Remembering Billy Graham

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. Matthew 7:24-25 (NLT)

This week our world lost an amazing person; Rev. Billy Graham was/is a man respected and honored throughout the world. As an evangelist Rev. Graham preached more than 400 crusades in 178 countries to more than 2.15 million people in person (and numberless others through radio, TV, print media, Internet and more). In the history of our world, no one has touched more lives with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ than Billy Graham, and hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people are following the Lord today because of his ministry and the ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

"Billy Frank" as he was called by family and friends, grew up on a dairy farm near Charlotte, NC. His parents were devout followers of Christ, but Billy showed little interest in the Lord early on. When he was 15, the churches of Charlotte hosted a city-wide tent revival with evangelist Mordecai Ham. Billy hadn't planned on attending the meetings but a friend offered to let young Billy drive his truck to pick up kids for the crusade. During the week, Billy heard the gospel and responded in repentance and faith. Soon he felt the call to preach and left Charlotte to gain an education with stops at Bob Jones University, the Florida Bible Institute and finally graduating from Wheaton College.

In 1945 Billy was hired as an evangelist for a fledgling ministry, Youth for Christ. He joined fellow evangelist Chuck Templeton, traveling the country and eastern Europe preaching the gospel at revivals and crusades on college campuses. Templeton was an excellent communicator and some believe, a more effective evangelist than Graham. But as time went on, Templeton began to experience doubts about the gospel and questions about the authority of Scripture. Templeton would eventually leave the ministry and the faith for a career in broadcasting, but his doubts and questions began to affect Billy as well. Graham began to struggle in his faith and preaching.

In 1949, a few weeks prior to a scheduled crusade in Los Angeles, Graham was staying at the Forest Home Christian Camp in the Big Bear area of Southern California. He would take walks in the woods and mountains praying yet struggling with his faith. Finally, one day while Graham was in the woods, he laid his Bible on a tree stump, fell to his knees and cried out to God and committed himself to preaching the Bible as the infallible word of God. He acknowledged there were some things in the Bible he did not understand, but he would accept them by faith and build his life and ministry on the authority of God's word.

The rest, as they say, is history. His 1949 Los Angeles Crusade launched Graham into the national spotlight. A tent revival that was scheduled to run three weeks lasted eight weeks. More than 350,000 people attended and more than 3,000 made professions of faith in Christ, including Stuart Hamblen, an entertainer and radio personality. Hamblen told of his conversion on his radio program and it caught the attention of William Randolph Hearst, newspaper tycoon who sent news of Graham's crusade across the nation. It was also during this crusade that Olympian and former prisoner of war Louis Zamperini came to Christ (watch the movie "Unbroken" to learn Louis' story). Graham would go on to found the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to further spread the good news of the gospel of Christ. Billy Graham's work and ministry will continue for many more years to come.

Billy Graham made a crucial decision in 1949, to build his life and ministry by faith on the word of God. And because of that decision his "house" still stands and will be standing for generations to come. God's word is true and powerful ... are you building your life on His word?

Response to the School Shooting in Florida

Like you, I am heartbroken over the news of another school shooting; this one in Florida and 17 people are dead, 14 injured and the shooter is a 19 year old former student with a history of troubling behavior. And, as usual, some are politicizing the tragedy to pressure politicians to change laws and come up with some way to stop this senseless violence.

Browsing Facebook this morning I saw a post from Daryl Fulp, a friend we met and served with in Guatemala this past Summer. We worked with Hope for Home Ministries which was founded by he and his family and serves the very least in Guatemala. They minister to the mentally and physically challenged and their families in Guatemala. Visit their website here to learn more about their amazing ministry.  

Daryl posted an incredible response to the tragedy in Florida:

To my brothers and sisters in Christ:
Like you, my heart is broken by the events in Florida today. And I want to remind us all of the truth that we should already know: There is no political cure. The crisis our nation faces is a crisis of the heart. And our only hope is the One who can transform hearts.

Let others argue over politics. Let others pursue dead end roads. And let us focus on the One True Cure that they all seek without realizing. Instead of arguing, let’s love. Instead of shaking angry fists, let’s reach out our hands to those with whom we disagree. Let us spread the Gospel instead of adding to the overwhelming noise that threatens to consume. And let us share Jesus as we live and speak. We have the only Hope within us. Let’s go spread Him around.

 Someone commented on his post and made reference to how Jesus would respond to such a situation. The gist of the response is that Jesus would take action to enact change. In his words, the responder said that Jesus would " be raising hell for situations like these. right? when it wasn’t right, he took action." Daryl then responded to the responder with, what I think is the most powerful statement on the real problem in our world to day - and it's not "the world" it's the church:

 Daryl Fulp: I am not sure what “raising hell“would accomplish? Do you mean getting angry? At whom? Angry at the government? Angry at a young man who was so broken by sin that he did something like this? While it is true that Jesus got angry at times and would speak hard words, those words were never directed at politics or those who were dead in their own sins. Jesus reserved his anger for those who used God’s name, but failed to represent Him correctly. So, if Jesus were on the earth right now as a man, I believe he would likely have some hard words. But I believe those words would be directed at his church. We have failed to live out his most important instructions. We have failed to love God. We have failed to love each other. And we have certainly failed to love those that we consider our “enemies.“ And we are failing horribly at the great commission. As the culture deteriorates, we love to look around at the decline and pretend it is not our fault. It is obviously those lousy politicians or those jerks on the other side of the aisle. And yet, we claim to have the secret of true hope, love, peace and fulfillment. We claim to have relationship with the only One who can truly transform, a heart. So, if we really believe that, we shouldn’t be blasting sinners, we should be loving them and reaching them. We should be their friends. They should be our golfing and hunting buddies. They should be a part of our Super Bowl parties and book clubs. We should be seeking out the lost and hurting and eating lunch with them. Instead of blasting those with whom we disagree we should be loving them and hanging out with them. And if they are the famous and powerful to whom we have no access, we should be praying for believers around them to do the same. The world needs salt and light now. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew‬ ‭5:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

"For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God's household." (1 Peter 4:17) Please, let us read and heed these powerful words from Daryl. If we, the Body of Christ,  are to resolve the real problem in the world today, we have to begin by looking in the mirror; we have to change and truly begin living out the gospel. Let it begin with me...

Everyone has a story - Sharing yours

 "... if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it." 1 Peter 3:15

On Sunday mornings we have been studying through Acts 13-28 in a series called "Always on Mission." We've been following the life of the apostle Paul, a man who fully lived his life on mission for the Lord. Yesterday, (Feb 12) we looked at Acts 22 where Paul gives tells his savlation story before an angry mob who wanted to execute him. He also gives his testimony in Acts 26 before Herod Agrippa and Festus.

When Paul tells his story, he follows a distinct pattern: what his life was like before he met Christ, how he encountered Christ, how Christ changed his life, and what Christ has been doing in his life recently. It is a great pattern to follow to learn how to share your testimony.

CRU Ministries (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) has a worksheet to help Christians develop their testimony. Take a few minutes to work through these questions so you can tell others what God has done in your life:

My Life Before Christ

• What about my life before Christ will relate most to the non-Christians I know?
• What did my life revolve around? Where did I get my security, identity or happiness from?  
• How did those things begin to let me down?

How I Came to Christ

• When was the first time I heard the gospel? What were my initial reactions?
• When and why did my perspective begin to change toward Christ?
• What were the final struggles that went through my mind just before I accepted Him? Why did I finally decide to accept Christ (or give Him complete control of my life)?

My Life After Coming to Christ

• How is my life different now? List some specific changes in your character, attitude and perspective on life.
• What motivates me now? What do I live for?
• Even though my life still isn’t perfect, how does knowing Christ help me deal with that fact?

I would add What Christ is Doing in My Life Today as a conclusion to your testimony. Having a relationship with the Lord means we should be able to give evidence of that relationship in our day to day lives.

Take a few minutes to write out your story as if you were telling it to someone, and then pray for opportunities to share your story.

Parade of Nations

PyeongChang 2018

And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14 (NLT)

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” Revelation 7:9-10

Watching the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChange, South Korea and can't help but be moved by the pageantry of the ceremony. South Koreans have been preparing for the Olympics for over 2 1/2 years, and the opening ceremony sets the tone for the rest of the games. 

For me, the highlight of the opening ceremony is the Parade of Nations where the Olympic athletes from every nation and territory march into the Olympic stadium under their country's flag. Nearly 3,000 athletes from 92 nations will march in the Parade of Nations. The United States will have the largest contingent with 242 athletes, while several nations will be represented by only one athlete. This year's winter Olympics will be the largest in history in terms of the number of athletes. 

Watching the Parade of Nations, my mind went to the passage in Revelation where John writes about seeing a crowd too large to count, standing before the throne of God, praising the Lord. In that crowd are people from every nation tribe and tongue. It will be something glorious to behold, but a question that bothers me is, how many from each nation tribe and tongue? Surely there will be many North Americans, as we have been saturated with the gospel. But what about those nations and people groups that have little-to-no access to the gospel? According to the Joshua Project, out of the 7.48 billion people in the world, 3.14 billion are considered unreached, meaning there is little or no access to the gospel. Of the 16,956 known people groups, 7,035 are unreached. 

Jesus promises in Matthew 24:14, that the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all nations, but there is a long way to go. In America, 268 million people identify as Christian; it's unrealistic, but what if every American who identified as a Christian, led one lost person to the Lord and discipled that person over a year, so that the new Christian could then lead another person to Christ, and disciple them? If that happened, the gospel would reach every person in the world in less than six years. 

Again, that is an unrealistic expectation, but what if we gave it a try in our church? What if the 50-60 adults and youth that attend Grace Point each week, led one person to Christ and discipled them for this year? Next year there would be 100-120 disciples of Christ, and the following year, 200-240. And as the number of disciples grow, we send them out to plant churches, or help revitalize dying churches by making disciples who make disciples. We may not be able to reach every nation, tribe and tongue ourselves, but we might be part of a great movement of God that would see the gospel preached throughout the world... and then the end would come, and we would be part of that great Parade of Nations worshiping before the throne of the God... and what a glorious day it will be!!!

Building the Church

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
     Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. Matthew 16:13-18 (NLT)

I’m sure this passage is familiar to all of us. Jesus gives His disciples a “pop-quiz” so to speak. The answer Peter gave was “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said, “You are blessed Peter because God has already reveled this to you, and on this rock (the confession of Peter) I will build my church.” Many scholars think that this is perhaps the first instance in the ministry of Jesus where He used the word “church” to describe what would remain of His ministry after He was removed from the scene. As I read this passage, there are a couple of things that jump out at me:

The Church was conceived in the heart of Jesus
The church is a remarkable institution. It is the Kingdom of God that exists within the larger context of this world. The Greek word that Jesus uses here referrers to a gathering of “called-out” people. The church is people that Jesus has called-out of their sin and into his kingdom, and whom He has called together as His body.
This entity we call the church didn’t come from the mind of men, it came from the mind of God. It was born in the heart of Jesus. And the church is here today because God himself intended it to be.
I sometimes hear people say, “You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.” This may be theoretically true, but if you are a follower of Christ, why would you not want to be a part of what God is doing in this world? The church is the one institution in this world that God conceived of to do His work. The Bible says in Ephesians 5 “that, Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” Ephesians 3 tells us that God has chosen to show his power to principalities and powers through the church. And it also tells us that he receives glory through the church. Why would you not want to be a part of what Jesus conceived and brought forth from His heart?

The church is the work of Christ.
Notice Jesus said in that passage, “I will build MY church.” The church belongs to Jesus, and He is the chief builder of the church. Jesus was fully human, but He was also fully divine. The church is referred to as the Body of Christ. Would it not stand to reason then, that though the church is made up of human beings, it is also a divine organism? And Jesus, our Savior, is responsible to build it.
I can’t tell you what a relief that is to me. I’ve spent a number of frustrating years in ministry trying to “build the church.” It has taken me a long time to realize that it’s not my church to build.
A passenger jet was suffering through a severe thunderstorm. As the passengers were being bounced around by the turbulence, a young woman turned to a minister sitting next to her and with a nervous laugh asked, "Reverend, you’re a man of God, can’t you do something about this storm?" To which he replied, "Lady, I’m in sales, not management." That is good advice for us to remember. Managing this church is God’s business. Our business is to be the best advertisement for Jesus we can be.
The church belongs to Jesus, and it is to be built by Jesus. Our part is to do what Jesus calls us and equips us to do, and He will take care of the rest.

Seven Things to Pray for Your Church in the New Year

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15(NASB).

God is a God of new beginnings and the changing of the calendar to a New Year is a great time to begin some new practices and habits that will improve our lives in the coming year. It's also a time to develop some habits that will enable your church to be healthier in the coming year. As you spend time daily with the Lord in prayer, please consider praying the following things for your church: 

1. Pray for God to be glorified through your church.
Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 (CEB)

2. Pray for more workers to be involved in the ministry of the church. 
He said to them, “The harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest." Luke 10:2 (CEB)

3. Pray for unity in the body
“I’m not praying only for them but also for those who believe in me because of their word. I pray they will be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. I pray that they also will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me." John 17:20-21 (CEB)

4. Pray for renewal and revival in the church. 
If my people who belong to me will humbly pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. From now on my eyes will be open and my ears will pay attention to the prayers offered in this place. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 (CEB)

5. Pray for opportunities to share the gospel from our neighborhood to the nations.
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. Colossians 4:2-3 (NLT)

6. Pray for spiritual growth of the members of your church. 
So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. Colossians 1:9-10 (NLT)

7. Pray that God will provide all of the resources needed for your church to fulfill their ministry. 
My God will meet your every need out of his riches in the glory that is found in Christ Jesus. Let glory be given to God our Father forever and always. Amen. Philippians 4:19-20 (CEB)

As the Lord lays other things on your heart to pray for your church, share them in the comments section. 

"Why You Will Join the Wrong Church"

Janice Backer shared an article with me that has an unusual title: "Why You Will Join the Wrong Church". The article is written by Sam Emadi, a member of Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, KY and published by the 9Marks Ministry. The article discusses the importance of seeing church membership in the context of a covenant relationship. 
In the introduction, Emadi writes: 

Almost every Christian knows what it’s like to question whether they joined the “right church.” After an initial “honeymoon stage,” we begin to see our church’s problems with greater clarity than we see its strengths. The sermons start to seem too intellectual, or not intellectual enough. The church begins budgeting for ministries that don’t seem deserving of the dollar figure on the spreadsheet. The small groups don’t meet our needs in the ways we’d hoped. 

More personally, the needs of other church members begin to encroach increasingly on our own personal freedoms. Some members sin against us—even without knowing just how deeply we’ve been wounded. Without even realizing it’s happening, we begin to wonder whether our local assembly is the “right” place for us. Of course, we remind ourselves that there’s no such thing as a perfect church—something we’ve even told our fellow church members. And yet, we can’t help but grapple with the nagging question: “Did I join the wrong church?”

He goes on to say: 

The problem with this question is that it assumes church life shouldn’t be hard. It assumes the “honeymoon stage” should continue in perpetuity or that something has gone awry if we experience significant disappointment or hurt from our relationships with other members or the church’s leadership. 

But these assumptions reveal a deep and unthinking commitment to consumerism: only if the perks of membership outweigh its inconveniences will we think it’s worth it to stick it out. Regrettably, many Christians seem trapped in a perpetual cycle of this type of cost-benefit analysis.

Emadi then offers a different perspective on belonging to a church, that of a covenant relationship, compared to the biblical understanding of covenant marriage. It is an excellent article. I encourage you to take a few minutes and read the full article here.  

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Prayer: Trust God's Timing and His Answer

And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him,and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John." Luke 1:12-13

 A couple of weeks ago I was preaching on "Christmas Fear" and looking at some of the Christmas story characters from the Scriptures. I read the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the elderly parents of John the Baptist. Zechariah was serving as a priest in the Temple when an angel appeared to him to tell him he would soon be a father. Naturally Zechariah was troubled and the angel assured him, saying:  

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John." (Luke 1:13) What caught my attention was the phrase, "for your prayer has been heard." My first thought was, "What prayer?" 

Scripture doesn't record Zechariah's prayer for us, but the context of the Scripture indicates that he had been praying for a child, particularly a son. We also don't know how long he had been praying for a child, but he was an older man when this happened, so we can assume he had been praying this prayer for many years. 

What would have happened in the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth if God had answered their request for a baby immediately? What if God had said "Yes" earlier in their lives? They would have gotten a sweet little baby that they would have loved and cherished. But God delayed the request for a number of years, and then when He answered, He gave them John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus Christ, the only prophet to see the prophecies of Jesus fulfilled, and the forerunner of the Messiah.

Sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers when we pray them, because He has something better in mind. He has a bigger plan and purpose and He can see the end from the beginning. If God had answered some of my prayers exactly as I’d asked them, I would have gotten shortchanged. His answers were much greater than my requests. 

This is a great reason to keep praying, and not give up. God has something better in mind for us, we just have to trust Him with the outcome of our prayers, and trust His timing. 

Movement, Monument, Mausoleum

Ray Ortlund is the lead pastor of Immanuel Church in Nashville, TN and a board member of The Gospel Coalition ministry. He wrote and excellent article about the stages many churches are going through in our culture. Powerful and important words...

Some years ago a friend of mine used these three simple categories to objectify the sequential stages of a church’s rise and fall.

Movement

A healthy church is born as a burst of positive gospel energy. It’s a Pentecost-like explosion of joy, a vital gospel movement. Such a church has a sense of mission, even a sense of destiny. It’s exciting to be in this church. Think of a steep upward trajectory.

Monument

Given human weakness, after a time, this movement becomes a monument. The spirit of the church changes from hunger to self-satisfaction, from eagerness to routine, from daring new steps of faith to maintaining the status quo, from outward to ingrown. It’s easy not to notice this shift. The self-image of the church might still be that of a vital movement. But deep within, everything has changed. Think of leveling off.

Mausoleum

If the trend toward mediocrity is not arrested, the church will decline and become a mausoleum, a place of death. The church as an institution may have enough social momentum and financial resources to keep churning on. But as a force for newness of life, it no longer counts. Think of steep decline—indeed, a death spiral.

The responsibility of a church’s leaders is to discern when their movement is starting to level off as a monument. It is at this crucial point that they must face themselves honestly and discover why they have lost their edge, go into repentance and return to the costly commitments that made them great to begin with. They may need to deconstruct much of what they have become, which is painful and embarrassing. But if the leaders will have the humility, clarity, and courage to do this, their church will go into renewal and re-launch as a movement once more. Jesus will become real again, people will be helped again, and those bold, humble leaders will never regret the price they paid.

“Remember from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”  Revelation 2:5

Ray Ortland, The Gospel Coalition. You can read the original article here.

Thankful for Fleas

I shared a little of this story in Pastor's Pals this past Sunday. Corrie ten Boom and her family were arrested by the Nazi's for hiding Jews in their home in Holland. She and her sister Betsie were imprisoned by the Nazi's at the notorious Ravensbruck concentration camp. She and Betsie, devout Christians had managed to smuggle a Bible into the camp, and secretly studied the word and prayed together. In her book The Hiding Place, Corrie tells how she came to realize that God was working even in the worst circumstances. 

The living conditions in the camp were pretty deplorable.Corrie writes:

"Barracks 8 was in the quarantine compound. Next to us--perhaps as a deliberate warning to newcomers--were located the punishment barracks. From there, all day long and often into the night, came the sounds of hell itself. They were not the sounds of anger, or of any human emotion, but of a cruelty altogether detached: blows landing in regular rhythm, screams keeping pace. We would stand in our ten-deep ranks with our hands trembling at our sides, longing to jam them against our ears, to make the sounds stop.   

"It grew harder and harder. Even within these four walls there was too much misery, too much seemingly pointless suffering. Every day something else failed to make sense, something else grew too heavy."

Yet, in the midst of the terrible conditions, the women found comfort in the little Bible studies they held in the barracks. Corrie writes they gathered around the Bible "like waifs clustered around a blazing fire…The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the Word of God." 

When they were moved to Barracks 28, Corrie was horrified. The barracks was packed beyond capacity and the straw covered bunks that they were forced to sleep on were infested with fleas. Corrie wondered how could they could possibly live in such a miserable place?

It was Betsie who discovered God's answer:

"'Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus." That's it, Corrie! That's His answer. 'Give thanks in all circumstances!' That's what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!'   

"I stared at her; then around me at the dark, foul-aired room…" 

They thanked God for the fact they were together. They thanked God they had a Bible. They even thanked God for the horrible crowds of prisoners, that more people would be able to hear God's Word. 

And then, Betsie thanked God for the fleas.

"The fleas! This was too much. 'Betsie, there's no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.'"  

"'Give thanks in all circumstances,' she quoted. 'It doesn't say, 'in pleasant circumstances.'  Fleas are part of this place where God has put us."   

"And so we stood between tiers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong."

As it turned out that Betsie wasn't wrong; the fleas were a blessing after all. The guards were aware of the flea infestation in the barracks and refused to go in. The women were able to have Bible studies in the barracks with a great deal of freedom, never bothered by supervisors coming in and bother them. Through those fleas, God protected the women from abuse, harassment and even worse cruelty.  Dozens of desperate women were free to hear the comforting, hope-giving Word of God. 

We all have "fleas" in our lives. We all have things that are unpleasant, painful things that we want gone from our lives. But is often the "fleas", the unpleasant, difficult things in our lives that God uses to accomplish His purposes in our lives. Our greatest burdens may also contain our greatest blessings. As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, lets thank God in all of our circumstances, and for the hidden blessings that often come disguised as "fleas."

Field of Stars, WWII Memorial

Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. 
Psalms 144:1-2 (NLT)

Several years ago our family had the privilege of being in Washington, D.C. for a brief vacation. We were visiting the World War II Memorial for the first time. I'm a bit of a history nut and I've always been interested in World War II, and being in the Memorial for the first time was strangely emotional. The Memorial honors the 16 million who served and more than 400,000 American soldiers who died during the war. The engraved quotes from the political and military leaders are inspiring, but the Field of Stars representing the lives lost, is overwhelming.

While I was trying to absorb all of the Memorial, I noticed and older gentleman dressed in a military uniform and a younger woman with him taking in the sights of the Memorial. Something within me said, "Tell him 'Thank you.'" So I spoke to him and the woman, who was his daughter, and learned that he served in the Pacific Theatre during the war. I thanked him for his service and for protecting our freedoms. He chuckled a little and said, "Oh, I was just doing my job." He acted like it was no big deal. We talked a little longer and then shook hands and I walked away. A few minutes later his daughter came up to me and said, "I just want to thank you for what you did. You are the first person that has ever told my dad 'Thank You' for his service in the military. It really meant a lot to me for him to hear that." 

I was overcome with emotion but managed to hold back the tears until she walked away. I couldn't imagine all that he had gone through in the war, and then never have anyone to say "thank you." I was heartbroken, and determined to never let an opportunity pass to say thank you to the men and women who have served in our military.

We live in a great country; she's far from perfect and after watching about 5 minutes of national news, I sometimes worry where we are going to end up. But I'm incredibly grateful to live in America and experience the freedoms we have. I am also mindful that this country is great because of those who have given years of their lives to protect and serve through our military. This Veterans Day, I encourage you to make the effort to thank a veteran for their service.

Share the Word

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17

     Writer Robert Morgan tells the story of Dr. Doren Edwards, a surgeon in Franklin, Tennessee. Dr. Edwards is a devout Christian and is involved in the Gideons International. Several years ago he had a patient whose alcoholic husband had died. Her two children were giving her problems, finances were tight, and life was very hard. She wasn’t a Christian.

One day she came to see Dr. Edwards after she had been diagnosed cancer, with multiple organs involved. No treatment was available, and she was very bitter about it; life had been very hard and now she was dying. Dr. Edwards wanted to talk with her about the Lord, but she wouldn’t allow him to share his witness. She did, however, accept a small New Testament that he kept in his office.

 A few weeks later, Doctor Edwards learned from the newspaper obituary that she had died. He sent a card to the family, telling them he had donated Bibles in her memory to the Gideons. 

A few days later the woman’s daughter called Dr. Edwards. “Could you please send us a Bible like the ones you donated in memory of our mother,” she asked. “We don’t have a Bible in our home. The last six days she was alive, Mama's whole life changed. She was no longer bitter, she was at peace and she wasn’t afraid to die. She said something about knowing Jesus, but she asked that her Bible be buried in her hand, and we couldn’t keep it. Would you please send us a Bible so that we can find what Mama found in that book?” 

Dr. Edwards sent them all Bibles, and soon afterwards the daughter, the son, and one of the woman's sisters were saved as a result. 

There are many ways to share the Gospel: Bibles, cards, letters, text messages, personal testimony, etc. Think about a person you could give the gift of the Gospel to, and then do it.

Keep Your Eyes on the Shepherd

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91:1-2

When businessman Allan Emery was in the wool business, he once spent an evening with a shepherd on the Texas prairie. During the night, the long wail of coyotes pierced the air. The shepherd’s dogs growled and peered into the darkness. The sheep, which had been sleeping, lumbered to their feet, alarmed, bleating pitifully. The shepherd tossed more logs onto the fire, and the flames shot up. In the glow, Allen looked out and saw thousands of little lights. He realized those were reflections of the fire in the eyes of the sheep.

“In the midst of danger,” he observed, “the sheep were not looking out into the darkness but were keeping their eyes set in the direction of their safety, looking toward the shepherd. I couldn’t help but think of Hebrews 12:2: ‘looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. … ’ ”

Sometimes we get discouraged when we look around and see all our troubles surrounding us.  But this is no surprise to Jesus—when He sent out His twelve apostles, He even warned them: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16).  The most important thing to do when danger approaches is to look at the Shepherd, not at the wolves.  God is your shelter, you can trust in Him.  You can rest in the shadow of your Savior!

 During your most difficult moments this week, be sure to look beyond your troubles to see the face of God, and trust Him!