Deut 13:1 - 3

"If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, "Let us go after other gods" "which you have not known" "and let us serve them," you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul." Deut 13:1 - 3

So you think that beautiful woman or man is a godsend. That person is perfect in every way. You know that this person was meant just for you. Yes, indeed, God sent her just for you. That may be so, but the reasons might be a bit confusing. So what if you are already married? This person is perfect, the way your spouse used to be...

CUT!

I always wanted to be a movie director and this little scene would make a great little clip from a powerful flick. Too many of us have been in this person's shoes. We have thought that a certain event, item, person, or situation was just so perfect that it had to be sent from God. However, if we look closely at today's verse, we might just come away with a different idea.

The perfect preacher has just come on the scene. His words are eloquent. His message is from the Bible. His life is stellar. His board of directors is composed of names that you recognize and trust. You follow him without question... at least after a period of testing. There is no doubt that he preaches the truth. Then, WHAM!

After he has you under his spell, he proposes that there are multiple ways to God's perfection. He introduces "meditation" into the services telling you that it is a way to get in touch with the Father. A while later, he introduces some suggestive dancing explaining that the movement of the dancers is a demonstration of God's grace and beauty. A few Sundays later the Communion Table has been replaced with smaller "altar" that is used to celebrate the sacrifice to the divine. So far you have followed the logic and it seems to be fine. You have abandoned reading the Word of God yourself because the preacher is doing a much better job... and he does it so deeply. You never dreamed that all of this is in the Bible.

Finally, the preacher places a "Buddha" on the altar and tells you that this is a better way to God.

Do you swallow his progression without question? Answer honestly using the logic of our dear actor and deceived friend. Without a doubt the answer is "yes." Why not? The man's logic is so well presented... including Book, Chapter, and verse. Was the "man" sent from God? He certainly led this believer away from the truth. But WAS HE SENT BY GOD? "... for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

Not all that is bright and shiny and perfect looking is good. Not all that is bright and shiny and perfect is from the devil. That bright and shiny and perfect thing just might be a "plant", a decoy to test your love. Is your love wrapped up in God...or your own desires? Who is on the throne of your life?

The next time the attractive, the beautiful, the perfect fit comes your way, watch carefully what is being said. He, she, they, it just might be a temptation. "So," you ask, "how do I know the difference?" Search the word. Bury it in your heart. Know the truth. Not only will the truth "set you free," it will keep you free! The truth will reveal the works of darkness. The truth will open your mind to all the good things God has for you. The truth will allow you to know a fake... in a heartbeat. When the perfect appears... and it is not Jesus descending from Heaven, keep your eyes open and you mind tuned to God's Word. Resist temptation and it will flee from you! Amen and Amen.

Earning a place in the Kingdom of God

It is not fair! My children love to tell me. It is a fact that almost every child in the world will say that, regardless of what their race may be and where they might be from or living in. Have you ever experienced your children or nephews or nieces telling you that “it is not fair”?

It is not fair! When my children tell me this, I often tell them that life is not fair, not fair at all. Some children have more toys and some have less toys and some none at all, some have more friends and some not as many, some have less talent and some with more talent, and so on and so on.

Let us think for a moment, life is not fair, is it? We often see good things happening to bad people and bad things happening to good people. We see some people working for hours and hours and hours and they get hardly enough to make ends meet. All you have to do is to look at the cleaners of public toilets in Hong Kong, they work very long hours, and they get less than HK$4,000 a month, with no food or lodgings provided by the employers, on the other hand we see people making thousands of dollars with just a simple phone call. My ex-eldest sister-in-law, who in her lifetime never drink, never smoke, never eat excessively, physically fit and died of cancer at the age of 37, and yet there are people who smokes, drinks, eats a lot and never did any exercise in their life living to a ripe old age. And so on and so on. So many things are not fair in this life.

That is why I thank God that we have a God who is fair. We have a God who can be trusted to do the right thing for us. A God who promised to correct all the wrong things and even things up for us, if not later, maybe a bit later. We have a God who tells us that whatever you sow, that is what you will get. In other words, what goes around comes around!

WE have a God who is fair…..Or do we?

If we have a God that is fair, then why do we have all those complaints? Why the story that Jesus tells his disciples, the story about what the Kingdom of God is like? Why the story about how a landowner of a vineyard who goes to town early in the morning at harvest time to hire labourers at the usual rate of minimum pay, and because of his need to have more labourers, make an additional three more trips to town throughout the day to look for more labourers? Consider this, he must have hired all that he could find on each trip, and yet, he still goes to town for more people. Except for the first lot of labourers, whom he agreed to pay them minimum wages, the others he hired them with the promise of a fair wage.

Why the story about how at the end of a very long and hot day in the vineyard the labourers who were hire for just one hour of work got their wages first, and were given a whole day’s wages?

Why all the complaints from the ones who were hired at 6 am in the morning? They were complaining as they had been working for the whole day, and got the same wages as those who only worked for one hour.

And most of all why the words that Jesus ends his story with “Everyone who is now first, will be last, and everyone who is last will be first?”

Is this fair? Is it right? I do not think so.

I would like you to think about it for a moment. Labour leaders, human rights activists, church leaders, and socialists has for years and years been fighting to bring about a day’s wages for a day’s work, as well as equal pay for equal work. It was not that many years ago that a female civil servant here in Hong Kong would be getting less pay than her male counterpart just because of the differences in their sex gender. And here we have Jesus telling a story that threw the entire concept that we have been fighting for outside the window. Have all those good people been wrong all the time? Should those who work half a day get the same pay as those who have worked twelve hours in a day? Or maybe if I start a new job on the 20th of the month ask my boss for a full month’s pay, as this seems to be what the story is telling us?

DO YOU REALLY HEAR THE GOSPEL MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS?
DO YOU REALLY HEAR WHAT JESUS IS TRYING TO TELL US?

“The kingdom of God is like a man who went out to hire some workers for his vineyard…and when the day ended he paid those hired last the same as he paid those hired first.

In fact I may be tempted to say that this parable sets a very bad example. Just like so many of the other things that Jesus said and did:

- Like being together with prostitutes and known criminals.
- Like eating with tax collectors.
- Like performing healing on a Sabbath day.
- Like telling sinners that they are forgiven because they repented from their ways and trusted in him and believed in him.
- Like challenging people whoever had no sin to cast the first stone.

This Jesus of ours sets a poor example, poor by the standards of the world, especially the standards set by the Pharisees for a good Jew.

And as for God, our Father in Heaven, the same God that we said AMEN to today, as well as many other days, is He not the one who sends the rain upon the just and the unjust and makes the sun to shine upon the righteous and the unrighteous?

What is fair in that? Why should the evil and the proud and the greedy and the hateful get the same refreshing rain that the good and humble and the generous and the loving ones get? Why should those people who worked for one hour be receiving the same as those who have been working under the sun for the whole day?

Rev. Susan Moxley, an Anglican church Minister in Nova Scotia, Canada once said the following, and I quote from her:

“Stop looking for a Fair God, and Be Thankful for the One you Got!”

Stop looking for a fair God, and Be Thankful for the One you Got. That sounds provocative, does it not?

Provocative. I think Jesus was trying to provoke us when he tells us the story about the generous landowner who owns the vineyard.

Did you know that all of the stories that Jesus told us are meant to provoke a reaction in us. They are supposed to shock us and make us think. Make us feel. Make us take sides! They come, after all, from the one who said in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 3, verses 15-16, “I know everything that you have done, and you are not cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other. But since you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out….

A minister once told me that if a sermon does not get to you, if it does not make you feel angry, or ashamed, or lifted up, and hopefully all of the above, then maybe the sermon is in need of something more.

Who are you with? Who do you feel for?

Are you with the labourers who worked in the fields and sweated under a very hot sun for the whole day and received what they agreed upon? Or the ones who were hired later in the day and received what they could not have possibly earn?

Are you with the oldest son who worked hard at his father’s place and did not waste away his inheritance, or the poor sinner who was delivered from the pig sty and pollution of his own foolishness?

Or are you with Jonah, who sat on a hill side and sulked because God had mercy on the Ninevites, or the people of that wicked city who were surely doomed to die had they not repented of their sins?

Or are you somewhere else? Perhaps with the one who told us the parable of the labourers and the parable of the prodigal son? Or with the one who sent Jonah to Nineveh, even though Jonah did not want to go?

A story that maybe you can relate to is one told by the former Anglican Bishop of Los Angeles, Rev. Frederick Borsch. He told us that when his wife got pregnant, he found that he had a desire to have a son. He felt sorry about that now, as it seems rather sexist…but he had two sisters and no brothers as he was growing up, and he wanted so much to have a brother, but when you want something that much, you figure that it will probably not be happening.

But it did! His first son Benjamin was born and all his parental heart when out to him with more love than he knew he had inside him. When his wife got pregnant again, he discovered that he had a very worrisome problem. He was thinking that when the second child was born, and as it grew, how was he going to hide from the second child that he could never love the second child as much as his first?

He must have thought that love was like a birthday cake. The more people that came to share it, the smaller the slices would have to be.

Then, as though to make matters worse, he had twins! But most of us will have guessed what happened. It was like a miracle to him. Suddenly he found that he loved the twins, Matthew and Stuart as much as he loved Benjamin. This was as though the birthday cake had suddenly become larger.

This is what the love of a parent is like. To be able to love all your children with the same level of love.

Stop looking for a fair God, and Be Thankful for the One you got. Provocative! Is it not?

The trouble is that we, in the church often fall into the trip of believing deep down that we deserve God’s grace, which is, when you think about it, how ridiculous it is. We deserve God’s love??? We deserve God forgiveness???

Perhaps that is because when we come to God for forgiveness we are really only paying lip service to our sinfulness. We do not really think that we are all that bad, after all, we come to church, we give to the church a part of our income, we perform service in the church, we give to charity, we help other people when they needed help, and we do not steal, lie, cheat, murder people, dishonour our parents, or commit adultery. We are ok after all. We are certainly better than the people who are living next door to us.

But we are not, are we? Or maybe we are! But does it really matter when it comes to the heart of a parent? Does it really matter when it comes to the heart of God? Are we not the ones whom he saved? Are we not the ones whom Christ calls to, “come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest”?

Are we not all his dearly beloved children? Even though some of us may have been around longer and have done good things all their days? And others are second or third or fifth born Christians, and maybe have not done as much? No matter when we were born into God’s family, we are all his children, and God loves us all!

That is a hard thing to believe in when we have burdened ourselves with a merit system, and want to see some extra reward for our efforts, rather than seeing things from the point of view of the God who loves us so much, that he spares not even His own Son for our sake.

We are all His children, and we all need His love, we all need His forgiveness. WE all need a day’s wages if we are to live…

And praise is to God, forgiveness is what we receive when we turn to God. Forgiveness is given to us by the Grace of God, and never could be earned, no matter how much merit you think you might have, for Heaven has no merit system. When we receive Christ into our lives, and do the work that he has set before us to do, the work of the vineyard, the work of pointing the way to salvation, to wholeness, by worship, by prayer, by testimony, by example, by love and care for one another and for God Himself.

Before I finish off my sermon I will like to share a story with you about Heaven:

A man dies and goes to Heaven. Saint Peter
meets him at the Pearly Gates and says, "Ok,
here's how it works. You need 100 points to
make it into Heaven. You tell me all the good
things you've done, and I'll award you a certain
number of points for each item, depending on
how good it was. When you reach 100 points,
you get in."

"Okay," the man says...."I was married to the
same woman for 50 years and never once
cheated on her, even in my heart."

"That's wonderful," says Saint Peter, "That's
worth three points!" "Three points?" he asks.

"Well, I attended church all my life and
supported its ministry with one tenth of my income and service."

"Terrific!" says Saint Peter, "That's certainly
worth a point." "One point?!!

Hey, I started a soup kitchen in my city and
worked in a shelter for homeless people!"

"Fantastic, that's good for two more points, "
Saint Peter says. "Two points?!!" the man
cries.

"At this rate, the only way I'm going to get
into Heaven is by the Grace of God!"

"Bingo, 100 points! Come on in!"



My brothers and sisters, we do not earn God’s love, we respond to it. After all, it was Him who first loves us!

God loves you. End of story.
God loves you. Beginning of a brand new story.

Let us all live that new story. Let us come to God in gratitude every day for what he has done for us all, and in thanksgiving for what he does for everyone who turns to him. Amen.

Gen 12:1-2

"Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing." Gen 12:1-2

Promises are good. Everyone like to be promised something they want. The problem with promises is that they are only as good as the one who makes the promise.

In our society we find many broken promises. It seems there is nothing keeping a husband and wife from breaking their matrimonial promises. Divorce is at an all time high. Infidelity is even more common.

Many fathers feel there is no problem breaking a promise of a fishing trip to a son or daughter when there is something more important - like free tickets to a professional soccer game or a little extra work at the office. After all, there are more weekends for fishing and those tickets are a one time thing. (They never consider the effect broken promises have on the heart of a child.) Employers are always promising more pay and less work when the reality is just the opposite. Store advertisements promise to have a certain product at a really good price - the product "didn't come in on the last shipment - and no we don't give rain checks on sale items."

Have you paid close attention to commercials lately? What do they sell? Looked at a flower advertisement? Have you ever received a package from them that looks like the product on the advertisement? All of these are selling a promise. "Buy this and you will get that." Often the promises are unfulfilled.

Abram (later called Abraham) was offered a promise, "Go to a country I will show you in the future and I will bless you." Sounds a lot like a telemarketer I talked to the other day. The only difference was that I was talking to a human with a slick line and Abram was talking with the Almighty God. Evidently Abram had had dealings with God before. He trusted Him. Was the promise fulfilled? Certainly. Has God made promises to you? Has he fulfilled them? (Careful before you say "no." His promises are recorded in Scripture. Any other promises you may claim He made - personal prophecy - are subject to human emotion and error.) God promises salvation. He delivers. God promises eternal life. He delivers. God promises answers to prayer. He delivers - but not always the way we want Him to answer. Our God is faithful and true. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

2 Cor 3:3

"Clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart." 2 Cor 3:3

My life is an open book, so is yours. It's open because it is still being written. If your life is anything like mine, it will be pretty boring reading when it is finished, but it will be read. In all honesty, that last statement is probably not true. I think it will be boring reading, but if God is writing it, I'm sure it will be valuable reading to anyone who is led to read it.

The fact is, God is writing His message to the world, our world, upon our hearts. And this message is expressed in our daily lives. It may not seem like much to us, but every day the Father writes a new chapter and every chapter is different. For example, my daily routine was disrupted some time ago when I went to church (I was in charge of little church on an island). One of our sisters was sitting by herself. I knew her father was in bad shape in the hospital, not expected to live. I sat next to her and she began to cry. Suffice it to say that I was God's messenger for the moment, bringing a message of encouragement and hope. Not that her father would be healed, she's had plenty of that. This hope was that God was in control and that He was there to encourage her and help her through this struggle.

I can see that some of the past chapters of my life, dull though they were, were written for just this occasion. She read part of my book. I think it helped. She smiled on the way out the door after the service had ended.

Now I bring you hope. Those chapters, the boring ones, the hard ones, the sad ones, the happy ones... all of them, were written for a purpose. The lessons in them might be needed for such a time as you will have tomorrow or next week or next year. One thing I have learned about God, He is a master conservationist. Nothing goes to waste with Him. He uses all things for good, our good and His good. He wants to use you.

Be available. Amen and Amen.

1 Kings 3:9

"Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" 1 Kings 3:9

Discernment is an overlooked spiritual discipline in many churches. But in reality, spiritual discernment should be our first line of defense against deception. It's that "buzzer" inside, warning you that something is wrong. For example, you visit someone's home and everything appears in order. But you can cut the air with a knife. Even though nothing visible confirms it, your spirit detects that something is wrong in that home.

The first step to understanding discernment is to understand the motive which is essential for employing it. In 1 Kings 3:9, Israel's king Solomon cried out to God for help. God answers: "Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart" (verses 11, 12). The motive for true discernment is never to promote self, to amass personal gain, or to secure an advantage over another person - even an enemy.

The Greek word for discernment - diakrino - simply means to make a judgment or a distinction. Discernment has one primary function: to distinguish right from wrong. In 1 Corinthians 12:10 discernment is the divinely enabled ability to distinguish a good spirit from a bad spirit.

Discernment is not a function of the mind; it's a function of the Holy Spirit which is in union with your soul/spirit. When the Spirit sounds a warning, your mind may not be able to perceive what's wrong. Have the courage to acknowledge that something is wrong when your spirit is troubled. Share what you are sensing with others, and ask the Lord for wisdom. Amen and Amen.

Lev 20:7-8

"Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the LORD who sanctifies you." Lev 20:7-8

A member of the Royal Family and a big bottle combine to consecrate a big ship - commission it - set it aside for service in the Royal Navy. When the big bottle of champagne has been smashed on the bow of the huge ship, it becomes an official warship.

Ceremonies like this happen all the time. Our daily newspaper shows "ribbon cutting" ceremonies that mark the grand opening of new businesses. Board members dig the ceremonial "first shovel" of dirt to commemorate the beginning of a building project. Photos are taken of the people who built the first product off a new production line.

We like to consecrate things, set them aside. We hold holy convocations and ordain deacons, elders, ministers, missionaries and church secretaries! We anoint the doorposts of our church buildings and homes to consecrate them, set them aside, to the Lord.

How often do we consecrate ourselves? "Oh," you say, "I did that when I was baptized as a child." Or, "My parents did that when I was born." Yeah, sure. But have you done it lately? I find that I have to consecrate myself daily. Why? Because I am continually de-consecrating my self! How can that be? The Royal navy can de-commission that new ship at any time simply by saying so! I can de-consecrate myself by becoming unholy, loosing my sanctification, my purity, and I do it far too frequently.

The Lord is calling for His people, you and me included, to consecrate ourselves and BE HOLY! Why? Because He is God, our Lord and Savior.

So, what happens when I'm consecrated? I'm set aside for the service of the King. I do whatever He asks of me. I study His Words so that I may know Him. It is our job to consecrate ourselves, set ourselves aside, for the King's service. It is His job to sanctify us, that is to make us holy. He can't do the first job for us. We certainly can't do the second! Amen and Amen.

Mark 12:42

"Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. Mark 12:42

In some churches the offering plate is not passed. Instead those who wish to give march to the front of the sanctuary and place their offering in the plate. Imagine for a moment that you are in one of those churches. The offering prayer has been uttered. The organist begins the peppy offering march. People begin to gather in the center isle and make their way to the front. Nothing out of the ordinary happens until fellow steps from the back pew of the building. Heads turn. The room hushes of all but the melodious strains of the pipe organ. The man is dressed in the finest silk suit, obviously hand tailored to fit him and him only. The mass of humanity opens before him like the sea at Moses' command. Reaching the front, this fine fellow dramatically reaches into his coat pocket, pulls out pen and checkbook, and with a flourish writes a huge check.

Immediately behind him, un-intimidated by the show, slowly and painfully creeps a little old widow who cares for three abandoned grandchildren, all on her pittance of a social security check. Few notice. Some snicker. "What do we need with her coins after that huge check?" some ask. Finally reaching the front, the widow carefully opens a worn coin purse, pulls out its contents. Silently, timidly she drops a couple of coins into the plate. The organ plays on. The people murmur about the generosity of the rich man. The deacons rejoice that the new roof is paid for.

Who put the most in the offering? Of course we know that it was the widow - she gave her all - everything she had. The man gave petty cash! One made a show. The other made a sacrifice.

The New Testament never really talks about tithing. (Tithing is the practice of giving 10% of one's income to the Lord.) It does talk about giving. The reason tithing is never mentioned is that something greater is demanded of the Christian believer. Jesus uses the example of the widow and her two coins to illustrate the principle. He expects our all, every cent, every possession, every ounce of flesh, every breath we breath, every drop of our blood. He expects us to be a "living sacrifice." After all, He set the example of giving. He gave His very life for us. What less could we offer Him?

The next time the offering plate is passed your way, stop and think about the widow. Compare her gift to yours. Then remember that your offering is just a token of what God wants - everything! Amen and Amen.

Prov. 26:1

"As snow in summer and rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool." Prov. 26:1

Some things are just meant to go together: love and marriage, joy and happiness, grace and peace, mercy and forgiveness. These are but a few of the Siamese twins of rightness.

Other things just don't mix well: oil and water, cats and dogs, frogs and little girls, hate and love, rain and drought, war and peace, grace and hatred, honor and a fool. Hey, that is just what Solomon said in today's verse.

It has been said that opposites attract... and I suppose there is some truth to that statement. Without opposites, magnetism would not be valuable in electric motors. Without opposites, all electricity would be direct current. Without opposites, everyone would be like everyone else. Opposites create a sense of excitement, mystery, and intrigue. Where would every author be if there were no opposites? Authors live and die with conflict. Conflict is a direct result of opposition. The good guy is always opposed by the bad guy. If ultimate truth is subscribed to, the good guy will ultimately win while the bad guy, in due course, gets what is coming to him. There are a few successful authors who make a living by creating a story in which the bad guy wins... but they haven't read the last chapter of Revelation!

Solomon declares that snow is totally foreign to the nature of summer. While we can wish for it on a 33 degrees C August day, it isn't likely to happen. And rain in the harvest time? Any farmer will tell you that rain will ruin a good harvest. Rain will beat down a good stand of wheat making it impossible to reap. Too much rain in the harvest season will cause the corn to rot on the stalk. Excessive rain will prevent the farmer from entering the field for days and maybe weeks until the crop is totally destroyed and not worth gathering at all. No, rain and harvest do not belong together any more than snow and summer.

Neither is honor to be granted to a fool. The fool is not worthy of such recognition. The fool is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. He always opens his mouth and says the wrong thing. His actions destroy and never redeem. No, the fool is unworthy of honor. Should he receive recognition, he is emboldened to try harder... and the results are even greater acts of foolishness.

Jesus said it another way, "Don't cast your pearls before swine." At best a pig will trample a string of pearls into the mud. At worst, he will devour such a prize thinking it dessert after a wonderful meal of slop! The interpretations of Jesus' proverbial saying are many. The most common is that we should not preach the Gospel to those who will obviously reject it. The Gospel is "the pearl of great price." The hardened non-believer is the "swine." The unbeliever will not recognize the value of salvation, thinking he can earn his own way into some version of heaven. Why waste our time? Don't get me wrong. I am not against evangelism. We should all be preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. However, we need to recognize that sometimes our particular calling is to "preach and run".

Remember, one man's fool is another man's mission field. God will not suffer anyone to die without having multiple opportunities to receive the love of God into his life. Amen and Amen.

Eph 4:1-3

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Eph 4:1-3

As I was pondering the "prisoner" aspect of this verse, I began to realize that Paul's comments were not only about his prisoner status, but also about you and me. As a prisoner of Jesus Christ, Paul is calling us to walk worthy of our calling.

What is our calling? We are called to be a child of the King. Now that's a calling. Some time ago, I was reading an article in a business newsletter by August A. Bush IV - the great, great, great grandson of the founder of the Budweiser Brewery in St. Louis. I almost didn't read it because it was written by a beer monger, but my curiosity got the best of me. One of the things that struck me is how Mr. Bush IV walks in a manner worthy of his calling. He is a fourth generation beer man. He is in the business. He is the chief salesman for the business - just like his fathers before him. He started at the bottom of the business and worked his way up. He will most likely replace his father at the top. His son Mr. Bush V, will start at the bottom - and replace him in due course. Mr. Bush IV is most worthy of the name he carries and is proud of it, I could tell by the way he spoke of his role and his business.

So, how should we walk since our calling is greater? Humbly, without pride in our own efforts giving all the glory to our Father and preferring each other above ourselves. Gently, careful to do no damage, but to do all things well. Patiently, perfection, whether our own, or the work we do, or the work God is doing in us or other people, takes time. Be willing to wait. Lovingly, Peter says love covers a multitude of sins. Our love can help someone else overcome his sin. I've seen it happen many times. Someone is lost and antagonistic towards the kingdom, but because a friend or loved one keeps on loving, even when it hurts, that person is eventually brought to the Father for adoption as one of God's children. Preserving unity, how can you preserve unity? By keeping all the other items in this list. Above all, walk as a child of the King of Kings would walk!

Who is more worthy of the calling? August A. Bush IV or you? I believe you have the greater calling. And I believe you are worthy of that calling - because you are chosen by God to be His son or daughter! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Luke 8:48

"And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace." Luke 8:48

There's just something about a touch - both given and received. Note the next time you are in the presence of a newborn baby. Everyone wants to touch it. Men will rub the soft cheeks with the back of a finger. Women will touch the child with the front of a finger. All make comments about how soft the newborn skin is. That feel is the closest to perfection man will ever know on earth! We all like to be touched. The human touch is more than a contact, it is an emotional link.

The woman in today's verse was no different. All she wanted to do was touch Jesus. She didn't want to talk to Him. She didn't want to shake His hand. She didn't even want Him to know she did it. All she wanted was to touch the hem of His garment! The unusual thing about this was that she was an "unclean" woman, shunned by society. She had been sick for years. Everyone knew her. Everyone stayed away from her. If they had realized she was there, she could have been stoned to death for her social infraction. Still she persisted. She pressed her way through the potentially hostile crowd. She finally reached the back side of Jesus, reached down, and touched Him. Her intention was to slip away silently, but Jesus stopped. "Who touched me?" He asked. In that crowd, many people touched Him. They were all grabbing for Him.

But this touch was different. It was not a greedy touch. It was not a pushing touch. It was a touch of faith. Who touched Him? Who could tell? But He knew. He wanted to talk to the individual. Shyly, fearfully, the little, sick woman stepped forward. "I touched you, sir." "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." Her faith - because she said "If only I could touch the hem of His garment." Her faith - to fight the crowd. Her faith - that Jesus could do some thing for her. Her faith - had made her well.

How about you. Do you need a touch from Jesus? Are you one of those who are reaching just to get a touch of the hand. Are you one of those who are bumping into Him? Or are you willing to just get a touch of that dirty, grimy, grass stained hem of His garment. Is your touch greed? Or is it a touch of faith. Jesus knows the difference. Let your faith make you whole! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Acts 17:26 - 28

"And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, "For we are also His offspring." Acts 17:26 - 28

There he was, standing in the middle of a hostile crowd. No one believed what he was saying. No one expected to hear anything sensible from him. Everyone knew more than he did, everyone. Still, he continued in exactly the same manner that he always did. A bit brash, a bit humble, a bit arrogant, a bit extravagant, a bit extreme. That was Indiana Jones. If you know Jones, you know that he always managed to bungle into some outrageous situation and just as bunglingly made his way out of it.

Paul was no Indiana Jones. He stood before the learned Greek philosophers on their own territory. He was confident of what he was doing. He never bungled, never. In the midst of these hostile intellectuals, Paul stood firm, argued the facts of the Gospel using their own language... and their own literature... to prove that there is but one God and He is the Father of all. Paul didn't back down. He spoke of the creation and the God who set the universe in motion. He spoke of a God who did not abandon man to his own devices. He spoke of a God who knew the sinful plight of mankind... and never thought of turning His back on His finest creation. However, Paul also spoke of a God who set boundaries... times and seasons... and announced that "this is the time" and that the window of opportunity might close. He spoke of a people who were "groping" for that One God...searching in all the wrong places, and finding nothing but futility and despair. He spoke of a people who, if they kept groping, would find that the feet of the Father were nearby and could be grasped. He spoke of a Father who was so big that the people lived in Him, moved in Him, and had their being in Him. Yet, that God was so personal that He could dwell within them... if they allowed Him too. And the scoffers scoffed; the philosophers laughed; and fools heckled. But Paul preached on, undaunted, unafraid, thoroughly convinced of the Truth he preached. And a few believed, some wanted to hear more.. and Paul secured a victory in the midst of the enemy's camp.

So you have responded to the call. You have sought. You have found. What will you do with this Jesus? Will you take Him for granted, calling upon Him when times get rough? Will you accept Him as a regular fixture in the temple of your heart... but place Him on a pedestal to be viewed and appreciated on special days? Will you use Him as your personal prophet, seeking His advice when you need answers, going your own way when you "know what you want"? Or will you take Him as the Son of God? Will you let Him be the one who sits on the throne in your temple? Will you follow Him wherever He leads you... across the street or around the world?

What will you do with this Jesus you have found? Amen and Amen.

Phil. 1:21

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" Phil. 1:21

We don't talk about providence much any more. In the old days people did, and people attributed a lot of events to providence. It wasn't just any providence; this was THE Providence of God. If a storm blew up out of the west and hail destroyed a house, it was God's providence. If the crops produced more than enough food for the winter, it was God's providence. If a wondrous sight appeared in the night sky, it was God's providence. As you can see, God's providence was deeply ingrained in their lives. But what IS God's providence?

Providence is the understanding that God is in total control. Everything that happens is first filtered through God's purposes and plans. Satan's work in our lives... approved by God. Natural occurrences that change our lives... approved by God. Illness, health, marriage, death, success, failure, victory, defeat... all approved by God. We don't believe much in providence anymore.

We believe we are in control of our circumstances. We want to be in charge of every aspect of our lives and we are all like that... if we are perfectly honest.

But that is not God's way. The Bible uses a word we translate as "trust". It is the same word that we also translate "faith". God asks us to trust Him... put our complete faith in His ability to run our lives. Most of us can heartily accept God's ability to forgive us and save us from our sinful natures. We firmly believe (have faith in) that God paid the price for our transgressions. Where we fail is in trusting Him with our finances, our marriages, our children, our purchases, our needs and wants. We say we have faith in God... but by our actions, our insisting on controlling our own lives, we are telling Him, and the world, that we can do a better job of it ourselves.

Paul didn't have that problem. He totally entrusted his life to the Father. More than once he faced death in the midst of his ministry. He lived to tell us about it. He was stoned to death (he himself doesn't know but what his spirit had left him and he visited heaven) but God sent him back to the same town to finish his ministry there. Three times he faced shipwreck, the most severe on the way to Rome as a prisoner. Each time he trusted God to take care of him. He lived only to be bitten by a viper. Even that did not kill him but opened doors to preach the Gospel. Now, as he faced the death penalty for doing no wrong, he was satisfied that whatever God wanted to do was fine with him.

"For me to live is Christ... " Paul says he is satisfied to live if that is what God wants for in living he is free to testify of the great things God has done for him. "... but to die is gain." And if he should be crucified on the next day, or the next, or the one after that, he is satisfied that he will hear Jesus say, "Enter in good and faithful servant. Great is your reward in Heaven." Paul believed in providence...God's providence.

Do you? Amen and Amen.

Isaiah 55:7

"Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon" Isaiah 55:7

Some things are predictable. I flip the switch in my bedroom... and the lights come on. I turn the key in my door... and the door opens.

Isaiah tells us of one thing that is very predictable. When a person seeks the Lord, he abandons his evil ways. How does this happen? Why is it predictable? Simple. Only those who truly desire to have their sin-burden lifted will seek God. Only those who truly seek God will have the burden lifted. And only those who truly have their burdens lifted will desire to walk in a new way. We call this process "conversion." Conversion involves "repentance." And repentance is indicated by a complete change in direction.

Isaiah tells us that God will have compassion on him. Our heavenly Father is longing to receive new children into His household. His "adoption agency" is never closed. He has already filled out all the paperwork and has paid all the fees. Nothing is left except for individuals to "seek Him and forsake their evil ways." God's love will overflow any such individual and cleanse him from the sins that have stained him from birth. God will "abundantly pardon" those sins. They will be wiped off the books and there will remain no trace of them on Judgment Day!

My friends, if you know you are walking in the wrong direction, turn around. Repent. Seek God. He is waiting for you. He has been waiting a long time. His arms are open wide longing to hold you close. Call on Him. The time has not yet passed. Amen and Amen.

Now, I have a question for You.

Are YOU Right with God?

True Christianity is not about attending a particular church, or how your parents raised you, or what country you were born in. Being a Christian means that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that He is your Savior. It's not good enough that your priest, pastor, mother, or aunt knows Jesus, you must know Him for yourself. They cannot believe in Him for you, you must believe for yourself. They cannot repent for you, you must repent for yourself.

Jesus is everywhere all the time. He can hear you now if you ask Him for forgiveness. Please turn your life over to Him NOW. Time slips by so quickly, don't miss this opportunity. If you want to pray and ask Jesus to be your Savior, you can say a prayer something like this:

"Jesus, I know that I have sinned against you. I know the truth is that I have sinned by my own choice, and I am the one responsible for it. I know that I have earned punishment from You, and that the fair punishment would be death. Jesus, I believe that You died in my place. Forgive me for my sin. I cannot cover or take my sin away, I am relying totally and only on You. You are the only one who can save me. I reject my sin, I turn away from it, I repent. Come into my life, take away my sin, and show me how to live my life in a way that is right and pleasing to You." Thank You Jesus, Amen

If you have prayed this, YOU ARE SAVED! You are now completely forgiven, a new creation, innocent in the eyes of God, please e-mail me and let me know and I will guide you toward Fellowship and Baptism. Welcome to the family of God! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Prov. 26:2

"Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight." Prov. 26:2

Like all of you, I have gone through various "stages" in my spiritual development. The new believer stage happened for me some years ago. That moved into the next stage, you know the one; the stage where you wonder why you exist, why God chose you, and why does anyone care? The key statement in this stage, seems to be, "Does anyone love me?" After this stage, I moved into the serious stuff. I call it the "late adolescent, early adulthood" stage. That is the time when we are really struggling with what God wants us to do with our lives. Does He want us in "specialized Christian ministry"? You know; does He want me to be a preacher or something?

Later on we really get into the crazy things. I moved into a charismatic spiritual church. We talked about the gifts of the Holy Spirit.. and wondered which one or ones we had. We experimented with all of them. We played like we were "super spiritual" not wanting anything we said to be negative lest the door be opened for the enemy to get a hold of our souls and cause us serious problems. We were content to look at the Charismatic verses and the promises and live by those.

It is during this stage that I began to examine the subject of demons and demonology. Did demons exist? Jesus dealt with them. Do they exist now? There is no reason to believe they don't. Do they possess people like they did in Jesus' day? It sure seems like it. Can they possess God's children? That one was up for debate. I studied many arguments either way...and concluded that as is often the case, the arguments came down to semantics. How did the writer define "possess" and "oppress"?

In the process of this examination, I found today's little verse toward the end of Proverbs. You see, we honestly believed that we could be cursed by some evil person and some great calamity would befall us. We certainly watched who we spend time with! We also spent a lot of time "pleading the blood of Jesus" over ourselves, our families, our homes, our houses, our pets, our friends, our church... Today's verse gave me a great relief from this spiritual schizophrenia that plagued me.

Solomon tells us that curses are like sparrows. Have you ever watched one of those little fellows? They never stand still. Watching one in the fields the other evening. He was rustling through the mulch under a bush. It sounded like some kind of animal was digging to the Philippines! For such a little fellow, he sure made a loud noise... and he did it for many minutes, never resting, always scrounging for bugs. After a thorough search of the area, he flitted to another area... never once stopping for breath. He just dug and flitted, dug and flitted. If I only had half of his energy!

Solomon tells us that unwarranted curses are like that. They can't land and hang upon the unsuspecting believer, because there is no just cause. Some witch or warlock can't lay a curse on any believer just because that individual is a believer in Jesus. A past president of the United States was known as the "Teflon president" because none of his indiscretions would stick to him.

Well, I have news for you. You are a Teflon Christian if you do your best to remain pure in Jesus. No curse can stick to you! You are indeed "covered by the blood of Jesus!" And the best part is this: you don't have to plead for it on a daily basis. It is given to you freely by our Savior. He took the curses for us. He paid the penalty. He covers us with His protective coating! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Matthew 13:33

"Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened." Matthew 13:33

This is truly an intense message in the power of the Truth - God's 'life' saving grace. I believe we do not always recognize what a miracle He has wrought in us, for He has blessed us abundantly twice over. We consider the word 'life' with little regard for its profoundness. And it is so often in Scripture that His message is contained in a single word. Life. This word rolls off our tongues with such ease we barely conceive its truth any longer. When we read in scripture any reference to 'life', we hardly pause to think about what we have just read. And yet, the entire Bible is based on this simple word - Jesus came that we might have 'life.' The world plagiarizes its meaning, giving it a definition wholly unintended by God. We walk further and further away from the miraculous impact of this divine wonder.

In the beginning, before time was, before we were, He knew us, and so we were given 'the breath of life.' This in itself is a miracle beyond imagining. There isn't a DNA experiment ever designed, nor one that will ever be conceived that will enable man to 'breath life' into anything. We must take that breath of life already given. It cannot be found for it belongs solely to the Creator of all things.

What egotists we are to even consider that we might be able to recreate 'life.' How slowly does the mind of the most intelligent species on earth sometimes work. Man has yet to acknowledge that which we so desperately seek, "that which causes life to be," is not ours to give, and will never be. We live simply because our Father God determined that we should and 'gave us life.'

We are then doubly blessed with one more miracle of miracles. The One True God chooses to give us, for all eternity, a renewed life, a new life in His Son, Jesus Christ. With this, the breath of life that is us, is transformed, made new, polished until its light shines forth. We are now the embodiment of the truest definition of 'life' - living as a child of God by the grace of His Holy Spirit in love and forgiveness.

With this second miracle, we have come full circle, and are now one with the Father in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. So whenever we see the word 'life' written so quietly in the pages of His Word, perhaps we should pause for a moment, and praise His Holy Name for the unfathomable miracle He has wrought in us - His gift - His breath of life become eternal in Jesus, - Immanuel - God with us. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Matt. 7:15-17

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit"
Matt. 7:15-17

Have you ever read MacBeth? MacBeth was an interesting character of our friend William Shakespeare. He was unlovable, unlikable, unconscionable, and unforgivable. But he didn't start out that way. He was a conquering general, and a favorite of King Duncan. Great favors were heaped upon him, and more were to come. But, out of his own greed, his own imagination, his own unholy thoughts, MacBeth killed his king. And, like all murderers, he left behind some evidence. Two bloody daggers were found with the king's two drunken bodyguards - both later killed by MacBeth supposedly out of revenge for killing king Duncan.

Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Scotland, there were no crime scene investigators and the rudimentary evidence collected pointed in the wrong direction. MacBeth was honored by being made king of Scotland in Duncan's place. But that is not the end of the story. MacBeth could not stand what he had done. He became paranoid and his paranoia caused him to eventually die.

Why do I give you a lesson in Shakespearean literature? I do it to show you that the evil man will be known by his fruit. I truly believe that the problem with the perfect crime is that the criminal cannot be satisfied with just one. Greed eventually drives the perpetrator to commit another, and another, and eventually he makes a mistake. That mistake brings and end to his crime spree.

Jesus agrees. He encourages us, while not being judgmental, to be inspectors of peoples "fruit." By that He means that our actions show what is in our hearts. Granted, our acts of kindness will never buy us free passes to heaven. But, our free pass to heaven WILL cause us to do good deeds.

Anyone can do something good - perhaps even on a regular basis. But, like our greedy criminal, eventually we will show the true color of our hearts and some word, some action, some indicator of our sinful nature will show it's ugly self to the world. There is no way around it. Only a cleansing in the blood of Jesus will remove that sin and cause our fruit to always be fresh and good. And that goodness, or lack thereof, will tell the brothers and sisters of the faith volumes about our spiritual lives.

Now, don't rush out and condemn anyone who commits a sin. We all do that. Instead, Jesus is telling us to be wary of our leadership (the prophets of today's verses) lest they be ravenous wolves setting out to destroy the flock of Jesus. How can we tell the difference? By their fruits. What fruits? The works they perform, whether they are good and wholesome and wise. Or whether they are self-centered, overpowering, and destructive.

We must all be fruit inspectors - and we can do it without judging - as long as we do not condemn a man for his works, but pray for his salvation out of a sincere love. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Neh 4:2

"And in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble - burned as they are?" Neh 4:2

There it was, public humiliation. The Jews were no builders. They had been captive in Babylon - but they lived lives of relative ease. Now they come to a destroyed city, scraped together a few stones for a house, but they had no experience in rebuilding a city. The Jews had two choices, step up and finish the task or buckle under the pressure and give up. Some chose the latter option.

Judah cried out in agreement (sound familiar? "Let's go back to Egypt. At least we had food on the table -- not this manna!") Fortunately, Nehemiah was a good and faithful leader who saw things as they were meant to be - rebuilt! He called the people to ignore the insults and keep on building. We've all faced discouragement. Perhaps we face it today.

We have two choices. Step up or give up. The latter brings defeat and death. The former brings victory and life. When the enemy shouts insults at us, we need to do as Nehemiah did. First, he set guards. Second, he armed the people. Third, he kept building. We need to guard against the enemy's attacks. We need to always be alert to his presence and tactics. If he gets too close, we need to take up the sword - the Word of God. Satan cannot take continual strikes from the Sword of the Spirit - it penetrated too deeply into his weaknesses.

Finally, we need to keep on keeping on doing the will of God. Sure, there are times when it seems like nothing happens and we're getting no where. But if we keep trying, God will bring the results. He will support our sagging spirits. He will be our encouragement and our strength. The next thing you know, the walls of God's protection will be around us and the gates of His splendor will be our protection from the enemy and victory will be secure! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Prov. 26:4-5

"Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes." Prov. 26:4-5

Just when you think you have the Word of God figured out a pair of verses like today's jumps up and bites us! "Do not answer... Answer..." What is a man to do? Like I tell my bible study class before, "Let's take a dig a little deeper."

The obvious observation is that Solomon is out of his mind. One of his wives must have given him a hard time the night before he came up with this word of wisdom. Which are we to do? Answer the fool or don't answer him?

The first verse seems to indicate that we should not answer him. Why? "You will be like him." Hummm. If a fool comes up with some sort of idiotic statement or idea and we play along with him, wouldn't we look like a fool... just like he does? On the other hand, the proverbialist tells us to answer a fool! Why? So that the fool's actions are made apparent to him and he realize that those actions are not in any way wise. We want to educate the fool. We want to improve his state. It is not impossible... just difficult.

It seems that Solomon knew what he was talking about. Our response to the fool determines whether we have become like him or helped him out of his foolishness. While the proverbs seem contradictory, they are actually complimentary... like two pieces of the puzzle that appear to be incompatible, until they are turned in just the right relationship. Then they fit perfectly! Amen and Amen.

Prov 25:4-5

"Take away the dross from silver, And it will go to the silversmith for jewelry. Take away the wicked from before the king, And his throne will be established in righteousness" Prov 25:4-5

Purity. It's more than a bakery! It is a way of life. It is a virtue that will stand the test of time. A jeweler can't use silver that is laced with dross - impurities. When he begins to draw it - pull it into wire, it will break. When he wants to solder it together, the dross splatters and causes the joint to fail. Or, the dross will turn a different color and spoil the appearance of the silversmith's creation. Dross will not due. The removal of imperfections start in the purifying process. Incomplete refining produces an inferior end product.

So it is in the hearts of man (the king in this case. Easily translated Governor, Mayor, King, Queen, President, Chief Executive, Judge, etc.). Improper refining of the heart produces inferior men and women. They are not necessarily inferior on the basis of outward appearance, but a rottenness of soul. Some of the worlds most beautiful people are rotten at the core. Just look at some of the most popular movie stars. I don't have to name them. You can come up with a list of your own. Some of the most successful have the foulest vocabulary, the most repugnant reputations. The old saying "beauty is only skin deep," though not scripture, is oh so true, non the less.

Or take a look at some of today's highest paid athletes. They sport freaky hair styles, and even more bizarre lifestyles. They fight on the court and party off of it. There is much dross there - if they were a silver ornament, we would certainly call them "ugly," "flawed," and even "worthless."

Righteousness comes from the purifying of the blood of Jesus. Only that cleansing action will produce results worthy of the Master Jeweler's craft. The interesting part is this: you have the choice as to how pure you will be. You can jump out of the refiner's fire any time you want. However, rest assured it is easier to go through it with God the first time around than to endure the refiner's fire a second, third, or fourth time. Amen and Amen.

Colossians 3:23

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men" Colossians 3:23

One of the characteristics of the Christian life should be enthusiasm. The origin of the word enthusiasm is enlightening. It comes from the Greek word enthusiasmis. This word literally means to be possessed by a god or to be given over to poetic or prophetic frenzy. There is something about touching the eternal which produces enthusiasm.

It's impossible to be cool about meeting the creator of the universe face to face, and he calls you his child. There is an excitement resident within the gospel message. It is "good news," "glad tidings," full of "great joy." It is not to be whispered about in the basement. It is to be shouted from the rooftops.

The Christian is enthusiastic because he or she carries this God- Consciousness within his or her heart. This person exults in the mere fact of existence knowing that every breath taken is a gift of the creator. This person sees God's handiwork in all of creation. This person sees God's handiwork in the mirror. Every new day is a cause for excitement. The adventure is continuing. The journey has turned another corner. Exciting things are waiting just around the next turn. Sure there are rocks in the road and danger along the path. There may be battles ahead. But these are but other forms of excitement. Because beyond the rocks lies a beautiful meadow. And following the battle is the victory celebration. So we clamor over the rocks and we run to the battle with as much enthusiasm as when we play in the meadows and celebrate the victory.

It is all one. The rocks and the meadows. The battles and the victories. They are all part of the great adventure. They are all causes for excitement and for enthusiasm. And we know, that the enthusiasm of the present is but a foretaste of that great. final, everlasting celebration. The call to the party is imminent, and with spiritual ears we listen for that call. Is that a trumpet I hear? It is faint, but growing nearer. I guess Gabriel is just tuning up. Amen and Amen.

Col. 3:23

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men" Col. 3:23

The other day I was in a five star restaurant, and quite frankly the service was very slow. I heard a couple of waitresses talking. One of them was complaining about being reprimanded by the manager for not serving a customer expeditiously. Apparently she let the customer sit for 10 or 15 minutes before waiting on them because she was talking to a friend on the cell phone. She was very upset about the fact that she was reprimanded and she was saying to the other waitress "I don't see why I needed to be that anxious to work after all if it's just a part-time job."

Sad to say, I think a lot of Christians treat the work they do as being only important enough to get by. However, I think if we read scripture we can see clearly that God expects us to do more than simply get by

In Colossians Paul tells is that we are to do everything heartily as unto the Lord. That word heartily means from the very depths of your soul with great enthusiasm. That means it doesn't matter how much you're getting paid on the job or how many hours that you're spending there, you still do that job with all of your energy.

If you're doing something in church, if you've taken on a job teaching a Sunday school class, leading a song service, being in the worship team, whatever you do, you do it heartily as unto the Lord with great enthusiasm, with great excitement. Paul goes on to say that it is of the Lord that you will receive it your reward. Think about this when you go in to work today don't think about doing your job for the boss, for the manager, for the supervisor or even for the customer or client. Think about doing your job for God.

If Jesus walked into the store where you are a clerk, how would you wait on him. If Jesus was a student in your class ,how would you teach that class? If Jesus was a patient coming into your medical office how would you treat him? I am quite sure that we would treat him with all our skills, we would be most courteous to Him. Well, Jesus says "in as much as you have done it unto me least of these my brethren you have done it unto me."

So today, let's decide on a different way to do our work. Let's do our job as if Jesus Christ was supervisor. I can guarantee that if you do the it will radically transform the way you do business. Who knows, you might also find a greater degree of satisfaction in the work that you do. Lord, today let me do my job as unto you and not as unto men, knowing that it is from you that I will receive my reward. Amen and Amen

Isaiah. 35:1

"The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose" Isaiah. 35:1

Jonathan Edwards in his great sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" asserts that the earth, animals, and plants long to kick man off the face of earth - man is that far from the perfection that God created. It seems that I came upon a few people who did not like that idea. First, they said, the earth is not a person and thus has no emotions or thinking ability to WANT to kick man off. Second, they said, man is not that bad.

In light of today's verse, I propose that the earth DOES have emotions. Isaiah says that the wilderness and the desert will be glad - glad for what? They will be glad for the return of the Messiah as He sets the earth aright. He continues to say that the desert or "Arabia" - the great southern desert separating Israel from Egypt - will rejoice and blossom. Sure sounds like emotion to me; do you not agree? Isaiah continues with other personifications of the earth and its natural inhabitants and how they will be glad at the return of the Messiah's reign. Allow me to show you with another scripture:

"For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now" Romans. 8:19-22

Paul tells us that the whole of creation is straining under the sins of man and is longing for the day it will be delivered from that burden. Indeed, Mr. Edwards was a powerful preacher with a very deep insight into the ways of God.

Unfortunately, man today does not have that great insight. We, as a whole, believe that we have the ability to fix ourselves and the world. Many people in this world follow the example of Benjamin Franklin who thought he could master thirteen "virtues" and thus become nearly perfect. He failed. And even if he succeeded to become "nearly" perfect, that would not have been good enough to get him into Heaven. Only that which is absolutely perfect can stand before the unstained God of the Universe. No man is that good.

Only through the application of the cleansing blood of Jesus can we be made pure enough, whole enough, perfect enough to stand in God's presence. Fortunately, THAT perfection is attainable to those who believe and are willing to die to themselves and live for Jesus and Him alone. Only then will we find that creation is willing to support us and yield to our control. Until that day, the day we ALL are purified by Jesus' sacrifice, the earth would rather cease producing gravity and fling us out into the universe. As Edwards said, we are here only because of the grace of God, and an angry God at that. Amen and Amen.

Acts 7:47-49

"But Solomon built Him a house. "However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: "Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest?" Acts 7:47-49

The Old Testament concept of God included a dwelling place. His house was first a tent, then, through Solomon, it became a Temple. The prophets came to realize that God could not be kept in a box - no matter how beautiful and stoutly built. God's throne was the vastness of the heavens and the earth was simply His footstool. This demonstrates the awesome "bigness" of God.

The New Testament saw God as big - but human - in the form of Jesus - God in man form. He dwelt on earth. He walked the same roads and sailed the same seas as they did. This Man-God was big, not because He towered over all others when He stood in a crowd (like Saul), but because He spoke with such authority on topics that the rabbinical school of the day either avoided or reiterated the teachings of others. Jesus was a "fresh voice" promising deliverance from the kingdom of this earth. The Jews interpreted this to be Rome. We know it to be Satan's power.

Jesus put a new twist on the matter when He introduced the necessity of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had all the attributes of God the Father and God the Son with one simple change. Being spirit, He would dwell in the heart of man. We can now see God in all of His majesty, perfect humanness, and indwelling power - from the great big to the invisible, God was and is and is yet to come.

It is important for us to remember all three of these attributes. We need to recognize that God is bigger than we are - or any nations - or our world. He created it. He dwells in it. He controls it. We need to remember that God, in the form of Jesus, took on the shape of man - and did it victoriously. He neither stumbled nor fell to the temptations that we face every day. This should give us hope that, when we have the Holy Spirit, God in spirit form, dwelling in - indeed, possessing - us, we can be victorious like Jesus.

I encourage you to let the Spirit possess you. Give Him complete control. Let Him run your life. He will not fail. Amen and Amen.

Micah 6:8

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

What an opening! I don't know about you, but if the Lord requires something of me, I want to know what that is. What is this requirement? Church attendance? Good deeds? Giving money to the poor? All those things are good, but God tells us something even more profound. What does the Lord require of me? "...to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with my God."

Think about it. If we master these three things, our church attendance, good deeds, giving, working in the kingdom will all take care of themselves. Let's look a little closer at each of these.

First, we are called on to "do justly." This literally comes from the field of civil law and it means to render a verdict which is right and fair. By extension, it means to live in a way which considers first what is right and later what is profitable. Unfortunately in this modern world of ours what is right is often treated as being secondary to that which "works." Practicality and profit have become the twin gods of business, politics, family life and even, sad to say, some organized religious groups. I heard a minister once defend lying to his congregation because it worked. This scripture says that God requires that we do right regardless of our assessment of its practicality.

Secondly, God requires that we "love mercy." In the process of holding myself to a high standard of moral and ethical conduct, I must be careful not to despise those who fail to meet those standards. I have failed and depended on others (especially God himself) to show me mercy. If I expect to receive mercy I must show it. One of the beatitudes says, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy." This showing of mercy doesn't mean excusing wrongdoing. Rather, my act of mercy directs the person to the one who can give full forgiveness of sin by demonstrating in my life that forgiveness in word and deed.

Finally, we are required to "walk humbly with thy God." Humility before the Father says, "I'm afraid as hard as I try. I can't walk justly all the time, and my mercy is inconsistent and shallow. I need help. Take me and shape me into the type of person who can truly live up to the requirements you have set before me." Fortunately, God has made a provision for our inability to meet his requirements. He sent his Son to die on a Cross so that we might "be made the righteousness of God." If you're having trouble meeting God's requirements, turn to Him today and ask His Son to come into your heart. It's easier to walk a difficult path, if you have the road builder with you on the journey. Lord, please help me to simply do what you require of me in my daily life.

Help me to remember justice and mercy and humility as I draw closer to you each day.. Amen and Amen.

Matt 15:34

"Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish." Matt. 15:34

God used so many small things in preparing mankind to receive the Gospel. There is the account of the small cake given to the prophet Elijah that saved the life of the prophet, the widow and her son until the rains returned to Israel. Jesus talked about the widow who placed two small coins in the offering box - and howthose coins were worth more than all the gold the rich had deposited. The Master talked about the small mustard seed and how it demonstrated the nature of the Kingdom of God. In today's verse we see the reference to seven small loaves and a few small fish. With these, Jesus fed the multitudes.

A man came to Jesus with a demon-possessed son. Jesus asked the man about the strength of his faith. The man responded that he believed, but sought help with his unbelief - his small faith. It is always the small things that mean so much; the small action, the little kind word, the small widow who prays, or the small contribution.

Nothing or no one is too small for God to use.

Jesus tells us that it is the little people, the invisible people, the seemingly insignificant people who are the greatest in the Kingdom. While you and I may look at the great and the famous with awe, God looks at the simple man who is praying for that person - and considers him to be great. While we make room for the famous politician to speak in our pulpits, God looks at the janitor who, at his own expense, ministers to the poor of our community. While we pay the great expositors of the Word huge sums of money to proclaim the Good News from our pulpits, God seeks out the man or woman who will speak an appropriate word at the right time. That is the person God can use to reach the hearts of lost.

Do not despair if you are one of those who is always overlooked by those around you. If you are doing the simple things you know God wants you to do, you are one of the greatest in the Kingdom. God can trust you to do what is needed. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Prov. 23:17-19

"Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day; For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off. Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way" Prov. 23:17-19

Some things are hard to grasp. Where do square fish come from so that fast-food shops can make square fish sandwiches? Why do we play a round of golf, but we square dance? Why does a business have to tell the truth about his product, but politicians can lie about each other? Why does a can of dog food have more nutritional information on it than a jar of baby food? Why are women's size 6 shoes smaller than a man's size 6 shoe? Why do British drivers drive on the left side of the road and some other drivers in the world drive on the right side? Why does it "rain cats and dogs" and not "catfish and bass"? Why do sinners become rich and the righteous live in comparative poverty?

It appears that Solomon wondered about that last item as well for he warns his son to refrain from envying sinners. What is there about the sinner that is worthy of envy? There could be several things, I suppose, that could appear to be desirable. 1) Wealth. 2) Power. 3) Lifestyle. 4) Beautiful women (or men) hanging on every word spoken. 5) PARTIES!!!! 6) Health (or the ability to buy the best medical attention possible.) Does that cover most of the reasons you could think about?

OK. Now let's look at reasons NOT to envy those same people. 1) Happiness. While wealth wrongfully acquired might by smiles and parties and beauty, that wealth will not buy happiness. When the party is over, another one must be planned, bigger and better than the last. Beauty fades, even with the best of plastic surgeons (ask Phyllis Diller!!) 2) Power. Power is a fleeting thing, and it corrupts as completely as flies corrupt pie left outside. 3) Contentment. If you think a sinful man is content, look again. Why do you think the Purple Pill is so popular? Contented people sleep at night, without reflux. 4) Peace. There is a difference between contentment and peace. Contentment has to do with things. We can be content with a few things. Peace is a state of the spirit.

Sometimes we forget that the future is long in coming. The future is more than tomorrow or next week or next year. The future is eternal, and where we spend THAT is much more important than the next fifty or sixty years. All the wealth and power this world has to offer is not worth one second in Hell!!!

So, we would be wise to follow the admonition of Solomon to his son. "Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way." And what is the way? Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me." Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

John 1:29

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29

Son of God. Son of Man. Master Teacher. Miracle Worker. Is there anything more that a person could put on a resume? This is quite a person and there is probably nothing that He can't do. But there is one task yet to perform, one role yet to play. Jesus above all else came to be Savior, Messiah, Redeemer.

We know the account. I suspect that many of us have witnessed the graphic depiction of the event at some time or form. And we were moved. We were challenged. We began to understand the suffering of the Messiah. And that is probably as it should be.

However, I have a warning to give. Not that I want to pour cold water upon the blaze of the Spirit, but we must understand something about what we saw. It touched our emotions. Some of us will weep. Some will cry. We will all suffer. Some of us will change. However, there are still many lost souls to save.

So what can we do? After we have wept, after we have cried, after we have suffered, we can pray. As a matter of fact, we can begin praying now, for the salvation of people who don't know Jesus or who know Jesus, but have left the fold. Pray that the Blood of Jesus was not lost into the earth and bear witness to those whose eye's are closed and ears are sealed. Be aware of peoples needs, be aware of the Holy Spirit's leading and offer to do "whatever it takes" to bring them to Christ. Pray that the churches will have open doors to accept those who are ready to get "Right with God". Pray that someone will have the long-term answers that these people long for.

Indeed, I believe that most men and women are looking for a Savior, they are just looking in the wrong places. I believe that God is using all His people as an evangelistic tool, but we are just a tool. Only the Living, Breathing, Loving Son of God can bring the desired results, but He can't do it without willing hands, yours and mine.

May God use your hands to bring His results in His ways. Amen and Amen.

Mark 6:2

"And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!" Mark 6:2

Son of God. Son of Man. Master Teacher. What else could a guy ask for in a Savior? How about Miracle Worker?

Of course we know that Jesus is a miracle worker. He performed many miracles beginning with the miracle at the wedding feast. Isn't it interesting that Jesus created "new wine" for the wedding, that which is pure, unadulterated with fermentation? Later in His ministry, He tells us that no one puts new wine in old wineskins because the new wine, as it ferments, expands and breaks the old wineskin, which is no longer pliable.

Shortly after the miracle of the new wine, Jesus began to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, raise the dead, and cast out demons. All of these are spectacular events, but I believe one of the greatest miracles was the feeding of the 5,000. In the middle of nowhere Jesus produced enough bread and fish to feed the multitude. Oh, by the way, the 5,000 count was just men. I'm sure we could count a few thousand women and children in the group as well. Now THAT'S a "feed". It wasn't fancy, but it was good. The reason I think this was a great miracle is this: it proved that Jesus had the ability to feed an army, but He chose to go to the cross alone. It also demonstrates His teaching about the "bread of life", He is the bread of life, and He is sufficient to feed an unlimited quantity of people.

I am also attracted to the miracle of walking on water! How I would like to be able to do that! Can you imagine the places we could catch fish if we could only get there? No problem. Step out of the boat and walk to the hard to reach fishing hole! But again the miracle was more than meets the natural eye. Jesus demonstrated to His disciples that He controlled nature. He could overcome the problem of gravity. Peter sank after a few steps. He immediately stopped the storm, and the sea became as calm as glass. There is more to the miracles than we can imagine.

Every miracle had a lesson or a purpose. Every one of them resulted in changed lives, no not only the physical ones, the spiritual ones. Each resulted in the advancement of the Kingdom of God. This trend was continued in the Book of Acts. Peter opened the eyes of the blind beggar, and thousands were redeemed. It seems, though I cannot be totally certain, that every miracle performed in the New Testament was first and foremost evangelistic! Do I dare say that some of the miracle workers today have other things in mind?

Yes, it is good to have a Savior who is wholly God and wholly man. It is wonderful to have a Savior who teaches God's truth in a way that can be understood by the common man. It is powerful to have a Savior who can heal the sick, feed the multitudes, and raise the dead. But there is something even greater than all of this. We will discuss that tomorrow. Amen and Amen.

Luke 4:15

"And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all." Luke 4:15

People can and will say a lot of things about Jesus, but one thing most people agree upon is the fact that Jesus was a master teacher. His lessons were at the same time easy to listen to and hard to comprehend. The parables form a perfect example.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus tells the story of a farmer who planted seed in four different types of soil. Each soil produces different results. It seems that the majority of the hearers of this parable enjoyed the entertainment, but failed to comprehend the message behind the story. They went away satisfied that they had heard a powerful teacher. But the disciples were not satisfied. They knew there was some thing more to the story, they just couldn't put their finger on it. Perhaps being braver than most and more familiar with the Master, they asked, "What did you mean by that parable?" And Jesus proceeded to tell them the real meaning, the seed is the Word of God, the soil represents men's hearts...

Jesus also used the teaching tool we call proverbs. The Beatitudes fit this bill. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted..." Matt. 5:3-4 (NKJV) Each little statement is a proverb, a catchy saying that delivers a message. This style the people readily understood. Simple thoughts put into simple language yields truths that can sink into the heart and take root.

Jesus was not always kind in His teachings. Do you recall the time when Jesus went into the Temple and found the moneychangers fleecing the people? With anger in His eyes, He took a cord and made it into a whip and drove the wicked businessmen out. As they fled, He shouted that God's House was a place of prayer, and they had made it into a den of thieves. While the populace probably enjoyed that display, it is certain that the moneychangers and the priests who profited from their thievery were no to happy!

Jesus also had a sense of humor when He taught. He called Herod "that fox". He has some rather juicy things to say to the Pharisees as well. "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone." Luke 11:42 (NKJV) can almost hear the crowds cheering Jesus on during this lesson! But the point was made, and all understood. Working the loop holes would no longer be an acceptable practice. Jesus removed the "gray" from the Law, the gray the interpreters of the Law had put in for their own benefit.

Yes, Jesus was God. He was man. And He was a teacher. It would serve us well to re-familiarize ourselves with His teachings. We just might learn a thing or two about how to live our lives while dwelling in this foreign land. Amen and Amen.

Luke 1:26-27

"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary." Luke 1:26-27

Some of the greatest people have come from lowly births. Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin and was raised in rural Illinois. John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress, was born to a craftsman. There is no denying that both men have made great inroads into human history. There is another born of lowly birth. Day before yesterday we talked about Jesus' divinity. Today we will look at his human birth.

The wise men from the east certainly didn't expect to find the new King where they did. You recall that they stopped in Jerusalem first. After all, Jerusalem was the home of the governing ruler. It seems logical that the son of a king would be found in a royal palace. Instead, the scholars of Jerusalem sent them to Bethlehem, and the star led them to a stable behind an inn. There, lying in a manger and wrapped in the garb of poor infants, they found Jesus, the newborn King. They did not seem particularly repulsed at the idea of finding a king there, though I suspect they had some interesting conversations on the way home!

But the story did not begin in Bethlehem. Indeed, the physical birth of Jesus began in Nazareth when the Angel of the Lord spoke to a young engaged girl named Mary. He made an announcement that every woman of childbearing age in Israel had hoped to hear, she was chosen to be the bearer of the Son of God, the Deliverer of Israel, the long awaited Messiah. Of course Mary though the infant would be the son of Joseph, her betrothed husband, but that was not to be. The angel promised that her son would be the direct descendant of God, the Father. In short, she would be an unwed mother bearing an illegitimate son. In Israel, a person did not get much lower and more humbled than that! And, to further complicate things, Joseph who took Mary as his wife any way, was just a simple carpenter. His prospects weren't great. He would never be able to send the Messiah to the proper schools so He could become a noted scholar who would be in a position to transform Israel. Yes, the birth of the Son of God was lowly.

Oh, there is one more thing that we need to discuss. The lineage of Jesus from His earthly parents went straight through the ages to King David! Mary, whose lineage Jesus bore by blood lead there. But God in His infinite wisdom knew that the Jews did not have much respect for a woman's lineage, therefore He had arranged for the visible father of the King of Kings to be from the same family line as well! It is a certainty that Jesus had a human side to Him. And this is important. Some thirty years after His birth, Jesus would begin His ministry with a period of temptation. If he were purely God, this would have been nothing to brag about. But His humanness made the temptation real. Three times satan tried to get Jesus to forsake His true role as redeemer and follow the "path less traveled." Three times Jesus rebuked the devil and resisted the temptation, even though He knew the ultimate outcome of His ministry on a Passover Day just three years later.

With the knowledge that Jesus is of human descent, we can rest assured that our flesh can overcome evil, for we who have been "born again" have been remade in the spiritual image of Jesus, the God-man, the Son of God and the Son of Mary. With the knowledge that Jesus is totally divine in His parentage, we have the assurance that we, having been made in His likeness, are true sons and daughters of God the Father and share in the same inheritance as Jesus! Amen and Amen.