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You and I live in a world and American culture of confusion.
Confusion is the order of the day. Few folks have a sense of clear direction for the purpose of their life. Sadly, people everywhere are confused about moral values, human gender, politics, economics, religion, race, ethnicity and whatever else can generate controversy. Confusion produces disorder. Disharmony. Distrust. Disunity. Lack of peace. Paul addressed the Corinthian Church when they were confused, divided and disorderly about the operation and ministry of spiritual gifts in the church. He wrote in I Corinthians 14:33: ““For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” Moffat translates this verse as” For God is not a God of disorder but of harmony. The New English Bible reads “For the God who inspired them is not a God of disorder.” Paul made it clear: God is not a God of confusion, not the author of confusion, but a God of peace and order. The instigator of confusion, the one who incites confusion and disorder is Satan. The devil deceives us by creating confusion that disrupts peace and order. In James 3:13-18, James contrasts earthly wisdom with heavenly wisdom. In verses 15-17 he writes “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, THERE IS DISORDER AND EVERY EVIL THING.” “The wisdom from above is first pure, THEN PEACEABLE, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, and without hypocrisy.” I like wisdom from above, don’t you? Confusion clouds vision, disrupts direction, derails peace. arouses anxiousness, paralyzes progress and divides people. Confusion keeps us spinning our wheels in uncertainty and doubt. Confusion stalls our progress in walking by faith and not by sight. God’s will, God’s wisdom, is peace and order, not confusion and disorder for you and me. His order produces peace for our minds and hearts. The remedy for confusion (What is happening? What shall I do? Where do I turn? What steps should I take?) is clarity. What is clear. Clarity from the Bible directs us how to live our life. When you study the life and ministry of Jesus in the Gospels you never seen God’s only Son confused. He declared His purpose statement in Luke 19:10. “For the Son of Man came to seek and save that which is lost.” It was clear to Him that He was sent to do the Father’s will: save the lost. Never confused about his mission, the Lord Jesus went all the way to the Cross, fully intent on fulfilling the Father’s will. Misunderstanding, obstacles, opposition, adversity, affliction. betrayals and persecution did not derail His clear commitment to do the Father’s will. You, me and mankind would not be saved if Jesus was confused about whether to be nailed on the Cross or not. Thank you Jesus that God’s peace and order ruled your heart, not confusion or doubt. What To Do If You Are Currently confused
I have been confused at times in my life. I did not like being uncertain about purpose or direction. I have counseled with many confused people who are struggling with what to do with their circumstances. When I ask them what they want me to pray for them they ask for clarity. Steve, I need to be clear, not confused about my situation and my response. A spirit of confusion will keep ourselves, families, society and world in chaos. God’s peace always overrules and clears up confusion. God’s clarity clears the dust so we can see clearly to do His will. There is nothing like a crystal clear, bright, sun-shiny day I am seeing today after a dark, dreary, threatening thunderstorm rumbled across Oklahoma yesterday. Confused? Take your spiritual eyes off the storm clouds of confusion and put them on the light of God and His Word. “Those who love Thy law will have great peace and nothing will cause them to stumble.” Psalm 119:165 “And your ears will hear a word behind you saying “This is the way, walk in it” whenever you turn to the right or the left.” Isaiah 30:21 A Word For Your Week: When confused, look to God to bring order out of your confusion. Change is a certainty in life, and honestly, most of us don’t like it!
Think about it. Who gets up in the morning saying, “I can’t wait for change to come my way today?” Change can be positive or negative. Change of any sort carries the potential to breed uncertainty, questions, frustration, anxiety, doubt, a negative attitude and even fear. If you and I are not watchful and careful, change can cause us to lose perspective. According to Webster perspective means “to look through, to see clearly; the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance. Simply put: To keep perspective means to see things as they really are. Personally, when change comes, I can initially become anxious. Just ask those closest to me. Slowly but surely (I am a bit thick-headed at times!) I have learned, through many tests of my patience, to step back for a moment, catch my spiritual/emotional breath, and then look at the change in the light of God’s Word. It is a fact of life…all things change. Or do they? Our word for this week answers that question with a resounding no! The prophet Malachi declares to us that God does not change. “FOR I, THE LORD, DO NOT CHANGE; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” Malachi 3:6. Did you catch what Malachi said? The Lord, Almighty God declares that He does not change! The God of the Bible is an unchanging God. Because the Almighty is changeless, we as His people are not consumed by changes in life. Life does not eat our lunch when things change because God remains the same. What never changes about God is His character. God is love (I John 4:16). Look what Micah says about God’s love. “Who is a God like Thee, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the rebellious acts of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, BECAUSE HE DELIGHTS IN UNCHANGING LOVE.” Micah 7:18. God never changes because His love never does! God delights (takes great joy!) in unchanging love. No matter what is going in life, God’s love for us remains unchanged. Changing circumstances have no effect on God’s love. Circumstances are just that…circumstances. They change all the time. Circumstances shift like blowing sand. But God’s love is a solid rock which no life change can move. God’s steady, stable, secure, loving hand is on the helm of His perfect will for our lives. God Himself is the anchor for our soul in times of change. God can be counted on to be God every time, in every situation. His constant character and consistent conduct overrides all changed circumstances. Things change. People change. Life changes. God does not. Bank on His unchanging love for you every time! Change can’t change God. So change shouldn’t change God’s children who trust in His love either!!!! When things change, and they will, cling to that which doesn’t. God can be counted on to be who He says He is and to do what He says He will do. Every single time! Change can work for or against us. Changes can consume us or we can conquer change. depending on our perspective. Bottom line: you and I choose how to respond to the challenges of change. The Christian perspective on life circumstances is this: Life changes, but God never does. Therefore, life is secure in Him. It is awesome to know that changing circumstances will never consume us because circumstances never change God! Keeping Proper Perspective
Are you currently experiencing some changes? Is a significant transition attempting to rattle your emotional cage? Are you worried about what is next in light of a life adjustment? Maintain proper perspective. Keep your personal faith fixed on the unchanging, changeless Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and yes, forever.” Hebrews 13:8. A Word For Your Week: Surrender change to the unchanging God who loves you. Have you ever felt like nobody sees you? Notices you? Recognizes you? Acknowledges you? Knows you exist? Appreciates you? Gives a rip about you?
We have all been there at one time or another in our life. Honestly, sometimes it would be nice to just be noticed. I heard an amen! A recently divorced lady once lamented “I wonder what my former spouse is thinking about me?” I said to her “Mam, sorry to tell you this, he is not thinking about you. He is thinking about himself and his life without you. As far as he is concerned you are an unseen person to him.” We humans can be so self-absorbed, self-centered, selfish and stuck on ourselves that we do not see others. Unfortunately, unseen people number in the billions on planet earth. So, what are you and I to do when we feel unseen? I am glad you asked. You and I are never unseen because God sees us. The Bible tells us we are seen by God when we think we are unseen. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye upon you.” Psalm 32:8 “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.” Psalm 34:15 “The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His lovingkindness.” Psalm 33:18 “He does not withdraw His eye from the righteous.” Job 36:7 You and I are never out of God’s sight. As a father and grandfather, I watch over my kiddos. They are seen by me. I know where they are, what they need and how to care for them. My eye is always on my loved ones. I think Almighty God has really big eyes. He can see all of us at the same time. Awesome! The Bible records a number of “unseen” people who God and Jesus saw. In the Old Testament God saw a giant slayer and King in an unnoticed shepherd boy (I Samuel 16-17 ). He saw an exiled Moses in the wilderness who would deliver Israel from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 2-12). He saw a depressed Elijah on a mountainside desiring to die (I Kings 19). He saw a mother preparing a last meal for her and her son (I Kings 17). In the New Testament Jesus saw a woman at a well who thirsted for salvation (John 4). Jesus saw a little boy with a lunch of two fish and five loaves of bread that would feed a multitude (Mark 6). Jesus saw a widow put into the temple treasury all the pennies she had (Mark 12:43). Jesus saw a tax collector named Zacchaeus up in a tree who the Lord had a meal with and his household came to faith in Christ. (Luke 19). Many, many more examples are in the Bible of people who felt unseen, unnoticed were seen by Jesus. You and I belong to that group. When Jesus hung on the Cross and said “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34) God’s battered, bloodied, suffering Son saw you, me and all of humanity. The Son of God sacrificed Himself for us because He saw sinners who needed saved. Incredible! Our Creator and Redeemer saw us in our mother’s womb, planned out our days, died on the Cross, rose from the dead and will welcome to heaven all who put their faith in Him. Does not sound like unseen to me! God’s sons and daughters are seen and will be seen for eternity in His holy presence. See yourself the way God sees you.
If you feel no one sees you, stop looking around and look up to the One whose eyes are on you. God sees us twenty-four seven because the Bible says He never sleeps (Psalm 121:1-4). If you desire to see Jesus, seek to see Him. John 12: 21 records a group of men asking Phillip “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Every day see Jesus with a heart of faith then you will understand how much He sees you. My faith is bolstered, built up, strengthened, and encouraged when I know God sees me! “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12 :7 A Word For Your Week: God sees you because He loves you. I wrote this piece in the fall of 2006. I felt it was worth sharing again.
I love the fall season because fall means colored leaves, cool evenings and college FOOTBALL! I think I just heard a collective groan from many of the women reading this. While watching a big game this weekend with my fellow football fanatic son, I was tickled when my daughter in-law asked us when the football season would be over. You can tell where her priorities are! During the game we were obviously glued to, a running back rushed toward a hole opened up by his offensive linemen. Lurking on the other side of the rapidly closing gap was a pair of head-hunting linebackers laying in wait to lay some hurt on the ball carrier. Crashing the line, they put a horrendous hit on the halfback. Stopped dead in his tracks and falling down, the fullback fell forward toward the line of scrimmage. As he got up, the feisty fullback taunted his tacklers. He pointed forward toward the defenders goal as if to say “Don’t get too excited guys. You hit me, and I fell down. But I am up. Ready to run again. I got the first down by falling forward. So take that and get ready for me to head your way again.” Game officials called timeout. Measurement was taken. And you guessed it; the ruling was first down by a few inches. FALLING DOWN and FALLING FORWARD, the running back secured another opportunity for his team to continue to march down field toward the end zone. A few inches meant the difference from keeping the ball or giving it up to the opponent. Inspired by the forward moving fullback’s effort to gain a first down, the team did indeed move downfield to score and win the game. FALLING FORWARD WHILE FALLING DOWN WAS THE KEY TO VICTORY!. The prophet Micah was a fall forward kind of guy. His response to taking a hit in life is inspirational. Micah’s personal resolve to get up, fall forward and stick it in his enemy’s face fires up my faith! “Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; though I fall I will rise; though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me.” Micah 7:8 Look what he says to his adversary. Hey enemy, don’t throw a party over me. Though I fall, I will be right back up in your face. You dweller of darkness. Prepare to meet me again. The Lord is a light for me. Even though darkness surrounds me, I will not be kept down. I will rise up, go forward by faith and rejoice over you. Micah could take this faith stand because he was a man of faith who chose to fall forward when he had fallen down. Let’s be honest: nobody likes to fall down in life. But falling is a fact of living in a fallen world. We may fall down from time to time. Micah says “though I fall, I will rise.” He did not deny the fact the he might fall. But he also decided that if he fell, he would rise. Micah would rise up in God’s power to fall forward. Let’s face it. We all take hits in life that can cause us to fall down. Maybe you have fallen down right now and feel like you have failed. How you handle your fall will determine your future. How we handle hits in life, not the hit itself, is the real issue. Will we stay down or rise up? Will we fall backward or fall forward. Will we move forward by faith, gain that important first down, and take another shot at the end zone, or will we have to punt the ball to our opponent? Winning in the Christian life requires that we fall forward by faith when we take a hit from the enemy. My brother or sister in Christ, if you have fallen down, get up. Lean your faith forward. At all cost, do not fall backward. The devil is back there. Never give up God’s ball to Satan. You are playing on the Lord’s team. He is with you and in front of you clearing the path for you to run your faith race. Falling forward, not backwards, is the difference in winning and losing in life. As a man or woman of faith, choose to fall forward. Fall forward and walk forward by faith to the victory Jesus Christ has provided for you. The next time you take a fall are you going to fall forward? “In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David and wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old.” Amos 9:11 “When the righteous fall, they will not be hurled headlong because the Lord is the One who holds their hand.” Psalm 37:24 “But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13b-14 A Word For Your Week: Falling forward by faith turns failure into success. Biblical Christianity is a life of faith.
Born-again believers in Jesus Christ walk by faith, not by sight (Romans 1:17). As people of faith, what are we to do if doubt comes along and clouds the horizon of belief? I believe the Bible tells us to doubt our doubt. In Mark 11:22-23 Jesus told His followers straight up: “HAVE FAITH IN GOD.” “And Jesus answered saying to them, Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be taken up and cast into the sea”, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him.” Mark 11:22-23 Nothing could be plainer and more powerful than this: put your trust in God. The Lord said it is true that if we believe, and do not doubt in our heart, we can cast mountains (life’s obstacles) into the sea with our faith. If you are like me, you have faced many mountains standing in the path of your life. Mountains that had to be dealt with. Doubt never cast any mountain out. Faith moves mountains. Even mustard seed size faith can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). A little faith in God can move mighty big mountains. What a promise! The principle underlying the promise is this: mountain moving faith is doubt free faith. Jesus instructed us to not doubt. Why? Because He knows it is human to doubt. Doubts start in our head. Doubt is a disrupter of faith. Before we believe, while we are believing, and after we believe we are tempted to doubt. The spirit of doubt is not our friend! The devil wants us to doubt what God wants to do in our lives. Satan is delighted when we doubt our faith in Jesus Christ. If the evil one can get us to doubt, he believes that he can take us out. The danger of doubt is that when we begin to wonder (question our faith and trust in God) then we can begin to wander (stray off the faith path). Doubt is a deceptive tool of the devil designed to discourage and derail us from our faith walk. If we wander too far, we can end up in a wilderness of confusion, frustration and despair. But you and I do not have to go there. Doubt is beatable and defeatable. My friend do not be discouraged if doubt tries to derail your faith. In the past I have been way too hard on myself when doubt clouded my vision of walking by faith. Self-doubt can lead to self-condemnation and self-condemnation can erode self-confidence. During a faith fight, when we are battling to believe, the devil wields the weapon of doubt. The enemy of my soul wants me to think that something is wrong with me and my faith, that my faith is not real, or it is not strong or big enough. Doubt whispers deceptive lies to me that I have missed something or that my faith is not as genuine or mature as somebody else’s. Can anybody identify with this? I am sure you can. To walk in victory in Christ we must render powerless the power of doubt. How can we do this? I have learned to deal with doubt in a decisive manner. Call doubt what it is. Doubt is doubt. Nothing more and nothing less. When doubt comes knocking on the door of your mind and heart, be bold. Slam the door on doubt. Lock doubt out of your mind and spirit. Stamp out doubt. Give doubt a knockout punch. Stand firm in faith (see I Peter 5:9 and Ephesians 6:13). Make no room for doubt in your thinking or believing. Think about it. If you doubt, the devil takes you out. You will never count for the Kingdom of God if you walk in doubt instead of walking by faith. I do not know about you, but the devil gets no piece of my life. I choose to doubt my doubt and cast the devil out by faith in Jesus’ mighty name! When tempted to doubt, cast the doubt out! Refuse to pout. Use your clout. Overrule doubt with faith. Shout your faith in Jesus Christ. Toss out that mountain standing in your way into the sea of God’s faithfulness and miracle working power. Doubt out, faith in. Doubt your doubt. Believe your belief. HAVE FAITH IN GOD. Put faith in your faith. That is the way to walk by faith and move mountains in Jesus’ name! Be a mountain mover today! “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him (Peter), and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31 “But let him ask in faith without any doubting; for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and bossed by the wind.” James 1:6 A WORD FOR YOUR WEEK: Never doubt your faith. Always doubt your doubt! Favor is an awesome word.
Favor is about advantage, attention, preference, partiality, friendliness, a kind act, good deed, approval and a host of other synonyms that mean special treatment. I was counseling a young lady a few years ago who was emotionally reeling from an extremely painful, heartbreaking divorce. I asked her who she was in Christ. Without hesitation she confidently declared with a big smile “I am His favorite because I have His favor.” Her response warmed my heart. God’s favor means Christians, you and me, are his favorites. Maybe we should wear a badge that says, “I am God’s favorite!” Just saying! I do not know about you, but Steve likes being favored! Favor feels good, really good! It is a biblical fact: favor belongs to God’s people. Here are a handful of scriptures regarding favor from the Lord. For he who finds me (wisdom) finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.” Proverbs 8:35 “A good man will obtain favor from the Lord, but He will condemn a man who devises evil.” Proverbs 12:2 “Good understanding produces favor, but the way of the treacherous is hard.” Proverbs 13:15 “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” Proverbs 18:22 “It is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord; You surround him with favor as a shield.” Psalm 5:12 “And Jesus was increasing in wisdom, in stature and in favor with God and men.” Luke 2:52 God favors His people in every area of life. I certainly have found favor from the Lord as He gave me a “good thing” in my wife Jo Ann! His favor is like a shield covering, protecting, and guarding us as we walk by faith in this life. I feel secure when I live my life shielded by God’s favor. What or who can penetrate the favor shield? The Son of God, Jesus, was favored by His Father in heaven. During His earthly ministry Jesus was favored by God repeatedly. Even men, some who struggled to believe in Him, favored Jesus. God’s only Son was favored all the way to the Cross and Empty Tomb. Favor is relationship based. When someone asks you to do them a favor, what does that mean? I believe it means, because you and I have a special relationship, we trust one another and help each other when needed. Favor is what friends extend to friends. As the head of the Roll family, my family has favor with me based on our relationships. My wife, children and grandchildren have advantage, favor, special treatment from dear old Dad and Doodah. They receive from me and get to do things with me others do not get to. Because they carry the Roll name, they have favor with father Roll! Honestly, I love showering favor on my “favorites”. What an unspeakable joy it is for me to extend special advantage to them because I love them and they love me. What does God’s favor mean in real, every life? Favor means we are protected, preserved and sustained. Favor means we go to the head of the line. Favor means our application for employment gets special attention. Favor means we get bargains and deals. Favor means people go out of their way to help and serve us. God’s favor means we really are “the head and not the tail, above and not beneath when we obey God’s commandments.” Deuteronomy 28:13 How in the world can our ungodly, unrighteous, evil, anti-Christ culture harm a Christian who is shielded by the favor of Almighty God? Meditate on that for a while. The shield of God’s favor keeps the Evil One and his evil minions at bay. My friend, you as a child of Almighty God, are favored by Him. You, yes you, are His favorite. As one of His favorites, I encourage you to walk with bold, confident, victorious faith in His favor every day! Where do you need favor in your life? Why not ask God for it? He will favor you because you are His kid! When you head out the door each day declare “Watch out world. Here I come. I am one of God’s favorites because of His favor as my Heavenly Father. “And let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us: and do confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.” Psalms 90:17 A Word For Your Week: God’s favor is yours today. The word this week is for dreamers whose dreams have not yet been fully fulfilled.
I am one of those dreamers. God graciously gave me a vision or dream for Christian ministry thirty-five years ago. I am happy to say that many facets of the dream have come to pass. But not all as of yet. David wrote in Psalm 20:4“May He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your dreams.” I love this verse. Dreams and heart’s desires do come true. To be honest, the unfilled parts of the dream are the ones that I think and wonder about. There is a fire burning in my spirit that will not be denied. I am dreaming a God-given dream. I cannot shake the vision from my soul, nor do I want to. While it has yet to come true, I have asked myself what I am supposed to do. I do know this: If I stop dreaming, I will start dying. If I quit dreaming, I will stop trying. Some people are dead while they live. How could this be? It is simple. They have stopped dreaming. I have no desire to die while I live. With all my heart, I want to be fully alive in the Lord while I live and fulfill His dream for my life! Proverbs 29:18 states “Where there is no vision (dream) the people perish.” When people have no revelation from God, they have no real reason to live. Death awaits those who do not dream. Our culture is dying because our people are rejecting God’s vision for a righteous nation. On the other hand, life, abundant and eternal is the reward of dreamers. Life, not death, is God’s will for man. God’s divine purpose through visions and dreams keeps us from perishing. Our scripture speaks of “heart’s desires” and “your dreams.” Do you have a desire burning deep within to fulfill a dream for God? Are you dreaming about doing something significant with your life? Where does that vision to do something significant and meaningful come from? Your dream comes from God. The Lord gives dreams to dreamers. According to David’s petition and prayer, God is the one who makes dreams come true! May He (God) bring your dream to pass. I Thessalonians 5:24 promises “Faithful is He (God) who calls you, who will also bring it to pass.” What an encouraging word. God’s dreamers can count on God to fulfill the dreams He places in His people’s hearts. So, my dream is not really my dream. It is His dream in me. And it is His responsibility to make it come true. Whew! That makes me feel a little better. If dreamers stop dreaming, they will never know if the dream would have come true if they had just kept on dreaming the dream. Take some time and study in detail Genesis 37-50. Joseph was a dreamer who kept on dreaming his dream. He lived to see God’s dream come true. Dreaming a dream demands faith. Everyday faith. Dreaming your dream means trusting God to bring the dream to pass in His way and His time. God-given dreams cannot fail. Why? Because God can’t fail. And He doesn’t call His people to fail! Dreams help us succeed in life. If I may, I would like to share some thoughts with you that I am meditating upon for myself.
Important Reasons For Dreaming Dreams DREAM YOUR DREAM because precious people for whom Christ died are depending on you to fulfill God’s call on your life. DREAM YOUR DREAM because “little dreamers” are watching you pursue your dream. DREAM YOUR DREAM because God will be glorified as His dream for you comes true. DREAM YOUR DREAM because you will be thrilled to fulfill His will for your life. DREAM YOUR DREAM because this heartsick, hopeless world needs to dream God’s good dreams again. My fellow dreamer, with all the faith and determination you can muster, never stop dreaming. Never quit on God’s vision. Never give up on the God-given dream that beats in your heart. God’s dream for you will come true!!! “And they said to one another “Here comes this DREAMER.” Genesis 37:19 A Word For Your Week: Dream your dream until it comes true! While working on a writing project, I was prompted and drawn by the Holy Spirit to my very first Bible that rests on a library shelf in my study. I had not looked at it for over fifty years.
My godly Grandparents George and Willa Eplin gave it to me as a present for Christmas in 1956 when I was four years old. Of course, I did not know how to read yet. It is a King James Version Illustrated Bible. Beautifully painted pictures of biblical scenes caught my attention as a youngster. For its age, the Bible is in surprisingly good shape. The text is intact. The coal black cover is a bit worn and faded. The zipper cover protecting the Bible is non-functional. Overall, Steve Roll’s first Bible has weathered the decades well. A little boy’s first Bible. Precious to me. What really grabbed and warmed my heart is an entry on the second page of the introduction written by my hand. “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” Acts 9:6. Pinelow camp. 1962. Pinelow, located on scenic Deer Lake thirty-five miles north of Spokane, Washington was the northwest district campground for the Church of The Nazarene. Every summer my grandparents paid my way to attend a week at camp. I was ten years old in 1962. Evidently, between sneaking peeks at pretty girls at chapel services, I listened to the preacher. He preached about Paul’s conversion in Acts 9. The words “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” must have struck a chord in my youthful spirit. I would not surrender my life to Christ until I was twenty. But something stirred me to write down that phrase. Throughout my Christian life and ministry, I have asked the Lord what He would have me to do. The seed of that desire was sown in a fourth grader’s heart. What did I think it meant then? Was it a foretaste of things to come in my life? Would I be saved like Paul and serve the Lord as a minister of the Gospel? For whatever reason, and I believe it was of the Lord, I was moved to write it down in my Bible. I have lived nearly seven decades. I love the Lord with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. I have done my best to revere, honor, obey and glorify Him. I have joyfully served Him as a minister of the Good News for forty-five years. Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? is my heart cry currently. I am not thinking of retirement. Not on your life. Re-enlisting in God’s service sounds good to me. I am asking “Lord, how can You use me in the fourth quarter of my life for Your glory? What do You want to do with me? How do you want me to serve You in these last days? What would You have me to do Jesus? Paul, previously Saul who persecuted Christians, became the Apostle of grace who preached the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and Jews. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he penned thirteen books of the New Testament. He was martyred for his faith in Christ. He fought the good fight of faith, finished his course and kept the faith. He would receive a crown of righteousness from Jesus (II Timothy 4:5-8). Paul’s journey to his heavenly reward began with the words “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” How about me and you? We are forgiven, saved by grace through faith in Christ who shed His blood on the Cross and rose from the dead to redeem us. You and I have abundant and eternal life. We are headed for heaven. What a day that will be when we see the Lord as He is! (I John 3:1-3). Now what? Lord, what do you want to do with us? How about you my friend? As a Christian, do you want to do what you want to or what the Lord wants you to do? In general, all born-again believes are Christ’s witnesses, shining spiritual lights in a dark world, proclaimers of the Good News through word and deed, and servants of the Lord who minister to the needs of people in His name. Christ in us is the hope of glory and the hope of all who receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In addition to the above, what about our personal calling? What would the Lord have you, yes you, to do? My specific personal calling has been fulltime ministry. What is yours? Where has the Lord placed you and what are His plans for you? Whatever your age or stage in life, God desires to use you. Why not do these simple things this week.
If you are bored, tired, confused, conflicted and discouraged because you think life is about you, think again. “Lord, what would you have me to do?” is the only way to live abundantly in Christ! A Word For Your Week: Do what the Lord would have you to do. What direction is your faith facing today?
During these changing, challenging times of uncertainty, a lot of people are looking back to what they thought were the good old days. Most of us who have lived for any substantial period of time know the good old days were not as good as we thought they were. Solomon concurs with that judgment in Ecclesiastes 7:10. “Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this. If the good old days were not as good as we thought, then where should we be investing our thought and energy? In which direction should we be looking for a successful and fulfilling future? The way our faith is faced determines what God can do in our lives and what goals we can achieve. Whether our good old days were good or not so good, to go forward you and I have to face forward with faith. Paul knew this. Writing from jail the Apostle of grace penned these words. “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 Paul, who as Saul persecuted Christians before surrendering his life to Christ, determined to do one thing: face forward by forgetting the past and reaching for the future in Christ. Sounds easy huh? Not so fast. Our daily struggle is to face forward when life’s stresses pull on and pressure us to face backward. The look back to yesterday is easy but unfruitful and frustrating. The look forward to today and tomorrow is harder but fruitful and fulfilling. Paul’s faith was facing the right direction. Paul honestly admits that he had not arrived yet to Christian perfection (complete maturity), but he was arriving day by day (Philippians 3:12). Paul pressed on to be whole and complete in Christ in the midst of adversity. He advanced through adversity because he faced forward. When tremendous trials tempted Paul to pull back, he faced forward and moved forward to overcome his challenges. The goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ is forward and upward. Too many “people of faith” spend their time facing backwards. What people talk about and dwell upon locates their life direction. Is it any wonder some people’s lives never seem to move forward? How can you possibly move forward when you are always looking back? Try moving forward while you are looking back. You guessed it. You will fall down on your face. We cannot go forward if we are facing backwards. If we are facing backwards, we cannot reach forward. We cannot press on and reach forward when looking back. Facing yesterday robs us of the future today and tomorrow holds. The way I face determines the vision I see and the steps I take. When we face forward, we see forward. A future full of God blessed opportunities lies forward. When we face backwards, we see backwards. And who needs to see the past (with its glory and grind) again? Once is enough! Let’s face it. Life is tough enough at times when we face forward. It certainly will not improve or become any easier if we are facing the wrong way. Think about these “face forward” folks in the Bible.
(Your name) faced forward…and did what for God’s glory? Our future in Christ is forward. The face of faith faces forward. So face forward by faith and reach boldly for the prize of becoming more like Jesus and fulfilling His perfect will for your life. Life always turns out better when we face forward. “Then Joshua said to the people, “GO FORWARD, and march around the city (Jericho), and let the armed men go on before the ark of the Lord.” Joshua 6:7 “But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and LOOKING BACK, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 A Word For Your Week: Face forward to go forward. I wrote this piece on July 13, 2020. I feel I should share it again as your and my peace is at stake every day during these unsettling, troubling times in America.
Covid-19, frightening civil unrest, unbridled chaos, brazen lawlessness and disorder, malicious violence, senseless destruction and hateful, spiteful divisiveness is disrupting peace in our culture. Lately I have found myself extremely ticked off, torched, incensed, infuriated and madder than a hornet concerning what many misguided, anti-American people are doing in an orchestrated attempt to destroy the United States of America as me, you and many country loving patriots of our republic have known it. I have been upset before in my life. You probably have too. This angst I am experiencing has risen to a level that I am concerned about. Why? Because it is trying to steal my peace. I do not like the me who can get so upset. An edgy, irritable, short-fused, hard heart is not my desire. Backlash and payback are not the name of the game for me. Indeed, there is justification for what the Bible calls righteous indignation and anger. God Himself has been angry more than once with humankind. God loves us. Christ’s cross proves it. But there are things that God hates and gets His holy dander up. I am certain the Almighty is not very pleased with some in our society who are rebelling with malicious intent against everything holy, sacred, moral, authoritative, historical, reasonable, wise and plain old common sense. While in my hide-away place of prayer last week, the Holy Spirit (after I informed God how teed off I was!) quietly said to me in my heart “Steve, guard your peace.” In that serene revelation moment, I reminded myself that my Lord and Savor Jesus paid the ultimate price for my peace. As the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ is my peace. It is important to my spiritual, emotional, mental, physical and relational health that I never take the Lord’s peace lightly and that I guard the peace I have graciously received from Him. Peace in our hearts, sprits and minds is vital to a Christlike, God-honoring, healthy, prosperous, successful, blessed and satisfying life. Peace disrupters do not give a rip about Steve Roll’s peace. But, as a Christian, I do. As He prepared to go to the Cross, Jesus said to His faithful followers “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14:27. Note: Jesus’s peace would be their peace; therefore, they did not need to be afraid or troubled in their heart. The world’s peace is false. Christ’s peace is true peace. Writing from a dark, damp, depressive jail cell, awaiting the executioner’s sword, Paul wrote in Philippians 4:7-8 “The peace of God which passes all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of a good report,, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.” Amazingly Paul experienced joy in jail. Thirteen times the word joy or rejoice is referenced in the book of Philippians. Paul’s joy was based on Jesus’ presence and peace in his mind and heart. How could Paul, facing death, be peaceful and joyful? He guarded (the word means fortress) his heart and mind. He built a spiritual/emotional fortress/wall around his thoughts and emotions. Paul set a watch over his life to protect the peace of God which came from the “God of peace” (verse 9). He also instructed and encouraged believers what to think on. Note the list of “think on these things” is totally opposite of what is happening in our streets, newscasts, political pontifications and combative “conversations”. If we focused our thoughts on “these things” our day would be much more peaceful! Guarding our peace does not mean that, as Christ’s followers, we compromise truth, we cower or cave into evil pressure, click our life on silent mode, or stick our heads in societal sand. Not at all. May it never be. Godly, peace-filled folks who know Jesus Christ are the ones the spiritually lost, ungodly, evil, confused, misled people in our culture need to hear from. How will people who do not have the peace of God in their heart receive it unless God’s peace-filled people share the Good News with them? When given opportunity, pray it up, stand up, speak up to share Jesus Christ from a peaceful heart. Pointers Worth Pondering for Guarding Your Peace
Rest assured that Satan, the world system, ungodly people and even immature, professing Christians will attack you and me, seeking to disrupt and steal our peace. If you and I do not guard our peace, nobody else will. Guarding my peace is my responsibility. So, Steve Roll is doing his best to guard his peace. My friend, keep your peace guard up! “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be complete, be of good comfort; be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” II Corinthians 13:11 A Word For Your Week: You are the guardian of your peace. |
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