Walking By Faith

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
– Hebrews 11:13

As many of you know, my wife, Eileen, and I enjoy hiking in the mountains. It is often challenging physically and sometimes mentally, when you just have to set your mind to going on – even if you don’t know how far it might be until you get to “the end”.

One of the things I have discovered is when you get to the top of the mountain there is much reward. Sure, there is the satisfaction of having accomplished the task, but often there is a great view. Sometimes you can even see the trail you hiked to get where you are.

Such was the case this summer. As we stopped to rest on the way up the mountain, we looked back and saw the trail – a very long trial, I might add – which got us there. It wove up and over several smaller mountain tops and disappeared through some other places which were all but overgrown.

Often our spiritual “walk” is just like that. We can’t see where we are going and it often seems to be uphill at a steady climb. But, when we stop and look back we can see the path we have come and rest in the fact that even the hard times have been a part of getting us to where we are now.

Also, while we may not be able to see where the journey ends, or how rough it may get along the way, we do know there is One Who knows every step of the way. Trusting Him allows us to take every step in confidence.

The verse above follows a long list of Old Testament saints Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah among them, who took God at His word and believed His promises – even when the journey got tough. My prayer for you this week is that you will have just that kind of faith.

How is your night vision?

Physically speaking, especially in law enforcement, night vision is a good thing. The thing about night vision is the longer you stay in the dark, the better it seems to get. You begin to adjust and one can even get to the point where the light is uncomfortable.

You know, the same thing happens spiritually. If we stray from God’s presence, get out of fellowship with Him, we wander into the darkness and tend to get more and more used to it.

I John 1:6 says “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

While physical night vision can be an asset, spiritually speaking it destroys our ability to communicate with God.

While we might think we can see pretty well in the dark, and we may see better than others, we can all see better in the light.

My prayer for you today is that you will “walk in the light, as He is in the light.”

Spiritually Scammed?

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. – 1 Corinthians 2:14

I received an e-mail this week from a friend. It said “I make $300 online with . . . “ and  gave a web site. As soon as I saw it, I knew my friend’s e-mail had been hacked. We are close friends and I know he doesn’t go in for get rich schemes and if he had come across a really good deal he would tell me in person not via e-mail.

I was able to discern this because I know him, I know his work ethic and I know his heart.  It just didn’t sound like Charlie – someone was using his good name to try to scam me.

In the verse above, we are told many folks get spiritually scammed because they cannot recognize God’s Word. Many folks cannot discern the Word and will of God because these things are spiritually discerned. That means we must know God, we must know His ways and His heart in order to be able know when we hear or read something if it is consistent with His will.

Many folks will use His name to try to scam you.

How do we get to know God well enough to tell when you’re being scammed? Just like we get to know our friends, by spending time with Him (in prayer) by listening to Him (in His Word, the Bible).

That is a sure way to keep from getting spiritually “scammed.”

“Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World”

“Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World” is David Jeremiah’s follow-up to “What in the World is Going On?” It is not a sequel per se, and I must admit I did not read “What in the World is Going On?” although I did purchase it.

I found “Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World” a very difficult read. It is overstuffed with illustrations, anecdotes and other material which seems forced and actually distracts from the author’s message as opposed to enhancing it.

The message of this work is an important one, and it is this – In spite of the mess this world is in, as Christians, we can live with confidence because of the promise of Christ’s return. That is an important message and one of which we need to be reminded, especially in difficult times.

On October 8^th, “Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World”, was number five on the Wall Street Journal’s best selling list in the non-fiction category so, obviously, many folks are buying it.

It almost seems the text was a compilation of sermon transcripts. This seldom works without some editing, and it did not work (at least for me) in this case. As much as I love listening to David Jeremiah teach and preach, I cannot recommend this book.

(I will be posting a few of these book reviews as a member of Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger Program J

Are you sowing what you want to reap?

“And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” – James 3:18 ESV

I came across the following story recently and it reminded of many of the things we teach in leadership. However, it is certainly a beneficial truth for many areas of our lives.

It seems there was a farmer who was well known for his blue ribbon winning corn. In fact, he became somewhat of a local celebrity for his corn growing abilities. Once, a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.

“Why do share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

“Why sir,” said the farmer, “don’t you know? The wind spreads pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.”

 He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor’s corn also improves.

 John Maxwell calls this adding value to the lives of others. So many folks try to make their way up by tearing others down, it is sometimes easy to get drawn into that way of thinking. However, by adding value to the lives of others, you find the benefits really come back to you as well. 

If you want to live well, you must help others to live well. In order to pursue happiness, help others find happiness. The lesson for each of us is this: if we are to grow good corn, we must help our neighbors grow good corn.

Godliness with contentment . . .

“Now, Godliness with contentment is great gain.” – I Timothy 6:6

I read a story recently about a group of alumni, highly established in their careers, who got together to visit their old university professor. Their conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
 
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
 
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.
 
What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other’s cups.
 
Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.
 
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.
 
Too often in life we get so consumed with having more, or having what someone else has, we fail to appreciate the blessings we have already received.

Are You a Nobody?

“No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary . . .”
– I Corinthians 12:22

Chuck Swindoll gives us this quiz:

1. Who taught Martin Luther his theology and inspired his translation of the New Testament?
2. Who visited Dwight L. Moody at a shoe store and spoke to him about Christ?
3. Who was the elderly woman who prayed faithfully for Billy Graham for over twenty years?
4. Who refreshed the apostle Paul in a Roman dungeon as he wrote his last letter to Timothy?
5. Who helped Charles Wesley get underway as a composer of hymns?
6. Who followed Hudson Taylor and gave the China Inland Mission its remarkable direction?
7. Who were the parents of the godly and gifted prophet Daniel?

Did you know any of those answers? Half of them? Two?

Some folks will say, “I don’t need to know that “trivia.” But, think about it for a moment. Had it not been for those “unknown” people – those “nobodies” – a huge chunk of church history would be missing, and a lot of lives would have been untouched.

 While these folks’ names may not be prominent, the role they played was major. These ”Nobodies” played a vital role in the lives of some very famous “somebodies”.  They served God quietly, but faithfully.

So, if you’re not famous, don’t make the mistake of thinking you are unnecessary.

If it weren’t for “nobodies,” we wouldn’t have “somebodies,” and the work for God’s Kingdom would be less for it.  

As Swindoll says, “God chooses carefully. And when He has selected you for a role, He does not consider you a nobody. Be encouraged!”

Thank God for Sheepdogs

On this anniversary of 9/11, I’d like to share a few thoughts from a man by the name of Dave Grossman.

Before we go there, let me say I know we are all under God’s care and He is Sovereign over all. However, I also understand we live in a fallen world and I believe in His sovereignty God has instituted human measures of protection. Romans 13:3-4 says

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

So on with the “Sheepdog” illustration. This relates to every one in the U.S. who goes to sleep at night knowing (or not) there are heroes – sheepdogs – standing watch. He is retired Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) relates the following story:

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

“Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.” This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin’s egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

“Then there are the wolves,” the old war veteran said, “and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

“Then there are sheepdogs,” he went on, “and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.”

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

On September 11, 2001 many of our fellow Americans lost their lives and many of them were Sheepdogs whose heroic efforts saved many more.

May God bless and keep the “sheepdogs.”

 

 

“Fearless” by Max Lucado

Max Lucado’s conversational style in “Fearless” makes this excellent book seem more like counsel from an old friend. Everyone deals with fear on some level at some point, and Lucado guides us into how to bring those fears out into the light where they shrivel and die. Whether it is a fear of the unknown, or a specific situation, we are reminded to trust God Who has conquered all.

However, “Fearless” is not just a “trust God and everything will be okay” mantra. He unpacks typical fears, physical problems, family problems and fear for our children, financial difficulties and teaches and/or reminds us that God is not only greater than the object of our fear, but has already conquered that specific fear on our behalf.

In “Fearless” Lucado also shows how the things we typically depend on are part of the problem and not the solution. When trust in things like power, prestige and possessions they fail – every time. So we are inclined to make those things stronger, pursuing them with greater effort, all the while failing to realize they are insufficient solutions in any case. When they do fail, it only compounds our fear.

Lucado tells the story of watching two young girls with their father at a hotel pool. One daughter is gleefully jumping into the water where her father waits. The other obviously wants to, but her fears keep her on the edge – so close, yet so far from the freedom and joy of her sister. Finally, she jumps into her father’s waiting arms and realizes he won’t let anything happen to her.

“Fearless” reminds us we have a Heavenly Father Who cares for us Who will provide for us and keep us whatever the circumstances so we can live our lives with joy – in Him.

“Fearless” is no more or less than a “must read.”

(I will be posting a few of these book reviews as a member of Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger Program J

A New (ad)Venture

Eileen and I are getting into beekeeping!

We have named our effort the “Southern Gold Bee Ranch”.

We’ve started a new blog for that part of our lives

www.sgbr.wordpress.com

come by and visit and see what’s going on with the “herd”.