Divine Appointments

(Luke 1:13 KJV) “But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy

prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt

call his name John.”

Even though I have spent a lifetime experiencing the Lord answering my prayers, I am still overwhelmed by this miracle. The thought of praying for someone to be healed or asking God to meet my needs—which He does—is phenomenal. Even though I do not understand exactly how this works in the natural, I know for sure that it does work and so I shall continue praying.

In the case of our text we see that a man’s prayer has been heard and that his barren wife will become pregnant. As a result of his continual prayer, the Lord not only heard him, but also sent an angel to deliver the message that his prayer had been answered. Wow!

Our text has four points. The first point is that Zacharias and Elisabeth are going to have a baby. The second point is that the baby’s name shall be called John. The third point is that the Lord hears and answers our prayers. The forth point is do not fear.

As powerful as the four points are   I want to particularly focus on the third point. It is amazing to me how one can talk to someone who they cannot see and still get a response from them. This was the case with Zacharias…he prayed and an angel showed up with the answer. The only condition was that Zacharias believes that his prayer was answered and that he not doubt.

I believe this is the same condition that the Lord requires of each of us...that is, to believe and not doubt.

One morning while I was praying and asking the Lord who He wanted me to pray for, He gave me an address in a part of town I was not familiar with. He told me to go to that address because someone was praying for help. I drove to that part of town, found the address and went and knocked on the front door. A lady came to the front door and asked if she could help me. I told her that I had just been praying and the Lord spoke to me and told me to come to this address because someone was praying for help.

I asked if she had been praying for help and she said yes. She was very shocked that God would answer her so fast. She invited me into her home and told me why she had been praying for help. After I prayed for her and encouraged her that God had already answered her prayer I left and never went back.

I believe God has as many messengers with the answers to prayers as there are prayers being prayed. The messengers that God sends may be an angel such as in our text or it may be a country boy from East Texas like me. It does not matter who brings the answers as long as the answers come.

I also think at some time or another most Christians have been used as a messenger sent from the Lord to someone else who needs help. Does God answer prayers…oh yeah…all the time?

Father,

Send all your children as messengers for divine appointments to those in need. I thank You Lord for your faithfulness in answering our prayers and encouraging us through the Holy Spirit, or an angel or another brother or sister.

Amen

Angelic Protection

(Psalm 91:11 KJV) For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

The study of angels has to be one of the most intriguing of all studies. As a matter of fact, if one wants to draw a crowd, all they have to do is start teaching on angels and the people will come. I think most folks believe there are angels...even though some may doubt a little because they have never actually seen an angel. I also believe that people have seen angels but do not realize it because they do not recognize them as angels they pass them by.

Angels are a part of the spirit realm. The spirit realm is actually more real than the natural realm because it is eternal, whereas the natural realm is not. Angels also operate on a much higher frequency than humans do and that is why they have to slow down their frequency to be seen.

It is possible for angels to materialize when necessary when needed. This was the case in the situation with Gideon. “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour” (Judges 6:12 KJV)

This angel was sent to Gideon for encouragement and protection...just as they are sent to us today for the same reason. Even though Gideon was called by God to fight this battle, he did not have a lot of personal confidence. The Lord knew this when He called Gideon and that is why He sent the angel to encourage him.

I find great comfort in our text where it says, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” When God sends an angel for this kind of assignment that does not necessarily mean that the angel has to materialize so we can see him every time. The fact is angels do not have to materialize at all in order to get the job done.

I am sure there are times in everyone’s life when they feel as if someone was telling them not to do something…or perhaps they feel someone is telling them to do something. Sometimes they may even feel that they should not travel a certain familiar way. All of these could be warnings from an angel and not just one’s own feelings.

Women seem to be more sensitive than men when it comes to such feelings even though they may think it is just their intuition. The fact is it could well be an angel speaking into their spirit.

“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14 KJV) Even though I have had many experiences with angels over the years, I feel I should share the following story as my example for this Meditation.

Many years ago as a young minister, I was pastor of a small church in Southeast Texas. One Sunday after the morning service I put my three small children in our station wagon to head home. I noticed all four of my tires were almost flat. I had just enough air in the tires to drive across the street to the service station and put air back in them. I recall having a strange feeling that this was no accident and that the Lord had something to do with it. I was not sure why I felt that way until a few minutes later.

 I was only delayed about five minutes before I headed home. My home was about 45 minutes from the church and I always enjoyed driving back and forth to church on a small black top road through those beautiful East Texas piney woods. About five minutes from the service station where I had filled my tires with air, there was a train crossing—with no lights or bars for stopping cars in case a train was coming.

As I approached the train crossing I saw that a train had just hit a car about five minutes before I got there. A man was laying on the ground and his car was totally demolished. I jumped out of my car and ran to the man who was dying on the ground and started praying for him, but I was too late…he died.

As I looked back at my little children in the car, I was overwhelmed by the full knowledge of why I felt that the Lord had something to do with my almost flat tires back at the church. I grabbed my children and held them close as I thanked the Lord for sending an angel when I needed it and did not know it. From that day until this I have never doubted that an angel of the Lord was sent to protect me and my children. Also, I have never told this story until now because it was so intimately personal to me.

Are angels real? More than you know!

Father,

You said in our text, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” Help all of us Lord to believe and walk in this scripture and especially in the “all thy ways” part.

Amen

"I Do Not Care!"

(Luke_10:35 KJV) And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

This has to be one of the most heart-warming stories in the Bible. Every time I read it I examine myself to see how I measure up to this ordinary caring man. Just about the time I think I am doing pretty well, I do something that makes me wonder.

In the natural it does not make sense for one to bear such a cost for something he had nothing to do with. However, this kind man was not only willing to pay the bill for the stranger’s immediate care, but he was also willing to set up a line of credit for his future care. His desire was to pay the full price even before he knew what the full price would be.

I am sure many would think, “Why is he doing this? What does he hope to get out of this?” It is amazing how in the natural we seem to always think in terms of ulterior motives. In this case there were none…he just cared!

This kind of love and care has to come from the supernatural realm and not the natural realm. I kinda understand how one can love this much if there is a relationship, however, how can one love this much when there is not a relationship?

Over the years I have actually heard two pastors stand and face their congregation and say, “I don’t care what you think, I just don’t care.”  I must admit I was as shocked and stunned as their congregations. I cannot imagine any loving parent sitting at the dinner table and making such a statement to their children.

As a matter of fact I cannot even imagine how such a thought can even enter one’s mind, much less come out of one’s mouth. What a contrast between these two pastors who are supposed to love and care for their sheep and the kind man in our text who did not even know the one he was helping.

Even if the pastors did not mean for their words to be as harsh as they sounded, that still does not change anything. The devil has the right to bind one to their words because he does not consider what you meant to say, but will use what you actually said. This of course brings a couple of scriptures to mind which can be sobering as well.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue:...” (Proverbs 18:21 KJV)

“O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” (Matthew 12:34 KJV)

I am not sure that it is possible to be a true pastor and not care. I am not implying that the two men do not have a call of God on their lives. I am suggesting that perhaps their call is not that of pastoring a congregation.

If the stranger in our text is an example of how one should love and care for one who has been beaten up, is bloody, and undesirable, then perhaps all of us should check out our motives for ministry as well.

Father,

Help us to mature past our childish outbursts in times of personal frustration. Help us to understand that there is a penalty for such loose words which can and will be held against us. Lord, help us to be caring like the man in our text.

Amen

Givers & Takers

     (Luke 17:17 KJV) And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed but where are the nine?

     Being grateful should be the natural response for anyone after having received a blessing. However, that is not always the case because many walk away and never say a word when they receive a gift. One may ask, “If you truly give something away then why do you have to be thanked for it…isn’t the joy of giving thanks enough?”

      In the case of our text I do not believe the point that Jesus was trying to make was necessarily that He be thanked. I believe He was simply showing us what an ungrateful heart really looks like.

     The fact is, ungratefulness is rooted in selfishness and selfishness is rooted in self preservation and self preservation is rooted in mistrust and mistrust is rooted in jealousy. In other words…I want what you have because I deserve it more than you do. All of this can be summed up in the word “ungrateful.”

      It seems as though folks in this present generation are less grateful

      than folks were in my generation. Perhaps some of that could be caused

      by overindulgent parents.

     In our text, Jesus had just healed ten lepers, but only one came back to thank Him. This is a clear picture (at least to me) of the two categories that people seem to fall into, “givers and takers.”

     Being a “taker” does not necessarily mean that one is a bad person…they are just self centered. A taker expects you to give them your time, but rarely do they want to give you their time.

     My wife is the most generous person I know. She is always ready to sacrifice her time and money at any hour of the day or night. She is a classic giver. I remember at one point in time she had a friend who was a classic taker. A classic taker can spot a classic giver across the room...just like a lion can spot its prey. As a result, my wife became a life support for this lady, praying for her night and day, as well as giving her groceries.

     There was a time when this lady was wealthy, and she is probably wealthy again. However, when she got back on her feet she dropped the friendship with my wife and went on to bigger and better things...as typical takers do. A typical taker is always one who is climbing up the ladder.

     My wife’s friend was like the “healed leapers” who took from Jesus, but did not go back and thank Him for their healing. Being a taker is a character flaw that the person does not want to be healed of—because it is their way of controlling another person. They may even be born again, but they miss out on the character of Jesus.

     The statement I am about to make is certainly not an absolute for all of the poor or the rich, because I personally know many exceptions to this statement. However, it does seem that the wealthy expect favor and the poor believe they deserve favor, which means it is hard for one to gain ground with takers such as these.

     Maybe all of us have more of a takers spirit in us than we realize. Do we

     show our un-thankfulness much like the nine leapers?

    Father,

    It is far to easy for us to see the wrong in the nine leapers and criticize them.

    Help us Lord not to make the same mistake and cause others to criticize us.

    Perhaps there are times that all of us are guilty of walking away and not

    showing a grateful heart for Your presence in a church service or having a

    prayer answered after having cried out to You.

    Amen

Simple Pleasures

(Ecclesiastes 3:13) And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

Many folks seem to differ in their interpretation of this scripture. Their opinions may range from believing that life is only for their pleasure, to believing that enjoying life is worldly. I will leave this up to the counselors to figure out how we come up with these options. All I know is that the older I get the more I believe the Lord desires for His children to enjoy life just as parents desire their children to enjoy their lives.

For one to enjoy himself by eating and drinking may be interpreted by some as thinking that God is suggesting gluttony and drunkenness. However, that is not the case at all. To eat is not always gluttony and to drink is not always drunkenness. This scripture is simply saying that it is gift from God to be able to enjoy the natural things in life. Some folks think that for them to really enjoy themselves it should cost a lot of money, when in fact many of the most memorable pleasures are free. These pleasures may be found in visiting a friend, playing a game, walking through a mall or just simply driving and dreaming. Pleasure does not have to be expensive... it can be something very simple.

I remember occasions in our little town when a local country band (made up of some of our high school kids) would set up behind our general store and play country music. They would sell soap for the store by demonstrating how much lather it would make. I remember standing there as a young teenager, watching them and dreaming of one day singing country music and selling soap.

At other times a traveling man with a small tent would come to our little town and show black and white cowboy movies for a quarter. We would sit on uncomfortable little benches and watch the movie. The film was reel to reel and seemed to break about every five minutes. The man would repair the film by taping it back together so we could finish watching this exciting movie.

When the movie was over, folks would silently walk out into the dark and go home. Some may have to walk two or three miles down a dirt road to get back home, but that was okay after such great entertainment. I remember walking home dreaming of either being the star cowboy in the movie or the owner of the traveling movie business.

The fact is, poor people have poor ways, but I never thought that any of those simple pleasures were inferior because they did not cost much. As a matter of fact, I look back at those times with fondness and thank God I experienced them. Seldom do I look back at an expensive vacation to Europe, or a cruise or any of the other things I have done...with the same warmth as I do the soap selling country band or the traveling movie man.

The fact is, God wants us to enjoy our journey in this life and that is what our text is all about.

Father,

I thank You that You are not a hard taskmaster who wants us to live cold, drab, cheerless lives. Your desire is for your children to be happy and to enjoy the blessings that You have given to us through the fruit of our labor. Thank You Father.

Amen

Get Out Of the Boat

(Matthew 14:27-29 KJV) But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.  And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 

When Jesus said to his disciples, “Be not afraid,” what He was saying to them was “Do not dwell in the natural realm.” Fear is never found in the spiritual realm, but fear is always found in the natural realm. The disciples had just enjoyed a spiritual outpouring of the Lord before getting into the boat and now they have already moved back into natural thinking. When Jesus came to them walking on the water He was still moving in the spiritual realm. The fact is, the natural realm is always shocked by what goes on in the spiritual realm. That is why Jesus said, “Be not afraid.”

The reason this scripture is so exciting to me is because I can imagine myself, like Peter, asking Jesus the same question under the same circumstances. “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.”

The reason I love Peter so much is because he was willing to risk failing in order to possibly win. I am sure he was criticized by the other disciples for making such a request of Jesus, because the “no risk-takers/ boat dwellers” will always criticize forward thinking risk-takers.

I like to think that the reason Jesus chose Peter as a disciple was because Jesus counted Peter’s risk-taking as a virtue that would be needed among His other disciples.

My entire life has been one of taking risks and walking on the edge. However, there was a time...back when my youngest daughter was only two years old...that I began to take a few less risks because of my love for her. I am by nature a very protective type person, particularly when it came to my little daughter.

One Sunday after church, my wife, my little daughter and I were sitting in a restaurant having lunch with a friend. All of a sudden my two year old daughter jumped up in her chair and shouted, “Matthew 14:29, Matthew 14:29.”  My wife and I looked at each other in shock, but we could not remember what that scripture actually said. We immediately grabbed our Bible and saw that it had to do with Peter getting out of the boat. We knew the Lord had just spoken to us and we even felt a little rebuke for even considering being safe boat dwellers.

The prophetic word that the Lord gave us through our baby that day set the course for the rest of our lives and we never looked back. From that day to this we have never considered being conservative boat dwellers again. In fact if God does not firm the water under our feet each day—we sink.

I am sure there are many today who are wrestling with the whole idea of getting out of the boat. I would never try to minimize the faith it takes to trust God for each daily step. However, this kind of faith does not come from man, it can only come from God. This is the God kind of faith that He gives to those who are desperate enough to get out of the boat and go to Jesus, even if they might sink.

Father,

Help all of us to be desperate enough for You that we would risk our own flesh sinking. Lord, help our focus to be on You and not on those who may be criticizing our feeble efforts to come to You. Lord help us to keep in mind that both the boat dwellers and non-boat dwellers belong to You as did all the disciples.

Amen

Remembering The Past

(Exodus 13:3 ASV) And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Jehovah brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.

Remembering the past seems to fall into one of three categories. The first category has to do with those whose present is an extension of their past and they enjoy both. These folks are probably the happiest of all the categories because they realize their past (as difficult as some of their pasts may have been), was a character builder for the person they are today.

The second category has to do with those who do not want to remember their past at all (good or bad), but want to move on into what they believe to be a new season. However, when one wants to forget their entire past they are also prone to forget how God delivered them. Therefore they tend not to fully enjoy their present blessings because they always want to move on.

The third category is those who are stuck in the past and they can be easily identified by their hair style or the way they dress. This is particularly true with women who have the same hair style they did when they were young or at their most popular age. Without realizing it, they are trying to recapture their glory days even though they have become much older. There is nothing more distasteful than an old woman trying to look like a young girl, or an old man trying to look like a teenage boy. What may have been joy and freedom at that time in their life has now become bondage. It is fine for one to look back and enjoy their past experiences as long as they are moving forward into their future.

There are many experiences in my own memory bank that I cherish, but I would never want to go back and repeat any of them. Such was the case in the following story which could have been a modern day version of what Moses was talking about. 

And Moses said unto the people, “Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage...” (Exodus 13:3 ASV).

In the late 1930s and early 1940s many farm families still did some things much like the pioneers had done 50 or 60 years earlier when they were moving westward in wagon trains. One of those things—many of the women in the country still washed their clothes in a big iron wash pot over an open fire. My mother was one of those women.

My job on wash day was to pump water out of the well and fill the wash pot. I would then gather wood and build a fire under the pot in order to make the water boil. When the water was boiling, my mother would put our clothes in the pot with lye soap and stir them with a long stick until she felt they were clean. She would then put the clothes in pans of cold water and we would rinse the lye soap out and hang them on the clothes line to dry in the sun.

To some folks, the thought of washing one’s clothes in a wash pot or reading by an oil lamp or growing one’s own food may seem exciting and adventurous. However, that was not the case at all, because the moment we learned there was a better way the “glamor” of the past quickly vanished. There is nothing quite as sweet as the taste of a better way.

To get the full meaning of what Moses was trying to say, one has to highlight these three important words of our text…remember, bondage and deliverance.

“And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Jehovah brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten” (Exodus 13:3 ASV).

It is very important to remember where you came from as long as you do not try to relive it. If one is not careful, yesterday’s life could be today’s bondage. The idea is to remember, rejoice and then move on. 

Father,

I thank You for using our past experiences as building blocks for our character. I also thank You Lord for showing us that there is a better way.

Amen