Author: E. DeWayne Swann

Give Me A Man

1 Samuel 17:10 (NKJV) And the Philistine (Goliath) said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”

From day one in the Garden of Eden after man was introduced, to today, Satan has been trying to do away with God’s design of what man is to be. That is the leader and head as Christ is the Head of the Church.

Ephesians 1:20-23 (HCSB) ²⁰ He demonstrated this ⌊power⌋ in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens— ²¹ far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And He put everything under His feet and appointed Him as head over everything for the church, ²³ which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way.

1 Corinthians 11:3 (HCSB)  But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.

This does not take away from the women in any way. God designed it that way, not making women less but equal with men to assist him.

From “Deep Rooted Truth,” off Instagram

Genesis 2:18 (KJV) And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Or as the New King James says;

Genesis 2:18 (NKJV) And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

What does it mean for a wife to be a help meet?

As I looked through the lens of scripture, not the culture norms of today. Where does this word come from?

Help meet comes from the verse in Genesis 2:18, which says “it is not good that a man should be alone. I will make him help meet for him”

What is a help meet?

A help meet as a helper. In the context of Genesis 2:18 it means suitable. God acknowledges that it was not good. That man should be alone and so he created Eve as a suitable helper for him.

Origin of the word in Hebrew the word means EZER /AYZER KE-NEGDO which means helper, aid or strength. Your strengthening in someone in a way they cannot for themselves. This is not a secondary or Suv Servient role to fill.

Examples in scripture: The word EZER is used 21 times in the Old Testament. Twice in the New Testament to refer to Eve three times in reference to powerful nation of Israel called on for help when in trouble. The 16 remaining times we see the words used to describe God as our help.

God is our help. We know that God is not subordinate to his creation. He is, however, our strength, our help, and our aid in times of trouble. So the idea of an EZER – helper being inferior is baseless.

A beautiful harmony, God created woman to complement man; they fit together and work in harmony. The F-sharp key is not the same as the D, but together they work to create beautiful harmony.

Our assignment wives in the same way work together with the husband to complement him, strengthen him and his weakness and work together to bring harmony in the relationship.

The Same way the Holy Spirit is our helper not less than Jesus but the same!

John 14:26 (NKJV) But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

So, this is not putting women down in any way, but on the contrary, it lifts them up to God’s design.

As we look at the world today, we quickly see how they are trying to do away with masculine men, telling young men to be in touch with their feminine side. We are being bombarded with television shows that are taking the lead masculine role and filling it with women. They are emasculating the men. They whip them down and will not allow them to be the leaders. The police programs now show little tiny girls taking down a big bad man. I stand six feet and weigh over 350 pounds and I doubt that I would even know if one of those little women hit me, other the less than whip me down, throw me over, and cuff me. I do not see that happening.

In the 1960s and 70’s my Uncle Dee would often visit us, I remember his after-shave lotion smell to this day. It was “Old Spice,” and the advertisements at that time made me want to wear “Old Spice” too.

The scene was a manly man returning home from the sea, walking along the coastline town, and all the women running to the doors, and windows to get a look at him. The man always had somewhat of a smile on his face. He would throw a bottle of “Old Spice” to their husbands and boyfriends.  In the 80’s their ad even said “Nothing say masculine like “Old Spice”.

Today’s ad has a big burly man sitting on a sofa with his wife, girlfriend, or significant other, whatever the case may be. And we see the wimp sitting there crying because the girl has used his body wash and bragged about how it makes him smooth and soft and she was using it up. How right he is SOFT. I do not want anything that is going to make me a blubbering idiot because I do not feel smooth like a little girl. Give me a break.

They even have one commercial in which he comes into a hotel restaurant and wants to know who used his body wash. When all three of the women sitting at the table start saying how good it is and passing it around, he grabs it from the last one takes some of her food, and storms off. Does this make me want some of that sissy stuff, I think not!

We are seeing the demise of masculinity daily, at first little by little. But now with boldness. The world today is doing its best to remove the man and his role in the workplace, the home, and even the local Church.

We need men. Men of God, and to be a Man of God, one must be a Man of prayer. E.M. Bounds, in his book “Power Through Prayer,” one section says this;

Men of Prayer Are Needed

“WE are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend of the day tends to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. “There was a man sent from God whose name was John.” The dispensation that heralded and prepared the way for Christ was bound up in that man John. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” The world’s salvation comes out of that cradled son…. This vital, urgent truth is one that this age of machinery is apt to for-get. The forgetting of it is as baneful on the work of God as would be the striking of the sun from his sphere. Darkness, confusion, and death would ensue.

What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use, men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men, men of prayer.”

We need not just Men but Men of God!

What does it mean to be a man of God? This term is common in the Old Testament, but very rare in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, it is used to refer to prophets’ examples such as Samuel, 1 Sam. 9:6: Shemaiah of l Kings 12:22; Elijah in 1King 17;18; then we see Elisha, 2 Kings 4, Next Igdaliah, in Jeremiah 35:4. We also see the writers of Scripture such as Moses: Deuteronomy 33:1; David, in Nehemiah 12:24,36); We also see angelic messengers (Judg. 13:6,7). In all these cases, “man of God” refers to someone who is sent by God to speak for Him.

In the New Testament, “man of God” is used once to refer to Old Testament prophets 2 Peter 1:21, once in a general sense 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, and only once specifically to an individual. This individual is Timothy. In 1 Timothy 6:11-16, Paul addresses Timothy as a “Man of God.” 1 Timothy 6:11-16 (NKJV) ¹¹ But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, ¹⁵ which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

I believe it was John MacArthur who said:

Why should Timothy be singled out as the only man in the New Testament to be called a man of God?

First, in the tradition of the Old Testament men of God, he was one: Who was called by God to proclaim His word (2 Tim. 1:6).

Second, Timothy had been sent by Paul through the Holy Spirit to minister in Ephesus, in a very difficult and challenging situation: Paul called Timothy a “man, of God” – in order to remind him of the awesome responsibility he bore to safeguard the truth against the false teachers in Ephesus, and also to encourage him with the reminder that he belonged to God, and therefore God was standing with him in his trials.

(1) A man of God is known by what he flees from. Verse 11, “But you, O man of God, flee these things…” What things?

1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NKJV) ⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

(2). A man of God is known by what he follows after. Verse 11 “…pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness

(3)  A man of God is known for what he fights for. Verse 12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

(4) A man of God is known by what he is faithful to. Verse 13 and 14. “¹³ I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing,”

This is an excellent practical outline for every man of God who is called to speak divine truth.

The problem is we do not even have “The Man of God” in the modern Church today, now we are seeing even in the Churches a falling away of masculinity all in the name of getting along and coexisting with this failing world system. The Church now has Pastors who wear pink and purple pastels, and have man buns and ponytails and makeup. They are more concerned with the paint colors of the interior and exterior building rather than the fact that the Church is dying under their so-called leadership. And we as Christians are called to do the very opposite of that.

2 Corinthians 6:16-18 (NKJV)
¹⁶ And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” ¹⁷ Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” ¹⁸ “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”

We are to set the example, not play “follow the leader” if the leader is the world.

We need to choose the right path and be the manly man that people will follow. I remember a Pastor in a weekend retreat I was working at saying. “If you are the leader and you turn around and no one is following, then you are just a man going for a walk.” Not a leader.

The Former Pastor of the Church that I was raised in, Pastor Ben Turner, was a Man’s Man. A real leader. If he asked you to do something like stucco the wall outside the foyer. He was there plastering the wall with my Dad while I, a 15-year-old kid, mixed the cement and brought it up for him as they did the work. The leader gets his hands dirty.  I saw him day after day nailing up stain-grade oak with my Dad. Or putting up the ceiling grid and the tiles again with my Dad, as I was cutting the tiles as they installed them. Not sitting high and mighty in the pulpit, just telling people what to do and never doing anything but spending the money that he did not sacrifice for. We did not hire the work out; we did the work with our own hands. I would have followed Ben Turner anywhere he asked. I would have fought and died for him. Pastor Ben Turner was a leader; the other guys who do not measure up to the standard of being a “Man of God” are just a “man going for a walk.”

Charlie Kirk @charliekirk11 on Instagram says:

“The Church has become too feminine.

We need stronger men who fear God and have the courage to do what’s right, even when the media and their peers criticize and attack them, especially then.

Nearly every societal ill in our era is connected to this single issue.”

My Home Church in the late 1980s and into the 1990s had middle school and up classes, all of which were taught by Men of God. Every class from middle school and up had Preachers as the teachers. No quarterly, no prewritten lesson, each man sought God for guidance just as if they were pastoring their own little Church. And it worked extremely well. When I was asked to be an assistant teacher, it was under a minister in the college career and young married class. The teacher was a firefighter and was gone every three weeks. I had to prepare a lesson then, as I do to this day. By searching out God’s leadership. The best seminary I could have received.

The Church had men as ushers, men ran the sound system, men played the instruments, and men did whatever repairs and upkeep on the Church as it was needed. We built the very building from the flooring to the Sheetrock ceilings. Me and my business partner painted the foyer, sanctuary, and baptistry with two coats in one evening. Now they must pay a person to take a week to just paint one hallway. Oh, how we need men to step up and get in the fight.

Men have a choice to make, either we will be the Man that Goliath is calling for and prepared for the battle against Satan. That is the man God wants us to be, or we can be what is being sold by the world today as a wimpy, watered-down version of a man.

Without the Men in the Church leading, the Church will fall; it has been proven over and over. The same is true for the family. Without the Godly influence of the Man in a family, in most cases, it will fall. And in all cases, it makes a difference. We see across America, 2022 data indicate there are approximately 18.3 million children who live without a father in the home, comprising about 1 in 4 US children.

About 80% of single-parent homes are led by single mothers.

Children from single-parent families are twice as likely to suffer from mental health and behavioral problems as those living with married parents.

Children with an actively engaged father perform much better in school, some data shows that they are 33% less likely to repeat a class and 43% more likely to get A’s in school.

In a study of 56 school shootings, only 10 of the shooters (18%) were raised in a stable home with both biological parents. Eighty-two percent grew up in either an unstable family environment or grew up without both biological parents together.

So, we see not only Goliath’s call for a man but also every fatherless child.

63% of youth suicides come from a fatherless home,

90% of all homeless and runaway children come from a fatherless home,

85% of all children exhibiting behavioral disorders come from a fatherless home,

80% of rapists motivated by displaced anger come from a fatherless home,

71% of all high school dropouts come from a fatherless home,

70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from a fatherless home,

85% of all youths sitting in prisons come from a fatherless home.

Do men matter? YES, now more than ever.

I saw the following stats on Facebook and it makes the point of how important the masculine Fathers is in converting the family to following Christ. When you convert the dad in most cases you get the whole family. With the dad first a 93% chance of the whole family. With the mom, it drops to 17%, and with the children first, it is down to 3.5%.

Not only does the Church need men, real men. The family needs them just as much. As Tony Evans says, “The Church is made up of families.”

Children raised without a dad at home;

Black Families:     64%

Latino Families:    42%

White Families:     24%

Asian Families:     16%

Instead of whining 24/7 about imaginary racism, this is the real crisis that needs addressing.

And without the dads, the family is NOT a God-designed family.

We have a choice to make, one of the most masculine men in movies is Clint Eastwood. And one of my favorite films is “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” in one of the later scenes, Josey (Clint Eastwood) meets up with the Comanche Chief Ten Bears (Will Sampson). We see Josey as he meets with Ten Bears to negotiate a truce:

Josey Wales:
You’ll be Ten Bears?

Ten Bears:
I AM Ten Bears.

Josey Wales:
I’m Josey Wales.

Ten Bears:
I have heard. You are the Grey Rider. You would not make peace with the Bluecoats. You may go in peace.

Josey Wales:
I reckon not. Got no place else to go

Ten Bears:
Then you will die.

Josey Wales:
I came here to die with you. Or live with you. Dying ain’t so hard for men like you and me. It’s living that’s hard when all you’ve ever cared about has been butchered or raped. Governments don’t live together–people live together. With governments, you don’t always get a fair word or a fair fight. Well, I’ve come here to give you either one or get either one from you. I came here like this so you’ll know my word of death is true, and my word of life is then true. The bear lives here, the wolf, the antelope, the Comanche. And so will we. Now we’ll only hunt what we need to live on, same as the Comanche does. And every spring, when the grass turns green, and the Comanche moves north, you can rest here in peace, butcher some of our cattle, and jerk beef for the journey. The sign of the Comanche, that will be on our lodge. That’s my word of life.

Ten Bears:
And your word of death?

Josey Wales:
It’s here in my pistols and there in your rifles. I’m here for either one.

Ten Bears:
These things you say we will have, we already have.

Josey Wales:
That’s true. I ain’t promising you nothing extra. I’m just giving you life and you’re giving me life. And I’m saying that men can live together without butchering one another.

Ten Bears:
It’s sad that governments are chiefed by the double tongues. There is iron in your words of death for all Comanche to see, and so there is iron in your words of life. No signed paper can hold the iron. It must come from men. The words of Ten Bears carries the same iron of life and death. It is good that warriors such as we meet in the struggle of life… or death. It shall be life. [Draws his knife and cuts his palm, and Josey does likewise. They then grasp hands with each other, becoming blood brothers] So will it be.

Josey Wales:
I reckon so.

What choice do you make as a man? Do you choose life or death?

Alistair Begg. Says it this way: “God’s word is the key by way of the invitation that comes. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.” The instrument that God uses is His word so that we might come with faith, you see, because when I teach the Bible to you, it either becomes an instrument of life or becomes an instrument of death. Either we receive it and then enter life, or we reject and we continue perishing.”

Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

I chose Life!

So now, Men, you have a choice to make: you either will choose “Life” to be a “Man of God” or you can choose “death”, the way of the world. And that is the way Satan is leading the man to go.

For me;

“It shall be life.”

From “More to Ponder.” my next book

“How To Pop the Top”

I finished this chapter exactly 36 years to the day after I prayed a Prayer, something like those listed here.

Last time, we looked at “Pop the Top.” Now I want to show you how to do just that. The Word of God tells us, through the Apostle John, that this is undoubtedly the most quoted verse in the Bible. But I am asking you to personalize the verse, because it was recorded in Scripture for you.

John 3:15-18 That if I believe in Him (Jesus), I should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved me that He gave His only begotten Son, that if I believe in Him, I should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son to me to condemn me, but that I through Him might be saved. If I believe in Him (Jesus), I am not condemned; but if I do not believe, I am already condemned, because I have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

These verses are part of a conversation with a man named Nicodemus. We read in the writings of John the Apostle;

John 3:1-21 (NKJV) ¹ There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” ³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ⁹ Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? ¹¹ Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. ¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. ¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

As Jesus said, ‘You must be born again.’ Have a new life! Pop the Top and drink the contents.

There is no other way, Jesus is the only way;

John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man comes to the Father but by me.”

 

The way to heaven is through Jesus Christ

What must you do to be saved?

We must believe that Jesus died for our sins. We must accept Jesus, that He forgave our sins. He lived a sinless life, died on Calvary’s cross, rose from the dead three days later, and then some days later He ascended into heaven and sits at God the Father’s right hand interceding for us.

When Jesus is your Lord, you seek to make decisions based on the Bible
which is God’s Word.

Here are some examples of what is called the Sinner’s Prayer, saying these words WILL NOT SAVE YOU!!! But “Pop the Top” and make Christ Jesus your Savior will.
Here is the way to “Pop the Top.” And once you “Pop the Top,” drink it in and make it a part of your life. Again, these are just examples of what you might want to try to say.

The Sinner’s Prayer in Scripture

The Sinner’s Prayer is a prayer that is said when someone seeks to repent of their sin, accept God’s forgiveness, and state their belief in the life, death, and saving resurrection of Jesus Christ. The sinner’s prayer is sometimes also known as the “salvation prayer” or “Consecration Prayer.” In scripture, there is a reference to a process of repentance, faith, and salvation in the book of Romans. And we will see the “Roman Road.” In just a moment.

A Prayer for Salvation
A Prayer to Accept Jesus as Savior

Dear Heavenly Father,

I believe that Jesus died for me.

I believe that Jesus paid for my sins on the cross.

I believe that Jesus rose from the dead.

I ask you to forgive me of my sins. I ask you to wash me clean of all sin.

I put my faith and trust in Jesus as my only hope for living eternally with you in heaven.

I ask Jesus to be my Savior and my Lord. I want to live my life for Christ.

I understand that my salvation is not based on my works but on the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Thank you for saving me!

Amen!

 

Father God, I am a sinner, and I ask you to forgive me, and I accept that all sins are already forgiven. I believe your Son, Christ Jesus, died and then rose to live again so I might be forgiven. I now receive and confess him as my Lord and Savior. Amen

1 John 3:5 (NIV)
⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

1 John 3:5 (HCSB)
⁵ You know that He was revealed so that He might take away sins, and there is no sin in Him.

1 John 3:5 (NKJV)
⁵ And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

PRAYER

Three ways that we Pray, I believe every prayer falls into one of these categories

• Prayer of Penance and acceptance; (Salvation) Repent, turn 180 degrees. Confession (acknowledge you have sinned) = verb: feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one’s wrongdoing or sin.
• Prayer of Petition: Asking for something.
• Prayer of Praise. Adoration (Thanking Him for who He is), Thanksgiving (Thanking Him for what He has done)

 

• Prayer of Penance and acceptance; (Salvation)

This is what we have to start with, without the “Prayer of Penance,” we don’t get through to God in Christ Jesus.

pen·ance /ˈpenəns/ noun. = A voluntary outward expression of repentance for having done wrong:

Again, “The Sinner’s Prayer” is a Christian name relating to any prayer of repentance, prayed by individuals who believe convicted of the presence of sin in their lives and have the desire to establish or renew a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote in the book of Romans in the Bible what is called the Romans Road. Going down this road will lead you to Christ.

The “Romans” Road to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

The Problem of Sin

Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”

The Wages of Sin

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death…”

The Love of God

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Free Gift of Salvation

Romans 6:23b “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Accepting the Free Gift

Romans 10:9 & 13 “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.

Millions, if not billions, have established a saving relationship with Jesus Christ through Church services, friends, and family guiding them in a prayer for salvation. However, it is not solely the words in a prayer that save us eternally. We are “justified by faith” in Jesus and saved by our genuine belief in Him.

It is what we examined in the last installment. “Pop The Top.”

Far more than just saying words, it is making Jesus a part of us with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

James David “J.D.” Greear is an American Baptist pastor. He is the pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina. He describes it well –

“It’s not the prayer that saves; it’s the repentance and faith behind the prayer that lays hold of salvation. My concern is that over-emphasizing the prayer has often (though unintentionally) obscured the primary instruments for laying hold of salvation: repentance and faith.”

Here are some more “Sinner’s Prayer” Examples

A Simple Sinner’s Prayer

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness.

I believe that your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.

You said in the bible that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved.

Right now, I confess Jesus as my Lord. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Amen.

Prayer of Salvation

Dear Lord, I admit that I am a sinner and have done many things that do not please you. I have lived my life for myself only. I am sorry, and I repent. I ask you to forgive me.

I believe that you died on the cross for me, to save me. You did what I could not do for myself. I come to you now and ask you to take control of my life; I give it to you. From this day forward, help me to live every day for you and in a way that pleases you.

I love you, Lord, and I thank you that I will spend all eternity with you. Amen.

Sinner’s Prayer for Children

Jesus – I know that you made me and want me to obey you with all my heart. I know I have disobeyed and wanted to be my boss. I have thought and done things against your directions. For this, I am sorry. I know that you gave up your life to save me from these sins and make me your child again. I accept your promises and ask you to please save me now and forever. Amen.

Or

All you must do is Pray and say something like this, but in your own words.

“God, thank you for sending Jesus to take my place and forgiving me of my wrong doings, so please I accept that forgiveness and help me to live a better life, so He won’t have so much more to pay for, and come and live in my heart, so I can be with you in Heaven someday, Amen””.

Sinner’s Prayer from Scripture

“Have mercy on me, O God,
according to Your unfailing love;
according to Your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight,
so that You are proved right when You speak
and justified when You judge.
Surely I have been a sinner from birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me…
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me and I will be whiter than snow…
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from Your presence
or take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.
Then will I teach transgressors Your ways,
and sinners will turn back to You.”

– (Psalm 51, King David)

 

The Sinner’s Prayer (by Dr. Ray Pritchard)

Lord Jesus, for too long I’ve kept you out of my life. I know that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. No longer will I close the door when I hear you knocking. By faith, I gratefully receive your gift of salvation. I am ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth. I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe your words are true. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and be my Savior. Amen.

I pray that the one reading this does as the scripture says and follows after

Christ Jesus and Pops the Top, and just drinks it in.

It is just that simple.

 

Pop the Top

Years ago, while visiting my Grandmother in Cobb Hospital, and watched her mentally and physically slowly leave us through Alzheimer’s over the years. One particular time, as she was there and the news got out, we saw different family members gathered to visit her and comfort her through this one of many stays.

As I arrived, I saw that my Mother was already there with several cousins and other family members. My Grandmother was having a pretty good day, so as I entered the room, she looked at me and asked who I was. I replied, DeWayne, and I could see the look of confusion on her face, so I added what most of my close and immediate family referred to me as, and that was Dinky.  She then smiled and said You are one of Littlelynn’s boys, right? Littlelynn (Little-one) is what she called my mother, and that is another story for another day.  I told her she was right and just sat and listened as different people came and went that day.

As I observed the counteraction with different people, I saw that she was enjoying the attention, and then someone asked her how she was doing. The answer was “I am doing great; I don’t understand why I am in here, I want to go home”. I asked her if she wanted to go fishing with me, and her reply was “Let’s go!” after a few moments of hearing how good she was doing my cousin Ricky came in and joined in on telling her we were going to get her up and take her with us to the lake. She was all for it, and she was as sprite and active as could be.

Then just like that, things changed, the Doctor walked in and said, “How are you doing today, Mrs. Jarrell’s?” and then her response was, in a weak, sad voice, “I’m not doing good at all. I feel terrible.” As she lay back and closed her eyes, as if she had no strength to even speak. And then, I tried to encourage her and play with her. I said, “Awe, that’s not what you were saying a moment ago, you said you didn’t see any reason why you are in here and you felt good enough to go fishing with me and Rick.” In which that didn’t go over to well with her, she sat up in that bed and said in an angry voice, “You ain’t purdy (pretty) you ain’t purdy at all, if I could get out of this bed I would…,” and at that time my Mother said get out and get out now! Rick was laughing, and she didn’t seem to care for that either, so he said Hold up, Cuz I’m going with you.

So, down we went to the break room.

After standing in a pulpit in several Churches for over 30 years, you get where you can detect conviction on people’s faces. I remember when I was in Church as a child. Usually bored to tears and ready to go home or anywhere except sitting in that Church. That the preacher would finally wind down, and the song leader would come up and start the invitation. Sometimes I wanted out because I had other things I would rather be doing, and other times it was because I was under so much conviction that I wanted out, and I wanted NOW!

When a preacher says Let us sing just one more verse, there is a reason and usually an excellent reason, and that is that they see something that you don’t. What we see is someone standing there holding the seat in front of them so tightly that their knuckles are white. They are hoping to get out of that Church, and to get out NOW. The Holy Spirit has come down, and the spirit of conviction is on their face. We as preachers, see this, and we want to give them every chance we can for them to move. This could be the last time for them to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. So, just one more verse. When you hear that, I ask you to please start praying for the ones hearing that invitation.

Back to the elevator ride down to the break room. I am extremely claustrophobic, and so when I get on an elevator and the doors close, I usually start talking to get my mind off the fact that I am in a little room and the doors just closed and everyone is breathing up all my oxygen. The thing that I normally start talking about is the Bible and what Jesus means to me. That day was no different. It works as a fantastic evangelistic tool because the ones in there with you have nowhere to go, so you have only a few seconds to present the gospel.

This was one of those occasions, except the conviction I saw this day in that elevator was on my cousin’s face. Ricky was more like a brother to me than a cousin. Years ago, when his mother was pregnant with Ricky’s little brother Steve, and he was born, they brought him home and showed him to Ricky, and said Here is your little brother. Rick told him he didn’t want him; he wanted Dinky for a brother. As I said, we are close.

Now we have made it to the break room, and Rick started asking questions about being “Saved.” So, I told him all he had to do was ask the Lord to come into his heart in the form of The Holy Spirit, Accept the forgiveness of his sins, and Believe that God has giving him the gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ, who paid the price for the forgiveness of those sins. He said that he wasn’t sure about all this stuff. He, like me, was raised in church, he has seen how some people are on fire one week and gone the next, and he said he didn’t want to be like that. I said I didn’t want him to be like that either. I wanted him to be like Jesus, not people. He then asked How do you do that? How do you accept salvation?

We were standing in front of a Coke machine, and I had just dropped two quarters in and asked what he wanted. He said a Coke, I pressed the Coke button, and down it came. And the Spirit of God did also. At that moment, God gave me an example to share with Rick. I reached and got the Coke and said This is Salvation, this is a gift from me to you, I paid the price and it cost you nothing, all you have to do is reach out and take it. I held it out to him, and he reached out and took the Coke from my hand. Then he said Is that all there is to Salvation? I just have to take it?

He like most would think that I would have said yes and all would be well. But I didn’t, instead I reached and snatched the can back from him and said, Nope, see I took it back, this is where God showed up, and I said a lot of people think just saying words gets them Saved, but there is more to it than that. I then popped the top of the drink and handed it back to him and said Now drink that. He took a few swallows, and I said, “That is Salvation.” You have to make Christ a part of you, you have to invite Him into your life.

When he was just holding the can of Coke, anyone could do as I did and take it away from him, but now that he drank the Coke, it is now and forever a part of him, and there is nothing I or anyone else could do to get that out of him. That is Salvation, making Jesus Christ a part of you by Believing in the price that was paid by the Father, through the Son, by indwelling you with the Holy Spirit. That is “SALVATION.”

We need to do as Christ said for us to do, after feeding the thousands with a kid’s sack lunch of two pieces of fish and five little biscuits. And then miraculously walked on water, and then tells the ones that followed after another meal that they have to take Him in them through the eating of His flesh and drinking His blood. Take His character, take His Love, take what he is holding out and giving to you freely, all you have to do is accept it. It is not about asking for forgiveness, it’s about accepting the fact that you are already forgiven.

Feeding the Five Thousand

John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.

4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”  6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.

7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.”  13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” NKJV

Then we see Jesus Walks on the Sea and then He speaks about being The Bread from Heaven

John 6:22 On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone —  23 however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks —  24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'”

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

But we saw in this story that Jesus is foretelling the last supper, and then we can see that in Matthew:

Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper

Matthew 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.  28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. NKJV

It is reemphasized in First Corinthians:

Institution of the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”  25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.  NKJV

 

I believe that many of the people who are sitting in the “Church” building today have taken the can and never popped the top. We, the preachers and teachers, sometimes do a poor job of letting them know that just saying words are not the same as having a drawing of the Holy Spirit of God.

We sometimes just say to repeat after me, and they say words, and there is no repentance and confession of being a sinner. We have a gift of salvation given to us, but we have to accept the gift of forgiveness. We don’t have to ask for it, it is already ours, all we have to do is Believe!!! The Bible is clear that all sins were and are, and are going to be forgiven. It is not about forgiveness, again, it’s about accepting that forgiveness, or popping the top and drinking it in.

We must take the Bread and eat, “His Body.” Taking the “Bread of Life” and letting it nourish us;

John 6:35-59 (NKJV) And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst…
⁴⁰ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”…
⁴⁷ Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰ This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.
⁵¹ I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” ⁵² The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” ⁵³ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. ⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread which came down from heaven–not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
⁵⁹ These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

We also see that Jesus said we must take the Cup and drink, “His Blood.” Take the “Cup,” The Living Water, and quench the everlasting thirst. As we see when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, He said;

John 4:10 (NKJV) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”…John 4:14 (NKJV) “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Accept that “Forgiveness,” like when I offered Ricky the Can of Coke, is like saying the words, but when you pop the top and take it in, no one, and I mean no one, can take it away from you then. That is accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. And then you will see that there is nowhere else to go, as Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And if not, then we see as the students of Jesus did.

Many Disciples Turn Away

John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”

61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you?  62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”  71 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.   NKJV

I always find it amazing that our Lord lets those wanting to leave, leave. He offered the can and all they had to do was pop the top, but they chose to leave, they chose to walk away, and He let them walk away, and then He even asked His disciples if they too were going to leave. It was so freeing as a minister to see 1 out of the 12 that walked with Jesus, knowing that he saw the same thing as the others, but that one chose not to pop the top. It took me years to understand that you will not reach them all. The bottom line is the hearer’s choice to accept or walk away. And Jesus let him do just that, walk away, and even betray him.

Never does the scripture after the Death, Burial, and Resurrection say that we have to ask for forgiveness; it says that we need to accept His forgiveness.

Confession, admitting that we are sinners and need to accept the forgiveness.

1 John 1:7-10 (NKJV)
⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

And then we need repentance, to turn from the way that we were living and follow Christ and Him crucified for the remission of our wrong doings, “sin”.

Luke 5:31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”  NKJV

Luke 24:47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. NKJV

Acts 26:20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. NKJV

2 Cor 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. NKJV

God is giving everyone more time to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. NKJV

Rick later accepted Christ and even went on to be a minister of the same Gospel I tried to share with him that day. Because he not only took the can, He popped the top, drank it down, and tried to get as many as he could to also “Pop the Top.”

The gift has been given. The can is in your hand.

All you must do is.

Pop the Top.

Up next week: “How to Pop the Top.”

“Sometimes, I Guess There Just Aren’t Enough Rocks”

In the movie “Forrest Gump”, Forrest and Jenny are walking down the road that Jenny was raised on, and they come upon her old home place, then all of a sudden Jenny starts throwing rocks at the house, all the bad memories of her youth caught up with her all at once and the rocks start flying. She threw and threw until she couldn’t find another rock and falls to the ground exhausted.

That’s when Forrest says. “Sometimes, I Guess There Just Aren’t Enough Rocks”.

And that’s the way it is at times everything seems to hit you all at once. All the emotion of the past comes down on us.

Nothing we can do to erase the heartache and hurt that is long behind us.

Sometimes objects in the rear-view mirror may appear closer than they really are, and we let yesterday destroy our today and control our steps for tomorrow.

So, the things of yesterday sneak up, and before we know it, we are knocked down, we have thrown every rock we could find, every excuse why the things happened and wondering why they had to happen to me?

But the problem is that the past is still there. The memories are still there, the money is gone, the love is gone, and all that I thought I would have, is now gone.

And as the song says:

“I’m diggin’ up bones, I’m diggin’ up bones,

Exhuming things that’s better left alone”

Paul said to the Church of Philippi:

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  NKJV

We can’t continue onward always looking back, you can’t go too yesterday; you can only live for today with hopes for tomorrow.

Luke 9:62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” NKJV

The song “The Anchor Holds” says:

I’ve had visions, I’ve had dreams; I’ve even held them in my hand.

But I never knew they would slip right through, like they were only grains of sand.

Slipping through our fingers as sand, until it is gone, and then we sit and think what might have been, or why couldn’t it have been different?

Then it hits me.

I am the one who has control. I am the one digging up bones. And I am the one exhuming things that are better left alone.

So, how do I not let this get me down yet again?

Again, Paul said to the Church of Philippi:

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!

Praise God for whom He is and what He has done, Paul said. “Rejoice in the Lord” When?  “Always” that means all the time.

5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,

(that means your heartfelt burdens and your petitions or requests) With Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

So, where does this peace of God come from? Keep reading.

Ponder on these things:

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

So, the “peace of God” comes from, the “God of peace.”

June 15, 1989, at my home Church in Powder Springs, Georgia, around 7:00 pm, I knelt down in Pastor Ben Turner’s office as Pastor Snyder went over the plan of salvation.

He said, “You know this, you know what to do,” and I did know, as I had said I was raised in Church, we were usually the first ones there and the last to leave and I had helped build the very building we were sitting in.

I had worked in ministries and even led people to the Lord. I was, and I would like to think I still am, a pretty good guy, but because I had never accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, I WAS HELL BOUND.

The day before this, I felt as if my world was coming to an end, and as far as I cared, my life could have ended right then.

But, (don’t you just love conjunctions? I do, it means the story is not over yet.) I did bow my head, and I did ask Jesus to save me, and HE DID SAVE ME.

Over the last 30-something years, He (Jesus) has NOT walked away and left me alone, and he never once stopped Loving me that I can count on, He said:

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” NKJV

Josh 1:5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. NKJV

Philippians 4:10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

And here it is this is how we face tomorrow and not let yesterday control us:

13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The song “The Anchor Holds” says:

But it was in the night,

Through the storms of my life,

Oh, that’s where God proved, His love to me,

The anchor holds, Though the ship is battered,

The anchor holds, Though the sails are torn,

I have fallen on my knees,

As I faced the raging seas,

The anchor holds,

In spite of the storm.

So just drop anchor and hold on, God’s not done with you yet.

Friend

Friend, is a word that we throw around a lot, but the question is do you know what a friend is? My computer program definition goes as follows:

Friend [frend] Noun plural noun: friends, plural noun: Friends

1. a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations. “she’s a friend of mine”

synonyms companion, bosom friend, best friend, close friend, intimate, confidante, confidant, familiar, soul mate, alter ego, second self, shadow, playmate, playfellow, classmate, schoolmate, workmate, ally, comrade, associate, sister, brother, pal, bosom pal, buddy, bosom buddy, chum, spar, sidekick, crony, main man…  antonyms enemy

2. a member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.

Verb; third person present: friends, present participle: friending, past tense: friended, past participle: friended

1. add (someone) to a list of contacts associated with a social networking website.

“I am friended by 29 people who I have not friended back”

2. befriend (someone).

origin

Old English frēond, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vriend and German Freund, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘to love’, shared by free.

Jordan Peterson said this on Instagram

“Here’s how you know that you have a true friend, there’s a simple way to know if you got a true friend in your corner,

Isabella Lundy said it best “True friendship with stance time distance and silence.”

If you got these three things you got to ride or die.

Number 1

A true friend is a friend for life, you both grow, evolve, and hit different stages but you still rock with each other through it all. It’s not about always being on the same wave it’s about respecting each others journey.

Number 2

You don’t got to be in the same place, real friends, they support you even from a distance. Maybe you move away, maybe they start chasing different dreams,

that’s all good, you want them to win just as much as you want to win yourself.

Number 3

Probably The most important one, is you don’t need to be talking every day sometimes you will go weeks, or months without chopping it up. But when you do it’s like you never missed a beat, that’s how you know it’s real.

If you got people like that in your life hold onto them. That’s rare.”

I was told: “A friend is someone you call if you are in jail and need bail to get you out.” And a best friend is: Someone you can’t call because he is sitting in jail with you.”

My Story;

In the late 1990s, I had the pleasure of being our Church sound coordinator, this also meant that I was responsible for running the sound for our choir. Running the sound for the choir also came the responsibility of going with them to singing appointments. I enjoyed and loved mixing the sound for the Church and the choir as long as we were at our Church, or close to home where I could drive. The Church choir had gotten a pretty good reputation at that time for being anointed. God seemed to use us a lot at that time.

The problem was we were invited to do the Smoky Mountain Jubilee in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, which wasn’t too bad because I would ride up with the drummer, who is a dear friend, and help him set up his kit. Tennessee wasn’t too bad of a ride, and the Evangelist that ran the Jubilee was also a Pastor of a Church in Virginia, and he invited us to go to his annual Church Jubilee. So, now, we are going to go to Virginia and minister there.

There is one of many reasons that I do not want to go, the main reason is the same reason I don’t like to fly, the same reason I don’t like to be in an elevator, the same reason that I don’t like being in the back of a large crowd. I am and have always been claustrophobic. I don’t like closed-in places and I don’t like being anywhere that I can’t control when and where I can stop and get out of the room or the vehicle. With that known our pastor, Snyder, came to me and asked me to go with them and that I could have any seat on the bus that they chartered. I asked any and he assured me any. So, I insisted that I drive, knowing that that was not going to happen and knowing that I didn’t trust my little S 10 truck to make the trip at the time, I thought that I would get out of going, but I did not.

Now I am on a bus that I don’t want to be on and going somewhere that I didn’t want to go. As I have stated I love my Church and the choir and mixing the music and singers, I went not to please God but to please man, which is never the reason to minister, but God had me where he wanted me for a reason.

I love good preaching and I truly love anointed preachers, such as Tony Evans, Ike Reighard, Dr. Charles Stanley, Andy Stanley, and on and on. A few weeks before we headed out on this outing, I had the chance to go to the Bailey Smith Real Evangelism Conference, in Marietta, Georgia at Roswell Street Baptist Church, Pastored by Nelson Price. After attending there for a week, I had an opportunity to purchase many cassette tapes. (I said that this was in the 90s didn’t I) There were some great sermons and testimonies on these tapes and some would just break your heart.  So, I decided that I would bring all my tapes and my little tape player, some headphones, and enough batteries to make the trip and back, with batteries to spare. Now I was hoping that I could just submerge myself in preaching and never contemplate being on a bus full of people and having little to no control over the situation.

Now I am set, hoping, and praying that no one would bother me and remind me of my surroundings. I was sitting alone and I liked it that way, everyone else was talking and getting ready for a great time together, and as the bus was loading up to go. I made sure that I got a seat next to a window and not too far from the front so that if I had a meltdown, I could be drugged off the bus rather easily. People already knew who they wanted to be with and where they wanted to sit. So, all was going just the way I wanted it to go, Until, (I have said in the past “until” is hardly ever a good word to hear in a story). She said may I sit with you? And everything inside me was screaming NO! But I tried to conjure up a smile and said sure.

I spent most of my time in that Church at that time either in the sound room or in the pulpit. I am sorry to say that I am not much of a social person, don’t get me wrong, I love people and I care deeply for their souls. But, because of certain circumstances, I got to a point in my life where I was really careful who I let get close to me. Way too many people have come into my life and I have gotten close to them and now they are gone. I was not on that bus but for one reason and one reason only and that was to get to our destination and do my responsibility. Not to socialize and definitely, not to make any new friends. But I believe that God had other plans.

As I recall I told her she could sit with me if she left me alone, her name is Dianne, and she seemed to be okay with that because she had a book she wanted to read and acted as if she didn’t want to be bothered either. Boy, was I wrong about not wanting to talk with me? Her son is our drummer and a great friend of mine, so I thought she would be okay to be around because I always enjoy being around Mark.

As the trip progressed, she started asking me questions, and I thought why not talk maybe it would get my mind off the fact that I was still on a bus. It didn’t work, so to get her quiet I offered for her to listen to some of my tapes, and she took me up on the offer. As she sat there listening, I saw her starting to tear up and then I remembered that I had just given her the tape of Ike Reighard testimony. It is a great sermon and testimony, and it broke her heart. After listening to it, she got yet another tape, and then after completing it, she said you sure listen to some tear-jerkers. We then started talking about what she had been listening to. If you want a preacher to be your friend, just ask him a spiritual question about the Word of God and sit back and enjoy the ride.

That happened well almost thirty years ago, and to this day I consider her one of the few friends I call close. She later came to work as my company office manager and was by far my best employee. She was encouraging when I needed encouragement and never worried about my feelings when it came to setting me straight when I started to drift. We all need people like that in our life. She and her husband were in the Journey Group that I have the honor of teaching and is someone I love dearly. You just never know who God is going to put in your life and for what reason.

Oswald Chambers said, “Friendship is rare on earth. It means identity in Thought and Heart and Spirit.”

1. C. S. Lewis said friendships are discovered when you say, “What, you too?! I thought I was the only one” (Four Loves, 248).

Hanya Yanagihara @deadpoetswilde says, “Friendship is the most underrated relationship in our lives. It remains the one relation not bound by law, blood, or money – but an unspoken agreement of love.”

Very few people have met those criteria in my life, and I bet the same can be said for most of us. We claim hundreds or even thousands of friends on Facebook and other social media outlets, and have never met many of them. How can they be friends?

In the Book of John, it says:

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” … and then Jesus continues “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”  NKJV

As of the writing of this, we as a nation just remembered the 75th anniversary of  “D Day” and how these men of the greatest generation of Americans

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” is a Christian hymn originally written by preacher Joseph M. Scriven as a poem in 1855 to comfort his mother who was living in Ireland while he was in Canada. Scriven originally published the poem anonymously and only received full credit for it in the 1880s. The tune to the hymn was composed by Charles Crozat Converse in 1868. William Bolcom composed a setting of the hymn.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

By, Alan Jackson

What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged— Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful? Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness; Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden? Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge—Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In His arms He’ll take and shield thee. Thou wilt find a solace there.

Blessed Savior. Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear;

May we ever, Lord, be bringing All to Thee in earnest prayer.

Soon in glory bright, unclouded. There will be no need for prayer—

Rapture, praise, and endless worship Will be our sweet portion there.

As Christians, we should know that Jesus is our friend, but we need to make sure that we introduce the surrounding people to Him also. One of the talks in a Christian weekend retreat that I work with on occasion, says “Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Jesus”.

I have this penned in the back of my Bible

“If I just do my thing and you do yours, we stand in danger of losing each other and ourselves, we are fully ourselves only in relation to each other, and the “I” detached from the “thou,” is disintegrating. I do not find you by chance, I find you by an active life of reaching out” by Walter Tubbs

Did Jesus not say in Mark 16:15 …” Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. NKJV

All the world and let everyone as you come in contact with them know about Jesus. As it has been said, “No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

I love the Randy Newman song for “Toy Story”:

“You’ve Got A Friend in Me”.

You’ve got a friend in me, You’ve got a friend in me,

When the road looks rough ahead, And you’re miles and miles,

From your nice warm bed, You just remember what your old pal said,

Boy, you’ve got a friend in me, Yeah, you’ve got a friend in me.

You’ve got a friend in me, You’ve got a friend in me,

You’ve got troubles, I’ve got ’em too, There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you,

We stick together and we see it through, Cause you’ve got a friend in me,

You’ve got a friend in me.

Some other folks might be A little bit smarter than I am,

Bigger and stronger too, Maybe,

But none of them will ever love you, The way I do,

It’s me and you, boy.

And as the years go by, Our friendship will never die,

You’re gonna see it’s our destiny, You’ve got a friend in me,

You’ve got a friend in me, You’ve got a friend in me.

The word friend is found some 58 times in the NKJV, 22 of those are in the New Testament. Jesus used the word 14 of those 22 times.

Why does one need a friend, Solomon said in Ecclesiastes that two is better than one, and we need to make sure the one with our one is the one that God desires for us to have in our lives.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NKJV) 9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

I saw this and was compelled to add it to this chapter;

“It occurred to Pooh and Piglet that they hadn’t heard from Eeyore for several days, so they put on their hats and coats and trotted across the Hundred Acre Wood to Eeyore’s stick house. Inside the house was Eeyore.

“Hello Eeyore,” said Pooh.

“Hello, Pooh. Hello Piglet,” said Eeyore, in a Glum Sounding Voice.

“We just thought we’d check in on you,” said Piglet, “because we hadn’t heard from you, and so we wanted to know if you were okay.”

Eeyore was silent for a moment. “Am I okay?” he asked, eventually. “Well, I don’t know, to be honest. Are any of us really okay? That’s what I ask myself. All I can tell you, Pooh and Piglet, is that right now I feel really rather Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All. Which is why I haven’t bothered you. Because you wouldn’t want to waste your time hanging out with someone who is Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All, would you now.”

Pooh looked at Piglet, and Piglet looked at Pooh, and they both sat down, one on either side of Eeyore in his stick house.

Eeyore looked at them in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“We’re sitting here with you,” said Pooh, “because we are your friends. And true friends don’t care if someone is feeling Sad, or Alone, or Not Much Fun to Be Around At All. True friends are there for you anyway. And so here we are.”

“Oh,” said Eeyore. “Oh.” And the three of them sat there in silence, and while Pooh and Piglet said nothing at all; somehow, almost imperceptibly, Eeyore started to feel a very tiny little bit better.

Because Pooh and Piglet were There.

No more; no less.”

(A.A. Milne, E.H. Shepard)

We must be very careful not only to whom we call friends but to whom we let in our life as a friend.

I like what a young preacher in our Church once said in one of his first sermons and that is if you take a white glove and put it on your hand and then submerge that hand in mud, the glove gets muddy. It is never said that the mud got glovie. (I know that glovie is not a word, but do you get the point?)

So, we need to be very careful who we accept as a real friend, if the person brings you down, and takes you away from the ones that once lifted you. If that person takes you places that you once would not go it would hurt your testimony. If that person uses language that brings dishonor to God and makes you look cheap. So, if that person has more influence on you. Then you start emulating them instead of representing Christ. There should be warning horns going off big time in your heart and mind. You should step back and look and see if you are getting muddy or if they are getting “glovie.” My bet is the mud is winning, if you step back from real friends and start following this kind of people you are not doing them any good, and you are not doing you any good either.

Well, Jesus hung out with sinners and bad people. Yes, He did, and he showed them love and brought them around to His way, by the example that He led. Not by acting like them. I am not saying you cannot have bad people in your life as friends, I am saying do not let them lead you away from the witness that took you years to build up. Satan would have nothing better than to tear you down.

Remember “Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Jesus.” Not make a friend, be a friend, and let that friend take you away from Jesus.

So, here is the question, are you getting muddy, or are the ones you are hanging with getting “glovie?” If you are a Christian and you allow someone to take you down the wrong road, and you are allowing them to tear down the witness that God had in you then I say it is time to do as Joshua said in the book that carries his name:

Joshua 24:15 (NKJV) 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

You must choose whether to follow God or follow the world! Sometimes the one that is leading you down the wrong road may be waiting for you to make a stand and say NO, I’m going to follow God. Just so they can see if this Christian stuff is real in your life and if, so then they may want to follow Christ themselves.

James 4:4 (NKJV) 4 … Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

As I have said in the past and am sure I will say again and again. When God is talking about neighbors and friends, I don’t think he is talking about what kind of friend you have but what kind of friend your friend has namely YOU.  Are you loving that friend enough to say to them, I will serve the LORD! Do you love them enough to let them leave, because Jesus did? He gives us a choice, to love them and live for Him and lead them out of hell. Or watch them go on their way while destroying your testimony and your witness.

I beg you to love them enough to bring them to Christ. “Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Jesus.” That is real love.  They are worth your love, but not at the expense of taking away the love you once had for God and his word.

Let them see the Love of the Lord in you and they may just want it too. It has been my experience that most people living a Godless life are looking for something or someone and I promise you that something is God himself and that someone is you showing them the Love of God.

I heard a preacher say once that he could tell the ones not as close to God as they once were. They were in the Church down front, then about halfway back in the Church, and then in the back, and then in the overflow, and then they were gone. It is always gradual. One small step at a time away from Christ and for every step you take away it is one more step closer to Satan and his way of life, which leads to destruction.

I once had a great quiet time and now my time is quiet. I once went to Church religiously (did you see what I did there?) now my religion is anything except Christ. I once went to Sunday School or Small Group and now I am in places that I know that God is heartbroken over. Does He stop loving you? NEVER!!! But there will come a time when someone who once watched how much you loved God and how you would not compromise your belief in Him. They are seeing something different, and they may say if that is Christianity, I want no part of it. Is your moment of enjoyment worthy of their soul?

As I stated at the beginning, I have several people that I know, but I only have a few people that I call Friends. If you are one of the few people that is a true friend I am as Spock said in the second Star Trek movie, “I have been and always shall be your friend.”

The classic 1993 Western Tombstone is full of memorable quotes from Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the infamous Cowboys of Southern Arizona. After a major shootout at the river, our heroes are regathering themselves, and Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) walks over to the side of the river leans over, and coughs, and Cactus Jack Johnson (Buck Taylor) Says, “Doc what are you doing out here, you should be in bed,” in which Doc’s reply was, “Wyatt Earp is my friend.” Then Cactus Jack said, “I got lots of friends,” here is where I can relate to Doc because he said, “I don’t.”

God calls everyone to be his friend. Are you in need of a friend let me tell you where to get a friend.

Proverbs 18:24 (NKJV) 24 A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Can we find a friend so faithful? Whom will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness; Are we weak and heavy-laden? Cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge—Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In His arms, He’ll take and shield thee. Thou wilt find a solace there. Blessed Savior. Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear; May we ever, Lord, be bringing All to Thee in earnest prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful? Yes, His name is Jesus!!

I hope and pray that the ones who call me a friend and that I live up to their expectation. I hope that when my name is spoken people can say he is my friend.

I hope that I follow the example set before me in Christ Jesus.

I hope if you ever have called me a friend you still can.

But I know me, I know that I have let people down, and I know that I probably have said or done something that I shouldn’t have said or done. And hope and pray that my friends can forgive me and that I can forgive my friends who have let me down.

I was recently removed from a post and blocked from adding anything to the page on Facebook. The post was my home Church that I have been a part of since I was five years old, at the time of this writing I was sixty-one. So, I was not happy, it wasn’t anything bad I posted it was just an old picture of the Church and I said I miss that, Church. After I put a rebuttal on my personal Facebook page and about 50 people commented on my post, I received a message apologizing and said the block was removed and ended by saying “God bless my friend.” I do not know who misinformed the person writing me that we were friends, because we are not. I have never talked to the man who messaged me. We are not friends, not my definition of a friend. We think because we add the word friend that makes us friends. But in my book, it does not.

The example that is set before us is Jesus himself. He forgave us even before we let him down and keeps loving us anyway. Let us try to live that way and remember:

“Make a friend, be a friend, and bring that friend to Jesus.”

It’s not my Fault!

Or was it?

Being the youngest of five, I always had someone to blame for my wrongdoings. (Not that I did that many things wrong.) I have one brother who rarely did anything bad.

If something went wrong and the question was asked, “Who did this?” the answer was always my brother, knowing that he never did wrong and would be forgiven for the minor offense very quickly, rather than me messing up again.

Even after we were grown and my brother was in basic training for the United States Air Force in Texas, a question by my Mother went like this, “who left that cup on the counter,” or “who left that plate on the end table” or and one of my favorites, my Dad’s shoes in the floor and the question was “who do these shoes belong to?” and the answer was always “my brother.” No matter that the only people in the house all day were me and my Dad, the answer was “my brother.”

It’s good to have a person to blame things on, that way it’s not my fault if I am wrong. As I have mentioned, I was raised in a somewhat legalistic Church, the hair had to be long on a girl and short on a guy. Women had to wear dresses, and they had to be long, and all men had to wear suits; the clothes on their backs was more important than Jesus in their hearts.

I have taught Sunday School for almost 30 years, including at my home Church, small groups, home studies, hospice home care class. I have preached in nursing homes, Alzheimer’s wards, youth detention centers, and a number of Churches in west Georgia and east Alabama. In doing all this preaching and teaching, I would bring lessons at first the way I was taught.

If I said “you needed to dress in dresses and suits.” It’s not my fault; that’s what I was taught.

If I said, “You have to be in Church every time the door is opened.” It’s not my fault; that’s what I was taught.

If I said, “You have to use a certain kind of Bible.” It’s not my fault; that’s what I was taught.

If I said, “Your hair had to be a certain way.” It’s not my fault; that’s what I was taught.

If I said, “You have to sing certain songs a certain way.” It’s not my fault; that’s what I was taught.

If I said, “You have to pray a certain way.” It’s not my fault; that’s what I was taught.

If I said, “You have to give a certain amount if you have it or not.” It’s not my fault; that’s what I was taught.

Now, what is important is the reason I was taught all this, the way I was taught:

It’s not their fault; that’s what they were taught.

 

That reminds me of The Parable of the Ham

A child stood and watched her mother prepare the annual holiday ham. The mother carefully cut each end of the ham off before placing it in the pan. The child asked, “Mother, why do you always cut the ends off the ham?” The mother replied, “Well, that’s the way my mother always did it.”

So, the child called her grandmother and asked, “Grandma, why do you always cut the ends off the ham?” The grandmother replied, “Because that’s the way my mother always did it.”

Finally, the child called her great-grandmother and asked, “Great-Grandma, why did you always cut the ends off the ham?”

The great-grandmother replied, “Because the ham was way too big to fit in my small baking pan!!”

 

So, the cycle has to stop. I have to stop blaming my brother and even stop blaming the way I was raised. You see time and time again with young people who are committing crimes, the reason was “it’s how I was raised”.

Now, after you get a certain age, it’s all on you. You make the call, and do wrong, you are the one responsible.

As Dr. Michael L. Brown posted on Twitter:

“Regardless of my genetics, my upbringing, and my life experiences, I alone am ultimately responsible for my actions and choices.”

The same goes with my Teaching and Preaching, after a while I am the one responsible for leading people the wrong or misguided way.

Paul told Timothy his son in the faith in:

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. KJV

The word study means:

NT:4704 spoudazo (spoo-dad’-zo); to use speed, i.e. to make effort, be prompt or earnest: KJV — do (give) diligence, be diligent (forward), endeavour, labour, study.

(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  NKJV

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. NIV

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. NASU

2 Timothy 2:15 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. NLT

I love the way the Amplified Bible reads it:

2 Timothy 2:15 Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth.  Amplified Bible (AMP)

 

Now my job is to do my diligence, work hard, do my best, and Study the Word of God, rightly handling the word of truth, so I won’t be ashamed when I am presented to God. Dig into the scripture and find out what is being said and why its being said. Then and only then do I do my best to tell what is being said in the Holy Scripture.

I have read the Bible through a few times, and when I came across something I didn’t understand, I would jump over it and keep on reading.

But now I stop and dig, study, and do my best to see what God is telling me. I love looking at different translations and seeing what words are different and why. That is what gets me in the Bible even deeper.

After looking through the scripture, I can’t find anywhere that it says to wear a tie; it’s just not in there.

I never saw Jesus when on a sea shore or along a mountain, or in a garden, tell the smelly people to go get dressed before He would talk to them.

I never read one word, not one, saying before He healed them that they needed a haircut.

There are so many things we get so bent out of shape over that I believe God really doesn’t care about.

I was a Carpenter and Craftsman by trade, and my Dads home was just around the corner from my house. (I had to pass his to get to mine) A lot of days on my way home, still having the residue of the day on me, a little sawdust, maybe some stain on my hands, a little paint on my pants, and sweat running down my face.

I would drop by to check on my Dad. I would knock on the door as I opened it and walked on in, see it’s “MY FATHER’S HOUSE,” I have a key and I have the freedom to come in at any time. And I knew no matter how I looked or even smelled, I was always welcome there.

My Dad would usually be on the sofa, and he would get up and a big smile would be on his face, because his boy came by to spend some time with him. I may be wrong, but I think that’s the way God is, just happy to spend some time with me.

We get so caught up in the outside of a person, the way they look and dress, we miss out and never get to know the inside (the heart) of the person. Thank God He looks at the heart.

1 Sam 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” NKJV

I have never not ever read in the red letters of Jesus to “turn your King James Bible” to a particular verse.

It’s not there!

So why, for the life of me, do we get so excited if someone is reading a different translation than we have, and how on earth does that make you more spiritual than someone else because you sing from a red hymnal instead of a large screen?

I have been a part of both worship services and felt His very presence in both.

I have sat and even preached in Church services that had a handful of people, and God moved in a mighty way. Then I have sat in Church services with 1500 to 2000 people and had the same God convict and move me to tears with His presence.

What difference does it make if you open a Bible Book, a phone app, a laptop, a Kindle reader, or a Nook Book with apps? (The Nook is what I use because I can carry five different Bibles a Strong’s Concordance, and a Matthew Henry Commentary and over two hundred sermons that I have already brought.)

A friend of mine, Tim Croft, said, “I bet someone got upset when they opened the first book Bible rather than unrolling a scroll.”

Any reason to try to look more spiritual than those who don’t do it your way?

We, the Church, keep on and on debating on which Bible is the best, which songs are the best, which type of music is the best, which way to dress is the best, and we need to stop.

Just because they are not doing it the way we are does not mean it’s wrong; it’s just different.

You never see Jesus heal the same way twice. He raised three different people from death, three different ways.

The little Girl, he said in Mark 5:41, He gently speaks, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”

For the widow’s son, he stopped the funeral: Luke 7:14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”

And His friend Lazarus he: John 11:43 He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”  NKJV

One is in a bed, one is in a coffin, and the other is in the grave.

And Jesus handled them differently, but the message is the same: Jesus SPOKE! One a whisper, one talk, and then He yells for Lazarus. Why then can’t we all let Jesus speak differently today to different Churches? And yet be the same God.

 

Another example:

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus in Mark

The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.  NKJV

 

A Blind Man Healed at Bethsaida in Mark 8

25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  NKJV

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight in John 9

6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.  NKJV

 

Three different blind men, one He just speaks, two He used spit, one He adds touching him, and one He made a mud pack and told him to go wash.

All three were healed by Christ, but each case was a little different, and the reason is, we are all a little different.

I don’t know if you haven’t noticed, but the world is going to hell, and we are arguing about what translation of the Bible is the right one.

 

It’s the one Paul carried; HE WAS WRITING IT AT THE TIME.

Along with other inspired men of God, it wasn’t in 1611, it was in the first century.

All we have are TRANSLATIONS of the original Word of God.

 

I believe that God loves us all the same. I also believe that He treats us all differently because we are all different, so why do you think if everyone is not like us that they are wrong? Here is something to ponder: What if it is you… that is wrong?

So, after pondering on this for a while, I have come to realize it was my fault,

I should have checked… what I was taught.

He Drank the Cup

By Chuck E. Sprayberry

Scripture: Matthew 26:36-46 (NKJV) ³⁶ Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” ³⁷ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. ³⁸ Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” ³⁹ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” ⁴⁰ Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, “What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? ⁴¹ Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴² Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” ⁴³ And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵ Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

In the Garden of Gethsemane, we get a very intimate glimpse into the private prayer life of Jesus. We know from the gospel accounts of Christ’s life that he often went off alone for times of prayer and meditation. The prayer in the garden is one of the few instances in which we are allowed to “listen in” on his communion with his father. The heart of this prayer was focused on the incredible suffering Christ was facing in the steps leading up to and during the crucifixion. The agony associated with the contemplation of his death was so great that his sweat became as great drops of blood and it was necessary for the angels to minister unto him in order that he might continue with the plan necessary for our salvation.

Christ knew in perfect detail exactly what he faced before and during the crucifixion. Although he was fully man, in the sense of his fleshly body, he was also fully God with perfect knowledge of all that was to take place in the coming hours. His prayer “O my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” was the summation of his desires and the subjugation of those desires to the will of his father. As our redeemer and savior, he willingly took upon himself the responsibility of going to Calvary. However, in this prayer we see a view of the son asking the father if there was any other means by which the work could be completed.

Why did Christ use the metaphor of drinking a cup?

What did this cup contain that would make the Son of God himself wish he did not have to partake of it? In a word, SIN. The contents of this cup represented the concentrated essence of all mankind’s sins from the first sin in the Garden of Eden, to the last sin which will be committed at some point in the future. None were too insignificant or too heinous, all were included.

When Christ looked into that cup, he saw…

• The jealousy in Cain’s heart as he slew his brother Abel after God found Cain’s sacrifice to be unacceptable.
• A young girl as an adult she trusted molests her for the purposes of his own sexual gratification.
• A thief stealing the money a person worked hard to obtain in order to provide for their family.
• King David sign Uriah’s death sentence to cover up his adultery with Bath-sheba.
• The broken heart of a mother whose precious child has run away from home and living on the streets because of an addiction to illegal drugs.
• A father addicted to gambling losing the money he needs to feed his children.
• A young mother allowing the life of her unborn baby to be ended because she has accepted the views of a society that allows her to see her unexpected pregnancy as a mistake to be “corrected.”
• A con artist taking advantage of unsuspecting and innocent senior citizens to cheat them out of their life savings.
• A drug dealer selling illegal drugs to elementary school children in order to make a little money.
• A young boy huddling in the corner waiting for the pain as his drunken father pulls his belt off in preparation for the beating the boy had learned to expect when his father was drunk.
• The loneliness and depression of an elderly mother whose children neglect her and consider her to be burden and obstacle to the carefree lifestyle they wish to live.

All of this dark evil and much more was contained within this cup, and Christ knew after communing with his father, that it must be drained to the last drop if mankind was to be saved from our sins. He then rose from his prayers and with the simple statement “Rise, let us be going…” he turned and without hesitation walked to the altar on which “The Lamb of God” was to be slain for the sins of the world, and there he laid down his life for us.

From the moment of his arrest in the garden, through the illegal and biased trials he said not a word in his defense. Through the excruciating torture of the scourging and the abuse he suffered at the hands of guards, soldiers, and witnesses, not so much as a whispered cry passed his lips. Even when being nailed to the cross, with his shoulders pulled out of joint as the cross dropped into its socket we have no record of him so much as a groaning in pain.

However, at the moment the cup was placed to his lips on the cross, and God the Father allowed “…him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him,” a cry of indescribable agony burst forth from him as his father, from whom he had never known a moment of separation, had to turn his back on Christ. God in his righteousness cannot even look upon sin, and it was this separation from his father that he foresaw in the garden and he wanted so fervently to avoid.

God was gracious enough to shroud this time of agony within a veil of darkness that descended over the face of the earth. No man was allowed to look on his son as he took upon himself the entire punishment for our sins. Only once the last dregs had been drained from that awful cup did he declare “It is Finished.” I am so thankful he drank the cup.

November 3, 2012 · 10:37 pm

A Love of Life, or A Life of Love

Rev. Chuck E. Sprayberry

Scripture: Luke 12:13-21

Luke 12:13-25 (NKJV) ¹³ Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” ¹⁶ Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. ¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ‘ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ ²¹ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” ²² Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

We can make four observations from the parable of this rich man:

1. Man can never be satisfied with possessions – he will always seek after more or better riches in order to add to that which he already possesses.
2. Success often “dooms” men to needless worry and anxiety – the more a man has, the more he worries about keeping it and protecting it.
3. Success may result in an unreachable desire for peace and rest. – They hope one day to be at peace and rest as a result of the riches they have accumulated. However, you cannot buy peace and rest with worldly possessions.
4. Death, when it arrives, cuts the soul off from all worldly possessions immediately and irreversibly.

By all the criteria of his time and ours, this man would have been considered successful. However, he did not recognize there was a more pressing spiritual need in his life.

He loved life and the things of this world, which are at best temporary, more than anything else.

Jesus comments in Matthew on how difficult it will be for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven because of their love for this life and the comforts and possessions they can acquire in their lifetime.

We are specifically warned against allowing the love of the world to become the most important thing in our life.

1 John 2:15-17 – “Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (The love of the Father is not the driving principle of his life – Author’s note) For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”

If the love of the world is the driving principle in your life, then the love of the Father cannot manifest itself in your life as fully as he would like.

What will having a life of love bring about in your life?

1. Sorrow over sin in our life
2. Compassion for lost souls
3. A desire to help those in need

Jesus commands us not to have a love of life, but a life of love.

Matthew 22:30-40 – “Love, the greatest commandment.”

Jesus then showed what it means to live a life of love.

John 19:17.18 – “they crucified him” – the greatest act of love.

Jesus showed us that he loved us more than life itself when he willingly went to the cross to pay the price for our sins. As God, he could have lived a life as comfortable as any king that ever walked the earth. However, he chose to live a hard and difficult life ending the most cruel death man has ever devised. He did this so we would have the opportunity to clearly see exactly how much he loves us.

If you honestly asked yourself today, “Do I have a love of life or a life of love?” what would your answer be?

October 21, 2012 · 1:36 am

Repairing The Beat-Up Old Boat

In the early 1970s, My Dad, an uncle, and I were fishing in a private lake. (We had permission to fish there.) The bream was biting well, so well that we had an excellent mess in no time. (Mess will be defined later for those who don’t know.)

My Mother’s favorite fish to eat is bream, and the reason we were there was to catch her some fish. (My Dad really liked them too.)

While we were there, we were all there wishing we had a boat, oh with a boat, how much more fun could we have, and how many more fish we could get to, but we didn’t have a boat, so we had to fish from the bank.

When my Dad thought we had enough for a couple of meals, he said “let’s load up” which meant it was time to go.

Then we were loading up the tackle to leave. The last thing we got is the basket of fish out of the water, a man came pulling up and started up a conversation, and then as I brought the basket of fish up:

He said, “How much you want for those fish?”  My Dads reply was “they are not for sale.”  The man said, “I will give you five dollars for them.”  My Dads reply was “they are not for sale.”  Then the man said, “How about ten?”  My uncle said, “Take it.”  My Dads reply was “they are not for sale.”  The man then said, “fifteen and that’s as high as I will go.”  Again, my uncle told my Dad, “Take it.”

And again, my Dads reply was “they are not for sale.”

The man got in his old beat up truck, backed up, and started to pull out ahead of us Then he hung his head out the window and yelled, “Twenty dollars and that’s as high as I will go”.

My Dad said, “SOLD for twenty dollars.”

The man said, “Follow me, I live just up the road, and I get the money, and you give me the fish.”

When we arrived at his home, my Dad saw an old beat-up boat beside the house, which had fallen out of a truck while going down the road.

My Dad said, “What do you want for that old, beat-up boat?”

The man said, “Twenty dollars… and another mess of them bream.”

My Dad stood there for a few minutes and pondered for a while, he never made rash, quick decisions. Then he said “SOLD” and gave the man his twenty back and said we would have him another mess of fish tomorrow, and we would pick up the boat.

The next day, we did just as my Dad said, we caught another good mess of fish and took them to the man and got the boat.

It’s a 14-foot-long boat, plenty deep enough to feel safe in most small lakes. 3 bench seats in the boat and 1 on the front end.

Everything we always wanted.

But the front was bent up, the rail around the front was gone, there was a hole in the back corner, and the handles on the back were gone.

What some people would see as useless and not much good for anything, my Dad saw a fishing boat and years of enjoyment. He and my brother Glenn, and I worked for days getting the boat sea worthy (really lake and pond worthy, I really wouldn’t put this boat in the sea).

My Dad carefully straightened the front down where it belonged, took an aluminum door frame and made new rails to replace the missing ones.

Took what He called refrigerator epoxy and patched the hole in the back, then put a few layers of fiberglass over the hole. He made two new handles out of copper pipe and put a new plywood backboard in for his trolling motor.

Then, with an old flat smoothing iron on one side and a body hammer on the other, He and Glenn reset all the rivets.

Painted the outside, and the old, beat-up boat was good to go.

That was some 50 years ago, and I gave the old boat to my nephew, Glenn’s son. Over the years, we have improved on the old boat. I put anchor tie downs on it, 2 swivels, and raised padded seats. A new trolling motor and a depth and fish finder.

I have no idea how many hundreds of times I loaded and unloaded that boat, and the number of fish that were caught out of that old, beat-up boat.

 

I often think of myself like that old beat-up boat. I felt as if I was beaten up by circumstances beyond my control, beaten up emotionally, and thrown away. I was here, but not good for much. I was getting lower and lower, to the point that didn’t even see why I needed to be alive.

But GOD, don’t you just love that? But God stepped in and saw something of some value, something that He could get some use out of, someone that He could SAVE. And He did just that.

God looked down and what I thought was someone who was beyond repair, God saw something of value. And as David said in Psalms 139, that I am “wonderfully made” and so are you!

Psalms 139:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. NKJV

But I think our problem today is we live in a disposable word, we have paper plates and cups so when we are done eating, we just trash them, we have disposable gloves, disposable cameras, disposable diapers, disposable tissues instead of handkerchiefs, (I guess the tissues and diapers are a good thing to trash.) and even now we have disposable people.

I’m afraid we give up too quickly on people, just because they don’t seem to fit into our way of thinking.

This day and time, because you may not be a Republican, I can’t be your friend, or if you don’t go along with the Democrat’s I just won’t talk to you anymore. (I really lost a great friend just because of the way I voted in this last presidential election.)

It’s where people are disposable, and that’s a shame, I heard a preacher say just recently that you never looked anyone in the eyes that Jesus didn’t love.

The Bible says in First Peter:

1 Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. NKJV

That’s how much Jesus loves you.

A friend of mine, Tim Croft, said his Dad came by his office, and he saw a man at the end of a hall and called him over, and I love what he said to this stranger.

He said, “Sir, did you know that if God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it, that’s how much He loves you.”

Galatians 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” NKJV

But we just throw the beat-up people away because we see no worth.

It’s been said that it seems that only the Church shoots its wounded.

Which brings me to a song that was released in January of 1983.

“Don’t Shoot the Wounded,” by Chuck Girard:

Don’t shoot the wounded, they need us more than ever

They need our love, no matter what it is they’ve done

Sometimes we just condemn them and don’t take time to hear their story

Don’t shoot the wounded, someday you might be one

It’s easy to love the people who are standing hard and fast

Pressing on to meet that higher calling

But the ones who might be struggling, we tend to judge too harshly

And refuse to try and catch them when they’re falling

We put people into boxes, and we draw our hard conclusions

And when they do the things, we know they should not do

We sometimes write them off as hopeless

And we throw them to the dogs

Our compassion and forgiveness sometimes seem in short supply

So, I say…

Don’t shoot the wounded, they need us more than ever

They need our love, no matter what it is they’ve done

Sometimes we just condemn them and don’t take time to hear their story

Don’t shoot the wounded, someday you might be one.

The Bible says in The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians

Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.  NKJV

Bear one another’s burdens, did you get that?

Back to the song:

We can love them and forgive them

When their sin does not exceed our own

For we to have been down bumpy roads before

But when they commit offenses outside the boundaries, we have set

We judge them in a word, and we turn them out,

And we close the door

Myself, I’ve been forgiven for so many awful things

I’ve been cleansed and washed and bathed so many times

That when I see a brother who has fallen from the way

I just can’t find the license to convict him of his crimes

So, I say…

Don’t shoot the wounded, they need us more than ever

They need our love no matter what it is they’ve done

Sometimes we just condemn them

And don’t take time to hear their story

Don’t shoot the wounded, someday you might be one.

 

The Bible says that the strong in the faith need to help those who are weak:

Romans 15:1 We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. 3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”  NKJV

Romans 14:1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. NKJV

I think the Bible is pretty clear that we need to help fix those beat-up people.

Back to the song:

That doesn’t mean we turn our heads when we see a brother sin

And pretend that what he’s doing is all right

But we must help him see his error, we must lead him to repent

Cry with those who cry, but bring their deeds into the light

For it’s the sick that need the doctor,

And it’s the lame that need the crutch

It’s the prodigal who needs the loving hand

For a man who’s in despair, there should be Kindness from his friends

Lest he should forsake the fear of almighty God

And turn away from God and man

 

We sometimes think that the church is only for the righteous and the sin-free, and that is where we miss the mark. The church doors need to be opened to all who need God, and that includes EVERYONE!!!

The Bible is clear in:

1 Thessalonians 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. NKJV

James 5:19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. NKJV

Back to the song:

So, I say… Don’t shoot the wounded, they need us more than ever

They need our love, no matter what it is they’ve done

Sometimes we just condemn them

And don’t take time to hear their story

Don’t shoot the wounded, someday you might be one.

 

The Prophet Isaiah said:

Isaiah 58:6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ NKJV

So, when you see a beat-up person, one beat down by wrong decisions, bad relationships, and doesn’t look like the normal people in your church, the one you would probably wouldn’t give a second glance, just know that very person has the same Jesus that died for them as for you.

Romans 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. NKJV

As my Dad saw worth in an old beat-up boat, God sees worth, value, substance, merit, and meaning in you, because;

 

“You are fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works,”

God said so, not me.

“And that my soul knows very well.”

So,

Don’t shoot the wounded, they need us more than ever

They need our love, no matter what it is they’ve done

Sometimes we just condemn them

And don’t take time to hear their story

Don’t shoot the wounded, someday you might be one.

Let us repair the “Beat up Old Boats” in our lives, because God has plans for them!

Expiration Date

As I have stated, My Dad used to say occasionally, “Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.”

Well, today was one of the days that I sat and thought.

Therefore, I was thinking about my Mother pouring out some milk and a statement I saw on Facebook that said, “We don’t have an expiration date.”

Well, I beg to differ.

We do have an “expiration date,” the Bible says in:

Ecclesiastes 3:2 A time to be born, And a time to die; NKJV

We all will face death sometime or another.

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, NKJV

With that said, we all have an expiration date stamped on us. For most, we do not know when that day will be.

I truly believe we can accelerate that date, and in the same thought, I believe we can also extend that date.

Ecclesiastes 7:17 Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time?  NKJV

The milk may have been poured out before its time; even when it was still good and it could still have some use after the appointed date stamped on the carton.

I think a lot our own lives are that way, we can take our own life before its time, or even taking years off our life with things like smoking, drinking, and as much as I hate to admit it over eating, I think we can do a lot of things to take years off our life.

I was playing a game of chess years ago on a computer. After a few minutes of play the game told me I had 12 moves left and I would be in check.

No way I thought, then after the next move it said I had less than 5 moves. Apparently, I made the wrong move. The computer knew every possible move I could make and had already worked out how the game would end.

I think life is that way; we make the wrong move, and it costs time in our lives.

I also believe that God knows every possible move we can make and has an end planned for each move we make, which gives us free will. However, God is always in charge and always knows the end.

Back to the game, I made 2 more moves and was in check and then mate. Needless to say, I do not play that game anymore.

But the game of life goes on, and what we do with it is up to us.

Ecclesiastes 2:16 For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool!  NKJV

Solomon was the wisest man outside Jesus Himself to ever walk the earth, and he still had the same thoughts, discouragements, and worries as we do.

What is it all about?

We can work our whole life, and what we gather and accomplish is gone when we are. I don’t have to be like that, I believe that it was Andy Stanley who said, “You can’t take it with you when you go, but you can send it on ahead.”

Think for a moment of the lives you have touched, the souls that you were a part of sending on to Heaven eventually.

Through your giving to the Church for outreach and missions. By saying the right thing to the right person at the right time. By you personally, to lead someone to the Lord.

You may say you never did anything like that. Well, did you ever watch the nursery at a Church so the parents could sit in a service, or teach a Sunday School class or VBS class, and plant a verse in a young child’s mind?

Ever drop an extra dollar in the plate for missions or someone in need?

Ever send a card or a letter to encourage someone?

Have you ever dropped by the hospital to visit someone who is hurt?

Have you ever brought a meal to someone in need or picked up a check after a meal for someone that hurt?

 

Jesus said it this way:

Matthew 25:40 “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”  NKJV

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.  14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil. NKJV

The saying “it ain’t over till it’s over” seems to apply. As long as you have breath, as long as you are on this side of the grass, you have a mission, and that mission is to live for Christ.

Philippians 1:21a “For to me to live is Christ…”

For me to be alive, Christ is alive, and the reason the first-century Christians got so extremely happy with a new convert. There was another person to live for Christ. Christ had another mouth to speak on His behalf, two more hands to carry His gospel, two more feet to go and help those in need.

 

My mentor Reverend Ben Turner once said, “If you are going to hammer at least build something.”  So, since you are still around, do something profitable for the cause of Christ.

With that said, we all have an expiration date stamped on us.

Don’t you want to accomplish something for Jesus before we meet Him face to face?

 

I was having lunch at Wallace Bar-B-Q one day, and some waitress’, knowing that I am a minister, had a question about suicide. After hearing their questions and hearing their concerns about the subject, I related the following story to them:

In 1991, the office job I had, overseeing eight concrete construction crews, was taken away from me, and I went from telling these foremen what to do to working for one of them and asking how to do it. My pay was cut, according to my accountant over $30,000.00 that year. I tried to keep living like I was, except on credit cards, but I soon found out that the Visa, Master Card, and American Express companies want their money back after a while. (as if I did not know) I was behind on every payment, and that’s not what I do at all. I made sure the house payment was made. I may sit in a dark and cold house, but at least I have a roof over my head.

My wife decided she didn’t want to be with me three years earlier, and so for three long years, I would pray and beg God to send her home, believing that would happen and happen real soon.

But it didn’t happen, and the day came that a Deputy came knocking on my door and served me divorce papers, and I am now at what I was looking at as the end of all I could take, and that morning around 2:30 to 3:00 am I heard Satan say “you don’t have to hurt like this, there is a way out, the 357 magnum is right there.”

I find it amazing when Satan talks to you it is not in an echo chamber voice, or a dark deep evil voice, but it was in a soft southern draw, and sounded, well it sounded a lot like me, cause that’s how he does it, through my mind and in my voice.

I said God “I can’t take anymore, (and I couldn’t but I learned that night God can if I give it to Him.) so the rest of my talk with God went something like this, “I am about to see you face to face and if you don’t want me to do, what I am about to do you better stop me now” and (another conjunction, there is still more to the story.)

At that very moment, as I watched the chamber turn and the shell line up as the hammer went back on that old Colt.

The phone rang. I thought, who could that be at this time of the night? God maybe? So, I set the weapon down and picked up the phone. Before I could say hello, a preacher friend, Eddie Rogers, said, “God told me to call you and tell you to STOP! Do you hear me?” I answered, “Yes, I hear you.”  Ed then said, “Can I go back to bed now?” I said, “Sure, and thanks.” He said goodnight and hung up. I cleared the weapon and went to bed, myself believing God was not near done with me.

A few weeks later, as we were meeting for a prayer time for Eddie’s Ministry Sweet Spirit Band, I asked him if he remembered calling me that night, and he said he did, then I ask, did he not want to know what was going on that night?

He said he thought I would share the reason with him when I was ready, so I told him the story, and waited for “Are you okay, brother?” or “I am so sorry you are going through this.” Or even “just hang in there, brother, everything is going to be alright.”

Instead, I got “you idiot, (it’s good to have a few friends like that, just a few.) Is that how you really want to face God Almighty with a smoking gun in your hand?” I said, “No, not really, and I promise it will never happen again.”

My Expiration Date could have been that day, my choice, I believe, if I had pulled that trigger that moment, it all would have ended right then.

A few weeks later after sharing that story that day at Wallace’s, I had a lady come up to our table and say, “I was here a couple a week ago, and I was setting right behind you when you told how you almost ended your life, and that you didn’t want to face God with a smoking gun in your hand. I was here to eat my final meal. I have chronic pain, and I was just going to eat and go home and take every pain pill I had and just end it all. But I thought, did I really want to face God with a stomach full of pills? And after seeing how God is still using you, I went home and had a great talk with my Heavenly Father, and I just wanted to thank you for sharing what you went through, because it saved my life too.”

You never know who you are reaching, or how God is going to use you, or even when God will use you. It may be in a Bar-B-Q house in Austell, Georgia. Or in a pulpit in a church, just know when God is ready for you, let Him do the calling, because you don’t want to pour out that milk before its time. You do not want to face God for the first time with a smoking gun, a stomach full of pills, a bloody wrist, or any other than His reaching down and saying it’s time to come home.

Remember, as we read earlier.

A time to be born,

And a time to die.

Don’t punch your Expiration date before God’s time.