Yesterday's Dreams

Yesterday's Dreams

Every once in a while as you're cruising down the highway, you'll see one of those trucks - the ones that are carrying a truckload of smashed cars. We're talking, you know like, steel pancakes here. Sometimes you'll drive by the scrap yard where these junkers end up, and there you'll see row after row with stacks of these flattened old vehicles. "Junk," you say. Today it is, but there was a day when that hunk of steel was someone's dream come true. It was the new wheels they'd hoped for and saved for; a prize they wouldn't let anyone touch - now flattened.

The last time I passed one of those automobile scrap yards, I got to thinking, "In a way, a lot of our life's dreams end up that way." At one time the dream was new and shiny - something we thought would make us happy for a long time. But so many dreams end up letting us down - flattened. Excitement turns to tedium. Having what I wanted turns to restlessness and dissatisfaction. A great gain suddenly becomes a great loss. Yesterday's discovery becomes today's disappointment.

We thought those friends would do it for us. They didn't. A girlfriend, a boyfriend, a husband, a wife, children - good, but not enough. Or sometimes a dream turned into a nightmare. Yesterday's dream job, or home, or degree, or milestone, or money, it's amazing how many of these seem so flat before long.

I guess there are at least three ways that yesterday's dream turn into today's disappointment: Your dream gets flattened because you never get it, or because you get it and you lose it or because you get it and find out that it wasn't the answer you thought it would be.

This cycle of disappointing or disappointed dreams breeds sort of an "un-peace" in our heart; this restlessness to find out what is the dream that will finally fulfill us. Our Creator steps into this satisfaction void with a word that might put us on the right track. It's recorded in the Bible in Isaiah 55, beginning with verse 1. It's our word for today from the Word of God. He says, "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Why spend money (or your life for that matter) on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen to Me and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." That's it - the end of our lifelong search for meaning, for peace, for what goes in that hole in our heart.

Jesus Christ has made this amazing promise: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never thirst" (John 6:35). Jesus says He can finally satisfy your lifelong heart-hunger. Here's why: what we're missing in our soul is the God who made us. We're missing Him because we've kept Him on the margins of our life, running things our way, not His way, which has put an eternal wall between us and Him. But because He loves you so much, He sent His Son, Jesus, to pay the death penalty for our "me first" lives and to conquer death by coming back from His grave. You've given yourself to other pursuits that weren't the dream after all. When you do that with Jesus, the wall between you and God comes down forever and a love relationship with your Creator finally completes you.

In a world of flattened hopes and dreams, the purpose, the relationship you were made for, they're right now right in front of you because Jesus is moving in your heart to move you to Him. Your part is to give yourself completely to this one who gave Himself totally on the cross for you. With a faith commitment like that, He'll come into your life and He'll do what only He can do.

Ron Hutchcraft

The Abused Kitten

The Abused Kitten

Romans 8:38-39 - For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)

Over the past several years, our now eleven-year-old daughter has been persistent in asking for a cat. My wife and I tried to placate her with fish. This worked for a while, but she finally exclaimed, "Daddy, you can't hold fish!" So a few months ago, I was speaking to a friend who is a veterinarian, and I told him we were looking for a kitten. Then just before Christmas, he phoned and said that they had a little kitten in that had been treated badly. Well, I took my daughter down to see the kitten, and the moment she saw it, that little black cat was coming home.

So we went to the local pet shop and bought all the things one would need for a kitten. So Gomez, as we eventually called him, came to live with us. Because he had been so abused, he hid underneath the sofa or any new hiding place that he could find. We were getting concerned that our little cat didn't realize that we had his best interests at heart. We wanted to have a relationship with him and to love him. However, his response was to run away. Then one day, he disappeared, and while we searched everywhere in the house, we concluded that he must have slipped out a door. Three days later, while my wife was putting some bed linen away, she found the cat and the three days of mess.
Gomez scooted downstairs and hid underneath the sofa. Eventually, we phoned our vet friend, and he came over with some chicken pieces. He persuaded him to come out, and we put him in a training cage. So over the next few weeks, Gomez was fed and petted and talked to. The training cage has been put away now, and the other night, Gomez was sitting on my daughter's lap, sleeping. He has finally understood that he is safe.

People will often visit our churches. They come to us, nervous, frightened, or sometimes battered and bruised by life's problems. They do not realize that we want a relationship with them. They don't realize God wants a relationship with them. Obviously, we can't have training cages, but are our churches places where these people can find love and friendship? Just as Gomez discovered that we wanted only to love him, eventually, through tenderness, people will discover the same through us. We may be the tool that our Father God wants to use to express His love to a bruised and battered world.

Father God, there are so many abused, fearful, and lonely people in this world. May our churches be warm, caring, safe places where these souls can be ministered to. In the name of Jesus, Who loves us all tenderly, we pray. Amen.

Robert Clark

The Inventor of the Telegraph

The Inventor of the Telegraph

If you need wisdom . . . ask Him. (James 1:5, NLT)

Dear friends:
It occurred to me one day that God can do more in one second than man can do in a thousand years, or a million years. Trying to accomplish things in our own strength and wisdom can be fruitless and time-wasting.

Many successful people have acknowledged in their memoirs that whenever they came to an impasse in their work and were completely baffled, they sought wisdom from the Lord.

Abraham Lincoln once told an intimate newspaper friend, Noah Brooks, "I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."

This was also true in the life of the famous inventor of the telegraph, Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872). In an interview, he was once asked, "Professor Morse, when you were making your experiments at the university, did you ever come to a standstill, not knowing what to do next?" "I've never discussed this with anyone, so the public knows nothing about it. But now that you ask me, I'll tell you frankly -- I prayed for more light."

"And did God give you the wisdom and knowledge you needed?"

"Yes, He did," said Morse. "That's why I never felt I deserved the honors that came to me from America and Europe because of the invention associated with my name. I had made a valuable application of the use of electrical power, but it was all through God's help. It wasn't because I was superior to other scientists. When the Lord wanted to bestow this gift on mankind, He had to use someone. I'm just grateful He chose to reveal it to me."

In view of these facts, it's not surprising that the inventor's first message over the telegraph -- the very first transmitted message in history -- was: "What hath God wrought!"

Every time you face a perplexing problem, seek wisdom from above. And when the answer comes, always be sure to thank God and give Him all the glory. "If you need wisdom -- if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do (James 1:5-8, NLT).

Bill Bright

The late Dr. Bill Bright was Founder and President/Chairman Emeritus of Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization which began as a campus ministry in 1951 and now has more than 27,000 full-time staff and up to 500,000 trained volunteer staff in 196 countries in areas representing 99.6 percent of the world's population. In the past 50 years, Campus Crusade for Christ has seen approximately 6 billion exposures to the gospel worldwide. The film, "JESUS," which Bright conceived and funded through Campus Crusade for Christ, is the most widely translated and viewed film of any type ever produced. Since its use began in 1980, the film has been translated into 839 languages and viewed or listened to by over 5.7 billion people in 228 countries. Dr. Bright was also the author of more than fifty books.

Meeting Together

Meeting Together

Hebrews 10:25 - Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Though the club has disbanded, six members of my former Pilot Club have agreed to keep meeting together monthly -- for friendship's sake. This little group of women has come a long way together and shared many memories and experiences collected during the thirty or more years we were united in our service club. Many different reasons have brought us down to this small number: death, retirement, moving, ill health. We six share memories, friendship, and love for one another which are of great value. Even though our official reason for being together is not valid anymore, there's still a strong bond that's even more precious to us.

This is what brings Christians together: our shared love of Jesus Christ, manifested through the Holy Spirit, enables us to share experiences with each other that can't be shared with those who don't know our Saviour and do not understand the working of the Holy Spirit.

We are advised in today's verse of Scripture to continue meeting together and encouraging one another. This is so important for our lives as Christians -- to have someone to understand, encourage, and love us, regardless of life's circumstances.

Where a group of Christians gather together, thoughts are centred on Christ, the power of His Word, and the importance of worshiping Him. The gathering of Christians results in worship. This, God likes. Christians are also strengthened by the experience.

Lord, thank You for the love and fellowship Your followers feel toward one another. Thank You for the freedom to gather and worship You without fear of persecution. Thank You for the love, fellowship, and understanding that exists among those who love You. Amen.

Ivie Bozeman

God is Still in Control

God is Still in Control

1 Kings 19:8-18

Perhaps we have felt like Elijah and said, "What is the use?" Perhaps we have given the best of our lives to accomplish something for the Lord and feel that we have been left stranded.

Perhaps we feel that the Enemy is seeking to destroy all traces of Christianity and belief in the true God and that he is after our soul too. Perhaps we feel we are the only one left of all God's people. If so, we need to be reminded, as Elijah was, that God still had 7000 who had not bowed their knee to Baal.

And God still is the Almighty God. He is still on His throne. People cannot dethrone Him, no matter how hard they try. All we need for life and godliness and Christian service is found in Him.

Perhaps we have tried hard to overcome temptations and to rise above our testing. Perhaps we have fought against the overwhelming odds of modernism in our church.

Perhaps we have done so and have found few, if any, standing with us, and we are about ready to give up our belief in the fundamentals of the Word of God. Do not give up. God is still in control of this world and this universe.

Perhaps we have tried hard to live for the Lord and have failed. Perhaps we fail today as we failed yesterday and the day before and are asking, "What's the use?"

Let us come out of the cave of darkness and listen to the still, small voice of God. He tells us that He has given us all that pertains to life and godliness (see 2 Pet. 1:3). Every provision has been made for us.

"In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will" (Eph. 1:11).

Theodore Epp

Salmon Journey

Salmon Journey

Romans 12:15 - Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. (NKJV)

Ephesians 5:2 - Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us. (NKJV)

A couple of years ago, I wrote a devotional after watching the salmon swim upstream at the falls near where we live. Last year when I went to watch them again, it was a totally different scene. The water level of the river had gone down so much that there was little or no water where the falls had been before. As a result, the salmon couldn't possibly make it upstream.

I was amazed and pleased to see that people were using nets to catch them and transport them to a place where they could continue their journey. Likewise, in our Christian walk, we often face situations that make it almost impossible for us to continue our journey. It is at these times that we can be an encouragement to others or receive help and encouragement from others. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:26, "If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it". As members of God's family, we should rejoice when others rejoice and weep when others weep. We should always be ready to help and encourage one another and also to accept the same from others in our time of need.

Be ye encouragers!

Something as simple as an appropriate hug, a phone call, a listening ear, or a note of encouragement might be all a person needs to lift them up and enable them to carry on. Or it may mean visiting someone who is sick in the hospital or someone in a nursing home who is lonely and has no family close by, or taking an elderly neighbor to do some grocery shopping -- the list is never-ending. There are so many people who need a helping hand or a word of encouragement. We can be Christians to a hurting world.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the opportunities You give us to help one another as we journey through life. Make us aware of times when we can be an encouragement to another person, and help us to accept encouragement from others when we are struggling to continue our own journey. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Dee Renaud

The Baffling Call of God

The Baffling Call of God

Jesus said, "For many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:14) One of my big struggles as a young man was how I could know if God were calling me to serve him in some kind of Christian work. However, as I look back I can see that had God not been calling me, I wouldn't have been struggling with the question.

I never did find an easy answer to that question. The best answer I found was in the words of Oswald Chambers who said, "The call of God is like the call of the sea to the sailor. Only he who has the nature of the sea within can hear the call."

In other words, a man who is "born to be a sailor" hears in his inner being the call of the sea and never rests until he answers that call and sets out on the high seas. It's the same with a man or woman who is called of God. He or she will never rest until they answer God's call.

For me, God had to get me on my back to make me slow down enough to "hear" his call. I had an accident on a construction site that put me in the hospital flat on my back for a week. The day after they stitched me up, I turned on my bedside radio and just “happened" to get the only religious program for the entire day on any station in the city where I lived. The moment my radio came on, I heard a lady quoting the words of the poem: "If I should stand before the Master [Jesus Christ] today, would I empty handed go?"

Wham! I felt like an invisible arrow pierced my heart and I "heard the call loud and clear." I prayed, "Okay, God, you win. My answer is yes." The moment I said yes to God, I knew exactly what my next step needed to be--that was to go back to college to train for the work I am doing today. Indeed, the call of God is like the call of the sea to the sailor. And God calls each one of us--some to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and to receive God's forgiveness and gift of eternal life. Some he is calling to serve in a local church as an active lay person. Some to be a good neighbor. Some to be a missionary, pastor, teacher, a local leader, a politician, or a business person. Some to be a wife, a husband, a parent, etc., etc. Whatever it is, God has a calling for each of us. It's up to us to seek God's guidance to discover what that call is--and get the training we need to do it as best we can.

Perhaps we could interpret today's text as, "Many are called but few prove themselves to be chosen ones."

"Dear God, thank you that you are calling me to love and follow you, and to use the gifts and talents you have given to me to serve you. Help me to discover exactly what you want me to do. Please give me a "listening" ear so I will hear your call. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

Dean