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The Lord Is Faithful

tomnorvell@mac.com (Tom Norvell) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing (Psalm 145:13-16 NIV).

A man and a woman stand in the front of a church building and promise to love one another “until death separates us.” Troubles come. The joy fades. Temptation gets the best of them. One of them gives in. “I could not help it. It just happened.” They file for divorce. What happened to faithfulness?

The job offer comes with the promise of a hefty salary, excellent benefits, and the opportunity to advance. The economy slides into a slump, a recession, and things change. First come the rumors of about layoffs. Then, come the layoffs. The perks are gone. The retirement is gone. The security is gone. The future is dark. What happened to faithfulness?

The church felt like home. It seemed to be a good fit. People were coming. Numbers were increasing. People were being encouraged. Plans were being made. Life was good. Then, something changed. Plans were changed. Promises were broken. Hearts were broken. Relationships were broken. What happened to faithfulness?

There was a day when a man’s word was his bond. A handshake was good enough. A promise was kept. Vows were sacred. How elected figures talked in public was how they lived in private. When politicians made promises they tried to keep them. Something changed. What happened to the faithfulness?

Does faithfulness still exist?

Has faithfulness disappeared?

Perhaps we are looking for faithfulness in the wrong place? As Psalm 145:13-16 indicates, it is the Lord who is faithful. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. His dominion endures. He is faithful. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. He satisfies the desires of every living thing.

If the political speeches leave you empty, if personal integrity seems to be missing, and if you are weary of the endless contracts and paper work required to provide proof that the person with whom you are doing business will keep a promise causes you to ask what happened to faithfulness, then look to the Lord. Look to the Lord, He is faithful. Look to the Lord, He will keep His word. Look to the Lord, His Kingdom will last and His dominion will endure. You can trust Him. You can depend on Him. You can rest in Him. You can rely on Him. He will not betray you, forget you, or reject you. He is faithful. The Lord is faithful.

Tom Norvell is the author of "A Norvell Note." He ministers at the Hermitage Church of Christ in Hermitage, Tennessee.

Website: A Norvell Note

Steps to Hope

tim@hopeforlife.org (Tim Archer) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

When we began to work on the website HopeForLife.org, we sat down and talked about what we believe about hope. We decided that we could best communicate our thoughts about hope with the idea of four stages of hope, four steps along the road of having a life with meaning in purpose.

I believe that the first thing we must accept is that hope exists. There is hope. Before we can decide what to believe in, we need to understand that there is something to believe in. Some people look at the world and dismiss hope, choosing to focus on chance and coincidence, chaos and disorder. I've seen enough to know that they are wrong. There is hope. It exists. It can be found. It can be embraced.

I believe that hope is in God. Many of those who have given up on finding hope have done so because they spent their time looking to the wrong things. People place their hope in other people, only to be let down. They place their faith in wealth and possessions, only to have that faith shaken by economic turmoil. Others look to science, but find that the hope science offers is short-term, not reaching beyond the limits of this world. Only God can offer hope for this life by offering a promise of another life to come.

I believe that God offers hope through his son Jesus. There aren't multiple paths to God; there is only Jesus who proclaimed himself to be "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6). Jesus offers us the way to overcome the things in our life that separate us from God. He doesn't just ask us to live right; he makes it possible for us to do just that. He brings us the hope of mercy and forgiveness, rather than judgment.

I believe that each of us can share in that life of hope. We can come to God in obedient faith, placing our hope in him and becoming part of a large community of people who have chosen his way of life.

All of this is explained in more detail on our website, HopeForLife.org. On this site you can watch videos of people who are living a life of hope, read about what God wants from us and how to live life the way he wants, and learn more about how hope for the future affects our life now. If you have any questions, please write to me at tim@hopeforlife.org or leave a comment on our blog on www.hopeforlife.org. There is hope, and you can have it in your life.

(Expressed written consent must be obtained prior to republishing, retransmitting or otherwise reusing the content of this article.)

Tim coordinates the Spanish-Speaking Ministries of Herald of Truth and writes for HopeForLife. You can reach him at (866) 814-4673 or (866) 814-HOPE or by writing to tim@hopeforlife.org.

Website: HopeForLife

Showing God's Love

alansmith.servant@gmail.com (Alan Smith) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Doug Nichols went to India to be a missionary, but while he was just starting to study the language he became infected with tuberculosis and had to be put in a sanitarium. It was not a very good place to be. It was not very clean and conditions were difficult because there were so many sick people there. But Doug decided to do the best he could in that situation. So he took a bunch of Christian books and tracts and tried to share the gospel with the other patients in the sanitarium.

But when he tried to pass out tracts, no one wanted them. He tried to hand out books, but no one would take them. He tried to talk with them, but he was handicapped because of his inability to communicate in their language, and he felt so discouraged. There he was. Because of his illness he would be there a long time. But it seemed like the work that he had been sent to do would not be done because no one would listen to him.

Because of his tuberculosis, every night at about 2 o'clock he would wake up with chronic coughing that wouldn't quit. Then one night when he awoke he noticed across the aisle an old man trying to get out of bed. He said the man would roll himself up into a little ball and teeter back and forth trying to get up the momentum to get up and stand on his feet. But he just couldn't do it. He was too weak. Finally, after several attempts the old man laid back and wept.

The next morning Doug understood why the man was weeping. He was trying to get up to go to the bathroom and didn't have enough strength to do that. So his bed was a mess and there was a smell in the air. The other patients made fun of the old man. The nurses came to clean up his bed and they weren't kind to him, either. In fact, one of them even slapped him in the face. Doug said that the old man just laid there and cried.

Doug said, "That next night about 2 o'clock I started coughing again. I looked across the way and there was the old man trying to get out of bed once more. I really didn't want to do it, but somehow I managed to get up and I walked across the aisle and I helped the old man stand up. But he was too weak to walk."

Doug said, "I took him in my arms and carried him like a baby. He was so light that it wasn't a difficult task. I took him into the bathroom, which was nothing more than a dirty hole in the floor, and I stood behind him and cradled him in my arms as he took care of himself. Then I carried him back to his bed and laid him down. As I turned to leave he reached up and grabbed my face and pulled me close and kissed me on the cheek and said what I think was 'Thank you.'"

Doug said, "The next morning there were patients waiting when I awoke and they asked if they could read some of the books and tracts that I had brought. Others had questions about the God I worshiped and His only begotten Son who came into the world to die for their sins." In the next few weeks Doug Nichols gave out all the literature that he had brought, and many of the doctors and nurses and patients in that sanitarium came to know Jesus Christ, too.

He said, "Now what did I do? I didn't preach a sermon. I couldn't even communicate in their language. I didn't have a great lesson to teach them. I didn't have wonderful things to offer. All I did was take an old man to the bathroom and anyone can do that."

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:7-8 NKJV).

What can you do to express the love of God to people around you today?

Alan Smith ministers with the Church of Christ in White House, Tennessee and publishes the email devotional "Thought for the Day."

Website: Thought for the Day

The Main Thing

phil@heartlight.org (Phil Ware) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).

Years ago, four loving young women from a Christian university uncovered a deep need. A local woman had no family and had a severe case of diabetes. She could barely see, she had lost most of her feet and was confined to a wheelchair, and had no family in the area. Seeing this need, they took turns coming and cleaning her house, visiting with her, and preparing meals for her. After two years, this woman died and the four young ladies went to their preacher to get him to do the service. In the course of their discussion, all of them realized that none of them had talked with this woman about her relationship with Jesus.

Over the years, this story has nudged me at different times. The not-so-gentle reminder it gives me is important. In the middle of doing many good things, we must not forget the main thing!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:16-17).

Over the last several years, we have seen a renewed passion to issues of social justice and living out God's Kingdom values today. I believe this is a crucial and important dimension of being faithful to the Lord. Jesus' presentation of the Good News of the Kingdom included proclamation as well as demonstrated compassion (Matthew 4:23). Others have reacted negatively to this emphasis and strongly asserted that we must not forget the call for people to repent and take up the morals and values of Jesus (Matthew 7:13-27).

For some reason, we don't seem to be able to emphasize both sides of Jesus' call to the Kingdom -- God's character and God's compassion. However, the Lord called us to take up our cross daily and follow Him and He also taught and demonstrated to us our need to remember the poor and the broken (Luke 9:23; Luke 11:41-42). We must not neglect the Lord's social concern or relegate it to some secondary place in our life as His followers and we must not forget the importance of moral integrity.

However, in doing and emphasizing many noble things, we must not forget the main thing!

Jesus Christ ... is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).

Years ago, I've been told, back before railroad crossings had automatic gates and blinking lights, some areas of track in the cities had a lantern man. When the train was coming, the lantern man was to get out of his little house and warn approaching traffic that a train was coming. On one awful night, a family was crossing the track and perished in the ensuing collision. In the investigation that followed, the lantern man was asked if he had left his house, stepped into the road, and waved his lanterns to warn the approaching vehicle. His answer was a clear, but sorrowful, "Yes."

However, guilt haunted him all his days and in visiting with a minister friend years later, he confessed the source of his guilt. "I answered the investigator correctly. I did leave my guardhouse. I did stand in the road. I did wave the lanterns. But they never asked me if I had ever lit my lanterns!"

As God's people, as followers of Jesus, we must not forget to light the lanterns. In the middle of doing many good things -- living with character and compassion -- we must not forget the main thing!

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -- of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life (1 Timothy 1:15-16).

You are encouraged to share your feedback and reactions on Phil's blog:
http://www.thephilfiles.com

Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. For the past 10+ years, he has also been co-editor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. For more details, click
here.

Website: Southern Hills Church of Christ

Move On!

sstirman@gmail.com (Sarah Stirman) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

A week before Thanksgiving, I begin rehearsing for the family gathering. I practice keeping my smile steady while doing my mental head slap. I carefully rehearse keeping my gaze focused without rolling my eyes. I do deep breathing exercises for relaxation. Having experienced the same family gathering over various holidays for years allows me to know the script by heart -- the jokes, the stories, the complaints, the barbs. As the day grows closer, my rehearsals reach comedic level as I occasionally toy with the idea of ditching the usual script in favor of a family game of "Tell Me How You Really Feel" to clear the air. The relaxation exercises prove futile as my blood pressure hovers at temple-throbbing level. Something must be done. It's time to move on.

Many of us approach the holiday season like the movie "Groundhog Day" -- it's the same exact Christmas as 1984. The clothes and decorations may have changed, but the emotions and arguments with family are the same. Maybe it's time to move on -- not to a different location for the holidays, but a different frame of mind.

In Exodus, go with me to the scene just before the dramatic crossing of the Red Sea. The Egyptian enemies are close on the heels of the Israelites, who take this opportunity to whine to Moses about being drug out into the desert to die when they could have just as easily died in Egypt. Moses gives an inspiring speech concluding with: "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still" (Exodus 14:14 NIV).

For years, that was my favorite verse since it is a struggle to remain still and let the Lord fight instead of trying to dig out of the messes I make. Not too long ago, however, someone encouraged me to keep reading in Exodus 14. Evidently, the Lord was not quite as inspired by Moses' words as me. The very next verse says, "The Lord said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.'" I love that. Sometimes I just need to move on -- the Lord says so Himself.

Need to apologize to someone? Apologize. Move on.

Need to forgive someone? Forgive. Move on.

Are there "issues" and baggage to drop? Let go of the baggage, with professional help if necessary. Just move on.

In a go-nowhere relationship? Either give it all you've got, to repair it, or declare it officially dead. Either way, move on.

Christians wear the name of the One who set us free from bitterness, fear, and unforgiveness, but often we live like we don't wear the very name of Christ, a name defined by selfless love and forgiveness.

There are times to let the Lord fight for you and be still, but there are times when the Lord says (in Sarah's paraphrase), "Quit whining and MOVE ON." This can be a season for change. Apologize. Forgive. Let go. Move on.

Sarah (Riley) Stirman graduated from Abilene Christian University with a degree in Elementary/ Special Education. A freelance writer, she currently lives in Abilene, Texas with her husband, Troy, their 2 children: Ashley, and Riley, as well as Duchess the chocolate lab and Stickers the hedgehog.

Website: The Cleft of the Rock

A Matter of Perspective

sherrill@cox-internet.com (Bill Sherrill) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Point of view has so much to do with the interpretation of an incident. I have just returned from 3,000 miles of driving though some of the most beautiful scenery one could imagine. We traveled through Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Eastern New York. The colors of fall were absolutely gorgeous!

We stood in awe amid the brilliant maples while listening to the roar of plummeting waterfalls. I wondered how anyone could choose to live in a zone where there was no changing of seasons. But, that is a point of view.

I was filling my gas tank at a station in Dansville, New York, and commented to the owner about how wonderful it must be to have this kind of beauty every year. His response was, "I don't see the colors that way. I know when the trees begin to change it is only a few days before another long, cold, hard winter!" It was a matter of perspective.

Those deprived of opportunities often pursue them with a passion, while those on whom such things are lavished may despise them. That which is common is never as enticing as that which is rare or just out of reach. The old saying is far too true, "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."

I wonder if this is not also the explanation for many who find it so difficult to be active in the gatherings of the church? In many of the missions with whom I correspond, they report instances of people walking many miles just to be able to meet with fellow Christians. Sadly, here where transportation is the best in the world and few of us ever wonder where our next meal is coming from, we are reluctant to meet. In fact, it seems that many only come out of habit or guilt. Somewhere they have been taught their motivation is that they must go to church and take communion or go to hell. So, they manage to make the morning service, not because they look forward to the fellowship with other believers, but to be absolved for one more week. It is a matter of perspective.

Every year the Sherrill/Lynn families meet at a retreat center in Arkansas called Wyldewood for Thanksgiving. It is the high point of the year for many of us. We anticipate with joy the occasion of togetherness with family. It is a matter of perspective.

I wish with all my heart that the family of God would burn with that same anticipation! I wonder if some will find it burdensome to think of an eternity with all those boring church people in heaven? I guess it is a matter of perspective!

Bill is a long time minister in Nacogdoches, Texas who loves world missions. His passion for ministry has led him all over the world. In addition to his work as a minister, he is also a licensed professional counselor. Bill's family is also involved in ministry and service to the world and community.

Website: Bill Sherrill's Thought for the Week

Here I Am, Please Send Someone Else

mbarres@dnet.net (Mike Barres) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Do you ever feel inadequate? Have you ever felt like God wanted you to do something, but didn't feel like you were qualified to do it? Join the club. You are in good company. Moses and Gideon felt the same way.

God spoke to Moses through a burning bush. Think about it. First of all it's God speaking. You would think that he would just automatically believe that what He says is right and true. The Lord also gave him some miraculous signs to demonstrate Himself to him -- He turned a rod in to a snake and back again. He also made a healthy hand leprous and then healthy again. You would think that would be enough. Not for Moses:

Then Moses said to the LORD, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue" (Exodus 4:10 NKJV).

Moses felt so inadequate. He really wanted to say to God, "Send someone else." His words came out this way:

O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send (Exodus 4:13).

God was a bit angry with him, but told him that Aaron would be along to help. God is so patient with us as we struggle with our inadequacy and fear.

God was looking for someone to deliver the people of Israel again, years later, and chose Gideon.

And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!" (Judges 6:12).

God wanted Gideon to know that He was sending him out with power:

Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" (Judges 6:14).

Gideon didn't feel like He was the guy. He felt he had reasons not to be God's mighty leader.

O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house (Judges 6:15).

Gideon was so unsure and insecure that he had God make a fleece wet, then dry, and so on. God was so patient with Gideon to help him with his insecurity.

God does use unlikely people. Look at the 12 that Jesus picked to be His apostles. Look at other leaders throughout Scripture. All of this should be comforting to you and me. If we feel inadequate, that is good, because we will be totally dependent on God and God will get all the glory for what He is able to do through folks like us.

Praise Him!

Mike is a pastor and writer for a number of online publications.