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.

Halloween

Many in our secular society believe Halloween is nothing more than a harmless festival that allows kids to collect candy. But is it? Its origins lie deeply rooted in the occult, and Christians should stay away. Here are ten reasons why.

1. October 31st has long been known as "The Festival of the Dead." The Celtic tribes and their priests the Druids celebrated this day as a marker for the change from life to death.

2. Halloween today is performed usually by adherents of witchcraft who use the night for their rituals. Witches celebrate Halloween as the "Feast of Samhain," the first feast of the witchcraft year. Being a festival of the dead, Halloween is a time when witches attempt to communicate with the dead through various forms of divination.

3. Christians should not be involved with occultic practice or divination. Note God's command against divination in Deuteronomy 18.

4. Occultists believe Halloween is a time of transition between life and death. Some occult practitioners practiced divination and believed you could learn the secrets of life and wisdom by lying on a grave and listening to the messages from the long-departed.

5. Occultists also taught that spirits and ghosts left the grave during this night and would seek out warmth in their previous homes. Villagers, fearful of the possibility of being visited by the ghosts of past occupants, would dress up in costumes to scare the spirits on their way. They would also leave food and other treats at their door to appease the spirits so they would not destroy their homes or crops but instead move on down the road. That is the real reason why kids dress up in costumes today and go door-to-door seeking treats.

6. Occultists also would try to scare away the spirits by carving a scary face into a pumpkin. This horrible visage would hopefully move the spirit on to another home or village and spare that home from destruction. Sometimes the villagers would light a candle and place it within the pumpkin and use it as a lantern (hence the name, Jack-o-Lantern). This is the origin of carving pumpkins at Halloween.

7. In some witchcraft covens, the closing ritual includes eating an apple or engaging in fertility rites. In the Bible (Genesis 3), eating a piece of fruit brought sin and death into the world. In witchcraft, eating an apple is symbolic of bringing life. The practice of bobbing for apples brings together two pagan traditions: divination and the fertility ritual.

8. Schools are removing any religious significance from Christmas (often called winter break) and Easter (spring break). Isn't it ironic that most public schools still celebrate Halloween even though it has occultic origins?

9. Participating in Halloween gives sanction to a holiday that promotes witches, divination, haunted houses, and other occultic practices.

10. Christians should avoid Halloween and develop creative alternatives. Churches can hold a Fall Fun Festival and/or celebrate Reformation Day (also October 31). They should not endorse or promote Halloween.

Copyright © 2001 Probe Ministries

John 1:1-2

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." John 1:1-2

Let's start with the question of who Jesus is. John gives us a rather open, though a bit mystical answer. He calls Jesus "The Word" and tells us that The Word was with God and The Word was God and The Word was in the very beginning. Like I said, John is somewhat mystical or philosophical in his statement. Let's examine his statements one by one.

The Word is Jesus, that is found in verse 14 where John tells us that The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He completes this thought in verse 17 when he simply tells us that Jesus is whom he is talking about. OK. So Jesus is The Word. What does that mean? John tells us that Jesus spoke nothing except what He heard the Father speak (John 5:19). Jesus was therefore the spokesman for the Father, the Living Word of God. With this established, let's move on to the next statement.

The Word was with God. This is important. We have already established that Jesus spoke and did only what the Father told Him to speak. This could indicate a subordinate position, and there are those who argue this point. But they would be wrong. The word "with" indicates a rather close relationship. When a person is "with" someone, the implication is that the person spends considerable time in the presence of that individual. The question is when and where did the person spend time with someone. Fortunately John tells us that as well.

The Word was with God from the very beginning. Depending upon your personal philosophy and understanding of eternity, the beginning may be the beginning of human chronology (the creation) or more literally, from the very beginning of eternity. Either way, that is a long-term relationship. I personally believe that time was created by God "in the beginning" so that you and I would have something to peg events upon. With God, time is totally irrelevant. Since He has always existed, He has no need of time. We, on the other hand, find eternity past or eternity future hard to comprehend, though the latter, eternity future, is an easier concept to grasp than past eternity. We DO seem to ask, "Where did God come from?" But, just in case you are not sure that time alone is sufficient to make Jesus equal with God, read the next statement.

The Word WAS God. Does John mean that the Father and the Son are co-equal? It rather appears that, that is his implication, they are so co-equal that they are literally fused into one being. I rather suspect that indeed the Son, The Word, would know the Father's mind if they are that close!

Let's see what we have established. From the very beginning of eternity God the Father and Jesus the Son, The Word as John calls Him, have been together. We have also established that though they are co-equal, each has a specific responsibility. The Father thinks, the Son speaks, and let's not forget that Genesis 1:1 tells us that the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the chaotic earth. There we have it, the Three-in-One, the Godhead, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.

Tomorrow we will discuss the advent, the humanness of Jesus. Amen and Amen.

I Corinthians 12:18

"But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased" I Corinthians 12:18

I have noticed a disturbing trend among Christians. More and more I hear people say things like, "The church would be better off without so and so" or "Why don't they just leave, we'd all be better off." I've even heard Christians say they wished other people dead. I Pray that they were exaggerating, but still underlying all of this talk is a serious sense that many of us feel we can do without the others.

I hate to be the one to break this to you, but, WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER. We can't just pick and choose who we go through life with and we certainly can't pick and choose who God has decided to put us into fellowship with in the church.

Paul has a wonderful way of putting this into focus in I Corinthians 12:21-26 "And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our un-presentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it."

Can you get this picture of one part of the body arguing with the other telling it to leave. What kind of life would we live if that were the case. Likewise, if we are going around thinking that another member of the body of Christ is expendable then we cause the body to suffer and when the body suffers we suffer along with it. I might also add this goes for those who are not yet members of the body. We must never "write off" someone as too bad to be saved. We all need each other. Once we lose sight of that we have lost sight of the Gospel of Jesus Christ who died for us all and not just those we like to have around. Amen and Amen.

Matt. 14:14

And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. Matthew 14.14

One of the most frequent phrases in the gospels is "Jesus being moved with compassion...." I never counted the exact number of times it occurs, but in listening to the Gospels on tape it seems like it appears in almost every chapter. Jesus would be tired and want to rest, then "being moved with compassion" he continued to minister. He would need to eat, but "being moved with compassion" he would feed the 5000 first. He would be going in one direction, but "being moved with compassion" he changed his plans to teach, heal or comfort.

We cannot have the mind of Christ and not be moved with compassion. It is one of the defining characteristics of Jesus life and ministry. In this phrase we see two components to Christ-like compassion. The first is a feeling. The second is an action.

To be compassionate, we must first feel the feelings of others. The pain of my brother or sister, my neighbor, my coworkers, fellow students and others around me must also be my pain. Remember, the image of the body of Christ in I Corinthians 12. If I get up in the middle of the night and stub my toe in the darkness, the rest of my body doesn't just say, "Oh well, that's the toe's problem, let it take care of itself." No! The whole body reacts. The brain coordinates action sending blood to the area to aid healing and raising the temperature in the area. The feet and legs modify how they walk to give the toe some rest. The eyes examine the toe to see if the damage is serious. The fingers hold the toe and test to see if it is broken.

So, it must be in the body of Christ. We must all react to the pain of our brothers and sisters. We also need to extend this compassion to the world at large. A hungry child, an abused wife, a person trapped by addiction, a youth caught up in the deception of a gang, a business executive running to stand still in his business, a teenage girl unmarried and pregnant. We cannot ignore these people, and we must not condemn them. As someone once said, "The only time to look down on anyone is when you are holding out a hand to help them up."

Which brings us to the second component of "being moved with compassion." That component is action. We don't simply need to "feel" compassion for someone then go on our merry way happy that it isn't us. What we need is to put legs to our sympathy. When Jesus was moved with compassion, he got busy. James tells us that if we just say, "Ah it's too bad you are hungry and without clothing, be fed and be clothed" with out doing something about it our Christianity is really no good to that person.

We must not only feel t he pain of others, but we must also do what we can to relieve that pain. So, here are some practical ways to do this. First, pray for the person as you would pray for your own need. Seek the face of God for that person's needs. Second, ask yourself, what do I have that can help this other person. If someone is without food, and you have a well stocked pantry, why not sneak a box of food onto their doorstep, ring the doorbell and slip away. Third, ask yourself, what can I do to help this other person? Sometimes, the easiest thing we have to give is material things, food, clothing, money, etc. It is often harder to give of our time.

If someone is facing an emotional crisis, can you spend a few hours on the telephone with them listening, comforting and praying with them? If someone's car is broken down, can you give them a ride? If someone needs work done around the house while they are recovering from an illness can you donate some time to wash dishes and sweep the floor?

To be like Jesus, we must be "moved with compassion." So, maybe it's time we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. Amen and Amen.

Gen 19:12

"Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, take them out of this place!" Gen 19:12

Questions. We ask them every day. "Where are you going, son? Who will you be with? How long will you be? What are you going to do?" When we ask questions, we expect answers. As we discovered last time, we don't always get the answer we want. Today's verse asks a question and gives an answer, but the answer didn't fit well with the facts of reality.

God had just told Abraham that He, God, was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for the grievous sin of homosexuality (sound familiar?). Both cities were filled with moral, spiritual, and physical filth. It seems that the citizens of these communities were beyond redemption for Abraham had pleaded with God to save the cities if fifty righteous people were found there. Then, not believing himself that there were fifty, he bargained the number to forty-five, then forty, then thirty, and finally twenty. It seems that he might have felt fairly secure at twenty among the thousands of residents of both cities.

When God's angels entered Sodom, they went straight to Lot's house and asked today's question. "Whom else have you here?" True to God's word, the census was taken. Lot was sure he had a significant number. He was asked to lead them all out of the city. The end list was rather dismal. Lot assembled his two daughters, his wife, and himself. Even counting the two angels, the number of righteous in Sodom amounted to six. It is rather obvious that Lot didn't have much to account for during his say in "Sin City." And even what he had was suspect.

The angels lead Lot and his family out of the city leaving them at the city limits. They then instructed the family to flee to the hills and not look back. Suspect family member number one was Lot's wife. We all know that she looked back as the city exploded into flames, and was turned into a pillar of salt. Her heartstrings were attached to the allurement of Sodom. What we often overlook is the remainder of the family members.

For some reason, Lot did not turn to Abraham. He hung out in the hills with his daughters. At some distant point the daughters disparaged every being able to marry and plotted an act every bit as shameful as any of Sodom or Gomorrah. "We're not getting any younger, and we have no hope of ever marrying," said the oldest. "Let's get our father drunk on the nights when we are most fertile and lay with him." This plot they carried out to perfection. Both became pregnant by their father. Suspect family member numbers two and three. Lot didn't have much left. How many were really with Lot? The count is down to one. And what about Lot himself? Even Lot is suspect. Why was he living in the city? He was a shepherd. Is it possible that Lot did not see the green grasses as much as he saw the gleaming lights of Sin City?

How many are with you? Hmmmm. I think I had better take stock of my life. What about you? What are we really living for? Where are we really going? What are we really doing with our lives? Who are we taking with us? Do we want to leave a legacy that matches Lot's, or Abraham's? Amen.

Matt. 8:29

"And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" Matt. 8:29

Some questions come out of curiosity. Little Catherine is looking at a bug. "Mommy, why do bugs have wings? Why is the worm fuzzy? Why did God create mosquitoes?" I have to admit, that last one has bugged me, too.

Other questions come out of rebellion. Your teenager daughter wants to go to a party. You know that the family hosting the affair is morally suspect, so you say "No." "But, Daddy," she squeals in protest, "everyone of my friends are going. Why can't I?" At this point there is no reasoning in the world that will resolve the conflict. "Because I said so," is the only possible answer. Reason will prevail tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or next year, well maybe in a decade or two.

A few well-spoken questions arise out of fear. Today's question fits that bill to a "T." "What business do we have with each other?" The demons are speaking to Jesus. They recognize the traveling preacher for who He is, the Son of God. They may have met before on another battleground. More likely, they had seen his mug shot on the bulletin board on the walls of "Demon Post Office Number 5." The label under the unflattering picture said, "SBI (Satan's Bureau of Investigation): MOST WANTED. GREAT REWARD IF YOU CAN TURN HIM. EQUAL REWARD IF YOU BRING HIM IN DEAD." Oh, yes. These fellows knew Jesus. He was no stranger to them.

And they knew something else too. They knew the times and seasons. "Have You come here to torment us before the time?" It would seem that the enemy forces know that there is a time when they will have to admit defeat. There will come a time when they will face the music, and it will not be a sweet tune they dance to. No, there will come a time of great torment for the evil they have done. But that time was not yet. There was, however, a problem. Jesus had met the demoniac of Gadarene. The possessed man was, shall we say, uncomfortable with his ever-present companions. It appears the tormented individual was in deep need of deliverance, and the Son of God was the one to provide it.

I find it strange that the demons and Jesus "negotiate" for a reasonable solution. Jesus was to set the man free. The demons did not want to be sent to Hell where they would be eternally punished. "Hey, there is a herd of swine on the hillside. If you insist on taking away our home, how about sending us there?" Out they came. In they went. And over the cliff ran the swine. Who said pigs were dumb animals. They knew that they did not want to be possessed by these evil beings!

The demoniac sat at Jesus' feet and praised Him for setting him free. He wanted to stay in the presence of Jesus forever. But that time would be delayed for a while. Jesus had a mission for the new child of God, "Stay with your people and tell them what the Son of God has done for you."

You have probably figured out by now that I am going to ask you a question. "What do you and Jesus have to do with each other?" I'm not implying that you are a demon, or a demon- possessed individual. What I do want you to think about is your relationship with the Savior. Are you truly in love with Him? Are you so filled with desire for Him that you would do anything to please Him? Or, are you lukewarm? Has your heart grown attached to the things of this world? Has pleasure and a life of ease dampened the affection you had for the Master? What DO you and Jesus have to do with each other? Amen and Amen.

Gen.21:17

"And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is" Gen. 21:17

OK. Hagar had made her own bed. Now she was sleeping in it. For years she had been rubbing her fertility in Sarah's face. Ever since Sarah had her child, Hagar had been making life miserable for both, and her son Ishmael had been doing the same. Now they were outcasts from the family they had loved and been loved in. While she probably knew that a righteous judgment had come upon her, she was never the less saddened and heartbroken by her situation. It was bleak. It seemed that death was eminent. They had neither water nor food. Starvation was not the true enemy. Hagar knew without the water, food was useless. She did what any good woman would do, she cried out to God, if there was a God as Abraham had taught her.

Ishmael was crying in the wilderness; Hagar had given up, and God spoke through an angel in the midst of her turmoil asking, "What is the matter with you, Hagar?" I can just hear the voice in Hagar's mind shouting, "Here I am in the desert without water and food. My son is dehydrating, even faster not that he is crying. We are going to die out here and there is not even anyone to give us a proper burial. What do you think is wrong? If you are truly from God, you know full well what is wrong!" But, there is no record that she spoke those obvious words. It appears she remained silent. The angel continued, "Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is."

Have you ever asked a "stupid question"? You know, the one you wished you could take back. We all have, usually in the most embarrassing possible setting. What do you think when it appears that God is asking you a stupid question? Do you respond like my imaginary Hagar conversation? All to often we do. Hagar was probably silent because women were not allowed to speak in public to men. That didn't keep her from thinking. We are freer in our society. Most of us don't think twice when an authority figure approaches us. We are of the nature that we will speak our minds. I went to a meeting the other night where people were supposed to submit questions on paper. In the midst of an explanation, a woman stood up and rebelliously spoke her mind, and not in a very pretty tone of voice either. That is just the way human beings are. If we heard the audible voice of God ask us, "What is the matter?" We would be likely to give God a few choice words before we allowed Him to respond, especially if the problem was as obvious as Hagar's.

But God IS asking us, "What is the matter?" He asks us constantly. Not because He doesn't know, but because He wants us to respond. People have an independent spirit, however, in spite of our independence, or perhaps because of it, we are often in trouble. We say a cross word to the boss. We are in trouble. We pass on a bit of juicy gossip that is flat out false; it gets back to the object of the wagging tongue. We are in trouble. We are late for work and exceed the speed limit through a radar trap. We are in trouble. We say something derogatory in class. We are in trouble. So let's stop the cycle.

When God asks you, "What is the matter?" Will you be honest? Or will you be sharp and nasty? God never asks a question He doesn't want the answer to. What will you say? "I hurt." "I have failed and I feel so bad." "I have made some serious mistakes and my wife hates me." When God asks, be honest. He knows what the problem is. He just wants you to express it in your own words. Then He can resolve the difficulty. Amen and Amen.

Matt 12:15

"But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all" Matt 12:15

If anyone could have boasted, it would be Jesus. He was the Son of God. He was a miracle worker. He could produce gold out of the mouth of a fish. He could raise the dead. It seems that there was nothing that He couldn't do. And all of this is true. Still, when it came to a point when He could boast, He told everyone to keep His story a secret.

He could have aroused the crowds into a rebellious frenzy. He could have commanded a legion of angels to prepare the way. If a follower were killed, He could have brought them back to life - He could have lead an undefeatable army! Supply lines - no problem. He could have spoken quality food into existence to feed His soldiers.

The people would have followed Him anywhere. They already followed Him into the wilderness - without food, water, or provisions. They knew He would take care of them. They would have followed Him into the very throne room of the Caesars! He was that popular.

But, in all humility He preferred to remain in the background. I can't recall a single time that He boasted upon Himself. Oh, He boasted alright. He boasted on His Father. He was proud of the Word. He loved the Temple, the House of God. But He never presented Himself in a proud manner.

Now, I, on the other hand, would have done just the opposite. If I could perform a miracle, I would want someone to take note. If I had a following like Jesus, I would want to promote it. If I could turn water into wine, I would want to bottle it. If I could multiply the loaves, or heal the sick, or raise the dead, I would be disappointed if my picture was not on the cover of Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" edition. I would try to parlay it into a Nobel Peace Prize.

Don't laugh! You can't tell me that you would desire anything less. All of this leads me to think, "Pastor Edwin, you have a long way to go before you look like, walk like, talk like, and act like Jesus." How true. How about you? Praise God, Amen and Amen.

Ex. 33:18

"And he said, "Please, show me Your glory." Ex. 33:18

Ah! Now it will happen. We shall have an eyewitness and know what God looks like. Moses has the boldness, the confidence, the perfection necessary to actually see God's face. Praise the Lord of Moses. We shall vicariously experience the viewing of GOD!

What's that? Uh, Moses didn't see God's face? Oh, that's right. God told Him that no man could see His face and live! Still, God wanted to honor Moses' request. So, He told Moses that when His glory marched by, He would put Moses in the cleft of a rock and put His hand over Moses to protect him. Then, after the glory of the Lord had passed, God would take His hand away and Moses could see the back of God. Ah! That's the story. So we won't get to see God's face, but we can have a report on what the back of God looks like!

Let's have it! Bring it on! Uh, Moses doesn't say a thing about it? Why? There must not have been that much to write about. But this is assured: Moses was transformed. How do we know? Read on. "It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses' hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him." (Ex.34:29) Moses' face shown with the glory of God! He had a total visual transformation! Incredible!

I have observed people who, before their salvation were torn and twisted with the stresses of life. After their salvation, their physical features relaxed and the inner beauty that now dwelt within them showed through the outer shell. This, too, is a transformation - a physical transformation. We all know of someone who has been healed by the hand of God after the doctors said there was no hope. They have been transformed by the glory of God.

You and I may or may not have had such a physical transformation, but we have certainly had a transformation of the inner being. Where once we were dead in spirit, driven to destruction by the sins we had committed, we were cleansed and made alive. Our cinder-black, burned out souls were recreated and given new life by the breath of God - His Holy Spirit Am I right? Yes, I hear those shouts of "Amen!"

Moses continued to wear the veil in front of the people of Israel. At first it was because the glory shown so bright on him that the people were frightened. Later, according to Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:13, he wore the veil to keep the people from seeing that the physical manifestation of God's glory was fading. Paul continues by telling us that this should not be our experience. Our features should show the glory - and that glory should intensify as we draw ever closer to the Father. Paul says the veil is taken away from us because the world needs to see Jesus, God the Son, in us! And what is the glory of the Father? Remember what His very essence is? That's right. Love.

Let's God's love shine in and through you every day. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Matt 21:22

"And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." Matt 21:22

This verse is not a guarantee that we can get 'anything' we want simply by asking Jesus and believing. God does not grant requests that would hurt us or others or that would violate his own nature or will. Jesus' statement is not a blank check. To be fulfilled, our requests must be in harmony with the principles of God's kingdom. The stronger our belief, the more likely our prayers will be in line with God's will, and then God will be happy to grant them.

Where we get wrong in prayer is that we are so self-willed. We set ourselves to pray for things; we vow to sit up all night to bring God round to our way of thinking; we use strong crying's, tears, and protestations... And then we are surprised if the fig-tree does not wither, or the
mountain remove.

Where are we wrong?... There is too much of self and the energy of the flesh in all this. We can only believe for a thing when we are in such union with God that his thought and purpose can freely flow into us, suggesting what we should pray for, and leading us to that point in which there is a perfect sympathy and understanding between us and the divine mind....

Then the Spirit will lead you to ask what is in the will of God to give, and you will know instantly that the Spirit intercedes within you according to the will of God. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Luke 10:27-28

"So he answered and said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live" Luke 10:27-28

A friend of mine had two dogs, German Shepherds, one male and one female. The female was somewhat docile and easily cowed. The male was rather mean and intimidating. I often visited my friend and became acquainted with his animals. I could learn to love the female; she became friendly. The male and I appeared to be sworn enemies. We never approached anything remotely associated with friendship though he did ignore me after a time. One was loveable because it was loving. The other was respected because of its fierceness but never loved.

I have known children who share the same temperaments of those two German Shepherds. The ones who climb into my lap and make themselves at home are loved. The ones who shriek and hide whenever they look at me are respected as children, but not loved.

Likewise, I have had bosses who share similar characteristics. Some are mean and gruff, growling at every good and bad deed. These are respected and obeyed because they have instilled a sense of fear in me. Others are loved because they truly and honestly care about me as an individual. If my wife is ill, they ask about her. If a son or daughter is to be married, they not only send a nice gift; they attend the wedding. These are loved... because they love.

When it comes to the "love the Lord your God" requirement for believers, we can approach that "loving" with similar attitudes. If we experience God as the Law Giver, an old Man with a white beard who says, "Thou shalt not" and seldom responds, "Yes, My son," then we have a respect for God because He is to be feared.

If we know God as a loving Father... one who is concerned about us and is willing to help us through times of trouble, it will be easier to love Him. We should not fall into the trap of believing that God is a big "Teddy Bear" of a fellow with a fat belly and a ready laugh who has deep pockets and a bag full of "Hershey's Kisses." While God does indeed love us to distraction, He is also a disciplinarian who will apply the "rod of correction" in a spiritual sense in order to keep our souls pure and holy. Still, even then we know that God loves us... and it is easy to love Him in return. It all depends upon our understanding of God.

I pray that you know Him as the benevolent, loving Father that He truly is. After all, He did simplify the law and sent His Spirit to help us obey the one commandment, to love the Lord thy God and love your neighbor as yourself. Amen and Amen.

Josh. 22:5

"But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul" Josh. 22:5

Sometimes the obvious is the most difficult to see. Sherlock Holmes often found the convicting evidence where no one else bothered to look, right out in the open. In "The Case of the Purloined Letter" Holmes found the missing document in plain site but overlooked through numerous searches by Scotland Yard.

The question often asked by Christians is, "Why am I here? Why did God create me?" We struggle with that question from the time we first realize that God has a purpose and plan for our lives. In my case that question came when I was a teenager. For others, the question was asked at a much later stage in life because they came to the Lord much later than I. Still, no matter when we come to Jesus, we all eventually ask the question in one form or another.

So, when did I find the answer, you may be asking. I found it a few years ago when I realized that my mission, my purpose, my reason for existing is the same as yours. Joshua summarized it in a very simple way in today's verse. Read it again.

Why am I here? Why are you here? What are we to do with our lives? We are to love God, walk in His ways, keep His commandments, cling to Him and serve Him with all that we have. Sherlock, move over. Joshua has announced the question that all mankind has been asking for thousands of years. And that answer is as obvious... now... as was the stolen letter to Mr. Holmes.

Ah, but there must be more to it than that! There's not. That is God's plan. In its very simplicity, it is very complicated, not that God makes it so. It is our interpretation that makes it so difficult. Amen and Amen.

Pro. 23:6-8

"Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies; For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. "Eat and drink!" he says to you, But his heart is not with you. The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words" Prov. 23:6-8

Today's verses paint quite a picture, don't they? I imagine sitting down to eat with Jabba the Hutt from the Star Wars films. Jabba was a gangster type individual who was humongously fat and ugly. Everyone served Jabba. No one dared deny "his majesty" anything. To eat with this character was to pledge allegiance to him. At that point everything one has became the property of Jabba, for the price of a meal! No, I do not consider that eating with Jabba to be an appealing prospect.

But eating with a selfish man would be exactly like that. The "free food" one receives will cost everything. The delicacies devoured will become poison to the soul. Should a person desire his possessions and riches, he will destroy and take all for his own. The selfish man has no one's interests in his mind but his own. The end result is sickness, sickness of heart and soul.

So, if eating with a selfish man is madness and eating with a king is foolishness, whom do we eat with? The obvious choice might be a wise and selfless man. This type of individual gives with no desire to receive in return. He will invite a person to a meal without expecting to be invited for a reciprocal visit. He will share his last slice of bread without reservation. He will take the coat off his back and give it without hesitation. And his gift is totally without strings attached! But there is another source of food that we might want to consider.

Jesus is to himself as "the Bread of Life" (John 6:35 and 48). Jesus tells us that anyone who eats of this Bread will never hunger again. Hmm! That sounds good. He also tells us that all who eat of physical bread will die, but those who eat of His Bread will live forever. Yes! That sounds even better. Could you imagine the reaction of the 5,000 if they had heard this about the bread Jesus broke and multiplied for them? There would have been a lot of hoarding going on, not for personal consumption but to share with beloved family and friends!

But Jesus is speaking of neither physical hunger nor physical life. He is referring to the spiritual hunger that slowly eats at all men's bodies. We all long for a time when our spirits are at peace. Until we find the Bread of Life, a throbbing knowing that "something" is wrong tears at our insides. We search high and low for nourishment that will satiate that hunger, but nothing lasts. Riches satisfy for a while, but that soon proves to be fleeting. We may try to satisfy our appetites with physical pleasure, but that too leaves us empty. We can accumulate "things" only to find that these satisfy about as long as a bowl of rice gratifies a serious hunger.

Only Jesus can provide what all men seek. Only He provides real peace. Only He brings life, anything else provides, at best, temporary satisfaction.

If you are hungering today for something that you cannot find, your search is over. The Son of God desires above all else to meet your needs, beginning with your need to be a peace with the Father. Call upon Him today. He will satisfy forever. Amen and Amen.

Now I have serious 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.

Hebrews 13:2

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels" Hebrews 13:2

Today as I was reading my Bible this verse jumped out at me. To me it is saying let the love of God shine through me. In Hebrew times it was a common practice for people to take strangers in overnight. They showed the Love of Christ, not knowing if who they were helping was a spy or a brother or sister in the Lord.

Today we would say times are very different, but we can show the Love of Christ in many ways in our daily lives. Many people cross our paths in a day's time. We don't know the struggles they are going through. Most of the time we see the bad side of people. But this might be from being let down or from being hurt so many times by others. If we would start by offering to open a door for them or say a kind word, offering a word of encouragement to a person whom is hurting. Trying to have a smile on your face, a pleasantness that will allow others to see Christ in us. Helping others without expecting anything in return can bring many blessings. Getting to know people has been a blessing to me. After we befriend a person, we get to see through the hard and ruff shell that all of us have.

The Lord has brought many people into my life, just at the time I needed encouragement or someone to talk with. TO ME THEY WERE ANGELS SENT BY GOD. By taking a step in faith, by letting Gods Light shine through you. You might be an angel that someone needs today. LET THE LIGHT OF THE LORD SHINE THROUGH YOU TODAY.

Father God, we thank you for how you bring people into our lives. For the many ways you bless us in and through others. Help us to entertain strangers and show them your love through us. Shine through us (I want to be in the Light as You are in the Light) each and every day Lord. Even in times when people treat us rudely and unfairly. Show us ways to help and encourage others. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Prov. 23:4-5

"Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven" Prov. 23:4-5

Someone once said, "Show me your checkbook, and I'll tell you what your heart is." Think about it. Now look at your checkbook. Go to the first entry where you deposited your paycheck. What is the next entry? Is it paying a bill? Buying groceries? Eating out? Shopping for a video? I should hope the first check is to your church paying your tithes. What is the second, third, fourth? Where is your heart? Where are your priorities?

Let's take another test. How much time to you spend in "church"? Write that down. Add to that the amount of time you spend reading the Bible. Now calculate the time you spend praying and add that to the previous total. Go ahead and add time that you spend EXCLUSIVELY listening to Bible based teaching on tape, CD, or TV. Total that list of times. How did you fare? Now compare that to the time you spend at work. Compare it to the time you spend in "play." Finally compare it to the time you spend with your children. Now how do you fare? From this can you begin to determine where your heart is?

The proverb writer tells us not to make ourselves tired by seeking to get rich. Hmmm. I've been there, at least I was seeking to gain sufficient that I didn't have to worry about where the next meal came from. But then, if I think about it, I did spend much more than forty hours in job related activities, at the expense of wife and children. What job do you think I have in mind? Teaching? Manufacturing? Construction? Ambulanceman? I am talking about my life as a minister of the Gospel. Frankly, I spent more time "working at ministering" than I did with God, and I was one of the good Bible believing guys!

Have you ever noticed that people who are rich don't quit working? Most of them work harder to get richer than you and I spend in order to make ends meet! Where does their wealth go? Mortgages. Cars. Sports teams. Business. More expensive toys. And there are some things that we just won't mention. It seems that there is never enough money in the bank to make people happy. How can a billionaire spend a billion dollars? It boggles my mind! When will Lee Ka Shing really retire? When will Cathay Pacific have made enough money and have enough customers that they will quit advertising?

Get Solomon's point? All the money in the world is not enough to satisfy our desire for wealth.

So what do we seek that will satisfy. Jesus. And when will we begin to recognize that fact? Let me relate a story that was told to me by a fellow pastor. Socrates supposedly had a man ask him how to gain knowledge. Socrates took the man to the river and waded in chest deep. He took the man's head and held it under water for ten seconds. He asked the man what he wanted, knowledge. He held the man under for twenty seconds and asked again, knowledge was the reply. A third time he held the man under water, forty, fifty, sixty seconds passed before he allowed the man to rise. "I want air!" Socrates told the man that when he wanted knowledge as much as he wanted air, he would get it.

When we want Jesus as much as we want air, we will find Him and love Him and want nothing other than to be with Him at the expense of all else. Amen and Amen.

matt 13:3

"Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow" Matt 13:3

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase" 1 Cor 3:6-7

I was a farmer today. I may have been turning fallow ground, preparing it for planting. I may have planted seed, ready to sprout when someone else comes by to water. I may have watered seeds already sown. I may have pulled weeds that were wanting to choke out the new plants. I may have poured water on a parched, drought stricken field, bringing new life to nearly dead plants. I just might have harvested the results of others' efforts.

I was a farmer today. I may not know the results of today's labor on this side of heaven, but, I can sleep tonight knowing that a couple who claim to have once been Christians have heard again the Good News that Jesus wants to redeem them. I will be able to stand before the Father with a clean conscience, knowing that if they fail to enter the kingdom, the fault will not be mine.

I was a farmer today. I will not worry about the crop - it's in God's hands.

With dirt under my fingernails, Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.

Gen 3:9

"Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" Gen 3:9

Many years ago the teaching pastors of a church in another part of the world taught a series called, "Big Hairy Questions" seeking to answer some of our... well big questions about why God does what He does. Well, the Bible has a few questions of its own, and I thought we might investigate a few of those "Big Hairy Questions." Ready? Let's go.

The first question we will discuss is actually the second question in the Bible. "Adam, where are you?" That seems like a simple question with a rather simple answer. "I'm hiding from you, God," would be the expected response. But there is more to both the question and the answer than meets the eye. First, God's question. God knew full well where Adam was. Remember, God was still God and He had all of His supernatural powers long before man was created. Creation shows that God is all-powerful. The fact that He could conceive of all that it takes to make the universe spin in harmony shows that God is all-knowing. The fact that He and the Son and the Spirit were involved in all of the creation process shows that He is omni-present. Yes, there is no doubt that God knew where Adam was and why he was there.

So why did God ask Adam where he was? Have you ever asked "Little Jamie" why he had cookie crumbs on his face? You already knew the answer. Jamie had been eating cookies. Why did you ask him? Most likely you wanted to give your son an opportunity to "come clean" and admit his wrongdoing. Did he? Not likely! Jamie may have asked, "What cookie crumbs?" or "I don't know," or "Brother made me do it." Not quite the answer we expected and hoped for. Discipline followed because of the dishonesty, and that discipline was probably more severe that if Jamie had simply said, "Because I ate a cookie... or two." God wanted Adam to come clean.

But Adam hid the truth, in a grove of trees and behind a fig leaf. Instead of responding with the truth, Adam said, "I was naked and so I hid from you." More questions followed. Blame was cast upon "the woman" who passed it on to "the serpent" who took a blow to the head and slithered away.

So now I ask you a question. "Where are you?" Are you hiding behind some feeble excuse, your own form of a fig leaf? When God calls you, do you answer with something less than the truth? Of course God's question to Adam could easily be translated, "What have you done, Adam?" Well, what have you done that separates you from the fellowship of the Father? Remember, it wasn't God who was hiding from Adam... and He isn't hiding from you either. Go ahead. Answer honestly. You will experience the liberation that comes from restoration to the rich fellowship with the Father, the fellowship you lost when you followed the lead of the first question, "Hasn't God said...?" Amen and Amen.