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

A Little Child

A Little Child

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. Isaiah 11: 6 KJV

Yesterday when I was at Wal-Mart waiting for my ride to take me home I saw something that really touched my heart. A little girl about five or six years old was going up to all the rides and vending machines and asking her mother if she could ride them and have the things in the machines. Her mother said no, that they were in a hurry. This precious little child did not argue, cry or try to get her own way. She took hold of her mother's hand and smiled at her. Oh, that we would have a heart as tender and as obedient to God as this little girl was to her mother!

I wonder how many times God didn't answer us the way we wanted Him to answer and we threw a temper tantrum? We need to be as this precious little child and put our hands in the hands of our Heavenly Father. Why is it that we think that we know what is best for us? We can't see the future. God knew what was going to happen in our lives even before we were born. We can trust Him to work things out for us in a way that will be good for us and also be in His perfect will for us, not only for today but for the rest of our lives.

We should be like a little child when it comes to trusting Jesus. He has said that He will never leave us or forsake us. When He tells us something, we can depend on Him to keep His promise. There are times when we try to fix things ourselves and then wonder why we still have problems and heartaches. We don't have the power to change anything. It takes the love of Jesus to soften hardened hearts and replace the hardened hearts with tenderness, compassion and understanding.

The next time God doesn't answer the way you want Him to answer, smile at Him and put your hand in His hand and allow Him to lead you to victory over difficult situations and heartaches. We have a loving Heavenly Father and He really does care about us. He cares so much that He gave His only Son to die for us. There is no greater love than the unconditional love of God and Jesus for us. We are His little children and He wants to protect us and make us happy. Thank You, Father; thank You, Jesus, and thank You, Holy Spirit for loving us.

Joanne Lowe

Defiant Defense

Defiant Defense

Both our boys played high school football if I signed the permission slip. My wife was not willing to sign on for what football might do to the bodies of her sons. Part of the standard preparation for the next week's game was to study films of their upcoming opponent. You wanted to see how they operated because, well, you wanted to know how to defend against them. Most teams have a coach who is called the "defensive coordinator." You know, it's a good idea to have a coordinated defense, or else your opponent is going to run right through you or right over you, which doesn't go over well with a mom who didn't even want to sign the permission slip!

The Bible makes it very clear that, if you belong to Jesus Christ, His opponent is your opponent. Of course, that's the destroyer, Satan, who wanted you in hell with him forever. He lost you forever the day you put your trust in Jesus. But he didn't quit playing against you. Now he wants to use you to try to shame the Savior who died for you. He wants to keep you enslaved to the old you and to keep you from ever really making any difference for Christ.

Thankfully, we have the great Defensive Coordinator in heaven who has laid out for us the strategy for thwarting the devil's attacks on us. In its simplest form, it's there in James 4:7, our word for today from the Word of God. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you." Sadly, our opponent is used to us surrendering to his temptations as he pushes all those buttons that have always helped him have his way with you. We don't resist the devil, we respond to the devil. But what if we actually do say, "Hey, I'm not going there." He runs. It doesn't say "resist the devil and he will fight you." It says he will "flee from you."

You've seen the points where the devil scored on your life when you haven't defended against him and all the important ground you've lost. If you're ready to resist him, then you need to know how. Here's how to effectively defend against the opponent who wants to take everything from you. First, you have to recognize it's him. You say, "Devil, I know who's behind this temptation, and I'm just not going there this time." Ephesians 6:12 says "our struggle is not against flesh and blood," but against the spiritual forces of hell.

The second step in resisting the devil is to announce the changes that you're committed to make, or as Ephesians 6:11 says, "Take your stand against the devil's schemes." You have to tell the people you've sinned with that things and you are going to be different from now on. You're on the line now to take your stand. Then, you have to stop the devil at the door. Or, "do not give the devil a foothold," as Ephesians 4:27 says. Say "no" to the very first compromise, no matter how small.

Then, you also need to starve the darkness. "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness," Ephesians 5:11 says. Avoid the music, the shows, the people, the places, and the influences that just feed that dark side that you're trying to defeat. Ultimately, resisting the devil means that you turn your weakness over to the winner. Each day, you consciously and completely tell Jesus, "I can't beat this, but you can. And I'm surrendering it again to you for this new day." Because, as the Bible says, "The Son of God appeared ... to destroy the works of the evil one" (1 John 3:8). Including his works that have always destroyed you. Resisting in the Holy Spirit's power is your defense. Jesus is your offense.

You've been complying with the devil long enough, haven't you? Isn't it time you started defying the one who hates you?

You don't have to be his little puppet anymore!

Ron Hutchcraft

Flattery Gets You Nowhere

Flattery Gets You Nowhere

Psalm 78:34-39

Flattery is not communication; it is manipulation. We flatter people because we want something from them. It's bad enough to flatter people, but it's even worse to flatter God. "Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, and they lied to Him with their tongue; for their heart was not steadfast with Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant" (36,37).

How do we flatter God? First, when we praise Him but don't mean it. It is so easy to stand in church and sing songs of praise with our minds somewhere else and our hearts not in our singing. We are simply going through an empty ritual. We also flatter God when we make promises to Him that we don't intend to keep. We do this sometimes in our praying.

We flatter God a third way when we pray to Him but don't really seek His will. It's easy for us to go through routine prayers and make promises. "Dear Lord, today I'm going to witness," or, "Dear Lord, today I'm going to read my Bible," or, "Dear Lord, today I am not going to yield to that temptation." But in our hearts we have no intention of following through. We lie to God. So often the Israelites lied to Him. They brought sacrifices, hoping to buy God's blessing. They went through the ritual and the routine of worship, hoping that He would somehow deliver them. They were flattering Him - their hearts were not right with God.

What does it mean to have a heart right with God? It means we are honest and open with Him. We are sincere, not lying. We tell Him just how we feel and exactly what we're going through. That's what God wants. He wants us to walk in the light as He is in the light (I John 1:7), not trying to cover up or excuse our sins, but confessing them. To have our hearts right with the Lord, we must stop flattering God and always deal with Him in truth. God wants you to be open and honest with Him. Never flatter Him with dishonesty, insincerity or deception. One way to be honest in your relationship with God is to keep your heart clean. Confess your sins instead of trying to cover them. He knows your heart, so be truthful in your praying.

Warren Wiersbe