Category Archives: Encouragement

Our Personal Altar

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I wrote this in 2012.  By his Grace, my wanderings have brought me back to the spectacular.   May The souls of my brothers find cool water here.

Picture borrowed from http://www.westhighlandbaptistchurch.com/
Jesus, my God and King.  I stop here to lay a white stone on the top of my altar of life.  As a child I started this altar with little balls of mud I rolled in my hands as I encountered the truth of Your Holy ways.  Each little ball  represented a firm truth that was only perceived, not yet learned to live out in my ways.  But each one gave you Glory for Your perfect teachings.

Next came the smooth little pebbles I found on the edge of the River of Life which you took me to go see from time to time.  You let me drink from the edge as was wise according to Your endless wisdom.  Then you drove me back to where You found me to have advanced.  In this You watched to see what I would do with what You had given.

Then You drove me to the edges of that vast desert of life among men.  Walking out a half day’s journey, I received what you offered to prove my heart.  Dryness, loneliness, stark reality appeared before me as a living image of the relationships between man and man, and God and man.  Jagged rocks began to be placed on this altar of Glory to You.

You gave me strength I did have.  You gave the strength of Sampson from time to time.  And I placed immense boulders on the altar as You brought me to them in “The Way”.  You did not let me go around them.  Rather You bid me pick them up and stack them for Your Glory.  Amazement and worship filled me as each bolder of trouble was removed and placed on this Holy testimony to Your eternal love.

And now I reach in my pocket and pull out a smooth white stone.  With loving fingers I place it atop the great and growing pile of worship to You.  Through prayer I let it go to see where it will rest.  Little noises come to my ears as it finds its way to rest amid this pile of testimony.  And I watch it disappear into the pile.  As it became Yours, it now is hidden from sight.  Only You know where it now lay.  And all the more is Your Glory.  For You will testify that it has been laid within the altar which can never be torn down.

Glory is Yours!  For You see what we cannot.  Even the understanding You give us finds its place in our heart.  We perceive where You placed it.  Yet, even as we perceive it the understanding disappears into the man You are causing us to become.  Only You know where it lay.  And on the day You cause us to appear before You, You will expose each response to what You have done.  All Glory is Yours.  And this will be so forever.

These words are Yours.  They come from a servant You have blessed with life.  I testify to man.  But You see the testimony that even Your servant cannot perceive.  Thus all Glory is Yours Forever; and that to the Glory of Your Father who Lives in unapproachable light!  You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God, are worthy of every possible good word.  May all who call on Your Holy Name do so with a trembling soul.  For You are given Immense Beauty from the God of all things.  You are worthy!  And Your worth is stamped with the approval of the Father of Life.  Amen!

Do It!

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You may say in your heart, “I’m ready to start talking about Jesus every opportunity I get”.  But if you haven’t been doing it, you and I both know the reason.  You’re afraid of what people will say about you.  You’re afraid you’ll lose your job.  You’re afraid you’ll lose your friends and your social position.  You’re afraid your family will suffer. 

Now, for the sake of argument, let’s just say you and I sat down together to discuss this.  In the course of conversation, you made it clear that you think you’re ready.  You’d have to excuse me for not getting all excited.  If you were ready you’d already be doing it.

Count the cost.  Once you begin there’s no turning back.  And I know you’re aware of that.

Count the rewards.  Once you begin,  God will bless you in his work.  He will give you things to say.  He will give you specific things to do.  He will fill your heart with wondrous things, and his blessings will be a natural overflow that you won’t be able to stop.

Let’s say you lose your friends.  If they don’t love God, weren’t they lost already?

Let’s say you lose your job.  Do you really think God can’t provide what you need?  Isn’t that the very reason you say you’re a Christian in the first place?

And you see how my excitement dwindles quickly.  You know, the problem is not that people are afraid.  The problem is who and what they love the most.

What Floats Your Boat?

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People dwell on the things they love.  They are more than willing, they are anxious, to talk about the things that excite them.  What gets you excited?

If an angel was sent by Jesus to test you, to see if you were prepared to give him the gospel, would he find you ready?

How do you know that hasn’t already happened?

People already do a lot of things for others these days.  I don’t find very many willing to do things for Jesus these days.

We don’t seem to be ashamed of good works.  But there seems to be a shadow over the name of Jesus.

Maybe I’m just crazy.
Maybe I’m just Looney.
Maybe I’m just imagining this;
Punching at Straw Men and setting them on fire.
Dunno

Snooze Equals Lose

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Think Eternity:

War is nothing more than legalized murder.  That is irrefutable.  But define murder.

Murder by starvation takes a long time.  But with the intent to see it through, it is murder from the beginning.  In its essence, murder is the removal of true freedom.  And isn’t that the nature of this entire world?

This may seem a little bit of a leap in linear thought, but the withholding of the Gospel from those who desperately need it; isn’t that murder on a degree unprecedented?  The Gospel offers eternal life and true freedom.  Again, define murder.

Perhaps that’s a little harsh.  Kind of like the rude alarm clock on Monday morning.  Get in the habit of hitting snooze and you may well lose your job.

Forced to Speak!

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The compulsion to share the Gospel of Christ everywhere, is not a sign of a righteous man.  It is the sign of a man who has been forgiven a vast multitude of sins.

It is the sign of a man who knows what the end of his life would have been without Jesus the Christ of God.  And such a man knows that this potential loss belongs to everyone! 

The more vividly we see the end result of sinful lives, the less likely that fear will silence His Holy words.

Loss is a perception based on a foundation of potential gain.  (Think that one through)

“Christ has saved me from Eternal and sure destruction.  What consequence is it to me if Man despises the words of praise I have for Him?  And what strength belongs to any of their threats?”

People speak about what they adore.  People readily warn about the greatest of dangers.  Where your treasure is there your heart will be also.

Acts Born of Convenience

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The beginning of a matter is the same as the ending, if indeed the matter is carried through to the end.  This is the nature of a sinful act.  The severity of the sin determines Gods reaction at the onset. 

This is where God has been misunderstood in his judgments against Man’s rebelion. 

We think something is a small matter.  We can’t understand why God has turned his face from us.

See how we don’t understand the nature of Purity, Righteousmess and Holiness. 

To cap this all off, this must be said:  at the beginning of every sin we find that we have conveniently forgotten the laws of God.  This is because we are not the laws of God, but God is.