Gods Wheelbarrow

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 2:5-6 NKJV).

The crowd watched as the man walked a tight rope stretched across Niagara Falls. Then the second time he adorned a blindfold and walked the line across and back. On his third trip across he pushed a wheelbarrow over and back. Once again he accomplished his feat with the wheel barrow blindfolded. The crowd cheered each time he preformed his acts. The guy then asked one of the people watching, “Do you believe I can push that wheelbarrow over and back again without the blindfold?” Based on his previous feats the person answers yes. The man then says to the person, “Then get in the wheelbarrow.”

            That is what God asks us to do; get in His wheelbarrow. It is easy to say we have trust in the Lord but when tested we sometimes doubt. We doubt that He will take care of the situation. We doubt that He will heal us. We doubt that He really cares about the little things. This Proverb reminds us that we can put our complete trust in Him even though it may not seem logical to us. When all is going well in our lives it is easy to trust Him so we must learn to trust Him the same way in times of trial. Next time you are faced with a decision or find yourself in a circumstance that you cannot fix; take a deep breath, look to heaven, and get in the wheelbarrow and hold on.

When Is Conviction Encouragement?

(John 16:8 NKJV)
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.

When does conviction become encouragement? The word convict brings to mind being charged with a crime and found guilty. When we use it in a spiritual sense we refer to it as being charged with sin. Conviction can be encouraging though. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit with the mission of convicting us. Think about it as being diagnosed with a disease. You feel poorly, maybe have a temperature, your joints ache. You know something is wrong just by the way you feel. You visit the doc and find out that you have a virus of some sort, get some meds, and end up feeling better. If left undiagnosed and untreated you could end up with a more serious health problem. Spiritual conviction works the same way in regards to our soul. The Holy Spirit diagnosis’s our condition and offers treatment. Sin is the disease, forgiveness is the cure, and Jesus is the Doctor.

There are people who live their lives in bitterness and anger every day. They never seem to have any joy in their life. Their outlooks are negative, they are pessimistic and cynical. If they would simply ask God what’s wrong He would have His Holy Spirit diagnose them. Other folk are generally spiritually healthy but when the Holy Spirit diagnosis’s them they either feel guilty or angry. They accept the diagnosis and feel guilt or they reject it and get angry because He pointed out the problem to them!

Conviction is encouragement from God to get healed spiritually. Allow the convicting power of the Holy Spirit to have free reign in your life; every minute of every day. Listen to Him when He points out something that if not taken care of will lead to more serious spiritual problems. Take the medicine of repentance and accept treatment from the Great Physician in the form of forgiveness. You will feel much better.

Its About Time

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law (Galatians 4:4 NKJV).

Time was created by God for us. Time is an unseen creation that the world is subject to. Sometimes it is referred to as “father time.” Men have said that time waits for no man. We cannot actually save it. We may utilize a segment of it more efficiently but we cannot bank it and draw it out later. We sometimes think that eternity is just unending time but that is not the case. There is no limit to eternity. Time is a segment carved out of eternity for the purpose God intended before the earth and all that is in it was ever created.

Time pulled us from the womb of our mom. Time pulled us from infancy into adolescence. Time pulled us out of high school and pushed us into adulthood. Then one day it took us by the hand and led us into retirement. Eventually it will push us off the face of the earth and we will be engulfed into eternity. There to be, where ever we end up, eternally existent. Time is Gods servant. He has ordered its every move. Christ came, in due time. Christ was crucified, in due time. Christ was resurrected, in due time. Christ will return; in due time. God calls it the “fullness” of time. In my Ivanhoe vernacular that means the time has come.

We are somewhere between the Creation of the world and the end of it. Time is marching straight ahead to the edge of the cliff God has prepared for it. It will finish its mission one day falling back into eternity from which it was taken out of. You and I are at its mercy. You and I are living in a window of it. Time has pushed millions out this life quickly and some others it has pulled along for years. God has another event planned and in the “fullness of time” it will happen just as His birth, death and resurrection did. The event is referred to as the “Rapture.” The word is a term taken from Latin meaning “to snatch away.” Jesus will come and take all His people out of the world. Those bodies that time has left behind in the grave will be joined up once again with the spirit that once inhabited it. Those of us who are alive when He comes will experience a change of our bodies. It will happen so quick the blink of an eye will miss it.

Friend, are you one of His people? Have you asked Jesus to save you? If not, please, please do it soon; very soon. Time is pulling us toward it at this very minute. Don’t wait, you don’t have “time”, it has you.

He Lives To Deliver and Rescue!

For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. (Daniel 6: 26b -27 NKJV)

Hear that roar in your mind? That thought that causes you to tremble and stress out every time you think of it. The thought planted there by the enemy of your soul, Satan. The one God called the accuser of the brethren. You are not the first person to ever have to battle such a thought. The enemy devised a trap that he may find a way to put Daniel to death. The first attempt under Nebuchadnezzar had failed. King Darius liked Daniel because God had given Daniel favor with him. When the king found out what his decree had set in order for Daniel he was grieved in his heart. Like Pilate did for Jesus, he labored to get Daniel pardoned. Unlike Pilate, King Darius told Daniel that his God whom he served continually would deliver him. Then he experienced that roar. That thought the enemy planted in his mind that said; there is no God. There is no one to save Daniel. All night the king fasted and prayed for Daniel’s safety. He had heard about the men being delivered from the fire no doubt and he was now depending upon God to save Daniel from the lions. He did and that prompted King Darius to send out another decree commanding all to fear the God of Daniel because of the words in our text above. He delivers and rescues he wrote. This is not just a historical record, this is a prophetic promise to you. What He did for Daniel He will do for you.

You may be battling the roar of the enemy in your soul today. Worried about how things will work out or be resolved. Fearing the worst while hoping for the best. Mustering up as much faith as you possibly can while the lions of the enemy, those thoughts, keep telling you there is no God. There is no help. Luck is all you have to depend on. Read the words of King Darius again and listen to what God is saying to you right now: He saved Daniel, He will save you. While Jesus hang on the cross unbelieving men said, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself.” You and I are the “others” that He has saved by dying for our sins. As for Himself, He is always alive. The body of Jesus died on the cross; not God. God did not come back to life, He always lives to make intercession for you and I (Hebrews 7:25). When the “lions” roar in your mind remind them of that fact. That will close their mouths.

Is God Your Dad?

(Jesus said), “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew, 18:3 NKJV)

Glenda and I went to get groceries the other day and she got in line at the pharmacy to pick up our prescriptions. I went to get some other things while she waited. A mom was there with five kids. My wife is a child magnet so one of the little boys began to talk with her and then the others joined in. They told her their dad was at work and asked about her dad. He had gone to heaven she told them but it never registered with the little one, about three, what she had said. I showed up just at the end of her answer and the little boy asked her, “Is this your dad?” Everyone in line enjoyed that, except his mom of course! I laughed too and then told Glenda, “That is your compliment for the week.”

Kids not only say the darndest things they also say encouraging things. We often fail to listen to children carefully but Jesus listens to them. The faith of a child is as strong and in many ways more pure than that of some of us grown ups. The little guy saw my wife as a child even though she was taller than he was. He figured everyone has a dad like he does. Jesus says that even though we are grown up we must be “converted” to become as little children if we are to get into heaven. I think that is why He told Nicodemus that we must be “born again.” Our physical bodies have matured but our spirits need a new beginning in order to have a Heavenly Father. Everybody is Gods creation but not everybody is His child. To become His child we must have Him adopt us. Jesus is His only begotten Son, the rest of us came into the family by way of The Cross. Gods only begotten Son died on the Cross that we all could become His sons and daughters.

Is God your dad? Have you been adopted into His family? How does that happen? By believing in God and in Jesus as His only begotten Son. Asking God to forgive you and asking Christ to come into your heart and save you; giving rebirth to your spirit. You are never to young or never to old to be converted in order to become His child.

The Ultimate Authority.

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” (Matthew 9:6 NASB)

The entire time that Jesus was here on earth He was constantly in conflict with those who considered themselves to be the authorities. The religious leaders of that day believed they were the supreme authority in matters relating to God. The majority of the people could not read or write so what they knew and understood about God was what the teachers of the law told them. It is obvious to us today as we read the Scriptures that many of the things the teachers told the people were their own opinions of what the Word actually stated. Jesus confronted them saying “You teach for doctrine the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:8)

When Jesus told the paralyzed man that day that his sins were forgiven the teachers were infuriated. No human had the right to forgive the sins of another human. They were right in that sense. What they were wrong about is that Jesus was not just human; He is also God. Therefore He healed the physical problem that the people and the leaders may know that He had the power to heal the spiritual ailment as well. They witnessed a paralytic walk at His word.

God did not come to earth just to heal our physical diseases and free folk from demonic possession. He came to heal the incurable disease of sin which results in eternal death. Jesus is the ultimate authority on forgiveness. With His own blood He purchased our redemption. This redemption is available to us now, while we are on this earth. We do not wait until we die in order to be forgiven. Jesus told Martha the sister of Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). That is why God came to this earth to begin with so that we can leave this earth apart from sin by being forgiven of it. There is no forgiveness of sin after death. The Bible is clear in telling us that (John 8:23).

If you have never asked God to forgive you for your sins now would be a good time. Believe in Christ, open your heart up to Him and invite Him in. Just as He healed the paralytic that day He will forgive you this day. The preacher cannot forgive your sins; a priest has no authority to do it; only Jesus can, and will.

Good Intentions Is Not Good Enough.

But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail. (Luke 22:32 NKJV)

Simon Peter had no idea that he was the target of a dastardly plan, like Job. I find it interesting that Satan never asked for Judas. The reason may have been that Judas had conceived the idea of betrayal himself and Satan took advantage of the opportunity. We know that Jesus knew what was in the heart of Judas and Peter (John 2:25). Peter had every good intention of sticking with Christ even if he should be killed for it. Or at least, he thought he would do it. Satan knows our weaknesses and can discern the intents of our hearts even though he is not all knowing. Satan knows that we are drawn away by our desires and enticed to sin against God (James 1:14). Our deep love and commitment to Jesus is not a guarantee that we will never be drawn away. Our righteousness is but filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Peter is an example of how human nature can override human desire. His desire was to die for Christ if necessary but fear caused him to deny Him. Peter had not the power within himself to overcome the sifting process. Neither do I, nor you.

I can think of nothing better than having Jesus pray for me! My faith, as far as I am concerned, is strong. The faith that I have in Christ that is, not in myself. If my faith is in my own ability to stay true to Jesus than I am setting myself up for failure (1 Corinthians 10:12). I was not saved by my own ability and I cannot stay saved by it. (Ephesians 2:8). Were it not for Jesus praying for me when Satan smells weakness in me I would not have the ability to overcome sin. Nothing can separate us from the love that Jesus has for us (Romans 8:39). A lot of things can separate us from the love we have Christ though if we are not careful. Peter could have deserted Christ that night, nevermore to return because of his guilt resulting from his failure. Peter could have been ashamed to go to Jesus after that because of all he had promised before, but because Jesus prayed for him his faith in Christ overcame his failure!

How about you today? Are you a disciple? Have you failed Christ? Has Satan sifted you? Is he sifting you now? Listen again to what Jesus says; “I have prayed for you.”