Jesus and Jim

The story is told of a certain minister who was disturbed to see a shabbily-dressed old man go into his church at noon every day and come out again after a few minutes. What could he be doing? He informed the caretaker and asked him to question the old man. After all, the place contained valuable furnishings.

“I go to pray,” the old man said in reply to the caretaker’s questioning.

“Come, come now,” said the other, “you are never long enough in the church to pray.”

“Well, you see,” the old man went on, “I don’t know how to pray a long prayer, but every day at twelve o’clock I just come and say, ‘Jesus, it’s Jim.’ I wait a minute and then come away. Even though it’s just a little prayer, I think He hears me.”

When Jim was injured some time later and taken to the hospital, he had a wonderful influence on the ward. Grumbling patients became cheerful, and often the ward would ring with laughter.

“Well, Jim,” said a nurse to him one day, “the men say you are responsible for this change in the ward. They say you are always happy.”

“That I am! I can’t help being happy. You see, it’s my visitor. Every day he makes me happy.”

“Your visitor?” The nurse was puzzled. She had noticed that Jim’s chair was always empty during visiting hours, for he had no relatives. “Your visitor? But when does he come?”

“Every day,” Jim replied, with a light in his eye. “Yes, every day at twelve o’clock He comes and stands at the foot of my bed. He smiles and says, ‘Jim, it’s Jesus.’”

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Mark 11:24 ESV / Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV / Pray without ceasing,

Matthew 6:7 ESV / “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Falling

When I was a child we played a game in which we would each stand straight as a board and then try to fall backward into the strong arms of an adult who was waiting to catch us. It’s strange, but no matter how many times I’d seen it done or tried to do it myself, it was still difficult to keep from bending my knees or doing something else at the last split second to try to break my fall. Not chickening out took a certain “letting go” that went contrary to my natural reasoning and reflexes. It took complete trust in the one who was catching me.
In the Christian life we often use the expression “leaning on Jesus,” or, as the old hymn goes, “leaning on the everlasting arms.” The picture is of one leaning on Jesus for support while passing through life’s difficulties. I’ve done a lot of “leaning” in my life. And I have found Jesus to be strong and stable, full of strength and comfort. I leaned hard on Him through several long and difficult years when my husband battled a life-threatening illness. I leaned harder still when I walked the difficult road of cancer myself. But there was never a time that He wasn’t there to lean on. Even when the road was too difficult for me, He lifted me up and carried me.

There recently came another time in my life that was so difficult it left me despairing again. The night had closed so dark around me that I couldn’t see Jesus or feel His presence. I knew He was there, somewhere, but why did He now seem distant from me? I pictured myself reaching out, grasping at air, searching for His love and strength. Then, in answer to my deepest prayer, I heard His tender voice tell me, “The reason you haven’t been able to see or reach Me is that I’m not in front of you. I’m right behind you. My strong arms are around you, holding you from behind. All you have to do is lay your head back on My shoulder and rest. Don’t reach. Don’t struggle. Don’t try so hard to find My presence. Just lean back and rest in My everlasting arms.”
The peace that filled my heart was so complete that it entered every fiber of my being. During the difficult months that followed, I leaned on Jesus like never before. It’s hard to explain, but it became a different type of leaning, somehow more complete.

Then my circumstances became more difficult still. I developed a chronic, debilitating condition, and at times pain took its toll. It was during this low time, when I had no strength of my own, that I heard Jesus’ gentle voice again, telling me, “Fall back! Just trust Me completely and fall back into My arms—like the game you played as a child.”

The experience seemed very real as it played out in slow motion in my mind. I felt myself standing in the middle of a blustery storm, atop a mountain of woes. I spread my arms wide open, leaned back, and fell with total abandonment, total surrender, total trust. Slowly I fell out of the realm of trouble and storm and into Jesus! I felt the soft landing envelop me with love. I found myself floating in a beautiful, dark stillness, dotted by tiny stars. I would call it space, but this place was not empty. It was alive, and the very nature of it filled me with courage and faith.

I felt it lift me up, up, up, high above the mountains. I felt the fresh, cool wind blow in my face. Riding on the wings of the wind, I was flying! I thought of the verse, “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31). I felt joy return to me, and my spirit receive new strength. It was refreshing and exhilarating!

Then I heard His voice speak again. “This is your place of freedom. When your body is held captive on a bed of suffering, let your spirit fly. Just fall. Fall on Me. Let yourself go and fall.”

Suddenly “leaning” took on a whole new meaning. In falling I learned to completely let go and fall—not onto but into the everlasting arms. What a wonderful experience!

Science with all its knowledge and experience hasn’t come up with a pill for true inner peace that transcends any circumstances. There is no magic potion for a soul lost in hopelessness, no tonic for a spirit crushed under the weight of an unbearable burden.

I have been there, and I have found that peace. Though my outward condition remains unchanged, inwardly I have been healed—healed of an inner pain more difficult to bear than pain itself. I am free!

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Romans 10:9 ESV / Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 5:12 ESV / Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Luke 14:23 ESV / And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.

Streams That Never Run Dry

I can never forget the day when it dawned upon my consciousness as a reality, a fact, that the promises of the Bible were practical, that they could actually be applied to my everyday needs. It was a revelation to me that God meant exactly what He said in the numerous promises given in His Word, and that He would fulfill them to the very letter if I, in faith, would reach out and claim them in a definite manner.

God’s Word said that I had been given “exceedingly great and precious promises,” that through them I might be “partaker of the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4) But to my limited understanding, those promises were only beautiful scripture language, never meant to be taken seriously or applied practically.

I was like the very ignorant woman many years ago who had lived most of her life hidden way back in the highlands of Scotland, and who was so poor that her church had to pay her rent for her.
One day when her pastor brought the monthly rent, he said, “Mrs. McKintrick, why is it that your boy does not support you? I understand he has a very good job in Australia, and that he is a good boy who loves you dearly. Is this not the case?”

“Oh yes,” said the mother, “and he never forgets me. Every week he writes me the most loving letter.”

Curious to know more about a son who could so love his mother and yet leave her without support, the pastor asked to see some of the letters.

Soon the woman returned with two packages. “These are his letters,” she said, handing him the first package, “and these are the pretty pictures he sends me with every letter. They fit nicely in the letter, and it shows he thinks about me.”

“A picture in every letter.” The pastor was more curious than ever. “May I see them also?”

“Oh, surely,” she answered. “Some are of a man’s head, some of a man sitting on a horse, and some have the king’s picture on them. See, this one here has the King of England. Long live the king!”

“Long live your son!” said the astonished pastor. “Why, my dear friend, do you know that you are a rich woman? This is money. You have wealth here! And to think of how you have suffered and done without, when right here in the house all the time you had riches that you thought were just pretty pictures!”

This was surely my trouble when it came to the promises in God’s Word. I thought they were just pretty pictures, just beautiful language. Little did I realize just how literally God wanted me to take His promises!

In God’s Word you and I have been given exceedingly great and precious promises—and there are hundreds of them. Limitless resources! Streams that never run dry.

Expectancy
Christians are divided into two types: those who pray and really expect something to happen, and those who just pray and do not expect anything to happen.
Prayer is first a means to an end, a connecting link between our human needs and God’s divine resources. Prayer is not meant to be a “pious reverie” that has only a subconscious effect on us. Prayer is an intensely practical thing, as real, as uniform, as genuine as using the telephone. And the party at the other end of the line—God Himself—says to us, “Ask and it will be given to you. You do not have because you do not ask.” (Matthew 7:7; James 4:2)

Acceptance
It is our part to do the taking, His to do the giving. The Scripture says, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24) When we ask in prayer, then is the time to believe—and if we do, we will receive.
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (1 John 5:14–15) It does not say we are going to have, but it says we have. We have it now, not because any of our senses testify to it, but because God has said so.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is believing that God is going to answer, even if you can’t see the answer yet. It is not what we think about it, but what God says about it that counts. It is not what we feel, but what faith claims.

Appropriating faith
Attempting to teach the principle of appropriating faith to the members of his church, a preacher once offered his expensive pocket watch to a group of boys sitting on the front row.
“Sonny, would you like to have this watch?” he asked the oldest boy.
“You can’t fool me! I know you don’t mean it,” answered the boy.
The question was repeated to the next boy, and again and again down the line. Each time came a similar answer.
At last the preacher offered the watch to a little fellow about five years old, who was sitting on the edge of his seat, his bright, eager eyes focused intently on the preacher’s face.
“Little man, would you like …” That was enough. A chubby hand quickly grabbed the watch and instantly pocketed the gift. While wiggling back on the seat, the boy said with a satisfied, grown-up sigh that it was just what he had been wanting all the time.
After the service, the other boys crowded around the preacher and protested. “How were we supposed to know you really meant it?” “That’s just the kind of watch I was wanting.” “If you really meant it, why didn’t you put it in my hand, or ask me again, so I’d know?”
Only the youngest boy had appropriating faith, and he put his faith into action.

Action
Many people believe the promises of God, but in sort of an impersonal, indefinite way: “Oh yes, they apply in general, but not specifically to me or this situation.” Whereas the person who gets results is he who, when he has asked God for something, acts on his faith and proceeds as if he possesses. He takes God at His Word on some promise and counts it done. This is often called the “stand of faith.”
A splendid illustration of this is found in the Bible passage where Jesus told the lepers who came to Him for healing to go show themselves to the priest for cleansing. Jesus hadn’t healed them yet, but the scripture says that, “As they went, they were healed.” As they put their faith into action and obeyed, even though they hadn’t yet seen the answer to their prayers, God met them. (Luke 17:12–14) When we put forth the effort of a believing will, God honors that step and meets us. As someone once said, “When faith goes to market, it takes a basket along.”

The stand of faith
One time I had prayed and done everything else that I knew to do, yet there was no answer to my prayer. I had come to the end of myself and could do nothing more. Why didn’t God answer?
As I turned the pages of my Bible and prayed, my eyes fell on these very words: “Having done all, stand.” (Ephesians 6:13) Immediately I saw the truth. I had been virtually blaming the Lord for not answering my prayer, when I had not been doing my part at all. I hadn’t taken the stand of faith.
So I began to praise and thank Him that the answer was on the way. Within six hours I saw that answer, but it was no more mine then than when I had first taken the stand of faith. It had already been mine by faith. We see because we have believed, not believe because we have seen.
Faith is not some great thing, not some glorious feeling, not some wonderful sensation, as many think, but it is simply taking God at His Word. Just as your hand reaches out and takes ahold of something, so faith is the spiritual hand that reaches out and takes ahold of the promises of God and appropriates them.
So make the connection with God today through prayer, bringing your requests to Him and claiming His promises. He never fails!

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John 5:39 ESV / You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

John 1:1 ESV / In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Matthew 15:4 ESV / For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’

Connecting with God

God’s idea of prayer is not a ritual, but loving and lively communication between the best of friends.

But sad to say, many people think they can’t talk to God like that. Some think they’re not religious enough, not righteous enough, or not spiritual enough. Some think He’s too big—too far above them. Some think He’s too busy to be concerned about them and their problems, which to Him must seem awfully petty. Some feel unworthy, not good enough. Some feel guilty or ashamed about things they’ve done. Some are even afraid of Him. If only they understood how differently God sees it!

God wants to have a personal relationship with each of us, and He wants it to be the deepest, most meaningful, most fulfilling and rewarding, most natural part of our lives. Now that’s not to say He wants to take away from the other relationships and activities that we enjoy and consider important. To the contrary. He wants to be a part of all that. He wants to make things easier, He wants to give them greater meaning, and He wants to enjoy them with us. In a word, He wants to make our lives even better. He wants to add a wonderful new dimension to all that we do—the dimension of His loving presence.

How do we establish such a relationship, especially when we feel small and unspiritual and unworthy? How do we make that connection? Simple: through His Son, Jesus.

None of us can really grasp how great and wonderful God our Father is, because He and His Spirit are greater than the whole universe. He’s so beyond our comprehension that He had to make Someone who could show us His love, Someone we could experience, Someone who could bring God down to the level of our limited human understanding. So He sent us His Son, Jesus.

Jesus has been with God from the very beginning, yet He also lived on earth in human form and experienced every joy and sorrow that we do. Jesus has been here, so He can understand us and be the link between us and God.

We can get personal with Jesus. He even told us to ask Him into our hearts: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” He’s the One we can have direct, personal contact with. He is the One we can approach God through. If you have prayed to receive Jesus as your Savior, you already have that connection.

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Hebrews 4:15 (ESV) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

1 Timothy 2:5 (ESV) For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Revelation 3:20 (ESV) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Let It Flow

I was in India, a few days before the monsoon season arrived…

Everyone in India looks forward to the monsoon. You can read predictions of its arrival and follow its daily progress around the country in the newspapers. The heavy rains clean the dirt that has accumulated over the months. The rains also help to cool things down. Without them, not much will grow. The monsoon is India’s lifeblood.

In anticipation of the rains, many trees are trimmed back and drains are cleaned. Until it is collected, all along the roadside next to the drains lies all manner of trash, much of it decomposed into a sort of black goo.

I asked my daughter, who lives there, why they did this, and she explained, “They trim the trees to prevent any weak branches from breaking off and falling on power lines or causing other damage, and they clear the drains so the rainwater will flow freely. It’s not enough to clear the drains and just pile the trash on the side of the road, though. If the monsoon were to hit before trucks arrived to cart the trash away, it would either be washed back down the drains and clog them again, or be washed elsewhere.

Either way, it would contribute to the monsoon flooding and carry all kinds of germs with it, creating a lot of problems.”

In our spiritual lives, we have to do much the same thing. We have to get rid of any obstructions that drag us down or hinder our spiritual growth—the things that keep God’s cleansing, renewing Spirit from flowing freely through us.

This “trash” in our lives could be anything that has come between the Lord and us. For example, it could be a grievance we have against someone—a “root of bitterness,” like the Bible warns against, which will eat away at us if we don’t recognize it and make amends with the person we feel has wronged us (Hebrews 12:15). Or it could be materialistic “thorns and weeds” that choke out our love for the Lord and others—the “cares of this life,” which Jesus warned against (Matthew 13:22). Or it could be our own pride—an exaggerated feeling of self-importance or self-reliance that hinders our link with the Lord through prayer and causes us to miss out on some of the blessings He has for us.

If not thoroughly removed, these obstacles will weaken us. They will also spill out and infect others. It is really worth our while to first of all identify what it is that is blocking the flow of God’s Spirit to ours, and then to get rid of those hindrances before they can do any more damage.

There is victory to be had! Let’s ask God today to show us what could be hindering us spiritually, and then go to work to clear away the trash in our hearts so the fresh, clean waters of His Spirit and Word can flow freely. As we do our part, God will do His and we will experience Him working more fully in our lives, we will receive more of His blessings, and we will go on to become all He wants us to be and knows we can be.

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Isaiah 40:8 ESV / The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

John 6:68 ESV / Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,

John 6:63 ESV / It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

You Are What You “Eat”

Somebody once said, “You are what you read.” It’s like the saying about health, “You are what you eat,” physically. Well, you are what you read, mentally and spiritually. And the same is true of movies, TV, music, and other forms of input, like the Internet and computer games. Tell me what kind of input someone enjoys most, and I can usually tell what that person’s spiritual condition is like.

God created people with a spiritual hunger for truth—insights and ideas that will feed their souls, bring them closer to Him by helping them better understand Him and His loving ways, and inspire them to live better lives. But sad to say, a lot of people today have developed perverted spiritual appetites through reading and viewing the wrong kinds of things, similar to what happens when people develop an appetite for junk food and sweets, and lose their appetite for good wholesome food.

It reminds me of the following verses from the Bible: “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance,” (Isaiah 55:2) and, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life” (John 6:27).

The portrayal of attitudes and actions that are contrary to the way God wants us to think and act really does have an effect on people, whether they like to admit that or not. Filling their minds and hearts with lies and half-truths will eat away at their spirits, even if they are only reading or viewing for relaxation or entertainment. Multiply that effect a few million times, and it has the same bad effect on society. The world today is proof of that!

Discern and discriminate
Everything that you take into your mind affects your spirit. Movies, music, books, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, and the Internet are all mediums for conveying a message, and that message is either inspired by God and in line with His Word, or it’s not.

Much of what’s out there today is what the Bible calls “cunningly devised fables” (2 Peter 1:16)—cunningly inspired not by God, but by the dark side to deceive people, lead them astray, and numb them spiritually to where they no longer know what is true or right.

Reading the wrong kind of books or watching the wrong kind of movies does not make people wise. It leaves them dumber and more confused and further from the truth than ever. The wisdom of this world is absolute foolishness to God. (1 Corinthians 3:19).

People eat junk food because it looks like food and is tasty, but enough of it will eventually kill them. That’s why it’s so dangerous—because it’s so deceptive. And the same is true of junk reading and viewing.

The Devil is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). And let me tell you, his lies are very clever! Part of what he says is always true, because he couldn’t get people to believe his lies unless he told some truth along with them. He mixes in little truths, like he did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. When he tempted them to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he told them, “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). What a tempting truth that was—and they swallowed it! (Genesis 3:6).

How about you?
It is not wrong to sometimes read or watch for relaxation, but if you aren’t choosy about what input you receive, if you don’t guard yourself against ungodly input, it will be more draining to your spirit than beneficial. “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” (Philippians 4:8).

Even books and movies and other things that are mostly good can influence you adversely if you don’t make a conscious effort to focus on the positive and reject the negative, either during or after your reading or viewing. The Bible says to “eschew [abstain from] evil, and do good” (1 Peter 3:11, KJV)—a verse that applies not only to what we do, but also what we take in, since that will ultimately affect our actions.

You also need to make sure you’re getting filled up with the truth of God’s Word to counteract any bad influences that whatever else you’ve been reading or watching may have on you. “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

There is a saying about prayer: “You believe in prayer as much as you pray.” I would say the same about God’s Word and worldly input: You believe the Word as much as you read it, or you believe in that other stuff as much as you take it in. I hope that you are getting good spiritual food, because your spiritual health and happiness depend on it. You are what you take in!

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John 14:20 ESV / In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

John 15:4 ESV / Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

John 6:63 ESV / It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

Priorities

If today was your last day and you knew it, how much time would you spend on things that mean nothing in the scope of eternity? Your minutes would be extremely valuable, and you would choose to spend them on the things that were most important to you. The things of the world would seem pointless—almost offensive to your spirit. You would want to love those dearest to you, and to make sure they know how much they mean to you. You would be righting any wrongs and working out anything that had come between you. If you have ever come face to face with death or been with a loved one through a life-threatening illness and seen their priorities realign, you understand this. Everything becomes abundantly clear in those moments. The only thing that matters is love.

In good times and rough times, the happiness and joy that Jesus can give you is light years beyond anything that the world can offer. Fulfillment, peace, love, satisfaction, knowledge, truth—there is no way that the world can compete with Him in those areas. It takes discipline of mind and body to learn to treasure those things above the fleeting pleasures that the world has to offer. It’s a matter of satisfying your heart and mind more than your five senses. When it comes down to it, that’s really all the world can give you—temporary satisfaction of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. But beyond those things, nothing the world has can satisfy the other cravings in your soul. Only Jesus can really satisfy. He is the answer. But as long as you’re still looking for the things of this world to satisfy and make you happy, you won’t find the truth. (1 John 2:15–17)

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Our souls receive personality from God. They are designed to be filled by Him. The danger for us all comes when we crowd them full of our own petty ambitions and our shortsighted ideas of fulfillment and leave no room for the work that must be done in us.—William Kirk Kilpatrick

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Mark 8:36-37 ESV / For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?

Colossians 1:16-17 ESV / For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Proverbs 24:27 ESV / Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.

Navigating Life

The One Sure Guide to Successful Living
If you were going on a long voyage, you would bring along a navigational chart, wouldn’t you? Well, you are on a long voyage—life—and the One who knows the way has instructed some of His men to draw a detailed chart to help you make it safely to your final destination. To say you don’t have time to read God’s chart, the Bible, is like a sailor heading out to sea and saying, “Well, I’m in such a hurry to get where I’m going that I don’t have time to look at the nautical chart!” But if you’ll take the Bible and simply read it, believe it, and follow it, you will be on the right course and wind up at the right place.

The most amazing book
The Bible is the most marvelous book in the whole world. It not only tells us where we’re going, but also how we got here, why we’re here, how to survive and be happy while here, and how to have love, happiness, joy, and peace forever.
Yet so many people today ignore the Bible completely. Even many of those who have been through years of higher education and have read hundreds and hundreds of books of all kinds have never read the most fascinating book of all, the Bible.
In the Bible you can find almost anything: drama, romance, poetry, prophecy, history, mystery, and much more. But most important, the Bible contains the very Spirit and life of God Himself.1 It’s the means by which God activates us with His life, light, and power.

It works!
A skeptic and a Christian were discussing whether the Bible was truly a divinely inspired book. The skeptic was convinced that since no one had ever seen God and there was no scientific proof of His existence, how could anyone believe the Bible was truly inspired by Him?
“Is the compiler of the multiplication table known?” the Christian asked.
“No.”
“Then of course you do not believe in it.”
“Oh, yes, I believe in it because it works,” replied the skeptic.
“So does the Bible.”
The fact that the Bible has the power to effect positive change in each of our lives, no matter what our situation or need, is the greatest proof that the Bible is the supernatural Word of God Himself. As you read the Bible you will find that it is an absolutely inexhaustible source of wisdom and knowledge, out of which you will constantly find treasures new and old.2
And the most wonderful thing about the Bible is that through its words we can get to know its author, for the Bible is God’s great love letter to us. Its life-giving words make it the greatest book in the world, with the only author in the world who can guarantee life and love and happiness and Heaven forever through simply reading it and believing in its main character, the One who loved us so much that He gave His own life to save us—Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
If you sincerely pray, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things from Your Word,”3 you won’t be disappointed.

Soul food
Jesus said, “The Words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”4 They give us spiritual life and nourishment and strength and health, which is why a good, wholesome, balanced diet of God’s Word is essential. Just like you have to eat in order to have physical strength, you have to feed on the Word to have spiritual strength.
The Bible tells us that like newborn babies desire to be fed, we should desire the pure milk of the Word, so we may grow thereby.5 Like a baby needs milk to be healthy and grow or even survive, you must be fed spiritually in order to stay healthy and grow spiritually. And just like a baby has an instinctive and irrepressible desire to be fed, so we should hunger for the pure milk of God’s Word.
The prophet Jeremiah said, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.”6 Job said, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”7
There’s nothing more important to your spiritual life than the Word!

Word time
In Luke, chapter 10, we read the story of Mary and Martha. When Jesus came to visit, Mary “sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word,” but Martha was too busy trying to be a good hostess. She tried so hard to get everything done just right for Jesus that she didn’t have time to listen to Him. So Jesus gently scolded her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”8 What is the “good part” that Mary chose?—The Word. She sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to His words.
“But,” you say, “I’ve got so much work and so many other things to do. How am I ever going to find time to read the Word every day?” Well, if you put the Word first, the Lord will always help you find the time to take care of those other things. When you see the difference it makes in your life, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it!

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John 4:24 (ESV) God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Matthew 13:52 (ESV) And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Psalm 119:18 (ESV) Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

The Big Rocks

An expert on the subject of time management was speaking to a group of business students. He stood in front of these high-powered overachievers, pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar, and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?”

Everyone in the class said, “Yes.”

Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?”

By this time the class was on to him. “Probably not,” one of them answered.

“Good!” he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?”

“No!” the class shouted.

Once again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim.

Then he looked up at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things into it!”

“No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is this: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”

What are the “big rocks” in your life? Are you putting them in first?

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Matthew 6:33 ESV / But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Romans 12:2 ESV / Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Luke 12:34 ESV / For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

What Jesus Said on the Cross

Love for enemies
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
“Them” were the Roman soldiers who had been following Pontius Pilate’s orders when they nailed Jesus to the cross to die. They had been following orders, but they had also been cruel and vicious in their mocking and whipping, proving what was in their own hearts. “Them” were also those in the mis­guided, manipulated mob that had called for Jesus’ death and forced Pilate’s hand—the same common people who had hailed Jesus as their King only a few days earlier (Mark 15:6–14; Mark 11:8–10). How cruel, how awful, how unjust! How could Jesus say that any of these people didn’t know what they were doing? To a certain degree they had to, but they didn’t realize the enormity of what they were doing—that they were killing the Son of God.
In asking His Father to forgive those who had turned on Him and those who had carried out His execution, Jesus actually spoke in their defense, and in so doing proved in the most powerful way possible that He believed what He had taught: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Despite the shame and pain the Romans heaped on Jesus, He forgave them. He also forgave those who had turned on Him. Now He wants us to have that much love, that much forgiveness.

Love for sinners
“Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Jesus spoke these words to the repentant thief who was crucified beside Him.
The following true story shows the present-day effect of these words.
A couple was robbed of their credit cards, papers, and cash. Some friends prayed with them that they would be able to overcome the trauma of the theft and that the stolen items would be recovered.
A week later the couple received a thick envelope in the mail. All of their valuables were inside. So was a note, which was signed, “From a repentant robber.” There also was a drawing of three crosses. The cross on the right was circled. Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness still change people today.

Love for family and friends
“Behold your son! … Behold your mother!” (John 19:26–27).
Jesus spoke these words to His mother and to John, the closest of His disciples, as He looked down on them from the cross. Jesus understood the void that the end of His earthly life would leave in each of theirs, and that they could each help fill that void for the other. Jesus loved them so much that even in the midst of His most trying hour, He saw the needs of His loved ones and did something about it.
Thereafter, John cared for Mary as his own mother, and Mary loved John as her own son.

Jesus needs our love
“I thirst!” (John 19:28).
One Christmas some friends and I did a program at a center for the handicapped that is run by the Missionaries of Charity, the Catholic order that Mother Teresa founded. I noticed a large banner on the wall that read “I thirst,” and I asked why they had chosen these two last words of Jesus.
“That cry of Christ has become our rallying cry,” one of the sisters explained. “Shortly before she passed on to her heavenly reward, Mother Teresa said, ‘His thirst is without end. He, the Creator of all, pleads for the love of His creation. He thirsts for our love. These words, “I thirst,” do they not echo in our souls?’”

Love for God
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).
Did Jesus doubt God’s love as He died? Had God forsaken Him? These words always troubled me until I read the following explanation from David Berg:
“What caused Jesus the greatest agony on the cross was not our sins, because He knew that we were going to be forgiven and saved. What broke His heart was thinking that His Father had turned His back on Him. Jesus went through an experience that, thank God, we will never have to go through—not just crucifixion, not just the agony of the body, but the agony of mind and spirit, feeling that God had actually deserted Him. ‘My God, My God,’ He cried out, ‘why have You forsaken Me?’ (Matthew 27:46). Had God forsaken Him? Yes, momentarily, that He might die the death of a sinner, without God.
“Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the whole world on the cross, and these sins temporarily separated Him from His Father. He voluntarily gave Himself to die in our place—He loves us that much!” (1Peter 2:24).

Love for you and me
“It is finished!” (John 19:30).
What was it that He finished? On the same evening that Jesus hung on the cross, the Passover lamb was being sacrificed. Like the blood of the lamb saved the Hebrew people from destruction in Egypt, Jesus’ blood—the ultimate Passover sacrifice—redeems us from the power of sin and death.
When He died on the cross His work was done, and our salvation was won!

Love’s reward
“Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” (Luke 23:46).
Jesus, help us to trust our lives to You and live to please You, like You trusted Your life to the Father and lived to please Him. Then what a day of rejoicing that will be when we see You face to face and enter into our heavenly reward—eternal life and love with You and the Father!

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John 1:14 ESV / And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:1 ESV / In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Revelation 22:18 ESV / I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,

Hey Wait a Minute!

Dave and Anne met at a travel agency. Dave was buying an airline ticket from Anne, when they got into a conversation that went something like this:

Anne: I’m sorry this is taking so long. I’m so tired I can hardly think! I don’t know which is worse—the illness I’m just getting over, or the medication I’ve been taking for it! It’s going to be a long day!

Dave: I know what you mean about the medicine. Personally, I do a lot better by simply keeping God’s health guidelines in the Bible. Then I can have faith that God will either keep me healthy or heal me if I do get sick.

Anne: Really? That sounds nice, but how can I have faith in God when I don’t even know if there is a God?

Dave: If you want proof of God’s existence, just look around. It reminds me of the answer the world-renowned nuclear physicist Robert Millikan gave a skeptic who asked him how a man of science could believe in God—“Just as behind every watch there had to be a watchmaker, so behind the intricate precision and timing of this great universe there had to be a great Creator or Designer.”

Anne: Well then, how do we know what God looks like? Nobody’s ever seen Him.

Dave: We don’t know what God looks like, because He’s a Spirit. He’s not some old bearded gentleman way off somewhere, but He is the basic power and guiding light of the universe—the all-powerful, all-knowing Spirit that pervades all things. He is everywhere.

Anne: Well, if there is a God, then why is there so much suffering and pain in the world? Why did God allow Hitler and all sorts of other atrocities? Why doesn’t He put a stop to that, if He’s in control?

Dave: First of all, God doesn’t do those things—man does. And if God didn’t allow evil men to carry out their evil plans, then He’d have to put a stop to man’s freedom of choice, which is an important part of His great design. Man was put here to make a choice between good and evil, to do right or wrong. And in the process God gives us the opportunity to learn the benefits of loving Him and keeping the loving rules He has made for our own good.

Anne: So, if there is a God, where did He come from? Who made Him, and when and where and how long has He been in existence?

Dave: If you knew the answer to those questions, then you’d be God, wouldn’t you? The Bible simply says that God has always been. He is the great “I Am” who lives in the Eternal Now, where there is no past nor future and “time shall be no more.” Now let me ask you a question. How much do you know about electricity?

Anne: Not much.

Dave: Well, you’re not alone. Not even scientists understand it completely. But does that stop you from using electricity?

Anne: Of course not!

Dave: You use it even though you don’t understand it?

Anne: Yes, I just turn on the switch.

Dave: My point exactly. You flip the switch and make the connection, and it works. You benefit from electricity, even though you don’t understand it fully. All you know is, it works. You make contact with the power of electricity, and it does the work for you. And that’s how it is with God. We don’t know where He came from or how He got here, we simply know He does exist and He is here, ever-present, all-knowing and all-powerful—omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. God exists, you may be sure, just like electricity exists, and both of these great powers can do us a great deal of good, even if we don’t fully comprehend them. We can benefit from “turning on the switch” and making contact with God.

Anne: Benefit from God?

Dave: Yes! You just need to make personal contact with the power of God, and He will do the work of bringing joy, health, and happiness to your everyday life. He’ll also give you faith, comfort, and peace of mind.

Anne: Just how do I make this contact?

Dave: You can contact His power through prayer, a spiritual seeking of contact with His Spirit. Just as you flip the switch of your radio and tune in to a certain frequency, so you can make contact with God. And if you do, He will speak to you, both through His written Word and directly to your heart and mind when you pray.

Anne: So you’re saying that I don’t have to understand God in order to believe in Him?

Dave: You got it! We only have to make the connection that lets God’s power into our daily lives. All we have to do is reach out our hand of faith and flip the switch of decision which makes contact and starts the flow of God’s power into our lives to light, guide, warm, feed, provide, protect, work for us, and give us pleasure. Just try Him! You don’t have to know where He came from, just meet Him!

Anne: Okay! I can’t lose by trying, can I?

Dave: That’s right! Don’t try to figure Him out—just let Him in. Try Him!—You’ll love Him! He works, and that’s all you need to know.

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Hebrews 11:3 ESV / By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Colossians 1:16 ESV / For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

John 3:16-17 ESV / “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

A Declaration of Love

Love is the primary solution to all of man’s problems of today, as well as those of the past—true love, the love of God and the love of fellow man. This is still God’s answer, even in such a complex and confused society as that of the world today.

It is people’s rejection of the love of God and His loving laws that causes them to be selfish and cruel to their neighbor—man’s inhumanity to man, which is so apparent in today’s weary world with all of its enslavement by oppression, tyranny, and exploitation. Hundreds of millions suffer needlessly from hunger and malnutrition, disease and ill health, poverty, overwork, and abuse—not to mention the tortures of war and nightmares of perpetual fearful insecurity. All of these evils are caused by people’s lack of love for God and each other, as well as their defiance of God’s laws of love, faith, peace, and harmony.

The solution is simple: If we truly love God, we can love each other. We can then follow His rules of life, liberty, and the possession of happiness, and all will be well and happy in Him.

This is why Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is to love—to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” And the second is “like it”—it’s almost equal, almost the same: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37–39).

If we have real love, we can’t face a needy situation without doing something about it. We can’t just pass by the poor man on the road to Jericho! We must take action like the Good Samaritan did (See Luke 10:25–37). Many people today say of those who need help, “Oh, I’m so sorry, how sad.” But compassion must be put into action. That’s the difference between pity and compassion: Pity just feels sorry; compassion does something about it.

We must demonstrate our faith by our works, and love can seldom be proven without some tangible manifestation. To say you love someone and yet not try to help them physically in whatever way they may need—food, clothing, shelter, and so on—this is not love! True, the need for real love is a spiritual need, but it must be manifested physically, in works—“faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). “For whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:17–18).

However, we must always remember that the greatest manifestation of our love is not the mere sharing of our material things and personal possessions, but the sharing of ourselves with others, along with our love and our faith. Jesus had nothing material to share with His disciples, only His love and His life, which He gave for them and for us, that we too might have life and love forever.

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). So we consider that the sharing of ourselves, our love, and our lives with others is the greatest of all sharing and our ultimate goal.

True happiness is found not in personal pursuit of selfish pleasure and satisfaction, but in finding God and giving His love to others and bringing them happiness. Do that, and happiness will pursue and overtake and overwhelm you personally, without your even seeking it for yourself.

“For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). If you sow love, you’re going to reap love. If you sow friendship, you’re going to reap friendship. So obey God’s laws of love—unselfish love, love for Him and others. Give others that love which is their due, and so shall you also receive. “Whatever measure you use to give—large or small—will be used to measure what is given back to you” (Luke 6:38 TLB).

Find out what wonders love can do. You’ll find a whole new world of love you have only dreamed of! There are wonders of love that you can enjoy along with some other lonely soul—if only you will try. If you give love, you will get love.

Love wasn’t put in your heart to stay.

Love isn’t love till you give it away!

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2 Corinthians 9:7 ESV / Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Acts 20:35 ESV / In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Luke 6:38 ESV / Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”