What Are We Leaning on for Support? 

We found out that my elderly dad had been using a towel rack in the bathroom to hold onto and to steady himself as he recovers from a fracture in one of his legs. We recognized that this was not a good thing. Towel racks were not made to hold the full weight of a person. They were meant to support the weight of towels, even heavier wet towels, but not the burden of a human being pulling on it or leaning on it. Such pressure on that wooden bar might cause it to snap or might result in the brackets pulling loose from the wall. Therefore we made arrangements to replace that rack with a grab bar – a device that could still be used to hang a towel over if desired, but was also strong enough to support someone’s weight.

It reminds me of how people lean on various things for support when they are going through life’s journey, especially when they are facing overwhelming challenges and obstacles, or in a time of weakness. We often tend to grab hold of things that can easily break or let us down. They might hold us up at times, but at any moment they could crumble or simply disappear and not be there anymore. It could be a person, even a family member or friend on whom we have depended in the past. It might be an institution or a government agency. It might be a savings account or a job or some other entity we hope will provide the support we need. While some of those may be helpful at times, we often discover how unreliable they can be.

The Bible tells us about a time when the Assyrian army was besieging the city of Jerusalem. The Assyrian leader accused Hezekiah, the king of Judah, of relying on the ruler of Egypt to come to their rescue. He said, “You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed of Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it.” In other words, Pharoah was like a towel rack that will break and not hold him up. This official continued on to point out how other nations who had depended on their various gods had succumbed to the Assyrian army. None of those so-called gods were able to save their worshipers who relied on them for help.

However, in his distress and time of need Hezekiah didn’t try to lean on another king or some other god. He reached out to take hold of the one true God. He earnestly prayed to the Lord for help. And in this case, God responded by miraculously defending His people. We are told that He sent an angel into the camp of the Assyrians, killing 185,000 of their soldiers, and resulting in the withdrawal of their army.

We can depend on God to hold us up too. He may not do something as dramatic or spectacular as He did in Hezekiah’s situation, but He will not let us down. He may choose to miraculously deliver us or change our circumstances. Or He might simply give us the strength to endure whatever hardships come our way. If we put our trust in Him, He will be with us, support us, and keep us from falling.

May we have the same spirit as the psalmist who declared: “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help…Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help” (Psalm 146:3-5).

“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7).

 

Do You Have a Before-and-After? 

Our youngest grandson recently received his first haircut. Such an event is often viewed as a milestone as it can seemingly transform the appearance of a youngster from that of an infant to boyhood. It tends to make the child look older, which can be an occasion for both a little nostalgic sadness and a measure of joy. So my daughter made sure to get some before-and-after photos of the event. Beforehand you could see his rather shaggy, long curls flowing on the back of his head. Afterwards it was replaced with a neatly-groomed shorter hairstyle. He looked great, especially as he posed for the picture with one of his cute facial expressions.

Hopefully we all have experienced a before-and-after transformation, not just in having some kind of physical makeover, but in our hearts and lives. I am referring to the change that Jesus makes in us when we come to put our trust in Him as our Savior. It constitutes a much greater milestone than a first haircut. It goes much deeper, affecting not only how we look outwardly but the kind of person we are inwardly.

The Apostle Paul makes reference to this significant change in our lives. “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another, But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:3-7).

Notice that Paul didn’t just point to the “before” picture of others but of himself too. This description fits all of us to some degree before we came to know the Lord. Maybe some of us were more foolish than others. Some may have sunk into deeper disobedience and immorality than others did. Some may have given in more to the lusts and the hatred. However we all were guilty of sin and needed to be delivered from its bondage. And it was something we could not remedy through our attempts to be good or, as Paul describes it, by our “works of righteousness.”

I am thankful that the word “but” is in that passage. It signifies a change. God showed His love and mercy toward us in sending Jesus into this world to be our Savior. Through Him, we can be saved. It isn’t a haircut or makeover. It is a cleansing that takes place in our souls. And it is accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit. It is referred to in this scripture in terms of being a regeneration and renewal. Jesus called it a new birth. It is a significant change in our relationship with God, being forgiven of our sins, received into His family, and having the assurance of eternal life.

Can you point to such a before-and-after experience in your life? It will be more dramatic for some people than for others. However, for all of us there should be some recognition of a time when we experienced a transformation in our hearts and in our relationship with the Lord. It was more than simply joining the church, getting baptized, or going through a confirmation class. It involved an actual change in our inner being that affected the kind of person we were and how we would live our lives. Let’s make sure we have been saved and cleansed by the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.  

 

It Is by the Grace of God 

One day recently I was watching a news report about the aftermath of a tornado in another part of the country. A firefighter was being interviewed about the damage that the storm left behind. He commented that it was only “by the grace of luck” that no one was seriously injured or killed. I wasn’t sure I had heard his statement correctly. Did I misunderstand? Didn’t he say, “by the grace of God”? I was able to go back and listen to the interview again. No, I wasn’t mistaken. He had said exactly what I thought he did. He attributed the lack of casualties to “the grace of luck.”

Maybe it is just me, but I had not encountered that phrase before. What does it even mean? I understand that there are people who believe in the random force of luck. Instead of giving credit to God for His blessings, they point to people simply being lucky. But where does grace fit into the picture? Grace suggests a personal being who shows us favor that we don’t deserve. It is appropriate to talk about the grace of a gracious God. However, luck has nothing to do with grace. It just randomly occurs. It reminds me of how many are increasingly using another phrase these days as a substitute for God. They talk about “the universe” doing this or causing that. They choose to acknowledge some impersonal entity instead of admitting to the existence of God and of His activity in the world.

I believe we as human beings know in our hearts that there is something beyond us – a “Higher Power” of some kind. While many may choose to call it luck, fate, the universe, or some other name to designate this impersonal force at work in the world, I am grateful to know that the Creator and Sustainer of the universe is actually an intelligent being and a personal God. He is one who cares about us, who loves us, and is wanting what is best for us. He does show us grace or favor by blessing us in many ways. Some of those are common blessings that we all get to experience – the sunshine, the rain, breath in our lungs, and so much more. Others of us get to experience additional blessings from living a life in right relationship with Him. We have been saved by grace through putting our trust in Jesus as our Savior. And we experience His grace on a daily basis as He walks with us through life, guiding us, strengthening us, and being our constant companion.

So when something good takes place or we are spared from something harmful, it is appropriate to chalk it up to the grace of God. We don’t deserve it, but He blessed us anyway. That cannot be said about luck or any other impersonal force.

Maybe this is simply another indication of the direction much of our culture is trending. People are looking for something to give credit to or to place blame on, but they are steering away from God and going other directions. They are more willing to acknowledge something impersonal than to have to deal with the implications of a Creator who has revealed truth they don’t want to receive, a God who has standards of right and wrong, and a Heavenly Father who is calling for them to come back home to Him. They prefer to talk about luck rather than the gracious actions of God.

Let’s be thankful that the Power at work in our world today is not simply an uncaring force but a loving and gracious Father. Whatever good we experience, it is truly by the grace of God.  

 

What Do the Storms Reveal about Us? 

Last week one of those summertime afternoon thunderstorms briefly brought some hail and strong wind to my neighborhood. Afterwards I discovered that those gusts had caused part of a neighbor’s dead tree to topple over into my backyard. I was somewhat surprised because I had not noticed the unhealthy condition of that tree previously as it had been hidden within a cluster of other trees.

Sometimes storms cause problems. If it rains as hard and as much as it has in some areas of our country, there is inevitably going to be flooding. And if winds are strong enough, such as from a tornado, no structures are going to be able to withstand its destructive force. However, many times the storms don’t actually cause the problems - they simply reveal issues that are already there. The rains may reveal that there are leaks in our roof or around our windows. The winds reveal the presence of a hidden dead tree. Those issues were already there, but it was the storm that brought them to the forefront.

The same holds true when it comes to the storms of life which we frequently face. We are sometimes quick to blame those storms for the damage left in their aftermath when in reality the crisis simply shed light on a problem that was already present. It wasn’t the storm that caused me to lose my temper, to cower in fear, to sink into depression, or to give in to worry. It may have been the occasion that precipitated my reaction, but it wasn’t really the cause. Apparently my trust in the Lord had already sprung some leaks. That stormy circumstance that hit didn’t lessen my faith, but it revealed that my faith wasn’t as strong as I thought it was.    

While we don’t enjoy having to face those difficult times, we can often learn from those experiences. They can show us truths about ourselves that we had failed to see before or maybe had refused to see. When we didn’t stand strong when some winds of adversity blew, we may have realized that we were not as rooted and grounded in our relationship with the Lord as we had supposed. We all have areas in our hearts and lives that still fall short of Christlikeness and need to be transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit. We still have much growing to do. The storms have a way of pointing those out to us.

It reminds me of Jesus’ story about the two men who built their houses. One house withstood the storm while the other was destroyed. The floods and wind hit both structures. The storm was not the problem. The cause of the fall of the one house was an issue that was already there before the storm hit. The house was built on unstable sand instead of on the solid rock.

What about us? Will our house stand when the storms come our way? The answer to that question may have little to do with the storm itself. Granted, some challenges we face in life are more difficult than others. Some tragedies are such that they can shake anyone. However, the main factor is not the strength of the storm but the strength of our house. Is it founded on the rock of a saving relationship with Jesus, steadfast trust in Him, and in our living in obedience to His will?

Now is the time to get our house prepared – before the storm hits. Now is the time to seal those leaks and to make sure our lives are still standing on a firm foundation. The storms will come. Let’s be ready for them.

 

Don’t Give Satan an Opportunity 

My daughter and son-in-law walked out of their house one morning to find the back windshield shattered in their truck which had been sitting overnight at the top of their driveway. While vandalism was their obvious first conclusion, upon closer examination they discovered a different cause. They realized that the window had not been broken from the outside but rather from the inside. And found among the many pieces of glass scattered in the bed of the truck was animal fur. One of the back windows of the truck had been left partially open by one of their sons riding in the backseat the previous evening. Apparently some animal had climbed in that open window and in a panic to escape had busted the back glass. What was it? From those who examined the remnants of the fur, they concluded it was a deer. Certainly a panicked deer could have caused the damage, but it was just surprising that it would have climbed through that small opening in order to get itself in that predicament.

Their situation reminds us how trouble can slip in on us if we leave any room at all for it to get in. But it is not just wild animals who innocently wander into places where they shouldn’t. It can be those who are intentionally seeking to do harm. And I am not just talking about vandals or other criminals. We have an adversary to our spiritual well-being who is always looking for some way to squeeze his way into our lives and cause trouble. The Bible warns us to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8).

One reason we need to be so watchful is because Satan doesn’t always just come announcing his presence and bursting through our door. He doesn’t always come pounding on the door like the big, bad wolf in the fairy tales, declaring that he is going to huff and puff and blow our houses down. He may simply sneak in through a window left open or a crack in the door. While he can be like a roaring lion, he can also act like a slithering snake who can find a vulnerable spot through which he can gain entrance into our lives.

Paul warns us not to “give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27). Another translation says not to let the devil gain a foothold. The idea is not to give Satan any opening of opportunity. Don’t leave any room for him to be able to squeeze in and infiltrate your life where he can cause havoc. Keep the windows of your heart closed and the doors to your soul locked tight to this deceitful and deadly intruder.

How might we give the devil an opportunity to sneak into our lives? We might open that door by flirting with some sinful behavior or attitude rather than steadfastly refusing to have anything to do with it. We may open the door by seeing how close we can get to the edge of God’s will without falling off into some kind of immoral behavior. We may leave a crack in the window when we allow our minds to wander off in certain foolish directions rather than immediately resisting those thoughts or fantasies. In the context of that verse in Ephesians, we may be opening the door for Satan when we don’t deal quickly and wisely with conflicts and anger in our hearts. He can get in, incite explosive reactions, or encourage us to brood in our anger until it turns into bitter resentment.

Leaving a window open in a truck can lead to trouble, but leaving a door cracked for the devil can do much greater harm.

 

Being on Guard Against Deception 

Recently I was sent an email expressing appreciation for my devotional book, Be a Holy Man. I have received communications before from people claiming to be familiar with the book and wanting to help me market it. I easily recognized those proposals as deceptive attempts to get my money and ignored them. However, this correspondence was different. I told my wife that if this was a scam, it was a really good one. It claimed to be from an author whose name my wife recognized as having written numerous Christian novels. The letter of commendation was several paragraphs in length, going into considerable detail about the content of my book. It gave all appearances of being from someone who had read the book and was familiar with its contents. Additionally, there was no financial request involved, only an invitation to have further communication with this person in order to share how I had come to write the book.

It sounded legitimate, and frankly it was flattering to think that a noted author would appreciate my work. However, I knew in my heart that it likely was not genuine. There were a couple of little oddities in the email that stood out to me. Therefore I looked up the author’s website, found the contact information for her representative, and sent her a note to check it out. Not surprisingly, I received a reply thanking me for checking and assuring me that the email did not come from that author. I have concluded that it must have been an AI generated letter. At least I hope if a real person was as familiar with the content of a book on holiness as this person seemed to be, that she would not be going around deceiving people.

This is just another reminder of one of the biggest dangers we face today and will have to deal with in the days ahead. Deception. And with increased technology, such deception can be harder and harder to recognize. It is not just people trying to trick us into revealing personal information or to get us to send them money, but it is also those attempting to deceive us in connection with spiritual matters and truth. Deception and lies have always been a favorite tool of Satan. But the Bible warns that in the last days this particular danger will increase as “evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (II Timothy 3:13).

How do we guard against such sophisticated deception? Don’t accept things at face value. Check them out for yourself. Go directly to the source when you can, as I did with that author. And that includes going directly to the Bible to discover what it really says about subjects. Additionally, watch for those “little red flags” – those things that just don’t seem quite right – whether in someone’s words or actions. Pray for discernment. Know those whom you can trust and seek their opinions about matters. Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as He seeks to guide you into truth.

I am not suggesting that we need to become like a few people I know. They are overly-suspicious, often think the worst of people, and question the motives of others for no reason. However, we do need to be aware of the presence of deceivers and imposters in our world. We need to keep in mind that we can’t accept every word we hear even when coming from Christian leaders. Neither can we believe everything we see due to how images can be edited.

Jesus said that even His chosen ones could be deceived in the last days. Let’s not allow that to happen to us.

 

We Must Remain Vigilant 

One day I was observing a small flock of geese as they were foraging in a grassy area across from our church. Most of those birds had their heads toward the ground, diligently searching for something to eat. However I noticed that one or two of the geese on the outskirts of the gathering kept their heads up, looking outward to the surrounding area, as if they were making sure there wasn’t any approaching danger. Admittedly, I haven’t spent much time around geese, so I don’t know if this is a common practice or not. But for the short length of time I watched those birds, it always appeared as if at least one of them would keep itself in a posture of vigilance, as if it was guarding the rest of the flock.

It reminds me of the incident in the Old Testament book of Judges when God was intent on reducing the number of participants in the army Gideon had gathered to fight against the Midianites. Why would God choose to have less combatants in Gideon’s army? It was because He didn’t want Israel to be able to take credit for the victory. He wanted them to be so heavily outnumbered in this battle that when they won, they would know that it had to be God who did it. So one way God decided whom to exclude from the army was to have them go down to a river to drink water. Those who got down on their knees to get a drink were dismissed, while those who stayed more upright while scooping up water in their hands and bringing it up to their mouths were retained to take part in the conflict.

Why was that group chosen over the others? It may be that it was simply a random way to pick a smaller number of people with no merit attached to the way they chose to drink the water. However, some believe their actions revealed their vigilance. They didn’t take their eyes off their surroundings. Even as they took a break to drink water, they were still on guard against any attack from the enemy.

As followers of Jesus, we likewise should never let our guards down when it comes to the enemies of our souls. The Bible encourages us to be watchful. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus warned His disciples, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). At the close of his discourse on spiritual armor, Paul wrote, “being watchful to this end with all perseverance” (Ephesians 6:18). And the most familiar admonition regarding this matter is I Peter 5:8: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

There are spiritual dangers and enemies lurking in our world. There are temptations that can arise not only from our surroundings but from the desires that can get stirred in our own hearts. Therefore we can’t afford to get so busy or distracted by what we are doing that we fail to be vigilant. We must always stay aware of the possibility of an enemy attack or a sudden temptation. Sometimes those events can occur when we would least expect them. Even when we have just experienced a great victory, have seen God work in a mighty way, or have enjoyed a fresh sense of His presence, those are times when we may be vulnerable to danger if we don’t stay alert.

Stay vigilant, not just over your own soul, but over your flock. Be a spiritual guardian over your children, your family, your friends, and your fellow believers. Don’t grow complacent or get distracted. Be the one who is always watchful for spiritual dangers.