Use your Safety Net

Proverbs 11:14 "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety."

 The Bible tells here in Proverbs 11 that without counsel, we will fall, but when we seek much counsel there is safety.  As we are faced with decisions that we have to make, one of the major decisions we are faced with is who do we go to seek advice.

Many people make the mistake of only going to people to whom they think will agree with the decision that they want to make.  Unfortunately, that is not what getting counsel is.  Counsel is not finding as many people who will agree with you.   Counsel, is not finding people who disagree with you either. 

When we seek counsel, it is vitally important that we seek godly counsel.  When ever we are faced with a decision we must ask ourselves and our counselors, "Am I violating scripture if I make this decision." The second question we must ask is, "If I make this decision, how will effect my walk with Christ."  Usually, when we consider the decision, we only look at them from our perspective.  We need the perspective of those godly people in our lives, and as we get it, we will find safety.

Are you Standing in God's Way?

Isaiah 59:1-2 "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that he will not hear."

I find great comfort in verse one of Isaiah 59, and great conviction in verse two.  The Lord is truly a gracious and merciful God.  He always has His hand ready to reach out and save us.  He always has a listening ear to hear us.  I am reminded of the great event in scripture where Jesus comes to His disciples walking on water.  Peter questioned if it was truly the Lord and asked if He was in fact the Lord, and if he too could walk on the water out to Him.  The Lord granted his request and Peter began walking on water.  After walking for a short while, Peter began to notice the waves crashing around him and he began to sink into the sea.  It was then, that Peter cried out saying, "Lord save me!" And Jesus stretched His hand out and walked Peter back to the boat.

What a wonderful picture we have of the Lord reaching out His hand to save.  Now the part that troubles me here in our passage this morning is verse 2 and that little bitty word - "BUT".  While the Lord's hand isn't shortened, and His ear is always listening there is still that, "but" in verse 2.  God wants to save us, He wants us to call unto Him.  BUT, there is something that is standing in the way of Him doing what He wants, and that something is not a something as much as it is a someone - it is US.  We stand in the way of God reaching out His hand. Even though God knows exactly where we are at, at all times, He still lets us hide ourselves from Him. The reason God will not hear us is because we are not calling unto Him.  We may be crying, but it isn't unto Him, it is out of our sinful self-centeredness.   If God is going to hear us, and reach out His hand to us, we must repent to Him and long for that fellowship and companionship to be restored to us.  It is our own bullheadedness and lack of repentance that causes the separation from God.  Verse 4 gives even more insight by saying, "None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity."

God is standing there waiting with open arms, longing for us to cry out to Him.  Don't let your own foolish pride stand in way of you experiencing the wonderfulness of God's outstretched hand. As long as you hold on to the sin your life, whether it's lust, bitterness, anger, greed, gossipping, fornication, or pride, you will never know how good God truly is.  Let it go, stop trusting in your own vanity, and trust God.  Cry out to Him as Peter did saying, "Lord save me".

You Missed a Spot

Proverbs 16:2 "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits."

I am a sloppy painter.  I just don't have the paitence that it requires I suppose.  When I paint, there is usually just as much paint on my hands, arms, jeans, t-shirt, & shoes as there is on what ever it is being painted.  When it comes time to get cleaned up, it is inevitable, I am going to miss some paint that I got on me.  As I get dressed and go back out with others, it becomes apparent as my wife says to me, "You missed a spot."  That is when I begin looking with great disagreement not seeing what she can clearly see.  As usual, she ends up being right, and it's back to the shower for me to get the spots I missed.

It hit me this morning as I read this verse, I do the same thing in my Christian life that I do as a painter.  I rush through carelessly, making just as much of a mess as I do getting the job done, and end up leaving myself spotted and covered with sin in the process.  Then when it is time to "clean up", I may go and do my routine "cleaning" and leave some spots that I didn't notice. Here is the lesson that I learned, just because I think I am clean doesn't mean that I am.

We don't have to live your life walking around covered in the spots that we miss.  The Bible says, "the Lord weigheth the spirits".  It is not up to us to determine whether or not we are clean.  We need to allow the Lord to move and work in our hearts.  Ask Him, as David did in the 139th Psalm, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."   Let's not be fooled into thinking that we can do it on our own, and don't argue with God either.  We need to trust the Lord, let him point out our spots, and get cleaned up.

Have you missed a spot?  Is the Lord weighing your spirit right now?  Don't ignore Him, go ahead and get cleaned up and learn how refreshed you will feel.

At the Crossroads of Heaviness or Gladness

Proverbs 12:25  "Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad."

Have you ever watched as people enter into a room.  More often than not, you can tell how someone is doing just by looking at the expression on their faces.  Are they worried? Are they bothered? Are they angry? Are they happy?  Are they depressed?  Are they having a good day? 

We have the ability to make a difference in the lives of people.  I love the verse here today out of Proverbs 12.  When man has a heavy heart, he stoops, or is down. But a good word can make a difference and lift them up out of their heaviness. 

As Christians, we ought to be on the lookout all the time to bring someone a good word.  In thinking about this topic, there is actually a two fold purpose of having a good word to say to others around us.  You see, if we are thinking about being an encouragement to someone then when we are they are blessed and lifted up.  Then the other side of that is this.  When we are thinking about being an encouragement, we are going to be more mindful of saying things that may offend or be hurtful to those around us.  The difference comes from thinking of others more than thinking about ourselves.

I'm sure there may be some today that are reading these words thinking to themselves, "That is so right, no one ever does that. I wish someone would say something kind and good to me."  Then they will go through their day looking for someone to fill that desire.  Now, don't miss the point here. We are not to be looking for someone to fill that desire for ourselves, we are to be seeking to do that for someone else.

Will you continue to let someone be in heaviness or  will you make an attempt to say something kind in an attempt to bring them down the road of gladness?
It's your crossroads, which way will you go?

Memorial Day - More than Special sales and a Day Off Work

Proverbs 10:7 "The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot."

Today is Memorial Day.  Originally known as Decoration Day, its observance began shortly after the Civil Way to remember the soldiers who gave their lives during the war.  Over time Memorial Day became a time to remember all American Soldiers who had given their lives for our country.  It is truly a special day for us to be grateful for the freedoms that have been extended to us as Americans.

Today, it seems to have become more about special deals at stores, days off, and cook outs at family reunions.  While there is nothing wrong with those things being done.  May we not forget the people who have given their lives for us to still be able to live in one of the greatest and freest countries in the world - the American Soldier.

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of visiting Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.  What an overwhelming emotional experience.  As I walked through gates, I quickly became humbled at the thought that every body buried there had given their life for their country.  Hundreds of matching tomb stones, perfectly placed through out the rolling hills of the cemetery, was truly magnificent.  Today as I observe Memorial Day, I observe it with a different point of view than I have the previous 34.

God Bless America! 

Give me thine heart by Pastor Tim Cruse

Here are some great thoughts from Pastor Tim Cruse that I thought you may enjoy.
 

“My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.”
Proverbs 23:26

God wants His people to guard (Proverbs 4:23), guide (Proverbs 23:19), and give (Proverbs 23:26) their hearts. When children give their hearts to their parents, they trust them to protect, provide, and prepare them to follow God’s will for their lives.
Here are ten truths about your child’s heart to keep in mind as you prepare them for God’s will:

• By nature my heart is sinful and therefore imperfect.
• I need you to hold me accountable and teach me good character by helping me to think biblically.
• My view of God and how to trust Him is being shaped by your influence and example. Please teach me how to properly respond to His authority.
• I feel most secure when there is harmony and structure in the home, and I am allowed to become who God wants me to be.
• I lack discernment, and need you to keep me from the appearance of evil so I will not be weakened to the evil itself.
• Your acceptance and understanding means the world to me even though we do not always see eye to eye on some things.
• Your unconditional love when I have stumbled teaches me forgiveness and grace.
• Know that I have problems, and do not believe me if I act like I do not need to talk with you about them.
• Your time is more important to me than your gifts.
• Never give up on me or stop praying for me.

By Pastor Tim Cruse

The Power of Influence

Galatians 5:7 "Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?" 

I love a good question.  You know, thought provoking questions, the ones that really make you consider something that you would otherwise think if the question hadn't been asked.  That is the type of question Paul is asking here in our passage this morning. 

There are two aspects to this verse. The first one deals with your own influence. Have you considered your own power of influence on those people around you? What kind of difference do you make in the peoples lives that you effect?  Do you cause them to want to be closer to the Lord? Do you encourage them be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving?  Or do you bring them down to a level that they don't even obey the truth anymore?

The second aspect of this verse deals with others influence on you.  First you must ask yourself, "am I obeying the word of God."  When we answer that question we must be honest and if we answer no, we must examine the cause.  Who in our lives may have influenced us to be this way?  We must consider everyone that we allow to influence us in any way.  What changes have taken place?  Who am I spending more time with?  Who am I giving my time too?  Who is influencing me?

In order to correct this in our lives there may have to be some changes in who we allow to influence our ways. Consider this today: "Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?" 

At the Crossroads of the Natural Way or the Bible Way

Proverbs 15:1-2 "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.  The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the moth of fools poureth out foolishness."

Many times in life we do what comes natural to us.  We typically have this attitude of, "If someone yells at me, I'm going to yell back."  It is very natural to yell back when someone is yelling at us.  It is instinctive, and we view it as necessary.  But is it really necessary to only do what comes natural to us?   

In Proverbs 15, the Bible is telling us to do something that goes against our nature.  It goes against mine at least.  "A soft answer turneth away wrath"??? When you consider that statement at first glance, it doesn't make sense.  What makes more sense to me is whoever yells the loudest and longest wins.  Look at what he says in the second part, "but grievous words stir up anger."  Grievous words??? What is that? Grievous words are those words we choose to say to hurt someone on purpose, usually in an argument.  Rather than choosing to use a soft answer, we choose to get back at them. As we get back at them, intending to hurt them, it only stirs up more sorrow for us. 

I have always considered this verse of scripture in the backwards.  I have always thought of the soft answer being for the other person.  And in a way it kind of is, but it is really for the person giving the soft answer.  If you want the wrath and anger to continue, yell & fight back.  If you want the wrath and anger to stop - consider using a soft answer next time.  Verse 2 actually gives us more insight into this line of thinking.  "The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness."  When we use the knowledge of a soft answer, it will work.  To not use a soft answer is foolish. 

Are we so foolish to think that we know more than God?  I have talked with folks before about these very verses, and the response is usually the same, "that won't work"  or "I've tried that, it doesn't work".  Listen, the Bible doesn't say, "A soft answer turneth away wrath, and it you try it for five minutes and it doesn't seem to be working feel free to let them have it with both barrels." I'm telling you right now, if we only try it for a little while it will not work.  You are going to have to not just try it, but let it become who you are and what you do - because you are no fool I know.

It's simple, "a soft answer turneth away wrath."  You're at a crossroads - which way will you choose?  The natural way? or the Bible way?  Don't be foolish, choose the Bible way.

At the Crossroads of Refined & Wasted: How to respond to the Heat of a Trial

I Peter 1:6-9 "Wherein ye greatly rejoice though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

I'm pretty sure no one woke up this morning and said, "I think I'm gonna go find me a trial today and take it head on."  A trial is not something that we seek out and desire to go through.  It is though a stretch on the highway of life that we all must face from time to time.  Consider it a type of road construction.  Yes, road construction!  No one likes it, but it is necessary.

A trial is described here in our scripture passage this morning in such beautiful light.  Peter tells us first off that trials are temporary, they will not last forever.  The phrase, "if need be" is very important to take note of.  While none of us ever desire to go through trials, they are sometimes necessary for us to travel through in order to grow our faith in Christ.  The trial of faith is an amazing process.  Peter likens it to how gold is refined.  Gold is one of the most precious metals on earth, it's value is compared to very few things and here Peter tells that our trials are more precious than the gold we covet.  He goes on to tell us that it is precious because when we go through the heat & fire of the trial, the outcome is expected to bring glory back to Christ. 

There is another very important aspect of going through this construction zone of life.  This one, may very well be the difference between being refined or being wasted.  Our response to the heat of the trial is more important than the trial itself.  Peter uses a phrase that we don't like to consider when going through a trial, and he even uses it more than one time.  "Greatly rejoice," he said.  Finding the joy in the trial will be difference between being refined or being wasted.  He went on to say that we should rejoice with "Joy unspeakable and full of glory."  When we learn to rejoice in our lives, even in the midst of the trial that we may be in, we can know for certain, that we will be refined like fine gold and not wasted and discarded. Our rejoicing through the trial will bring us to praise the name of our wonder God.

As you come to the crossroads of refined or wasted, don't let the heat scare you into turning the wrong way.  Face the trial head on and rejoice. Don't be tempted to turn down Satan's detour that he will place along the way.  Just keep on going through, rejoicing as you go until you reach the end of that particular journey of increasing your faith in Christ. 

At the Crossroads of Action or Reaction

 

Proverbs 14:17 "He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated." 

Proverbs 25:11 "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." 

Proverbs 29:20 "Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? There is more hope of a fool than of him."

I was at a crossroads this morning and I'd like to take a minute or two and share with you my personal experience in choosing which direction to go.    As I faced this crossroads in my life I was forced to make a decision between action and reaction.  In my flesh, I wanted to react.  As a matter of fact I wanted to react in such a way that what I was reacting to, would have had no doubt that I was reacting.  But something in my spirit, ok maybe not my spirit...something in my wife's spirit, which then spoke to my spirit, caused me to consider my reaction to this particular situation. 

The scripture references above came to me as I rapidly searched through my Bible trying to find somewhere that would justify my reaction.  While part of me wishes I could have found something to justify what I was feeling at the time, I realized after pondering on them for a little while that I was wrong.  Reacting hastily, and quickly to situations that frustrate us, usually ends up making us look far worse than what we think it will.

As I continued to study on this topic I found that action means "an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity." While on the other hand, I laughed out loud when I looked up reaction.  Now keep in mind, there were several different definitions for this word, but only one seemed to sum up what I was feeling at the crossroads this morning - reaction: "A pattern of behavior constituting a mental disorder or personality type."  :)  And since I do not have any "mental disorders" (or at least any I admit too) I decided against reacting and decided to take action on the high road instead this time. 

Would you like to know something?  While the high road was not as easy to turn down, I am happy that I did.  Take action today over reaction, you'll be glad that you did.

The Blessed Life

James 1:12 "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him"

It is such a struggle to do right sometimes. Doing right takes a lot of thinking and planning on our parts.  The Bible says that we are all tempted when we enticed by our own lust. And when we have given ourselves to that lust we have gone into sin, and sin always brings death.  Why would we want to choose to be around death?

Notice what our verse says though, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation..." We can have a blessed life, we just have to discipline ourselves to not give into the temptations that we are faced with each day.  That is to say we must learn to tell ourselves - NO.  That's right tell yourself, NO! 

We will always be tempted of something. And once you get victory over something that tempts you often, something else will come along to tempt you as well.  Just say NO, and live the blessed life.  The choice is your.

 

How To Have a Life With No Regrets

Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

I have travelled down the Regret Hwy, more times than I care to admit.  It sometimes starts out as a pleasent trip, but every time the trip ends the same - in misery and regret. 

In studying the word regret, I found that in its origin it means to "remember with distress or longing."  Oh, I have many memories of regrets.  I could go all the back to early childhood and find many regrets in choices that I have made, things that I have said to people, things that I have done, things I haven't done...they all can leave us stranded on this long painful highway of regret.

While I have many things in my life that I regret, I want to share with you about another highway that I have travelled too.  It is similar in name, but yet so different to travel on.  It is the road named No Regrets.  It is on this road that brings much peace, joy, and happiness.  But I must tell you something, this road is not heavily travelled on.  It is even a little out of the way, and there are not any short cuts in order to get to it either.  No Regret Rd. is a single lane road that only goes to one direction and always leads to the same place as long as your stay on its path.  Now you will find that while you travel down No Regret Rd. there are plenty of other roads that you will be tempted to turn down, and you may even give into the temptation.  But there is not another road that leads to where No Regret Rd. will take you to.  You have to learn to be patient on this road, but is worth minute it takes to get.

Where is this No Regret Rd, you ask?  Well, it is the road that we travel as we walk with God, the path that He wants us to take.  While I may have many regrets in this life, I have never, not one single time, ever regretted serving God and walking His path.  His way has never, and never will lead to regret.  What I have regretted in my Christian life are the times that I gave into the temptation to do my own thing and go my own way.  I have found that as long as I keep myself on the path that God places in front of me - it always leads to a life of no regret.

You want to really know how to have a life with no regrets?  Live your life for God, walk in His ways, love him, keep his commandment, and you will have a life of no regrets.  Occasionally you may come across someone that says, "I have regrets from serving God."  And all I can say to that is this, "you obviously were not walking with God when you thought you were, because God's path always leads to no regrets."

Today at the Crossroads, you have a choice to make.  You will find your self at these Crossroads everyday of your life.  NO Regret Rd or Regret Highway.  Which way will you choose?  I hope you choose the No Regret Rd.  - walk with God and have a lifetime of no regrets.

My Lips are Sealed

Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."


I am always amazed by the things people say to each other.  The fact of the matter is, people can be down right cruel.  As a child I was taught, as many of you were, the saying, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  I know the intention behind that phrase is good, but it is an absolute false statement.  Words do hurt, and they hurt deeply and badly.

The Bible instructs us here in our scripture verse today, that we are to let no "corrupt communication" leave our mouths.  There is another phrase which says, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."  That phrase too, while it sounds good, doesn't go with what the scripture says.  It is important to note that Ephesians 4:29 doesn't stop at "no corrupt communication", it continues on to say, "but that which is good."  We are not supposed to just say nothing, we are speak good and encouraging words that build up those around us rather than tear them down. 

Now, let me say something here while you are working on training yourself on speaking encouraging words.  There are going to be times in the beginning that your lips must remain sealed.  What I mean by that is - think about what you are wanting to say first - and if it isn't kind, don't say it.  You're gonna have to train your self to speak kind encouraging words, but once you're trained it will be extremely easy to speak kindly rather than corruptly.

Maybe we need to adapt some new phrases today.  How about this one: "If you can't say something nice, say something nice instead."  Or this one: "Sticks and stones may break the bones, but words will wound the heart." 

If we will learn to speak kindly to others, I promise you others will learn to speak kindly to us as well.

Hard or Soft?

Psalm 95:8a "Harden not your heart..."  Ephesians 4:32 "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

I am going to try and keep it really simple today.  Are our hearts hard or soft? And what difference does it make?  And, no I'm not talking about tacos either. :)

I have heard many people say many times that they have hardened their heart because they had gotten hurt and they were not going to get hurt any more.  While on the surface a statement like that makes a lot of sense, when you dig a little deeper into the matter it never does what the person is attempting to do.

Anyone that I have ever seen harden their heart with the purpose of never getting hurt again always seems to get the same results from their hard heart - they get hurt even worse, and their heart grows even harder.  Each time their heart gets harder it actually becomes easier for them to get hurt.  They begin expecting to be hurt and they find hurt almost everywhere they look.  After a while people with hard hearts become as easy to spot as who is 7 feet tall.

Ephesians 4:32 exhorts us to keep our hearts tender and soft, always kind and forgiving.  I know from personal experience that forgiving someone is not the simplest of tasks. But we must understand that the forgiveness that is being offered is not really for the person being forgiven as much as it is for ourselves not to become hard hearted.

I know I said I was going to keep it simple today and believe it or not it is a very simple concept, but not as simple to carry out.  I will promise you this though - the more you forgive others, the simpler it becomes to forgive more.  As you consider forgiving someone or not, take just a moment and ponder on what God through Christ has forgiven you for.  If can truly take a close look at what God has freely forgiven you of - in comparison you too can and should forgive.

 

Greatness is in the preparation

Proverbs 24:30-34 "I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man."

It was about 20 year ago when I first heard the statement, "Greatness is in the preparation."  As a 15 year boy, it really didn't mean that much to me at the time, but I never forgot it. Over the years I have pondered on it from time to time and I have come to understand it better now more than ever.

If something is going to be great, not so great, or lousy, it is going to be the preparation that often makes the difference.  Take a sports team for example.  They spend more time on preparing for game time than they do the actual game.  A great movie will take months in preparation for a great 2 hour long movie.  A great garden requires much preparation.  A great event must be prepared for in order to ensure its greatness. 

You may be asking yourself, how does this apply to my life, most importantly my Christian life?  Well, if greatness is in the preparation, then how we prepare for our daily lives is important if we want to have and experience a great Christian life.  How much preparation are you putting into your daily life?  Is one church service a week enough?  Is 2 or 3?  Not if you are expecting to have great victories in your life it isn't.  It is going to require daily preparation in studying God's word, in spending time with God in prayer, in making an effort to do what God is prompting you to do.  If you are prepared for the devils attacks they will be easier to avoid.  Get yourself prepared and begin experiencing the great benefits of being a Christian. For greatness is in the preparation.