"Then [King] Agrippa said to Paul, 'Almost you persuade me to be a Christian.'" (Acts 26:28)
Years ago Walter took his friend Arthur to see some land in open country where cattle were idly grazing. Walter explained about his dream for developing this area. He told his friend that in time the area would be surrounded by many restaurants, hotels and convention centers. He told Arthur that his plan would take all of his money and he needed others to develop the surrounding area. He wanted his friend to have the first opportunity to buy into this project. But Arthur thought to himself, "Who in the world is going to drive twenty-five miles for this crazy project?" He said to Walter that he would think about it and decide later on. "Later on will be too late," Walter cautioned Arthur. "You'd better move on it right now." And so Art Linkletter turned down the opportunity to buy up all the land that surrounded what was to become Disneyland. His friend Walt Disney tried to talk him into it. But Art thought he was crazy. Life's like that. King Agrippa had the opportunity to accept Christ and become a Christian. He turned it down. Judas had one of the greatest opportunities in all history to become a follower of Jesus. Instead he betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Unbelievable! The two thieves who were crucified with Jesus also had the opportunity to receive the gift of eternal life. One accepted. The other didn't. Life offers all of us many opportunities. We all have the opportunity to become followers of Jesus and to be a part of what God is doing in the world today. That choice is ours. Today. As God's Word says, "Now is the accepted time …now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2) Suggested prayer: "Dear God, when opportunities from you come knocking on my door, no matter how quiet they are, please give me an ear to hear, a listening heart to hear what you are saying, and the wisdom to say, 'Yes,' to you and your call. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen." Dick Innes
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"I sought for a man among them who would build up a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one." (Ezekiel 22:30)
Whenever God has a job to do and a gap to be filled, he always starts by choosing and calling an individual. While men use methods, God's methods are men and women. To start a nation to use as his special witness on earth, God chose and called Abraham to be the father of ancient Israel. When God wanted to lead this young nation out of slavery in Egypt, he chose and called Moses. And so it was with Joseph, Samuel, Esther, David, John the Baptist, Mary, Peter, Paul and scores of other lesser known individuals. God today is still urgently looking for people who are willing to stand in the gap to help save lost souls from a lost and hopeless eternity and to do his work here on earth. The kind of people God is looking for, chooses, and calls are F - A - T people. That is: Faithful... Available... Teachable... F - Faithful You don't have to be a Peter, Paul or a John the Baptist for God to use. Think of the twelve disciples. What a motley crew - rugged fishermen, a despised tax gatherer and the like - they were. God uses other ordinary people like them too, people who daily trust their life and way to God and, with his help, seek to serve and obey him faithfully in all the circumstances of life. A - Available Years ago I told God that I was too afraid to be a witness for him and that I was quitting. "However, God," I prayed, "if you want to use me to share the gospel with others, I'm available, but you'll have to do it through me because I'm too scared." The result? Today God is using our small organizations to reach thousands around the world with the gospel and Christian message every day. This is because I made - and make myself available every day - for God to use. He will in some way do the same for you if you daily make yourself available to him to use. T - Teachable One reason God used the disciples was, not only because they were faithful and available, but also because they were teachable. Naturally they spent three years with the Master Teacher par Excellence and had a lot to learn about the Christian way, especially because it was brand new to them and everyone else in their day. We also need to be teachable and learn God's ways more clearly by studying and knowing what his Word, the Bible, teaches and applying the principles found therein in our everyday living. So, if you want God to use you to be a part of what he is doing in your world today, I urge you to pray and tell God you are available and renew that prayer and commitment every day. Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I'm available again today. Help me to be faithful and teachable to learn your ways more clearly, and please use me to be as Jesus in some way to every life I touch today. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' Name. Amen." Dick Innes "A certain man was there who had an infirmity for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been in this condition for a long time, He asked him, 'Do you want to be made whole?" (John 5:5-6)
You may have heard the old story (a fable to be sure) about the father who knocks on his son's door. "James" he says, "wake up!" James answers, "I don't want to get up, Papa." The father shouts, "Get up. You have to go to school." James says, "I don't want to go to school." "Why not?" asks the father. "Three reasons," says James. "First, because it's so dull; second, the kids tease me; and third, I hate school." And the father replies, "Well, I am going to give you three reasons why you must go to school. First, because it is your duty; second, because you are forty-five years old, and third, because you are the headmaster." When I ask people in seminars how many believe that God has a purpose for their life, most will raise their hand. But when I ask how many know what it is, only a few have any idea what it might be, and even fewer have clearly defined it. Most say they want to know what it is but don't diligently seek God to discover what it is. Many people say they want to overcome their problems too, but are not prepared to do their part to make it happen. Even the best psychologists will tell you that "people don't really want to be cured. What they want is relief; a cure is too painful." One surgeon said that many patients who come to him with a problem would rather that he operate on their body than they operate on their lifestyle, and that only about 25 percent of his patients accept responsibility for their wellness. Jesus didn't say, "Do you wish to be made well, but rather, do you want to be made well?" To be made well needs to be more than a wish. It needs to be a true desire, with determination and commitment to do what one has to do to get well. As a Chinese proverbs puts it, "Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes." Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me the want to get well in every area of my life, and reveal to me any areas of resistance so I can deal with these issues, and accept full responsibility for my wellness. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen." "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10) "You may be sure that your sin will find you out." (Numbers 32:23)
Coming home from work, a woman stopped at the corner deli to buy a chicken for supper. The butcher reached into a barrel grabbed the last chicken he had, flung it on the scales behind the counter, and told the woman its weight. She thought for a moment. "I really need a bit more chicken than that," she said. "Do you have any larger ones?" Without a word, the butcher put the chicken back into the barrel, groped around as though finding another, pulled the same chicken out, and placed it on the scales. "This chicken weighs one pound more," he announced. The woman pondered her options and then said, "Okay. I'll take them both." Don't you just love it? Honesty is still the best policy - and we can be sure of this, our sins/lies will find us out - even if it is eventually! Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to always be honest with myself, with you and with others in all of my dealings. Please forgive me where I have sinned and, wherever possible, help me to put right any wrongs that I have done to others. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen." Dick Innes I recently read about a middle-aged man who has been struggling with chronic depression for many years. His counselor told him that he would need to be on antidepressant drugs for the rest of his life. He told the counselor that his father, a self-made head of a large corporation, repeatedly said to him, "Son, when you inherit the family business, I expect you'll ruin it."
"These words stung more painfully each time he heard them. When his father died, the man felt driven to work unreasonably long hours to prove his dad's prediction wrong. The pressure to avoid failure that relentlessly gnawed at him was quieted only by alcohol. Soon a serious drinking problem developed. His wife threatened to leave him. Finally he succumbed to ongoing depression for which he could find relief only in drugs. His life was devastated by the power of his father's tongue." I was once told that I was physically ugly. It took me years to overcome that one sentence because, tragically, I believed it. However, I have since learned that it had more to do with the person who spoke those words than it had to do with me. With words we can bless or curse others; encourage or discourage; hearten or dishearten them. They can be powerful motivators or de-motivators. Let's always use them as an instrument of healing and encouragement-and never use them to hurt, demoralize or destroy another. "With the tongue [words] we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers [and sisters], this should not be" (James 3:9-10). Dick Innes "Holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith." (1 Timothy 1:19)
Victor Hugo, who is famous for his novel the Hunchback of Notre Dame, also wrote a story called "Ninety-Three." It tells of a ship caught in a dangerous storm on the high seas. At the height of the storm, the frightened sailors heard a terrible crashing noise below the deck. They knew at once that this new noise came from a cannon, part of the ship's cargo, that had broken loose. It was moving back and forth with the swaying of the ship, crashing into the side of the ship with terrible impact. Knowing that it could cause the ship to sink, two brave sailors volunteered to make the dangerous attempt to retie the loose cannon. They knew the danger of a shipwreck from the [loose] cannon was greater than the fury of the storm. Life's certainly like that. Not always, but more often than not, it isn't the storms without that cause us the most problems, but the storms that rage within us—such as a spirit of bitterness, jealousy, pride, greed and so on. Other "loose cannons" are unresolved hurt, anger, a lack of forgiveness, guilt, lust, and so on. These, if not confronted and resolved, can readily cause shipwreck of our relations, our faith, or even our life. Some "loose cannon people" in organizations also need to be brought under control before they destroy "the ship." Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for your Word that reminds me to live with a clear conscience. Please confront me with any issue in my life that could, if unresolved, lead to shipwreck of my faith, relationships, and even of my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus' name, amen. "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:8-10)
In her book, Open Heart, Open Home, author Karen Mains "distinguishes between hospitality and entertaining. Entertaining says, 'I want to impress you with my home, my clever decorating, and my cooking.' Hospitality, seeking to minister, says, 'This home is a gift from my Master. I use it as he desires.' Hospitality aims to serve. "Entertaining puts things before people. 'As soon as I get the house finished, the living room decorated, my house cleaning done-then I will start inviting people.' Hospitality puts people first. 'No furniture - we'll eat on the floor! The decorating may never get done-you come anyway. The house is a mess-but you are friends-come home with us.'" Because where we live is reasonably close to the Mexican border many of the streets and places in our town have Spanish names, so Joy and I have named our house: "Casa de Bendición" (House of Blessing). Our constant prayer is that God will use our home to be a house of blessing "and of hospitality" to all who enter, and that he will use us to be as Jesus to everyone who does. May he use your home to be a house of blessing and hospitality too. Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the home that you have given to us especially when there are so many who don't even have a home. We dedicate our home and our lives to you. Please make our home a house of blessing and true hospitality, and use us to be as Jesus to all who enter in. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen." Dick Innes "A certain man was there who had an infirmity for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been in this condition for a long time, He asked him, 'Do you want to be made whole?" (John 5:5-6)
You may have heard the old story (a fable to be sure) about the father who knocks on his son's door. "James" he says, "wake up!" James answers, "I don't want to get up, Papa." The father shouts, "Get up. You have to go to school." James says, "I don't want to go to school." "Why not?" asks the father. "Three reasons," says James. "First, because it's so dull; second, the kids tease me; and third, I hate school." And the father replies, "Well, I am going to give you three reasons why you must go to school. First, because it is your duty; second, because you are forty-five years old, and third, because you are the headmaster." When I ask people in seminars how many believe that God has a purpose for their life, most will raise their hand. But when I ask how many know what it is, only a few have any idea what it might be, and even fewer have clearly defined it. Most say they want to know what it is but don't diligently seek God to discover what it is. Many people say they want to overcome their problems too, but are not prepared to do their part to make it happen. Even the best psychologists will tell you that "people don't really want to be cured. What they want is relief; a cure is too painful." One surgeon said that many patients who come to him with a problem would rather that he operate on their body than they operate on their lifestyle, and that only about 25 percent of his patients accept responsibility for their wellness. Jesus didn't say, "Do you wish to be made well, but rather, do you want to be made well?" To be made well needs to be more than a wish. It needs to be a true desire, with determination and commitment to do what one has to do to get well. As a Chinese proverbs puts it, "Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes." Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me the want to get well in every area of my life, and reveal to me any areas of resistance so I can deal with these issues, and accept full responsibility for my wellness. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen." "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10) "So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lion's den. The king said to Daniel, 'May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!'" Daniel (Daniel 6:16) No question, Daniel got a rough deal. He was set up by jealous lesser men who wanted him out of the way. It seemed like they succeeded except for one thing they overlooked: Daniel's trust in God. The interesting thing, however, about Daniel being thrown into the den of lions is that God didn't deliver him out of the den before Daniel found deliverance in it. Imagine if Daniel had fought against being thrown into the den (which he would have been justified in doing) and gone into the den fighting against it every inch of the way, chances are the lions would have torn him to shreds before he hit the bottom. But Daniel didn't. He accepted his lot and trusted his life to God who shut the lion's mouths. On more than one occasion I have asked God that if I am not going to be delivered out of my "lion's den" (naming the frustrating situation I'm in), would he please deliver me in it. Sometimes, like Daniel, God has a lesson for us to learn in our present difficult situation and before he delivers us out of it, like Daniel, we need to find deliverance in it. Dick Innes "The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth." (Psalm 145:18)
Some time ago I remember reading a simple but profound statement by Cecil Osborne. He said, "When we are hiding a deeper sin or fault, we tend to confess a lesser one all the more vigorously." A friend of mine, for example, had been trying to overcome his smoking addiction for 20 years without success. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't break the addictive habit. When he shared his struggle with me, I simply asked, "Why do you need to smoke?" He looked at me with a blank stare as if to say, "Are you crazy, what are you talking about? I don't need to smoke." He then mumbled a few incoherent sentences, turned around, and walked away. He died a few years later of cancer! True, my friend's smoking addiction was a problem, but it wasn't the real problem. It was the fruit of a deeper root—the symptom of some unresolved issue he was either afraid or unwilling to examine. He was confessing the wrong sin/problem; that is, he was confessing just the symptom, not the deeper cause. The same principle is true of all addictive behaviors and many of our negative and sinful actions. To overcome we need to be ruthlessly honest with ourselves, with at least one safe person who won't judge or put us down, and with God. We need to admit and confess not only the symptoms but the causes behind them. We may need to ask God to give us the courage to face these causes and to lead us to the help, support, and recovery program we need to overcome them. This is the kind of praying God loves to hear and answer. As his word says, he "is near to all who call on him in truth." Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me the courage to admit all of my sins and failures, and to face the causes behind them, whether they be behavioral, physical, emotional or spiritual. And give me the courage to confess all of these to at least one trusted friend or counselor as well as to you. And please lead me to the help I need to overcome them. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen." |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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