Americans and Politics

I believe that we have too many politicians who believe that man is inherently good.

I believe that we have too many politicians who believe that the Good Samaritan was a fool.

I believe that we have too many politicians who get their "convictions" from the latest Gallop Poll.

I believe that we have too many politicians who support their party line instead of supporting the ideas that they know are right.

I believe that we have too many politicians who don't understand that "spin" makes them liars.

I believe that we have too many politicians and not enough statesmen--not enough men and women who really believe that they are meant to be servants, not lords.

I believe that we have too many Americans who are exactly like their politicians.

Losing Contentment

I begin to lose my contentment in the place where God has called me when:

I forget the need for accompanying godliness

I forget to rely on Christ for my strength

I worry more about tomorrow than the need to be obedient today

I spell my wants n-e-e-d-s.

I get comfortable murmuring

I forget the necessity for physical rest

I think "great gain" has something to do with my bank account

I minimize the power of acceptance and forgiveness

I get upset that people won't come to my pity-party--and bring gifts

I think that the primary reason God has me where I am is for my benefit

Contentment is a terrible thing to lose.

Lord of All!

Our Savior's Preeminence

"Now Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God. He existed before creation began, for it was through Him that everything was made, whether spiritual or material, seen or unseen. Through Him, and for Him, also, were created power and dominion, ownership and authority. In fact, every single thing was created through, and for, Him. He is both the first principle and the upholding principle of the whole scheme of creation. And now He is the head of the body which is the Church. Life from nothing began through Him, and life from the dead began through Him, and He is, therefore, justly called Lord of all. It was in Him that the full nature of God chose to live, and through Him God planned to reconcile in His own person, as it were, everything on earth and everything in Heaven by virtue of the sacrifice of the cross." (Phillips)

Lord of all!!!

Encouraging Words

Some encouraging words from a man who had no earthly reason to be encouraging:

"Though He slay me, I will hope in Him."

'Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes shall see and not another."

"But He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

He is the immovable anchor of our guaranteed hope.
Imagine! With your eyes you will see Him, and He will "clothe" you with an incorruptible, immortal body.
To be His gold and be "spent" by Him, you must be refined."

Paul--who knew a little about being refined, eh?--reminds us: "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!" Always.

Love Connection

Love on an earthly level is directly dependent on a person's love for God. I can only love as Christ loves me if I understand being loved unconditionally. I can love holy and purely when I understand holy and pure love. The person who understands God's love--and is growing deeper in His love for God--will himself, as the Spirit gains more and more control of His life, love others as God loves him. The person who is struggling with his understanding of how much God loves him, will struggle to love others as God loves. The one who loves God will reflect God's love. His love will be accepting because he knows that he is accepted in the Beloved. His love will be patient because he knows God's patient love for him. His love will be unconditional and faithful because he basks in the unconditional, faithful love of God. His love will be instantaneously forgiving because he knows the full and ready forgiveness of his Lord. His love, and his ability to love, will deepen and deepen as his understanding of the infinite, eternal love of God deepens and deepens as well.
So, if some of you reading this are anxious to find that someone special, be patient. Look for the man or woman deeply in love with their Savior. The person you marry will be able to love you only as deeply as he or she loves Him. If someone reading this is struggling with love in a marriage, it is your love for Christ and your understanding of His love for you that is the issue. Christ never falls out of love with you, you fall out of love with Him through willful disobedience--and it is reflected in your ability to love as He loves in your earthly relationships.
We love Him because he first loved us--that's the love of grace and mercy. We love others that they might experience and know in a visible, tangible way, His love. And if you want to experience such love, find the man or woman who understands such love. And if you have already made the commitment to love someone that way, do it. Don't love as Judas "loved."

Take Comfort

In Isaiah 40 God through His prophet tells His people that they can--and should--find their comfort in Him. And then He tells them why:

"I AM the God of forgiveness--the God who forgives the unworthy; the God who forgives your sin, your iniquity, and your transgressions. The God who forgives you for everything.
I AM the God of activity--tireless, never weary of doing good for My people, always at work exercising My sovereign will.
I AM the God of glory--all the nations of the world will one day recognize My presence; they and their leaders are to Me, at the height of their power, no more significant than a drop in the bucket--and even that is an exaggeration. I do not tremble at their arrogance. I laugh in scorn.
I AM the God of faithfulness--My Word, every word of it, can be trusted completely--every jot and tittle, every promise.
I AM the God who communicates with man; the God of good news--good news to be shouted from the mountaintops.
I AM the God of power--your Captain--yet, I exercise My omnipotence through gentleness, through rewarding My children in the here and now.
I AM the God of love who shepherds My people, meeting their every need, leading them every day, scattering the wolves, in the darkness of their nights guarding the entrance to the fold with My very presence.
I AM the God of majesty--I measure the immeasurable.
I AM the God of wisdom--infinite and inscrutable wisdom--I answer to no one; all must--and will--answer to Me.
I AM the Holy God--there is none like Me; "to whom then will you liken God?" is the rhetorical question of the ages.
I AM the God of creation--the stars that man cannot even begin to count, I know by name--I named them all. I tend to them all.
I AM the God of renewal--I delight in strengthening those who wait in confidence on Me; I delight in strengthening you--and My supply of strength is limitless."

Yes, He is the God who cares. He is your God, this God who calls out to His people--shouts out to His people--"Take comfort in Who I AM. Do not wallow in the hideous lie of self-pity."

I would be found, always, "leaning on the Everlasting Arms." "Safe and secure from all alarms." Comforted in all my tribulations.

The Weapon

Why is it that we believe that we have any chance of winning the spiritual battle against spiritual enemies when we spend so little time wielding the spiritual weapon of prayer? And there isn't a moment in any day in the heat of the battle that we cannot wield it! "Pray without ceasing" is not a suggestion. It's the key to daily victorious living.