Luke 6:46-49 Sadly, it happened again, just as it happens in nearly every situation in which flood waters are involved. Everyone has heard the warning: Don’t drive through flood waters. Engines can stall out, and both vehicle and occupants can be stranded. Or the vehicle can skid off the roadway into even deeper water. Or rising and moving water can carry a vehicle away into even more hazardous and life-threatening situations. It happened most recently during hurricane Florence. Some people were driving through flood waters. Many vehicles were stranded and became total losses. Some motorists drowned when what they were driving was picked up by the moving waters and carried away. What causes people to ignore a warning which has proven to be valid time and again? Let us offer some suggestions. Pride could easily be a factor. You know, it’s the old “This won’t happen to me” thing. “I’m a good driver; very careful.” Experience may play a part. Maybe they drove through flood waters before, and all was well. Perhaps they’ve seen others do it. Then there are those who don’t believe the authorities. They think they are being overly cautious and just trying to control people. Finally there are those who just don’t pay attention. They live in their own world and are oblivious to what’s going on around them. We can make similar application to our spiritual lives. Jesus warns us in several places about listening to His voice and doing what He says to do. And with Jesus, we know He’s telling the truth, and His words will come to pass just as He says. However, many just don’t listen to what He teaches. Others don’t believe Him. Many purposefully ignore Him. Still others half-heartedly do some of what He says. When Jesus speaks, we need to listen. Whatever He says to do, we should do it. After all, He knows what He’s talking about. Jesus is the Word of God.

Mark 10:17-31 Automobile insurance companies are some of the most prolific advertisers on television. They are all saying you can save more by switching to their product. Another message used to get customers is to stress that you can get the “minimum coverage” with their company so you can drive legally. Minimum coverage would generally cost you the least in premiums (which is what many drivers are looking for), but it may not be sufficient for your particular vehicle, driving habits or location. When it comes to serving God and being a disciple of Jesus, many people are looking for “minimum coverage” - doing only what is absolutely necessary to receive eternal life. The rich man who came to Jesus (see our scripture) appears to have been such a person. He asks what sounds like a good question on the surface, but as the conversation unfolds we can see that he was really asking about the least he had to do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus had told him to keep certain of the commandments, his heart probably leapt for joy since he declared that he had kept these from the time he was young. But following the ways of God has always been about more than keeping commandments, and Jesus takes the young man to the next level- above the minimum. Jesus tells this man that he lacked one thing and needed to go sell all he had, give to the poor and come and follow Him. Then, he would have “treasure in heaven.” The young man became disheartened and went away sorrowful for he had much property. His possessions possessed him - not the other way around! When it comes to having faith in God and following Jesus, there are no minimums. We either serve Jesus or we don’t. We are either for Him or against Him. We either listen to His voice or we don’t. We’re either all in or we’re not.

Deuteronomy 1:1-8, 19-40 Set rather conspicuously at the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy is this rather matter-of-fact statement: “It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea” ( v 2). At first inkling, one might think Moses was simply noting another leg of the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness, but as we read further, we discover that the Israelites were not then at Kadesh-barnea but on the east side of the Jordan River in the land of Moab (v 5). So what is the Holy Spirit doing by inserting what seems to be a purely informational note? Israel was now poised to cross the Jordan and begin taking possession of Canaan.Their journey of forty years (v 3) was over. Their wandering resulted when God had led them to the southern border of Canaan where they sent twelves spies to investigate the land. All of the spies reported that the land was indeed rich and bountiful, but ten spoke of giants and well-fortified cities. Only Caleb and Joshua believed they could defeat the inhabitants and take possession. However, the people listened to the bad report of the ten and complained against Moses and God. As a result, God refused to allow that generation to enter the land, and He caused them all to wander in the wilderness until that generation died off. Now that time of wandering was finally over - forty years of eating manna, living in tents, moving from place to place to place, watching the sun sink into the parched desert every evening - forty years of watching a generation die off. So, why does Moses point out that eleven days’ journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea? Horeb is Mount Sinai. After receiving the law at Sinai, Israel went directly to Kadesh-barnea to begin conquering Canaan. It was from there that they had sent out the twelve spies! Because of fear and unbelief, what should have been a journey of only eleven days turned into forty years of wandering. Surely there are lessons in all of this for us.

Acts 9:1-19; 22:6-16; 26:9-18 It was now the afternoon of the third day, but nothing had changed. Everything continued dark: he still could not see. None of those who had accompanied him had come to see him. He had been offered food and water by someone but refused. Whatever this was; Whoever this was - it was too serious a time for food. Not that he was hungry, for it was the bright light and the Voice of three days before which filled his mind. And then another vision about someone named Ananias who was coming so he could regain his sight. And his prayers - feeble, grasping, struggling. “How could I have missed Him? How could I have misunderstood?” These thoughts pulsated in his over-worked mind. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” “Indeed I was. Those poor defenseless people. Lord, can you ever forgive me? But now I know why they joyfully submitted and even gave their lives. Now I know. You are alive. Alive!” “I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.” “Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter. The preacher, the miracle worker. The One who rattled and dumbfounded both the Pharisees and Sadducees. The One who was crucified by Pilate - He is Messiah. How could I not have seen all of this?” “...for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness...rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.” “Yes, Lord, people must hear that you are alive from the dead. People need to be brought out of their darkness into your blazing light. People need to hear that forgiveness of sins now comes through faith in you. The world needs to know...” A knock on the door. “Brother Saul? My name is Ananias...”

Proverbs 1:5-6 Much of life is about learning. If one isn’t inclined to learn, he is doomed to bring upon himself much disappointment and trouble. Learning is available most everywhere, but especially are we counseled to learn from God and to live by His wisdom. Allow me in this little piece to share some of the things which I’ve learned over the years. Perhaps you’ve learned some of these same things. I’ve learned... ...that if you smile, things just go a lot better. ...that if you pay your bills, they won’t shut off your service. ...that sin influences us so easily and in such subtle ways. ...that if you attend to the small things, the big things get handled. ...that God answers prayer in ways you’d never dream of. ...that sometimes God helps you open your mouth, and sometimes He helps you keep it shut. ...not to put labels on people; they are almost impossible to get off. ...that help will come from the most surprising places. ...that if you aren’t doing it for Jesus, you’re wasting your time. ...that zeal for the Lord is catching. ...that you can overstay your welcome; you can talk too much; and you can over eat at the “all you can eat” buffet. ...that every person has a story. ...not to overlook anybody. ...that if someone volunteers, say “Yes!” ...that old ways of thinking and of doing are hard to change. ...to pray - a lot! ...that Jesus is truly the answer to everything. ...that God is always there - no matter what.

Genesis 2:7 The Genesis account of the creation of man ought to give us more than a hint about what is needed to sustain human life. And knowing about the many parallels between physical life and spiritual life given in scripture, we can also learn from this about what is needed to sustain life for the soul. The Lord God is at work making Adam out of the dust. So it’s easy to see that God is the Creator and the One orchestrating the entire affair. But this isn’t our main point. Picture the body of the man being formed in the hands of God. Every component is carefully considered, designed, created and put into place. Finally, the body is complete, but there’s still no life. Just an unanimated body. This is our point. It isn’t until God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” that man became a living soul. The breath of life came from God which means it came from outside of the man. This theme is carried out in the functioning of our bodies to this day. Our bodies do not have life within themselves. To have life, our bodies must have things which are external to our bodies. We need to breathe oxygen from the air. We need food and water from the surrounding environment. When we do not have a regular intake of these things, our bodies falter and die. We die. The same holds true for the soul, our spiritual selves. Since each one has sinned, we are already dead (Ephesians 2:5). “The soul who sins will die” (Ezekiel 18:4). To have life (meaning “eternal life” since the soul is in view), we need something outside of ourselves to give us that life. Eternal life is not within ourselves. Enter the grace of God through Jesus Christ to give us life. Through His conquering sin in the flesh, His death for our sins and His resurrection from the dead we can now have eternal life. Buried with Him in baptism, our sins are washed away, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit of life. It is now Christ who dwells in us. He is our life! (Galatians 2:20) Praise God for the life of Christ!!

1 Corinthians 16:22 It has become commonplace for many Christians to use the following expression when they are discussing their lives and their service to the Lord: “God understands.” You have most likely heard this and may have said it yourself. So we don’t misunderstand, let’s understand how this saying is often used. This expression is not an affirmation that God has divine omniscience, nor is it an assertion that God knows the individual inside and out. It isn’t even being used as an affirmation that God knows what’s happening in my life. This is being offered as an excuse for not doing what God has called His people to be and to do. Some time ago, a member shared with me why they had failed to attend the assembly for months. The reason was that they must work every Sunday to make ends meet. Thus, he could not attend any assembly nor associate with the church at any time because of this “hand to mouth” existence. But, you see, “God understands.” In other words, God sees this person’s terrible plight and gives him a pass on any opportunity for coming to worship, Bible study, etc., since his life is just one continuous slavish grind to eke out a living. “God understands” that my schedule is so packed that I have no time to make a visit to someone. “God understands” that my spouse frowns on my coming to the assembly, that somebody thirty years ago in the church hurt my feelings, that Sunday morning is a special family time for us, that Sunday is the only day of the week I have to “rest up”, that I am just not as spiritual as some other folks. Here is what God understands - that His beloved Son was plotted against, railroaded, lied about, cruelly treated, betrayed, mocked, made to wear a crown of thorns, slapped, scourged, crucified, and eyed with defiance as He died. He endured all of this to save every last one of us. God also understands this: “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed...”

Matthew 12:9-16; Luke 6:6-11 It was another disingenuous question from hard and disbelieving hearts. It wasn’t the first one, and it wouldn’t be the last. “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” The sacred Sabbath. The commandment was: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy...in it you shall not do any work...” But over the years the Jews had devised numerous other “laws” to specify the limits of Sabbath work, and then used them as a way to define who was truly holy in an effort to control the people. Obviously, Jesus did not agree with their views on the Sabbath. His question cuts right to the heart of the whole matter: “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” In asking this question He removes healing from the “work” category and places it into the “good” category. Could these nay-sayers and “aginners” possibly disagree with doing a good and helpful deed on the Sabbath? Well, hearts mired in the mudhole of tradition and man-made rules can rarely clear away the muck to see the reality in a situation. So they all just waited to see what Jesus would do “that they might find reason to accuse Him.” Jesus readily accommodated them, not just to rile them (like poking a stick at a sleeping bear), but to show them the truth, and to let them know that Someone was here that would no longer stand for their self-made, restrictive and misguided rules. “Stretch out your hand!” He says to the man who had the withered right hand. And this curled up, shrunken, pale hand is extended out from under a cloak - an ugly sight and a witness to so much that was wrong in the world. But then, right in plain view of everyone, the hand changed and was made complete like the other! Incredible! A true miracle! Fantastic!! What a Lord! What a God!! Thank you, Jesus, for being our Savior. But the others went out to conspire how to destroy Him. This, too, is incredible.

2 Chronicles 25:5-13 Not one of us likes to make a bad decision and “mess up.” We usually try to do things well, think things through, and make informed choices. This is especially true when it comes to decisions involving money. But as careful as we might be, there are still times when our decision just doesn’t pan out. Those tires didn’t get the mileage you thought they would. That wash machine broke down after just three years. You find out you could have purchased the same lawn mower for $75 less at a different store. And so it goes. Now, we certainly aren’t advocating that we can be careless with money. Good stewardship is characterized by thoughtful giving and wise budgeting. But in a broken world (which includes ourselves), it doesn’t always work out. Amaziah, king of Judah, found that out the hard way. Amaziah was going to war with Edom, so he mustered his own troops. Evidently he didn’t think they alone were enough so he hired 100,000 warriors from Israel for 100 talents of silver. A talent is about 75 pounds so we’re talking about 7500 pounds of silver! At today’s exchange rate (as of this writing), that would be over $1,800,000. A tidy sum! Well, the Lord was not pleased with Amaziah’s plan, namely the hiring of the soldiers from Israel. So he sent a prophet to Amaziah who told him not to let the army of Israel go with him to this war because “the Lord is not with Israel.” The word was that if he took them along God would bring him down before the enemy. Amaziah was quite ready to send the men from Israel away, but he had this question - “What about the 100 talents of silver?” God’s reply through the prophet is profound: “The Lord has much more to give you than this.” Wow! So Amaziah made a bad choice about Israel, and the Lord says not to worry! He is able to bless with much more than those 100 talents of silver. His resources are endless. What a great lesson! What a comforting lesson for us.

Acts 11:26 We have all seen them - personalized license plates. Perhaps you have them. People order these plates to particularly identify themselves or bring them some recognition as to who they are or what they do. Personal initials are popular. We also see such monikers as EMT, GRMMA, MOMTAXI, etc. We want folks to recognize us and to know something about us. Now where God is concerned, He does not need for us to tell Him anything about ourselves. Paul writes: “The Lord knows those who are His...” (2 Timothy 2:19). He knows those who are His sheep, and He knows all about each one of His sheep! Also, the Lord has given His people a name to wear by which they can be recognized. It is an honorable and noble name (James 2:7). It is the only name given in the New Testament for Jesus’ disciples to wear. It is the name CHRISTIAN (Acts 11:26). When worn by an individual the name Christian does two things. First, it glorifies Christ Jesus. He is honored in that this person has chosen to believe in Him and be one of His followers. Secondly, that person is recognized as one who belongs to Christ and has given themselves in service to God’s Anointed. In the early days of the church when there was violent persecution by the Roman authorities (often to death), the name Christian had great power. When the officers attempted to persuade believers to offer incense to Caesar and repeat “Caesar is Lord,” the frequent response to them was: “Christianus sum!” This simply translates, “I am a Christian.” That was their answer. It said it all. In some countries today, Christians are hated and persecuted. Even in our own country, people who wear the name Christian are despised by many because of what it stands for: a creator God who has given us a moral code, pro-life, man-woman marriage, etc. The name Christian is still powerful - powerful because of the Christ who stands behind it. Wear it with honor.

Matthew 11:15 The other day I was driving down our alley and came across a dangerous situation. A young man was cutting the grass in the back of the property between a fence and the alley. The strip of grass was not very wide so he had to keep stepping back into the alley in order to reposition the mower. Well, this isn’t such a bad situation as long as the person would keep checking for traffic. Here’s what made it dangerous. He had himself “plugged in!” With his ear buds in his ears and the mower roaring away, he could not hear me approach. I slowed down to a crawl, but he kept stepping back into the alley and never saw me. If I hadn’t been alert and extra cautious, I would have hit him. This brought to my mind Jesus’ words: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This young man had his ears tuned to one thing and was unable to hear my vehicle approach. He did not have “ears to hear” something for which he should have been listening. Jesus’ warning is so true. We all have ears with which to hear, but so many people are just tuned in to certain things. They listen to their favorite music, to talk about their sports teams, hobbies, movies, etc., to those with their own political views, their favorite speakers, those who agree with them. But by and large God is turned out. Opposing views are tuned out. Anything challenging is tuned out. For some, anything different is tuned out. For many, they only hear themselves. Their ears hear only what they want to hear. Jesus means for us certainly to be listening for His voice, His words, and then take them to heart. If we have a closed mind to a new thought on a scripture, we will never hear it. If we have a closed mind to certain individuals, we will never hear their good words. If we are so tuned in to the world, we will not be in a position to hear Jesus when He calls for us to do something or wants to teach us some important truth. Don’t be plugged in. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Shirley and I enjoy going out for breakfast from time to time, and we have several restaurants which we visit when we choose to start our day this way. Recently, we went to one of our usual eateries for breakfast, but when we went in there was not a single booth or table available. It was totally packed! Since it was a small diner, and there wasn’t any place to wait for a table, we decided to go to another one of our regular stops. But that was the strangest feeling - as if the diner were saying: “There is no place for you here. You are not wanted. Go some place else.” This whole episode caused me to think of the kingdom of God, in particular the fact that the kingdom will never be full. There won’t be anyone standing at the door to say: “Sorry, no room.” There will always be room for more in the church of our Lord. Jesus gives us these words: “...the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” This would indicate that there is always room for “one more” in the kingdom, but it also indicates much more. He is saying that no matter what your situation or your background if you come to Jesus, He will welcome you. No matter what sins you’ve committed, no matter how many you’ve committed, no matter what kind of trouble you’re in at the moment, no matter how many problems you have, no matter if you’re into drugs or booze or porn or gambling - Jesus will not say “No!” He will say, “Come in.” This demonstrates the great love of our God to save every person. This demonstrates the great reach of the grace of God through the blood of Christ Jesus to forgive every sin. This demonstrates the determined will of the Father that He desires all people to be saved. Things are different where God is involved. Remember when Jesus came to the earth? How there was no room for Him and His parents in the inn? But now with Jesus, there is room, more than enough room, room for everybody! Thank you, Jesus.