As a Deer Longs for Water

As a Deer Longs for Water

“As a deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.” Psalm 42:1

If you are a regular church-goer and when you come home from church you don’t see any change in your life, what do you do?  Are you satisfied because you went to church, sang songs and listened to some scripture?  Of course you can pray to God wherever you are and at any time. 

Did you know what the average male Muslim does?  He goes to the mosque; prays to Allah and listens to someone reading the Koran.  Then he goes home satisfied that his life is right.  The women can stay home and pray or go to the mosque. He prays 5 times a day and may also do this at home.

Christians in the early churches were in constant prayer because they were being persecuted.  They risked their lives to have secret meetings in order to pray together.  After Jesus was killed, whenever they got together they took communion to remember what Jesus did for them.  It was a solemn heartfelt act of love for their Savior.   

Is it enough what we do, or do you wonder if there is more; perhaps a deeper relationship with God? If you long for more of God, he is there waiting for you. As the above scripture tells us that like a deer pants for water, our soul should long after God.  He should be our heart’s desire and we need to worship him.  Then we shall be changed.

It’s amazing how God uses such natural examples, like the deer.  When a deer is wounded, it will use all the strength it has to get to water.  Why?  Because if a wound is not fatal and the deer can reach water, it will kill the fever and the deer will heal.  A deer will travel great distances to reach water for water is life saving for man and beast.

If we had the common sense of an animal, we would long for what will sustain us in all things; God.  “O God, You are my God; early will I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)  I want to be thirsty for God and drink from his well that never runs dry.  

The day I accepted Jesus as my Savior I became so thirsty for the Word of God.  My soul ached with a longing to know more about Him.  I began to read the Bible day and night that I can only compare it to being hungry.  I was like a starving person eating the Word as quickly as I could.  I read the New Testament in a matter of a few days and then the Old Testament which took a little longer.  My Bible was a King James which can be a little difficult to understand, but God gave me supernatural understanding.  It was amazing because before that I couldn’t understand most of it.  I knew most of the Bible stories because of attending Sunday School as a child, but I didn’t know the truth behind the story.

I then bought a Living Bible and read that all the way through.  This Bible was like reading poetry.  I loved it so much because I have been a poet since I was 9 years old when I was first published.  Looking back on those poems I wrote, almost all of them were about God and some quite prophetic.  I think I was always looking and longing for God.  Since that long ago I have had a passion for the Word of God for out of it flows rivers of living water.

If you seriously long to have a closer relationship with the Lord, the only thing stopping you is you.  If Muslims can pray 5 times a day to ‘Allah’, you can surely spend some time praying and seeking God Almighty.  If you are thirsty for more of God, drink from the river of life. “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” John 4:14 (NLT)

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you wade out into the water.

 

Living as Children of Light

Living As Children of Light

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light” Ephesians 5:8 (NIV)

Many, many years ago, before Jesus was my Savior, I remember going into a bar with friends and noticing how dark it was.  I have never seen a bar that wasn’t dark.  Why?  The fact is darkness is a cover-up.  You can’t see the shadowy corners of the place.  If it was light and airy no one would go there.  It is similar to what Paul was writing to the people in Ephesus; “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.”  [Ephesians 4:18]  It goes on and says “They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.” [4:19 NLT]

Darkness hides a lot of activity for those who want to do evil things.  People think as long as no one sees what they are doing, they can get away with it. But, God sees it all, so you can’t really hide anything from him.    Paul is telling us to get out of darkness; a true Christian should have nothing to hide from God or anyone else.  As the key scripture says, “Live as children of light”.

What does that mean?  Paul clarifies it in verse 22, “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”  Let’s really stop and think about this for a minute; in today’s language it means to not act the same way you used to.  I know from experience that if you are truly a born-again believer, your desires change.  You won’t want to do the things you did; you won’t want to go to the places you went; you don’t want to tell dirty jokes or speak bad language.  You won’t want to look at pornography or live in unholy relationships.  

Where once your mind was dark; now it turns toward the light of God and wants to think about things of the Lord.  It’s like a light bulb comes on in your mind and you want to search out things of God. You become like a moth drawn to the flame.  How do I know, because I have experienced such a change?  My thoughts were so dark at one time in my life and I was so blinded I could see no reason to live.  It was like a spotlight was suddenly turned on and as the light of Jesus began shining in me, even the dark corners were made light.

Depression is a hard thing to live with even harder to overcome.  Yet with Jesus filling my heart and mind, depression had to leave. I had lived with depressions for several years (what today is called ‘clinical depression’ and suffered severe panic attacks on a daily basis and sometimes oftener.  I was at the end of my rope.  I spent a length of time at Mayo Clinic Hospitals; a month or so at a ‘rest home’ and a period of time at a clinic, but nothing helped. 

It was at that time I met Jesus and I was changed forever; no more pills, drugs or anything else.  I came out of that darkness and into the marvelous light of the Lord.  My health was restored; my mind was renewed and I was and am a new creation in Christ Jesus.  I picked up the Bible and as I read I understood what it was saying.  I was so hungry for the Word of God, I devoured it every minute I could.  I found an old hymn book and began singing the words and I knew what those words meant. 

I discovered when I was really hungry for God, He fed me constantly.  If you are serious about the Lord, he is serious about you. He was and is the answer to every problem.  I look back on my life in awe of what he has done with me and I know he’s not finished with me yet.  It is one thing to know of God, but it’s a whole different thing to know Him personally. 

If you are struggling with darkness in your life, there is a way to overcome it.  God has called us to be ‘Children of Light’ and you can’t be that if you are still walking in darkness.  I know many of you still have not experienced the lightness of God, but you can and you can also be healed in an instant.  What it takes to do that is the battleground, because Satan wants to claim you for his own.  God wants you more, but you have to totally and completely give yourself to God.  Ask God to do whatever he needs to do with you and promise him you will live the rest of your life serving him. Ask Him to fill you with His light and he will do it.

 I remember the day that I did that and promised the Lord I would serve him and honor him in all things as long as I lived.  Do I ever fail?  Of course I do, but I ask forgiveness and go on.  I wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for the Lord.  He puts a song in your heart when you need it; he speaks to me in His Word and causes me to rejoice in Him. 

There is an old hymn that says, “The light of the world is Jesus.”  If Jesus lives in your heart, you are filled with his light, but you need to live like children of light!

Who Are the Hypocrites?

Who Are the Hypocrites?

 “He [Jesus] answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” Mark 7:6

I’m sure most of you have heard someone say, “I won’t go to that church; they are all a bunch of hypocrites.”  What exactly do they mean?  I went to my old Webster and looked it up.  There were a couple explanations, one being; (a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that they do not actually possess, especially a person whose actions are opposite of their stated beliefs.)  That sure covers a lot of us, doesn’t it?

 

None of us are perfect all the time, but that isn’t exactly what it means.  I think most of us try to be sweet and kind in church, but outside of that some can swear like a sailor and rip others to pieces.  That, my friend is what a hypocrite is.  Have we ever behaved like that; putting on one face for spiritual times and another for the rest of the time?  Those who work with us in our jobs know us better than those we greet in church on Sunday.  I’m not saying everyone is that way, but some are and it’s those who give Christians a bad name.

Many years ago when my children were young, I caught one of them smoking and I was extremely upset.  Why I thought it was so bad, I don’t know for I was a smoker myself.  I remember setting my youngster down at the kitchen table and reading the riot act to them while I sat there smoking.  What a hypocrite I was and didn’t even know it. I’m sure my child couldn’t figure it out why she was punished for doing the same thing I did.  Jesus explained it so well in Matthew 7:3-5, “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

Are all Christians hypocrites? Of course not! The Bible is filled with examples of courage and selflessness. We would not be where we are today is not for these believers and mighty men and women of God whom have influenced the world. America would not be in existence if not for believers who braved the trials of the New World for freedom of religion.  No one is perfect, in fact Romans 3:23-24 says this: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  We would not need a Savior if we were perfect; we are dependent on Christ for redemption, salvation and learning to walk as Jesus walked.

 As believers in Christ, it is our challenge to always be aware of the example we set for others.  We need to be the same person at home that we are in church on Sunday.  We can deceive others, but we can’t deceive God. We need to ask ourselves this question, “Where is my heart?”  Like the scripture in Mark 7:6, “people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” 

One of my favorite scriptures is in Psalm 51:10-11 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.”   My prayer would be that each of you memorize this scripture and make it your prayer each morning.  If our heart is right and we have a renewed spirit, we can be what God wants us to be; we won’t be like hypocrites setting a bad examples.  We will be drawing people to God, not pushing them away. 

If anyone says to you, “Christians are a bunch of hypocrites”, just tell them, “No, we are sinners saved by grace!  We won’t always say or do the right things, but God loves us and his grace is always sufficient.  If our hearts are set on the Lord, he will carry us through to the end.  

 

 

A Spoonful of Sugar

A Spoonful of Sugar

(Makes the Medicine Go Down)

A gentle (sweet) answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.  Proverbs 15:1

A spoonful of sugar is so sweet and when stirred into other foods or beverages totally change the flavor.  So it is with conversation or disagreement; using sweet words make the truth easier to take.  Have you ever noticed when you need to confront someone about a wrong being done, you can attack or begin by asking a gentle question? 

 In secular terms, we can call this process, ‘diplomatic’.  In spiritual terms, “How sweet are your words to my taste; sweeter than honey to my mouth!”  (Psalm 119:103)  An old-fashion way of saying this is, “You can catch more flies with honey.”  Kindness and sweetness win over every time.

The world we live in today calls for retaliation; retaliate when someone is mean to you and bad-mouths you.  This is not God’s way.  Every day people lose their jobs, lose friends and lose their peace of mind by trying to get even.  The following story is true and a great example of how a spoonful of sugar works.

A woman accepted Jesus as her Savior and was excited to share her testimony with all her family and friends.  One person, very dear to her, was very upset to hear what the new Christian told her about her salvation. She knew that she would definitely go to heaven when she died, but not everyone would. All those who hadn’t asked Jesus into their heart would go to Hell.  Her friend replied that she went to church on occasion and believed in God and that’s all she needed. Her friend was so upset with her that she no longer wanted to see her, or even talk to her and that their friendship was over if she believed in all that hellfire and damnation stuff. 

 The woman who was saved became very upset over this because she had lost a dear friend.  She prayed about it and felt the Lord wanted her to go back to her friend and apologize for how she had presented salvation to her friend.  So she went back to her friend’s house a few days later and sat across the table from her.  She told her friend she was sorry for coming on so strong and asked forgiveness for scaring her.  She told her how much she loved her and promised she would not talk about it anymore. They hugged and made up and continued their friendship.

As time went on the friend began to ask questions about God and was impressed at the change in the believer’s life.  Eventually, her friend came to ask Jesus into her heart and her life changed as well.  She began to trust the Lord for everything in her life and to tell others how Jesus saved her.  She is now in heaven with Jesus.

It pays off to be gentle and kind in all you do and no matter the circumstances, be ready to use a spoonful of sugar.  I recall the story of a drunk driver who hit a young person on a bicycle and killed him.  When the trial came the parents of the boy stood up and told the convicted driver that they forgave him and knew he didn’t deliberately kill their son.  When asked how they could do this, they explained that they could not live under the burden of un-forgiveness.  Not only did it free them, but it freed the one convicted and after serving his sentence came out of prison and became an evangelist. 

Forgiveness is like a spoonful of sugar; it keeps one from becoming bitter.  Bitterness is like poison that gradually seeps into your soul.  Matthew 6:15 explains the danger of un-forgiveness;   “If you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”  That one verse should put the fear of God in your heart; it can’t get plainer than that.  Don’t say that you will never forgive someone for the wrong they might have done against you.  If you claim to be a Christian, it’s only because God has forgiven you of your sins.  Search your heart today and if you hold something against someone, let it go.  Ask God to help you and you will feel His sweet love flow through you.    

 

 

As in the Days of Noah

As in the Days of Noah

 “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:  They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.”  Luke 17:26-27

            Before the flood in Noah’s day, most of the people ignored the warning from Noah and his family.  There were warning signs all around them about what was going to happen, but they chose to not pay any attention because they didn’t want change.  They loved living their lives apart from God.  Instead, they chose to party and continue their lives as if nothing would ever happen to them.

            Sound familiar?  It’s exactly what is happening today; people are ignoring all the signs of coming disasters.  I’ve talked with many who say, “I don’t want to think about it” or, “it scares me so I don’t listen to any news or talk about it.”  As I said in my blog last week; we are told to “Watch” and be prepared.  This is what God saw before the flood. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5) How did people get so evil during the time of Noah?

            Adam lived to be 900 years old and following him men lived to be even older.  After Cain killed Abel, Adam and Eve had another son that they named, Seth and Adam said that God gave him Seth in place of Abel to continue his heritage.  The sons of Cain were a bloodthirsty bunch and evil in God’s sight.

            As time went on and people lived so long, they began to multiply into millions.  As they advanced to      become craftsmen in copper and iron and developed instruments to make music such as the harp and the flute.  They began to build cities and others dwelt in tents and raised livestock. Their advancement grew quickly and so their evil life styles; anything they wanted to do was ‘okay’.   Finally, God had enough!  The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. (Gen. 6:11).  God regretted he had even made man, except for Noah and his family who were found righteous.

           In our time knowledge increases so fast that technical information doubles in 72 hours.  We now live in an information overload that is more than we had in the last 5,000 years.  In the book of Daniel 12:4, we read where God gave him a prophecy for the end times, “But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end when many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase.”  Are we living in that time now?  I believe we are. There was a time after the flood that Noah’s sons went out with their wives and increased to become nations. 

At that time, everyone who lived on this earth had the same language and some of them settled in one place and built a city and began to build a tower to heaven.  God was watching and decided that there was nothing they couldn’t accomplish so He confused their languages so they couldn’t understand one another.  Then they were scattered all over the earth. 

After all these thousands of years, could mankind become that evil again so there are only a few righteous in the whole earth?   Let me say this: The Muslim religion is the largest growing religion in the world!  There are still many Christians in this world, but not all are following Jesus. We cannot judge other Christians, but God knows and in the end he will separate the “sheep from the goats’ [Matthew 25:32]; some to the Kingdom of God and others to everlasting punishment.

            “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matt. 24:37-39).

                We don’t have to stop our lives as we wait for Christ’s return.  We should work, go to school, attend church and go on with our lives, but stop searching out things that are not of God.  Keep your head clear and your heart open to hear direction from the Holy Spirit.  Call on God and he will hear and lead you on paths of righteousness. “Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”  Jeremiah 33:3