Give Me Air

I met a man a few years ago who took a rundown car dealership and before long had to tear it down to rebuild a bigger one. Then he sold it and made a great deal of money. Then he went and did it again and again. I asked myself this question why could he do what others couldn't? The answer is the way he treated his employees. He gave them better than above the average wage and they worked hard for him and he trained others and when he sold his business he made it so his key people would have part ownership and the businesses are all doing well today. So what do you want in your spiritual life? Do you want to know more about Jesus the way Paul did? Philippians 3:9
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Philippians 3:10
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; A young man approached a man known for his great wisdom and said unto him ,"I've come to you for knowledge." The philosopher nodded, took the young man by the hand, and led him to a nearby river. Together they waded into the currents, and the teacher looked at the young man and said, "Hold my arm." He then dunked the inquirer's head under the water for about 20-seconds. When the young man came up, the teacher asked, "What have you come here for?" The young man repeated, "I've come to you for knowledge." The teacher dunked him again and this time held him down much longer. As he came up, the teacher asked him again, "What do you want?" The young man sputtered, "Give me air! Give me air!" The teacher then said, "When you want knowledge as much as you want air, you shall have it." The same is true about your spiritual life, you want knowledge, but you will not spend even 30-minutes a day seeking knowledge and clarity. You may ask how just 30-minutes a day will help? Use your 30-mintues a day to read all you can that will prepare you for the journey you want to pursue. Thirty-minutes a day is over 180 hours a year. Can you imagine how much knowledge you could gain in all that time? It would allow you to read about 45 books a year; how many are you reading now? I would recommend that you read your Bible part of that time and then at first read biographies of great men, men like D.L. Moody, Charles Spurgeon, Alan Redpath, George B. Duncan, David Brainerd, Vance Havner, Jack Hyles and others. Their insights about the choices they made, their values, their commitments, their passion, the battles they overcame will help you tremendously. So here is the goal you must have," I will never get what I've never had until I'm willing to do what I've never done." Lie in bed or get up and go to your quiet place and there God will speak to your heart. Remember anything worth having will cost you; do you want it or just want to talk about it?

Lifeboats

When you hear the word "Titanic" what is the first thing you think of? More than likely it is the name of the ship that went down in 1912 in the icy water of the North Atlantic named "Titanic". But what does that word "titanic mean? Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary says it means "having great magnitude, force, or power." Is this not what they thought this ship was a great powerful force upon the sea, so powerful that it was unsinkable; why do I say that? It was the largest, most luxurious ship of its time. So confident in its structure, the Titanic's builders did not include enough lifeboats in order to preserve more room on deck for passengers. Had they put the needed amount of lifeboats on board maybe 1,500 people would not have died that April night. What was the cause of such a mishap? Would you agree it was over confidence on the part of the builders? In this age of technology and invention, it is easy to think we don't need God. People continue to become more and more self-reliant. Sometimes it can be hard to see why we need God, when we can do so much on our own. As people, we seem more capable than ever before. Never in history have the words "self-made" rung so true. Look around you; we have forgotten our need for the Lord. But one day my friend all the money, houses and lands we have will be worthless to us when we face eternity. What is the worth of such when the Doctor tells you, you only have 6 months to live and even if it's not you it's your wife would you enjoy life without her? Don't let pride stop you from putting the right amount of lifeboats on deck in your life. But then there is such a thing as ungodly pride. This is the pride that does not recognize the need for your Savior. The hardest part about this pride is that, too often, by the time it is recognized, it's already too late…we are already falling. So why not today take the time to do inventory. 2Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. {Test yourselves} Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? {Could it be that you're failing the test?}
The proud tend not to account for their weaknesses. It is usually these weaknesses that come back to haunt the proud and lead to their demise. First see if you are in the faith, test yourself and know yourself that Jesus Christ is in you, if He's not then you need to ask yourself why not? The Bible tells us in 2Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. If anyone is in Christ the old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence. If nothing has changed then there is nothing different.

Chocolate Cake

You are on a diet and all is going well; you are even losing some weight; you are so proud of yourself. As you think and dream of a date out in the future when you will be buying new clothes of a different size. Then it happens, you didn't plan it and you were for sure not looking for it; but all the same there it was, chocolate cake and what's that, you favorite ice cream; it's called temptation. Now how are you to handle it? Let's look at the first temptation. It is found in the book of Genesis. Let's see if we can learn anything from it.
Genesis 3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
As you read that what did you see? Here are some things I saw. This was planned by the enemy for the fall of Eve. Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more subtil {cunning, clever}
than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? The serpent questioned Gods Word, watch out for those who will and are putting question marks on what God has already said in His Word. But we are talking about temptation, watch what happens. The first thing is that Eve looked, but that's not where she made her mistake. There are a lot of things that come across our paths on a daily basic which we have no control over and just because we see it does not mean we have made a mistake. But what she does next is where the problem began. She looked long enough, so long that it became pleasant to her eyes, which made her mind think about what had already been said {make one wise} then she took. That's what happens to that chocolate cake and ice cream; you saw it, then you look too long at it and then it became pleasant. Next you find yourself eating not just one serving but two. While in the mean time you have enticed your friend who was also on a diet to have a slice just as Eve did to her husband. Write this down and the next time temptation comes your way it will help you. "There is no challenge before us that is greater than the power behind us!"
You must counteract temptation immediately. You cannot sit back and tolerate temptation for even an instant because tolerating temptation will ultimately result to giving in to it. If you look at the bait long enough you will bite. If you keep a temptation in front of you, you will not build up a resistance to it. Whatever provokes wrong inner desires in your life get away from it!
2Timothy 2:22
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Temptation must be counteracted. Ignoring temptation will not make it go away. So there is the chocolate cake and Ice cream will you eat it?

 

 

 

What Are You Chasing

Here's a reminder (author unknown) to keep perspective on your pursuits in life…

The story has been told of a banker who was vacationing in a small coastal village. While walking near a pier he observed a small boat with just one fisherman. Inside the boat with the fisherman were several yellow-fin tuna. The businessman complimented the fisherman on the quality of his catch and asked how long it took to catch them. "Only a little while," he replied.

The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish. The fisherman said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" the banker asked. The fisherman responded, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a nap in the afternoon, and stroll into the village each evening with my wife where we relax and sing and I play guitar with our friends. I have a full and busy life."

The businessman scoffed, "You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat and with the proceeds buy a fleet of boats. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you could sell directly to a processor. You could eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small village and move to a big city where you could run your expanding enterprise."

The fisherman asked, "But how long will this take?" The businessman replied, "15 to 20 years!" "But then what?" asked the puzzled fisherman. The banker laughed and said, "That's the best part. You can sell your business and retire and move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take afternoon naps, stroll to the village in the evenings with your wife where you could relax, sing and play guitar with your friends. You would have a full and busy life."

The fisherman smiled at the businessman, quietly gathered his catch and walked away.

What are you chasing after in life? How (and with whom) you spend the bulk of your time may reveal much about your priorities. Jesus said, Matthew 6:19
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

Matthew 6:20
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

Matthew 6:21
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

What kind of treasures are you building? Are they temporary or will they last forever?

 

Wonder

I was thinking about the word "Wonder" the other day and as I thought about it the thought of the 7- wonders of the world popped into my mind. But for the likes of me I couldn't think of any of them, so I looked them up on my computer and here is what I found.

1. Pyramids of Khufu 46 centuries (and counting) 2. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus 17 centuries

3. Lighthouse of Alexandria 16 centuries 4. Statue of Zeus 9 centuries 5. Temple of Artemis 8 centuries

6. Hanging Gardens of Babylon 1 century 7. Colossus of Rhodes ½ century

Did you notice that all of these so called 7-wonders were made by man? Doesn't man think a lot of himself or what? But here is something I thought very interesting. No one knows today what six of the ancient Seven Wonders looked like. No one knows for certain who created the ancient Seven Wonder list that we accept today as the "official" version. What about these 7-wonders 1-To See 2-To Hear

3-To Touch
4- To Feel 5- To Laugh 6- To Love 7- The greatest wonder of them all is God's amazing love for mankind in sending His only Son Jesus Christ to make us free and give us everlasting life. The most precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought my man. Psa 77:14
Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.
I read where at least half of the sins of mankind were caused by the fear of boredom. Think about it, you and I are living in a society that is surrounded by the miracles of modern science; yet people are bored! We live in a day where we are faced with population explosion; yet millions of people are slowly dying of the effects of loneliness and boredom. Our world is filled with electronic marvels and still people find no excitement and their life is just plain dull. We look for new toys, but once the novelty has worn off we go back to the same old routine. What we need is something "WONDERFUL" and I know just what we need, it's founded in

Isa 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
{this takes care of the dullness of life}
Counsellor,
{this takes care of the Confusion of life} The mighty God,
{this takes care of the Weakness of life}
The everlasting Father,
{this takes care of the Shortness of life}
The Prince of Peace,{this takes care of who's in charge of my life}

True Wonder Has Depth- It's not a shallow emotion or a passing wave of excitement. Wonder penetrates, it has value, and it isn't cheap amusement. When a person experienced true wonder it enriches and leave us a better person. True wonder will draw the best out of us and put the very best into us.

True Wonder Creates an attitude of Humility- We are overwhelmed and we sense in ourselves the greatness of God and the littleness of man.

Psa 8:3
When
I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

Psa 8:4
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

Psa 8:9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! True wonder is what we all need and it can be found in Jesus Christ. Why not stop and think for a moment and ask yourself what is wonderful in my life and be thankful for it today.

The Same Level

It has been fun as well as educational to watch our children and grandchildren grow up; did I say grow up? Sure I did, for that is what I was hoping to see happen over the course of time. I noticed something while they were growing up that because they were healthy children they were never content to stay at the same level. It's wasn't long before they were not content with baby food they wanted some of what we were eating and then they want to feed themselves. Then they were not satisfied with crawling and wanted to walk so they kept working at it until they were taking steps of their own and then they were running. I was glad they grew one step at a time. But that is not always the case with the child of God? I have seen too many just settle down and quit growing and get content where they are. Peter talks about new born babies in Christ 1Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: Peter believed that new Christians should have a desire for knowing about what their Bibles had to say. Peter wrote First and Second Peter and as he closes out his writing in Second Peter he say this 2Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

He warns in the verse before that there is a possibility of being led away "beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness." {Firm position}

We can grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior and then be led away by the error of the wicked so that we would chance our firm position. How could this happen? Let me explain it this way. I knew a man who for a long time worked out daily and after a while it was very noticeable, not only in the shape of his body but also in his strength. He could do more, hold out longer for he was watching what he ate and he kept working at his goal. Then one day he just quit, his eating habits began to change his plan went out the window with his goals and before long it showed in his body and his strength. The same thing can and does happen to the Child of God, so what is going to keep it from happening to me or you? Philippians 3:13
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: { I can't consider myself a winner yet} but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, { I don't look back} and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Philippians 3:14
I press toward the mark {I run straight toward the goal} for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Paul never considers himself to have won and kept learning and growing in the knowledge of Jesus Chirist. Maybe you've been coasting at the same spiritual speed for a while; you've been content with mediocrity - with crawling. But you're restless. God has made you restless. He has so much more for you. It's time to get on your knees and say, "Jesus, I'm not content where I am anymore. As that young man said to the older Christian "I want what I see in you" the older Christian said "it's yours for the taking, but it's not free it will cost you, but it will be well worth your time, I assure you." Spend your time with the turkeys if you like but remember you will never sore with the eagles doing that. What's your desire? Have you been led away? If so it's time to get back to where you belong and start walking again. Small compromises lead to great disasters.

 

 

 

A Conscious Decision

CONSCIOUS- Possessing the faculty or power of knowing one's own thoughts or mental operations. Thus, man is a conscious being.

 

DECISION -Determination, considered the circumstances and come to a decision.

 

So a Conscious Decision would be the power of knowing ones on thoughts and considering the circumstances and with determination come to a conclusion.

I remember when I was a child one night I found myself at our front door locked out of the house and didn't know how I got there. Sometime during the night I made a non conscious decision to get out of bed and go; I don't know where! You see I made a decision but it was not a conscious one, had it been, I would not have locked myself outside on the front porch. In September of 1968 I made a conscious decision to go and join the United States Air Force. In January of 1970 I made a conscious decision to get married. In April of 1973 I made a conscious decision to ask the Lord to forgive me of my sins. I have made conscious decisions all my life some were for my best interest and others were not. I made a conscious decision one day to run a stop sign, only to find that a policeman made a conscious decision to write me a ticket. Every day we make conscious decisions some good and some bad, some long term and some short term, but we make them none the less. So when you heard that Jesus was willing to give you a new life what kind of decision did you make? Just the other week a man made a conscious decision to pick up a phone and give me a call. The nature of the call was he was facing an operation in a few hours and he was in great pain. He asked if I would come to where he was and have a word of prayer with him to which I did. See this man had made a conscious decision to quit reading his Bible, praying and going to Church and had gotten comfortable; all was fine until the pain came and the operation was looming over his head. He thought he was not going to make it and he sure didn't want to meet God in his condition so he gave me a call; everything went well. He called me again this week and told me he wanted to meet with me for he was tired of living the way he was living. We all make conscious decisions but may I remind you what the Bible has to say and what happens when making conscious decisions Galatians 6:7
Be not deceived; {make no mistake about this} God is not mocked:{made a fool of}for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. {Whatever you plant you'll harvest!}

Galatians 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption {you will harvest destruction}; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. I am glad that Morning in April of 1973 I made a Conscious Decision to trust Christ, had I not you would not be reading this now, but I am so glad you are and if tonight I lay my head down for the last time; I am not guessing, hoping or thinking I have eternal life! 1John 5:12
He that hath the Son hath life; {I have Him, I have life} and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

1John 5:13
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Know What? That sounds like a "Conscious Decision."