Needs vs. Wants

 "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23:1

        When, as a child, my mother had me memorize the twenty-third psalm, this first verse gave me pause. As I pondered its meaning, I asked my mom, "If I need the Lord as my Shepherd, then why wouldn't I want Him?"

    We are studying this psalm in my ladies' bible study. By way of introduction, we were asked to consider what our five or six greatest needs are in life.

    My list began with fresh air followed by clean water, but I am embarrassed to admit I listed my Bible, which I know to be a treasure, as number five. I guess it's because, initially, I was only thinking about what I needed to prolong my temporal life. But, there are thirsts greater than any need of mere air or water.

    In her book, "The Hiding Place," Corrie Ten Boom recounted the Nazi occupation of her country, Holland. As devout Christians, she and her family ran an underground operation to save the Jews, including hiding the hunted within a secret room of their home.

    After a betrayal of trust, a raid was conducted of their home in 1943 during which Corrie was beaten, arrested and taken into prison. The illness she'd had at the time of the raid flared into a pre-tubecular state while confined in miserable conditions, so after several weeks, she was taken to a crowded medical facility. When a nurse escorted her to use the restroom, she covertly whispered to Corrie, "Quickly, how may I help you?"

    Corrie's response: "Yes, oh, yes! A Bible! Could you get me a Bible?"

    What would your list of imminent needs look like? If in Corrie's position, would a Bible have been your first request?

    The thought occurred to me that a person can be seated before a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast and still be hungry. He can imbibe in laughter among friends, yet still go home quite thirsty. A person can also be fed by the Presence of the Living God while wracked with illness and starvation, because only God can truly satiate us down to our very souls.

"You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your Name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me." Psalm 63: 1-8

 

    

What Does Jesus Look Like?

 "When they crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to Him and begged Him to let the sick just touch the edge of His cloak, and all who touched it were healed." Matthew 14: 34-36

    What does Jesus look like? 

    The people who walked the ancient roads of the Promised Land had the benefit of seeing our Messiah in the flesh. (Can you imagine seeing God Incarnate?) But how do I recognize the living Savior these days? 

    I must look for the work of His hands in the bodies of His believers, we who are the temples of His Holy Spirit. Like the glow of warm light seen from stained glass windows of a steepled church on a snowy night, we are to let our light shine, inviting all to come and see.

    Reflecting on this past week, I saw Jesus on TV wearing the orange tee shirt of a Samaritan's Purse volunteer, mucking mud from homes in North Carolina, while another was repairing the roof after Hurricane Helene did her damage. 

    I saw Jesus in the petite form of actress Patricia Heaton as she was being interviewed in Israel. Though she has a husband and four sons in the States, she is doing all she can to support our Jewish friends who are suffering beneath burdens of war and antisemitism. She is living out the truth of the Gospel. She and a friend established the O7C (October 7th Coalition) to bring awareness and assistance to Israel and the Jewish communities around us.

    This weekend, I saw Jesus in the smiling, singing faces of actors who portrayed the characters of the biblical story of Ruth in a play we attended. In the final scene, a cross arose with scarlet ribbons of redemption flowing out toward the audience as voices swelled with the invitation to Come! Come to the cross for healing.

    Will a passerby recognize Christ in me? Am I plainly garbed in the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness, with the belt of truth girded beneath the shield of faith? Do the gospel shoes of peace carry me into the sea of humanity inviting others to Come? Is the joy of my salvation plainly evident? Are the fruits of the Spirit produced by the way I live my life? 

    When others see me, I hope they get a picture of what Jesus looks like. 

Less Like Me

by Zach Williams 

Lord, help me be a little more like mercy,

A little more like grace,

A little more like kindness, goodness, love and faith;

A little more like patience,

A little more like peace,

A little more like Jesus

A little less like me. 

Right or Left?

 "Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or left; keep your foot from evil." Proverbs 4: 25-27

    During a conversation with a friend last night, we spoke of the difficult choices which lay before us on Election Day. The thought came to my mind of the various verses in the Bible about maintaining our walk with the Lord - not turning to the right or to the left. Is it just a coincidence that these terms are used to define the Republican and Democratic parties?

    As I advised my friend, it is tantamount to the Christian to fix our eyes on Jesus. As we drive along, the political signs beckon us to lean this way and that, but if we keep our focus on the road ahead, we will not go astray. 

    In the book of Daniel, we are assured it is God who deposes kings and raises up others (2:21), but that doesn't mean we shouldn't exercise our right to vote prayerfully. We have a responsibility to uphold that which is valuable to the Lord as best we can at the polls. 

    When the outcome of this day is revealed on the morrow, nothing along my path with Jesus will have changed. No matter who is president, Jesus is still the King of kings and it is under His authority I live and move and have my being. Amen!

    When Jesus stood before Pilate, His flogged body bleeding through the robe of purple in which the mocking soldiers had dressed Him, He gave no answer to the governor's probes. Finally, Pilate stated frankly, "Do you refuse to speak to me? Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" 

    Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above." (John 19: 10-11)  

    Even when it appeared that evil had won, God was at work executing his perfect plan of redemption, removing the sting of death and the power of the grave. 

    Perhaps you have already placed your vote, or you are flummoxed by the decisions before you. Let the Bible be your voter's guide: "Do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess." (Deuteronomy 5:32)

    "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12: 1-3

    

Dirty Laundry

 "His (Manasseh's) prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and all the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself - all these are written in the records of the seers." 2 Chronicles 33:19

    This guy, Manasseh, was only twelve years old when he became king of Judah. When I think of how goofy I was when I was that age, maybe I can better understand how badly he botched his royal life and its fifty-five year reign. 

    The Bible airs his laundry list:  

• he rebuilt the high places
• he erected altars to the Baals
• he made Asherah poles
• he bowed down to the starry hosts, even setting up altars to them in God's temple
• he sacrificed his children in the fire
• he practiced divination and witchcraft
• he consulted mediums and spiritists
• he led the people astray

    In fact, the people of Judah under Manasseh's leadership did more evil than all the pagan nations before them. Though God spoke to them about this, they paid no attention. Manasseh ended up being dragged off by a hook in his nose as a prisoner of the Assyrians, bound by bronze shackles.

    My laundry list may have different entries than that of this king, but all stains look the same to our Holy God. "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our sins sweep us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

    

    I shrink from the very idea of my lascivious laundry flapping in the biblical breeze for all to see, but my Heavenly Father sees all; He knows my every transgression. How embarrassing!

    When Peter denied even knowing Jesus by the charcoal fire in the courtyard, Jesus turned His gaze on him with those piercing eyes, seeing through to Peter's soul. The disciple wept bitterly, as do I when my contrition overwhelms me. Thanks be to God, a broken and a contrite heart He does not despise! (Psalm 51:17)

    Getting back to Manasseh's dirty laundry...As he was being led away in shackles of shame, he repented of all his sins and the Lord had mercy on him. "In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors," the Bible says, "And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom." (2 Chronicles 33: 12, 13)

    My mother used to say, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." I have to agree with her because there is no way I am going to see God in my dirty clothes. The only stain fighter that works is the blood of Jesus.

"Wash me and I will be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7

    

What is More Important?

 "You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." Matthew 10:22

    Within the pages of the latest newsletter I received from the Voice of the Martyrs, I learned of the persecutions Christians in Vietnam are facing. 

    Many of their people are animists who worship spirits believed to inhabit the world around them as well as the spirits of their deceased ancestors. Fortune tellers and witch doctors are consulted for advice on health and success. The darkness of this demonic oppression runs deeply in this Communistic country, raining blows of suffering upon those who profess Christ. 

    The story is told of a man and wife, Cai and Hein, who found just a glimmer of hope one day while on the internet. It was there they heard of the powerful, loving God of the Christians, but they needed to know more. Soon, God sent some traveling traders who shared the Good News with them, which they accepted with joy.

    In response to their newfound faith, they burned the animistic altar which had been in their home. This began waves of persecution from their community and the government as all forms of support were withheld from their family. Their electricity was cut off, they were denied police protection and Cai was falsely arrested and imprisoned. Even their children were denied enrollment in the local school. To feed her family, Hein had to harvest edibles from the forest.

    Have you ever wondered why the persecutions against Christianity are so vehement and violent? What was it about Jesus that caused Him to be so hated? Why were the apostles of the early church martyred for their faith? 

    The apostle Paul listed the hardships he suffered for Christ: imprisoned, flogged, beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, hungry and thirsty, cold and naked and in constant danger. Yet, in his letter to the Romans he declared, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)

    The reason behind the hatred is because those who live in darkness do not want to hear the voice of Truth. Though the light of Christ came into the world, people loved the darkness, not wishing to be exposed. (John 3: 19, 20)

    As I read about those like Cai and Hein who are my relatives in the family of God, I pray for faith like theirs which remains even if all else is lost. I will close with this quote from Hein who said it best: "Even if Cai stays in prison, we believe in Jesus and have eternal life. If he (Cai) is free here and doesn't believe in Jesus, we don't have eternal life. What is more important? We want to have eternal life, so we can accept any suffering in our life."

"Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you." Psalm 63:3

Just Believe

 "While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. 'Your daughter is dead,' they said. 'Why bother the Teacher anymore?'  Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him (Jairus), 'Don't be afraid; just believe.'" 

    While shopping recently, I saw a decorative sign that said, "Just Believe," and I wondered in what do they want me to believe? 

    Faith is of value only when the object of that faith is trustworthy and true. If I sit down in a broken chair, even though I had all the faith I could muster placed in that chair, when it breaks beneath me, all my faith was for naught. The fault lay not with my level of faith, but in the compromised chair. 

    Put yourself in the sandals of Jairus here. When he had seen Jesus, he fell at his feet pleading for his daughter's life: "My little daughter is dying. Please come put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." (Mark 5:23) 

    When word came that his beloved child had died, had her father just sat down in a broken chair, so to speak, which splintered beneath the burden?

    Look what Jesus was asking him to believe! Hadn't Death had the final say? Hadn't the curtains been drawn as the girl's soul had left her body? What hope had Jairus now?

    Imagine the tear-filled eyes of the anguished dad meeting the steady gaze of the Savior. Perhaps Jesus gripped Jairus by the shoulders, lending His strength to the grieving man. "Don't be afraid; just believe!" 

    Now imagine the astonished parents who witnessed the resurrection of their dead daughter! Indeed, just as Jairus had believed, Jesus laid his hands on the girl and she lived.

    How simple it is: Just believe. How simple, yet so wildly complex! If we but have the faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains. (Matthew 17:20)

    Just believe. Jesus asks the same of us today. Over and over again, He implored his listeners, "Believe also in me." Will we be like his very own brothers who did not believe in him? (John 7:5) Or, with the help of God, will we hang our hats with that of Simon Peter who avered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6: 68, 69)

    In what do you believe? The government? Money? Yourself? When you draw your last breath, you have but one hope in this world: Jesus the Christ. Just believe in Him.

"Though you haven't seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1, 8, 9 

An Army of Milkweed

 "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed...Some fell on rocky places where it didn't have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and they withered because they had no root...Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times." Mark 4: 3, 5, 6, 8

    When it comes to gardening, I am a plop-and-hope sort of gardener. So, when I received some milkweed seeds, I sowed them in the front garden next to our butterfly bush without bothering to investigate their lifestyle. Visions of grateful butterflies flocking to our yard filled my daydreams as I anxiously awaited results. 

    Fast-forward one year, when those pesky plants have so prolifically suffocated all else in that garden, and witness my daydreams turning into a nightmare. The hale and hearty stalks resemble a troop of Union soldiers marching against the Old South - always more and more of them in rank and file. 

    Though I have furiously dug them up by their roots, those telltale green shoots persevere regardless, so I have been spraying them with RoundUp. Even so, they do not surrender!

    After reading the Parable of the Sower, I have come to view my milkweed army in a different light. After all, I planted them in good soil where their root system took hold like an underground bunker; they are only doing what God created them to do. At my hands, they have tolerated my unloving behavior, suffered persecution at the tip of my shovel and even survived the lethal spray of weed killer. 

    As a Christian, I should follow their example, especially considering the waves of persecution which can be seen on the global horizon. Am I firmly rooted and grounded in Christ alone, built up and strengthened in the faith? Or will I wither at the first sign of heat? Do I boast in the glory of my resurrected Savior in hopes of winning souls for Christ, thereby producing a multiplying crop? Or have I permitted thorns and briars to choke my efforts?

    Maybe I will wave the white flag and just learn to appreciate the perseverance of the milkweed. They have the right idea after all.

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him." James 1:12