I Do

I do- I do what? I remember saying that to the love of my life 41 years ago. Wait a minute she wasn’t the love or my life then, but over the years she has become the love of my life. I remember saying I do to better or worse, but I was thinking better. I said I do to richer or poorer, but I was thinking richer. I also remember saying I do to health and sickness, but I was thinking health. The bottom line was I committed or was I just looking at this beautiful young lady and would have said I do to almost anything. The years have brought better and also worse; riches and also poorness; health and yes sickness. For the last 3 months I have had the privilege of taking care of my dear wife; did you notice I didn’t say I had to; but get to. Now I didn’t say that knowing she would read this and I would get on her good side; I am already on her good side. There have been many who have said the same words; I do but their idea of I do went without commitment. That is the kind of world you and I live in and so if we aren’t careful we let it roll over into our spiritual life and begin to ask ourselves questions. Questions like can I really put trust in the Lord? Can I really believe His promises? Is His word true? If I wouldn’t leave my wife in her time of need what would make me think that the Lord would leave me in my time of need?  In the book of Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 11 we readThrough faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Through faith Sara received strength; now the reason some don’t have much faith and little strength may be found in this verse 

Romans 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  Faith comes how? By hearing and by hearing what? The word of God; now ask yourself how much of the word of God do you hear? If your answer is none then why should you think you would have any faith. If you said little then why do you think you should have strong faith? In order to have strong faith then we must hear the word of God. That is why the Apostle Paulcould say these words  

2Timothy 1:12  For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Paul said he knew in who he had put his confidence in and believed and was persuaded that He is able to keep that which he had committed to Him.

Hebrews 10:23  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)  Jesus became committed to you and I before we said I do you see I became committed after I said I do could that the reason that we love Him. 

1John 4:19  We love him, because he first loved us. 

Home Key

Back in High School I took a bunch of classes and while I was taking them I could never see how I would use the things that were being taught. There is one class that I have gotten a lot of benefit out of and it was my typing class. Way back then they had a top of the line type writer that was a Royal manual type writer. The one I used had the initials CC which I think stood for Christopher  Columbus; just kidding. What I learned in that class I am still using today but today it is a keyboard and computer. There is something that is very important about typing and if you don’t learn it and learn it quickly you will never be able to type. My teacher taught me about the home keys and from the home keys you reach out to all the others keys. For some reason if your fingers get off the home keys you will make absolutely no sense. Our life has some home keys also but I have seen quite a few who have gotten off the home keys and have made a mess of their life.  Things aren’t working the way they’re supposed to. Things that were suppose to fulfill have just left an empty place. Relationships that were or thought they were so important have ended in disappointment. The pursuits that would give our life some meaning have turned out just to be hollow. Life is not going to work until we land on the home keys! If we want life we first have to know what life is  John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. The home key to life is Jesus Christ.  1John 5:12  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. If you and I want our life to be on track we must first have it. We are then told in  Matthew 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Home key, seek but there is no seeking without first having life.  I’m not talking about physical life; I am talking about spiritual life which only comes through Jesus Christ. When we lose sight of who Jesus is we start worrying about all kind of things like food, clothing, shelter; know what has happened? Sd nzfdbll;  just like that we have gotten off the home keys and instead of putting our trust in Him we are putting trust in our ability. Shouldn’t we put our ability in His care? Where are our home keys? If our life is in  shambles it may be we have gotten off the home key.

Danger

Have you ever seen a sign which read “Danger keep out?”  These signs not only warn us but are also there to keep us safe; if we disobey the signs there is a good possibility that we could get badly hurt or even death.  What about the dangers in our spiritually life? I am speaking of the areas in our lives where we are the weakest; the weak areas are different for all of us; but we should all know where we are the most vulnerable. If we don’t keep our guard up and pay attention we will find ourselves in those dangerous places and we will stumble. Remember Peter on the last night he and the rest of Jesus disciples would be together before Jesus would go to the cross? Jesus tells Peter that he would deny Him three times.

Matthew 26:34  Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

Peter doesn’t believe what Jesus is telling him; instead of taking the warning that there was danger ahead, he has another answer. 

Matthew 26:35  Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Jesus takes all His disciples to Gethsemane and asked them to sit there while He went to pray. He then takes Peter, James and John and told them that His heart was exceeding sorrowful and asked them to watch with Him. A simple request especially for a man who had said he would die with Him earlier. But what happens? Peter actions were much different than what Peter had said.  

Matthew 26:40  And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

Matthew 26:41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. What? We find this man Peter; the one that would die with the Lord Jesus doing what? Sleeping! Oh my, what happened? Did Peter enter into temptation? I guess he did; I am sure he will not let it happen again; I mean after Jesus said what He said “Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? “ Now I am sure everything is back on track now; wait what’s this Matthew 26:43  And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.

That’s twice and if you keep reading you will find it happens again; three times total. Later that night we find Peter standing around a campfire and he began to do things that were not like him. He first finds himself in a place and with people that made it easier for him to fail. He then forgets who Jesus is or at least that is what he said.

Matthew 26:72  And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. Then his vocabulary changed and he spoke words that were not common to his speech.  

Matthew 26:74  Then began he to curse and to swear, Here’s what happened, he got over confidence in himself and before he knew it he is in real trouble or danger. What can we learn from this? Never say to ourselves I am done with that you will never catch me doing that again. Because when we fail to believe what God’s word tells us and fail to put trust in it, it will not be long before we too are standing in places we should not be and speaking words we shouldn’t. We can all fail, but there are time when we are more vulnerable. I want you to remember the word “HALT” we need to HALT when we are hungry, angry, lonely and tried for those are the times we become more capable of failing and doing the things we thought we would never do again…Peter must have been tried he couldn’t stay awake so therefore he falls into temptation and finds himself in a dangerous place. Watch out this week and don’t fall into temptation. Get plenty to eat, don’t let yourself get angry, tell your mate that you love them so you want get lonely and get plenty of sleep so you want be tried. Just Halt!

Undervalued

In 1989, a Philadelphia financial analyst discovered something unusual in an old picture he'd bought for $4 at a flea market in Adamstown, PA. He'd purchased the painting (an old, torn depiction of a country scene) because he liked the frame. He liked it even more once he discovered that a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence lurked within it. When he had attempted to detach the frame from the painting, the frame fell apart in his hands. He then found a folded document between the canvas and wood backing which appeared to be an old copy of the Declaration of Independence. A friend who collected Civil War memorabilia advised him to have it appraised. It was real; one of 500 official copies from the first printing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. (Only twenty-four similar copies were known to exist before this find, of which a mere three were privately owned.) This rare document was offered for sale by Sotheby's on June 4, 1991, and the lucky find fetched even more than had been anticipated: the $800,000 to $1.2 million estimate turned into $2.42 million by the sound of the gavel. Wow was that picture undervalued; what the man bought it for fell apart in his hands. Have you ever been undervalued? It may be to the point where you’ve come to believe yourself that you’re not really worth that much. You may say why not feel that way after the names I have been called, the rejection I’ve experienced, the failed relationships, and the way I’ve been treated? Wonder how many people walked by that so called worthless picture? Wonder how many people picked that picture up and almost purchased it? I remember a few days before basic training was over; my drill sergeant told me that I would never amount to anything! Why he said that I will never know but it was the best thing he could have said for on that day I told myself you just wait and see. We too make the same mistake we fail to look past what we are seeing and miss the potential of what is really there. A long time ago a Man namde Jesus picked out 12 men and if you were to look at them you would see nothing special but Jesus saw the potential and those men turned the world upside down! You know what they still are. Most saw them as poor fishermen and the Lord made that plain for they were always mending their nets.  Mark 1:19  And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. What did someone tell you? I can tell you they were wrong and if you go around the rest of your life feeling you are not of much value you’re not seeing  behind the frame where the 2.42 million are. Are you going to keep believing the lie and undervalue yourself? We will talk some more on Monday have a great weekend.

Battleground

Have you ever heard the saying “choosing your battles?”  Victories come when someone knows which battle is worth fighting and which battleground is best to fight on.  Do you know when to keep your mouth shut? You might have the attitude; well. I just can’t let that pass but remember even if you’re fighting good battles sometimes it’s best to pick the time and place. I have a pastor friend of mine that told me this. He and his Church members had worked hard on inviting people to a Special service and when that Sunday had arrived it was a great turn out. Then he said I couldn’t believe what happen that Morning he told me that all was going so good; the choir the songs all was great. Then all of a sudden a young man in the choir asked if he could say a few things. This was not strange because others from time to time would ask and they would always say encouraging words and praise the Lord for His goodness. This young man began to resign all of the things he was doing and began to bring up things that he should never have said; this all happened before the Pastor could get him stopped. Here was a young man who didn't know when and where to choose his battles. King David was a veteran at fighting battles and he understood that it was important to be sure that you’re fighting the right battles. In 2 Samuel 5 we read in 2Samuel  5:18  The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

2Samuel 5:19  And David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.

David took the time to ask the Lord about the battle and God told him to go and told him that He would deliver the Philistines into their hands. Later we read almost the same thing happening again.

2Samuel 5:22  And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

What is David going to do? I mean; he has been here before and he had asked the Lord what to do. Yes, He told him and there was a victory. Why waste his time asking the Lord again what he should do, I mean after all He is just going to tell him to do the same thing was  He not? No, we read once again that David inquired of the Lord. 

2Samuel 5:23  And when David enquired of the LORD This time we read this:  Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. Same inquiry, looks like the same thing happening again but this time the answer is different 

2Samuel 5:24  And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.

2Samuel 5:25  And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.  What can we learn from this? All battles, even if they appear the same may not be and we must seek the Lord and let Him lead us into the battle at the right  time. Sometimes it’s best to keep your mouth shut and do nothing and other times it’s time to move quickly. We must pray and seek the Lord in every area of our lives.  

Proverbs3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Proverbs 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Learn to Trust the Lord for He is never wrong and He will not only choose the battle but the battleground too.

Kind Words

It was Friday many years ago when a math teacher asked her ninth grade class to list the names of the other students in the class on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. She then told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. That Saturday, that math teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about them. On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. A few years later that ninth grade teacher heard about one of those students who had been killed in Vietnam and she went to his funeral. When the funeral was over one of the soldiers who was a pallbearer came up to that teacher and asked her if she had been this soldier ninth grade math teacher? She said yes; then the soldier said he talked about you a lot. After the burial the young man mother said to the teacher I would like to show you something taking a wallet out of her pocketbook. She then said "They found this on my son when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it." Opening the billfold, she carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew those were the papers listing all the good things each of the classmates had said about him. "Thank you so much for doing that," his mother said. "As you can see, he treasured it." Wonderful story I will agree but have we ever stopped to think that we have been loved greatly. That word love is used 311 times in the Bible. In John 3:16 we read how great we are loved “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“ God’s love for us was so great that He gave His only son to die that this world might have eternal life; now that’s love. Those words should be as precious to you and I as the words that were written on that notebook paper of long ago to that young soldier. But we too must remember life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. So we must tell those we love and care for that they are special and important to us. We must tell them, before it is too late. Our Lord and Savior did. Have you opened your Bible and read His words of love to the point that it may look somewhat like the letter of that Soldier? Had that young man lost his paper it would have been gone forever, not so with God for His love is an everlasting love. If you ware His letter down and the pages began to fall apart and the tears that have fallen from your eyes have made the words hard to read; you can always get another copy…Is God not good? Read His kind and loving words today for He has said some nice things about you and I for He loves us greatly. 

Frontier

I read about Thomas Jefferson Mansion known as Monticello. In that mansion his study, bedroom and library, all faced west. Jefferson loved to look west; he wanted his guests and friends to be looking west because he said that's where the frontier is.  Thomas Jefferson was always facing the frontier! I talked yesterday with a young man that impressed me greatly for he too was facing the frontier; at least that’s what I understood him to say. He is a 22 year old young man headed to New Mexico as a Church planter. As he began to tell me what God had placed in his heart and I saw the twinkle in his eyes. I could tell this was a young man looking toward the frontier. He told of his plans that this year he plans to be in 200 Churches sharing his burden; he is booked already until April with 78 meetings. He told me that when he, his wife and baby arrived in New Mexico that his goal was to make 10 to 20 thousand contacts with the people in the first 3 months and within a 50 year period to see and be a part of seeing 100,000 plus Churches started. I told him that is an amazing plan and I know God is going to do great things with him. There are many that will tell him his goals are too high and it’s nice to dream big but don’t expect to see all that. I assure you I didn’t tell him that, you see he’s saying “there is more out there, and I want it.” He is a young man with a passion 

Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

The Apostle Paul said that he was going to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God. To those who say his dreams are too high all I can say is what are your dreams? Oswald Chambers puts it this way; “Beware the danger of spiritual relaxation." The spiritual level you're at may very well be enough to satisfy your pastor or other Christians, but I hope it isn't enough to satisfy you.  My last words to this young man were simple they were “leaders know today what they will be doing tomorrow.” Plan for the future for the future is coming.