As a caregiver, I have a client named Billy. He is quadriplegic. He has a wonderful positive outlook on life being a believer in the Lord. He was a truck driver. He told me the story yesterday how his brakes failed on a hill while delivering a liquid load around Harrison, Arkansas—a mountainous region. He told how the situation was such that it reached the point that all he could do was say, “Jesus! Take the wheel.” He told how the load rocked from side to side on a two-lane road with a long curve, and there was no emergency truck ramp on that hill. It was a scary situation, but the Lord delivered him through it. He gives all the glory to God. I can freely preach the Word of healing to Billy. That’s good, because faith comes by hearing the Word. I can freely lay hands on Billy and pray according to what Jesus said, “they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:18). I guess I have prayed for him every time I have been with him as a fill-in caregiver. After I prayed for him yesterday, he said he was able to do some things with his right hand that he was not able to do. He said it is getting better. My encouragement to him was, “Let’s keep believing the Lord and looking to Him.” One thing for certain, if we don’t believe the Lord, we can be sure we won’t get anything from Him. I was reading in the book of Acts this morning and Peter preached on the day of Pentecost with great power—some believed and some did not. Did they quit preaching because some did not believe? No. The lame man lying at the temple gate was healed and went walking and leaping and praising God through the temple—some believed and some did not. Did they quit ministering healing because some did not believe? No, in fact, later on we see how healing increased because they kept on preaching how Jesus suffered for us. All the people were getting healed (Acts 5:16). That happened after there was some cleansing done in the church from some people who were lying to the Holy Ghost (Acts 5:1-11). Maybe a little cleansing in the church today would be good. That means all of us who are believers. But the Lord would encourage us to keep believing, keep preaching the Word, keep doing what we know to do and trust God to be God in our lives. Maybe our truck has been on a hill out of control because our brakes failed. The prayer is simple, “Jesus! Take the wheel.” If we don’t look to Him, He certainly can’t help us, but if we look to Him and call upon Him, and keep looking to Him and keep trusting Him, we have His promise that He will help us. As we are changed, we become recipients of His blessing.
Author: admin
preachJesus77
To Carry the King
Barbara keeps a collection of DVD movies for the grand kids. One of the year-round favorites is the animated movie entitled “The Star.” It tells the story of how a little donkey named “Bo” became the vehicle to carry the pregnant Mary to Bethlehem to have baby Jesus. I was sitting in the living room reading the other day while the movie was playing, and a statement in the movie caught my attention. “Look kid, we’re mill donkeys, we grind grain, we don’t carry kings.” This is what the older mill donkey said to Bo as they slowly walked in a monotonous circle. They were one behind the other attached to the turnstile going around and around grinding grain. Bo had peeked out of the barn through a knot hole and had gotten a glimpse of a star indicating something special. His bird friend, Dave told him of the king’s carriage passing nearby. By seeing this, Bo had high hopes that one day he would have the great privilege of pulling the king’s carriage. When he shared his dreams with his nay-sayer donkey companion, his aspirations were quickly and matter-of-factly squelched. Bo received no encouragement to fulfill his dream, and in time he lost all hope. However, what Bo had seen was planted deep within his heart. As circumstances would have it, Bo ended up a free donkey in a whole new world. Through much adversity things worked out so that which was in his heart began to unfold in his life. Bo chose to carry pregnant Mary rather than the caravan. He did not know until later that he was carrying Jesus, the King of Kings, to the place in which He would be born into this world. Some people have received a glimpse of more to be experienced in Christ. They have seen it through the portal of the Word of God. It is not presently happening. However, when the seed of the Word of God in our hearts is watered and given time, things in us and in our circumstances start changing. God works with His Word and Spirit to bring about that which He has for us. When doors open, and we see new opportunities for new experiences in the Lord, even in adversity, we are to prayerfully proceed forward. God has ordained that we carry Jesus, the King of Kings into this world for all to see, know and be blessed. He is the Christ, the Spirit-anointed Messiah-Deliverer for the salvation of all people in every way. As we live in Him, in His Spirit and in His anointing, we are the lowly “donkeys” who have the privilege of carrying the royalty of Jesus into the lives of those around us. This is God’s design for every believer. Allow God to work in your life that which He has placed in your heart. There is no greater honor and joy than to live in and share the presence of King Jesus with the whole world.
Receive All that God Has for Us
It is exciting to hear how students are yielding their lives to the Lord on various college campuses around the nation. They are repenting from sin and committing their lives to the Lord and being water baptized to show that commitment. Christian students are getting right with God and re-committing their lives to the Lord. This is wonderful. When I was enrolled at HSU in the late 60’s and early 70’s, I also took some courses at OBU on the credit exchange program. I had friends at both schools and I participated in activities at both schools, including the chapel services at OBU. In a small way, we experienced the same type thing as what is happening on some school campuses today. I know people today whose lives were influenced for the greater good from those meetings. Years later, in the 90’s, my wife and I were having home meetings for the students in our home in Arkadelphia. There was a revival of similar operation in a nearby town that drew the students from the two schools. They went there and experienced the presence of God leading them to repent and re-commit their lives to the Lord. As the students continued to attend the meetings, in time some were coming back and asking, “Okay, I’ve repented and repented. I have committed my life to the Lord and re-committed my life to the Lord. Now, where do we go from here?” We ministered the Word to those students, showing them from the Word how the early believers who repented and committed their lives to the Lord, being baptized in water, went on to receive the Holy Spirit with miraculous power upon their lives. In that power, they began taking the gospel to all people with signs and wonders following the preaching of the Word. Some of the students received that Word and some did not. Last Thursday, October 24, I received a facetime call with three of those young men who were in those meetings back in the 90’s. Two of them received the Word of “the way of God more perfectly,” the fulness of the Holy Spirit, at that time (Acts 18:26). For the other one, it was made real five years later. They have all been through “fire” and through “water,” but through it all, God has brought them to a wealthy place in Him (Psalms 66:12). They all are walking with the Lord and are still excited about the things of God, and they are guiding their children in the ways of God. For the students today, and for every person: If we stop short of receiving all that God has for us, then that is exactly where we are with the Lord—we are short of all He has for us. He wants us filled and running over with His power and His presence. It is plainly and simply stated in the Word of God. Read it. Receive it. Walk in it and be blessed in it.
Fight! Fight! Fight!
I quote from our President, who with fist raised after being grazed by a would-be assassin’s bullet, shouted: “Fight! Fight! Fight!” We need to fight for our nation with prayer and active involvement. First, we need to fight the fight of faith in prayer and action, that the true and powerful love of God be known in churches and in society as a whole. False concepts of God that shroud who He is and what He wants to accomplish, need to be pulled down. Any religious doctrine or practice that impedes His working in our midst is to be laid aside so God can be the unlimited, powerful God who He is in our lives. We live in a predicted time in which there would be a “form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:5). From this we need deliverance. We need the Holy Spirit power found in the Bible operating in our lives today that reveals the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not religion. It is a life-changing encounter with the Living God that imparts the power of God to us to bring about healing and real, godly change in our lives and in the lives of people around us. Next, we need to fight with prayer and action for liberty to be maintained. All the social, religious, political, and military ramifications involved in our nation having and maintaining liberty are to be addressed. Open doors (borders) are to be shut, and closed doors of subversive political ideologies that are established and working to undermine our liberty are to be exposed and their power dismantled. Thirdly, we need to fight with prayer and action for our children and young people. The children are the future of our nation. In Moses’ day, there was an attack to kill the children. In the time of Jesus’ birth and the first years of His life, there was an attack to kill the children. Today, there is an attack on the children. Mental and emotional disorders abound, no discipline, drugs, abortion, divided and dysfunctional families, identity crises, perverse instruction and influence in schools and in society as a whole, and on and on it goes. There is an all-out war against the welfare of our children at every level. “Fight, fight, fight!” Fight to walk in the true love of God. Fight to obtain and maintain liberty in the Lord and in our nation. Fight for our precious children to give them the inheritance they are designed for and that they deserve. It all starts with believing prayer. It then unfolds in our hearts as instruction and understanding. Then it graduates to obedience to take action as the Lord leads. As we each walk with the Lord in this way, we will see change in our own lives and in the lives of those around us. And this is what it is all about. Being changed into His likeness and fighting the good fight of faith. That is our solution.
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By the Authority of the Contract
A friend of mine is the recording secretary for the United Steel Workers Union. He related a conversation he had with another official who was questioning him on why he did certain things as he carried out the responsibilities of his office. He explained to the questioning party that he simply read and studied the contract and did things according to the agreed terms. If there were any questions about why or how things are done, all that had to be done was to go back to the written agreement to see what is already established, and that would settle any questions. The agreements that had already been negotiated and put into writing served as the final authority for the guidelines to follow, the procedures to be taken and the benefits provided. As my friend shared this with us, we saw that it was a clear illustration of what God has done for us for our benefit. Man messed up. Man can’t get out of the mess he got himself into. Man is headed for eternal separation from the goodness and presence of God. God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have negotiated among themselves. They came to an agreement to defeat sin, self, sickness, death and the devil for the benefit of man. Jesus agreed to come to earth to be in total identification with man. By His total identification with man, He totally reversed the plight man got himself into. He totally defeated the forces working against man. God, who cannot lie, swore by Himself and put it in a written contract, that this is what he would do. We have that written contract that covers the unveiling of God’s negotiations and provisions and benefits. It is the Holy Bible. If there are questions about what God has provided and the guidelines and procedures that are required to obtain the benefits He has provided, we can read about it right there in the Bible. Plus, He promised to provide His Spirit to be our Helper to assist us in understanding and carrying out the terms of the contract. As we turn from our sin and from our way of doing things, we receive His way of life by faith. The Spirit of Jesus the Spirit-anointed Savior, comes into us. By yielding our life completely to Him, His contract works with supernatural power to help us to live in victory. This is clearly stated and demonstrated in the contract. As we give ourselves to meet the terms and conditions of the contract, we receive the benefits. If we fail to meet the terms and conditions, and we fail to carry out the stipulations and procedures outlined in the contract, then we miss the benefits. We experience less than what has already been provided for us. Jesus has secured abundant life for us in every way. If we will live our life by the contract, by God’s authority we can live freely now and forever.
To Catch a Lizard
We recently enjoyed a beautiful fall day playing Putt-Putt Golf. Barb won the first round a couple of weeks back. I won this round. We have one more round awaiting us in the future for the play-off. Then we will determine who is the grand champion—until the next three rounds. We had a man and his son playing behind us. The boy was about ten years old. We would make our shots then watch their shots. It was fun seeing the “skill level” of each person. While waiting on our next move forward to the next hole, I noticed a little green lizard crawling up a fence rail. Barb and I brought the young boy’s attention to it. I calmly said, “I will catch it.” Barb, the boy and his father watched, perhaps with a little skepticism, as to my ability to catch the lizard. But they all stood there and watched as I wiggled my right-hand fingers a little distance in front of the little green reptile. I knew I had his attention focused on my wiggling fingers, so I brought my left hand from a distance around to his back side and quickly and gently pinned him against the fence rail. I think our new friends marveled a little bit at the adroit move that captured fella. The dad verbally re-played the move, taking note on exactly how I did it. I just said, “I’ve had lots of experience,” which I have. As a kid in the country, I learned how to do this and have caught countless little critters. When you get their attention on what is in front of them, you can make your move. King David got his attention on Bathsheba, and wham! He was caught in sin and murder. He paid dearly for allowing himself to be distracted from his mission. That is the operation of our flesh man, and it is the operation of the enemy of our soul. The devil does not want us to have a successful life in the Lord. Flesh is easily distracted and the devil is cunning and persistent. He will make sure something is set before us and our weakness that he can use to get our attention so he can ensnare us. That is not hocus-pocus; that is just a fact of life. This is why we as believers must be filled with the Spirit and wisdom of God. We must be wise to how our flesh operates, and we must be wise to how there are spiritual entities who work against God’s work in our life. Jesus paid the price to take our sins away and fill us with His Spirit and wisdom. In this way we have power over our flesh and over the devil. We don’t have to be distracted and ensnared by the lusts of the flesh and the devices of the devil. The good news of Jesus includes the power of God to live a successful life in the Lord.
Punch the Right Button
We have been engaged in a plethora of hospital visits for others. Navigating in hospitals requires elevator rides, unless you decide to get your daily stairs work out. Elevator rides require pushing the buttons that will take you to the desired floor. Perhaps I am the only one who has this challenge, but when I am looking at a panel of buttons in an elevator, I have to really look to push the right button. Most of the time I get there and push the colored button that has a number on it. I guess the stainless-steel button just blends in to me on the stainless-steel panel. My attention is drawn to the colored indicator button, so without thinking, I often push the indicator button. More than once, I have done that and just stood there for a moment waiting for something to happen. If my mind is busy thinking about something else and I wait long enough, finally the door will close and I am still just standing there. By then my attention is drawn to the fact the elevator is just sitting there and not going anywhere. Then, I purposely search for the right button and punch it, getting my journey underway. In a busy time, the door will close and you will go somewhere, but not the floor of choice. So, when I get to the elevator, I study the panel of buttons and pull my attention away from the colorful buttons and punch the stainless-steel button of the floor of choice. That gets me where I want to go. That probably does not apply to every elevator at every hospital, but I know it does apply to some. I have embarrassed myself before, laughing at myself, by punching the wrong button and just standing there waiting for something to happen. If we want to get to our desired location in life, we’ve got to punch the right buttons. Sometimes we are attracted to the brightly colored buttons that don’t take us toward our destination. That’s when we need to back up and study the panel board to choose the button that is hooked to our desired floor. It might not be colorful. It might just blend with the daily grind and discipline of life, but it is connected to where we want to go. That’s the button to punch. It is the same with the things of God. We might have punched a button that is taking us nowhere, while we are desiring more. Study the panel board. Study the Word. What does the Word say in plain language? Punch in with God what the Word says. God is faithful to his Word. The Holy Spirit works with the Word. Jesus is the anointed Word who is come in the flesh. By the same operation of God through faith, the Spirit-anointed Jesus can come into your spirit man who lives in your flesh man. Christ living in you will take you where you want to go.
Be Alive and Thrive!
Barb’s sister, Betty, has a house plant, a Golden Pothos, that she has kept in the house for years. It was in a location in which it was alive, but it did not grow and thrive. It was just one little stalk with a few leaves, and it did not grow anymore. It just sat there alive, but it was just the same oh same oh with no growth. In cleaning and re-arranging some things in the house, she decided to just get rid of it. She was going to give it to someone else who likes plants and flowers, thinking maybe she could do something with it. She set the plant out on the open, covered back porch, and as life rocked on and other priorities took place, it was there for a while. The new location proved to be very “inspirational” for the plant. There was an abundance of indirect sunlight and fresh air. Life was all around the plant. It probably caught a little blowing rain every once in a while. Anyway, the plant took off. It started growing, and growing and growing. Now it has grown out of the barriers of the walls of the pot. Now it has branches lying on the deck around the pot. With the indirect sunlight and open air, it is flourishing and beautiful. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalms 91:1). In the sixteen verses of that Psalm we read how the person who abides under the shadow of the Almighty flourishes in every way unto long life. It is a matter of location. Isn’t that the important thing in successful real estate and business? Location. Location. Location. We might be alive in the Lord Jesus, but are we flourishing? Are we growing and the influence of the Lord spreading through us in a positive way to others? In that “secret place,” in that personal space with God, we bask in the light of the Son and His accomplished work for us. We move freely in the wind of the Spirit with no inhibitions. As we stay in that place with God in our spirit man, we grow, and grow and grow. We have the Lord as our light and our salvation– “whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life” (Psalms 27:1). The blood of Jesus is our cleansing and freedom from condemnation. His Spirit is our life and power. His Word is our guide and wisdom. The beating He took is our healing and health. The light of the Son causes us to flourish. It is a matter of location. If we dwell in the secret place, abiding in Him, we can live in His life and power. If we are in a dark corner, we might be alive, but we are not flourishing. God wants you to flourish. Get in that place with Him not to just be alive, but thrive!
Seasons
In walking around behind the shop, I noticed a generous accumulation of gum balls lying on the ground. I raked the summer’s accumulation up just the other day. It’s the fall of the year already. Another year is sliding by. There will be more raking to be done. I’ve got to rake them up. It is precarious to walk. It feels like you are about to slip and fall. There are different things to do in different seasons. The mulching attachment on the mower helps tremendously with the leaves as they fall. There is grass to deal with in the Spring and Summer. There are these leaves and gumballs in the fall and into the winter. The other day Barb mentioned she would like a “snowman snow” this year. We have occasional snow and extreme freezing conditions to deal with in the winter, and lots of rain-slick roads. Then making full circle back around to Spring it starts all over again. However, each season has its own unique beauty. In Spring we have the flowers and the new and vibrant growth. In the Summer we have the warm out-doors-play-in-the-sun weather. It’s a great time for vacations, beaches, hikes! In the Fall we have the beautiful foliage and pleasant, moderating temperatures. In Winter we have the snow—when we have it. Here in Arkansas, we have a wide variety of seasons to enjoy, or to put up with. It depends on our attitude. Life happens in seasons. Different seasons carry different responsibilities. Some seasons require more work. Some seasons provide a rest and recreation. Some seasons provide an ideal beauty. Regardless of the season we are presently living in, there is a common denominator that will help guide us in every season. We can trust God and give Him praise in the good times, and we can trust God and give Him praise in the bad times. We don’t have to live in fear. We don’t have to worry or be dismayed. God is good and has good things for us all. Trust Him. Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” At God’s “righteous right hand” is His Son, Jesus. He is the Christ, the Spirit-anointed Messiah, who paid the price on the cross to save us in every way. He was raised from death to give us the power of His Spirit in everyday life. As we commit all things to Him each day, and as we receive His life and the power of His Spirit into our life each day, He will be with us in every season. With Him the good times are better, and with Him there is peace and strength in the bad times. Get excited about your present season. With Christ working in our life, we are ever changing into His image from glory to glory!
Enjoy What Is Available
We had a wonderful vacation at Orange Beach, Alabama. It was a combination vacation and celebration of Barbara’s birthday. As a birthday gift, her daughters and spouses all chipped in and paid our way for us all to stay in a luxury condominium right on the sugar white sandy beach. Her family likes to do things together, so with the roomy condo, we were all very comfortable together. We were able to eat together in the condo, and of course, we all went out to eat together at surrounding restaurants. We enjoyed the fine food at Mike’s Steak House. While waiting to get our table at Mike’s, I explored some of the grassy areas at the edge of the marshy woods at the rear of the restaurant. That’s where I discovered a very large cottonmouth coiled up taking it easy at the edge of the blackwater marsh. I got his picture and shared it with the waiting group for some interesting conversation while we continued to wait. The food and service were great. We discovered The Hangout, and boy was it good! With crab legs and other great dishes, that was a great time. There were other delicious times, but the beach was the main attraction. Playing in the waves was great fun. Marveling at the beauty and vastness of God’s creation was awesome. Just walking on the beach and discovering all kinds of shells and various ocean wildlife is intriguing. I was able to video a pelican as he walked on the beach and jumped in the crashing waves and came out with a white fish about a foot long. That was early one morning before sunrise, so I watched him swallow that fish whole for his breakfast treat. We enjoyed a night walk on the beach at just the time a man fishing caught a large sting ray. He managed to get it to shore, but not before it broke his rod. We caught that on the camera phone. He pulled the hook and turn him loose. There was much more, which made up for a great vacation. Here’s the deal: if we just sit day after day in our known religious box, we can be missing a lot of life that is available to us in the Spirit of God. The Bible is our travel guide. You can read what all is available to anyone who will venture out to believe God. You can’t just sit there and read about it and talk about it and wish about it. You must commit your life to get in there and discover it for yourself. It is plain as day. There are wonderful things to experience in the Lord. Don’t let some spiritually blind and dumb man or woman tell you otherwise. The ocean waves are crashing on the beach right now as we speak. God’s provisions are operating right now as we speak. Jesus paid for them all. By commitment and faith, you can receive them for yourself.