Imitating Victory

“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me–practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:9 ESV)

Paul wrote that he was “the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle. . . .” His basis for that statement was that he “persecuted the Church of God.” (1 Corinthians 15:9 ESV) Despite his renegade start as a persecutor of Christians, Paul went on to found many churches, mentor pastors and evangelists, and teach Jewish believers in Y’shuaJesus to accept Gentile believers as one of them. He wrote much of what we call the New Testament as letters to various churches. And we accept his authority to write: “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the G-d of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:9 ESV).

When we practice all that we see in Paul’s life, we will certainly receive the crowns of rewards from Messiah after we leave Earth. But there remains a question about victory today, now, while we live and walk and journey with Messiah. Will practicing what we see in Paul yield victory? We must decide if Paul was truly victorious in his Earthly life. We must decide for ourselves if imitating Paul will bring us victory today.

After all, wasn’t Paul stoned a time or two? Wasn’t he ill to the point of begging deliverance from G-d for it? This illness persisted and was not removed during his lifetime. Paul was arrested, tried, and imprisoned. Paul, himself, admits to problems he faced. “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV) Can we seriously consider imitating what appears to be such a non-victorious life? Or is our impression of victory in this life skewed by a certain world view of life?

There is a world view that says we are only to be content in leisure time when we relax, perhaps in the shade of a tree with a cool drink in our hands. This world view says we are content when we have plenty of choice food and dwell in luxury housing. This world view says we have peace only in specific circumstances and situations. In this world view we are not suppose to be content, not suppose to find peace, in any difficult situation, any perilous circumstance.

Look again at what Paul said about contentment. He is content, he has peace, in circumstances and situations not conducive to such. Either there is a contradiction here or the world view illustrated is wrong. I vote that this world view is wrong.

Briefly, let’s look at a few more points in imitating the victory of the Apostle Paul. We must remember that we live in this world, but are not of it. Therefore, like those how do not believe, that do not follow Messiah Y’shuaJesus, we will experience trials and hardships of various types. Y’shuaJesus tells us about this in one of his parables. “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.” Y’shuaJesus says we’ll experience floods that break against our lives. (Luke 6:47-48 ESV)

Perhaps our imitation of Paul is imitating how he came to Y’shuaJesus, heard Him, and followed Him, building a foundation of victory enabling him to express his contentment during his weakness, hardships, and distress. Perhaps when Paul was blinded on the road to Damascus, he forever lost his world view, and when sight returned, all he saw the way of the Spirit of Y’shuaJesus.

Our victory lies not in the ways in which the world sees victory, but in the Lord Y’shuaJesus. Our peace is not found in circumstances and situations of this life on Earth, as a certain world view tells us, but despite them. It is the Peace that passes understanding that fills our souls, our being, yielding our victory—today and tomorrow.

Lord Y’shua grant us understanding of true victory in this life and insight into the victory we have with You forever. Bless, Keep, and Shine upon us today, and always. AMEN

Hopeful Victory

“Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.” (Psalms 33:18-19 ESV)

Sitting quietly in the mornings I’m often drawn to the Psalms. One morning, while singing a Psalm, I thought about the way the Psalmists often extols the past successes of the LORD. Often these success begin with creation, continue with past battles in which His people are delivered, and flows into praise of G-d for one or more of His perfect attributes, such as abiding love for those He called to be a people for Him.

A friend, and writer/minister, once wrote of a week of struggles she’d endured. It was a week in which G-d’s truth won, and conquered, current feelings. She wrote, “. . . I am still remembering to rely on the truth more than what I feel. . .” This remembering is what the Psalmist encouraged us to do. They remembered the past successes of G-d, and now were able to be hopeful that the G-d who saved them in the past would once again act according to His divine and perfect plan and save them again. We can remember, too, the way G-d stepped in and rescued us in the past. We can hold to these memories of the past because G-d is able and willing to save us today, too. And in the future we can hope in the LORD to rescue, to save, just as He has done.

In stories I tell my kids, I like to illustrate the power of G-d to not only watch out for us, but to also let us know that He is doing so. I’ve told them the following story on several occasions:

Late in the afternoon, in the north of India, I stood with many Indians waiting for a train north. I read a few pages from Lonely Planet’s guide to India. In one section, it cautioned of the dangers of evening trains north toward Nepal, which was my destination. I grew a bit concerned as night came upon me with no train in sight. I prayed. Finally the train arrived. I boarded and continued to pray. At the next stop an off-duty police officer boarded the train. He traveled quite a ways with us, finally hopping of near a village in which, I suppose, he lived. I took this whole episode as a gift of acknowledgment from G-d that, yes, He was looking out for me.

I tell the story to the kids that they might remember it when they find themselves in a position in which they are concerned for their own safety. It is a way to help them as they grow, until they have their own experience of G-d’s deliverance.

Thank You, LORD, for Your love and the hope in our life well-lived. AMEN.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Simple Victory

“For everything that has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.” (1 John 5:4 MKJV)

The topic is victory: victory that is to come; victory that is available today. Victory is intentional in that we are able, with the Lord’s help, to live each day with the intent of victory. There is also element of simplicity to daily living victoriously.

Alan Redpath wrote a book he titled “Victorious Christian Living.” Long ago I read it, but don’t remember much now, and no longer have the book. What I do remember is a story about Mr. Redpath’s speaking engagement in Los Angeles, California, that took place some years ago. He stood silently before a group–of pastors and pastoral candidates, I believe–leaning a bit to one side then the other, an effect of his old age. Finally, to the hushed audience he sang slowly the children’s song, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” He continued singing for several minutes. When he stopped, there were no dry eyes among the attendees. The message sunk deeply through the crusty skin, into the inner person. Y’shuaJesus loves us. That’s Victory. That’s Simple!

Regarding victory, Matthew Henry commented on the scripture from 1John that “Faith is the cause of victory, the means, the instrument, the spiritual armour by which we overcome. In and by faith we cleave to Christ, in contempt of, and in opposition to the world. Faith sanctifies the heart, and purifies it from those sensual lusts by which the world obtains sway and dominion over souls. It has the indwelling Spirit of grace, which is greater than he who dwells in the world. The real Christian overcomes the world by faith.”

Y’shuaJesus loves us, from which we develop a habit of faith. This faith grows from the good soil of our lives. We begin the day in communion with our Lord. We read a passage of His Word. We think about it as we go about our duties and tasks of the day. We thank our Lord for the blessings we are given—those for our own use, and those given us to pass on to others. Faith develops as we walk in the Spirit of G-d. And as Mr. Henry tells us, “faith is the cause of victory.” It is through this victory that we overcome the world.

Y’shuaJesus loves us. Now what is the question? Y’shuaJesus’s love is the answer to all questions, all problems, all daily struggles. Simple victory, today and tomorrow. Y’shuaJesus’s love is not a reason to celebrate, it is The Reason to Celebrate.

Praise You, LORD, for in You we have our being, and through You we have victory. AMEN.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Intentional Victory

“. . .they were looking intently into the heaven. . .” (Acts 1:10 MKJV)

We looked, last time, briefly into victory. We are eternally victorious. Also, we are mandated to live victoriously today. On a daily basis, we must remember our home is in heaven and that we are bound there. Likewise, we must daily gaze intently, into Heaven. For as Luke writes in Acts, the angels told the disciples Y’shuaJesus will come in the same manner in which they watched Him depart.

This gazing into Heaven with intent is intentional living, intentional victory. As we rise in the morning, we have an opportunity to think though all we desire to accomplish during the day. We can choose to submit this in prayer to our Lord, and accept His will, His way, throughout our day. As we step through our plan with our Lord, we prepare ourselves to meet obstacles too. As we go about our day, we choose to be one who will not be defeated, to be one who overcomes. In a way, we are like the child’s inflatable toy that is round on the bottom, and weighted, and can’t be knocked down. It rolls over nearly touching the ground as a child hits it, but it pops right back up. It occurs to me that like that toy, victorious living is flexible living. We are intent upon Messiah throughout our day.

While driving throughout America, meeting people, talking to people, I meet many who seemed to rise above the inevitable difficulties thrust upon them. I also met many who seemed to live in constant defeat. There’s a slogan among truckers who pull flatbed trailers that says “Get ‘er done!” It is an attitude. It is a way of life. Sore muscles from hard work the previous day don’t stop a driver with this attitude. The driver gets up in the morning and gets going. Some days it feels like it just isn’t worth it at all. Traffic, weather, police checkpoints, all contribute to a sense of hopelessness that easily creeps into a driver’s mind. But a driver with a victorious attitude simply moves onward, one step at a time.

One thing I noticed that separated successful drivers from those that were defeated was in the way they would talk. The more a driver seemed to complain about circumstances and events, the more negative and defeated the driver’s life seemed to be. The more positive a driver’s attitude, the more the driver was able to “Get ‘er done,” the more prepared to succeed.

As people who follow Y’shuaJesus, we are in this world, and must face the same opportunities and difficulties as those who choose not to follow Y’shuaJesus. What we see in any circumstance, any event, is like the cliché of looking at a half-full cup of water as either half full or half empty. It’s all in attitude. It’s all in the way we look at things. How will you face your day? Will you see a glass half empty, like it’s nearly empty of water? Will you see it half full, like it’s nearly full? It’s your choice. Chose to live victorious, chose to live intently gazing toward Heaven for the coming of our Lord while always stepping forth, overcoming.

As Paul wrote, “Finally, brothers [and sisters], rejoice. Perfect yourselves; encourage yourselves; mind the same thing; be at peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13:11 MKJV)

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Paths to Victory

“For the LORD your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (Deuteronomy 20:4 HCSB)

While driving truck over-the-road, the company provided me with directions to the assigned destination. These directions were to be strictly adhered. But not always did they work. I recall a time in Maryland, after following the company’s precise directions, I ended up on a narrow, winding rural road lined with million-dollar homes. I flagged down a small delivery truck driver to ask if I was in the right place. He shook his head, wondered how I’d managed to get this far. No, I wasn’t in the right place. And there was no place to turn about, being over 75 feet (27 meters) long. I had to continue along the road, make a few turns, then I’d come to a round-about. He instructed me not to try to go around that round-about, but to cut across it, as I’d never make it otherwise. Eventually, thank G-d, I made it back to the main highway. It turned out my load went to a small facility that was just a block from where I turned of the highway. The directions were very wrong.

Unlike the roads in the old Roman Empire that all led to Rome, not all paths lead to victory. Victory as not just something far off, in the future, but also available today. Victory is intentional, simple, and hopeful. We can imitate the ways of victory in the G-dly ones G-d brings into our lives, and through various writings, such as the Apostle Paul’s. Another road to victory is becoming passionate about our Lord. There’s unforgettable victories, as there are forgettable failures, which lead to repeated failures. There’s also restorative victories. These are not all the roads leading to victory. And we do not take just one of them either.

We have G-d’s Word providing direction to victory. We have G-d’s promise in Deuteronomy that G-d goes with us to fight for us to give us victory. We move freely from one road to another, trusting in our Lord’s righteous victory, and in His ability to provide victory in our lives. When we awake in the morning, do we choice which road we should take for the day’s victory? Perhaps we do. In our morning devotional times we may see we need to be more intent upon victory, more passionate. Perhaps during the day we are reminded to forget a failure and proceed without fear. Or perhaps we’re reminded of a past failure, and shown how not to repeat it. There are many roads we may take leading to victory, and our Lord will not only show us the way, but will walk the road with us. Our Lord’s directions, unlike my company’s, won’t leave us on a narrow road, lost. He is with us all the way!

Other Victory Roads are praise and worship, and there is the victory that we find serving G-d’s people, using our gifts, fitting well into the Body of Messiah on Earth. We haven’t touched upon what I might call the Road of Awe, which is a holy and righteous fear of the LORD. And what about the victory that comes through listening in the quiet for the Spirit to speak? And there’s a certain victory that comes through letting go, surrendering to the flow of G-d’s Spirit. (No, this isn’t Eastern meditation, or some other system or practice that empties the mind only to be filled with demonic spirits.)

Victorious living is our right, purchased on Calvary. Victorious living is also a privilege of those who will believe on the Son of our Creator, our Lord Y’shuaJesus. We are children of the King. We are noble men and women. As such we have an obligation to seek victory today, that we might be beacons, bright lights, drawing lost human vessels tossed upon the seas of life, to our Savior Y’shuaJesus. Let us now rejoice, not when we find victory, but rather because we have it in our position as children of the King.

Thank You, LORD our G-d, King, Creator, in the most holy Name of Y’shuaJesus. You are victory. You are life. Amen and Amen.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

He Opened Their Minds

“And He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45 MKJV)

This story is one of my favorites. The disciples are not at first named. It could be me and you. The Roman road still exists. It leads out of Jerusalem near a small village and down a hill. The road is made from stones, like the stones on the Via De La Rosa, the road Y’shuaJesus trod on His way to Golgotha to die for me, and for you.

These disciples were talking about the events of the weekend. They were conversing and reasoning together, in reality a civil sort of argument, about what had happened to Y’shua. They’d expected the Savior of Israel to lead a rebellion against Rome. They’d expected many things that appeared now to be but dreams, gone like vapor after awakening. They were perplexed, astonished even, for they’d heard Y’shua wasn’t dead, that he’d come back from the dead. Why, he’d even appeared to certain women of their company.
As this argument continues, a man appears and asks, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk, and are sad?”

“Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” is one’s response. Then this stranger explained the events of which they discussed and reasoned—argued.

It occurs to me that I might easily have rebuffed this man who appears ignorant of the times, the hopes and dreams of Israel’s deliverance, and how we have the right to be sad and mourn our loss.
“O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Messiah to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” says this fellow who’d joined the pair.
“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (v27)

They did not know this was Y’shua, until later. It was in one of the disciples’ homes, into which Y’shua had been invited, that they shared bread. Y’shua took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. It was then that their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
“They said to one another, ‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?’” (v32)

It is my prayer that our Lord Y’shuaJesus continue to open the eyes of our hearts. And more that our hearts burn within us. It is in reading and application of His Word, His Scriptures, that we are transformed, conformed to Him. As we read the Bible, we must interpret it; we must find our understanding within it.

While in college, I had two English literature professors with differing opinions about interpretation of literature. One, Jimmi Cushing, a poet and professor, taught about various ways we interpret literature. One of the ways we use is to bring some of ourselves to the text. We bring it it our own personal experiences and situations. The other professor taught his version of interpretation, and that this was the only proper interpretation.

It’s easy now to laugh a little at the second professor’s method. I recall my interpretation of Emily Dickens’s poetry as being love poems to our Lord. My professor said this is bunk, that she wrote to a mysterious lover, one that was never revealed. He said I was wrong, he was right. Needless to say, I stuck to my thesis, and was ridiculed in class by him. Okay. He’s entitled to his foolish view.

Jimmi Cushing wouldn’t necessarily have agreed with me on my interpretation, but he’d have said I have the right to this interpretation.

Hum. Sound familiar in light of various religious world views today? There are those with dogmatic views of their religious writing that say they are right and any other thinking is wrong. There are others that believe all truth is relative truth. That is my truth isn’t necessarily your truth; both are true, for us individually.

So we have a hard task today, with so many teachings, even short devotionals. Jude warns of those who “have crept in unnoticed. . . who turn the grace of our G-d into lewdness and deny the only Lord G-d and our Lord Y’shuaJesus Messiah. . . [who] mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. . . [they] are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.” (Jude 4, 16, 19)

Once, some years ago an Australian Christian pastor lamented to me that the United States exported so many false Christian doctrines. It’s no longer true today; false doctrines emanate from all countries and all denominations.

Y’shuaJesus warns us, “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Therefore, if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out.’” (Matthew 24:23-26)

Jude tells us we are to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” And “building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of G-d, looking for the mercy of our Lord Y’shuaJesus Messiah unto eternal life.” That we may not fear, we have been given the Spirit of the Living and Holy G-d as a seal and a guide. We approach all teaching and reading of the Scripture as children of the Creator of the Universe, as babies, really. And we remember the way Y’shuaJesus opened the eyes of the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

We pray: Lord, “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your Law.” (Psalm 119:18) “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way.” (Psalm 119:37) “Give me understanding. . .” (Psalm 119:34)

And what of those who read and don’t understand? Those who desire, but simply haven’t yet received the Lord as their Lord and Savior, but have received a Bible and begun to read it? To those who seek G-d in His word, assistance will come. Remember the Ethiopian in the desert (see Acts 8:26) and how G-d brought to him a man to help him understand.

May we be ready to be a Philip to a person reading the Word. May we test all spirits, to see that they are indeed from G-d. May we inspect all teachings, that the Spirit of G-d within us bears witness to them as of G-d.

We live in perilous times. We live in exciting times. Now let us be found continually reading the Scriptures to know Y’shuaJesus, to be transformed by Him. Let us be filled with the Spirit, praying always for all the Saints of the Living G-d.

May G-d Bless, Keep, and Shine upon you all, in the Name of Y’shuaJesus, our Lord and Savior. AMEN.

An Abundant and Satisfying Life

“And let your soul delight in abundance.” Isaiah 55:2

In his devotional on Rev. 21:23, Charles H. Spurgeon wrote:

“Here we lean upon the friendly arm, but there they lean upon their Beloved and upon him alone. Here we must have the help of our companions, but there they find all they want in Christ Jesus. Here we look to the meat which perisheth, and to the raiment which decays before the moth, but there they find everything in God. We use the bucket to fetch us water from the well, but there they drink from the fountain head, and put their lips down to the living water. Here the angels bring us blessings, but we shall want no messengers from heaven then. They shall need no Gabriels there to bring their love-notes from God, for there they shall see him face to face. Oh! what a blessed time shall that be when we shall have mounted above every second cause and shall rest upon the bare arm of God! What a glorious hour when God, and not his creatures, the Lord, and not his works, shall be our daily joy! Our souls shall then have attained the perfection of bliss.”

I read that and think: “Where’s the satisfaction we have now, compared to the glory of eternity?” But the in my Bible, Isaiah 55 is titled, “An Invitation to Abundant Life.” It is an invitation to those who thirst to come to the waters, free of charge. We are challenged with, “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?”

Y’shuaJesus compared Himself to the door to the sheep pen. We are invited to enter His pen, where He will guard us, watch over us, lead us out to pasture, and back into the pen for protection. At night, the shepherd literally lay upon the ground before the opening to the sheep. In this way, the shepherd defended the sheep as they slept. No one or no animal got through the opening. Y’shuaJesus, the door for us sheep. In this same passage, recorded in John 10:7-10, Y’shuaJesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Here’s my thoughts on this. The abundant life satisfies in the hope of tomorrow, the eternal tomorrow. The abundant life satisfies in the hope of today, for we are in the care of The Shepherd, and He watches over us. The abundant life satisfies in the putting away, the covering over, of the past in which we lived according to our own desires, our flesh. Our sins, confessed, are remembered no more.

We come to understand the ways and schemes of our enemy to take away our satisfaction, to take our satisfying and abundant life and turn it into a chaotic mix of anxiety and seeking things that do nothing for our true abundant and eternal life. This enemy is the enemy of G-d, exploiting our weaknesses, those of our bodies, our minds, our emotions.

It is G-d’s enemy who taunts us. G-d’s enemy trying to hurt us, G-d’s children. Might I be bold enough to say to our Lord that His enemy is tormenting me, and I’d like Him to deal with it? If I’m not, then am I trying to deal with the enemy myself? Am I really that strong? When the enemy hammers me, he’s trying to hammer G-d.

Once, many years ago, on New Year’s eve, I stood on a beach on the western coast of America. I cried out to our G-d, saying, “I can’t do this.” So G-d allowed me to not continue in the direction for which I was afraid. When I reflect upon that time of my life, I now realize I failed to accept a great blessing because I couldn’t see the bright future, only the dark. My trial was nothing like Y’shuaJesus’s and yet He prayed: if it were possible take this away, but G-d’s will be done.

May we delight ourselves in the LORD. May we submit to Him who called us, who wore filthy rags, and clothed us in His righteousness. May we catch the true vision of the future, the eternal future. May we remember the difference between caverns and tunnels. A cavern leads us down into the earth, while a tunnel leads us through a mountain. G-d leads us into tunnels that He be glorified in us; G-d does not lead us into caverns, caves, in which there is no exit. It is only the enemy of G-d that wants us to believe we are headed into a cavern. Thank You, Y’shuaJesus, that You said, “Your Will Be Done.”

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Y’shuaJesus Sets His Loving-kindness before me

“Set out Your wonderful loving-kindness, O Savior of those seeking refuge in You, by Your right hand, from those who rise up against me.”
(Psalms 17:7 MKJV)

Regarding this scripture, Spurgeon wrote: “His favours are always performed with the love of his heart. He does not send to us the cold meat and the broken pieces from the table of his luxury, but he dips our morsel in his own dish, and seasons our provisions with the spices of his fragrant affections. When he puts the golden tokens of his grace into our palms, he accompanies the gift with such a warm pressure of our hand, that the manner of his giving is as precious as the boon itself.”

Immediately upon reading this devotional passage, I thought of my “Bread Crumbs” experience. “Blessings take many forms,” I thought.

Briefly, let me share with you what I experienced with Y’shuaJesus about twenty years ago as I trudged from monastery to monastery on the Greek peninsula of Mt. Athos.

Mount Athos is home to many monasteries that welcome and host “pilgrims.” The first monastery in which I spent the night served only Turkish coffee and sent me on my way, hungry, thirsty, and still quite worn out from the previous day. It was in the hills, however, near a small chapel, that a monk shared bread with me. It was stale, too hard to eat. But it caused me to know that the Lord, indeed, was present in my hunger, thought of me, and promised that He’d be my provision.

Now, as quoted in the devotional, it says simply “marvelous loving-kindness.” And this is a wonderful way to spin off a devotional. But something caught my inner eye as I read, “Set out Your wonderful lovingkindness. . .” It works along with my experience with the dried crust of bread with which G-d blessed me.

G-d set out His loving-kindess to me, showing me not only His favor, but bringing me to the awareness that it is in Him in which I receive all sustenance. Indeed, Y’shuaJesus is the living water, the essential ingredient to our lives, making all food possible, and other blessings possible.

I saved those crumbs of bread. They are reminders of G-d’s mercy and kindness and provision. No, He didn’t fill my stomach at that particular moment. But He filled my soul in that I knew He looked upon me and that He had set before me a table from which I’d be filled.

I believe this is the beginning of my acceptance of delayed gratification. No longer must I have it now. I can wait because the table is set and it will be given to me in abundance when it is time.

And in my story “Bread Crumbs,” I relate that the next night I feasted and was treated with what was nearly reverence, by the monks of another monastery. (Perhaps I’ll post that story for you one day.)

Thank You, Y’shuaJesus, not only did you invite me to eat with You at Your table, You fill me with Yourself, now, that I might be sustained until the time comes that I receive Your blessing, and eventually that I sit with You at Your Great Feast. AMEN.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

G-d is Always in Control

“Who is this who speaks, and it occurs, when the Lord does not command it?”
(Lamentations 3:37 MKJV)

The following, written a few years ago, seems an appropriate reminder that G-d is in control, though not always sensed:

By command of the Lord things happen. If it wasn’t commanded, it wouldn’t have happened—it can’t happen.

Several weeks before Easter I submitted a “Home Time” request to the company for which I drive truck. I intended to be home a week before Easter and through that Easter weekend. It didn’t happen that way, however.

I delivered early on Friday, the week before, hoping to be routed home at least by Monday. Monday came and nearly went before my load came over the communications system; I was to load pipe on Tuesday bound for Oklahoma City. Not only was it 500 miles short, it was in the wrong direction!

“Okay, LORD, let’s see what Your going to do.” But things weren’t looking too good. Fifteen trucks from my company were headed to the same place, at the same time. All of us would be hoping for load assignments after we delivered.

I loaded the pipe, had a short conversation with another driver, and headed out. I slept in the truck parking area at the pipe yard, arriving a few hours before the fellow I’d spoken to in Houston. In the morning, we were unload first, being first to arrive. Once unload, he suggested breakfast at a truck stop near by while we waited for loads.

We had a nice breakfast, and both of us were contacted to come to Tulsa, to the company terminal for dispatch from there. I dreaded going to Tulsa; it can take quite a while to get a load from there and it was already mid-day Wednesday.

Once in Tulsa, the other driver and I started talking again. This time I told him that I had some “Road Home” Truckers’ New Testiments, and said I’d like to give him one. His eyes teared a bit and he said “I knew you were a Christian!” I was a pastor, once. He told me his story of being ousted from the church for reasons I shant go, but beyond his control, and for nothing he, himself, did. Now he knew that God was prompting him to return to his relationship with Him.

I sat in Tulsa another day while loads went out to places near my home area, wondering if I’d been lost in the shuffle. Finally, late Thursday, I received a dispatch to a town 200 miles short of my home, for delivery after Easter. I couldn’t believe it. “LORD! What Now?”

I hooked up the pre-loaded trailer and headed out. As I prayed I began to believe I could arrive at the delivery site before it opened in the morning. I prayed that God would ensure that it would have the staff to unload me on Friday. I prayed I’d be able to drive all night safely, without incident.
I arrived around four in the morning, climbed into my sleeper bunk, and fell asleep. At eight o’clock, when the plant opened, I went to the office. “Thank You, LORD, I can unload today.”

Once unloaded, I went to a nearby truck stop, ate a nice breakfast, then slept for several hours before leaving empty for home. I mulled over the whole affair. I realized, more than I’d like to admit, I fretted quite a bit about getting home for Easter. What went wrong? Why were things so difficult sometimes?
The answer came quickly in the form of a remembrance of something written to a dear friend. I’d said that I was out here experiencing the things that truckers go through to better be able to empathize with them. It is one part of my assignment to be directed to the very place that I “run into someone” and present a Bible; it is another to experience the lifestyle of the trucker.

Through this experience I truly understand how little my faith is, how little my trust in God’s care and faithfulness. Even in the unpleasant experiences, God’s there. In Jesus, nothing that I “suffer” He hasn’t’ in much greater measure.

I also came to understand that things progress in small steps. I’m not superman; I don’t leap tall buildings. I can climb the stairs one step at a time. I learn to trust. I learn to have faith. I learn. One Step At A Time! Thank You, Lord Y’shuaJesus for understanding me and how I learn and grown. Thank You for drawing me to You even when I seem to resist. Thank You, My Teacher—Lord Y’shuaJesus Messiah.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Nothing to Lose

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he may have enough to finish it. . .” (Luke 14:28 MKJV)

Jimmy Cagney, in 1956 a made-for-radio production, played a vagrant reporter caught up in a mission for justice in a small town being bullied by a powerful man of low integrity. A political official told him not to expect help in his quest. “You have nothing to lose,” the man told the reporter.

Nothing to lose! We’ve learned about the rich man Y’shuaJesus asked to sell all, and then to give the money to the poor. The cost was high. He had much to lose. Too much. At least that’s what he thought.

When we have something, how do we have an attitude toward G-d that is as if we had nothing to lose? In part it’s loyalty, dedication, integrity. Y’shuaJesus said (Luke 14:26) “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” And we’re all familiar with (Mat 6:24) “No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

So we applaud the reporter for his persistence in seeking justice, boldly speaking truth. It’s something big, something obviously needing a crusader. That reporter stirred people against the tyranny of the reprobate. But then he could, he couldn’t himself be attacked. Unlike one character in the story, he didn’t have a home with a mortgage that might come under jeopardy by fighting against evil. He didn’t hold a public office. He couldn’t be fired. He was foot-loose, fancy-free, as the expression puts it. A vagrant. No job. No home. Nothing to lose.

But how can I live my life as if I had nothing to lose? Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Strong faith enables the servants of God to look with calm contempt upon their most haughty foes. We know that our enemies are attempting impossibilities. They seek to destroy the eternal life, which cannot die while Jesus lives.”

So to the love we have toward our Lord and Savior that fosters dedication, integrity, loyalty, we add the knowledge of our true life: eternal life. An eternal perspective. It can’t be taken from me. Y’shuaJesus granted it; He will keep it for me. With that in mind, what else is important? There is to be only One Who is to be my Lord, my Master. I must focus upon Him, who holds the key to Heaven, and ultimately the key to Earth.

Focusing on G-d each day is making a choice to be loyal, dedicated to Y’shuaJesus. It is integrity. It is honesty. It is considering G-d and His glory in each decision I make during the day. In the little decisions. In the big decisions. In each choice, I must choose the way that exalts G-d, that is true to Him. This applies equally to small things as big. It applies to things in private, unseen by anyone, as to things very public, seen by all.

Live today as if we have nothing to lose. For really we don’t. Earth will pass away. Heaven awaits us all, if not today, then tomorrow or the next tomorrow. Eternity with G-d awaits those called by Him.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .