More, More, More!

Did you ever notice when some children open Christmas presents they hardly get it opened and really look at it before they are moving on to the next present and the next until they are finally all opened and paper trash looms in the room? However, a week later they don't even know where their Christmas toys are and even if they do they have no interest in them.

We try to teach our children to be thankful and satisfied with what they have. We don't want them to be greedy, yet we are like children in many ways. Think of how excited we are when we get a new home, new appliance, new furniture, swimming pool, boat, car, clothes, etc. For a while we notice and take care of these things, then they become routine - old hat and we are looking for some other thing to bring us pleasure. Often it is the desires of the flesh - eating, sports, sex, etc.

The Apostle John knew this about people. That is why he wrote in 1 John 2: 15, 16, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world."

Things do not bring us lasting pleasure. Only God in Christ can bring us lasting pleasure that satisfies keeps us from wanting more. The deeper we grow in our understanding of Him, the more we shall be satisfied. Jesus has taught us that we are to love the LORD with all our heart, soul and mind and love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to love the LORD and people not things.

If you struggle with love for the world and it's pleasures, confess it to the Lord and He will forgive you (1 John 1:9). Praise be to Him for His continued forgiveness.

As Christmas draws nearer let us focus on what is important. God has given us all we need in Christ. All that we have in this world He has given to us and should be received with much thanksgiving. If we are truly thankful the worldly pleasures become less satisfying to us and we will not be saying "more, more, more."

P.S. We are traveling this week to Georgia and Virginia to spend Christmas with our children. I will not be posting until January 4, 2010. "May the Lord strengthen you in the inner man through His spirit and that you would know the love of Christ and be filled with all the fullness of God. May the knowledge of His presence be with you this Christmas season.

A very Merry Christmas to you and your family.

The Word of Life Manifested To Us

Sounds like the Christmas Story. It is!

In 1 John: 1 the Apostle John speaks as a witness to what he has heard, seen and touched. Of course, that being Jesus Christ. John bears testimony concerning the Word of life. Verse 2 tells us "the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us." He speaks of the fellowship we have with each other and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. He writes these things so that our joy may be full.

He continues in verses 5 through 10 to say that God is light and if we walk in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. Even though Christ has saved us from our sin we know that sin still exists in the world and in fact still exists in us. We have been forgiven once and for all yet our sin is not completely gone (v. 8). John is telling us to be on our guard. He continues with the good news that we have our advocate, Jesus Christ to forgive and cleanse us (v.9)

I believe we can see the meaning of Christmas in this chapter. Christ who is the Light and the Life came in the flesh to save His people from their sin.

Joy to the Word! The Lord is come.

Do You Talk To Yourself?

Okay, admit it. When you're alone you do talk to yourself sometime. I find when I am alone in the house doing the routine things that don't require much thought I sometimes talk to myself. Living in the age of cell phones, it is quite normal to see people in their cars talking even when they are by themselves. Before cell phones I would always hope if someone saw my lips moving perhaps they would think I was praying.

In Psalm 1: 2 the psalmist speaks of the man who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on His law day and night. I turned that into a prayer. I asked the Lord to cause me to delight in His law and meditate on it day and night. Is it practical to meditate on God's law day and night? My bible gave a little note in the center that said another way of understanding the word meditate is "ponders by talking to himself." I laughed at first because I thought of those times I ponder and talk to myself. Webster says meditate is to "reflect on or ponder over" but doesn't say anything about talking to yourself. I think it is possible to meditate on God's law day and night. I know we have responsibilities that require other thoughts but I do believe that there is a sense in which we can always have a general awareness of His word.

As I have shared many times scripture memorization is very important to me and my spiritual health. Therefore, I encourage others to memorize scripture. Having His word in your heart and mind daily is the thing that enables us to meditate on it. Then when we are driving, exercising or doing mundane things around the house we can meditate on God's law. I use scripture as prayer sometimes. Many times I use scripture to talk to myself so that I hear the right things rather than listening to myself where I will hear the wrong things.

Life and schedules are very demanding. It is easy to get through a day without spending any time at all in the word. I know it is hard to find time to pick up your bible, sit down and spend time with the Lord. That is why I am so focused on memorization because you can take it with you. The key word in verse 2 is "delight." If we really delighted in His word we would spend more time with it.

It doesn't matter how you meditate on God's word - reflect, ponder or even talk to yourself. The important thing is that we delight in it and meditate on it day and night. The psalmist says "Blessed is the man..."

I Have Seen Your Salvation!

Our pastor's sermon yesterday was taken from Luke 2. As it spoke to my heart I thought I would pass on some of those thoughts.

He began with a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran pastor executed in Nazi Germany.

"We have been shielded from the awful nature of Christmas and no longer feel afraid at the coming near of God Almighty. We have selected from the Christmas story only the pleasant bits, forgetting the awesome nature of an event in which the God of the universe, its Creator and Sustainer, draws near to this little planet, and now speaks to us. The coming of God is not only a message of joy, but also fearful news for anyone who has a conscience. It is only by facing up to the fearfulness of the event that we can begin to understand the incomparable blessing. And while He judges us, He loves us, He purifies us, He saves us, and He comes to us with gifts of grace and love."

In Luke 2: 25 we see the man Simeon whom we are told was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel. He came by the Spirit into the temple and took the Child Jesus into his arms and looked into His face. Simeon said "For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel."

It is good to try to grasp the human side of this baby so we can fully understand He became flesh to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we cannot do this without grasping His deity. While He was a baby, cried tears (in spite of a popular Christmas song that says "no crying He makes") and had the same needs any new born has we must understand this baby had a special plan and purpose for His life. That plan was to bring salvation and redemption to a fallen world.

We need to see the Child Jesus through the eyes of Simeon. As he held the baby in his arms he saw the Lord's salvation. This baby came to bring us hope, to show us the Father, to bring division among those who would believe and would not believe, to bring us the words of life and most of all to die for our sin. He came to be our salvation.

As we continue our celebration this Christmas and enjoy all the warm, happy things that surround our celebration of Jesus' birth, let us not forget the awesome nature of this event in which the God of the universe draws near to us and speaks to us. Let us face the fearfulness of this event so that we can understand the incomparable blessing of His coming.

In God We Trust

What is the first thing that comes into your mind when you see the words "In God We Trust?" I immediately think of the words printed on our currency. Even on the newest coins this statement is still being engraved. How interesting! A country that has taken prayer out of schools, banned manger scenes in front of some public buildings and refuses to recognize Christmas as a celebrated holiday has "In God We Trust" on it's coins.

In Psalm 56 David was praying for relief from those who were oppressing him. In verse 4 he says "In God (I will praise His word), In the Lord (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Here in America we face the dangers of those who would oppress us. Events of September 11, 2001 changed our lives and our comfort zones. As a nation we must remember our roots are grounded in the God of the scriptures. We are very blessed in this country and there are many people who still believe in the statement "In God we Trust." Let us pray (without ceasing) for our country and those authorities that govern decisions that would deny God. In the meantime we must take heart in the fact that God is for us -not as an American nation but those who are His people. There will come a day when only the righteous will inherit the earth. The wicked will be cut off and we will finally be with the Lord to worship and praise Him without opposition.

Even David was looking forward to the heritage of the righteous and the calamity of the wicked. "For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off (Psalm 37: 22). "In God We Trust."

Talker or Listener?

Recently I was talking to someone or more accurately listening to someone who I confess was really beginning to irritate me. When you are with someone like this your eyes begin to glaze over and you begin to look for any possible way to get out of the conversation as graciously as possible. Unfortunately, I realized this is the way with many people. Webster says a conversation is an"oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas." The key word here is exchange.

I happen to be a people person. My husband says I can talk to someone for five minutes and find out more about them than he would after many conversations with them. I don't know why I am like that but I am. I ask a lot of questions and am truly interested in learning about you. My son teases me and has told me I'd make a good reporter because I am nosy. I would like to think it is because I do have a genuine concern for people.

Philippians 2: 4 says "Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."

Even though I like to ask questions, I also like to talk to someone who is showing an interest in me. I am sure many of you feel the same way.

Here is where I am going to get nosy. How about you? Truly stop and evaluate your behavior when you are in a social setting. Do you dominate the conversation talking about your work, spouse, kids and anything of interest to you? When someone speaks to you do you just go into non-stop verbiage or do you see the person and have a genuine interest in their interests? Notice this verse in Philippians doesn't say we are not to look out for our interests. It says "not only" our interests. We should first and foremost look out for the interest of others. In verse 3 of this passage we see we are to each esteem others better than ourselves.

The road that leads to joy is one where we are following the Lord in His ways. He has given us His word to teach us how to live before Him and others. If we are so wrapped up in ourselves chances are there will be little or no joy. Joy comes as we live for Christ and others even to include the simple conversation.

Their Good Example

Paul's letter to the Thessalonian church was to encourage them in their newfound faith. Acts 17 gives us the account of Paul preaching at Thessalonica. Some came to faith but the Jews who were not persuaded attacked many of the believers and brought persecution on them. Paul knows that these people came to faith in the midst of difficult times and persecution.

In chapter 1 of I Thessalonians we see Paul giving thanks for their faith. He tells them that he remembers without ceasing their work of faith, labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. They received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit. They became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. The word of the Lord sounded forth through them in every place. They had a good reputation in terms of their faith and commitment to Christ in the middle of trials. Paul was longing to see them again. He had such a heart for these people and wanted to know that they were still holding up in the faith in difficult times. Paul sent Timothy to check on them. He was encouraged because Timothy returned with good news of their faith and love and that they, too, had good memories of Paul, Silas and Timothy and desired greatly to see him again.

Many of us have not been persecuted because of our faith but we have had difficult trials that could weaken our faith. I have experienced first hand and know others whose testimony dims after long periods of tough times. How would those people who have been instrumental in your coming to faith in Christ see you today? Even if you have always known the Lord because of being raised in a Christian home there have probably been people who have been instrumental in your growth in Christ. How would those people see you today? Would they rejoice in seeing your continued faith as Paul did over seeing the continued faith of the Thessalonians? Would they still see your work of faith, labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father?

What a joy it would be for those who have taught us be able to say with Paul "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy" (I Thessalonians 2: 19, 20).

Long Life and Riches

If you could have two wishes what would they be? Many people would say "I would like to live a long life and have plenty of money." It sounds quite hedonistic. However, Solomon, the writer of Proverbs in chapter 3 speaks about having length of days and riches. The Proverbs seem confusing at times because they make declarations that we often do not experience in our day to day lives. Before we question the writer of Proverbs, we should seriously look at the conditions the writer gives us to experience these day to day things that seem so far from us.

The verses I will be speaking from are Proverbs 3: 13-18. It starts off with the heart of the matter. "Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding." Proverbs 9: 10 says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." You see, before we can even think about having long life and riches there is a condition. That condition is first and foremost seeking the wisdom of God. That is what the writer of Proverbs drives home to us constantly.

It is not wrong to want long life and riches. It is how we spend our life and our riches. There is a correlation in these promises. Get wisdom - have long life and riches. I understand that many who seek wisdom and understanding never experience long life and riches but what they do experience is a peace and fulfillment in the Lord that is far better than life and riches. Others never experience long life and riches because they have never understood what it means to fear the Lord. That is the beginning of wisdom.

It all comes back to an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. It is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6: 33). It is hiding His word in our hearts (Psalm 119: 11). It is keeping His commandments and walking in His ways (Deuteronomy 8: 6). It is acknowledging Him in all our ways (Proverbs 3: 6).

None of us can do this perfectly which is why God gave us Christ to bridge the gap between us and a Holy and perfect God. He is able and He is the one who causes us to seek His ways.

Solomon finishes by telling us " Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her."

Jesus Is Here

When my grandson was just a little over two years old we were sitting together in the backseat of our car going to dinner. At one point I said to him "I'm so glad you are sitting back here with me so I wouldn't be all alone." He quickly said "Momma, you're not alone. Jesus is here." It was a great and quick reminder that we are never alone. It was even more precious to see this truth coming from him.

As the Christmas season draws near we begin to hear over and over again the Christmas story - our Holy God becoming flesh to save His people from their sins. In Matthew 1: 23 we are told "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

About 8 years ago this truth had significant impact on my life and even more so during the Christmas holidays. I had been a Christian for many years but somehow was finding the Christmas celebration stale. I had become numb to the Christmas hymns and stories and struggled to be excited about this celebration. God in His wonderful mercy impacted me with the truth of His presence with us in the person of Jesus Christ.

This past Sunday the assistant pastor of the church we visited spoke on Matthew 1: 18-25. His main message was "God with us." He reminded us of God's presence with us in everything. You go to the doctor and receive bad news - God is with you, you receive news of the death of a family member - God is with you, your marriage is falling apart - God is with you, you're struggling with parenting - God is with you, you lose your job - God is with you. In all of these difficult situations the thing to cling to is God's presence with us. God became flesh to redeem us, save us from our sins and help us live in a fallen world. He did not just wind things up and let it run. He is here! He loves us! He will never leave you nor forsake you.

As the Christmas holidays come upon us and all the celebration that comes with it, it is my prayer for all of us that we would remember the truth of what the name Immanuel means - "God with us."

Wiles of the devil

In the travels my husband and I have had throughout Africa we have been made keenly aware of the powers of the evil one. We have run into those who are witches or those who were, but have been set free by the gospel of Christ. In our western culture we Christians give lip service to the fact that the devil is real but I don't think we realize how much havoc he can place in the lives of believers.

Ephesians 6: 11,12 says "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Another word for wiles is schemes of the devil. This is what it means - a trick stratagem intended to ensnare or deceive. Peter 5: 8 tells us "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

The devil is not omnipresent. We know he cannot be in all places at one time. He does have demons that are in various places to do his work for him. His work is to keep those who do not know the Living God from knowing Him and to keep those who do in as much turmoil and chaos as he can so that they will be powerless to further the kingdom of heaven, which is our calling as believers in Christ.

Think about it. You can be sure that when you commit to serving the Lord in some capacity there will be trials that come up to threaten your commitment. When you are going through trials, whether they are direct persecution because of our faith in Christ, financial matters, chronic illness of a spouse, Christian relationships that are badly broken, loved ones dying of cancer, marital issues that seem beyond reconciliation etc. how do you respond? Many times when going through these things we think God has left us or has not heard our prayer of deliverance. We began to wonder if all this Christianity "stuff" is real. What we should be doing is realizing that many times we are up against the wiles of the devil to pull us down. We must keep in mind that God is sovereign. I cannot explain God's plans and purposes but I do know that how we handle these things is key to fighting against the wiles of the devil who would want us to give up and give in to despair instead of seeking God's face and direction even in the middle of the worst circumstances.

One of his favorite schemes is to keep us from remembering that he is real and that he is just waiting for the chance to devour us. We need to put on the whole armor of God to stand up against the evil one. We need to resist him and his schemes. We need to talk to him and cast him out in the name of Jesus Christ. Stand firm on the word of God, fight the devil and he will flee from you.

Find comfort from these words in 1 John 4: 4 "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

P.S. Our daughter-in-law has a family member that is dying of Leukemia. My husband and I will leave in the morning for Richmond, Va. Please pray for the Morgan/Strittmatter family.
I will not be posting for about a week.

Fault Finder or Restorer?

My unmarried daughter is pregnant. I found out my son is gay. My pastor is having an affair. My husband is addicted to pornography. I am having an affair. All of these people may not be believers but many are.

What is our response when we are given this kind of information? Outwardly we act sad and say "Oh my, I will be praying for you." Inwardly we may be finding fault with the bearer of this news. In fact we begin to find fault with who they are and what they could have done or shouldn't have done that would help this situation. Our thoughts are not about restoration.

We live in a broken, fallen world. Even believers are susceptible to these kinds of temptations. Paul is speaking to Christians when he writes to the Corinthians warning them about sin in their church. In I Corinthians 10: 12 he warns them "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."

Galatians 6: 1-5 speaks of our restoring a person who is overtaken in a trespass in a spirit of gentleness, considering ourselves lest we be tempted. We are called to bear one another's burdens. For most of us, myself included, our goal is not so much to restore an erring brother or sister in love, but to judge and condemn them. Let me be quick to say, we are not to overlook these things or just try to shuffle them under the rug. There is church discipline to be done in some cases that are without repentance (Matthew 18: 15-20). However, it is bringing the erring brother or sister to restoration with Christ and the church that should come first. If we are intent on doing this out of love for one another, it would avoid unkind gossip that often comes from news like this.

One of the reasons many people will not share this kind of burden with us is because they are afraid we will find fault with them or their loved one caught in the sin. We need to create a safe environment for others to share these burdens - an environment that is eager to restore, not find fault. Remember, temptation comes to all of us.

"Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ."

A Glimpse of Heaven

My husband and my daughter share the excitement of being in heaven one day. I must be honest. I do not share their enthusiasm about being in heaven. Kenny Chesney has a song titled "Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to go now."

I believe many of us in Christ are not excited about heaven because we are not quite sure what it will be like. We know we will be with the Lord as He tells us in Matthew 14 that He is preparing a place for us and He will come again to receive us and that where He is we will be also. Yet for some of us it still does not generate the joy and excitement about heaven that many feel.

When my husband and I participated in a missions conference in Georgia, We stayed with some long time friends that are more like family than friends. On Saturday evening their son and his lovely wife prepared an exquisite meal for us and others who were visiting. There were about 8 of us sitting around the table enjoying one another, enjoying the Lord and giving testimony of His goodness to us in many areas of our lives. Richard and his wife, Katy, were busy preparing each course with perfection and serving us in love. They topped the meal off with a homemade cream puff with a chocolate swirl and a cappuccino, caffe latte or expresso tailor made for each person. After the meal we all continued for hours to enjoy one another as we spoke of the things of the Lord.

When my husband and I went into our room for the night we both said "The time together and the delicious food was such a blessing and a glimpse of what heaven will be like." The next morning it was reported to me that Richard had said the same thing to someone else.

I read in Revelation 21 about the new heaven and the new earth. We are told God will dwell with His people and He will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain. All things will be new. I got to thinking about Jesus' words in Matthew of the Lord preparing a place for us and His dwelling with us. I can believe that in the new heaven and new earth we will be eating and feasting on the most wonderful delicacies we could imagine and we will be doing it in His presence and the presence of other believers - people we have loved here on earth.

That meal was a very small glimpse of what heaven will be like and I praise the Lord for that glimpse.

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." I Corinthians 2:9

My Soul Melts from Heaviness

There are some circumstances in my life that cause me to worry and stress over them from time to time. Yesterday and today I have found myself focusing on those situations. In fact, I woke up with a heavy heart today and said to the Lord "My soul melts from heaviness; strengthen me according to Your word." Perhaps your soul is heavy today.

There are are a lot of books written today to help us manage worry and stress. We know this problem leads to various illnesses. Some folks seem to manage these things well. If we are honest, many of us would admit to allowing worry and stress to wear us down. Henry Ward Beecher said "It is not work that kills men. It is worry. Work is healthy...Worry rusts upon the blade."

The Lord has an antidote for this problem found in Philippians 4: 6,7. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

We know the verse, in fact I have it memorized so why do I find myself worrying? Because I don't apply what it says. I don't take everything to the Lord in prayer as soon as the worry button is pushed and certainly not with thanksgiving. Even yesterday as I worried over circumstances I neglected this command from the Lord. I just didn't do it and it rolled over today into a morning that has zapped my strength and joy.

Let's be doers of the word, not hearers. Take your worry and stress even now to Him. Take everything to Him. The peace of God will guard your heart and your mind. Then let us move on to verse 8 in that passage. "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, 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 - mediate on these things."

Life is loaded with difficult situations. Worry will never change them. Let us pay to our heavenly Father who then gives us His peace.

Heavenly Father, enable us to place all our worries and fears upon you. Thank you for your peace and for guarding our hearts from these things. Lord let us think upon you for You are praiseworthy.

P.S. My husband and I are going out of town. I will not post until November 18, 2009. May the Lord richly bless you.

I Won the Jackpot!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to win a $23,000,000 lottery jackpot? I have and if you're honest you have too. We speculate how it would change our lives or how much better life would be with so much money. We may even get to the point of thinking about various ways we would spend it, even to include giving it to ministries and worthy causes.

The Israelites were being placed into a position to have a lot of material possessions. Take the time to read Deuteronomy 8 for the background. They went from being slaves in Egypt to wondering the wilderness for 40 years. The Lord fed them and took care of them. The Lord was bringing them to a land of brooks of water, fountains and springs, wheat and barley, fig tees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey. They would have plenty. They would be able to build beautiful homes to live in and would have herds and flocks and silver and gold in abundance. Yet the Lord had to warn them. To paraphrase these words He said that they were to be careful that in receiving all these material blessings they would not forget Him. It gets even worse. Not only does He warn them not to forget Him and keep His commandments but also warns them about being proud and "lifted up" thinking that it was their own power and might that had gained them this wealth.

God knows us well. He knows that we are much more dependent on Him when we do not have the abundance of things. Think of the economy today. Unfortunately many people are out of work and are financially hurting. I believe we could say people pray and seek Him much more in these kinds of circumstances. When our lives are difficult whether it be financial, marital problems, rebellious children etc. we have a tendency to look to Him and depend much more on Him. When these things are alleviated by His hand and grace we may forgot where it came from and we do not seek Him as we did.

If you are so blessed by the abundance of material possessions remember the Lord your God to serve Him and keep His commandments. It is by his hand that you have them. If you are struggling to put food on your table don't lose heart. The righteous are not forsaken nor do their descendants beg for bread. (Psalm 37:25)

"And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." (Deuteronomy 8:18)

Hope in God's Mercy

The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. The Lord preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy. (Psalm 145: 17-21) Do you believe this?

Some who read this may say "Yes, I believe it although it is not always my experience." Others may say "I thought I did at one time but now I am not so sure."

My answer is the first. There are many times I read scriptures that speak of the Lord answering our prayers and giving us the desires of our heart and at least for today those things have not been seen in some particular areas I look for them. God does not lie. He is truth. Therefore we have to believe His promises to us in scripture. If we don't then we would say He is a liar.

Again, it is our experience that causes us to doubt. We know we walk by faith and not by sight. (II Corinthians 5:7) However that is difficult to do - for you and me. When we have been praying for friends and loved ones to know Him and as of yet it hasn't happened we can and do become discouraged and find ourselves wondering what verses like this mean.

Psalm 147: 11 says "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy." What is hope? "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

Write Psalm 145: 17-21 on a 3x5 card. Keep it before you. Study these verses. Cross reference them and mediate on them. Remind yourself constantly that the Lord takes pleasure in you. That is, those who hope in His mercy.

Oh No, I'm Lost

A couple of years ago I dropped my husband off at the airport, got on the main road, drove for a few miles, and realized it was not the direction I needed to go. I was lost. I drove around for a short time and then decided I wasn't going to be like some people who never ask for directions. I was on a toll road and as I came to the ticket booth I asked the woman directions for the turnpike heading south. It wasn't long before I was in familiar territory.

I started thinking about many people going through life looking for the right direction. They are looking for meaning to life in various religions, philosophies and relationships. Many seek and search to find the right way and find themselves more lost and confused.

Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Jesus gives directions that will keep us from losing our way. It is through Him. There is no other way we can come to the Heavenly Father, find true meaning in life, forgiveness of sin and eternal life except through Jesus Christ.

This past Friday I wrote a post about our responsibility to share the gospel with the lost using I Thessalonians 5. This past weekend our church had their annual mission's conference. The speakers not only talked of our responsibility to spread the gospel abroad but also right here in our own neighborhoods. One speaker said she didn't know any non-Christians and decided to join a garden club to be a witness to those who are lost. I was convicted. I have forgotten those who are lost. Sometimes it is easier to support foreign missions than to be a missionary in our own neighborhood.

If you share my struggle, we can pray together that the Lord will indeed open our eyes to those who are lost and give them directions for finding true meaning in life.

That's Not Fair!

Remember when you were in elementary school and the teacher would step out of the room giving this warning - "If I come back and find anyone out of their seat or talking the whole class will have to write sentences. " Sure enough there was always that "class clown" that would would ruin it for everyone. We would say it wasn't fair that we should suffer because of this person's disobedience.

There was another incident similar to this in the Garden of Eden. The Lord told Adam and Eve that they could eat of every tree in the garden but not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He said "for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." You know the story. Eve ate, shared with her husband and consequences had to be paid. Because of Adam's sin we all payed the consequences. We all faced death even though we were not physically there. I had someone tell me one time they didn't think it was fair that all men should suffer because of Adam's disobedience. In fact, this person said " I wouldn't have done it if I was there."

What is hard for us to understand is that the elementary teacher made very clear the consequences of disobedience. It was her or his classroom to make the rules and instructions. It was up to us to obey them.

The Garden of Eden and all that is in the world was created by Him for His own purpose. Romans 9 tells us He is the potter and we are the clay. Who are we to reply against God?
He was the one to set the rules and boundaries for His creation. From this very beginning we see that man is bent on disobedience to the Lord. For those who would say "it isn't fair" the Lord's instructions was very clear as to what Adam and Eve could partake of.

Romans 5 speaks of death in Adam and life in Christ. Verse 12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." Verse 18 "Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life."

I think when we can truly grasp our disobedience and sin we can better grasp the perfect, Holy God who emptied Himself to become sin for us. It wasn't fair that Christ should suffer for us but He did and He did because of God's mercy to us who deserved His wrath but received His mercy.

Let us not be guilty of thinking it isn't fair that all should suffer for one. Let us rejoice that One suffered for all.

Wake Up! Wake Up!

A friend of mine along with her family was taking a Sunday afternoon nap when someone started pounding on their front door to tell them that their house was on fire. If this person had not awakened them they probably would have been killed in the fire. The flames were already so far gone that by the time the fire department got there the place had basically burned down. The person who awakened them was a stranger who happened to be driving by their house and noticed the fire. She could have just driven past but she felt compelled to do what she could to help these people and in this case she saved their lives.

As I was reading I Thessalonians 5, I was reminded of the incident with my friend and her family. Paul is speaking to the Thessalonians about the day of the Lord and His return. We do not know when our Lord will return but we do know that He will. The writer of Acts says to the people as they witnessed Jesus' ascension "This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." Paul says "the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night." (I Thessalonians 5:2)

For those of us who know Christ as savior and Lord that day will not overtake us as a thief. However, Paul says "Therefore let us not sleep as others do but let us be sober." He also says, "But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation." Paul speaks those similar words to the Ephesians in 6:17.

Let us be keenly aware that Christ will return and there will not be a second chance to know Him as savior and Lord. This should incite us to have a burden for those who do not know Christ - those who are sleeping. I am speaking to myself as much as I am to you. I do not take the opportunities I should to tell people of the impending danger they are facing. Just as this stranger felt so compelled to knock on my friend's door, we should be so compelled to say to those who do not know Christ "wake up! wake up! Christ will return". Our job is to wake them up and tell them about Christ and the forgiveness that He extends to those who believe in Him. Let us desire to save them from the fire that is to come.

PRAISE THE LORD!

It's Monday morning. Some wake up on Monday mornings and do not look forward to going to work, going to school, packing lunches and getting children off to school or just the routines Monday mornings bring. By the end of the day we are usually back into the routine and able to do Tuesday much better.

Over the weekend I read Psalm 150. It has six verses. Verse 1 speaks to where we are to praise the Lord. We are to praise Him in His sanctuary (church) and praise Him in His mighty firmament or heaven (everywhere). Verse 2 speaks to what we are to praise Him for. We are to praise Him for His mighty acts according to His excellent greatness! Verses 3-6 speak to the form or ways we are to praise Him. We are to praise Him with the trumpet, lute, harp, timbrel, stringed instruments, flutes, cymbals -clashing cymbals. It even says we are to praise Him with dancing. Wow! Think about our worship services and lives in general as we worship and praise the Lord. I don't want to get into the various theological arguments about what is or is not appropriate in a worship service. The point is, and I don't know how we can get around this, praise is to be happy and joyful and it is to be done with everything we have to use to glorify God.

Since we struggle with the Monday morning blahs sometimes, I thought this was a very appropriate Psalm to write about. Instead of waking up struggling with the routine of the day we should focus our attention on Him. C.S. Lewis said, "The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in."

In other words let us wake up to praising Him. Praise Him for His excellent greatness and mighty deeds. Be specific. As far as the music, think of a favorite hymn or song to praise the Lord. We may find Monday mornings or any morning is more welcomed.

There are two times to praise the Lord, when you feel like and when you don't. "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!


P.S. I will not be posting until Oct. 30, 2009. My husband and I will be away on a fund raising/family trip. May the Lord continue His blessings on you.

Treasures in Heaven

I was heading to a doctor's appointment for a checkup, traveling a country road that is quite picturesque. Along the way I came upon a curve in the road where horses are usually grazing. As I looked where I normally saw the horses they were replaced by a beautiful, large, white house with pillars along the front. There is a pond that sits in front facing the morning sun. I took a long look or should I say a longing look and just basked in the beauty of it placing myself in that setting thinking "I will probably never have a house like that one."

After a brief pity party, (that did not include God's thoughts) I thought of the rash of hurricanes our state has had over the last few summers and realized how those storms could have leveled that house.

Jesus speaks in Matthew 6: 19-21 of the importance of laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven. His words in this passage tell us to "lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys."

Paul's message in I Corinthians 3: 11-15 is that we are to build on the foundation , which is Jesus Christ. If we build with gold, silver, precious stones, wood , hay or straw these things will not last when tested by fire. Our work is to be those things that will last if tested by fire. Only the things we do to serve others for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ will last when tested by fire.

Jesus tells us that we are to give things away, leave things behind, follow Him and we will have treasure in heaven. (Matthew 19:21) "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)


Lord, when I find myself longing for the things of this world, quickly cause me to think of laying up for myself treasures in heaven by giving things away and leaving things behind for the sake of following you and seeing others come to faith in Christ.

Detour

When I am driving alone and come upon a sign that says "detour" I generally go into a complete panic - particularly if I am driving someplace I have not driven before. With my head I understand that I just need to follow the signs and I will generally get back out onto the direction I was going. But because of my fear I begin to think of all the "what ifs". What if the the sign is marked wrong, what if I just miss the sign, what if I end up going in a direction I've never been, etc.

I was talking on the phone with someone the other morning and we were remarking about how life has twists and turns we do not plan on. You are very contentedly going one direction in your well planned life but then all of a sudden there is that "detour" sign. Sometimes we have to leave the well planned direction to travel someplace else for a time.

Joseph found the same happening to him. Joseph is rocking along in life as the favored son with perks the other sons didn't have. Detour - his jealous brothers sold him into slavery. The Lord was with Joseph and he becomes quite successful in the house of Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh. Detour- Potiphar's wife tries to entice him and when he wouldn't give in, she lies and says he did things he didn't and he ends up in prison. The Lord was with Joseph and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. He was there two years and became ruler over Pharaoh's house and people after he interpreted a dream Pharoah had. After all these detours in Joseph's life we see that he is able to save his family from famine because of the position he held in Pharaoh's house. Joseph told them that God sent him before them to save their lives. In Genesis 50:20 "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." Genesis 39-50 will give you the account of Joseph's successes and detours. In all of these twists and turns in his life, the Lord was with him and guiding him because He had a plan for him. Joseph remained faithful to the Lord even in the darkest times and the twists and turns in his life.

We all face those times when our direction in life seems to take a "detour". Many times I respond in these circumstances the same way I do when I come upon a "detour" sign - fear of the unknown. Instead of panicking and being fearful as I do when detours come into my life, we need to remember that God, who is faithful, is leading us. He will indeed show us the direction we need to go to place us where He wants us to be. The same promise He gave Israel when they were to possess the land is true for us "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." (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Kind and Tender Hearted

My husband and I went to church in Winter Haven yesterday where he preached a sermon on communication. He used Ephesians 4 as his main text. I thought a lot about it yesterday and as I slept last night I woke up a couple different times with Ephesians 4: 32 on my lips. I was convicted in his sermon yesterday as he spoke of speaking the truth in love from v. 14 of Ephesians 4. I know that many times my words are sharp or with a tone of judgment rather than "love." I went to him this morning to ask his forgiveness.

The scriptures have a lot to say on the use of our tongues from things we shouldn't say to those things we should say. Proverbs 21:23 says "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles." That is one of those passages that caution us to guard what we say to people. Ephesians 4:32 says "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you." While this verse does not speak directly to the use of the tongue, to be kind and tenderhearted usually involves the words we say.

When we are with friends or just acquaintances we are quick to say "thank you, please, no thank you, excuse me etc." Somehow we neglect to offer the same courtesies to the people in our household. A few years ago I came to the realization that my husband and I were not being kind and tenderhearted. We were not being courteous. I shared that with him and he agreed as well that we were not speaking with one another as we should. By God's grace we are much better in using those courtesies with one another and heeding the words in v. 32.

Our families in our household are the people we love the most yet many times the people we treat with least kindness. These courtesies should be extended to our children as well. Hopefully they will learn to extend those same courtesies to family and friends.

Communication is the glue that holds us together - not just any communication but that which is helpful to those we communicate with. The lack of communication, or proper communication can destroy our relationships. As Ephesians 4: 29 tells us, "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."

Perhaps this is not a struggle for you but if it is, ask forgiveness where it needs to be and begin speaking by being kind to one another and tenderhearted. We must also be willing to forgive others even as God in Christ forgave us.

Testimony for Christ

For some of us it is difficult to share our faith in Christ or share the gospel message with those who do not know Him. There are many approaches that have been designed over the years such as Evangelism Explosion and the Four Spiritual Laws. These have been designed so that those of us who struggle sharing the gospel can have a system to work from. I have no problem with this if it helps people share their faith. I have seen quite a few people come to faith using the Evangelism Explosion approach. But for many it is still a struggle, I myself included, even though I've had the Evangelism Explosion training.

In the Gospel of Mark chapter 5 we have the account of Jesus crossing the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. (Please read Mark 5: 1-20) There he meets a demon possessed man. In fact even the demon said his name was Legion because there were many. The man was so tormented by these demons that even though he was bound with chains he would pull them apart and no one could tame him. Jesus calls the demons out of him, restores him and sends the demons into a large herd of swine. They run headlong over a cliff upsetting those people who fed them. The story was told in the city and many came out to see the man who had been healed and there he was "sitting and clothed and in his right mind." The people were upset with Jesus and wanted Him to depart. The demon possessed man begged Him to let him go along with Him. Mark 5: 19 says "However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion you." He departs and began to proclaim all that Jesus had done for him and all the people were amazed.

What a testimony! Now we do not know if this man came to faith in Christ but we do know this newly healed man didn't know anything about sharing the gospel or a system of how to do so. Jesus told him to go tell his friends what the Lord had done for him. When we go about our day and routine there may be opportunities for us to tell others what Christ has done for us. It could be in the form of how we came to faith in Him or a testimony of a particular answer to prayer or work of grace the Lord has done in our lives. Think of those things the Lord has done for you. Thank Him for them and let that refresh your spirit of His grace in your life. Then take every opportunity to tell others of God's grace.

Pray for courage and boldness to share the message with others of Christ's death, resurrection and forgiveness of sin. But in the meantime let us use every opportunity we can to heed Jesus' words "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."

Some may be amazed and it just might make them thirsty enough to ask more about the Christ in your life.

Time for a Nice Juicy Steak

Infants are fed milk and usually only milk for quite some time. Milk gives them what they need in the early stages to grow and become healthy. As infants we would not give them solid food for two reasons. One, they have no teeth to chew so that it can be swallowed and two, their bodies are not quite ready to digest the intake of solid food. At some point we introduce solid food to them. It is interesting the look on their faces many times when we do. They are not so sure they like it but eventually they look forward to being able to chomp down and eat the solid food much to their enjoyment.

Our spiritual growth is the same way. In fact I can think of three places in scripture where spiritual growth is likened to milk versus solid food and the importance of both of them.

Peter talks about desiring the pure milk of the word so that we can grow. (I Peter 2:2) As new believers we do start out on the elementary or essential spiritual trues for faith and salvation.
But we are encouraged and warned that we cannot stay there. Just as a child, teen or adult could not live on milk only, we cannot spiritually grow with just the elementary principles of the word.

Paul tells the troubled Corinthian church that he could not speak to them as spiritual people but as carnal, as to babes in Christ. He says "I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal." (I Corinthians 3: 1-3) He goes on to tell them that this is evident because of the envy, strife and divisions that are among them.

The Hebrew writer speaks of spiritual immaturity when he tells his audience they ought to be teachers but yet they need someone to teach them again. They had come to need milk instead of solid food. He says "For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Hebrews 5: 12-14)

Sometimes the envy, strife and difficulties we struggle with are because we are unskilled in His word just as Paul warned the Corinthians. Let's take those who have been fed milk and move them on to the solid food - deeper meaning and trues of His word, ourselves included.

It is time for a nice Juicy Steak!

Children Learn What They Live

When we lived in Pennsylvania there was a picture/poem hanging in the office of our pediatrician. It was the familiar poem "Children Learn What They Live" by Dorothy Law Nolte. I remember sitting with my children, waiting for the doctor many times reading that poem. While I may not have agreed with all of its points, I think the principle is true.

Do your children see you reading the scriptures with some consistency? Do they hear you talk to your spouse or others about those things you have read and learned. Do you talk to them about what you have learned? Do they see you serving others out of love and not duty? Do you go to church for worship with an attitude of joy? Do your children hear you complain about these things? Jesus tells us if we keep His commandments and abide in His love His joy will remain in us and our joy will be full. (John 15:10,11) Do you experience a joy in your walk with the Lord? Our attitudes toward reading the scriptures, going to church for worship, attending church functions, and serving others should be reflective of joy. Many times we do not realize that our words of complaint or inconvenience about these things reflect a joyless attitude that will easily be picked up by the youngest child.

It is hard to keep children focused as we teach them the things of the Lord. Children would much rather play and do what they want to do than learn scripture verses, study the Children's Catechism or go to church. That is all very normal. In fact, we all struggle with that at different times and we need to be honest with them about that. However, I believe our attitudes about these things can have a positive or negative effect on them. If they think the Christian walk is a chore for us it will become a chore for them. If they think it is a joy for us it will become a joy for them.

Even our daily attitudes toward our spouses, children and tasks can have an effect on our children. If we cannot find joy in our daily tasks and remember that we are doing them to the glory of God, how can we expect them to find joy in them and not complain as we give them their own tasks?

Deuteronomy 6: 6,7 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart, you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."

These words will have more impact on our children as they see us walking in the joy of His word.
I believe as our children see this joy in us, it will become part of their lives - something we'll share together.

Welcome Enemies!

This morning while I was walking, I past a house that was very nicely landscaped and had a lovely sign sitting in the middle of the flower garden that said "Welcome Friends." I began to laugh to myself thinking about it saying "Welcome Enemies" because it was just yesterday that I read a passage from Matthew 5: 43-48. It is the familiar passage of Jesus' words that we are to love our enemies. He says "And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?" In other words, most everyone loves their friends and those who love them but do they love those who are unlovely or an enemy to them?

It is very difficult for all of us to show love to someone who curses us, hates us, spitefully uses us and persecutes us. Hopefully that doesn't describe too many people in your life but Jesus is making the point that we do have those people in our lives and we are not to shut them out and turn our backs on them. Actually there may be someone who has not treated you wrongfully but you don't like them. Maybe you don't like their skin color or nationality if you are honest. Maybe you don't like the side of town they come from. Perhaps they are married to your son or daughter and you just don't think they are good enough for them and never will be.

There were many years when my own Father was my enemy. My parents divorced when I was 5 years old. He made my life miserable. Then when the Lord came into my life I realized I had a responsibility to be kind to him for the sake of showing him the love of Christ. I did not reach out to him in my own strength. In my own strength I hated him. It was Christ who did that work in my heart. By the time he passed away he had come to faith in Jesus Christ.

I realize we are not going to hang a pretty sign in our yard that says "Welcome Enemies" but our hearts should always be willing to open the door to our enemies for the purpose of showing them the love of Christ. We cannot do it on our own but the power of the resurrected Christ can and will do it in us.

In this passage in Matthew Jesus finishes out by saying "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

Love the Lord with All Your Heart

The first date I had with my husband was at a roller rink. After that first date I couldn't wait until I would see or hear from him again. When I would hear his voice on the phone or see him standing at my front door I was so very happy. It seemed it was never enough. The more time I spent with him, I wanted to spend more time with him. I could never spend enough time with him. It lead to marriage so that we could spend our lives together. By the way, I still love to spend time with him.

I am sure many of you have had that same experience. When you really love someone, you want to spend time with them and get to know them even better.

Our relationship to the Lord is similar or should be. We are told in Deuteronomy 6: 5,6 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart." This passage comes just after receiving the ten commandments. It goes on to talk of our responsibility to teach our children these things as well.

How can you love someone without spending time with them to know them? Psalm 119 is one of the most fitting passages to make that point. The writer of this psalm knew the intimacy and the joy of spending time with the Lord. We do it by being in His word. In verse 77 he says "Your law is my delight." In verse 97 he says "Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day." In verse 105 he says "Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light to may path." Psalm 119 has 176 verses and all speak of the excellencies of the word of God in our lives.

My son says it is "the analogy of an iv in a sick person's arm -- if i'm not hooked to the drip the life slowly drains out of me... gotta be tapped into the spirit all day...." I guarantee that the one who just shows up in church most Sundays and reads scripture using the overhead will never experience this bond of intimacy. It is true that the more time you spend in the word, the more time you want to spend. The more you know Christ, the more you want to know Him and you do come to that place where you cannot stay away from being hooked up to the drip - it is your lifeline. It would be like a person who abuses drugs - the more you take the more you want and in this case you are not satisfied. But with the word of God as the psalmist says "I will never forget your precepts for by them You have given me life." (v. 93)

God's word is my lifeline. It keeps me focused on Him in the tough times. It keeps me joyful when circumstances are not. It brings me comfort and I feel protected. I understand that there are times of illness or emotional weakness in our bodies which keeps us from being able to be close to the word. That is why it is important that in our healthy times and stable times as we hide His word in our heart He will sustain us in the difficult times. Psalm 119 is broken into 22 sections. Starting tomorrow I encourage you to read one section and meditate on the excellencies of His word for you. Let's be able to say we love the Lord with all of our hearts, our soul and our strength!

Pray for Your Church Leaders

On March 10, 2009 I wrote about our responsibility to pray for our governing authorities using the passage from Romans 13:1. I was specifically talking about our President, Senators, Congressman - those who are the leaders of this country.

Today I would like to bring to our attention the fact that we are to pray for all men as Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2: 1-3. We are exhorted to pray for those who are in authority over us to include our elders or overseers. I chose this passage in Timothy because Paul instructs Timothy in the third chapter as to the qualifications of overseers. Depending on your church affiliation you have elders or deacons who are appointed officers over you. In most churches the congregation is the one who votes the officers into office.

Many times we are critical of our overseers. If we are honest, we can find faults in our officers and spend a lot of time dwelling on it. These men are human as we are. They are not perfect. They have the same struggles as we do. They will let you down at some point. They are to receive forgiveness as we receive forgiveness. The question is how often do we pray for these men and their families? This of course includes your Pastor. Paul tells Timothy that we are to pray and give thanks for all men - all who are in authority over us.

It is a hard responsibility to lead God's people. They need our prayers and we are exhorted to pray for them. Pray regularly for them. Our officers are called to rule well. 1 Timothy 5:17 says "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine." Paul says in verse 19 that we are "not to receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses."

I can hear you saying right now "But Merril you don't know this elder or that elder. You don't understand." I understand that there are elders and officers who will let you down and not follow through with the qualifications the Lord has for them but even so, we are to pray for them. More often than not our complaints are more a personal issue.

If you already pray for your church leaders, keep praying. If you do not pray for them consistently I would encourage you to do so. You will probably find that some positive changes will take place - both in you and in them.

Fast Lane...

In this fast pace world it is hard for us to except "slow". We are caught up in fast food, fast lines and fast lanes. How do you react in a fast lane going slow? As Christians we would like to believe we would not react as impatient as others react, but we do. You know - you are standing in the grocery line that limits items to 10 or less and someone in front of you has a pretty full cart, you are standing in a fast food line and the ones beside you are moving right along but for some reason yours is hung up, or you are in the fast lane on the highway and someone in front of you is not going quite as fast as you think they should. These are all situations that test our patience. They also show us exactly what we are made of. Have you ever heard the saying "Christians are like teabags, you find out what they are made of when you plunk them into hot water"? I know there are those times when we are on a tight schedule so that when these situations arise it can be stressful, however, most of the time we become irritated because we are impatient.

In the first chapter of James he talks about trials and temptations, something we all face as believers. Remember he is talking to believers in this letter he writes. Trials are to test our faith and produce patience. In fact James tells us to "count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." (James 1: 2,3) Patience is a fruit of the spirit as Paul tells us in Galatians 6: 22,23.

James tells us in verse 19 and 20 that the qualities we will need to endure trials and become patient is to be swift to hear (seek to learn), slow to speak (think before speaking), and slow to wrath (anger can cause us to say and do things that will not produce patience) and he says the "wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." Patience is slow and the Lord uses this process to produce the righteousness of God in us.

The word "fast" is not what usually comes to mind when we think of patience. We say "Lord, teach me patience and teach me now"!

Meditate on verses 19 and 20. The next time you find yourself in a fast lane going slow, let it produce the fruit of patience in your life. Today you will have opportunities to exercise patience. Let the fruit of the spirit be visible in your life to others.

P.S. I will not be posting again until September 21, 2009. Our daughter's father-in-law past away and we are attending the funeral in Georgia. I would appreciate your prayers for the McKinney family. May you experience His joy and peace.

He is Just and He is merciful!

Death is one of those things in life that is very difficult to deal with - the 17 year old boy who takes his life, the 8 year old girl who is raped and murdered, the 4 year old girl who dies of leukemia, the mother who takes her life leaving her 16 year old daughter, a father-in-law you have witnessed to for years, dies, and you are not sure if he is present with the Lord.

This is a very difficult post for me. With the exception of one, I knew every one of the people listed above. As I write I am fighting back tears because what I want to say is truth but in my frailty as a human being I am not sure I can understand it myself.

Our daughter has had to deal with death twice in the last week. She lost her father-in-law and received news this morning that her next door neighbor's son was killed in the military.

Death raises a lot of questions. Questions that are very difficult to answer. Questions that we may never know the answers to. Probably the biggest question is "why". Why does a 17 year who professes faith in Christ take his life? Why does an 8 year old of Christian parents die at the hand of a captor? Why does the 4 year old of a wonderful Christian couple die of leukemia? Why does a woman who loves the Lord take her life? Why does a father-in-law die without the knowledge of knowing for sure where he is in eternity after praying so fervently for him for years? Why does a young man who willingly went to serve his country die at the hand of his enemy?

I am making an attempt to answer these questions using the Lord's words. I begin by choosing excerpts from the book of Job in chapter 38 after his long suffering. "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? By what way is light diffused, or the east wind scattered over the earth? Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, or a path for the thunderbolt? Who provides food for the raven, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food"?
Excerpts from Isaiah 45 "I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things. Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you begetting?'" (Read Romans 9: 20,21) Why does the Lord make make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? Isaiah 55:8 says "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My way," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." There are many scriptures that speak of God's sovereignty but for lack of time I listed a few.

Deuteronomy 29:29 says "The secret things belong to the Lord but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." I believe the Lord is telling us that there are things we will never know because they are His to keep. However, what He has chosen to reveal to us He has chosen for our obedience. He has given us all we need in the scriptures. All of scripture from Genesis to Revelation He has given to us and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, throughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3: 16,17)

We must remember that we are born in sin because of Adam and his sin. We must remember that it is also because of sin that this world is not perfect and that we cannot understand the mind of our Holy God. But praise be to God who has redeemed us in Jesus Christ. He has given us His son to die for our sin and give us eternal life. This life starts now at the moment of spiritual rebirth. We do not and many times will not ever understand the pain He allows His people to go through. We do know He is just and we do know He is merciful. Let us ask for His mercy to sustain us when we do not know answers to questions that bring us such pain and let us rest in His plan and purpose. Job finally said to God in Job 42: 2 "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You."

A Merry Heart

Have you ever looked at someone's face and thought "they look like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders." I've even had people say to me "smile, it isn't that bad." What is sad is that I have seen this in children and teens. They are not exempt from anxiety or depression. I just heard an advertisement on the radio the other day offering free consultation and medicine for children ages 9 through 18 who are suffering from anxiety and depression. There can be all kinds of internal and external reasons for this.

We cannot necessarily always judge a person's heart by their face but even the writer of the Proverbs speaks of this truth. Proverbs 15:13 says "A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken." Proverbs 12: 25 "Anxiety in the heart of a man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad." Proverbs 17: 22 "A merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones." Proverbs 18: 14 "The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?" This kind of broken spirit is somewhat different than what the Psalmist says in Psalm 51: 17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit...." This broken spirit is linked to the heart that is contrite because of sin as David was after his adultery with Bathsheba. This broken spirit leads to forgiveness and restoration so that the heart will indeed be merry once again.

The broken spirit spoken of in the Proverbs verses are related to anxiety and depression.
Once again there are all kinds of reasons for anxiety and depression. One may be that a person has not yet come to the place where they know the truly living God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent for the remission of sins. Another may be that while a person has understood this truth to the degree that they know they have eternal life, they still do not understand the love God has for us (you) in Jesus Christ. He tells us to cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7)

There is a link between our health and depression. If our spirit is truly trusting in the Lord and understands His constant love and care for us it can have an effect on our healing when we are struggling with various illnesses. I know a christian woman who has been diagnosed with bladder cancer. They told her chemotherapy is not an option but that she has to have her bladder removed. She is quite frightened. I have spoken with her and prayed with her and I feel her fear. I perhaps would be as frightened upon hearing this news. She was told that rest and being able to think positively and not negatively can have an effect on her. Thinking positively does not necessarily mean that she is to think I can and will beat this but that the Lord is the one who is the great physician and healer and who loves her. If she can find peace in this truth and rest in Him it can sustain her in her illness.

I am sure all of us at some point or another have a countenance that reveals a broken spirit. I hope this is not where you are today but if so read Jesus' words in Matthew 6: 25-34. The Lord cares for us more than we will ever know and what better way has He shown it but by dying on the cross and taking away all of our sin and placing it on Himself.

Fading Away

If you are anything like me you carefully apply your makeup in the morning and then dash on with your day. Later, you walk past a mirror, check your face and recoil as you realize your carefully applied makeup has now faded. ( If you are a man reading this, stay with it, there is truth for you too.)

Unlike our face, there is something that is ours that will not fade away - our heavenly inheritance. The Lord tells us through Peter in 1 Peter 3:3,4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible (imperishable) and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you."

Think about this for just a moment. Your inheritance is not subject to decay and will endure permanently. I cannot think of anything that is exempt from perishing. Fruit, vegetables, clothing and even those things that would perish more slowly would still perish by fire or other external circumstances. Our own physical bodies are perishing daily. The apostle Paul says "Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day."
(2 Corinthians 4:16) Contrary to all that is perishable our inheritance is not. Nothing can destroy it or change it. It is reserved in heaven for you.

Life is tough and we are grieved by various trials as Peter tells us in this chapter. There are so many negative things that come into our day - things that can really weigh us down but the joy and good news if you know Christ as your Savior is that you "are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."(1 Peter 3:5)

So Ladies, next time you apply your makeup, be reminded of your heavenly inheritance. It will never fade away.

God is Good! All the time!

When you say to an African christian "God is Good" their reply most frequently is "All the time."

As my husband and I travel around in various African countries one of the things that is consistent among the African Christians is their love for the Lord. You know this because their love and praise is outspoken. They are truly focused on His goodness and mercy.

Psalm 107:1 says "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
There are four Psalms that start off with exactly the same words - Psalm 106, 107, 118, and 136.
I am focusing on Psalm 107 because there are four times that it says "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men"! (v. 8,15, 21, and 31) This Psalm is a thanksgiving to the Lord for His great works of deliverance. (Please take some time to read it.)

There is a difference between the statements "God is Good" and "God is good to me." While they are both true I do think the meaning slightly shifts. Many times because of difficult circumstances or sorrows we may wonder if good is good to "me." We know God is good because He is holy, perfect, righteous, just and truthful -He never lies. So our dear African brothers and sisters are absolutely right when they say "He is good - all the time."

In our christian experience we struggle with this difference sometime. Often when we pray for something and the Lord gives us what we have prayed for we will say "God is good." We may not realize that we may be thinking "God is good to me." What happens if we do not receive what we have diligently prayed for and oftentimes prayed a long time for? We may not think God is good and this is even truer if it seems that you are getting hit from all sides with discouragement and not receiving answers to your prayers - prayers that are unselfish and are meant to bring glory to God.

A dear precious woman, whose husband had left her, and I were praying earnestly for him to return. At the end of our prayer she said "God is good and God is good even if my husband does not come back to me." She knew the truth of God being good in His being and God being good to her. She knew that He loved her and that he would bring those things that were good for her. (Romans 8:28,29)

I tell the Lord frequently He is good. I must confess that I worry how I would respond in a dreadful situation. When I tell Him He is good I try to remember He is good - all the time. That means that regardless of my circumstances He is good and as I go through those difficult times I need to remember His mercy endures forever.

The next time someone says "God is good" tell them "all the time." It is a good reminder to us that in spite of circumstances He is good! - all the time!

Selfish Ambition

Have you ever tried to examine your motives for some of the things you do such as your employment or volunteer work, service in the church, exercise and raising your children to know the Lord? What is the motive behind your "good actions" or "good works"?

Recently I was talking with some friends about a person who is quite knowledgeable in the word and teaches pretty well but we agreed that we were afraid this person's motives were more for selfish gain and conceit rather than caring about those he was serving and teaching.

We cannot and should not judge because it is true that only the Lord knows the heart and the motives. This is one of those places where we are the best judge of our motives and if we are honest with ourselves we can understand why we do the things we do. I believe that is why the Lord through Paul had to tell us in Philippians 2:3,4 "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself, Let each of you look out not only for his own interests. but also for the interest of others."

Just writing that convicts me. As I examine my own motives I know they are not always pure.
Many times I do things because I think it is expected of me or because I think it helps others think well of me and I realize many times I am not willing to give up my interests to help someone else with their interest particularly if I think my way is better. Ultimately everything we do is to bring glory to God and to serve others.

In verse 2 of Philippians 2 Paul says "fulfill my joys by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind."

Spend some time giving yourself the test. Pick out some of the activities that are important in your life like the list I have in the beginning. Then honestly ask yourself "what is my motive for doing this or being involved in this?" If you find your motives are for selfish ambition or conceit - ways to make you look better, confess it to the Lord.

You're probably thinking "Wow, Merril this is not the most encouraging post." None of us want to see the real us. However, I do leave you with good news. If you do see areas of your life that are for selfish ambition, confess it to the Lord. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

Beware of Personal Favoritsm

"You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!"(Acts 11:3)

This is how those of the circumcision reacted when they found out that Peter had gone to the gentiles to preach to them.

My husband and I are members of the Presbyterian Church in America. (PCA) We travel to developing countries to train pastors and their wives. Most of the groups we go to are Pentecostal. We do some Anglicans and a few Presbyterians but mostly Pentecostals. I am sure you are aware that some of the doctrines are different. Many don't understand why we are teaching Pentecostals. While they don't say so, it is as if they think we should only be teaching those who are Presbyterians and if not at least try to make Presbyterians out of them.
We tell people "When teach the word of God through the scriptures the doctrines will be in our teaching without using all the "buzz" words like predestination." We thoroughly enjoy the worship with our Pentecostal brothers and sisters in Africa. The music and joy of their worship to the Lord is such a blessing. It is very hard for some of us who are the "frozen chosen" to be "thawed and awed".

Whether we want to admit it or not the same attitude the Jewish believers had in the early church remain today across denominations. I don't know why God has allowed us to have different denominations but He has. I do know that the line shouldn't be drawn between Christians of different denominations but between believers and unbelievers.

Many Baptists will not tolerate Presbyterians because they believe in that horrible word "predestination". Many Presbyterians will not tolerate Baptists because they say they have a choice as to whether to receive Christ as savior and certainly there is a different understanding of Baptism on both sides.

I may be stretching the point because I understand that the Jews were God's chosen people.
I am sure it was difficult for them to understand the Lord now taking the gospel to the Gentiles.
However, even after they heard the Gentiles had received the Word they were upset with Peter.
They were more concerned about favoritism then they were rejoicing over the fact that others had come to know the Lord.

Peter explained the dream he had on the rooftop (Acts 10) and the instruction that had been given to him by the Lord in detail. He said in Acts 11:17 "If therefore God gave them the gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?" The Jews finally became silent after they heard this report and glorified God.

Let us glorify God and rejoice when we hear of those coming to faith in Christ as long as they are in a denomination that believes the God of the scriptures. Think about it. There will come a day when there will be no Gentiles, Presbyterians, Baptists or Pentecostals. It will be a day when we as believers will all be together in heaven eating and worshiping the Lord together.

People Can Change

When my husband was the pastor of a church in Georgia there was a woman who visited our church. The first Sunday she came she expressed sorrow for the fact that her husband was not a believer and was pretty anti-God. He was a rough, tough carpenter that had no desire at all for the Lord. She wasn't even sure he was going to let her come to church with any regularity.

My husband and my brother-in-law went to visit this man one evening. It was one of these situations where my husband and brother-in-law had been working all day to clean our chimney and were tired and exhausted but after cleaning up my husband said to my brother-in-law. "Come with me, I want to visit someone." So off they went to this man's house not knowing what to expect. They shared the gospel with him and at the end of the visit this man accepted Jesus Christ into his life and became a believer that very day. He was immediately a different man. He stopped drinking and going out with his buddies. He never missed a Sunday at church or anytime the church doors were open and in fact became a deacon and one of the head people in building our church building when the time came. Needless to say, we were all rejoicing in the Lord for this new convert and that night was definitely what we call a "divine appointment".

There was another "divine appointment". There was a man whose name was Saul. This man was a zealous Jewish leader who was persecuting the Jews because of their belief in Jesus Christ. You know the story. Saul was on his way to Damascus with a letter from the high priest to bring believers in Jesus Christ to Jerusalem to be imprisoned or murdered. He meets Jesus on the way or should I say Jesus met him and you know the rest of the story. Read Acts 9 to refresh your memory and refresh your joy in the Lord's grace.

We all have special people in our lives who do not know Christ. It breaks our heart and we have been praying for them for a very long time, sometimes years. Yet we don't see any change. It becomes very disheartening. I have a list of those kind of people I have been praying for and am still praying for. I keep praying for that day when they will come face to face with the resurrected Christ and meet Him and understand forgiveness and repentance. My encouragement to you and me is "don't give up".

If the Holy Spirit can take a man like Saul breathing threats to God's people and turn him around to be the leader he became for the sake of the gospel, he can take our loved ones and turn them around. You might be thinking "but you don't know this person and how hard hearted he is." Well I don't, but the Lord does and can and will continue to change people as long as He tarries. We know that only He can change people. We must continue praying and never give up that hope.

Saul who becomes the apostle Paul says he is the chief of sinners. (1 Timothy 1:15) I encourage you not to focus on who these people are and what they have done but who Christ is and what He has done. People can change.

Love One Another

To fall in love comes easy. I am talking about the kind of love you have for that special person in your life. You know what I mean. You look into those beautiful green eyes and handsome face and with a few kind and gentle words you are hooked. Romantic love has a way of capturing us many times before we understand the person to whom our affections are attached.

Biblical love or God's love is very different and is not easy. If it was the apostle John would not have spent so much time talking about it. 1 John 4:7,8 says "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

If we are honest, there is that one person or persons we do not like let alone love. They rub us the wrong way every time we are in their presence. For now I am focusing on those who are in our own christian circles. Many times we will go out of our way to go out of their way - you know, avoidance.

When we find ourselves in this situation we must go back to the gospel. "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him." (1 John 4:9) "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8) Notice we were very unlovely people when Christ died for us. We truly rubbed Him the wrong way and I am sure it was very difficult for Him to be in our presence. We were still sinners when Christ died for us. God loves us and shows His love by sending His only begotten son to die for our failure to love and to give us His Spirit enabling us to love.

I encourage you to read 1 John 4. When you are faced with the person you do not like - think, "Since God loves me, I can and must love you." You may not like him and he may rub you the wrong way but the Lord says you are to love him. Love is patient, kind and does not behave rudely. Love gives and thinks of others first. If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Submissive or Stubborn?

I am very much like my grandmother. My mother and I lived with my grandparents during the years she was separated from my father and then later divorced. My grandmother had a lot of influence on me and I realized after I was grown that I was more like her than I was my mother.
That was good in a lot of respects. She was the kind of person who would not let circumstances hold her back. She was determined and focused in the middle of difficult times. However that determination was also stubbornness at times.

I had a very close friend who was a member of our church when we lived in Georgia. She was old enough to be my mother and we had developed a very close friendship. One day she told me I was like a dog with a bone - she said "you just won't give it up". She knew I was the kind of person who would hang on and push forward in difficult times. We both loved the Lord and she would use this expression as I would continue to pray for her alcoholic husband and beg the Lord for him to be relieved of this bondage.

This is true about me but there is another truth that is not pretty and that is where my determination becomes stubbornness before the Lord.

This morning I was reading Psalm 32 and focusing on verse 8 and 9. "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you."

I am like my grandmother in terms of stubbornness and that is not good. I see my stubbornness as I read the words of this psalm. The Lord wants to surround me with mercy and take care of me but my stubbornness gets in the way many times. Now I know God is sovereign and does whatever He pleases but He also allows us to walk in our stubbornness many times to show us more of who He is. Often I know the Lord is leading me or correcting and guiding me but if it is a direction I don't want to go I will fight it. I am like the horse or mule who has to be harnessed so it can be brought into submission. Because of the Lord's sovereignty, I will be brought into submission but here is the thing. I can come submissively and enjoy the fellowship and mercy He surrounds me with or I can come kicking and screaming pulling against Him. Either way, His way will be done. It is like a child and we have all been there. You are taking them to the doctor because they are sick and they are kicking and screaming and you are almost dragging them. You are doing it for their good but they don't want to go and get that shot or have their ear poked. It is the same with us. We are just a little more refined about it. What the Lord plans for us is for our good and His glory but we don't want to go there. We have other plans. James 4:17 says, "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." Read the passage to get the context but I believe it is applicable.

If you are in the middle of decisions and know that you are wanting your way instead of doing what you know God would have you to do, repent. David in psalm 32 kept silent about his sin and he describes a miserable picture. Then he confesses his sin and receives the Lord's forgiveness. David is the one who says "he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him."

By the way, my grandmother did not know the Lord until shortly before her death when she was 91 years old. My friend in Georgia has since gone to be with the Lord. I praise the Lord for both of them.

Perfect, Sure, Right, Pure, Clean, True and Righteous - What is?

God's Word.

If you are one to follow my blog with any regularity you will quickly learn that scripture memorization and meditation is extremely important to me and my healthiness as a follower of Christ. Therefore, I want others to make scripture memorization a high priority in their walk with Christ.

This morning I read Psalm 19. I am going to focus on verses 7-9.


The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandments of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

These verses not only uses words to describe the word of God but what it does - converting the soul, making wise the simple, rejoicing the heart, enlightening the eyes, and enduring forever.

Scripture memorization has often times been my lifeline to "hanging in there" when I felt like giving in to discouragement as well as shown me how to pray and praise the Lord at any time using His words. Often times I may not take the time to memorize a passage but I will memorize key phrases or words after reading and meditating on the passage. Then as I go through my day I am able to think on those things. "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." Phil.4:8.

Read those verses a couple times meditating on them. You may not want to take the time to memorize them but memorize those key words: perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true and righteous. Then when you do think of those words you will be able to connect them to those things these verses do for us -God's word is right, rejoicing the heart.

Would you come over for dinner?

In the second chapter of Acts we have the account of the Holy Spirit coming upon God's people and filling them with His presence. Peter preaches a great sermon and it says there were about three thousand souls that were added to them that day.

This was a very excited time for the apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ. They had received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit which He poured out upon them. The apostles/disciples had come a long way and went through some very difficult times to come to this point in their lives. The resurrected Christ was now dwelling in them in the person of the Holy Spirit. Woo!Hoo! "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart." Acts 2:46 Some versions say sincerity of heart.

When my husband and I came to know the Lord we had been attending a wonderful bible study that consisted of about 30 people. It was a very exciting time in our lives. We were praising the Lord and getting together with people in our bible study group in individual homes for meals and desserts and fellowship. During these times of meals we would all share different kinds of things about our lives and it was all centered around Christ and our joy and relationship with Him.

Over the years I have noticed that people don't seem to spend as much time with one another in that same manner. We often use the excuse that times have changed and families are busy and people are working and when they get home they just want to spend time with their own families. For most of us we would say our church is full of fine people who love the Lord and care about one another and help one another. Yet, we all seem too busy for fellowship, breaking bread with gladness and sincerity of heart.

How often do you get together with other believers over a meal or desert or prayer together? I am very sorry to say that it doesn't happen much in my life anymore.
I don't pretend to know the answers but I do believe to some extend we have lost our excitement and joy in spending time with one another. The Tyndale commentary said "The joy that characterizes these gatherings was no doubt inspired by the Spirit and may have been associated with the conviction that the Lord Jesus was present with them." Maybe we don't recognize the presence of Jesus dwelling in us as we fellowship with one another, therefore He is fellowshipping with us.

Now before we go pointing the finger at everyone else who doesn't invite us into their fellowship let us take the first step. Call someone and invite them to fellowship with you. Think afresh of the truth that Jesus dwells with us through the Holy Spirit. Let us once again look for that joy and sincerity of heart as we break bread together and enjoy and celebrate Christ.