Are You A V.I.P.

 Are You A V.I.P.

The estimated population of the world was reported to be 7.8 billion (2021).How many people have ever been born since the beginning of time? Someone estimated this to be 117 billion. I think that estimate is way too low. Only God knows. Of the total number of people ever born, with the exception of Jesus, who has God considered the most important? Of those 7.8 billion living today who would God pick as most important? What about those now living in our nation? Who is the most important in your state, your town, or just the people you know? There would be a lot of arguments about who is the most important. Sadly there are many who at the very least think they are more important than someone they know. 

How can anyone think they are more important than others when the Bible tells us, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” Another verse says. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” There is no mention in this verse that says God loves any of the 7.8 billion people in the world more than others. We can safely say that considers any human more important than any other human.

Somewhere in the world there is a little boy known only by his parents and he will never be known outside his village nor be considered great by the world’s standards. But in the eyes of God this small boy is as important as the wealthiest most well known man in the world. God loves him as much as he does the person thean some might consider to be most worthy of God’s love. 

And there you are. You may not think you are important. You may feel unworthy of God’s love because you just can’t seem to live the way you think you should. Your importance to God is not based on your status in the world. God’s love for you does not depend on the good you haven’t done or the bad you have done. God’s great love for you and the fact that you are extremely important to him are evident because you are his precious creation. Only our infinite God could pick you out of 7.6 billion people at this moment and say, “I love you so much that I gave my Son to die for you so that you might have eternal live. You are incredibly important to me!”

When Dark Clouds Come

 You are out walking just like you do every day. You walk the same path you always walk. There is not a cloud in the sky, the sun is shining and you feel great. On the way you walk past the same people that you see and greet on every walk. But suddenly you notice that some of the darkest clouds are coming your way. You suddenly become frightened because you have see these clouds before. They are moving swiftly toward you, and in a split second they completely cover the sun. Darkness and fog surround you, and a cold light rain begins to fall. As you continue your walk you become confused and disoriented. You realize you are not sure where you are going, and you sit down on the ground hoping that the frightening darkness will go away, but it does’t. You know that you can’t stay where you are because there are things you have to do, so you get up and move ahead. 

As you stumble along you hear voices, pleasant voices, and through the darkness and fog you watch them carry on as they do each day. But still as you try to continue your walk you feel trapped in that darkness, and you don’t want to be where you are doing what you are expected to do. You wish you could go back to a place of safety where you can hide and do nothing and see no one. 

Have you ever experienced anything like what I have described? It’s called depression. As we approach the Christmas season there will be many people who will take this walk. They won’t be expecting it, but it will come and cover them with a heavy blanket of darkness. Those of us who who struggle with depression pray that we can make it through times when the dark clouds find us. Pray for those who are or will be lost in the darkness and fog of depression. Depression is a horrible illness. I pray that everyone will be able to enjoy the days ahead in the glorious  glow of the Son of God who can guide you though every dark storm.

How To Handle Worry

 Jesus said that we should not worry, (Matthew 6:25) 

There are many verses in the Bible about not worrying. I’ve read most if not all of these verses, yet I still worry. I think much of what we worry about is brought on by fear. Guess what? The Scriptures also tell us not to fear. But there are many people, Christians included, that are fearful. How often have we said, “I am afraid that…”. , you finish the sentence. When we are afraid we worry. Fear breeds worry, worry causes stress.

Many years ago when I was in seminary, Sherri, my wife, had to have a hysterectomy. The doctor told us that she might have cancer. Both of us were very much afraid. Both of us worried a lot. Sherri was only thirty four, one daughter was in the sixth grade and the other daughter was in the second grade, and we were eight hundred miles away from family. We were afraid. We were so afraid that nothing else that we had previously worried about mattered. The possibility that Sherri could have cancer, and if she did she might die made the other things we had worried about seem insignificant. 

Most every one has experienced some extremely serious things that have caused you to be fearful, and you were so upset that you couldn’t think about anything else. It’s the big things that shake us and cause us much anxiety. 

Lately Sherri and I have had some of those big things that have caused much stress, sadness and fear. My brother’s granddaughter, Miriam, recently tragically died.  I love my brother and his wife Lisa. I love my niece, Amanda, Miriam’s mother, and we loved Miriam. I hurt for these I love so much. Our daughter who lives in Kentucky is currently going through one of those big, frightening things. Sherri and I have worried because we love her. We have prayed for her, our granddaughter and her our daughter’s husband. Every thing seems to be working out right now, and for that we are very thankful. 

Sherri and I have been under much stress the last few weeks, but we have been comforted by the One who said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid,” (John 14:27 ). What are you worried about? What has been churning in your heart tearing you to pieces? What is causing you to be afraid? What do you think Jesus would tell you if you asked him for his advice? Would you be willing to do what he tells you to do?

I have to remind myself that God has always taken care of me when I faced the big stuff. Therefore I must trust him in all the things that cause me to fear and worry.

Open The Gap

 Barbed wire fences adorned both sides of the country roads where I grew up.. Almost every farm had livestock which were contained inside of those fences. Access into the pastures by the farmers was often through a gate, but other farms, like ours, a gap provided the entrance into the fields where the cattle grazed. The gap going into our pasture was constructed with three or four strands of barbed wire and a cedar post in the center to balance the gap when it was closed. On one end of the gap was a larger anchor post to which the fence was attached. The stationary side of the gap was also firmly secured to that anchor post. The other end of the gap which opened and closed was connected to another large anchor post when closed. A strong sturdy wire was placed toward the top of that post. It fit over the the smaller end of the post firmly holding the entire gap in place to keep it closed. That crude gap was sturdy enough to keep the cattle where they belonged.

When I was a boy I would go with my daddy to check on the cattle. He would go up to the gap to open it and without even straining a bit, would remove the gap post from the tight wire holding it to the anchor post. As I got older I would ask my daddy if I could open the gap. He would let me try, but I wasn’t strong enough to remove that gap post from the anchor wire. Neither was I tall enough to obtain the leverage I needed, nor were my arms and hands strong enough. The gap was a strong immovable barrier for me. Not only did the gap keep the cows from getting out, it kept me from getting in. Little by little I got taller and stronger and eventually was able to open the gap. I was so excited the first time I opened that stubborn barrier. It was like a rite of passage; the boy became a man, at least in my mind. 

Closed gaps keep us from entering the green pastures of life. We find that we are not strong enough spiritually to remove the barriers that keep us on the wrong side of the blessings that God wants us to have. We never seem to acquire the leverage we need to see over those barriers. Our perspective is limited, and all we can see are the circumstances which we use as excuses preventing us from moving forward into the lush fields of God’s perfect will. We forget that our strength comes from the Lord. We are spiritually weak because we don’t allow God to give us his power and his might which are necessary to opening up the gaps that have been keeping us from entering the green pastures of His love, His joy and His peace.

The Apostle Paul said, “Finally, my brothers and sisters, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”  Ephesians 6:10

To Hope

 Hope

The word “hope” is spoken (in my opinion), throughout the world millions of times each day. How often do each of us say things like, “I hope I get a raise; I hope I can get that new car;. I hope my team wins; I hope he or she doesn’t leave; I hope you get well soon; I hope it snows and so we are hoping for something either verbally or in our thoughts throughout the day. Much of what we hope for is for real needs, and many of our hopes are for things that we don’t need or for things that will cause us harm if they become reality. Some of our hopes are fantasies, the things we know we will never get. Some hopes are selfish, many are for the good of others, some are lustful and they consume our thoughts night and day. Hopes are either good, not so good, or dangerous. 

What should we hope for? I have found that the older I get the less I hope for things. My daughter sometimes ask me what I want for Christmas. I usually tell them to get me underwear. They don’t like that answer. What I am really saying is that there is nothing I need although I do like to get Christmas gifts. A wise person considers the purpose of their hopes, and what the likely outcome will be if his hopes come about. I have often been told, “Be careful what you hope for.” That is great advice for all of us. I wish I had taken this advice more often than I did when I was younger. 

There is nothing wrong with hoping for that which will be good for others and good for ourselves. The Bible tells us that God will take care of our every need. However our greatest needs are not material but spiritual. If we know Jesus the word hope takes on a different meaning. Hope is not something we may or may not get. For us the word hope becomes that which is a sure thing. With much prayer we will be able to make wise decisions concerning what should be on our list of hopes. The hopes we are waiting for are unseen and eternal.

Read these three verses.

“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians” 4:18.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, Ephesians 1:18”

He Is God

 I know my wife, she is Sherri.

I know my daughters, they are Susan and Leigh.

I know my brother, he is Mike.

I guess I have known at least a thousand people, at one time I knew their names.  Over time, because I don’t see them or talk to them I have forgotten the names of many of them. The more time I spend with someone and have some kind of relationship with them, the closer I will become with them and I will know them very well. 

Have you ever tried to introduce someone who you barely know? I’ve had to do that a few times, and it’s hard to do. There is a good chance that we might mess up an introduction of a person we don’t know. It is very important to know who a person is before we try to tell someone who that person is. I know Brady, my grandson, very well. There is so much I can tell you about him. I am proud of him, and I could go on and on and on giving you information about him. 

The psalmist wrote in Psalm 100, “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” That is a very good introduction of who God is. This introduction includes you and me. We are his people. We belong to him. We are the sheep of his pasture. We should also know that he is our good shepherd. He takes care of us, by saving us from harm, by protecting us, by leading us, and many more ways than I can write. 

Can we truly say that we know God well enough to tell a lost person who he is? You can if you spend time with him every day. If you take time to talk to him, listen to him and read about him you will love him, you will be proud of him and you will gladly introduce him to those who have no idea who he really is. I can introduce my wife, my daughters, my grandson and granddaughters. But more importantly I must be able to introduce my Father, my Heavenly Father, for he is God.

Be Thou Exalted

Last Saturday my son-in-law, Clay, drove my daughter, Susan, my wife, Sherri and me to Quality, Kentucky where Sherri’s relatives met for their family reunion. We traveled the back roads of Warren and Butler counties. For forty minutes I observed the farmland, with fields of corn and tobacco crops which, by the way, were in great need of rain. I saw farm houses that were somewhat isolated from other farm houses. At times our journey took us where there was nothing but acres of dense forests. I saw no gas stations, no restaurants or grocery stores. There were no businesses at all, not even in Quality, which is three miles from where I pastored my first church almost 47 years ago. I loved the many people I knew in the five years I served at these communities. They were a blessing for this young preacher boy who often didn’t know what he was doing. But if you ever wondered where the boondocks are, this beautiful area is it. 

I’ve been to many places and have seen a lot of wonderful sites all over our nation. I have flown to many of these places and from thirty thousand feet watched the vast land below. I often wonder what’s going on in the lives of the millions of people we pass over. I wonder how many really know Jesus. 

Sherri and I have been to several Latin American countries. We have been to Columbia, South America and several islands in the Caribbean Sea. I have friends from our church who are now in the Chec Republic on a mission trip and friends who recently traveled to several countries in Europe, one of which was Norway where their relatives live. I have a Facebook friend who lives somewhere close to Sicily. She posts pictures of beautiful places on the Mediterranean Sea, pictures of her lovely family and of people swimming and sunning at the beaches. I have friends from seminary who served as missionaries all over the world and some who were or are serving as pastors in places all over our nation. 

The point of my wandering from Quality, Kentucky to cities and farmland across our nation, to points all over the world concerns the desire in the hearts of the people who live in these places. What is their purpose in life? All of us have the same purpose no matter where we live. We were all created by our God. He created us, all of us, to exalt him. “God’s desire for the sons of men and more particularly toward those sons of men who will make the  once-for-all decision to exalt Him over all. Such as these are precious to God above all treasures of earth or Sea..” (A.W. Tozer) 

Tozer also wrote, “Let the seeking man reach a place where life and lips join continually to say, ‘Be Thou Exalted,’ and a thousand minor problems will be solved at once.” What will it take for us to reach this place of continually exalting our God? May God’s desire become our desire. Only those who are able to say as Paul spoke, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me,” will be able to live each day earnestly proclaiming to God, “Be Thou Exalted”.