Praying for Ukraine

 The recent invasion by Russia into Ukraine has been heavy on our hearts and deeply questioned in our minds.  What are we to think of it?  Will evil win? Is God at work?

I read today in Psalms 44 about a time when the Hebrew people were attacked by their foes.  This was a time when the Hebrew people had been faithful to God and walked in His ways YET they were attacked and it looked as if the enemy was winning.  They were trying to look to God and understand and deal with their national tragedy. 

This Psalms said this about the wicked:

-the face of the Lord is against them -they are forgotten about and not remembered-affliction will slay them and they will be condemned

This Psalm said this about His people:

-they shall bless and praise the Lord continually - boast in the Lord, be humble, and be glad - magnify the Lord and exalt His name - seek the Lord and He will answer us and deliver us from our fears - those who look to Him will have radiant faces and will not be ashamed - when in humility we cry to God, He hears and saves - God will be around those who fear Him and will deliver them - for those who see that the Lord is good and take refuge in Him, they will be blessed - fear the Lord and have no lack - they were to learn the fear of God - they were to turn from evil and to do good and to seek peace - if they were righteous the Lord would hear their cry for help and deliver them out of all their trouble -  God would be near to the brokenhearted and save the crushed in spirit - they may have many afflictions but God will deliver them out of them all - they will not be broken - the Lord will redeem the life of His servants and none who take refuge in Him will be condemned

So  - we must focus on the things above that God has told us about His people when they are in trouble. There have always been wars throughout history.  Some of the wars were because the people had turned away from God, other times the wars were because of evil people wanting power and land. We do know some will die in the battle, some will be injured, some will have to go through rough times.  

Please pray for those in Ukraine.  There have become many new believers there since they became a free country on their own. Pray for the safety of the people and for their faith to be strong. Pray for the country to be strong and to remain free.  Pray for the other nations to know what to do in regard to the war. 

In the meantime, we will continue to praise Him, to live righteous lives, to look to Him and He WILL be with us.  We may or may not have victory now from the battle but in the end we will!!! Stay faithful! Heaven awaits!

Be strong...no half truths or wrong actions

The blog today is about telling half-truths and using our actions to harm others.

In Sunday school last week we started studying the book of Exodus. Chapter two tells of Moses killing the Egyptian whom he saw beating a Hebrew person.  It was good that Moses had compassion for the Hebrews, but it was not good that he killed the Egyptian man.  He acted on his own instinct rather than inquiring of God what to do. This started me thinking of all the times we saw people whom God was using to do His work.  Many of them did things on their own that they shouldn't have.  Abraham had amazing faith - enough to offer his own son as a sacrifice.  But when he was afraid he told a half-truth saying Sarah was his sister rather than his wife. Jacob lied to his father when he impersonated Esau. Then like Moses, he had to run for his life. Peter loved Jesus.  In the garden when Jesus was arrested. Peter sprang to life and cut off the guard's ear. Peter acted on his own instincts. 

My thought is this:  God wants to use us.  He loves us and has a plan for each of us.  May we draw very close to Him. May I encourage you today to do the right thing?  Don't let fear cause you to sin. Do not tell half-truths rather tell the truth straightforwardly. Don't let yourself take rash actions that would be against the will of God.  Look toward Him and LET Him take care of you.  HE WILL!

Psalm 33: 20-22 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love be upon us, even as we hope in you. 

Jesus is Jesus - not someone else!

 I recently read a book called Do all Roads Lead to Heaven.  I want to share with you one idea learned from this book in terms of who Jesus is.  

Is Jesus the same as Allah or other human prophets or pagan deities?   Are they all the same person with different names?  Does it really matter which God or prophet you believe in? Will they all get you to heaven?

To illustrate this point an assertion was given by Dr. Robert Jeffress, author of the book. "Suppose the church had advertised all week that today's message will be delivered by Dr. David Jeremiah.  When you arrived, you looked at the bulletin and saw the title of the message with the name 'Dr. David Jeremiah' beside it.  But when the time came for the message I stood up and preached.  After the message you approach me and, trying to hide your disappointment, you say, 'Pastor, I thought Dr. Jeremiah was preaching today.  Is he ill?' And I reply, "Not at all.  Actually, David Jeremiah is just another name I occasionally use to refer to myself.  Other times I go by Chuck _______, Joe ______, or Jesse ____. But we are all the same person!"

Get the idea?  

Jesus may have similar characteristics to some of the other prophets but He is His own distinct Person. 

In the picture above, each person is their own distinct person.  We are who we are and the special names given to us by our parents' matter!

Jesus is Jesus.  He has his own characteristics! He cannot be called another name.  He is the only way to heaven!

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. I John 5:13

A new attitude of gratefulness for submission to my husband...

Goodness!! Submission to our husbands? Do you struggle with this?  Why should we be submissive?

Well, first off we know that the Bible commands it.  "Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord." The Greek verb submit means willingly putting oneself under someone or arranging under rank. 

After almost fifty years of marriage and 'happily?' obeying this command, I realized the other day how grateful I was for this command. I realized that by practicing submission I was given protection from God. I have stayed under my husband's authority and God's authority and I've been blessed beyond measure!!! I think by being submissive I have been shielded from doing things that I shouldn't have been doing.  I am sure I have failed miserably at times but generally speaking, I have tried to submit! 

I read a chapter in a book this week that listed four reasons why God set our world up like this - wife being submissive to husband.

Submitting to authority :

1.  teaches us obedience to God

2.  provides orderliness

3.  frees us from unnecessary worries

4.  gives us direction in life 

I can definitely support these principles.  I am thankful that by being submissive to Gail I have also grown closer to God, that our family has had order, that I can be under his authority and not worry as Gail leads, and that God will give us as a couple His direction. 

Submission isn't always easy.  As wives, we often don't think our husbands are going in the right direction.  But we must follow God and trust Him.  He is ALWAYS at work.  He will bless you if you do right and stay with Him following His directions. The blessings may not be immediate but they will come. 

.....just a little encouragement for you girls.....obedience brings big blessings!!

Suggested reading: Why on Earth Should we be Heavenly-Minded? Robert Jeffress

Striving for being GODLY MINDED!

Job 28:28  "And He (God) said to man, 'Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away for evil is understanding.'"

Then what? What do we do when we turn from evil?  

If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  Col. 3:1,2

How do we be heavenly-minded? How do we set our minds on the things above?

Colossians goes on to say we need to have compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and above all else love.  We need to let the peace of Christ fill our hearts and we need to be thankful.  Christ's Word must dwell in us and we must share it with others.  Do everything we do in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

THAT is how we are to be HEAVENLY-MINDED!

When we keep focusing on the negative or evil our minds become trapped and enslaved.  Our brains actually rewire themselves to suit the information you feed into them. If it is bad information put in then our brain focuses on bad information.  But when we focus on Christ and His Word we have freedom and purpose. This good information makes it easier for our brains to focus on the good. This kind of focus takes time and self-determination but it is what God wants from us.  

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me - practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.  Philippians 4:8,9

I know from my experience in life that this is not always easy.  Sometimes others hurt us deeply - our friends, family members, or our spouse may sever their ties with us.  Someone evil may hurt us or our family in some way. A drunk driver may cause a wreck.  Someone on drugs may kill a loved one. There may be a war. There is MUCH evil in the world. It is not always easy to focus on God and His ways BUT WE MUST!

Work at it with all your strength and might.  The Holy Spirit will be there to help you!  You can have victory and peace!

From Job: Praise God Through Your Suffering

 I recently finished reading the book of Job.  These ideas came to me as I read the scripture and the commentary on it. 

Job suffered terribly after God allowed Satan to hurt him.  He was in terrible anguish, not only from his physical pain but also from losing his children and all his possessions.  Job was a righteous and Godly man.  He was in general without sin. When he was hurting though he cried out to God and complained against God.

In Job 36 we read of a speech given by Ehihu.  He had some valid points against Job for complaining. Ehihu said God does at times use suffering to chasten and bring repentance.  BUT God also uses suffering to open men's ears and to call men to himself. Because Job kept complaining as he suffered, he was sinning rather than drawing nearer and nearer to God during his suffering. Job should not have been complaining but rather he needed to see God in his suffering and worship him. 

At the end of Job in chapter 40, Job said "I am guilty!" He knew he was in trouble for finding fault with God. He had been insisting that God give him an explanation for what was going on in his life. My Bible commentary said Job should not have thought God unjust and he should not have insisted on his own understanding. It said 'Job needed to admit his weakness, inferiority, and ability to even try to figure out God's infinite mind.  God's wisdom was so superior, his sovereign control of everything so complete, that this was all Job needed to know. '  The commentary also said, "The great lesson of Job was: Trust sovereign God when you can't understand why things go badly in life."

This is a reminder for me and you to examine ourselves when we are suffering.

Is this suffering because of sin in our lives? Then we'd best repent and turn from our wicked ways.

Is God using the suffering to draw us closer to Him? If this is the case, may we trust in His grace, see God while we are suffering, and worship Him! 

I know this is easier said than done but may we with all our might worship and glorify our Lord and Savior at all times! Amen!

Dealing with criticism and succeeding....

 I have always known the old saying, "the only person who doesn't make a mistake or get in trouble is the person who does nothing at all."  I have often reminded Gail of this when something he has done with good intent doesn't turn out like he wanted it to - when failure comes or criticism from others. I recently wrote about doing the right thing. This is a follow up and continuation of 'doing the right thing' and being victorious thru criticism

The ideas for this blog today come again from Dr. Robert Jeffress' Daily Devotional. Jeffress wrote several devotions on criticism.  I hope to recap to you what he said:

- if you have a dream, you will experience opposition and the greater your goal or dream, the greater your opposition.  Are you trying to do the right thing and live out God's will for your life?  You will get criticised.

- discern the motive of the critic, seek God to discern the cause of the criticism.  Pv. 27:6 Is the critic a friend tying to help you?  Is there truth in what they are telling you? Do you need to heed his criticism? OR maybe the critic is trying to cause harm.  Is there insecurity or jealousy on the part of the critic? Or look deeper into the critics life and see if he is struggling with somethings himself. Is he hurting and struggling with something? Always pray for them and then see if you can help in someway. IF you discern they are trying to harm you, then you are probably in the middle of a spiritual war and Satan is using them to try to harm you. Rev. 12:10

-understand your critic will try to attack you personally, will try to stop you from accomplishing your goal, and may attack your motive

-to gain victory:discern the cause for the criticism, deliver your critic to God, and keep moving forward to fulfill your God-given goal.  

- sometimes you answer your critics and sometimes you just don't cast your pearls before swine (waste your wisdom). When you answer them make sure you speak softly and slowly so as to put the fire out rather than stir it up.

- the goal of criticism is destruction. The greater your goal is, the greater the criticism.  If you are getting more and more criticism, you can probably know you are in the middle of God's will!! 

When others try to discourage you....keep focused on the goal....

 This is a follow-up to the blog on 'Do the Right Thing" which I published last.  I was visiting with two different people after that blog who were struggling with opposition from others.  I just had recently read a few devotionals about Nehemiah and the opposition he was receiving as he was leading the Jewish people to rebuild the wall. The daily devotional by Robert Jeffress and Pathway to Victory listed four principles for handling difficult people.

1.  practice prayer - how much time are you spending in prayer about this person or situation? "There are a lot of things you can do after you pray, but you can do nothing until you've prayed."

2.  exercise patience - do the right thing and what you should do, while waiting on God to do what only He can do.

3.  recognize when God begins to open the door and you can make your next move - make the request of what you need from them to stop this opposition or reconcile the problem

4.  expect more problems - whenever you have a God-given dream or goal, don't be surprised when difficulty comes. This is not a sign you are outside of God's will; it may be an indication that you are right in the middle of God's will

A way of escape....

When our girls were growing up we had a special verse we encouraged them to memorize that we felt would help them get through their teen-age years with victory.  This verse is a good one for all of us - as it encourages us to get through life without succumbing to temptation or sin.

I Corinthians 10:13  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and HE will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide a way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 

Let's look at it piece by piece:

- what you are facing in life is nothing new.  Others have also faced what is looking you in the face.

- God is there with you.  He won't let you be faced with more than you can bear.

- there is ALWAYS a way of escape.  LOOK for a way to get away from the tempation.  This is the KEY!!!  Do you need to leave the place you are in?  the company you are with? what you are watching on TV or the computer?  Use the way of escape and stay in close fellowship with your Savior!

Do the right thing....

😡😠😟😞😕

Short idea and blog today:

Over the past few years, we have gone through some trials.  One thing we gleaned from them was this principle:

    DO THE RIGHT THING!

When you are confronted by someone who is not treating you very nicely, or has done something wrong to you, maybe said something mean to you...... don't retaliate.  Rather:

    DO THE RIGHT THING

I was reminded of this principle today when I was reading through Job.

Job 17:9 Yet the righteous holds to his way,

and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.

God will bless you when you do the right things, when you make the right choices, when you strive for righteous.  You WILL grow stronger and stronger. 

God's will...which road?

I have read several books about knowing the will of God in our lives.  Today I want to share with you a list that will help you in knowing how to know God's will.  I also want to share a little bit of 'our story' in implementing this list. 

There are several processes to go through in knowing God's will for a situation or decision:

1. Meditate on scripture

2. Listen to God in prayer

3. Evaluate circumstances

4. Discover our desires and see if those desires are in line with God's desires

5. Seek counsel

6.  Trust in God's sovereignty

Don't make a decision using only one of the criteria above.  Rather incorporate all the areas into your decision-making. 

***************

In 1994 we felt God was calling us to move so that we could be more involved in ministry.  We visited with our pastor.  He basically ran through the list above and asked us if we had examined all the areas.  We said we had and still felt called to move. He told us to go ahead and follow God's leading. So we started the process of looking at other ranches.  We looked at three that we liked and thought would work for ministry. But with each one when we were ready to proceed, the door closed - the ranch was already sold or taken off the market.  We then felt God wanted us to wait.  Maybe our idea was right but the timing was off.  So we waited.... We received his blessings in many ways. We were content to be where God had us.  We tried to serve Him where we were.  

After ten years, we felt the call again to move.  Again, we went through the list above seeking God's will. We felt we were to go ahead.  We began looking at ranches and this time we found a ranch that would work for us.  We put in an offer.  We were anxious but trusted the Lord.  The sellers of the ranch were to accept our offer by 4:00 on a set day.  At 3:50 they called and they had another offer for the ranch.  Would we give them another hour to decide which offer they were going to accept? We said we would.  It was a long hour for us but we knew it was in God's hands.  The purchase would come about if it was God's will. They called back and accepted our offer and the moving process was started.  That is how we came to live where we now do! We felt God's calling, sought His will, trusted His timing, and He was faithful!

The lighter side....be like a dog...be happy!

 Just a quick blog to share a thought I've had for a long time.   I think we should be more like dogs and be happy!!!

This is my dog, Uno.  He is always so happy to see me.  He doesn't care if it has been a month since I've been home or if I just went inside and came back out, he is happy to see me!

Years ago we had a nice cattle dog.  He often went with Gail in the pick-up.  Well, one time he went with Gail and somehow got left in the pickup cab.  We wondered where he went!  The next day we went to get in the pickup and there he was.  Happy and excited to see us!!!

Well.... what if that was you?  Would you have been happy?  

That's why we need to be more like dogs!!