Who, Me Discouraged?

The minority whip of the House of Representatives, Roy Blunt resigned his post last week. He thought ten years of encouraging people to do things they didn’t want to do was enough. Sometimes believers get discouraged too.

We should take heart. There are some bright spots around, where God is really blessing the efforts of the faithful. My son just arrived home from a mission trip to the Philippines. During the first meeting there, 340 people responded to faith in Christ. You don’t see much of that in our nation. While God is doing greater works elsewhere in the world, the trend here is to growing unfaithfulness and dropping out. It is difficult to “whip up” much more than lip service to the things of God these days.

What shall we do? The only thing we can do is to keep preaching the Word. I encourage my flock to stay on their knees, in the Word, and close to one another. Reading in Acts the second chapter, we see that is the very environment the Lord used to begin the wonderful work called Christianity.

So, we will keep doing our part the way believers always have. It takes a little over forty of us (per capita) to win one soul in America. But every soul counts. Amen?

Have you read Luke 21:25-28? You should. We are getting closer to the day.

GBY
Bro Robt

Is God Pro-Choice?

You will likely raise some eyebrows in most churches if you say God is pro-choice. I don’t think I offended anyone when, in a recent sermon, I made that very point. God is pro-choice. Please excuse my play on words but in Joshua 24:15 we read, "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (NKJV)

God gives us our own free choice but we are responsible to Him for the decisions we make. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Galatians 6:7-8 (NKJV)

God’s will matters and what He is against should influence our choices. Consider for example Proverbs 6:16-19, “ These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.” (NKJV) Again, it is our choice to make. But what God hates so should we.

If you have read this far, I trust you hear me say God is not pro-choice in the way it is used by our culture. God is Pro-Life. Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”(NKJV) "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)

God takes no pleasure in the misery of sinners. He prefers that all should come to repentance (2 Peter3:9). It’s our choice. There will be no unwilling participants in heaven.

I hope this very day you will choose life.

GBY
Bro Robt

Answered Prayer

Someone posed the question, “What if the Lord’s Prayer was truly answered in our lives?” I wondered what our lives would be like if we truly went beyond just a recitation of the prayer model given to us by our Lord (Matthew 6:13f).

We certainly would reverence our heavenly Father. I admire people who honor their parents. How much more we need to honor our Father in Heaven. It would make us better children and witnesses to His greatness. The Father we know as Christians is not Allah. He is the one and only true God and Savior of the world. So, why do we not reverence and defend His name as the Muslims do their god? Why does the Bible say to abstain from ever appearance of evil? What we do reflects on our Father in heaven.

Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done reminds us that God is King and we are not His equal. His will matters as much on earth as in heaven. His will matters in my life, in my home, on my job, at school, in my budget and on my calendar. There are things happening on earth that I should refuse to do. If God is king of my life and his will uppermost in my intentions I will be faithful to Him as He is to me. The model prayer is laid out in perfect order, first things first. If it seems God isn’t hearing our prayers, perhaps we should first attend to His holiness and Lordship in our lives.

One who lives according to the model prayer will trust God for daily sustenance. I note the prayer requests daily bread and not weekly or monthly. I wouldn’t want to make this a test of faith but if you prayed for today’s bread and received more than enough, would you share it? What if your neighbor has also prayed for daily bread and The Lord wants you to be his supply line? Thy will be done? (See Matthew 25:31f)

We need God’s forgiveness. We also need forgiveness from one another. Forgiveness is difficult but it gets easier with practice. This is a two-faceted prayer in which we actually ask for forgiveness and for ability to forgive. We are most like Jesus when we forgive. How can we be all He wants us to be if we won’t forgive? Grudges are un Christian.

Ran across this in My Documents. I don't know if I have shared it before but it is so good.

Are We Fishermen?

Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. And lo, there were many fish in the waters all around. And the fish were hungry.

Week after week, month after month, and year after year. Those who called themselves fishermen met to talk about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing.

Year after year they carefully defined what fishing means, defended fishing as an occupation, and declared that fishing is always to be a primary task of fishermen.

Continually they searched for new and better methods of fishing and for new and better definitions of fishing. They sponsored costly nation-wide and world-wide congresses to discuss fishing, promote fishing, and hear about all the ways of fishing such as the new fishing equipment, the fish calls, and any new bait.

In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a board to send out fishermen to other places where there were many fish. All the fishermen seemed to agree that what was needed was a board which could challenge fishermen to be faithful to fishing.

Large training centers were built whose original and primary purpose was to teach fishermen how to fish. Over the years, courses were offered on the needs of fish, the nature of fish, where to find fish, and how to approach and feed fish. Those who taught had doctorates in fishology. But the teachers did not fish. They only taught fishing. And those who were sent out did exactly as those who sent them. They formed groups and held special meetings to define fishing, to defend fishing, and to declare how important fishing was. They talked about the great need for fishing. They prayed much that many fish might be caught. They analyzed the fish and discussed what is necessary in order to catch fish. But one thing they did not do, they did not fish.

Now it’s time that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish every day. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen’s clubs and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen, yet never fished.

Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who don’t catch fish are not really fishermen. Is a person a fisherman if he never catches a fish?

Source unknown

I met a woman who had recently divorced her husband of more than forty years. I heard her say she just couldn’t take anymore of the verbal abuse she had endured for all those years. She could never do anything right. The constant criticism finally took its toll. Less than a year later I was working her estranged husband’s funeral. Who was most devastated by his passing? She was. I wondered if she felt guilty for leaving him and how cruel it was that even in death his abuse came back hit her one more time.

My heart goes out to people who live in such awful circumstances. Physical abuse is a terrible thing but the wounds of verbal abuse endure long after flesh has healed. How can we be so cruel as to emotionally beat up on people who crave our adoration? Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me? Nothing hurts like a wounded spirit. This is a pain that will not go away.

My dad was a bad tempered man whose life was controlled by liquor. He gave me some pretty severe spankings. No, he whipped me good. There were times he would call me to him as he sat on the couch and then kick me across the room. He would hit me on top of the head with the clippers when I wouldn’t hold completely still for a haircut. I remember hearing my dad say that I was bound to wind up in jail before I was sixteen. He left my life when I was seven but my self esteem was pretty well wrecked by then. When I grew to be a teenager and old enough to blow it in some things, it just seemed natural. My daddy’s words were prophetic. He said I was bound for no good. I recovered well but not until the course of my life was set by low expectations instilled in me by the words of my father. I don’t blame my parents for my own failures but a little encouragement would have left me with fewer regrets.

When I became a father I began to learn a little about my own impatience and I blew it as a dad many times. I was too strict and my temper won out too often. But I am thankful to have had the sense to try to protect my children’s self-esteem. My wife and I were always careful not to say or even insinuate they were inept in any way. Even so, if I could do it over again, I would practice more positive reinforcement. I would say I love you and am proud of you in every way possible to my children. I would explain why I said no and would apologize when I wronged them. I would learn to be soft. I wouldn’t allow frustration to deprive my children of the best dad they could have.

Good for Bad

Don’t say “huh” if you don’t want to be yelled at. And if you must raise your voice to a hard of hearing person, do it sweetly.

You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
Matthew 5:38-42 (NKJV)

It's not fair but someone sometime is going to hurt our feelings or harm us in some way we don't deserve. We are bound to encounter evil in the world we live in. Jesus said don't resist it. That is, don't get even. Difficult? You bet it is. And we have all gotten even. Hopefully, though, as we grow closer to Christ, vengeance will give way to patience and forgiveness. In fact Jesus said we should do good to those who do us wrong. An eye for an eye is not the way of Christ. The Apostle Paul advised that it is better to be wronged than to fight
(1 Cor.6:7) Returning good for evil is unnatural for us except for the supernatural presence of God in our lives. All things are possible with Him. Why not pray now for the strength to meet the next injustice with the love of Christ. You will be a better witness for it.

Accident or Design

Many of you read Our Daily Bread. So, if this is the second time you have seen this, I hope it blesses you again. I send it along with my commendation and a hearty amen. .

Accident or Design

The Bible opens with this magnificent statement: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). How simple those words are and yet how fathomless!
Dyson Freeman, one of today's most brilliant scientists, writes that nature's laws are marked by "the greatest mathematical simplicity and beauty."
While I am not a scientist or a mathematician, I am intrigued by this statement. If there is no Designer—no Creator God—how is it that our universe can be a law-abiding system marked by beauty and simplicity? I wonder, why isn't our universe in chaos?
The only reasonable explanation to me is the God of the Bible. As it says in Romans 1:20, "Since the creation of the world [God's] invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that [we] are without excuse."
If it's only the reality of God's existence that explains the whole universe, that must also be true of our lives. We are not accidents but creatures designed by a Maker of limitless power and wisdom. Look for Him in what He has designed—you'll see Him there.
—Vernon Grounds (Our Daily Bread, Nov 29,2005)

Let us be patient with those who do not know that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” Heb 11:1-3 (NKJV) May we also be faithful to teach our children the truth about creation. Nobody else is.

Here is a great article.

THERE ARE NO "SMALL" ACTS OF KINDNESS

Edited by Shmuel Greenbaum

Since I founded DoOneNiceThing.

com, many people write to me about
nice things they do for others or are done for them. I have come to
the conclusion that there is no such thing as a "small" act of
kindness. Some actions might be less dramatic than others, but each
one has the potential to make a big impact on someone. We never know:

* A man in Missouri told me that his 10-year-old daughter had the
idea to give some of her books to a little friend who loved to read
but had no books. The father readily agreed to help his daughter
assemble some books to give away. But he said she must not give the
books to the girl at school. Instead, he dropped them off on the
doorstep of the classmate's home to avoid embarrassing her or her
family. Is giving away a few used books a small thing? Not to a poor
student who is hungry to read, and not to a father who is proud of
his young daughter's desire to help others.

* A fellow in Wyoming called me about a nice thing that his friend
did: They carpool together in a truck, and on their way to and from
work each day, the men noticed another man walking down a long road -
everyday. One day the friend put his old but decent bicycle in the
back of the truck, and when they saw the man walking, the friend
jumped out and gave him the bicycle.

The man was surprised and very grateful. Is giving away an old bike a
small thing? Not to a person who can now save hours and avoid pain by
riding instead of walking. And not to the giver's friend who is
inspired by his friend's kindness.

* A woman in New York told me that she buys a sandwich for lunch
almost everyday. When she does, she eats half and asks the waiter to
wrap up the other half and put it into a bag. When she leaves the
restaurant she finds a homeless person to give the leftover sandwich
to. Is giving away a leftover sandwich a small thing? Not to a person
who is starving.

* A man I know takes a walk every morning in his California
neighborhood, and when he does he carries a package of cookies with
him. He hands a cookie to anyone he sees - neighbors, gardeners,
repair crews, delivery people - and wishes them a heart-felt "Good
morning!" When they see him they call out,

"Cookie Man!" and wave and smile. Is giving someone a cookie and a
smile small thing? Not to the recipient who is filled with joy by a
simple act of generosity.

* A marathon runner wrote to me to praise the people who help her
train. She is blind, and sighted runners allow themselves to be
tethered to her by a loose rope so she can follow the course.

She said she has never had a problem finding another runner to help
her - someone always offers, and she is deeply grateful to them. Is
wearing a loose rope around your waist a small thing? Not to a woman
who can now fulfill her dream of competing alongside others.

Every act of kindness matters, no matter how small it might
seem to us.

Kind Words is a free weekly e-mail distributed by Partners In
Kindness. Although the content of this e-mail contains
copyrighted material, Partners in Kindness allows users
who register at our website to reprint them in print, on a
website, or on an e-mail distribution list at no cost.

If you have permission to reprint this e-mail, please ensure
that you reprint the entire e-mail (including this notice).
Kindness is like music, art, sports or any other discipline --
it can only be mastered with practice, training, and lots
and lots of encouragement. That is what
PartnersInKindness.org is trying to promote.
For further information, please visit our Website
http://www.PartnersInKindness.org

Do you have good ideas for acts of kindness?

GBY
Bro Robert

PS Audio downloads available by clicking my public page

Audio downloads

You may now download audio messages by clicking on my public box in favorite links. Right click on the file you want and follow the download options. Email me if you have problems.
GBY
Bro Robt

Asking or Telling?

The cowboy slapped down his money on the bar. “Gimme a sarsaparilla“, he said. Says the barkeep in return, “ya askin or tellin?” When you pray are you asking, or telling, or just talking? Scripture calls us to get our prayer-lives in order. According to James 5:16, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much“(KJV)

Concerning the prayers of a righteous man, Oswald Chambers wrote, "God always hears the prayers of His Son and if the Son of God is formed in me the Father will always hear my prayers". Jesus is our righteousness and apart from Him we haven't a prayer.

The prayers that God answers are not those practiced, memorized and unfelt speeches we tend to fall into. Another way to understand fervency in prayer is to agonize in prayer as did Jesus. We will not likely attain to the quality of the prayers of our Savior but we do well to follow his example. I like the way it is stated in the Holman Christian Standard Bible, “The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful“.

How do we know our prayer-life is in order? First John 5:14-15 says answered prayer is evidence of where we are with God. “Now this is the confidence we have before Him: whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for” (HCSB). So, righteousness, fervency in prayer and answered prayer are the keys to effective prayer.
God is not our butler. So, if we want anything from Him we will conform to his will and ask in a manner pleasing to Him.

One of my favorite devotionals is One Minute Uplift by Rick Ezell. I recently was taught by Dr Ezell that faith is a common practice. We exercise faith everyday in numerous ways. We place our faith in the strength of a chair when we sit in it. It takes faith to send the kids to school, to drive a car, sign a contract, or to eat in a restaurant.

Everyone has faith but Christian faith is unique. It sees God in every situation. Christian believers are able to endure circumstances that devastate others. Are you facing hard times? Got God?

Personal Faith: Do you know God? Do you spend time with Him? Talk to Him? Christian faith grows out of personal relationship with God. Our faith grows as our walk with God does. Our level of trust increases as we get to know Him better. There are people in our lives we trust more than others because we know them better. There are needs we would never entrust to strangers. Our confidence in God grows as we step out in faith to obey his calling. He gives us victory on victory. The would-be witness who never witnesses will never be a witness. But once you have stepped out on faith and experienced God’s enabling, you are ready to try it again and before you know it God is getting all the credit and you the blessing.
Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. There was no one there.
Faith is no bigger than its object. We face enormous challenges in life. Many of the things we place our trust in fail us. But trusting in God and resting in Him as our all in all brings unimaginable strength. We can face anything. That is what Paul meant with “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Growing Faith: There are several Scripture commands having to do with increased faith. You can increase faith by thinking back on your toughest experiences as a Christian (Heb. 10:32-5); you may do so by becoming better acquainted with Scripture (Rom. 10:17); you may do so by getting rid of excess spiritual and psychological baggage (Matt. 6:24).
The Fight, J. White, IVP, pp. 105ff
One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, “Jump! I’ll catch you.” He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: “Jump! I will catch you.” But the boy protested, “Daddy, I can’t see you.” The father replied, “But I can see you and that’s all that matters.”

Maturing Faith: In a national study of Protestant churches done in 1990, Peter Benson and Carolyn Eklin surveyed hundreds of people and distilled seven characteristics of a mature faith. You may not agree with everything on their list, but it’s still instructive to look at their conclusions.
1. Trusts in God’s saving grace and believes firmly in the humanity and divinity of Jesus.
2. Experiences a sense of personal well-being, security, and peace.
3. Integrates faith and life, seeing work, family, social relationships, and political choices as part of one’s religious life.
4. Seeks spiritual growth through study, reflection, prayer, discussion with others.
5. Seeks to be part of a community of believers who give witness to their faith and support and nourish one another.
6. Holds life-affirming values, including commitment to racial and gender equality, affirmation of cultural diversity, and a personal sense of responsibility for the welfare of others.
7. Serves humanity, consistently and passionately, through acts of love and justice.

A church sign read: Come in and get a faith lift. Do you need a faith lift? I believe it is a Gaither song that says He (God) made something beautiful of my life. That is what happens when he does a faith lift in us. Begin by asking (James 4:2). Then open your Bible and take it into your life (Romans 10:17).




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