Walking With Jesus

The Safe Room

“I have given them Your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.” (John 17:14-15 NLT)

On May 20, 2013 the 2013 Moore tornado struck two public schools during school hours, the second of which was Plaza Towers Elementary. The winds peaked at over 200 mph, killing 24 people and injuring more than 200. Ron Hutchcraft mentioned this storm in one of his recent articles when he wrote: “I’m still thinking about the woman who got her kids from the soon-to-be demolished school just in time and reached her home just in time to get everyone into their recently-built safe room. It was all that was left when the storm passed by. I loved what she said about rebuilding her house. ‘I’ll build it around the safe room.’ That’s a good idea. Not just for a house, but for a life.”

Regardless of where you live, I hope you realize that a violent “storm” with extremely evil intent is roaring through our nations, cities, and homes today. This “storm” is claiming the lives of millions, among them are children and young people who don’t have a clue as to what awaits them until one unexpecting day, like the tornado that leveled much of Moore, Oklahoma, they are swooped away into the hands of men and women who violate them in ways most of our minds can’t even imagine. In light of the evil present in our world today, if the Lord doesn’t come soon, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.

In the verse above, Jesus used the word “world” (“kosmos”) which can refer to the literal physical world, but can also, refer, as Strong’s outlines: “the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments, riches, advantages, pleasures, etc., which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ.”

The world to which Jesus refers isn’t simply the sun, moon, stars, etc., but the underlying level of evil that permeates the life we live from day to day. We get glimpses in the news, but just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. So, as followers of Jesus, what can we do?

Like the family in Moore, Oklahoma who ran to their “safe room,” we must stand fast in the safety of our living Savior. And please don’t hear what I’m not saying. Knowing Jesus doesn’t protect us from many of the calamities of life, we can expect those. God uses our trials and troubles to build our faith. What I’m talking about is the security of our life in Christ.

We’ve got to know that if a stray bullet shatters our brain, or a “texting” driver plows into our car, or our heart stops without warning, or a tornado sweeps us up, we’re ready to close our eyes in death here and open them in the presence of the living Christ. We have no guarantees of even the next second, but if we have intimacy with Jesus, we can have certainty of our home in heaven, where we’ll be safe for all eternity.

It’s frightening, but necessary for us to know if we’re not walking faithfully with the Lord, that there is no “safe room” for us after this life, only the prospect of an eternity of torment away from the loving Savior who extends an invitation to come to Him, and who has His arms open wide to receive us. But if you miss Him on earth, there’s no second chances in eternity.

Read carefully the words of the great preacher C. H. Spurgeon: “Here is a rock to stand on, a safe resting place for those who trust in Jesus. As for you who do not trust him, your blood is upon your own heads! If you do not trust him, you have no part nor lot in this matter, you shall go down to your own punishment to bear it yourselves; the wrath of God abides on you; you shall find that the blood of Jesus has made no atonement for your sins. You have rejected the invitation that was given, and put far from you the cross of Christ, and upon your heads the pardoning blood shall never drop, and for you it shall never plead, but you must perish under the law, seeing you refuse to be saved under the gospel.” (C. H. Spurgeon Sermon No. 694, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 12, p. 318. {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 694, “Sin Laid on Jesus” 685 @@ “11.”} {See GrkEng 3956})

If you don’t know the forgiveness of sin that only Jesus can provide, please click this link and find hope and help in Jesus today. The Bridge to God | Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.

Blessings, Ed

Listening for the Voices

“So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 3:7-8 NLT)

Troubles and suffering are common to mankind. No one is immune to natural disasters – hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, freezing temperatures, and many more – plus the stress of daily life in this world gives cause to fear and worry, but also, for those of us who are Jesus followers, heightened sensitivity to the needs of others.

We don’t often stop to think about how much our faithfulness may encourage and bless others. Have you ever been discouraged, but God brings to your remembrance a brother or sister in the Lord who is just so solid in their faith it encourages you to keep moving forward?

There was a man in a church I served who was that kind of person. John was a man after God’s own heart. He was in his 80’s when we met, but his faithfulness and leadership weren’t daunted by his age or physical condition. He served faithfully on the elder board and sang every Sunday he was able. It was my joy as his pastor to sit and listen while he went over his song before the service.

I won’t lie to you, I struggled serving that small church, not because of the people, but because of the oppressive spirits that seemed to fight against us. But listening to John’s beautiful, strong voice as he lifted praises to the Lord he loved with his whole being, encouraged me and nudged me ever closer to the Lord. Hopefully, you have a man like John in your life to lift your spirits and keep you looking heavenward as you face your daily struggles with life.

In one of Ron Hutchcraft’s recent devotions he wrote: “I was touched, too, by the directive given by the rescuers at the leveled Plaza Towers Elementary School. Knowing there were children in that rubble, the first responders asked everyone to just be quiet, ‘So we can listen for voices.’ That’s what I want to be better at; stopping the chatter so I can listen for the voices of people in trouble. They’re all around us, if we have ears to hear their cries. They’ve been buried by one of life’s violent storms. It’s easy to miss them if we’re running so fast we run right by them. God, help me listen for their voices.”

Photo by Sanej Prasad Suwal on Pexels.com

John was a man who “listened for the voices” of those who were under the rubble of life’s attacks, so he could be a voice of encouragement and hope. We need those kinds of people in our lives, but we also need to be those kinds of people. We need to often ask the Lord to sensitize our spirits to those who are crying out around us.

When digging through literal rubble, every step needs to be taken with caution, because a wrong step could mean life or death to someone who is trapped. With no effort to be melodramatic, we need to step lightly in some of our circles of friends. There may be someone “trapped” under the unbearable load of an addiction or oppressive spirit that is choking the life out of their spirit.

Yes, of course, we can be critical and judgmental, after all, “they’re believers and believers shouldn’t act like that.” I once lived in my spiritual “ivory tower,” until Satan’s attack left me vulnerable after I was the one who had miserably failed. How grateful I was and am for people of God who can see through our faults to our needs, and extend a helping hand to lift us up, brush us off, and walk with us on our healing journey.

There’s far too much anger and hostility in the world in which we live. Let us, as friends of the One who loved so much He gave, be ever attentive to the voices of those who are crying out in desperate need of someone to help them up and to patiently and lovingly walk with them through their time of need.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

A Life Without Worry?

“So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing – except what kind of food to eat!” (Genesis 39:6)

Can you imagine a life without worry? If you can, that’s a great start to reaching your goal of a worry-free life. Worry is like a person mowing their lawn in 80 degree weather hoping they won’t freeze to death. You say: “That’s silly!” Yes, it is – exactly my point!

In the verse above, Potiphar, is the one who bought Joseph, Jacob’s youngest son, after he was sold to the Ishmaelite traders by his brothers. He was captain of the guard for Pharoah, the king of Egypt. Why would he place so much confidence in a young Jewish man? Because he proved himself worthy over time.

For those of you who are worriers, think about that for a second. Joseph was a complete stranger to Potiphar when he was purchased. Potiphar didn’t care if he was a Jew or a rubber band, as long as he did what he was told, but after a while Joseph proved completely trustworthy. Do you know anyone like that? I do. His name is Jesus, and He’s never failed me in any way, and I have full confidence He never will.

Jesus is completely trustworthy, innocent of any accusations, perfect, and absolutely without fault. He’s never told a lie and never will. He’s never made a promise He hasn’t kept or won’t soon keep. He’s never disappointed anyone who has placed their trust in Him. So, my obvious question then becomes, why wouldn’t you trust Him with your little, measly life?

David Powlison wrote: “Jesus promises that life is more than your worries.” A life riddled with worry is like trying to catch water in a rusty can with holes in the bottom. Even if you manage to catch some, it wouldn’t be advisable to drink it.

“An Ever-Present Help” “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

Jesus is the living water who alone gives life. To the extent you allow Satan to fill your mind and heart with worry about things that don’t really matter in light of eternity, to that extent you’re going to miss the blessings of fully trusting your Master and Friend.

So, what do you do with your worry? Are you sitting down? Hold on to something because this is heavy! You give it to Jesus! Is there anything He can’t handle? Of course, there isn’t! What are your “hot” topics that cause you the most concern? Money? Health? Lost loved ones? Relationships? Work? Whatever it is, rather than stew in your own “juices,” ask the Lord to give you the peace only He can.

After my divorce I struggled to find work. I searched far and wide, but the only door that opened was a sales position at an auto dealership. Training was painful because I had to share everything I made with my trainer. The low point of my life was when I opened the envelope with a check for my previous two weeks pay. After taxes and other deductions I had $19.26 to live on for the next two weeks.

I was driving a new Cadillac, provided by the dealership, but couldn’t afford the gas for it. I could have papered my walls with eviction notices, but God always made a way. I remember walking to the rental office, as I did most every month, trying to think of something to say that might prevent them from making me move. I literally had no money and no way imaginable to pay my month’s rent.

But as I opened the door to the office the young woman was smiling when she said: “Mr. Hager, you don’t have to worry about your rent this month, it’s been paid for you.”

Folks, I assure you, whatever your worry, Jesus has already taken care of it. Just relax, trust Him, and let Him work. It will build your faith and add years to your life.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What’s Your Motivation to Obey?

“The disciples were amazed, ‘Who is this man?’ they asked. ‘Even the winds and waves obey Him!’” (Matthew 8:27 NLT)

Obedience to God’s directives is a vital issue. In John 15:14 Jesus said to His disciples: “You are my friends if you do what I command.” That raises the question, “Can you be a Jesus follower and not obey Him?” Which raises another question: “If you want to follow Him, why wouldn’t you want to obey Him.”

When I began my walk with the Lord, I was ignorant of much of the Bible, I knew very little theology, I had developed no spiritual disciplines, and had no real clue as to how to behave as a believer. All I knew was that Jesus loved me, died for me, and was asking me to follow Him. Everything else would have to come in time. That was nearly 60 years ago.

What motivated me then was His love. He forgave me, lifting the weight of guilt and shame I carried, freeing me to see for the first time that I had potential to be and do things I never dared dream I could. What often deters people from following Jesus is their fear that they’ll miss too much “fun.”

Rick Warren wrote: “When I was a kid in high school, a guy came up to me and said, ‘You’re restricted.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Because you’re a Christian. You can’t do any of the fun stuff the rest of us do.’ I looked him in the eye and said, ‘I could take all the drugs I want to take. I could get stoned all I want to get stoned. I could drink all I want to drink. I could go to all the parties I want to go to. I could go to bed with as many women as I want. But here’s the difference: Jesus changed my want to.’”

I love that! I don’t obey out of a sense of obligation or the result of guilt, fear or condemnation. No, it’s a privilege I enjoy and seek because my “want to” now is to please and honor the One who laid down His life in my place. My motivation to obey is the nail pierced hands and feet of my Savior, and the wound in His holy side.

No one made Jesus die for us. It was His choice. Why? Because He knew He was the only One qualified to take our place. Because of His sinless life, He was the perfect “Lamb of God” who alone could take away the sin of the world.

What’s your motivation? Or are you still enamored by the lusts of the flesh? May I be honest? Satan is a liar and all this world offers is a mirage. What you’re seeing and believing is that what is material is eternal, but it’s not. Nothing of this world can satisfy the hunger of your soul for the only One who can fill that God-shaped vacuum in you. His name is Jesus, and He died in your place! It was me and you who deserved to be on that cross, not Him.

Ron Hutchcraft, though I’ve never met Him, as a brother in Christ, I love and appreciate him. He says nothing will ever change in anyone’s life until they look at the Cross of Christ and say these two words: “for me!” You can chase after the trinkets of this world until your dying breathe and never experience the joy, freedom, hope, and passion that can only be found in Jesus. But He’s a gentleman and will never force you to follow Him.

Today, allow your spirit to stop long enough to look into the face of the Man who died in your place. View the blood dripping down His face as the crown of thorns, rips into His sacred head. View with your eyes of faith the only One whose sacrifice matters. Why? Because only Jesus could pay the death penalty our sin demands.

Romans 6:23 says: “For the wages of sin is death.” Wages is paid for what we’ve earned. It’s the payment for what we deserve. And sin’s wage is the death of our soul for all eternity. Why so long? Because it’s a debt we owe that we couldn’t pay even if we had all eternity. But the rest of the verse says: “but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

My motivation for obedience is gratitude for all Jesus did for me that I could never in eternity ever have done for myself. How about you? What’s your motivation?

Blessings, Ed 😊

Faith and Feeling

“When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to those who were following Him, He said, ‘I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!’” (Matthew 8:10 NLT)

When I first began to follow Jesus there was a small tract that had a drawing of a train with an engine, one car and a caboose. On the engine was written “Faith,” the middle car had the word “Facts,” and the caboose carried the word “Feelings.”

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8a: “For by grace your have been saved through faith…” The writer of the Hebrew letter writes in 11:6a: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him…” There are dozens of other verses that share the same point, but my point is – there is no salvation, no growth or development, no confidence in our walk with Jesus without faith.

We’re saved by faith, we walk by faith, we’ll inherit eternal life by faith. Every inch of progress we make as a child of God depends on faith, but it’s not just faith in a general sense. Faith as a believer must center, grow, develop, and fully depend on Christ and Christ alone.

In Christian Faith, it’s not faith plus anything. It’s faith alone, in Christ alone. What’s my point? Like the “train” illustration above, faith is what “pulls” the train, but it’s not “blind” faith in an unknown. Our faith as followers of Jesus is an intelligent deduction based on historical facts that prove themselves in and through our life’s journey.

Jesus is an historical figure whose identity can be verified by extrabiblical sources. That He walked the pathways of this earth is easily proven. His miraculous birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension was witnessed by hundreds of people. The writings of the New Testament chronicled easily identifiable dates, locations, and people as they shared the story of our Savior.

All of which give evidence that our faith is clearly in verifiable facts, not simply emotionally stirred feelings. Craig Groeschel wrote: “Feelings are not necessarily evidence of the presence of God. If you always felt God, you wouldn’t need faith.”

Corporate worship is great, but the stirring music and powerful messages aren’t what sustains our faith. Small group meetings and corporate gatherings to learn and pray together aren’t what our walk with Jesus is dependent upon. While all those things help and encourage us, foundationally, seeing Jesus with our eye of faith, placing our trust for eternal life solely in Him, and walking confidently that He is who He claimed to be and will do what He claimed He will do – one day return to take us home to heaven – these are the cornerstones of our faith.

You can have closeness to Jesus without emotion, but you can’t be certain that emotion is evidence of His presence. Why is that important to know? Because we’re emotionally oriented beings. We too often depend on certain emotions to que us to certain behavior and/or certain beliefs, that if missing we may doubt exist.

For example, we can leave church thinking, “I just wasn’t feeling it today!” with the clear implication, “God didn’t show up today.” Or we have a burden and we pray and ask God to do something, but we feel no affirmation, so we conclude either He’s not listening or we’re not praying the right way.

I learned a long time ago, if you do the right thing, you’ll feel the right way. What does that mean? It means emotion follows faith, not the other way around. We are too often driven by how we feel, when God’s plan is for us to be driven by our faith in Him.

May we be driven by faith like the Roman soldier in the above verse, who had absolute confidence that Jesus would do what He said, without any evidence but His faith in the person and character of Jesus.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Getting Your Life Back

“If you try to hang on to your life, your will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:25-26 NLT)

One day our body will stop living, but, if we belong to Jesus, that will simply be the day we kiss life’s struggles goodbye. Eternal life is never in question. Everyone will live forever, it’s only a matter of where. The soul is the center of life, the part of us that will never die. It’s the seat of our feelings, desires, affections, and aversions. How can anyone place a value on that?

Yet, the implication of what Jesus is saying is that all the world and everything in it isn’t worth as much as our soul. Does that ring any bells? Remember in Luke 4 when Jesus was being tempted? Satan first tempted Jesus with bread, because He was starving, but remember what his second approach was? Luke 4:5-7 says: “Then the devil took Him up and revealed to Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ‘I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,’ the devil said, ‘because they are mine to give to anyone I please. ‘I will give it all to You if You will worship me.’”

Do you realize that’s the same temptation Satan puts before us every day? And the reason we’re so inclined to take the devil up on his offer is because it sounds so satisfying to our soul. Why? Because we love ourselves supremely. We want what makes us feel good, look good, give everyone the best impression of us, but mostly, we want people to envy us and want what we have.

Photo by Jose Francisco Fernandez Saura on Pexels.com

That’s everything the world offers and the only thing we have to do is worship the one who controls it. That’s why Jesus calls us to stop trying to hang on to our life. We must choose! We can’t hold onto Jesus with one hand and the devil with the other. And that’s the choice we make every day. Lysa Terkeurst wrote? “Sometimes to get your life back, you have to face the death of what you thought your life would look like.”

Every day Satan is pulling us towards the glitter and glory of a life of sin. It’s what our human nature longs for, and the only way to have the strength and courage to say no to ourselves is to learn to love Jesus and long for His presence more than anything else. Do you know why that works? Because there’s nothing this world can ever offer that feels better and is more satisfying to our soul than God’s presence.

In a recent Turning Point devotion David Jeremiah wrote:“Meister Eckhart was a medieval German preacher whose principal subject was the presence of God. He said: ‘I am as sure as I live that nothing is so near to me as God. God is nearer to me than I am to myself; my existence depends on the nearness and the presence of God.’”

The longer I walk with Jesus the more I long for His presence. My soul shouts with Paul: “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.” Why? Because my soul will finally be at rest in the eternal presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

If you want you life back, you have to give it to Jesus and trust Him to do what only He can do in, for, and on your behalf. You have to bid farewell to the world and everything it offers, because nothing it offers compares with knowing, loving, serving, and worshipping Jesus with everything we are and everything we ever hope to be.

He IS our life! He IS our health! He IS our source of everything we need to be everything He desires us to be. There is nothing that compares with walking closely with Him, knowing that despite anything the devil can through our way “overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

Let your life go. Place it in God’s capable and holy hands. You will literally NEVER regret it!

Blessings, Ed 😊

Is Conversion a Good Thing?

“Jesus called a little child to Him and put the child among them. Then He said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.’” (Matthew 18:3-4 NLT)

Conversion is one of those terms that cause people to cringe, largely because they don’t understand what it means. According to Strong’s Concordance it means: “to turn, return, turn again,” with specific reference to the Biblical usage which is: “to turn to the worship of the true God; to cause to return, to bring back to the love and obedience to God; to love wisdom and righteousness.”

Like so many other dimensions of the Christian faith, conversion begins with us, each of us individually. I can’t convert another person. We don’t have the power to change another person’s heart or mind. We can certainly pray for and speak with those who need the Lord, thus influencing them, but the decision to turn to Christ is an individual decision, prompted by the Holy Spirit, with the express intention that someone will yield their life and allegiance to Jesus.

When understood in that light, conversion is a great thing; however, somewhat dependent upon the tradition in which a person is “converted,” it may come with a lot of baggage, so much so, a person could be “converted,” and still miss Christ. Church is a family of believers who have trusted Jesus for salvation and are headed to heaven to live together for all eternity.

In heaven we’ll all be perfect and our relationships will reflect that perfection, but while we’re on this earth, we’re far from perfect and our relationships often reflect our imperfection. What that can look like is a list of rules and regulations, which may align in part with Biblical instruction, but end up looking a lot like what the Jewish believers in Jesus tried to cast on the gentiles (non-Jewish) who were becoming believers in Jesus.

Things like dress codes, language, movies, church attendance, friendships, and so forth. The goal was to be separated from the world and aligned with Christ; however, the legalism can become the measure as to whether a person is even a believer. Non-Christian cults fit into this, but even within the Body of Christ, there are groups that emphasize “holiness” that is more man-made and man-centered, than Holy Spirit led and focused on modeling Jesus’ life and teachings.

Jared C. Wilson wrote: “Conversion to Christ produces true religion. Conversion to religion produces the same old self-righteousness.” “True religion,” as I understand what Wilson is saying, is centered and focused on Jesus; seeking to model our lives after His, not simply in how He interrelated with others, but His personal piety, His love for the Father, evidenced by His devotion to prayer; His love of the Scriptures, His love of everyone He met and with whom He had contact – yes, even those who crucified Him.

Conversion is a decision that we must make in response to the Holy Spirit’s invitation, but it’s not intended to lead us to disciplines that put the emphasis on ourselves – i.e. OUR faithfulness; OUR disciplined Bible reading/study, OUR extended prayer time, OUR unblemished attendance record, or OUR sacrificial giving and serving.

Jesus said to “Seek first His Kingdom and righteousness…” That implies giving Him the highest priority and ordering our lives around His will and desires. And, yes, of course, that should result in disciplines that enable us to form godly habits, that ultimately serve to exalt and honor Him, not us. Conversion to that life of obedient surrender to Him is what the Bible calls us to.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Are You Praying Safe Prayers?

“Don’t you realize that I could ask My Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and He would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now? (Matthew 26:53-54 NLT)

Prayer is the most powerful force on earth, yet we often treat it like a child’s security blanket. It’s like we don’t want it to get “dirty.”

When Jesus spoke the words in the verses above, He was in the garden of Gethsemane with His disciples. Judas had brought a few soldiers, armed with swords and clubs, and others to arrest Jesus, but at first, Peter pulled his sword and was going to try to protect Jesus. The end result, had that happened, would likely have been the death of the very men Jesus had trained to carry out His mission to the world.

Whenever Jesus prayed, He was fully aware of the consequences of the actions He was asking God to take on His or someone else’s behalf. He knew without a doubt that His Father in heaven would instantly answer, regardless of what He asked. How did He know that? He was His only Son, and He knew the heart of the Father better than anyone.

That’s why Jesus, in His earlier request prayed: “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from Me.” But then added: “Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine.” We often mistakenly believe that we should add to each of our prayers: “If it be Your will!” What have we done when we pray like that? We’ve prayed “safe prayers.” We’ve given ourselves an out. If it’s not answered we can say: “Oh, I guess it wasn’t God’s will!”

Am I suggesting we shouldn’t pray in line with God’s will? Of course we should! But we often pray bold and courageous prayers, only to nullify everything we’ve prayed by adding “If it be Your will!” That’s not what Jesus prayed. Jesus clearly stated exactly what He wanted His Father to do, then He added: “Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine.”

That’s why it’s so important to seek the Lord BEFORE we pray, so we CAN pray in line with what we already know is God’s will, either because it’s clearly recorded in His Word, or He’s given us clarity in our heart and mind.

For example, let’s say a loved one who is not a believer is deathly ill. You’re the “go-to” person for prayer in your family or circle of friends, so you’re asked to pray. You know that you’re the only person in the room who is a Jesus-follower, so you quickly ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you pray, then you ask the Lord to heal your loved one, restoring her to complete health, including giving her insight into her great need of forgiveness from her sin.

You don’t have to say, “If it be Your will!” because you know with certainty that it’s not God’s will that anyone perish, “but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) Now it’s in God’s hands. What if your loved one isn’t healed? Then you keep praying.

One conclusion I’ve come to in my old age: I want to pray prayers that if not answered make me look foolish, but when answered make my Savior look like the awesome God that He is. Our faith needs to be squarely and fully in the God of the Bible to do what only He can do – the impossible! So, please don’t be afraid of being embarrassed if He doesn’t answer like you prayed.

Pastor Bryan Loritts said: “Stop praying safe prayers guarding yourself from being disappointed by God. Pray in faith.” God has very broad shoulders and can handle our disappointment if things don’t go as we’ve asked. Bold, courageous prayers are a work in progress and, sure, we may not always get it right, but more and more we will, giving greater honor and praise to the only One who is deserving.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Happiness Dilemma

“From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.” (Malachi 3:15 NLT)

It’s not uncommon for believers to feel they are caught in the proverbial “cross hairs” when it comes to wealth and material possessions. When we’re young in the faith it seems wrong that those who have no apparent knowledge or concern about following Jesus or living to His honor have everything this world can offer, especially if we’re struggling to make ends meet.

We work hard to do well at our jobs, but it seems it’s never enough. Every time we think we have a shot at getting ahead the car breaks down or the washer gives out or the kids need braces. “All we want is a little bit of happiness. Is that asking too much?”

That was the cry of my heart when I was young in the faith and just starting out in marriage. It took a long time, certainly longer than it should have, for me to finally grasp that happiness isn’t a byproduct of money or possessions, it grows out of my dependence upon the Lord and my pursuit of His glory and fame.

The bottom line to me, especially in this season of my life is this: wherein lies my deepest pleasure? Why is that so important? Augustine understood when he wrote: “Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; where your treasure is, there is your heart; where your heart is, there is your happiness.”

It’s so tempting to look at the outward evidence of the lives of those who aren’t following Christ and conclude, as the prophet Malachi in the above verse, those who have little or no regard for the things of God are the only ones who prosper. Of course, at least intellectually, we know that’s not true, but it “feels” true to us. Thus, our happiness dilemma.

What’s a dilemma? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary it means “a choice between equally undesirable alternatives.” And some might conclude, “What’s undesirable about wanting a little more?” So, what’s the downside? What’s it going to cost you to get that “little more?”

Often the dilemma is between compromising to get ahead – i.e. earn more, or continuing to harbor anger and frustration with those who seem to have what I want. But let’s back up and take a closer look at Augustine’s quote. Ask yourself some pertinent questions. First, where is your pleasure? Because wherever your pleasure is, there is your true treasure.

And I don’t believe he’s speaking simply of sensual pleasure, rather, what brings the greatest delight to your heart as you view your life? While I wish I could tell you where I find my pleasure now has always been true, but it hasn’t been. Today my greatest pleasure is pleasing and honoring the Lord, but this, at least for me, has been an “acquired taste.” If you’d asked me when I was younger, I may have told you that was my pleasure, but it would have been a lie, not because I didn’t want it to be true, but experientially it just wasn’t.

Wherever you are in your faith journey, seek Jesus until He becomes your all in all. When Jesus is your Treasure, He’ll own your heart, thus you’ll be happy in Him. Happiness is often thought of as an emotion, but to me it’s more a conviction, that leads to contentment, that manifests itself in peace.

Every day I thank the Lord for the bountiful way He cares for me, understanding that everything is a gift from Him, including my wife, kids, pups, church family, and everything else I love and appreciate about the life I now have in Him.

My best advice if you really want to be happy – seek Jesus with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. He’s all you need to be fully and gratefully happy.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Be Careful What You Pray For

“When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ‘Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to You and have served You single-mindedly, always doing what pleases You.’ Then he broke down and wept bitterly.” (2 Kings 20:2-3 NLT)

Some of the most uplifting, encouraging, and yet challenging stories in the Bible are in the Old Testament. 2 Kings 19:20-37 outlines God’s reply to King Hezekiah’s prayer regarding King Sennacherib’s threat to conquer and destroy Jerusalem. Hezekiah was a good king and sought to be obedient to the Lord. Rather than cower in fear, he immediately prayed and believed God would deliver him and his people. As a result, Jerusalem was saved, and the King of Assyria was killed by his own sons.

But shortly after, King Hezekiah got sick and Isaiah the prophet gave him a message from God, letting him know to: “Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.” That wasn’t exactly the news the king wanted to hear, so, once again, he went to the Lord in prayer, pleading his case as a godly king. Once again, God answered, instructing Isaiah to tell the king to “make an ointment from figs,” which he did and the Lord granted Hezekiah fifteen more years of life.

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That’s a great story, but a couple of things happened in those extra fifteen years that caused me to wonder if God did the nation of Israel any favors healing their king. First, envoys from Babylon came to Jerusalem to bring their best wishes and a gift to the king, which was fine, but Hezekiah, without thinking of the implications of his response to his guests, showed them “everything in his treasure-houses – the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries!”

Later, Isaiah let him know that what he’d done would one day result in Jerusalem falling into the hands of the Babylonians, resulting in everything he’d shown them being lost. But, what’s worse, during those fifteen extra years, his son Manasseh was born and at age twelve became king when his father died, and he reigned fifty-five years. The Bible says, in reference to Manasseh: “He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.” He essentially undid everything his father had accomplished that was right for Israel.

Corky Calhoun wrote: “God’s goal is not to buy us more time on earth, but to make sure we spend eternity with Him in heaven.” Unfortunately, common sense isn’t a spiritual gift, and too often we set into motion things that aren’t God’s will by praying selfishly and acting without thinking about the consequences of our actions on others.

Obviously, God knew what would happen before Hezekiah even prayed, but what this story illustrates to me is that if we’re not very careful, our obedience to God’s directives can create in us a spiritual “pride” that results in an attitude of entitlement. We live our lives, yes, even as God’s child, but with a blindness to the effects of our “walk with God” on others, especially our children and those closest to us.

You’ve perhaps heard the expression: “we can be so heavenly minded we’re of no earthly good.” Our pious behavior, rather than pointing people to Jesus, draws attention to ourselves, resulting in those we most want to see respond with faith in Jesus, get so turned off they run from Him. That’s why humility is so important in our relationship with the Lord.

We need to have people in our lives who aren’t simply “yes” people, but who are willing to confront us when we get out of line with God or others. It’s also why we need to pray daily that our heavenly Father’s Kingdom will come, and His will be done on earth, in and through our lives, as His will is done every day in heaven.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊