Hunt for Truth

Search the Scriptures.

John 5:39

The Greek word translated search signifies a strict, close, diligent, curious search, the kind men make when they are seeking gold, or hunters when they are in pursuit of game. We must not be content with giving a superficial glance to one or two chapters, but with the candle of the Spirit we must deliberately seek out the meaning of the Word.

Holy Scripture requires searching—much of it can only be learned by careful study. There is milk for babies, but also meat for strong men. The rabbis wisely say that a mountain of matter hangs upon every word, indeed, upon every title of Scripture. Tertullian declared, “I adore the fullness of the Scriptures.” The person who merely skims the Book of God will not profit from it; we must dig and mine until we obtain the treasure. The door of the Word only opens to the key of diligence. The Scriptures demand to be searched. They are the writings of God, bearing the divine stamp and imprimatur—who shall dare to treat them casually? To despise them is to despise the God who wrote them.

God forbid that any of us should allow our Bibles to become witnesses against us in the great day of account. The Word of God will repay searching. God does not ask us to sift through a mountain of chaff with only here and there a grain of wheat in it, but the Bible is sifted corn—we have only to open the granary door and find it. Scripture grows upon the student.

It is full of surprises. Under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, to the searching eye, it glows with splendor of revelation, like a vast temple paved with gold and roofed with rubies, emeralds, and all manner of gems. There is no merchandise like the merchandise of scriptural truth. Finally, the Scriptures reveal Jesus: “They that bear witness about me.” No more powerful motive can be urged upon Bible readers than this: He who finds Jesus finds life, heaven, and all things. Happy are they who, in searching the Bible, discover their Savior.

A few days ago we remembered D-day and next month we will be having the 4th of July celebrations. I came across a video clip that reminded me about how our national anthem has four verses and I wanted to share it with you so that you would be able to think about the words and their importance. There is nothing wrong about being patriotic, no mater what our stupid leaders in government say.

The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics  By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

I hope you enjoy this guy as much as I did and just because he is a regular guy. He isn’t perfect, like us he makes mistakes. The second verse he is talking about is really the fourth, which really makes this all the more real and heartfelt to me.

watch?v=I0fQd858cRc&feature=player_embedded

God’s Grace and Our Finances Proverbs 3:9-10

If you knew that something you desired could destroy your life, would you keep chasing after it? The Bible warns about a certain kind of pursuit that can cause one to:

• Fall into sin.
• Be mastered by foolish wishes.
• Engage in activities that erode character.
• Plunge into moral ruin.
• Wander from faith.

In spite of these dire warnings, many people are ruled by a longing to get rich.

There is nothing wrong with being affluent so long as we follow God’s rules for wise living. Specifically, we are to honor Him with our money (Prov. 3:9), which includes acknowledging that He is the rightful owner and giving it cheerfully (Ps. 50:10; 2 Cor. 9:7). The desire for riches becomes a sin when accumulation is among our highest priorities. In that case, the god we serve is treasure.

Believers are to live by grace in every aspect of their lives, including finances. That means we surrender wages, portfolio, and charitable giving into God’s hands. Furthermore, we accept what He gives as enough, even when the bank account seems low by the world’s standards. He has promised to supply our needs, so we’re to regard financial gains and losses as part of His will and plan.

I am not preaching a so-called “prosperity gospel,” wherein godly people are rewarded with riches. Poverty and tough times are as common to believers as to unbelievers. However, the Bible promises that if we live by God’s grace, He will provide amply for whatever we need (2 Cor. 9:8).

Look to the Creator

Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.

Numbers 11:23

God had made a positive promise to Moses that for the space of a whole month He would feed the vast company in the wilderness with meat. Moses is then overtaken by a fit of unbelief, looks to the outward means, and is at a loss to know how the promise can be fulfilled. He looked to the creature instead of the Creator. But does the Creator expect the creature to fulfill His promise for Him? No; He who makes the promise always fulfills it by His own unaided omnipotence. If He speaks, it is done—done by Himself. His promises do not depend for their fulfillment upon the cooperation of the puny strength of man. We can immediately see the mistake that Moses made. And yet how routinely we do the same!

God has promised to supply our needs, and we look to the creature to do what God has promised to do; and then, because we perceive the creature to be weak and feeble, we indulge in unbelief. Why do we look in that direction at all? Will you look to the North Pole to gather fruits ripened in the sun? You would be acting no more foolishly in doing this than when you look to the weak for strength, and to the creature to do the Creator’s work. Let us, then, put the question on the right footing. The ground of faith is not the sufficiency of the visible means for the performance of the promise, but the all-sufficiency of the invisible God, who will definitely do what He has said.

If after clearly seeing that the onus lies with the Lord and not with the creature we dare to indulge in mistrust, the question of God comes home forcefully to us: “Is the LORD’s hand shortened?” May it also be that in His mercy the question will be accompanied by this blessed declaration: “Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

A Cheerful Giver 2 Corinthians 9:6-12

God loves a cheerful giver because He Himself is one. He wants the bounty that He pours out on His children to overflow toward others. Sadly, many people treat their wealth more like a personal reservoir than a divine channel.

The reservoir mentality treats wealth as a means to provide solely for one’s own family, goals, and desires; money for God’s work is given reluctantly. The stingy person figures that as long as he offers something, it shouldn’t matter that he’d rather not. However, attitude is vital. To God, the state of a believer’s heart is more important than his or her actions (Hos. 6:6). Lukewarm giving is a signal that we aren’t fully engaged in seeing the Lord’s work done. We’d rather ensure our own security.

What surprises the tightfisted believer is that God does not fill a reservoir. Even people who appear affluent never feel that they have enough. True contentment comes with accepting that our wealth—however limited—belongs to the Lord and is sufficient for our needs. As soon as we understand that, our reservoir bursts its banks to become part of God’s divine channel. As He pours in, we cheerfully pour out with full confidence that He will provide for both our needs and our gifts.

The Lord’s ultimate plan does not include making all of His children prosperous. His purpose is to make every one of us generous with all that we have—wealth, compassion, knowledge, etc. Cheerful giving is courageous giving because we have to trust that the Lord will provide.

Be Filled with Zeal

Revelation 3:19

If you want to see souls converted, if you want to hear the cry that “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord,”¹ if you want to place crowns upon the head of the Savior and see His throne lifted high, then be filled with zeal. For under God, the way the world will be converted is by the zeal of the church. Every element of grace will do its work, but zeal will be first; prudence, knowledge, patience, and courage will follow in their places, but zeal must lead the charge. It is not the extent of your knowledge, though that is useful, it is not the extent of your talent, though that is not to be despised, it is your zeal that will do great exploits.

This zeal is the fruit of the Holy Spirit: It draws its vital force from the continued operations of the Holy Spirit in the soul. If our inner life dwindles, if our heart beats slowly before God, we will not know zeal; but if everything inside is strong and vigorous, then we cannot but feel a loving urgency to see Christ’s kingdom come, and His will done on earth, even as it is in heaven.

A deep sense of gratitude will nourish Christian zeal. When we reflect on the miry pit from which we were lifted, we find plenty of reason for spending ourselves for God. And zeal is also stimulated by the thought of the eternal future. It looks with tearful eyes down to the flames of hell, and it cannot sleep: It looks up with anxious gaze to the glories of heaven, and it cannot stay still. It feels that time is short compared with the work to be done, and therefore it devotes all that it has to the cause of its Lord. And it is continually strengthened by remembering Christ’s example. He was clothed with zeal as with a cloak. How swift the chariot-wheels of duty went with Him! He never loitered on the way. Let us prove that we are His disciples by displaying the same spirit of zeal.

¹Revelation 11:15

Healing for Inferiority Ephesians 3:14-21

The world bombards us with messages that nourish feelings of inferiority. Happiness and satisfaction are promised if we will only drive the latest car, wear the newest styles, or build up those muscles while losing unsightly pounds. If we do not guard against the onslaught of commercialism, it will drive the truth of God from our minds, and we will pursue a fruitless search for adequacy and value.

So often we look at externals to prove to ourselves and others that we’re valuable. Or we think, If only I were better-looking, richer, or smarter, I would be accepted and esteemed. It’s not wise to let others’ opinions and standards determine our feelings about ourselves; the only accurate assessment of our worth comes from looking into the eyes of the One who loved us enough to die in our place.

Paul told his readers that true significance comes from knowing and understanding the full dimensions of God’s love for them. This knowledge is our anchor when feelings of worthlessness overwhelm or failures tempt us to berate ourselves and withdraw in defeat. Notice that the Lord doesn’t say He’ll give us all the qualities and possessions we think will overcome our sense of inferiority. Instead, He promises to strengthen us “in the inner man” (v. 16).

“God is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (v. 20), but His method is to work from the inside out, “according to the power that works within us.” If you struggle with feelings of inferiority, ask God to heal your soul by doing a great work within.

Christ Loved Me

Anyone who does not love does not know God.

1 John 4:8

The distinguishing mark of a Christian is his confidence in Christ’s love for him and in the offering of his love to Christ. First, faith sets her seal upon the man by enabling the soul to say with the apostle, “Christ loved me and gave himself for me.”¹ Then love gives the countersign and stamps upon the heart gratitude and love to Jesus in return. “We love because he first loved us.”²

In those grand old ages, which are the heroic period of the Christian religion, this double mark was clearly seen in all believers in Jesus; they were men who knew the love of Christ and rested upon it as a man leans upon a staff whose trustiness he has proved. The love that they felt toward the Lord was not a quiet emotion that they hid within themselves in the secret place of their souls and that they only spoke about in private or when they met on the first day of the week and sang hymns in honor of Christ Jesus the crucified; it was a passion with them of such a vehement and all-consuming energy that it was visible in all their actions, evident in their conversation, and seen in their eyes, even in their casual glances. Love for Jesus was a flame that fed upon the core and heart of their being and therefore by its own force burned its way into their demeanor and shone there. Zeal for the glory of King Jesus was the seal and mark of all genuine Christians.

Because of their dependence upon Christ’s love they dared much, and because of their love for Christ they did much, and it is the same now. The children of God are ruled in their inmost powers by love. The love of Christ constrains them; they rejoice that divine love is set upon them, they feel it shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit, who is given to them, and then by force of gratitude they love the Savior with a pure and fervent heart.

My reader, do you love Him? Before you sleep, give an honest answer to this weighty question!

¹Galatians 2:20 ²1 John 4:19

Feelings of Inferiority Ephesians 2:10

Early in my life, I experienced some feelings of inferiority. Because we struggled financially, my mom and I didn’t live in the “right” places, and I didn’t wear the “right” clothes. Even in school, I felt that I did not measure up academically to the other kids. The sense of failure and embarrassment at not being good enough was devastating to me.

The misery of inferiority is never what God intends for His children. Its seed usually takes root in the impressionable hearts of the young and thrives in an atmosphere of comparison. This kind of emotional baggage can have debilitating and enslaving ramifications in every area of life. Feelings of inadequacy may cause avoidance of healthy challenges; low self-esteem cripples personal relationships; and comparison steals contentment.

We need to understand how God sees us. Then, when feelings of inferiority come, we can cling to His accurate assessment rather than our own faulty one. He says we are His workmanship—His masterpieces. Each person is specially and uniquely designed by the Creator for His purpose. The differences that cause us to make comparisons and feel discouraged are the very qualities that the Lord “programmed” into us to bring Him glory.

Feelings of inferiority are a hindrance to becoming the people God designed us to be and fulfilling His purpose for our lives. When it comes to our value, we either accept the truth of His appraisal or decide not to believe Him and instead rely on our own feelings. What will your choice be?

Christ’s Glory

. . . Taken up in glory.

1 Timothy 3:16

We have seen the Lord Jesus in the days of His flesh, humiliated and scorned: “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”¹ He whose brightness is as the morning wore the sackcloth of sorrow as His daily dress: Shame was His belt, and reproach was His cloak. Yet now that He has triumphed over all the powers of darkness upon the bloody tree, our faith sees Him returning, robed in the splendor of victory.

How glorious He must have been in the eyes of seraphs, when a cloud received Him out of sight and He ascended to heaven! Now He wears the glory that He had with God before creation, and yet another glory above all—that which He has earned in the fight against sin, death, and hell. As victor He wears the illustrious crown. Listen to the swelling song! It is a new and sweeter song: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, for by Your blood You ransomed people for God!” He wears the glory of an Intercessor who can never fail, of a Prince who can never be defeated, of a Conqueror who has defeated every foe, of a Lord who has the allegiance of every subject.

Jesus wears all the glory that heaven can bestow upon Him, all that ten thousand times ten thousand angels can minister to Him. You cannot with the utmost stretch of imagination conceive of His exceeding greatness; yet there will be a further revelation of it when He shall descend from heaven in great power, with all the holy angels—”Then he will sit on his glorious throne.”² The splendor of that glory seen will ravish the hearts of His people. This isn’t the end, for eternity will sound His praise. “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever!”³ Reader, if you would rejoice in Christ’s glory then, He must be glorious in your sight now. So, is He?

¹Isaiah 53:3 ²Matthew 25:31 ³Psalm 45:6

On May 26 I added the Spiritual Warfare Page with and Intro lesson #1 in 6 parts.

I hope that you have had time to read it and study it out… pause for dramatic effect… I wonder – since I see no comments AND the hits have been down since Saturday the 29th – they went  back to two a day.

Anyway I am getting ready for Lesson #2 on  Spiritual Warfare and several more after that.

These lessons will not be easy – but you need them!

Each one of us has to be committed to the Lord. Remember last nights lesson at Church!?!

So the question is for you. Do you have your act together?

Daily Bible Reading  –  Daily Prayer Time – Daily Bible Study – Putting God First Daily

This Blog is the resource for our Family – Use it!

Need something that is not here, ask me to add it!

Want something changed to make it work for you, ask me!

Comments – E-mails – phone calls – talking,  it all works!

bottom line is that it is here and I am here to help…Thanks and I love you – Dad

Staying on Course Hebrews 12:1-2

The Christian life can be likened to a race with a predetermined course and a finish line in eternity. Each believer has a personalized route specially designed by the Lord. Our goal is to stay on track and run with endurance, but the path can be discerned and negotiated only by focusing on Jesus. Because He ran the race perfectly and finished His course, He can show us the way.

As with any long-term race, the course is full of obstacles that threaten to trip or sidetrack us. Temptations lure us to what we imagine are lush green pastures, while busyness can lead us down rabbit trails that end in exhaustion. Worry and fear grab hold of our minds, and emotions take us places the Lord never intended for us to go.

Although sins present the most obvious hindrances, other obstacles and detours are subtler. Anything that takes precedence over our relationship with the Lord can send us down the wrong path. Because involvement in the daily activities of earthly life is necessary, we can easily let our families, jobs, and pleasures distract us from a wholehearted pursuit of Christ. Surprisingly, even God’s blessings can become obstacles in the race if we start to pursue them more than we do the Lord.

We must remember that the goal isn’t to focus on the path or to try and find our way; instead, we’re to fix our eyes on Jesus. He is not only our guide but also our destination. And He will welcome us home with open arms when we finish the race and cross into eternity.

How He is Humbled

Philippians 2:8

Jesus is the great teacher of lowliness of heart. Every day we need to learn from Him. Witness the Master taking a towel and washing His disciples’ feet! Follower of Christ, will you not humble yourself? Consider Him the Servant of servants, and surely you cannot be proud! This sentence sums up His life: “He humbled Himself.” Isn’t it true to say that on earth he was always stripping off first one robe of honor and then another until, naked, He was fastened to the cross and emptied Himself, pouring out His lifeblood, giving it up for all of us, until they laid Him penniless in a borrowed grave? Our dear Redeemer was brought low! How then can we be proud?

Stand at the foot of the cross and count the purple drops by which you have been cleansed; see the crown of thorns; mark His scourged shoulders; see hands and feet given up to the rough iron, and His whole self to mockery and scorn; see the bitterness and the pains of inward grief, showing themselves in His outward frame; hear the beleaguered cry, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” And if you do not lie prostrate on the ground before that cross, you have never seen it: If you are not humbled in the presence of Jesus, you do not know Him.

You were so lost that nothing could save you but the sacrifice of God’s only Son. Think of that, and as Jesus stooped for you, bow yourself in lowliness at His feet. A sense of Christ’s amazing love for us has a greater tendency to humble us than even an awareness of our own guilt. May the Lord bring our thoughts to Calvary; then our position will no longer be that of the pompous man of pride, but we will take the humble place of one who loves much because he has been forgiven much.

Pride cannot live beneath the cross. Let us sit there and learn our lesson, and then rise and carry it into practice

God’s Amazing Promise Luke 12:22-32

Anxiety is reaching epidemic proportions in our culture. As believers, however, we are commanded not to worry (v. 22). Instead, we’re to rely on a conditional promise from our heavenly Father: If we will seek His kingdom, all our needs will be provided (v. 31). This is the opposite of the world’s philosophy, which tells us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and do what we can to meet our own needs. What a relief to rely on the sovereign King of all creation instead of our meager strength.

Consider these qualities of our King:

• He keeps His word. Every promise is backed by His divine nature. According to Titus 1:2, God cannot lie. He never makes a promise that He won’t keep.
• He is all-knowing. Our heavenly Father is mindful of all our needs—the ones we bring to Him in prayer as well as those of which we are unaware.
• He is all-powerful. The sovereign Ruler of the universe backs His promises with almighty power. “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).
• He cares. God’s provision for birds and flowers is proof of His even greater care for those who are made in His image. Not only is He able to meet our needs, but He also wants to provide for us.

Will you believe God, seek His kingdom, and rest in the peace that passes understanding? Or will you doubt Him and live with the anxiety of not being sure your needs will be met? The promise is given, the fulfillment is certain, and now the choice is yours.

Christ Is My Teacher

Matthew 19:16

If the young man in the Gospel used this title in speaking to our Lord, it is only right that we should address Him in this way. He is indeed my Teacher in that He rules and teaches me. I am glad to run His errands and to sit at His feet. I am both His servant and His disciple and count it my highest honor to serve Him in this way. He is a good teacher. If He should ask me why I call Him “good,” I could answer easily.

It is true that “no one is good except God alone,”¹ but then He is God, and all the goodness of Deity shines in Him. In my experience I have found Him to be good, indeed so good that all the good I have has come to me through Him. He was good to me when I was dead in sin, for He raised me by His Spirit’s power; He has been good to me in all my needs, trials, struggles, and sorrows. There could never be a better Teacher, for His service is freedom, His rule is love: I wish I were one thousandth part as good a servant. When He teaches me, He is unspeakably good, His doctrine is divine, His manner is gracious, His spirit is gentleness itself.

There is no error in His instruction: Pure is the golden truth that He presents, and all His teachings lead to goodness, sanctifying as well as edifying the disciple. Angels know that He is good and delight to worship at His footstool. The ancient saints proved Him to be a good Teacher, and each of them rejoiced to sing, “I am Your servant, O Lord!”

My own humble testimony must certainly be to the same effect. I will declare this before my friends and neighbors, for possibly they may be led by my testimony to seek my Lord Jesus as their Teacher. O I long that they might do so! They would never regret the decision. If they would submit to His easy yoke, they would find themselves in such royal service that they would never want to leave. The school of grace rejoices to have such a Teacher!

¹Mark 10:18.

The Priority of Life Matthew 6:31-33

What is the priority of your life—the one thing around which everything else revolves? Jesus tells us that God’s kingdom and righteousness are to be our highest priority.

Such a lofty goal will never be achieved through passivity. Rather, it demands continuous, diligent effort. “To seek” means to be active and aggressive in our quest. This isn’t an issue that is settled once and for all in life; it must be pursued every day, moment by moment.

We live in a world of two opposing realms, which are in constant conflict—the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God. Our only protection against the Devil is the authority of the King of Kings. To seek the Father’s kingdom is to submit to His rule over every area of our lives. The bottom line is obedience. Every decision must be subjected to His will.

To seek God’s righteousness means submitting to His process of transforming us into Jesus’ image. An integral part of this procedure is the renewing of our minds with Scripture. The Word of God washes away worldly thinking and replaces it with the Father’s viewpoint and instructions. By yielding to His promptings, we will begin to sense His presence and discover the most satisfying relationship possible.

Stop and evaluate your priorities. Who or what dominates your thoughts and affections? Where do you invest time and money? How do you come to a decision? Making Christ top priority requires you to surrender your time and submit your will—but the rewards far outweigh any sacrifice.

In the Wilderness

For the Lord . . . Makes her wilderness like Eden.

Isaiah 51:3

In my mind’s eye I see a howling wilderness, a great and terrible desert, like the Sahara. I perceive nothing in it to relieve the eye; all around I am wearied with a vision of hot and arid sand, on which are ten thousand bleaching skeletons of wretched men who have expired in anguish, having lost their way in the pitiless waste. What an appalling sight! How horrible! A sea of sand without boundary and without an oasis, a cheerless graveyard for a forlorn race.

But look and wonder! All of a sudden, springing from the scorching sand I see a well-known plant; and as it grows it buds, the bud expands—it is a rose, and at its side a lily bows its modest head—and, miracle of miracles, as the fragrance of those flowers is diffused, the wilderness is transformed into a fruitful field, and all around it blossoms abundantly like the glory of Lebanon, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. Do not call it Sahara; call it Paradise. Do not refer to it any longer as the valley of death, for where the skeletons lay bleaching in the sun, a resurrection is proclaimed, and up spring the dead, a mighty army, full of life immortal. Jesus is that well-known plant, and His presence makes everything new.

The wonder is no less in each individual’s salvation. I can see you, dear reader, cast out, an infant, unclothed, unwashed, defiled with your own blood, and left to be food for beasts of prey.

But look, a jewel has been thrown into your bosom by a divine hand, and for its sake you have been pitied and guarded by divine providence; you are washed and cleansed from your defilement; you are adopted into heaven’s family; the fair seal of love is upon your forehead, and the ring of faithfulness is on your hand—you are now a prince to God, though once an orphan and a castaway. Cherish then the matchless power and grace that changes deserts into gardens and makes the barren heart sing for joy.

Acts 3:7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.
If I had the ability to have a wish completely answered on Memorial Day, it would be that all injured, wounded, and disabled veterans were healed today – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
Wars come and go, but wounds and scars remain. Many true combat veterans will not speak about their experiences because of the horrific and inhumane experiences they endured. Night after night, they relive former battles, campaigns, and skirmishes in their hearts and minds. Even decades after terrifying and sickening events, veterans wake up sweating all over and never find real peace.
Years ago, when I ministered to fishermen on the West Coast of Scotland, I can remember making a house call to an elderly couple. During the visit, the woman of the house told me that her husband suffered nightmares every night and that she had to comfort him. He had been on a British navy ship that was torpedoed during World War 2. He was one of the few survivors and had spent several hours in the sea before being rescued. Thereafter, every night for more than forty years, he experienced the same nightmare. The fear and anxiety never went away.
Today, we commemorate Memorial Day in the United States. Some people have a romantic nostalgic notion of making this day a red, white, and blue flag waving celebration. It is all that, but much more besides. We patriotically remember  and proudly honor those who gave their lives to protect us, but we should also be aware of the many veterans at home, in hospital, or veteran’s homes who still relive their time of combat and have wounds, physically and internally, that will never be healed on this side of glory.

Remembering God’s Priority Numbers 15:37-41

At times, people will say, “I’ve made Jesus a part of my life.” But this statement reveals that they have missed the point. The truth is, Jesus can never be simply a part of life; at salvation, Jesus becomes our life—everything revolves around Him, because He is the central focus.

For the believer, the essence of living is to walk in childlike obedience to Christ. That means we express His righteous life simply by faith; to do this, we depend on the power of the Holy Spirit for enablement and divine grace for forgiveness when we stumble. And stumbling will occur because we live amidst two kingdoms that are in constant conflict. On the one hand, there’s the pull of the world, and on the other, the pull of God. In other words, Satan throws temptations our way, but from our Father comes the appeal of holiness, peace, and joy in Christ.

That’s why Jesus taught, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” The way to do this is by opening God’s Word daily and letting Him use Scripture to flush from our minds anything that doesn’t fit with His priority (Rom. 12:2). We are also to remind ourselves frequently of His commands and His greatness (Ps. 105:4-5; Num. 15:37-41).

The battle is ongoing. And it rages not just in the realms of education, science, politics, and finances but also within every human heart. Since there’s no way to make it in life without Christ, it’s critical that we keep God’s priority as our own and make continual course corrections to stay on track.

Healing of a Divine Physician

. . . Who heals all your diseases.

Psalms 103:3

Humbling as this statement is, yet the fact is certain that we are all more or less suffering under the disease of sin. What a comfort to know that we have a great Physician who is both able and willing to heal us! Let us think of Him for a moment tonight.

His cures are very speedy—there is life for a look at Him; His cures are radical—He strikes at the center of the disease; and so His cures are sure and certain. He never fails, and the disease never returns. There is no relapse where Christ heals, no fear that His patients should be merely patched up for a season. He makes new men of them: He also gives them a new heart and puts a right spirit within them.

He is well skilled in all diseases. Physicians generally have some specialty. Although they may know a little about almost all our pains and ills, there is usually one disease that they have studied more than others; but Jesus Christ is thoroughly acquainted with the whole of human nature. He is as much at home with one sinner as with another, and He never yet met an unusual case that was difficult for Him. He has had extraordinary complications of strange diseases to deal with, but He has known exactly with one glance of His eye how to treat the patient. He is the only universal doctor; and the medicine He gives is the only true panacea, healing in every instance.

Whatever our spiritual malady may be, we should apply at once to this Divine Physician. There is no brokenness of heart that Jesus cannot bind up. “The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”¹ We have only to think of the myriads who have been delivered from all sorts of diseases through the power and virtue of His touch, and we will joyfully put ourselves in His hands. We trust Him, and sin dies; we love Him, and grace lives; we wait for Him, and grace is strengthened; we see Him as he is, and grace is perfected forever.

¹1 John 1:7