No Voice Within

I love the hymn, “A New Creature” by L. O. Sanderson.  I particularly love the phrase in the words that teach us something of what it means to be “dead to sin,” where we sing, “Satan may call, the world may entreat me; there is no voice that answers within.”  What a blessed feeling it is to be covered by Christ’s righteousness, to be encouraged by His Spirit to live our days becoming like Him!  As we do this, we actually do come to the realization that there truly IS NO VOICE THAT ANSWERS WITHIN US to the lurid things that Satan and this world throw at us!  If we are feeding our souls with the Word of God daily, living daily in a state of prayerful communication with the Father, through Jesus, worshiping the Lord God with the fellowship of His children, praising Him regularly, being encouraged by this fellowship with Christ and with His body, there is very little room left for the temptation to grow in our hearts to succumb to the call of the dark side of this world.  How blessed we are!!

Col. 3:1-4 is such a reassuring passage to our walk, and it holds an important “key” to growing this heart within us that can exclaim “there is no voice that answers within!”  Praise His Name!  And that key is to “set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God!  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ, in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory!”

Have you and I given serious thought to what it means when it says ‘for you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God?”  How awesome is that?!  To me it means that Christ hides me and my imperfections so that God sees Him rather than me!  He took that hit for me at the cross and continues to take it for each one of us who have been raised with Him!  Again, praise His holy Name!! 

I rejoice to sing: “Buried with Christ, my blessed Redeemer, dead to the old life of folly and sin.  Satan may call, the world may entreat me; there is no voice that answers within! Dead to the world, to voices that call me, living anew, obedient but free!  Dead to the joys that once did enthrall me.  Yet tis not I: Christ liveth in me!” 

Oh heavenly Father, thank You!!  Thank You for your enduring love that sent your only Son to the cross to become righteousness for me and for all those who believe in Him as your Son, and willingly go into the watery grave from which they are raised with Him!  Raised to live out this life hidden by His righteousness!!  Praise your Holy Name, Father, for such a loving, sacrificial provision for our rescue from sin!  In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Jan McCoy

Merkel, Texas

Count Your Blessings!

Until seeing the recent movie, “Warhorse”, I had not given any thought to the role horses played in war.  Psalms 33:13-17(NLT) says, “The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race.  From his throne he observes all who live on the earth.  He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.  The best equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.  Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—for all its strength, it cannot save you.”  And, following in verses 20-22, “We depend on the Lord alone to save us.  Only he can help us, protecting us like a shield.  In him our hearts rejoice, for we are trusting in his holy name.  Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.”  

It is interesting to see how God makes us aware of His presence and our hope that is in Him alone.  I continue to be amazed at the way God has inspired me through the short life of my twelve year old great-nephew, Kory.  A few weeks before his death, Kory and his mom were having their evening prayer together.  She was unable to control her tears and Kory asked, “Mom, why are your crying?”  She answered, “Kory, I am so sad that we cannot make you well.”  Kory then said to her, “Mom, please don’t cry, God is doing this for my benefit.” These words, “God is doing this for my benefit”, remind me that everything God does in our lives is for our benefit.

 I love the story Luke tells of Jesus when he was twelve being found in the Temple discussing deep questions with the religious leaders.  For three days his parents had been looking for him.  “Son, his mother said to him.  “Why have you done this to us?  Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.”  Jesus reply was, “You should have known that I would be in my Father’s house.”  They didn’t understand what he meant but returned home and Mary “stored all these things in her heart”.  (Luke 2:46-51)  Perhaps she recalled the day they had taken their baby to the temple to present him to the Lord as the law required.  Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Lord, now I can die in peace!  As you promised me, I have seen the Savior you have given to all people.  He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”  Luke 2:28-32

You will recognize this familiar song written by Johnson Oatman, Jr.
“When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, when you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?  Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?  Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, and you will be singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold, think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold; count your many blessings, money cannot buy, your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict, whether great or small, do not be discouraged, God is over all; count your many blessings, angels will attend, help and comfort give you to your journeys end.”   

“Heavenly Father, I continue to be in awe of Your love, grace and mercy shown through the gift of Your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  Thank you for reminding me through the faith of a child that you are in control and that all You have done is for my benefit.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen.”

Jan Alderfer, Stephenville, TX

Humility Paves the Way

The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom,

And before honor comes humility.  - Proverbs 15:33

I never thought of myself as a man of pride.  Sure, I usually thought I was right and found myself to be a good strategist in most things.  I knew I had a gift for reading people (most of the time) and I was typically confident I could read a situation and create a plan to work in or through almost any situation.  Not only did I know these things, people often confirmed them only strengthening my belief in myself.

Seldom did I feel the need to call on God to open my eyes and mind to what he would want me to see and know.  Afterall, he gave me this ability so why did I need to check things out with him first?  I was confident he wanted me to make these decisions and leave the big things up to him.  Then I came to see all things big things in God’s eyes.  I came to see that he cared for every created being and while he gave me some gifts, I learned I could use those gifts so much better when calling upon the Lord to give me understanding and insight.  

It wasn’t until a counseling session during the darkest days of my life (to this point) that I realized I battled pride.  I had taken the gifts God had given me and set about using them as I saw fit, making the decisions I thought was best and resting in the belief that I had created and crafted good ideas and solutions for people.  

Looking back, many of those decisions are still good decisions and I was using the gifts given from God but what could have happened if I would have stepped back for a moment and listened for instructions he may give me.  A little time wouldn’t have created a worse decision but taking a moment and calling on the "All-Knowing One" might have given me the ability to suggest even better solutions.  

Humility comes before honor.  I’ve been humbled.  I’ve had my legs cut out from under me and felt the foundation crumble beneath me and in the humbling, I have seen how I have learned to rely on God so much more.  In doing so, I believe I am learning to give better advice and make better decisions because I call on God so much more to give me understanding and wisdom.  I no longer want the honor but have found it in bigger measure, not externally, but internally as I feel a greater connection with God.  As I give him the glory, I feel more fulfilled because I know the LORD is using me for his purposes and that is all the honor I want or could ever need.  

I’m thankful for being humbled because it has lead to a new understanding of honor, one that is sweeter and more uplifting than anything I’ve known before.

Grace and peace to you.

Jeff Jones

Decatur, Texas

Calming the Storm

The Sea of Galilee Boat is an ancient fishing boat,  an archaeological find that was discovered at the edge of the Sea of Galilee in 1986, after a dry season when the lake was very low.  It had been buried in the mud along the shore south of Capernaum for around 2000 years! After a lengthy excavation and a 7 year chemical preservation process it was transferred, and is now exhibited in a special museum in Kibbutz Ginosar, or Gennesaret. The boat has been dated to between 40 BC and 50 AD.  The remains of the boat are 27 feet long and 7.5 feet wide, with a preserved height of 4.3 feet. It is constructed primarily of cedar planks, but is also made up of 10 different wood types, indicating it may have undergone repeated repairs. The boat was rowable, with 4 staggered rowers, and also had a mast allowing the fishermen to sail it.

I love knowing this; I can “see” Peter, Andrew, James, and John on boats like this one when Jesus called to them from the shore to come follow Him.  And I love being able to picture a similar boat when I re-read the story told by Matthew of being in a boat crossing the sea of Galilee with other disciples and Jesus one evening when a great storm arose.

Here’s how the apostle Matthew remembers it in Matthew, Chapter 8:
This particular day had already included quite a bit of activity he wasn’t used to seeing. Earlier in the chapter he tells us of a leper whose skin is eaten up with sores. The man shows amazing faith by saying to Jesus, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus just reached out his hand and said “I am willing. Be clean,” and immediately the leper  was cured.  

Then Matthew tells about a Centurion (a Roman military officer in charge of 100 soldiers) who has a servant near death at home, “paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”  The Roman soldier believes so strongly in Jesus’ power that he says “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” So Jesus said, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And it was!

The next thing Matthew witnesses is the miraculous healing of his friend, Peter’s, wife’s mother. When they got to Peter’s house that day, his mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. Jesus touched her hand and the fever immediately left her. She got up and began to wait on Him.  Then others were brought to Him; he drove out evil spirits with a word and healed ALL the sick! 

Next Matthew tells us that people were still crowding around Jesus, until He got into a boat to cross to the other side of the lake (Sea of Galilee.)  The disciples followed him onto the boat. As they crossed the lake, without warning, a furious storm came up, with the high waves crashing over the sides of the boat and filling it with water. Now Matthew himself wasn’t a fisherman by trade; he may not have ever been in such a situation before, but at least 4 of the others present were experienced in navigating these waters, which have always been subject to sudden squalls. However, there was nothing they could do. The storm was too great. And so was their fear. Matthew remembers the terror of those moments. But Jesus was asleep. They were afraid for their lives, so they woke him saying, “Lord, save us! We are going to drown!”  Jesus replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and the storm immediately quit raging. Matthew and the others were amazed, wondering what kind of man this was, that even the winds and the waves obeyed him. 

Really??  Why would they wonder? These men have spent the day, and many days previous, watching Jesus heal lepers with rotting, missing fingers and feet. They had watched as he healed friends and strangers with a touch or a word.  They had heard him commend some of these people for their great faith.  Didn’t Matthew and the others on the boat have faith?  Sure they did, but I think I know how they felt.  In the middle of that life-threatening storm, and in their extreme fear they probably couldn’t recall any of the miracles they had seen that day. How often do we feel that way? That Jesus is asleep in the midst of our storm? Does he even know we are in a terrible storm? 

I can imagine Jesus waking up, slowly like you do when you’re sound asleep, and saying with a sigh and a shake of his head, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”  But as I studied this story this time, and as I tried to put myself in Matthew’s place on that boat, I noticed that the scripture doesn’t say Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith. He rebuked the winds and the waves, bringing an immediate calm to the frightening situation.  The storms in my life come in all sizes and intensities.  Sometimes they are expected; sometimes they seem to come out of nowhere.  But I know this: When I feel like my life is capsized, turned upside down, and I’m drowning, Jesus is with me in the storm. He answers my cries for help. 

Jesus, sometimes I get so scared when the storms of life rock my boat. Thank you that you are in the boat with me, and that you answer my cries for help. Forgive me for sometimes thinking I have to get myself out of the storm; for calling on you only after I have worn myself out with worry and fear. Thank you for your love and comfort and intercession. Amen 

Lynn Ann Hughes

Stephenville, Texas