Bible Ballistics: “BBs”    Friendship??  #41

As we’ve talked about heartache recently, I couldn’t help but think about one of the ways that God helps us in our heartache.   He sends us friends, but what does a ‘real’ friend look like?  Not a ‘thumbs up’ sign.

Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

A real friend loves all the time, but what is love?  Biblical love, ‘agape’, is unselfish, unconditional love.  The love of God (which He places in us when we are saved, see Rom 5:5) always does that which is best for the beloved. To be a ‘real’ friend, I will always do the best for my friends.

Proverbs 18:24, “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

To have friends,

I must be a friend—

The giver—rather than the receiver.

Selfless—rather than selfish.

Generous—rather than greedy.

Kind—rather than demanding.

Why?  Because God’s love is in us (Romans 5:5)!!!!

1 Samuel 18:1, “…..that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”

David and Jonathan were bound by a loving, committed friendship.  Praise God if you have a friend like that.  But more importantly be that friend.  Praise God for friendship.

That the heartaches can be shared,

and burdens carried by two instead of one.

Thank you Jesus for my friends.

So???  Here’s our shot for the day.  Be a friend and thank God for your friends!!

So??  Jesus calls us HIS friend.

John 15:15b,  “…but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

Jesus is not only my best friend, HE also teaches me to be a friend to others.

Who needs your friendship today?

Who needs to know you appreciate them?

Thank God and thank them,

while they can hear your kind words.

Give your roses while the recipient can smell them.

Bible Ballistics: Heart Healer? March 9, 2014 Vol.3 No.17

Ever have a heartache?  Ever have one that seemed to linger so long that you wondered if you’d ever get over it?  Most of us have had some kind of heartache, some so difficult that we weren’t sure that we could ever get over them.  I’d like us to consider this dilemma and what, if any recourse that we might have.

Let’s begin with the hope of Jesus mentioned in several passages:

Isaiah 25:8, “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.”

Revelation 7:17, “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

Revelation 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Oh, what a glorious promise and hope we have in Jesus—a time when all of our tears will be wiped away with all crying.  Those times when we have cried until we thought there was not another drop of water left in our body.  The nights when we wept till the dawn broke into our sorrow.  Those days when we only overcame the tears to preserve our pride and privacy.  When we are with Jesus—we will never have to cry again.  God Himself shall wipe away our tears.

But, what about now?  What do we to do in the mean time?  One of my favorite verses reminds us that God knows those times and seasons—if will but learn to trust HIM with them, all of them.

Psalm 126:5, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”

Isaiah 38:5a, “Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears:”

Psalm 56:8-9, “Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? 9 When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.”

Remember, God never wastes anything, even our tears.  He brings ‘joy’, out of sorrow–He ‘hears’ our prayers—and ‘sees’ our ‘tears’.  He holds our ‘tears’ as in a bottle for safekeeping, and records them in His ‘book’.  I believe perhaps to show us one day all the marvelous things HE made out of ‘tears’.  Because GOD is always ‘for us’.  As Romans 8:31 says,

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”

Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”   (Remember 2 Cor. 5:21)

Are we willing to trust Him in those moments?  Is He truly trustworthy?  Can we walk through these difficult times with confidence?  Absolutely!!!  We can and we must!!

Psalm 30:4-5, “Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”  

And Romans 5:3-5 reminds us that, “ …… we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

His love in us—that we can spread His love to others. And sometimes that LOVE will spill out as tears.  Sometimes the very ministry that God calls us to can cause us to know heartache and tears, but as He promised in Jeremiah 31:16,

“Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.”  He is faithful then—and now.  Always!!!

God’s discipline is always for our ultimate good.  He is working to transform us into sons that will bring Him glory and to grow us in His grace.

Hebrews 12:5b-6, “……. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”  (See Rom 8:28-29).

Are you yielding to the hand of the Lord?  Am I willing to trust Him and His work in my life?  He is worthy of our trust, and He can handle your questions and your doubt—just listen to HIS answers.  Feast on HIS word,

“My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. 23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” 

Will you let God heal your heart HIS Way?  Give HIM your tears—He is the ‘heart healer’!!!  I thank HIM for it!!!

Bible Ballistics: “BBs”    Whose Strength??  #40

Where do we turn when we become exhausted and done in?  Those times when we’ve gone as far as we can, as long as we can?  What then?

We must Remember our source –And Praise God it’s not me, but…

 “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”  Psalm 18:2,

While God is our strength, we still must guard our energies.  We must heed Jesus admonition in Matthew 11:28-30,

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

We must continue to

“……. Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”  Galatians 5:16

and  “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”  Galatians 5:25

So???  ‘Come’ to Jesus first—don’t let the stress and confusions of life distract you from HIM.  We can rest in His “strength” –His all-sufficient, never ending strength!!!

So???   Don’t let the enemy run you weary but,

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” 1 Peter 5:7-8.

BE STRONG….  IN the Lord!!!!

Bible Ballistics: “BBs”     Confidence ????    #39

When the storms of life come at us, where do we run for help?  Jesus said in Matthew 7 that when, not if, the storms come we must have our house built on the rock.  Of course, that rock is Jesus.  But we must not only have our foundation in Jesus, we must maintain our own personal stability through HIS word.  His word which keeps my heart and mind fixed on Jesus and His ways.

Psalm  119:9, ‘Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”

Let’s look at what else Psalm 119 tells us about the word, and it’s sufficiency to build our confidence in that ROCK. That which will help us to walk right with God.  Let’s observe just a few of the verses from this great Psalm. (It will be worth your time to read the entire Psalm through at one sitting and note each paragraph’s focus).

Psalm 119:113-115, “I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love. 114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. 115 Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.”

Psalm 119:81, “My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.”

Psalm 119:146-148, “I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies. 147 I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word. 148 Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.”

So?? Get into the WORD!!!

Take heed to it—

love it—

hope in it—

keep it—

meditate on it—that means:

Read it—daily

study it—continually and deeply

understand it—by the insight of the Holy Spirit

obey it—in every thing !!!!

Then you can confidently Stand on your foundation—

Jesus and

HIS WORD!!

Bible Ballistics:Who’s Servant? March 2, 2014 Vol.3 No.16

Our title may seem a little strange, but then this article is a little strange for me to write.  Sometimes we are brought face to face with our own weakness, prejudices, convictions or understandings.  When those times come, what are we to do?  That’s the question I’d like us to consider today.  In a little different format, I’d like us simply to peruse two portions of Paul’s letter to the Romans, with very little commentary. I’ll format the verses in a way that will help us simply walk through them and consider what God is saying– to me and to you through this powerful text.

Romans chapters 12-15 give some practical help in dealing with government, other believers and our gifts and convictions.  I pray that this will speak to each of us, and that we will be able to walk right before God and others in all that we do.  That we will respond to others with grace and love, without compromising our beliefs and convictions from the Word of God.

Romans 13:7-14,

“Render therefore to all their dues:

tribute to whom tribute is due;

custom to whom custom;

fear to whom fear;

honour to whom honour.

 8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another:

for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

9 For this,

Thou shalt not commit adultery,                  

Thou shalt not kill,

Thou shalt not steal,

Thou shalt not bear false witness,

Thou shalt not covet;

and if there be any other commandment,

 it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely,

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour:

therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep:

for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand:

let us therefore cast off the works of darkness,

and let us put on the armour of light.

13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day;

not in rioting and drunkenness,

not in chambering and wantonness,

not in strife and envying.

14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,

and make not provision for the flesh,

to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

Paul continues right on into chapter 14 to show us how to relate to other believers with whom we may not always agree on things other than the ‘fundamentals’ of salvation.

Romans 14:1-14, 16 & 19

“Him that is weak in the faith receive ye,

but not to doubtful disputations.

2 For one believeth that he may eat all things:

another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

 3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not;

and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth:

for God hath received him.

4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?

to his own master he standeth or falleth.

Yea, he shall be holden up:

for God is able to make him stand.

5 One man esteemeth one day above another:

 another esteemeth every day alike.

Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

6 He that regardeth the day,

regardeth it unto the Lord;

and he that regardeth not the day,

to the Lord he doth not regard it.

He that eateth, eateth to the Lord,

for he giveth God thanks;

and he that eateth not,

to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

7 For none of us liveth to himself,

and no man dieth to himself.

8 For whether we live,

we live unto the Lord;

and whether we die,

we die unto the Lord:

whether we live therefore, or die,

we are the Lord’s.

9 For to this end Christ both died,

and rose,

 and revived,

 that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

10 But why dost thou judge thy brother?

or why dost thou set at nought thy brother?

for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

11 For it is written,

As I live, saith the Lord,

every knee shall bow to me,

and every tongue shall confess to God.

12 So then every one of us shall give account

 of himself to God.

13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more:

but judge this rather,

that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus,

that there is nothing unclean of itself:

but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean………

16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:……

19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace,

and things wherewith one may edify another.”

May God open our eyes, ears and hearts to know HIM and HIS will and way.  To follow HIM whose servant I am, and leave HIS other servants to HIS care on the secondary issues.