Month: February 2015

If you would know the measure of your love for God, just observe your love for your fellowman.  Our compassion for others is an accurate gauge of our devotion to God.
Billy Graham

There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:4-6
The New International Version

There is what is called the “cushion of the sea.”  Down beneath the surface that is agitated by storms, and driven about with winds, there is a part of the sea that is never stirred.  When we dredge the bottom and bring up the remains of animal and vegetable life we find that they give evidence of not having been disturbed in the least, for hundreds of thousands of years.  The peace of God is that eternal calm which, like the cushion of the sea, lies far too deep down to be reached by any external trouble and disturbance; and he who enters into the presence of God, becomes partaker of that undisturbed and undisturbable calm.
Arthur T. Pierson

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Curious?
by Eric Elder
www.theranch.org
 You can listen to today’s message by clicking this link.  (13 minutes)
A few months ago some pictures were released on the Internet of several famous people–and they happened to not be wearing anything.  When I read about this, I recognized one of the stars from some movies I’d seen and I thought, “Wow, I wonder what she would look like?”  And I was tempted to click and take a look.
But I thought, “That’s not going to be good for me, that’s not going to be good for her, and there’s really no point.  Don’t do that.”
I read an article later about this woman when she was interviewed, and she said she was so upset because those were private pictures that she had taken for personal reasons.  She was upset that they were leaked without her permission, and she was really upset that people would click on those links and look.
I felt better for not clicking; not looking, and just saying “If she was upset about this, then certainly you wouldn’t want to do it, and it’s not even right even if she wanted you to see it.”
But a week or so ago, I saw that she had done a photo shoot for a national magazine, and they said that she had some pictures in this magazine. And I thought, “Oh, maybe I could click on that.”  Those were pictures that she took with a purpose and it’s a national magazine–it’s not like it’s a pornographic thing.  I clicked.  And as soon as I did, I said, “I shouldn’t have clicked that.”
It didn’t help that she was wearing nothing and she was draped with a live boa constrictor.  If God wanted to speak to you and say, “This is from Satan,” how much clearer could He be?
Then I pulled out the passage that we were going to be looking at this week.  This is Jesus speaking:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’  But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell” (Matthew 5:27-30).
Those are some really strong words, and they can be either really freeing if you follow them, or really heavy and burdensome if you haven’t been following them.  So I’m trying to balance a little bit today between those of you who are really needing a word to set you free, and those of you who are struggling under the weight of sin and don’t need one more word of condemnation.
When Jesus says, “If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out,” I don’t think He really means literally, and yet I think His words are strong enough that you get the point.  He says if it really does cause you that much of a problem, you need to take care of it.
So what’s wrong with private sins?  What’s wrong with clicking on a few pictures?  What’s wrong with going a little farther?  What’s wrong with the variety of things that we desire, whether it’s sexual or other kinds of appetites?
There’s a verse in James 1 that talks about what happens.  It says:
“Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15).
So James says it starts with desire–it starts in your heart–but then you get dragged away and enticed.  Then once desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin–you actually do something with it–and then sin, when it’s full grown, gives birth to death.
Our private sins have a way of taking on a life of their own, and they can quickly consume us.  They can take over, and they can cause all kinds of problems.  So what’s the solution?
Jesus says, gouge out your eye, cut off your hands; it would be better for you.  I’ve talked with some guys who struggle with pornography, and I say, “It’s probably time to cut off your Internet connection.”  They protest and say, “No, I need it for this or this or this.”  And I say, “Well, it’s that or gouge out your eyes.  How painful is cutting off your Internet connection, compared to cutting off your right hand or gouging out your eyes?”
How serious do you want to be about getting free?  There are some simple things we can do.  Don’t click the link.  Just don’t click.  It sounds easy, and it can be really easy.
Look away.  This was some great advice I had from some guys years ago.  When you’re walking down the street and someone catches your eye and you’re tempted to look back again…and look back again, my friend said, “Look away.  Leave ‘em there.”  It’s amazing how that has helped me through years of life, and years of marriage, to say “Look away.  Leave ‘em there.”  Then don’t look back.  It’s so freeing, and you just walk on.
Each one is tempted.  Jesus was tempted.  But we don’t need to take a second look.  Or a third.  Or start following them down the street.  Don’t go looking for trouble.
I had a friend who was a body builder, and he came to me with a confession.  He said he really had a wandering eye when he went to the gym.  He would see these girls, and he said, “Eric, I just can’t even take it.  I’m not sure what to do.”
I said, “Well, let’s pray.”  We had a long session of prayer, with a lot of confession and a lot of things he poured out.  He felt so free after that.
Weeks went by and he said, “Eric, I am so free from all of that.  I’m amazed I’m so free.”  But about a month later he came back to me and he said, “Eric, we prayed and I thought I was free of all that, but every time I turn on Baywatch, all that stuff just comes right back up!”  (If you don’t know that show, it’s a show with a lot of women in bathing suits and body builders on the beach.)
I thought, “Oh, come on, guy!  Just because you’re free doesn’t mean you can go watch anything and everything that you want to watch!”  Don’t go looking for trouble.
I had another guy came to me.  He said he was having trouble with intimacy with his wife.  I was really trying to help him.  I said, “Well, let’s talk about this.  Let’s try to get to what it could be.” And I started going through a few things it might be.  At one point I said, “None of these things seem to be it.  Is there anything else that comes to your mind?”
He said, “Well, I did sleep with the caterer from our wedding two weeks after we got married.”
I said, “Well, maybe there’s something there!”  Sometimes I’m telling people not to click, and they’re doing way more than clicking.  Don’t go looking for trouble.
The best way to stop a bad habit is never to start.
There’s a movie coming out this weekend.  I wouldn’t say it’s the best movie to go see for Valentine’s Day.  But their advertising is all based on the word, “Curious?”  Aren’t you curious?  Don’t you want to see what this book is about that has been an international best seller?  It’s sold more books than any other fiction book in the last ten years, as well as the sequel and the third book.  They’re all three in the top of the best-selling books.
“Curious?” it says.  And sometimes we are.  But I can tell you that you don’t need to go see that movie to satisfy your curiosity.  Because it never will be satisfied.  If Satan’s behind it, he just puts all the sugar on top and he says, “Come on in.”  Then you will go deeper and deeper and deeper.  Your curiosity will never be satisfied if Satan’s behind it.  So it’s best just to “Look away. Leave it there.”  Don’t go looking for trouble.
I had a great conversation with a guy this week, and I’ll close with this.  He said he went to Russia on a missions trip.  He’s not a speaker, not a pastor.  But the pastor at the church in Russia wanted my friend to get up and speak that night to the group in Russia.
My friend was sort of panicking and wondering what the pastor wanted him to talk about.  The pastor said, “You just pray and speak whatever God puts on your heart.”
As the day went on, my friend still had no idea what to talk about.  He told me that he was secretly struggling with chewing tobacco.  He had given up a lot of things in his life, but not that.  He said he’d always put a wad in his mouth and he’d be chewing and nobody knew what he was doing.  But he felt so convicted by it.
He had some stuff with him when he was on this mission trip in Russia.  He came back to the pastor and said, “I have no idea what to speak. I have no idea what to talk about.”
And the pastor looked at him and said, “If the vessel is pure, the Holy Spirit will speak.”
My friend was so convicted.  The pastor had no idea what was going on.  But my friend took everything that he had brought with him and flushed it down the toilet.  He hasn’t touched it in three years since.  He said that as soon as he got  rid of it, God’s Spirit spoke to him, gave him an incredible message that God spoke into his heart, and that he then spoke out to the people.  He said this:
“That night on the third floor of the church in Russia I put my hands in the air and told Jesus I wanted His righteousness over my addiction. I dumped out every bit of the substance that I had brought from America, all that I had, and by doing so drove a stake in the ground, drew a line in the sand. I wanted Jesus back. And after I flushed it down the toilet, I had every word that I needed to speak to that congregation and I  wrote down every bit of it.  My relationship with Jesus was suffering because I put Him second and the substance first.    My heart changed in Russia and Christ trumped my addiction.  I have not had the substance since.”
I’d like to pray with you today.  Maybe there’s anything that’s  come up even while you’re reading this today, something that makes you want to say, “I don’t want this in my life anymore.  I’m done.”  Maybe you’ve tried to walk away before, but today could be your day.  This could be your time.
I’m going to pray these words over you that David spoke in Psalm 32:
“When I kept silent,
    my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
    Your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer.
Then I acknowledged my sin to You
    and did not cover up my iniquity
I said, “I will confess
    my transgressions to the Lord.”
And You forgave
    the guilt of my sin.
(Psalm 32:3-5)
Father, we confess to You right now anything that’s not right in our lives.  God, we don’t want it anymore.  We invite You in to come, take over, fill us with Your Spirit so we can be pure vessels, so we can hear from You, and so we can pour out Your love to others.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Those who keep speaking about the sun while walking under a cloudy sky are messengers of hope, the true saints of our day.
Henri J. Nouwen

“If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.”
Joshua 24:20
The English Standard Version

Since God will be my end
Let Him be my beginning.
So that I may now fully live
Instead of falling, straying, sinning.
Angelus Silesius

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I always repeat that we Missionaries of Charity are not social workers.  We may be doing social work, but we are really contemplatives right at the heart of the world.  We are with Jesus twenty-four hours a day.  We do everything for Jesus.  We do it to Jesus.
Mother Teresa

The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low: the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
Isaiah 2:11
The New International Version

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I am sure as I live that nothing is so near to me as God.  God is nearer to me than I am to myself.
Meister Eckhart

Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Colossians 1:12-14
The King James Version

If we only saw the whole, we should see that the Father is doing little else in the world but training his vines.
Robert Murray M’Cheyne

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My chronological age is of no importance to me whatsoever.  I am a child of God, therefore I am eternally new.  I am as young as time, I am as old as eternity.  I have no age.  I am as spontaneous as this moment.  I live in the here and the now.  I live each moment as it appears so I am always as young as the present.  I cannot age because I am constantly in depth, not in time.  No one has ever lived this life before.  I do my best to make it a masterpiece.  I am a child of the Infinite.  I am eternally new.
Donald C. Curtis

Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
Psalm 119:73
The King James Version

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You thought God was to hear and answer you by making everything straight and pleasant-not so are nations or churches or men and women born; not so is character made.  God is answering your prayer in His way.
Mary Slessor

Do you know a hard-working man?  He shall be successful and stand before kings!
Proverbs 22:29
The Living Bible

Oh! for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame;
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!
William Cowper 

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Excuses Instead of Service
by John Hamby
Exodus 3:10-15, 4: 1-17
 
Why is that we feel that we can offer excuses when it comes to things of the church that would be ridiculous if used anywhere else. Have you ever wondered what would happen if people were as intense and committed and determined about church as they are about sports – or any number of other pastimes. Some years ago Moody Monthly ran a piece which included excuses which a fellow might use for quitting sports.
“Every time I went they asked for money.
The people with whom I had to sit didn’t seem very friendly.
The seats were too hard and uncomfortable.
The coach never came to see me.
The referee made a decision with which I could not agree.
I was sitting with some hypocrites – they only came to see what others were wearing.
Some games went into overtime, and I was late getting home.
The band played numbers that I had never heard before.
The games were scheduled when I want to do other things.
My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up. Since I read a book on sports, I feel that I know more than the coaches anyhow.
I don’t want to take my children, because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.” (as quoted by Charles Swindoll. The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart And 1,501 Other Stories. (Nashville: Word, 1998.) p. 189]
You need to remember that in Exodus 3, we have seen God tell Moses that he has heard the cry of Israel for deliverance and that he is now ready to deliver them. Then the surprise came in verse ten when God said, “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” We are going to see today that when God confronts Moses with a call he offers, “Excuses Instead of Service.” Have you ever responded that way?
*You’re asked to teach a class – the excuses start.
* You’re asked to serve in the nursery – the excuses start.
* God put in on your heart to share your faith with a friend or neighbor – the excuses start.
* You’re made aware of someone with a need that you could provide – the excuses start.
* In fact if you’re asked to do just about anything for the Lord and the excuses start. “I’m too busy, I’m already doing this, get someone else.”
Sometimes our excuses pile up and get in the way of doing something for God. I read a humorous story about some GI’s on furlough that I think illustrates this. “The commanding officer was furious when nine GIs who had been out on passes failed to show up for morning roll call. Not until 7 p.m. did the first man straggle in. “I’m sorry, sir,” the soldier explained, “but I had a date and lost track of time, and I missed the bus back. Being determined to get in on time, I hired a cab. Halfway here, the cab broke down. I went to a farmhouse and persuaded the farmer to sell me a horse. I was riding to camp when the animal fell over dead. I walked the last ten miles, and just got here.” Though skeptical, the Colonel let the young man off with a reprimand. However, after him, seven other stragglers in a row came in with the same story-had a date, missed the bus, hired a cab, bought a horse, etc. By the time the ninth man reported in, the colonel had grown weary of it. “Okay,” he growled, “now what happened to you?” “Sir, I had this date and missed the bus back, so I hired a cab .” “Wait!” the colonel screeched at him. “don’t tell me the cab broke down.” “No, sir,” replied the soldier. “The cab didn’t break down. It was just that there were so many dead horses in the road, we had trouble getting through.” Excuses! (Contributed by John F. King ) Sometimes our excuses hold us back from accomplishing anything for God.
Moses had his “reasons” for not following the call of God. Moses begins a series of five reasons to demonstrate sufficient weakness so as not to be responsible for the call which God had given him.
Excuse One – The “Who Me” Excuse. (3:11-12)
The first excuse that Moses offers is kind of pitiful, but see if it does not sound like something that you may have said to God. Verse eleven says, “But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Moses no doubt remembers his earlier failures. Stephen relates the story in chapter seven of the Book of Acts, (vv. 23-29), “”Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel (24) And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. (25) For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. (26) And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ (27) But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? (28) Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?”
When Moses tried this deliverance thing 40 years earlier, he was neither believed nor listened to. If they did not believe Moses 40 years prior, why should they believe him now. It is a terrible thing to believe that when we speak that no one is going to listen to us or believe us. But the past is redeemable. We may feel that everything is set in concrete. But the truth is that things change. People change. We change. But what Moses had failed to realize is that the people of Israel and he himself are at a different spiritual place than they were 40 years earlier. Moses is terrified of being rejected and feeling like a failure.
God answered Moses in verse twelve; “So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Moses first excuse expressed doubt in himself, his second excuse unfortunately, however, expresses doubt in God.
Excuse Two – “By What Authority” (3:13-15)
“Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”
God didn’t ask Moses to go and explain all that he did not know about God. He just asked him to go and explain what he did know!!!
God responses in verses fourteen and fifteen, “And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (15) Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’
God says, “I AM who I AM.” God told Moses it doesn’t have to do with who you are but with who I am. In any conflict it important to know who is sending you into battle.
What is the reason why so many people are not committed to God, quite frankly, they do not know God. They sort of know about Him. But like the Hebrews in Egypt they have lost track of who God is. He is not a grandfather figure sitting in heaven, merely watching or antics and turning a deaf ear to our language, closing his eyes and winking at our sin. He is not only the giver of life, HE IS LIFE!!!
When God tells Moses that “I Am who I Am” he is literally saying that “I am He who was, and is and always shall be!” or “I will continue to be what I have always been.”
Excuse Three -The “What If’s”” (4:1- 9)
“Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”
In the King James Version Moses’ third excuse began with the words, “What if…” and it is was totally hypothetical. Moses’ response was, “But what if they ask me a question that I don’t have an answer to?” Have you ever used that as an excuse for not sharing your faith, “I would but I am not an expert on the Bible, they might ask me a question that I do not know the answer to.”
What ifs are victory killers, zeal quenchers. Excuses will relegate us to second best. Moses was so concerned about what might happen, he didn’t hear what God said would happen.
God gave Moses three proofs:
First, his Staff turns to a serpent and back again (vv. 2-4). “So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” (3) And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. (4) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), (5) “that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
It is important to note that God did not ask Moses to use something that he does not have. God asks Moses, “What is in your hand?” God uses what we have, and has never demanded from us what we do not have. We will never know the full potential of what can be done until or unless we are willing to offer it to God. God is not looking for ability, he is looking for availability.
When God calls we are tempted to put our assets and abilities in one column and limitations and liabilities in another to determine if we can indeed do what God has called us to do. God is not interested in that. God often allows us to enter a place where we feel confident and when we flounder and fail, and then he puts us into an area where we feel inadequate and were are forced to depend on him, we discover that he uses us.
God’s command to Moses is simple, “Throw it down.” Okay that’s simple. And he throws it down. Because of his obedience it becomes a serpent. And now the LORD says, “Pick it up.” Now that is difficult enough but God says, “Pick it up by the tail.” Now everyone knows that is not the way you pick up a snake. (Actually I don’t pick them up at all!) Now that was difficult but Moses obeyed and the snake again became a rod, and his faith is strengthened. (We will look at the significance of these miracles later when Moses appears before Pharaoh.)
Next, Moses is given the signs of his hand being made leprous then clean again (vv. 6-7) and the ability to turn water into blood (vv. 8-9).
God has thus far revealed himself to Moses, told Moses of his desire to deliver the people, has promised him success, and given him three signs that the people will believe him. Despite all this revelation, it is not enough for Moses.
Excuse Four – “But Lord I Don’t Speak Well”  (4:10-12)
“Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
Moses now says, “I am not an eloquent speaker and I talk funny. He may have been slow of tongue but he seems fast enough with the excuses. That seems odd in the Stephen indicated in Acts chapter seven and verse 22 that Moses in his first forty years of his life in Egypt was a man “mighty in words and deeds.”
The LORD responses to Moses in verse eleven and twelve: “So the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? (12) Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”
Our inadequacies are not problem for God, he made us the way we are. But if we no not make ourselves available then God’s plan for our lives cannot go forward.
Excuse Five – “Send Someone Else” (4:13-17)
“But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”
No matter what, signs or no signs, whether God promises to be with him or not, Moses does not want to go! This last objection was not based on even the slimmest shred of a reason. Moses just does not want to do it. Moses is simply putting his foot down and telling God, “No!”
Exodus 4:14 “Then the LORD’S anger burned against Moses…” Put this down in your notes, get it in your head, sink this truth into your heart. God becomes angry at our excuses. His blessings are withdrawn from those who whine. It is not because the Lord has patience for four question but five is one too many. Moses is refusing to trust God’s answer. When Moses begs God to send someone else, he is in effect telling the Lord, “I don’t trust you.” This angers God.
The Lord’s anger burned against Moses. The sin of excuses will someday come to judgment. Standing before our Judge – our excuses will be all gone; we will be standing in naked truth.
Not only do excuses angers God, they also cause discouragement within the body of Christ. Excuses force the few to carry the weight of the many. Satan will use this as a wedge to bring division and discouragement.
We do not need someone else to do what God is calling us to do. If we let others do what we are afraid to do we probably letting them do what God is calling us to do. Have you ever stopped to realize the harm you are doing when you retreat in fear?
In the later part of verse fourteen God says to Moses, ” …. and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. (15) Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. (16) So he shall be your spokesman to the people. ….”
God accommodated Moses’ lack of faith, but the compromise was less God’s best. Moses was God’s man for the job but he told Moses that his brother Aaron would be allowed to assist him. Once the children of Israel left Egypt, Aaron got his brother and the children of Israel – into serious trouble. It was Aaron who led the children of Israel in making an idol while Moses on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments.
God’s perfect will is always better than His permissive will!
Conclusion
Now we see the breakthrough. Moses finally responds in Obedience! Exodus 4:20: “So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.” Moses ultimately did as the Lord asked. Think of the lives that he touched because of his obedience. Over 2 Million Israelites under Moses eventually walked out of the land of slavery. When we walk in obedience, we too will touch the lives of those around us. Let me leave you with this final thought, Dr. B. J. Miller once said, “It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it.” – (MBI’s Today In The Word, November, 1989, p.11) The cost of obedience is nothing when compared with the cost of disobedience.
Can’t or Won’t? Christians need to be very careful which one they choose. Although we often choose to say we can’t it really is a case of I won’t. Is your excuse “I can’t” or “I won’t?” Let face facts when we refuse to follow the Lord, it is because we won’t…we disobey because we choose to… not because we have to. The sooner we accept the truth the sooner we can make a change.
Intricately involved in God’s calling, is God’s Plan. Now listen carefully to what I am about to say or you may not understand. God has a plan but He never expects you to carry out the plan. He is going to see that it carried out. He simply wants you to make yourself available as His instrument. After all it is His reputation that is at stake, not yours.

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This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

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I have learned to move man by prayer alone.
Hudson Taylor

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Matthew 4:18-19
The King James Version

Since He looked upon me, my heart is not my own. He hath run away to heaven with it.
Samuel Rutherford

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This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

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Happiness is like manna; it is to be gathered in grains, and enjoyed every day. It will not keep; it cannot be accumulated; nor have we got to go out of ourselves or into remote places to gather it, since it is rained down from Heaven, at our very doors.
Tryon Edwards

the price of wisdom is above pearls.
Job 28:18
The Revised Standard Version

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This Day’s Thought from The Ranch, P.O. Box 3784, Greenwood Village, CO 80155, USA

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