I remember the days when you could pull up to a “filling station” and get full-service. You would get your windshield washed, tires checked, oil checked, transmission checked, your tank filled with gas, and all this with a friendly smile. Whatever needed to be done, you would have it done. Most of the time, the attendant would know your name. We had all this for what, about thirty or forty cents a gallon for the gas? Back then, it was known and expected that when you pulled into a “service station,” you were going to be served in this manner. You were going to be thoroughly checked over and equipped to safely roll on down the road for the long haul, to arrive at your destination. Nowadays it is quite different. If you want your windshield cleaned, you do it yourself—if there is water in the box. It’s called “self-serve.” Whatever you need, you gotta figure it out and go buy it and put it in. When the church first got started, it was a full-service church. When you pulled into this church, you would get your life checked over by the spirit of holiness. If something needed tending to, you can better believe, it would be tended to. At this church you would get your sins exposed and washed away by repentance and faith in the blood of Jesus. You would get totally immersed by water baptism, showing a total commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, to do the will of God from that day forward. You would get an infilling with the Holy Spirit with a supernatural prayer language imparted to you by which you could drive on down the road in the supernatural power of God. By that same anointing oil of the Spirit, you could live smoothly, operating in the anointing of God even in the face of adversities. If one of your spiritual tires was low, or flat, slowing progress, there were spiritual-minded brethren who could help take care of it without spreading rumors all over town. When you pulled into the early church, you knew you were going to be served by the Lord Himself. You knew you would drive away fully supplied and fully equipped with the supernatural power of God. You knew He would take you down the road with His strength and ability. By Him, you would fulfill your purpose in life and safely arrive at your destination. The early church was not a boring program of dead religious rituals. It was God serving the people with life, power, protection, and preparation for what lay ahead. It was not a self-serve pick and choose what I like or what I don’t like. It was God manifested for the good of the people. If you wanted God, you went to church and submitted your life to Him, knowing, He will take care of you. Good News! Today, God is still available “full-service” to those who seek Him with all their heart.
Author: admin
preachJesus77
Make the Most with What You’ve Got
My recent “fender-bender” received an evaluation of “total loss” by my insurance company. Functionally, nothing is impaired. By the nature of the damage, and by the fact it is a 2008 vehicle, it was deemed “totaled.” I elected to keep the vehicle for the compensation offered, instead of surrendering it for the larger amount of money. One reason I did this, was because after a couple of estimates of repair with new parts and all that, I began to visualize what could be done to work with what I had. After the collision I picked up the pieces lying in the roadway and brought them home. So, when I got home, I got those pieces together and started holding them up in place and seeing how and where they fit. I thought, “Hmm! I think I can decently stitch this thing back together.” On a Sunday afternoon after church with my wife’s mechanically-minded nephew, Jeffrey, we put Humpty-Dumpty back together again. We drilled holes and “stitched” those parts back together with zip-ties. Even injuries on our bodies fixed up by professional doctors carry stitch marks. So, there is no shame in stitch marks. They just show we survived the battle. So, my “Jehu’s Chariot II” survived the battle with some stitch marks on a certain area of its body. I have yet to paint it, but when it is painted, it will blend beautifully and carry its marks with dignity. Did you know that God uses imperfect vessels? If He did not, He could do nothing on earth because nobody is perfect except Jesus, and He is in heaven. We all have areas in our lives where we got banged up either by our own or by other people’s choices. God doesn’t bang people up. People’s poor choices, inattention, hasty actions and selfish ways cause life’s collisions. God is right there on the scene to starting fixing it up and transform and make the most with what we’ve got. We need never limit God by our own understanding. We can cooperate with Him and roll with Him in what we have. In due time, if it works out, a whole new bumper and hatch door can be purchased and installed. But right now, we can take what we have and roll on with God’s plan and purpose. Are we satisfied to remain in any sin and weakness in any way? Absolutely Not! But if we will submit who we are and what we have to the Master Mechanic, He can work in our life to keep things smoothly rolling down the road of His purpose. So, get up and trust Him to transform you the way only He knows how you need it. Don’t stop your journey with Him just because you got damaged. All God ever uses is damaged goods who have allowed Him to be their life and their strength. There is a harvest to be reaped. Entrust all your life to God, get up and get moving!
Blind Spots
“If I had just looked a split-second longer!” That is what I said to Barbara as I related how I backed into the path of an on-coming vehicle. At this location, I normally park in the parking lot beside the building, the reason being so I can pull out in the street going forward. This morning, I chose to park in an angular parking space along the street. When I got in the car to back out, I looked over my right shoulder down the street for any on-coming traffic, and with none in view, I proceeded to back out. Boom! In that moment, as it occurred, I thought, “I’m being hit by a car. I can’t believe this is happening! But it is! I’ve backed out in front of a car!” Well, I pulled back up into the parking space and shut the engine off and jumped out to check on the other driver. He was opening the door as I approached the vehicle, and I asked him if he was okay. He said he was shaken up. I apologized that I did not see him, explaining to him that I looked down the street, and apparently at the very instant he was in my blind spot. A 2008 Forerunner has about a foot wide roof support at the middle side window and about an eight- or ten-inch roof support on the right rear corner. At the instant I looked, the low-riding little car was hidden behind one of those supports or behind the sidewall of my car itself. The crash was a total surprise. I came away from the incident with a very practical lesson for me and for all. Jesus said to watch and pray lest you fall into temptation (“experience of evil, adversity”—Mark 14:38). He did not say to glance and pray. To watch is to hold a gaze on the situation and check it out thoroughly to make sure of what is going on. It is to really pay attention. In eternal spiritual matters, we don’t need to just give it a good religious glance then do our thing. We need to consider if we might have any “blind spots” in our life, so that things might not really be as they seem. Blind spots can cause unexpected crashes. We need to hold our gaze on our life in the light of the Word of God to see where we really stand with God. A religious blind spot of believing in God and Jesus Christ without having love and devotion to God and love toward our neighbor is a killer. If we have no love for the Word of God, we might be looking down life’s road without seeing the on-coming traffic. Sometimes we make bad choices, we follow the flesh, and we mess up. Sometimes we position ourselves to get blind-sided. We don’t stop driving just because we have an accident. Keep learning, repenting, making changes, and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Menu
Huckleberries and Chiggers
Coming through North Little Rock, a group of us family members decided to stop in at The Black Bear Diner in North Little Rock. I had never been there and discovered this to be an excellent choice for eating out. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. As I looked over the menu, I saw they offered a huckleberry milkshake or malt. “How unique!” I thought. I had hardly even thought about huckleberries since I was a kid, much less to find them offered on a menu. When I was a kid, Dad would take us out to open areas in the woods to pick huckleberries. They are sort of like a wild, smaller version of a blueberry. I remember we would come out of the woods with a Mrs. Tucker’s Shortening bucket full of blueberries, and with a body covered in chiggers. I remember seriously considering if the pleasure of eating the berries was worth the misery of the chigger bites. It worked out best if you just keep scratching while you enjoyed the pie or jam or whatever the huckleberries were made into. Back to the Black Bear Diner; I had a salmon dinner, which was good, and I sampled a bite of steak offered from another person at the table. It was thin-sliced and seasoned with garlic and some other herb or spice, and it, too, was uniquely delicious. So, I had never seen huckleberry offered on a menu, and I don’t think I had ever had steak with garlic and whatever herb on it. I determined we would have to make a return trip to sample some other items from their menu with their generous portions. When you find something good, it does not take a lot of effort to share it with others. After sixty years of being with the Lord, I have become convinced that the reason so many “Christians” do not freely share the Lord is because they have never really partaken of His love, forgiveness, healing and infilling with life and power. Reality: we can have religion without a relationship. Relationship comes with understanding combined with total commitment and surrender. My wife has this saying: You can sit in a hen house for twenty years, but that does not make you a chicken. Powerless religion stems from no personal relationship. We can be good but not truly connected with God. Connection with God comes by understanding our heart condition before God, and understanding that what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross is the only thing that makes us right with God. When we see this, and we turn to Him, surrendering our life to Him, surrendering our goodness and our badness to Him, we experience a change of heart. We become a partaker of the menu, not just an observer. When we become a partaker of the spiritual bread and wine of Jesus Christ, we realize how good it is, and we overflow, telling others about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Believing God
Believing God is a calm, joyful, confident knowing and expectation of Him performing in your life, and in the lives of others, that which is already accomplished by Jesus Christ His Son. Believing God is based on knowing the heart of the Father to do good to all, bringing about reconciliation, restoration, healing and provision in every way.
“The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” Psalms 145: 8-9
“Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry, The Lord looseth the prisoners: the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: the Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.” Psalms 146: 5-9
Believing God in prayer and in ministry is asking, declaring and operating in the Spirit to manifestly bring about that which is in the heart of the Father.
Believing God in prayer and in ministry is based on the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ. God the Father has exalted Jesus Christ His Son so that every knee of sin, self, sickness and satanic oppression should bow to Him in heaven and in earth and under the earth, all to the glory of God the Father, who is greater than all.
Believing God in prayer and in ministry is operating in the anointing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (the anointed One and His anointing), all to the glory of God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ.
John 13: 16; John 14: 28; Ephesians 4: 6; Philippians 2: 9-11; 1 John 2: 27
Faith of the Son of God
Every version of the Bible makes its own unique contribution. Unique to the King James Version of the Bible is the phrase “faith of the Son of God.” When we run references on “faith” in the New Testament, we can see that we have been given the faith of Jesus Christ as a gift. Just as we refer to the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to us as a gift, and the love of God is a gift imparted to us by the Holy Spirit, we can also know that we have been given the gift of the faith of the Son of God.
I encourage you to read the references listed below in the KJV Bible, and let the Holy Spirit confirm this truth in your life. By putting these scriptures together, we can see that the phrase “the faith” refers to the personal faith of Jesus Christ. It is not just the body of truth that men have put together and call it “the faith.” By believing the Word concerning the truth that we have been given the faith of the Son of God, we can exercise great boldness in our prayers and in our ministry to others. Acts 3: 6-7
Beyond just looking at a particular version of the Bible, we can go back to the beginning and see Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were created in the image of God: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” That means Adam and Eve had God’s life, God’s love, God’s righteousness and God’s faith. They were created in the image of God with the purpose of having dominion to rule and reign on the earth in righteousness. Genesis 1: 26-28
Paul taught by the inspiration of the Spirit that we are a new creation in Christ. Old things are passed away and all things have become new. He taught that the old man of sin was nailed to the cross with the death of Jesus, and we have been given the gift of righteousness by which we have dominion to reign in life. Romans 5: 5, 17; Romans 6
We have the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. We have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. We also need to know we have been given His faith by which to live and operate, unto His fruitfulness. Didn’t He say that if we believe, we will do the same works He did and greater? Romans 5: 5, 17; John 14: 12-14
Why is it important to understand and believe that we have been given the faith of the Son of God? So we will stop trying to believe, and just rest, and believe that we have His faith and operate accordingly. We are to understand that in Christ we never lack faith, His faith never fails, and we can be very bold in His faith. Acts 3: 6-7; Hebrews 4
You say, “Well, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Yes! So! Hear God’s Word! It says you have the faith of the Son of God! Galatians 2:20; Galatians 3:22
Peter taught that by virtue of the new birth we have obtained the precious faith of the Son of God, and we are to add good character to that faith. 1 Peter 1: 23; 2 Peter 1: 1-11
Jude said we can build up ourselves on our most holy faith and keep ourselves in the love of God by praying in the Holy Ghost. By this, we can reach out with compassion to some people making a difference, and with others we can “save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.” As a born-again, new creation of God in Christ, we are to believe the Word that says we have been given the faith of the Son of God and think and act and operate accordingly. Jude 1: 20-23
Mark 11: 22 “Have faith in God” the margin reads “Have the faith of God”
Acts 3: 16 “the faith which is by him” the margin reads [the faith] “comes through Jesus”
Romans 3: 22 “which is by faith of Jesus Christ” unto and upon all them that believe
Romans 12: 3 “God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith”
1 Corinthians 16: 13 “stand fast in the faith…like men, be strong”
Galatians 2: 20 “I live by the faith of the Son of God”
Galatians 3: 22 the promise “by faith of Jesus Christ…given to them that believe.”
Ephesians 2: 8-9 “faith…not of yourselves…it is the gift of God.”
Ephesians 4: 5, 7, 13 “one faith” “the gift” “the faith”
Philippians 1: 27 “striving together for the faith of the gospel”
Philippians 3: 9 “righteousness…through the faith of Christ”
Colossians 1: 23 “continue in the faith grounded and settled”
Colossians 2: 12 “through the faith of the operation of God”
1 Timothy 1: 14 “grace…with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus”
1 Timothy 3: 13 “great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus”
1 Timothy 6: 10, 21 “erred from the faith” ”erred concerning the faith”
2 Timothy 1: 13 “Hold fast…in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus”
2 Timothy 3: 8 / 4: 7 “reprobate concerning the faith” / “I have kept the faith”
Titus 1: 1, 4, 13 “the faith of God’s elect” “the common faith” “sound in the faith”
Titus 2: 2 “men…sound in faith”
James 2: 1 “have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ…with respect of persons”
1 Peter 5: 8-9 “the devil…whom resist steadfast in the faith”
2 Peter 1: 1, 5 “have obtained like precious faith” “add to your faith”
Jude 1: 3, 20 “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints”
“building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost”
Shades of Gray
The present trend of gray automobiles fascinates me. Colors, that in times past were reserved for the primer coat before the finish coat of a paint job, are now the trendy fashion color. Primer and gray painter’s putty were always colors that you knew would be covered up with a “pretty” color. So, who is to say what color is “pretty” and another color is “ugly”? It is all in personal perception, and personal perception is determined by one’s personal tutoring and experiences. What we are taught is what we walk. Negative influences impart negative perceptions. Positive influences impart positive perceptions. Life is fluid. Truth is absolute. Perceptions we have are true to us, but the next person’s perceptions are also true to them. The variables of life can leave us reeling with a deeply wrinkled brow and a scratching of the head. There might seem to be no absolutes—but there are. Another thing that requires my own personal adjustment is a metal roof on residence. For most of my life I have associated metal roofs with commercial buildings. The trend of houses having metal roofs has been going on for several years. I still must adjust my inward responses when I see a metal roof on a house. Because of the years of seeing houses with asphalt shingles and commercial buildings with metal roofs, to this day, somehow to me, a metal roof on a house “just does not look right.” It’s crazy. They look great! They are durable. But I recognize that I have a “prejudice,” a “pre-disposed idea,” of how certain roofs should look for certain buildings, at least in my brain. Maybe all that is just me. I don’t know. But I do know that our human outlook and attitudes are largely shaped by how we are taught and by our experiences and by our environment. This same type thing exists and operates in the spiritual realm, in the kingdom of God. How we are taught, or not taught, what we have experienced, or not experienced—these things along with our environment influences us greatly. This influence is either according to truth or only a part-truth. This is why it serves us well to come before the Lord and lay everything we have been taught, and all we have experienced, and all our environment—to lay it all down at His feet. Then, with our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, allow Him to teach us His Word and His Way in Christ, the Spirit-anointed Jesus, as our Lord and Guide. Our perceptions and experiences might be in shades of gray with pre-formed ideas. But God’s Word and God’s Ways are absolute, established in “black and white.” The Way of God is embodied in the Spirit-anointed person of the Lord Jesus. To follow Him is to follow the absolute truth. Knowing Him intimately gives us God’s perspective in this life and in death with God’s way, God’s truth, and God’s life.
Tribute to Willy
Thirteen and a half years ago, I rescued two little five-week-old pups from an eight-foot-deep dry well that was under an old house. The owner of the pups insisted that I keep them, which I did, thinking I would give them away the next day. They became part of the family. I named them Waylon and Willy. Sparing the details, on July 3 we lost Willy. It was not sickness. It was sudden and instant. He is now resting in his own little place of all pets loved. He is survived by his brother Waylon, me, Barbara, and a host of kids and grandkids and friends who have enjoyed his company. There are many things I could write about Willy. I have written about the two boys often over the years. There are many lessons that have been learned from their lives. We become attached to our pets, and when we lose them, we feel the loss. I certainly feel the loss. I have enjoyed that little boy every day for over thirteen years. Waylon feels the loss. He and his brother have never been separated throughout their whole life except for two times that I remember, and that was in a vet’s office in two separate cages overnight. So, I am now working with Waylon to help him get over the loss. He is overcoming, as am I. I have been a daily, watchful care-giver for those little guys every day and every step of the way—always looking, watching and listening, to make sure everything is okay. So, to lose one is an adjustment. In all my memories, there are two things that stand out in the pictures in my mind. One was how proud Willy was for us to walk together. That little head would be held high, slightly tilted back, and he would literally prance along with a slight swagger from side-to-side. He loved it for me to walk with him. The other thing I see before me is how he loved to lay down and rest near me with his chin resting on the ground, his belly flat on the ground with his legs flat on the ground. His two hind legs would be extended back flat on the ground. In this, he wanted to be touching me at my feet or at some point. Walking in my presence and resting at my feet touching my person—this is the overriding memory I have of Willy. He leaves us with a lesson: (1) It is a privilege to walk with the Lord Jesus, who is the Lord over all. (2) The Lord will take care of us as we walk with Him, and we can rest in His love being connected with Him. Six simple words can connect us to Jesus Christ to walk with Him and rest in His love. “God forgive me. God help me.” Six words takes us from the pit of destruction to the palace of His peace and eternal presence.
Turn the Ball Loose!
When my four kids were growing up, we took a trip to the bowling alley. My youngest daughter, Samantha, was at the age that if you placed a bowling ball in her arms, it was all she could do to hold it up. She was very hesitant to come out to the bowling lane. After much persuasion and coaxing, she finally consented, and in an abashed manner she came to me out on the floor. With her standing at the line of the lane, I gently placed the lightest bowling ball available in her young arms. Holding the ball, and with encouraging instructions, as she just stood there, she purposely dropped the ball to the floor for her “roll.” The ball, engaging with the slight slant of the bowling lane, slowly began to roll toward the standing pins at the other end of the lane. And, slow was the name of this game. It took forever for the ball to roll to the other end of the lane. First, I was amazed that it stayed in the middle of the lane (better than I could do!). Then, as it approached the pins, I was thinking, “Boy! That ball is going just right! Could it be that…” And as I continued to watch, I saw that ball gently nudge the front pins over, all in very slow motion, with each pin slowly and gently pushing against the other in domino fashion until every last pin fell over. That little girl made a strike the very first “roll” of her young life! Of course, she was applauded greatly and repeatedly, with her carrying the expression in her abashed innocence, “Well, that’s what I was ‘sposed to do, wasn’t it?” In Zechariah 4: 6 it tells us the “house of the Lord” is built not by the might and power of man, but by the Spirit of the Lord. The “house of the Lord” consists of people who know and follow the Lord. It takes the Spirit of God in and upon us for us to accomplish God’s work in the earth. Jesus demonstrated that it was by the Spirit. The early church demonstrated that it was by the Spirit. Once the people were filled with the Spirit and “rolled” in that power, three thousand souls were saved. Signs and wonders were performed in the ministry. Healings flowed like a river. Later, five thousand more people were converted to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, going from being good Jews, to followers of Jesus. It did not depend on the strength and ability of the people in themselves. It did not depend on extensive religious and theological education. It did not depend on slick and polished programs. The power was inherent in the ball itself—the power is in the Spirit Himself. The key is to receive the ball and drop it to the floor. Receive the Spirit. Then, turn Him loose. Allow Him to have His way in our life and ministry.
Focus! Kill That Fly!
It is amazing how things can stick in your mind and be an influence in your life throughout your life. When I was a kid, I got this little book about karate. I was going to study that book and be invincible. I remember thinking that once I mastered karate, I could fearlessly defend myself in any situation. In my young, naive mind I would be able to right all wrongs when it came to any future fights. Well, in the midst of all that mental kid hoopla, I did learn something from my exposure to karate that has stuck with me all these years. I was reminded of it yesterday when I was getting a piece of watermelon out of the refrigerator. I had the piece of watermelon in my left hand over the kitchen sink, and a fly lit on top of my thumb on the hand holding the watermelon. In that pristine moment, my lesson that I took from my early karate self-training came bursting back into my memory. One thing I had learned from the book I read was to focus on the target in view. I felt the focus in my mind gathering all its awesome force like a laser beam burning on the fly. With the focus in place in a second, my right hand shot onto my left thumb with lightning speed. In the next moment my trophy lay in the bottom of the kitchen sink, not moving—lifeless. My training from yesteryear had triumphed! (Pretty good for a vintage seventy-four-year-old, huh!) Well, here is a lesson for us. A lot of times there are things that happen to us, things that we learn, and attitudes and concepts that we pick up along the way, especially from the younger time of our life, that affects our life the rest of our life. It is great when these things, attitudes and concepts are positive. For that we can be thankful. But, a lot of times these things are negative, and they have a negative impact on our life. One value of spending time in the Word of God and prayer is that it allows God to reveal these negative influences on us so that we can be freed of them. Negative influence brings negative results. With open honesty before God and being willing to “own up” to whatever He shows us, we can repent, we can turn from the operation of those negative influences and renounce them. Having done that, we can then ask the Lord to cleanse us and fill us with His Spirit. His Spirit brings the positive life and liberty of Jesus Christ in us and through us. One of the main things about the Spirit of God is that He bring liberty. He liberates us from fears, inhibitions, attitudes and concepts that hold us back from accomplishing in life that which we were made to accomplish. The Spirit of God in Christ Jesus brings abundant life. Focus. Kill the fly.