Integrity Is Needed For This Job!

In Psalm 26:1 we read, "Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity..." In the same chapter we see in verse 11, "But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity..." David was a man committed to walking in integrity. He was wholehearted for the Lord, complete, perfect (mature), and incorruptible. Being this way allowed him to say also in the same chapter, "I have trusted also in the Lord, I have walked in thy truth, I have not sat with vain persons, I have hated the congregation of evildoers, Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy honor dwelleth."
Oh how wonderful it would be if the body of Christ was as David, proclaiming, "I will walk in mine integrity." I believe if we the church had integrity, we would better have the world's ear in the matter of proclaiming the good news that " Jesus Saves."

Reaching Heaven!

A farmer asked the district superintendent to assign a pastor to his community. "How big a man do you want?" asked the superintendent. "Well," the man replied, "we're not overly particular, but when he's on his knees we'd like to have him reach heaven". Hopefully, when we are on our knees we are able to reach heaven. Let's all find our way to reaching heaven for those around us who are in need.

A Big Man

Are We Prepared?

Being in the Boy Scouts of America was one of the highlights of my childhood. Their motto is "Be Prepared." I have tried to apply this motto in my life in most respects. It is a really good motto, one that the five virgins who failed to fill their lamps with oil could have used to prevent their being left behind. Are we living our lives as people that are prepared for whatever God calls us to? Are we the ones who say to the Lord, when he is looking for someone to stand in the gap (Ezekiel 22:30), "Here I am, Lord, send or use me." We must be prayed up, filled up, and looking up, so that we can stand up, when we are needed!

Wisdom Filled Support!

I remember when I was in high school, probably a junior, that the brakes went out on my car. I had a job after school and needed the car to get to work. I asked my mother, a former school teacher, if I could miss (skip) school that day to fix the brakes. Not only did she say yes I could miss (skip) school, but she also helped me bleed the brakes after I got the new parts installed. What a good memory this is to me. This was wisdom filled support to me at a crucial time in my life. There are times we must deviate from the accepted norm to accomplish a needed task. This will only happen if we can see more of the whole picture. My mother was growing a man not just a student. Are we capable of seeing the whole picture? Do we look beyond the surface or the obvious in a situation? Just wondering out loud!

Good Behavior Won't Count!

A young mother encountered her son on the street when he should have been in school. When the boy finished explaining why he was not where he was supposed to be, the mother replied, "I'm not accusing you of telling a lie. I'm just saying that I have never before heard of a school that gives time off for good behavior." Perhaps some, like this boy, think that a person should get time off for good behavior, but it doesn't work that way. If you are cast into Hell forever, that is just what it means, forever. Good behavior won't change a thing, that only works in man's prisons! Hope we all have a happy forever with Christ as our Lord and Savior!

Angels and Strangers!

Hebrews 13:2 says, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Have you ever seen an angel? You might not know if you had seen one. They evidently can come into our lives as strangers and unknown to us.
I remember the day years ago, while driving with my family in the desert going towards El Paso, Texas, that I ran out of gas. I had computed the mileage that our car was getting and according to my calculations I had enough gas to go another 20 miles. So passing the gas station that was crowded, seemed logical, because I had seen another sign that said 12 miles to the next station. Yep, you guessed it, about 8 miles down the road I ran out of gas. It was a hot summer day and I felt awful that my family would have to sit in a hot car while I tried to get a lift to the next station. I opened the hood and immediately a car stopped. A man with a strong Spanish accent asked if I needed help. I explained my situation and he said, "hop in". We were at the station in a matter of minutes and I thanked him for the ride. He got out a gas can and said, "fill it up and I will drive you back to your car." I did as he said and in a matter minutes we were back at my car. I poured the gas in the car, started it and tried to pay the man for his trouble. He refused my offer and was gone in a heart beat. All worked out well. My family was safe in my absence, the car didn't even get hot in the time I was gone, and we were safely on our way. Was this an angel sent from God to help one of his miscalculationg children? I believe that it was!

Thirsty?

There is a story told about a young second lieutenant at Fort Bragg who discovered that he had no change when he was about to buy a soft drink from a vending machine. He flagged down a passing private and asked him, "Do you have change for a dollar?" The private said cheerfully, "I think so, let me take a look." The lieutenant drew himself up stiffly and said, "Soldier, that's no way to address an officer. We'll start all over again. Do you have change for a dollar?" The private came to attention, saluted smartly, and said, "No, sir!" The moral of the story must at least include, "Don't let your pride get in the way of your thirst." Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thrist after righteousness: for they shall be filled." The proud are to proud to humble themselves and ask for what they need. It needs to be done Jesus's way!

A Crisis!

Have you ever had a crisis? Crisis is defined in my Langenscheidt's pocket dictionary as, "a decisive or critical moment, or as the turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or fever." I've never had a crisis in regards to the latter definition, but I have had decisive or critical moments in my life. I must have been in my thirties when I was struggling to find just what the Lord had next in my life. A decision had to be made between continuing as an associate/youth pastor versus a move to a new ministry to become elder of the church while also working in the christian counseling ministry the church had started. In seeking counsel from others I heard many things. One told me that I was having a mid-life crisis, which at that point I didn't even know what that was. After reading up on it I decided that I definitely wasn't having a mid-life crisis. The Lord spoke to me as to my next direction in a church board meeting, where I was challenged to run the youth group in a certain way. I felt that I couldn't proceed that particular way and chose to move on. That decision proved to be what the Lord wanted.
Maybe you can't relate or maybe you might say that you relate and are having a mid-week crisis. Just how we handle a crisis is really important in our lives. We must seek the Lord's direction to help us through any crisis. Scripture states the we make our plans and God orders our steps. May the Lord help us to hear His ordering of our steps and help us to be obedient to that direction, especially when we aren't personally desiring to go that way.
Maybe we aren't really having a mid-week crisis, but are just having a pity party. Perhaps our solution will be as simple as just getting back to the work God has set before us. Well whatever we have going on, remember, Jesus is the Lord of it all!

Success starts with one step in the right direction!

The young boy came in from school and showed his mother his report card which had mostly poor grades. "What do you have to say about this," she asked him? He thought carefully for a few minutes then replied, "at least you know for sure that I'm not cheating." I'm sure that he received a lecture about the purpose of school, which is learning. I probably would have told him that as well, but I also would have praised his honesty as a step in the right direction. Our transformation into the image of Christ comes one step at a time. I do hope that we are stepping in the right direction. Let me ask, are we going in the right direction? Are we making progress? Oh, I know that we fail at times, but does our response to our failure ultimately put us back on the right path going in the right direction. I pray that it does.

Doggone

In Boston a minister noticed a group of boy's standing around a small stray dog. "What are you doing boys?"
"Telling lies," said one of the boys. "The one who tells the biggest lie gets the dog."
"Why, when I was your age," the shocked minister said, "I never ever thought of telling a lie."
The boys looked at one another, a little crestfallen. Finally one of them shrugged and said, "I guess he wins the dog."
Do you ever wonder if telling the truth is where the expression doggone came from? Scripture admonishes us to speak the truth one to another even if it means we don't get the dog!

Nothing is too hard for God!

The song went something like this, "everybody's got troubles, troubles, troubles, and I got troubles too." Have we noticed that life can have many troubles? Well, I suppose that we have all made that observation at different times in our lives. We that know the Lord really would be blessed if we would regard our troubles this way, when they happen, don't evaluate them according to our talents, gifts, or capabilities, but look at them according to what our God can do. If we are trusting in the Lord with all our heart, then we know that, nothing is to hard for God. Jeremiah 32:17 says it this way, "Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee." Everybody does have troubles and we do as well, they are too hard for us to handle, but we know that for our God nothing is to hard, and on top of that he loves helping his children.

A Blessed Void?

Someone once said, "there is only one thing evil cannot stand and that is forgiveness". There is some truth here for evil cannot stand anything that is of God nor can God stand anything that is evil. When Christ hung on the cross, he looked down at those who had crucified him and said, "Father forgive them for they know what they do." Luke 23:34. Jesus said in Matthew 6:15 , "But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will you Father forgive your trespasses."

Many people have lived their lives in a state of unforgiveness in one sort or another, and have put themselves through much misery by doing so. Forgiveness is necessary for healthy living. We are affected in our body, soul, and spirit by unforgiveness. The Apostle Paul is quoted in Acts 24:16 as saying, "And herein do I excerise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men." How did he do this? I believe he did it by asking God for forgiveness for his own sin as it was revealed to him, and by forgiving others when they sinned against him." Let all purpose to live free from unforgiveness and to have a conscience void of offense toward God and all men!

Cheers To You, Friend!

When life seems the darkest it is always good to reflect on some helpful words from God's word. I like to turn to Romans 8: 35-39 which says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Why, in the midst of troubles do we think that God isn't with us? Didn't Jesus say in John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Jesus overcame the world and as we rest in and rely upon him, we too shall overcome the world. He does it in and through us. This is cause to be of good cheer. Cheers to you, friend!

Refuge in God!

In a relatively short time frame we have heard of many people in troubled situations. The loss of loved ones, car wrecks, frozen water pipes, loss of employment, tax problems, broken relationships, serious medical conditions, etc. In each situation it has been best to exhort the Christians involved to seek and trust the Lord. For those who don't know the Lord, there is not much in the way of help to be offered. If possible, sharing Christ with them is the perfect thing, for if they accept Christ as Savior and Lord, we know that they will then have hope and help.
In Psalm 9: 9-10 it says, "The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee."
Are we in a difficult situation? If so, then let's take God's word to heart and apply it to our lives by doing what it exhorts us to do. The Psalmist David said, "when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock." May we also pray for God to lead us to the rock!

What should I tell HIM?

A nine year old who had leukemia was given 6 months to live. When the doctor broke the news to her parents outside her hospital room, the youngster overheard the doctor's words. But it did not become obvious until later that she knew about her condition. To everyone's surprise, her faith in Christ gave her an attitude of victory. She talked freely about her death with anticipation in her voice. As she grew weaker, it seemed that her joy became more radiant. One day before she sank into a final coma, she said to her family, "I am going to be the first to see Jesus! What would you like me to tell Him for you?"
Let's suppose for a minute that I'll probably see Jesus before you, if so, what would you like me to tell Him for you? If it happens that you see Jesus before me, would you please tell him that I love him and that I'll see him soon!

He's Watching!!!!!

Have you ever noticed a small child when he or she is about to do something wrong, they begin to look around to see if anyone is watching. If they don't see anyone watching, they proceed with their mischievous deeds. What they don't realize is that often their mother or father has witnessed their actions. When asked about their involvement in the situation, they begin to deny doing anything wrong. Well, they are busted so to speak, and that will soon become apparent to them through their parents input.
I like this verse in Proverbs 5:21, which says, "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings." God is indeed watching over us, and he is capable of seeing all in our lives. He sees our actions, thoughts, motives, love or the lack thereof. He sees all! With this thought in mind, its seems to be the appropriate time for us to allow him to work in these areas of need. He is the one who truly sees all, and knows our need to be forgiven and changed. Let's let him watch over our lives, and let's respond to his love and correction. Thank you, Lord, for watching over our lives, and thank you for loving us so much that you forgive our sin and you will help us to change into the image of your son. Amen or so be it!

Celebration

Recently I said to my wife, in a joking fashion, "we need to go out and celebrate today." She asked just what would be the occasion? I responded by saying "it's Thursday."
What better day than today for a celebration. What you ask me will we be celebrating? We will be celebrating God's salvation to us, allowing us to be born again. Because it is Thursday won't really factor into the situation, other than the fact that we should celebrate and be thankful for God's salvation in our lives daily. The latter part of II Corinthians 6:2 says, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." There was in each of our lives a day when we weren't a people, but now we are a people. We are the people of God and we should celebrate this fact daily. It is important for we Christians to celebrate that God has acted on our behalf. However we choose to celebrate is up to us individually and corporately, but the truth is, we must choose to do so. Anyone up for a celebration?

Good Soldiers Of Jesus Christ!

When the going gets tough the Christian just keeping on going for the Lord. For Christians have learned that we must endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ (II Timothy 2:3). Verse 4 of the same chapter says, "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier." Well private Robbins how are you doing with this endeavor? Mostly I'm doing well, but there are times when some folks interfere. They seem to think that the world centers around them and that you and I are their personal servants. Truth be known, we are servants but of the Lord. He will be directing us to our call of duty, which makes it difficult to serve these folks every time they expect it or demand it. Best advice I can give in this situation is this, Private, you work for the Lord and Him alone. When he speaks to help these folks, then by all means do so, but don't fall into the trap of answering their every beckoning call without his speaking to do so. Enough said, Attention Private, forward march!!!!!

Make Good Decisions!

I remember that when our children would be leaving home to go somewhere, I would always say to them, "don't forget to make good decisions". This saying of mine still is a good one for us all to consider daily. For instance did we today remember to ask the Lord for his help and leading in all things? Did we decide today to forsake all, to deny ourselves, to take up our cross and follow him? Each day is filled to overflowing with decisions that are very important and need to be made in favor of God and his plan for our lives. Well anyway, just something to think on, or perhaps better said let's each of us remember to make good decisions!

From Death To Life!

I John 3:14 says, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." Well this seems simple enough but to make sure we have it, lets review. We can know if we have passed out of death into life if we love our brothers, if we don't love them, then we are still enveloped in death.
Has anyone ever told you that they just hate that guy or that gal? No, you answer, well for myself I have to say yes this has been said to me several times. It usually involved two people in conflict, both of which were full of pride and therefore thought that they were never wrong. If we see our brother in need and don't help out there is no love being shown. Some might say that I didn't see their need, and others would ask why not? We can become so wrapped up in our own affairs that we scarcely notice others. Let's watch for opportunities to manifest love to our brothers and sisters. Remember that God so loved the world that he gave his only son that the world might be saved. Love could be defined as giving. Will we give to others our time, talents, money, listening ear, empathy, benefit of the doubt, or whatever they need? Let's pray that we will!