Ward's Words | BY WARD PIMLEY

Sharing the Lord's Message of Grace

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Tag: God’s Glory

  • 1 PETER 2: We Are A Chosen People

    “Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable.” – 1 PETER 2:4 GNT

    “But you are a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. You were chosen to tell about the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” – 1 PETER 2:9 NCV

    CHRISTIAN MESSAGE

    By WARD PIMLEY

    Pastor, Journalist, Author

    THE APOSTLE PETER mentions “chosen” three times in our passage: the first time, He references His Son; the next two times, He references us.

    1. Chosen by God as valuable.
    2. Chosen to be royal priests/holy nation.
    3. Chosen to tell others the Good News.

    That word “chosen” is key to understanding 1 Peter 2 because God, through His servant Peter, reminds us that He has “chosen” us.

    In fact, in Genesis, Chater 1 Verse 28, God chose us to be collaborators with Him in rendering *dominion* over the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.

    Genesis 1:27-28 (ESV) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

    Please keep in mind that as we exegete 1 Peter 2, we can appreciate why God puts up with us, why He has redeemed us through His Son. He has *chosen* us and still *chooses* us to be in partnership with Him and in fellowship with each other.

    Keep in mind, also, that in our first text verse, the apostle says that Jesus is the *living stone* chosen by God to be valuable, even though His people rejected their Messiah, even though most people even today reject the Messiah.

    That word *chosen* is the key word in 1 Peter 2.

    1 Peter 2 verses 1-3 (1st segment)

    “So, put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.” – 1 Peter 2:1 ESV

    In your identity as a follower of Jesus Christ, as a true believer that He is the Messiah, the Second Person of the Tripartite Trinity, here are some descriptions – or indicators – of how you should live. This list comes to us from God through Peter. This is God’s list, not Peter’s list. Peter was the instrument, but God was the author.

    Rid yourself of:

    • Malice
    • Deceit
    • Hypocrisy
    • Envy
    • Slander

    Replace them with: Pure Milk of the Word – so, like a baby grows through life into an adult, you may grow in your spiritual life to become one who …

    • Is a mature Christian, 
    • Draws confidence from his/her walk with the Lord,
    • Can withstand spiritual conflict (warfare),
    • Will witness in word and deed for the Lord Jesus Christ, and
    • Honors Fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

    1 Peter 2 verses 4-8 (2nd segment)

    “Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable.” – 1 Peter 2:4 NCV

    Peter then describes believers as “living stones” who are being built – or fashioned by God – into a spiritual house. That house, or structure, features Jesus Christ as the “cornerstone,” the building block upon which the house is built and stands.

    What you’ll see as a believer is that much of the world will not respect your beliefs but will consider you to be their enemy: you will be labeled a ‘hater’ or a ‘bigot’ because you believe what God tells us through His Word (the Bible), which differs from what the world teaches.

    The world holds “human reason” to be the god of gods; Christians hold God’s Word to be God. 

    So, we believe …

    • God when He said He created two genders, not 57 of them.
    • Men should protect women and provide for them, and, in turn, women should respect men and encourage them for the burden of care God has placed on men.
    • We should protect the lives of the unborn, considering them human, with separate DNA from their mother, and conceived with God’s blessing.
    • We should share the peace and joy God has placed on our hearts instead of the rancor, self-centeredness, and striving for material gain that mars the lives of unsurrendered hearts.

    You will, by your life and word, prove the world’s lie as to what is true and good and perfect versus what is not. 

    The Bible tells us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. – Romans 12:2 NKJV

    1 Peter 2 verses 9-10 (3rd segment)

    “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” – 1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV

    Peter identifies the church as a “chosen people, royal priesthood, holy nation, God’s special possession,” called out of darkness into God’s marvelous light. 

    This means that, as the song Amazing Grace so eloquently points out: “once we were lost but now we’re found, were blind but now we see.”

    In the OT, God says that those who did not know Him (Gentiles) would come to know Him, those who were “not my people” (unbelievers) would become known as “my people,” and I will be their God. 

    God is both a God of “inclusion” and of “exclusion.”

    • INCLUSION – His invitation is open to all to receive.
    • EXCLUSION – His reward excludes those who reject Him.

    When we did not know God, we were not recipients of His mercy; now, in Christ, we walk in fellowship with the Lord, and we do receive His mercy.

    1 Peter 2 verses 11-12 (4th segment)

    “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” – 1 Peter 2:11-12 ESV

    This passage calls us to recognize that we are to be *salt and light* to the world – that most of the world is populated by unbelievers. With our new identity in Christ as Christ followers, we are *called* by God to live honorable lives, reflecting God’s glory through good deeds. 

    Those good deeds should be delivered in love, in compassion, in humility, in good humor, in grace – not begrudgingly and not condescendingly.

    That means we should not consider ourselves somehow *better* than someone else. We are *forgiven,* not *perfect*. We are simply doing our jobs as faithful servants. We are just doing what God expects of us.

    In short, we are to *be Jesus* to the people we meet. We might be the only representative of Jesus many of them have seen in a long time or ever will see.

    1 Peter 2 verses 13-20 (5th segment)

    “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish evildoers. For this is the will of God.” – 1 Peter 2:13 ESV

    Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood (of believers). Honor the emperor. We are to be obedient to government, pay our taxes, obey the laws, educate ourselves before voting, recognize the rights of others to express themselves, and obey traffic laws.

    God instituted civil government for our sakes, to maintain order and punish the unruly. We are called to respect our leaders as long as they govern wisely.

    Unfortunately, most of them do not, and most countries are led by unelected strong men. Even our own leaders often veer from God’s wisdom. We are to pray for their hearts and minds, to follow the Lord’s will.

    As such, we also are called to speak into the culture. As Christians, our voices should be loud whenever our leaders take us down the wrong road.

    Now, there are some Christians who believe we should be silent about temporal affairs, focusing solely on spiritual matters. They believe the temporal – earthly matters – are distasteful and beneath them. We might call that the *monastery* view.

    I disagree. Notice, I said “I.” My view. I am part of the Christian tradition that believes we should lead by our actions and speak into the culture, as well. Maybe we’ll call that the *involved* view.

    We ought to call out the abortionists, the proponents of homosexuality, the transgenderism, and other atrocities that mar our current culture. Our forebears in the pulpit and the church members called out slavery, as the evil it was. 

    Slavery still is evil. We have 300,000 unclaimed migrant children that have poured into our country in recent years, and we have no idea where they are. The church, led by the pulpit, should not remain quiet. 

    The Lord says we are to shine a light into the dark world. How do we obey Him if we remain silent in the face of evil?

    The Rev. Franklin Graham says we should pray for our country’s leaders at all levels of government – national, state, and local – as well as school boards and committees, so that we will be governed by men and women of deep faith, so those functions are not dominated by unbelievers.

    1 Peter 2 verses 21-25 (6th segment)

    “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.” – 1 Peter 2:22 ESV

    “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” – 1 Peter 2:23-25 ESV

    Peter continues his reference to Jesus Christ as a model for our behavior. The apostle described the Lord’s suffering not as a defeat for Him personally nor for the church and Christ’s mission but as a success.

    A success. Let that linger a bit. Christ’s suffering for our sake was a success. It fulfilled the Father’s goal of providing a way for sinful man to enjoy fellowship with His creator. 

    Jesus was born in human form and lived among us to become the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He came to die on the cross. Had we not sinned and strayed from God’s will for our lives, there would have been no need for Him to suffer and die.

    We caused the reason for Jesus to visit Earth in human form. 

    We caused the reason for Jesus to die on the cross. We put Him in the manger; we put Him before the Jewish and Roman courts, we put Him on the cross, and we put Him in the grave … yet He rose from the grave, defeating death for our benefit.

    Seven hundred (700) years before Christ, the prophet Isaiah (53:5 NKJV) prophesized with these words: “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

    CLOSING WORDS

    Since we are chosen by God to be His possession, shouldn’t we be willing, also – eager, even – to fulfill (obey) His call on our lives to (1) believe in Him for our salvation and then (2) tell others about it. 

    We do not need to be knowledgeable about the Bible, just be prepared to give a short testimony of how God has changed our lives. 

    (FOR EXAMPLE: I used to have a problem with alcohol; now I’m sober. I used to have anger issues. I’m more patient now. I used to chase everything in a skirt [or flirt with every man], but now I’m focused on my wife/husband or special loved one. I used to cuss without blushing; now I’m more encouraging.)

    That’s it. Then be ready to say, when prompted, “This is what God has done for me, and He can do it for you, too.”

    CONCLUSION: We should pray for:

    (1) the opportunity to witness, 

    (2) the right words to say, and 

    (3) willing hearts to listen.

    Then, you’re done!

    Let the Holy Spirit do the heavy lifting.

    PRAYER

    LORD GOD, we thank You for Your grace and mercy. Please forgive us when we fail to follow Your lead, when we do not act like a people chosen by God to be salt and light. Strengthen us, O Lord, to be “Jesus” to a world hungry for answers — answers that only You can give. We honor You; we praise You; we worship You. AMEN

  • 1 PETER 1 – A Message of Hope for a Discouraged People

    CHRISTIAN MESSAGE

    By WARD PIMLEY

    Pastor, Journalist, Author

    • Do you ever think about the promises God has made to us about an eternal kingdom in Heaven? 
    • Do you ever wonder what it takes to qualify, to pass the *entry* test, to get into Heaven? 
    • Do you ever worry that your salvation is not secure, that when you prayed the Sinner’s Prayer, God wasn’t listening, or if He was, you could *backslide* and lose His favor? 
    • If your answer to any of those questions is “yes,” or even if you’re not sure what your answer is, then today’s message is for you. 
    • Fasten your pew belts, church. We’re about to take a ride into the most important promise God makes in the Bible – our salvation and its security. 

    Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In God’s great mercy, He has caused us to be born again into a living hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. – 1 Peter 1:3 NCV

    THE BIBLE REMINDS US that through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has caused those of us who believe in Him to be born again; as a result, He has promised us an eternal inheritance with Him in Heaven.

    WHAT CAN WE SAY ABOUT HEAVEN?

    This will be a place where sadness and sickness and accidents and pain and discord and jealousy and all the other ills of our current lives will be taken away. 

    New bodies, right! New minds! New spirits!

    Yet, we’ll still be “us,” with our emotions, our memories, our individual likes and skills, and our “circle” of family and friends, as well as our desire to meet new people, some of them from other parts of the world or who lived at a far different time in human history from us.

    WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO MEET?

    Who do you want to meet from the past? What questions would you like to ask that person? 

    • How about asking Sarah what it was like to have a baby at the age of 90? 
    • Or maybe ask Isaac what he was thinking when Father Abraham tied him to the offering pile, just before he heard the sacrificial lamb’s bleating? 
    • Maybe you want to peer into David’s heart when he realized Bathsheba was pregnant and he had her husband killed in war? 
    • Would you like a trip to the Lion’s Den with Daniel or being dumped into a vat of boiling oil with John, or face your own execution, like Paul and James, the half-brother of Jesus, or John’s brother James, the first apostle martyred. Or Peter and Andrew, also martyred. 
    • Maybe, like me, you long to talk with those who come to us from the future, who saw the completion of things we saw started, or who saw the development of new technologies that made our current knowledge seem so primitive. 

    WE’LL SEE GOD FACE-TO-FACE!

    HEAVEN WILL BE A PLACE of worship, of seeing God face-to-face, of sitting down with Jesus for a heart-to-heart talk. 

    Park your imagination on that spot for a while and do yourself a huge favor: pledge to go back to it frequently. It’s worth the trip. 

    In the place of all the evil that we experience in this world will be an oasis of peace and love and joy.

    How can you possibly go through this life without experiencing even for a few moments the sheer excitement of anticipating that glorious future God has prepared for us? 

    We will worship our Creator, we will enjoy fellowship with believers from the fullest extent of time, past and future, of every race, color, language, era – a sea of loving, compassionate, and faithful believers. 

    They – the world’s believers – will be our family and friends. 

    MY RESIDENCE 

    WE WILL ALL HAVE A RESIDENCE.

    Call it a “mansion” or a “room,” depending on your Bible translation. I like to think of it as an apartment or condominium. All the comforts of home without any outdoor maintenance.  

    As for eating, I don’t know. I’d like to know I could score a big breakfast readymade for me … as well as a dynamic dinner and an over-the-top Sunday mid-day brunch/buffet. 

    The rest of the meals I can fix for myself in my mansion – sandwiches, soup, crackers, potato chips, popcorn – nothing will be harmful for us. 

    There’ll be plenty of ice cream, maybe one of those soft-serve dispensers with 3 flavors – vanilla, chocolate, and flavor-of-the-month. 

    As for work, yes, I know our Creator values work, and frankly, I’m good with work. I’m also good with rest and relaxion; so, I guess I like plenty of both. 

    What about companionship?  

    Introverts don’t require as much companionship as extroverts do, but I imagine we’ll all have plenty of time to ourselves, just as we’ll have time to fellowship and enjoy the presence of other believers.   

    We’ll learn. We’ll learn about God, and we’ll have all of eternity to learn about Him, even if we never learn everything there is about Him.  

    PIVOT 

    ALL OF THIS is fine, you say, but what does any of that mean for me? How can I use any of what we might imagine Heaven will be like for my life now? How does this apply to my here-and-now? 

    The apostle Peter, in our text verse, encourages us with the reminder that through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, God has caused us to be born again; that is, for those of us who believe.

    2 Corinthian 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is past; behold the new has come.” 

    That means we were “reborn,” or “remade,” our old, sinful selves replaced with new selves through the blood of Jesus. Our new selves still sin, but we don’t live steeped in sin; we’re no longer slaves to sin, but we strive, with His help, to live without sin. 

    As a result of this new birth, we, as believers, are promised an eternal inheritance reserved for us in Heaven.  That’s only for those who believe.  

    The Bible says … 

    • God planned long ago to choose you by making you his holy people, which is the Spirit’s work. God wanted you to obey him and to be made clean by the blood of the death of Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be yours more and more.  – 1 Peter 1:2 NCV
    • There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I would not tell you this, unless it were true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together.  – John 14:2-3 CEV 
    • Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. – Ephesians 4:30 NASB 
    • He has also put His seal on us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment. – 2 Corinthians 1:22 CSB 
    • And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. – 1 John 5:11-12 NIV 

    We know that the term “down payment” means a good faith offering that seals the promise of future payment for the desired good or service. 

    MORE TO THE STORY

    BUT WAIT! There’s more! 

    GOD says our earth-bound lives are not the whole story.  

    There is much more for us, and it will be glorious! God does not give us many details about Heaven, but He does tell us in Eph. 3:20, and other places, that our lives with Him will be better and more rewarding than we could ever imagine.  

    WHY DOESN’T GOD GIVE US MORE DETAIL? 

    Could this be the answer?

    1. The secret things belong to the Lord our God. – Deuteronomy 29:29a ESV
    2. It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. – Acts 1:7 BSB

    When the apostles/disciples asked Jesus if this was when He would restore the kingdom to Israel, He said, “NO.”

    >You have a job to do in this world. You are to leave the end times stuff to My Father in Heaven, and you carry the Word to your neighbors, your surrounding region, and to the ends of the earth. My Father will take care of the rest.<

    Perhaps God knew that giving us more information about Heaven would be like telling a young child, who needs to eat his dinner first, what dessert will be. The child’s attention will shift from the vegetables to the ice cream, and that is not the mother’s intent.

    Revelation 21 and 22 give us a brief description of the New Heaven and the New Earth:

    • Crystal-clear streets of fine gold, 
    • Precious stones along the walls,  
    • Gates and pillars with the names of the 12 Apostles and the 12 Patriarchs,  
    • Everlasting light of Jesus,  
    • Worship with the saints, along with angels and the four living things,  
    • The gates will never be closed. 

    Randy Alcorn in his book Heaven says we’ll be ourselves with our personalities and our memories – without our memories we wouldn’t be ourselves, would we? We wouldn’t recognize anyone because we wouldn’t know them.  

    So, we’ll know who we are and who others are.

    Our bodies will be young and healthy, yet we’ll still – somehow – recognize everyone, even those we only knew when they were old or sick. Children who die before maturity will grow to adulthood, and babies who were aborted might well be present. 

    We’ll have our individual skills. If you could play the piano on earth, you should be able to play the piano even better in heaven. Let’s hope so, anyway. If you don’t know how to play the piano, you’ll have all of Eternity to learn. 

     CLOSING WORDS

    YES, TODAY WILL BRING with it many moments of joy, of peace, of kindness, of pleasantness – but today also will bring reminders of our loss, the loss that became our heritage in the Garden of Eden. God did not create this world to be experienced the way we experience it. 

    Remember, we – in the persons of our ancestors, Adam and Eve – defied God by tasting the forbidden fruit. God told us there would be consequences if we disobeyed him. We did it, anyway, and we experience that punishment every day.  

    You remember when Jesus cried? It’s in the Bible. John 11:35. “Jesus wept.” (See also Luke 19:41-42 ESV.) Why do you suppose He wept? 

    Perhaps for at least three reasons: 

    • He felt a personal sorrow for the loss of His friend Lazarus.
    • He felt the sorrow experienced by Lazarus’ two sisters, Mary and Martha, who also were friends of Jesus. 
    • He felt sorrow for the heartache of humanity’s self-inflected grief. 

    The Good News is that God sees our pain and our hopeless condition, and He has promised us a Savior – Jesus the Christ – who paid the penalty for our sin, which satisfied God’s wrath so He could restore us to full fellowship with Him. 

    The Bible reassures us by emphasizing God’s faithfulness, even when we are faithless; He fulfills His promises, even when we break ours. 

    God keeps His promises. You will not lose your salvation. The biggest reason? Because you did not earn it. God gave it to you as a gift. This gift is because of His grace and His desire that you will live in Eternity with Him. 

    PRAYER

    Thank You, Lord, for Your goodness, Your grace, Your mercy, and Your love. We deserve none of it, but we are grateful, eternally grateful, for all of it. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

  • FAITH IN SMALL THINGS: God Is Working for Us

    Jesus said His Father — our God — is always working, and so was He. The call to work is one of God’s gifts to mankind. We derive pleasure and pride from what we accomplish. When our service is God-directed, when we are acting in His will, the reward is sweeter. To experience that joy, to claim God’s promise, we must humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and repent from our evil ways; then

    He promises to hear our prayer, forgive our sins, and heal our land.

    CHRISTIAN MESSAGE By WARD PIMLEY

    But Jesus answered them, “To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working.” – John 5:17 BSB

    “For who has despised the day of small things?” – Zechariah 4:10 NKJV

    GOD IS ALWAYS WORKING, yet from our limited and temporal perspectives, we often miss seeing what He is  doing, unless we are actively looking for it, unless we want to find it.

    How often we find it much easier to see what God is doing in our lives when we look backward, instead of forward, to see how He has managed to combine events and bring people into our lives that have changed us in some way. 

    However, when we look in front of us, we often miss what God is doing now, or how He is preparing us now, for what lies ahead. 

    There’s that famous example of someone walking along the shoreline who sees two sets of footprints — one set beside the other — and then sees only one set of footprints, and asks, “Lord, where were You when I needed You?” — and the Lord replies, “See where there’s only one set of footprints? Those were Mine. That’s when I was carrying You.”

    In my own life, I can see, looking backward, how God has intervened when I’ve humbled myself and asked Him for help and He has carried me for a term.

    Of course, He won’t always carry us because, without our struggles, there’s no growth, so He’ll gently let us down from His strong shoulders to resume walking beside us. He doesn’t abandon us; He just shifts position.

    ~GLORY IN WORK~

    IN OUR BIBLICAL TEXT, Jesus had just healed a man who had been lame for 38 years. This was the Sabbath, and Jesus and His followers were on their way to worship. 

    The Lord saw the man resting beside a pool with others who were blind or deaf or lame, and Jesus had told the man to stand up, pick up his pallet, and walk. As the man obeyed, he was healed.

    While the man obeyed Jesus, carrying one’s pallet on the Sabbath — plus healing a lame man on the Sabbath — were both forbidden by the Jewish leaders. 

    When the leaders questioned Jesus about His healing on the Sabbath and directing the man to pick up his pallet on the Sabbath, Jesus replied that He and His Father were always working, even on the Sabbath!

    That added another problem with the Jewish leaders — for Jesus was equating Himself with God — which, we know, He was and is.

    Jesus used that example to teach the eternal presence of God in our lives, that the Sabbath is holy but it was made for man, not the other way around, that He was and is God, and that there is dignity and worth in working. 

    It is worth noting, again, that the man who was lame was not healed until he obeyed Jesus’ command to stand up; then, he could pick up his pallet and walk.

    ~ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE~

    THIS PASSAGE IS LOADED with meaning. Besides the ones we just mentioned, there were at least two more important lessons. 

    One is that God has an eternal perspective while our viewpoint is very limited. At most, we see what’s happening to us and around us right now, and as we’ve noted, often we miss it, but God sees today’s events as part of the eternal landscape. It takes faith on our part to recognize that God is working even now when we cannot understand what He is doing or why He is doing it.

    Besides the eternal perspective, the other meaning from our passage is that God calls on us to help in His work. In the passage we cited, Jesus did not just heal the man; He asked if the man wanted to be healed. Was he even interested in hearing from God and doing what God asked him to do.

    We were to find out. Jesus told him to pick up his pallet and walk. It was in the doing that the lame man was made whole.

    ~WISP OF SMOKE~

    WHEN WE ASK GOD for guidance, we want ASAP, yet God works through eternity. Our days are numbered; His are unlimited. He  exists from eternity past to eternity future, while our lives are a wisp of smoke.

    That’s why He calls us to faith – to believe those things that we cannot see and to trust that He is working out His eternal and universal plan in our lives even at this very moment.

    When we look behind us, we are more likely to see the progress, the change, the work that He has done. 

    When we look ahead, we often see a blank slate. God sees what He will do … but we have to wait, in faith, that He will act; in fact, to see that He is acting. We will see it in time, if not right away.

    In the Old Testament, God is speaking through the prophet Zechariah to tell His people these three truths: “You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my spirit”; “For who has despised the day of small things?”; and “This shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.” (Zech. 4:6 GNT; Zech. 4:10 NKJV; Zech. 6:15 ESV)

    The Bible tells us not to despise “the day of small things,” of limited progress (at least, to our eyes), because the days pile on, one after another, one month after another, one year after another, one decade after another, and then that compilation of “small things” over time becomes something grand. 

    Just as a little faith will move mountains, so faith in the “small things” can lead to greatness. God is always working, even when we don’t see it. He is with us, and He is faithful.

    ~FINAL WORDS~

    MY QUESTION TO YOU, faithful church, is this: Do you have faith that God is present in your lives, that He sustains you when you are discouraged or face defeat, that He carries you when you need a lift and accompanies you when you just need a friend. 

    Do you listen for His voice. Do you hear Him reassuring you, or is your own voice drowning out His voice.

    Are you even walking with Him in faith? Do you not know that all of the benefits that God promises are available to everyone, but only those who humble themselves before the throne, who receive His Spirit into their hearts, will ever know the peace and joy that He willingly offers.

    Today, if you have not turned your life over to the Lord, or even if you’re not sure you have, or you’re ‘pretty sure’ you might have at one time but have since walked away, I invite you to change that now. Don’t let this moment pass without calling on God’s grace. 

    Pray this with me, or use your own, but similar, words:

    ABBA FATHER – I confess that I am a sinner in need of God’s grace. I cannot earn salvation on my own. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son who came to earth to save the lost, to reconcile fallen man to Himself, and that He died on the cross for my sins, to pay the price that I am unable to pay. Almighty God, today I turn my life over to You. I humbly confess my sins and my need for a Savior, and I ask You to wash away my filth with Your spilled blood. Give me the peace and joy that only You can give, and when I die, take me — body and soul — to live with You forever. In Jesus’ name, I pray. AMEN and AMEN

    Church, if you’ve prayed that prayer for the first time, then welcome to God’s holy and eternal Kingdom. If you prayed that prayer in recommitment to Your Creator, thank God that He is patient with all of us, not wanting anyone to perish but all to come to repentance. 

  • JUSTICE! From Genesis to Revelation, God’s Promise – to Balance the Scales

    In the end, the Bible tells us, God will judge all mankind, restoring order and sinlessness to Eternity and sending the impious and rejectors of His mercy to everlasting punishment. He also tells us that vengeance belongs to Him, not to us. We are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. 

    “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” – GENESIS 18:25b (ESV)

    “And I heard the altar reply: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments.”” – REVELATION 16:7 (BSB)

    Message By Ward Pimley 

    HAVE YOU EVER WISHED you could – for just one moment – have enough power and force to exact vengeance on those who have hurt you in some way? 

    I know I have. Yes, it’s “in the flesh” when I feel that way, and not according to God’s Holy Spirit, but He assures us that vengeance belongs to Him, and He will repay (Deuteronomy 32:35). 

    Well, in Revelation 16, God reveals to us what will happen in the future toward all of those who have rejected Him and have harmed His “saints, apostles, and prophets.” 

    The prophets and apostles are Old Testament and New Testament teachers; the saints are those of us who trust Christ for our salvation.

    FIRST BOOK, LAST BOOK

    THE BIBLE’S LAST BOOK reinforces a point made in the Bible’s first book – that God, who is the judge of the world – will judge fairly (Genesis 18:25; Revelation 16:7). Those two verses appear as our text source at the start of this message. 

    I found it interesting to translate those verses into Spanish and French for the two other North American languages, figuring that God’s Word not only is true eternally but also available for everyone.

    “Nunca tal hagas! El Juez de toda la tierra¸ ¿no ha de hacer lo que es justo?”  – Génesis 18:25b (RVR95)

    “Y oí una voz que venía del altar y decía: «Sí, oh Señor Dios, el Todopoderoso, tus juicios son verdaderos y justos».– Apocalipsis 16:7 (NTV)

    “Celui qui juge toute la terre n’appliquera-t-il pas le droit?»” – Genèse 18:25 (S21)

    “Puis j’entends une voix qui vient de l’autel. Elle dit: « Oui, Seigneur, Dieu tout-puissant, tes jugements sont vrais et justes. »” – Apocalypse‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬ (‭PDV2017‬‬)

    God’s final judgment will right the scales of injustice throughout the world for all time. That knowledge should help those of us who often want to do that job ourselves, to avenge wrongs we think were done to us.

    God will take care of everything in His time according to His will, and it will be just. We can rest easy and focus on the job He has given us – to live our lives with patience, joy, and self-control.

    ~PRAYER~

    ALMIGHTY GOD, Creator of all life – Your glory and honor and power reign, and You will avenge all evil and right the scales of justice. You are perfect in all of your ways, and we worship You. Thank You for the Gift of reconciliation through the sacrifice of Your Son that, by believing in Him and calling on His name, we will live. In the name of Jesus we pray. AMEN

  • SHARE THE GOSPEL: It’s the Good News!

    Message By Ward Pimley

    “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” – Mark 16:25 NKJV

    “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” – Romans 10:17 ESV

    YOU HAVE SOMETHING very important to share.

    Our Savior, Jesus Christ, *commands* us to spread the Good News. He said in Mark 16:15 (NKJV): “Go into all the world and preach the gospel [the Good News] to every creature.” [cf Acts 1:8, Matt. 28:19-20]

    What is the Good News? This: That Jesus came from Heaven to reveal to us God in human form, to live a sinless life, and to be our atoning sacrifice on the cross; after which, He rose from the dead and then ascended into Heaven, where He sits at the right side of the Father’s Throne, interceding for us.

    ~FIRST FRUITS~

    AS THE FIRST FRUITS of that resurrection, He has given us the assurance that, we, too, believing in Him, will be resurrected from the dead to eternal life.

    As Sam Cooke sang, “Ain’t that good news? Man, ain’t that news?”

    So, tell someone! Share it with those in your life. The Bible tells us to “walk as He walked,” so we are to live out the Gospel and then share through our testimony, just as Jesus told the demoniac whom he healed, “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” (Luke 8:39 NKJV)

    ~HONOR CHRIST~

    REMEMBER THE ADMONITION from Apostle Peter, who said (1 Peter 3:15 ESV): “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”

    Our main text verse today (Romans 10:17 ESV) reminds us that “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

    So, it’s not enough just to live out the Gospel, which we definitely should do, but we need to tell others that the joy and peace we feel is because we walk with Jesus. 

    Otherwise, we’re stealing His glory for ourselves.

    ~PERSONAL MINISTRY~

    TO KICKSTART YOUR personal ministry, or renew what you once did but lost zeal, you could pray these words alongside me (or use words of your own): 

    Lord in Heaven, bless me to be a blessing to others. Help me to see the hurting souls around me and give me the words to say and the assurance and boldness to say them, not for my glory but for Yours alone. Help me, O Lord, to walk as our Savior walked. In His name and through His blood we pray. AMEN

    If you prayed that prayer, then let’s share the GOOD NEWS together!

    PRAYER

    ALMIGHTY GOD, our gracious and loving Lord: We thank You for Your lovingkindness, Your grace and mercy, and Your willingness to forgive. We know our access to the throne of grace is only through the shed blood of Your Son. Lord, we pray for the health and prosperity of our loved ones, that they may come to know You, the only true God. In Jesus’ name. AMEN

  • A BLESSING FOR YOU FROM GOD

    The Bible contains many greetings and blessings, benedictions and prayers, most of which we tend to gloss over as just part of the background. Yet, why not spend some time thumbing through the various books, especially the New Testament epistles, to uncover some gems that you could use in your correspondence. This lesson contains one such promise.

    Message by Ward Pimley

    “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” – III JOHN 2 (NKJV)

    “Amado, yo deseo que tú seas prosperado en todas las cosas, y que tengas salud, así como prospera tu alma.” – 3 Juan 2 (RVR1960)

     DO YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF looking for the “perfect” card for someone? 

    You know, something with a message that feels “authentic” and heartfelt, that conveys the love or admiration or respect you have for the card’s recipient, instead of a packaged saccharine sentiment that does not quite match the moment?

    Awhile back, a pastor friend sent me a card with a note to check out 3 John 2, a one-chapter letter written by the Apostle John to his friend Gaius. [John’s third letter has only one chapter; sometimes it’s written as 3 John 2, other times as 3 John 1:2.] 

    The verse is appropriate for scribbling inside a card or even to share on social media or your signature panel. It’s also good for meditation! 

    Here it is: 

    “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” – 3 JOHN 1:2 (NKJV)

    Think about it, how it captures a well-being for both the spirit as well as the body and mind.

    What message could be better!

    But wait! That’s not all! The Holy Bible is filled with great verses that offer hope, encouragement, love, grace, forgiveness … whatever compassionate feeling you want to express.

    So, the next time you select a ready-made card that misses the mark, why not thumb through your Bible and select something uplifting from the Creator? 

    ~Finding Daily Gems~

    Better yet, why not look for those gems every day? That way, you’ll find them daily and you’ll know exactly which one you want to include in that card to a loved one.

    Peace as you spend time with your Lord in prayer.

    While we’re at it, this message assumes the blessing of 3 John 2 is true for you, as well. 

    Are you in good health, are your basic needs met, and most importantly, is your soul in synch with the Creator? If so, you already know how to share the Bible’s gems with others.

    If not, then would you like to take this moment to correct that? If the Lord leads you in prayer, you can pray along with me (or choose your own words) this prayer of salvation, called the “Sinner’s Prayer.”

    ALMIGHTY GOD, please hear my prayer. I know I am a sinner in need of Your redemption. I believe Jesus is Your Son, the second Person in the Trinity, and that He lived a perfect life and died a painful, degrading death on Calvary’s Cross for my sin, to atone for me. Lord, forgive my sin, and help me live a transformed life, in Your image, as You planned for me. Lord, I commend my soul to You and Your safekeeping. In Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN

    IF YOU JUST PRAYED THAT PRAYER (or one similar to it), and were genuine in your prayer, then welcome to the Kingdom of God and the blessings of peace, joy, and eternal life. 

    May you prosper in health and prosperity … just as your soul prospers.

    ~PRAYER~

    ALMIGHTY GOD, our gracious and loving Lord, we thank You for Your lovingkindness, Your grace and mercy, and Your willingness to forgive. We know our access to the throne of grace is only through the shed blood of Your Son. Lord, we pray for the health and prosperity of our loved ones, that they may come to know You, the only true God. In Jesus’ name. AMEN

  • IS JESUS BOTH YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR?

    THE BIBLE TELLS US that all who call on Jesus’ name and believe He is the Christ will be saved from eternal damnation, but it also tells us to receive Him as our Lord. Many who identify as Christian have received Him as Savior, but is He also their Lord?

    MESSAGE BY WARD PIMLEY

    THE ‘ALTAR CALL’ — Inviting those in worship to make a confession of faith in Jesus Christ and trust Him for their salvation — is one of the more emotionally fulfilling moments in a Christian worship service.

    Image of lighted cross

    The process rivals baptism — another public profession of faith — for its seriousness of purpose and determination of one’s eternal destination.

    Philippians 2:9-11 (NKJV) “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

    The Bible tells us that at the end of history, when God judges the world, all people, small and great, will recognize the Lordship of the Creator, even if they rejected that truth during their earthly lives.

    Many people claim the mantel of “Christian.” Self-reporting data show some 2.2 billion individuals in the world declare themselves to be Christian, making it the world’s largest religious group, In addition, surveys show some 65-70 percent of Americans claim the mantel of “Christian.”

    Watching new hearts walk down the aisles toward the receiving pastors and kneeling before the Cross to confess their need for Jesus as Savior is riveting and a cause for celebration.

    Despite those staggering numbers, does anyone seriously see evidence, in either North America or the world at large, that Christianity is dominant in its influence?

    If not, then what’s going on here?

    ‘NARROW’ PATH v. ‘BROAD’ PATH

    ONE POSSIBILITY is that many people who claim to be “Christian” do not understand that it is more than a “cultural” designation, much like one is of English or German or Italian descent (or Nigerian or Japanese or Bolivian), or a host of other nationalities and ethnic groups.

    To be a Christian is a conscious decision to receive the Holy Spirit into one’s heart by declaring the sin in their hearts, the truth of Jesus’ divinity and sacrifice on the Cross, and their need for His healing touch.

    JESUS SAYS, “CHOOSE THE NARROW PATH.”

    That process is called “justification,” or the cancellation of a debt paid in full.

    Next, comes the process of “sanctification,” in which the saved individual grows in his or her walk with Jesus. This is the life-changing process by which the person becomes more like the Savior in word and deed.

    It may well be, as Jesus points out, that too many people fail to take that second step.

    In Matthew 7:13-14, He tells us there are two gates and two pathways in life: one is narrow, that leads to life; the other is broad, that leads to destruction. He warns us that only a few enter the narrow gate and live for Jesus, while most people enter the broad gate and live life on their own terms.

    Most likely, our churches are filled with cultural Christians — those who identify as “Christian” because of the culture — and immature Christians — those who have been ‘justified’ but stopped short of “sanctification.”

    JESUS IS BOTH LORD AND SAVIOR

    JESUS WANTS TO BE both our SAVIOR and LORD.

    In Luke 6:46, He laments that we call Him “Lord, Lord,” but fail to obey His commandments. In casual parlance, “we talk the talk, but we don’t walk the walk.”

    Can you imagine how dynamic and vital the Christian-claiming world would be if we actually believed what we claim we believe and lived out the Gospel in our daily lives.

    Romans 10:9 (GNT) “If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved.”

    Romans 10:10 (ESV) “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

    Even with the modicum of faith that many Christians display, Christian influence has been significant: from the elevation of women’s status to equality with men, to building of hospitals and medical research, to the proliferation of science and systematic knowledge, to moral teachings to be in kind to others and lend help when others are hurting.

    That’s with just the modicum of faith most Christians display. What could be earth-shattering if every Christian actually held Jesus not just as their Savior, and so will avoid eternal destruction, but also as Lord, and lived according to His commandments.

    The altar call, wherever it is practiced, is a beautiful reminder of God’s promise of what He can do when His creation, who are called by His name, humble themselves, seek His face, pray, and repent of their sin. (2 Chronicles 7:14).

    ______________

    PRAYER

    Image of Holy Bible generated by AI by Freepik

    FATHER GOD, We confess we have drifted so far from You we don’t always take our faith walk as seriously as we ought to. Within our midst, O Lord, are fellow Christians who have not turned their lives over to Jesus as Lord but are content with calling Him their Savior. Help us to reach out to them in love with the truth and guide them toward maturity in their faith; and as we do so, O Lord, keep us from falling into the same trap. In Jesus’ name.

    AMEN

  • Followers of Christ—How Should We Act?

    They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. (Titus 1:16 NIV)

    But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High. (Psalm 78:17 NIV)

    No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. (1 John 3:6 NIV)

    WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME HOW TO LIVE? WHEN DID YOU BECOME GOD?

    For any follower of Christ who has risked a relationship with a family member or close friend to point out the sin in their lives, those words, harsh and unyielding, sting. There is no way to sugarcoat it.41. Jesus_Adam_Eve

    In fact, the feeling of rejection from a loved one can be so powerful, that many faith-based Christians retreat from any possible confrontation, comforting themselves in lifting a few prayers, knowing that for God, even the most unredeemable person is an  easy fix.

    The amazing reality is that while God can do all things, He has chosen to work through us, His creation. From the very beginning, God told Adam and Eve, before The Fall, to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28 NIV). The resurrected Christ, before His ascension into Heaven, commissioned His followers to “go and make disciples …, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV).

    Part of the mystery of God’s creation is that He has chosen to work through men and women of faith, despite our failings, our fears, our weaknesses, and even our own poor witness.

    Jesus knew the work would be difficult. He knew we would be rebuffed often, so He encouraged us to have some perspective: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18 NIV). This was prophesied in Isaiah 53:3 NIV: “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.”

    +++

    THE LORD ALSO GAVE US A POWERFUL TOOL to use in helping our loved ones. It is His Holy Word, the Sacred Writ: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 BSB).

    That means the Word we read daily in our walk with Christ to inspire us, to ground us, and to guide our lives is the same tool He has given all mankind. We only need to share it. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel here; we don’t need to create our own theology; we don’t have to struggle with magic formulas that will reach the unreached.

    God gave us the tool to use. We need but point people to its power.Picture 072

    Try this some time. When talking to an unbeliever, present the Bible to them. Ask them  to hold it for a few minutes. Watch as their hands disappear, quickly pulled away from the Book as though it were a leaping flame.

    The Bible has Power. It is a living book, filled with the Word of God. “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder” (James 2:19 NIV).

    The unbeliever knows that the Bible holds a power that is stronger than their own will. To continue in their unbelief, they must reject it totally, stay as far away from it as possible. Even the conventional believer — the churchgoer who thinks taking communion is a profession of faith — will own a Bible. It will remain on the bookshelf where they stuck it the day their church presented it to them. Unread. Gathering dust.

    +++

    BUT WHAT ABOUT THE BELIEVER’S WITNESS? How are we living our lives? At home, at work, in our neighborhoods, with our family and friends? Do we make a difference in the way we act or talk? What about our thoughts? We may think they’re private, but doesn’t desire lead to sin?

    Here’s what James, the half-brother of Jesus, says: “Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15 NIV).

    So, does our witness back up our words?

    Yes and No.

    No, if our words are of judgment and condemnation. In that case, we are hypocrites. 41.Filthy-Rags

    Since we all sin (“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23 NIV; “and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” – Isaiah 64:6 NIV), we cannot act in judgment of our neighbor, who will be justified in throwing back at us Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:3 NIV: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

    However, YES, a resounding and vibrant YES a thousand times over, if we point to the glory of God, admitting that we are sinful creatures who have been reborn by God’s redeeming love (“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” – 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV).

    +++

    WE CANNOT SHY AWAY FROM REACHING those whom He has placed in our lives who need to hear the Word of God! We cannot let our insecurities stop us from an open witness.

    Sometimes, that witness takes the form of a kindness — an encouraging word, helping with a task, or even offering to assist.

    Sometimes, it requires an open discussion, perhaps leading with a question seeking permission. “May I ask you something?” 

    41.FemaleHoldingPlantSometimes, it needs a bold declaration of God’s love for His creation.

    “You know, (name of person here), God tells us that He loves us so much He was willing to come to earth in human form to die for us, to pay the price for our sin, yours and mine, to restore us to a right relationship with Him. What do you think of that? Isn’t that awesome?”

    Sometimes, it allows for a full-on statement of God’s design to reclaim His creation for Himself.

    “In fact, (name of person), He said there is no sin you or I could do, no pattern of sinful behavior, no limit to hurting ourselves or others that His sustaining Grace can’t defeat. (“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” – Romans 6:14 NIV). Are you willing to ask for that help from Him right now? I can help you, if you’d like. It’s your call, but I’m here to walk with you every step of the way.”

    +++

    WE MIGHT NOT BE BLESSED with the opportunity to stand with a repentant unbeliever and witness that person’s passing from death to life, but just as Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, we certainly will have the opportunity to plant the seed that someone else waters and even water the seed that someone else plants.

    In either case, God is the one who will make the plant grow. At that point, we just step aside and watch the glory of God transform this man or woman.

    Three key points, then, for those who want to serve the Lord.

    First, is to give Him the praise and glory for how He has reached down and transformed our lives to live out the Gospel every day. “May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God” (Philippians 1:11 NLT).FemalePrayingHands

    Second, is to act out the Gospel. “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:22 NLT).

    Third, is to give up sinful life styles. “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” (1 John 3:6 NIV). “No one who is born of God will continue to sin” (1 John 3:9 NIV).

    Alleluia!

     +++

    PRAYER: Our Heavenly Father, help us in our unbelief to believe, in our sin to seek repentance, in our words to be helpful, in our deeds to be obedient, in our thoughts to be pure, all for the glory and praise of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen

  • PRAYING BOLDLY

    Now to Him who is able to do infinitely more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us. — Ephesians 3:20 (BSB)

    ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.’ — Jeremiah 32:17 (NASB)

    Jesus looked at them and said, “With man, this is impossible; but with God, all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 (BSB)

    THERE IS AN AMAZING STORY OF JESUS IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK.

    Okay, you say, aren’t the Gospels filled with amazing stories of Jesus?

    One moment, you say, He’s raising Lazarus from the dead, then He heals 10 lepers and  restores sight to two blind men. He stops a woman’s hemorrhage just by her touching His cloak. He feeds 5,000 men — the Bible tells us men, Pray Boldly - lightningin addition to women and children, so there probably were 15,000 people — then He does it again with 4,000 men — plus their families — shortly afterward. If that weren’t enough, He tells the wind to shush and the waves to quiet.

    Even the disciples were incredulous, asking themselves, “Who is this man?” (Mark 4:41 NLT)

    True enough, but this story in Mark is different from the others. This one focuses on Jesus in a way that clearly transports him from an earthly realm to a heavenly one.

    Before I tell you the story, I have a question for you.

    +++

    HOW BOLD ARE YOUR PRAYERS?

    Well, how big is your God?

    My guess is your God is no bigger than your prayers. If your prayers are small, probably your God is small. To pray boldly, as the Scriptures encourage us, requires a big God. A God big enough to have created creation, itself — including you.

    If you’re like me, you’re probably a bit in awe of praying to the Creator of the universe. Here we come in prayer, armed with a wish list of stuff Man Praying Humblywe want Almighty God to take care of, much like giving him His morning “To Do” list. Even while we lay our requests at His feet, we can’t help wondering if our weak requests in our puny lives in our insignificant corner of the universe is even worth His attention?

    What would it take for each of us to take Him seriously when He beckons us to prayer?

    +++

    LET’S GO BACK TO THE STORY.

    Jesus comes down from a mountaintop with three of His most trusted disciples — Peter, John, and James — and He finds a distraught man whose son is acting strangely. The  men approaches Jesus and urgently tells him his son is possessed with a demon that causes him to froth at the mouth and fall to the ground, going rigid. Sometimes, the man said, the demon throws his son into the fire to burn him.

    Then the man tells the Lord, while pointing to the nine other disciples who did not accompany Jesus to the Woman Praying Earnestlymountaintop, “I asked Your disciples to cure him, but they weren’t able to.” The man searches the Lord’s face earnestly, then asks, meekly, much like many of our prayers, “Can You help him?”

    Mark records the Lord’s answer to the man, which, really, is the Lord’s rebuke to us: “What do you mean, if I can? Anything is possible if a person believes.”

    Then Jesus commanded the demon to leave the boy and never return.

    +++

    JUST ANOTHER WONDERFUL STORY OF JESUS, YOU SAY?

    No, not exactly. What makes this story so spectacular is what Mark tells us happened just before this healing incident occurred, back when Jesus was on the mountaintop  with His inner circle of trusted disciples.

    Mark tells us that on the mountaintop, while Jesus’ three closest disciples watched, “Jesus’ appearance was transformed, and His clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than earthly bleach could ever make them.”

    During this transforming moment, Peter babbled something inane, as Peter was wont to do, but Mark passes over it quickly, dismissing it as mere background noise.

    Then, Mark tells us: “[A] cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is My dearly loved Son. Listen to Him.’”

    +++

    THIS SEQUENCE OF EVENTS IS POWERFUL.

    There is a testimony for us. There are so many ways that our Lord tells us to pray boldly, even telling us that if we have the faith of a small mustard seed, we can pray in the Lord’s name, and He will move mountains for us (Matthew 17:20 NIV).

    Why, then, don’t we?

    Adult Man in PrayerEven as believers, we are likely to pray “small.” Most of our prayers focus on our lives, and our families and loved ones. As part of prayer and fellowship groups, we extend our  prayers to include those members and their concerns; and, yes, we open our eyes to the suffering around us and pray the Lord’s intervention to sooth our concerns.

    What we don’t do is go beyond ourselves and petition God, who tells us not to be anxious about anything, but to share everything with Him in petition and thanksgiving.  (Philippians 4:6 NIV)

    There’s nothing wrong with our prayers for our loved ones and for help in those areas of our lives where we hunger for God’s tender grace. It just that God is so much BIGGER than that. We seldom ask Him to go beyond the routine request.

    +++

    JUST THINK OF JESUS TRANSFORMED ON THE MOUNTAINTOP — and meditate on just who He is — and what He can do … and then meditate on how little we ask of Him.

    How bold are your prayers? How big is your God? 

    One pastor said that health and wealth and miracles are Pray Boldly (script)wonderful things, but the Apostle Paul told the church in Ephesus that He prayed that the love of the Lord Jesus Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith.

    To what end? To this end: “[That you] may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:18-19 NASB)

    NOW, THAT’S BOLD!

    PRAYER: Our heavenly Father, forgive us for offering You timid prayers, which often are just a list of our wants and needs, when You call us to pray boldly for Your kingdom, that Your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Help us to see a grander vision that You want for us, to pray boldly and then offer ourselves, in obedience to Your call, as part of that prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen

    PRAYING FOR BOLDNESS

    Jesus often tells us He can handle our requests, like this one: “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man, this is impossible, but with GOD all things are possible.’” — Matthew 19:26 (BSB)

    Apostle Paul sought boldness: “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, divine utterance may be given me, so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.” — Ephesians 6:19-20 (BSB)

    Here’s a prayer for the early disciples after Peter and John were released from prison: “And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your word with complete boldness. — Acts 4:29 (BSB)

    Paul leaves us with this thought: “Pray without ceasing.”— 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (BSB)

  • God Will Not Share His Glory

     
    Isaiah 42:8 (GW) I am the Lord; that is my name. I will not give my glory to anyone else or the praise I deserve to idols.
    2 Thessalonians 2:14 (NIV) He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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    AS BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIANS, we naturally are eager to serve the Lord. We take spiritual gifts assessment tests, we sign up for volunteer activities, and we even take our turn at heading up a committee or program. We can become so involved in our church service that, if we’re not careful, each “I do” will add a notch on our Service Belt and a swag to our step.

    In today’s Bible text, the Lord is making a point very clear to us: The glory  goes to Him, not to us; but if we obey Him, we can share in His glory.

    It’s very easy to get caught up in the “me” part of “What Does God Want Me to Do” and less on the “God” part of that same question.

    Even as we mature in our years on  earth and in our walk with Christ, we are still liable to wonder about what “great” role

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    Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men. — Colossians 3:23 (NASB)

     

    God wants us to accomplish. Surely, we reason, He has made us for something “great” and it’s just a matter of time before He’ll reveal it to us and to an appreciative world.

    Not likely.

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    THERE ARE MANY MORE anonymous saints in God’s heaven than there are Pauls or Johns or Peters or Davids or Moses. As well, not many women in the Kingdom will be another Mary or Elizabeth or Miriam or Ruth.

    On a personal level, my wife and I have felt that God is calling us to witness for Him, but we don’t know what His plan is.

    So, we keep our eyes open.

    We know it’s something big. Something remarkable. We just know that.

    Look out, world! We’re coming!

    Today, in response to prayer, my wife suggested something revolutionary: What if the Lord just wants us to follow Him daily.

    Then, IF there is to be some “grandiose event” that He has planned for us, it will happen in God’s time, not ours.

    “I’ve stopped trying to figure out what it is He wants us to do and if there’s  some important job Hands Lifted to the CrossHe has for us,” she told me. “Instead, I’ve decided to concentrate on just doing what I can each day to follow Him, to see Him,  feel Him, and know Him.”

    I put down my cereal spoon and searched her face.

    Where was she going?

    “That’s not always easy to do but just trying to do that is a plan in itself,” she said. “The rest will unfold in His time.”

    She wasn’t finished.

    “Maybe that’s His plan, for us just to follow Him each day.”

    She got me thinking.

    “Maybe that’s His plan, for us just to follow Him each day.”

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    WE BEGAN TO REALIZE that we can’t sit on the sidelines waiting for our big moment to arrive. Our big moment is right now, today! This is it. No matter what we’re doing or where we are, we’re called to live out the Gospel for His glory.

    “If our daily activities lead us to something big — something we haven’t done before — then that’s wonderful,” she added, “but if it doesn’t, then we’re still doing God’s work daily, and, after all, that’s what He wants from us.”

    Looking back, it’s easy to see where we went off course. In our zeal to serve the Master, we allowed ourselves to overlook the real work He has called us to do, which is the ordinary mundane sameness of our daily lives lived out for His glory.

    The idea that the Lord has something more in mind for us than the small matters that have been our service for Him in years past did not come from Him. It came from somewhere else.

    You see, the devil will use our Welcome With Crosseagerness to serve God as a way to deceive us.

    He’ll tell us we’re meant for so much more than just offering a friendly smile, an encouraging pat on the back, a casserole for a sick neighbor, a ride to the doctor’s, or playing catch with a child.

    No, the devil says, don’t get caught up in that minutia. If you do, you won’t be available when the “big stuff” comes your way. You’ll be too busy with the everyday stuff.

    Surely, the everyday stuff wasn’t God’s plan, was it?

    We’re going to stay with prayer. What does God want me to do? Our prayer — my prayer — needs to focus more on the “God” part of that question and less on the “me” part.

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    PRAYER: Our heavenly Father, we give You all of the glory and praise and honor. To You, Lord, belongs our devotion. We are so grateful for Your love. We pray forgiveness for those times when we get in the way of Your whispers to us, when we’re so busy speaking, that we don’t listen. Help us to see that Your plan for us is to obey You, and leave the glory to You. Amen