The Israelites had just had an awesome, stupendous, glorious, unheard of victory … the walls of Jericho falling down without a shot being fired!  WOW!  God had given explicit instructions how to go against the city and they obeyed.  Personally I think the greatest victory here was that they marched around the city without saying a word, once a day for six days and then on the seventh day marching seven times!  But then they were men … maybe that explains it! 🙂

Sin is not always apparent at first. It can be hidden for a time and we think no one else knows but it WILL be revealed.

Maybe the Israelites got a little cocky, self-assured, over confident with their victory at Jericho and now Joshua sends spies to assess the next battlefield … the city of Ai. The spies come back with their report … it’s small, we can take it, in fact it will be easy so we don’t even need to send all the troops perhaps just a small detachment of men.

Surprise! The Israelites went to battle thinking they were going to be victorious and they were soundly defeated so much so that thirty-six of their men were killed and the Israelites fled and ran for home.
Defeated. Thirty-six of their men dead. Their hearts melted and became like water (Joshua 7:5). What happened?

Joshua gets the news and he and the elders fall on their face before God. Joshua gets mad at God and asks why He let this happen! Perhaps they all should have stayed on the other side of the Jordan. He complains to God that all the people around here are going to laugh and cut us down and then what will happen to Your great name? Interesting isn’t it how we want to blame God when bad things happen!!

God answers Joshua and tells him to GET UP, why are you bellyachin’? There is sin in the camp! Someone has stolen that which I commanded was not to be taken and has hidden it. God said He would not be with them anymore until they found the guilty party and administered justice! I guess we might think that is pretty severe but God wanted an obedient people!

God instructed Joshua how to find the guilty person. Joshua obeyed God’s instructions (and God gives us instructions in His Word how to weed out the sin in our lives!). Finally standing before Joshua was a man named Achan.

Joshua to Achan: What have you done? Do not hide it from me.

Now I will have to give credit to Achan at this point. He did not blame anyone else. He didn’t say, “I didn’t hear you … I didn’t get the memo … i was eating lunch …” no, he confessed his sin to Joshua. He admitted that he saw the goods, he coveted them, took them and hid them in his tent.

What is keeping us from full fellowship with God? Is there a hidden sin that we think no one knows about? That sin MUST be dealt with and eradicated. Could it be sexual sin, pornography, lies, cheating, finances, sour relationships?

Joshua was in a hurry to rid Israel of this hidden sin because he sent his messengers and they RAN to Achan’s tent, found the hidden treasure, brought it back to Joshua and laid it out before the Lord.

There are consequences to our sin. Achan and his family suffered those consequences. Let me say here that we are not to go out and stone and kill those that are involved in sin but when the sin is revealed it is to be killed! Confess, repent, bury it and heap stones upon it!

The disobedience was grievous to God and that place was given the name “Valley of Achor” … Achor meaning “trouble” … the Valley of Trouble.

Not a good legacy!

We may think that we can never rise above our sin. That we are doomed to stay low and live in the pits but God does have a plan of HOPE!

In Hosea 2 we read of God’s unfaithful people. Time and time again the Israelites had turned their back on God but He continually pursued them even when they went after other lovers. In verse 14 we read how God still went after them … and He comes after us! “Therefore, behold, I will allure her. Will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. I will give her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope …”

THERE IS HOPE!

Correction and discipline is never fun … it’s always painful! Serious issues require surgery! A cutting away of that which is infecting our spiritual growth. Just as we discipline our children so God disciplines us when there is sin … why? because He LOVES us! He does not want us to wallow in our valley of trouble and think there is no way we can rise above this. When our sin is identified, don’t try to rationalize it, deal with it and bury it! When you have done that you can begin to walk through that door of hope that God is offering you. Satan will tell you that you have no hope but he is a liar!

God is a LOVING Father. God is a FORGIVING Father. God offers HOPE when confession and repentance is sincere.

After Achan’s sin was dealt with here is what God said in Joshua 8:1, “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise,  go up to Ai.  See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.”  And herein lies their door of hope, their obedience brought victory.

Isaiah 65:10 also shows us that our Valley of Achor/Trouble can become a place of peace and rest … “And the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for My people who have sought Me.”

Psalm 119:81, “I HOPE in thy word.” Romans 4:18, speaking of Abraham but a word for us as well, “Who against hope, BELIEVED IN HOPE”

Nineveh was a great city situated on the outskirts of what is now Mosul, Iraq … prosperous, arrogant, mighty, victorious, cruel, evil, beautiful, wicked, idolatrous, flourishing capital of the Assyrian empire.

America is still a great nation.  Prosperous, arrogant, mighty and has been victorious over evil.

The Bible depicts Nineveh as a wicked city that is worthy of destruction.  America has left her christian roots and has become a nation that many say is worthy of destruction.  Is it?

God wanted to show mercy on Nineveh not because He overlooked their sin, arrogance, pride, cruelty … but because He is a merciful compassionate God and desired to give them an  opportunity to repent.

Who is God sending to America today?  You?  Me?

******

The tears came unbidden and totally unexpected.  We were there for an evening of relaxation with friends and to view the Sight & Sound production of “Jonah”.  Awesome staging, beautiful costumes, incredible voices, fabulous depiction of Jonah’s call and Nineveh’s repentance.  The second half brought a whammy to me … Nineveh could be America!  The parallels were startling and not lost on me but who could be/would be Jonah?  And would America repent?  She has certainly had opportunity!

As we left the auditorium I could not talk because my tears were so heavy.

******

God speaks to Jonah and Jonah rebels! God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and cry against the city “for their evil has come up before Me” but Jonah does not want to obey God.  He wants to see Nineveh destroyed! Has God spoken to me, to you regarding the evil of America? Do we want to see the wicked destroyed?

So Jonah runs away except you can’t run away from God!  Two times we read that Jonah ran from the presence of God.

God doesn’t let us get away from His calling on our life and God is going to get Jonah’s attention!  Jonah runs in the opposite direction, ends up on a boat, he goes to sleep and a storm comes up.  The sailors are throwing their cargo overboard trying to lighten the load and when that doesn’t help they begin crying out to their gods for help.  No help comes.  Then they find Jonah, shake him awake and ask him to pray to his God … “that we may not perish” (1:6).  As the church of God, are we asleep on the job? Are we running away from His calling?  Are we concerned about those that are perishing without God?

The sailors begin to question him, “Who are you?  What is your occupation? Where are you from?”  Jonah admits who he is and that he is a believer in the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.  Now the sailors are afraid and question him, “What have you done?”.  They knew he was running from the presence of God.  The world is questioning us … “who are you?” Is the world seeing the compassion and mercy of God that we proclaim?  Are they seeing that we believe in the very Presence of God?

Jonah claims to fear the Lord but his actions belie the fact!  Jonah takes the blame for the storm (Is America in the shape it is because the church has not been faithful to her calling?) because he knows he is guilty of running from God’s call. “If My people who are called by My name …”

The pagan sailors call out to God, throw Jonah overboard (judgment in the house of God), the storm stills and they turn to God but Jonah sinks into the sea where God prepared a great fish to swallow him!

It has always amazed me that it took THREE days for Jonah to repent!  Three days wrapped in slimy seaweed, wallowing in sea water and who knows what else!  Stinky.  Smelly.

Finally 2:1 Jonah prays and the fish got a belly ache … no wonder the fish finally vomited Jonah onto dry land! Oh the mercy of God!  How long will it take for us as God’s people to repent?

Interesting fact however … he thanked God for his deliverance but still didn’t tell God he would go to Nineveh!  Still didn’t pray for the unbelievers!  Just a little bit selfish there I think!  Jonah had not done ANYTHING to deserve God’s mercy or his rescue … it was by God’s grace and mercy alone!

Chapter three starts out with God’s voice once again coming to Jonah “a second time”.  God was determined that Jonah obey and that Nineveh get the message of coming destruction despite Jonah’s reluctance to do so.  Is God wanting to use me, to use you, to get His Word to the people in America that destruction is coming unless America repents?

Jonah finally set out for Nineveh but his message was not one of grace or mercy … it was a message of judgment … in 40 days Nineveh would be destroyed!

Nineveh (America) as wicked as it was/is is important to God.  He wanted to show compassion and mercy.  God was giving them 40 days to repent (although the threat sounds unconditional a condition is implied.  In Jeremiah 18:7,8, the Lord says, “If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.”)

God will relent IF His people humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from their wicked ways THEN He will hear from heaven, will forgive their sins and restore their land.  THIS IS GOD’S PROMISE!! II Chronicles 7:14.

Jonah knew God’s heart was for mercy but he did not want Nineveh to experience it.  Jonah has not expressed any concern that people would perish … but the heathen expressed concern! (1:6, 14 and 3:9)

Despite Jonah’s reluctance he obeyed God, went to Nineveh and cried out about the coming judgment.  Unlikely as it seems, the people believed him and repented in sackcloth and ashes!  When God saw their repentance and how they turned from their evil ways, God relented of the disaster and did bring about their destruction.  Are we obeying God out of our love for Him and to see people saved or are we reluctantly obeying because that is what we are supposed to do?  Are we wanting to see disaster on those that are against God or are we praying and telling them about God’s compassionate love?

I will admit to praying for judgment on some of the ungodly!  And there are times in scripture that we are admonished to do so.  But this story gives us a  true glimpse of God’s compassionate mercy.  Jonah WANTED them to be destroyed … God WANTED them to repent.  Jonah didn’t want them to experience God even though he knew God was gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and would relent from sending disaster IF they would repent of their evil ways and turn to Him.

Are our preachers and pastors (and ALL of us) speaking out about the wickedness in our land or are we just preaching/talking platitudes, good vibes, good intentions, prosperity, God loves us all no matter what?  Or are we telling the truth that God HATES evil and LOVES righteousness?

So now as we close this story … Jonah is mad at God and just wants to die!   It’s hot and Jonah is miserable.  He goes out and sits sulking outside the city and makes a little shady shelter for himself while he waits to see if maybe God will destroy the city (as he is hoping!).  But his shelter withers in the heat and the Lord miraculously arranged for a vine to grow up quickly for shade.  Jonah is grateful for God’s goodness to him.  BUT God also prepared a worm that came in the night and caused the vine to wither and die.  Now the sun and a strong east hot wind came along, Jonah grows faint and again wishes to die.  Have you ever been in this state?  “God I’m mad because I wanted to see the wicked punished!  I wanted it done my way!  I’m embarrassed now because I said it would happen and it didn’t, now I look like a fool, please just let me die!”

Jonah was still angry at God.  Angry that He showed mercy to the Ninevites and now angry that his shade disappeared!

Look how the story ends by reading out of the Living Bible, 4:10-11, “Then the Lord said, ‘You feel sorry for yourself when your shelter is destroyed, though you did no work to put it there, and it is, at best, short-lived.  And why shouldn’t I feel sorry for a great city like Nineveh with its 120,000 people in utter spiritual darkness, and all its cattle?’”

How are we reacting to what is happening in America today?  Yes, we don’t like to see our cities, our constitution, our way of life being destroyed … but are we more concerned about that or are we concerned about those that are in utter spiritual darkness … those that God loves and wants to see them repent and receive His forgiveness and salvation?

How many days do we have left?  40?  39?  27?  10?  5?  1?

The question stands … Can America be the next Nineveh?

Ugh!  I woke up this morning with a rather heavy heart … more bad news!

Riots. Murder. Virus. Deaths. Schools not reopening.  Teachers unions protesting. Children in crisis. Job losses.  Businesses closing.  Anarchy.  Government in disruption. Slander. Hate. You name it!

THEN the Lord dropped into my spirit … “face the battle with praise just like Jehoshaphat!”  So I got my Bible and turned to II Chronicles 17-20.  I’ll give you a run down but grab your Bible and read it for yourself.

1. King Jehoshaphat sought God and walked in His commandments. His heart took delight in the ways of the Lord.
2. God established him in office.
3. Jehoshaphat was rich and had honor in abundance.
4. He allowed the priests to teach the Word of God.
5. He aligned himself with the wicked king Ahab of Israel. (It’s another whole study to decipher why Jehoshaphat joined with Ahab to go to war when they knew what the outcome would be!)
6. When surrounded by those who would kill him, he cried out (18:31) and the Lord helped him and delivered him from those who would have killed him.
7. Jehoshaphat returned in safety even though his actions had displeased the Lord but … (19:3) “good things are found in you … and have prepared your heart to seek God.”
8. Jehoshaphat brought the people back to the Lord God of their fathers.
9. He set judges and commissioned them, “Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment … let the fear of the Lord be upon you in the judgment … let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes.” (19:6-7)
10. Chapter 20 … war again!
11. Jehoshaphat had fear set in but (v3) “(he) set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast”
12. Jehoshaphat stood before the people and here is part of his prayer, “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? … if disaster comes upon us – sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine – we will stand before this temple and in Your presence … and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save… we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You … now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.”
13. The Lord responded through His prophet … “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s” … and I add HALLELUJAH!!!
14. Prophet continues, “You will not need to fight in this battle.  Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you … do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
15. Jehoshaphat (remember he is the king!) bowed before the Lord and worshiped Him.
16. Then they “stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.”
17. The next morning they rose early, went out and Jehoshaphat stood before them and said, “Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established.”
18. Then the king appointed singers who would praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army and sang, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.”
19. It was when they began to sing and praise that “the Lord set ambushes against” the enemy and “they were defeated”!
20. God’s people were three days gatherings the spoils of war
21. On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah (Valley of Blessing) and they returned with joy.
22. The people returned home victorious, with joy and with stringed instruments, harps and trumpets to the house of the Lord. “And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.

OK … so what’s the point of all this?  What does it say to us?  What can we learn?

God had put a righteous king in place.  He was not a perfect man but his heart sought God.  When he made the mistake of aligning himself in war with an ungodly king, he repented, sought God and God delivered him.

He brought the people to God, set up godly rulers and acted courageously.

But the enemies of God’s people come again and the king fears BUT he asks the people to join him in fasting and prayer for guidance from God.  There is public affirmation of who God is.  The king shows his vulnerability and his dependence on God and encourages all to keep their eyes on God … NOT on their surroundings.  Worship, praise loudly, believe in God, sing!

If we keep our eyes on what is happening around us and not on God we WILL become discouraged!

What does God say … don’t be afraid, don’t be discouraged, this battle is Mine not yours, go, you won’t have to fight, position yourselves, stand still and SEE God’s deliverance for God is with you!

BEHAVE COURAGEOUSLY

ACT FEARLESSLY

WORSHIP ADORINGLY

THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S!

Our President deserves our prayers.  I believe he is doing his best to call us back to God.  He is setting in place many good judges.  We as God’s people need to pray and fast, fight the “good fight of faith”, speak out, worship God, praise Him and SING LOUDLY! 🙂

I can’t change the world or even my small community … but I can change me!  I can change my perspective!  What is happening in our world today is UGLY!  I don’t like my freedoms disappearing … but I can still praise God.  I can still sing LOUDLY.  I can still worship the King of kings!

As I write this we are in the midst of sheltering in place.  Because of the coronavirus and COVID-19 much of America and the world has been shutdown.  Social distancing.  No handshakes.  No play ground time for children as playgrounds are off limits.  Schools are closed.  Restaurant, coffee shops (even bars which doesn’t bother me any!) are closed.  Coffee shops closed (now that’s BAD news!) except for drive through.

This week Ronn and I called an elderly widowed friend who lives alone in a retirement community.  She cannot have her family or friends visit.  Her meals are delivered by the retirement kitchen once a day.  She can walk her little dog twice a day around the green belt and walk to get her mail.  Other than that she is alone in her apartment … thank God she has Jesus as her constant companion.

Our friend is over 90, alone and missing the hugs her family can give her.  Another friend’s mother, also over 90, just passed away this morning (not related to COVID-19) but this friend was able to be with her mother in her convalescent home because she was part of her care team and was able to stay with her.  This lady was able to enjoy the touch of her daughter.

My own brother is in a retirement home as is his mother-in-law who just celebrated her 104th birthday this week and my sister-in-law cannot physically visit either one of them, hug or touch them!

So it got me to thinking how important “touch” is.  I remember years ago reading an article about children being raised in a Romanian orphanage and laying in their cribs for months on end without anyone to hold them and the devastation it caused to their mental and physical growth.  It changed their brain composition.

I found on the internet that physical touch is known to improve the function of your immune system and also can reduce diseases such as those associated with the heart and blood.

Some psychologists term “skin hunger” (or called touch hunger) is a need for physical human contact.  Touch can communicate a range of emotions, serving as an important social tool, and even the act of hugging can reduce your levels of the stress hormone cortisol.  Touch can also bring comfort or show empathy, can influence our thought processes, reactions and even our physiological responses.

What is “touch starved”?  This is not an often thought of “starvation”.  We humans are wired to be touched.  From birth until the day we die, our need for physical contact will remain.  Being touch starved (or touch deprived) occurs when a person experiences little to no touch from other living humans.  Babies who are not held, cuddled, and hugged enough can stop growing, and if the situation doesn’t change, even die.

Any and all positive touch is considered to be beneficial.  Losing out on workplace handshakes, friendly hugs, or pats on the back can result in feelings of touch starvation … what will the outcome of this social distancing be to us as people?

Jesus knew the importance of touch …

(1) Mark 8:25, “He (Jesus) put His hands on his (the blind man) eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.”

(2) In Mark 10 Jesus took the little children in His arms, laid His hands on them and blessed them.

(3) Matthew 8:3, Jesus touched a leper, one that no one was allowed to touch … “Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him … immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

(4) Jesus touched Peter’s mother-in-law and her fever left. Matthew 8:15.

(5) I like this one because it speaks to us and what we are facing today … Matthew 17:6 & 7. Jesus was ready to be lifted up into heaven and three of the disciples were with Him.  A bright cloud appeared, a voice came out of the cloud, scared the disciples and they fell to the ground greatly afraid.  Verse 7, “But Jesus came and touched them and said, ‘Arise, and do not be afraid.”  I feel Jesus saying to us today … DO NOT BE AFRAID!

I will make a confession here … Ronn’s mother lived with us for almost 40 years.  (Now that is a story for another time and place!!).  At times we had a difficult relationship and it was hard for me to hug her or show affection (but I was always kind!).  I knew it was important as she was a widow and the kids and Ronn would hug her but it was hard for me to hug her … not others.  I had to make it a matter of prayer and finally was able to do so.  In her last months of life it was a natural thing to do.

So what am I saying in all this?  This time of confinement, isolation, sheltering and whatever else we want to call it … will come to an end.  Life will be different but will we?  I’ve heard that perhaps hand-shaking will be frowned upon.  That’s sad.  A handshake used to be as good as a contract.  Will we stop hugging friends?  Will we continue to stand six feet away?  I hope not!  Will we be more cautious with our coughing and sneezing?  I hope so!  Will we throw our tissues away?  Better do so!

Let us do as Jesus did … touch those that need the touch of Jesus!

I love the words to a couple songs …

“Oh the touch of His hand on mine

Oh the touch of His hand on mine,

There is peace and joy

In this trying hour

Oh the touch of His hand on mine”

 

“Because He touched me, I now touch you

And in the name of Him who came to make you whole,

If you believe, you shall receive

Complete deliverance for your body and your soul

Comrades.  Brothers in arms.  Friends forever.

If it were possible to make the ties that bind any stronger, Tom would have done it for his best friend.

They had been together so long, been through so much … he knew Tom better than Tom knew himself, and sometimes that was scary.

The two of them had shared everything – traveling, eating, drinking, sleeping.  Their laughter had been strong and lasting  Their tears had been honest and grievous.

Of course, his best friend was the motivator, the catalyst, the nerve center of their motley crew.  Everyone in the group felt the same way Tom did — ready to live and die for their extraordinary friend.

The commitment between them was tighter than any contract could have bound them, deeper than any emotion Tom had ever felt before.  Together, he thought, there was nothing they couldn’t do.

A Dark and Stormy Night

But then there was a nightmare night … a morning with no sunrise —- a hideous realization that he was gone.  He was dead.  Murdered.  He had thrown his life away.

He could have saved himself, but he did not.  He had a chance at escape, but he didn’t act on it.  He could have kept things as they had been, but instead he let himself be offered up like a sacrificial lamb.

It was worse to Tom than the loss of a limb — because a limb he might eventually learn to function without, and even forget that he had ever had.  It was worse, it seemed, than losing one of the senses that guide us through our world, because somehow the other senses compensate for it.

It was like losing a vital organ, because Tom knew from that moment on that he would never forget what he once had and he would never be able to function without it — or even care to try.

It’s like losing your soul, he thought.

Surrender

And he gave up.  The rest of his friends told him to be careful, that all their lives were in danger because of what had happened.  They stuck together to nurse their fears and tried to hide.

But Tom didn’t care.  Let them hide if they could … He was no coward.  He had known when their lives were in danger before, but it had meant more to him than safety to be with his friend.  When he planned to walk right into a place that was openly hostile to him, the others said, “You can’t do it!  You’ll never get out of there alive.”

But Tom heard himself saying, “Look, if he’s going there, we may as well go and die with him.”  That’s how much Tom loved him.

And now where was that friend? … Six feet under, leaving Tom with this half a life that he couldn’t bear to live … a life he didn’t know how to end.

Pressure Drop

“Tom! He’s not dead!” his friends began to tell him.

“He’s alive!” they insisted.

“We’ve seen him!” some of them said.

“It was some kind of error — a mistake —“

“A miracle!”

And Tom shook his head.  Had they seen him alive?  Well, Tom had seen the Master dead — no mistaking that.  He was torn between anger at them — for not letting his memory lie in peace — and concern, that they had all lost their senses in their grief.

“I haven’t seen him alive,” he told them, “and until I do, I really can’t believe you.  You’ve just been thinking about him too much, and we’ve all been under a great strain …”

Morning Glory

But then, finally, there was that miracle morning … a sunset without darkness … a joyous realization that Jesus was not gone!  He was resurrected!  He was alive!

With that simple look at those nail-scarred hands … with that simple touch of the wound in the Master’s side … Thomas finally knew — beyond doubt — it was true.  His friend had returned.

Yes, Easter came a few days late for the man we have come to call Doubting Thomas, but today we still tell his story.  But why?  What is the powerful draw for us to the tale of Thomas in John 20?

It’s that he was so endearingly human.

Twenty centuries ago a disciple of Jesus struggled with the same human emotions and griefs and darkness that you and I still struggle with today.  We think about a man who has lost his best friend, and we understand how he felt.

Loved and Lost

Thomas was unwilling to believe that Jesus was alive again because he didn’t want to risk getting hurt again.  Think of grieving parents who have lost a precious little child.  Do they dare to give their love to another little one?

Think about children whose parents have abused or abandoned them.  Is there any reason why they should open their trusting hearts to another family — or to the same parents again?

Think of that situation in your own life where someone you loved let you down hard.  Why should you ever put yourself in that situation again?  Why set yourself up for a fall?

That was Thomas.  He was a cautious man.  He didn’t want to get hurt again.  He realized that he had just loved Jesus Christ too much … and it wasn’t going to happen to him again.

Thomas did not mean to become immortally labeled as a doubter, but he was afraid of the pain, the loneliness, the abandonment of losing his friend again.  We can all understand that.

Love on the Rocks

Maybe you feel today the same way Thomas did.  You’re not ready to open up and give your heart away again, either.  Maybe you’ve been wounded by someone you love — maybe even a brother or sister in the Lord — and you’ve decided that you can’t go through that again.

Maybe you understand the loneliness of being deserted.  Maybe you understand having your goals and your future mapped out — only to watch it all fall apart.  Maybe you’ve loved deeply and lost.

Let me remind you that people may hurt you, but Jesus did not.  Jesus died for us — to forgive us our sins — and rose again.

He didn’t just come back to appear to Thomas, but to give Himself to you and me, to each of us.

He came to Thomas at the lowest point in his life, in the midst of grief, despair, and doubt.  And He will come to you at your point of despairl  He will come to you at your loneliest.  He’ll come to you in your emptinessl Your pain.

He came to Thomas when Thomas felt that he could never love again, and He’ll come to you when you think that you can’t love again, or that no one will ever love you again.  He’ll come with love and hope and joy.

Ready to Take the Chance Again

Jesus came to Thomas with the knowledge that He was alive and real and in command.  And that’s the message He brings to you today.

That’s the message of Easter!

The risen Christ is alive again to walk with you, to live inside of you and to guide your footsteps!

Are you afraid to reach out again?  Of course it’s difficult to think of opening yourself up again to anyone.  But I invite you today to set your affections on the risen Christ.

Give Him your love.  Let Him heal the past and the pain and give you a new future.  He will ever desert, abandon or hurt you, for He promised, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Not Seeing is Believing

When Thomas finally saw Jesus, and knew that He was indeed alive … that He had not abandoned them … he “answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:28).

In the next verse, Jesus says to him, “Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed.  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

That’s you and me.  We have to believe, even when we don’t see.  Thomas was chosen as a disciple because Christ knew that he would be cautious — and serve as an example to you and me.

But you and I were chosen as His disciples in this day and age because He knew that you and I had the strength and dedication to believe, even when we had not seen.

Join me today in committing your faith, life and future to the risen Savior!

*********************

If you want to know Jesus as your Savior …

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, will you make that commitment right now?  It is as easy as following Thomas’ example and declaring, “My Lord and my God.”

Here is a sinmple prayer that you can pray if you’re not sure how to approach Jesus.  You could say it right now …

“Dear Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God who died and

rose again to save us from our sins.  I ask that you forgive me for

the sins of my past right now and make me part of the family of

God.  Thank you for your eternal love for me.  In Christ’s name,

Amen.”

*********************

This article was published by my husband, Ronn, in the days of our television ministry.

A PERSONAL TESTIMONY

“Jesus, I’m in trouble.  Help someone to see me quick.”  Then blackness

******************

As a child I had two traumatic experiences with water, one at a southern California beach and another during a vacation at a lake.  However at both of those experiences my daddy was there to pull me to safety.  It left me with a fear of water that stayed with me for years.

Not wanting my children to fear water I made sure they had their swimming lessons. Our youngest was three and I figured it was time for her lessons so I signed up all four (the three older children for more advanced classes) at our local city pool. The first day the children saw that they were also offering adult beginner lessons.  They shamed me into signing up!

The next morning there I was, freezing, in the world’s ugliest bathing suit and the first thing the instructor said was “put your face in the water”.  With that I started to cry!  I was 35 years old and couldn’t put my face in the water … not wanting the other four adults to see me crying I began to splash water in my face!!

However, after three weeks I was able to swim, under water and I was ecstatic!  One problem … not being very coordinated I never could (still don’t) have the whole thing down about continuing to swim while lifting my head, turning the same, opening my mouth, grabbing a lung full of air while still swinging my arms.  Just doesn’t happen!  But no problem … being in an Olympic size pool where I could touch bottom I would stop, stand up, get air, back to swimming.  Simple.

A few weeks after my lessons Ronn flew to St. Louis to attend a conference.  A family in our church was going to be gone for several weeks and they lived in a condominium that had a swimming pool.  They invited me to stay there for several days and let the kids have fun swimming.  Sounded good to me so I loaded up the kiddos and Oma (Ronn’s mother who lived with us) and off we went.

The children wanted to swim right away but I said they needed to wait until after lunch (God thing #1).  After lunch we suited up and went to the pool. There was only another lady and child at the pool and later another man showed up.   There were signs posted “No lifeguard on duty” but just that summer the HOA had decided to hire a lifeguard for the afternoons only (God thing #2)  Shortly after we arrived at the pool the lifeguard showed up (God thing #3).  I didn’t know he was a lifeguard … just saw him sitting off to the side about 25 feet away.

I had this brilliant idea to swim across the pool … I had done it during my lessons.  What I didn’t take into consideration was that the Olympic pool was  all one depth and I swam across the width not the length.  I also didn’t consider that I should start at the deep end and go toward the shallow end. So I took off …

I was over the deep end when I realized I needed air but when I wanted to touch bottom to stand up — the bottom wasn’t there.  That is when I knew I was in trouble and I prayed, “Jesus, I’m in trouble.  Help someone to see me quick”.

I remembered the instructor had told us never to swallow water so I closed my mouth tightly but then I remember the burning feeling of taking water into my nose which went directly into my lungs … that is when I blacked out.

The next thing I remember was taking a huge gulp of air and in my mind thanking Jesus for making an air bubble in the water … “Jesus, you are so good … You made an air bubble here for me” … what I didn’t know was by that time I was out of the water!

How did that happen?  The lifeguard saw my children and grandma but didn’t see me and he thought “I didn’t see that lady walk away … where is she?”  At that moment he stood up and saw me flat on the bottom of the pool and off he took and jumped in.

Obviously he (and the other man who ran over) got me out, laid me down, couldn’t open my mouth to give me artificial respiration (I guess I took the instructor seriously when she said not to open my mouth to take in water!) and they stood me up … and that is when I got the huge gulp of air … so now they knew I would live.

I have no idea how long I was “out” but apparently they sat me on a pool side chair and as I began to come to I heard someone saying, “Lady, do you feel like throwing up?”  He asked that several times and I had no idea who was asking, why I was sitting with my head between my legs and why would I want to throw up?  I wasn’t sick!  I kept saying “no”.  Then the voice said, “The ambulance is on the way and you will be going to the hospital”.  That was NOT what I wanted to hear and I said, “Oh no …” All I would think was we have no insurance and I’m going to make a huge bill and Ronn is gone!  Then I heard another voice say with authority, “Young lady, you WILL be going to the hospital!” and as I picked up my head I saw two black shoes which were filled with a police officer and I quickly said, “OK”!

Off I went to the hospital with my daughter, Vonda who was 12, in the ambulance with me … thank God grandma was with us to take care of the other children.

Oh, by the way, I waited until I was in the emergency room and as the doctor walked in THAT is when I threw up … all over him, me, the gurney, the walls the floor!  And again in the X-Ray room all over the equipment!

SO EMBARRASSING!

So what does this story have to do with answered prayer?  That’s the best part! 🙂

Early that morning the Lord awakened my Grandma Kopp (who lived over 400 miles away) with this, “Pray for your grandchildren!”  Grandma asked the Lord, “which one?”.  She said the Lord answered her, “Grandchildren”.  She also said it was a very strong admonition.  Grandma being a woman of prayer began to pray.  She prayed all morning giving this prayer her full attention.  Later she told me that early in the afternoon (remember God thing #1) a heavy darkness and blackness settled over her and she knew it was a spirit of death and she interceded even more fervently continuing to pray in tongues, her prayer language.  Suddenly the blackness lifted and she knew she had “prayed through”, that she had won the victory in prayer.  She then left praying and began to rejoice and praise God because she KNEW that which ever of her grandchildren were facing death had been spared.

It wasn’t until the next day when Grandma learned it was me and a cousin who was having chest pains and pain going down his left arm.  I was rescued and my cousin’s pain left.

There is so much more to this story.  How God had been preparing me and helping me to face my fears (there were a few!!!), and the lessons I learned after this experience.  But the point I have often repeated … what if Grandma had not prayed?  What if she had not heeded the voice of God?  I am firmly convinced that I would NOT be here today!

We are admonished to “pray without ceasing” and to me that means a life of communing with God but there are also times when we put ALL aside and pray with fervency!  If God places something or someone on your heart and you know you are to pray NOW … don’t put it off … someone’s life may be depending on your prayers!

I am not a yard person!  I can’t even keep a house plant alive!!  I’ve often said that the only living thing I could keep alive was my husband and our four children!  My Grandma Kopp had a green thumb and her yard always had lots of flowers and a large garden plus fruit trees. (Sidebar: grandma also had a hen house and my brother and I liked to gather the eggs!  And her fried chicken dinners were THE BEST!  I still remember her going to the hen house, grabbing one of those hens, wringing it’s neck, chopping off it’s head, hanging it upside down on the clothes line to “drip”, plucking it’s feathers, cleaning it up, cutting it, dipping it in whatever she used and frying that baby up! Yum yum!  Never bothered me to see it killed when I knew how good it was going to taste!).

I have killed many house plants, tomato plants, rose bushes, petunias and who knows what else!  The “green thumb” business skipped my mother and me but my son, RC, inherited grandma’s green thumb … he can grow just about anything.  When he was in high school we had beautiful rose bushes … then he left for college and they died!

We have a house in Arizona near my daughter and the yard is rocks (no mowing there!)  However I have discovered that weeds DO grow up through the rocks!!  Much to my dismay!

This morning I had planned to pull weeds and I almost talked myself out of it.  Why?  Because during the night we had a soft rain which of course would make the weeds easier to pull … so I put on my big girls flip flops and went out “in the soft rain” and pulled weeds.  (I really wanted an excuse to stay inside with a cup of coffee and a good book!)

Someone told me that here in Arizona you need to have your rocks sprayed with “Pre-Emergent” at least once a year to keep the weeds from growing up through the rocks … it doesn’t kill the good plants … only the weeds.  Well, hello!  Wish I would have known that sooner!

So while I was out there pulling weeds I got to thinking … I need to consistently use “pre-emergent” in my life!

The soil of my heart has been watered and planted with the Word of God and my life grows in Him.  However, I am not perfect … yet! 🙂  A long ways from it and that is why I must constantly and consistently come to Him for a fresh watering of His Word, love, forgiveness and confession of my sins.  It is so easy for those little weeds of discontent, bitterness, resentment, gossip, selfishness … to grow.  If we don’t deal with them DAILY, the roots of those weeds will grow deeper in our lives.  It was SO much easier this morning to pull up the little weeds than those that had deeper roots!  The little ones I could pull out with my hands (in my yard gloves!!! saving the fingernails!!!) but the deeper ones I had to use my gardening tool to loosen the roots before pulling them out.

So it is with my life … if God and I can deal with those growing weeds as they show up it is much easier than if I let them grow deeper into my life.  When God has to use His gardening tools (discipline!) on me … it hurts more.

Stay in the Word (it’s the rain that falls), deal with the things in my/your life that are not pleasing to Him and let the good grow and not the weeds!  (I’m still hoping those plants will flourish because the yard man that I’m going to hire knows what he’s doing!)

I went to the computer and sought for some information on what exactly a Pre-Emergent is, how it works and when to apply it.  Here is the comparison that came to me …

(Italics are not word for word but taken from the computer on Pre-Emergents)

Even the most careful and vigilant gardener will have weeds wanting to grow in their garden.  You and I WILL have weeds wanting to creep into our lives.  Doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a Christ follower … you will be tempted and at times those weeds will put down their roots.

The chemical compositions in a Pre-Emergent are to be used BEFORE the weeds take hold so the infant root systems can be killed and keep the weed from growing.  Folks, we MUST stay in the Word.  Jesus was tempted but how did He resist Satan?  He used the Word … “It is written” … so if Jesus knew the Word and how to use it, don’t you think we need to also?

We must “die daily” I Corinthians 15:31; “crucify the flesh” Galatians 5:24; “bring every thought captive” II Corinthians 10:5.

Some weeds that develop thick and persistent adult roots want to re-sprout in a new season and make them difficult to control with a pre-emergent formula and the formula needs to match the need.  Once you have faced temptation and biblically dealt with it … be on guard and watchful because once you think you are safe you can be caught off guard.  “Let him who thinks he stands be careful that he doesn’t fall.”  I Cor. 10:12 (World English Bible).

Timing is important.  Sure ‘nough!  That works for us too!  How is timing important?  Immediate … Confession … repentance … do not delay!

Water is required to activate the pre-emergent to carry the chemical combination down to the root system of these newly sprouted weeds.  Never apply when there is wind that will carry it away and the soil should be workable.  The water we use is the water of the Word, Ephesians 5:25, “that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.”  Stay in the Word!!! There’s a verse in Psalm 119:9 that applies to all of us, “How can a young man (or young lady, or old man, or old lady!) cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.”

And finally, do NOT let the winds of false doctrine carry you away thinking, “Oh that temptation is not so bad, or that life style is accepted today, or it’s just a little white lie”.  No, we cannot be perfect but we can be holy as HE IS HOLY!  We strive for perfection, we strive to be like Him.  The soil should be workable.  Is the soil of my heart ready to receive?

DON’T FEED THE WEED!  Weeds will grow with no help from you!  Our fight is to keep the weeds from growing by KILLING them!

HERESY!  No, it is NOT!  There are some things God simply cannot do!

The last few days I have been thinking on various things to write for the New Year, 2020.  I thought I had a good idea and had even started making notes.  Then this morning I was reading the Word and started in Titus.  There in the 2nd verse of chapter 1 something caught my eye (oh yes, I’ve read it many  times before but this time it really made me ponder) … “… God, who cannot lie …”

1. God cannot lie. Period. Forever. Titus 1:2, God, who cannot lie …
2. God cannot change … He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And Malachi 3:6, For I am the Lord, I do not change.
3. God cannot deny Himself. II Timothy 2:13, If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
4. God cannot be tempted with evil.  James 1:13, Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
5. God cannot break a promise.  Psalm 89:34, My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
6. God’s word cannot be broken.  John 10:34 & 35, Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken) …
7. God’s law cannot be annulled.  Psalm 111:7-8, The works of His hands are verity and justice; all His precepts are sure.  They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
8. God cannot stand (bear)  sin.  Isaiah 59:1-2, Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.
9. God cannot despise a broken and contrite heart. Psalm 51:17, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart — these, O God, You will not despise.
10. God cannot be pleased without faith.  Hebrews 11:6, But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
11. God’s church cannot be destroyed.  Matthew 16:18, And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
12. God cannot be worshipped too much for who and what He is.  Rev. 4:8, The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within.  And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!
13. God cannot stop loving you.  Jeremiah 31:3, The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love…”
14. God cannot leave you.  Genesis 28:15, Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you. (also Hebrews 13:5 … see #15)
15. God cannot forsake you.  Hebrews 13:5, … For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
16. God cannot sleep.  Psalm 121:4, Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
17. God cannot go unnoticed.  Psalm 19:1, The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
18. God cannot leave work unfinished.  Philippians 1:6, Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
19. God cannot forget you.  Isaiah 49:15, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb?  Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you”
20. God cannot get tired.  Isaiah 40:28, Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.  His understanding is unsearchable.
21. God cannot be silenced.  Matthew 24:35, Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will be no means pass away.
22. God cannot be imperfect.  Matthew 5:48, Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
23. God cannot be second.  Exodus 20:3, You shall have no other gods before Me.
24. God cannot be divided.  John 10:30.  I and My Father are one.
25. God cannot be selfish.   Romans 8:32, He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
26. God cannot break His own law.  Psalm 119:89, Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.
27. God cannot have respect of persons.  Romans 2:11, There is no partiality with God.  And Acts 10:34, Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality…”
28. God cannot be unrighteous.  Romans 9:14, Is there unrighteousness with God?  Certainly not!
29. God cannot endure wickedness.  Isaiah 1:13, … I cannot endure wickedness …(AMP)
30. God cannot reject one who comes to Him on His terms. John 6:37, All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will be no means cast out.
31. God cannot be deceived or mocked.  Galatians 6:7, Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
32. God cannot be slack or lazy.  II Peter 3:9, The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
33. God cannot hold back His wrath on unrighteousness or those that encourage anarchy in moral government.  Romans 1:18-31, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men … (read all the verses); Ezekiel 18:4, … The soul who sins shall die.; Ezekiel 33:12-20, Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; … (v 20) … I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.”

My daddy always used to say (and I’ve used this before) … that God cannot make two mountains without a valley.

My husband also added that God will NOT make decisions for you!  Each one must make their own decision to ask Christ into their heart.  God will not force anyone to accept Him.  There is the picture of Christ knocking at the door … there is no door handle on the outside.  YOU MUST open the door for Him to enter.

There are two little choruses … My God can do anything, anything, anything … My God can do anything.  He made the earth with all it’s fullness and all that time shall bring … My God can do anything.

God can do anything, anything, anything, God can do anything but fail.  He can save, He can heal, just believe and He will,  God can do anything but fail.

—–

Connie Haus  (All scripture taken from NJKV unless noted)

It’s not easy to play second fiddle.  Most people want to be the lead person.

Second fiddle is a role played by an assistant or second-in-command to someone else.  Second fiddle is a secondary role, less important or less powerful to someone else.  (Sidebar note … second fiddles are necessary roles AND important roles … not everyone can be a first chair … there has to be supportive roles!)

Mary and Baby Jesus get all the attention at Christmas … obviously!  Where would we be if Jesus had not come?  What if Mary would have said “no”?  I feel confident that just as God chose Mary, He also chose Joseph.

Joseph was a step-dad.  He was “daddy” … he was not “Father”.

I have written before that I believe Mary had a heart after God.  God didn’t look down from heaven and willy-nilly look around, saw Mary and said, “That one!”.  No, I believe God planted in her heart a hunger for Him and chose Mary to be the earthly mother of His Son.

But just as surely, God knew that Jesus was going to need an earthly dad that would help raise Him.  Matthew tells us that Joseph was a just man.  Strong’s Concordance tells us this means “upright, blameless, righteous, conforming to God’s laws and man’s”.

Discovering Mary was pregnant and “what to do?” was not an easy choice for Joseph.  It was difficult for him to understand that Mary was supernaturally pregnant!  Did he believe her at first?  Had she deceived him?  Was he jealous?  Did he know before she went to visit with Elizabeth?  When she returned she was three months along and obviously pregnant.  Is that when she told him?  Or did she tell him before she left and pray that he would use that time to consider what to do?  Because he was a just and righteous man he was inclined to show her mercy … he loved her and was willing to divorce her privately rather than have her stoned but then the angel appeared!

While Joseph was considering what to do, an angel appeared to him “…do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit”.  I personally think that “being a just and righteous” man he knew the scriptures and being a descendent of David he was in the right family to be chosen by God for this role.

Another thing to note in Joseph’s character was that not only did he obey God to take Mary as his wife but he did not consummate his marriage to her until after the Christ Child was born … he was able to hold back his manly passions!

It is an interesting fact that first the angel had to appear to Mary to tell her she was the chosen one and would be carrying the Christ Child in her womb.  After that the angel never appeared to Mary again … it was always to Joseph, the head of the home AND Mary was submitted to his leadership.  She never once said, “Hey, I’m not moving to Egypt … the angel hasn’t told me that … I’m the one that carried Him in my womb, I’m the one that the angel should talk to …”  No, she trusted that Joseph had heard from God and followed his leadership.

The second angelic appearance was after the wise men left and an angel once again visited Joseph and told him to “take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word …”  What?  He had already left his hometown, his work, went to Bethlehem and now to Egypt?  How long would the family need to stay?  What would he do to bring in money to live on?  (Thank you wise men for giving us gold, frankincense and myrrh!)  But Joseph obeyed and took the family to Egypt!

Then the angel appeared again after Herod died and told Joseph to pack up the family once more and return to the land of Israel.  WOW … another move!  In both going to and returning from Egypt … Joseph obeyed without delay!

The final word from God to Joseph was after they returned to the land of Israel and Joseph heard that the son of Herod was ruling.  Joseph being fearful for the life of the Child, God warned him in a dream and he turned aside where they then settled in Nazareth in the region of Galilee.

How would you like to play second fiddle to God? Trying to parent the Son of God!  WOW!  God entrusted Jesus to Joseph to help raise Him!  Joseph was willing to be lead by God, not by his feelings or desires.

Joseph was a carpenter showing/teaching Jesus how to build … all time time Jesus knowing that in the end He was going to be building people not things!  Joseph did not have a model of how to raise the boy Jesus.  He was living a “never before”!

Joseph had to be a man of character to be willing to stand along side Mary as others sneered, gossiped and talked about her “out of wedlock” pregnancy.  I’m sure that throughout his life he also had to take his share of gossip.

There are songs about the baby, songs about Mary, songs about shepherds, angels, wise men and even drummer boys!  Have you ever heard a song about Joseph?

God chose Joseph and he fulfilled the role God assigned to him … that of protector and guardian of Jesus.  He observed the holy days, went yearly to Jerusalem to observe the Feast of the Passover and took the family with him.  Joseph’s life and the role he played stands as a testimonial to the value of hearing from God, obedience, faithfulness and especially to honoring the entrusted role of fatherhood!