June 2013 – Page 5 – Old Paths Journal

Bearer of Good News

Acts 13:32
“And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,”

You see them coming, and you’re trying to find an escape route or an excuse to quickly get away from them. It is that person who is the bearer of bad news. It doesn’t matter how good something can be, they are the one who always sees the negative. The biggest mistake you make is asking them how they are doing, for they will be sure to tell you all the bad going on in their life. Nobody enjoys being around this type of person.

The Apostle Paul was not a bearer of bad news; instead, he was a bearer of good news. Paul said in the verse above, “And we declare unto you glad tidings,…” Paul wanted people to walk away with the promise that they could go to Heaven. Let me make this clear, he wasn’t a “prosperity gospel” type of preacher. Paul certainly told people there was a punishment for their sins, but he also encouraged them with good news.

Christians should be the bearer of “glad tidings.” Throughout the Scriptures you will find that God wants us to encourage people. You are not going to be one who encourages others if you are always bearing bad news. If you always see the glass as half empty, then people are not going to want to be around you, yet, when you can look at every circumstance and see the good from it, then you will be surprised how people will want to follow you. The world is hard enough without Christians always bearing bad news. This world needs somebody who will bring sunshine to a dark day. Let me give you some suggestions on how to be a bearer of good news.

First, you need to yield yourself to the Holy Ghost. You will notice in verse 52 that the disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost. It is amazing how the Holy Ghost will cause you to see things in a different light. Our flesh tends to see the negative, so we need the Holy Ghost to point our eyes to see life in reality. In other words, the Holy Ghost will allow you to see both the good and bad. When you can see things that way, you will find that the good always outweighs the bad.

Second, look for the good in everything. If you are going to be a bearer of good news, then search for it. I have found that no matter how bad things can get, there is always something good in it. It may take me some time to find it, but there is always good. You must choose to find the good and focus on it if you are going to be a bearer of good news.

Third, avoid those who bear bad news. One of the reasons a person is a bearer of bad news is because they live in a world of bad news. You will never find the good in life if your are constantly feeding yourself with bad news. I’m not saying that you should not live in a world of reality, but you don’t have to live in the world of bad. For instance, I rarely watch the news. Instead, I choose to read the news so that I can choose what I want to read. I’m current on world events simply by glancing at the news. If you live in the world of the negative, you will not be a bearer of good news.

Friend, this world needs you to be a person who bears good news. Yes, we ought to bear the good news of the Gospel, but I also believe we ought to be a person who bears good news about life in general. It is a choice to be a bearer of good news, so choose to be that one who brightens the dark days by bearing good news.

Interested in the Insignificant

John 21:22
“Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.”

I find that the Apostle Peter was like most Christians. He often said or did things without thinking about the ramifications of his statement or actions. The statement above reveals the spirituality of the Apostle Peter before Jesus ascended. Jesus was trying to prepare the disciples for when He would go to Heaven. On the other hand, Peter asked Jesus about the man who betrayed him. Jesus responded by saying, “…what is that to thee?”

Peter’s problem was that he was interested in the insignificant things of life. Jesus wanted Peter to get interested in what was important and that was following Him. Peter was more interested in things and situations than he was interested in something that could literally change lives. It is interesting that when Peter stopped being interested in the insignificant and started getting interested in the important thing of following the LORD, that is when he saw the great blessings in his life.

You must be very careful about getting interested in the insignificant things in life. We are all guilty of becoming interested in the insignificant things and missing the most important things that are right in front of us. Our sinful human nature wants to get interested in knowing the insignificant because we think it will cause us to be the source of knowledge to which people will come. Somehow we think knowing the insignificant will give us stature in our world.

What most don’t see is that when you become interested in the insignificant, it causes you to miss the most important things of life. Peter was more interested in the insignificant when he should have been interested in Jesus’ presence. What he didn’t realize was that Jesus was about ready to ascend to Heaven, and with him interested in the insignificant he wasted time that he could have used to learn more from the Saviour.

Are you allowing the insignificant things in life to cause you to miss the most important things in your life? Are you missing the presence of your spouse because you are more interested in your preferences and hobbies? Are you missing your children because you are so busy with hobbies and making money? Are you missing the blessings of God in your church because you are listening to the gossip? One day when your spouse, children, parents or church is gone you will wish you had been more interested in what was truly important; their presence. Many people have lived a life of regret because they missed what was truly important in life.

Let me encourage you to not let the insignificant things in your life cause you to miss those who are around you. Don’t let the insignificant things destroy your relationships. Don’t let the insignificant things cause you to miss the presence of a spouse or child. Don’t let the insignificant things cause you to miss what God is doing in your church. Get interested in the LORD and people, and you will find that the insignificant things are truly insignificant and unworthy of your attention.

The Ministry of Comfort

John 11:19
“And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.”

One of the greatest ministries that will bring the greatest satisfaction is the ministry of comfort. I call it a ministry because it should be something that you regularly do like any other ministry. Knowing that you have comforted the hurting in their time of pain or sorrow will bring one of the most satisfying feelings that you can experience.

In the verse above, Lazarus had passed away. Jesus delayed his visit with Lazarus so that He could use it as an opportunity to show His power and deity. After Lazarus died, there were some who came to comfort Martha and Mary. It is interesting that those who came to comfort them were not successful, but when Jesus came they received the comfort they needed. The presence of Jesus gave them the comfort they needed for their difficult time. Let me give you some thoughts on how to comfort those who are hurting.

First, yield to the Holy Spirit of God. John 15:26 says, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:” Notice the Holy Spirit is the Comforter. You will never succeed in comforting people without yielding to the Holy Spirit. He is the source of comfort, and you will fail in giving comfort to those who are hurting and broken.

Second, you must be in the place of those who need comfort if you are going to be a minister of comfort. It’s hard to give comfort when you are not with those who are hurting. Christian, you can either live your life wrapped around yourself, or you can be in the place of those who are hurting. If you are too busy to be with people during their time of hurt, then you will never be able to comfort them.

Third, the most successful way to give comfort is to point people to Jesus. Notice, it was Jesus Whose presence gave Martha and Mary comfort. You will never succeed in giving comfort when you point to man. Only Jesus can give the comfort that the hurting need.

All around you are people who are hurting. If you will open your ears and listen, you will find there are people everywhere whose lives are filled with hurt. I have found if I will simply listen to people when they talk that I will find those who are hurting. When I hear someone is hurting, then I do my best to yield to the Holy Spirit and do what I can to give them the comfort they need. Sometimes it is words from Scripture that the Holy Spirit leads me to say. Sometimes it is to let them know that you are praying for them. Then there are times when I just need to be silent and be with them during their time of need. I challenge you to enter the ministry of comfort, and do what you can to help heal the brokenhearted.

The World of Missions Around Us

THE WORLD OF MISSIONS AROUND US
by: Dr. Steve Heidenreich

So many times we think that the world of missions is someplace far from us. We must realize that we are standing on the mission field every day. We need to be careful that we are not so interested in reaching people in a far distant field that we ignore the people around us. When Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” He meant everyone around us. Many people will give their finances to see people saved around the world, and never win people to Christ in their own area.

Please allow me to give you a few examples from my personal experience of winning people to Christ around me. As a missionary to the world, God has allowed me to be in many places and be around all kinds of people. Because of this, there is a great responsibility in making sure that the Gospel is given.

As a missionary, I spend a lot of time at the airport. While at the airport I have a lot of time, and of course there are a lot of people coming and going. As I allow the Holy Spirit of God to work in my heart, He is always preparing the hearts of people around me for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have witnessed to many people of different languages and religions from many other countries. God has allowed me to win many of these people to Christ. Of course, there are many people who need the Gospel. One of these was a young military man on his way to be stationed at one of our military bases in America. My heart always goes out to these young military men because when they are shipped out they are put in harms way. We have done a great job in preparing them for the battles they will face, but my greatest concern is that they’re prepared for eternity. I talked with this young man, Jacob, and he allowed me to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with him. In about 25 minutes, right there at the airport, he bowed his head and trusted Jesus Christ as his Saviour.

I also spend many days at hotels as I travel across America and around the world. This is another great mission field that is always around me. I have been able to win many of the hotel maids and workers at these hotels to Christ. I also have been able to witness and win some of the other guests to Christ who are staying in the hotel.

One of the most exciting places where God has allowed me to win people to Christ is on the airplane. I told God that I will do my best to witness to the person who sits beside me. It is amazing the people that God has put beside me on the airplane. On one trip I was able to board before many of the other people. As I sat in my seat and wondered who God would put beside me, I saw a rough looking man come down the aisle. This man was big and tough enough that he could probably eat nails for breakfast. Like many of you, I asked myself how I’m going to be able to get past my fear and witness to him. During the flight I was trying to figure out when it would be the best time to speak to him. Would it be during the flight when I had no way to escape, or while we were landing and time would be short, or just wait and witness to him as we got off the plane. The Holy Spirit convicted me that I should witness to him during the flight. As I introduced myself and began to talk to him, I found out that man was on his way to his mother’s funeral. As I began to show him that God loved him and wanted to comfort him during this time, he began to weep. As I shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with him, it wasn’t long before he trusted Jesus Christ as his Saviour. It is always amazing how God brings the right people at the right time that He has prepared for one of His people to share the Gospel with them. Sometimes the most difficult people are the most prepared by God for the Gospel.

What I’m trying to say is that the mission field is always around you. I preach and teach mission conferences around America. I’m always encouraging people to give so that many people around the world will have an opportunity to hear a clear presentation of the Gospel. Yet, there are many people around us who need to hear that same Gospel. I hope you understand that your family, neighbors and people you work with are just as important as reaching the people around the world. By the grace of God I’ve been able to win people to Christ in the parking lot, at the grocery store, the hospital and in my own backyard.

The greatest blessing of being able to win people to Christ is to be able to win your own children and grandchildren to the Lord. One of the bonuses is not only seeing your children and grandchildren saved, but also seeing them grow spiritually in the Lord and become great soul winners themselves. Many years ago I won my youngest son, Sam, to Christ, and now he is a missionary in the Philippines and God has used him to win thousands of people to Christ.

Would you please allow me to share one great blessing with you about winning people around you? Just a few Sunday’s ago, our church had a special day where every member was asked to bring one person to church. Our church was packed and there were over 100 adult visitors who attended. Our pastor did a great job preaching, and when the invitation was given and many people raised their hand for salvation, my daughter, Sandy went to a lady who had not raised her hand for salvation, but was visiting and began to talk to her. The lady responded to the Gospel and was saved. One of the ushers brought to me a young 17 year-old boy who was not saved, and asked if I would lead him to Christ. I took him down to the front of the church, and on the front row I was able to lead him to Christ. It was a great blessing to see both of these people saved, and also a great blessing to me because my daughter and I were both winning people to Christ. I pray that God would use you and your family to win people to Christ around you.

I want to remind you that there is a world of missions around you. I challenge you not only to be concerned about reaching the people around the world, but also be concerned about the people whom you see everyday and everywhere you go. I know many people will never go to what we call the mission field, but I do know that they are already on the mission field wherever they are, and God has many people around them who need the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Steve Heidenreich
http://missionsminutes.blogspot.com

How Shall They Hear Without a Preacher

HOW SHALL THEY HEAR WITHOUT A PREACHER?
by: Dr. Bob Gray Sr.

Romans 10:14, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

In this wild, weird, and wicked time in which we live, the work of the preacher is being rethought, revamped, and re-examined. Some think the preacher is just to be an equipper of the laymen for their ministry. He has been pushed from the center of the platform to the wings in favor of celebrated experts and entertainers.

However, the Bible still says, “How shall they hear without a preacher?” Just what kind of preaching do we need today is the question in front of us? Do we need “seminars” for the worship hour? Do we need “lectures” for the so-called “worship” hour? Do we need a low-key monotone non-invasive speech for the so-called “worship” hour?

Shall we enter into the Warren Wiersbe sound alike contest? How about the John McArthur talk alike contest or the Rick Warren look alike contest? What kind of preaching do we need?

What kind of preaching do we need? Ladies and gentlemen we need the same kind we have always needed. Nothing important has changed! Just because we have split the atom and sent a man to the moon does not mean we need a new kind of Christianity. We have a new kind of preacher in some quarters, but we do not need him for we need the old kind of preacher in all quarters of our nation.

APOSTOLIC PREACHING

Naturally there are no Apostles today in the original sense, but an Apostle is one sent and a preacher is also a man sent from God. The Apostles studied at the feet of Jesus Christ. Our Lord said, “Learn of me” and that means studying the school of Jesus himself. It is possible to have a Magna Cum Laude from a college and be a first grader in the school of Jesus.

An Apostle is a sent man
An Apostle is a soul-winning man
An Apostle is a separated man
An Apostle is a spirit-filled man
An Apostle is a scriptural man
An Apostle is a schooled man

ANOINTED PREACHING

Divinely appointed and divinely anointed are divine twins! We have a new Madison Ave. school of the prophets complete with degrees, personality, travel experience, sophisticated methods, up-to-date communication, technically advanced, and public relations departments, but how many are God appointed and God anointed?

In Exodus 30:32-33 instructions are given about the anointing oil for a priest, “Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured…whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from the people.”

One of our problems today is that we are running an old Adam improvement society. An unsanctified flesh that has never died to sin and risen to walk in newness of life is running down our church aisles to volunteer to be anointed. God cannot use such if it runs down those church aisles a thousand times!

Not many wise, mighty, or noble have been called. Why? “That no flesh should glory in his presence.” I wonder how long it is going to take us to learn that they that are controlled by the flesh cannot please God. The closer we are too God the closer we are too pleasing him.

The unction, the anointing oil, is not sold over any old counter! Simon attempted to buy it, but it was not for sale. It is not compounded by any Apothecary; it is not put together by chemistry. A preacher may be wrapped in the robes of learning and his study walls may be decked with diplomas. His home may be filled with travel souvenirs from many lands. He may wear all the trappings of ecclesiastical prestige and pageantry, but he cannot function without Holy Ghost unction!

John Wesley demonstrated that a long time ago! He began his ministry equipped with formidable qualifications. No man was ever better prepared and less ready to preach than he was. Many a pre-Pentecost Wesley today starts out to convert the lost without ever having been converted himself.

When we speak of being anointed by the Holy Spirit, we are not advocating weird hallucinations pretending to be the work of the Holy Spirit with unintelligible rambling or incoherent babbling or a false “thus saith the Lord” proclamation.

When the Holy Spirit becomes the figurehead in any blueprint, that movement becomes eccentric because the business of the Holy Spirit is to magnify Jesus Christ. My friend there must be a divine enduement when God calls a man to Apostolic preaching, for he must be in the appointed place for his anointing.

Matthew 28:16, “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mount where Jesus had appointed them.”

The appointing and the anointing are God’s business not our business. My question is, were you at your appointed place last week and do you plan to be in your appointed place this week? Could it be the Sunday you missed was the Sunday where God gave the man of God an anointed message for an appointed place for you, but you missed it?

Sunday school is an appointed time, Sunday night preaching is an appointed time, Wednesday night Bible study is an appointed time, and weekly soul winning is an appointed time.

Were you at the appointed time for teachers and workers’ meeting, your appointed prayer time, your appointed quiet time, and your appointed Bible study time? I wonder how many, not only preachers, but laymen missed an appointed time and place for the special anointing of God?

No appointment, no anointment! All God asks of us is consent and cooperation! This does not mean that everyone who is appointed and anointed will become famous or well-known; however, he or she will be qualified for the tasks before them.

AUTHORITATIVE PREACHING

Jesus taught us with authority and not as the Scribes. Too much of our preaching today sounds like the Scribes. There is no King in Israel, and every man does what is right in his own eyes. When authority leaves, anarchy enters!

Jesus met the Devil not in his own name, not in his power, but with the Scriptures, “It is written…it is written…it is written…” If Jesus could defeat the Devil with three verses out of Deuteronomy, we ought to be able to do it with the whole Bible! This is the Word of God period, and It can be preached with authority.

The Scribes do not know what book to call the Bible, but we do, it is the King James Bible for the English speaking people! Never be ashamed of the old-time religion for there is nothing newer!

We have a NEW Testament about a NEW and living way. We are a NEW creature with a NEW name and a NEW song, walking in NEWNESS of life, and living a NEW commandment! We are headed for a NEW Earth and a NEW Jerusalem and almost the last word of the New Testament in Revelation 21:5 is, “Behold, I make all things new.”

No wonder the Gospel is good news. Old-time, new time, any time, and all the time! God is not running an antique shop!

Titus 2:5, “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority, let no man despise thee.”

However, you can’t preach it like it is if you don’t believe it like it is! If you do not believe that the King James Bible is inspired, for the English speaking people, that Jesus Christ was virgin born, that he died for our sins, rose again from the grave bodily, is coming back again for us, then you can’t preach it like it is with authority.

You cannot preach “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever” if you don’t believe what He was yesterday. For what He was He is! This is no time to be apologetic with an inferiority complex in the presence of the new left that calls itself fundamental.

This modern day preacher with his Jesse Jackson tie bar, his sparkling cuff links, satin inside his thousand dollar suit coat, with his screens for preaching, his latest Rick Warren material for props, his non-offensive non-denominational sign out front, his certificate from the Shepherds Conference, his questionable KJB, along with his Wiersbe monotone style of speaking, and with Jack Taylor praise books have infiltrated old-fashioned authoritative pulpits and ruined many a good soul-winning church.

They have caused real men of God to be scared to say the KJB is the inspired Word of God, or say that Barak Obama is acting like a Socialist, or be afraid to pound their pulpits and cry aloud, that being a independent Baptist is better than belonging to a denomination, that the Shepherds Conference will kill a soul-winning church, or to preach against their Alma Mater when they begin to stray from the fundamentals, and preaching standards is going to destroy God’s work!

When a preacher forfeits his calling and lets the families just do whatever they feel right in their own eyes, it will destroy what God had in mind for his local church. If every family determines their own standards, the local church will soon have no standards. If anyone is embarrassed today it should not be the men of God who preach the Word of God with authority. The truth is it ought to be those who skirt their responsibility to cry aloud!

We do not need the latest Hollywood star to put the Gospel over. We are attempting to fix something that does not need fixing; it just need proclaiming. We are attempting to gild the lily, paint the sunset, hobnob with Sodom, and get chummy with Gomorrah.

We do not need something new so much as we need something so old it would be new to everybody. It is an insult to the intelligence of young people to give them the impression we have to cheapen the Gospel to make it understandable. The medical schools do not simplify their phraseology to please. The legal profession has not changed its terminology!

All the local church needs to do is to be a New Testament church. God never called his churches or his men to be an accompanist. He called his churches and his men to be a soloist. They say the end justifies the means, but the truth is the means determines the end.

Apostolic preaching
Anointed preaching
Authoritative preaching

ABSOLUTE PREACHING

Today has become a day of relativism. Right used to be right, and wrong used to be wrong! Joseph Parker said of Spurgeon, “The only colors Mr. Spurgeon knew were black and white. In all things he was definite. You either were in or out, up or down, alive or dead to Mr. Spurgeon.”

Matthew 12:30, “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”

Wow, Jesus was awfully dogmatic there in Matthew 12:30! To Christ there is no such thing as an inactive church member.

When the Titanic sank in 1912 there were only two lists posted on the Canard Office in New York. The lost and the saved!

JUST A THOUGHT!

Dr. Bob Gray Sr.
Pastor Emeritus
Longview Baptist Temple
Longview, TX
http://solvechurchproblems.com

A Different Life

A DIFFERENT LIFE
by: James Shepherd

God created you to be different and He has a unique plan for your life. As a young person you might feel that to fulfill God’s plan for your life you will have to be different from almost everyone around you, and you’re right. If you want to have a good marriage, you will have to think, act, behave and believe differently from many around you, because more than half of those around you will get divorced and many more will be trapped in terrible relationships.

If you want to find a fulfilling purpose in your life that makes you get up every day excited about the possibilities, you will have to be different than your classmates who may be headed towards a dead-end job or a career that will drive their relationships towards destruction rather than adding to a life filled with faith, purpose and happiness.

If you want to have a strong, personal relationship with God, you will have to be very different from those who only seem to be close to God on Sunday. If you want to have a strong spirit that can make it when life gets tough, your faith must be stronger than your friends who can’t make it through a high school break up without having an emotional breakdown. Don’t let the Devil trick you by using society and your peers as the only “normal” life you can have. Most young people say they want to have an above average, “different” sort of life, but they don’t seem to want to think or act in a different sort of way.

So, what kind of life do you want right now? What kind of life do you want 10 or 20 years from now? Do you want an average life or a “different” life? If you want a different life, you need to start building it right now! 1 Timothy 4:12 says “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” It sounds like God plans for you to be different right now!

So, what is keeping you from living a different life? Most Christian teenagers are in a “just do it” mindset when they should start with a “just be it” mindset. They think, “I don’t ever want to go to church, but I guess I will just do it.” They tell their friends, “I don’t want to read my Bible, but my parents make me, so I guess I will just do it.” If you want to live a different kind of life, the life that God has planned, start by changing your mindset from “I will do it” to “I will be it.” The people who are making you do things now will not be making you do them when you are out of the house, so start right now developing the mindset that says, “I will be it.”

Rather than saying, “I guess I have to go to church” say, “I will be a church-going Christian who is seeking God’s will for my life.” Instead of “I have to read my Bible for Bible class” say, “I will be a person who wants to know what truth God has for me in the Bible.” Don’t think, “I have to obey my parents otherwise I will be grounded.” Instead, think, “God wants me to obey my parents, so I am going to do my best to please Him in my relationship with mom and dad.” God said in 1 Samuel, “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” God cares about your heart; He cares about who you really are on the inside.

Walk worthy of God’s calling on your life. Romans 13:13 says, “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.” Some Christians will tell you that God cares so much more about your heart that you can act any way you want. That idea doesn’t come from the Bible, and it doesn’t make any sense. 1 Thessalonians 2:12 says, “That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.” If you are reading your Bible every day at home, but you are not living it at school, God is not pleased. Sincerity doesn’t excuse behavior according to the Bible. One of my least favorite sayings is, “That’s just me, that’s just who I am.” My response to this saying is, “Change who you are and become the person God wants you to be!”

Understand that God is ready to help you as you live a life dedicated in His service. Not only do I serve God as a youth pastor on the weekends, He has called me to run a business for Him during the week. One of my habits throughout the day as I conduct business is to pray before every phone call I make. I know God wants me to run my business very differently from other businessmen, and I must have God’s help if I am going to accomplish His will for each phone call I make. Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Get God involved in your day and ask Him for help. If you plan to go against the flow and live a different sort of life with God’s blessings and guidance, you cannot do it without His power and presence. Take some time throughout your day to tell God, “I want to be different, help me to do exactly what You want me to do today.”

James Shepherd
Youth Pastor
Community Baptist Church
Altoona, PA

Reap Your Harvest

REAP YOUR HARVEST
by: Kelly Daniel

1 Samuel 6:1-9

After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it to Ashdod and Gath as a trophy piece that they had defeated the God of Israel. Every place the Philistines took the ark bad things happened to the people. Finally, they decided to send it back to Israel to avoid God’s wrath on their land.

When they decided to send the ark back to Israel, they put it on a cart that was pulled by two milk cows. They said, “If it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us .” (1 Samuel 6:9) Where do you think these two milk cows, which had probably NEVER PULLED ANYTHING BEFORE in their lives, went? They went straight to Bethshemesh, a city of Israel, thus assuring the Philistines that what was happening to them was indeed from the God of Israel. Imagine the FEAR OF GOD that gripped the hearts of the Philistines! If there was ever a time when the Philistines were ripe to hear of God’s saving grace, it was then.

So, why were the Israelites more excited about getting back their “RELIC” than in seeing what God was doing? Does God take pleasure in destroying people? According to Ezekiel 18:23 He does not. Why then, didn’t Israel send any MISSIONARIES into the Philistine’s land and take advantage of the work that God had begun to do in their hearts? Why didn’t Israel try to WIN THEM TO THE MESSIAH? They didn’t try because Israel was spiritually asleep and could not see ANY LOST SOULS past the end of their nose.

That generation of Israelites will be dealt with very severely by God in the judgment for not reaping that harvest of Philistine souls that God had prepared to be reaped. Shame on them!

BUT WAIT…WHAT ABOUT YOU MY FRIEND? Acts 20:23 says that the Holy Spirit witnesses in EVERY CITY!!! In your area, you are responsible for the harvest of souls that the Holy Spirit has already prepared. Just like God had prepared the Philistines, He has prepared people in your city to be reached. It is a shame that the saved spend their lives doing everything but harvesting the souls that are ready to harvest. You will not enjoy reaping rewards at God’s judgment. I challenge you to get out and harvest the souls in your field who WANT TO BE SAVED! I wonder if Goliath would have been reached if the Israelites would have reached the harvest while it was ripe? There is a Goliath in your future that you could avoid if you will simply reap the harvest that God has prepared for you.

Kelly Daniel
Assistant Pastor
Iglesia Bautista Fundamental
Lewisville, TX

I Hate Pulling Weeds

I HATE PULLING WEEDS
by: Sandy Domelle

I don’t know about you, but I love looking at pretty flower beds. There is nothing like looking at a house that has a beautiful flower bed in front of it. If you grow flowers and do your own gardening, you have probably started to see some weeds that already need to be pulled. One of the things I enjoy least about pretty flowers and gardening is getting out and spending time pulling weeds, but if I want a pretty flower bed or a great garden, it’s a needed process.

The Bible talks about weeds in Matthew 13. It says there was a man who went to sow seeds. This man was sowing a wheat field. He had the best seed that you could use. Yet, though he had good seed, he still had to deal with weeds. Verse 25 says, “But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.” The Bible calls weeds, “tares.” As the weeds began to grow, apparently the servants didn’t weed the field. Because they didn’t take care of the weeds, they ended up having to wait till harvest to separate the wheat from the tares. If they had pulled the weeds when they first started growing, then they would not have had the problem of the tares taking over the field.

I’ve learned with my own gardening that it’s easiest if I start to pull weeds when I first begin to see them; otherwise, it starts to get out of hand and eventually overruns the whole flower bed. It doesn’t matter how pretty the flowers are, if I don’t pull the weeds they will ruin the beauty of the flowers.

Our life is like a flower bed. There are a lot of pretty flowers that God places in our life, but the weeds we allow to grow in our life destroy the good. In my own life, I have to be sure to take care of the weeds. The weeds in our life is sin. Sin will ruin the flower bed of our life if we don’t take care of them. Let me give you some thoughts about weeds and how to take care of them.

1. There are no flower beds without weeds.

Let’s be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that we all have sin that we need to take care of. God says in Romans 3:10, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” Notice, if none are righteous, then all have sinned. God says in 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” You can ignore the weeds of sin in your life, but you are only hurting yourself. Let the Word of God show you the weeds in your life. Ask God to show you the weeds so that you can get rid of them.

2. There are no pretty weeds.

Have you ever seen what you thought was a flower only to find out that it was a weed? Sometimes those pretty little weeds seem harmless, but they are still a weed, and they will still hurt the rest of the flowers. If we are not careful, we will think that our sin is not that ugly. Ladies, all sin is ugly! You have got to stop looking at the weeds of others and look at how ugly your weeds are. Don’t ever get to the point where you don’t think your sins are that bad. All sin is bad, and all sin is ugly.

3. Weeds grow faster than plants.

It always amazes me how you can plant flowers and expect them to blossom quickly, yet before you know it the weeds have already started growing and blooming. You must be careful not to allow sin to give you pleasure. Hebrews 11:25 tells us that sin will give pleasure when it says, “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;” Yes, just like a weed, sin grows fast. It may even seem harmless for awhile, but Proverbs 16:25 reminds us about the end of sin when it says, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” You must be patient with the flowers of your life, and keep the weeds of sin out. You can get discouraged if you allow how rapidly sin grows to overshadow the true flowers that are taking root in your life. Don’t let the weeds of sin grow in your life. They may be enjoyable for a season, but they are heartache in the end.

4. Weeds will take over the good.

Just like the tares in the parable began to take over the wheat field, sin will begin to take over your life and control you. Proverbs 5:22 says, “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.” If you don’t care of the weeds of sin in your life, before long you will find your life is filled with sin. Sin always starts small, but like a weed it will grow quickly to the point that you are under its control. You must get rid of the weeds of sin if you want the flowers of your life to bloom.

5. Weeds must be take care of early.

The best time to take care of weeds is when they are small. We hear preachers often say to keep a short account with God, and they are right. They are trying to get us to get rid of the sin at the beginning. I have found that if I pull the weeds when they are small and barely coming up that I will have an easier time keeping the weeds out of the flower bed. Likewise, if you will get rid of sin in the early stages, then you will never have to be concerned about them taking over the flower bed of your life.

6. You kill the weeds by killing the roots.

It’s so easy when you are pulling weeds to only pull off the green part of the weed. The problem with that is you are not killing the roots. You may be putting a temporary fix to the weed, but the weed is still there. We often try to cover our sin but don’t take care of its root. When we are caught in sin, we tell people, “I’m sorry,” but “I’m sorry” doesn’t get rid of the root. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If you are going to remove the weed of sin, then you must get rid of its roots by confessing them to God and forsaking the sin. Don’t just say, “I’m sorry,” but get rid of it.

God wants your life to be like a pretty flower bed that shows the beauty of Christ to this world. If we let weeds grow in our life, the world will not see the beauty. As unpleasant as it is to pull weeds, don’t let the unpleasantness keep you from getting rid of your sin. If you take care of your sin early, then it will be a whole lot easier to take care of the new weeds and keep the flowers of God’s blessings blooming in your life.

Chosen for the “Special” Responsibility

CHOSEN FOR THE “SPECIAL” RESPONSIBILITY
by: Tamra Wenger

GOD HAS A PLAN! I am blessed to be a wife of 23 plus years and the mother of four very precious and special gifts from God, my children. My husband, Joe, wanted me to be a “full time” wife and a “stay-at-home” mom. So, I’m thankful for the opportunity to be able to invest in the lives of my children and to train them up in the way they should go.

While I would love to elaborate on all of my children, let me tell you about our Skylar. We call her our “two minute baby.” We had planned to induce labor for all of our children, but the morning Skylar was scheduled for inducement, she woke me up at 5:30 A.M. by putting me into labor! By the time I got to the hospital, she was born two minutes later. She was so beautiful and everything seemed to be “normal.” Forty-five minutes after arriving, she even pulled my mother’s glasses off of her face.

We were so excited about our new arrival!

As with all of our children, the first few months were a time to begin learning about this precious gift God gave to us. We learned that she was not able to tolerate regular baby formula, and almost a year later we discovered she was allergic to soy milk as well. Through much trial and error, Skylar ended up on rice milk. It was not long before we started to notice that she was not meeting typical childhood milestones. She started crawling when she was about sixteen months and walking about two years of age. Both of which are twice the normal time frame. About the time most kids start saying, “Momma” and “Dada,” our Skylar was still making nothing but baby sounds. At almost fifteen years of age, she still speaks a lot of “baby-talk.” Most children are potty-trained by age five, currently Skylar is not completely there.

No parent wants to admit that their child is abnormal. Going into denial about there being something wrong with your child is common. Some even start playing the “blame-game” to figure out who “caused” this situation and why God would “punish” us this way. Emotions could run high as well as tempers being short. Fortunately, we never went there as through the years God already taught my Honey and me that He is always in control and always has a plan.

For many years whenever we asked, doctors would only use the term “developmentally delayed.” To me, “delayed” meant that she would eventually catch up. I can vividly remember the day that I took Skylar to the children’s hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. There, the doctors finally gave her the official diagnoses of being “moderately retarded.” It hit me like a ton a bricks. I realized that she was not going to get “caught up” this side of Heaven and that she would depend on my husband and me for the rest of her life. So much for ever being “empty nesters.”

God, through Skylar, has taught us many things through the years. Here are a few things which have helped me the most.

1. We realize that Skylar opens doors. She can open the door to talking to people everyday that we cannot. That is why my husband wrote a Gospel tract with Skylar’s picture on it. We wanted her to have a voice in giving a clear presentation of knowing how to go to Heaven. We let her give that track out to everyone who strikes up a conversation with her. She loves going “soul winning!”

2. We learned to appreciate the “small” things in life. Although everything came easily to our other children, we have celebrated every “little” accomplishment with Skylar. She has helped us appreciate all victories, regardless of size. From her learning to go potty, and or her being able to speak a complete sentence that is relative to the situation. There are times she simply amazes us by knowing a particular word. Even the task of her learning to turn a page in a book was a blessing to watch.

3. Skylar has been our family’s best teacher. When I grew up, I was not around special needs people. Whenever I saw them, I was afraid to talk to them. My children, however, have no such problem talking to anyone, much less to someone special! They have learned to reach out and love on others and to be blessings and encouraging to others.

Being the mother of a special needs child has its own set of challenges and rewards. Let’s stop for a minute and remember that God CHOSE us for the “special” responsibility of being their parents, their voices and their avenues to make their lives count for Christ.

Tamra Wenger
Longview Baptist Temple
Longview, TX

Are You Being Wiled?

Are-You-Being-Wiled ARE YOU BEING WILED?
by: Bette Owens

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11

Living for Christ here in this world is like a child walking through a candy store without wanting some candy. There are so many things in life that can tempt us as Christians. We already know what the world has to offer, but find it hard to believe that everything it has to offer is a trick of the Devil to trap us. Ephesians 6:11 talks about the wiles of the Devil. To wile someone you would persuade them or even manipulate them to do what you want. Wiles are the tricky, sly and deceitful things that the Devil uses to draw us away from God and His will. The Devil is an expert at distracting our attention away from God’s plan for us. In 1 Peter 5:8 it says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” We have to be alert and always watching. We cannot just sit back and get relaxed in our Christian life. The Devil is constantly seeking to lure us into his trap. That old Devil wants nothing better than to wile us.

Yes, Satan wants to wile you; he desires to woo you away from godliness to unholiness, he loves to make a fool of us and our Christian testimony, but he is sly. The Devil slowly gets our attention. He uses any means he can to slowly pull us away from Christ. He uses things like television, internet, magazines, ungodly friends, laziness and even disgruntled Christians. Before long we are thinking just like the world and we don’t even realize that we’ve been manipulated into a trap.

That old Devil slowly introduces us to things that are not of God. He gets us acquainted with something or someone who slowly lures us away from God and His Word. He will use seemingly innocent things that are appealing to us, but have no real eternal value for us. He knows exactly what will attract us. He knows just what each and every one of us are attracted to and what he can use to lure us. Just one little glance, just one little thought, little by little, inch by inch and before long we know all about that worldly idea. Oh, we think we know right from wrong, we think we are strong; but pretty soon, even what we know as wrong we are involved in, all because we looked briefly and tasted. The Devil is good at blurring our decision maker, and before you know it we are involved in things that are against God and the Bible and they are destroying us. Before you know it, we are lured away and involved in ungodly ideas and deeds.

The Devil also uses things that “seem” good to lure us away from God. He will use family, friends, a new baby, grandchildren, a job, and even sickness to get us off-track. I know many ladies who were busy serving in the church, going soul winning and teaching Sunday school, but when God blessed them with a baby, they stopped serving the Lord. The Devil uses that sweet little baby to lure us away from faithfulness, and before you know it the nursery isn’t good enough for your baby, and you get off-track and get farther and farther away from God. It happens with grandchildren. We can’t wait to be blessed with grandchildren, but when the grandchild arrives, we stop doing what we were doing for God because we are now a grandmother and it is time to retire and spend time with our grandchildren. Yes, mom and grand-mom, the Devil can use your child to wile you away from God. How about the friends that we have? If we are not careful the Devil will use them to wile us into his trap. We get so close to our friends that we don’t even realize Satan has used them to wile us. Just because you have a good friend doesn’t mean that Satan cannot use them to wile you.

If one of your children is getting married, you’d better be careful, because you can get so wrapped up with wedding plans that, before you know it, that old sly fox has you. Something as seemingly harmless as reading a book with only one worldly idea can put all kinds of wrong ideas in our minds. We have to be careful, we have to be on guard at all times and daily watch out for the wiles of the Devil. That old Devil knows how to slowly slip in and draw us away before we even realize what is going on. The only way to resist Satan is by getting in God’s Word and using His Sword to recognize and fight off the wiles as they come.

When we are tricked by the wiles of the Devil, we end up far away from Christ. The wiles of the Devil cause us to have a broken relationship with Jesus Christ. Sin and Christ cannot mix. Being trapped by the Devil is a scary place to be but so is being wiled by the Devil. We don’t want to be in his trap, but often we see no problem with his wiles. If you don’t want to be devoured by Satan, then keep a spiritual eye out for his wiles. The Devil is so sly that by the time we realize what is going on, our relationship with God is already destroyed and then we start to wonder how we got so off-track.

The wiles of the Devil are small tiny steps in the wrong direction that trap us into ungodliness. We need to make sure we are watching out for the wiles of the Devil. If we aren’t watching out for those little things that creep in, we will easily get caught in the big snare of the Devil. The only way we can stand against the wiles of the Devil is by obeying.

Ephesians 6: 11-18 says, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

We need to make sure we daily fill ourselves with the truth; God’s Word is Truth. We need to live righteous lives, obedient to every word of God. We need to make sure we are winning souls and spreading the Gospel. We need to live by faith, and that faith needs to be in Jesus Christ and His Word alone. We need to pick up our helmet of salvation and realize that if God is powerful enough to save from Hell, then His weapons are powerful enough against the wiles of the Devil. The sword of the Spirit, God’s Word, is our most effective weapon against the Devil, this evil world and our flesh. We need to read It, study It and memorize It. When the wiles come, will you recognize and avoid them, thus avoiding the Devil’s traps?

Mrs. Bette Owens
Pastor’s wife
Westside Baptist Church
Pacifica, CA