More psalms were devoted to complaining 

than any other single category.

Maybe this is good news for us.

You crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals.

Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? 

Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.

Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?

How long, O Lord, how long?

Old Testament scholar Ellen Davis wrote that

in the ancient world, complaint prayers are 

without parallel in other religions. 

Others made requests, offered worship, cursed their enemies.

Only Israel prayed their complaints.

Only Israel believed that God cares that we are in pain,

and can be expected to do something about it. 

When we are passionately honest with God,

when we are not indulging in self-pity, 

when we hope that God can be trusted,

our hearts make resting in his presence possible again. 

GOD IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

For more information, read about Job's complaints

and especially the Lord's answer.

  

 Where is God when everything is going well?

The same place he is when it's not going well.

Pain doesn't mean God is absent.

Years ago, John Ortberg, Ph.D., clinical psychology,

surveyed thousands of people.

The number one reason they gave for spiritual growth was pain.

The big difference between us and God, he writes, 

is that God doesn't think he is us. In pain, we get that clearly.

Don't miss Sunday's follow-up.

Purpose or Chance?  

   Are we God's purposeful design, or complicated creatures that somehow evolved out of something that somehow evolved out of something that somehow evolved out of...?

   In a WORLD magazine article, STANDING ON GENESIS, Rachel Aldrich explains, "The Bible shows that God made the universe and life with purpose." 

   "Darwinism is purposeless. The Bible opens with a statement of intention: 'In the beginning, God created...' The Bible also says, 'I Praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.'" (Psalm 139:14) 

   "Darwinism speculates (scientists cannot 'know') that some cells survived; others did not. The Bible (written over 15 centuries) speaks of the goodness of a loving Creator, his world being 'very good.'"

   "Careful balances in biology, physics and more allow life to exist. Not random chance." 

   "The intelligent design community's existence contradicts the notion that science equals evolution," she writes. "You don't to have a commitment to Christianity (or any other religion) to recognize that the world didn't spring from blind selection."

   "Paul wrote, 'For his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world.'" (Romans 1:20)

~ ~ ~

It's far more than an intellectual debate.

Every human life is eternal.

Belief leads to eternal salvation. Disbelief leads to eternal doom.

It is impossible for human eyes and other systems to have evolved. 

God knocks on our front door. (Rev. 3:20) But we must hear and open it.

 Jimmy

Someone Said...  

God who does not violate

our wills has a thousand

  ways to move upon them.

How often the great interests

of society are sacrificed

to the vanity, to the conceit,

and to the obstinacy of individuals.

   Christians are to live - not as judge and jury of our neighbors - but as believing all things (1 Corinthians 13:7) regarding their potential. The Lord is not finished with my neighbor any more than he is finished with me. 

   Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters (Luke 11:23) says the Lord, the only qualified Judge.

Too Easily Pleased

American culture says that real life requires the gratification of our desires.

Distorted spirituality says real life requires the elimination of our desires,

Buddhism, for example.

Jesus says that real life requires the transformation of our desires.

If you are thirsty - unsatisfied desires - "come to me."

Desire itself is an invitation to seek God's presence.

C.S. Lewis wrote,

"Indeed, if we consider the staggering nature of the rewards 

promised in the Gospels, it would seem that 

our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak.

 We are far too easily pleased."

- John Ortberg

GOD IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

Conducting

14 years working in a Westinghouse transformer plant

taught me a few things about invisible electricity.

Alternating current never leaves the power plant.

A generator generates pressure in electrons.

A "power" transformer increases the voltage along copper lines.

Near the customers, "step-down" transformers gradually

reduce voltage, as current increases.

The "electrons" you use tomorrow will be the same you used today.

From start to finish, voltage and current is "conducted." 

Little did I know then that I can be a conductor.

I say, "As you wish," and the invisible Lord does as he pleases.

Unlike electricity, there is no "charge."

2,000 years ago people wouldn't have understood,

so Scripture says, (invisible) "streams of living water will flow from within."

The Holy Spirit is the generator, the power, and also a conductor.

Does He dwell in you?

His Dream; Our Knowledge, conclusion

Iron and Clay

   Nebuchadnezzar - dictator that he was - fell prostrate before Daniel, the Hebrew exile. He was swept off his feet. 

   The young man had miraculously described his awesome dream. The king promoted Daniel in his royal court. And he made his three friends rulers over the entire province, along with the "wise men" he had nearly executed. 

   In Daniel 4, see the king's "humble" letter to the world, concluding, Now, I ... praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. 

   Do we believers - knowing the rest of the story - praise and exalt and glorify our Lord and Savior?

   The head of gold represented the Neo-Babylonian empire (605-539 B.C.). From there came astrology. 

   The chest and arms would be the Medo-Persian empire of Cyrus (539 B.C.). From there came ethics.

   The belly and thighs represented the empire of Alexander the Great (330 B.C.). From the Greeks came art and philosophy.

   The legs and feet would be the Roman empire, law and peace-by-military strength (about 67 B.C.). Rome (iron) subdued the known world (including reestablished Israel) as no previous empire had done. 

   Get ready: Our commentary says feet and toes "probably represent nationalistic states in the area of the Roman empire since it fell." More accurately - dissolved into a continuing rise and fall of strong and brittle states.  

   Did the USA adopt the values of the above four empires, paying lip service to God? 

   In the last chapters of Revelation read how our age concludes, followed by the rule of the Rock (Messiah), then the "powder" of the universe blown away, and finally the new heaven and earth.

   World philosophy and values must be completely destroyed before Christ's kingdom (the fifth) is established. Don't love your possessions too much.

  

A Dream for All, part 2

   The Babylonian who swallowed up his known world was king, judge and jury. And he was furious with his wise men, ordering their execution - no defense attorney required.

   Daniel was a young Jewish exile, himself on the proverbial chopping block. God had revealed to him the meaning of the king's dream. Daniel praised the Lord in some 80 words, as translated into English. Daniel 2.

   The commander took Daniel before the king to reveal the vision. He first assured the king that this wasn't his wisdom, but, there is a God in heaven. 

   Daniel described an enormous, dazzling, awesome statue of a man in the dream. It's head was pure gold, its chest and arms, silver, and its belly and thighs, bronze. (Note the descending values.)  

   Finally, there were legs of iron mixed with baked clay. 

   A supernatural rock struck the feet and the entire statue broke into pieces. It became chaff, which the wind blew away, while the rock filled the whole earth. 

   The king's jaw must have dropped as Daniel described his dream. 

   Now, the interpretation. You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory. You are that head of gold. 

   The king responded with a big sigh of relief, and felt proud. You think? 

   After you another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. (More pride.) Next, a third kingdom will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron. 

   Just as you saw the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom. ...this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle...and will not remain united... 

   Then Daniel revealed what we all need to know. The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed... It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock... 

Tomorrow: Bringing it home

A Dream for the Ages  

   Is the USA mentioned in the Bible? Of course not. Are we connected to Biblical prophecy? Hmmm. Could be, and it would explain some present-day issues. 

   In 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar somehow had the power to form a pagan kingdom in Babylon, where modern Iraq lies. He took no guff from anyone. We'll just refer to "the king" so we don't have to type his name again. 

   The king had lots of officials, like U.S. presidents, along with magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers...referred to as "wise men." After all, when you have a number of gods, you need wise men to interpret.

   Babylon crushed surrounding civilizations, last of all, Judah. 

   They took back to Babylon numerous Jewish survivors considered useful, we guess. One of them was a young man named Daniel, and three of his close friends. They were trained to serve in the kingdom. 

   But Daniel, unwilling to defile himself with pagan ways, even at the risk of death, found help in avoiding the rules. He was the true wise man. He and his friends were taught knowledge and understanding, and Daniel was able to interpret dreams (we assume - a gift from God). Daniel chapter 1. 

   In Daniel 2, the king had a dream that troubled him greatly. 

   The next morning, he assembled his wise men, demanding interpretation, and if they couldn't do it, they would be "cut to pieces." Daniel etc. were not with them, but because they served in the same "department," they were at risk also.

   Astrologers told the king no one on earth can do what he asks. No king has ever asked such a thing from any magician or enchanter or astrologer. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods.

   Can you see the king's face getting red? An order of execution went out.

   Daniel spoke to the commander of the king's guard with wisdom and tact. With his help he asked the king for time, went to his house to pray, and that night God revealed the mystery in a vision. 

Tomorrow: Get it right, or die

Walk in the Joy of Your Salvation

   Therefore, with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And in that day you will say: 'Praise the Lord, call upon his name; declare his deeds among the peoples; make mention that his Name is exalted.'  - Isaiah 12:3-4 

   Through God's grace, goodness, tender mercies and everlasting hope, we have been given a happy heart. His love brought us our salvation, and it is only in his salvation that we are assured of living happily ever after.

   Dayspring.com

Lessons from 2,000 Years Ago

   Numerous American churches have closed, or are treading water. Maybe we should see what made the first church so dynamic.

* They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching.

* And to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 

* Everyone one was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 

* All the believers were together and had everything in common. !  

* Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 

* Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. 

* They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. 

* And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

! This wasn't communism, not a dictatorship of elites ruling the poor masses.

Some equality, yes, but voluntary love and concern for others.

     Acts 2:42-47

Thy will be done

or

My will be done.

From one moment to the next, we make choices.

What will I do next? How will I treat him, or her?

What will I do with this money?

Where will I allow this temptation to lead me? 

The heart that learns to say,

"As you wish"

opens itself to the Power of the universe.

It does not matter the task, great or small,

or if we are famous or obscure. 

- John Ortberg   

               

"The Gulf Stream can pass through a straw,

if the straw aligns itself with the Gulf Stream."

   - Anne Lamott                 

             

As you wish

For centuries, those wisest have insisted

that this one line is the door

that opens the heart to the presence of God. 

There is no greater expression of love

than a freely submitted will.

As you wish.

Brother Lawrence wrote,

"Let us often remember, dear friend,

that our sole occupation in life is to please God."

- John Ortberg                   

Walk in Total Dependency 

   Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none upon the earth that I desire besides you. - Psalm 73:25  

   Have no other option but Jesus. Trust in no other power but that of the Holy Spirit. Place zero confidence in the flesh and 100 percent confidence in the Lord. Without him we can do nothing. With him all things are possible.

   Walk with gratitude. 

   Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7  

   Our hearts were made to be filled with thankfulness. It takes no grace to complain. Peace is the partner of thanksgiving. 

In everything give thanks. 

   Thank him for his names, his blessings, his grace, his love, his mercy, his goodness, his glory, his beauty, his ways...

         Dayspring.com  (NKJV)

Thanksgiving Day, November 25 

We can start practicing today

Forgiveness, Then Fellowship 

   We wrote recently about love, and that our Lord calls the forgiven to love him more than anyone. 

   We mentioned the unfortunate translation in the gospel of Luke telling us to hate our family members, but love God. No. No. No. We love others, but we give Jesus our best...whatever that means in our individual lives. Remember the woman who put two coins - all she had - in the offering, and Jesus singled her out.   

   God created us and he has our eternal destiny in his hands. Family ties and friendships are important and valuable, but no relationship rises to the level of fellowship with our sovereign Lord.

   God is known as our Father. He created eggs in women and sperm in men. It was easy for him to create one "miracle" sperm in a virgin's body. Jesus indeed was and is his Son. 

   His Son grew up and his Father substituted him for us on the cross. Now he wishes to be our Lord, and also friend, something we'll understand best when we see him. Meanwhile, there is no other way, but to trust and obey.

            Jimmy

PS. Suppose Jesus spoke to your spirit saying, "The worst day of my life is yet to come." It's not the crucifixion, but consigning people of his creation to hell that troubles him most.  See Revelation 20:11-15. 

He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9

     

 How to Walk  

A few tips from the Bible

Walk in faith and expectation

   Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down and the mountains trembled before you! Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, and no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him! - Isaiah 64:1, 3-4

   We live in a Kingdom of wow where God reigns! God did, God does, and God will do wonders. No one has stripped him of his might. He is the God of miracles. 

   Look to the Lord, not to do fewer things, but more things; not to do lesser things, but greater things; not to do some things, but all things. 

   The greatest wonders are not in nature but in grace. Faith unites the weakling with the almighty.

Dayspring.com

I Don't Hate Them...Honest! 

   Mom and Dad were faithful parents. In fact, I appreciate them even more than when I was young. 

   I also love my wife and my children and grandchildren, and my sister and all her family. I don't think in terms of loving myself, but I sure don't hate myself...just my sins.  

   Then I turn to Luke 14:26-27 and read what Jesus says is the Cost of Being a Disciple. 

   If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

   Well, that leaves me out!

   Unless the disciple Matthew can help. In verses 10:37-39, he quotes Jesus, Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 

   That's better. 

   Translation from one language to another makes the difference. Our commentary says, the word in Luke translated "hate" means "love less." Whew! 

   If we want to be a true disciple - pastor? missionary? - Jesus demands that our loyalty to and love for him be greater than every other attachment. The cost is - to give up all relationships and possessions, material things, family, our own lives, desires, plans and interests. This doesn't mean rejection of all things, but to place them at Christ's service and under his guidance.  

   This misunderstanding is also found about 430 B.C. when Malachi wrote what the Lord said to him, "Was not Esau Jacob's brother? Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated..." 

   Here, the term translated "hated" means only that God chose Jacob and not Esau to inherit the covenant promises, and to be one of the forefathers of the chosen people from whom the Messiah would come. 

            Jimmy

 GOD'S PREFERRED DWELLING PLACE

A writer put it this way,

"Jesus frequently chose the humble, poor, rejected and despised.

They are often the preferred dwelling place of God."

Mother Teresa said,

"We should not ask to do great things for God,

but to do small things with great love.

C.S. Lewis wrote,

"What matters, what Heaven desires and Hell fears,

is precisely that further step,

out of our depth, out of our own control."

GOD IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

TAKING IT PERSONALLY

Jesus of Nazareth never left Palestine.

When it was time for him to leave his bodily presence behind,

He told his disciples they were blessed,

because the Holy Spirit would dwell within them

and the his presence then would spread to the world.

Where two or three are gathered together in my name,

there am I in the midst of them.

Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine,

you did for me.

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord.

No one has seen God; but if we love one another,

God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

When Saul was terrorizing and jailing Jesus' followers,

the Lord spoke audibly from above, asking,

Why do you persecute me?

He identifies that closely with his people.

- John Ortberg

Can We Talk? 

   If we are like minded culturally, yes. If not, probably not.

   For eight years living in South Carolina, we were accepted into the Gideons, an organization of businessmen. They raise funds to send small Bibles throughout the world to people groups who generally have none. They also place full Bibles in hotels/motels. If you're a Christian, especially in the South, your church might host Gideon speakers from time to time. 

   Gideons ask pastors for time to speak. We did some of that speaking, and our "camp" met Saturday mornings for breakfast and prayer. Gideon wives also have important roles. 

   There are camps in some 200 countries and territories.   

   Today, there is division in our land, once considered a "melding pot." Reason doesn't persuade. Words mean whatever someone pleases. Debate has decayed. 

   If someone hates X, we are free and in our right minds only if we agree. If they love X, we are free and in our right minds only if we agree.

   It's not just the U.S. The parliament in Australia passed The Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021. 

   The title is maddening enough. The act says that people seeking Biblical counseling cannot possibly be doing so with sound judgment because "the pressures and imbalances of power involved mean that such 'consent' cannot be truly free or autonomously expressed." 

   Do we need to repeat that? I thought not.

   Christians are not going to persuade such people. But, God can talk ... the foolishness of what was preached, wrote Paul to the Corinthians. 

   Not philosophy or linguistic skills. It is the Word that is the power of God for salvation. - Romans 1:16. We have no power but the Word of God.

   Now I understand better than I did as an active Gideon, the organization's favorite verse: 

So is my word that goes out from my mouth: 

It will not return to me empty, 

but will accomplish what I desire and 

achieve the purpose for which I sent it. - Isaiah 55:11 

    

   

   

   

BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWAL OF YOUR MIND 

   We turned the page in a magazine and there was this double-page ad for a student edition of the Reformation Study Bible. We're not recommending this Bible nor opposing it.

   We just enjoyed seeing what we believe wholeheartedly.

   The mind is a battleground, bombarded with the ideas and opinions of a fallen world. The ad says, "Arm yourselves with truth by reading God's Word, and think his thoughts after him. 

Identity vs. Personhood  

   The factors that shape us most are those we did not choose - beginning with our being, itself, writes Janie B, Cheaney in WORLD magazine. 

   We had nothing to do with our birth, our parents or grandparents, our race or country. We had nothing to do with our family's income level or physical, medical issues we might have had. 

   Children don't control what grown-ups think is necessary for us to learn. They in turn can't control what we actually learn. 

   The person I became is somewhat different from my sister, as she is from me (lucky her). 

   My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, woven in the depths of the earth.  - Psalm 139:15 

   "Identity fixes on one feature to the detriment of others," Cheaney writes. "Skin color describes a person, but it's not the person. Personhood escapes easy classification. What we are remains essentially mysterious, known fully to God alone." 

   She concludes, "Identity turns inward, but personhood expands outward. The saints in Hebrews 11 and the saints of today share one trait in common: Our eyes are fixed on things unseen. We seek not a handcrafted identity, but God's promise fulfilled - fully and finally in us, when we see him as He is." 

             Jimmy

   

God Moves in a Mysterious Way 

God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform; 

He plants his footsteps in the sea,

And rides upon the storm.

     Deep in unfathomable mines

     Of never-failing skill,

     He treasurers up his bright designs,

     And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints fresh courage take;

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

With blessing on your head. 

     Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

     But trust him for his grace;

     Behind a frowning providence

     He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,

Unfolding every hour;

The bud may have a bitter taste,

But sweet will be the flower. 

     Blind unbelief is sure to err,

     And scan his work in vain;

     God is his own interpreter,

     And he will make it plain.

William Cowper (1731-1800)

Mysterious God  

   If you think the ways of God are mysterious, William Cowper knew it in the 18th century. 

   His mother died when he was six. He was teased and ridiculed by other kids. His father prevented him from marrying the girl he loved. 

   Forced to study law, Cowper panicked before his bar exam - and tried to commit suicide. After a year in an insane asylum, he was released into the care of a Christian couple. 

   He wrote poetry, and hymn writing became his therapy. Cowper often lapsed into depression. It's like his self-portrait in the "fearful saints" and "fresh courage" he wrote about in the hymn we will post here tomorrow. 

~

   Then the Lord came down in the cloud ... And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. 

   'Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.' 

 - Exodus 34:5-7 

Tomorrow: God Moves in a Mysterious Way