Tim Miller

Living God's Promises

Tim Miller 2008. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-4357-2158-6

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW

INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright© 1973,
1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by
permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Cover art by Sarah Elizabeth Rivas

www.koiaidesigns.com

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RISE!

Let every beat of your heart be:

A supplication for those that are lost;

A calling forth for those that are in darkness;

A comfort for those that are hurting;

A pool for those who are thirsty;

Warmth for those who are cold.

NOW

IS the time to RISE!

BE "Christ".

--By Gina Miller-Madison

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Introduction

I started this book shortly after completing my

previous book, In Jesus' Own Words: The Sermon on the
Mount. After reviewing my notes, blogs, and other articles
I've written, I saw I had plentiful information to use in writing
more books. There are a couple of truly amazing things
about this discovery. The first thing is that I have enough
material for two books. The second and even more amazing
thing is that I can easily divide the information by topic and
chapter. Additionally, even though I wrote each of these
books completely independently, they all coincide and flow
together to form a single idea. God had me writing this book
before I even knew I was writing it. That just shows how
incredible our God is.
This book is about God's promises and what they
mean to us. We often hear about God's promises, but we
don't know what to do with them. The purpose of this book
is, among other things, to clarify God's promises. Despite
what many modern preachers will tell you, God's promises
are not promises of wealth, riches, and earthly success.
While God does bless some with money, wealth, and riches,
there is no biblical promise or guarantee of that. Just ask

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John the Baptist. He lived in the desert, wore camel's hair,

and ate bugs, none of which is exactly a sign of affluence.
God's promises are promises of love, forgiveness,
strength, and faithfulness, and that's just scratching the
surface. When things get tough, God is often the last one we
look to for strength and comfort. He should be the first one
we look to. Instead, we try to seek answers among worldly
comforts. Those worldly things are guaranteed to let us
down.
This book is not going to be a list of trite answers to
every one of life's problems. I know nothing is more
aggravating when going through a difficult time than for
someone to just toss out a couple of Bible verses as if that is
going to fix everything. While scripture is true and comforting
during hard times, we often need more during times of crisis.
One thing we can do to prepare ourselves for crises is to fill
ourselves with God's word when things are going well.
Walking with God is not something to be done only when
trouble hits. Our goal in life should be to live as close to the
Lord as we possibly can. If we do that, then we are already
prepared when trouble strikes.
Imagine a football game in which the opposing team
appears to go for a field goal but instead fakes the goal and
runs the ball in for a touchdown. Does the defense freeze

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and just shut down? No, they practice against fake field
goals. They practice against them so they won't be surprised
when one happens for real. Football teams watch game films
of each other before they play so they know their opponents'
strengths and weaknesses. We can do the same by using
the Bible. God's word is our playbook and our game film. Not
only will it prepare us for what to do, but it will tell us what
our enemy is up to and how we can defend ourselves.
One of the first steps is knowing God's promises for
us. It is so hard for so many to accept the fact that God loves
us and meets us where we are. There are entire churches
who don't believe this. I know plenty of Christians who think
they are doomed to hell every time they mess up. That belief
contradicts God's promises. We will fall, and we will stumble,
but we will not fail if we seize God's promises.
I want to add a special note here to my non-Christian
friends who are reading this. While what I write here is
written from a Christian standpoint, I still invite you to
continue reading. It is my hope that you will find some
encouragement in this book and maybe some answers to
some questions. Perhaps you will have more questions, and
that is fine as well. I welcome you on this journey, and I am
honored to have you along as fellow travelers.

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Chapter 1
Real Beauty
We look at the television or magazines every day.
What we see is society's idea of beauty. We see models,
actresses, and athletes. All of them have perfect faces and
perfect bodies. Both we and the media lift these people up
as the epitome of beauty. We define beauty as physical
perfection. Many of us try to look like these celebrities. Some
people will do anything to look beautiful. They might undergo
plastic surgery or spend thousands of dollars on cosmetics.
While there is nothing wrong with these things in their proper
place, the pursuit of physical beauty can become unhealthy.
What exactly is beauty? Who defines it? I know we've
all heard it said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” There
is a lot of truth to that, but what exactly constitutes real
beauty? I've known many physically beautiful people who felt
ugly. Why would this be if they were gifted with society's
version of beauty? Perhaps it was because they didn't know
God's version of beauty. God looks at more than the
physical. Physical beauty fades away. Physical beauty gets
old and wrinkles; it goes bald and gains weight. Let's take a
look at what the Bible says about real beauty.

Physical beauty can be false

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Pr 11:22
Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman
who shows no discretion.
Pr 31:30
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a
woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

The first verse here sounds quite harsh, but I know

what the author is saying. Have you ever met someone, and,
the moment you laid eyes on him or her, you thought,
“WOW!” Maybe you couldn't stop looking. That is, until you
got to know the person. I remember working with a young
woman years ago. This girl could have been a model; she
was very beautiful. She was one of those girls who takes
your breath away every time you look at her. I was
speechless, until she talked. She was rude and opinionated,
and she complained about everything. After working with her
for a month, I no longer thought she was beautiful. Truth be
told, I did everything I could do to avoid her. See, her
physical beauty was deceptive. She was beautiful on the
outside, but she lacked the same beauty on the inside.
I want to point out here that I don't mean to pick on
women. However, I use women as examples here because,
firstly, they are under the most pressure to look beautiful
and, secondly, because I'm a guy, I happen to notice

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attractive women more often than attractive men. So please

don't take offense to any of the examples I use here. I have
known a few men also who were quite obsessed with their
appearance.

Spiritual beauty is forever

Ps 149:4
For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns
the humble with salvation.
Eph 5:27
and to present her to himself as a radiant church,
without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and
blameless.

When we go to be with Jesus, he will reward those

who followed him with a crown. It won't be a crown of
precious metals or jewels from earth that will tarnish and rust
away. This will be a crown of salvation that will last forever.
Whether this is a literal crown or not, I can't be sure, but it
will be eternal. The Ephesians verse here is talking about a
husband loving his wife. He loves her not because of her
physical beauty, but because she is a beautiful, radiant
church, holy and blameless. Imagine guys if we described
our wives as holy and blameless instead of as physically
beautiful.

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Beauty should come from within

1Pe 3:3
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment,
such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and
fine clothes.
1Pe 3:4
Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading
beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in
God’s sight.

These wonderful verses are pretty self-explanatory.

Women or men may spend all kinds of time and money on
their hair, makeup, and bodies, yet this is not where beauty
comes from. Real beauty is the gentle and quiet spirit that
God values. That gentle spirit is what we have when we
show love to others. That is real beauty.
I'm not saying we should just let ourselves go and let
whatever happens happen. I'm just saying there is a healthy
line here. For example, I'm currently about 65 to 70 pounds
overweight. I was over 100 pounds overweight, but I've lost
quite a bit over the last couple of years. I'm still working hard
at losing the rest, though I've been at a standstill for the last
few weeks. While one of my reasons for losing weight is for
my appearance, the main reason is my health. I will be forty

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in a few years and would like to be at a healthy weight

before that time. I'd also like to be able to buy some clothes
without having to go to a tent store. During this weight loss, I
have struggled not to get too carried away with my
appearance.

Christlikeness is the ultimate beauty

Phil 3:21
who, by the power that enables him to bring everything
under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they
will be like his glorious body.
2Co 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s
glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-
increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the
Spirit.

Jesus Christ is the epitome of beauty. He created

beauty. Jesus is the standard. When we work to become like
him by striving to model our lives after his, we become more
and more beautiful. That beauty is not the prize for perfect
striving, however. We will fall and we will stumble. Where we
find beauty is on the journey, the journey to be like Christ.
That is where we discover real beauty.

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Chapter 2
I'm not Good Enough for Jesus!

How many of you have said that before? I know I

have. Many of us have committed all kinds of sins. Some of
us have struggled with sexual immorality, maybe even drugs
or alcohol. Some have struggled with plain old unbelief.
Temptation is a daily fight for each of us. Even after we
become Christians, we might tell the occasional crude joke
or make foul comments. What use does Jesus have for any
of that? Well, he doesn't have use for that, but he does have
use for each and every one of us.

Urban Legend

There has long been a popular teaching among

Christians that in order to be a Christian, you must have it all
together. You must lead a sinless life with a perfect job,
family, etc. You must fix all the problems in your life and get
your act together, and then, maybe, God will want something
to do with you. The funny thing is, most of the people who
push this teaching have the most skeletons in their closets.
In the meantime, the rest of us are left feeling like we're not
good enough, and we may even give up completely.

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Perhaps we should take a look at what Jesus himself

has to say about this. We may begin by looking at his twelve
disciples. These twelve men were closer to Jesus than
anyone. Jesus spent his days and nights with them, traveled
with them, and ate with them. They knew him better than
anyone. Were they all perfect? Did they all have their acts
together when he called them to follow him?

It is not the healthy who need a doctor

First, you have Matthew. He is also called Levi in

some passages. He was a tax collector when Jesus found
him. While most of us today don't care for tax collectors,
back then they were a special sort of scum. While they
collected their taxes for the state, under Roman law they
could also extort additional funds for themselves. They would
squeeze people for whatever they could get. This made the
people despise them even more. The religious leaders of the
time couldn't figure out why Jesus would want to hang out
with these people.

Lk 5:30
But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who
belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do
you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”

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Lk 5:31
Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a
doctor, but the sick.
Lk 5:32
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance.”

Since I opened my ministry at

http://www.iamthewayministries.com, I've gotten messages
and emails from other Christians asking me why I have
some of the friends there that I do. Many of them don't look
“Christian” enough. I have friends on my site who come from
all sorts of background and who are at all places in their
spiritual lives. Jesus' response in this passage speaks
volumes. Yet so many Christians today don't model this very
behavior. We often will retreat to our little Bible bubbles and
hide from the very people who need to feel the warmth of our
light. Jesus came to heal all of us so that we might join him
in eternity.

He'll meet you where you are

Lk 5:27
After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the
name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said
to him,
Lk 5:28
and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

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Mt 4:18
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he
saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother
Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were
fishermen.
Mt 4:19
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you
fishers of men.”
Mt 4:20
At once they left their nets and followed him.
Mt 4:21
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James
son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat
with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called
them,
Mt 4:22
and immediately they left the boat and their father and
followed him.

Look closely at both of the above passages. Notice

that Jesus didn't hold a revival in a large stadium and ask for
everyone to come find him. This is not to imply that revivals
in large stadium are wrong, but the spirit in which we go
about them can be. Jesus sought out his disciples and he
called them. Each of them stopped what they were doing
and followed Jesus immediately. There is a wonderful
message in these passages.
Jesus will come and meet us where we are. We don't
have to become spiritual dynamos before he will approach

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us. He will meet us right where we are and bring us toward

him. On that same note, we must heed his call and follow
him, just like the disciples did. This is so important to
remember when dealing with others. We can help people
find Jesus by meeting them where they are, not where we
think they should be. Doing otherwise would make us no
better than the Pharisees.
One final point I'd like to make here is that you don't
have to have a masters of divinity from seminary; nor do you
need a Ph.D. or even any form of college. While all of those
things are good and honorable, you do not need them to be
a follower of Christ.

Ac 4:13
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and
realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were
astonished and they took note that these men had been with
Jesus.

I just love this passage. They were not well educated

men. They were ordinary every day folks, just like any of us.
Yet they had been with Jesus. That experience was enough
to change their lives forever. When we follow Jesus, our lives
will be changed as well. Whether you are a brain surgeon or
a janitor, Jesus will find you and your life will be changed.

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Chapter 3
The Christian Calling

Today, we often hear Christians talking about standing

up for their rights or working toward some man-made
approval or position. While there is nothing wrong with these
things, it's easy to get sucked in by them and to lose focus
on our true calling as believers. The problem is, most of us
don't even know what that calling is. It sure isn't going to
church once a week and just sitting there. Going to church is
a good thing, but we are called to much more than that.

A Holy Life

2Ti 1:8
So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or
ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for
the gospel, by the power of God,
2Ti 1:9
who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not
because of anything we have done but because of his own
purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus
before the beginning of time..

Eph 4:1
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life
worthy of the calling you have received.

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Holiness is a touchy subject among many Christians,

and rightly so. Many of us have had bad experiences in
legalistic churches, and may of us have been wrongly judged
over some questionable things. However, legalism is not
what true holiness is. The passages above tell us that God
has saved by his grace and has called us to holiness. As a
result of God's grace, we should want to seek out the things
that would please him. Our goal shouldn't be to see how
close we can get to the line without stepping over. Our goal
should be to move as far away from the line as possible. We
can do this by moving toward God.

Aren't only educated or really smart people called?

Many people think that you have to be a seminary
graduate or have some amazing skills or abilities to live out a
Christian calling. Nothing could be further from the truth. This
is merely a lie Satan has perpetuated to keep as many
Christians on the sidelines as possible. Just look at the
disciples. Many of them were fishermen or tax collectors.
These are not highly educated men. They were just men
doing what Jesus had called them to do.

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1Co 1:26
Brothers, think of what you were when you were
called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not
many were influential; not many were of noble birth.

In this passage, Paul is telling the church in Corinth

that few of them were considered smart or powerful, and few
had any family influence by earthly standards. However,
God's standard transcends any man-made social structure.
This is something we often forget in the hustle and bustle of
everyday life. God is our heavenly Father. What better family
influence could we possibly have?

Called to hope

Eph 1:18
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which
he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in
the saints…

No matter what happens, we need to remember that

our ultimate goals will probably never be reached here on
earth. We won't usually see immediate results. Sometimes
we might, but other times we won't. God does this to teach
us patience and humility. You could live a godly life each day

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and even witness to people daily and never see the smallest
hint of fruit. That doesn't mean there wasn't any fruit. We
sow the seeds, and God takes it from there. I know when I
post my blogs and get no responses, I often wonder if
anyone is actually reading them. Only once we are with
Jesus will we know those results.

Keep our eyes on the Kingdom

Phil 3:13
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken
hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and
straining toward what is ahead,
Phil 3:14
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which
God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Phil 3:15
All of us who are mature should take such a view of
things. And if on some point you think differently, that too
God will make clear to you.

Let's face it: this life is not our home. Jesus even said
his kingdom was not of this earth. We get so wrapped up
with our lives and what we're doing here and now that we
lose sight of the true Kingdom. Our real home is with our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Any failures or setbacks we
suffer today are only temporary. Just think about it. Do you

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suppose anyone will care 100 years from now that you didn't
get that promotion? I don't mean that to sound cold, but we
put so much importance on things that mean so little on an
eternal scale. We should live for him and his Kingdom now,
because, eventually, that is where we will spend eternity.

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Chapter 4
Knowing God

We often hear evangelists and preachers talking

about “getting saved” or “making a decision for Christ.” Many
outreach programs focus on conversions or trying to get
people to say the “sinner's prayer.” That sounds like a lot of
jargon, but what does it all mean? Does that mean we just
say a certain prayer or make a one-time decision, and then
we suddenly know God?
In our modern, western culture, we seem to view our
faith as some sort of business transaction. We say this
prayer, or follow these rules, and we're in. So, are we really
supposed to know God, and if so, how? We often hear
people talk about a personal relationship with Christ. Does
that really mean something, or is it just church-speak? I
really feel that, as a church, we've lost sight of the true
meaning of being a Christian. If we look at both the Old and
New Testaments, we'll see there is more to knowing God
than being a member of the right church or saying the right
prayer.

We are God's friends

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Ex 33:11
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a
man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the
camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave
the tent.

I get goose bumps whenever I read this verse. Can

you imagine that? The Lord God Almighty casually talking to
you face to face. He still talks to us today. Maybe he doesn't
talk to us in the same way he talked to Moses back then, but
the Holy Spirit dwells within all believers. Every one of us
has access to the throne. During Moses' time, only the high
priest could enter the Holy of Holies. Now, the veil has been
torn. Jesus did that for us so that we may have fellowship
with him.
So how did Moses look at his relationship with God?
Did he just go through the motions and, at the end of the
day, go about his life as if nothing were different? I don't
think so. Moses took his love for God very seriously.

Ex 33:12
Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me,
‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom
you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name
and you have found favor with me.’

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Ex 33:13
If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I
may know you and continue to find favor with you.
Remember that this nation is your people.”

Look closely at that last quote. “Teach me your ways

so I might know you and continue to find favor with you.” He
wasn't content just to talk to God; he wanted to be like God.
He talked to God so he might learn more about his Lord. He
didn't just want to follow God's rules; he wanted to find favor
with God. He wanted to know God.
Jesus taught us the same thing. It is through Jesus
that we can be even closer to God. Jesus said, “I know my
sheep and my sheep know me” (Jn 10:14b). When he
walked the earth, he was our living God in the flesh. We are
his sheep. Through him, we may know the Father. Jesus
leads us to the Father. He knows us and we know him. I
know a lot of this may sound repetitive, but I'm trying to get a
point across that we seem to miss so easily. We don't just
say a single prayer, or figure out which list of rules to follow.
We know him personally, intimately. Our love for him is
evidenced by how we live our lives.

To know him, we must truly follow him

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The next thing we should do is take a close look at Jesus'

own words:

Mt 10:38
and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me
is not worthy of me.
Mt 10:39
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses
his life for my sake will find it.

I read these verses, and I see a very tall order: taking

up your cross and following him, losing your life for his sake.
Those are not easy things. Now, I don't believe Jesus was
exclusively talking about being killed or harmed in some way.
Here in the U.S. that is not usually a concern. However, we
can lose our old selves to him. We can give up the things of
this world to follow him. I know when I first began to know
him, I gave up a lot of worldly pleasures. I began a new life
and lost my old life. I think it's fair to say he is referring to
both things here.

Mt 7:21
Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my
Father who is in heaven.

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Mt 7:22
Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons
and perform many miracles? ”
Mt 7:23
Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away
from me, you evildoers! ”

We see by this verse that Jesus has some harsh

warnings for those who think that they can just pay lip
service to “knowing” Jesus. When we do this, we know
about Jesus, but we don't know Jesus. We might have the
right information. Perhaps we know all the right quotes and
all the right doctrines about Jesus. But when it comes down
to it, we've never taken up our cross to follow him. We don't
know him.
Matthew 7:21-23 often gets misused. When we
consider everything else the Bible says about knowing God,
about taking up our crosses, and about losing our lives for
him, we can see that this passage is referring to people who
have not done these things. Like I said above, I believe
Jesus is referring to people who just pay lip service, whether
by outward religious acts or by being strict adherents to a set
of doctrines. Without knowing Jesus, they are all empty. This
passage sums up my point:

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Mt 15:8
These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts
are far from me.

This brings us to another passage where Jesus

issues some strong warnings. This is not during his earthly
ministry, however. This passage is from Jesus after he
ascended to heaven. This gives it even more power and
authority.

Rev 3:15
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I
wish you were either one or the other!
Rev 3:16
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—
I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Those are some harsh words. Knowing they are

coming from a resurrected Jesus Christ, it makes them plain
frightening. One thing is clear. Jesus does not care for fence-
sitters. If you read the rest of revelation, you will see there is
only one winning side. If we want to be part of that winning
team, we must truly know him.

Knowing God is knowing love

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We don't need to be afraid, however. God wants to

know us. He is there for us. He is love. Knowing him is
knowing love.

1Jn 4:7
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes
from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and
knows God.

There is a lot of comfort in this verse. God is the

creator of the universe. He is King of Kings, and Lord of
Lords. Yet he wants to know you, and you can know him. We
have access to the most high. All we need to do is follow
him. Don't just talk about it or think about it. Lay aside those
things of this earth and follow him. The rewards are more
than this earth could ever provide.

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Chapter 5
God's Thoughts

In the recent chapter, we discussed knowing God.

Part of knowing God personally is also knowing his thoughts.
Now you may ask, “How could we possibly know the
thoughts of the Almighty God?” That is a fair question. God
has given us the Bible that tells us much about his thoughts.
There is one thing we know for sure, which God has told us:

Isa 55:9
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts.

His ways are not our ways

We often wish God would do things our way. I know

I've asked God to do something my way many times. When
it comes right down to it, we are little more than spoiled
children. Every single one of us likes to have our own way.
Some of us may go to greater measures to get our way than
others. However, as I have learned from my own life, our
ways are flawed and short-sighted. I wonder if, at times, God

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has purposely let me have my own way, knowing it would

end in disaster and thinking, “Okay, you asked for it!”
I have many friends in ministry who don't feel like their
ministries have gone as they should. Maybe the pastor's
church down the road has grown faster than theirs.
Sometimes one might get sent to a mission field in Mexico or
India, both places ripe for missions; while another goes to
Morocco or Indonesia, places that remain hostile toward
Christians. Naturally, ministries there won't grow at the rate
of others.
I've known others in ministry who have set up a
successful model that has worked for them so that their
ministries have grown considerably. Then they take it to a
new level by insisting all other ministries follow their lead and
operate in exactly the same way. I've seen some of these
situations get rather ugly. When people do this, they are
forgetting something. They are forgetting who is really in
charge of their ministry. God's ways are higher than our
ways.
God's way says to send a murderer and Christian
persecutor to preach to the Gentiles. God's way says to send
a young boy to fight a giant. God's way says to send the king
of the universe and savior of mankind to earth in a dirty
manger. God's way says to allow that king to be beaten,

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humiliated, and crucified. None of these things makes any

sense in the light of our ways, but now that we know how
these events play out, we know that our ways aren't so
great.

His thoughts are not our thoughts

This does not take a whole lot of convincing for me. I

know what my thoughts are like throughout the day, and they
are not even in the same ballpark as godly. More times than
not, our thoughts are wicked and selfish. That is because we
still battle our flesh. Granted, we may not act on those
thoughts, and that is good. As we've seen above, though,
God's thought process is much different from ours.
Our thought process says to get back at those who
harm us. Our thoughts tell us only to promote those who are
strong and have it together. Our thoughts say only proven
leaders are ready for ministry. We may go so far as to tell
someone that they must complete some kind of man-made
training process before they can lead, but we know that God
thinks differently. Not that school and training are bad, but
God's training is better.
This verse tells us what God thinks of our thoughts:

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1Co 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s
sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their
craftiness”;
1Co 3:20
and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the
wise are futile.”

God knows our thoughts and our ways, and he knows

they are flawed. That is why he wants us to put our trust in
him. An airline pilot doesn't fly through the clouds and the fog
on his own; he relies on the air traffic controller. The
controller sees things the pilot can't see. The pilot might think
he's in the clear and can and can easily make a turn or
change direction, but he cannot see the other aircraft that
may be in the clouds just a few hundred feet away. He
doesn't rely on his own ways and understanding, but on his
controller. People often will say, “God is my co-pilot.” He's
not the co-pilot, nor is he even the pilot. He's the air-traffic-
controller. He's the one watching the radar and making sure
we don't crash.

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Chapter 6
The Word Became Flesh

Jn 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.

This is one of the most powerful verses in the entire

Bible. In one sentence, this verse reveals the nature and
divinity of Jesus Christ. When I was first beginning to know
the Lord, this was one of the first verses I read. This verse
proved to me that the Bible is truly God breathed. Some
might wonder what this verse has to do with living God's
promises. This verse represents the most important promise
God ever gave us, Jesus Christ.

The Word has been since the beginning

At first, one might wonder just who is the word. It is

Jesus Christ. John says this in verse 14. Jesus is the Alpha
and Omega (Rev. 1:8); he is the beginning and the end (Rev.
21:6), the first and the last (Rev. 22:13). Jesus has always
existed. There was never a time when Jesus didn't exist.
There was never a time when the Son wasn't the son, or the
Father wasn't the Father, or the Spirit wasn't the Spirit. This

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is so awesome to think about! We worship a God who has

always been and always will be.
That is one of the hardest things for many of us to
wrap our minds around. We think that Jesus came into
existence when he was born in Bethlehem on that first
Christmas. That is completely false. He was always in
existence. If we read on in John, we see it was Jesus who
was there when all things were created. Through him all
things were made.

The Word was God

The Apostle Paul tells us:

Ro 1:4
and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared
with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the
dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

These words by Paul verify Jesus' divinity. While this

chapter is not meant to be a full study on the divinity of
Christ or the Trinity, scripture clearly indicates Jesus is God.
Some translations, such as the translation used by the
Jehovah's Witnesses, change the wording and say that “the
word was a god.” However, the King James, one of the older

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English translations, says he was God. So we can sit and

play word games with different translations and see if we can
make this verse mean something completely different.
However, if we do that, then we must find a way to change
the meaning of Romans 1:4, Romans 10:9-10 and a great
number of other passages as well. Jesus Christ is the Lord
our God.
As I said earlier, this chapter is by no means a
comprehensive study on the divinity of Christ. However, it
should give you a starting point from which to begin
searching. If you follow the trails of scripture, you will see
where Christ is revealed as Lord. I encourage each of you to
dig into God's word as let him reveal himself to you. The
book of John is filled with revelations of Jesus' divinity.

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Chapter 7
Because You Say So

Do we really follow Jesus or believe what he says? I

simply ask this as a reflective question. We often think we
do. I'm sure many of us actually do follow him. However, we
get a perfect model for discipleship in Luke 5. Jesus is
choosing his disciples and comes across a group of
fishermen. At many times in our lives, we might encounter a
rough spot. We know what Jesus is telling us, but we don't
actually do it. Maybe it sounds weird, or it might be
embarrassing. It might very well disrupt our comfortable little
lives. In this chapter, we'll take a look at what happens when
we stop second guessing Jesus and do what he actually
says. We do it “because you say so.”

Lk 5:1
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of
Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and
listening to the word of God,
Lk 5:2
he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the
fishermen, who were washing their nets.
Lk 5:3
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to
Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he
sat down and taught the people from the boat.

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Lk 5:4
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put
out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
Lk 5:5
Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night
and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will
let down the nets.”
Lk 5:6
When they had done so, they caught such a large
number of fish that their nets began to break.
Lk 5:7
So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come
and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full
that they began to sink.
Lk 5:8
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and
said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
Lk 5:9
For he and all his companions were astonished at the
catch of fish they had taken,
Lk 5:10
and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be
afraid; from now on you will catch men.”
Lk 5:11
So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything
and followed him.

Jesus was speaking to the crowd

This passage begins with Jesus doing what he does

so well: teaching God's word to the people. He's giving his

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message as usual, until something catches his eye. He sees

fishermen in a boat washing their nets. Jesus gets into the
boat with them and continues to speak from the boat. Now,
there was a practical reason for him to do this. Back then,
they didn't have microphones and sound systems, so
teachers had to speak loudly. By getting into the boat and
speaking from the water, he could be heard much better.
Sound travels more easily over the water.

Jesus finishes speaking

As we see in the passage, just because he is done

speaking doesn't mean he is done teaching. He tells the
fishermen to put out into deep water and let down their nets.
One of the fishermen named Simon tells him they've worked
hard all night and caught nothing. These men had to be
exhausted. I'm sure they were ready to go home and get
some sleep. By the time Jesus found them, they were hot,
tired, and weary. They might have even thought Jesus was
nuts for asking them to do this. He wasn't out there with
them all night, so what does he know? Instead, they respond
by saying, “Because you say so.”
Simon Peter decides that even though he is tired and
frustrated, he is going to do what Jesus says, for no other

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reason than because Jesus says so. He wouldn't do it for

anyone else, and everything inside him tells him that this is a
silly idea, but he does it anyway. He does it “because you
say so.”
I wonder how many of us have things like this in our
lives? How many times has God told us to do something that
makes no sense to us? Maybe we've tried it before, or
maybe we're just afraid to do it. What if we just said,
“because you say so” and did it anyway? I've read this
passage several times, and I wonder how my life would be if
I could just teach myself to respond, without having to think
about it, “Because you say so.”

Casting down our nets

We see the fishermen in our story cast down their

nets. This time, they catch so many fish that their nets began
to break. Another boat has to come over to help them! By the
time they haul all the fish in, both boats are completely filled
with fish. Despite their reservations, they do what Jesus
says, and Jesus blesses them. They catch more fish than
they'll be able to eat or sell.
We are often afraid to do what Jesus says. I've known
people who really want to begin a ministry or get involved

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with a ministry but are afraid. Others have felt a nagging

urge to do something that was way out of character for them,
such as quit a job to work in a homeless shelter or maybe
even something less extreme. We may have doubts and
fears about whatever God is calling us to do. Even Moses
was afraid when God called him. Yet, in Luke 5, we've seen
what can happen when we do what Jesus says. So we can
learn to stop listening to ourselves and start listening to
Jesus. We don't listen to him because of how it will benefit
us; we don't try to reason it out. We listen to him “because
you say so.”

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Chapter 8
His Love Endures Forever

Ps 136:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love
endures forever.

Many of us have heard a popular Christian song

containing the above phrase. I know we've sung it in our
church many times. I love this verse. It's so simple, yet so
true. What powerful words: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is
good. His love endures forever.” Forever! That is hard to
even fathom. It's definitely hard for us to remember. I've
gone through a lot of trials this past year with school, home
life, and changes at work. Even during the hardest times,
listening to this song and meditating on this verse have been
of enormous comfort.

Give thanks to the Lord

This doesn't mean just giving thanks before meals.

Give thanks to the Lord when you eat, before you sleep, and
even before going to work. I know I'm not the best mealtime
prayer warrior. Usually I either forget to pray before meals, or

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I'm in just too big of a hurry to scarf my food down. However,

even if we don't pray right at meals, it doesn't mean we can't
live a life of thanksgiving. We can give thanks at bedtime, in
the morning, and even at any point during the day: just stop
and take the time to thank the Lord. I know this can be hard
because of our busy schedules, but it only takes a few
seconds.
Even more important than giving thanks at these
various times is giving thanks during tough times. This is so
hard for us to do. When it seems like our world is crashing
down on us and that no one is with us, that is when we need
to give thanks to God the most. No matter how far away he
may seem, he is right there for us. I know when I'm down, I
sometimes will fear looking to him. When I finally do, I feel so
much better. Satan will tell you lies to keep you from turning
to God when things are tough. He'll tell you that God is
punishing you for something, or that you deserve your
suffering. The truth is, God wants you to come to him for
help. He already knows what you need; he's just waiting for
you to ask.

For he is good

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In Genesis, God says his creation is good. Everything

he does is good. Everything might not seem good to us at all
times. We may never know why some horrible thing
happened, but God does. I know that answer isn't the
greatest, and I won't spend too much time on why bad things
happen, but we do know that God is good by his nature.

Jer 33:11
the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride
and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank
offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, “Give thanks to
the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures
forever.”

La 3:25
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to
the one who seeks him;

Hab 1:7
They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law
to themselves and promote their own honor.
These above verses are just a few of those that tell us
of God's goodness. It might even be a good idea to write
these down to keep handy for when things get hard.

His love endures forever

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There is no end to God's love; it didn't even have a

beginning. His love always has been and always will be.

Rev 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God,
“who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

No matter how long we live, and no matter what we

have done, his love endures forever. Throughout the rest of
Psalm 136, each verse ends with “his love endures forever.”
The Bible tells us this over and over, yet we are so quick to
forget it.

When we are going through hard times, his love endures

forever.
When we are going through good times, his love endures
forever.
When we are healthy, his love endures forever.
When we are ill, his love endures forever.

As we have seen, God give us repeated reassurance

that he is good and that his love is forever. When trials and
tribulations hit, I encourage all of us to look up this passage
and pray over it. I know I sound repetitive in this chapter, but
I feel such repletion is necessary. God repeats himself many

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times in the Bible and with good reason. Repetition is the

best way to get a point across. Read this passage; pray over
it; hide it in your heart. Let his love endure forever and
endure within you.

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Chapter 9
God's Promises of Victory

Throughout the Bible, God shows he is victorious over

his enemies. Time and time again, we see God and his
people prevail against the forces of evil. So what does that
mean for us today? It means that if God is victorious, and we
are on God's side, then we, too, are victorious. We may lose
battles daily as the world beats us down. We may constantly
feel like failures or like we don't measure up to God's
standards. God has already given us the victory. The Bible is
filled with his promises.

Victory over evil men

Ps 44:5
Through you we push back our enemies; through your
name we trample our foes.

I recommend reading the rest of that passage in

Psalms for even more encouragement. We all know people
who would like to see us fail. There may be some who'd like
to destroy us completely. Maybe we've wronged them in the
past, or they don't like the fact that we're a Christian. Maybe
they think we look funny; for whatever reason, we will have

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enemies in this world. God tells us that through him, we will

trample our foes.
Now, God also tells us to love our enemies, so I don't
believe he means we should go to work and stomp our
enemies physically the ground. Even though we call them
evil men, that term is sort of misleading. Our true enemy is
not of flesh and blood. Satan is our real enemy. He has
dominion over this earth and loves nothing more than to
cause harm to God's people. I know this sounds frightening,
but we need not be afraid. Christians today have been
rendered completely ineffective because of their fear of
Satan and his followers. We will see that Satan is the one
who should be afraid.

Victory over spiritual enemies

Lk 10:18
He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Lk 10:19
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and
scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy;
nothing will harm you.

Satan loves to seduce people into harming us. He

does that, or he will tempt us into harming ourselves. Many

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of us don't know what to do against this other than to

become hateful and lash out against others. This is not the
best response. I've seen many unbelievers taunt and harass
a Christian, calling him all sorts of horrible names. The
second the Christian lashes out, they all point and yell, “Ha!
Hypocrite! Some Christian you are!” This is the same thing
Satan does to us when we fall to temptation.
God has already defeated Satan, however. Jesus'
death and resurrection already sealed that victory. Now, this
Bible verse isn't implying that we should go out and play with
snakes and scorpions, or that we're a bunch of spiritual
snake charmers. Jesus is saying that Satan no longer has
power over us. Jesus has given us power over all of the
horrible things Satan will send our way. None of these things
can harm us. While they may harm our bodies, they cannot
harm our souls. As Jesus says in verse twenty, our names
are written in the book of life. Not even Satan can remove
them.

Victory over worldly trouble

Ro 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall
trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or
danger or sword?

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Ro 8:36
As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day
long; we are considered as sheep to be
slaughtered.”
Ro 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us.

As we go through life, we will encounter illness,

hardships, and death. We will have physical problems, family
problems, and whatever other problems you can think of.
According to this passage in Romans, none of these things
will separate us from Christ. I really love the last verse in the
above passage. We are more than conquerors through
Christ. Just think of Genghis Khan, or Napoleon: as great as
they were, we are much greater than either of them. We are
greater through Jesus Christ.

Victory over Satanic powers

Rev 15:2
And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with
fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been
victorious over the beast and his image and over the number
of his name. They held harps given them by God

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When Jesus returns, he will be completely victorious

over his enemies. God promises final victory to those who
have victory over the beast, or the Antichrist,. Each of these
people in this passage are given a harp by God. I know there
has been some debate over whether or not this is an actual
harp, or if the harp here just symbolizes something. I say it
doesn't matter, because either way, it’s a reward straight
from God!
God has not abandoned us. No matter how dark,
bleak, or hopeless our situation may be, we must remember
that our victory is already in place. We may lose some
battles. We may lose lots of battles. I don't think a day goes
by when I don't lose at least one battle, but God has already
won the war. He is not selfish; he will share the victory with
us. We may take refuge in his victory.

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Chapter 10
God's Spiritual Promises

In the previous chapter, I talked about God's promises

of victory. These are not the only things God has promised
us. He has also provided spiritual promises. Many of us
spend our lives seeking temporary things such as wealth
and fame. The Bible tells us we should not worry so much
about these things, but instead seek things that are eternal.
God has promised us treasures worth much more than
anything here on earth. Contrary to what many Christians
may believe, we don't have to wait until we die to receive
them. No, I'm not promoting some kind of prosperity gospel
message here, but I'm going to show you how you just need
to open our eyes to God's gifts.

He promises spiritual knowledge

Jer 24:7
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the
LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for
they will return to me with all their heart.

When we seek God, he will fill our hearts with

knowledge. We will truly know him. If we open our hearts to

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him, he will not leave us with any doubt that he is the one
and only God. He will give us a new heart, his heart. I know
a lot of this might sound like a bunch of religious mumbo
jumbo, so maybe I should explain it in different terms.
Too often, Christianity is filled with lots of rules, rituals,
and practices. We often think we must look and act a certain
way while adhering to a set of rules and doctrines. What
Christianity is really about, however, is knowing God. You
read my chapter earlier on knowing God, and this verse is
touching on that. God wants us to know him, and, as we
return to him, he will move toward us as well. The other
things are all fine and good, but if you do all those things and
don't know God, you're missing out on the true reward.

He promises a new heart

Eze 11:19
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit
in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give
them a heart of flesh.

When we try to please both God and men, we have a

divided heart. When we try to seek money and fortune while
seeking God, we will have a divided heart. Jesus said a man
cannot serve two masters. All of our focus must be on God;

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he will put a new heart and new spirit within us. We will have
a softer heart of flesh, that not only longs for his love, but
longs to share his love with others.
Before any of us knew Jesus, we had hearts of stone.
I remember how hard my heart was back then. It was no fun.
It might have seemed cool to act as I did at the time, but I
was really miserable. I thought that I was protecting myself
from being hurt, and I was doing what I thought felt good.
The truth is, I was hurting myself more than I realized. God
gave me a new heart. He took away my old spirit of
selfishness and replaced it with the Holy Spirit. Many people
don't think about this, but the Holy Spirit is part of the
Godhead. Each of you has God himself dwelling within you!

He promises spiritual rest

Mt 11:28
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.

For those of us who are in ministry, it can be very

easy to become spiritually weak and exhausted. I know my
most recent job was working in a residential facility for
troubled teenagers. What a demanding job! Imagine fifteen
angry children, aged ten to seventeen, yelling and screaming

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at you all day. Many times they would get violent. The job
itself was demanding and low paying. I recently left there just
because I've been doing that kind of work for a long time,
and I just needed a break. There are other forms of ministry
that are less intense.
I'm sure each of you has had similar experiences. I've
known pastors, Sunday school teachers, school teachers,
and others who have suffered from this sort of burnout. They
work so hard taking care of others and meeting the needs of
everyone else that they end up wearing themselves out.
Even Mother Theresa found herself going through this many
times over. This is why Jesus' words here are so comforting.
If we come to him, he will give us rest.
That rest can come in many forms. Maybe he will help
us recharge to continue with our work. Perhaps he will call
us into another field completely. He might even tell us its
time to take a break for awhile. This burn-out doesn't have to
be work related either. It could happen in your family life as
well. I know some who have extremely difficult family
situations. In those cases, God might have a variety of other
solutions.
The key is to not try to do it all ourselves, but to lean
on Christ. Go to church, spend time in the Word, and be
spiritually fed. What has helped me is having friends who are

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fellow believers to talk to and pray with during these times.

Some might say that we shouldn't look to others but only to
God. Well, I say that God did give us each other for this very
reason.

He promises the Holy Spirit

Lk 11:13
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in
heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

I know I touched on this a bit earlier. When Jesus

went to be with the Father, he did not leave us alone. He
sent us the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to guide us. The Holy
Spirit is just as much God as Jesus is. He is now and always
was and he always will be. There was never a time when the
Holy Spirit did not exist. Among the Godhead, he seems to
be the most mysterious.
I'm not going to go into a detailed study on the Holy
Spirit here. There are some excellent books out there about
who the Holy Spirit is and what he does. Billy Graham's book
on the subject is excellent. The fact still remains that God
dwells among all believers. God himself is living inside of
you. What more could any of us ask for?

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He promises eternal life

Jn 10:28
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no
one can snatch them out of my hand.

I'm sure most of us know what this verse means.

Death for the believer is not the end. God has granted us
eternal life though Jesus Christ. Once we have accepted
him, there is nothing that can remove us from his love. We
could get into a discussion here about eternal security/loss
of salvation, but I won't do that. The point is, once you truly
give your life to Jesus, you are his. This is one of God's
biggest and most important promises.
During our time here on earth, we will go through
many hard times and trials. No matter how difficult things
get, God knows what we are going through. He tells us to
put our trust in him and he will guide us through. He's made
his promises, and he is perfect in that he will and does keep
his promises. All we need to do is believe in him and believe
in those promises. Once we're able to do that, we might find
that things are not as difficult as they seem.

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Chapter 11
Jesus Wept

John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible, yet it is

one of the most overlooked and most powerful. Jesus wept.
He cried. The Creator, Lord, and Savior of all mankind broke
down and cried. What would make him do this? He was
human, so he had the same emotions as the rest of us. We
often focus so much on his divinity that we tend to forget that
he was a flesh and blood person. He was subject to the
same thoughts and feelings as anyone else. He laughed,
ate, slept, and cried.
Before we really get into what was going on in John
11:35, we need to build up to the story a bit and see just
what was happening.

Jn 11:32
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and
saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been
here, my brother would not have died.”
Jn 11:33
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had
come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in
spirit and troubled.
Jn 11:34
“Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see,
Lord,” they replied.

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Jn 11:35
Jesus wept.
Jn 11:36
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
Jn 11:37
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the
eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

The Mary being spoken of here is not Jesus' mother,

but a different Mary. Some believe its Mary Magdalene, but
we don't know that for certain because the text doesn't
actually tell us that. Mary was a very common name back
then, much like Jennifer is today. This Mary had a brother
named Lazarus who was deathly ill. Mary had sent for Jesus
to come and heal him. Jesus said he'd go, but he took his
time getting there. As a result, Lazarus died. I encourage
everyone to read the rest of this story from the beginning. I
didn't find it necessary to include the whole thing.
So Jesus is told of Lazarus' death and is on his way to
see him. We see here Mary throw herself at Jesus' feet and
asking why he took so long. This passage always confused
me. If Jesus knew he could raise Lazarus from the dead,
why would he cry? He knew the death was only temporary.
The whole reason he delayed was so he could show them
this miracle.
The answer to this question was always right in front
of me. It’s in verse 33. “He was deeply moved in the spirit

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and troubled.” Jesus literally felt her pain. When we pray for
others, do we feel their pain? When others come to us with
their troubles, do we truly empathize with them? Do we put
ourselves in their shoes? I know that’s a lot of questions, but
they are questions I believe are worth asking.
We know what prayer is, but what about true
intercessory prayer? It's all too easy to sit in the comfort of
our own lives and pray for others from a distance. We may
write their requests down and sort of drone through a prayer
for them. I know I have been guilty of this myself, and that's
something I've been learning fairly recently. It is another
thing entirely, however, to lay hands on those around us who
are truly suffering and share their pain with them. Praying in
this manner is true intercession.
One thing I have realized about myself, and by talking
to others, is that often we will pray, and, deep down, we don't
even believe or own prayers. We pray as sort of a duty or
exercise because we are told to do so. Yet, in our heart of
hearts, we might say, “God doesn't really heal people like
that anymore,” or “I hope God does something, but I doubt
he will.”
I know God has been working with me lately on how I
pray. For so long, my prayers have been these pathetic little,
“Oh God, I know I'm not really anybody, but if you feel like it,

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could you maybe heal my brother....” Now, I'm not the kind to
rant and rave and jump up and down while praying, but let’s
take a look at Elijah's prayer when he was challenging the
prophets of Baal.

1Ki 18:36
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped
forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and
Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and
that I am your servant and have done all these things at your
command.
1Ki 18:37
Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will
know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning
their hearts back again.”

Elijah had faith God would answer his prayer. He

didn't sheepishly ask God to maybe, sort of, kind of do
something. He almost sounds like he's telling God what to
do. But this prayer is a prayer of faith in which the one
praying knows that God will answer him. There was not a
doubt in Elijah's mind that God would come through. Now,
I'm not saying we should tell or demand that God do
something. At the same time, the Bible tells us if we ask, and
if our motives are pure, that he will answer our prayers, but it

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also tells us not to ask with selfish motives (Mat 7:7; Jas
4:4).
So when you are praying for others, don't be afraid to
feel their pain. I know this is hard. It's probably why most of
us don't try to do it. It could be why we tend to avoid those
we know are sick or suffering. Just being around them can
be depressing, but it's not about us. Even Jesus felt the pain
of those suffering around him. This very day, Jesus still feels
our pain as he intercedes for us. We should follow his
example as we intercede for others.
We can start by praying like we mean it. This comes
from truly believing our prayers. The one thing Jesus
scolded his disciples over more than anything is unbelief. If
we really believe that God is who he says he is, and that he
will keep his promises, then we should show that in our
prayers. I know a lot of the songs we sing in church talk
about our faith. We sing songs like, “Blessed be Your Name,”
and “How Great is our God,” but do we really believe those
words we are singing? If not, then it is time for some serious,
personal reflection.

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Chapter 12
Comfort for the Comforters

2Co 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
2Co 1:4
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can
comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves
have received from God.2Co 1:5 For just as the sufferings of
Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our
comfort overflows.

Losing a loved one is one of the hardest things we will

ever experience in life. There is no easy way to get through
it. My own family just experienced this recently with the
passing of my father-in-law. My wife was very close to her
dad, and our seven-year-old daughter was very close to her
grandpa. So this was not an easy time for us at all. Life is
full of tragedies such as death, illness, and trials. Often we
ask God why. We usually don’t get an answer that makes us
happy. The Bible provides us with a little insight as to why
some of these things happen. This may not be the deeper,
philosophical answer many seek, but it is a more practical
and comforting one. When we go through tragedy and trials,
God is often preparing us for something.

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Life will not always be comfortable

Jn 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may
have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take
heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus warns us right there in John that we will have

troubles. I’ve heard the phrase before “Life’s tough, get a
helmet!” I feel like that quite a bit. About the time you are
about as far down as you think you can go, someone else
comes along and kicks you again. Jesus even went through
trials. So he is letting us know beforehand that simply being
Christians doesn’t exempt us from hard times. However, he
doesn’t leave us hanging.
In the second part of the verse, he tells us to take
heart because he has overcome the world. Jesus defeated
death and suffering. He died and returned and never died
again. No one has ever done that before or since. While
that may not make us feel any better after losing a loved
one, it does give us some reassurance that death is not the
end. By ourselves, we have no power over the world or
death. Jesus Christ, however, can carry us through these
times.

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The book of Psalms tells us that others before us

have gone through hard times:

Ps 60:11
Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is
worthless.
Ps 60:12
With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample
down our enemies.

I spent several years working in social services. I

would often come across people who had been abandoned
by loved ones. Many of them had been used, abused,
orphaned, you name it. While I could never imagine what it’s
like to go through the things they have, I have gone through
my own share of trials and tragedies. It’s not easy for any of
us, but it’s not new either. We are not alone. This scripture
just shows that none of us are exempt. No amount of money
can prevent suffering. Our social status, jobs, or titles won’t
protect us. Hard times can hit anyone at anytime. While this
isn’t pleasant to know, knowing this can help us be prepared.

God comforts us during trouble

Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 1:3 that God is the Father of

compassion. Through Jesus Christ, God gives us comfort.

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When Christ hung on the cross, he had reached the epitome

of suffering. No human being had gone through such pain
before or since. Yet, while he hung from the cross, bleeding
and dying, he still offered comfort to his mother and friends
who were present. He even comforted one of the thieves
who was hanging on one of the other crosses. Even today,
Christ still provides us with comfort during hard times.
However, we often hold ourselves back and won’t turn to
him. But he is there for us; we just need to look to him.

We can comfort others during their troubles

When we share in the suffering of others, we are

giving them comfort. This is called empathy. When we show
love, empathy, and comfort for others, this gives them
endurance. It’s kind of circular. Jesus works through us, so
that we may comfort others who are suffering, so they can
be comforted. People have asked me how God can show
his love to everyone. That is why he gave us each other; so
that we may love and comfort one another.
Once we’ve allowed Christ to comfort us through hard
times, we are equipped to comfort others. I know for myself
that it’s much easier to talk to someone who has gone
through the same things I have experienced than it is to talk

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to someone who has no idea what I’m feeling. I’ve had

many trials in my personal life. While quite a few of these
were of my own making, getting through them has allowed
me to help others who are going through the same things.
As we go through life, there will be hard times and
trouble. God does not abandon us during those times but
offers us comfort. He might even comfort us through
someone else so that we might be able to give comfort to
others. God created us so that we can love him and love
each other. This is one way of uniting the body of Christ and
of living God’s promises.

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Chapter 13
Loving Each Other

In an earlier chapter, I talked about God’s love for us.

Here, we will discuss our love for each other. There will be
more chapters on love to follow. Given the state of the
church and society today, I think love is something we could
never talk about enough. I could probably write a whole
book just on love. The fighting and bickering that I’ve seen
among fellow believers in my lifetime (and I’m not that old)
has been amazing. I’ve seen churches split over silly things
such as what color carpet to put in. I’ve seen pastors ripped
to shreds by people in their congregation for minor issues or
differences. Not only was there fighting and bickering, but
the name calling and gossiping that goes on in our churches
has gotten out of control. Is this Biblical? Is our love for
each other selective?

Love is unselfish

Mt 22:39
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as
yourself.’

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I don’t know if there is anyone out there who really

hates themselves. Our human nature is quite selfish. We
want what we want, when we want it, and how we want it.
Here in the United States, we have no problem making our
wants known and doing whatever it takes to get those things.
So how about the wants and needs of others? If someone
needs help at work, but you are too busy, do you take a
minute to help them? Or do you make sure your work gets
done first?
I know I’ve struggled with this at times. I try really
hard to be as helpful as possible even when the people I’m
helping only want my help because they are lazy. What
really drives me nuts is to bend over backwards to help co-
workers while they stand and watch. Then later, they get
some kind of reward or recognition for the work that I did. It
can be very frustrating, but that is when I must get into the
Word and pray about it. I pray that God removes the selfish
Spirit from my heart. When we live for the Kingdom, we
must put ourselves last. I discuss this further in my book In
Jesus’ Own Words.

Love is sincere

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Ro 12:9
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is
good.
Ro 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor
one another above yourselves.

Our love for each other must be true. If you read

many self-help success books on how to influence people or
to awaken your inner giant, you’ll hear all about showing an
interest in people. They will tell you to remember people’s
birthdays and to learn their hobbies or the names of their
children or pets. This all sounds wonderful, but the problem
is the motive. The motive here is to learn these things in
order to manipulate people to achieve some result. That
result is your own personal success.
When you have true love for another, you do not have
some personal goal in mind. Love is supposed to enable us
to lift each other up. If we get our co-workers birthday cards
or learn their kids’ names, it shouldn’t be so we can lift
ourselves up. We should be doing it to lift them up. As I
mentioned earlier in this chapter, I might get frustrated when
I help someone who later gets the credit for my work.
However, what I’ve done by helping them is to lift them up.
In those cases, my flesh wants me to be angry or jealous
over not getting the recognition I deserve. Our love for each

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other must be sincere and true. Anything else is contrived,

and people will see right through that.

Love is abundant

1Th 3:12
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow
for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for
you.

We should not limit our love for others. People

around us should feel our love whenever we walk into the
room. God showers his love upon us. We should not be
stingy with the love we shower on others. Once again, this
may be hard. I know some people who would rather fall over
dead than share a kind word with another person.
Sometimes such a word is all a person needs. Remember, if
someone doesn't know Christ, we might be the only way that
person experiences Christ’s love.
People often ask me, “How do you feel God’s love?”
Well, there are supernatural ways, but the most basic and
simple way to help someone feel God’s love is by loving
them ourselves. If they see Christians hating each other and
hating non-believers, then I don’t suppose they will think God

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is very loving himself. I can’t say I would blame them in that

case.

Love is proof of discipleship

Jn 13:35
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if
you love one another.”

I’ve heard that “the proof is in the pudding,” and I

guess it’s true. As I mentioned in the last section, the world
is watching us. While I’m not a big fan of saying who is a
Christian and who isn’t, there have been a few times I didn’t
think I was too far off in guessing a person wasn’t really a
Christian. When we hear nothing but hate and bitterness
spewing out of someone’s mouth, and that person claims to
be a Christian, we know something is wrong. When I look
on Christian websites and see debates over issues such as
evolution and abortion, I think that is good. When I see
Christians calling other Christians idiots, morons, and other
colorful phrases, I have to wonder just how “Christian” some
of these folks are. I’m not saying we won’t ever have a bad
day. I know I have. But when you hear the same negative
stuff coming from the same people over and over, you just

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have to wonder. Now, just imagine what non-Christians are

probably thinking when they hear this hateful language.
The above verse is Jesus’ words. If we love one
another, all will know we are his disciples. If we act selfishly,
selectively or falsely, other believers will know it, and the
world will know it. We can witness all we want and quote all
the Bible verses we want, we can share all the teachings
and doctrines in the world, but without love, all that is
pointless. Paul tells us:

1Co 13:1
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but
have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging
cymbal.
1Co 13:2
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all
mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can
move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
1Co 13:3
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my
body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

He goes on, but these verses pretty much make the

point. We might have the biggest, fanciest church in our
town. Our church might have state-of-the-art, multimedia
sound systems, a jumbo-tron, padded seats, and a coffee
shop with all the bells and whistles. No matter what it is we

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do or have, if we don’t love each other, then it’s all a joke.

Without love, everything we do is nothing but an empty
action. Love is what God has given us, and it is what we
should give each other.

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Chapter 14
Physically Weak, Spiritually Strong

We live in a world where strength is considered one of

the greatest qualities. In sports, the strongest dominate the
competition. In business, only the strong survive. Crushing
your opponent in life is considered the ultimate victory. It’s
not good enough to win; we must win big. If you are
perceived to be weak, then you will not be respected, nor will
you get far in life. People will walk all over anyone who
appears weak. That is what the world tells us. But what is
true strength? The Bible has some things to say about this.

Spiritual strength is mightier than physical strength

Zec 4:6
So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to
Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’
says the LORD Almighty.

There are so many examples in the Bible where God

used a physically weaker person or people to defeat the
strong. Just look at David, Gideon, or even Jael. None of
them were considered to be strong by earthly standards.
But by relying on God’s power, they were able to overcome

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and be victorious. We can do the same thing when faced

with a problem. Instead of relying on our own skills and
trying to control the situation (as I myself am often guilty of
doing), we should give it over to God and let him handle
things.
Our strength is nothing, however. Some of the
strongest people I’ve ever known were physically weaker
than almost everyone. Recently a man came to speak at our
church. He was only in his 40’s, but he’d had a major stroke.
His whole right side is paralyzed, yet he spoke with a
passion for God that almost brought our congregation to
tears. He even said that he’d wanted to be close to God his
whole life, but it wasn’t until he was disabled that God really
took hold of him. This is just one example of how God uses
the physically weak to accomplish his purposes.

Spiritual strength accompanies the baptism of the Holy

Spirit

Ac 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes
on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

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God has not left us alone in this world. Jesus came to

earth to teach us how to live. When he left, he sent the Holy
Spirit to equip us. When we rely on the Holy Spirit, there is
no limit to what we can do. Now I’m not saying we can fly or
shoot spider webs from our fingers (although that would be
pretty cool!). I’m talking about our gifts and our talents.
Here is a personal example.
If you’re reading this book, then you’ve probably
figured out that I like to write. For years before I was a
Christian, I also wrote. I wrote fiction for many years and
even published two secular suspense/thriller novels. I had
self-published them originally, but a small press picked them
both up. I had written two more that hadn’t yet gone to
press. I’d won some awards and gotten some good reviews
by some well respected people. I appeared to be on my way
to a career in writing mystery/suspense fiction. Then I
became a Christian.
After my conversion, I stopped writing for some time.
That was for a variety of reasons. I had a lot of personal
things going on and other stresses, and I was in need of
some major personal reflection. During this time, I spent a
lot of time in prayer. I felt God convicting me about my past
books. I contacted my publisher and told them I wanted to
pull my books. They were resistant, but they agreed to

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cancel them if I paid them some fees. I did pay them the
money, and they removed the books. Many people thought
I’d lost my mind at that point. Most authors would kill even
for a contract with a small publisher like this one. Yet those
books were filled with violence and foul language. There
was no way I could allow them to stay on the market in good
faith.
So what does this have to do with this chapter? I’m
getting to that. You see, my gift is writing. I’m an okay
speaker, but I’m a pretty good writer. I feel I have been
blessed with this gift. But without the anointing of the Holy
Spirit, this gift is meaningless. Sure, I may have sold a few
books and made a nice name for myself. I might even have
made a lot of money one day. In the long run, what would all
that have meant? All the words I had written up until that
point were empty words. They were stories about nothing
and they helped no one. They were worthless, pulp, junk.
After I finally began my blog on
http://www.iamthewayministries.com, God blessed both me
and many others who have read my blog, or my previous
book, in ways I could never have imagined.

Jesus is the supreme example of true strength

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Lk 4:14
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and
news about him spread through the whole countryside.

Jesus showed us many times how to rely on spiritual

and not physical strength. He performed his miracles
through the spirit. Even if we may not be able to perform
miracles, we still have power through the spirit. Our prayers
have power. Love has power. Both have more power than
we could ever realize. God has equipped us with those
things so that we might go into the world and share them
with others.
Throughout the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7),
Jesus tells us how to live. The way of life he taught us is
true strength. When the world says to fight, Jesus says walk
away. When the world says to take advantage of your
enemy, Jesus tells us to love him. When the world says to
stand up for yourself, Jesus says to let others have their way.
I know this is extremely hard to do, but it is the true life of
loving God’s strength. Once we give up on having our own
way, we can be stronger than we ever thought possible.

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Chapter 15
Strength in Weakness

There is so much in the Bible about weakness and

strength that I felt the subject was worth multiple chapters.
This chapter will focus on weakness. What do we do with
the weak? All we need to do is take a look around us. We
usually look down on the weak. When it comes to business
or life in general, we’re like animals. If we see another who
is wounded, we take that as our opportunity to move in for
the kill, to gain the upper hand. What happens, though,
when we become the ones who are weak? Maybe we’ve
suffered some personal tragedy, or maybe a physical illness
has taken hold of us. Weakness is a different story when it
is happening to us. The Apostle Paul discusses his own
weakness and what it meant to him.

God uses the weak to shame the strong

1Co 1:27
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame
the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame
the strong.

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The leaders we encounter throughout the Bible are

not what we would consider to be strong. Sure, they
became strong after God raised them up. But they sure
weren’t strong when he called them. Just look at Moses.
When we think of Moses, we often think of Charlton Heston
standing there, holding his staff with his long beard flowing in
the breeze. We see him as this strong, powerful, and
dignified man of God. But when we first read about Moses’
calling, he wasn’t so strong. Just read Exodus 3. He was
scared and confused, and he even argued and whined to
God about his calling. He didn’t want to do it. Moses didn’t
think he could do it. Yet God used him to do many great
things.
Then you have Elijah. He ran and hid in caves. John
the Baptist dressed funny, lived in the desert, and ate bugs.
David was just a kid when he was called to go kill a giant.
Jael, as a woman, would not have been expected to do
anything of note during her time. Yet, she killed one of
Israel’s enemies and was called “blessed among women.”
The only other woman in the Bible to be given that title was
Mary, the mother of Jesus. You can read about Jael in
Judges 4-5. I think you get the picture. God is not limited by
our abilities.

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God’s strength is made perfect through weakness

2Co 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for
my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will
boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that
Christ’s power may rest on me.
2Co 12:10
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses,
in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.

What does Paul mean in these verses? How is he

strong when he is weak? This passage confused me for
years. Then, suddenly, it was like a light went on. I believe
he is saying that when we are at our weakest, we must rely
even more on God to work through us. Since we are then
relying even more on God, we are stronger than we ever
could be normally.
A few years ago, there was a young man in the news
by the name of Jason McElwain. He was on the Today show
and several other news outlets. He is autistic and was the
manager of his high school basketball team. He wasn’t
allowed to play in games because of his disability, but he
was allowed to dress so he could be a part of the team. On
the final game of his senior year, his coach decided to put

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him in with about four minutes left in the game. During those
four minutes, Jason hit six 3-point shots.
If you haven't seen the video of this, I encourage you
to pull it up on Youtube. It’s amazing to watch, and the
crowd was going berserk. Jason is what most of us would
consider to be weak. He has a disability that many feel
makes him different. Some might even think he’s less than a
real person because of it. Yet, despite his weakness, Jason
showed amazing strength.
God can do the same for us. If an NBA star scores
18 points in four minutes, that's good, but it won’t get much
more than a few seconds on ESPN. However, an autistic kid
achieving that is nothing short of amazing. It is likewise
amazing when God works through our weakness. If a
person has lived a “perfect” life and has never gotten into
any real trouble goes and does great things for God, that is
great, but it’s also somewhat expected. However, if a person
who at one point seemed completely lost and out of God’s
reach turns his life around and does great things for God,
then that is nothing less than a miracle.

Through God’s strength, we are strong

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2Co 13:4
For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he
lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by
God’s power we will live with him to serve you.

When it comes right down to it, there is very little we

can do on our own. In the overall scheme of things, we are
all weak and helpless. Sure, we may be strong, healthy, and
successful right now, but all of that can go away in a second.
Even for the best of us, it only takes a car accident, illness,
or major financial crisis to reduce our resources to nothing.
Then what do we do? I’ve seen some very strong and
powerful people crumble into nothing after catching only a
few bad breaks.
It is God who makes us strong. The weakest among
us can be the strongest through God’s power. Through him,
we can do amazing things. The first Missionary to India,
William Carey, said, “Attempt great things for God. Expect
great things from God.” If we are willing to serve him and
put our own abilities aside, he can use us in amazing ways.
This is what Jesus meant when he said:

Lk 13:30
Indeed there are those who are last who will be first,
and first who will be last.

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Chapter 16
Rejected by Men

In the book of Joshua, we see the Israelites finally

make it into the Promised Land. For many years after their
arrival, they went through many different leaders. God
chose for them judges to lead them. God would raise up
different judges at different times to lead the different tribes.
The Israelites were in a constant cycle. They’d turn away
from God, and then fall into captivity to one of their enemies.
After many years, they’d cry out to God, who would deliver
them. They’d be faithful to the Lord for awhile, but then they
would slowly turn away and then repeat the cycle.
Don’t we do this in our everyday lives? We will be
faithful for awhile, and when things have gone well, we
slowly turn away from God and do our own things. Then
after we get ourselves into hot water, we turn back to God;
he bails us out, and then off we go again. Many times when
we go tell others about God, or share God with others, they
turn on us. Sometimes even our own Christian friends will
do this when they backslide. It’s very hurtful.
Since I’ve been involved with ministry, I’ve had this
happen many times. I’ve been attacked by Christian friends
over rumors and speculation. I’ve had friends on my website

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who broke fellowship with me over differing political views.

Others have stopped reading my blogs and have never
spoke to me again without ever telling me why. In 1 Samuel
8:6-8, we get two things, a warning and some comfort:

1Sa 8:6
But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this
displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.
1Sa 8:7
And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people
are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they
have rejected me as their king.
1Sa 8:8
As they have done from the day I brought them up out
of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods,
so they are doing to you.

The people cried out for a king

After being ruled by judges off and on for many years,

the people of Israel cried out to God for a king. They
complained and complained to the prophet Samuel, asking
God to give them a king. God finally gave into them and
gave them what they wanted. God later anointed Saul as
the king. I’m sure many of us know how the rest of the story
goes. Saul became selfish and disobedient to God.

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1Sa 15:11
“I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he
has turned away from me and has not carried out my
instructions.” Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the
LORD all that night.

How many times do we put more trust in men than in

God? That is what happened to the Israelites. They put
more faith in a man than in God. This led them to
experience serious problems for centuries. Even today, I
see many Christians getting worked up over politics. While
there is nothing wrong with being involved with the political
process, it is possible to overdo it. As I write this, primary
elections are happening right now. At the moment, the
Democratic primaries are hotly contested. The Republican
races were just recently settled. Reading Christian blogs
and websites has been very interesting these past few
months. Many Christians have picked out a certain
candidate who they feel is “God’s man” for President. While
I don’t suppose it is wrong to feel this way, I’ve seen people
belittled as not being true Christians because they didn’t
agree with a particular candidate or party.
I know many Christians feel very disenchanted with
the Republicans and feel let down by the Bush
administration’s policies and actions over the last eight

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years. Now, I don’t mean to turn this book into a political

debate; I’m merely making some observations here. For
years, I’ve seen Christian movements put all their faith and
hope into one political candidate. I’ve heard people say, “If
only this guy would get elected…” or “If we could only get
these people in office…” Yet, every single time, they end up
feeling let down and upset because those candidates got
into office and didn’t deliver what they promised. I don’t
know why anyone is surprised. Men will do this. Men will let
us down. Instead of going and looking to another candidate
each time, maybe we should look to God.
Our hope does not rest on politicians or earthly
leaders, but in the Almighty God in heaven. The people of
Israel lost sight of this as well. You’d think we’d learn our
lesson, but we seem to like repeating our mistakes. No
matter who is in office, or who is the president, or which
political party is in power, Jesus is the true king.

It is God that men reject, not us

Jn 15:18
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me
first. ”

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As I read the passage in 1 Samuel, I can’t help but

feel that Samuel is rather hurt by the people demanding he
find them a king. As a judge and a prophet, Samuel had led
Israel for many years. That situation is like when you work
as an acting supervisor at work, but when they do finally fill
the position, they pick someone who hasn’t been there as
long as you. However, God offers Samuel some comfort.
He tells him that he’s not the one who has been rejected, but
that it was God himself who was rejected. Since Samuel
was God’s spokesman to the people, they took it out on him.
At least, that’s one way it appears.
However, as Jesus says in the above passage from
John, the world hated him first. Jesus suffered probably
more rejection than any of us could ever dream of. So we
shouldn’t be all that surprised when people reject us. I see
many Christians taking it personally and getting up in arms
when they catch problems because of their faith. I can
understand it’s upsetting, but it’s not personal. They are not
rejecting us personally, but our God.

Men have forsaken God since the beginning

Ne 9:26
But they were disobedient and rebelled against you;
they put your law behind their backs. They killed your

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prophets, who had admonished them in order to turn them

back to you; they committed awful blasphemies.
Ne 9:27
So you handed them over to their enemies, who
oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried
out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great
compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them
from the hand of their enemies.

Rejecting God is nothing new. This was done from

the beginning of history. That’s why God sent the flood in
Genesis. That’s why he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
So rebellion is not a new development, but as we can see by
reading the Old Testament, rejecting God leads to only one
path, and that is bondage. This passage in Nehemiah is a
perfect example. Even though today we might not be
physically taken into captivity by earthly enemies, we still fall
into other forms of bondage. Some of us may be held
captive to alcohol, drugs, porn, or gambling. When we are
not walking with God, we are walking away from him. These
things are like land mines Satan has planted throughout the
world, and he is waiting for us to step on them.
So we don’t need to have men leading us, nor should
we take it personally when men reject us. Whether we have
been rejected for our faith in God, or whether we’ve rejected

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God ourselves, there is only one way to true freedom. The

Apostle Paul addresses this issue in the following verse, with
which I will conclude this chapter:

2Co 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is freedom.

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Chapter 17
Staying Calm Through the Storms

I’m sure most of us have gone through storms in our

lives at one time or other. I have many friends who have
recently experienced them. The life of one good friend of
mine seems to be a series of storms. Our family just went
through a storm a few months ago with the sudden death of
my father-in-law. How do we respond to these things? Our
natural response is often to be fearful, panic-stricken, and
anxious. Jesus’ disciples went through the very same thing.
We will take a look at their experience and see what Jesus
told them.

Lk 8:22
One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to
the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set
out.
Lk 8:23
As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on
the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they
were in great danger.
Lk 8:24
The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master,
Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the
wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was
calm.

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Lk 8:25
“Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear
and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He
commands even the winds and the water, and they obey
him.”

Storms will hit us when we don’t expect it

Usually when one of these storms hits, it’s when we

are going about our lives as usual. Years ago, a police
officer here was killed. He was a friend of mine and of many
people in the community. I had gone to my part-time job just
like any other day. The other officers at the department had
gone in like any normal day as well. He worked second
shift, and things were going pretty much like they do any
other day. That evening, an officer was involved in a pursuit.
On his way to back up his fellow officer, my friend Doug ran
a red light and was broadsided by another squad car. Doug
was killed instantly. Just like that, tragedy struck an entire
community. What had begun as a normal day for our town
turned into a difficult week.
As I mentioned earlier, my father-in-law died suddenly
this past January. He had been fine. My wife and daughter
would go over to his house every weekend and help him
clean. He was only 56 years old. My wife Jami and

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daughter Ashley loved him so much. It was the highlight of

their week to go to see grandpa. One Sunday morning, Jami
arrived early, and her father was still sleeping. That was not
usual for him, but it was early on Sunday morning, so Jami
came home.
Later in the day, she called and left a message for
him. By the evening, he hadn’t returned her call. This was
not normal for him. Jami called her uncle to go and check
on her dad. To make a long story short, he spent the week
in the hospital. He had hit his head at work earlier in the
week, and now he had some kind of brain infection.
Throughout the week, he kept having strokes which were
shutting his brain down. By the next Saturday morning, the
only thing keeping him alive was a breathing machine. At
that point, the family decided to turn the machine off. We
stood together in the room and watched his body finish
shutting down. Within two minutes of the machine being
turned off, he was gone.
The crazy thing about that whole ordeal was how
quickly it all happened. He had just been at our house on
Christmas. Jami had just talked to him on the phone the day
before. There was no warning and no indication that any of
this was about to happen. One day he was there, and in
less than a week he was gone.

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Panic during the storms will create needless fear

Mt 14:30
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and,
beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

When the storms hit, often our first response is to

panic. Panic creates fear, not only for you, but for those
around you. I know if you’re in a leadership position and
things begin to turn south, those who are under you will look
to you for guidance. If all they see is panic, then how do you
suppose they will respond? Panic not only creates fear, but
confusion. When I was a corrections officer, we had a
supervisor who would flip out whenever there was a crisis.
Those situations often ended up a complete mess because
we were all running around like chickens with our heads cut
off. Other supervisors kept cool and gave clear directives
during crises. This told us the situation was under control
and that we could handle things accordingly.
We can prevent panic through faith. Look at the
above verse. Peter only begins to sink when he starts
doubting. His lack of faith produced needless fear. Jesus
was standing only a few feet away from him, but he still
panicked. Have any of us ever done that? Have you ever

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panicked when you knew Jesus was right there with you? I
know I sure have. This is not what God wants for us. I know
it’s hard when the storms hit, but during storms is the most
important time to look to him.

Jesus commands the storms

As we read that passage from Luke 8, we see how

Jesus effortlessly calmed the storm. Notice the disciples’
surprise? Aren’t we often surprised when Jesus calms our
storms? I don’t know why we get so surprised. We know
who Jesus is and what he can do. He created the storms, so
it makes sense that he can command them. The problem is,
we don’t usually want Jesus to handle our problems. We’d
rather try to deal with them ourselves. So, we throw our best
solutions and ideas about, but to no avail. Only then, when
none of our efforts have worked, do we look to Jesus for
help. He should not be our last resort, but our first resort.
This is one of the hardest things for us to do. When
the storms hit, it’s easy to rely on our own abilities, but those
abilities are very little compared to what Jesus can do. The
first words out of our mouths should be “Lord! Save me!”
Jesus is always there, waiting for us. It may not seem like it
at times. I’ve heard people ask me why God doesn’t do

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anything during hard times. My response usually is, “Did

you ask him to?” It’s amazing the looks I get when I ask that.
It’s so simple, but that is all we need to do. While he may not
always make the storm go away, he can help us through it.
So, as we face the storms of life, we can handle them
in two different ways. We could panic and make things even
worse. Or we can look to Jesus who can rebuke the storm
and help us through it. Weathering the storm may not
always be easy. The storm may last quite awhile with no
end in sight, but it will end. Jesus is greater than any storm.
Even the winds and water obey him. All we need to say is
“Lord! Save me!”

Chapter 18

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Suffering for Doing Right

Peer pressure is one of the toughest things for people

to overcome. When in school, how many things did you do
just because everyone else was doing them? I know I did
plenty of stupid things. Ever wonder why we do these
things? It’s because we don’t want to be the oddball, the
misfit. No matter how wrong things are sometimes, we will
do them just to fit in. Sadly enough, this doesn’t change
when we become adults. Sometimes, it actually gets worse.
I’m sure most of us reading this have had to make a
tough choice at our jobs. Have you ever seen someone
doing something that was wrong, but you were afraid to stop
it? Perhaps your boss wanted you to do something that
violated company policy or the law or that was simply
unethical. What do we do in those situations? Peter
addresses this in his first letter. He explains why we should
be afraid to do what is right.

1Pe 3:13
Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?
1Pe 3:14
But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are
blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”
1Pe 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be
prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to

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give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with
gentleness and respect,
1Pe 3:16
keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak
maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be
ashamed of their slander.

Be eager to do what is good

This is the first step. In my book, In Jesus’ Own

Words, I go into detail about how our first goal is simply
desiring what is right by getting our hearts right. Doing the
right thing is fine, but if our heart isn’t in it, then it’s pointless.
Doing right should be a reflex, a first reaction.
I’m a big football fan. When Peyton Manning throws a
touchdown pass, he doesn’t sit there and say, “Okay, drop
back three steps, plant feet, find receiver…” He already
knows what to do. His pass is automatic and occurs in one
smooth motion. He’s done it so many times; he could
probably do it in his sleep. That is how following Christ
should be for us. We should all be Peyton Manning
Christians. No matter what we are faced with in life, we
should automatically drop back, plant our feet, and throw a
perfect touchdown pass without having to think about it. At
least, that should be our goal.

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Do not fear what they fear

With Christ by our side, we have no need to fear. We

are fortunate enough to live in a country that is free from
religious persecution. Usually, the worst thing that happens
to us as Christians is that we are sometimes made fun of or
ridiculed. It is not worth going against what I know is right to
avoid that. In my own experience, I’ve left jobs over things
that were wrong and of which I refused to be a part.
While quitting a job might not always be the answer,
we should pray and find God’s will for our lives and to learn
how we should handle things. Either way, we need not fear.
If your boss wants you to do something you know isn’t right,
don’t be afraid to stand up. So maybe you get fired over it.
What does Peter say? You will be blessed! If God put you in
that job, don't you suppose God could put you in another
job? What's happening to you may not seem right at first,
but chances are God will have something better around the
corner.

Always be ready to give your defense

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I think more Christians need to memorize verse

fifteen. We are quick to defend our beliefs, which is good,
but we tend to forget the “gentleness and respect” part.
Peter doesn’t tell us to hire lawyers and sue everyone while
yelling and screaming about our rights. He also doesn’t tell
us to inform people they are going to hell. He tells us to be
gentle and respectful, kind of like Jesus was.
If your boss wants you to do something unethical, I
don’t recommend yelling at him or calling him a filthy hell-
bound heathen. We can politely tell him why we won’t do
that certain thing. I’m using a boss as an example, but you
could need to address a friend, spouse, or anyone else.
Whoever it is and whatever we say, do so with gentleness
and respect. If after you have done so they continue to
mock you, verse sixteen tells us they will be ashamed.
So, as we’ve seen, we need not fear doing the right
thing. No matter how much the world tells us we should
conform to them and fall in line, we know better. There have
been a few times in my life when I gave in, and I regretted it
each time. Peter himself experienced this when he denied
Christ. We will suffer for doing the right things; the Bible
warns us about this. The best thing we can do is prepare
ourselves and lean on Jesus to help us through it.
Chapter 19

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The Power of Patience

Pr 25:15
Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and
a gentle tongue can break a bone.

We live in a world filled with instant gratification. We

have instant messaging, fast food, and even drive-through
weddings. If we want something, we get it right now. If
something takes more than a few minutes, we get frustrated
and even angry. Recently I began working in sales. When
it’s busy, I’ve found some customers get extremely impatient.
Most do pretty well, but there is always that handful who
walk in the store and, as soon as they see the line, begin
huffing and puffing. By the time they get to me, their
patience is gone, and I just cannot move fast enough for
them. It makes the job interesting to say the least.
I’ve worked many jobs where new policies have been
put into place that the employees didn’t like or that just made
no sense whatsoever. The natural reaction was for the
employees to get upset, argue, and sometimes even quit.
Over the years, I’ve found that things change so much in
most workplaces that if you can tough it out for six months or
so, things will usually change again. This is hard to do for

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many of us though. The book of Proverbs tells us the many

benefits of patience.

Patience is a fruit of the spirit

Gal 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness…

This is important: if we claim to be Christians, then

patience is something we should be working hard to obtain.
When I became a Christian, I had zero patience for much of
anything. I think I may have been in the negatives in the
patience department. It took very little to set me off, and I
waited for nothing or no one. I’m doing much better these
days. I still have my areas I need to work on (like talking on
the phone to customer service people), but I’ve come light
years from where I was. The three years I spent working in
a psychiatric hospital really helped me to learn patience.
God can help us with this process. He can show us what it
is to be patient. Often, he will put people in our lives who will
test our patience.

1Ti 1:16
But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in
me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his

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unlimited patience as an example for those who would

believe on him and receive eternal life.

God shows us patience unlike any we will ever know

ourselves. No matter how often we fall or stumble, he is
patient with us. No matter where we are in our walk with
him, he will be patient as we stumble along to where he
wants us to be. The least we can do is be patient with
others.

A gentle tongue can break a bone

Pr 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word
stirs up anger.

I know we’ve heard this verse before, and you’d think

we’d have an easier time remembering it. However, it
seems that when faced with a situation where we are losing
our cool, it’s very hard to respond with gentleness. Yet, this
is something we must learn to do. We can diffuse many
situations through patience and gentleness. Harsh words
will just fan a fire. I don’t know how many conflicts I talked
my way out of because I responded kindly to the person
instead of lashing out. On the same note, I can think of

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many conflicts I could have avoided had I taken a step back

and attempted to be kind instead of returning bitterness with
bitterness.

Isa 50:4
The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed
tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He
wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen
like one being taught.

Sometimes when people are tired and at the end of

their ropes, they just need to hear a kind word to help them
through the rough times. I don’t know too many people who
don’t like to hear a kind word at the right times. I think what
happens in these situations is that we are so caught up into
our own little world and our problems, that we have no idea
what that other person is going through. Perhaps taking a
minute to think about that person and maybe even ask them
what is wrong might open some doors to great ministry
opportunities.
So let’s put this together. If we are patient, we can
help bring about positive change. God has been patience
with us, so he can help us to learn patience. If we use
patience and gentle words, we might have more of an impact
on people than if we instead complain and argue.

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Sometimes we just need to take a deep breath and think

things through. By doing so, we can encourage those
around us and those over us in authority, even if we disagree
with them.
Even those in authority over us may be exhausted or
burned out themselves. Whether they are our bosses,
government officials, or some other figure, they are often
tired and worn down. So instead of beating them down with
complaints and bitterness, we could encourage them and lift
them up. We might find them to be more open to
suggestions and change when they see us acting with the
fruits of the Spirit, love and patience, instead of with anger
and defiance.

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Chapter 20
Nothing but the Blood

I’m sure most of you have heard the song "Nothing

but the Blood." One night, I was sitting and listening to my
iPod when this song came up. There is a newer version out
by Matt Redman as well. Both songs have a similar chorus:

What can wash away my sins

Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again
Nothing but the blood of Jesus

I don’t know of too many songs with more beautiful

lyrics. When I think of the sins I’ve committed in my life, it
almost brings tears to my eyes. For so long, my life was
dark, ugly, and hollow. I thought I was lost. I grew up
learning about God, but I didn’t really know God. I had
turned away from him. For many years I lost my faith and
belief. A big reason I didn’t believe was because I felt like I
was beyond help, out of God’s reach. Around ten years ago
there was a popular song out that contained the line, “I still
believe that I cannot be saved.” I truly felt that was me.

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I’m sure all of us have felt that way at some point or

other. Most of us have probably felt out of reach. We have
felt as if we were living in a pit, rolling around in the mud with
the pigs. I know I sure felt that way. Sure, I had some fun
times playing in the mud, but, deep down, it felt cold, dark,
and lonely. Then something happened. I made a discovery.
I discovered Jesus and his precious blood.

Eph 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away
have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

I read that verse and I see myself. I was once far

away, too far away I thought. Yet Jesus’ blood brought me
near. Only his blood could save me. I know many non-
Christians who think Christianity is a violent, bloodthirsty
religion because of its fascination with blood. Yet it is the
shedding of Jesus’ blood that constitutes the perfect sacrifice
so that we might have eternal life and not have to live in the
mud here on earth.

Heb 10:19
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to
enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus…

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Back in the first century, Israel still had its temple, at

least until AD 70. In that temple was the Holiest of Holies.
Only the high priest could enter there on Yom Kippur.
Ordinary people could not enter this place. There was a veil
hanging over it that kept others out. Anyone who tried to
cross that veil would be struck dead. When Jesus died on
that cross, that veil was torn, both spiritually and literally. We
can now enter the presence of God. We have the kind of
access to God that not even Elijah, Abraham, or John the
Baptist had. They were preparing the way for the promise,
yet they themselves had never received that promise. They
never experienced the blood (Hebrews 11).

1Jn 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son,
purifies us from all sin.

Once again, we see that only the blood of Jesus

purifies our hearts from sin. Our best offerings can’t cleanse
us. Neither can our good deeds. It doesn’t matter if you’ve
taught Sunday School for twenty years, or if you fed the
homeless last winter You could be the pastor of a large
church, or a Big Brother or a Big Sister on weekends. None
of those things can cleanse you.

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Isa 64:6
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.

Our best efforts don’t even come close to ideal. God’s

grace is not dependent on what we do for him. It’s all about
what he has done for us. While that fact doesn't license us
to play in the mud, it does tell us that grace is not something
we can earn. There is a difference between stepping in a
mud puddle and rolling around in the mud. Once we have
been cleansed, we will want nothing to do with the mud; we
will desire only his blood: nothing but the blood of Jesus.

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Chapter 21
You Never Let Go

I had originally written this chapter as a blog for my

good friend, Sarah, who was going through some serious
struggles at the time. I was debating whether or not to
include this chapter, but I feel it has some valuable things to
offer. There is a popular Christian song also titled "You
Never Let Go." That song has brought me much comfort
during hard times. It’s based on the 23rd Psalm, which is one
of the most quoted and written about passages in the entire
Bible. So I felt that in a book about God’s promises, this
passage deserved a place. I won’t quote the whole passage
here, but one section that jumps out at me:

Ps 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and
your staff, they comfort me.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of

death

Very few statements seem as dark or even as scary

as this one. Yet there are very few of us who have not been

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through this valley. Some of us may perpetually live in this

valley. This psalm was written by David. David was in a
serious valley when he wrote it. He was facing death.
Death was casting its shadow over him, hence the phrase
“the valley of the shadow of death.” There have been times
in my own life when the valley seemed so bad that death
would have been a welcome relief. David was probably the
mightiest man of the Old Testament, yet he went through
valleys and faced death.
Something important to note here is that as we follow
Jesus, he doesn’t take away the valleys. He does not
shelter us from potential harm. Sometimes when we
become Christians, those valleys become larger and deeper
than they were before we were Christians. Why is this? I
know there is no simple answer. I do know from personal
experience that sometimes our biggest growth comes from
going through the deepest valleys.

I will fear no evil…

Evil is all around us. We live in an evil world. When I

was a corrections officer, I stood face to face with evil each
day. I worked with murderers, robbers, rapists, and child
molesters. There were some criminals who looked just as

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normal as any of us. You’d never suspect them of the

crimes they had committed. Then there were those who just
seemed to exude a sense of evil. Their mere presence
made the hairs on your neck stand up. And yes, I was afraid
of some of them.
When I worked with kids in a psychiatric hospital, I
saw the results of evil. Many of these kids had been through
more by the age of ten than most of us will go through in our
entire lives. The things that had been done to these children
were unspeakable. Unfortunately, many of them will grow up
to commit the same acts on another child. Evil is part of the
world we live in. There is no escaping it.
Yet, we need not fear evil. I remember that, when I
was a child , I had some really bad nightmares at times. I’d
dream of monsters, ghosts, or other creatures from horror
movies coming to get me. I can’t even imagine how much
sleep I cost my poor parents during that time. One night
after I woke up, my mom read this verse to me:

1Jn 4:4
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome
them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one
who is in the world.

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I love that last part. “The one who is in you is greater

than the one who is in the world.” He is talking about Satan
of course. We have the Holy Spirit within us, who is much
greater than Satan. Jesus has already conquered sin and
death. We only need to cling to him. I know that is easier
said than done. I know there have been plenty of times my
wife has told me to stop freaking out about things and to take
my own advice. It’s those times I go back and read some of
my own articles.
No matter what we are going through, no matter what
we are dealing with, no matter who is trying to hurt us, we
can turn to God. God is greater than all things. I’m not
usually one to throw cliché’s out there, but I saw a bumper
sticker once that said, “Instead of telling God how big your
problem is, tell your problem how big your God is.” Yeah, I
know it sounds cheesy, but there is much truth to this. Yet
when you’re in the valley of the shadow of death, giving your
problems up to God is easier said than done.

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me

Now, this verse might sound harsh. The rod and staff
are what the shepherd uses for discipline. This recalls my
earlier point about being refined by going through valleys. It

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is through that discipline, however, that we are able to

survive the valleys. When I went through Marine Corps boot
camp, I thought I was going to die at times. The training was
extremely tough, both mentally and physically. Yet it was all
necessary. See, they were training us for war. Even though
there was no war at the time, war could break out at any
minute. If they were always nice to us and easy on us, we
would not be strong enough to handle combat.
God does the same for us. Whether we like it or not,
we are at war. No, it’s not a physical war, and we are not to
go and commit acts of violence. We are at a spiritual war
with the forces of darkness. Satan and his minions are out
to destroy us. So God must put us through spiritual boot
camp for us to be ready for war with our real enemy.
While this may not be super comforting when we are
going through those trials, it’s important to know that God
doesn’t send us through them alone. He is there with us,
just like the shepherd tending his flock. He never lets go of
us; he never abandons us. He might take a step back, like a
parent watching his child walk for the first time. He might
even let us fall, but he is there to pick us back up. He is there
to pull us from the valley.

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Chapter 22
I Need You to Love Me

Lk 7:36
Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner
with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at
the table.
Lk 7:37
When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town
learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she
brought an alabaster jar of perfume,
Lk 7:38
and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she
began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them
with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

I don’t know that any of us can say we’ve lived a

perfect life or anything even close to one. As I mentioned
earlier, I was far from perfect before I was a Christian. I still
am, but at least now I’m actually trying to improve myself.
When I read the story of this woman in the above passage, I
feel like her. I know I’m not a woman, but I know the feeling
of falling at the feet of Jesus while weeping. This woman
realized what kind of life she had been living and where that
kind of life would lead. She was sad and remorseful and
needed Jesus’ forgiveness. She needed his love.

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Jesus knew who she was

The Pharisees who were with Jesus reacted first with

judgment.

Lk 7:39
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he
said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know
who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that
she is a sinner.”

They were repulsed that Jesus would allow such a

woman to come near him. Tradition tells us that this woman
was a prostitute. That is very possible, and prostitution was a
common occupation for women back then who did not have
a husband. When women were divorced by their husbands,
they had few choices for making a living. There weren’t
many secretarial schools or waitressing jobs back then.
However, scripture is not clear on exactly what this woman’s
sins were. Jesus, however, did not mind her washing his
feet. He knew exactly who she was.

Lk 7:40
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell
you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said.

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Lk 7:41
“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One
owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
Lk 7:42
Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he
canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him
more?”

I always loved how Jesus would answer the disciples

with questions. Jesus tells them the story of a moneylender.
The story speaks for itself, and then we see Simon’s
response.

Lk 7:43
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger
debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

So Simon knew what Jesus was getting at, but Jesus

wasn’t finished making his point.

Lk 7:44
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon,
“Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did
not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with
her tears and wiped them with her hair.
Lk 7:45
You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the
time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.

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Lk 7:46
You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured
perfume on my feet.
Lk 7:47
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven
—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little
loves little.”
Lk 7:48
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

I often hear people within the church who are critical

of those who came out of horrible lives of sin. They are
suspicious of that person’s testimony and of whether any
real change had taken place. I read one blog in which a
man criticized a former prostitute for not leaving the sex
industry sooner than she did! Sometimes a person’s
“Christianness” is even called into question due to their past.
After all, look at what they’ve done!

Big sins, little sins

A couple of years ago, a young woman emailed me

about problems she was having in her marriage. She had
been raised a Christian; she had gone to a Christian school,
a Christian college, and the whole nine yards. Well, her
problems were with trust. Her husband had cheated on her
when they were engaged. By the time she contacted me,

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they had been married for almost two years. Even though
she said she had forgiven him, she kept bringing this
incident up whenever something would go wrong, and she
repeatedly threw it in his face.
When I told her that she wasn’t perfect either, she
said, “Well, I know, but I’ve never done anything like that
though. That’s a major sin. I’ve only done little stuff.” I tried
to explain these above verses to her, but I’m not sure if they
sank in. She was stuck on the fact that since she had only
committed “small sins,” she now had a license to pound her
husband into the ground for his big sin, even though she still
chose to marry him after she learned about the sin, and even
though she had said she forgave him. I pointed those things
out to her as well, and I never heard from her again.
The woman in this story knew her sins. She knew
who Jesus was and wanted his love and forgiveness. She
needed his love and forgiveness. Do any of you know what
that feels like? I remember that when I came back to Jesus,
I was crying on my living room floor as I held my Bible. I had
sometimes thought that I knew what love was. Yet it wasn’t
until that moment that I knew what real, unconditional love
meant. Sure, I still mess up and stumble at times. Each
time I stumble, I feel like the woman in this passage. I cry at

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Jesus’ feet. He is always there for us, and he always loves

us no matter what.

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Chapter 23
Living in Sin

Pr 28:13
He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but
whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

I know we’ve heard the phrase “living in sin” many

times. It is commonly used to refer to a couple living
together out of wedlock. However, I don’t think that is the
only application, or even the most accurate one. Chances
are, all of us live in sin of one form or another. Back in 2006,
Pastor Ted Haggard was the senior pastor of a large church
in Colorado. He was also a major evangelical leader in the
country. He had meetings once a month with the President
of the United States. However, Pastor Haggard had a
terrible secret. He was hiding his sin. He had been
struggling with it for quite some time. In a letter to his
church, he stated he’d been battling this problem for most of
his adult life. Now, I don’t know whether or not he confessed
his sins, but it looked as if he hadn’t renounced them, at
least not until he was caught.
As I heard the letter being read, I couldn’t help but
sense the feeling of relief that he must have been
experiencing now that his sin had been exposed and the real

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healing could begin. Now, I don’t mean to pick on Ted

Haggard. I pray for him and his family, for their healing and
restoration. However, this is just one example of what can
happen when we choose to conceal our lives of sin.

He who conceals his sin, does not prosper

Scripture tells us a couple of things about hiding sin.

One is that God cannot be fooled.

Isa 29:15
Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their
plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and
think, “Who sees us? Who will know?”
Heb 4:13
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of
him to whom we must give account.

There are more verses that cover this, but I think we

get the point. God cannot be and is not fooled. There is
nothing we can do that he doesn’t see. Just because God is
silent at the moment doesn’t mean our sin has gone
unnoticed. He sees all. I know this is hard to remember.
I’m sure most of us have heard the saying, “Character is who
you are when you’re all alone.” Or at least it goes something

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like that. However, when it comes down to it, we never really

are alone are we?
The second thing scripture tells us is that our sins will
find us out.

Nu 32:23
But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the
LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.

When we live in our sin and get into a cycle of sin-

repent-sin-repent-sin-repent, we are setting ourselves up.
Eventually our sin will catch up with us. I wouldn’t be
surprised if Ted Haggard repented each time he fell into his
sin. This is where something like accountability comes into
play. Yes, we do confess our sins to God, and that is
important. But we should also have another person we can
confess to as well. I will cover this a bit more later on.
Suffice it to say, this verse shows that our sin will catch up to
us if left unchecked.

Whoever confesses their sins finds mercy

1Jn 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

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Often, when we sin and then repent, we feel like we

have to punish ourselves for a few days before we are right
with God. This is nothing but a lie straight from Satan
himself. There have been times when I’ve stumbled, so I’ll
go several days without doing any writing. I will think I’m not
worthy or right with God. Satan probably loves that. I’m
sure he loves that I’m not writing articles and books on God’s
word and teaching the gospel to others. He’d much rather
have me sulking and beating myself up.
When our sin has gotten the best of us, we need not
fear bringing it before God. Sometimes that is all he is
waiting for. He will forgive us and show us mercy. I can
remember so many times in my own life when I messed up.
The first thing I did was beat myself up over my failings
again and again. After tearing myself down for a few days, I
finally took my sin to God. That should have been the first
thing I did. Another way God shows us mercy is by giving us
brothers and sisters to love and support us.

Jas 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for
each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a
righteous man is powerful and effective.

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Not only is confessing our sins to each other biblical,

but it is also therapeutic. I think there is a reason for that.
Now, I don’t believe this verse means we have to go before
our entire church and spill our deepest, darkest secrets.
What James is talking about here is having a trusted brother
or sister to confess to and to pray with. Having someone
look us in the eyes as we confess to them is a good way to
experience God’s mercy through others. It is extremely
valuable to have someone to tell us God still loves us and
that we are still his children. That is why God gave us each
other.
When we give our sins over to God, he cuts them
completely out of our life. Even if we struggle with the same
issues for awhile, we are not the same. I know some may
struggle with alcohol, pornography, or gambling for many
years after confessing and renouncing them. However, we
have been changed. We are no longer in bondage to that
sin. We’ve gone from passive bondage to an active
struggle. Sure, we may slip and slide, but we are no longer
lying in the fetal position and letting the enemy kick us
around. We are now in the fighting position and are ready to
break free once and for all. When we confess our sins to
God and confess them to each other, when we pray for each

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other and support each other, we reach true healing, and we

break free from our lives of sin.

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Chapter 24
Pleasing God

Ps 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my
Redeemer.

In the hustle and bustle of life, we often forget the

simple things. We get caught up in our jobs, family, sports,
or whatever it is that distracts us. In the meantime, we end
up forgetting about God. The above verse speaks some
powerful words. It pulls us back to what is most important.
We spend so much time trying to please men that we forget
to please God. As we can see from this verse, pleasing God
may not be as hard as we often make it out to be.

Our words can please God

What we say can be pleasing or displeasing to God.

When we teach God's word, lift others up, or sing praises to
the Lord, we please him. Even our daily conversations can
please God. The book of James contains stern passages
about misusing our tongues and about the damage words

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can do. We can choose to praise God with our words, or we

can use our words to hurt others.

Pr 25:11
A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of
silver.

Now this is quite a compliment to those who choose

their words wisely. I know it is a challenge for me to do so. I
work in sales, so talking to people is my job. I use a lot of
words throughout the day, and I don’t always succeed in
pleasing God with those words. However, when we mind
our words, we can see the fruit of that instantly. It is amazing
how far a kind word goes when someone is having a bad
day. Sometimes that is all a person needs to hear, and it
can open up so many opportunities for ministry and building
relationships.

Our thoughts can please God

God knows our thoughts. He knows what is in our

hearts. What is in our heart is more important sometimes
than our actions. In my previous book, In Jesus’ Own
Words: the Sermon on the Mount, I address this in great
detail. Our thoughts are what drive our actions and our

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behavior. When we hear about pastors or politicians who

have fallen into sin or scandals, chances are, they didn’t just
wake up one day and do something horrible. They
eventually did on the outside what they had been thinking on
the inside. When we entertain such thoughts, the temptation
will grow to make them reality. So some of us might ask, just
what do we think about? Paul sums it up well here:

Phil 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy—think about such things.

When we focus on these things, we don’t have time to

think about other things. We spend so much time watching
TV and putting garbage into our heads that we lose sight of
the things of God. I’m not saying we should never watch TV
or that watching TV is a sin. I’m saying that television should
not be our primary source of information. The best thing I
can think of to put into our heads is God’s Word. If we fill our
minds with his words, then our thoughts truly will please him.

God is our strength

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Ps 28:8
The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of
salvation for his anointed one.

Without God, there is nothing we can do. It’s easy for

us to become arrogant and full of ourselves when we are
successful. When things are going well, we tend to drift
away from God. The truth is, we only have what success we
do because of God. It is during the hard times when we lean
on him the most. This is where our thoughts can help us. If
we fill our thoughts with things of God when things are going
well, hard times will be much more bearable.

God is our redeemer

Ps 130:8
He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

God does not only help us and guide us during hard

times, but he saves us. It is God who saves us and gives us
life, both physical and eternal. When our lives here on earth
are over, we will go to be with him. Despite our past sins, we
are his for eternity. Jesus came and paid the price for us.
We need only lean on him. I know when things are tough this
is easier said than done. I recently went through some trials,

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and I wanted to talk to just about everyone except Jesus.

However, the whole time I knew that I was in the wrong.
So, as we’ve seen, pleasing God can be challenging
at times, but it's never as hard as we make it out to be.
Through our words, thoughts, and actions, we can please
God in many ways. This is not to say that we must earn
favor with God or work for his love. Think of God as a parent
watching a child. When our children do things that are
pleasing to us, they put smiles on our faces. This should be
our goal: to put a smile on God’s face.

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Chapter 25
When to Pray, When to Give Praise

Jas 5:13
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone
happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

We seem to be good at prayer when we get ourselves

into a jam. When things aren’t going our way, when things
are at their darkest, after we’ve tried everything else on our
own, then we might turn to God in prayer and let him have a
whack at it. The problem is that prayer should be our first
response, not our last resort. How often do we give praise
when things are good? I don’t mean on Sundays while
sitting in church. I mean on Tuesday while we’re driving to
work. When things are going well for us, we tend to forget
exactly why things are going well. We forget about God.

Pray when in trouble

1Ch 16:11
Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face
always.

I think most of us forget just how powerful and how

big God really is. I like to think of the story in Joshua 10

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when Joshua was battling the Amorites. God made the sun
stand still. Yet we know that the sun doesn’t actually move.
The universe moves around the sun. Yet, the sun gave the
appearance of standing still. So this means it was the earth
that stopped and possibly the whole universe. Now, some
might criticize me here for not taking the text literally, but I
do. However, Joshua was written well before people knew
about the movement of the planets. Personally, I think it is
even more awesome to think God made the whole universe
stand still in order to deliver his people in battle.
Now, if God can make the entire universe stand still,
do you suppose he can help us make our next house
payment? Perhaps he could provide us with comfort during
that upcoming doctor visit. He can do all of these things.
We just have to let him. Over the years, I have frequently
been stressed out over money and afraid of not making our
bill payments. Yet God always came through. We always
found a way to make it. Since then, God has opened some
financial doors for us so that we don’t have to worry as
much. However, this may just be for a season, so we are
trying to use what he has given us to help others who were
once struggling. The crucial thing is to allow God to work in
our lives. The first step is going to him in prayer.

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Giving him praise

Ps 9:11
Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim
among the nations what he has done.

When things are going well, it is easy to forget about

God. When we win some big award, or make some big
financial gain, or get that big promotion, it’s easy to sit back
and pat ourselves on the back and think we’re all that. Yet it
is God who has blessed us. The Lord gives, and the Lord
takes away. That was Job’s mantra. It should be ours as
well. Do you have one of those friends or relatives from
whom you never hear unless he needs something? I’ve had
a few of those people in my life: people who are the nicest
people in the world, as long as you have something they
need. If they don’t need you, you can’t get the time of day
from them.
We do this to God quite a bit. Praise doesn’t have to
be some big church production. Praise could be singing to
God on our way to work. It could be taking a few moments
when you get up in the morning to say, “Thank you, Lord. I
love you Lord.” Praise could be using what God has blessed
us with to bless others. All of these are forms of praise. This
whole chapter could be summed up in the following verse:

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Phil 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by
prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests
to God.

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Chapter 26
Tales of the Heart

In our intellectual society, we often forget to take care

of our hearts. We live in an age of logic, of reason.
Whenever there is a situation, we think through it, analyze it,
and formulate a plan. I know the company I work for doesn’t
spend a nickel without reviewing marketing research and
analysis. That's not inherently wrong. After all, God gave us
our brains, and we should use them to make informed
decisions. The problem arises when we neglect our hearts.
It can be easy to harden our hearts. Sometimes we
harden them toward God; at other times, we harden them
against each other. This can happen when we let frustration,
anger, and bitterness take root in our lives. The Bible gives
us some good guidelines about how to take care of our
hearts. From personal experience I can tell you this: a hard
heart is one of the hardest things to break away from.

The heart should be carefully guarded

Pr 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring
of life.

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Everything we do flows from our hearts. If you do not

guard your heart carefully against bitterness, anger, or lust,
then it can turn as hard as stone. Have any of you ever had
a hard heart? I did for many years. It was miserable. I was
never happy, even when the things around me should have
made me happy. I found fault with everything, and I wanted
revenge on anyone who had ever wronged me. The heart is
the wellspring of life. All of your thoughts and actions
originate from it. This is why it is so important to guard it and
protect it. When you feel yourself becoming hardened, run,
don’t walk, to Jesus and seek his love. Only he can melt a
hard heart.

The heart determines character

Pr 23:7
for he is the kind of man who is always thinking about
the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not
with you.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the type of

person who says and does all the right things, but deep
down, could care less. When you go to visit him, he is
counting the minutes until you leave. He might wonder what
else he could be doing besides sitting there with you. All the

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while, he will be putting on a warm smile. Do we ever do

that to others? I’ve known a lot of “church people” in my
time who were masters at this. This is the type of character
our heart can identify. Showing love to others, sincere love
and compassion, is true character. We want to avoid the go-
through-the-motions-so-people-see-how-good-I-am type
love. That is fake and transparent. Both types of love come
from the heart, but one comes from a hard heart. Which one
do you have?

The heart is the source of evil

Mt 15:18
But the things that come out of the mouth come from
the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’

In this verse, Jesus is explaining that it’s not what a

man eats that is evil or unclean, but what comes out of him.
Some folks worry so much about if we should do this, or if
we should do that. Is this evil or is that evil? Should we
watch this movie? Is this music of the devil? I know when I
was a kid there was a lot of controversy over whether or not
rock ‘n roll music made kids do bad things. Now the
question is over video games. Here is my question. Do kids
commit violence because of what they saw in a video game

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or heard in a song? Or was the evil already there to begin

with?
Are music and video games the cause of the evil or a
symptom of it? Okay, so that was three questions. My point
is that it isn’t what goes in that causes evil, and this truth isn’t
just limited to kids; it applies to everyone,. Though the things
that go in can have some effect, the heart is already in its
condition. When I was younger and had a hard heart, I
listened to a lot of violent music. My heart wasn’t hard
because of the music, but I chose that music because my
heart was already hard.

The heart controls speech

Lk 6:45
The good man brings good things out of the good
stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out
of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of
his heart his mouth speaks.

A couple of years ago, a retired NBA player

announced that he was gay. This unleashed a lot of
discussion in the sports community. One of the most
memorable responses was from retired star Tim Hardaway.
He was on a radio show, and, when asked about gay

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basketball players in the NBA, he stated, “I hate gay people.”

He later apologized and spent several weeks trying to
endure a media firestorm for what was viewed as hate
speech. During one interview, he got upset and couldn’t
seem to understand why no one would believe his apology.
No one believed him because of what he had
originally said. He obviously said how he truly felt. He only
offered the apology after his words set off a tidal wave of
criticism. Now, I’m not saying I condone homosexuality at all,
but that isn’t the point here. Anytime you say, “I hate (insert
group of people here),” you are asking for trouble. Mr.
Hardaway found this out the “hard way.”
The point is: he said what was stored up in his heart.
When you let a cuss word slip out of your mouth (and I am
guilty of that at times) or say mean and hurtful things to
others, it’s not because we didn’t mean it. It’s because there
is still evil stored up in our hearts. Our words are merely the
reflection of what is on the inside. If our heart is filled with
good things, then only good things will flow forth from us.

The heart is the source of faith

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Ro 10:10
For it is with your heart that you believe and are
justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are
saved.

We may intellectually buy into a concept or idea, but

until we believe it in our hearts, we do not have real faith in
it. Once that idea is in your heart, however, then your words
and actions will reflect your beliefs. When we say we are
Christians and go to church and do all the church stuff but
then go back to work on Monday and behave just like the
world, we need a heart check. Our faith in God keeps our
hearts in check. When we turn our lives over to Jesus, he
gives us a heart transplant. He removes our dead, rotten,
old hearts and replaces them with part of his. Once we have
the heart of Christ, then we must maintain it by faith, by
seeking him, by establishing intimacy with him. That is how
we protect our heart.

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The Kingdom of God is Here!

Mt 16:27
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s
glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person
according to what he has done.
Mt 16:28
I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not
taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his
kingdom.

I felt this chapter would be the best way to conclude

this book. This passage touches on God’s promises in a
way that sums up my conclusion. This passage has been
interpreted in many ways throughout the years. One of the
most popular views of it seems to be that it refers to some
distant futuristic event of Jesus’ second coming, or the
Rapture. However, this interpretation presents a problem.
Jesus is speaking to his disciples in the first century in this
passage.
By the time Jesus returns, every one of them will have
been long dead. Yet, Jesus says some will not taste death
before he comes into his Kingdom. So what is going on
here? Was Jesus wrong? I highly doubt it. It is more likely
we have either been altogether wrong, or too restrictive, in
our own interpretation of this passage.

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The Son of Man in his father’s glory

Jesus talks about the Son of Man coming in his

father’s glory with the angels. One possibility is that he’s
referring to the Transfiguration, which occurred shortly after
this passage. In the Transfiguration, Jesus appeared with
Moses and Elijah in heavenly glory. He also appeared to be
glorified after his resurrection. Angels appeared after his
ascent into heaven as well.
So it wouldn’t be a huge jump to say that Jesus may
have been referring to one of these events. Either way, what
Jesus was saying meant something to his audience at that
time, and certainly it means something to us today as well.
However, it just isn’t likely that what Jesus was saying to his
first century audience was only intended for those of us in
the 21st century.

He will reward each person according to what he has

done

Jesus says this in Matthew 16:27, and he was quoting

Psalm 62:12 directly:

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Ps 62:12
and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward
each person according to what he has done.

Many of the psalms talk about God’s rewards, and so

we can see that God rewards us with his love and
faithfulness. God is always faithful and just. He is always
there for us and will never abandon us, just as Jesus says:

Mt 28:20
and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the
very end of the age.

So Jesus will be with us until the end, and he will

reward us according to what we have done. While works are
not a condition of our salvation, our actions still do matter to
him. We've speculated that he was talking about an event
that was happening soon, and now he mentions rewards.
So here's the question: what exactly does that mean? Let’s
continue.

Some will not taste death

Jesus was telling his disciples that some of them

would not taste death before they saw him coming in his

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Kingdom. So does that mean they are still alive today? I

doubt it. Since we know that almost all of them were killed
and that John died in prison, we’re pretty sure they are not
alive. Many have tried to interpret this passage in a way that
makes it conform to the pre-tribulation rapture teaching.
While I’m not here to pick apart any end times theories, I do
want to give another view of this passage. I believe the
Kingdom is what Jesus was talking about throughout his
whole ministry. He often said he was preparing the way for
God’s Kingdom. He would often say that the Kingdom of
God was near or that it was at hand. I don’t think he was
telling people back then that it was at hand in 2000 years.
What he taught in the Sermon on the Mount and all
his parables is that the Kingdom of Heaven was happening
right then and there. In the first part of the passage, he said
he will come in all his glory. He did that when he rose from
the dead. He has rewarded each of his disciples with his
love and faithfulness. They all have a place at his side. The
twelve disciples and many of the others did not taste death
before they experienced all of these things. Jesus lives and
his Kingdom remains here and now. We are his hands and
his feet. We are his Body.
Yes, Jesus is coming again. He will return and we will
one day live with him permanently. But in the meantime, he

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gave us everything to live his Kingdom now. Too many

Christians just sit back and warm their pew every Sunday
while looking to the sky waiting for the Kingdom to come to
them. It is time we accept that we are his Kingdom and
begin living as he lived, not by plastering ourselves with
catch-phrase bracelets or our cars with bumper stickers, but
by demonstrating love and compassion for others. If we do
so, then they too can experience his rewards. When we
begin living for the Kingdom, we will also be living God’s
promises.

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