June 5 running on empty

  . Many of us know the sinking feeling of running out of gas. Neglect. Too busy. I’ll do it when I have more time. Then the car sputters and dies. Can you hear me now? To go forward with our plans, we must refuel or make other arrangements. As a Spirit filled Christian, I am able to continue in daily battle with the powers of darkness. The war is real.  Ephesians 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.   Spiritual wickedness is all around us. They are our enemy. We were once living for them. Then we became turn coats and plead for Jesus to save us. He did. Now these powers of darkness are our enemies till we graduate to Heaven. Warriors must have energy to succeed in combat. Christians need spiritual energy to go into battle. When we are saved, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Also known as the Holy Ghost. Before He ascended into Heaven Jesus told his followers: Acts 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. The Baptism of the Holy Ghost brings power into the life of a Christian. We can boldly proclaim that Jesus is Lord and let God flow through us to bring others to faith in Him. But we become weary. We need rest. We need to refuel. If we run on empty, we become ineffective in battle. We can be filled with the Spirit if we decide to be filled. Ephesians 5:18  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; And how are we filled with the Spirit?  Be faithful to your Bible preaching church. Ephesians 5:19-21   Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21  Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. We are filled with His Spirit when we take personal time to read the Bible. Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. We refill when we pray. Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; We refill when we use the Spiritual gifts He gave us to bless others.  I desire to wear out rather than rust out. Will you confess your sins and repent daily? Hourly? Will you faithfully read your Bible? Will you faithfully attend and work at your church where the Bible is taught, and you feel God’s Spirit? Running on Full is more joyful than running on empty. Enjoy the adventure.  

June 6.   Pride. Some people think of June as pride month. Proud of being LGBTQ. Abbreviation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer. The simple definition of queer is strange or odd. Is being queer strange or odd? Gallup.com tells us 7.1% of Americans are queer. So yes 92.9% are not queer so to be queer is strange or odd. Does that mean they are not loved by God? No. John 3:16   For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The world that God loves includes the queers. All of us who understand right from wrong have rebelled against God. Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? None of us. Who can say my sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus? Many millions. Only God knows how many. 1 Peter 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Washed in the blood of Jesus? That hardly makes sense. Yet without repenting and asking Jesus to save us we cannot be born again. John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The only way you can comprehend salvation is to turn to God and in faith say, “I want to know the truth. Can a person really know God personally? Can my guilt and sins really be washed away.?” Then read God’s Word the Bible and let Him guide you to the truth. I am thankful I am saved. I received the gift of salvation. I could never have earned it. You can receive it too if you will listen to God’s still small voice in your heart. Now that I am saved the Bible is alive and exciting. The beautiful rainbow is a reminder that God promised to never destroy the world with a flood again. Genesis 9:12-13  And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13  I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. Satan has tried to change God’s purpose in the rainbow, but God’s Word shall last long after Satan has been cast into the lake of fire. Satan has lied to you for so long. Are you tired of living in sin?  Jesus can change your life for eternity if you believe, repent and ask Him to. Will you? 

He started well. One way to prove the Bible was written by God and not men is to read it. Man would have left out the sins of the saints. God tells us the truth. Many Bible heroes started out well and then didn’t end well. King Solomon. Humble. He prayed for God to give him wisdom as to how to govern his people. But over time he worshiped other gods which are no gods. He even had Molech worship outside Jerusalem where they burned infants as an offering to their god. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He started well. He finished with failure in his life. King Saul started out shy hiding with the baggage when Samuel wanted to anoint him first king of Israel. The Lord told him where Saul was hiding. 1 Samuel 10:22 Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. King Saul went down in dishonor. Gideon was a mighty warrior. He could’nt believe the Lord was callilng him to command the Israeli army. He was used in a mighty way by God. But in the end he had strayed from the straight and narrow.   Judges 8:27 And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. He wanted the people to more than honor him. Almost worship him. He pretended to be a priest. Pride leads to destruction.  Sampson started out humble but went down in disgrace. Peter took a nose dive but repented and came out victorious. John Mark took a nose dive but repented and came out victorious. It’s not over till it’s over. No matter where you are in life Jesus loves you and has a plan for you. An adventure. Not always pleasant but always thrilling to be faithful to Him. If you have never repented and put your faith in Him you can. If you have left your first love and need to be revived, He is waiting to revive you. If you have been faithful purpose to still be faithful because you haven’t crossed the finish line yet. Perhaps you will be able to say as Paul did,  2 Timothy 4:7  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 

What about him? The Lord wants to communicate with you directly. He wants to guide your steps. Sometimes He uses the Holy Spirit through a still small voice. 1 Kings 19:12  And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORDwas not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.He also speaks to us through His Word the Bible. Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. When He is speaking to you give Him your undivided attention. It is good to have a regular quiet time set aside each day to read your Bible and listen to God. In John chapter 21 Jesus appeared to the discouraged disciples after they fished all night catching none. At His suggestion they caught 153 fish. Then they realized this was Jesus. He had breakfast ready to eat. After breakfast Jesus talked with Peter asking him three times if he loved Him. Peter said that he did. A study of the Greek words for “love” here is inspirational. Then Jesus told Peter John 21:18-19  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. Peter would follow his Lord and in his old age others would persecute and kill him. You would think Peter would be thinking about what the Lord had just said but instead he asked Jesus about John. John 21:21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Possibly Jesus thought…”Peter I am talking to you about you. I just told you in your old age they will persecute you and kill you and you ask me about John?” May I suggest you and I are just as bad? Instead of focusing on what Jesus says, we change the subject to something else. What will happen to John is not the focus of this conversation. Peter, you denied me three times. I have forgiven you. I have promised you a long productive life which will end in persecution. Now you change the subject and ask about John? We should think before we speak. We should meditate on what Jesus instructs us. Be concerned about your relationship with Jesus before asking about others. How we must disappoint Jesus by changing the subject. Many times we listen to speak. May we learn how to listen to listen. Concentrate on what the person said instead of changing the subject. Example, “My car broke down.” Your answer, “Oh let me tell you how my car broke down last week.” Don’t steal the conversation. Why did they speak to you? They had a reason. Listen to learn. Not listen to steal the conversation. 

June 9   A merry heart.  Proverbs 15:13  A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. Sorrow is unavoidable. Everyday sad things happen. Death. Loss of employment. Thieves. Pain. Damage to property. The list is unending. When sorrow fills our heart, our spirit is broken. Jesus wants to heal our broken spirit. He could have stopped the thieves. Or the flooding. Or the cancer. Or the car wreck. And many times, He or His angels do. Then there was Job. Children killed by a whirlwind. Business interests all went south at the same time. Wife telling him to curse God and die. Boils from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. Friends who argued that he was being punished by God for sin in his life. Yet Job was not being punished by God. Perhaps the reason Job suffered so was to show me, to show you that we must be faithful to God even when it seems He has been unfaithful to us. Opposite of a broken spirit is a merry heart. Too much sadness destroys your life. We must find some merryness. That which we think about is what governs our attitudes and actions. Don’t let negative thinking destroy your life. When down in the dumps reflect of the good things. Read your Bible. Pray. Talk with people who care. And be merry. Read inspirational stories in the Bible about how others trusted the Lord and were delivered. Watch a funny movie. Listen to a clean comedian. There are Christian comedians who do not make fun of Jesus and do not use profanity. Proverbs 15:15  All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast. Want a continual feast? Get a merry heart. Proverbs 17:22  A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. I don’t want dried up bones, so I look for clean laughter. It can be found. Let me give you an example. An Amish farmer back in the 1800’s had a mule that had a mind of it’s own. Sometimes it would plow. Sometimes it wouldn’t. One day he became so frustrated with the mule he walked up to it and told it this. “Now mule, thou knowest that I am a man of God. As such I shall not smite thee. Nor shall I curse thee. Nor shall I refrain from feeding thee thine oats. But what thou knowest not… Is that if thou dost not plow my field…. I shall trade thee to a Baptist!” My friend don’t let sorrow dominate your life. Trust the Lord. Read your Bible. Be faithful to a Bible teaching church. And let the Lord direct you to things that will make your heart merry. Daily devotions are at www.youtube.com search for “here the word.”

College? Is it a necessity? For many years it was emphasized that a person needs a college degree if he wants to be successful. Today we have many college graduates who are unable to find a job. They are too qualified for some jobs. They have no experience for other jobs. Some college grads say, “They won’t hire me because I don’t have any experience. My college degree is my experience.”  With the temptation to borrow easy money to get their education many graduates find themselves in unbelievable debt. Many are pleased that some people in our government want to “forgive” their college debt. Is that fair to the people who paid for their education? We are back to the mentality of take from the rich and give to the poor. The Bible answer to not working is: 2 Thessalonians 3:10   For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. Some graduates are too dignified to work a common job such as flipping burgers. Plus, many employers consider them unemployable because they are overqualified. Which may mean, “You are not going to be happy with what I could offer you. Your expectations are beyond your potential with this company. Let’s save both of us the trouble and time and I’ll just wish you well and say goodbye. Not everyone can get a college degree. Some people like me have a hard time struggling to make the grade. My older brother made A’s and B’s with very little studying. I could study for hours and still struggle to pass. As a student at Houston Baptist College in 1968 I experienced a humiliating class. I sat near the back of the class. Our professor and a guest professor were discussing the fact that not all preachers have to have a college degree. They kept looking at me. I really felt uncomfortable listening to them as they seemingly stared at me. They stressed that being called to preach did not necessarily mean you had to have degrees from college and seminary. I have never claimed to be the brightest bulb on the tree. I am just thankful to be a light even if it is a small one. God spoke through Baalam’s donkey. He can speak through me too. So, is college a necessity? If you want to be a doctor, yes. Many people make a sufficient living because they have learned a trade. Someone has said “attitude not aptitude determines your altitude.” Us with small aptitude trusting in Jesus with the right attitude can run with Jesus and soar like eagles. Isaiah 40:31  But they that wait upon the LORDshall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Don’t let your education or your lack of education ruin your life. Give Jesus what you have. He can use even you if you will ask Him to. 

He killed her. She was my 5th grade teacher. Probably 15 years had passed since I saw her. Her husband pushed her wheelchair out onto the driveway and shot her with a shotgun. Then he turned the rifle on himself and took his life also. Both were suffering with terrible pain and incurable medical problems. Apparently, they thought the best way out was murder and then suicide. What a sad story. Death is permanent. I think many people who attempted suicide but lived now appreciate the fact they did not die. Sometimes life seems unbearable. God’s children always have Jesus to help them if they will seek Him. Even the lost can find that Jesus will help them if they will turn to Him. Sampson reached the end of his rope. He had supernatural strength because he had been dedicated to God before he was born.  Judges 13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.  As a Nazarite Sampson was to never cut his hair. His Philistine girlfriend kept pestering him until finally he told her his strength was because his hair had never been cut. While sleeping the enemy cut his hair. They gouged out his eyes and put him on display. He ground grain as an ox. A child led him around. Repenting after his hair began to grow back, he asked the Lord for strength one more time. The child took him to the main support pillars of the building where about three thousand men and women made fun of him. The Lord allowed him to push the pillars apart killing him and those mocking him and his God. Judges 16:30  And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. Although a failure, Sampson made the who’s who list of God’s heroes in Hebrews 11.  Hebrews 11:32-34   And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: When Satan pushes you into a pit of despair look up to Jesus. He weeps for you. He will help if you ask Him to. 1 Corinthians 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. With Jesus all things are possible. Trust Him while you can. www.youtube.com search “here the word.”