When Will it Get Better?

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I heard a loud voice shout from the throne:

God's home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. 4He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.

Revelation 21:3-4

I think I was in high school when I first saw a poster with the saying, "Cheer up, things could be worse. And so I cheered up and sure enough things got worse!"

The "IF WE" claims are everywhere. If we elect a Republican in the next election things will get better. If we hold on to our guns and don't let "them" take our guns away then it will be better. If we pass the right laws and don't pass the wrong ones then all will be well.

Parents want a "better life" for their children and a "better retirement" than their parents had. Business owners want a "better year" and a "better economy."

I suppose all those things would have been possible if it were not for the problem of Sin. Adam and Eve turned away from God and turned toward their own satisfaction and put us all on the path of sorrow, pain and suffering. Living here on earth without great difficulty is like trying to swim in the water without getting wet.

But when God makes His home among His people all those things will be gone forever! Instead of spending your life trying to remove the pain of living on this earth, live this life getting yourself and others ready to live with Jesus in Heaven.

"Lord Jesus, I know that the tribulations of this world will only go away when You come back and take your followers to be with You forever. Help me to be ready to go when You come and ready to stay until You do! Amen."

War, Wisdom and North Korea!

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Once I saw what people really think of wisdom, and it made an impression on me. It happened when a powerful ruler surrounded and attacked a small city where only a few people lived. The enemy army was getting ready to break through the city walls. But the city was saved by the wisdom of a poor person who was soon forgotten. So I decided that wisdom is better than strength. Yet if you are poor, no one pays any attention to you, no matter how smart you are.

Words of wisdom spoken softly

make much more sense

than the shouts of a ruler

to a crowd of fools.

Wisdom is more powerful

than weapons,

yet one mistake can destroy

all the good you have done.

Ecclesiastes 9:13-18

The United States is currently adding many millions of dollars of debt to our already depleted economy by constructing 14 additional missile defense sites on the West Coast. North Korea is threatening to strike an American city with a nuclear missile, and this time the threat appears to have more teeth.

When the Bible says "wisdom is better than strength" and that "wisdom is more powerful than weapons" we are confronted with the missing ingredient in government. If a country is powerful, but it's leaders are not wise it is no better than a paper tiger or a even worse a tiger, escaped from the zoo running loose in a city.

Pray that wisdom will be restored to the leaders of both North Korea and the United States.

But what about your own life? Are you running through life with plenty of power and money but very little if any wisdom from God? Would you rather be a rich man or a wise man? A rich man without wisdom can cause great damage in the world around him. But a wise man without riches can still "save a city." A rich man who is also wise is a blessing to many!

The man with the greatest wisdom is the one who runs hard after God. When you seek Jesus Christ and put Him on the throne of your heart the wisdom of God is daily poured into your mind through His Word and the Holy Spirit.

Judge a nation, not by how many missiles of war it has, but by how much of the Wisdom of God is seen in it's life. Men will be judged the same way. Let faith be your shield. Faith is better than missiles!

No Sinkholes in Heaven!

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Moses said to the crowd, “The Lord has chosen me and told me to do these things—it wasn't my idea. And here's how you will know:  If these men die a natural death, it means the Lord hasn't chosen me. But suppose the Lord does something that has never been done before. For example, what if a huge crack appears in the ground, and these men and their families fall into it and are buried alive, together with everything they own? Then you will know they have turned their backs on the Lord!”

As soon as Moses said this, the ground under the men opened up and swallowed them alive, together with their families and everything they owned. Then the ground closed back up, and they were gone.

The rest of the Israelites heard their screams, so they ran off, shouting, “We don't want that to happen to us!”

Numbers 16:28-34

He was in bed and then suddenly without warning a sinkhole opened up under his house and down he went never to be found again! Then just a few days later a man was walking on the golf course when an 18 foot deep sinkhole opened up under his feet and took him down. The golfer was rescued and I hope some day will be able to laugh with those who tell the story of the man who went to the golf course and fell in the hole!

The first recorded instance of a sinkhole swallowing people is in Numbers 16. A man named Korah was leading a rebellion against Moses when God opened up the earth and sucked Korah and his followers to their death. Those who heard their screams ran away shouting "We don't want that to happen to us."

By the way there is no indication that today's sinkholes are being used by God to punish sinners and those who are rebelling against God. Truthfully, we all have sinned and deserve a sinkhole, but God sent Jesus to rescue us from a fate worse than a sinkhole.

The best way to avoid sinkholes today is to turn your heart and life over to Jesus Christ. Jesus died so that when you die on this earth you will begin an eternal life with Him in Heaven where there are no sinkholes.

Jesus Christ is the only solid ground that will never give way and crumble under your feet!

White Smoke from Argentina

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The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Follow me.”

Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip answered, “Come and see.”

John 1:43-46

Today is the first full day of the new Pope's life as head of the Catholic Church. The news is coming in slowly as the questions about who he is and where he came from are being answered in bits and pieces. As the days and weeks go on we will know much more about Pope Francis.

The Pope's legacy will be defined not by where he came from and even what he did in his past life, but rather by where he is going and what he does in the future with the Catholic Church following along.

This one man has been thrust into a position that greatly influences the lives of untold numbers of people. Whether you are Catholic or not you should pray that God will help him lead those people toward righteousness and not the other way.

Today is the first full day of the rest of your life as well. You are not the leader of millions of people, but you have the choice to walk toward righteousness and influence those around you to do the same, or you can walk toward darkness and pull people away from Jesus.

As a follower of Jesus remember that it does not matter where you came from, it only matters where you are going!

Who is by Your Side?

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A little while before morning, Jesus came walking on the water toward his disciples.  When they saw him, they thought he was a ghost. They were terrified and started screaming.

At once, Jesus said to them, “Don't worry! I am Jesus. Don't be afraid.”

Peter replied, “Lord, if it really is you, tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come on!” Jesus said. Peter then got out of the boat and started walking on the water toward him.

But when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he was afraid and started sinking. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

At once, Jesus reached out his hand. He helped Peter up and said, “You surely don't have much faith. Why do you doubt?”

Matthew 14:25-31

Jesus said that we would do what He did. Does that include walking on water today? I have never seen anyone, or even heard of anyone who claimed that they walked on water. There are plenty of people who say they have seen the sick healed or the dead raised to life, but not so many who claim to have walked on water.

Lesson number one in walking on water is this: "Don't try to walk on water unless Jesus tells you to do it!"

Lesson number two is: "When you walk on water keep your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus. That is the only way to keep from becoming fearful and beginning to sink."

And finally, if you start to sink quickly call out to Jesus.

I had a "walking on water moment" yesterday. I was trusting the Lord in ways that I have never trusted Him before. The storm was raging, but walking in stride with Jesus made it exciting, not fearful. Then almost without warning I started looking at the wind and the waves. My sinking started quickly and I began to panic. Like He did with Peter, Jesus reached out and kept me from sinking.

The problem of course is fear, fear of heights, fear of drowning, fear of flying, fear of anything. The Bible says that Perfect Love casts out Fear. Jesus is Perfect Love and He is the only one who can cast out and deal with all your fear! The fear of God is only fear that should remain when you walk with Jesus. And that fear is the only one that can leave you at perfect peace while standing in awe of your Eternal Creator!

"Lord Jesus, thank you for reminding me of what happened to Peter when he walked with You on the water. Help me today to be concerned only with Who is by my side and not what is under my feet! Thank you Jesus. Amen."

Roots of the Tree

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The message about the cross doesn't make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God's power at work.  As God says in the Scriptures,

“I will destroy the wisdom

of all who claim

to be wise.

I will confuse those

who think they know

so much.”

What happened to those wise people? What happened to those experts in the Scriptures? What happened to the ones who think they have all the answers? Didn't God show that the wisdom of this world is foolish?  God was wise and decided not to let the people of this world use their wisdom to learn about him.

Instead, God chose to save only those who believe the foolish message we preach.  Jews ask for miracles, and Greeks want something that sounds wise. But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problems with this, and most Gentiles think it is foolish.  Our message is God's power and wisdom for the Jews and the Greeks that he has chosen. Even when God is foolish, he is wiser than everyone else, and even when God is weak, he is stronger than everyone else.

I Corinthians 1:18-25

Human wisdom and knowledge have their roots in the tree that produced the forbidden fruit. They both depend on the five senses of man and are totally impotent in dealing with anything that cannot be seen, heard, tasted, smelled or touched. There is of course an eternal world that cannot be sensed by any of these.

Men and women without the indwelling Holy Spirit have no way of understanding the things of God. It is like a man who is born blind. All men are born without spiritual eyes. They can no more see God's eternal reality than a blind man can see the sunset. They may hear about Jesus and even believe that He is real, and that He must be wonderful. But only after their eyes are opened can they experience the Glory of God's Son!

Don't forget that telling men about Jesus is not enough. The message of the Gospel doesn't simply declare that God is real, the Good News calls them to come to Jesus and have their spiritual eyes opened to the eternal glories of God.

The Power of the Gospel is not in learning more about Jesus. You can know many things about Jesus and never let Him touch your heart and heal your life.

"Lord Jesus, I know many things about You, but what I need is to know You more and more. I need You to touch me where I am broken and heal me where I am sick. I need you to open my eyes so I can see the things that You see and hear the things that You hear. I need You, Jesus in my heart so I can feel the things that You feel. May I rest today in Your sweet arms and lean upon Your breast! Amen."

The Weak Brother

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Welcome all the Lord's followers, even those whose faith is weak. Don't criticize them for having beliefs that are different from yours. Some think it is all right to eat anything, while those whose faith is weak will eat only vegetables. But you should not criticize others for eating or for not eating. After all, God welcomes everyone. What right do you have to criticize someone else's servants? Only their Lord can decide if they are doing right, and the Lord will make sure that they do right.

Romans 14:1-4

The weak brother is often one who has bound himself by rules that God did not write. When you relate to another Christian who cannot in good conscience do something that you believe is perfectly acceptable, you must be careful not to do damage to their faith. As you grow in your own faith it is easier to see others who might be considered "weaker" in faith. You can view them as "legalistic" in their walk as Christians and yes it is easy to look down on them as brothers who don't know the grace of God!

But have you ever considered how the "stronger" brother appears from the perspective of the "weaker" one? When the man who is weak in faith looks at a man who is strong in faith he sees that man doing things that he considers to be sin! One man is eating meat and the other man "knows" that eating meat is sin!

Satan uses even the amount of faith that we have to drive a wedge between brothers. So what must we do?

When you see a brother binding himself to a moral standard that you believe is too strict, don't criticize and demean. And if you see a brother engaged in behavior that you believe is not acceptable to the Lord, warn him but leave the judging to the Lord.

Keep your eyes on Jesus and walk with others who do the same. Busy yourself in worshiping and serving the Lord and you will have little time to focus on each other. Let God direct your steps and change you into the likeness of Jesus Christ and let Him do the same for your brother.

"Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am indeed the weaker brother. My faith falls so far short of what it could be. I want to trust You more and more. May my weak faith grow strong as I walk with and listen to You everyday. And I ask this in the Name of Jesus. Amen!"