Dangerous Passenger

Posted on September 2, 2021 by jesustrek

Clovis Chappell wrote about an interesting situation that occurred years ago, in the pioneer days of aviation. A pilot was attempting to make a long distance flight when he noticed that there was a rat in the plane with him. It had gotten on the plane unnoticed before he had taken off. The pilot realized that this was potentially a very serious situation. Rats are notorious for gnawing through whatever they can find to chew on. This rat could very well gnaw through a vital cable or an important wire, causing the pilot to lose control of the plane. It was a very dangerous scenario.

The pilot was concerned to the point of being anxious. At first he did not know what to do. It was two hours back to the landing field from which he had taken off and more than two hours to the next landing field ahead.

Then he remembered that the rat was not made for the heights. It was made to live on the ground and under the ground. So the pilot began to climb. He kept going up until he reached a height where the oxygen level was so low that the rat could not survive. When the pilot landed, he found the dead rat and got rid of it.

The Bible warns us against the sin of worry. Worry is a dangerous passenger to carry with us on the journey of life. Worry can damage our health, weaken our ability to minister and limit our witness to others. However, worry cannot exist in the spiritual heights where God dwells. It cannot breathe in the atmosphere where Scripture and prayer give life. Worry dies when we ascend to the heights of the Lord through prayer and His Word.

Jesus says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34).

Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Don’t allow worry and anxiety to become a dangerous and unwanted stowaway on your journey with the Lord! Follow the teachings of Scripture and turn every trouble over to the Lord in prayer.

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In Trouble Now!

Posted on August 31, 2021 by jesustrek

An older couple who had never flown before decided that they would get on a plane in order to make the long journey to see their grandchildren. Their flight started out smoothly, but after a while the pilot’s voice came over the intercom: “This is your captain speaking. Ladies and gentlemen, I feel that I ought to let you know that one of our three engines has failed. However, there is no cause for alarm. This plane is entirely airworthy flying on two engines, but I regret to say that we will arrive at our destination one hour later than planned.”

About a half hour later, the pilot spoke to the passengers once again: “This is your captain speaking. I regret to tell you that we have lost the second of our three engines. But let me assure you that we have every expectation of making a safe and normal landing at our destination. However, we will be three hours late in arriving.”

At this news, Grandma turned to Grandpa with a hint of irritation in her voice and said, “If that third engine goes out, we’ll be up here all night!”

Of course, an airplane can’t fly without an engine. Nor can a Christian operate without the Holy Spirit.

“Do not quench the Spirit.”—1 Thessalonians 5:19.

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Clear Communication

Posted on August 26, 2021 by jesustrek

A woman showed up for her appointment with a lawyer and got right to the point—“I want to divorce my husband.” To this the attorney replied, “Do you have any grounds?” She answered, “Why yes, we have a couple of acres.” The puzzled lawyer then said, “You don’t understand. What I want to know is do you and your husband have a grudge?” The lady answered, “Actually, we don’t, but we do have a nice carport.” At this, the lawyer shook his head and said, “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I just don’t see any reason why you should divorce your husband.” The woman looked at him and said, “It’s just that the man can’t carry on an intelligent conversation.”

Marriage isn’t the only place where unclear communication can cause problems. It also happens in the community. Two farmers were talking in front of the bank. One remarked, “I hear that you made $60,000 in corn.” His friend replied, “Well, that isn’t quite right. It wasn’t me, it was my brother. It wasn’t corn, it was soybeans. It wasn’t $60,000, but $6,000. And he didn’t make it, he lost it.”

Business expert Peter Drucker estimated that 60 percent of all management problems are a result of faulty communications. A leading marriage counselor says that at least half of all divorces result from faulty communication between spouses. And criminologists tell us that upwards of 90 percent of all criminals have difficulty communicating with other people.

Unclear communication is a problem throughout society and, sadly, it often causes trouble in the church. Misunderstandings often lead to pain and confusion. That’s why the Scriptures urge us to strive to communicate clearly.

James 1:19-20 says, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

People often get this wrong. Very few are good listeners. Many, instead of listening to the other person, are mentally rehearsing their response. Then they are quick to speak, rather than taking time to think through what they want to say. The result of poor listening and rash speaking is that somebody gets angry, and then all kinds of bad things start to happen.

In order for good things to happen in the church, we have to strive to communicate clearly. It starts with being a good listener and continues with giving thoughtful and helpful responses to what the other person says. Then, “…speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

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How’s That Again?

Posted on August 25, 2021 by jesustrek

Psychologist James Dobson reported seeing a sign at a convent in southern California that had the following message: Absolutely No Trespassing—Violators Will Be Prosecuted to the Full Extent of the Law. Signed, “The Sisters of Mercy.”

If we truly understood the enormous scope of the mercy we have received from God, we would be much more willing to give mercy to people who have wronged us.

In Matthew 18, Jesus tells a story about a servant who owed his master an unbelievably large amount of money. Since he could not pay back the debt, the master had pity on the man, cancelled the debt and let him go.

That man in turn found a fellow servant who owed him a relatively small amount of money. Rather than forgive as he had been forgiven, he demanded payment. When the fellow servant could not repay him, he had him thrown into prison.

When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and reported the incident to the master. The master called the servant back into his presence and said, “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” (v.33). The angry master handed the ungrateful servant over to the jailers to be severely punished.

Jesus finishes the story will this application—“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (v.35).

Think of all the numerous sins that God has forgiven you. Then consider your willingness to forgive others for the relatively minor sins they commit against you.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”—Matthew 5:7.

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Calling All Mighty Warriors!

Posted on August 20, 2021 by jesustrek

One of the oddest greetings recorded in Scripture is when the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and proclaimed, “The Lord is with you mighty warrior.” (Judges 6:12b).

Gideon must have felt like anything but a might warrior at the time. The Midianites had invaded Israel, and their oppression was so severe that Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep the Midianites from stealing it. Rather than confronting the enemy, this “mighty warrior” was hiding from them!

After hearing this greeting, Gideon had some questions. He wanted to know “…But if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about…?” (6:13b). “The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?’” (6:14).

We may have some questions of our own for the Lord. If the Lord is with us: Why is abortion still legal? Why do so many people think that homosexuality is OK? Why did COVID 19 happen? Why is the Taliban back in power? Why is there human trafficking in our nation? Why is Christianity openly mocked by so many people in the United States? Why are so many children abused? Why are so many bad things happening if the Lord is with us?

Instead of answering our questions, God seems to say to us the same thing that he said to Gideon, “Go in the strength you have. Am I not sending you?” Rather than question God, we would do better to obey him and carry out whatever assignment he has given us.

Gideon then resorted to excuses, a common human trait. He pointed out that his clan was the weakest one in his tribe and that he was the least in his family (6:15). Humility is a wonderful quality, but it can sometimes be used as an excuse to avoid serving the Lord. Let’s always strive to be humble, yet obedient.

Gideon then asked for confirmation of God’s call. Gideon put a fleece on the ground overnight. The next morning he found the fleece wet with dew, but the ground dry, just as Gideon had asked. The next night he put the fleece out again. This time the fleece was dry the next morning, but the ground was wet, just as Gideon has asked God to do. At this, Gideon was convinced that God had indeed really spoken to him and had given him this assignment.

We still talk about “putting out a fleece” to confirm that God wants us to take on a specific task or go in a certain direction. He often confirms his assignment to us through circumstances that cannot possibly be a coincidence, or by sending other believers to advise us that this does indeed seem to be God’s will for our lives. Once we get the confirmation, then we must spring into action.

Chapter 7 tells us how God thinned out Gideon’s army. The Lord didn’t want the Israelites to think that they had defeated the Midianites through their own strength. They must know most certainly that it was the Lord who gave them the victory. So an army that was once 32,000 strong quickly became a mere 300 men!

If this seems to be unorthodox, wait until you hear the battle plan. The 300 warriors were to face off against the mighty Midianite army by waving a torch, blowing a trumpet and giving out a shout. The plan worked! The Lord confused the Midianite soldiers. First they turned on each other, then they ran. The Israelites pursued them, captured their leaders and won the victory—just as the Lord had said!

You may not feel much like a mighty warrior right now, but God sees you for what you can be if you align yourself with him. So put your questions and excuses behind you, obey God and go out in the strength that you have. You will find that the Lord will be with you and he will give you the victory. And it will all be for his glory!

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Have You Heard about Harry?

Posted on August 19, 2021 by jesustrek

Two church leaders met on the street one day. One asked the other, “Have you heard about Harry? He embezzled his company out of nearly half a million dollars.”

The other man replied, “That’s terrible! I never did trust Harry.”

“Not only that,” the first man continued, “he left town and took Charlie’s wife with him.”

“That’s awful!” came the reply. “Harry has always been a scoundrel.”

The first man said, “There’s more. Harry stole a car to make his getaway.”

“That’s outrageous! I always did think that Harry had a bad streak in him.”

“It gets even worse. Witnesses say that Harry was quite drunk when he drove out of town.”

“Harry’s no good. That’s for sure. But now that he’s gone, who are we going to get to teach his Sunday school class this week?’

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”—2 Timothy 2:2.

“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”—James 3:1.

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Wouldn’t He Show?

Posted on August 18, 2021 by jesustrek

One Sunday after they got home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, “Mommy, the preacher’s sermon this morning confused me.”

The mother asked, “Oh? Why is that?”

The daughter replied, “Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?”

The mother answered, “Yes, that’s true, honey.”

“And he also said that God lives in us? Is that true, Mommy?”

Again the mother replied, “Yes, it’s true.”

“Well”, said the little girl, “If God is bigger than us and he lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?”

Sometimes the words of children give us adults a lot to think about!

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”—Matthew 5:16.

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No Real Damage

Posted on August 13, 2021 by jesustrek

Several years ago a tornado ripped through a small mid-western town. The local newspaper reported on the event, stating that the storm that blew away the Methodist church did no real damage to the town!

That’s a scary proposition that gives every Christian a reason to stop and wonder about the effectiveness of their congregation. If your church would suddenly cease to exist, would your community even miss it?

Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We must always strive to be relevant and effective, impacting the lives of the people around us in a positive way so that the kingdom of God will grow.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?…You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”—Matthew 5:13-16.

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Important Activity

Posted on August 12, 2021 by jesustrek

The Bible uses several illustrations to point out the importance of bringing people to Jesus.

In Luke 15:3-7, Jesus tells a parable about a lost sheep. The shepherd leaves the rest of the flock in order to find the one that is lost. When he finds it, he calls his friends and neighbors to come and rejoice with him because the lost sheep has been found. Jesus says that there is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents.

In Luke 5:1-11, Jesus performs a miracle in which the disciples are able, in one cast of the net, to catch enough fish to cause two boats to begin to sink. He then commissions them to “fish for people”.

In John 4:34-38, Jesus tells his disciples that the fields are “ripe for harvest”. Just as the crops become ready to be brought into the barn, people are ready to be brought into the kingdom of God.

All of these examples—finding lost sheep, fishing for people and harvesting a crop—require deliberate action on the part of those who would participate in evangelism. Those who want to be a part of bringing people to Jesus must make the decision to actively engage in the process.

Have you made that decision yet?

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Leading the Way

Posted on August 11, 2021 by jesustrek

One of my favorite sources of wisdom is the resident philosopher at the Maysville Ledger Independent, Ponto the Office Dog. In one of his most recent musings, Ponto had this to say about leadership—“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.”

It stands to reason that you can’t lead people in the right direction if you don’t know which way to go yourself. Many have been led astray by people who simply didn’t know where they were going.

Secondly, you have to go that way yourself if you really want to lead people. It’s often not good enough to simply point people in the right direction. They probably won’t take your advice if they don’t see you going that way yourself.

Finally, a leader has to show the way. People want to understand why you are going in that certain direction rather than any of the other directions you might have taken. A necessary part of leadership is to explain the journey to your followers as they go with you along the way.

Of course, Jesus is the ultimate leader. He says, “…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6).

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