Have you ever noticed that some of the saddest words in the English language begin with the letter "D"?  Words like disappointment, doubt, disillusionment, defeat, despair and death.  Human hope is a fragile thing and when it withers away it is difficult to revive.  Hopelessness is a disease of the human spirit and it is very difficult to cure. We find signs of it everywhere.
 
Even many Christians today have lost their hope.  We see what is going in the world.  We see what is happening to our families. We see what is happening in our churches and even in our country.  We become hopeless and we give in to that feeling of hopelessness.  

The last thing that someone needs who is feeling hopeless is a brisk cheering- up talk and they do not need to be told to “snap out of it”.  Let us love them by listening to them and we can pray with them and we can pray for them and perhaps even cry with them.
 
The events unfolding around the world today are another significant step closer to the conclusion of history as described in the scriptures. I am not seeking to sensationalize the political and military actions being taken but to share with you my conviction that we must not overlook their significance to the spiritual climate of the world.  Many non-Christian people are sensing for the first time a genuine hopelessness. An anxiety as to how this escalating conflict will radically change life on this planet. A fear of increasing terrorist attacks, political fanaticism, global pandemic and social unrest.  What hope can there possibly be for a better world for our children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren?  Where can we find hope for the present, let alone our future?  Where can our friends, family, neighbors. co-workers and people turn to for hope?
 
The Bible fully understands that hope is vital to all living people.  In Proverbs 13:12 scripture tells us that Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
 
There are so many ways that HOPE is shattered in this day and age.  Through broken bodies: sickness, disease, and disasters.  Broken homes through divorces, violence, debt, and death.  Through broken lives:  drugs, alcohol, crime, desertion.  Broken dreams: ambition, failure, defeats, disappointments.  These all seem to be symptoms of our modern society and today they are affecting millions of people, depriving them of peace, happiness and ultimately hope.
 
Science tells us that “we can live forty days without food, eight days without water, four minutes without air, but only a few seconds without hope”    But what do we really mean by HOPE?

In the Bible the word used in the Greek is Elpis and means ‘a favorable and confident expectation’. It has to do with a positive vision of the unseen and the future.  Hope is not wishful thinking, or a vague ambition. Hope is not wanting things to turn out well, while remaining uncertain that they actually will.  Hope is the absolute certainty we have that God is good and that His promises are true and amen. Hope is actually personalized in Jesus himself, He is our hope!
 
Colossians 1:27 27 tell us To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:…….Christ in you, the hope of glory.
 
If you read the New Testament,  you will be challenged by those historical figures who are prominent in the New Testament.  You see that their hope, even in the midst of gloom and doom, is unbelievable!   They had more reasons to be hopeless than we do in this generation.  When the Church first began the social, political and economic conditions were unbearable.  Half of the people were slaves.  Most of the people were hungry.  They were paying more than half of whatever income they made to Imperial Rome.  There were continuous rebellions, uprisings, protests of all kinds.  History tells us that during the reign of Emperor Nero, Christians were executed by the thousands.  Nero is reported to have smeared the bodies of Christians with pitch and set them on fire as torches for his garden parties.  This is documented in history but the Christians did not let that stop them from maintaining.  They radiated HOPE even in the midst of adversity!  They talked about their hope in Jesus and they sang of their hope in Jesus.  They experienced the love of God through His Son Jesus Christ.  They had experienced His resurrection Power which was always transforming despair into hope, and death into life.  They counted themselves fortunate to have suffered for the cause of Christ.
 
This world needs people with a confident hope. Not a misplaced, weak and fragile hope but a secure hope. The words of Jesus himself teach us that things are going to get worse before they get better, especially for the Christian.
 
Matthew 24:6 - 8 says And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.   All these are the beginning of sorrows.
 
Our Lord is trying to warn us so that we may be prepared.  HE is saying -- see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must and will happen.  (All the prophecies in the Old Testament were fulfilled).  You see the reasons the world around us has for hopelessness are our very reasons for HOPE!  We see these happenings as distressing as everybody else, yet we see a reason to them and what they are pointing towards.  To convince others that there is hope we need ourselves to be convinced. God’s people are not expected to live dictated by world circumstances but by the principles and promises of God’s kingdom.  We have the greatest hope of all … and HIS NAME IS JESUS!!!!
 
Remember, "We wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." (Titus 2:13)
 
Keep looking up!

I remember the first time I saw that quote I said to myself what a great concept!  We usually gripe and complain when things happen to us that we did not expect but sometimes it is good to look at things differently.  I believe that quote is attributed to Dale Carnegie who used it in his 1948 book entitled: How To Stop Worrying and Start Living.  Lemons suggest sourness/tartness or difficulties in life; making lemonade is turning them into something sweeter, positive or desirable.

When things do not turn out as we expected, especially for Christians or Believers we feel as though God has abandoned us; but sometimes we need a different perspective. There is a hymn we used to sing in our churches many years ago it was titled: No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus.  The writer of that song spent most of his life as an itinerant evangelist and gospel songwriter.  The composer says that after returning home from an evangelistic crusade he found a note left by his wife of many years.  The note said she had enough of the evangelistic life and she left him.  The composer said that he became very despondent during the next several years. There were even times when he contemplated suicide.  Yes, there was the terrible despair he experienced because he believed that no one really cared for him any more.  But he said that gradually his spiritual faith was restored and he once again became active in Christian ministry.  Soon he felt compelled to write a song that became a summary of his past tragic experience.  From his broken heart came the words to the hymn:
                               No on ever cared for me like Jesus.
                               There’s no other friend so kind and true. 
                               No one else could take the sin and darkness from me. 
                               O  how much He Cared for me
 
Even in our darkest moments, much like the times we are seeing around us today, God has promised to care for us!
 
In Psalm 22 we see the words spoken by Jesus when HE was on the cross, those same words which many of us have said over the years:
                        "My God, my God…why have You forsaken Me?"
It was the most gut-wrenching cry of loneliness in history, and it came not from a prisoner or a widow or a patient. It came from a hill, from a cross, from the Messiah: "My God, my God," he cried out , "why did you abandon me!"
 
Never have words carried such hurt and anguish. Never has one BEING been so lonely. The despair is darker than the sky. The two who had been one are now two.  Jesus knows your pain and your isolations and He is there with you which means you are not as alone as you might think or feel you are! Keep your focus on Jesus and pray to feel His embrace in your life.
 
Perhaps this story will help you.  After an accident in which she lost her arm, a girl named Jamie refused to go to school or church for an entire year. Finally the young teen thought she could face her peers. In preparation, her mother called her Sunday school teacher and asked that he not call attention to Jamie. The teacher promised, but when he got sick on Sunday morning and had to call a substitute, he forgot to tell the second teacher.  At the conclusion of the lesson that day, which was about inviting friends to church, the substitute led the class in doing the hand motions to the familiar children’s poem:
 
Here’s the church,  Here are the people, Open the door, See all the people.
Jamie’s eyes filled with tears she only had one arm. However, a young boy realized how she might be feeling. He knelt beside her. With one hand apiece, they supported each other, making the church, steeple, and people. Together they illustrated what the real church is all about.

The devil wants you isolated and in despair, But Jesus wants you connected to Him and to His people. You may not see Him, you may not feel Him, but standing right beside you at every moment is your loving Heavenly Father.  He is there He will always be there, Jesus said I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU OR FORSAKE YOU! I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU!

Jesus is given many titles in the Bible. Perhaps none is as endearing as Emmanuel (God with us). It speaks of his constant, continual presence in our lives. May you be encouraged as you think upon that title.  You may be worn out. You may be beat down. You may be discouraged. You may feel like nothing is going right in your life. You may feel like a failure. But I am here to tell you today: Whether you are on the mountain top or in the valley…you can trust God…He is faithful.

When we look back at the Crucifixion of Jesus. I believe that the betrayal of Judas was worse than the beatings for Jesus.  Yes, there was the desertion of the disciples, the humiliation of the crucifixion, being spit upon, the crown of thorns, the nails in His hands, the mocking, the emotional torment, and even the mental torment. None of these compared to what He was facing at that moment on the Cross.  This was the worst moment of the Crucifixion. Jesus is all alone at this moment in His life. Not even the Father is with Him.  He cries out to God.  That is what we need to do when life is handing us lemons, we need to take it to the Lord in prayer because He knows what that is like.  He loves and cares for us.  Do you believe it?  Trust HIM.  JESUS can turn things around!

We all have favorite verses in the Bible and one of mine is Proverbs 3:5 - 6.
          [5] Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding.
          [6] In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.  (KJV)
 
In the King James Version of the Bible trust is mentioned 134 times!  Did you know that the verses above were written by King Solomon.  However, Solomon wrote more wisely than he lived.  Even though he was blessed with great wisdom, he did not follow God’s plans for marriage.  He had 700 wives and 300 concubines.  You see on the subject of women, Solomon followed what I like to call the Frank Sinatra School of Theology - “I did it my way.”  Unfortunately, we are no different.  We read the Bible.  We pray.  We hear messages preached when we attend church; but we still want to do things our own way.
 
Solomon was a great king.  He wrote 3,000 proverbs.  He wrote 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:31-32).  Yes, Solomon had been given great wisdom and very great insight and he had a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand of the seashore.  Solomon was a philosopher, a scientist,  he was the one who built the temple under God’s direction.  In fact, that temple was one of the wonders of the world.  He far surpassed the Egyptians who were considered at that time to be the greatest scholars.   Remember, not only was Israel blessed, but so did every nation that took advantage of Solomon’s wisdom.
 
What does it mean to TRUST?  It is basically to have confidence, to believe in the steadfastness of our Lord.  If we really trust the Lord we should not find it difficult to surrender to Him.  I get the picture in my mind of something my children did when they were young.  Have you ever seen a young child jump into their father or grandfather’s arms?  Yes, my children would do that.  They would go up a few steps and yell, “Dad or Pop catch me!”  There would be such joy on their faces.  They trusted.
 
But over the years I have heard people say: I can’t trust God, I can’t trust Jesus.   I don’t see them.  I need something tangible.  That is when I would tell them; you trust that the alarm clock is going to wake you up for work.  You trust that the mechanic properly fixed your brakes on the car when you take it out of the shop. You trust that the workers at your favorite fast food chain washed their hands after their last bathroom break.  What about those of you who have been sick recently; you trusted the Doctor whose name you could not pronounce.  Yes, you saw degrees on the wall but you never actually checked them out.  That Doctor wrote you a prescription you couldn’t read.  Then you took it to a pharmacist you have never met and she/or he gives you a chemical compound and you go home and take those pills according to the instructions on the bottle.  All of this encompasses TRUST.
 
In a world of distrust whom can we trust? 
Solomon tells us about the one and only person we can always trust - He is the Lord, Jesus Christ.  We do not put trust in ourselves, or our abilities, not in our education, not in our money, the only one worth trusting is the Lord.   

Have we given the Lord our entire heart? 
You see, living the Christian life is fairly easy if everything is going our way; but if we add a little stress, a little hardship, a little despair we quickly find ourselves at a fork in the road.  Are we going to rest and trust the Lord or are we going to go our own way?  We must accept that God’s promises are true even when He seems to be so far away.
 
The Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation while on the barren island of Patmos; it was not Paradise Island.  John Bunyan completed the classic book, Pilgrims Progress while in jail.  Beethoven composed his immortal 9th symphony while totally deaf and Fanny Crosby once remarked that if she had not lost her sight she would never have written all the hymns God gave her; the thousands of hymns in most of our hymn books.
 
We need to recognize, to concede, to confess, to acknowledge who Jesus really is to us.    We need to acknowledge His presence, His power, His purpose and His promises at all times.  Most of the time we don’t want to give up control concerning our spiritual lives.    Let me give you an example.  I lived in New Jersey for most of my life.  Land is so tight that valet parking is provided for hospitals, restaurants, theaters, museums, etc. in the New York and New Jersey areas. To park your car you must hand over your keys to the parking valet and he brings your car to a large parking area or a parking garage which has many levels.  Then he puts the keys to your car on a pegboard and if you look at that pegboard there are hundreds of others keys there also and they all look the same.   And if you watch them drive your car –NASCAR has nothing on them!  You see, we have no trouble handing over our car keys to a valet but we hesitate to hand over our lives to the Lord, the One who died for us, the One who loves us unconditionally. Yes, we fight the Lord but we are the fools for He has the best in mind for us.  But we need to simply place our Faith exclusively in Christ Jesus and what He has done for us at the Cross, which then gives the Holy Spirit room to work in our lives. (Romans 8:1-2 and 11).
 
There’s a song that we sing in church and it is titled: I’m Trusting You, Lord.
                        I’m trusting You, Lord , I’m trusting You
                       You’ve been so faithful, You’ve been so true
                       You never failed me like I failed you
                        I’m trusting You, Lord. I’m trusting You
 
 
Well. are you going to Trust Him or are you going to go it alone?      Choose wisely!

In Genesis 11 there is a passage in the Old Testament and it is titled the Tower of Babel.  In these verses we are introduced to a man named Nimrod.  He is the leader of the Kingdom of Babel.  After the Great Flood Nimrod decided that he would build a tower too high for the waters to ever reach the world again.  So Nimrod’s reasoning for building the Tower was to protect humanity against another flood.  But the real reason for the Flood was man’s wickedness and rebellion which we read about in Genesis 6:5-6, from which man refused to repent. Nimrod looked like a great guy to the outside world.  He looked as if he really cared about the people.
 
Babel means ‘confusion'. It’s where we get the word ‘babble’.   Man without God is confused, and only God can help man ’rise up’ and make sense of things.  After the Flood, God commanded man to spread abroad, replenish and fill the earth.  God told Noah and his sons to scatter themselves abroad across the earth, but instead their descendants came together at Babel.  It was man’s first attempt at a one-world movement.  Some things never change!
 
However, we see that Nimrod was rebellious against God.  He ”persuaded” his subjects not to credit their strength to God but that they were courageous through Nimrod’s leadership.  So as they were building this Tower that was to reach to heaven the construction of the Tower of Babel ended with a show of God’s power.  We forget that our arms are too short to box with God.  Nimrod’s plan backfired for the Lord confused the language of the people making it impossible for them to communicate effectively enough to finish the construction of the tower. 
 
Nimrod was proven wrong.  All of man’s strength and ability even the strength of the mightiest of men is a gift from God that He can choose to revoke at any time.  Nimrod wanted to be a king.  He wanted to build a tower to heaven.  But God never asked him to do that.  That was the evil within him.  The work stopped because there was a break down in communication.  The people were encouraged to be greater than God and God took care of the situation.  Since the people were unable to communicate with one another production on the Tower came to a screeching halt.   God doesn’t tolerate rebellion! He judges rebellion.

So in Genesis we see the rise of the first tyrant or world dictator, Nimrod.  He set out to build the first empire upon the earth.  His name means to rebel or to revolt and he lived up to the meaning of his name.   Yes, he was considered a mighty hunter, it can mean to hunt animals but it can also mean to hunt people in order to enslave them.  He wanted to gain dominion over other people.  Nimrod was in rebellion against God, but remember; he’s also very influential, and he’s very wealthy and powerful. So the first lesson we can learn from that is that wealth and power aren’t always a good indicator of how good a relationship a person has with God. Power, wealth, and influence can all be found in abundance in the world, or within the Church. God causes it to rain on the just and the unjust alike.

From this passage in Genesis we see that Nimrod sought to rule over people to control as many people and lands as he could.  He wanted to enslave people attacking them as though they were mere animals for the hunt.  He hunted people by force, violence and tyranny that oppressed people and enslaved them to his will and purposes.  Nimrod rebelled against God.  Nimrod led the people away from God by encouraging them to put their security and happiness in the state or government.  He led the people to build the empire of Babylon, and the Tower of Babel, all in defiance of God (Genesis 11:1-9)  Nimrod was the first world dictator, the first world tyrant, who set out to build a worldwide empire.  Nimrod ignored the God of Moses and the result was catastrophic.

His grandfather, and great-grandfather along with the others who survived the great flood left a great legacy to their family. Out of all mankind they were the only ones who believed God. They had found grace in the sight of God. After the floods receded from the earth, the first thing that his great- grandfather Noah did when he came from the ark was to build an altar, and offer a sacrifice to the Lord. This was something that pleased the Lord.  But Nimrod would have nothing to do with the faith of his ancestors. Instead of learning from their experiences, he rebelled against their teachings and practices.
He disobeyed the principles and promises of God.
 
Nimrod had been given quite a legacy to carry forward, but he rebelled against it, and he would have no part of it. His family had found grace in the eyes of the Lord, but he preferred trying to make it on his own. His ambition......."to make a name for himself"  and what happened?  He basically set up his own religion.   Grace glorifies the Lord while religion glorifies the man!
 
            Noah, Nimrod’s great- grandfather built an ark so that his family might be saved!

                        Nimrod built a tower so that he could make a name for himself! 

We see these two attitudes still at work in our society today.  Some are concerned about the family structure, the salvation of their family and children; while others are only concerned about the making of a name for themselves.  Noah followed the blueprint of God! Nimrod had plans of his own.  His religion was secular.  Nimrod’s religion is the harlot mentioned in Revelation 17:5-6.  The true church is one that is a bride without spot, and without blemish.  The World’s church is one that is a harlot. It is filled with blasphemy, abominations and filthiness!  If your Church is not glorifying Jesus Christ and Him Crucified then it is labeled by the Lord as harlots and abominations.  Regrettably that includes much of modern Christianity as well.
 
So….How do you want to be remembered?  Do you want your name to just be a blot in history or do you want to leave a legacy?   What is your legacy?  Many want to leave monetary legacies and empires.     However, I believe that the most important legacy we can leave this world is our commitment to our faith in Jesus Christ.  Have we passed on our faith on to our mates, our children, our friends, our family members, our loved ones, those that we met over the years?  Have we passed our faith on to all who would hear about the faith, hope and love of Jesus Christ.
 
I want my legacy to be that I served the Lord.  I want as many generations as possible to be able to look at what I did with my life and realize that the most important thing in my life was my love for God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and sharing and teaching others about Him. I challenge you today to resolve to leave your faith as a legacy for those that come behind you.
 
Remember pride is a deadly virus that will eat away at you and me emotionally and spiritually. It is a great deceiver.  Pride has destroyed more marriages and churches than any other thing.  Nimrod was attempting to build a world empire without the blessing or direction of God.   It is a good practice for each us, from time to time, to check our lives and see what direction our lives are taking.    If you find that your life is not following God's direction......it is time to change direction!

My dad was the Pastor of our church before I became the pastor.  I was the third pastor of our home church.  Our first Pastor ministered and took care of two churches for 50 years.  My dad was born and raised in the faith and helped the Pastor at one of the churches.  I remember him saying many times that when people get converted, they sometimes develop an attitude that says: “I am better than other people.”  Today, we would call them elitists. I am speaking of Believers who sometimes get snobby.  Yes, even Christians, even Believers begin to believe that they are Super Christians.  That God owes them something for getting saved.  Then, if things don’t go their way they start whining and saying” “Where is God in all of this?”  My father used to say that just because you get saved God does not roll out the red carpet for you.  He would say that on the red carpet the only thing that is of any importance is the red blood of Jesus Christ.
 
I am quite sure we have all seen the Red Carpet rolled out when Hollywood gives out Academy Awards.  You see what has happened to us; we begin to take on the world’s ways and the world’s thinking.  We think that is what God should be doing for us.  We see the women wearing dresses valued at $10,000 and they are wearing jewelry worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.  We begin to think that God owes us.  BUT that is not what the Christian life is to be like.  You know what happens….even Believers get tainted by the world.  We think that we are entitled to certain things and rewards because we are children of the King of Kings.
 
I remember a phone call that I received from a young woman.  She and her husband were Pastoring a church.  She said that she started thinking of all the good she and her husband had been doing for the Kingdom of God.  But then her voice went low, she said that she was beginning to develop a prideful attitude.  One night she asked the Lord to show her, her rewards.  Oh, she said he showed her.  She told me that she dreamed that she died and went to heaven and she saw this bright light.  She could not see the face of the Lord because the light was so bright.  And around the throne were all sorts of crowns: large, medium and small.  Oh, they were beautiful and sparkling.  She said that she said to herself, “Oh these must be MY crowns.”  Then in the dream she saw the hand of the Lord touch the crowns and they all burned up like dross, like trash, like garbage, like they were worthless-just the way the Bible describes it.  All that was left was a teeny, tiny crown, the smallest crown you could hardly see.  In fact, it was so small it could not even fit on the end of her pinkie finger.  She said all that she could do was to cry out to the Lord: “Forgive me for my rotten, stinking prideful attitude.”
 
Some of you may be saying well, it is not right to speak to God like that.  “We should not ask Him a question such as did this woman.”  All the years of my life in the church I have heard people say it is not respectful to ask God why?  Yes, we must be respectful of our Lord.  But He is not offended by our honesty and sincerity.  We all forget that the Bible tells us that He already knows what we are thinking.  He knows our questions. He even knows our motives and most of the time we don’t know our motives.  I truly believe that we do not want to ask Our Lord about certain things because then we would have to do what He asks of us and we may not like the answer.
 
In the Old Testament there is a small book that only has 3 chapters - Habakkuk. It is the name of the prophet.  Here, we have a great example of a man of God who was not afraid to ask God the tough questions that really bothered him.  Most prophets spoke to the people for God.  Habakkuk spoke to God for the people.  He lived in times that were hard on the faith.  He saw the righteous suffering and the wicked prospering.  He asked God two questions that we often ask: ”Why?”  and “How long?”  He wanted to know why are these things happening and how long before they are corrected.  We need to go head and ask God but ask sincerely, correctly and humbly.  Habakkuk is one of the good guys.  He fears God and does what is right but it is getting him nowhere.   When you get to the end of his book his name which means “to embrace or wrestle” becomes appropriate.  He chooses to cling firmly to God regardless of what happens to his nation. (Habakkuk 3:16-19)    That is the final conclusion we need to come to in our lives.  Regardless of what happens in our lives, or in the lives of our family or what happens in our country; our final conclusion must be to cling firmly to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He is our refuge and our strength.  He is our strong rock, our fortress, our deliverer. 
 
We learn from Habakkuk the progression he went through.  He goes from questioning God to trusting God.  Habakkuk would be right at home in our society today.   We witness murderers getting away with punishment because of a technicality.  We see terrorists allowed to go free.  We witness the persecution of Christians world-wide and no newspaper or television news outlets report it.  If it weren’t for the religious organizations we would know nothing about the world-wide persecution. But that was when Habakkuk cried out to the Lord and maybe that is what we Christians need to do: Cry out to Our Lord and start praying. 

Remember God never turns away the honest and sincere seeker.  Go to God with your questions.  You may not find all the answers but in finding God you then know the One who does.

Do you truly believe that every day, every minute, every breath you take is truly a gift from God?  There is a verse in Proverbs 27:1 that says: Boast not yourself of tomorrow for you know not what a day may bring forth.  This verse means we are not to brag about tomorrow because tomorrows are the frailest things in all of creation.
 
In the Bible there is a passage in Luke 12:16-20 about a rich fool who boasted of his "tomorrows".  He had so much that he was going to pull down his old barns and build bigger, newer barns.  BUT what did God say to him?  You fool…this night your soul will be required of you.  This is not only for rich people but also for the poor as well.  We forget that ALL our blessings come from God.  The rich man had provided for the flesh, but he had not provided for his soul.
 
Is this passage speaking to you?  You see, sooner or later this night will come to each of us.  In modern day English that means we will be out of here one day.  Today may be your last day.  What have you sent ahead for your soul?  So, how would you live if you knew you only had one week to live?  From time to time it is necessary for us to deal with our own mortality.  The statistics tell us that 100% of all humans will die. 
 
I remember reading about W.C.Fields, the old time vaudeville comic and early movie actor.  A story was once told about him.  Fields was dying and he had a friend who was a Christian and every day this friend would go to see him.  He would tell him about Jesus and the need to give his heart to the Lord so that when he died he would go to heaven.  But Fields would not listen.  However, one day his friend came in the house and found Fields reading the Bible.  His neighbor was excited he said to him “What are you doing?”  Fields replied “I am looking for a loophole.”   Many people today are looking for loopholes. 
 
If this week were to be your last week, I would guess that many people would repent. But you see the theology in many religious circles today says that repentance is old-fashioned and out of date.  It is a religious relic from the dark ages of hellfire and brimstone preaching.  But it was not obsolete in the mind of Jesus because in Luke 13:3 Jesus said: Except you repent, you shall likewise perish.  Isn’t it better to keep our souls on a current day-by-day basis because we never know when God will audit our books. 
 
Some of you may be saying that this is for old people but I am a young person, I have my whole life ahead of me.  Just listen, watch and read the news on a daily basis and you soon see that all age groups die.  We should be reading our Bibles but study after study in the last 25 years has revealed that American Christians increasingly do not read their Bibles.  They don’t engage their Bibles.  They don’t know their Bibles.  We are now living in a post- biblical culture.  Why?  Because whether it is the internet, video games, the TV, the Smart Phones, Social media, increased time spent on entertainment and sports, everything else takes up our time.   Americans are spending less time between the pages of reading ANY kind of book, not just the Good Book. And it is not because we do not have Bibles; the average American has at least 3 Bibles in their homes.  You can download a Bible for free or you can even steal a Gideon Bible from your hotel room, if you are so inclined.
 
If you only had one week to live I would guess that a person would pray.  In the Bible when the prophet came to tell King Hezekiah that he was going to die, he prayed and God answered by extending his life for 15 more years.  That is not always the case.  Most people see praying as a last resort rather than a first reaction.
 
Others I guess would give up everything they owned to God. Now I will give to spreading the gospel.  Our money can’t bribe the undertaker neither can it influence God to finance another heartbeat. We cannot write out a check for our breath.
 
Perhaps you would spend that last week in church.  Some folks never come to church until the hearse and pallbearers bring them in the doors.    I am quite sure that if people knew they had a week to live they would say I would make things right with everyone.  Eternity has a strange way of changing our attitudes toward people.  For others they would begin to think of heaven.  Many times we Christians have the attitude that heaven means no urgency.  Any day now I will get ready to die.
 
Each of us has no guarantee of tomorrow.  I read a quote many years ago that said:
Yesterday is a canceled check
Tomorrow is a promissory note
Today is the only cash that you have...Spend it wisely
 
Especially in these uncertain days, we must each ask ourselves "how will I spend my last week"?

There has never been a time when you were unloved by God.  I know many, many people do not believe that statement, but it is true.  God’s love is perfect, faithful, unconditional, forgiving, all-encompassing, pure, lasting, sacrificial, strong, enduring, refreshing, redeeming, everlasting, lavish, full, inspiring, hope-filled, gracious, and so much more. It’s never based on us, our abilities, or striving to ever be good enough. It’s found in Him, His character, and a huge capacity to give. It knows no boundaries and has no limits. There’s no place too deep that His love can’t reach us still. As the old hymn says:  “He can reach way down to pick us up.”
 
Over the years, He has cared for us, thought about us on a moment-by-moment basis, and never resisted the idea of loving us.  He has been willing to laugh with us, cry with us, and listen to us describe every detail of our lives.  When the world rejects you, God is your constant Friend who accepts you just as you are.   I know many times people see and think of God as an ogre with a heavy hand ready to knock us down but that is not the God of the Bible.
 
The problem we face is not God loving us, but how we love Him.  Do we truly know how to experience the love He has for us?  Can we accept the fact that He loves us unconditionally, and that the plans He has for our lives are ones that overflow with goodness and mercy and grace?  Think about this:  God does not withhold anything in loving us.  He gave everything He had to give when He extended His love to us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  His love is a free gift of grace.  All that we need to do in order to have this love is to accept it, claim it and cling to it.

So how do you perceive God?  Several years ago, a student in seminary class stood to his feet and announced to the professor, "I don't believe in God!" The professor, unraveled, replied, "Describe this God you don't believe in?" After the student had described an unlovely and vengeful God, the professor confessed, "I don't believe in that God either. My God is a God of love."

It is so difficult to describe God’s love. How do you describe a rose to a blind person? How do you describe Handle's Hallelujah Chorus to a deaf person? How do you describe the thrill of down hill skiing to one who has never walked? How do you describe the impeccable, infinite love of God to impure, finite human beings?
One of the most vivid characteristics of God is that He is a God of love. The Psalmist was descriptive in recording the love-nature of God. He stated that he was "abounding in love" (Psalm 103:8 NIV), "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His  love for those who fear Him" (Psalm 103:11 NIV), "As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him" (Psalm 103:13 NIV),  "But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’S love is with those who fear Him (Psalm 103:17).  (The word fear as used here means to respect, to honor and to worship Him!)

The point is not simply that God "loves," but that He is love itself. Love is not merely one of His attributes, but His very nature. The Scripture says, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (1 John 4:16 NIV). To say that God is love is not to imply that love is God. God is love means that God wants the very best for you. God has your best interest in mind. He wants to give you good gifts and provide you with "all His benefits" (Psalm 103:2, NIV).

God's love touches every part of our life. Nothing - no calling or circumstance, no adversity or advancement, no pain or promotion, no status or station - escapes the brush strokes of God's love. God's love bleeds into every fabric and fiber of our lives.  The number of times the three-lettered word "all" is used in Psalm 103 reminds us that God's love is all consuming. His love touches every area of our lives. There is nowhere we can go to escape His love. There is no problem that we will encounter that is not touched by His love. There is no advancement that we will make where God is not already there. Even when our world falls apart, we can say, "God, I don't know why this is happening. I don't understand it, but I'm sure glad to know you love me."

The Bible cuts through all the philosophical ideas and declares that God is a Person. As a personal being God is capable of loving and being loved. And as a personal being he loves each one of us intensely and personally. God's love is not simply for mankind as a mass. It is not a sentimental, vague, diffused feeling - something like Charlie Brown's attitude when he says, "I love mankind; it's people I can't stand." God really likes individual people.

When Karl Barth, the famed German theologian, visited the United States, a reporter at a dedication service asked: "Dr. Barth, what is the single most important truth you have learned as a theologian?"  Barth replied, "The most important thing I have learned is this: 'Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.'"

"Jesus loves me" is the central pronouncement of the Christian faith and the cornerstone of the nature of God.  When God says I love you, He is saying that you matter to Him!

You are a person of worth. 

You are valuable to Him.

Regardless of what others think, in His eyes you are wonderful.

Have a Great Day and Remember...God Has Always Loved You!

If I asked a question to those of you who are reading this article how would you answer?  The question is:    

                                How many of you would like to worry more? 

How many would raise your hands?  I am quite sure nobody would want to worry more.  Most of us worry unnecessarily about too many things already.  It is almost as though we search for problems to make ourselves stressed.  The amazing news is that much of what we worry about- does not matter at all.
 
For those of us who call ourselves Christians or Believers you know what?  We also tend to worry and are anxious at times.  What defines us as Christians?  Well, we truly believe that God can redeem us.  We truly believe that God can break the shackles of Satan.  We truly believe that God can take us from hell to heaven.  We truly believe that God can put us into His Kingdom.  We truly believe that God can give us eternal life.  We truly believe that God has control over our lives.  We truly believe that God can make a way when there seems to be no way.  BUT we just don’t think that God can get us through the next couple of days.
 
Now isn’t that pretty ridiculous?  We can believe God for the greater gifts but then we stumble and do not believe Him for the lesser things.  Do you know what that tells me and reveals to me….an embarrassing lack of faith.  Jesus addresses this topic of worry in Matthew 6:25-34.
25 “Therefore I say to you, Take no thought for your life (DO NOT WORRY), what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than meat and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Jesus is telling us that if we are worrying and have anxiety we are showing little faith.  It shows that we are not trusting our Heavenly Father and how He has supplied the needs of His people in the past.  In 1 Peter 5:7 we are told to cast all your care upon Him For He cares for you.  You are His concern.
 
When we worry and are anxious it can become a way of life.  It also gives us a false sense of importance; it is as if we are telling God that by worrying we are somehow making a difference.  Jesus tells us in Matthew- Not To Worry.
 
Another question.  Has all of the worry that you have done throughout your life, changed any situation?  Do you know that the English word “worry” comes from an old German word “wurgen” and it means to strangle or to choke.  The Greek word for worry is “merizo” and it means to divide, to rip or tear apart.  That is exactly what worry does to us it strangles us, it chokes us it can divide us and tear us apart.
 
When we look to Jesus as our Savior and His work on the cross it reconciles us with the peace our hearts long for in the middle of the trials and challenges of this life.  We need to put our trust in the Lord.
 
Let God worry about you, because after all He does care for you.  If you and I know that God is watching out for us we have nothing left to worry about and we can get on with the business of living by the will of God.
 
Choose wisely.

The TV remote, as we have come to know it, came into existence for one simple reason – one man’s desire to mute the commercials he felt were ruining his TV watching.  In America, during the 1950s, Zenith Electronics president Eugene F. McDonald gave the company’s engineers a challenge: he hated having to sit through commercials because they were ruining his TV watching.  He wanted a device that could let him mute them, or skip to another channel …where hopefully something other than commercials were playing. So, the remote control as we know it was born. McDonald’s desire became a revolution, changing the way we watch television.  We moved from a passive observer, to more of a ruthless overseer. If we didn’t like what we saw, a new channel was a click away.
 
Remote controls are one of the most universal symbols of our modern technologies. Some electronics enthusiasts might have a dozen remotes scattered on their coffee tables for their electronic equipment; even your friends who are not fans of electronics most likely have a handful of remotes at their disposal, controlling everything from TVs, air conditioners, security systems, car door locks, etc...and of course, all of us probably have at least one or two remotes permanently lost under the cushions of our couch.
 
In today's modern world, we can set our television to record from across the globe through a smartphone app.  We hardly have to lift a finger from the comfort of our chairs to control any home electronic device. We forget that people once had to get up to change the channel.  We tend to take the remote control for granted. It allows us to command our devices efficiently and reliably. Remote controls have come a long way—there are even wireless ones now!
 
BUT, as Americans we tend to take a good idea and run with it and we start treating everyone and everything the way we treat our electronics.  We mute them, and whenever we try to program people to think like us and when we can’t---we get frustrated! We shut them out, we can raise the volume when we do not like what we hear and then we close them down.  Look at all the ones who are trying to shut down people who have a different opinion or belief system than they do today.
 
Have you noticed we have done the same thing to God?  We treat God the way we treat our remote control.  We stiffen under the thought that someone else might be controlling us. In fact, many of us, if we’re honest, are control freaks. How many of you have issues of control when it comes to your personal life? This idea of control is deeply imbedded in our culture, our value of freedom and the American dream. The American Dream states that anyone can succeed through hard work and has the potential to lead a happy, successful life.  That is what the world teaches us.
 
For those of us who call ourselves Christians or Believers, Jesus is ALWAYS our best example.  Rather than choosing to control His own life, Jesus instead chose to surrender everything to the will of God, His Father.  When Jesus went into the wilderness and was tempted, it was an exercise over control of His life. Would He be in control or would He surrender it to God?  When Jesus was on the cross, He was tempted to take back control first by the passersby who cried out, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God! And second by the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders who mocked Him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! If He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.’” (Matthew 27:40)
 
But Jesus,  “humbled himself by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross!” Jesus would go on to confess, "I can do nothing on my own".(John 5:30)  And He calls those who follow him to do the same, “If anyone would come after me, let him DENY himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” ( Matthew16:24-25)
 
Jesus’ answer to our control problems: Surrender. We are called to surrender but we often harden our hearts and minds at the very idea. The last thing we want to do is give up control. Many of us still live under the illusion that we are in control of our lives, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. Times when we have taken control and messed up our own life is proof enough.  Still, letting go of control and giving it over to someone else, even God, is a frightening prospect. Maybe it's the word "surrender" which we usually associate with defeat, humiliation, and losing. Our world never considers surrender a good thing. No one wants to lose, and no one wants to admit defeat. We are taught instead never to give up and never give in. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable.
 
But when we surrender to God it is a different story. To surrender means to relinquish possession or control to another.  Surrendering isn’t losing or admitting defeat. It’s about victory in Jesus Christ because He calls us to surrender. It’s about becoming who we are called to be. Author and theologian C.S. Lewis was right when he said, “The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become- because He made us.”  
 
How do you know when you have surrendered yourself to Jesus?

You've surrendered to God when you rely on Him to work things out instead of trying to manipulate and force your agenda to control the situation and people. You let go and let God work. You let Him be in charge. Instead of trying harder, you trust more. When faced with a difficult trial, temptation or tribulation, you don’t ask, “What am I going to do now?" Instead you ask, "Lord, what are you going to do?” You don't rely on your own abilities and resources but God’s power and His provision. You place complete faith and trust in Christ, knowing that God is in control and that no matter what you face, with “God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
 
You have done it your way for so many years, how about you hand over the Remote Control to God in this New Year.

Recently, I was cleaning out a desk drawer and I came across something I had saved from many. many years ago.  This is a great allegory for our times.  An allegory is a story with two levels of meaning.  First, there's the external layer of the story; the characters and plot and all the obvious things that are instantly visible.  Secondly, there's the symbolic level, or the deeper meaning that represents all the things on the surface and what they represent symbolically.  This is a parable of faith and hope.
 
I tried to find out who wrote the article originally and I found out that this article has been circulating the internet for years.  Some claim it as an old French story, others credit it to the great inspirational write J.W.Nouwen,  still others list several other possibilities.  But I believe it is too good to let it not be printed for the times we are living in.  It not only represents birth but it also represents death all in the same article.  So to who ever wrote it, “Thank You.”
 
The title of the article is In A Mother’s Womb

In a mother’s womb were two babies.  One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?”

The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”

“Nonsense,” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”

The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths.  Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”

The first replied, “That is absurd! Walking is impossible! And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need.   But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.“

The second one insisted, “Well, I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here.  Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”

The first replied, “Nonsense.  And moreover if there is life, then why has no one ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion.  It takes us nowhere.”

“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet mother and she will take care of us.”
The first replied “Mother?!” You actually believe in mother?  That is laughable. If mother exists where is she now?”

The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her.  We are of her. It is in her that we live. Without her this world would not and could not exist.”

Said the first, “Well I don’t see her, so it’s only logical that she doesn’t exist.”

To which the second replied, “Right, but sometimes, when we are silent you can hear her singing or feel her caressing our world.  You know, I think there’s a real life waiting for us and now we are only preparing for that.”

And so the last days in the womb were filled with deep questioning and fear and finally the moment of birth arrived.  When the twins had passed from their world, they opened their eyes and cried, but what they saw exceeded their fondest dreams.  What they saw was the beautiful eyes of their mother, as they were cradled lovingly in her arms.  They saw the biggest smile of their father.  They were home!!!!

                                                                        #######


We hardly understand the birth process and we hardly understand about life after death. But they are very similar.  Our modern snobbishness, condescension and attitudes of self-importance have infiltrated our churches, our country and the world.  We now worship our own intelligence,  the “we know it all” attitude is now permeating all cultures.  We have been caught in the “snare of the fowler.”  Never have our egos been so big.  Satan has penetrated the church to change it, to change its message, to change its purpose, to distort the gospel and to wear down the saints.   There is nothing new under the sun.  When the first church began Satan put all of these same obstacles in the way; BUT GOD had the church grow.

When you are out and friends begin to speak listen to what they say about birth and life after death.  It will really amaze you.  If we would truly read the Bible and stop fighting God’s will for our lives; if we could just have the faith and humility to break free of our own self-importance we’d see quite plainly that we were made for so much more.

In 1 Corinthians 2:9, scripture says:  But as it is written:  “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”