Walking With Jesus

Will You Be That One?

“For nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37 NLT)

What would you attempt if you knew you couldn’t fail? Spoiler alert! The first thing that comes to mind will give you great insight into where your priorities lie; which kingdom you are most interested in building. For example, if your first thought was: “I’d begin a business that would make me a millionaire” “I’d ask ____________ to marry me” “I’d change the way I think in order that I might honor God more effectively.” Dreams reveal our heart and who owns it.

A.E. McAdam wrote: “No one accomplishes so much in so little time as when he or she is praying. And the following thought certainly aligns well with all that the Lord Jesus Christ taught on prayer: If only one believer with total faith rises up, the history of the world will be changed. Will you be that one to rise up, submitting yourself to the sovereignty and guidance of God our Father?”

Among my greatest regrets is saying no to great opportunities. Of course, I wasn’t wise enough to recognize them when they presented themselves. There are times I ponder the possibilities of what I might have become if I’d known when I was younger what I know now. You know what’s that’s called? “A HUGE WASTE OF TIME!”

The most difficult truth for me is to realize I very likely DID know when I was young much of what I now know. Knowledge isn’t the issue. Knowledge isn’t wisdom. Wisdom is the effective and prolonged determination to apply what I know to my life in such a way as to honor God and bless people.

The difference between me and my younger self is I now have little to no concern for what others think of me. My only concern is what Jesus thinks. I don’t ask a lot of questions or make demands of the Lord to explain everything before I act on what directives He gives me. My goal is to do what He directs and leave the results to Him.

The above verse from Luke 1 is in the context of the angel Gabriel telling Mary that though she is a virgin, she’ll conceive a son who will be called the Son of God. I love verse 38 when this teenage peasant girl simply said: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

What “impossible” things is the Lord telling you to do for Him? May I offer a few suggestions? First, just do it! Stop looking at your limitations and open your heart and mind to His limitless power to take what you have and are and make something wonderful and fruitful to His honor and the good of those who will be served by your obedience.

It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, single or married, popular or a loner, skinny or not so skinny! The only thing that matters is your availability and strong desire to please God. If He’s in it, and you’re willing to be pliable in His capable hands, He will do miraculous things in and through you.

Here’s the truth – IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU! IT’S ONLY AND ALWAYS ABOUT HIM! It wasn’t about Mary. Yes, gratefully she submitted herself to be used of God to be the mother of Jesus and her faithfulness is a picture of what God can do with someone completely yielded to His will. But Jesus is the big picture! He’s the One who changed history and is still changing lives to His honor and fame.

God’s desire isn’t that we make a name for ourselves. He’s interested in us making a name for Him. Whatever your age, income, nationality, IQ, or anything else, don’t focus on what you can’t do or be, only focus on who Jesus is and dream about what He can do in and through you.

To me the greatest challenge is to be ready when He opens the door of opportunity that He’s perfectly fit me to walk through. For Mary it was having God’s Child. For me it’s listening to His voice and submitting to His directives. What is it for you? Dream big. And remember – it’s not about your abilities, it’s about your willingness to allow the Holy Spirit to flow in and through you to God’s honor. He’s the miracle-worker, but He’s always looking for someone through whom He can work His miracles. Will you be that one?

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Open Door

“Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven…” (Revelation 4:1a NLT)

In a recent reading on my devotional calendar, I read: “Once God is everything to us, so that ‘in Him we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28), the door to heaven will stand open before us as well.”

In yesterday’s post I asked the question “Whose kingdom are you seeking?” and we looked at Matthew 6:33. The verse above from Acts 17 addresses essentially the same issue but uses different wording.

Today I’d like to look at what these things mean in practical terms. What does it mean to be Christ’s “slave?” What does it mean to say that God is everything to me?

First, let me say it’s a process. It doesn’t happen overnight; however, the heart change necessary to initiate the process does have a definite point in time that it begins. What does that mean?

Virtually everything we do from day to day is tied in some way to desire. It can be sin’s pull to activate our evil desires or the Spirit’s pull to activate our desire to honor and please the Lord. But the Spirit can’t be active in a person’s heart and life who has never responded to Jesus’ invitation to join Him in God’s activity on this earth.

How does that happen? It begins through repentance and belief, followed by submission to the Lord’s will and purposes and obedience to His directives. How do we understand what that looks like? Primarily through the Bible, God’s written Word; however, since this isn’t the focus of this post, let me encourage you to look through previous posts where I’ve dealt with these subjects. As always, if you have questions or concerns, email me at walkingwithjesus09@gmail.com.

So, assuming you’ve made a life-long commitment to Jesus and your heart’s desire is to follow Him as closely as possible, that basically is what it means “to live and move and have our being” in Jesus or for God to be our “everything.” But, as with any new direction we desire to take, there will be obstacles.

As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:5, our goal is to: “…destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” That obviously takes time, but everything worthwhile that we do has to have a starting point and that point is salvation in Christ alone through faith alone.

Two key words come to mind when thinking about starting out as a new believer in Christ. First, commitment, and second, determination. In some ways it’s like starting an exercise program or lifting weights. You don’t start trying to lift 300 lbs. For me, today, I’d be very pleased if I could lift the bar without any weights.

Commitment is a mindset that essentially says: “Whatever it takes, for however long it takes.” And determination essentially says: “However hard it gets and however much I want to quit; I’m going to keep moving forward.” Even if you’ve been walking with the Lord for a while, the best way to make the most progress in the shortest amount of time is to find a mentor, someone who is further along in their walk with the Lord, but solid in their commitment and unwavering in their determination to stay true to the Lord.

Additionally, a discipleship group to help guide you with Bible study, prayer, and other spiritual disciplines can be incredibly helpful. If your church has a “New Believer’s” class or the equivalent, check it out.

One last thing. Someone who is good at something makes it look easy, so just as with any sport, diet, exercise program, or even the learning of spiritual disciplines can look easy for a “pro,” it took them a long time to get there, and it’s going to take you a while as well. Be patient with yourself, and don’t allow yourself to get lazy.

God will help you and be with you every step of the way, even to the door in heaven that now stands open for you.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Whose Kingdom Are You Seeking?

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33 NLT)

Imagine you are lost in the forest. You had a little bit of water and a few energy bars, but they’re long gone. The days turn into nights and now you’re without energy, hanging on to life by a thread. Suddenly, you hear someone coming, but your lips are parched, and your voice isn’t loud enough to be heard. You’re only hope is that whoever it is will find you before you lose consciousness. Is it fair to say that in that scenario you strongly desire to be found? Would craving to be found be a reasonable way to think of it? How about “I’d give ANYTHING to be found?”

That’s what “seek” means in the above verse. It means to desire something more than anything else; it’s your absolute top priority. Is that how you see the Kingdom of God?

Now notice, it doesn’t say “in place of all else.” It says, “above all else.” What’s my point? In the King James Version of the Bible, Matthew 6:33 says: “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” We’re not seeking or pursuing some THING; we’re seeking a PERSON. His name is Jesus.

It’s not like a job or career where you devote a lot of your time to it, it’s a 24/7 relationship. The Bible sometimes compares our walk with Jesus to marriage. Just because I’m at work or the gym or out to lunch with a friend, that doesn’t negate my obligation to be faithful to my wife in thought, word, and deed.

When the children of Israel were enslaved by the Egyptians, for all intent and purpose, they had no will of their own. They did what they were told, lived where they were told, ate and drank what they were given. In the New Testament the term often used by Jesus, while sometimes translated as “servant,” is “doulas” which means “slave.”

As a child of God, my highest priority and desire is to be conformed to the likeness of my Master, Jesus. I want no other will but His. I desire no possession but what He provides. I want to live where He wants me to live, eat what He wants me to eat (I sure hope He likes cherry pie 😊), I want to let Him lead in every decision, every detail of my life. Why?

Because I’ve followed Him long enough to know that He knows me best and loves me more than I love myself. Whatever He chooses for me will be better than anything I could possibly choose for myself. I want His Holy Spirit to have full rulership and control of every avenue of my being. Every thought, attitude, or word should be governed by His authority in and over my life.

Isn’t that restrictive? Actually, it’s liberating! Being fully devoted to Jesus allows me to give full expression to the person He created me to be. Every morning I express to Him my desire to have His Spirit love well through me the people in my spheres of influence. I ask Him to let me love my wife like He would if He was married to her and love my children, neighbors, friends, whomever I have contact with throughout my day like He would love them.

Seeking Him first doesn’t make us perfect, but it does make us more sensitive to His leading and more aware of His presence with us nearly every second of the day. If my mind and heart are focused on Jesus, they can’t simultaneously be focused on anything else. So, to the degree I’m able to keep my heart fixed on Him, to that degree I’ll have successfully sought His Kingdom.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Two Faces of Pride

“Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26b NLT)

Pride isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it depends on the object of our pride.

In 1 Samuel 17, from which the above verse is taken, David is exhibiting pride, but his intention isn’t to exalt himself, but the living God whose majesty, glory and honor the army of Israel is supposedly defending. David is a teenager whose primary responsibility is to watch his family’s sheep, but for David, even watching sheep is a platform upon which God can put His majesty on display.

Is it fair to say that the average teenage boy, then and now, would likely be no match for a bear or a lion? Yet God equipped David to kill both, with his hands and a club. In David’s mind this giant Philistine who is blaspheming the Holy God of Israel and defying His army, is no different than an animal and should be killed.

“Where Glory May Dwell” “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

Holding the God of heaven in high esteem, and attributing to Him all praise, glory, and honor, is the essence of worship, and should be done with confidence and joy. And to the extent we’re able to reverence and appreciate God for who He is and what He has done and is doing, our pride in Him is justified and appropriate.

However, sometimes there’s a thin line between pride in our Savior and pride in ourselves. When our pride points people to us and seeks to exalt ourselves, that’s a whole different story.

In 2 Samuel 11 we see a different face of David’s pride. It’s the spring of the year when kings would normally lead their troops into battle with their enemies, but David decides to send Joab to lead the troops in his place. Nothing evil or sinful about that decision, but Satan used his absence from his troops – the place he should have been – to defeat him in ways no literal battle ever could have.

There’s a lesson here for us. Whether David was tired or sick or just didn’t “feel” like fighting, he made the “kingly” decision, which of course, was his to make, to stay behind. While there was nothing explicitly wrong in that decision, it positioned him to be an easy target for Satan. That can happen to us.

There are times we don’t feel like going to church or work or out with friends, or ___________ and, like David, that’s our right and privilege, but be very careful to understand what’s behind that decision. Is it the Lord’s leading or your selfish pride? Is it because the Lord clearly wants you to do something else or to stay behind for a specific reason? Or is it that you have something else in mind and you don’t care what the Lord thinks?

David’s pride in feeling that he didn’t have to go to battle, that his men didn’t need him or whatever else may have caused him to make that decision, it led to him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He saw Bathsheba taking a bath.

Maybe it’s the wrong TV station, wrong magazine, or wrong internet site; maybe it’s a wrong conversation with the wrong person. Whatever it is, God will give you insight and will warn you, as I have no doubt he warned David, but if you don’t listen, regardless of how you justify it, you will pay the price, as did David, for your disobedience (see Psalm 51).

Pride can allow the Spirit to flow through you in amazing ways to exalt and lift the holy name of Jesus, but it can also pump you up and allow the enemy to exalt you and push people away from Jesus. We need to be very alert and very careful when it comes to allowing pride to rear it’s ugly head.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Decluttering Our Hearts

“Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you!” (2 Corinthians 7:11a NLT)

Yesterday’s post ended with a question: “Is there hope for our addictive behavior that we say we want to change, but inwardly desire to hold onto?” And the short answer is: “Yes and No!”

What does that mean? It means it largely depends on how badly you want to change and what you’re willing to do to prove it to yourself. We want God to do all the work. We expect God to forgive, cleanse, fill, empower, and enable us to be a completely new person, yet we also want to hang on to our old life of sin – including our addictive behaviors. If your dream and foremost desire is to love and serve Jesus, it’s not going to happen, unless and until you release your wrong motives and desires.

A.W. Tozer wrote: “Father, I want to know Thee, but my coward heart fears to give up its toys.” Being sorry for getting caught is not the same as godly sorrow that deeply desires to allow God to change us from the inside out.

A lot of people want the Jesus who saves but reject the Jesus who is Lord. Sorry, but that’s not His promise. If there’s going to be hope for a future free of slavery to sin, we’ve got to lay our lives bare before the King of kings and Lord of lords and desire Him more than our proverbial “toys,” whether that is a literal material possession or a habit we secretly harbor in our heart.

Jesus is a Gentleman and will not go where He’s not invited. The only way He’ll change our heart is if we give Him access. Eugene Peterson wrote: “If our future is dominated by the coming again of Jesus, it declutters our lives.”

Often the most effective way to initiate change in our lives is to change our focus. I often say: “What you think about comes about.” If all you can think about is your next fix, whether that’s a literal drug, worry, sex, pornography, alcohol, money, juicy tidbit of gossip, or whatever – right behavior follows right thinking. And I’m not talking about behavior modification. I’m talking about heart and mind transformation.

There are things you must do and things only God can do. The most profound and life altering thing you can do is confess and repent. To confess is essentially to agree with God’s estimation of something. For example, His assessment is that your sin is separating you from Him and must be dealt with. He is able and willing to offer forgiveness and cleansing, but you need to ask/confess.

Repentance is your willingness and determination to turn from your sins and allow Him to create in you a clean and attentive heart. So many today have the attitude that sin isn’t a big deal. God’s grace will cover me when I mess up, so life is good. Sin from which you have no intention of turning is unrepentant sin and God’s grace will not cover that.

God’s plan is for you to be holy. Hebrews 12:14 says: “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” Then in verse 15: “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.”

The blood of Jesus alone cleanses us and purifies our hearts and minds, but it’s a partnership. Not only between us and God, but between us and other believers. The walk of faith is not and will never be a solo venture. We become part of the Body of Christ when we’re born again and our hope in Jesus is fleshed out in our hope of transformation in Christ that largely takes place in community.

Decluttering our hearts is a “family of God” concern. If you’re trying to “fly solo,” and expecting to walk in newness of life, you’re only fooling yourself. Deliverance and transformation of life and character happen in community with other like-minded brothers and sisters. We really do need each other.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Defining Our Wants

“I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24 NLT)

In some ways I believe we tend to “water down” the things Jesus says to us in His Word. We too often want to “spiritualize” verses like the one above until we choke the life out of them. What do I mean?

In the two verses that frame the above verse, Jesus is talking about having faith in God and forgiving those against whom we are holding a grudge. One is, for lack of a better term, ethereal, but the other is very practical.

In verse 23 Jesus tells His disciples: “I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.” Is He speaking of “spiritual” mountains? Possibly. But I choose to believe He was speaking literally. So, if you’re a pragmatist, you may be thinking: “Of what value would it be to throw a mountain into the ocean?” Maybe it would make your journey easier! I don’t know for sure.

But what I do know is we sell the power of faith far short. I mentioned in a post a few days ago that I wrestled with lust for years, but God finally took it away in an instant. Was God slow to answer? No, I was “slow” to ask. What’s my point?

Often, we choose to deal with addictive behaviors for years, not because God isn’t able to deliver us, but because we’re not willing to give them up. Lust, pornography, alcohol, drugs, gossip, fear, worry, and on and on they go. Behind the guilt, shame, embarrassment, helplessness, and hopelessness is a very strong desire that we enjoy and don’t want to give up. “That’s sick!” you may be thinking. And you’re exactly right.

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

Sin is sickness that we crave, but secretly don’t believe we can live without. Yes, of course, there are moments, usually when we’re “caught” or the addiction bumps into a relational or legal matter, when we desperately wish we weren’t in the circumstance we’re in. But when the moment passes and the “heat” is no longer boiling us alive, we revert to our old habits.

Habits die hard, and sin, in whatever form of habitual behavior it takes in us, is the worst habit to break. But what’s impossible for man is possible with God. But you must allow Him to change your heart.

Behind strong faith is the same thing that drives strong addictions – desire! Desire isn’t the problem, it’s the object of that desire. In the King James Version Mark 11:24 says: “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them.”

That word “desire” can also be translated “beg, require, crave, call for,” which can paint a different picture. We may desire God to heal us, but we crave our addiction. God will not violate our will to do something we really don’t want Him to do, even when we mouth the words, He hears our heart’s cry.

When my first wife told me she was leaving, my heart changed – radically! Before, my lustful heart thought nearly every other woman I saw was more beautiful and attractive than my wife. When my heart changed, my wife suddenly became the most beautiful woman on earth. Did she change? No, I did, but it was too late. Satan loves it when that happens.

Satan will couch sin in very attractive packages, but the deeper we get into the “package,” the uglier and more sinister it becomes, and the harder our heart becomes. Is there hope?

Let’s look at this more closely tomorrow.

Blessings, Ed 😊

How Can We Warn the Lost?

“If you warn them (the lost) and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed Me.” (Ezekiel 3:19 NLT)

Some reading the above verse may respond: “Whoa, brother, that’s Old Testament. Haven’t things changed since Jesus came?” And my response would be: “Yes, they have changed, they’ve gotten more intense, our times are more desperate, and our responsibility to warn the lost is more vital now than ever.”

Do you remember the last words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20, commonly referred to as the Great Commission? What is a commission? It’s an order. A directive to make something happen. It’s NOT a suggestion! Yet, largely we, the Church in America, have ignored it and the state of our nation is evidence of God’s displeasure. So, what must we do? May I offer some suggestions that the Lord is stirring in my heart?

As I’ve mentioned on other occasions, as I walk around my small neighborhood of about 100 houses, I pray for each person in each house. I pray for their families, friends, and each person in their spheres of influence. Why? Primarily because prayer is the work, then God works.

Is it presumptive of me to believe God will listen when I pray? You decide. Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

When we ask in the context of our love for and devotion to Jesus, He promises that He WILL LISTEN. So now it becomes incumbent upon us to ask, seek, and knock. So, for what do we ask? How do we seek? On what do we knock?

This is where I’d like to have you respond. Email me at walkingwithjesus09@gmail.com. I’m just an old man who loves and desires to serve Jesus with my whole heart. I’ve very likely forgotten more than I currently know, but I believe the Lord wants us to draw near to Him in these closing months of planet earth and cry out for the hearts and lives of those in our spheres of influence who are lost.

What might that look like? That’s where you come in. I’ll share what the Lord is telling me, but I’d genuinely desire to hear what He’s saying to you.

For example, for months the Lord has been prompting me to be more outspoken when I’m walking in the neighborhood. I engage neighbors in conversation about how nice their yard looks, how much I appreciate how they care for their property, in short, any way I can to open the channels of friendship.

Lately, I’ve been letting neighbors whose names I remember, know that I pray for them every morning. I ask them to let me know if they have anything about which they’d like me to pray. I talk to them about their kids, pets, hobbies, anything I can think of to build rapport, laying the groundwork to speak about the Lord or at least, invite them to church.

Something else the Lord is prompting me to do is write a note to each neighbor, and each person He lays on my heart. This can be family, long-lost friends, old schoolmates, anyone He prompts you to write, text, email, or call. My first attempt at a “note” to the neighbors, was too long, but I haven’t given up on the idea.

One last idea, which my wife and I have done, and it worked out well, is having an open house for your neighbors or lost friends and do a BBQ or carry-in to give you an audience to begin a spiritual conversation.

What are your thoughts? Let’s get creative about ways to reach our lost loved ones, friends, and neighbors before it’s eternally too late. Let’s do what Frank Reagan (Blue Bloods) said: “Do what you can with what you have where you are.” To God be the glory!

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Road Most Traveled

“For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.” (Psalm 1:6 NLT)

As a young person, the paths of life we walk seem new, uncharted, almost like walking on freshly fallen snow, after all, we’ve never walked them before. Yet, the Bible says in the above verse, that God is intimately aware and has a vested interest in the paths of the godly. But what about the ungodly?

Solomon wrote a couple of times in Proverbs (14:12 & 16:25): “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” Would you choose a path you knew was going to end in eternal death – separation from God?

Many years ago, I heard someone say: “For many young people life isn’t built, it’s accumulated.” What does that mean? I grew up in a small town in West Virginia. My dad was a machinist by trade and bought and sold used cars to supplement his income. No one in my immediate family and few in my extended family, had ever gone to college.

My aspiration before coming to know the Lord was to graduate from high school, get a job, find a wife, have kids, then at some point, die. Pretty high goals, huh! But sometimes circumstances change the order and outcome of our plan. The “loftiest” goal a teenage boy in West Virginia (and I suspect in many other states) had in the 60’s was to have a girlfriend, buy a car, and survive Viet Nam.

In order to buy a car, you needed a job, so you worked at a burger joint, saved a few dollars and bought a car. Then – oops – you get your girlfriend pregnant, so whatever hopes you might have had for a decent job, turn into struggling to make ends meet. At that point your life isn’t built, it’s accumulated. More kids, more debt, more hours working, etc. Where is God in this picture?

Even today, while parents are much more proactive in helping get their children prepared for the best future possible, because we’re fallen beings, the vast majority of plans leave God out.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:13: “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.”

As I think of my life even before I met the Lord, I had no sense that the path I was following was leading me to hell. Did you? But isn’t that the point? Satan lulls us into believing a lie that says essentially – “Just do the best you can. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you! Have fun, enjoy the ride!” Then the next thing you know, you’re seventy, wondering where your life went, regretting all the wrong decisions you’ve made, without giving a thought to what lies ahead, because you’ve hardly ever given God a thought.

Or worse, you do well. You make your fortune, build a great life for yourself. Your kids are doctors, lawyers, or founders of tech companies that make “widgets” that have netted them zillions of dollars. But for what? Just to die? What’s the point of life if only to die and leave everything you sold yourself to have to someone else?

As believers we know that’s true, but Satan deceives people, even believers to some extent, into believing this life is all there is, so we pour ourselves into building our own kingdom and putting the Lord on the proverbial “shelf” until such a time as we have time for Him – like 10 minutes before we die!

Am I discouraged? No, but I pass by the houses of my neighbors, or I meet people in the course of my day, most of whom don’t have a clue what awaits them in eternity, and on some levels, I feel helpless to warn them. Why?

Let’s explore this more in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Would You Say?

“Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” (Romans 14:10b NLT)

In order to get an understanding of what someone believes about whether or not they are going to heaven, I will sometimes ask: “If you were to die today and stand before God and He were to ask you: ‘Why should I let you into My perfect heaven?’ what would you say?” What do you think the most common response is? “Because I’m a good person.”

The truth is, when that day comes, the Lord will already know who’s going to heaven and who isn’t. Matthew records Jesus’ words in 24:31: “And He will send out His angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather His chosen ones from all over the world – from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.”

So why would I even raise the question? Because the trumpet hasn’t yet sounded, and I don’t want anyone to miss heaven because they don’t understand what God expects of them. Today Satan has so many deceived into believing that if they say a prayer and “ask Jesus into their heart,” they’re good. Grace will cover the rest. They can live their lives unchanged, believing they are “saved.”

Grace is a wonderful gift from God, but it doesn’t give salvation to unrepentant sinners.

We tend to treat sin like rolling through a stop sign. We get in the habit of making a quick glance and if the coast is clear, we don’t come to a complete stop. I heard about a police officer who stopped a guy who rolled through a stop sign. The guy said: “But I slowed down.” So, the officer pulled him out of his car and started beating him with a stick, then asked: “Do you want me to slow down or stop?” Do I need to tell you that’s a joke? 😊

What’s my point? God takes our sin a lot more seriously than we do. Our “rolling stops” cost Jesus His life and that’s not a small matter. Our “white lies,” casual flirtations, gossip, dishonesty, dwelling on evil thoughts, ungodly lifestyles, and on and on it goes. “But I can’t stop!”

Years ago that was the cry of my heart! Lust was eating me alive, and I hated myself for it. I understand the power of addiction and it’s gut wrenching, but at some point, I had to allow the Lord to do in and on my behalf what I couldn’t do for myself. How so?

We think it’s a “secret.” We want to believe we’re not hurting anyone, but what we don’t realize is that every second we commit to whatever our “secret sin” of choice is, is a second we’re not committing to the fulfillment of God’s purposes in our life. It’s precious time we’re pushing away those we’re wanting to be closest to; it’s time we’re redirecting our mind, heart, and energy into something destructive and unhealthy. With God’s help we could be pouring the same effort into allowing our relationships with those we love the most to become richer, more fulfilling, and more God-honoring.

Do you want to know my “wake up call?” I was preparing to leave on a mission’s trip with my then 15-year-old daughter, and my wife said to me: “I’ll let you know when you return whether or not I’m leaving you.” For me it was too late. She chose to leave. But now, by God’s grace and with His powerful presence with me every second, I’ve learned to train my eyes and ears to let the Lord direct them. Does that mean I never have another lustful thought? On occasion, but I don’t permit my mind to dwell on them.

Martin Luther wisely said: “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair”

Food for thought!

Blessings, Ed 😊

A Love Gone Right

“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.” (Romans 5:5 NLT)

Not being a fan of Country-Western style music, I rarely listen to it; however, when I’m in a restaurant or shop where it’s playing, I’ll sometimes listen to the lyrics. A common theme seems to be either not being able to find love, or the loss of love once held.

What a contrast to the songs of love I find in a Hymnal or the music I hear at church. For example, the words of Frederick M. Lehman (1917) in his hymn The Love of God. Verse one says: “The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell; it goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell. The wand’ring child is reconciled by God’s beloved Son. The aching soul again made whole, and priceless pardon won.” Then the Refrain: “O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure—the saints’ and angels’ song.”

Are you experiencing God’s love in your life today?

When I was a child, I remember how my mom or dad would pull the collar of my coat up tight around my neck to keep me warm from the chill of a winter day. I didn’t see the need for all the fuss until I had children of my own, but now, on a much larger scale, I understand that’s how God’s love makes me feel.

If you search the Scriptures seeking to identify every act of kindness, mercy, generosity, and grace extended to us by God our Father, you’ll find that behind every gesture was His unending love. Even as His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, hung with outstretched arms, suspended between heaven and earth, the message of that Cross shouted across the corridors of time and space: “I LOVE YOU … THIS MUCH!”

Most people today are oblivious to God’s love, but I see evidence of His strong, abiding love on the face and in the life of nearly every person I meet each day. One of the profound mysteries of life to me is the realization that while people aren’t aware of God’s presence with them, God is always aware of their presence with Him.

Does that mean every person is saved? No, of course not. What it means is He is ever present, thus able to be with each of us simultaneously. I didn’t understand or recognize His fingerprints on my life before I became a believer, but looking back, the evidence is unmistakable.

On December 15, 1967, I was traveling home for Christmas break from where I attended school in Indiana to South Charleston, West Virginia where my parents lived. My normal route would have been to cross the Silver Bridge that connected Gallipolis, Ohio and Point Pleasant, West Virginia. I dreaded the delay I would always encounter by the Christmas traffic backed up to get across that two-lane bridge, because I usually got there right around 5:00 p.m.

What’s so special about the Silver Bridge? At 5:00 p.m. on that day it collapsed killing 46 people and injuring scores more. I had just turned 20 a few weeks earlier, and could have been on that bridge, but God took me on another route to take a friend home.

What’s my point? The love of God will sometimes interrupt our routines, our normal routes if you will, because He has other plans for us. One of His plans, that He had for me more than fifty years ago, was for me to write these words on this day for your eyes. He alone knew what you would be going through, and that you would need to read today about how much God loves you. What great lengths, breadths, heights, and depths He has gone to help you understand your need to receive His love into your heart and life today.

Perhaps the heartbreak you feel is causing you to wrongly believe that God has abandoned you. Quite to the contrary, He’s never been closer. His loving arms are enveloping you and His gentle voice is inviting you to trust Him. To believe that He will walk with you through these difficult days and prepare you for an eternal life with Him where you’ll never feel this way again.

A lot of things may seem wrong right now, but His is a love gone right – specifically for you! Please trust Him. If you’re not sure what to say to Him or how to reach out to Him, click on this link. https://hutchcraft.com/the-bridge-to-god

Blessings, Ed 😊