Walking With Jesus

Ask Me!

“This is what the Lord says – the Lord who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the Lord: Ask Me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.” (Jeremiah 33:2-3 NLT)

What do you want to know about the future? How long you will live? How you will die? Will it be quick and painless or will you agonize for days, weeks, months? Will you ever get out of debt? Will you ever be married? Have kids? Own a home? Get to travel? See outer space?

Our minds are flooded with questions about all kinds of topics, but I find it quite amusing we rarely ask questions about God. We seem content that God is God and that’s all we need to know, but is it? What if the answers to the gnawing questions of our soul could find answers in Him? What if knowing, loving, and being fully devoted to the Holy God gave us more than the answers to our questions?

How often have you wondered: “Am I good enough to get into heaven? Why do I continue to sin so much when I sincerely believe I love God? Why am I caught in this trap of feeling useless and worthless? If God is so good, why can’t I feel His presence or hear His voice? When will I stop feeling so excluded from all that others are saying God is doing?” “Why isn’t He doing anything in and through me?”

These and many other questions can rock our soul and warp our perspective, not only on ourselves, but on God. We tend to focus on the fact that God is loving, kind, generous, all powerful, ever-present, but He’s also all-knowing. God knows everything there is to know about everything.

My wife and I are watching an old series on TV called “Bones.” It’s got like a zillion seasons because it’s so interesting. Yes, it’s a bit “steamy,” but if you can get through that, what fascinates me is how they can find bones and identify what species it is, gender, and many other things including how they died and how long they’ve been dead. They can often determine the environment in which they died, even the specific region.

Why is that intriguing? Because they learned how to do that from the Lord! And I can hear the groans: “No, dummy, they went to school and learned from professors and research specialists.” Yeh, probably, but where did the knowledge they have originate? Here’s the truth: no one knows anything except that knowledge originated in the mind of God.

We would know nothing about anything except God opens the channels of information and opens our minds to receive it. Yes, of course, He gives some people higher IQ’s and a greater capacity to learn, but any of us can learn anything if we’re willing to make the effort to dig it out. Many very brilliant people don’t have very good people skills largely because they’re so gifted not many others can relate to their brilliance. People are intimidated by their knowledge and ability.

I’d like to be a fly on the wall when they meet the Lord. Talk about brilliant – try on “all-knowing”! The most brilliant scholar will feel like a kindergartner in comparison to the Lord. All the questions of science will be answered as if they were 1 + 1. What’s my point?

Whatever questions you have, you can find their answers in Jesus. He’s more than enough. But here’s the deal, He’ll only share what He knows we can understand. If He explained the answer to every question, He’d likely lose us because we don’t have the capacity to understand as He understands.

But here’s the best part: one day we’ll see as He sees! We’ll know as He knows! You know what that’s called? Heaven!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Why We Lead

“Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly – not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.” (1 Peter 5:2 NLT)

It’s interesting to me that in the verse above Peter is essentially emphasizing to those to whom he is writing the last thing Jesus emphasized to Him in John 21:15-17 – “Then feed my sheep!” Why is that so important? Because as human beings we’re all about ourselves, even in the church. If we’re not careful, even as believers in the Lord Jesus, we get so invested in what our leadership brings to us we forget why the Lord has given us that position of authority over others in the first place.

We’re so tempted to believe our leadership is all about us and too quickly lose sight of the fact we’re only an instrument that is worthless except we’re empowered and enabled by the Spirit of God. “Great” men and women of God are often not remembered because they were necessarily great human beings.

Many were not until they became captivated by their love for and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. “Saint” Augustine was an atheist before his encounter with Christ, as was one of the most revered promoters of the Christian faith in recent years, C. S. Lewis, who didn’t come to Christ until his early 30’s. At age 18 Lewis wrote to a friend: “You ask me my religious views: you know, I think I believe in no religion. There is absolutely no proof for any of them, and from a philosophical standpoint Christianity is not even the best. All religions, that is, all mythologies, to give them their proper name, are merely man’s own invention…

Thus religion, that is to say mythology, grew up. Often, too, great men were regarded as gods after their death — such as Hercules or Odin: thus after the death of a Hebrew philosopher Yeshua (whose name we have corrupted into Jesus), he became regarded as a god, a cult sprang up, which was afterwards connected with the ancient Hebrew Yahweh-worship, and so Christianity came into being — one mythology among many.”

What’s the point? It often takes time for the Lord to wean us from ourselves. We get corrupted by our own success and wrongly believe our charisma, our personality, our charm has won us this opportunity to lead others. It takes time for us to grasp the fact that we’re not the attraction, Jesus is, or at least should be! It’s all and only about Him, and unless and until we understand that we’re destined to grave disappointment.

Dan Reiland gives us insight when he wrote: “The leader who lives first to feed the people lives dependent upon God.” Apart from the inspiration and instruction of the living Spirit of God who indwells us we have nothing to offer anyone of substance. We can only lead effectively to the glory and honor of the Lord Jesus as we are led.

To believe we can pour into others out of the little cups of ourselves is to misunderstand our role as a person of God. Jesus reminds us in John 15:5b: “For apart from Me you can do nothing.” And just to be clear, the context of Peter’s words is primarily to overseers or Pastors of congregations but is applicable to teachers and leaders in other settings as well, including children’s and youth leaders/teachers, even parents.

We’re all accountable for how we “teach” with our lives, especially when we realize we never know who is watching us and learning from what they see. This is why we lead in the first place, to influence others positively to the glory of our Savior.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Is this a Turning Point for the West?

By John Stonestreet

*Many of you have loved and followed the ministry of the late Charlie Kirk. This tribute to him and his vital ministry and his impact on, not only America, but the world, is profound for a man of only 31 years. I thought it fitting to share this powerful message, not simply to point your attention to Charlie Kirk and his life, but to the Lord he honored, not only in his life, but in his death. Blessings, Ed.

Sunday’s memorial service for Charlie Kirk may have been the largest evangelistic event in human history. Not every speaker at the event was in tune with the Gospel, but those who were stated it clearly and boldly. Tens of thousands of people who attended live, along with millions who watched online, heard Chris Tomlin praise “the name above all names,” and Pastor Rob McCoy offer the invitation to accept Christ. And that was just the first half-hour. Before it was over, vice-president J.D. Vance talked publicly about his faith, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio beautifully summarized the entire Christian message in under two minutes. After describing the final moments of Kirk’s life, apologist and Kirk mentor Frank Turek stated bluntly, “Charlie is not in heaven because he sacrificed his life for Jesus. He is in heaven because Jesus sacrificed his life for Charlie.”

Most powerfully, Erika Kirk, speaking of the man who killed her husband, said:

On the cross our Savior said, “Father, forgive them for they not know what they do.” … That young man, I forgive him … because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love and always love.

If the murderer hoped to silence Kirk’s growing influence, he only amplified it further.  What Joseph said to his brothers applies here: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20 NIV). Or, as John said, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

At the memorial service, hundreds indicated they accepted the invitation to follow Jesus Christ. Since Kirk’s death, more people are finding their way to church, many for the first time. In one widely shared and discussed post, a man who never owned a suit talks of being inspired by Charlie to be a better husband and father and to return to church. Proudly modeling the new suit his wife bought, he says, “I’m gonna try, y’all.”

Those of us who watched Chuck Colson collapse as he gave his final speech experienced it as a kind of calling. Chuck, many said at the time, “went out with his boots on.” The same is now said of Charlie Kirk, and, on a much larger scale, many perceive this moment as a kind of calling: to be more engaged in their churches and communities, to be bold about sharing their faith, to take a stand for truth, or to be a better husband and father.

In every cultural moment, God calls his people to be agents of renewal. This includes advancing what is good, opposing what is evil, working to restore what is broken, and offering what is most needed but missing. Living faithfully as His people in this moment will involve condemning the evil of murder and explaining the beauty of offering forgiveness to the murderer. It will mean speaking the truth at great cost, while recognizing that the deceivers and the deceived are made in the image of God. It will mean celebrating that God is bringing sinners to repentance. It will mean having the courage to speak the truth, as well as the humility to learn it. It will mean loving our neighbors and loving our enemies, even if, as G.K. Chesterton quipped, “they are the same people.”

Like in any moment, the Gospel clarifies who we are and what we must be. Christ’s demands sound especially unreasonable and extreme in moments like this, but Paul is clear that we should “not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.”

We rest in the truths that this world belongs to God; that we belong, body and soul, to Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us; that even when we were His enemies, Christ died for us. That is the truth about us. That is the truth about everything.

If this is a “turning point” for our culture, as some have said and we all should hope, our work must be anchored in the true turning point of human history. Our work must be grounded in the work of Christ. We forgive because we are forgiven. We love because He first loved us. We stand for what is true and right, because the One who is True and Righteous altogether has made Himself known to us.

A Good Father

“The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise.” (Proverbs 23:24 NLT)

The best Father allowed His only Son to give His life on a Cross for the sins of mankind. That kind of love is beyond our comprehension. Why would I say that? Because I’ve never met a man willing to sacrifice his only son for anyone or anything. Love and sacrifice don’t seem to go together when speaking of a father’s love for his child; yet that’s exactly the example of God’s greatest love for us.

John 3:16, perhaps the most quoted verse in the Bible declares: “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” I’m afraid if your eternal life was dependent upon the sacrifice of my son, you’d be lost forever. Perhaps that’s the anguish we see revealed in the garden when Jesus was begging His Father to “let this cup pass from Me.” (Matthew 26:39)

If that’s the epitome of love, how can we, as a human father, learn from that and gain insight into how to be the best dad we can possibly be? What comes to mind is my highest aspiration for my son (my children), and that is for him to die to himself (themselves) and be resurrected in newness of life in Jesus. Death to self is still involved, but in a much less literal way than when Jesus laid down His life for us.

What a vivid illustration of the love of God as our heavenly Father, willing to not withhold anything for our good, even to the sacrifice of the life of His only Son. What a picture for us as earthly fathers as we view the lives of our children. What are we willing to give up in order for our children to grow up to be mature, committed Jesus followers?

Isn’t it ironic that in most cases we have children when we’re in the midst of our most trying years as a man, a “bread winner?” We’re trying to find our own way in the world, working long hours trying to make ends meet, wanting to be all we can be for our family, but selling ourselves to the highest bidder. But when we’re honest, it’s really for us. We want to be all we can be to prove to everyone, but mostly ourselves, that we’re worth it, that we deserve the proverbial “good life.”

But at what cost? Our kids grow up barely seeing and hardly knowing their dad. What memories they have are maybe birthdays or those rare vacations. There’s rarely an effort to pass on our faith, largely because we have little to spare, it just hasn’t been a priority. Then, in our later years (if ever) we get serious about our faith, but since it wasn’t a priority when our kids were home, they could now care less.

So, what am I saying? The best thing a “good” father can do for his kids is to love Jesus when they’re young. And what’s the best example of a Jesus loving father? Love their mother well! Treat their mother with the respect and dignity she deserves. Take your family to church, but don’t leave Jesus there, bring Him home. Pray over meals and take time to pray with the kids when they go to bed and together as a family.

Let Jesus not only be your highest personal priority, but your highest priority as a Father. Lead your family in worship in a loving, but fun and enjoyable way. Get creative and involve the kids. It’s our highest joy to love and serve Jesus, let that joy overflow into your family’s worship.

I concur with Dr. Billy Grahm’s words when he said: “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.”

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Acceptance

“And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.)” (Galatians 2:6 NLT)

We sometimes wonder why God allows all that goes on in our world, much behind closed doors or in hidden chambers. Why doesn’t He call a halt to sin and the degradation that seems to run so rampant in our world today? Perhaps the better question would be, why does He allow the sin and shame that is so often rampant in the lives of those who DO profess His holy name, yet continue to live as though sin doesn’t matter, and His Word isn’t true?

We’re concerned about the seeming blind acceptance of the sin of the world, while we continue to be blind to the sin that is rampant in our own lives. It’s almost like we wished the Lord would put more focus on all of those evil people out there and stop focusing on the evil I harbor in my own heart and life.

Photo by Luis Alberto Cardenas Otaya on Pexels.com

It seems we want acceptance with God on our terms, but that will never happen. It doesn’t matter how good we may believe we are in our own eyes, if it doesn’t measure up to the goodness of Jesus, it’s worthless. Paul says in Philippians 3:7-9: “I once thought these things (his human credentials) were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith.”

What becomes very scary to me at times is when I focus on how unworthy I am. I look at my life of sin and shame and ponder why an infinitely perfect God would even notice me, but the truth is, I’m exactly the kind of person Jesus died for. If we think we’re ever good enough on our own, we’re more lost than when we lived in sin. David Powlison was right when he said: “God doesn’t accept me just as I am, He loves me despite how I am, he loves me just as Jesus is.”

Ponder that for a moment! “He loves me just as Jesus is.” When we’re washed by the blood of our Savior, when Jesus becomes Lord of our life, owner of our future, the best of everything we think, do, or say, it can be pretty easy for us to believe God loves us like He loves Jesus. But think about when we started this journey, how far we’d strayed, how wrong we were, how broken, and messed up we were, yet God loved us THEN like He loves Jesus.

How can that be? God is love! He doesn’t have the capacity to NOT love us, and His love isn’t like our fickle, temperamental, emotional feelings that rise and fall, come and go. His love is constant, that’s why Jesus promised He would NEVER leave us or forsake us. God’s love doesn’t tuck tail and run when things get hard, that’s when He steps up, holds us tightly, and refuses to let us go.

Maybe you feel like you’ve strayed too far, out sinned your “sin” quota with God. May I remind you the only sin that God won’t forgive is the one for which no forgiveness has been asked. “Yeh, but what about the unpardonable sin? The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?” The most blasphemous allegation we can ever make against the Holy Spirit is believing there’s a sin which we’re willing to bring to Him that He won’t forgive. If you’ll seek His forgiveness, the Savior’s blood will cover it, and you’ll find forgiveness.

All you have to do is ask, then receive His full acceptance in Jesus alone by faith alone.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

How to Look Like Jesus

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:43-45a NLT)

It’s much easier to love someone who loves us, who’s kind, considerate, thoughtful, generous, and loving towards us, but it can become challenging to love someone who clearly detests the ground we walk on. It makes sense to us to ignore them, have no contact with them, give them no thought at all, but LOVE them? How is that even possible.

One understanding of the Greek term “love” is intelligent good will. This is a love based not on emotion and instinct, but on an act of the will. It’s a decision we make that benefits someone in spite of our emotional distaste of them.

For example, let’s say someone comes to you and asks you if you know the person you dislike so much. They have a job opening for someone and they heard this person might be a qualified candidate and they want your opinion. While you might have reason to not want to be their friend, as a believer, in an effort to love them as Jesus would, you evaluate their qualifications for the job based on what you know, not what you’re personally feeling about them.

You know they have excellent credentials, they need a job like that, and they’d be a worthy prospect, so, setting aside your personal feelings and exercising your intelligent good will, you give them a credible endorsement for the job opportunity. You’ve just loved them.

Jackie Hill Perry spoke to this when she wrote: “You look a whole lot like Jesus when you love your enemies.” This can also be true in regard to those you leave behind when you turn from a lifestyle that was displeasing and dishonoring to the Lord. You may not “hate” them as persons, but their stance on a certain subject or lifestyle may force you to separate yourself from them.

Jackie Hill Perry was abused as a child and experienced other debilitating circumstances that led her into several same sex relationships. When she came to Christ, He delivered her from that lifestyle, but when she openly spoke out about the power of God to deliver, she was met with a lot of hatred and negative response from the “community” from which the Lord had delivered her.

But rather than return hate with hate, she has continued to reach out and seek to offer love and forgiveness to those who are still lost and struggling to find their way out of the tentacles of the homosexual lifestyle.

It’s not unlike that for any of us who are saved. We’re all saved from something to the new life we now have in the Lord and perhaps the greatest expression of love we can offer those who hate us is our unwavering commitment to pray for them.

The clearest and most dramatic illustration of this whole idea of loving those who hate us is the decision the Lord Jesus made to die for the very ones who mocked, tortured, and nailed Him to a cross. When you’re tempted to believe it’s too hard to love your enemies, take a long, hard look at the Cross

We’ll never look more like Jesus than when we’re intentionally loving someone who dislikes us.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

How We Know Truth

“Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, ‘You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8:31-32 NLT)

What is true and what is truth can be two separate things. Something can be true, but not be rooted in truth. Or something can be true even though it seems to defy logic. For example, it doesn’t make sense to the rational mind that a young woman can become pregnant without having sex with a man, at least it didn’t make sense in the first century when Mary became pregnant with Jesus.

Or it doesn’t make sense humanly speaking that a human being can defy gravity and walk on water or ascend into the sky unassisted, but Jesus did those things. Do you see any connection between those things and the fact that Jesus was and is the embodiment of all Truth? Might Jesus have been challenging our mind and heart to believe He is capable of anything given the right circumstance?

But very often the challenge isn’t to believe He can, but that He will! We cannot assume that because something is rooted in truth that it will always lead to what may logically be true. For example, I have Alzheimer’s. The truth is that God can heal me of that disease. Believing that truth may lead me to believe He WILL heal me, but is that true?

Some have the belief that they are one and the same, to believe He heals is to assume He always wants to heal, but I don’t believe that’s what the Bible teaches. In my understanding the Bible teaches that it’s God’s will for us to have wholeness, completeness in Jesus that isn’t dependent upon physical healing or physical wholeness.

My wholeness is found in my relationship with the Lord of Creation. I have everything I need in Him, whether or not I have a physical ailment. The truth is that the Lord’s life and love have been amplified and magnified to me through my illness. I see Him more clearly, am walking with Him more nearly, and love Him more dearly for the revelation of Himself He’s given me through my illness.

Are those things true only because of the illness or could they have come in another way? Of course they could have, but that’s not the point. The point is I DO have the illness, and He has chosen to redeem its negative effects by blessing me in spite of it. That certainly doesn’t mean you have to become sick in order for Him to become real to you. That’s absurd.

He wants us to know Him from the moment of our conception, to grow to love, worship, and serve Him with our whole body, mind, and spirit for all of our lives, but, unfortunately, that rarely happens. Too often life’s experiences reveal Him to us in ways we may never have seen Him otherwise.

This relates to what John Stonestreet shared in a Breakpoint article when he wrote: “Following St. Augustine, Grosseteste argued that we only know truth through illumination. Just as we cannot see a body unless it has light shining on it, the mind cannot comprehend truth unless the divine light of the logos, Jesus Christ, illuminates it. Thus, all knowledge, for Christian and non-Christian alike, is mediated by Christ.”

The Lord, in His wisdom, will use whatever is going on in our lives to reveal Himself, to “illuminate” Himself in a way that will help us see Him as Truth and learn to desire a relationship with Him. While we can know many things are true, the only way to know Truth is to know Jesus.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Unashamed

“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes – the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life.’” (Romans 1:16-17 NLT)

There are things of which I’m ashamed, details of my life that would be embarrassing for you to know about me, as I’m quite confident there are those things in your life as well. One thing that is beyond my comprehension is why anyone would be ashamed, bashful about, or hesitant to share the best news imaginable, that we can be freed from the penalty of our sin, share a life of joy and fulfillment in a relationship with Jesus, and live with Him in heaven for all eternity.

While having a procedure a few days ago, I met a young woman who administered the unpleasantries. As we shared in conversation, I asked her common questions such as: have you lived in this area long? What led you to this kind of work? When I asked her if she’d found a good church since coming to this area she hesitated briefly, as if to process the question, then responded: “No, I’m not into that, I’m part of an arts community.”

Instinctively, as I processed what she was saying, I responded: “When your life ends your arts community won’t be of much help to you, you’ll need Jesus for that.” She didn’t respond directly, but we continued our conversation and before I left, I offered her a card from our church listing website information, times of services, etc. She seemed genuinely interested and smiled as she took it.

What she does with the card the Lord alone knows, but in that moment, I said what the Lord prompted me to say, and I have to leave the results in the Lord’s capable hands. We share what’s most important to us and in this season of my life nothing is more important to me than Jesus. We can make small talk, laugh, and enjoy conversations with strangers, but we can’t know if that might be the last conversation they will ever have with anyone. Have we planted any seeds? Have we pointed them to Jesus?

Ray Majoran’s beautiful words address this as he prays: “Glorious God, You have entrusted to us the message of eternal life — a Gospel that is not weak or uncertain, but full of power, truth, and mercy (1 Thessalonians 1:5). You have declared salvation for all who believe, and in that declaration You have revealed Your righteousness, generation to generation. We thank You for the beauty of this calling: to carry the message of Christ with conviction and joy.

We long to speak boldly of what You have done, yet so often we hesitate. Grant us the courage to proclaim the Gospel when it would be easier to stay silent. Shape our hearts so that the worth of Christ outweighs every fear of awkwardness or rejection (Luke 9:26). Let Your Spirit remind us that the words we carry are not ours alone; they are the words of life, breathed out by You (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).

By the power of Your Word and Spirit, make us faithful witnesses who are steady in the truth, grounded in grace, and fully convinced that the Gospel is worth sharing at every opportunity You give.”

May we unashamedly share Jesus with our words as well as our life in every way and at every opportunity the Lord gives us. He’s too good and people are too lost for us not to share.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Reflecting What We Claim to Believe

“But Moses protested again, ‘What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, “The Lord never appeared to you”?’ Then the Lord asked him, ‘What is that in your hand?’” (Exodus 4:1-2 NLT)

What do you believe about God, Jesus, the Bible, faith? Whatever it is, it’s written all over your life. We can’t hide what we truly believe. Sometimes what we think we believe is hidden behind our blatant silence yet shouted loudly through the powerlessness of our life. Did anyone doubt for a moment what Jesus believed – about God, Himself, His mission, His purpose?

In the verses above Moses is making excuses for not wanting to obey God. The Lord has asked him to go to the Pharoah of Egypt and demand the release of all the Jewish slaves who had been under Egypt’s authority for 400 years. It’s complicated, but God chose Moses because he was the perfect candidate.

That’s why God has chosen us to reach the people in our spheres of influence. Yes, of course, like Moses we stutter and rebel against the idea. Surely, there’s someone more capable than me! Surely, You’ve made a mistake, Lord! But here’s the truth – God NEVER makes a mistake! He chooses us because He knows no one is better suited for the job.

Like with Moses, God has been grooming us for our entire life for the exact mission to which He’s now calling us. No one is better positioned to reach our family than we are. It’s no accident that we are in the neighborhood, job, church, social environment we’re in. It’s no accident we met the people we’ve met where we eat, work, exercise or play.

Ray Majoran challenges us when he prays: “By the power of Your Word and Spirit, make us mindful of what You have entrusted to us. Cause our lives to reflect what we claim to believe — that Your glory is weightier than our comfort, more worthy than our ambitions, and far greater than the fleeting approval of this world (Galatians 1:10). Keep us from dull hearts and tired hands. May we be found faithful with what You have given, unwavering in our allegiance to You alone. All glory belongs to You.”

The release of the Jews from captivity wasn’t about Moses, it was about God and His plan for the children of Israel, a plan they would never realize until God provided their release from slavery. We, you and I, aren’t the issue! We’re pawns the Lord is using to help position the people He’s placed on our hearts to receive Him, to be liberated from their sin, to be challenged to be more than they’ve ever imagined they could be.

The children of Israel couldn’t have imagined what the Lord had in store for them. A promised land? A home of their own? Freedom to live the kind of lives they’d never had and couldn’t have imagined if it had been explained to them in great detail. That’s how it was for each of us who have found freedom and deliverance through Jesus, and it’s how it is for those we’re seeking to reach.

They’re blinded by the life in which they’re entrapped; void of hope because they can’t see past where their life is in this exhausting moment. We’re their only hope of escape, of deliverance from the monotony and futility of a life apart from the Savior we know and too often take for granted.

Unless and until we begin to genuinely reflect what we profess to believe, those in our spheres of influence will continue to die and go into a Christless eternity. To allow that to happen is not only sin, it’s disgraceful and saddening to our Lord and King. We must not allow that to happen.

Let’s get over ourselves and boldly, unashamedly, and enthusiastically share our Savior with all who will give us an ear.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

A War Time Walkie Talkie

“Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.” (1 Samuel 17:4-7 NLT)

How do you spell “formidable opponent?” Yet David, just a teenager, went to frightened King Saul and said: “Don’t worry about this Philistine…I’ll go fight him!” While the whole Israeli army was shaking in their boots, this young man who’d never faced another man in battle was ready to face this giant with a sling and a few stones. What made the difference?

Why was David unafraid while the whole army was paralyzed with fear? The simple answer is, his “walkie talkie” was connected to the God of heaven. While the soldiers of Israel were all focused on the size of their opponents, David was focused on the size of his God.

John Piper clarifies this when he writes: “Prayer is a war-time walkie-talkie, not a domestic intercom for ringing up the butler to change the thermostat. It is a war-time walkie-talkie to call in firepower because the enemy is greater than we are. If you try to turn this into a domestic intercom to bring another pillow, it malfunctions, and you wonder why. It’s not made to be an intercom. It’s made to be a war-time walkie-talkie.”

How do you view prayer? Where is your focus as you face the enemies of your life? Your soul? Sin becomes an insurmountable obstacle when we lose sight of how big our God is. Rather than “I can’t” being swallowed with “He can!” we give in to Satan’s attacks without a fight. Temptation comes and we cower like a whimpering child, giving in to our lustful desires with the end result, we’re weak and ineffective, not only in our personal disciplines, but in our witness.

How much strength is in my testimony to a person struggling with difficult circumstances and huge life problems when my testimony is: “I can’t stand up to temptation and Satan is beating me on every level of my life, but come to Jesus!” Too many don’t really want to walk in obedience and submission to Christ’s authority, they just don’t want to go to hell.

News flash! Saying a prayer doesn’t change our eternal destination unless and until we take it seriously enough to grow a spiritual spine and stand up to the devil. When our confidence in God is greater than our confidence in ourselves, we’ll begin to see victory over Satan and his devilish emissaries. Temptation becomes an avenue of victory and celebration when our focus is on our Savior and our “walkie talkie” is tuned to His holy ear.

By God’s grace and in His strength we, as His children, His Saints, can boldly stand our ground, defeating the enemy of our soul and walking in victory over temptation in whatever form it may come. Is it easy? Do we always win? Admittedly, it’s a process that gets easier over time. The devil is powerful, but he’s also predictable. While he comes at us in the same ways, the problem is, those are the areas of our greatest weakness.

The only way to positively and powerfully become victorious, to move from “whiner” to “winner,” is through faith-filled, believing prayer. What channel is your wartime “walkie-talkie” tuned to?

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊