of you go through life asking God to say something to you, but are expecting something so high and grandiose that you miss the simple truths that emanate off of the stem of a flower. You want lightning and thunder when the Lord is whispering. Like Nicodemus in the gospel of John, you are asking great questions, but you are not accepting of simple answers.
If nothing else, these last few years of writing the Encouraging Word have caused me to be more sensitive to receiving wisdom at a level that requires nothing more than the openness of a child. It's kind of like the story I heard of the little boy who asked, "Mommy, if God is bigger than we are, and he lives inside of us, then shouldn't he show through?" Such is the simplicity of a God of complexity.
Let me encourage you to open your eyes. Start looking at sunrises, flying birds, falling leaves, and dew-soaked grass with new insight. Ask the Lord to open your spirit to receiving truth on a level that is so basic that it is profound.
Although for this time, my writing is done, I still have every intent to look beyond the obvious and find God.
Pressing on,
Bro. Steve
First Baptist Church, Doyline, LA
November 21, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I was not born to be free. I was born to adore and obey. - C.S. Lewis
"Recognizing Prophets by Their Fruit"
"We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty." - 2 Peter 1:16
In our day, as ever in the past, there have been those whose teaching and preaching differs widely from the truth revealed in God's Word. Because of the great number and wide variety of such prophets, some people are led to believe that this is what we should expect. They think that Christian denominations are so diverse in their beliefs and the Bible so imprecise that every interpretation is equally as authentic, true, and tenable as the other.
But this is a delusion. False prophets are no more the product of the Christian church and of the Holy Scripture than are counterfeit bills the product of a United States mint.
Our Lord, Himself the true Prophet, makes it very clear that there are prophets who teach contrary to His Word and whom we can know as such. "By their fruit you will recognize them," He said (Matthew 7:20). What a prophet teaches and preaches and the kind of life he lives and advocates -- that is his fruit. If in an orchard we see a tree bearing peaches, then we know it is a peach tree. When the fruit of a prophet's lips is the true and pure Gospel, then we know he is a true prophet. Always we must compare his utterance and action with God's written Word which reveals Christ's Gospel to us.
Jesus Christ, who bears witness to the Holy Scripture (John 10:35) and to whom the Holy Scripture testifies (John 5:39), must be the heart and center of all our teaching. "Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God," writes the apostle (2 John 9). When we abide in the biblical teachings of Christ and about Christ -- that He was born of a virgin, suffered and died for our sins, and rose again -- we have Him as our Savior and God as our Father.
From "Each Day with Jesus"
Copyright 1994, Concordia Publishing House.
November 22, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: The society of proud and arrogant mankind that defies and
tries to eliminate God's rule and presence in history.
- Eugene Peterson
(His clear, concise definition of "the world")
The Supremacy Of Christ
Forgiveness of sins is a great blessing. The atonement for our sins is a great blessing. To be saved from hell at last and go to heaven is a great blessing. We would not minimize them for a moment or take from the greatness and the grandeur of those things because of the infinite cost with which they were purchased for us, but I say again, it is necessary for us to carry the work of Christ through to its full issue, and its full issue lies in the realm of principalities and powers, lies in the realm of the authority of darkness, the jurisdiction of darkness.
That is important for the sinner to know, that it is not only a matter of being forgiven his sins and saved from sin, but that the sinner should know that in salvation all the authority, the jurisdiction of principalities and powers, of the adversary, satan himself, has been destroyed and broken. Out of that jurisdiction, that authority, that rightful hold of satan, they have been rescued - for that is the word here - rescued by Christ in His Cross; it means that satan has no more power because he has no more right. His power depends upon his right, and his right is based upon a state of things in our hearts, and the Cross deals with the state of things and destroys or removes the ground of his right, and breaks his power. Carry it right through. Now all that is in Christ for us.
Christ in Himself embodies His supremacy over the adversary because in Him there is none of that ground that the adversary must have upon which to encamp and construct his rightful authority to hold in bondage. In Christ there is no such ground; Christ is in us when we believe and, as we have already pointed out, apprehended by faith means that the authority of satan is broken because there is that in us which is Christ. There is Christ in us in whom there is no ground for the jurisdiction of satan.
To be delivered not only from sin but from the authority of satan is a tremendous thing. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" "It is Christ that died, rather, that is risen again." What is the value of that? The accuser comes along and tries to lay a charge against us. What is our ground of answer? Oh, our ground for answer is this: "It is Christ that died, rather, that is risen again." That is the way to answer the accusation of the enemy; Christ, who has triumphed over sin and over all the grounds of satan's authority.
You and I can never meet the enemy ourselves in ourselves. He would have the best of the argument every time, but if we are able to present him with Christ, what can he do? "The prince of this world has come, and he has nothing in me." They are the words of the Lord Jesus. What power has he? In Christ's death and resurrection all his power has been destroyed. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Do you follow that? That is the provision God has made, and if only we had a fuller, readier apprehension of Christ we should find that to be the way of victory.
What is it that the Holy Spirit works upon in order to make victory in us actual? It is not our struggles to be better. The Holy Spirit never helps us in a struggle to be better. We may struggle on forever, and die struggling, and the Holy Spirit will not help us if that is the way in which we think we are going to be either saved or sanctified. What is it with which the Holy Spirit will cooperate? It is our faith apprehension and appropriation of Christ as our perfection, as our salvation. "Oh," you say, "yes, but we are sinful and there is so much wrong about us. Are we to close our eyes to actualities about ourselves?"
You are to open your eyes to Christ. Stop looking at yourself and your own sin and get your eyes fixed upon the Lord Jesus as perfection for you to God, and from God to you, and as you take Him by faith - "Not what I am, O Lord, but what You are" - "I in myself am bad:....in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. But Lord, You are my salvation. You are my righteousness. You are my holiness. You are my sanctification. I hold onto You for all that" - the Holy Spirit makes that good to us. It is our appreciation of Christ that is the Holy Spirit's ground of activity; that is the way of deliverance.
Hear that wretched man crying out, "For what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that I do." In that up and down life, resolving and failing, at last he cries: "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me?.....I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
What is the way out for the wretched man? An apprehending of Christ. Not his struggles, his resolution, his efforts in making up his mind that today he is going to be better, and coming back and having to repent at the end of the day. No, no! It is our faith-hold on Christ which is the way out , the positive ground of victory. You try that way. God honors His Son. "It is Christ that died, rather, that is risen again." Triumphant. And "Christ in you." ".... the head of all principality and power." This is a necessary fact. You get a different kind of convert altogether when you carry the work of Christ to its full issue.
We believers know what it is for the enemy to try to get us into the grip of fear again concerning himself. The authority of darkness is a very real thing to us. We have experiences, and if we were to capitulate to them, that would be the end of us. He tries to bring upon us the impingement of the authority of darkness, and if we surrender to it, capitulate to it, accept it, we are beaten.
Stand upon the truth of God. Believers know what it is for the enemy to try to make them accept the authority of darkness. God does not change with our feelings. God does not alter with our consciousness. He rules, unalterable, unchangeable. He is "the same yesterday, and today, and forever." And if He is there within, He has come to stay, and victory is in faith; believing that, standing on that, holding to that. We must carry that through to its final and full issue, that He is Lord of all, "Head of all principality and power." Satan will sometimes try to make us believe that he is in the place of ascendancy [over us], the place of supremacy[over us], but since Calvary he is not.
The Lord gives us a new joy in the Son of His Love as supreme in every realm.
Written by T. Austin Sparks
November 23, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I would have the whole of my experience one continued sense -- first, of my nothingness, and dependence on God; second, of my guiltiness and desert before Him; third, of my obligations to redeeming love, as utterly overwhelming me with its incomprehensible extent and grandeur. - Charles Simeon
"Brain-washed!"
What IS that exactly?
Fact is, everyone IS. YOU are brain-washed.
YOU have built your world out of a series of thoughts and desires. Everyone has. It's what we do.
For example, you can LEARN to hate or resent or be annoyed by any particular person that you set your mind to block out of your life. If they cause you pain somehow, you can brain wash yourself to protect yourself. It's not that you HAVE to feel that way about them. It's just what you've done to your brain to make life easier. You have brain-washed yourself. The "you can't fire me -- I QUIT" thing. You do stuff like that all the time.
YOU are brain-washed. You did it to yourself. You've done it a thousand times over! Everyone does. EVERYONE is.
HERE is the deal: We CHOOSE to either "wash with the water of the WORD" and weigh every thought, opinion, and desire against WHAT GOD SAYS -- or we are AUTOMATICALLY brain-washed by satan, the world system, and our flesh. There ARE no other choices. There are no "neutral" people, or "neutral" thoughts. No one is "in control" of anything, and you "are not your own." SURPRISE!
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death."
But, "the MIND CONTROLED BY THE SPIRIT IS LIFE AND PEACE."
Let GOD brain-wash you! Any other source of brain-washing (and everyone IS) is fatal. But letting the Jesus and His Word wash your brain is LIFE AND PEACE. :) WEIGH your thoughts, and opinions, and desires, your loves, your hates, your emotions, your attitudes, every decision....... letting "the Water of the Word" wash your brain and personality! Yes and Amen. :)
Written/transcribed by Mike Peters
November 24, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: God's voice in response to mine is [prayer's] most essential part. - Andrew Murray
Being Good?
You have NOTHING except today. God is not impressed with your past. He is not DEPRESSED with your past. He doesn't CARE about your past. Wooden boy or girl, or not... superstar or crum, IT MAKES ZERO DIFFERENCE. TODAY is who you are. PERIOD. Who will you be TODAY? Will you worship, or NOT? You CHOOSE the answer. Nothing whatsoever "effects" today except what you CHOOSE. At the end of the day, you either decided to WORSHIP, or you made excuses, or you 'forgot' because your priorities were self-worshipping. At the end of the day, did you lay down your life for other REAL people, in MEASURABLE ways? Or did you make lame excuses about the past of someone else or just never got around to it because you were SELF centered? You CHOOSE TODAY. Yesterday won't help you. Yesterday won't hurt you. Yesterday doesn't exist. ONLY WHO YOU CHOOSE TO BE NOW MATTERS. PERIOD.
*The truth is* that there is no better time than now to be happy and a worshipper. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself, and decide to be happy, and to be a constant worshipper anyway. Treasure every moment you have. And treasure it more because you shared it with special people... and remember that time waits for no one.
So stop waiting until you finish school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have children, until you have a good job, until you retire, until you get married, until the weekend, until you get a new car or home, until your new car or home is paid off, until your spouse treats you right, until spring, until fall, until winter, until summer, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, or until you die... to decide that there is no better time than right now to be a worshipper. LIFE is a journey, not a destination.
Written/transcribed by Mike Peters
November 25, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Prayer is not conquering God's reluctance, but taking hold
of God's willingness.
- Phillips Brooks
"God Has the Last Word"
"He is 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.'" - Acts 4:11
Jonathan Edwards was a prominent Puritan minister and author in Northampton, Massachusetts, in the 18th century. After 23 years of service, the church dismissed him. He became desperately poor and had to do his writing on scraps of paper. Many years later the congregation, then aware of his prominence, put up a memorial tablet in the church. On it, the words of God to Malachi were quoted: "The law of truth was in his mouth ... He walked with Me in peace and equity" Malachi 2:6). This was a fine tribute, but it came many years too late.
Much more the victim of misunderstanding and mistreatment was Jesus Christ. Many of His contemporaries held Him in contempt. But the heavenly Father did not think as many humans did. The apostle Peter told an audience in Jerusalem that Jesus, who was crucified, was honored by God, who raised Him from the dead. He quoted from Psalm 118:22: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone."
During His life on earth, Jesus went about doing good and preaching the Good news of the forgiveness of sins. But the majority dismissed Him from their thoughts, rejected Him, and stood by when He was nailed to the cross in a most shameful and painful death. But His Father had the last word. He made Him sit at His own right hand.
There is a lesson here for our own lives. People sometimes put us down, or, as in the case of Jonathan Edwards, put us out or fire us, perhaps wrongfully. We can rest assured that the last word has not been spoken when people act in error or indiscretion. God will have His say. He knows the truth, and He will bring it to light. We can depend on that.
PRAYER: O Lord, give me courage to say and do what is right, not according to what people think but according to what You say in Your Word. Amen.
From "Each Day with Jesus"
Copyright 1994, Concordia Publishing House.
November 26, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: I think that this world, at its prime and perfection, when it is come to the top of its excellency and to the bloom, might be bought with a halfpenny; and that it would scarce weigh the worth of a drink of water. There is nothing better than to esteem it our crucified idol (that is, dead and slain), as Paul did. Then let pleasures be crucified, and court and honor be crucified. And since the apostle saith that the world is crucified to him, we may put this world to the hanged man's doom, and to the gallows: and who will give much for a hanged man? As little should we give for a hanged and crucified world. Yet fools are pulling it off the gallows and contending for it. - Samuel Rutherford
The One Door
"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:26
An historic church near Hamburg, Germany, has two doors: one entrance for the men and one for the women. It was at one time customary there for men and women to sit on opposite sides of the church. There is a different reason for the two entrances to a car factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Because of hostile feelings, one door is for Protestant workers and the other for Roman Catholics.
Whatever the reasons, good or bad, that people have for separate doors, Jesus Christ is the one and only door to eternal life. In the Good Shepherd chapter in the Bible, our Lord declares, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep ... whoever enters through Me will be saved" (John 10: 7, 9). Again, He says, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6), adding that He is the only way or door to the heavenly Father and His house of many mansions.
Christ is the one door, the one gate of salvation for both men and women, however they may sit in church. As Saint Paul teaches, "All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither ... male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:27-28). As for the two entrances of the Belfast car factory due to feuding, these words of the apostle apply: "[Christ] Himself is our Peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility" (Ephesians 2:14).
Jesus Christ is the one Savior, the one door for you and for me. There are not two doors to eternal life, one labeled "Faith" and the other "Good Works" or "Human Virtues." Only faith in Christ saves. So we enter the "Faith" door, convinced that only trust in the redeeming merits of Christ opens the door to heaven.
PRAYER: O Lord, may more and more people come to know Jesus Christ as the door to peace and salvation. Help me to show them the way. Amen.
From "Each Day with Jesus"
Copyright 1994, Concordia Publishing House.
November 27, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Never think that God's delays are God's denials. - George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon
You Did It To Them?...You Did It To ME
"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.. whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me." - Matthew 25:40, 45
Whenever I've heard this sermon read, I've always pictured Jesus present in some mystical way with the least, maybe even in disguise as one of the least, so that what I do or don't do for them I am actually doing to Him (kind of like in Hebrews 13:2 where it says some have welcomed angels into their homes unknowingly).
But I recently had another insight on this when I heard Brennan Manning speak on the topic. As I heard him re-read those words "whatever you did for the least, you did for Me, whatever you did not do for the least, you did not do for Me." I heard it as if Christ were saying "you hurt her and you're going to have to answer to ME!" and I realized just how much God loves each and every one of us. We're His kids, we're His creation, and when someone wrongs us He takes it personally.
He takes it personally if someone wrongs me and He takes it personally if I wrong someone else. My 15-year-old son will tease his 11-year-old sister to the point of tears, but if someone else tries to harm her he's the first to defend her: "you hurt her you're going to have to answer to me!" I think that's kind of what Jesus is saying (except He doesn't tease us to the point of tears) --- He calls us His brothers and sisters (see Matthew 12:48-50) and He won't put up with someone picking on us.
I find comfort in that (and a little fear when I'm disrespectful of others). He is not indifferent to any of us. He sees everything we do and He sees everything done to us ("The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." Proverbs 15:3) and someday He will make everything right because the God I believe in hears my cries and saves my tears in His bottle (Psalm 56:8 KJV).
Imagine Jesus saying to your enemies: "If you hurt God IS good ALL the time. And the God who sees sparrows fall from trees, the
God who numbers the hairs on our heads, the God who clothes the lilies of the
field and feeds the birds of the air, THIS God, the God revealed to us in
Jesus Christ, be with each and everyone of us every day as we do unto others
as if we were doing it unto Him.
Gary Zanow
This is the day the Lord has made.. I will rejoice and give thanks in it.
November 28, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: There are many things which a person can do alone, but
being a Christian is not one of them. As the Christian life is, above all
things, a state of union with Christ, and of union of his followers with one
another, love of the brethren
is inseparable from love of God. Resentment toward any human being cannot
exist in the same heart with love to God. The
personal relationship to Christ can only be realized when one has "come to
himself" as a member of His Body, the Christian
fellowship. - William T. Ham
Thinking and Thanking"
"The Lord is good and His love endures forever; His
faithfulness continues through all generations." - Psalm 100:5
The words "thinking" and "thanking" are related. Before a person can thank
properly, he or she must think properly. Those who think on and count their
blessings are moved to thank Him who graciously gives all.
With the close of another harvest season, we have much to think about. In
Psalm 100 the holy singer exhorts, "Know that the Lord is God!" Let the
unwise think that they can be their own gods. Christians, however, think on
God as the living source from whom all blessings flow.
The Lord who is God is the one who revealed Himself to Moses as Yahweh: "I
Am Who I Am" (Exodus 3:14). He entered into a covenant relationship with
His people. He is our Father too, and we have become His children, thanks
to Jesus' "blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28). Thus God is the believer's greatest
good, for "His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all
generations" (Psalm 100:5).
We belong to God also because He is our maker and provider. "It is He who
made us, and we are His" (Psalm 100:3). He furnishes us with health,
family, farmland, forest, town, city, police force, work opportunities, cars
to take us to work, paychecks, and many more blessings.
The more you think on these great themes of God's gracious gifts, the more
you are prompted to thank, to "enter His gates with thanksgiving and His
courts with praise" (Psalm 100:4), to "come before Him with joyful songs"
(Psalm 100:2). Thanksgiving is the result of right Christian thinking.
PRAYER: Thank You O Lord, for all the gifts you have given to my family and
me. I especially, thank You for Your grace in Christ Jesus. Amen.
From "Each Day with Jesus"
November 29, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Be grateful for what we've shared together and be glad. -
Bob Dylan
Grace and Forgiveness
And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were
sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
and by the Spirit of our God. - 1 Corinthians 6:11
I do not know all of the Savior's reasons for choosing the woman
at the well. I know that His revelation of Himself to her
constituted an everlasting rebuke to human self-righteousness. I
know that every smug woman who walks down the street in pride
and status ought to be ashamed of herself. I know that every
self-righteous man who looks into his mirror each morning to
shave what he believes to be an honest face ought to be ashamed
of himself....
Jesus was able to see potential in the woman at the well that we
could never have sensed. What a gracious thing for us that Jesus
Christ never thinks about what we have been! He always thinks
about what we are going to be. You and I are slaves to time and
space and records and reputations and publicity and the past-all
that we call the case history. Jesus Christ cares absolutely
nothing about anyone's moral case history. He forgives it and
starts from there as though the person had been born one minute
before. Faith Beyond Reason, 103-104.
"Again I worship You today, great God, for Your matchless grace.
No matter what my past, thank You, thank You, thank You, that
'Jesus Christ cares absolutely nothing about anyone's moral case
history.' Amen."
Written by A.W. Tozer
November 30, 2002
QUOTE OF THE DAY: As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the
highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. - John
Fitzgerald Kennedy
Christ In YOU!
"CHRIST IN YOU, the Hope of Glory!" Col.1:27. What WOULD such a Supernatural
Occurrence as that LOOK like, IN you? Here is a small shadow of one aspect
of what "Christ IN you" will mean......
Carl Sandburg, in 1959, was invited to speak before a joint session of
Congress. The title of his presentation was "Lincoln, Man of Steel, Man of
Velvet." Sandburg begins:
"Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on Earth who is both
steel and velvet, who is as hard as a rock and soft as drifting fog, who
holds in his heart and mind the paradox of terrible storm and peace
unspeakable and perfect."
Such a Man - Jesus Christ - is One FAR beyond in this matter of Steel and
Tenacity against sin and compromise and religious hypocrisy -- AND in Mercy,
Forbearance, and Creativity with a Velvet Touch! AND THIS MAN ("if it be
lawful to call Him a man"- Josephus) LIVES IN those who are truly
Twice-Born. He lives IN YOU, if you are legitimately- Supernaturally-
genetically- Transfigured by Jesus' Voice and Heaven's Wind! YOU are "being
Transfigured" (2 Corinthians 3:18; Hebrews 10:14) into the Steel and the Velvet of THE
SON OF GOD, "by the Lord who is the Spirit." If you have had a
Twice-Born-Event: repenting of self-life, and a Believing Encounter "that
flesh and blood could not have revealed, but the Father Himself revealed"...
abandoning your life "INTO Christ"... if this has happened in you and to
you, something FAR greater than simply "forgiveness" (as awesome as that
is!) has also occurred: "CHRIST IN YOU!" The Man of Steel, the Man of Velvet
LIVES NOW WITHIN YOUR MORTAL BODY!
Now make your Home -- your "center of gravity" in all thoughts and ways and
decisions in Him, as He has made His Home in you! (John 15) Receive and
embrace and CLING TENACIOUSLY to that Truth in Faith... and choose (Rom.6)
to LIVE IN IT ALL! (Luke 8:15)
"Accept no substitutes!" oh man, oh woman, of Steel and Velvet! :)
Written/Transcribed by Mike Peters
The Grace Cyber Cafe
www.new-mercies.org
Copyright 1994, Concordia Publishing House.