Think on it!

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things and the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8, 9).

Bad news is good news for some folks.  They have a sick fascination with anticipating what awful thing is going to happen next.  They’re captivated by it.  Consequently they worry too much, drink too much, sleep too little, and suffer stress-related illnesses of all kinds.

There’s more than enough good news to report, but there’s not a market for it.  If there were, major newspapers, radio stations and TV broadcasters would be outdoing each other’s positive voice and wholesome influence.  Instead, through the magic of modern technology we can experience vicariously every earthly horror and egregious behavior, and the more graphic the better.  No wonder we’re filled with angst!

I’m so thankful the Holy Spirit, through Paul, told us how to live at peace in a world of hostility. He said to think about certain things.  Meditate on them.  Seriously consider whatever is:.

·          True - unconcealed truth, true to fact, conforms to what is true and accurate about God and how God wants us to live;

·          Honorable - gravity and dignity; what inspires reverence and awe; a seriousness of purpose and encourages self-respect.

·          Just - righteous; right conduct.

·          Pure - undefiled, not contaminated, holy.

·          Lovely - pleasing, agreeable, in the direction of brotherly love.

·          Commendable - admirable; of good reputation.

These things are excellent and praiseworthy.  We are to stay focused on them so we can live accordingly.  Father God, the noise of the world targets our vulnerabilities and devours us without mercy if we let it.  Thank you for being our God.  Only in your presence can we find a place to live peacefully all the days of our dangerous life.  Through your son, Christ, who made it possible, we pray and say amen.  

Sandra Milholland
Abilene, Texas

On Cruise Control

A friend of mine was driving down the road with the cruise set on 70. He noticed a highway patrolman ahead of him sitting beside the road. He passed with confidence and even waved as he went by. To his surprise the patrolman started following him with his lights flashing. “Must be stopping a car going the other direction,” he thought to himself. But, there wasn't a car coming the other way and the trooper waved him over. Angrily, he pulled over, got out and walked back to meet the trooper. As he met him he said, "I had my cruise set and I was driving 70 miles per hour. Why did you stop me?" The trooper calmly said, "Sir the speed limit here is 55." My friend knew he was right and boldly proclaimed it. Unfortunately, he wasn’t aware of where he was and had not noticed the signs and the correct speed limit for that stretch of road.


There are times when my spiritual life is on cruise control. I go through each day with little focus and little attention to my relationship with God. In Ephesians 6 Paul makes a chilling statement when he says, “Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world”. Satan does not want us to experience the perfect relationship God intended we have with Him and with His Son Jesus. The devil does everything he can to stop us from even beginning to know God. For believers, his assaults on us are real and they are cunning. If we aren’t prepared and alert the results are much worse than a speeding ticket in West Texas.


Jesus warned of this when he told the story about planting seed in Luke 8. In sharing the different places the seed (God’s message) falls He describes circumstances when the devil comes, when troubles come, and when the worries, riches, and pleasures of life come. In each case the intent is to keep us away from that perfect relationship with God which is the good soil in the story. My take-away from this story for many years was to be the good soil and produce fruit. Certainly, that is the story’s conclusion. However, I have another understanding. I should expect and know that Satan will attempt to detour my journey of loving God and loving others. He will bring troubles into my life with the sole purpose of disrupting my relationship with God and with those I love. He will bring worries, riches, and pleasure to trap me in my choices and take away the joy and true life that God intended. But, my focus changes as I see these events in a spiritual context. I see them for what they are. They are Satan’s efforts to separate me from the God I love. And I will fight. I will not surrender to the enemy. I won’t attack those I love. I won’t become a victim. I won’t walk away from the church. I won’t blame God should troubles, problems, sufferings, hunger, nakedness, danger or violent death (Romans 8: 35) come into my life. Rather, I see these attacks for what they are and will take courage with the promise that nothing can separate me from the love of God. I will be reminded I am not alone in this battle and will draw strength even in the worst circumstances knowing I will overcome because of His great power (Ephesians 6:10).


Father you never leave us and you never give up on us. Remind us that every day we must make the decision to put you first in everything, and when we do you give us true life, joy, and peace. Amen.

Scotty Elston
Shallowater, Texas

Passionate about Patience

I wonder how long I need to be patient about learning patience? In terms of challenges and disappointments, the past few years have been as difficult as any season of my life. But God, in his goodness, has been faithful to strengthen my faith and deepen my knowledge of Him even in times of trial— no, especially in times of trial.

So, it is in this season of difficulty that I am—by God’s grace—growing more patient. These are some of the things He is teaching me:
Patience comes through trials. James 1:2-4 tells us to, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance (perseverance). And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Through our trials we are sanctified, becoming more like Christ. There is joy in that! God uses life’s challenges to refine us, producing patience as we wait upon the Lord.

Patience sees God’s perfect timing in all things.  Do you believe the Lord works all things for His purposes, and in His perfect time?
Ecclesiastes 3 talks about how there is a season and time for everything:

·                     A time to seek: There are times when we eagerly build and gather.

·                     A time to lose: In our earthly experience, nothing lasts forever. I think there is a time when God has taught us all He intends to in good times. At this time a period of famine and testing may be required.

·                     A time to keep: There are times when we need to hang on, to get everything we can out of a situation; to make the best of it. Times to do all we can to work through challenges.

·                     A time to cast away: Then there are times when we just need to let go, to quit trying to hang on to what WAS. This is the time to cut losses and move on, trusting God to provide, to restore, or to re-establish.  

A time of difficulty is a time for patience. For waiting upon the Lord. I still need to be busy, and diligent in my efforts, and I still need to seek godly, wise solutions. But peace comes from patiently waiting and trusting in God’s perfect timing.

Patience sees God’s hand in everything.  Nothing is outside of God’s power and control. Not even evil.  Psalm 37:7 says, “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.” We can be confident that God has not forsaken us. He is greater and higher than any earthly power.

I believe God brings us through trials in His time, not ours. But He does bring us through. Psalm 40 tells us, “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD.”

Are you learning to be patient about learning patience? What is God teaching you?

Lord, I know I should thank You for teaching me patience, rather than praying to You to get me through difficult times. If there is something You are trying to teach me while I am waiting, then please help me to learn. Yes, hasten my understanding because I want to get on to the blessings that WILL come in your perfect timing. And, as I picture You sighing or shaking Your head at my impatient request for patience, I truly thank You for Your steadfast love that never ceases. I pray through Christ, who lived as a man, learning patience through trials and disappointment, just as I must do.

Lynn Anne Hughes

Is God Fair?

From time to time, life gets hard. Really hard! We are tempted to complain. We complain about the difficulty of our life and the enormity of the task we have to do. Sometimes, we accuse God of being unfair. Our thinking is this: Since God can do anything and since He says He loves us, He could rescue us from this difficulty we are in. Sometimes we accuse God of not really loving us and being unfair with us. Ever since the garden, we have insisted on running our own lives. Then we want God to save us from our decisions.

We have another problem and that is perspective. From where we stand, it is hard to be objective. But there is a witness who is in the position to be objective. The angels have watched God since the beginning of time. What do they say? In Revelation 15:3-4, it says… “And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and wonderful are thy deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are thy ways, O King of the ages! Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord? For thou alone art holy. All nations shall come and worship thee, for thy judgments have been revealed.” 

The angels tell us God is great and wonderful and just! The power of God is not at war with the love of God. GOD IS JUST!         

Dear Heavenly Father, I praise your name. You are so great and powerful. You are also good and holy. When I am hurting, I have foolishly accused You of not caring. Please forgive me. I know You do right. I know You are holy. I know You are just. Please help me to learn to trust You and endure trials. Please help me not to waste the trial I am in. In the name of Jesus, the Holy and Just One, Amen.

Paul Shero

San Angelo, Texas

One Thing Led to Another

“Do not be deceived:  Bad company corrupts good morals.” –1 Corinthians 15:33

Ask anybody and they can quote a well-known adage for you. 

Here’s a few.

An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

A penny saved is a penny earned. 

Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

A man is known by the company he keeps. 

Though it’s difficult to do, if you could trace the ancestry of any adage you would most likely discover that it was birthed out of a situation of some kind.  Adages didn’t appear out of thin air.   

When Paul said, “Bad/evil company corrupts good morals” he meant it as more than a snappy quip.  He made that statement in the middle of a heavy theological discussion about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The Corinthians – at least a fair number of them – received teaching about the resurrection of Christ.  They knew it as fact and truth once upon a time.  Within five years of the church coming to its feet, the resurrection was no more than a fanciful idea to many of them.  At least initially, our impression from reading chapter fifteen is that the Corinthians had simply “thought” their way out of their conviction about the resurrection.  Upon closer examination, the erosion of conviction was brought on by more than simply thinking through their faith. 

Paul pauses in the middle of this discussion and sets it in a social construct for a brief moment.  The implication is not that the Corinthians had read a few books and done some thinking.  It wasn’t a purely intellectual experience.  Their conviction about the resurrection was heavily influenced – perhaps primarily influenced – by the company they kept.  It was the kind of company that did not want the teaching of the gospel and more especially, the life that came with it.  Being with people of the flesh brought with it the risk of surrendering to their way of life and eventually discarding one’s conviction about the gospel of Christ.  For at least some of their number, the Christian thought world was eventually broken down by evil company and the behavior that accompanied it.  Earlier in 2:14 Paul remarks that a natural man – a man given over to the ways of the flesh – cannot connect with the promptings of the Spirit because they are foolishness to him.  Consequently, Paul calls his readers to become “sober-minded” (15:34).  In our vernacular he says, “Get off the sauce and get your head clear.”  The gravitational pull of darkness through behavior can be broken when we “wake up” and realize what is happening to us in said situations. 

Paul’s memorable words in 15:33 continue to serve us today.  They remind us to be vigilant about our convictions and especially with regard to how our particular movements in and out of various social experiences can impact what we believe and how we live out faith.   Our flesh is seductive by nature.  Deception comes slowly.  We get “drunk” on the experiences in a given moment empowered by social connections and we stop thinking Christianly.  No one condemns us.  We are among friends.  Who we are is slowly broken down and then, what we think about God is slowly eroded away.  It’s just about whatever our flesh wants because after all, this life is all there is (15:32).   

We can’t go out of the world.  Paul says in 9:19-23 that being people of the gospel binds us to other people unto their blessing, i.e., that we might win some. And yet, the nature of our culture is such that it is very likely that we will find ourselves in situations that tug at us to engage the dark side.  Paul’s words are as current as when they were first penned.  And, they still belong on the refrigerator or anywhere else for that matter.  For in every circumstance we are those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling (1:2). 

“Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you’ve got, be resolute, and love without stopping

” (1 Corinthians 16:13 – The Message)

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

CHURCH: ONE BODY, ONE SPIRIT, ONE HOPE

”There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”  Ephesians 4:4-6

 

The word “church” means different things to different people.  Sunday morning TV offers up a variety of worship styles and church audiences.  Some are more energetic than others and a few are downright bizarre.  The news media can’t say enough about church when something evil happens behind its doors, and movies – if they allude to church at all – usually portray it as impotent and antiquated.  Across our nation and around the globe people are willing to die rather than compromise their church family, while others consider church a total waste of time.

 

I hope you don’t believe as some folks do that church is only open to the good, the clean and the well-dressed.  Or that church folks never have fun, or that God delights in zapping people who mess up.  That’s not right and that’s not church.

• Church is a community of believers who love and help each other toward a common goal.  Let me use Tradition Eight in Al-Anon literature as an example of church:  a group of diverse people who “place principles above personalities.” Personalities may clash, but the shared goal is to glorify God as one body.
• Church is a group of imperfect, sinful human beings loved and redeemed by God.
• Church is people worshipping God and serving others.  They are “light” in the darkness, “strength” for the helpless, “direction” for the lost, and “family” for the lonely and disenfranchised.
• Church comes together under one roof to celebrate and worship God.

So what is church?  You are church.  A unique part of the body of Christ, guided by the Spirit of God, and sharing in the same hope (promise) of joy in this life and an eternal future with God.

 

Thank you, God, for the community of faith called church.  Amen.               

 

 

Sandra Milholland

Abilene, Texas

A Woman’s Plea-A Mother’s Promise

Her arms ached to cradle a baby of her own.  Her heart longed for a child.  Year after year, she endured painful insults from Peninnah, other wife and mother of her husband’s only children.  Not once do the Scriptures mention retaliation on Hannah’s part.  This woman of great character and strength remains an example for whatever burden we bear.  Her spirit was heavy.  She prayed to God fervently in her heart, vowing to give the child back to the LORD if only He would grant her the joy of motherhood.

God remembered Hannah, He opened her womb and a son was born.  She named him, Samuel (Sounds like Hebrew for “heard of God”).

Her pain turned to joy, her heart rejoiced to give Elkanah another son, their first child.  Faithful to the LORD, before and after Samuel’s birth, Hannah fulfilled the promise she made. When Samuel was weaned (how very young he would have been) she took him to the house of the LORD to live with Eli and serve the LORD all his days.

Hannah was a faithful and loving mom to her son, each year she brought a new robe to him, and he grew in stature and favor with the LORD and man.

Her recorded prayer is filled with praise to the LORD, acknowledging His goodness, faithfulness and justice.

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;

in the Lord my horn is lifted high.

My mouth boasts over my enemies,

for I delight in your deliverance.

“There is no one holy like the Lord;

there is no one besides you;

there is no Rock like our God.

“Do not keep talking so proudly

or let your mouth speak such arrogance,

for the Lord is a God who knows,

and by him deeds are weighed.

“The bows of the warriors are broken,

but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

Those who were full hire themselves out for food,

but those who were hungry hunger no more.

She who was barren has borne seven children,

but she who has had many sons pines away.

“The Lord brings death and makes alive;

he brings down to the grave and raises up.

The Lord sends poverty and wealth;

he humbles and he exalts.

He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

he seats them with princes

and has them inherit a throne of honor.

“For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;

upon them he has set the world.

He will guard the feet of his saints,

but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.

“It is not by strength that one prevails;

those who oppose the Lord will be shattered.

He will thunder against them from heaven;

the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength to his king

and exalt the horn of his anointed.”  I Samuel 2:1-10

God blessed Hannah with a son (her joy would be multiplied with 5 future children).  God blessed Samuel throughout his life, beginning with a godly mom and dad.  He became a mighty servant of God, courageous and obedient, instructing and rebuking King Saul; anointing young David-to one day rule as King of Israel.

Contrasted in the first 2 chapters of I Samuel are the sons of Eli.  Hophni and Phinehas served themselves (they were “priests” of the LORD) and lived wickedly before the LORD and the people.   Although Eli rebuked them with questions, he did not take stronger action.

May the lives of Hannah & Elkanah encourage us as parents to live and instruct our children in the ways of the LORD God Almighty.   

Holy God, Loving Father,

Fill us with godly wisdom as parents, teaching children of Your majesty and love, Your power and faithfulness.  Thank You, LORD, for the gift of children and of godly mothers and daddies.  Thank You, for Your Spirit, our Guide, Counselor and Comforter.  May we strive to be faithful with the children You have placed in our home and communities. Remembering they are Yours, and like Hannah, influence them to walk with You all the days they live.  Thank You, for Your Word, a revelation of You and light to our path on this journey home.  In the name of Your precious son and our Savior- Jesus, Amen.

Mischelle Oliver

Stephenville, Texas