...mercy

I heard about an 80-year-old woman who was arrested for shoplifting.  When she went before the judge in Cincinnati he asked her, "What did you steal?".   She replied "A can of peaches."

The judge asked her why she had stolen the can of peaches and she replied that she was hungry.  The judge then asked her how many peaches were in the can.  She replied, "Six."

The judge said, "Then I will give you six days in jail."  Before the judge could actually pronounce the punishment, the woman's husband spoke up and asked the judge if he could say something.  The judge said, "What is it?"

The husband said, "She also stole a can of peas."

It's so true that whenever others are found guilty, we want to make sure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  I sometimes ask people the question, "Do you want a judge (or a police officer) who shows mercy or one who administers justice?"  The answer I get is almost always the same -- if we are standing before the judge or pulled over by the police officer, we want mercy; if others are standing there, we want justice.

The interesting thing about God is that He is perfect in His justice while at the same time full of mercy.  How can He be both?  When we are guilty of sin, He finds us guilty to the full extent of the law.  The penalty for our sin is death -- spiritual death, separation from God Romans 6:23.  

But, in His mercy, God has found a way to pay the price Himself. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Cor. 5:21

Praise God for being the just and holy God that He is, but praise Him as well for being full of grace and mercy.

-alan smith

...meditation

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, 0 Lord, my strength, and my redeemer."  Psalm 19:14

If it were just a matter of the mouth, I wouldn't have so much trouble...   but it isn't, and I do.

If you read the statement above too fast, you will miss its impact.  Please reread it one more time...

"If it were just a matter of the mouth, I wouldn't have so much trouble...   but it isn't, and I do."

Today, make sure that not only your words, but everything you "think", 

every thought and word that crosses your mind, will be acceptable in God's sight!

...hope

"Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them." (Psalm 10:17 NLT)

"The hopes of the helpless." Interesting phrase don't you think? What are the hopes of the helpless? Help. Escape. Relief. Freedom. Deliverance. Strength. Energy. Light. Refreshment. Revival. Renewal. Dreams. "Immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine."

"The hopes of the helpless." Would those descriptive words apply to you? Weak. Weary. Worn-down. Restless. Barely holding on. Holding on to hope even though there are times you wonder why? Hoping that something totally beyond your power and beyond your comprehension will happen. Hope that something will bring about a change. Hope that something will happen that you have never even dreamed of... something "out of the blue."

A hope of the helpless might involve the doctor coming into your hospital room with a puzzled look on his face saying, "The tumor is gone. We can't explain it, but it's gone."

A hope of the helpless might be waking up in the middle of the night concerned about your husband but not sure there is anything you can do to encourage him or lift his spirits.

A hope of the helpless might take the shape of accidently bumping into the professor of the class you're struggling in and having him say, "I think you can do this. Just don't give up."

A hope of the helpless might come from meeting a new family after they visited your church and hearing them say, "We loved it! We want to be involved."

The hopes of the helpless may come in all shapes and sizes that surfaces at the least expected time. The hopes of the helpless may come at a time when you feel totally drained. The hopes of the helpless may come may come at a time when you wonder if there is any reason to hang on to your hope.

According to David there are at least three reasons for the helpless to have hope.

First, the Lord knows the hopes of the helpless.

The Lord knows what you are going through. He knows the pain you are feeling. He knows that the pain has been with you for longer than you can remember. He knows that you have exhausted yourself trying to fix things, restore things, and rebuild things. He knows you feel helpless.

Second, the Lord hears the cries of the helpless.

He hears your heart. He hears the words that you cannot speak. He hears voice inside you crying out for help. He hears the cries for an end to the suffering.

Third, the Lord comforts the helpless.

Not only does He know the hopes of the helpless and hear their cries, but He also comforts them. There may be no human way to describe this comfort from the Lord, but when you experience it, you will know it. You will have no doubt about the One who providing the comfort. It will be clear that your hopes are known and your cries are being heard.

He knows. He hears. He comforts. There is hope for the helpless.

-tom norvell

...where

 "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou

  knowest not." - Jer 33:3

Do you believe that God not only loves you, but knows where you are and what you're doing every minute of the day?

I certainly do after an amazing experience I had several years ago. At the time I was driving on 1-75 near Dayton, Ohio, with my wife and children. We turned off the highway for a rest and refreshment stop. My wife Barbara and children went into the restaurant. I suddenly felt the need to stretch my legs, so waved them off ahead saying I'd join them later.  I bought a soft drink, and as I walked toward a Dairy Queen, feelings of self-pity enshrouded my mind. I loved the Lord And my ministry, but I felt drained, burdened. My cup was empty.

Suddenly the impatient ringing of a telephone nearby jarred me out of my doldrums. It was coming from a phone booth at a service station on the corner. Wasn't anyone going to answer the phone? Noise from the traffic flowing through the busy intersection must have drowned out the sound because the service station attendant continued looking after his customers, oblivious to the incessant ringing.

"Why doesn't somebody answer that phone?" I muttered. I began reasoning. It may be  important. What if it's an emergency? Curiosity overcame my indifference. I stepped inside the booth and picked up the phone. "Hello," I said casually and took a big sip of my drink. The operator said:" Long distance call for Ken Gaub."

My eyes widened, and I almost choked on a chunk of ice. Swallowing hard, I said, "You're crazy!" Then realizing I shouldn't speak to an operator like that, I added, "This can't be! I was walking down the road, not bothering anyone, and the phone was ringing...

  "Is Ken Gaub there?" the operator interrupted, "I have a long distance call for him."

It took a moment to gain control of my babbling, but I finally replied, "Yes, he is here." Searching for a possible explanation, I wondered if I could possibly be on Candid Camera! Still shaken, perplexed, I asked, "How in the world did you reach me here? I was walking down the road, the pay phone started ringing, and I just answered it on chance. You can't mean me."

"Well," the operator asked, "is Mr. Gaub there or isn't he?" "Yes, I am Ken Gaub," I said, finally convinced by the tone of her voice that the call was real. Then I heard another voice say, "Yes, that's him, operator. That's Ken Gaub." I listened dumbfounded to a strange voice identify herself. "I'm Millie from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. You don't know me, Mr. Gaub, but I'm desperate. Please

help me."

  "What can I do for you?"

She began weeping. Finally she regained control and continued. "I was about to commit suicide, had just finished writing a note, when I began to pray and tell God I really didn't want to do this. Then I suddenly remembered seeing you on television and thought if I could just talk to you, you could help me. I knew that was impossible because I didn't know how to reach you, I didn't know anyone who could help me find you. Then some numbers came to my mind, and I scribbled them down."

At this point she began weeping again, and I prayed silently for wisdom to help her. She continued, "I looked at the numbers And thought, 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if I had a miracle from God, and He has given me Ken's phone number?' I decided to try calling it. I can't believe I'm talking to you. Are you in your  office in California?"

I replied, "Lady, I don't have an office in California. My office is in Yakima, Washington."

  A little surprised, she asked, "Oh really, then where are you?" "Don't you know?"

  I responded. "You made the call."

She explained, "But I don't even know what area I'm calling. I just dialed the number that I had on this paper."  "Ma'am, you won't believe this, but I'm in a phone booth in Dayton, Ohio!" 

"Really?" she exclaimed. "Well, what are you doing there?" 

I kidded her gently, "Well, I'm answering the phone. It was ringing as I walked by, so I answered it."

Knowing this encounter could only have been arranged by God, I began to counsel the woman. As she told me of her despair and frustration, the presence of the Holy Spirit flooded the phone booth giving me words of wisdom beyond my ability. In a matter of moments, she prayed the sinner's prayer and met the One who would lead her out of her situation into a new life.

I walked away from that telephone booth with an electrifying sense of our heavenly Father's concern for each of His children. What were the astronomical odds of this happening? With all the millions of phones and innumerable combinations of numbers, only an all-knowing God could have caused that woman to call that number in that phone booth at that moment in time.

Forgetting my drink and nearly bursting with exhilaration, I headed back to my family, wondering if they would believe my story. Maybe I better not tell this, I thought, but I couldn't contain it. "Barb, you won't believe this! God knows where I am!"

God Also Knows Where You Are. Place Yourself In His Hands, Concentrate On Knowing His Will For Your Life, And He Will Never Forsake Or Forget You.

-barbara nell  

...near

"I Am Not Far From You "Child of Mine, don't be discouraged in those times when it feels like I am very far away. I want you to know that I am with you always, even when you cannot sense My nearness. And just as I promised, I will never abandon you. I am every bit your loving Father, even when you don't feel that you are at your best spiritually. I do not reject you during those times, and I do not throw you away. No child, I am not disappointed with you and I have not disqualified you.

Dear child, I want you to know that you are just as loved when you feel distant from Me as you are when we are in the deepest of fellowship and intimacy. The fact remains that you are My own dear child, no matter what your feelings tell you. I am a loving Father and I am good, and I do not reject My own simply because they are having a bad day (or a bad week, or a bad month or even a bad year). It is always in My heart to restore you and to draw you close again.

It doesn't matter whether or not you feel loved--My love for you will not fail.

It doesn't matter whether or notyou think that are at your best spiritually--I   will not abandon you or or push you away. It doesn't matter how dirty or unworthy you may feel at the moment--you are still My own dear child.

I will not abandon you.There are different things that cause you to feel as though you are far away from Me. I understand them all, and I deal with each one differently--but I do deal with them, because I truly do desire for you to feel close to Me again. I want to saturate you in My presence, and I want to overwhelm your senses with My nearness.

Child, I want to bless you and I want to bring you into deeper intimacy with Me. I am about to refresh your spirit and to restore hope. Can you trust in My goodness and believe that I am really going to do that? Yes, dear one, I am going to break through the driest desert and blow My sweet refreshment upon you. I am going to wash over you with My river of life, and make My living water once again burst forth out of your belly.I want to give rest to your weary soul, and I want to break every shred of discouragement off of you. I want to shower you in My goodness and I want to flood your senses with My nearness.

I am the God who delights in His own and I have every intention of drawing you close to Me once again. Don't be afraid, dear one. I am not going to push you away, no matter how dirty you feel. I am not going to abandon you, no matter how alone or isolated you may feel at the moment. Your feelings may lie to you, but I do not lie. I am your loving heavenly Father, and I am never far from you. So take heart, dear one, for I am very near to you.

-nancy hernandez

...hiding

"For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."Psalm 27:5

In her bestseller book, The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom tells of the tense times in Holland during the German invasion. One night when there was bombing and shelling happening all around the house where she and her sister lived, Corrie couldn't sleep. Hearing her sister in the kitchen, she decided to go down and join her.

Long into the night after all the bombing ceased and all was silent, Corrie returned to her bed only to find that her pillow—right where her head laid—had been pierced with a sizable piece of sharp metal shrapnel from an exploding bomb! Going downstairs to the kitchen saved her life!

She rushed to tell her sister saying, "Betsie, if I hadn't heard you in the kitchen ...." To this her saintly sister interrupted, "Don't say it, Corrie. There are no ifs in God's world. The center of his will is our safety."

Later through terrible trying times in a Nazi prison, Miss Ten Boom was to learn over and over this marvelous truth: "God's will is our hiding place."

-dick innes

...potatoes

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8

I'm a "foodie". Not only do I enjoy eating, but I pay a lot of attention to how things taste and what the ingredients are. Last night I prepared a hot fudge sundae for myself after dinner. As I was sprinkling on some granulated mixed nuts, I read the label. Serving size 2tbsp; calories 100 etc. When I got to the ingredients list, I was amused to discover that in addition to pecans, peanuts, filberts, Brazil nuts - which incidentally are a type of seed and not a nut - the nut topping contained potato.

Potato?

If I had to decide whether I wanted to use those mixed nuts as a topping for my ice cream based on ingredients alone, I think I would have declined. In my mind the foods potato and ice cream do not mix. In fact, they are so different in flavor that I almost gag just thinking about a hot fudge sundae with potato-nut topping.

There are times when our life is sprinkled with some very unappealing ingredients. God has a way of using the things that are bitter or unsavory and making them into a more appetizing blend. All of us go through periods where life makes sense for the most part. Things go smoothly and we are able to experience a satisfying peace.

When we least expect it, the status quo can change on us. The important thing to remember is that the challenging parts of life are nothing more than a different ingredient being tossed into the mix to add flavor. At first we may not like the way it tastes, especially if it is initially overpowering. Over time, God gives us the appetite we need to be able to taste and see that the things He allows - as part of the flavor of our lives - are good. When we put our hope in Him and trust Him as our constant refuge, even life's stomach-churning recipes can be salvaged.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8

-lauren beyenhof

...even-haazer

There's a peculiar line in the classic hymn "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing".  It's in the second stanza; and it says, "Here I raise my Ebenezer."  Robert Robinson apparently not only knew of the verse but also understood its meaning and importance, for it was he who wrote those words into his beautiful and timeless hymn.

In 1 Samuel 7:12 we are told that "Samuel took a stone and set it up... and called its name Ebenezer, saying 'Thus far the Lord has helped us.'"  That stone was a reminder to the Israelites of God's faithfulness and might.  It was set up so that no matter what situation they were in, they would be able to hark back to their defeat of the Philistines in which God was faithful to deliver them.

What reminders do you have of God's faithfulness in your life?  It may be a picture, a song, a powerful verse that really spoke to your heart during a difficult time.  Whatever it is, keep it at hand so that when you are discouraged you can not only use it to recall how God has blessed and helped you, but you can also look forward to His future faithfulness.

Ebenezer - from two Hebrew words pronounced together: "Even Haazer" - "Stone of Help."

-david jeremiah

...obedience

"But Samuel replied: 'Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is BETTER than sacrifice, and to heed is BETTER than the fat of rams.'" 1 Samuel 15:22

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." John 14:15

To ignore God's Word is to put your spiritual life in jeopardy. It won't matter how many verses of the Bible you know by heart, how many powerful experiences you had at the altar, or how intensely you can sing praise and worship choruses... you will not find God's rest without obedience to His Word!

-dennis marquardt

...hand

I read about the experience of a man who underwent open-heart surgery. He said, "The day before surgery a nurse came into my room to visit. She took hold of my hand and told me to feel it and hold it."

"Now," she said, "during the surgery tomorrow you will be disconnected from your heart and you will be kept alive only by virtue of certain machines. When your heart is finally restored and the operation is over and you are recovering, you will eventually awaken in a special recovery room.

You will be immobile for as long as six hours. You may be unable to move, or speak, or even to open your eyes, but you will be perfectly conscious. You will hear and you will know everything that is going on around you.

During those six hours, I will be at your side and I will hold your hand, exactly as I am doing now. I will stay with you until you are fully recovered.

Although you may feel absolutely helpless, when you feel my hand, you will know that I will not leave you."

"It happened exactly as the nurse told me. I awoke and could do nothing. But I could feel the nurse's hand in my hand for hours. And that made all the difference!"

Jesus' favorite word for His promised presence in the Holy Spirit is "Paraclete - the One called alongside." Engrave the words of Jesus on your mind until they are such a part of you that even during the hardest times of your life, regardless of how you feel, you will know that He is with you - holding your hand - and He will never leave you or forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

-dave langerfeld

...political

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”2 Timothy 4:1-3

It’s amazing how, in our day and age, so many are afraid to stand up and be counted when it comes to taking a public stand for that which is morally correct, based on biblical principles and the Judeo-Christian ethic, for fear of not being politically correct. To bash Christianity, the Ten Commandments, the Word of God and even Jesus’s “Sermon on the Mount” has become acceptable among certain circles, but try condemning gay marriage or critique religions such as Islam and it becomes a different story.  

But did Jesus Christ ever allow Himself to be so controlled? Never! 

Jesus was a man of passion. He hated the abuse of God’s house so He drove out the money changers with a whip. He hated evil and sin, not simply because these were opposed to His Word but because they were, and are, damaging to those whom God loves—us. But He always loved sinners and was against anything that hurt them, kept them in bondage, or hindered their growth. And He was hated for His stand.

“In Jesus’s case, we have the story of the holiest man who ever lived, and yet it was the prostitutes and lepers and thieves who adored Him, and the religious who hated His guts.”2 Why? Because He loved people and was opposed to religious dogma and programs that kept people in bondage and used them for their own ends rather than helping them to grow.

“People were offended with Jesus because He violated their understanding of religion and piety. The religious people of His day were particularly incensed that He deliberately healed on the Sabbath.... They accused Him of being a drunkard, a glutton and having tacky taste in friends. As Gene Thomas is fond of saying, ‘Jesus was simply not your ideal Rotarian.’ It is a profound irony that the Son of God visited this planet and one of the chief complaints against Him was that He was not religious enough.”

In other words, Jesus was totally committed to people’s spiritual and personal growth and was strongly opposed to anything that stopped or hindered that growth. Political correctness was never ever a part of His agenda. 

As an English Bishop once said, “Wherever Jesus went there was either a revival or a revolution. Wherever I go, they serve tea.”

Question: Do we, the members of our church, want to start a revival or a revolution? Or do we just prefer to serve tea?

-dick innes

...stick

"Moses answered [God], 'What if they [the Israelites] do not believe me or listen to me and say, "The LORD did not appear to you"?' Then the LORD said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' 'A staff,' he replied. The LORD said, 'Throw it on the ground.' Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, 'Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.' So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand."Exodus 4:4

You will recall that the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for some 430 years and God was calling Moses to return to Egypt to confront Pharaoh to let God's people go. This was to deliver them from slavery and lead them to the Promised Land—the land that God had promised them many years before through Abraham, the father of the Israeli nation. 

Because he wasn't good at speaking, Moses didn't feel that he would be able to take on this seemingly impossible task. So God challenged Moses by saying, "What is that in your hand?" and then performed an unusual miracle with Moses' stick. This was to ensure Moses that God would be with him to convince the Israelites that God had called him, and to assure Moses that God would perform any miracles needed to convince Pharaoh to ultimately let God's people go. 

Last year Nya and I were in Egypt and when visiting the great pyramids, I couldn't help but wonder if the Israeli slaves were used to build or help build these massive structures. I asked our tour guide if this were possible and she didn't know. 

Fast forward to today's world in which God has a work for you and me to do in each of the worlds in which we live. Unfortunately, many of us don't feel capable of doing anything significant for God and consequently sit back and virtually waste our lives by not fulfilling God's purpose for it. So God's question to each of us today is: "What is that in your hand?" 

In other words, what God-given gifts do you have? 

What do you enjoy doing and do reasonably well? 

What would you like to be doing if you had the opportunity? 

These activities usually indicate what your stick is; that is, what gift or gifts that are in your hand. Whatever these are, be sure to put these abilities to good use in serving God, remembering that we serve God by serving people. 

If you are a gifted teacher, then perhaps you could teach a Sabbath school or Bible class. If you are a gifted speaker or writer, then look for ways to use these gifts to help spread the gospel and message of Jesus Christ. If you are good at encouraging people, then use this gift generously. You can serve through your local church, through local community services, by helping local or overseas missions, by helping with and supporting para-church organizations, by reaching out to a neighbor in need, by being a volunteer with a local service group—or in any of a hundred other productive ways.

Remember, too, that when you stand before Jesus and give an account of your life, be sure that you won't just stand there holding your stick that appears as if it were just taken out of the gift box.

-dick innes

...opportunity

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."2 Corinthians 6:2 

A few years ago one of my best friends was cut down in the prime of life. He was only forty-something. His doctors gave him only a matter of months to live. His passing was a shock and a sad loss for many of us. One of the last things my friend said to me before he died was how much he regretted not being able to do some important things he planned on doing. "And now it is too late," he said.

As John Greenleaf Whittier said, "Some of our most painful regrets are for opportunities lost."

Another person who will know the tragedy of opportunity lost was King Agrippa who said to the Apostle Paul when he shared the gospel with him, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian." Acts 26:28  But King Agrippa, as far as we know never did accept Jesus as his Savior, and if not, is lost forever. And all the regrets forever will never ever give him that opportunity again. 

You and I, too, will be lost forever if we fail to accept God's pardon for sins forgiven and His gift of eternal life. None of us has any guarantee of tomorrow, and as God's Word reminds us, "Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation." Remember too that opportunity comes to pass—not to pause. 

As William Shakespeare so eloquently expressed it:

     There is a tide in the affairs of men,

     Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune.

     Omitted, all the voyage of their life 

     is bound in shallows and in miseries.

     On such a full sea are we now afloat;

     And we must take the current when it serves,

     Or lose our ventures."

"Of all sad words of tongue or pen. The saddest are these: It might have been!"

If you have never accepted God's free pardon for all your sins by accepting Jesus as your Savior, or are not sure you have done that, please do it today. Don't wait until tomorrow for tomorrow may be too late.  "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian." Don't be an almost-persuaded-might-have-been person.

And if there is some unfinished business you've been putting off doing for some time, don't put it off any longer. Do it today. And if there is someone you need to call or contact and let them know you love and appreciate them, and haven't yet told them, do it today.

-dick innes

...scent

"The Lord disciplines those he loves ... for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."Hebrews 12:6, 10, 11

Earl Nightingale told how on one National Secretaries Day he gave his secretary flowers and she remarked how beautiful they were. She also said that she couldn't understand why they didn't have any scent.

He informed her that the flowers came from a hothouse and explained that because flowers raised in this type of environment have everything done for them, they don't have to attract insects to pollinate them. As a result, they lose their scent. In the same way fruit raised in a hothouse, because it doesn't need to attract insects to scatter its seeds, doesn't taste as good as fruit grown in its natural environment.

It's similar to the child who wanted to help a butterfly out of its cocoon by putting a slit in it and, in so doing caused it to die. He didn't realize that the struggle to get out of the cocoon is needed to strengthen the butterfly's wings, which enables it to fly.

When people do too much for us or overprotect us, especially in our early developmental years, they can do serious harm to us. And even in adulthood the problems and difficulties we have are what strengthen us, build our character, and teach us wisdom, understanding, and compassion—if we let them. This is why God disciplines those whom He loves by allowing us to go through difficult times.

-dick innes

...tolerance

We live in a culture that virtually deifies tolerance. 

One lady recently said to me with a broad grin, "I love everybody; I even love the devil." This is "tolerance gone to seed." Christ commands us to love people, even our enemies, but that doesn't mean we shrink from standing up for righteousness.

Paul didn't back off an inch. I can see the hair stiffening on the back of his neck as he showed his spiritual teeth and growled,

"You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time." And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. Acts 13:10–11

When he had to be firm, he stepped up. The result was magnificent. Stunned by the obvious display of God's power and Paul's emboldened response, the pagan official believed, and we can almost see the door to the Gentiles opened wider.

You may face similar opportunities to confront enemies of truth. They come in a number of different forms. Some are more insidious than others. When the opposition against the truth is this severe, based on Paul's model, is that you confront it. Leave the results with God. 

Step up and speak out in the name of the Lord. Be certain of His protection. Don't rush in. Pray for wisdom in the choice of your words before saying anything, and then speak boldly. The results may not be as dramatic as what happened in Cyprus, but the Lord will honor your faith. 

When you stand for God, you stand with God. 

He's got your back. 

So you can stand with confidence

-chuck swindoll

...on

Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark left Cyprus and sailed to the southern coast of Turkey—a land then known as Pamphylia, whose rugged coastline ascended sharply into the towering heights of a mountain range steeper and fiercer than the eastern Tauras near Tarsus, and more terrible than any hills known to the Cypriot Barnabas or the Judean John Mark.

That sight alone may have initiated the storm surge of doubt that would eventually flood young John Mark's soul. In this region Paul became gravely ill with a serious coastal fever. That may have been the last straw for the inexperienced traveler to endure. Without any explanation, "John left them and returned to Jerusalem." But going on from Perga, they pressed on. Without even as much as a hiccup, the journey continued. Paul and Barnabas were undeterred by John Mark's desertion.

All the way through ministry, people leave. In every church there will be individuals who, for whatever reason, move on to other things. This includes those in leadership. They leave, but the church presses on. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding their departure, the journey continues. For Paul and Barnabas there was neither time nor need for a long, drawn-out farewell. They pressed ahead, keeping their eyes focused on the goal.

It's hard to press on when you feel abandoned. It's easy to give in to discouragement and allow that to siphon your tank dry, but Paul and Barnabas had no such luxury. Emotions in check, they had a job to do. So they moved forward with an even stronger determination.

One of the marks of maturity is the ability to press ahead regardless of who walks off the scene. The alternative isn't an option. Once you've said goodbye, it's time for everyone to move on. That's exactly what Paul and Barnabas did. "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" Philippians 3:14

-chuck swindoll

...opportunities

Paul and Barnabas arrived at Pisidian Antioch, weary and aching from their perilous march through the mountains. Still, they wasted no time in making their way to the synagogue early enough to find a good seat to listen to the reading of God's Word. 

They made their destination by the Sabbath.

They said to Paul, "Would you like to preach?" That was his cue! Without hesitation, he delivered the goods. He started in Genesis and preached all the way through to the ministry of Christ completely from memory! 

He had no notes. 

He did it extemporaneously.

The response was overwhelming, the next Sabbath the whole town showed up to hear the message he would deliver. The same was true then as it is today: people are hungry for the Word of God. When you have hungry hearts and great food served well, there's no problem getting people to come for the spiritual feast. Finding people who long to be fed the nourishing meat of God's truth is no great challenge.

Therefore, when you have the unexpected opportunity to share the good news, share it. But be careful not to dump the whole truckload. If you're sitting on a plane and the opportunity presents itself, don't preach through the whole Old Testament before getting to the heart of the Gospel. Tell that hungry soul how to find a piece of bread. As you lift up Christ, tell him of your own spiritual journey. If done courteously and interestingly, he will hang on every word, just as they did with Paul.

As Jesus promised, "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself" John 12:32

-chuck swindoll

...grace

Paul's message emphasized the gospel to the lost and grace to the saved. That is a wonderful paradigm for any minister or ministry to adopt. As I've studied the life of Paul, particularly in his later years, I find two prominent themes woven like threads through the tapestry of his ministry.

First, to the lost he presented the Gospel: "Let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses" Acts 13:38–39.

What impact our churches would have on our communities if each Christian committed to sharing the Gospel once a week with someone who expresses a need.

Second, his message included large doses of grace for the saved. Just as the lost don't understand the Gospel, the saved rarely understand grace. There are few activities more exhausting and less rewarding than Christians attempting to please the people around them by maintaining impossible legalistic demands. What a tragic trap, when will we ever learn? Grace has set us free! That message streamed often through the sermons and personal testimonies of the apostle Paul.

The lost need to hear how they can go from the island of debris, filled with misery and guilt, to the land of peace and forgiveness, flowing with mercy and grace. We build those bridges when we lovingly and patiently communicate the Gospel. 

You don't have to have a seminary degree. You don't have to know a lot of the religious vocabulary. In your own authentic, honest, and unguarded manner, share with people what Christ has done for you. Who knows? It may not be long before you will know the joy of leading a lost sinner from the darkness of death's dungeon across the bridge to the liberating hope of new life in Christ. 

Once they've arrived, release them. Release them into the magnificent freedom that grace provides.  Making us holy is the Holy Spirit's work. You be faithful to dispense the Gospel to the lost and grace to the saved. Then leave the results in the Lord's hands.

-chuck swindoll

...opinion

Acts 13:45–48

When Paul was rejected, he didn't quit. 

As my good friend and wise mentor, Howie Hendricks, often says, "Where there's light, there are bugs!" The brighter Paul's light, the more the bugs. And in that situation, those bugs had stingers filled with poison.

Paul didn't back down an inch in his response to open rejection. The result? Not surprisingly, the Gentiles in the crowd rejoiced in the good news he had for them. How exciting! What started as a smoldering ember of religious curiosity burst into flames of faith.

Why were Paul and Barnabas able to persevere? Neither man set his affections on temporal things. What discipline. If you want to get caught in the net of disillusionment, allow yourself to get tangled in the tangibles. You'll not only run shy of courage, you'll sink like a rock in a country pond. Because others' opinions will start to mean everything. When you allow their responses to be the ballast, then their applause becomes essential to keep you afloat, and their assaults drag you straight to the bottom. That formula for failure can be found in all people-pleasing ministries. You're doomed to disillusionment if you don't focus on the eternal.

Lee lacocca, not long after leaving the automobile business, said, "Here I am in the twilight years of my life still wondering what it's all about. I can tell you this: fame and fortune is for the birds."

You may be one who lives your life pursuing fame and fortune, depending on the applause of others. Bad plan. To begin with, fortune has shallow roots. The winds of adversity can quickly blow it all away. "Riches certainly make themselves wings, they fly away as an eagle toward heaven" Proverbs 23:5. And fame is as fickle as the last response from the crowd. 

When you're praised and applauded, don't pay any attention. And when you're rejected and abused, don't quit. It wasn't human opinion that called you into the work you're doing. So don't let human responses or criticisms get you sidetracked. Keep going.

Don't get tangled in the tangibles!

-chuck swindoll

...popularity

Remarkably, though laying lifeless in a pool of his own blood, Paul got right back up and walked back into the city from which he had been dragged and left for dead. 

Can you imagine being so hated that people literally pick up rocks and strike you repeatedly until you're unconscious and left for dead? If they stone you in Abilene, are you going to stay in Abilene overnight?  Not a chance! You're going to take as quick a flight to a place as far away from there as possible. If you're operating strictly from a horizontal viewpoint, you don't want to be within a thousand miles of that place when the sun rises the next dawn, unless you're called and fully committed to the vertical perspective. Then you stick it out. You don't quit. Neither do you retaliate or throw a pity party. You go to sleep night after night, trusting in the same God who called you to serve there—convinced that He is sovereign and in absolute control.

That's exactly what Paul did. He entered that same city and spent the night there (14:20). He picked himself up off the dusty ground, pushed aside the larger stones, wiped the blood from his face and hands, gathered his composure, and climbed right back into the pulpit. They could not drive him away.

You'd think he'd demonstrate a little caution and common sense. They wanted him gone, but God called him to minister there.

A ministry that lasts is a ministry that relentlessly perseveres through periods of enormous persecution. It is not fickle. It does not need the applause of people. It rejects being enshrined as a god. 

Authentic ministry delivers the truth of God, no matter how jagged the edges or perilous the threats. The ministry of Paul and Barnabas dripped with that kind of determination. Does yours?

-chuck swindoll

...saturate

Paul's ministry was saturated with the Word of God. Fifteen times in chapters thirteen and fourteen the phrases "God's Word," the "Word of truth," the "teaching of the Lord," the "Law and the Prophets," and the "Good News" are mentioned (13:5, 13:7, 13:12, 13:15a, 13:15b, 13:32, 13:44, 13:46, 13:48, 13:49, 14:3, 14:7, 14:15, 14:21, 14:25).

On that first journey Paul took with him just enough to live on, sufficient clothing to cover his nakedness, a heart full of hope in God's truth, and a confidence in God that would keep him faithful. That's what held him together. That's what steeled him against the tightening jaws of mistreatment in the ministry.

Could it be that you've grown a little soft in the past few months in your commitment to time spent in the Scriptures? It may be happening to you just as it happens to me from time to time. Please heed this gentle warning: If you're getting ready to go off to school, or preparing to take on new ministry responsibilities, or getting ready to launch a new phase of your career, don't do it without first establishing a regular time to meet alone with the Lord, preparing yourself for the new challenge by spending time in His Word. 

Your spiritual future depends on it. 

Without that commitment to saturate your life with God's Word, you step into the unknown future at your own risk. I urge you to spend sufficient time with the Lord so you might be strengthened within. It can begin with as little as fifteen minutes each day.

I don't have fifteen minutes a day! 

Try cutting your lunch break short so you've got time on the other end to spend reading through a Psalm or two or digesting one of the New Testament letters.

If Paul could saturate his life in the Word of God, you and I can too. 

You are touching some people in your sphere of influence that likely no one else will touch. Be known for your biblical commitment, your biblical counseling. Be known for your biblical advice. Be appreciated for your biblical stand on moral values. 

It all starts with your investment of time in the Bible. 

Go there. 

Become saturated with the Word of God. 

That in itself will carry you miles down the road toward establishing an authentic ministry.

-chuck swindoll

...ministry

A sentence in the diary of James Gilmore, pioneer missionary to Mongolia, has stayed with me since the day I first read it. After years of laboring long and hard for the cause of Christ in that desperate land, he wrote, "In the shape of converts I have seen no result. I have not, as far as I am aware, seen anyone who even wanted to be a Christian."

Let me add some further reality to that statement by taking you back to an entry in Gilmore's journal made in the early days of his ministry. It expressed his dreams and burdens for the people of Mongolia. Handwritten in his journal are these dreams: "Several huts in sight. When shall I be able to speak to the people? O Lord, suggest by the Spirit how l should come among them, and in preparing myself to teach the life and love of Christ Jesus."

That was his hope. He longed to reach the lost of Mongolia with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How different from his entry many years later, "I have not, as far as I am aware, seen anyone who even wanted to be a Christian."

What happened in between? He encountered the jagged edge of an authentic ministry. When I write about succeeding in the work of the Lord, I'm not promising success as we define it in human terms. I'm not saying because you are faithful to proclaim the Word of God your church will be packed. Some of God's most faithful servants are preaching their hearts out in places where the church is not growing. A great temptation for those in that difficult setting is to turn to some of the other stuff that holds out the promise of more visible results. Don't go there. Stay at it. God is at work.

Thinking of preparing for a life of ministry? Does the thought of standing before crowds of people and delivering the Word of God with passion and conviction appeal to your sense of adventure? I need to ask you one more time: Is there anything else in this world that would bring you greater enjoyment? If so, go there. Don't even hesitate.

But if you know the Lord has called you into His work, and you would not be fulfilled doing anything else, then go there and never look back, even if the results often seem disappointing.

-chuck swindoll

attitude

“Your attitude (your mind set) should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” Philippians 2:5

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. 

Attitude, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. 

It will make or break a company. . .a church. . .a home. 

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...  We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. 

And so it is with you. . .we are in charge of our Attitudes.

-chuck swindoll