Note from Haley:

Here are pictures from Isaac’s nursery. We decided on a puppy dog theme. Everything has come together and is so cute! Mom came and painted a cuddly little puppy on his wall. It is so precious. Samuel’s grandmother made a puppy quilt for him when he was a boy and it is on a bed in the room. It is an heirloom treasure. Isaac’s crib is being kept warm with a bunch of stuffed animal puppies waiting to be loved on and his baby quilt –that I made. We have been so blessed with  many supplies like toiletries, blankets, sheets, diapers, etc from family and friends.  We are ready! And I have already a full dresser of clothes ready to get him through a couple of months. Many were given new along with plenty of hand me downs, yard sale and thrift store finds! God has really blessed us with so much. Thanks to everyone who sent something. Sam and I treasure every gift! Now we just wait to bring his little self home and snuggle him!!!! I can’t wait to post pictures of him in the room as he is the only thing that is missing!

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Trying to choose which color paint

          We might also resolve to set our heart on complacency where we believe we have done enough and that we’ve reached our spiritual peak. God will not leave us in one place very long. It is not to our benefit but to our detriment to get settled in. Just look at the Old Testament (a shadow of things to come Hebrews 10:1) and at how God moved the Israelites constantly. When Joshua fought battles he went from place to place. He never stopped short of defeating the enemy and then progressing on to the next one.

Our family went through a study some time ago of the battles of Joshua and it was amazing at how each one was a different challenge. There were great spiritual lessons that we saw in these battles and no two were the same. We saw tactics of the devil that practically slapped us all in the face at how we’d seen them before. After all, he doesn’t have any new material. You and I are like Joshua. We have a constant need for being alert and diligent in motion. We need to be ready for anything.

Yes, there are many attitudes that we can get into. But of all that you go through you need to focus on one thing-hopelessness. As always, bear with me and let me explain. I believe that the church as a whole has forgotten who we are. There is an attitude prevalent and even preached that we are King’s Kids. The facts of our Royal standing are thrown out to the congregations week after week and all members get pumped up about who they are now. Just as the devil told half truths when he deceived Eve he still uses that tactic today. Half truths are believable statements that we might fall into for one of many reasons. We might want something to be true and therefore it agrees with what we’ve been looking for. Or, we might not be educated in total truth and so we are misled on counterfeits. If a cashier handed you Monopoly money at the store you would give it back. But if she handed you counterfeit money you might readily take it unless you really observed what you got. Not paying attention gets us into trouble.

Truth is like that, too. We should examine what someone teaches and see if it agrees with the Bible. So I want you to really think about what I am saying today. Read the Word and see if it agrees with me, your preacher or someone that you have been listening to. As I stated, there is a doctrine of Hell that is pushing the Body of Christ into spoiled, selfish children instead of humble servants that we need to be. The prosperity doctrine is just part of it. It is also the mindset that you have to do nothing as a Christian and that God will take care of it all. Another part of it is that as Christians we can do nothing to change our destiny. In following this we may actually be missing out on Heaven.

Now, I’ve said a mouthful and I’m sure that some of you are stirred up by now. Good! I want to stir our thinking and make us all dig in the Word. Let me look at each thing I accused of above as being false and half truths. The prosperity doctrine is leading people into believing that the most important thing is being physically comfortable and even worry free. If you have children you obviously want them to be safe and sound. You want them to prosper and be in health. But when we really think about it we realize that happiness doesn’t come from money or even health. There are many people who are happy but have poor health or no money. Also, we know people who have committed suicide that were wealthy and healthy. Money and health are temporary and will never bring your happiness.

We are told over and over to not put faith in wealth. John told us to not love this world or the things in the world (1^st John2:15) Surely this includes wealth and health.  Peter even refers to wealth as a corruptible thing (1^st Peter 1:18).The rich are warned that their monies are temporal (James 1:11, 5:2 1^st Timothy 6:5-11 and v 17). We are warned of false teachers in 2^nd Peter chapter 2. Peter tells us how these false teachers make merchandise of people (v3). How much clearer description do we need to stay away from those who teach prosperity and in the same breath ask for you to send them money so that you can get more?

Just as I explained that no decent parent wants their child to be sick and poor we know that God is a good God and doesn’t want His children to suffer. However, He is also above us and we need to recognize that there will be many things we don’t understand. Peter reminds us that we will suffer in this world. He explains that if we are going to suffer it should be for righteousness instead of sin (1^st Peter3:17). As we are told to take on the humility of Christ (Philippians 2:1-8) it goes to reason that we should not think of ourselves in a haughty or high-minded manner. Can you imagine the Lowly Jesus we read of in the Bible telling God that He was owed something? And yet we see people of faith who do just that. They demand the best seats on planes and hotel rooms. They get angry when they are not mentioned in events. Surely we can see that this is a false doctrine.

In tackling another of the false doctrines I mentioned above I believe that Christians will be judged by their works. (I just heard screeching tires!) Look at Revelation 22:12, 1^st Corinthians 3:8-15, and James 2:19-24. Saying that you are a Christian doesn’t make you one. Doing the works of a Christian is proof that you are one. Yes-there will be people doing good works who aren’t Christians and will go to Hell. But Christians absolutely do good works. It is in them to do so. Their actions testify of their faith. As I have said before, I don’t do loving things for my wife to be married. I do loving things for my wife because I’m married. My marriage was a commitment. Your salvation is also a commitment. It was a promise to give up your old ways and start following the ways of God. My vow to my wife was to forsake all others and to be dedicated to her only. Your vow to God is to forsake the world and it’s ways and to pursue Him and His Righteousness.

These doctrines that I speak of today are nothing more that the old lie of Satan saying I will exalt myself above God (Isaiah14:12-16). Our attitude should be that of humility. Ok-I can hear many of you saying “I agree with all of that, Brother Paul. But where does hopelessness come in?” I agree that Christians, above all people, are the only ones that have hope. There is no hope for the lost after they leave this world. There will be no purgatory for anyone to pray them out of. It simply isn’t in the Bible. Follow me now-I believe that Christians have missed out on just remembering that without Christ they have no hope. Instead of teaching that we are Royalty we need to remember that we are saved by grace, not of ourselves lest anyone should boast.

There seems to be a problem with Christians getting to a point where they think they no longer need Jesus. It is as if they think are now finished in what they need to reach perfection and just want Jesus to stand back while they show the world what they can do. Oh, they say that Jesus did it all for them in a false humility. But their actions dictate otherwise. Look at the parable that Jesus told about the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:23-35. This illustration gives us the reminder that God forgave us of the fifty-two million dollar debt. The unmerciful servant refused to forgive the fellow-servant of a forty-four dollar debt. We must never forget where we came from! We came from a lost state that we had no hope of being delivered from. By just asking for mercy we were forgiven of the entire debt. Yes-God has washed away the debt as far as the East is from the West. But we must never forget that we did owe it.

By teaching that we are King’s Kids we simply push aside the debt we had. We present the Gospel in a manner that says we were lovable and God chose us because of some good in us. He did not. In Romans 5:8 we see that while we were still sinners He (Christ) died for us. God loves us only because of Jesus.
The hopelessness I want you to see is the one you had before Jesus. I want to remind you of where you were. Jesus took Passover with His Disciples and told us to do this in remembrance of Him (Luke22:19). We call this Holy Ordinance “Communion”. It has been forgotten in the modern church. When it is done it seems to be only a religious service that doesn’t recall the crucifixion. Our family will be taking Communion this Sunday in our Homechurch Service. It is a time of reflecting on how much Jesus paid on your debt and the horrible suffering that He went through. If you chose to have Communion (and I hope you do) I want you to be reminded that it is a solemn time. It must reflect His crucifixion, His pain, His suffering and that it should have been you and I there on the cross.

Yes, Friend, we are so lost aside from Christ that it took a miracle to save us.  Whether we were raised in church in the midst of the Gospel or were born in a family of atheists-we were still so deprived of good that God said our righteousness was as filthy rags (literally meaning dirty menstruation cloths) Isaiah 64:6. We must not forget where we came from.

There is no place of goodness where we graduate from needing Him. We will not become so righteous that we will be equal to Jesus-ever. We must always remember that we are sinners saved by grace. Think about this-no man of God in the Bible ever became so high-minded that He didn’t fall on his face when he stood before God. Pick one-anyone. The most Godly of men felt so unworthy when they looked on Him face to face that they trembled.

Do you remember what life was like before Jesus? Do you remember what it was like when you first came to the reality of your lost state? I do. I remember crying for days because I realized who I really was apart from God. I also remember later falling for the attitude of being a super-saint that stood solidly because I had reached a certain point in spiritual maturity. I felt as if Jesus probably spent more time with others because they needed Him more. In reality I heard the Holy Spirit so seldom because of my attitude of self-righteousness. Now, God continually reminds me that I need Him. Life has a way of being challenging enough that if we try to do it without Jesus we will fall.

Remember where you came from, Friend. Without Christ we all are hopeless. But, in Him there is hope. You need Him. You always will.

Prayer-Father, I pray for everyone who studies Your Word this week because of this message. May Your Spirit lead them into truth. If we have become so self-righteous that we believe we are good may we be brought down into humility. If we have forgotten our wretched state before Jesus saved us, help us to go back to that day when we came to the cross. I pray for Your Church today that we will become so much like Jesus that the world will see the difference in us and will be lead to You.

In Jesus’ Name I pray today-Amen

            Many years ago I worked for a company in another city. It was a great company with good pay. Many of the employees there were occasionally called out after hours to repair things and so we also made overtime pay on top of a good salary. One employee there who worked third shift was also known to be moonlighting. As a young man, someone had to explain to me what that was. A coworker explained that it meant he worked a second job besides his full time job with our company.

The position he held was one of a control operator where he monitored the gas pipeline system. During the night, while all of us slept he was there to make sure the pressures were maintained. Then, when the world woke up and cooked breakfast, took showers and turned the heat up there would be no problems. Working multiple jobs does indeed make you more money. Many people have to do this to make ends meet in today’s economy. The problem with it is there is very little time to rest or do anything else.

The employee eventually took on a third job. A friend of mine once told me that a man can only work three jobs if he sleeps on one. One morning, when the first shift arrived the gate did not open. The supervisor called the operator on the radio and got no response. H climbed the fence and unlocked the door. On the inside was a second door latched from the inside and through the window he saw the operator lying still on the desk. Thinking that the operator was dead he broke through the door. When he shook him this man woke up. It seems that he had fallen asleep sometime aroundmidnightand slept through the night. Needless to say, there was an investigation! He had tried to work three eight hour jobs and sleep as he could.

For some reason God reminded me of that incident this week. I began thinking about how we stretch ourselves thin at times, thinking that we can do multiple things well. Not being fully dedicated to a company is a problem. When I hired on with the utility I work for now I agreed that I would not take on a second job. My job was to be my focus.

As we go through the day we sometimes catch ourselves thinking that we are multi-tasking and being more efficient. We believe that we can do more that way. Working this way is not only inefficient but it is also dangerous. The linemen that work at our company cannot have their minds somewhere else. There have been many people killed due to mental slippage. Driving is a good example of something that requires focus. The early automobiles were not the luxury automobiles we have now. They had open tops, manual transmissions and brakes, and no power steering. It required more thought to drive then. Today’s cars have comfortable interiors, entertainment such as satellite radio and MP3 players, GPS systems, vehicle monitor systems, etc. Then, we bring our cell phones with us and believe we have time to send email and check the weather while we drive. We all know of people who have had wrecks from distractions such as these.

It’s not just distractions that I am pondering today. It’s the lulling away of the pied-piper, that old wretch, Satan. We can be fooled into believing that he is not as bad as his reputation. The big lie is that we can straddle the fence and flip-flop to both sides to gain what works best for our lives at any given moment. God has blessings and protection but the devil has pleasures we think we will miss out on. We believe we can have the best of both worlds. In trying to do all we lose everything. The man who multitasks on the road to save time may be spending weeks in a hospital in recovery.

In Ephesians chapter five Paul wrote about the exclusivity of following Jesus. There is a sharp contrast here that he paints with distinct wording. First, he sates that we are to walk in love. Second, we are to expel works of unrighteousness. He lists some of the sins we battle in our flesh. These are not to even be said about us. When I was in high school I lived a clean life as a young Christian man. But, if someone started a rumor about me being daring or wild I would not have stopped them. Paul says to not be like that. It could be that you never sleep around but that you don’t mind people thinking that you do. You could be drug-free but think its “cool” for people to believe you get stoned. We are to live in a way that leaves no doubt that we are God’s children. We should never put on a charade to look like the world simply because we think we are saved and can get by with it. We cannot serve two masters.

Paul writes (v8) that we were once walking in darkness but now we walk in the light. When we give our heart to God through Jesus we must give all our heart to God. If a man takes a vow to marry a woman and believes he can live in a manner that is not one hundred percent dedicated to her, their marriage will fail. So many times I hear people say that marriage is fifty-fifty (meaning both people have to compromise halfway) and it makes me angry. Marriage is one hundred-one hundred; both spouses must give everything for it to work. Everything the man wanted before must be replaced with what he now wants including his wife. Everything she wanted before their marriage must be replaced with what they want together. They must be willing to lay down all individual desires for the collective desires of each other. Jesus deserves no less in His bride, the Church. He laid down His life and gave up His Kingdom.

Look at verse eleven. He said to not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Let’s stop and think about that for a moment. Fellowship implies being connected with more than acts. The word “fellowship” here means to “partake with others”. Paul means more than the acts of unrighteousness. We are not to have a connection with people who do not share the same standards that God gives us. There are many “Christians” today who have become believers in name only. They state that they are Christians to anyone who asks about their religion. Their actions speak a louder sermon, though.

I began my message talking about moonlighting. The poor employee I mentioned found out that working several jobs at the same time did not allow him to do his best at his main job. We need to realize that moonlighting with the devil will never work. You may have believed that you can get more out of your life by serving two employers but you never will. It would be like working for companies that compete with each other. God expects His people to be solely His. In Exodus 20:5 He said that He was a jealous God.

The devil’s tactics are always the same. It’s not hard to spot them. He speaks lies. John8:44says that Satan is the Father of Lies. Here, Jesus said that when he speaks he lies, because that is his native language. The devil will always lie to you. Second, he wants you to believe that everything God says isn’t true. Think about how he deceived Eve in the Garden. He asked her “Hath God said?” (Genesis 3:1). So many people get deceived by believing that something is really ok to do when God said it was not. We need to stop trying to find loopholes in scripture to get permission to do something our flesh wants. We need to begin living what the Holy Spirit tells us in our heart. God will guide us and never lead us astray. Serving two masters will be a struggle and we will never get rest.

Who is your Master today? Do you moonlight with the devil? Are you spending your time split between two kingdoms? Aren’t you exhausted from it? Friend, there is no greater peace than serving Jehovah with your whole being. When your life is totally in Him you never have to worry about anything. He is all you need. There is no need to go anywhere else. Won’t you give it all to Him today?

Prayer-Father-I am praying for those who read this message today and find that they have been working for the devil quite often. They may believe that they are committed to You but their lives tell a different story. I ask that You would wake them up and let them see their life as You see it. May they reach a place of serving you with every second of their lives.

In Jesus’ Name—Amen

  35 weeks today! Isaac has now grown to an uncomfortable size and my belly is now officially in the way of everything I try to do. >not that I am complaining, I am loving it! Tried just leaning over the sink to wash dishes at Mom’s yesterday and that was hilarious! Anywho, he continues to make himself known to his Momma with all of the moving about. Even just sitting I feel like my intestines are rolling. Why does a kid playing in the McDonald’s ball play pen come to mind? That is exactly how my tummy feels –most of the time. He doesn’t like me to bend over or even sit up in a chair anymore. He told me it squishes him. I know he will be very strong because of the force he uses inside me now.

     We had a great doctor’s visit last week. The doctor has scheduled weekly visits to include a non stress test to monitor Isaac’s heart and functions. She stated that Isaac must have read up on how to pass because he did excellent! My weight, blood sugars and blood pressure have been great. It has been such a challenge but as the song goes HE GIVETH MORE GRACE as our burdens grow greater!

     Sam and I are ecstatic and just can’t wait. This has been harder than waiting for birthdays or Christmases when we were kids! Even now every moment I am trying to soak it all in. Every movement, every time he rolls over or stretches and even the other things like just lying down on the couch or in the bed for a few seconds to close my eyes, I just try to enjoy every moment. The big adventure begins….. so soon and we are nervous, anxious, excited, nervous, and did I say anxious and excited?!

     Well this is my “finish the house” week. Sam and I, while fighting the worst head cold last week moved 3 rooms around and 2 closets! The furniture has been rotated around and all the last house rearranging was done Saturday. Now I just have to go room to room and work on placing everything in its actual spot. Hopefully I will get this finished today.  Then by the end of the week I am going to scrub everything and do the last of the big cleaning for now. I’ve got to make sure the cabinets are all sorted and organized. Thankfully this is something I do routinely so they are not in bad shape.

      Also in between –for my break moments I am sewing and sewing A LOT! I have tried to organize all the work I have to do before he comes in a way that if something happened and I wasn’t able to get around like I have been or if he decided to come early, the harder things would be finished first. I think I have done pretty good so far. And this week I will complete the big stuff. Of course hopefully we still have 5 weeks so after this week –LORD WILLING I can relax and work on sewing.

     We will be planting our garden and finishing that tonight so all of my veggies will be good to go and all of my flower and herb beds are set for the summer! Sam’s Mom is all moved into her new home. She is recently married so we are glad she is getting settled in! Also tomorrow –PLEASE PRAY our sister Amanda and her husband Jeremy’s new little Wesley will be born. So we are very excited about that too! Can’t wait to go experience that in the morning.

     On the whole there is so much going on. Life is happening all around us –and in us! HA! I am overwhelmed with God’s great blessings and the mercy He has given me and my family. I am so grateful for all of life He allows me to endure and enjoy.

     I look forward to the whole world just coming to a stop and our new adventure beginning in 5 weeks! So much is changing and I can see looking from the outside in that this is one of those new phases in our lives that happen often enough where your world changes and things that consumed your time are no longer there or are important. It is those where you step onto the next train or boat to go to the next part of your journey through life. It is bitter sweet. Sam and I laid resting and talking yesterday about how in about 5 weeks it would no longer just be the two of us. We really have grown to treasure every moment together. And even though we love the solitude and delight of just being the two of us we are also excited about becoming 3 of us.

     We talk a lot about the ways families grow and things that happen that affect the individual relationships when children come into the picture. We not only want to build a strong and happy and healthy parent and child relationship but we also want to maintain and continue to grow a wonderful husband and wife relationship. Please pray for our journey whenever you think of us.

     Also on a side note, I would ask for your prayers for Sam and his work. He has been working so hard to provide for our family and on the side does a lot of extra jobs to help keep up. We have been praying and looking for him a better situation, but nothing has come yet. I am sure this scenario of the bills that weren’t so big yesterday but seem to grow overnight in size because of limits in income is an all too familiar sight to everyone so I would ask you pray for God to bring us more and better work. The company Sam works for has been cutting more and more hours and now it looks like a week of nothing. That always happens in the loveliest of times doesn’t it? We aren’t worried as we know God supplies work for those who are willing to do it. So please pray with us that God will send Sam a good job to provide for our family.

Well I suppose it is time now to go start on my house cleaning projects. I have got to make a batch of Laundry soap this morning and get the laundry out on the line. Thank you for reading my silly post. I appreciate your interest and your love and most of all your prayers!

God be with you and lead your every step!

Haley

Added Note*** Just thought I would PRAISE THE LORD! After about 2 hours of posting this note this morning. Sam’s employer called him back to work and was able to give him a few hours today! God is SO GREAT! He supplies what we need and even though sometimes we don’t know what is going to happen we walk outside and see the manna resting there for us to bend over and pick up! Thank you Lord for our daily bread, as you never leave us hungry!

          I’ve been thinking about guilt this week. What do you think causes us to feel guilty about something. A man I once went to church with brought up the subject and asked me about our conscience. He wanted to know if our conscience was really molded by the Holy Spirit or by outside influences that we respected.

It is an interesting question. To further clarify what I’m talking about, consider someone who is unsaved and belongs to a street gang. This man may not be a moral person (according to God’s Word) but he may actually have standards of right and wrong. His gang may believe that they should uphold every member and never do harm to one of them. He may believe that it is wrong to steal from another member. No doubt, this man has some type of conscience that is based on rules he learned.

This week I was driving down a country road when I came upon a construction zone. The traffic was bottle-necked down to one lane and I had to wait for the flagman to wave me through before I could proceed. Before he would do that, he waited for the pilot-vehicle to show up. This vehicle appeared momentarily with a train of traffic behind. After it delivered the chain of cars it turned around and the flagman waved me through. The unusual part about this story is that we advanced over to the left lane and drove for about a mile. If there is anyone reading this that lives in a country where that is the normal lane to drive in you may not understand. But, in our country we use the right lane to drive on and it startled me to be over there!

I know it sounds silly but I’ve been driving for thirty-nine years now and have always used the right lane unless I was briefly passing a car. As we drove we went up and down hills and around curves that I could not see past. Except for the pilot vehicle in front of me, there was no traffic. As we drove through the section where the paving was taking place I realized that there were many side roads and driveways that someone might have come out of by mistake and could have met us head on. I started thinking about doing things that go against what we know is the right thing to do and it got really deep!

We all were given instruction as to the rules of the road when we learned to drive. There was an action that we learned to take when we saw a red sign saying STOP. We learned what YIELD means and we understand what a solid-yellow line in the middle of the road is for. These rules were given as standards and we know that violating them is dangerous.

What about moral rules? What determines what is right and wrong? I have had some interesting discussions through the years with un-saved people that believed morality is not an absolute. They believed in situation-ethics which means what is wrong for you may not be wrong for the rest of us. For example, I may state that stealing is absolutely wrong in any situation. You may determine that it’s ok to steal if the person is already rich and can afford it. Some people believe that cheating on their taxes isn’t really stealing because they feel the tax is unfair and the government can afford it anyway. Jesus had another opinion on that subject in Matthew 22:21. The rules we live by as Christians come from God. They are in His wonderful law. That law is the basis for our government and all moral societies.

I understand the unsaved and how they won’t see the moral law that God has given us. They don’t respect the authority of the Bible or Jesus as Son of God. After all, I was once unsaved and so were you. What I don’t understand are people who claim Jesus as Lord and don’t follow His rules. There should be a feeling of guilt if we step outside the boundaries of His moral code. I know that goes against what many people believe. There is a passage in Romans 8:1 that states that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Some people interpret that to mean that once we are saved we have no more guilt and can do anything we want since our sins are covered.

Let us examine that verse a little more closely. First, I believe we need to understand the word “condemnation”. If I stated that a building was condemned you would understand that it had been pronounced unusable or to be destroyed since it was unfit for habitation. If we look on the term condemnation in that understanding we can realize that when we are in Christ we will not have a pronouncement of being unfit or a declaration to be destroyed. The second thing we need to understand about this verse is that most people don’t finish reading it. Look again at Romans 8:1.

The people who don’t have this condemnation are those who don’t walk after the flesh but follow after the Spirit. Following your flesh is simply doing what you feel like doing or even what seems right. It is doing what you would do according to your own natural desires. This is where the unsaved get their moral code. They may not harm anyone unless it benefits them. Going back to the example of stealing from those who can afford it-it is simply following what seems right to them at the time.

The difference has to be following after the Spirit of God. If we are following after the Holy Spirit, God’s Counselor to us, we will have an unchanging standard that is God’s best for God’s people. If we do live this way we will certainly have no condemnation! How do you think we know these rules to live by? In what manner does a person have the Holy Spirit tell them what to do and which way to go? Oh, how I wished that the Church could understand this. We become alive in Christ when we first invite Him into our hearts as Lord and Master. We give Him complete control in this act and in doing so we give Him the reigns of our lives. Then, we must begin to read our Bibles and learn what God said is right and wrong. The Holy Spirit will absolutely never lead us into something that goes against God’s Word. Absolutely not! According to the verse we are looking at today it tells us that when we are lead by the Holy Spirit we will never be condemned.

If, however, we follow our flesh and do not go the way of the Spirit we will have the guilt and condemnation that we deserve. I was using a story today about driving in the left lane to help us all think about intentionally doing what we know is wrong. Maybe you think it’s just that you’ve been conditioned to driving on the right side of the road and that if you drive on the left it wouldn’t bother you. You would be just like me in doing it in that you would wonder what was just over the hill. Driving in the left lane leaves one in fear of disaster! Disobeying God and not following the leading of the Holy Spirit leaves you in just one place. In Hebrews 10:26-27 we find that living in intentional sin after we have the truth of right and wrong will put you in the place of judgment.

What does all of this boil down to today? We have been given the Holy Spirit to make us alive in Christ. He is known as the Comforter and Counselor. He helps us to understand the Bible. In fact, you won’t understand it without Him. I mentioned above that it confuses me when people who profess Jesus as Savior still live like the world, following their own flesh. I can tell you that there has to be a difference in your life from before and after you are saved. Otherwise, you don’t have life in you. The things that you relished before salvation should take on a new perspective after you are born again.

A young person who has never had driving instruction may drive in either lane (probably both). However, when he learns to drive and he can see traffic in the proper lanes he will not drive in the left lane without fear of a wreck. Consequently, before we are saved we did what we wanted to without any worry. But, when we are given new life there will absolutely be knowledge of moral foundations that we know to be for our good and a path for life.

Those who are lost have no idea why you cringe at their driving in the left lane or passing on a curve. You have the Holy Spirit in you similar to a driving instructor who always rides along side and reminds of unsafe acts.

Do you sense when you do something sinful? Is there life in you to know when you’ve done something wrong? I remember getting sick at my stomach trying to go against God’s will after I was saved. Before that point in my life I did exactly the same thing with no sense of wrong. But once I was saved I was in sin and I knew it. This comes from much more than a conscience that is only shaped by a man’s ideas. This is from the new life in Christ alone.

Do you know when you’ve done wrong? Is there a sense of guilt from breaking God’s law? If you attempt to sin and it makes you feel wrong don’t ignore the feeling. That is nothing more than the Holy Spirit giving you the warning. Perhaps you don’t know what I’m speaking of today. Maybe you don’t have any guilt for sinful acts. If this is you then you need to be saved today. Only new life in Christ can give you a moral compass to know what is a right or wrong act according to God’s rules.

Maybe you are tired of living the way that you have been and you truly feel lost. Jesus is the answer today. He brings life, direction and purpose to us. He alone can do this for you. Listen to His voice. Get out of the left lane to the place you need to be.

Prayer-Father, thank You for the Holy Spirit in our lives. Help us to heed the warning when He reminds us of what is right and wrong. When we make decisions in life we know that He is there. I pray for all who will read this message and don’t have that life in them. May that have a real revelation today of what new life in Christ is. Then, may they pursue that life in Jesus.

In Jesus’ Name-Amen

Let’s begin by looking at the Book of Proverbs. To begin with we need to know how important wisdom is. This book is full of wisdom but in chapter four Solomon wrote about it specifically. In this he refers to wisdom as “she”. You may remember that Solomon was called (by God) the wisest man who ever lived. When he became King God came to him and told him He would give him anything he asked for. Solomon asked for wisdom to rule and God blessed him with that plus wealth and power. You can read about this in 2^nd Chronicles chapter 1.

Solomon begins Proverbs chapter four by speaking to us as children and refers to himself as the father.  Now, there may be some of you who can’t relate to a fatherly relationship. Perhaps you had a father who was abusive or absent. Maybe he didn’t fill the roll of a Godly leader in your life. If so please recognize that this will cause you to have difficulty with full submission to God. Solomon’s first statement is to not forget his law. Immediately some of you will balk at that word “law”. We don’t like laws, do we? They always seem restrictive of freedom and fun. When we really think about it laws, rules, and statutes are there to protect our freedom. For example, I may not like the law that says I’m limited on the number of fish I can catch but it is a law that protects the numbers left for future trips and for my children and grand-children. We need to see wisdom that way. Wisdom allows us to see what is good and bad for us.

In verse four Solomon says his father taught him to keep his words. It’s not enough to just learn about something. We must also remember it down the road. The best way to retain information is to use it. We need to read it again and again so that it’s fresh in our minds. In verse seven he says that wisdom is the principal thing. When you study the Hebrew word for “principal” it means the beginning, first or best part.

Stop and think about what most people pursue in life. Most go after temporary things like wealth, power, prestige or fame. All of these are thought to be the most desirable things in life. Who is the man that pursues wisdom? Where is the one that puts that at the top of their priorities? If you find him you will find a man who can be satisfied. There is no satisfaction in getting the other things I’ve listed. Solomon knew that wisdom was the main thing. So, perhaps you’ve read through this chapter and you decide that you want to make wisdom the number one priority in your life. Where do you begin?

In Proverbs9:10Solomon said that the fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom. You don’t hear many messages on fearing God anymore. Most people just don’t want to hear it. They are told that God isn’t vengeful as He was in the Old Testament days but is a loving kind benevolent “daddy” much like Santa Claus who just wants to give us whatever we want. Obviously, there are a lot of people who haven’t read the last chapter of the Bible. While we do live in a time of grace there is a great and dreadful day of the Lord coming wherein the wicked will be separated from the righteous and cast into outer darkness. God is an awesome God and must be respected and revered. If we don’t have fear of God we will not be able to begin wisdom.

So now you see that wisdom is the main thing for us to pursue in life and to begin in it we must fear God. What next? In James 1:5 it says that if any man lack wisdom let him ask God for it and that God will give it to him liberally. Now, let’s get down to brass tacks. How many times have we asked God for something and thought He never answered? Maybe you have asked God for wisdom and then wondered why you didn’t get it. Perhaps you are still waiting on the wisdom. Let me tell you plainly that God always answers prayer. If you asked for wisdom God will give it to you. In other words, God answered your prayer.

The problem with all prayers is that we expect them to be answered according to our perspective. We live in a world that is finite. God dwells in the infinite. We have our days numbered. His days are innumerable. We think along the realm of right now. God is planning on eternity. If we could only grasp that wisdom is not something we should pray for due to an event that comes up! Think about this: don’t we normally ask for wisdom only when we have a crisis? Instead of doing that we should ask for wisdom now so that we will be wise people of God. Then, when the crisis comes up we will have it. It’s a lot like getting into a bad situation and then all of a sudden reading scriptures and praying. It is really important to us then. We must see the value of wisdom now. Don’t wait until you need it.

That being said let me say that when we do ask for wisdom God doesn’t just supernaturally send down a shaft of light and you stand up smarter! Wouldn’t that be nice! Maybe you envisioned being like the scarecrow who quotes the Pythagorean Theorem once the wizard tells him he has a brain. When you ask for patience God allows you to get into situations that test your patience. Likewise, when you ask for wisdom God will allow you to go through things that end up making you wiser. Wisdom doesn’t come overnight. It takes time. The scripture gives several passages where wisdom is seen with the elderly and not the youth. I am thinking about 2^nd Chronicles chapter ten where King Rehoboam took the kingdom after his father Solomon died. He asked the elders for their advice and his friends for theirs. The elders had wisdom but the young men gave foolish advice. Sadly, he followed the friend’s advice and ended up splitting the kingdom.

In 1^st Timothy 3:6 Paul was giving advice on selecting leaders in the church. He says that they should not be new converts. Why? Because wisdom takes time.

Do you see the real value in wisdom? Do you fear the Lord? Have you asked God for Wisdom? If so, believe that it will come and wait for it. Wisdom is more valuable than gold (Proverbs8:10-11)

Prayer-Father, I ask for wisdom today so that my life might be pleasing to You. Give us the teaching we need to bring it about. Allow us to have wisdom that we might lead others. Be glorified in our lives today.

In Jesus’ Name-Amen

          Take the news story I heard this week for example. It was on the radio and was about the crash test dummy program. The reporter told about the advancements in automobile safety over the past ten years and how that every manufacturer had improved greatly in standards because of this program.

I was intrigued by the fact that millions of dollars are spent each year testing each car and truck on the road in a simulated crash. The occupants, of course, are the famous crash test dummies. The reporter said that they were reusable and that they had different ones for different purposes. For example, there was a certain type of head that had sensors in it to tell about impact velocity. With these they could examine to see if a car accident would be fatal in certain types of collisions. The story included an actual sound clip of the barrier that traveled down a track at thirty-one miles and hour and hitting the side of an automobile.

But the most interesting thing was the last statement of the story. The reporter said, “Even with advances in technology we will probably never completely eliminate traffic fatalities”. I knew that the sentence was something that God wanted me to think about so I turned off the radio. Apparently, the government (and society as a whole) believes that spending money on better technology is the answer to the traffic death toll. It was the old adage of throwing money at a problem instead of looking for the heart of the issue.

God asked me if I knew what the better solution would be. I thought for a minute and said that it seemed to me that driver education was more appropriate to stopping accidents before so we would not have to depend on airbags and seatbelts. Instead of making accidents safer we should focus on making drivers more aware of what they are doing. While it is nice to have a vehicle that is safe in case there is a wreck, wouldn’t it make more sense to have safer people on the road?

Now, as I’ve repeated many times I am not against technology. My job is in Information Technology where I work. The problem is that many people jump on the bandwagon whenever some new technology comes out. Often, it has not been tried to see if there will be a problem down the road.  Making a safer car or truck is certainly a good idea. When I was young there were no seat belts in our family auto and the dashboard was steel. The knobs on the radio were even metal and if there was a wreck I’m sure someone would have been badly injured.

Cars are much safer today but I don’t think drivers are. There are a lot of accidents from the many distractions we have in our automobiles (all technology). We have cell phones, smart phones, ipods, radios and GPS devices. While traveling down the road we seem to forget where we are. It can be storming outside but our climate controlled devices keep our interior cool or warm-your preference. And the distractions are so tempting, aren’t they?     I have a Blackberry that gets email and has a cell phone and radio built in. My calendar sometimes even alerts me while I’m going down the road and I’m guilty of looking to see what I need to do next. All of these things are not required to get from point A to point B but we use them to make the trip seem shorter and to try and accomplish more in our lives.

The crash test dummies are a good example of lives today. If we have problems we seem to want to look for a high-tech solution. If someone is overweight they don’t cut back on eating or change their diet and start exercising. Instead, they look for some new pill that they can take to help them eat the same food and lose weight. People are even having surgical procedures to staple their stomachs and some even have had their jaws wired shut for a period of time because they simply cannot make the life changes they need!

A few years back at my doctor’s office I had a blood test that revealed my cholesterol was climbing. The doctor told me that it was about ten points from being anything to be concerned about and that we would check it the next visit. On my next visit (about a year later) he said that it was 205 but that there was nothing for me to worry about because he would prescribe a pill for me to drop it. He even gave me a few trial samples to start me off. As I went out the door he said that I would need to come in and get a liver test every few months because the pill could cause damage.

By the time I got home I had decided that I really hadn’t taken the cholesterol seriously and I refused to take a pill that I really didn’t need. I immediately stopped eating lots of fatty foods and started taking flax seed oil. I also ate oatmeal every morning. In a few months I checked my cholesterol at 180! It made me a little angry as the doctor never even suggested that I change my diet. He never talked to me about what I should do the first time he saw me.

Think again about that line from the radio story-“Even with advances in technology we will probably never completely eliminate traffic fatalities”. Do we really believe that advances in technology are the answers to our better living?

Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived, according to God’s Word. He had wealth and power and ruled a large kingdom for many years. Some of his wisdom is recorded in the Book of Proverbs. Look at Proverbs chapter four. Solomon says that wisdom is the principal thing (v7). In the first few verses Solomon tells us that we need to get wisdom and understanding. Often, people know the facts but don’t know why. As an example, when I was growing up I was taught to watch out for snakes when I picked blackberries because snakes were often found there. I never knew why but guessed that they must have a sweet-tooth. One day Angie and I picked berries with the girls and she told them to watch out for snakes. Our daughter asked me why snakes would hang out under the blackberries and I told her my sweet tooth theory. Angie exploded in laughter! She explained that snakes were there to eat the rodents that liked the berries. No one had ever told me and I never gave it much thought.

I suppose that is the key here-giving something much thought. Solomon tells us that wisdom is the main thing. In verse seven he said to get understanding with all of your getting. We need to understand something first before we apply the fix to the problem.

A few months ago I listened to a message from a lady who had been to the United Nations speaking on abstinence before marriage. She gave the facts that abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy and STD’s one-hundred percent as the entire UN ambassadors listened. When she finished she took questions. One ambassador told her that it was foolish to even speak of this and that young people were going to do what they wanted to do anyway. He asked her if she really thought it made sense to teach abstinence. Being put on the spot in such a place would be really intimidating. But she looked up and saw a plaque with inscription “World Peace”. She asked the ambassador if he really thought that the world would ever be at peace. He told her”Perhaps not, but we have to try”.  She used that illustration to show him that without goals and aiming high at something we will simply accept failure as acceptable. If we accept that young people will sleep around before marriage and not set some type of standard of excellence they will certainly all fail.

What is the life application here today? Wisdom applies to every aspect of life. For example; if you have a problem in your marriage you need to understand the heart of the problem before you can get the solution. Perhaps the problem is with your heart, your spouse’s, or both. You must not assume anything. Maybe you need a third party involved to see the problem from an outside view.    Maybe you have a problem with money- you don’t seem to be able to live within your budget. Perhaps you learned bad habits from your parents. You need to understand first and then you will be able to straighten out the problem.

Wisdom is the principal thing, friend! Are you running an elaborate crash test dummy program instead of training drivers to be safer? Maybe you have reaped some benefits from your logic and are suffering less than you used to. But you just can’t seem to completely overcome the problem, can you? Jesus is the only way that you will ever be an over comer. No program made by man can change your heart. Jesus can make life new for you. He can save your marriage. He can help you in any problem that you have. He can give you wisdom and the understanding that you need.

Why don’t you call on Him today? Crash test dummies are no match for the real solution.

Prayer-Father, I pray for those who are suffering in ongoing problems that they just can’t seem to break. There are people today who continue to sin the same old sin. They fall at the enemy’s tricks with no hope of ever getting over it. Father, with You there is hope. With You there is an overcoming power to give to us to make us over comers. I pray that You would reveal that to those who hurt today. May they see a light to show them the way into truth.

In Jesus’ Name-Amen

We have just celebrated Passover here at our home. We began doing this a few years ago after studying the Jewish Holy Days. A friend of ours who is a Jew invited us over to his home and went through the ceremony. He reminded us that Passover was the longest continuously celebrated event in the history of man. For over four thousand years people of God have gone through this ceremony. This time when we celebrated it we had small children with us. It was not the quiet serene event that it had been in past years with these children present. However, I realized that many of the things done in the ceremony are there to teach children about God’s deliverance, so I didn’t mind.

We have all pondered on Holy Week as Christians. It is that time of the year when we especially focus on the sacrifice of Christ. For us it is undeniable. Jesus was sent as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of man. God made a way where no other way could be taken. No man was “good enough” for four-thousand years to live a sinless life and make it to heaven. It’s amazing that men are still trying to reach heaven by being good. In our lost condition we desperately needed a Savior. In the Old Testament the Jews were in bondage and cried out to God for deliverance. For four-hundred years they lived in slavery to the Egyptians. Then God brought them out by Moses hand. These events really happened historically but miraculously it is a parallel of the Christian walk. We are in bondage to sin. When man cried out to God He sent Jesus.

Have you ever doubted your faith in it all? Did someone ever question you and make you feel like you didn’t have the answers? If Jesus was the only way to heaven doesn’t it make sense that all men would see Him as just that? It does seem as if God would have made the events so clear that no one on the planet could deny Him. Yet, there are many unanswered questions to the story.

As my title states I was thinking about all the things that people put their faith in. There are many believers in various things that have some evidence. For example, men wake up and find that crop circles have been patterned into a field of wheat. These geometrical shapes are a source of mystery. Many people have faith in the unknown and sincerely believe that aliens from another world have left these as evidence of their visit. Since these are only visible from the air and extremely elaborate it is difficult to determine who made them. In the past few years some people have come forward and taken credit for these. They have demonstrated how they accomplished getting these done so accurately and debunked the myth of alien visits. Yet, some still believe in visitors from another world.

Bigfoot is another belief that has been a mystery. There as long been legends of human like creatures spotted in the forest that were unidentified.   Many years ago there was a short video clip of a supposed animal walking upright like a man. It was evaluated and some scientists said no one could have faked it. There have been many hoaxes over the past century but no real animal has ever been produced. Still there are some who believe.

What makes our faith any different than something as mysterious? Let’s examine the scriptures. In the book we call the Bible there are sixty-six books that have been compiled and declared to be the work of the Holy Spirit. These books and letters were written over a period of about 1500 years. Very few of the writers knew each other-that is only a few lived at the same time as another who penned a book. In each statement about Jesus (whether it is prophecy in the Old Testament or statements in the New) every single one is in agreement with all the others.

In the account of Jesus’ death and resurrection we find four Gospels that tell four different accounts but all are in harmony with each other. Each one is unique in the same way that four people witness an event and describes what they saw. Yet, all four gospels tell of Jesus death, burial and resurrection as being accurate. In each account Mary Magdalene and some other women went to the tomb and found it empty. Some of the Disciples also found it empty. In one account we read that Roman soldiers who were ordered to guard the tomb overnight were paid money to keep quiet and claim that Jesus’ Disciples stole His body in the night.

What evidence can we gather about Jesus? How can an empty tomb be enough to believe He is the Son of God and that He overcame death just as He said He would? If archaeologists knew which tomb He was laid in what evidence would there be? After all, His body isn’t there, right?

As a believer in Christ I have enough evidence. I have logically studied and thought on these matters. I can personally tell you that an empty cave is far more believable than aliens from another planet. Besides the fact that the Bible is inerrant and has never been proven to have false facts (historical or scientific) I have several personal reasons I believe in the empty tomb.

Historically the entire world was changed by this event. The calendar year we use is in place because of Jesus. It used to be correctly stated as A.D. (Anno Domini) Latin for “The Year of Our Lord”. The event of Jesus’ life and resurrection was of enough significance that time was set by it. Christianity is the major religion in the world today. Even though the numbers are declining inAmericait is growing in other countries and as a whole Christianity is by far the leading religion. If you look at the history of the Church (believers in Jesus since the first century) and consider what men and women have endured due to their faith it would be unreasonable to assume they had no proof that Jesus rose from the dead. We have a very large book in our home called the Martyrs Mirror. In it is the history of the suffering saints who went to death instead of denying Jesus as Savior. Each one of these people staked their life of the fact that Jesus came out of a tomb and sits at the right hand of God making intercession for us.

I can go on with more facts that lead me to believe that the empty tomb was real but I won’t. Let me give you the greatest evidence that I have that Jesus lives. I believe that Jesus lives because He lives in me. He came into my life and changed me. Ever since the day I accepted Him as Lord and Master I have never been the same. His Word gave me a path to follow that has lead to peace, joy and a purpose for living. Whenever I strayed from that path I suffered and when I stepped back on it I found contentment. Jesus changed my life so I truly believe He lives.

I speak with Him daily. His Holy Spirit has been with me through all these years and His presence has never forsaken me. When I needed Him He was always there. He has even appeared to me in dreams and visions in a real way unlike any other dreams I have ever had. I have heard His voice in the cry of a newborn child and in the silence of the night. Strangers have spoken words to me that, unknown to them, answered my prayers. In each time Jesus was made more real.

I don’t believe in visitors from another planet but I do believe in the empty tomb. Don’t speak to me of the lack of evidence. I have more than enough to believe. He is more real to me today than the visible world I live in.

Friend, what about you? Have you discovered that the empty tomb was for you, too? Are you like Thomas and need to see before you believe (John20:24-29). Maybe you want to believe but just can’t. Let me ask you this. Are you satisfied with you life as it is today without Him in you life? If you are honest you will admit that you aren’t. Right now you may be in pursuit of something you believe will bring you happiness. It will be just like all the other ventures in your life and will have a dead-end. What do you have to lose today in trusting in Him except heartache, pain and loneliness?

I am leaving you with the passages that tell of this event. Read these with an open heart. The only conclusion you can reach is that He still lives!

Prayer-Father God, I believe there are many who want to believe in You and Your Son but just can’t. They have listened to others who have lead them astray and now are still seeking for peace. May they find You in the emptiness of the tomb as well as the emptiness of their lives. I thank You for the great sacrifice You gave for mankind. May all who will come today.

In Jesus’ Name-Amen

Resources:

Matthew 28:1-20

Mark 16:1-20

Luke 24:1-53

John 20:1-31