The Love of God

 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39, NKJV)

Pastor Roger Bennet of Evans, Georgia provided this list from Dr. Dick Dickerson who wrote a paraphrase of  1 Corinthians 13:4-8. He did not tell us from what reference he got the paraphrase:

1. Because God loves me,  He is slow to lose patience with me.

2. Because God loves me,  He takes the circumstances of my life and uses them as a               

                                         constructive way for my growth.

3. Because God loves me,   He does not treat me as an object to be possessed or     

                                          manipulated.

4. Because God loves me,    He has no need to impress me with how great and powerful

                                          He is because He is God, nor does He belittle me as His child

                                          in order to show me how important He is.

5. Because God love me,      He is for me, He wants to see me mature and develop in His 

                                           love.

6. Because God loves me,     He does not send down His wrath on every little mistake I 

                                           make, of which there are many.

7. Because God loves me,     He does not keep score of all my sins and then beat me over 

                                           the head with them whenever He gets the chance.

8. Because God loves me,     He is deeply grieved when I do not walk in the way that 

                                           pleases Him because He sees this as evidence that I don’t 

                                           trust Him and love Him as I should.

9. Because God loves me,     He rejoices when I  experience His power and strength and 

                                                       stand up under the pressure of life for His name’s sake.

10. Because God loves me,     He keeps on working patiently with me even when I feel like

                                           giving up and can’t see why He doesn’t give up on me too.

11. Because God loves me,     He keeps on trusting at times when I don’t even trust myself.

12. Because God loves me,     He never says there is no hope for me; rather, He patiently 

                                           works with me, loves me, and disciplines me in such a way

                                           that it is hard for me to understand the depth of His concern

                                           for me.

13.  Because God loves me,    He never forsakes me even though many of my friends   

                                           might. 

14.  Because God loves me,    He stands with me when I have reached the rock bottom of 

                                           despair, when I see the real me and compare that with His

                                           righteousness, holiness, beauty and love. It is at a moment

                                           like this that I can really believe that God loves me.  

                Yes, the greatest of all gifts is God’s perfect love.     God loves you!            

Pray

1. Lord, help me to walk in the way that pleases you and not to turn aside to the things of this world that are always competing for my attention.

2. Thank you Lord for being patient with me and continually teaching me the lessons I should have learned a long time ago and not giving up on me.

3. I praise you Lord because I know that no matter how I have strayed or failed You, You will never leave me or forsake me                                      

The Great Awakening

   

"Not everyone that says To Me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. (Matthew 7:21, NKJV)

George Whitfield was an awesome man of God. He was an outstanding orator and evangelist, and he knew well that he had been given the very words of life that everyone in the world needed to hear. He had the Good News of Jesus Christ! He was born in England in 1714, but he is most famous for his preaching in the British colonies in America before there was such a thing as a country called The United States of America.

   He made his second trip to America in1739 and his first day there he preached to six thousand in the morning and eight thousand that night. On the following Sunday he preached to fifteen thousand and he was just getting started! The eighteen months he was in the colonies, he traveled two thousand miles on horseback and another three thousand by boat. By the time he left America in 1741 he had visited over seventy-five cities and towns and had preached over 350 times. 

    “Everywhere he went, the message was the same–that people must choose to be ‘born again’ and must accept their new identity in Christ.” 

    “Because Presbyterians and Congregationalists and Quakers and Baptists and others all heard the same message and were free to respond similarly, Americans became inadvertently united by his preaching.  People were offered a new identity that fit well with the American way of thinking. Some were German by background and some were French, and some were English, but none of it mattered; they were all equal under God, they were all believers in Jesus, and they were all born again. This was something new, an identity that was separate from one’s ethnicity or one’s denomination. To be part of the thirteen colonies now meant to buy into a new set of ideas about one’s equal status in God’s eyes–and by dint of this to be accepted into a new community, to be something new in history: in short, to be an American.” (7 More Men by Eric Metaxas, p.62-63)

     What actually happened when he traveled around the colonies and preached in the various towns and cities? The first hand account of a farmer and carpender in Middleton, Connecticut, Nathan Cole, will give us a small glimpse of what happened all over America: 

    “As soon as I heard he was come to New York and the Jerseys and great multitudes flocking after him under great concern for their Souls and many converted which brought on my concern more and more hoping soon to see him but next I heard he was at Long Island, then at Boston, and next Northampton.

 

      Then one morning all of a sudden, about 8 or 9 o’clock there came a messenger and said that Mr. Whitefield preached at Hartford and Weathersfield yesterday and is to preach at Middletown this morning (October 23, 1740) at ten of the Clock. I dropped my tool I had in my hand and ran home and run through my house and bade my wife get ready quick to go and hear Mr. Whitefield preach at Middletown…..I brought my horse home and soon mounted and  took my wife up and went forward as fast as I thought the horse could bear, and when my horse began to be out of breath, I would get down and put my wife on the saddle and bid her ride as fast as she could and not stop or slack for me except I bade her, and so I would run until out of breath, and then mount my horse again…..all the while fearing we should be too late to hear the Sermon, for we had twelve miles to ride double in little more than and hour…

      And when we came within half a mile of the road that comes down from Hartford Weathersfield and Stepney to Middletown; on high land I saw before me a Cloud or fog rising. ….I heard a noise something like a low rumbling thunder and presently found it was the noise of horses feet coming down the road and this Cloud was the Cloud of dust made by the horses feet…..I could see men and horses slipping along in the Cloud like shadows, and as I drew nearer it seemed to be like a steady stream of horses and their  riders, scarcely a horse more than his length behind another, all of a lather and foam and sweat, their breath rolling out of their nostrils…;every horse seemed to go with all his might to carry his rider to hear news from heaven for the saving of Souls……I found a vacancy between two horses to slip in my horse;

   We went down to the stream; I heard no man speak a word all the way three miles but everyone pressing forward in great haste and when we got to the old meeting house there was a great multitude; it was said to be 3 or 4000 of people assembled together; we got off our horses and shook off the dust, and the ministers were coming to the meeting house. …the land and the banks over the river looked black with people and horses all along the 12 miles. I saw no man at work in his field, all seemed to be gone.

     When I saw Mr. Whitefield come upon the scaffold he looked almost angelical, a young, slim youth before some thousands of people with a bold undaunted countenance,and my hearing how God was with him every where as he came along it solemnized my mind, and put me into a trembling fear before he began to preach; for he looked as if he was clothed with authority from the Great God, and a sweet solemn solemnity sat upon his brow. And my hearing him preach gave me a heart wound; by God’s blessing my old foundation was broken up, and I saw that my righteousness would not save me.”  (7 More Men by Eric Metaxes, chapter 2, pp.64-66)

  During the year and a half that Whitefield was in the American colony, thousands of men and women had their lives turned upside down and gave their lives to Christ and were born again just like Nathan Cole. Oh, that we had another Whitefield to come and preach to us today! But we can rejoice that we have the same gospel available to all who will hear and respond to God’s voice when they hear God’s Word preached faithfully and when we read the Scriptures for ourselves! How about you? Have you repented of your sin and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? You can do it right now and you too can have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of life today!

   “For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved.’” (Romans 10:11-13, NKJV)

Pray:

1. Thank you Lord for sending men like George Whitefield to us and for thousands of people to come to know You as their Lord and Savior.

2. Thank you that You have already paid the price at Calvary and we need only to accept the free gift of salvation for our sins and be born again as new creations.

3. Help me today to remember what You have done for me and to live this day for You and be faithful as You send me to minister to others needs.

My Father

“I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.”       (II Corinthians 6:18, NKJV)

     I was on a bus traveling from Dallas to Fort Worth two years ago and I saw a sign that announced that we were travelling on the Tom Landry Highway. I said out loud to no one in particular, “Coach Landry was a good coach.” A lady from Dallas sitting across the aisle, immediately corrected me, “Coach Landry was a great coach!” she said. She was right!

     As I reflect upon my father today, I am struck with the same idea about his ability as a father, He was a great father! I have many memories of his leadership and care for my mother and us five children. He was a soldier, who served in World War II and then accepted a regular Army commission after the war to serve another 20 years. He was a hero who had survived 2 years of continuous combat in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, France, Belgium, and Germany. He had been wounded 3 times and had earned a Silver Star for gallantry in action. However, growing up I never heard any of his experiences in the war except the circumstances of his Silver Star.

    He was the unquestioned leader of our family, but he was always in total agreement with my mother. I am certain that they didn’t agree on everything, but they always hashed things out away from the children before letting us know what the rules were or what activities were planned. I don’t have any recollection of being physically punished by him, (although I am sure there were times, I deserved it) but I do remember that I respected him so much that I never wanted to disappoint him. I think the term I read in a leadership survey once that would describe him as a “benevolent dictator.”

     He was interested in my schoolwork, my character, and my knowledge of the Lord and His Son, Jesus Crist. He made sure we went to church and Sunday School every Sunday. I remember one time outside the church when I remarked to my brother that: “If I don’t want to come to church, I don’t have to.” He corrected me immediately! “Oh yes, you do. We all come together as a family, and you are part of the family.” I was sure that I was coming to church on my own volition, but he reminded me that I was still under his authority.

     Most of my memories are of fishing trips with my brothers to a nearby lake, trips to the beach, or to visit relatives with the whole family. He taught me how to hunt and fish and then clean the fish or game. He taught me to play tennis, shoot a rifle, catch and throw a baseball and football, and to caddy for him when he played golf. But the most important thing I learned was how to be a man of integrity. He always spoke the truth in love, and you knew that his word was his bond. To the best of his ability, he would always do what he believed was right in the eyes of God and man.

   Because he was such a great dad, I wanted to be just like him when I grew up. I followed him into a career as an Army Officer and tried to carry myself with the same honor and integrity that he had taught me. When he was about 55 years old, he attended a Billy Graham crusade in Atlanta, GA and both he and my mother gave their lives to Christ. When my wife and I returned from a 3-year tour of duty in Germany in 1975 he was the first to tell me that I too, should surrender my life to the Savior. I didn’t at that time, but he planted a seed that came to fruition four years later.

   Whether or not you have or had a good father, everyone that comes to Christ receives a loving heavenly Father that you can depend on for the rest of your life and in eternity also! 

What does the Bible say about your Heavenly Father?

  You have a Father that never forgets you or what you are going through:

   “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. (Isaiah 49:15-16)

You have a Father that is by your side through every trial.

  “And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

You have a Father that protects you.

   “He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day.” (Psalm 91:4-5)

You have a Father that is merciful and forgiving.

    For as far as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.  As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. “(Psalm 103:11-13)

Pray

1.        Lord, help me to always look to you as my loving Father and depend upon Your mercy and forgiveness.

2.        Help me today to look for someone to encourage with the Scripture above so they can be reminded of what a loving and faithful Father You are.

3.        Thank you, Lord for loving me enough to die for my sins on the cross.

 

Normandy Invasion, June 6th, 1944

   “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.” (Psalm 33:12, NKJV)

     This past June 6^th, 2024, we celebrated the 80^th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion, also know as Operation Overlord, or just D-Day. General Dwight Eisenhower (Ike) was the Supreme Allied Commander of the forces that marshalled in the English Channel that fateful day. The final decision to commence the battle rested totally on his shoulders to send the allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen who would fight, bleed, and many die to accomplish the greatest amphibious assault in the history of the world.

   The day before the battle this is the message Ike sent to his forces already enroute to kick off the battle on June 6^th, 1944: 

     “Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on the other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi Tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

    Your task will not be an easy one, your enemy is well trained well-equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground.

     Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than victory!

   Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower

 

    I don’t know how much of a Christian General Eisenhower was, but I know that many godly men and women of Great Brittain, Canada, and the United States had been and continued to pray throughout the war for the Allied Forces to achieve victory over the Axis Forces of Germany and Japan that sought to enslave the rest of the world.  Ever since the Miraculous escape of the 350,000 British and French soldiers that were saved from Dunkirk in 1940, there were thousands of Christians in the Allied countries had cried out to God daily for God to intervene in the affairs of men. And as they prayed the Allies were able to win in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and in the Pacific Theater.

      The same Psalm that is at the top of the first page tells us just who oversees the affairs of men and who we can depend on when we face problems much smaller than the ones that faced Ike and his soldiers on that fateful day eighty years ago.

     “The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling, He looks On the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually He considers all their works. No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.” (Verses 13-17)

      Yes, the armed forces still had to fight the battles, but it was the Almighty God who allowed the Allies to eventually overcome the Nazi scourge and the Japanese Empire. The next verses of the Psalm gives us some great advice on how we can attack the battles we will have to fight in this fallen world.

        “Behold the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His Mercy, To deliver their soul from death, And keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.” (Verses 18-22)

 

Pray

 

1.        Lord, help me to look only to You to help me with my problems and challenges in life. I know You are in charge and have a plan for me to prosper and serve You.

2.        Lord, I totally surrender my life and my desires to You and ask You to continually fill me with Your Spirit that I may be obedient to You leading always.

3.        Precious Jesus, I love you! Help me today to love You more and more with each passing day.

Man of Faith

     “Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.’ And Jesus said to him,  ‘I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Matthew 8:5-9 NKJV) 

   “When Jesus heard it, He said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (Matthew 8-10 NKJV)

   I have written about this centurion in a previous post but recently I read a sermon by the late Pastor Ron Dunn and he has some very good points that I didn’t see before. Pastor Dunn says this:

   “Now, I have a great respect for the Word of God. But I must confess to you that for a long time I couldn’t see what was so great about what that man said. I didn’t understand it. What did he say? He said, ‘I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me…..”(verse 9)

    Why was Jesus amazed at this man of faith? I couldn’t see what the man said had to do with faith. But I got to thinking, If it amazed Jesus, it ought to amaze me. I would think it would take a lot to amaze Jesus. He was amazed twice in the Bible. Both times He expressed amazement at the faith of a Gentile. What could you show Jesus, or what could you tell Jesus that would amaze Him? He’s seen it all! He made it all!

     If this encounter amazed Jesus, it ought to do something to me. I thought to myself that I must be missing something. Let’s look at the encounter again. Jesus told the centurion that He would come to his house and heal his servant. But the centurion replied, ‘Oh, no, Lord, don’t do that. I’m not worthy to have You come under my roof. Just speak the word, and my servant will live, for I also am a man under authority.’ Now I would expect his next words to be,  ‘And if I am told to go somewhere, I go somewhere, and when I am told to do something, I do something.’ But that is not what the centurion said.

     He said,  “For I also am a man under authority with soldiers under me. And I say to this one go, and he goes. And to this one, do this and he does it.’ The centurion was saying, ‘ I live under authority; therefore, I have authority.’ And he did. He had authority over one hundred soldiers. That’s why they call him a centurion.

    As long as the centurion was submitted to the authority of the emperor, he had the emperor’s authority over those one hundred soldiers. If he rebelled against the authority of the emperor, he lost his authority over those one hundred soldiers. So that was the principle by which he was living. But that is still not what amazed Jesus. What amazed Jesus was one little word that the man said. Some translators say ‘also.’ Some say ‘too.’ And unfortunately, some leave it out. But it belongs there.

    Now listen to me as I quote it: …..’Just speak the word, and my servant will live, for I also am a man under authority.’ In other words, ‘I don’t have to run my own errands. If I want something done, I tell others to do it, and it’s done for me. And Lord, I understand that You live by the same principle I live by.’ When he said, ‘I, too,’ or ‘I, also, am a man under authority,’ this is what amazed Jesus, that this centurion had such great insight into the truth that Jesus Himself lived by that same principle. He said, ‘I have never seen such great faith.’

    The point I want you to get is that this was the principle by which Jesus Christ lived. He lived under the authority of His Father; therefore He had His Father’s authority. That’s the principle by which the centurion lived. He was under the authority of the Emperor; therefore, he had the emperor’s authority. That’s the principle by which (the Apostle) Paul lived. That’s the principle by which we should live if we want to experience victory in the Christian life. 

   I’m trying to say that the responsibility for the victory is not mine, it is God’s. I realize that many of us use the expression, ‘win the victory.’ I’ve got to go out there and ‘win the victory,’ to overcome the devil, and win over temptation. But I want you to know there are no victories to be won. Christ won every victory two thousand years ago when He died for us on the cross! Every temptation you will face has already been overcome by Jesus. The responsibility is not ours…….The responsibility for victory in the Christian life does not rest with us. It’s not our victory; it is God’s victory through Christ.” (Ron Dunn by Ron Owens, pp 267-269)

PRAY

1. Lord, we praise You because You alone are worthy of our praise. You are our Creator, Savior, Father, and LORD!

2. Help me today to stay completely under Your authority and banner so that You can lead me in the Victory that You have already won.

3. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit today so that I may speak of Your wonders and mercy to all that You send into my path today. I belong to You, and help me to stay under Your authority as You lead me in the victory that You have already won at Calvary!   

Chained to the Chariot

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” (2 Corinthians 2:12-14, NKJV)

   In Roman times when Paul wrote his epistles, it was a Roman custom to hold a victory parade after every major victory of one of its armies over an enemy such as  Carthage, or Greece, or Gaul. The parade would be led by priests burning incense, followed by the victorious general in a golden chariot pulled by four white horses. Behind him would be some of the enemy commanders in chains. The prisoners would be followed by musicians and then soldiers of the victorious army. The crowds would line the route of march cheering the general and throwing flowers. The victorious general would dismount the chariot where the Ruling Cosul, or Emperor of Rome, was stationed and the ruler would place on the victor’s head a wreath, in honor of the victory. 

   There is a great example of this scene in the 1962 version of the movie Ben Hur, played by Charlton Heston. Ben Hur, who had been a galley slave on the ship of the victorious general, had saved the general’s life when the ship went down. Then as the general was ready to start the parade, he invited Ben Hur to ride with him in the chariot as the celebration began. 

   This is the way I always envisioned what Paul was saying in the verse above. God has invited me up into his chariot to share in the victory that Christ has already won for me. WRONG!  Wow, did I ever get that wrong!

    Ron Dunn, an awesome pastor and evangelist, who went to his reward in 2001, preached a sermon many times entitled “Chained to the Chariot,” that explains in a much better way just what the Apostle Paul was trying to tell us.

    Describing the victory parade Pastor Dunn said: “When the people saw their hero in that chariot, they would cheer and shout. They would throw garlands and confetti into the air. But when they saw the officers of that defeated army chained to that chariot and being dragged along behind, they would really go wild. This was a demonstration of the power of their hero. Paul was referring to that custom when he said, ‘Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession.’ In other words, Paul was Christianizing that custom. He was saying there was a time when he was at war with Jesus Christ. There were hostilities between God and Paul. But the Lord Jesus had conquered him, and he had yielded to Him in unconditional surrender. He had put Paul in the chains of His lordship, and he was chained to His chariot. And everywhere Paul went, Christ led him in His triumphal procession.

    The New English Bible brings it out well by saying, ‘Thanks be to God, who continually leads us about, captives in Christ’s triumphant procession’ (2 Cor. 5:14) Paul is saying, ‘I came to Jesus Christ; He overcame me, and I yielded to Him in unconditional surrender. He placed my hands in the chains of His Lordship and chained me to His chariot. Now thanks be to God, everywhere I go I am being led in His triumphant procession.’

   Paul was wanting everybody to know this before he details his apostleship, because when you get over to chapter 4 of 2 Corithians, he will speak about some bad things happening to him. He is saying in anticipation, ‘Now I’m going to tell you some things that some of you are going to think reveals failure and defeat. But I want you to know at the outset, thanks be to God, He always leads me in His triumph in Christ, and wherever I go, it may look like defeat to you; it may look like failure to you, but I am chained to His chariot, and that means that everywhere I go I am following in his own triumphant victory in Christ!”

   ‘But Paul;--how is it that you can say everywhere you go there's victory?’ Paul:’Because I’ve been conquered by Jesus Christ. I’m chained to His chariot, and I’m simply following along in the wake of His victory.’

The Fourfold Secret to a Victorious Life

1. If you want to be a conqueror, you must first be conquered.

2. If you want to be an overcomer, you must first be overcome.

3. If you want to be a master, you must first be mastered.

4. If you want to exercise authority, you must first submit to it.”

(Ron Dunn, His Life and Mission by Ron Owens, pp. 264-265)

    Obviously, we need more humility and submission than comes naturally if we are to be used by God to advance His Kingdom. We need to be chained to His chariot and led where He leads us and not where we want to go. Everytime I get the idea that I should be riding up in the chariot, next to Jesus, telling Him where I would like to go, I need to remember that that is not the way it works. I can be led to victory only if I remain chained to Jesus's chariot and obedient to go where He leads!

PRAY

1. Lord, thank You so much for accepting my surrender to You and allowing me to be chained to Your victorious chariot!

2. Keep me In your procession, and use me to accomplish whatever You have ordained for me since the day I was born.

3. Oh how I praise You and thank You for giving me another day to serve In Your Army! Fill me with Your Spirit daily so that my natural desire will be to be obedient and sensitive to Your directions.