Pop Quiz

You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. (Luke 7:46 New Living Translation)

One of my psychology professors shared this story with us in class. A professor teaching a course in human relations was waiting as his students came in and sat down awaiting their final exam. He stood up and told them they would have only one question on their exam. The question was; “What is the name of the lady janitor that you pass in the hallway each evening as you come to class?” To their embarrassment they could only guess what it might be as not one of them had taken the time to ask her name. They had greeted her and were polite to her, some even made small talk but not any of them asked her name.

Jesus is just as concerned with the small things as He is with the big ones. The custom of putting oil on the head of a guest signified you were honored to have them in your home. Perhaps the man forgot in his excitement because Jesus had come to his house in the first place. It was not until the Pharisee had a doubt if Jesus truly was a Prophet that Jesus brought it up. He talked about forgiveness, using a story about men owing money and He asked the fellow one question after He finished it. The Pharisee answered the question correctly and it was then that Jesus turned the tables on him.

If Jesus were to ask you one question today, what might it be? How about, “Why didn’t you greet Me when you awoke this morning?” Maybe He might ask, “Why haven’t you told Me you loved Me today?” He might even go as far as to ask, “Why have you ignored Me since Sunday?”

Forgiveness Assured

(Judges 16:22 NKJV)  (If you are not familiar with the story read the entire Chapter).      

However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven.      

A friend and I were fishing on the New River one morning when a sudden rain storm came down the river. I maneuvered our boat under a railroad trestle in hopes of finding some shelter from the deluge. It did not work and we were drenched. The rain only lasted about ten minutes and the clouds began to lighten up and patches of blue sky started to appear. When the sun came through we begin to dry out and continued fishing.

What has this got to do with Samson’s hair growing back out? Samson’s re-growth was a sign of Gods forgiveness and restoration to a man that had broken his covenant with God and surrendered himself by choice into the hands of his enemies. Out of self confidence in his strength that came from God, Samson teased his enemies. During his little game of cat and mouse however he crossed the line and found out the hard way that the grace and mercy of God is not something to be toyed with. Had he failed to remember that his strength came from God to begin with he would have died in vain as an example of one who had enjoyed Gods favor and then forfeited it.

The blue sky, the sun peeking through the clouds, and Samson’s hair growing back are all indications of a God that does not withhold mercy although He may allow us to suffer consequences. The fact that Samson’s hair began to grow back instills in my soul a feeling of assurance in the forgiveness and mercy of God for His children. You and I have at some time or another broken our covenant with God intentionally. We, like Samson, became confident in our relationship with Christ to the point that we teased our human nature by tolerating sin in our lives. Like Samson, we may have gotten to comfortable and went to sleep in the lap of our enemy only to wake up one day and realize we were far from God.

You may be reading this today and say in your heart, “that’s me.” You may know someone who feels that way. Be assured that God has not given up on you, or them, so do not give up on Him! Look back to God, call upon Him as Samson did, ask for His help once more and you will find that the rain has stopped, the clouds are parting, the sun is shining through, and the hair is growing back!                              

The "B" Word

I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.                 (John 10:10  The Message)

I saw a bumper sticker on a car the other day that read, “Life’s A Bitch And Then You Die.” Now before you panic because I used the actual “B” word, understand that I do not sugar coat stuff. If a preacher cannot tell you the truth then who can?

Can you imagine what kind of life the person that had that on their car lives? They may have just put it on there for kicks but more than likely it is their opinion. There are millions of people that would agree with it. There are millions of us that would not.

Some have said life is what you make it. That is not the real truth either. The abused child never chose that life. Life is not made by us but rather given to us; to live. Things that happen during our life are experiences that are unique to some and yet common among others. Instead of thinking that life is what we make it we should actually say, “Life is from God; live it.” Look at the words of Jesus again in our text; Real life, more life, better life, and eternal life. When God gave you life it was forever. Earthly experiences, circumstances and happenings cannot take it from you. Disease or tragedy can kill the physical body you live in but it has no effect on your soul.

Things not going your way today? So what. You have a lot more of life to live than just today. Christ had a bad day once; that you may have a better day forever. Earthly life is temporary. Earthly trials are temporary. Some of them may last for years while others last for days, or hours but all are temporary. The bumper sticker gives you the impression that life does not get any better; but for the Christian it does. Death for the Christian is precious, not devastating. For those who would reject Christ and the eternal life that He offers the bumper sticker should read, “The Bible Was Right; Hell’s A Bitch.”

Got A Minute?

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!   (Psalm 27:14 NKJV)

What are they ordering? I sat in line at the local burger joint, having an appointment pending, as the person two cars ahead of me was talking to the little black box. Don’t they realize there are those of us in line that need to be places? Don’t they know that you should not place ten orders at the drive through? I yelled out the window, “Hey! Go inside if you are ordering for an army!” Well, no, I really didn’t do that but I wanted to. Ever been there?

Waiting is something we have been trained not to do. Microwaves and internet phones have caused us to get used to 4G speed. Seventy mile per hour speed limits seem to slow. TV commercials change scenes every 3.1 seconds. Cable news covers world events every ten minutes.

Christianity has not escaped the hurry up mode. It seems that two hour long church services are for those who don’t have a life. We have come to expect what we want in a matter of minutes. Want it, need it, get it; now. God is not into speed; He exists eternally. He does not measure time; there are no limitations in eternity. His methods reflect His character; everlasting to everlasting. Jesus told us that God knows what we need and will supply it. He did not say immediately. There is strength to be found in waiting. Imagine that. I forfeit courage and strength every time I refuse to wait upon God to answer my prayers. I ask, and then act if He does not jump at my beckon call. God is not in a hurry; I am. I measure time in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, and years. I waited 32 years before I submitted my life to Christ. 32 years; if God had been in a hurry for me to get saved He would have given up long before then. He waited on me, now I need to learn to wait on Him. I need to be patient in worship. I need to be patient in prayer. Help me Lord!

Life: A deep creek with strong currents.

Psalm 37 (New Century Version)

²³ When people's steps follow the Lord, God is pleased with their ways. ²⁴ If they stumble, they will not fall, because the Lord holds their hand.

A thought came to me the other day while fishing. I was wading and was crossing the creek in a swift current to go around a deep hole. I have a staff I use because of my clumsiness and even with it the current was pushing so hard against my legs that I could only take one step at the time and place my foot very carefully between the slippery rocks. After making it to shallow water I let my staff go as I have it connected to me by a cord, and it floated along side while I fished. Then it came to me; that is what God meant when He said in this Psalm, “If you follow Me you might stumble, but you will not fall.”

Life is like that creek sometimes. The current pushes hard against us as we try to navigate our way across the rough times to the calmer times. The Lord is like my wading staff. I knew I would get across the stream so I took my time and prodded along. Pushing my staff ahead of me into the water to test the depth and then putting my weight on it to uphold my next step. Slowly but surely I made it over safely.

The key to walking through the hard times of life without falling is to follow the Lord Jesus. He is already at where we are going. He is not standing on the other side just motioning to us and instructing us in our journey to follow Him. That would be a very impersonal god. No, He has hold of our hand in this life and upholds us as we walk toward Him.

How about you today? In the middle of a deep creek with a strong current trying to wash your legs out from under you? Stop where you are, call upon Christ and take His hand when He extends it to you. When you reach the safety of the shallow water don’t let go but keep Him connected to you; always with you. Because before you get out of this creek of life you will wade into some more deep spots and strong currents.

Got Joy?

Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

Intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness is the definition the dictionary gives for joy. Many among us have lost theirs. Once upon a time they knew exultant happiness. They were elated and jubilant. Then something happened; something that changed their lives forever and put an end to their joyfulness. Something they had was taken away from them or something they had hoped would happen did not happen. They expected a good report from the doc. They expected a raise. They expected they would pass. They expected God to heal them. When the unexpected happened instead they were sent into a tailspin. It is like an aircraft that stalls and plummets to earth out of control heading for a crash. You may be one of “them.” As you read this message you may be experiencing exactly what God impresses upon me to write today. God impresses you to write? Brother Mike, you mean you just don’t sit down and come up with something to write? That might be your thoughts. Yes, He impresses ideas, words, and even phrases upon me as I sit with my fingers on the keys. He does that because He knows I may not even know you, or you may not know me: but He knows you. Even if you and I are acquainted I still may not know what you are going through or facing at this moment: but He does! He wants you to know that. He had you mind for this message.

If our joy is founded upon our well being then it can be lost. David had lost his joy and in the moment of crisis it came to him why. David remembered the one thing that brought him joy to begin with. That was the salvation that comes from God. His earthly trials had overtaken him and then he remembered that his earthly life was only temporary. We might say it this way in our language, “Remind me again Lord what You did for me on the Cross. Bring back to my remembrance the fact that I have not lost my salvation. Pick up the broken pieces of my life and put them back together that I may feel whole once again.” Job found out the hard way that earthly trials are not the result of God giving up on someone.

Let David’s prayer be yours today if you are one of “them.” Jesus has petitioned God on your behalf: But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. (John 17:13).

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.