Have you ever noticed how an older generation seems to get stuck in something of a “time rut”?  With hearts filled with nostalgia, they really do believe that those of a younger generation should appreciate – perhaps, even relive – the same things they enjoyed during their youth … 30 years ago.

For instance, my parents actually thought that my sister and I would be interested in listening to Glenn Miller’s “A String of Pearls” (released in 1941) while we were trying to listen to our new album, “Meet the Beatles” (released in 1964).

And before I left for college in the early 1970’s, my father tried to convince me that I was going to need his white dinner jacket to wear to all the “college dances.”  Was he serious? … as if I were going to wear a white dinner jacket to a Nitty Gritty Dirt Band concert!

Well, as to be expected, this same longing for “the good ‘ol days” has now spread from the generation of the Depression to the generation of the Baby Boom.  More and more, postings appear on Facebook that go something like this:

• “If you know what this is, click ‘Like’ ” … followed by a picture of a telephone booth or an electric typewriter or a slide rule or a 33^1/3 vinyl album or an 8-track tape player or a cassette tape … all cutting-edge technology at the time.

• “If you can remember doing this, click “Like” … followed by a description of what it was like to wait for the television tube to warm up before the picture gradually appeared … or to catch lightning bugs outside after dark until called in … or to wear a Davy Crockett coonskin cap.

But, of course, the only ones who appreciate the nostalgia of an era gone by are those of that same generation.  Younger people are just too busy creating their own future “yesteryears” to care about ours.

There is a lot of truth to the saying, “The only thing that is permanent is change.”  But there is at least one Exception to that rule; and His Name is El Olam, the everlasting, unchanging God … the One Who remains the same from one generation to the next.

Do we realize what this means?  It means that the One to Whom Old Testament Israel looked to meet their every need is the same One to Whom the New Testament Church can look to meet our every need.

• It means that “the LORD” (Yahweh) – the self-existent Creator before Whom Moses stood – still knows exactly what we need … and what we do not need … to be His effective servants.

• It means that “the LORD” (Yahweh) – the God Who is faithful to the Covenant He made with Abraham and his descendants – will faithfully keep every single promise He has ever made to us as well.

• It means that “the LORD Who sanctifies you” (Yahweh Meqaddishkem) – the holy One of Israel – will set us apart from a sinful lifestyle to live righteously as well.

• it means that “the LORD is my Banner” (Yahweh Nissi) – Israel’s Banner of Truth – is the One around Whom we also can rally to overcome our three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

• It means that “the LORD (Who) provides” (Yahweh Yireh) – Abraham’s gracious Sustainer – will meet all our needs as well as we worship Him with hearts full of devotion.

• It means that “the LORD of hosts” (Yahweh Sabaoth) – Israel’s watchful Defender – will dispatch His massive army of angelic-warriors to defend and minister to us as well.

• It means that “the Lord” (Adonai) – Israel’s revered and loving Master – will seek our highest good as well, guiding us and sustaining us as we seek to do His will.

• It means that “God” (Elohim) – the all-powerful One – will also answer all of our prayers that conform to His will … and will transform our lives into the likeness of Christ … and will fulfill every promise He has ever made to us.

• It means that “God Almighty” (El Shaddai) – Abraham’s all-sufficient God – will also provide the nourishment we need to enable us to grow strong and fruitful.

• It means that “the God who sees” (El Roi) – Israel’s all-knowing and ever-present Help – will provide us with strength and encouragement when we, too, are forsaken by others.

• It means that “God Most High” (El Elyon) – Abraham’s supreme Sovereign – will also re-direct our hearts away from living for this world to focus on the eternal kingdom of the King of kings.

Yes, it is true:  all flesh, like grass, withers.  And like the flower, the glory of man fades.  Generations come and go, none of which being an exact duplicate of the others.  Kings and kingdoms rise and fall.  Even the present heavens and earth will one day give way to a new heaven and a new earth.  But there is at least one Exception to this rule of change.

His Name is El Olam.  He is the everlasting, unchanging God.

I, the LORD, do not change.  (Malachi 3:6)

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

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Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives: YAHWEH, OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  My wife and I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that we would respond to adversity with grace and righteousness.

When you were in school, you took a lot of tests.  If your test results looked like mine, you had red check marks beside some of your answers … that is, the ones that were wrong.

I do not ever remember getting back a test from the teacher, looking it over, and thinking, “I’m really glad I answered this one right, and this one right, and this one right ….”  No, what I did was look at all the red on the page and think, “I wish I hadn’t answered this one wrong, and this one wrong, and this one wrong ….”  Is that what you did?  Did you focus your attention on all the red?

Some of us go through life doing that.  We tend to focus on those parts of our past that have “red check marks” beside them.  “I messed up here … and here … and here.”  If that is our practice … to give the bad choices of our past the permission to pull us under … life becomes little more than a broken record of regrets.  Without realizing it, we are allowing the choices of our yesterdays to sour our today … and our tomorrows.

It is an oppressive thing to go through life playing over and over in our minds the things we wish we had not done or the things we wish we had.  So, let’s take some time to do just the opposite.  Sometime soon, sit down and make a list that begins with these words:

I am really glad that I ______.

… then list as many things as you can possibly remember that you are glad you did.  We all need to take some time to consider the things in our past that have “green check marks” by them.  I believe you will find great satisfaction in this little exercise.

There is another list I would encourage you to think through, a list of the wise choices you are making right now.  But let’s not begin with these words:

At the end of my life, I am going to be really glad that I _________.

No, let’s think beyond the next few years.  Instead, let’s begin with these words:

10,000 years from now, I am going to be really glad that I _______.

“When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,” what choices are we making right now that we are going to be really glad we made?  Certainly, the only answers that can be on that list are the choices being made with eternity in mind:

What am I doing with the time … and the abilities … and the material goods … and the strength … and the opportunities that Christ has entrusted into my care to strengthen His Church to the glory of His Name?

If the focus of our lives is on everything this world has to offer, we may feel in sync with everyone else out there – for now.  But in the long run, we are piling up a whole lot of red check marks in our lives (i.e., a whole lot of loss).  And when it is time to bow before the Judgment Seat of Christ, we will have forgotten all about being in sync with the Jones’s.

But if we go through this life with an eternal perspective … if we live – right now – for the King over all kings and Lord over all lords … if we give ourselves to the cause of His eternal kingdom,

we are going to be really glad we did that throughout the Ages to Come.

So, what are you going to be really glad you did this week … 10,000 years from now?

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

Click here to view our website:  STEWARD OF TRUTH PUBLICATIONS

Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives: YAHWEH, OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that the Master-Teacher would be the Author of these writings.

Have you ever been abandoned by someone you loved or rejected by a group of people for whom you cared?  Do you know what it feels like to be discarded as one unworthy of respect?

• Perhaps it was a family member or a close friend who turned against you. The one you never dreamed would leave your side began to avoid you.  Perhaps he began to treat you with contempt.  Or slander you behind your back.  Or mock you to your face … in front of others.

• Perhaps you have been abandoned by your wife or husband. Your spouse decided that he or she does not want to be married to you anymore.

• Or perhaps it seems that God Himself has forsaken you. The painful circumstance you are going through has caused you to ask in despair, Where is God?  This lie is certainly the most painful of all wounds.

Have you ever been – or felt – forsaken by someone you would have sworn would “stick by you through thick ‘n thin”?  If so, be assured that Christ Jesus knows exactly how you feel.  What He went through as He walked toward – and hung on – the Cross, He went through alone.  He was completely forsaken.  Not one person was left standing by His side.

• Certainly none of His siblings were there for Him. (John 7:5)

• One of “the twelve” from his band of disciples betrayed Him. (John 13:21, 26)

• The remaining eleven – His most faithful followers and closest friends – abandoned Him. (Matthew 26:31)

• Even Peter, His most zealous follower, denied even knowing Him – not one time … not two times … but three times – while warming himself around the campfire of those who had just arrested his Friend. (John 13:37-38)

• The Jewish nation had followed Him enthusiastically … as long as He provided them with food and healthcare. They had cheered Him as He paraded triumphantly into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey’s colt.  But just a few days later, many of these same people demanded that the hands and feet of their Messiah-King be impaled to one of Rome’s crosses.  (Luke 17:25)

• And at the front of the line demanding His death was Israel’s religious establishment, her Bible scholars and spiritual leaders, the ones who could quote from memory the Messianic prophecies. Even they refused to submit to His rule.  More than anyone else, they should have recognized Him as being their long-awaited King.  But they turned Him over to Caesar’s soldiers to be executed.  (Matthew 20:18-19)

Earlier, as this sin-Bearer lay on the ground of a garden pleading with His Father, He knew that humiliation and torture and excruciating pain were only hours away.  He, Who had no sin, knew that He was about to be falsely accused, mocked, spit upon, beaten in the face, lashed over and over with a whip, and have three spikes driven through his hands and feet for lawless acts He did not commit.  He knew that He was about to be executed for my moral crimes … and yours … and the rest of the world’s, the Guiltless for the guilty.

And He knew that He was going to go through all of this by Himself.  How could He possibly feel more alone … more abandoned … more rejected than this?  And then, when the weight of all our sins was placed upon Him, the unthinkable happens:

“MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”  (Matthew 27:46)

Do you know what it feels like to be forsaken by others?  If so, be assured that Christ Jesus knows exactly how you feel.

We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  (Hebrews 4:15)

And so, with Hebrews 4, verse 15, in mind, what should we do when we are rejected?  We should do Hebrews 4, verse 16:

let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  (Hebrews 4:16)

If we do this, we will be talking to One Who is not detached from our pain of rejection.  In fact, one of His Hebrew names is El Roi.  He is our all-seeing, ever-present Help in time of need.

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

Click here to view our website:  STEWARD OF TRUTH PUBLICATIONS

Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives:  YAHWEH, OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that the Master-Teacher would be the Author of these writings.

The setting of the 1965 film Shenandoah ¹ is a family farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War.  It is a story about a family’s struggle to maintain their isolation from a war that rages all around their property.

Within this family are eight children, all of whom are young adults:  six sons, one daughter, and one daughter-in-law.  And at the head of this clan is a strong, hardened, and fiercely independent father, Mr. Charlie Anderson (played by actor Jimmy Stewart).

In one scene the nine Andersons are seated around the dinner table … but there are ten places set.  And where the tenth plate is set, there stands an empty chair.  It soon becomes apparent that the mother of the family had died 16 years earlier while giving birth to the youngest of the sons.  Martha Anderson had been a religious woman.  And right before she died, she made her husband promise to give their children a Christian upbringing.  Although Charlie Anderson believed that acknowledging God was nothing but a waste of time, he agreed to do so as a way to honor the wife he still deeply loved and greatly missed.

There were two things he did to give his children proper religious training:  he made sure they went to church every Sunday, and he offered a prayer before every meal.  But let’s listen in on one of his prayers:

“Lord, we cleared this land.  We plowed it, sowed it, and harvested it.  We cooked the harvest.  It wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be eatin’ it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves.  We worked dog-boned hard for every crumb and morsel.  But we thank You just the same anyway Lord for this food we’re about to eat.  Amen.”

Charlie Anderson made no bones about it.  He saw no point in thanking God (sincerely) for the food on their table when it seemed to him that he, his sons, and his daughters had done all the work.  This father was convinced that his family did not need anyone to help them with their farm.  He did not need slaves.  (He was not a Confederate.)  He did not need the federal government.  (He was not a Unionist.)  And he most certainly did not need God.  (He was not wise.)  Charlie Anderson believed his family to be entirely self-sufficient.

But we should take note that he left out a few things in his prayer.  He makes no mention of the existence of seed … or the fertility of the soil … or the regularity of spring and autumn rainfall … or the sun’s light … or its warmth … or, for that matter, his and his wife’s ability to produce sons to work the land.

What Charlie Anderson was not … nor ever could be … is what God is.  God is the only One Who is truly self-sufficient.  And because He is self-sufficient, He is the only One Who can be our all-sufficient Help.  He provides us with everything we need … in every aspect of life … that we might live abundantly … in a way that pleases and honors Him.

Almighty God is our All … in all.

Do you believe that?  Do you believe that the God of the Bible can provide you with everything you need?  More than likely, those of us who are reborn followers of Christ would say “Yes, I believe that.”  And yet, how we live may contradict what we say.  So, let’s rephrase the question.

When we face a hard situation, what is the first thing we do about it?  Do we run to the God of peace?  Or do we retreat to some pain killer such as excessive work or excessive food or a chemical that dulls the sting?  Do we flee to God for strength … or do we escape to a sports bar or to a shopping mall to deaden the pain?  We, the true and living Church, claim to believe that God is our “All, in all” … at least while sitting in the pew.  But do we live out that belief at the workplace and at school and at home?

The all-sufficient One is going to spend a lot of time convincing us that we are completely dependent upon Him … in every area of life.  To do so, He will sometimes apply polish to our lives with a piece of velvet.  At other times He will apply fine sandpaper.  And sometimes He may even use a jackhammer.  But whatever the circumstance – favorable or painful – we are going to find ourselves in the position of learning two priceless truths:  that “apart from Christ Jesus, we can do nothing” … but with Christ Jesus “all things are possible.”

The all-sufficiency of God is a trait found embedded in His Hebrew Name, El Shaddai.  It is a Name that declares God to be our Everything … in everything.  He is our “All … in all.”

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

Click here to view our website:  STEWARD OF TRUTH PUBLICATIONS

Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives:  YAHWEH, OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  My wife and I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that we would respond to adversity with grace and righteousness.

¹     Shenandoah, directed by Andrew V. M^cLaglen; produced by Robert Arthur; written by James Lee Barrett; music by Frank Skinner; Cinematography by William H. Clothier, edited by Otho Lovering, distributed by Universal; starring James Stewart, Doug M^cClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne, Katharine Ross, and Rosemary Forsyth; release date June 3, 1965.

‘Ah Lord GOD!  Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm!  Nothing is too difficult for You.  (Jeremiah 32:17)

It is a little-known fact, but what drove the development of the atomic bomb was not America’s fear of Japan.  It was America’s fear of Germany.

Once Adolph Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, he conducted over the next 12 years a reign of unimaginable brutality.  There were some in Europe with enough foresight (and money) to escape Nazi Germany and make their way to the United States.  Many of these refugees were Jewish; and a few of them were some of the world’s most brilliant scientists.  When they arrived in America, they brought with them a fear that Hitler was on the brink of developing a weapon he must never have.

Germany was the center for the study of nuclear physics.  In a government laboratory located in Berlin, a German chemist had split an atom of uranium.  And when he did, nuclear energy was discovered.  The scientific community knew that this new form of energy had the potential to replace other forms such as oil and gas.  They also thought that it could possibly be used to create a new kind of bomb.

News coming out of Europe was that the German War Department had taken over one of the country’s finest laboratories.  Furthermore, they had outlawed the export of uranium from Czechoslovakia.  So these refugee scientists believed that the German bomb project had already begun; and they were horrified at the prospect of Hitler having in his possession nuclear weapons to execute his campaign of terror.

By 1945 Germany was losing the war.  And in April of that year, Hitler committed suicide.  After his death, the Allies learned that he had never understood the potential of the atomic bomb.  Consequently, he had not provided his atomic scientists the resources they needed to build this weapon.

And so it turned out that the weapon designed to be used against Hitler was not needed for the war in Europe.  But research on the atomic bomb continued.  And to end the war in the Pacific, President Harry Truman decided to use it against Japan.  The atomic bomb was dropped on two Japanese cities:  Hiroshima on August 6^th, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later.

Have you ever seen any pictures of the aftermath of those two bombs?  The power released from split atoms is awesome, to say the least.  But that power does not hold a candle to the might of the One Who holds all atoms together “in the palm of His hand.”

Nowhere is the power of almighty God more clearly seen than in His work of creation.  By His spoken word God created the heavens and the earth.  And when He did, we were introduced to another of His Hebrew Names:

In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.  (Genesis 1:1)

The Name Elohim (translated “God”) portrays God as the all-powerful One.  But we should understand that He does not use His power randomly.  He is highly selective in its use.  God uses His power:

• to conform the lives of His people into the likeness of His Son,
• to fulfill every promise He has ever made, and
• to answer prayer.

Although I don’t think any believer would disagree with these three ways God uses His power, there is a condition that He places on the use of that power that is often ignored by many in the Church.

Elohim limits the use of His power to accomplishing His will … and His will alone.

For God to use His power (1) to change our lives and (2) to keep His promises does not bother or confuse us because that is what we want Him to do.  The way He chooses (3) to answer our prayers, however, can be a different matter.  What we want to receive from God is not necessarily what He wants to give us.  (Sometimes He says “No.”)  And when we want to get something is not necessarily when He wants us to have it.  (Sometimes He says “Not yet.”)  That’s because

God does not use His power to do what makes sense to us.  He uses His power to do what makes sense to Him.

He has the power to answer every one of our prayers with a “Yes.”  But He also has the wisdom and love to not do so.

We should thank Him for that.

How God uses His power is the subject of The God of Our Lives, chapter 8:  “Elohim, Our God is All-Powerful.”

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

Click here to view our website:  STEWARD OF TRUTH PUBLICATIONS

Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives:  YAHWEH, OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  My wife and I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that we would respond to adversity with grace and righteousness.

In his book, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, the late Dr. Harold W. Hoehner presents evidence that Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday, April 3^rd, AD 33. ¹  On that day several individuals, whose lives would have otherwise faded into obscurity, became infamous participants in the most notorious crime in history.

To be sure, some of them knew they were committing a heinous act of injustice (in particular, the Jewish religious leaders who sentenced Jesus to death).  But it is doubtful that any of them fully understood what was happening.  To them, the Crucifixion was simply the “good riddance” of One Who had robbed them of the peoples’ admiration and threatened to disrupt the rituals of their religion.  But in reality, Golgotha was the pivot point of history:  a day when the justice of God intersected with the mercy of God … a day when capital punishment for our moral crimes was executed – mercifully – upon a sinless Substitute.

On that hill those who had arranged for Christ to die stood in front of His Cross to gawk at His agony and shame:  His shredded skin hanging loose from His back and sides, dripping with blood … His battered face bruised and bleeding from pounding fists … His lips cut open … His eyes swollen shut … His exposed body shivering in the cold of the morning hours … pushing His weight down on the spike driven through His feet to raise His chest for a gasp of breath … and using that breath to ask the Father to forgive the nail-drivers for what they had just done.

[We do well to picture this scene in our minds.  Was it not for you and me that Jesus Christ endured this wrath from God so that we – through faith in His Payment for our moral crimes – would not have to?]

Faithful Savior, eternity is not long enough to thank You for what You did for us.

And so, they stood before Him as He hung on the Cross.  They watched Him suffer; and then they watched Him die.  But this would not be the last time they would stand before Him, for His Cross and tomb marked the end of the Son of God’s humiliation and the renewal of His glory.  There is coming a day when those who stood before the Cross, pointing at the nail-impaled Sacrifice of God and yelling,

“You do not have the right to live,”

will bow before the King of glory and declare,

“You Alone have the right to rule.”

That will be a day very different than the morning of Friday, April 3^rd, AD 33.  Those who once stood before the humiliated Lamb of God will find themselves in the presence of the exalted Lion of Judah:  His exposed body now clothed with a radiant robe … a crown of thorns replaced by diadems of glory … and a cross that offered God’s mercy replaced by a throne now demanding God’s justice.  Before Him, they will not stand; they will bow.  And their tongues will not mock; they will confess that

Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Philippians 2:11)

Indeed, the day is coming when every one of us will acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus, something the true and living Church is already doing.  But when we do, what exactly are we saying?  Perhaps we put this title “Lord” in front of His Name so frequently – and so easily – that we have forgotten the weight of the word.  We would do well to become reacquainted with the commitment we are making when we acknowledge the Lordship of Christ.

To say that “Jesus is Lord” is to say that “Jesus has the right to rule.”

• He has the right to rule creation.
• He has the right to rule the nations.
• He has the right to rule His Church.
• And He has the right to rule our individual lives.

When we declare His Lordship, we are not giving Christ the right to rule over us.  He already has that right.  We are acknowledging a reality already established by the Father.

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  (Matthew 28:18)

To say “Jesus is Lord” is easy … so easy, in fact, that even unbelievers can – and often do – declare it.  Yet, Jesus states that one’s confession of His Lordship is to go far beyond mere words.  Indeed, He strictly warns against paying mere lip service to His authority.

Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven.  (Matthew 7:21)

How then does one sincerely acknowledge the reality of Christ’s Lordship?

by striving to do the will of the Master

Why do you call Me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?  (Luke 6:46)

Obedience is what separates the sheep from the goats.  Yes, it is true:  our humanity is frail.  But it is also true that God is not frail.  And dwelling within every reborn saint is the Spirit of almighty God.  God has the power to obey God; and He expects His children to trust Him … to provide the power we need … to obey His will.  And so, with our words and with our lives, let this Truth be our whole-hearted confession:

Jesus Christ is my Lord

No Hebrew name reveals the Lordship of Christ better than the Name Adonai.  This is the subject of chapter 7 in The God of Our Lives:  “Adonai, Our God is a Loving Master.”

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

Click here to view our website:  STEWARD OF TRUTH PUBLICATIONS

Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives:  YAHWEH, OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that the Master-Teacher would be the Author of these writings.

¹       Hoehner, Harold W., Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Zondervan Publishing House, 1977, page 114.

Have you ever wondered what it will be like to meet someone for the first time … in Paradise?  If you think about it, we have some pretty fascinating introductions in front of us.

Most certainly, every believer awaits – with anticipation – his first meeting with Christ Jesus.  When I think of my first face-to-Face encounter with the Creator of the universe and Savior of my soul, I feel joyfully excited … and reverently fearful.

Furthermore, can you imagine getting into a conversation with someone, only to find out that you are talking to Eve?  Or to one who crossed through the Jordan with Joshua?  Or to the one who, as a young boy, handed over his five loaves and two fish to Jesus?  Or to one who came to the New World aboard the Mayflower?  Don’t you imagine our next question would be, “What was that like?”

There is someone else I am looking forward to meeting.  Once I awaken from the sleep of death, if I do not see the Lord Jesus first, he may be the first one I see (Luke 16:22).  And when I meet this angel, I want to thank him for something.

According to the Scriptures one of the responsibilities of the angelic host is to carry out the will of God in the affairs of His creation.  One such ministry assigned to the angels is to serve the saints of God:

Are (the angels) not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?  (Hebrews 1:14)

There is Scriptural evidence indicating that every believer is watched over by at least one “guardian angel” (Matthew 18, Acts 12).  Their service to the saints includes

guarding them from danger (Psalm 91)

delivering God’s message to certain individuals (Daniel 10, Luke 1)

protecting them from premature death (2^nd Kings 6, Acts 12)

 and …

strengthening them to persevere in God’s call upon their lives (Luke 22)

Jesus Himself benefited from this ministry of the angels.  The night before His Crucifixion, the Lord entered into the most intense period of suffering any human has ever had to endure.

And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.  (Luke 22:44)

Jesus had lived His entire life in obedience to the will of the Father (John 5:30, 6:38).  And He was still resolved to do so, even unto death (Philippians 2:8).  But this resolve was not without great inner turmoil.

“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.”

“No, My Son, this ‘cup’ is My will for Your life.”

“Then Father, Your will be done.”

We then read that one of God’s spirit-ministers arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.  (Luke 22:43) ¹

Lest we forget what it would take for the Son of Man to fulfill God’s calling upon His life,

Christ Jesus was to be impaled to a Roman Cross …

taking upon Himself your sins and mine …

that He might suffer the wrath of God …

in our place … as our Substitute … so that we would not have to suffer eternal death for our own sins …

and rising from the dead, He would be able to give to those who trust in His Payment for our sins …

eternal life

Nothing less than the redemption of man was the calling of God upon His life.  But to faithfully fulfill this calling, the Son of Man needed the perseverance of God.  He needed the strength this angel from God brought to Him …

… and so do we.  In order to faithfully persevere in our respective callings (whatever they may be)

we need the strength that the Lord of hosts provides through the ministry of His angelic warriors

Perhaps you have begun to feel the weariness of your own calling … a prolonged labor that does not seem to be making much (if any) difference.  People let you down.  People put you down.  People walk away from you.  Perhaps your health has weakened.  Perhaps your financial situation has weakened.  Perhaps even your faith has weakened.  You become discouraged.  Doubts set in.  Temptations come from your flesh.  Persecution comes from the world.  Oppression comes from the demonic realm.  Perhaps you don’t want to “keep on keeping on.”  You want to do what every fiber of your being is telling you to do.  You want to chuck the whole thing.

Can you relate to any of this?  If so, I have a question for you, one I have OFTEN asked myself.  When you appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, do you want to hear Him say to you

Well done, good and faithful slave

… because if we do, there is something we must come to grips with:

for faithfulness to be dyed into the fabric of our souls, situations demanding perseverance must exist

It is impossible to be faithful without trials.  To be aware of that fact goes a long way in understanding why doubts and confusion and weariness are such an integral part of the ministry (whatever ministry we have).  It explains why attacks from our flesh and from the world and from Satan are to be expected.  It explains why God (seems to be) so slow and so silent and so aloof at times.  To face a long-term trial does not mean that God has lost interest in us.  It means that

God is cultivating our faithfulness by stretching our endurance

To Whom, then, should we turn for the “spiritual grit” needed to endure this painful and prolonged tempering of our faith?  To the One Who lay prostrate in the Garden of Gethsemane.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  (Hebrews 4:15-16)

What is the name of the One Who sits upon this Throne of grace?  One of His Hebrew names is Yahweh Sabaoth, “the LORD of hosts.”  He is the Commander of a vast army of angelic warriors, sent forth to strengthen and defend and comfort His people in their times of need.

When I first enter into the realms of Paradise, I look forward to a great many first-time introductions.  And one of them is to the angel assigned to watch over me these many years.  I want to thank him for his service.  In times of despair he brought to me the perseverance of Christ I so desperately needed.

How Yahweh Sabaoth, “the LORD of hosts,” uses these spirit-warriors in our lives is the subject of The God of Our Lives, chapter 6:  “Our God is a Watchful Defender.”

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

Click here to view our website:  STEWARD OF TRUTH PUBLICATIONS

Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives:  YAHWEH, OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  My wife and I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that we would respond to adversity with grace and righteousness.

¹   Why would the Second Person of the Trinity need to be strengthened?  Is He not God?  To answer this question, let’s consider that incredible nine-month period of time when the eternal Son of God “clothed Himself with flesh” while implanted as a Fetus in the uterus of a virgin.  The Lord Jesus Christ is indeed 100% God.  And because of the incarnation, He is also 100% Man.  (He is not 50% / 50%.)  He is the God-Man … fully divine, fully human.  It was the humanity of Christ that needed to be strengthened to fulfill the Father’s calling upon His life.

The movie Forrest Gump ¹ features a mentally-challenged, but good-natured, individual who, unwittingly, plays an influential role in the many historical and cultural events of his day.  As the story develops, we watch with amusement as Forrest (played by actor Tom Hanks) impacts the lives of a variety of characters (including three U. S. presidents).

One such person in Forrest’s life was “Bubba,” an Army buddy beside whom he would fight during his tour of duty in Vietnam.  Bubba is an endearing friend with one, all-consuming goal in life.  Once he gets out of the Army, he wants to go into business as a “shrimper.”

• (Scene:  As the company learns how to assemble their field rifles, Bubba is talking to Forrest) “What ya’ do is ya’ just drag yow nets along the bottom.  On a good day you kin catch over a hunerd pounds a shrimp.  Everything goes aw right, two men shrimpin’ ten hours, less what ya’ spend on gas” … (the drill instructor interrupts him at this point, then walks away) … “Anyway, like ah was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit-o-thuh-sea.  You kin Bah B Q it, bawl it, brawl it, bake it, sauté it, they’s shrimp kabob, shrimp Creole …”

• (Scene change:  Forrest and Bubba are now shining their boots) “… shrimp gumbo, you kin pan fry it, deep fry it, stuh fry it, they’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, peppa shrimp …”

• (Scene change:  Forrest and Bubba are now polishing the barrack’s floor with toothbrushes) “… shrimp soooup, shrimp steeew, shrimp saaalad, shrimp in potatas, shrimp burga, shrimp sanwich” … (pause) … “that’s, that’s about it.” – Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue (superbly played by actor Mykelti Williamson).

No doubt about it.  The one, all-consuming passion of Bubba’s life was the business of shrimp.  His vision was to turn this “fruit-o-thuh-sea” into a profit.

But did we really catch all that was there in this snapshot of Bubba?  We may have been so busy chuckling over his list of shrimp cuisine that we missed the depth of his business savvy.  Let’s take a second look at Bubba, the entrepreneur:

• He apparently had in his favor the asset of experience … the know-how … to realize a successful venture:  “What ya’ do is ya’ just drag yow nets along the bottom.”

• He had a realistic view of possible revenue:  “On a good day … (if) everything goes aw right ….”

• He was able to project a realistic estimate on the volume of a day’s harvest:  “you kin catch over a hunerd pounds a shrimp.”

• He knew the exact number of employees he would need:  “two men shrimpin.’ ”

• He knew the number of hours they would need to work each day:  “ten hours.”

• He knew what his overhead would be:  “less what ya’ spend on gas.”

• And he knew the many uses the consumer would have for his product:  “You kin Bah B Q it, bawl it, brawl it, bake it ….”

No, we should not underestimate this thoughtful businessman.  There was nothing reckless about him or his dream.  And yet, as with even the best of plans, there was always the lurking threat of the unexpected:

a diminished supply of shrimp because of competition …

a setback in the seafood industry because of a hurricane …

a loss of personnel because of death.

An unforeseen setback can alter – indeed, it can slam to the ground – the best of plans.  No matter how well it has been thought through … no matter what level of expertise is brought to the table … no matter how much blood, sweat and tears is poured into it … no matter what level of passion drives the person, the fact is

this world does not promise to take care of us.

During the Great Depression of the last century, a “no confidence” attitude prevailed toward this country’s financial institutions.  It seems the market had become “overheated,” fueled in part by money borrowed on credit.  Investors had left nothing in reserve.  (Sound familiar?)  The result was a collapsed economy.

The photographs of this decade that stick in our minds are of men … long lines of men … in tattered clothes … with stooped shoulders … shuffling toward a soup kitchen.  What is so sobering about these images is that these individuals were not 2^nd and 3^rd generation welfare cases.  Many of them had been successful investors just a few years earlier during the bull market of the “roaring” 1920’s.

This same situation can repeat itself … in a heartbeat.  (Consider the fear recently generated throughout Europe from Greece’s failed economy.  And did you notice the effect China’s faltering economy had on many Americans’ retirement accounts?)  In today’s global market this “domino effect” is an ever-present risk.  Even for those with a lot of experience, a lot of know-how, a lot of elbow grease, and a lot of drive, the fact is

this world does not promise to take care of us.

But there is Someone who does.  And the promise He makes has been offered throughout the ages to all whose hearts are fully given to Him:

Do not worry then, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear for clothing?”  For … your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things [necessities: food, drink, clothing] will be added to you.  (Matthew 6:31-33, brackets mine)

But did you notice the condition attached to this promise?  It is the condition of devotion.  What does devotion (“seek first”) have to do with faith in God (to keep His promise of provision)?

The fact is, you and I have only one heart apiece … which means we cannot have two all-consuming passions.  We will either run after the Lord or we will run after the fool’s gold this world dangles in front of us.  But we cannot love both … which brings us to this eternal principle:

the object of one’s passion reveals the object of one’s faith

We pursue the thing that “fills our souls” (at least, we think it can).  Those who love this world foolishly look to this world to meet their needs.  As a result, they go through life anxious about life … and rightly so.  They should be worried because the only guarantee this world has to offer is the promise of shifting sand.

But to those whose hearts are sold out to the Lord God … to those who place their faith in the faithful One … God has given this bedrock guarantee:

I will take care of you.

This great promise may be found embedded within another of God’s Hebrew names, Yahweh Yireh, “the LORD will provide.”  It is a name that promises to meet our needs … and it comes from One Who cannot lie.  So, the question before us is not, “Will God keep His Word?” because that is a given.  No, the question before us is this:

What is my one, all-consuming passion?

because whatever it is, know for certain that

the object of your passion reveals the object of your faith

How to discover your heart’s passion is discussed in The God of Our Lives, chapter 5:  “Our God is a Gracious Provider.”

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

Click here to view our website:  STEWARD OF TRUTH PUBLICATIONS

Click here to read the entire 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives: YAHWEH, OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that the Master-Teacher would be the Author of these writings.

¹   Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis; produced by Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch, Steve Starkey, and Charles Newirth; screenplay by Eric Roth; based on the 1986 novel, Forrest Gump, by author Winston Groom; starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field; release date July 6, 1994.

The Japanese soldier of World War Two was a formidable enemy.  He had been taught from childhood that it was an honor and, if necessary, his duty to die for the emperor, Hirohito.  If surrounded by his enemy, the Japanese soldier would fix his bayonet and come out charging or he would commit suicide.  But he would not surrender.  Even when defeated, he fought on.

Toward the end of the war, as the Americans drew closer and closer to the home islands of Japan, this resolve to fight on became increasingly fierce.  One problem the Americans had to deal with was a small island that lay southeast of Japan, Iwo Jima.  This island was used by the Japanese Air Force as a base from which to harass American bombing missions headed for the mainland.  So, it was an island that had to be taken.

By the time the battle for Iwo Jima was over (March 26^th, 1945), 5,931 Marines had been killed and 17,773 had been wounded.  As it turned out, this battle was one of the bloodiest campaigns in the Pacific Theater during World War Two.

One of the Marines wounded during the battle for Iwo Jima was Charles W. Lindberg of North Dakota.  (This was not the Charles A. Lindbergh who was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927.)  During the early stages of this campaign, Lindberg was part of a patrol that climbed Mount Suribachi on the island.  He states, “We were the first combat patrol to hike up the mountain.  So we carried the [first] flag to the highest point and raised it.  It was really a proud moment.  The next day I was shot and shipped off the island.”

The sight of this banner was significant.  More than 71,000 Marines were on the island at the time this flag was raised, joined by thousands of sailors watching from offshore.  When these warriors saw it flying on top of the mountain, it boosted their morale during this fierce battle.  To be sure, they needed to be strengthened as they clashed with the Japanese soldier.

In the Bible there was another “banner” raised during another battle; and this banner made all the difference between victory and defeat (Exodus 17:8-16).  In fact, it was so important to the nation of Israel that it was considered one of the symbols of God Himself.  On that day of battle against the nation of Amalek, the LORD came to be known as Yahweh Nissi, “the LORD is my Banner.”

The New Testament Church can make that same claim.  The LORD is our “banner” – our “rallying Point” – from Whom we receive strength to fight our enemies.  Yet, unlike the Amalekite (and Japanese) soldiers, the Church’s war is not a flesh-and-blood fight.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  (Ephesians 6:12)

The moment an individual is born of the Spirit of God, he joins a war already in progress.  And it will not take him long to realize that this is not a minor skirmish.  What he faces is an enemy that has the ability to shake the very core of his being … “to sift him like wheat” (Luke 22:31).  And it will seize every opportunity it is given to do so.

Often (not always), the believer is confronted with a combative human being(s).  But in reality, the driving personalities behind the conflict are not flesh and blood but, rather, demonic in nature:

invisible … organized … highly intelligent … inconceivably evil … more powerful than any mere man … and consumed with an intense hatred toward those who submit their lives to the authority of the Son of God.

Over time, as the believer’s lifestyle becomes more and more righteous, he will notice that these assaults are not going away.  To the contrary, the opposition he experiences will become more intense … and, perhaps, more frequent … which brings us to a most important and fundamental truth:

• The reason Satan attacks the believer is because of his righteous standing in Christ and because of his righteous influence over others.

These spirit-based hostilities come from an enemy that loathes the Light of God (i.e., both the Living and written Word of God).  And their “bullets” are aimed at those who love that Light (a love proven by an increasingly obedient lifestyle).

It is most certainly true:  this demonic adversary has already been defeated at the Cross of Christ.  It is equally true that these spiritual bull dogs have no intention of waving the white flag.  Their bayonets are fixed; and their goal is to destroy not only the testimony of the Christ-follower but also, if permitted, his very life (saved only by the restraining hand of God).

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.  Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  (1^st Peter 5:8)

My beloved friends, this world is becoming more anti-Christ, more anti-Biblical by the day.  Those who take their stand for the Word of God are going to experience – firsthand – the power of the demonic realm.  It would be less than wise for the believing community to underestimate the supernatural strength of this enemy.  They are a most formidable foe.

That is why the saints must rally around Yahweh Nissi, “the LORD, our Banner.”  He is infinitely stronger than these evil spirit-beings; and He has provided His people with an offensive weapon needed to win each battle.  What is this weapon the Commander-King has placed into the hands of His true and living Church?  It is none other than

the Truth of God

How to use this spiritual weapon to fight this spiritual war is the subject of The God of Our Lives, chapter 4:  “Our God is Truth.”

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

Click here to view our website:  STEWARD OF TRUTH PUBLICATIONS

Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives:  YAHWEH, OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  My wife and I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that we would respond to adversity with grace and righteousness.

In loving memory of my father, Henry Martin Puryear, Jr., an honorable man

Who taught you how to drive?

My father taught me how to drive.  And I learned on a country road.  My father was of the opinion that if my sister and I could drive a straight shift then we could drive an automatic.  So, we both learned how to drive using our family Volkswagen.

Over the course of time, I learned how to coordinate the use of the accelerator and brake pedal with my right foot, the clutch with my left foot, the gear shift with my right hand, and the steering wheel with my left hand.

“This is a piece of cake,” the 15-year-old said to his father as I put on my sunglasses, turned on the radio, hung my elbow out the window and settled back in the bucket seat to get comfortable.  (That was a mistake.)

Next, Dad decided that it was time for me to learn how to slow the car down using the gears, instead of the brake, to do so.  I was coming up to a stop sign, and he wanted me to shift from 4^th gear to 3^rd gear, and then from 3^rd gear to 2^nd gear.  For some dumb reason, I did not feel like learning how to downshift that day; so I told him “Not today.”  (That was another mistake.)

He said to me, “Yes, today,” and I said back, “I don’t want to learn how to downshift today.”  (As I write this, I cannot believe I said that.)  He looked over at me and said with all the gentleness and tender care of a drill sergeant (you know what I mean), “YES, TODAY!”

Well, in the heat of the moment, Dad failed to tell me that when you are going 45 miles per hour, and you shift from 4^th gear to 3^rd gear, you are supposed to eassssssse the clutch out slowly.  So, I shifted from 4^th gear to 3^rd gear … and then I “popped the clutch.”  (That was my third mistake.)

As the VW’s four-cylinder engine shrieked with a shrill-like scream, the driver and his passenger lunged forward.

My father was one of those people who loved to drink coffee.  Every time you saw him, he would have a piping hot cup of coffee in his hand … which is what he had in his hand when he said to me, “Yes, today!”  He was already hot (i.e., red in the face) before I popped the clutch.  After I popped the clutch he was hotter.  And wet.

Well, thanks to my father I got my driver’s license.  And thanks to me, my father got gray hair.  But that is what it took for him to ensure that his son could drive a straight shift.

On the day I got my license and was about to get in the car for my first solo spin, he said to me, “Son, if I ever hear from someone around town …” (and he had a lot of friends around our small town) … “If I ever hear that you are driving recklessly, you can wave ‘Good-bye’ to that license for about a month.”  And that is what it took for him to ensure that his son become a safe driver.  My father wanted me to remain alive to write this story.  My wellbeing (as well as that of other motorists) was at stake.

But that was not the only reason he told me that.  His name was at stake.  My father’s reputation was important to him, and he did not want me messing up the honor associated with it.

There is another Father Whose Name is important to Him.  And He wants His children to represent that Name well.  Indeed, those born into the family of God will eventually come to realize that their Father in heaven is dead serious about protecting His honor.  So much so that He uses “all things” in the routine of life to cause His children to reflect His character:  all its wonderful delights … all its bitter trials … and everything in between.  Even the most mundane of days He will not waste.  As gently as possible but as firmly as necessary, our sovereign God

causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.  (Romans 8:28-29)

The Father wants His children to become like The Son.  And He will spend the rest of their lives working toward that goal.  The reason He will do so is because there is a great deal at stake:

• In the first place, a changed life presents proof to a despairing world that Jesus Christ can – and does – redeem ruined sinners.  It gives hope to those who have no hope.

• Furthermore, a purified life presents proof of that believer’s faithfulness when he bows before the Judgment Seat of Christ.  Eternal rewards await “the good and faithful slave.”

All of this is true.  But there is something else at stake that far surpasses these reasons:

• A transformed life highly exalts the Name of the one, true God far above every other name, in heaven and on earth.

Truly, the Father has transformed His children into brand new creations … raised in Christ to walk in newness of life.  And He did so to prove to all creation that He – and He alone

“… is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords … eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, to Him be honor and glory forever and ever.”  (1^st Timothy 6:15, 1:17)

In the Bible God is known by several Hebrew names.  One of them is Yahweh Meqaddishkem.  He is “the LORD Who sanctifies” (His people).  How He does this is the subject of The God of Our Lives, chapter 3:  “Our God is Holy.”

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

Click here to view our website:  STEWARD OF TRUTH PUBLICATIONS

Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives:  YAHWEH, OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that the Master-Teacher would be the Author of these writings.