Category: Sunday School Lessons

David and Goliath

I recently went back and read the old bible story about David and Goliath again. I guess I have read it more than a few times through the years but I don’t think I ever took a “critical” look at all the elements of the story. I was amazed at how much of the story is still relevant advice for us today. Even though I’m hesitant to recommend killing as the “go to” solution for solving problems it seems obvious that there are times when it just works. In spite of that fact the importance of this story doesn’t hinge on the fact that David killed him but rather on the techniques David used to overcome his opponent. The techniques are timeless and should be taught at all levels.

I listened to a sermon a while back and the preacher seemed to miss the point. He labored and labored over how a young boy went into battle with a giant and used a pebble and God to kill him and win the battle. He talked about how if you have God on your side you meager skills will be enough because he will magnify your efforts. While I don’t disagree that God can certainly magnify anything he wishes I saw a lot more than meager efforts from the young man that was being groomed to become king.

In case you don’t remember the story  the two armies were camped close enough to hurl insults at each other and Goliath was yelling a challenge every morning that if they had a solider that would come fight him that they could settle the battle and declare a winner without everyone going into battle. All they had to do was select a solider to meet him and beat him in battle. Only problem was Goliath was at least twice the size of most men and an experienced expert at hand to hand combat that had never lost. I’m sure he was covered with scars from battle and had back hair thicker than the girls from Dover! You have probably met more than one of these loud mouths in your life but apparently Goliath could back up his boast. At least it looks like the soldiers believed he could because no body wanted to try when the cost of losing was certain death from a big rusty sword! So it had been a stalemate for a while before David showed up to drop off stuff. He wasn’t even a solider but he hears the challenge and immediately accepts. He is too small to wear the heavy armor or carry the big sword so he goes into battle with only his slingshot and wins. Everyone is amazed and he is an instant star.

How did he do it? The bible leaves no doubt that it was the hand of God but exactly how did God get the outcome he desired. It seems to me that David was groomed for this fight long before he ever saw Goliath. He used his past training, skill, cunning and bravery on that day along with good dose of common sense. Here is how he did it.

He stuck with a proven performer. Seems a lot of us want to abandon what has always worked in favor of something untried when we face a new problem. Sure the sword was the weapon of choice for war but David knew he would lose in a sword fight. Goliath was far to strong to fight up close and the slingshot would allow him to pelt him from a safe distance. It was a weapon David had practiced with and he knew it’s strengths and weaknesses. It would not kill unless the hit was perfect but it would sure make for a bad day for “Big Boy” even if he could only score hits. Remember “stoning” was a particularly painful form of execution.

He had a plan. How can you go do anything if you don’t have a plan? Notice the part of the story where he picked up the stones? He selected 5 stones. Did this mean he didn’t have faith? No it simply meant his plan was to do the best he could with what he had. I’m confidant that if Goliath hadn’t had  enough after the fifth stone that David would have picked up more and more until the giant’s head looked like it had been through an all day hail storm.

He had technique! You can’t do anything well unless you have a technique. You can practice the technique, improve the technique, change the technique or even abandon the technique but unless you have a technique you won’t improve. It was a technique he had perfected as a Shepard guarding his flock.  He knew that if he stayed far away and threw the stones that Goliath would have time to dodge or deflect the stones. His weapon of choice would have to be used up close. The bible says he ran straight towards him and was close enough that Goliath had no time to react but not close enough that Goliath could use his sword.

He matched his equipment to the task. How many times have you tried to use the wrong tool and gotten poor results. The bible says he selected smooth stones from the river bed. Ever wonder why. Wouldn’t a jagged stone make a nastier wound? Certainly it would but David was going to use all his skill to make a good shot (sounds like he went to Atlantic Shooting School!). He knew a jagged stone would not fly straight or come out of the sling at precisely the right time so even back then premium ammo was worth the effort.

He didn’t stop till he was sure the job was done. I’m guilty of this one! Start celebrating when the hard part of the job is done but something goes wrong finishing up the easy part! When Goliath went down he cut off his head without delay. Imagine if he had run back to his side to gloat after knocking him down and Goliath had gotten back up ready to fight! The old surprise slingshot technique might not work twice!

How many Goliaths are you facing? Even if you have never faced a real challenge you can be sure that some are waiting in your future. Maybe some of the same techniques that worked thousands of years ago will work for you too. Bottom line is you have to do your part and that means doing it the best you can, as hard as you can and for as long as it takes. After all, God didn’t design you to fail. So when the times to take down the giant have a plan, stick with what you know, use your most effective technique, have good equipment and don’t give up till you are the winner! Don’t worry about God doing his part, you just make sure you hold up your end of the bargain!

Timothy P. Whealton

At first you might wonder why 3 John is even in the Bible. It is the shortest book in the New Testament. It is the only New Testament book that doesn’t contain the name Jesus or Christ. It looks to be a personal letter only with little connection to our modern time but careful study proves otherwise.

3 John shows us that problems between Christians have been happening ever since the resurrection. This book was included in the Bible because the message hasn’t changed. Conflict between Christians hurts the church, the members and most of all the unsaved? How can it hurt the unsaved? How many times have you seen someone hesitant about beginning a relationship with Jesus because they have witnessed behavior by Christians that made them turn away. There can not be a larger loss than a human soul lost for eternity that would have found salvation in a church focused on God’s will.

So what is God’s will? Jesus told Paul when he converted him on the road to Damascus. Acts 26-18 “to open their eyes so they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.”
Sometimes these conflicts escalate into open ugly hostility but most of the time they will be more like a smoldering fire that can go on for years. They will greet each other and smile but there is no smile on the inside. This life style will even spread to their children and affect their lives as they are learning how to handle relationships.

But how do we as Christians handle and resolve the conflicts that arise in our church families? Like most problems it’s fairly easy if you are not one of the parties involved. Probably nothing is easier to solve than other people’s problems but terms like “they just need to get over it”, or “it’s time to move on” or “that’s just silly” never help.

God’s plan for us is a plan of starting over. The wonderful grace of God allows us to start over with a clean slate. We ask for forgiveness and God gives us a completely clean start. It is called being “born again” because at birth we are sinless and have no past. While it will never be possible for us to forgive like God he has equipped us try and follow his example. Through the study of God’s word we can become better Christians and be as the scripture says “known for our love”.

Here are some of the natural things to avoid.
1. The blame game. How long has this been going on? What did Adam say when God asked what he had done? “She made me do it! It’s her fault! You made her so it might be your fault too”. We have to own our part of the problem or it will never be repaired.

2. It’s not right but it makes me happy and God wants me to be happy. Wrong! God will never ask you to sin even once as a path to happiness.

3. “I don’t have to say I’m sorry because I didn’t do anything wrong”. It might be your attitude that is the biggest problem of all. It has been said “attitude is more important than fact” and it is the truth!

4. We want to win. We love winners, we make them heroes and idolize them. Sometimes it might seem like we have to “chose to lose” when we forgive but in reality we are choosing to win a much larger prize.

5. Forgiveness isn’t free. If you truly forgive there will be a cost involved. If there is a debt owed to you either financial or emotional and you release that debt unpaid you must pay the price yourself. God did it for you and the price was high. I never agreed with the people who said salvation is free. A dear price was paid for my salvation!

So how do we transform ourselves into people without all these failings? Obviously we as humans can never accomplish this but as Christians we can and must turn to God for help.

The first step for a Christian will be honest prayer from the heart. Not a reciting of memorized verses but real talking to God. Then with an open and receptive heart we have to listen to God. Then we will need more prayer as we ask God for the courage to do what we know is right. Knowing what is right is a lot easier than doing what is right.

When you talk with any committed Christian they will tell you God will push you out of your “comfort zone” but he will never leave you there. Out of the comfort zone is the “growth zone” for Christians.

I use to have an old man that would come into my shop and sit around. He didn’t say a lot but he listened carefully to all the shop talk and stories. One day he opened his wallet and gave me a small metal cross. He said he had been given the cross by an old man when he was young. He said it was meaningless at first but had become more important the longer it stayed in his wallet. The old man that gave it to him said “Keep this and don’t forget who you are”.

The little cross has been in my wallet 15 years now and it has become more and more valuable. Because every now and then when I’m looking for something I will see the cross and remember who I am. I am an adopted child of God.

The Second Tree
I always wondered about the second tree. When God made Adam and Eve he had a plan. When they ate the fruit from the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” they were banned from the Garden of Eden. But there was another tree called the “Tree of Everlasting Life.” Never heard much reference made about it but it must have been important.
Some things haven’t changed much since then. When God found them after they had disobeyed he asked Adam if had eaten of the tree the first thing he said was “the woman you made gave it to me”. Or to say “her fault and might even be your fault for making her!” She said “It was the serpent!” And the blame game goes on and on.
My practical side says if God made those two trees it was for a reason. One tree gave the knowledge of good and evil, the other gave immortality. My practical side also says there was no magic fruit except for the power of God. They must have been made for man so why was it wrong for them to eat? Obviously it wasn’t time!
Adam and Eve were in a test period. If they could have trusted God they may have been deemed worthy to eat from both trees. The trees were together in the center of the Garden so they must have been made to work together. Adam and Eve already believed in God. They even took walks with him in the Garden in the cool of the day. They failed when they didn’t trust God. It is a lot easier to believe than to trust. You believe when it is the logical thing to do. You trust when you put that belief into action and have something at stake. I believe the bridge will hold but I don’t trust it till I step out on it.
So what happened? God wasn’t mad and didn’t hate them. They failed and their sin separated them from God. God still loved them and made them coats out of animal skins (Gen 3.21). Then they had to leave the Garden and God and go into the world to make it sort of on their own. But what about the second tree?
God wanted to make sure they couldn’t get to the second tree so he put angels with flaming swords around the tree. Kind of seems like overkill. If they already had gotten thrown out of the Garden did they really need flaming swords?
Apparently God knows more about us than we know about ourselves. He knew they would eventually try to reach the tree. He obviously loved them so he must have wanted to protect them from a terrible fate. But what would be wrong with gaining everlasting life? If that life were to be spent separated from God it would be too terrible to contemplate. Eternity without God would be the cruelest sentence imaginable!
So what about us. Are we guilty and to be punished because they messed up? Not at all! God had a plan and it’s still working. We already have the knowledge of good and evil thanks to Adam and Eve. All we need is a way to remove the sin that separates us from God and we get to eat the fruit of the tree of everlasting life. Our savior Jesus made the sacrifice and paid our debt. If you accept Jesus there is nothing separating you from God. Then after trusting God you can freely eat and gain everlasting life.
I don’t know why it took me so long to figure out the second tree is Jesus!

The Good Samaritan

The line of questioning was started by a lawyer. Not the kind of lawyer that gets you out off with a suspended sentence but an expert in interpreting Old Testament law. What the Jews called the Torah. It’s in Luke 10:25 if you are a Bible person. The question he asked Jesus was “master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus did what great teachers, psychiatrist and lawyers do. He answered with a question. Now this wasn’t strange or odd for Jesus.

Jesus was asked 183 questions in the bible. Anybody know how many he answered with a straight answer? That’s right! 3 times he gave a straight answer. He would either answer with a question or a parable. I can see the disciples start rolling their eyes at each other as if to say “not another story”! Jesus even apologized to them for speaking in parables and explained that later he wouldn’t have to speak in parables and he could just tell them. Ever wonder why? I think Jesus was speaking to all that would be hearing his word for thousands of years to come. The parable survives translation when the translated word changes meaning. In other words he did it for us and they just had to put up with it. Like when I was a phone man and my kids wanted money, first they had to listen to the “up the pole story” about how I had to climb that big pole to get my money. (They hated that story!)

So Jesus reply was “what does the law say and how do you read it”. He knew this man was a Pharisee and that he had years of study. He also knew this man wanted to show others how much he knew. The lawyers answer was straight out of the Old Testament. Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus praised his answer and said do this and you will live.

The lawyer had it made but he had to ask one more question to justify himself. He asked “and who is my neighbor?”
It’s a valid question. Where do we draw that circle? If I’m willing to help others but I only have a little money and limited hours how do I draw that line and exactly where do I draw it? Around my family? (Sure!) Cousins? 2nd cousins? Friends I see every week or once a year? I want to be generous but I have to live within my means. (And sometimes mean is an accurate description). Jesus was ready with one of his most famous stories. Even if you didn’t grow up as a God Bible Jesus person you have heard this story or at least the name, The Good Samaritan.

So why did this story stick? A Samaritan was a person from Samaria. It was a country next to Israel. They never got along with the Jews and even had war and race riots. Samaritan was used as a term of slander and to degrade. Their name was used for dirty jokes and to suggest you were a Samaritan would be “fighting words.” So let’s fast forward 2000 years. The Samaritans are gone, absorbed into other cultures but the name has a wonderful connotation when used to describe a caring person. The Jews are still here but calling someone “the good Jew” just doesn’t work the same.

Jesus was the master at telling a story that would pull you out of your comfort zone (he still is!). He knew all about racial bias and discrimination. His parable of The Good Samaritan used this to full effect. It was told in the well-known version of three. The people listening in that day knew the third person would be the one to help. They were caught off guard when it was a person they would never have a conversation or a cup of coffee with. There are a few more things you need to know about their world to see this story like they did.

The Times- Times were bad! The wealth was not distributed. No middle class. All the wealth was in the hands of the wealthy 1%. Heavy tax burden led to farming communities having to sell their land and become tenant farmers on what had been their own land. Young men were not able to inherit and forced to work as field labor for subsistence wages. Nothing was working. In desperation many young men had left the work farms and joined outlaw bands living it the mountains. They robbed travelers and Romans. These outlaw bands were known as the Zealots but they were very disorganized. Most people listening to Jesus would have known someone who had turned to crime to survive or seen their children leave home to be robbers.

The Road- The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was 17 miles of rugged misery. Jerusalem is 2500 feet above sea level. Jericho is the lowest city on earth at 800 feet below sea level. The road was not much more than a foot path with switch backs, cliffs and caves. Perfect for ambush. They had a name for the road. It was known as “The Way of Blood.” Not a very appealing name. Imagine your GPS saying “turn right on blood road”.

The Priest- he was the first to see the injured naked man. Being a priest meant he was doing the “love God” thing. We hold our pastors to a higher level and they did too. Being a priest also meant he was a member of the Sadducees. They were basically pro Roman because that meant the wealth would stay where it was. They were in the top 1%. Jesus said he saw the man and moved to the other side of the road and passed by. What a disappointment.

The Levites- he was the second to see the man. Levites were experts on the law and most were Pharisees. They were basically not as well off as the Saducees or as pro Roman. They considered themselves very religious and entitled to God because they followed the law. They wanted anyone who didn’t obey the law to pay a price for being a sinner. The Levite passed by without helping. We don’t know why. Maybe he didn’t feel obligated because the injured man was a stranger. Maybe the victim was another race or he was in a hurry. Would he have helped if it had been someone in his family? Safe to say yes. How about someone that lived close by or someone he worshipped with? Probably he would have helped.

The Samaritan- Jesus knew all about the bias towards the Samaritans. As long as people have looked or sounded different we have had bias. It never came from God, it came from men. I’m sure Satan has enjoyed it. It is certainly still holding us back 2000 years later. The Samaritan looked on the injured man and felt compassion. Maybe he had suffered at the hands of others himself. It doesn’t sound like he was especially wealthy since he was traveling alone. No way had he had the resources to fix what was wrong with the world but he chose to act. He bandaged the man’s wounds. The people listening to this parable would have known what that meant. The Samaritan ripped off strips of his own clothing. He poured on oil and wine. This softened the wounds so they would heal and killed germs. He sat the injured man on his donkey and carried him to an inn. He stayed with him all night and fed him ice chips and pudding pops (just making sure you are listening). Next day he prepaid the innkeeper 2 days wages to take care of him. Then he told him if it required more he would pay him next time he was passing through.

When the story was over Jesus asked the lawyer which of the three was the man’s neighbor? The lawyer replied the one that showed mercy on him. Jesus didn’t need to elaborate so he closed with a simple “Go, and do likewise”.

You don’t have to know everything to know something so what does this demonstrate? We already know God wants us to love our neighbor but like the lawyer we have to draw a line. I’m going to take care of my family and do what I can for friends and distant relatives. Problem is that when I take care of those close to me I don’t show how great God is to anyone. When the love shown to another will never be “credited” or returned then you know it is plainly for God.

Notice that people will do something good just because it’s the right thing to do. This points to the existence of God. Nobody does something bad just because it’s the bad thing. They do bad things because they think it will bring them something they want. Either short term pleasure or money or power but not just because it’s the bad thing to do.

We have drawn our circles around who are willing to sacrifice our resources to help. That’s just a normal thing. Almighty God doesn’t have much use for normal. He will provide you with special opportunities to let the world see his love. You will know when it happens. His message will be loud and clear. When it happens you can almost hear God saying “Here is your chance, don’t pass it up!” It will be a neighbor completely outside your circle. There will be no payback in the life for loving this outside neighbor but you will be laying up fruit that will repay you forever. You will hear people say “you can’t take your wealth with you” but Jesus said you could. You just have to send ahead before you go!

Timothy P. Whealton

Presence of God

I’m not addicted to TV but not too long ago I watched the Olympics with interest. It was certainly better than standard TV but that doesn’t say much. I watched the opening ceremony just to see what they looked like and the outfits. Then each night we watched a different event. It took a while but I finally decided the end of the events were the most interesting part. Just to see the look on their faces as they realized their dream had come true. Even the ones that didn’t medal seemed to be happy. Some showed disappointment but all projected that they were glad to represent their country and be a part of a great competition. You would think our highly paid professional athletes would show even more appreciation but I guess money changes things.
There was no doubt about it, the outpouring of emotion by those athletes could be felt through the television. Seems we have the ability to pick up emotions even faster than the flu virus. Many cried, unable to handle the flood of feelings. Many spectators cried for the same reason (especially the parents!). Seems people really like to get emotional about something they can see. Maybe that was why God was so focused on keeping his people from worshiping idols. It was a hard task to keep people from idol worship. It still is.
Long before Indiana Jones I was fascinated by the stories of the Ark of the covenants. It was a box built to hold the stone tablets inscribed by God with the Ten Commandments. Ten rules for his people to live by that would make them different from the rest of the world. The rules have never changed. While we have never lived by them in earnest have you ever wondered what the world would be like if we could?
Incredible wealth- No need for armies, tanks, planes and missiles. No need for Police Departments, FBI, SBI, CIA, Homeland Security, IRS or any enforcement of a law. As a matter of fact if you could follow the 10 you wouldn’t need the millions of laws written by man.
Incredible Health- All STD diseases gone. When a virgin marries a virgin they don’t have STDs! With so much wealth other diseases would be wiped out by fantastic research.
Incredible peace- No locks needed. No alarms. You live without fear of your fellow man. There is nothing to fear, you won’t be hurt by anyone and when you die you will live with God forever.
Incredible happiness- With so much health, wealth and peace it would be hard to not be happy all the time.
These are not vague projections but facts of life. We all know it would work. We all know we can’t do it. What a shame.
The Ark was used as a symbol of the presence of God. The presence of God is a powerful thing and the Ark reflected that. It was so powerful that they never knew how to handle it. Of course when anything has power someone will want to use it as a weapon. It proved to be a double edge sword.
Joshua used it as the Lord instructed and stopped the waters of the river Jordan to cross into the Promised Land. He used it again to defeat Jericho.
Years later the Israelites were in battle with the Philistines. Israel had sinned greatly and lost the favor of God. They were defeated by the Philistines and fear was in their hearts. They didn’t turn to God but went and got the Ark to use in battle against the Philistines. The Philistines killed thousands and captured the Ark. It was a bad time!
When the Philistines carried the Ark home they got a nasty surprise. God sent a plague against them. Those that didn’t die were struck with hemorrhoids. Now I’m sure if almighty God gives you hemorrhoids they are not going to be little! No surgery, no preparation H, no ice cubes. Eventually the Philistines send the Ark back to the Israelites. They even sent it home with an offering attached. The offering was 5 golden hemorrhoids and 5 golden mice. You can’t make up stories that good!
When the Jews receive the Ark from the Philistines they were happy. So happy they opened it and looked inside. 50,000 died for this transgression. Then they took the Ark to the house of Abinadab. It stayed there 20 years.
After King Saul died David became king and wanted the Ark to have a resting place in Jerusalem. He goes with a military detachment to retrieve the Ark. They load it on an ox cart and parade in front of the Ark. When the oxen stumble Uzzah reaches to steady the Ark and is struck dead. Parade over! David is scared to go any farther and decides to leave the Ark and go back till he can decide what to do. He leaves the Ark with Obed Edom the Gittite.
Obed was a Gittite which meant he was from the Philistine city of Gath. It also means he would have known about the Ark. I can only imagine his feeling knowing the same Ark that had killed thousands and plagued his hometown with hemorrhoids was going to be left with him!
Obed means “worships God” and it must have been a name he earned. Our Bible only says Obed and his house were blessed. Sources outside the Bible say all the women of his house gave birth every two weeks for the 3 months he kept the Ark. That would have been a blessing then in a world that ran on child labor. Obed honored the presence of God and worshipped Him.
David hears Obed is being blessed and decides it is safe to go get the Ark. This time he dances his heart out while musicians play as the Ark is moved. They stop every 6 paces and offer sacrifices. The Bible says David was dressed in linen. Linen was underwear and David’s wife was not happy to see her husband dancing in public. She tells David with great sarcasm that he has exposed himself in public and is a disgrace. David is not impressed by her and explains that he was dancing before God and worshipping him.
David stands out as someone who really worshipped God. In the true sense of worship he put aside his life and honored God. His example of worship is still valid. Even though he was flawed he still worshipped. He maintained a wonderful connection to God. A worshiper puts aside the self-centered life and focuses on the true greatness of God.
But what happens when we worship God. It seems counter intuitive but we have improvement in our lives. It would make sense that if we get what we want we will be happy. It also makes sense that the more we get the happier we will be. Only problem is we aren’t wired that way so it doesn’t work. We are designed to connect and that connection we get with God when we worship far outshines anything the world can offer.
Need proof? Look at the most devout Christians you can find. You will have to look because they don’t stand up and wave but they are there. Usually working away in some church program or maybe a soup kitchen. You might find her working in the church nursery. You might find him painting the church or raising money to help someone. They will tell you the source of everything good in their life including their happiness is God. They will take no credit for their success. Their fruit will be abundant.
We don’t have the Ark but we have the Holy Spirit. It is the presence of God in our lives. If we take time to worship we will be blessed. It may not be with childbirth every 2 weeks but if it is from God you know it will be good!

HOPE

I wrote this after reading 1st Peter. It’s a letter he wrote late in life to Christians living in a bad time. How did he have so much hope? Christians were being tortured in horrible ways for having faith in Jesus.
Hope gets a bad rap sometimes in our modern language. Let’s say I need to borrow $500 this month. You don’t really have it to spare but I convince you that I will absolutely pay you back before next month so you can pay your bills on time. You ask me after the 7th if I am going to pay and I say “absolutely”. You ask me on the 18th and I say “absolutely”. You ask me on the 28th and I say “I hope so”! You know you made a mistake. Seems hope has a double meaning. Be careful where your hope resides!

It’s not without reason that our God is referred to as the God of Hope throughout the bible. It is hope that is intertwined who we are as Christians. It sustains us, makes us joyful in good times and is our life preserver when times are bad. But what is it?

Hope is the confident expectation that things will be better. For Christians our hope centers on a future with God. Not just being there where God is but connected with God and able to share without holding anything back. That hope is in the future but tremendous rewards are given in the present for those with hope.

Everybody wants hope. Millions are spent each year as major corporations search for ways to give their employees hope. They call it “optimism”. You can call it faith, hope or optimism but it is still the same. It has been proven over and over that optimistic people work harder, are happier, and are healthier, more generous and smarter. You know this is true. Whenever you compare someone who can’t but thinks he can to someone that can but thinks he can’t, hopeful people win every time. Seems like hope is a gas gauge for the soul. People with plenty of hope are anxious to take on new task, work harder and want to things completed so they can tackle something new. People with hope have a peace that passes all understanding. Hope is the fire we have to keep burning in our lives.

No reason for a Christian to not be overflowing with hope. So what keeps us from bubbling over? It’s an enemy as old as time itself. He fell from Heaven like lightning before time began. He was there in the garden. He is still here and full of lies. He is Satan. He is always at your elbow. He can be well dressed and charming. He looks good in heels or blue jeans when it fits his purpose. If you are not working for God you will be working for Satan. His retirement plan stinks!

While our God is all about the future Satan is all about your past. God says I have cleaned you and made you new. Satan says you have done bad things and don’t deserve a good future. We know all too well the mistakes of our past. They haunt us without any help but Satan has plenty of help.

Who would help Satan? Sad answer is most of your friends and you and me. It might not be recognized at first glance but it’s there. You will see it as soon as a person starts to excel. We don’t like to be outdone so we help the Devil by pulling up someone’s past. No matter what they do we won’t let them escape their mistakes. Maybe we do it to make our mistakes look smaller but we do it. Peter tells us to be a student, not a critic. Students learn

So how do we get hope. If you are a Christian you have hope. But we want more. We want our hope tanks full and running over. Number 1 best way I found is to study the 4 stories of Jesus life. It’s the first 4 books of the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Not just a glance but a study. The jewels are so numerous you will find new ones every time you look. Small details that bring understanding. Never stop learning. Without knowledge you can never have hope. With knowledge of God you can’t help but have hope!

The next way is to put God’s plan into action. God says just test me and you will know I am real and you will be filled with hope. Hope is faith and our Bible says without works faith is dead. God is all about freedom, he will give you opportunity to serve him over and over. You get to decide how to serve. No wrong choices here. Jesus brought it out over and over in his parables that the faithful servant will be busy doing the will of God.

Be ready for Satan when you start. He hates faith, hope, love and anything that connects you with God. If your faith is in God then Satan has lost. If your faith is in yourself he has won. Satan will attack you when your hope is at its lowest point. Every time!

Maybe you have seen a glow stick before. They started out as toys for children but now they are much more. In an emergency they can be used for rescue or a safety marker on a kid’s bike. You will see them on Halloween so drivers can spot the trick or treaters. But they have been used by our military for several years in combat. The military version is infrared. Not visible to the eye without night vision. Our troops are the only ones that can see them. In a firefight at night they can spot friendly troops.

So what are the directions on the glow stick? They have to be broken to shine. Same directions work for Christians. We were broken and now we can shine! A believer filled with the knowledge of God will be filled with hope and shine for all to see!

2016 years ago you were given a present. You should have received by now. Maybe you have never opened your present or maybe you opened it but set it aside for later. Open and enjoy the best present ever given this year.

Friends

My parents knew how important they were years ago. When I was old enough to be trusted to leave the yard I would have to get permission first. This was one of the few occasions where forgiveness was NOT easier to get than permission. Whenever I asked to leave the next question was “Who will you be with?” It seemed that who I was with was more important to them than where I was going. It was a long time before I found out why.
My parents were old enough to know (I thought they were born old!) how much our friends shape our lives. Friends will set the standards that we live by. It won’t be in a written resolution but it will be obvious what they consider worthy goals and we will try to conform. Good friends enhance performance more than any other reward. We were built to connect, we want to connect and connecting with a quality friend is the best hope we have. As the saying goes “steel sharpens steel!”
Throughout my life my friends have proven to be a catalyst for everything that has happened. Sometimes they coached me to new heights. Sometimes they kept me from reaching a new low but they were always involved. My friends are very different but all are useful and enrich my life. I often pray that they can say the same about me. Or as I told my brother “I wish your brother was as good as mine!”
If you do something really good or reach a goal without friends you will feel like you haven’t done anything special. The joy from sharing with a friend is always better than the actual reward. Friends are that important. It is obvious that were designed to connect and once we do having a friend magnify every experience. Sharing the experience just makes it richer and much more important. That’s why the first thing we do when something happens is tell a friend.
It’s hard to imagine how bad a life would be without friends. You get up and weigh and you have lost 20 pounds. No one to tell. You get to work and you have been promoted. It’s just a day at work cause there no one that cares. You get a call from the doctor that your biopsy is back and you need to come in for a consultation and to bring a friend. You have to go alone. You wish you had someone. Doesn’t sound like much of a life does it?
When I was 19 I was a telephone man and I went to work on an old man’s phone. He was over 90 but his mind was sharp and his life had been full. He had lots of stories to tell. He was gassed in WWI and shot in WWII. He fell in love with a prostitute and married her. He loved her 30 years till she died in his arms. He had a friend in the war that was killed saving him when he was wounded. It seemed he had lived the equivalent of 3 lives in his 90 years. I stayed as long as I could but before I left I remember saying “It must be nice to live so long.” He sighed and said “Not really, you have to watch your friends die.” It didn’t sink in then but I have heard his words many times since then in my head. When you lose a friend you are diminished.
Friendships are certainly not the same. Some friends are experts at one thing and can help you in a certain field. Since I was involved with competitive shooting for most of my life I had several shooting friends. They wanted to shoot better than me but only if I was shooting my best. On the days when I shot on the wrong target or my gun gave trouble they took no joy in a better score. But when I had a good day they relished telling about firing a score even one point higher. They knew getting beat would make me work harder. They also knew me working harder would make them work harder. We improved each other. Steel sharpens steel. That’s what friends are all about.
Some friends are needy. They need more help than they can ever give back and have little to repay the “friend debt.” Somehow effort used to help a friend always get paid back. Maybe it is the sincerity of their thanks or it might the way we are wired but it always feels really good to help someone that can’t pay it back. When it is a friend it always feels like the right thing to do.
I recently read a story about a man that depended on friends. He made the hike on the Appalachian Trail. If you don’t know it is a mountain hiking trail that starts in Georgia and ends in Maine. It is over 2000 miles of foot travel. You carry what you need with you. There are shelters spaced a day apart but they only give you shelter from mountain weather which can be rather nasty. Most hikers trying to do the entire trail start in April in Georgia and follow the warm air north.
This man’s name is Trevor. He didn’t have anyone to hike the entire trail with so he would go as far as he could and then wait till the next group coming through would pass him sitting on the trail. He would ask if he could hike with them. Many said no but enough were willing to make friends with a stranger to keep him on the trail. He became the first blind person to make the hike from Georgia to Maine
Try to imagine sitting in the woods on a trail and hoping someone comes. What if nobody comes? Imagine hearing someone (or something!) approaching. Are they friendly? Are they good? Will they rob me? Will they leave me here? Will I be a tasty snack? Staking your life on your ability to make friends is a little unnerving.
We stake our lives on our ability to make friends so we better be good at it. We select our friends so we need to be good at assessing what a friend can do, can’t do, won’t do and will do. I must have had help selecting my friends because I don’t think I’m capable of getting the ones I have on my own. Only problem is they can’t be around all the time and I need help 24×7!
I need a friend that I can keep in my pocket. Someone that will be with me day and night ready to help. He needs to very smart, very interested in me, want the best for me even if it kills him. Someone that will never betray my trust and always have my back. This friend needs to add to my life and never take away. He will need to be patient, forgiving, kind, truthful and show me by example how I can be my best. Sounds like a pipe dream doesn’t it. I thought so too.
Imagine a friend you can summon in one second no matter where you are. With a fulltime friend like that on-call you could learn to rely on him a lot more. It would be so easy! All you have to do is look at the problem and ask “OK, what do I do?” A true friend will steer you clear of being self-centered because he knows that brings disaster in the end.
A true friend will tell what is best. It might not be what you want to hear but that is what makes it a “true friend.” Seems like that has been where I went wrong many times. I knew what a good friend would tell me to do but I did what I wanted instead of what was best.
There are people that live each day with a friend like that. They are called Christians. In one second they can have God with them. That is the easy part because he never leaves them anyway. Even though they have messed up God’s plan over and over he has forgiven them. And when they ask for forgiveness in the future he will forgive again. As long as the request is sincere and coupled with the hope to do it right next time.
It can go to your head to have friend that powerful. That’s Ok as long as you let it go to your heart too. This friend is a teacher and he does what all teachers do. They try to make their students like them. It won’t ever happen but the students can be the best version of their selves possible.
Having God for your best friend is God’s plan. He made us to connect with him. When we accept him fully we begin to understand how wonderful a friend truly is and it only gets better. We learn more with each passing day how God loves us, cares for us and protects us from evil.
As awesome as it is to have God as your best friend it only happens with an invitation. We are more blind than Trevor when it comes to life. We need to make that invitation and walk the trail to forever with God before we are left alone in darkness.

I Got It Wrong

Not unusual for me but I don’t like it. I wasted a lot of time trying to be a minimum Christian. I wanted to be good enough to be accepted at church but bad enough that the fun people would like me too. It didn’t work and I failed with both. Then I kept waiting for a blinding flash of light and voice of the Almighty to tell me what to do. I thought that to become a Christian I would have to go through something Like the Apostle Paul when God struck him blind to get his attention. I figured the bigger the sin the bigger the event to change. I was wrong!
When I talked with many of my favorite Christians I heard a familiar theme repeated over and over. They changed their lives by doing one small step of obedience after another. Their lives didn’t change in a big bang but more like a long fizzle. Now I realize that following Jesus is what changes you. You don’t have to do anything spectacular to start, just follow.

Balanced Life

We all want it. A balanced life. Everything in the right proportion. Work, play, family, God, money, private, public, etc. We look at friends, relatives, TV and Facebook to find the people that can do it so we can copy them and finally get the balanced life. We know if we can find balance it will bring happiness, security, wealth and envy. The perception is that a balanced life is perfection.
At times it almost seems like the universe has conspired against us when it comes to finding balance. Each segment of our lives have to be balanced before we can balance the whole thing. Like balancing a stick we have to know a few things before try. First we have to know the center of gravity. It’s the first law of balance. If the stick is straight the center of gravity is the center but life is anything but straight. There are always humps lumps and twist. Constantly changing, growing being pruned it almost defies being balanced.
When we try to balance a crooked stick we have to know where to look or what to focus on. We call it the focal point. It’s the second law of balance. If we aren’t watching the right thing we won’t know if we are balanced. Somethings need to balance as far to the left or right as they can go without falling. Others need to be dead center. A carpenter might be happy if the shelf he installed looks straight. The machinist is horrified if the part he made is a human hair (.004”) bigger on one end. It’s all in the focal point.
When it comes to balancing life it will be dynamic rather than static balancing. This means as life changes the balance point moves. It’s the third law of balance. Balance requires constant correction. If you are old enough to read this you already know it is true. Whether it is job, money, family or health it will be changing. You must adapt to change in circumstances or you will be changed by circumstances. It requires constant corrections in the balance point to stay in balance.
If we are balancing a simple stick we are subject to the law of Pinocchio. You remember the story. If he told a lie his nose grew. It didn’t grow the next year but right then. When consequences are immediate we make corrections immediately. Sort of like the dog with a shock collar.
So what happens when we let life get out of balance? Nothing! Or at least nothing immediately. We don’t live by the law of Pinocchio, we live by the law of the harvest. We reap what we sow but not immediately. The law of the harvest is you reap later and greater. A farmer plants one seed and hopes to reap 1000 seeds next year. Our success and failures show up just like the farmers, later and greater, good or bad.
The law of the Harvest is dangerous. It gives us the illusion that maybe we won’t suffer consequences for foolish deeds. Maybe what we did will slip by unremembered and we will be fine. But the Bible says God will not be mocked, we will reap what we sow.
One of our most important areas of life that we have to balance is our finances. Finances have a way of affecting so many areas of our life. Most of us work 5 days so we can live better for 2. If money is going to be that important we need to be knowing where our money is going!
I have an advantage over a preacher when it comes to talking about money. Most say “Oh no, it’s time for the tithing sermon”. As a layman I don’t have to worry about my income from the collection but I do have to worry about how my church will pay its bills.
Tithe is a religious word. You won’t see it anywhere else. It literally means 1/10. You know how it works, you have a dollar you give a dime. You have 100$ you give 10. You have 10,000 you give 1000. Wow, now that is a lot of money! I can see a lot of things I could get with $1000. Besides if everybody else would tithe they wouldn’t need $1000 from me. Why do I have to give more than the other people? I’m paying their way. That’s not fair. It’s my money! Money can make you greedy and wreck your life if you don’t know how to balance.
We use money to get stuff. We get some stuff and we want more stuff. If getting something made us happy then it only stand to reason that getting a lot will make us real happy. We fill up the house and then move it to the garage to make room for more stuff. We fill the garage and get a storage building. Some of it was stuff from other people that died. We die and a huge pile of stuff is left behind. Someone else sorts through and throws most of it away. Some they add to their stuff until they die. We die but stuff never dies.
Did we own the stuff or did it own us? We worked hard and gave up precious time to get the stuff. We had to move it, clean it, repair it, replace it, protect it and even insure it. Stuff is money. It brings the same problems. Greed will never leave us. It’s part of our legacy. Mine, mine, mine.
We need to understand that we have an appetite for stuff. An appetite is a term that we use but I’m not sure we understand. When we have a desire for something and get it we are satisfied but an appetite is not like a desire. If you feed an appetite it only gets stronger. I have an appetite for ice cream. After I eat it I’m not happy. I don’t have any more to eat. It is the consuming that feeds my appetite.
If we got in the middle of the Church and God came and stood on one side and Satan stood on the other and we had to choose we would get it right. It would be so easy to know who we wanted to go with. But if God was on one side and all our stuff was on the other side it would be a little more difficult. That’s the power of stuff!
Where did stuff come from? Stuff was here before I was so it belonged to someone else. Where will stuff go? When I die it will be divided among those left behind so is it really my stuff or is it more accurate to say it is mine while I’m here. If it is only mine while I’m here who does my stuff really belong to?
It’s obvious that the real owner has to be God. Since he alone has the power of creation and is from everlasting to everlasting he owns everything. So where does my ownership fit in? It is one of the most important principles of life and that is the principle of the steward. A steward has ownership temporarily until the master calls for his property. That fits the description 100%.
A good steward uses the resource exactly as the master would. He does what his master would do. Now it is important to realize we aren’t talking about the 10% we tithe we are talking about everything we own. It is God’s stuff. It is entrusted to us for a short time and we are directed to use it to honor God and fulfill his plan. The steward is paid by the master when he returns to take possession of his property. Every Christian is a steward!
Jesus gave us a fantastic view of what God wants us to do with his stuff with his parable of the three servants. It starts in Matthew 25-15. If you are a Bible person you remember this one.
A master is going on a journey so he leaves his money (stuff) with 3 servants (stewards). With one he leaves 5 talents (a large sum of money), another receives 2 and another 1. This division was not by chance but according to the ability of the stewards. We know that all of us don’t have the same ability, especially when it comes to money!
Both the servant that had 5 and the servant that had 2 used the money like their master would have and doubled it. The third was afraid he would lose the money so he buried it. He knew he would not make any gain but at least he wouldn’t lose any.
When the master returned and asked for his property the first two were rewarded and praised for using the property of the master. By using it like the master would have used it they had honored him and increased. Their work was part of their masters plan.
The third servant gave back everything the master had given him. You might think the master would have been satisfied that nothing was lost but it is obvious that this master had a plan for growth. He was furious that this servant had opportunity and let it go. Because he was afraid to act he had changed the plan of the master to fit his wishes.
It is a real change in our way of thinking to realize you are a steward. I’m not looking forward to telling God how I spent his money! I’m glad his grace abounds. Stewardship is our center of gravity. Our first law of balance is realize Its God’s money. All of it!
I lived most of my life in debt. Seems it wasn’t what I wanted to do I just sort of drifted into it. It wasn’t God’s plan, it was mine. I lived on 110% of my income for years. I was sure that at some point I would get real busy and focus on my income and pay off my debts. It was always easier to wait and do it later. The problem with debt is it’s always more when you wait.
We live in a unique time. When the children of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land Moses gave them a couple of long speeches. It’s called the book of Deuteromy . He tells them If they follow Gods plan they will prosper and never need to borrow. They will lend to others but never have to borrow. The mindset was that you borrowed when you were not doing well. It was a sign that things were not right.
That mindset seemed to survive for thousands of years. I remember my parents agonizing over getting a loan to get through hard times. I remember when credit cards first appeared. I was a telephone man and my wife was a school teacher. We could not qualify for a credit card and they were only used at gas stations. Now I get offers at least twice a week. The offers say “congratulations” you are doing so good you can borrow more! You have so much buying potential! My how the times have changed!
I use to think that Jesus slipped up and got it wrong when he said you can’t serve God and money. He used the word mammon which translated to mean your “treasure” You will either serve one or the other. Its Matthew 6.24. I wanted to say “Jesus I think you meant God or Satan”. That is the classic struggle but now I see he made that statement for us in our present day. It fits us better than any people since time began.
You get your credit card for convenience. It makes it easy to pay. It safer than cash. They give discounts, points for free tickets and cash back. No wonder we want them. But at what price?
The average interest rate is 17%. If you make the minimum payment you will pay it off in 14 years. That means you will pay 500% more. You go out to eat and put it on the card. Your $50 dinner for 2 will cost $250. Do you remember what you had for dinner 14 years ago?
Once you get a balance on your card you realize it is climbing. You decide not to charge anything else. You get $300 from Aunt Jane and you buy something really cool instead of using the card. Its just a deception because you have to look at how much better off you would have been if you had paid it on your balance. You know who loves deception?
The average American that has credit card debt owes 16000 in credit card debt. That’s just the card. There is still the car, house, student loan, etc. How does that affect his balance of work, family, God, church, health, recreation and everything else. To correct the imbalance he created he has to focus on making money to pay the bills. He can’t turn down anything or anyway to make enough money.
If you are out of balance in your financial life you are also out of balance in every other area. You have marriage problems, family problems and more. So how do you correct it? Second law of balance is I need to be knowing where my moneys’ going. Bad English but good finance.
You can spy on your money for a couple weeks and get a good idea. Keep a list on your phone or a piece of paper. Write down everything, you will have surprises!
Your job, family, health and money will always be changing. To keep it in balance we must constantly adjust. Once you have a spending plan (don’t say budget, budgets constrict and stop you from doing things so you will abandon a budget) it will come down to math. Not complicated square roots and reciprocals but just adding and subtracting. Spending plan is like eating plan. It’s all in the verbiage but eating plan sounds better than diet.
My old method was to pay my debts then spend on the things I wanted and what was leftover could be used for giving. We all know what leftovers are. Look in the fridge in the Tupperware. Was it beef or kidney? Yea, let God have that cause I don’t want it! Since it was money I could have used spending I really wanted my giving to be noticed so I could at least get some recognition. I hate to admit it but that was me.
You have heard it all your life, “You can’t take it with you!” If you study your Bible you will find out that’s a lie! When you manage your wealth in a way that honors God you have treasure laid up for you in heaven. Now, for some even better news. Treasure laid up for you in Heaven is an annuity. You will draw dividends forever and never use any of the deposit. It just keeps paying and paying
Maybe a 10/10/80 plan or whatever numbers work for you would be better. Give 10 save 10 and live on 80. Whatever numbers you use do your giving and saving first and then your living. If you are thinking like a steward you are realizing that that 100% will be used to honor God, not just the 10% you give. More good news, It’s God’s money but you get credit for spending it!
As Christians we realize we were created by God for a purpose. When we connect with God and honor him we receive hope and joy beyond understanding. The hope is that God will find our efforts to honor him pleasing. The joy is our reward when we do.
Heaven’s bank is open 24×7. Open your fruit account today.