In the 80's, I worked as an editor of a daily devotional Light From The Word. Here's a month's worth of the pieces I wrote.
You may want to "bookmark" this and then read one a day. Just click on today's date:
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Christmas
Easter
Click here for my wife's devos.
I Am Here
I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to another (1 Chronicles 17:5 NIV).
"Don't run in God's house!" "God, come down and visit your people today." "God, be with Sister Smith in the hospital today." "God was certainly in the service this morning."
Those phrases annoy me as much as the electronic operator who thanks me for using AT&T and Vanna and Pat who tell me they love me. (How can a machine be "thankful" and the hosts of "Wheel of Fortune" love someone they don't even know?)
And how can the infinite, everywhere-present at every moment God of the universe be boxed in with stained glass, or banished to heaven "up there"? (If God is "up" in North America is He "down" in South America?)
No, God doesn't live "up there" or show up on Sunday mornings for a visit. Through the prophet Nathan, God assured King David that "I have been with you wherever you have gone."
The infinite, everywhere-present God of the universe chooses to live in the souls of those who have accepted His Son as Savior and Lord.
God is in that energetic five-year old running through the building. ("God's house" is the one doing the running!) God is in those who have come to worship him. God is with Sister Smith at Memorial Hospital room 205, Bed 2. And when God's people allow him to express himself, they do sense that "God is here."
The Scents of Christmas
"This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby
wrapped in strips of cloth lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12
NIV).
Evergreen boughs. Fruitbreads. Wassail. Fresh-
baked cookies. Frosty winter air. Bayberry candles.
The festive fragrances reminded our family that this
was Christmas Eve as we visited my wife's mother in
Wisconsin.
"Dad, can we go down to the barn and see the
kittens?" Faith and Paul asked. We bundled up and
trudged through the snow to the barn.
As we opened the door, the smell of urine burned
our eyes and nostrils. Steam from the cattle's body
heat carried the scent of fresh manure throughout the
barn.
"Let's see the kittens and then get out of here,"
my teen-aged daughter urged. "My hair is going to
smell just terrible after being here!"
We did carry the odor of the barn's manure, old
wooden beams, grain, and fresh straw back to the house
with us.
"This smells better," Paul announced as the aroma
of roasting turkey greeted us at the door.
But the true scent of the season clung to our
clothes. The holy and pure God had chosen to arrive on
earth, not between scented candles in a tabernacle of
cedar paneling, but in the stench and filth of a
stable. And in his sacrificial acts, he offered us the
"fragrance of life" (2 Corinthians 2:16).
Thought: He became like us, so that we might become like Him.
Nickels and Noses
These are the Israelites, counted according to their families. All those in the camps . . . number 603,550 (Numbers 2:32 NIV).
I hate annual reports! Once a year pastors have to tally up average attendance figures for morning worship, Sunday school, youth group, women's missionary society, and men's group; plus figure losses and gains in membership; and provide a complete breakdown of every auxiliary's income and expenses. (I suspect we will soon be forced to account for the number of tuna casseroles at carry-in dinners!)
But numbers are not only important to church officials. God devotes a whole book of the Bible to precise "Numbers." (Not "over 600,000" but 603,550.) He determines the billions of stars "and calls them each by name" (Psalm 147:4). There seem to be as many sparrows, "yet not one is forgotten by God" (Luke 12:6)
Even more than God's interest in stars and sparrows, is His concern for human numbers. "The very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Luke 12:7).
So while I hate the actual tapping out totals on the calculator, those figures do bring a mixed sum of joy and sorrow. The digits represent people who have come to know Jesus Christ during the past fiscal year. The numbers also represent those who have gone to be with Christ. And they represent those who for a variety of reasons have dropped out of fellowship with the church.
I'm not sure if God's likes annual reports anymore than I do, but He does love "numbers."
Small Miracles
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory and his disciples put their faith in him (John 2:11 NIV).
You would expect the Son of God to begin with a more spectacular miracle: raising a corpse from the dead, healing a leper, multiplying loaves and fishes, casting out an evil spirit, calming a raging storm or at least walking on the sea. After all, this is the same God who brought us Mount Sinai, the Red Sea, and the walls of Jericho.
But Jesus chooses to launch his ministry of miracles by saving a party! More guests have shown up at the wedding reception than sent in their RSVP cards, and now the punch bowl is dry. So Jesus turns water into wine!
Water into wine? That doesn't bring anybody back from the dead, free anyone from life-threatening illness or even defy the forces of nature.
It does, however, reveal a God who is not just interested in the "spiritual" dimension of our lives or the "life and death" issues. Jesus reveals that our social lives--even our parties--are important to God. It would have been a disgrace for the host of the wedding reception--not to mention the bride and groom--if the refreshments would have run out.
In the same way, the Lord intercedes in the average, every-day, run-of-the-mill, mundane moments of our lives. A relationship with a God who was only interested in the "big" issues of life, would be no more personal than our relationship with the 911 operator. But the infinite, almighty God chooses to relate on a more intimate level--not on the Mount Sinai's, but in the dining rooms of our lives.
Tides of Life
The desert and the parched land will be glad...they
will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our
God (Isaiah 35:1a, 2e NIV).
Surrounded by lush ferns, towering cedar pines, and
majestic mountains, the tidal basin of Washington's
Puget Sound lies flat and lifeless. Only dead
branches, rotting logs, and old tires emerge from this
salt-dried waste land of brownish gray.
But hours later, the silver-plated sea spreads out
across the barren land covering it with the sunset's
burgundy, mauve, and dark pink colors.
Two times each day, 365 days a year, a "dry and
thirsty land where there is no water" is transformed
into sea of glorious colors.
Perhaps we, as God's creations, also experience
the ebb and flow of emotional and spiritual tides. We
climb lush mountain sides and descend into valleys gray
with death. We taste the freshness of living water and
the dry, salty taste of dust.
Maybe it is the harsh contrasts of life that hone
our sensitivity to our world and our God--life and
death, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, and the glory
of God and the despair of this world.
The rhythm of the tide gives us hope that
refreshment follows dryness and the humility that our
high times will be followed by the low tides of life.
But above it all, shines the glory of God.
God-incidents
As it turned out, [Ruth] found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz. Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem (Ruth 2:3-4 NIV).
"The first girl you meet will become your wife." No, this wasn't the prediction of a fortune teller or a 900-number "psychic friend." My pastor's wife was trying to console me after a break-up of an engagement and the feeling that I'd never, ever find true love. "The first girl you meet at Marion College will become your wife. I just feel that's what the Lord is telling me." I was skeptical, but I did go back to school with a sense of fear that the "Bride of Frankenstein" would be waiting for me.
To quickly make my point, the first girl I met that year at college was Lois Farra--no Bride of Frankenstein! And two and a half years later she changed her last name to "Watkins." A coincidence, perhaps. I would rather think of it as one of my friends calls it: "A God-incident."
Throughout life God is orchestrating His will for our lives with "as it turned out" and "just then" incidents. Lois just "happened to be" for first person I met. Recently, when our car broke down several miles from home, a neighbor "just happened" to have had to work late and "just happened" to notice us beside the road. When Lois and a friend from out of town, missed an appointment with each other at the hospital where both needed to call on parishioners, Lois decided to pick up some supplies at a Christian bookstore several miles from the hospital. "As it turned out" her friend "just happened" to be at the very same store!
Throughout my life, the Lord has used "God-incidents" to have me meet the right people for employment, writing assignments, and the current pastorate where Lois and I serve as co-pastors. Like Naomi, we can rejoice, "the Lord has not stopped showing his kindness to the living."
High Potency Vitamins
So then as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue
to live in him, rooted and built up in him,
strengthened in the faith . . . (Colossians 2:6-7 NIV).
"I'm afraid we've lost our patient," my college
roommate solemnly announced. Sure enough, on my desk,
lay the lifeless remains of a carnation. Our heroic
efforts had failed!
Monday the flower had looked great as it posed in
a mouth-wash bottle filled with water. But by Tuesday
it was looking a bit brown around the edges. My
roommate had heard that aspirin could revive fleeting
flowers, but we were all out. We did have some Vitamin
C that the school nurse dispensed for everything from
colds to malaria, so we tossed a few tablets in the
water.
But by Wednesday the comatose carnation had
collapsed over the neck of the bottle. Desperate
measures were needed! We administered some "all
natural, high potency, multi-complex vitamins with
minerals" from the hypochondriac down the hall.
But alas, Thursday, the flower had gone to that
Big Greenhouse in the sky. The autopsy revealed that
cause of death from "separation from source of
nourishment." All the artificial life-saving measures
could not substitute for roots in fertile soil.
Neither can "hollow" philosophy, traditions,
legalism, church activities, or anything apart from a
vital personal relationship with Jesus Christ, keep our
spiritual life in fragrant bloom.
Be planted where you blooml JNW
Love God, hate evil
Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful (Psalm 31:23)
Every Sunday morning was a struggle for Don and Barbara Watkins to get their son to shine his shoes, take a bath, brush his teeth, and wear a tie. Until, I discovered puberty and Patty Byrd.
The struggle took on a different tact. “Jim, how much longer are you going to be in the bathroom?!” “Who used up all the toothpaste?” “Where’s that tie I got for Father’s Day?!” After thirteen years of my Mom and Dad’s nagging, bribing, and threatening, I had a brand new motivation to be looking good for Sunday morning-LOVE!
In our struggle to deal with sexual temptations, we often try self-discipline and large doses of guilt. But love is the secret to overcoming temptations of all kinds.
King David, who had his share of sexual temptation, writes in Psalm 31: “Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD” (Psalm 31:23-24).
The Apostle Paul writes, “Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that! If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill all the requirements of God's law. For the commandments against adultery and murder and stealing and coveting--and any other commandment--are all summed up in this one commandment: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God's requirements (Romans 13:8-10, NLT).
Our love for God must be stronger than our love for sin. And if you “ . . . love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37-38), you’ll find yourself highly motivated to do what pleases Him.
Once love became my motivation, my parents never again had to worry about me looking and smelling good on Sunday morning. Love satisfies all of God’s requirements.
A Thousandth of an Inch
"Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left" (Joshua 23:6 NIV).
The Hubble telescope, NASA's multi-billion-dollar "eye in the sky," was near-sighted.
Scientists had hoped the orbiting observer would photograph distant galaxies never before seen by the human eye. But a mirror, ground incorrectly by a few thousandths of an inch, kept the ground crew from seeing clearly. Eventually, a multi-million dollar space shuttle flight was able to replace the mirror and bring sight to the visually impaired telescope.
Just a few thousandths of an inch of imprecision had made the bus-sized telescope absolutely useless. In the same way, just a thousandth of a degree deviation from God's plan can make us equally useless to His Kingdom.
Remember parallel lines from high school geometry? A thousandth of an inch difference in the distance between two nearby lines, when extended far enough, create a huge gap between them. In the same way, the slightest deviation from God's straight and narrow line for a long enough time, will eventually create a destructive distance between what is right and what is wrong in our life.
I've seen this happen in the church. "Innocent flirting" leads to spending extra time together over coffee and doughnuts before or after church. Then excuses to get together just as "friends" outside of church. Before either of the participants realize what has happened, a full-fledged affair has burst into flame.
Not matter what the ultimate sin, it always begins with a slight--perhaps even imperceptible--"turning aside to the right or to the left."
Hidden Harvest
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight (Hebrews 4:3a NIV).
"Just finish planting that bag of sweet corn and we'll head for the lake," my dad announced, hoping to inspire his ten-year-old son to complete the row.
At least twenty more feet of sun-baked earth and a sound of seeds remained between my hot, sweaty body and the cold, refreshing water of Graham Lake.
He just said, "Finish planting that bag of sweet corn," I thought. He didn't say anything about finishing the row.
Quickly, I hoed a large hole and, turning to see that Dad wasn't looking, emptied the bag of seed into the newly-dug grave.
A few weeks later, long rows of tiny thin leaves began to push through the earth. I double-checked to make sure I had buried the extra seeds deep enough. Sure, enough, there was no sign of the secret seeds. Until about two weeks later!
"James Norman Watkins! What do you know about this?" There, between the corn rows, a dense patch of tiny, thin leaves betrayed me.
Part of my summer's allowance went to buy replacement seed, and a whole afternoon went to planting the rest of the row of corn. But most of my summer was spent listening to my dad quote, "Behold you sins will find you out."
Tattletales
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser . . . has been called down” (Revelation 12:10).
My little brother was a tattletale!" “Jim is calling me names. Jim is making faces at me. Jim hit me. Jim is riding his bike without his hands. Jim won’t let me play with his Tonka truck.”
My parents always seemed to believe him. They even named me James, which comes from Jacob and means “deceiver.”
Okay, sometimes I did make faces at him and ride my bike without hands, but most of the time (okay, some of the time) I was innocent of the alleged charges.
Now that I’m nearly 50, I still hear an accuser. “Jim has rotten attitudes. Jim is a choco-holic. Jim is a pitiful excuse for a Christian.”
And, often, the accusations are absolutely accurate-especially when it involves chocolate. Our accuser, Satan, is determined to “make war against . . . those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (12:17).
But the believers in Revelation “overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony” (12:11).
While the Holy Spirit will lovingly convict believers when they go astray,
Satan viciously accuses them with trumped up charges.
Cancelled!
Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to this fellow Israelite . . . because the Lord's time for canceling debts has been proclaimed (Deuteronomy 15:3 NIV).
Wouldn't it be great if every seven years every debt was cancelled! Great for consumers. Not so great for banks, credit unions, credit card companies, "easy credit" auto dealers, loan sharks, and pawn shops.
Wouldn't it be great, though, if every emotional and spiritual debt was regularly cancelled.
Jason has refused to have any contact with his teen-age daughter for the past year following her false accusations that landed him in court.
Marie has held a grudge for fifteen years against several in the church--along with compounded hurt--for not being offered a funeral dinner at the death of her father.
George's unforgiveness goes back forty years when, at his high school graduation, his cousin didn't show up for the commencement.
Like Marley's Ghost, their debts with compound daily, have emotionally bound them. They are doomed to go though life dragging the chains their own unforgiveness has forged.
Perhaps there are some debts in your own life that need to be cancelled. What hurts, slights, lack of recognition, insults, injustices, or grudges have been compounding interest over the years?
Make this New Year your "Year of Jubilee" when you willfully and deliberately cancel those debts.
Mercy and Grace
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16 NIV).
Certain phrases cause my heart rate and blood pressure to rise: "May I see your license and registration." "The boss wants to see you in his office right now." "You have been chosen to be audited by the Internal Revenue Service."
I've heard them all, but the last phrase caused the most fear and trembling. (And to make it worse, the tax office scheduled our appointment for two months following our notification.)
Lois and I approached the IRS office like we were "walking the last mile." We had heard all the horror stories of the tax collectors seizing homes and property, leveling fines that would, well, level a person.
Surprisingly, instead of a small interrogation room with a bare light bulb, we met with a charming women in a office filled with family pictures and beautiful plants. She seemed almost apologetic that we had been called in and seemed eager to help us resolve the issue. (A publisher had written a check in December of 1994, we had cashed it in January 1995. Unfortunately, the publisher notified the IRS in one year, we claimed it in another year, and the red flags started waving.)
The sixty days of fretting and expecting the worst were a horrible waste of emotional energy. (Unfortunately, our experience is not always the case as evidenced by recent congressional hearing stories of abuse by the IRS.)
Fortunately, if Jesus Christ is our representative, we can approach the almighty God "with confidence"--and a much lower heart rate and blood pressure--since "we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
"They're With Me"
We have a great high priest . . . Jesus the Son of God . . . (Hebrews 4:14 NIV).
It's easier to get into heaven than it is for a civilian to get unto an Air Force base. My wife, Lois, and I had been invited to speak at the base chapel at Lajes Field in Portugal. So for six months before leaving, we filled out government clearance forms, transportation requisitions, passport papers, health certificates, etc.
We were finally given a three-page document to carry with us to clear us through the gates of McGuire Air Force base, get us a seat on a C-131 transport plane and allow us off the plane and onto Lajes once we landed. It seemed at least fifteen security guards along our route demanded to see our "orders," compared our faces to the pictures on the passport (a slight resemblance) and then let us pass.
With much relief, we finally met the chaplain who had orchestrated all the arrangements. As we came to the first check on to the actual base, I reached for my well-worn papers. "Oh, you don't need those now." Sure enough, Chaplain Bubb merely told the guard, "They're with me" and we were waved through.
All the good work (and paper work) in the world won't allow us through heaven's gate. But when we walk day by day with Christ, He announces, "They're with me," and we pass right in.
McPrayer
"'Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty
reigns." (Revelation 19:1b NIV).
Sometimes I'm afraid I treat God like the drive-through
window at McDonalds. I scan the menu board of "promise
verses," place my order, and then race my engine as I wait
impatiently.
One week, I decided that I would try to get beyond my
"McGod" mentality of prayer and just praise the Lord--
without placing one "order." I picked the wrong week!
Monday, I discovered we had a little over one hundred
dollars in our check book and bills of over a thousand
dollars. Wednesday a publisher, who owed me several hundred
dollars in back royalties, announced that it too was broke.
I was tempted to shout my order into menu board speaker, but
I managed to simply praise God that week.
Friday, while on my way to the bank for a loan to cover
our bills, I stopped by my daughter's school to pay her
tuition. There had been an error last semester and we didn't
owe money that month. Praise the Lord!
My next stop was at a Christian university to check on
some advertising copy I had recently written.
"That was great," the director announced. "We'd also
like you to rewrite all our admissions brochures. Do you
think you could do that for around a thousand dollars."
Praise the Lord!
I never did get to the bank. All our bills were paid.
God does "work through those who praise Him. Praise the
Lord."
Prayer: Help us to balance our petitions with praise.
"Clone-liness"
I appeal to you . . . that all agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought (1 Corinthians 1:10 NIV).
The church of tomorrow will have unity,
Give thanks to our science and technology.
No disagreements over buildings and plans,
Or if, when we sing, we should sit or should stand.
And every member will always agree,
In every matter of church policy.
In doctrine, convictions, and pastoral votes
There'll be only "yes's" in balloting totes.
Goodbye to politicking over the phone,
Hello to tomorrow's "First Church of the Clone."
A "clone" is an exact genetic duplicate, but in the Body of Christ "clone-liness is not next to godliness." First Corinthians 12 is a celebration of diversity and uniqueness in the church.
Paul uses the Greek word translated "like-minded." In the original language it meant to "center one's thinking on something or to steer one's action by this mind set, having one's mind guided by a way of thinking, having one's mind set on one purpose."
So while we have one "mind" (Jesus Christ and his teachings), we certainly don't have one "mold" (personality, background, tradition or even convictions)!
Thought: God demands unity, not uniformity.
Living in the Gap (May 2006)
And Jesus matured, growing up in both body and spirit, blessed by both God and people (Luke 2:52, MSG).
As a teen, our daughter would have loved to live in The Gap, the trendy clothing store at the mall.
Many of us live in the gap, but it’s a gaping hole between jobs or perhaps relationships.
There are gaps in our health (three surgeries in three hospitals in two months to remove one stubborn kidney stone). No one wants to live in those gaps, but they are inevitable.
There are two major gaps in the life of Jesus. Twelve years separate the story of Christ as an infant and Christ as a twelve-year old. Then an eighteen-year gap between twelve-years old and the beginning of his ministry at age thirty.
Luke 2 fills in those gaps with two short verses. Between infancy and pre-teen:
There the child grew strong in body and wise in spirit. And the grace of God was on him (2:40).
And between twelve and thirty:
And Jesus matured, growing up in both body and spirit, blessed by both God and people (2:52).
We rarely think of Jesus, the Son of God, needing to grow in wisdom and maturity, but that is exactly what Luke records.
As gaps open up in my life, my first reaction is to panic or get depressed. But the gap is also a time that God, in His grace, can help us to mature and grow through the experience.
Are you living in the gap? I pray that God’s grace and the blessing of the people who love you, will make this a time of spiritual growth. And I pray that it won’t last twelve or eighteen years!
Related articles:
Why? Answering life's tough questions
God is never late—but He sure is slow
One Head is Better Than Two
The body [of Christ, the church,] is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ (1 Corinthians 12).
"Paddle this way!"
"No, paddle that way!"
"We're just going in circles!"
"Look out, we're heading right for that big rock!"
Four Watkins' in a canoe was not a pretty sight! My parents, my brother, and I spent most of our time in the rented canoe going in circles, running into rocks, and finally going overboard as all four of us attempted to get out onto the dock at the same time.
Cooperation is essential in canoes and in life. In First Corinthians 12, Saint Paul provides a prescription for cooperation.
"The body [of Christ, the church,] is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
"If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
"There should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." (1 Corinthians 12:12; 14-18; 25-26).
In this case one head is better than two! Christ is the "head" of his "body." So, when all the "hands," "feet," "eyes," and other assorted body parts in his church are attempting to follow his commands, cooperation results.
As I play my guitar, I'm not sure that my right and left hands have any idea what the other is doing. But as long as they take their instruction from my head (and if I have any idea of what I'm doing), the two cooperate well and music results.
And as long as each believer is listening to the head "there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other".
And cooperation will result.
Make Me a Servant
Accept one another, then, just as Christ
accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell
you that Christ has become a servant . . . (Romans 15:7-8a
NIV).
"And the Award of Excellence winner in the 'take-home
paper' category is...Vista! James Watkins, Editorial
Director; Patsy Whittenberg, Editor."
What a night! Three awards from the Evangelical Press
Association for the publications I edited. With my heart
still pounding, I proudly strapped the trophy into the
passenger-side seat belt and began driving--actually
floating--back to the hotel.
But just as I began to re-live and relish the past few
hours, another memory forced its way into my thoughts.
"Make me a servant, humble and meek..."
It was the "Kids of Praise" musical group from my
daughter's Christian school. The children's innocent faces
beamed as they sang "...make me a servant today."
Suddenly, the slab of acrylic and marble sitting next to
me didn't seem that important. Nor did framed book jackets
with my by-line or award certificates and plaques back home.
God will not say on Judgment Day, "Well done good and
faithful--Sunday school teacher, deacon, pastor, choir
member, custodian, or even 'editor.' His Son has filled in
the correct response--'servant.'
Audio and Video
I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ Philemon 6 (NIV).
During our first year of marriage, we were given used dishes, a well-worn couch and chair, and a second-hand black-and-white TV. The twelve-inch screen occasionally turned black at crucial points in the plot. Sometimes the sound faded!
But even worse than a tired television is a Christian with video or audio problems.
There are believers who are all sound (words! words! words!), but no picture (actions). Then there are the "silent" witnesses who hope that unbelievers will somehow understand that Christ is God's own Son, who died and rose again for their sins, simply because they don't swear or gossip.
Both kinds of witnesses are as frustrating as our first TV. Audio (words) and video (actions) are essential if we are going to be "active in sharing our faith."
Perhaps we need to adjust the picture and turn up the volume?
Prayer: Jesus, may our words be in harmony with our actions. Amen.
Sheep in Wolves' Clothing
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16 NIV).
I was an undercover Christian during the first several years of my Christian faith--no one in elementary and junior high school knew I was a believer. Now that I'm older--and hopefully wiser--I find myself going undercover on occasions.
I've developed a sheep in wolves' clothing approach when I speak in public schools and am interviewed on secular TV and radio stations.
I certainly don't lie, but I don't let the audience or listeners know any more about me than I'm "an author who has worked with young people for the last twenty years." I've learned that to label myself a "minister," is to lose most of my audience (thanks to stereotypes created by "TV preachers").
My message is always biblically based, but I never quote scripture, since most "wolves" don't accept The Good Shepherd as an authority. I recently shared "25 Reasons to Avoid Premarital Sex" at a secular high school and received some good comments from teachers who felt it "made sense" and was "very practical and relevant." I felt like saying, "Of course it is, the concepts are right out of God's Word!" (I was able to share the biblical basis during a parent's meeting at the school, so my undercover work is paying off.)
And I certainly don't use inappropriate slang, but I do speak "wolf" rather than "sheep-ese" when I'm speaking outside the fold. (My last two books have deliberately been written in "wolf.")
If we are going to reach the wolves, we must be "shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves." We need to know how they think and reason, and then adapt our method--but not our message-- as sheep in wolves' clothing.
Thought: Are you a subversive for the Savior?
Sneaking Around
Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:4b, 6b,18b NIV).
There are some sure symptoms that I'm getting older. I remember the original "Ed Sullivan Show" and "The Brady Bunch." Gasoline at twenty-five cents a gallon. The thin Elvis. Civil Defense films on "How to Build a Bomb Shelter."
And I remember May Day. No, not the military parades in Red Square. When I was a child May Day meant sneaking around the neighborhood leaving bouquets of dandelions on porches, ringing the door bell and then running for cover--sort of trick-or-treating in reverse. The most important element was secrecy. No one was supposed to know who did the good deed! Apparently this tradition has gone the way of poodle skirts and black and white TV.
The Pharisees' tradition, however, seems alive and well. From pre-school to the nursing home good deeds are rewarded with gold stars, public recognition, corporate incentives and awards banquets. It probably won't get done if there's no "Certificate of Appreciation" offered.
And yet Christ repeatedly warns the Pharisees--and each of us--that deeds designed to be seen by others will not receive eternal rewards. "I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."
Perhaps sneaking around to do good deeds is a tradition that needs reviving. Not only on May Day, but throughout the year.
Sharper Than a Double-edged Sword
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword . . . (Hebrews 4:12 NIV).
An important rite of passage toward manhood was receiving my first jackknife. It was bright yellow (probably so I wouldn't lose it) and was the sharpest object I had ever been allowed to touch in my eight years.
I watched in awe as my dad showed me the proper way to open it, how to always cut away from myself, and how to sharpen it to a razor edge. With great fear and respect I whittled my first stick, carefully following my dad's warnings and instructions . . . until I started becoming familiar with it.
I discovered I could shave off the peach fuzz on the back of my arm with it. And, if I held it by the blade just right, I could flick it into a board--just like on the late-night spy movies. I also learned it could send you to the emergency room for stitches.
Paul warns Timothy to the "correctly handle the word of truth." After all, it's a "double-edged sword" capable of "dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow." Unfortunately, some have used the scalpel of Scripture to slice and dice their listeners' fragile faith into julienne fries.
Some questions we need to ask as we wield the Word are: What did these words mean when they were written?
Who was the audience for these words?
What were the circumstance that prompted these words?
And most importantly, what does the Bible, as a whole, say about this issue?
And watch where you point it!
Thought: God gave us His Word, not so that we could know it but that we could know Him. JNW
(Click here for an expanded treatment of this subject.)
Son of a Saint
Then Manoah prayed to the Lord: "O Lord, I beg you . . . teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born (Judges 13:8 NIV).
Mr. and Mrs. Manoah were model parents. Living in a land that "did evil in the eyes of the Lord," they ate a kosher diet, prayed to the one true God, offered sacrifices, and didn't even drink. A Jewish mother would be proud to have them for a son and daughter-in-law! And after being child-less for a number of years, an angel of the Lord announced they would have a son. What joy as he "grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him." The son of these Godly parents was none other than--Samson!
Now wait a minute. What about the promises of "training up a child in the way he shall go and when he is old he will not depart from it"? Aren't Godly parents guaranteed Godly kids? Two friends of mine raised their children in a teetotaling "Christian home" complete with "family altar" and regular church attendance and leadership. Janet became involved in drinking and drugs while living in a homosexual relationship. Marie also used alcohol and drugs while living with her boyfriend. Ross also abused alcohol and drugs.
While parents can model their faith and fervently pray for their children, their offspring still have a free-will. Even God, who obviously is a godly parent, doesn't have a perfect record as far as children go. God's first two--Adam and Eve--rebelled even though He gave them His undivided attention!
Israel's playboy superhero did return to the Lord before his death. Marie is now married to her boyfriend and both are missionaries to Russia. Ross is now a pastor of a thriving church. Janet has yet to turn back to the God of her youth.
But my friends still have hope for Janet. And there's hope--not guilt or remorse--for all the other godly parents with ungodly children!
Remember This
When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a
charge to Solomon his son (1 Kings 2:1-12 NIV).
What do I want my children to remember when I'm
gone? I recently made a list of the ten things I hope
my children remember.
1. Put God first in everything.
2. Love people; use things (and don't switch those
around).
3. Remember, people don't care how much you know
until they know how much you care.
4. Understand that there are no problem people
only people with problems.
5. Don't expect life to be fair, easy, or
carefree.
6. So, develop tough hide and a tender heart (and
don't switch those around either).
7. Keep your balance.
8. Choose your battles (you can't fight them all).
9. Be wary: the simple, obvious answer is usually
wrong.
10. God is often unpredictable, but never
untrustworthy.
There are a lot more: Don't use drugs. Pay off
your credit card balance each month. Don't eat raw
seafood. But ten seems to be the universal limit for
these sort of things.
So, when my final deadline arrives, I trust that
my children will remember what I said, what I wrote,
but mostly what I lived.
The Power of the Cross
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them (Psalm 34:7).
The two rough beams of the make-shift cross stood in the center of the Communist Poland “utopia” of Nowa Huta. Several young Christians and a Catholic priest had erected the cross because the Communist planners refused to allow “New Town” to provide a church. Every night, Christians would gather around the cross for singing and communion. And every morning, the Communist authorities would tear it down.
For years, these brave believers endured the baptism of water canons from the police, but every night they returned. They would encourage each other with these words. “The church is not a building. The church is us, celebrating the presence of the Lord among us! Praise be to God!”
Many believe, this act of faith and defiance, in the 1950’s, was the seed from which freedom from Communism sprung in the 1980’s. Likewise in Czechoslovakia, Romania, and in the Mother Country, Christianity played a vital role in the self-destruction of atheistic regimes. In the former secret police headquarters in Vladimir, Russia, Christians have established the “Christian Cultural Center.” For the new millennium, the Soviet national anthem was re-written to include references to God.
And on the very spot, where years earlier a make-shift cross was lifted up, a church now stands in Nowa Huta. Bishop Karol Woytyla told the crowd of fifty thousand worshippers, “The will of God and the workers here has prevailed. Let us all take the lesson to heart. This is not just a building. These are living stones.”
God indeed encamps around those who fear Him.
Last Laugh
[Jesus] went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him (Mark 39-40 NIV).
It was over. Finished. She had given up the ghost. Crossed over Jordan. The fat lady (or in this case, the professional mourners) had sung. The end!
We have all been there.
It might not have been the death of a loved one. Perhaps it was a marriage, a job, a friendship, a pastorate, or a dream. It was over, finished, the end. And to think otherwise was simply laughable.
In those relationships and situations that seem beyond hope, God enjoys having the last laugh.
When a barren couple have given up hope of ever having a child (Sarah actually laughed when she heard she was going to have a baby). When the Egyptians have the Israelites pinned against a rock and a Red Sea. When Daniel is thrown to the lions. When three Hebrew men are thrown into a fiery furnace. When the widow had used up her last ounce of flour and last drop of oil. When God himself is nailed to a cross and then buried in a tomb. When it seems over and finished! When your closest friends laugh at your faith in God, take those desperate--and seemingly hopeless--situations to Him.
He and you will have the last laugh.
Soldiers in Their Skivvies?
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:11).
I'll do about anything to make a point. So, for a message on Ephesians 6, I marched on the platform wearing an authentic-looking Roman helmet with ostrich plume on the top. Unfortunately, that was all the armor I was wearing. A T-shirt, shorts, and sweat socks, didn’t provide a whole lot of protection.
As foolish as a soldier wearing only a helmet, is the Christian who believes that simply praying “the sinner’s prayer” is sufficient for spiritual battle. Satan will attack any area of our life that remains unprotected.
Paul probably used the Roman soldiers as inspiration for this chapter. His long robe could be tucked under the belt to create a knee-length tunic for better mobility. The “belt of truth” keeps us from getting tangled up in falsehood. (Don’t get caught with your tunic down!)
The “breastplate of righteousness” protects our hearts or emotional center. Finally, over all of this was the “shield of faith.” A Roman shield stood as high as a soldier and leather covered to “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” A squad of soldiers marching shoulder to shoulder, with shields overlapping, provided a wall of protection.
Yes, that moment that we invite Christ into our lives is a life-changing experience. But we must grow in spiritual disciplines of truth, faith, peace, and righteousness if we are going to survive the battle.
Don’t go out in just your skivvies! “Put on the full armor of God.”
He Is Not Here!
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives
life to whom he is pleased to give it (John 5:21).
"HE IS RISEN. HE IS NOT HERE," proclaimed the sign outside the large stone church.
It had once been alive and active in preaching the message of the risen Lord.
Now stale, still, sterile ritual filled the building where the Spirit once
breathed. "He is risen. He is not here."
He is not safely confined behind the thick veils of priests, incense, holy days and
ceremonies. He has torn the old system of atonement from top to bottom. He is risen.
He is not here.
He is not safely confined in walls of stone. He has shaken loose earthly restraints.
He has rolled away the barriers that separate Him from the outside world. He is risen.
He is not here.
He is not in the grave clothes of tradition, pious phrases and lifeless legalism. The
form of Christ is there, but the hollow shell only seems to echo, "He is risen. He
is not here."
He is not confined by soldiers, government seals, or even organized
religion. He is risen. He is not here.
Instead He dwells within those who are willing to be resurrected with Him. To breathe
the fresh air of His presence. To strip off the grave clothes that restrict His
movement. To walk through barriers of human limitations and expectations. To love unconditionally.
He is risen. He is not here!
Eternal Life
Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from
God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands (2 Corinthians 5:1).
In an underground storage site near Los Angeles, human beings are being frozen solid
in thermal vaults. The reason: hope for eternal life.
At the instant of death, these terminally ill patients are wrapped in aluminum foil,
then stored in containers filled with liquid nitrogen. The hope that when a treatment
is found for their disease, they will be defrosted and and cured.
The cost of dying to live again is a bit frosty, anywhere from $15,000 and up. Plus,
there is a $1,000 per year storage charge for cold storage.
Scientists are skeptical about the success of putting people on ice. Researchers have not
found a way to freeze the entire brain and other tissue quickly enough to save
vital cells.
The idea of "Cryogenic Suspension" is only new in the technique. Since time began,
humans have longed to be eternal. But the secret is not encased in liquid nitrogen.
In fact, it's no secret at all:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
Grace and only grace
And if by grace, then it is no longer works; if it were, grace would no longer be
grace (Romans 11:5).
I sometimes wonder if we really believe that salvation is a "gift of God--not by
works." Or do we, in actual practice, expect sinners to do some of the work
themselves?
Is it grace plus the proper understanding of The Four Spiritual Laws?
Is it grace plus getting out of one's seat and going to the altar?
Is it grace plus the appropriate feelings of remorse and repentence?
Is it grace plus a changed life?
Is it grace plus prayer?
No. It is grace plus nothing!
True, these may be outward signs of a person coming to faith in Christ. But they have no
power, in themselves, to bring the sinner into a relationship with Him.
But do we expect Christians to do some of the work, in their own efforts, to maintain
a relationship with Christ?
Is it grace plus daily devotions?
Is it grace plus indepth Bible study?
Is it grace plus regular prayer time?
Is it grace plus sharing one's faith?
Is it grace plus faithful church attendance?
No. These, too, are but by-products of a relationship with God. For
if there were means of maintaining our relationship, "grace would no longer be
grace."
Copyright © James N. Watkins
