I was blind, now I see!

The gospel of John chapter 9 tells the story of Jesus seeing a man who was born blind. His disciples supposed that he was blind because of his sin or the sin of his parents. There are many in the body of Christ that suppose the same thing about someone who is sick or is having troubles. Jesus told them that he was not blind because of sin but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. So the Lord made clay and anointed his eyes with it and then told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The blind man went and washed and came back seeing. It would appear that this healing would be the occasion for rejoicing and glorifying God but not with these folks. Some said the blind man was healed while others said it wasn't him that was healed. So the man that was healed had to tell them, I am he. He was questioned by his neighbors and then the Pharisees questioned him. They all wanted to know how he was healed and who had healed him. The Pharisees wanted the man to say that Jesus was a sinner because he had healed on the sabbath, they also wanted his parents to say something bad about Jesus but they only said he was born blind but how he was healed and who did it they didn't say. They said, ask him for he is of age. The healed man said it all when he said, "Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know that whereas I was blind, now I see." You might find it interesting to read again John 9. I can't help but wonder why people have the hardest time receiving God's miracles. They ask questions and analyze it through and through and it seems that most never really believe that God worked in the situation. Let's be careful that we don't have a hardened heart toward God and his working in our lives as well as others. God's workings don't have to fit into our traditions and religion. You never know when God just might do a new thing.

He is always with us!

In Matthew 28: 18 -20 after Jesus was resurrected it says, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." They are power filled words commissioning us to go and make disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to be doers of the word. Now the last thing Jesus said is a wonderful blessing to all of us. He said, lo, I am with you always unto the end of the world. He is with us always both now and forever. Always is a long time, much longer than is measurable by man. Praise the Lord for he is always with us.

Life's storms

Matthew 7:24 - 27 says, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Let's look at three lessons we can learn from this story about life's storms.

1. Everyone is hit by storms. (v. 25, 27)

2. Everyone has the same instructions. (v. 24, 26)

3. Everyone who acts upon the instructions stands. (v. 24)

These principles were true and necessary when Jesus spoke them in the sermon on the mount, and they are true and necessary today. Are we hearing and doing the teachings of our Lord?

We are being watched

Matthew 5:19 says, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Modern Christianity seems to encourage picking and choosing which commandments we will obey. When we are converted and become as little children we hear our Father's commandments and we wouldn't even consider defying our Father's desires. When we do the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and we need to repent. Are we or do we know Christians who harbor bitterness against someone and yet bring gifts to the altar and want to worship the Lord? Maybe our sin is that we retaliate when someone strikes us or hurts us. Maybe we don't obey Jesus who taught us to love our enemies, and to bless those that curse us, and to do good to them which despitefully use and persecute us. Our actions or lack of action can be teaching others to do and not do the commandments of the Lord. We are being watched.

Kind and Merciful!

Luke 6: 35 - 36 says, "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend; hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." Being kind and merciful to the unthankful and to the evil are surely God's will for our lives for the word says so. What I'm wondering about is, how many of us have reached this worthy place and to what degree?

If it is in there, it will come out.

Jesus in speaking to some Pharisees said in Matthew 12: 34-36, "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." If our heart is full of evil things, evil things will come out when we speak. If our heart is full of good things, good things will come out when we speak. All of us like to be around the wise heart for out of it will come wisdom. Do folks like to be around us? Are we speaking words of faith or words of fear? May the Lord fill our hearts with his word.

Meeting with God!

In John 18:1,2 it says, "When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook of Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus oft-times resorted thither with his disciples."
A garden is a great place to meet God, but you can meet him just as well in a prison cell. Acts 16:25- 27 says, "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled." The rest of this story tells how the prison guard got saved and his whole household. The place that we meet with God isn't near as important as the fact that we actually do meet with him daily.

God Is?

God is for us -- that is good
God is with us -- that is better
God is in us -- that is best
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Romans 8 :31 says, "What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"
Hebrews 13:5 says, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
Colossians 1:27 says, "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
The Bible

Our anchor in times of tribulation.

On the subject of tribulation, Jesus said 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." In Acts 14:22 we read the following about tribulation, "Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." The word also tells us that tribulation worketh patience (Romans 5: 3) and patience is certainly needed and good for all of us. Tribulation will be a part of our lives. Most folks spend most of their lives trying to escape tribulation and trying to shelter themselves from it. It is impossible to escape tribulation. We must go through it at times and Jesus has promised to never leave us or to forsake us. He walks arm and arm with us through our times of tribulation. Someone once said that when we feel the stress of the storm, we learn the strength of the anchor. Jesus Christ is our anchor.

God is watching us.

I have noticed others doing it and I have done it many times myself. What I'm talking about is a father's eyes watching his children. They watch with happy hearts as their eyes are on an obedient son or daughter and they watch to insure that their children are safe. They can also watch with sad hearts as their eyes see disobedient children but be assured they watch both the obedient and disobedient children with love in their hearts. Children love to see their fathers watching them, it reassures them of his love for them. Jesus mentioned that sparrows are sold for very little yet not a one of them is forgotten before God. He then said that the very hairs of our heads are all numbered so we are not to fear for we are of more value than many sparrows. The song writer penned words that go something like this, "His eye is on the sparrow and he watches over me". Isn't it wonderful to know that God is watching over us.

The Angels at the front door!

Sunday afternoon the door bell rang and I answered it and there stood two women and a young boy and a young girl. They said that they were working with the Church group that had come from the Louisville, KY area to help in our neighborhood. They were here to offer me new batteries for my smoke alarms. I thanked them and assured them that I had recently changed mine but I really appreciated the fact that they had stopped by. Then they asked if I had any prayer requests. I told them that I had prostate cancer and would they please pray about that. Before they left they asked if it would be okay if they prayed for me right then and I said yes it would be. The youngest of the two women said to the other that she had better take this one for she was blown away with my situation because her husband had just come through prostate cancer treatment himself. The other woman prayed and let me tell you, her prayer was anointed and laced with the wisdom of the Lord. She prayed that I wouldn't miss out on this wonderful gift that God had given me and that I would have ears and eyes to hear and see all that God was teaching me in this hour. Needless to say, I was really blessed and then I closed in prayer for all of them. As we parted ways there were tears in our eyes and a love in our hearts for one another. Later as I thought on the visitors at the door, I decided that they must have been angels of the Lord. Perhaps not the type of angel that is in heaven but the kind that is in the body of Christ, the kind that loves God with all that they have, and loves their neighbor as themselves. I had been loved and blessed beyond measure and I praise God for sending angels to my front door.

House Churches!

In a recent church service that we attended a woman stood and told of a recent visit to see her relatives in China. She spoke of attending several church services and they were all house churches. They did some teaching in one home that had 10 people in attendance on Monday and by Friday evening there were 40 in attendance. She spoke of the revival that is going on there. She said that 3 of her relatives accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior while she was there, and all of this is taking place while the Government is limiting churches as to how many can gather in one service. There is a move of God there and it is happening through house churches. On a personal note, her testimony reminded us of our first ministry which was a house meeting or church as we considered it. It as well was full of life with many young people reaching out and evangelizing the community. I wonder if in these last days those who believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior won't be forced to meet in homes or other unique places. It will be interesting to see just how God will provide for his family to gather together to worship him. It is important for Christians to gather together (Hebrews 10:25) to study the word, pray, fellowship, worship, break bread together, and to serve. Are we open to the new that God may do in the days to come?

Pushing and Shoving!

It probably takes place in just about every public school cafeteria across the country. The cafeteria monitor shouts out to the children in line, "no pushing or shoving there is plenty for all", and what do the kids do? They push and shove. It's a me first attitude, the kind we saw last year on the day after thanksgiving that caused a security guard to be killed as he opened the door of a retail store. So many people rushed in to get the super bargains that the poor man was run over and killed. Such is the attitude of sinful man and it will get worse for the word tells us in 2Timothy 3:13, "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." It would be wonderful if each of us could be a part of sharing the gospel with some pushers and shovers. Even greater would be their coming to the Lord. There is work to be done and I doubt that anyone will be pushed or shoved out of this work line.

Sin Separates Us!

The world is running to and fro seeking how to get gain and amass a fortune. When is enough, enough? In Matthew 16:26 Jesus asked this question, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his own soul?" Would we trade our souls for silver and gold or would it take power and fame or the satisfying of some other lust of the flesh? Day by day these exchanges are being made as one by one people decide to live separated from God for eternity. The god of this world is blinding eyes to hinder people from seeing just what is really going on. Remember, it is sin that separates people from God and from one another.

Walking in the light

I John 1:3 says, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." We have probably all been with people who all seem to have some connection and common interest that we don't share with them and that can cause us to feel like outsiders. As Christians we should be able to fellowship with any other Christian, that is, if we are walking in the light as Christ is in the light, then we have fellowship one with another. The above verse indicates that we should be sharing those things which we have seen and heard, of the the Father and of Jesus Christ, with others so that we can have fellowship with them. Just think how wonderful it would be if every human on the planet was walking in the light!

Being with family

We have had company for awhile and visiting with our daughter, her husband, and the grandchildren was really good. Grandchildren are such a tremendous blessing and it is always great to see your children and fellowship with them. In Proverbs 17:6 it says this, "Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers." I'm grateful for our family and just wanted to say so. Blessings to you all.

P.S. Please pray for me as I will soon be undergoing radiation treatments for prostate cancer.