Didn't Get What I Wanted But What I Needed

9Tonight did not turn out the way I wanted it to. Before I get into that it's important for me to give some background to this situation.
Tonight I wanted to go over to my brother's house. At that Point I had a thought in my head that I didn't like, but I knew it was the right thing to do. I needed to ask God what He wanted for me. How did I come to this conclusion? While I was preparing to go to my brother's tonight, I noticed a torn page laying on the  bed in the guest room. Examining it a little bit closer I discovered that it was a page ripped out of the Bible. My wife told me that one of the kids had ripped it out of a kids Bible. Picking up the tattered page I began to read. The Bible Story was very clear to understand. The children of Israel would wait for the pillar of fire to lift from camp before they moved on. At this point I was pricked to the heart. I knew what had to be done, but didn't really want to do it. The unrenewed human heart is that way:(

Getting on my knees I prayed for God's will to be done. A few minutes my wife was on the phone with my brother's wife and their kids had gone to bed. I was disappointed but relieved at the same time. I was relieved because Jesus had done for me what I never could have done in my own strength! Though I was disappointed I realized that God knew best! He is so amazing!

Psalms 37:4 KJV

Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

It's been too Long!

This evening I've been taking inventory of my life.  Looking back lately, I realize that God has done so much for me today, it's incredible.  Today was the Sabbath day and God showed up in some incredible ways.  The night previous I was in prayer with God, wondering, why things weren't seemingly working out in the way that I wanted them to.  He has so many ways of speaking.  So as I was waiting for a reply I turned on a radio program called "Amazing Facts" and the program was about finding out God's Will for your life.  I'm now 31 years old.  My life is moving on its, way, but Jesus has not changed!  He is still my forever friend!  He loves me so much.  So do you know what He did for me last night!  He spoke to me.  I was trying to determine what God wanted me to do with my life at 31.  He pretty much told me that He wanted me to work on the work nearest, and that is my dear children!  He wants me to be a good dad to them, and to spend time with them.  He wants me to be faithful in the small things. The next day was the Academy Graduation.  As I looked at them walking down the Aisle, I was taken back to the time when I walked down that same aisle to the front.  During that time I was unsure of what my future would hold, and honestly, I still am, but I know who holds the future!  He is incredible!  So as I watched student after student walk down that blue carpeted aisle, I could see nothing but pure potential walking down the aisle.  As I looked at them, I saw what they had, realized what I had, and to be honest felt somewhat envious.  That is until the Children's Story at church came along.  The Children's story is a time where all the children go up front and are told a story, it's like their mini sermon.  This time the person giving the children's story was a graduating Academy student.  He told a story about a Marathon, and about running a race, and then he compared that to life.  Instantly, I felt like God was speaking directly to me, and indeed He was, not only was He speaking to me, but He was speaking to every single person in the church, because He always does speak through His Word.  As this graduate told of his marathon run, I was intrigued.  I knew where he was going with the story, but what I didn't realize, was where God was going with it, until I looked around me and saw my three children, and pregnant wife. Because at the moment he began to read 1 Corinthians 9:24, 25:


²⁴ Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
²⁵ And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

I realized then and there that God was telling me that my most important work was to my wife and children.  Yes, it would be a struggle.  It would be no easy feat to raise 4 kids in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and the way would definitely be steep, but this is my calling.  To not accept it, is to deny the very children God has entrusted to me, and that is a horrible thought.  As I thought about the graduates, and the life that I wished I could have had, I realized that what mattered most had not happened yet.  Jesus has not returned.  The very thoughts that I was thinking about my past were perishable.  I was not a failure.  The true race, continues on in Jesus.  After all, the education that God wants to give us, does not end!  He wants to show us more and more of Himself.  On this earth the race may be long, but God is in charge.  As we ask for His Will to be done in our lives and surrender to His plans, then it is at this point that God's purposes can be realized.  This graduate, ended his talk with another incredible verse that really spoke to me, and convinced me that though my life was not turning out the way that my "flesh" would have wanted it to, that He had a bigger plan for me!    Here is the verse:

Hebrews 12

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
² Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

"You Shall Worship The Lord Your God and Him Only Shall You Serve"

Today, was an incredible day, that the Lord Jesus taught me an incredible lesson.  I pray that I keep this constantly in mind.  So what is that lesson you ask?  Well, before I answer that question let me ask you one.  Do you like being controlled by another person?  Do you like to be told what you can and cannot do?  Sometimes humans can be very domineering, when they shouldn't be and get out of line, trying to "direct" and control the life of another person.  Before I go on in this description of my understanding of being controlled, I would like to admit that I have played both parts.  Sometimes, I do it because I want something so bad for the other person, and end up stepping across the line.  God, however, did not intend for this sort of thing.  I can remember one time, giving a friend bad advice, and then trying to manipulate him into listening to me.  Unfortunately, I "persuaded" this person to take my advice, and in the process, caused them much grief.  We were not meant to be people's slaves.  Take a look at the Book of Exodus, and it becomes clear that we were not meant to be forced to serve people.  Now, notice, I am not talking about service from a willing heart and choice, but rather, I'm talking about "forced" service.  Each person has to make a choice on what he or she is going to decide, and that choice needs to be their own! 

There are many different directions that I could go from here, but I want to focus on a direction that God has impressed me on, and that is the area of sin.  Do we actually serve sin?  Well, let's notice what the Lord Jesus has to say about this in John 8:33-36, so let's take a brief sound bite here from Scripture, and then we will look at the surrounding area, and unpack things, piece by piece. 

Starting with verse 33:

 33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: [but] the Son abideth ever. 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

So just upon reading this, we can learn a lot about the situation, but some obvious questions come up in verse 33.  Who is the "they" being talked about in verse 33?  Whoever they are, they are claiming that they are free. 

How many times, I find myself doing the same thing.  I think, that because I have been with Jesus for a little bit that I am safe, and start to make myself the person in charge of keeping me out of bondage, but the result of this is never good.  My own power, pedigree, or whatever you want to call it can never set me free!  Never.  At this point you may be thinking: "Where is this going"?  I understand that, so let me back up.  Freedom is not something you are born with.  Even though this sounds odd in the Great USA, where we have outward freedoms. 

According to Jesus, Freedom is a gift.  A beautiful gift, that is given to us at the cost of His Life.  Only Jesus has the power to set us truly free from sin.  Notice Jesus Words here in verse 34:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: [but] the Son abideth ever. 

Have you ever sinned before?  Have you recently sinned?  Unfortunately, I must shamedly raise my hand here, because I am not proud to admit it, but I am a horrible sinner.  I must agree with Paul who says that he is the chief of sinners.  So continuing on with the verse, what Pedigree do I have?  I am born a servant to sin.  Sin is a very powerful master, and orders me around.  My flesh responds and does what it is told.  I'm in pretty bad shape on my own.  

Now we are back to control.  So in the past I have been controlled by sin, and again, I want to re-iterate that you are reading the blog post of a live sinner.  

So at this point, if this was about me, this would be a pretty miserable story, but I am happy to say that this is not the case. 

Last night I was discouraged, because of failures in my life.  I knew I was nothing like Jesus, and so I began to get discouraged.  In the morning, I barely had the energy to open the Bible and read a chapter with my wife and children.  After worship and breakfast, I headed out the door.  As soon as I got outside the cold air greeted me.  Getting to my car, I had a heavy burden on my heart: "I had blown it, and I knew it.  I had hurt God, and now He was probably miles away, after all, I didn't feel His Presence".  As I drove to work, I couldn't listen to any music, because the radio was broken out of the car.  In my mind a real war raged my thoughts went something like this:  

"So, you failed last night.  You seem to be doing that a lot lately.  Do you actually ever think you are going to get better?  Why don't you just give in and give up?"  At this point I was very discouraged, but continued driving to work.  The temptation to give up was so strong, that I actually heard my sins replaying themselves in my mind.  Then, all of the sudden, something incredible happened.  The day before I listened and watched the Resurrection Scene of Jesus, and I was encouraged by the song.  The Song was entitled "Arise My Love". (I will post a link at the bottom of this post so you can see and hear what I heard).  

The voices of failure that were screaming in my ear were suddenly drowned out very definitely by this Song.  "Arise my love, Arise, my Love, the Grave no longer has a hold on You!  No more death's sting, no more suffering", and then I heard it:  "Sin, where is shackles, death, where is your sting, hell has been defeated, the grave no longer holds the King!" As I heard those Words, immediately, it was like a lightening bolt of protection, blew every negative thought in my mind to smithereens.  My discouragements were vanquished.  Later that day while at work, I realized that I couldn't make myself better, and asked Jesus to!  I need to do this more often, and stop trying to make myself better.

This brings us full circle to Jesus very Own Words:   

35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: [but] the Son abideth ever. 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Who can make us free?  The Son, and He abideth ever.  Notice what Jesus says about the servant. The servant does not abide in the house forever, but the Son abideth ever!!!!  The next part is the clincher:    36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

At this point, I don't care how strong I think my connection with God is, I need Him every second, and this verse needs to be constantly put into my head.  

Only Jesus can make us free!  

He has conquered, but you and I have a choice, we can choose to ask Him to do this for us, or we can try and live on our pedigree of how good we think we are!  I need Jesus and I need Him right now!

So how about you?  Do you need Him?  He's the only True Way out of this sin trap that we are in.  Let us accept His Free Gift of Salvation and freedom to Serve Him!  

Here is the link to that song and video:  Please be blessed: 

 and please remember His Words:

  36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

The Life Changer

Are you struggling with temptation, or have you ever struggled before.  Sometimes the overpowering force of temptation can be a lot like an undertow.  I can remember going to Panama City Beach when I was younger, and standing by the water coming in and out of the ocean.  That day, the yellow flag was out, which meant that the water was unsafe to swim in, and that there was a rip-current.  At that point in my life I was not sure what that was, so I didn't pay much attention.  The water looked inviting, and that was all that mattered to me. I decided that I was not actually going to swim in the water, because that would be too dangerous, but that I would simply go up to the edge of the water and stand where the water was about up to my ankles.  As I waded, into the water, I stood there with the water almost to my knees, thinking to myself: "This is a safe distance, I should be fine here."  A few moments later, as I was standing, I felt such a pull from the ocean that almost knocked me off my feet.  I almost feel over it was so strong.  Right then and there I realized the true force of the ocean.  Somehow, by the Grace of God, I managed to get back out of the the water without being knocked down, and I was done for the day.  I realized the danger and wanted nothing to do with the pull of that current.

Something I am discovering, is that playing with temptation is a lot like going out in the ocean when the yellow flag is out.  From the looks of things, it's ok, and nothing could go wrong.  A good time seems in front of me, and I find myself seeing just how close I can get without falling in.  Unfortunately, this is a dangerous move because the water is deceptive, and the undertow is strong, I find myself getting sucked into a vortex, and being pulled into sin.  Was the temptation my fault?  No, no more than the ocean having rip currents is my fault.  I cannot control things outside of me, but I can stay out of the ocean when the yellow flag is out.

If you ever find yourself dealing with this, just know that many people have dealt with temptation throughout the years.  The key to dealing with temptation is not to give in, or start to give in.  Check out what the writer of Proverbs has to say about this in Proverbs 4:14-19:

 14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil [men]. 15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. 16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause [some] to fall. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the just [is] as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked [is] as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

I would like to first of all point out Solomon's first way of avoiding temptation.  Verse 14 says that we are not supposed "to enter into the path of the wicked" Solomon continues by saying: "and go not in the way of evil men".  So let's pause and think about this.  The first thing we need to do is stay away from the path of the wicked.  What does that path look like?  That path is anything that is against the Law of God and God's Holy Word.  The people that do that are evil men.  Continuing on, verse 15 says:

15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

Notice that there are four admonitions that Solomon gives here.

1. Avoid it
2. pass not by it
3. turn from it
4. pass away

  The first is avoidance.  So for me, I would look at this and ask, is there something in my life that I need to avoid?  The answer is many unequivocal yeses, my things to avoid are probably different than yours, but they are no more less dangerous, because the only one who can make the decision to accept Jesus for me is me!  That's right, not my pastor, not my friend, not my neighbor, not my wife.  No one except me.  Now, these people can be used to be a blessing in my life by God, but ultimately where I end up is going to depend on my choice.

The second is to pass not by the path of the wicked.  So that means I don't go in for a closer look, in fact, I do everything I can to stay out and away from sin.  So what is a way that I can not "pass by it"?  By following Jesus, and when I come to Him, He is going to lead me in the Paths of Righteousness.

The third thing is to turn from it.  This is very important, because even though I got into that water at the ocean which was a horrible idea, and even though it was very difficult to get out, and I almost got pulled under, I did not have to give up at that point.  By God's Grace I was able to struggle out.  So if you find yourself on the path, you can still "turn from it".  Get out while you still can, that undertow is strong!  Once you are out, the fourth step comes into play:

Pass away.  So many times, I have been out, and then thrown myself right back in.  The only problem with that theory is that the undertow is stronger and stronger, and eventually it will drown you.  I can remember a story of a little boy who had a baby python and would take the snake out of his cage to wrestle with it, and then put it back into the cage.  When asked to stop by those around him, he replied "I can beat this thing, it's not stronger than me" and he would continue wrestling it.  Pretty soon, though, that snake began to get stronger, and soon the snake was stronger than the poor little boy.  The boy lost the fight with the snake and lost his life in the process.

The Warning in Proverbs from God through Solomon to us is clear: Don't tamper with temptation, it will destroy you.

What happens when a person looses control themselves?  They become agents to tempt others.  Verse 16 continues:

"16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause [some] to fall." 

When we are being tempted and fall into sin ourselves, it is almost impossible not to try and drag other people into sin with us.

17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

When we do this we end up eating wickedness and being violent.  Wickedness and violence are the sure result of messing with sin.

But, Solomon does not stop here.  He wants to make an incredible contrast for you and I to see.  Notice what he says in  18, and 19:

18 But the path of the just [is] as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked [is] as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

Notice verse 18.  The path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.  The Bible continues "The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

So after reading all of these verse, this bring us to an interesting conundrum.  We in and of ourselves are powerless against temptation and sin.  Powerless to break the chains, and to be set free, but there is One who can set us free.  I was just reading about Him in my Devotions in fact.

Notice John 8:12:

 12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

When we follow Jesus we have light in our lives.  Also notice what John 1:1-4says:

 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Following Jesus is the way to have light in our lives.  Reading about Jesus in the Bible sheds light into our lives.  As we spend time with Him we are changed from our old selves into a new creation.

Notice Jesus Words here in John 8:33

 33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: [but] the Son abideth ever. 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Also again notice what Jesus says about the devil who is tempting us to sin: ... He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Whatever the devil has been telling you about the impossibility to get free from sin is a lie!  Because the devil is the father of lies.  he is only trying to keep you in bondage.  Don't listen to him.  he does not care about you, and only wants to see your destruction.

Jesus has the ability to pull us out of our pit of discouragement and dispair.  As you spend time with Him and ask for His help He will set you free!

I want to encourage you to spend time with Him day by day in the Gospels.

Check out this link about Jesus for more encouragement:

http://www.bcove.me/om7kj3u7 

In this link you will find a Bible Study on Mark 1 and on the Power of Jesus Christ!

Also check out this incredible take on the Resurrection of Jesus by Southern Adventist University:

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What do you seek?

What happens in life's seemingly dark moments.  You know what I'm talking about right?  Those times where it seems like you are the only person alive on the face of planet earth?  Despite all of these feelings, I would like to re-assure you tonight, that based on the Word of God these feelings are a lie.  There is a being in Heaven who cares more about you or I than we could even dream.  Above the chaos and constant confusing blur of feelings is One on His Throne, who KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH THIS VERY MOMENT!!  Don't stop reading, because what I am about to say to you right now, could change your life.  It is no accident that you happened to stumble upon this blog post.  Maybe you were just scanning through the different entries on the internet and searching.

Now the question I must ask from here is:  What were you looking for?  If you are anything like me you were looking for encouragement and help.  You were probably discouraged and lonely.  But the amazing truth that I want to share with you right now is that you are not alone.  I know that I'm repeating myself here, but I believe that this bears repeating.  Yes, you!  The one typing at the keyboard this very instant are not alone.  He has been waiting to hear from you for quite some time.  Why haven't you talked to Him?  Out of all the moments in your life, where you pushed Him out, why not stop and listen to what He has to say to you!

Maybe you have a Bible sitting next to you right now, if that is the case I want you to pray and ask Jesus to help you this very instant.  Repeat after me in your mind if you don't know what to say:
Dear Jesus, please help me!  I know that for a long time I have not listened to your Voice, but I want to listen now.  Please come into my heart and help me!  Please don't leave me!  Thank you for dying on Calvary for my sins, and please help me to understand what I am about to read in Your Word.  In Jesus Name,
Amen.

Once you have done this, open your Bible to the book of 1 Peter.  If you have not read the Bible much then you can find the list of Bible books at the beginning of your Bible.  Once you find 1 Peter, go to chapter 5.  Then go all the way down to verse 7.  Now go ahead and read it.  What did it say?  If you don't happen to have a Bible, I will go ahead and show the verse on here:
  7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Now did you notice the "Casting" part.  Jesus really does care about you!  This is not some passing feeling this is a ROCK SOLID truth!  He cares for you.  Now, go to the book of John in your Bible, and read through John Chapter one.  I'll go ahead and show you a few things to help in your study.  The first thing you did, and that is something we should always do before we read God's Word.  We need to pray and ask for Jesus help.  The second thing that we need to do is read.  Stick to a single chapter.

 The neatest thing about reading the Bible is to allow the Bible to Interpret itself.  Every passage in Scripture is actually interpreted by the rest of Scripture.  In fact the process for understanding the Bible can be found in Isaiah 28:10
 For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little:5 
Scripture builds upon itself. 
So the first verse in John 1:1 is:  1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Who is the Word is probably a question that comes at the very beginning, or maybe you already know the answer.  Well, don't stop there, stick with your reading, and as you do you will be blessed.  The story will grow as you read.

For example, this evening I was actually going through John 1:29-42.  A part that I really like is when John sees Jesus and says "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.  How does He do this?  You must read on to discover what He does, to take away our problems.  The next part that sticks out is verse 37.  The Andrew and John are going after Jesus, and Jesus stops and asks them a question:  What do you seek?

Jesus didn't say, I'm glad you found me, let me show you.  He asks them what they are looking for?  What are you looking for?  Or are you looking for Who?  If so, Jesus is the answer to your search.

Check out this great website

http://crossconnection.hopetv.org/video?id=2129385279001

and follow JESUS :)

Disappointment: The end or a New Beginning?

For some reason, disappointments seem to be one of the hardest things to face in life. Whether it's the simple realization that a person gets when he or she realizes that they are not going to be able to go to the park, or maybe it's the cold understanding that grips you when you realize that the person of your dreams, who you thought was going to be your partner for life turns you down. Some things in life are just difficult to swallow. 

 

So what is it about disappointment that makes it sting so bad? Is it the crushed dreams, or expectations, or is it something deeper. As a 29 year old male, I have had a lot of time to experience life and one of the conclusions that I have come to is that it is full of disappointments. Those moments where we realize that we just didn't fit the grade, or didn't have what it took to succeed. Our dreams seem to be dashed, and before us lies a cold reality of life after failure. 

 

To better understand what a failure is all about let's look a real life incident. I can remember it as if it were yesterday. There was a girl that I really liked, and she had promised me that we would meet after supper, and go out for an evening as friends. I can remember the joy I felt as I went through that day. Things weren't going the greatest, at that time, but at least I would have someone to spend time with. 

 

It was six O'clock, and I had just finished supper. Rushing out the door of the cafeteria with my backpack still on my back I waited at the flag pole. This was the event that was going to pull me out of my doldrums and disappointment that I had been experiencing all that day, indeed I had hung all of my hopes for the day on that one moment. I waited, and continued to wait. Light rain started to fall, and still I waited. I waited even longer, it was a half hour now, but still I waited not wanting to allow the realization of yet another disappointment to grab me. Finally after an hour, the rain picked up in intensity, and I just stood there, realizing that I had been disappointed yet again. Quickly I made my way back to the guys dorm that night and found some friends to talk to. Life had changed.

Disappointments are something that hurt. However, to simply say that they hurt is not good enough. We need to dig deeper. We need to peel back the layers, and determine what really caused the pain. The real pain in disappointment is the fear that something could be wrong with us. Deep down inside we long to be complete and whole, and to be people that others like to be around. When someone turns us down suddenly some questions can immediately bubble to the surface of our lives.

Depending on how we handle these questions we will either discover a better future, or become more depressed, and wallow in our self-pity, and begin to poison those around us. So what are these questions and why do they matter? 

 

The first question is: What did I do to deserve this? Many of us have probably asked ourselves this question at one point or another and have looked for a flaw or mistake that we have made in order to determine why something happened to us, and indeed, sometimes we do discover an area to improve upon, but other times, the answer is: nothing. When reading the Bible we come across an amazing story on this very issue. At the beginning of John Chapter 9:1, Jesus has just left the temple and notices a man who was blind from his birth. Evidently the disciples notice that Jesus is looking at him, because they ask Him a question found in verse 2: “Master who did sin, this man, or his parents that he was born blind?”. 

 

At a cursory reading of the passage, the point seems clear: Who sinned?. The greek word for sin here is: hamartano and has three definitions in the Strong's Concordance:

1. To miss the mark (and so not share in the prize)
2. (figuratively) to err
3. (especially morally) to sin

For some reason when the Disciples saw this man who was blind the first question that came to their mind was: Where did he come up short? What error did he or his parents make that put him in this predicament. The disciple's minds have been revealed at the beginning of this chapter, but what about Jesus mind on the matter? In order to discover that we will have to read on, but it is an interesting thought that the first thing that is said by the disciples when they see someone suffering is: who sinned? So right now, we can move on in our reading of the story, but if we do, there is a chance that we will miss something very profound here. Something so profound it blows the lid off of question number one on disappointment. What is it that is so profound? Glad you asked. In verse 3, Jesus gives a response to his disciples about the man on the wayside's condition. He answers them: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents:....” Hold on a second, hit the pause button right there! No one sinned? Surely there must have been a sin in their life, that could have created such a horrible condition in this man. Bad things don't happen to people who don't sin do they? 

 

The response of Jesus starts to go head to head with our reasoning to the first question that we asked in the beginning: What did I do to deserve this? There is a chance that the answer is a startling: “nothing” to this question. Should this be the case, we would be miss of we forgot to mention the next words of Jesus in this story. In fact, if we were to leave them out it would be a crime, because just because there was nothing that anyone did to deserve what happened to them, does not mean that it was for nothing. 

 

There was a purpose in what happened and it can be found in the rest of what Jesus said: “but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” So this answer, means that the works of God should be manifest in him.” What does that mean. Well, the Greek word for manifest is: phaneroo, and is a verb that means: to render apparent. So our answer to this question is so that the works of God can be rendered apparent in the man. 

 

That means that nothing was wrong, but God wanted to reveal His works in the man. Let's look at that last phrase again: “but that the works of God should be made manifest in him”. Did you notice the last two words of Jesus statement about the man? “In him”. Now normally it would make sense to say that they were made to glorify God, but the word in Greek for in is actually: en and has three different definitions:

1. in
2. at
3. upon
4. by

So God would be glorified by the man, but how would this happen. To discover this, check out the rest of John Chapter 9. The main point of this passage is though that God's works would be manifest in him. Does this shed some light on the first question? The next time that you or I find ourselves asking ourselves a question about a disappointment, and find ourselves saying “where did I go wrong” and we search and cannot find an area, then it is best to rely upon Jesus Words: “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” What are the implications here? 

 

No longer do we have to be constant victims of “What did I do to deserve this”ism We are now able by God's grace to look at this, and see that God has a purpose in our disappointment. The next question that may come is: What if I don't know what that purpose is? This brings us to our next point and why we stopped at verse 3 instead of going on. At this point that information is hidden. We could read on to get to the partial result of this in the rest of the chapter, but then we might miss the beauty of faith! 

 

Here in a situation where we don't know what is to happen next, it's best to put ourselves in God's hands. Did He work for the best in the blind man's behalf? Should the answer be yes we are now able to ask the same question about Him working in our own lives. 

 

Often times we believe that the disappointment is going to affect the rest of our lives in a negative way. We have a negative misbelief that gnaws at our mind and causes us much pain. Who hasn't spent years and years going over the “what could have beens”. 

 

The road has come to a fork, and God has taken us in a different direction than we thought we would have wanted to go. The direction to the left looked so much better. There were trees, and squirrels and birds, and a gentle flowing creek, with a nice walking path, but this one is much more bumpy and rugged. “Was that a mistake? Why would the Guide take us this direction?” We sometimes begin to wonder? The other way looked so much better. This bring us to our question of: Who's really writing our story? My Bible tells me in Proverbs 3: 5,6, that if I trust in the Lord with all my heart, and lean not unto mine own understanding,but in all my ways acknowledge Him, He will direct my paths! This is great news! This means that Jesus is still directing our path even when we don't understand why a disappointment happened to us. 

 

So with the first question being obliterated by the Word of God, let's turn our minds to the second one. What happens when a disappointment has happened and it is our fault. I can remember being younger and wanting to go with my parents to Tennessee, but not being able to go because I got put in isolation. Not only was I disappointed, but it was my own fault. This was almost more than I could swallow, but God had a purpose in it for me. Just like the first question, I came to the proverbial fork in the road, I saw the flowers and beautiful things that I had missed, and realized that it was my own fault I had missed them, but there was grace for me! 

 

Little did I realize that the second path would not be all that bad either. Instead of going to Tennessee I got to go to the Indy 500 with my grandpa. God was able to work something good out of something bad. So, when things don't turn out the way that you or I want to, because of our choices or because of God saw a better way, we can rejoice in that! 

 

Did this happen in the Bible? Instead of listing out a story, I want you to take a look at the hall of faith, and see if you can find some people who made mistakes, but that God turned them around for His good! There is one obvious one. Sampson. Check out this story to see how God turned a mistake, into a victory through Sampson's choice to turn back to God.

With both of these questions now answered we can now come to the obvious conclusion that a “mess up” or re-direction by God is not the end of the world but only the beginning of a side of life you or I have never seen!  Afterall, what makes it the best, is it not the presence of our Heavenly Father, Jesus and the Holy  Spirit?

In closing I want you to think about this verse with me:

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

He Goes Before Us!

Yesterday morning for my devotions I was reading about John 10, and Jesus being the Good Shepherd.  In John 10:4-5 there were two verses that stuck out to me right away!

John 10:4-5 (KJV)
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

There were a couple of questions that I had about this verse right off the bat!  For a long time I had been struggling with God's guidance, and still find myself needing to learn more to this day.  However, yesterday, I had a major breakthrough thanks to the Holy Spirit and Jesus in understanding this text a little better.  Here were the questions that I had about the verse:

• What does it mean when the verse says "he (Jesus) goeth before them?
• How does He go before them?
• How do they know His voice?
• What is this part about a stranger all about?

As I continued to read the chapter these questions weighed heavily on my mind, and had weighed on my mind for quite some time before that.  There was a meaning for my own personal life, and I wanted to better understand!
  "he (Jesus) goes before me"
  The first question was a big one.  Jesus goes before us?  Over time, I am learning that somehow Jesus goes ahead of us and smooths the way to open doors for us in no matter what He calls us to!

An example of this was when I was colportering with a friend. It was my first time to go out and knock on doors, and I was a bit scared to do it!  In fact, I had noticed that I was having a hard time getting any books out or having any encounters with people.  My friend, decided to come along with me, and he reminded me of something I had forgotten a long time before this incident, that it was important to pray before I went to the door, and that Jesus would make the way.

So, he and I quickly said a prayer asking Jesus to prepare the heart of the person we were going to visit, and as a result, the person was friendly and more open to what we had to say!

This incident really helped me better understand what Jesus was talking about when He said that He goes before us, and in a little more how He goes before us as well.  Prayer had been the way to ask Him to go before me.
 "How does He go before me?"
When I prayed and asked God, things happened!  They might not have been things that were easy to see at first either, yet they were there.  Sometimes Jesus would do things that I could not see until later in my life, and He is still doing things that I cannot see, and may not see until He comes again and we are all in heaven!  However, when I took the time to talk to Him, He always answered, and continues to answer me.

In order to better illustrate the point of how He has gone before me, I will tell a quick story of a time I was passing out Steps to Christ at the door.  This was almost a year after colpourtering.  I had been going to college at Southern Adventist University, and was starting to want to give Jesus control of my Sabbaths more. After church there was a group of young people going to pass out Steps to Christ.  I quickly volunteered to go, because I felt that this was Jesus call in my life.  So about half-way through the process of passing out Steps to Christ, I discovered that I was having a hard time getting books out.  Why was this?  Then I remembered what my friend had told me about prayer!  So on the way to the next house (and there was a long stretch between houses) I began to pray that Jesus would use me including my failures to His glory.  Up until this point the sky had been full of clouds, but I asked Jesus if He would have the sun shine through the clouds.  As I looked into the sky, I noticed a small crack in the clouds begin to form, and a shaft of light begin to burst through the clouds, and with it some warmth against the cool day.  When I arrived at the next house, I was ready, I had asked Jesus to go before me, and in-spite of my faults and failures to use me in His service!

As I knocked at the door, I could hear a vacuum going in the background and a lady opened the door, but did not turn off the vacuum.  She said that she was busy.  So, knowing that I had asked Jesus to use me in-spite of my faults and failures, I opened the Steps to Christ book in my hand and began to read the first thing I saw, and this is what it said:
"There is no time or place in which it is inappropriate to offer up a petition to God.  There is nothing that can prevent us from lifting up our hearts int he spirit of earnest prayer". (White, 99, para 1). 

As a result, the lady responded:  "I'd probably better read that" and she took the book"!  Jesus had done it in spite of my failures, mistakes, and inability to properly communicate!  There is nothing too hard for the Lord!

This story better brings out the point that Jesus goes before us in ways that only He can!  When we pray, Jesus makes a way!

How do I know His voice?
As I write this, a better part of this has become more understood to me.  Up until about yesterday, I was really struggling to understand what the Bible means when it says that they know His voice.  My wife and I had to make a decision on something and did not know which way to turn.  We prayed about it, and knew that Jesus would go before us, but we did not know how He would communicate with us.  Then it happened!  Jesus did communicate with us.

As my wife was going through the pros and cons of making a decision, something amazing happened!  One of the cons was actually that if we did this thing we would be breaking one of God's commandments!  I couldn't believe what I had just heard!  Jesus had done it!  His Word says:  "To the Law and to the Testimony, if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them"

Now the opportunity was not in itself bad, but rather as we thought on taking advantage of that opportunity it would be bad because in order for us to do so we would be breaking a commandment!

My wife and I had not asked anyone but God for advice at this point!  I was thinking it was going to take someone else to answer us, but God had answered us Himself!  Jesus does answer when we call out to Him for help and advice!
What is the part of the stranger all about?
Any advice that is given that is against God's Word is from the stranger!  This does not mean that the person who gave the advice is from the stranger, but that that the stranger has used them.  I know that I have been used by the stranger numerous times!  I have caused so much pain, to other people, because they listened to me, and my words, and my words were not the words of the Good Shepherd! :(  How sad! :(  However, there is mercy and grace for even a sinner like me at Calvary! Jesus paid that price as the Good Shepherd!  He went to Calvary!  In fact in John  10:11 Jesus says:


John 10:11 (KJV)
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Jesus not only goes before us, smooths the way, but He went before us to Calvary and paid the ultimate price so that we might not perish but have everlasting life through Him!

Friend, have you messed up in your life?  Have you given bad advice?  Have you hurt those closest to you?  Have you done it on accident?  Have you had times where you have listened to the stranger?  Calvary is still available for you!  The Good Shepherd wants you in heaven with Him!  Will you accept Him and His offer of love?  We don't have to listen to the stranger's lies in our lives, we can go to Jesus just as we are, and He will cleanse us and make us new!  Jesus says

John 6:37-39 (KJV)
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.