TRUE FREEDOM

By:  P. Chia

Many countries annually exercise their freedom to literally change time. I experienced this timely change when I was in the US a few years ago. During my visit, I witnessed Daylight Savings Time—a national law that calls for all clocks to be set back by one hour. It’s designed to save energy, and it also leads to lighter mornings for children who are heading to school. Interesting!

In our postmodern world, freedom to change is a treasured commodity. It goes hand in hand with individual rights. We see freedom as the liberty to follow our preferences, the ability to do whatever we want. No constraints. No rules.
Sound good?

The Bible reveals that this isn’t real freedom. In John 8:34, Jesus asserts, “Everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” In other words, leading a self-centered life-to do our own will, to follow our willful desires and preferences-will lead to bondage to sin. Not freedom. But if we remain faithful to God’s teaching, then we “will know the truth, and the truth will set [us] free” (v.32).

Satan has switched the price tags in the world. He makes the priceless stuff that brings eternal joy look worthless. While the junk that leads to addiction and enslavement he presents in attractive packaging. We desperately need God’s truth-truth that enables us to see things in their true perspective.

The apostle John, in chapter 8 of his gospel, presents an interesting cause and effect pattern. To experience freedom, we must first know the truth. To know the truth, we must first obey God’s Word. The initial step to freedom begins with obedience. Counterintuitive? Yes. But the fact remains that true freedom is only possible when we live under God’s loving authority.

BEWARE OF COVETOUSNESS (GREED)

By:  H. Robinson

Covetousness is one of those overstuffed words in our religious vocabulary that has lost its cutting edge. Many don’t take it seriously. Some even suspect that when God was putting together the Ten Commandments He had nine good solid ones, but then to round out the list threw in one about coveting (Ex. 20:17).

Jesus gave a warning about covetousness to a man who interrupted Him in the middle of His sermon. The man wanted Jesus to settle a dispute between him and his brother. Evidently their father had died, and this son felt he was not getting his fair share of what the father had left behind. The inheritance had become an obsession to this man. It consumed him. As he stood in the presence of Jesus Christ and listened to His peerless preaching, he did not hear the liberating words the Savior had been speaking.

There is danger in wanting more and more things, or in wanting what belongs to another. The apostle Paul called this intense desire “idolatry” (Col. 3:5). That’s strong language. Let’s listen to the law. Let’s listen to our Lord. He wants us to be rich toward God. That’s why He warned, “Beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15).

You cannot covet and be happy at the same time.

HERE LIVED A GREAT STREET SWEEPER

By:  B. Perks

I had been working much too long on this job. I guess things could have been worse. I certainly wasn't doing hard labour. But going door to door asking questions as a representative of the federal government wasn't the most satisfying position either. It was August. It was hot. I had to wear a tie.

'Hello. My name is Bob Perks and we are doing a survey in this neighborhood.'

'I'm not interested! Good bye!'

You can't imagine how many times I heard that.

I finally caught on and began with,

'Before you slam the door, I am not selling anything and I just need to ask a few questions about yourself and the community.' The young woman inside the doorway, paused for a moment, raised her eyebrows as she shrugged her shoulders confused by my rude introduction.

'Sure. Come on in. Don't mind the mess. It's tough keeping up with my kids.'

It was an older home in a section of the valley where people with meager income found affordable shelter. With the little they had, the home looked comfortable and welcoming.

'I just need to ask a few questions about yourself and family. Although this may sound personal I won't need to use your names. This information will be used'

She interrupted me. 'Would you like a glass of cold water? You look like you've had a rough day.'

'Why yes!' I said eagerly. Just as she returned with the water, a man came walking in the front door. It was her husband.

'Joe, this man is here to do a survey.' I stood and politely introduced myself.

Joe was tall and lean. His face was rough and aged looking although I figured he was in his early twenties. His hands were like leather. The kind of hands you get from working hard, not pushing pencils. She leaned toward him and kissed him gently on the cheek. As they looked at each other you could see the love that held them together. She smiled and tilted her head, laying it on his shoulder. He touched her face with his hands and softly said 'I love you!'

They may not have had material wealth, but these two were richer than most people I know. They had a powerful love. The kind of love that keeps your head up when things are looking down.

'Joe works for the borough,' she said.

'What do you do?' I asked. She jumped right in not letting him answer.

'Joe collects garbage. You know I'm so proud of him.'

'Honey, I'm sure the man doesn't want to hear this,’ said Joe.

'No, really I do,' I said.

'You see Bob, Joe is the best garbage man in the borough. He can stack more garbage on the truck than anyone else. He gets so much in one truck that they don't have to make as many runs', she said with such passion.

'In the long run,' Joe continues, 'I save the borough money. Man hours are down and the cost per truck is less.'

There was silence. I didn't know what to say. I shook my head searching for the right words. 'That's incredible! Most people would gripe about a job like that. It certainly is a difficult one. But your attitude about it is amazing,' I said.

The lady walked over to the shelf next to the couch. As she turned she held in her hand a small-framed paper.

'When we had our third child Joe lost his job. We were on unemployment for a time and then eventually welfare. He couldn't find work anywhere. Then one day he was sent on an interview here in this community. They offered him the job he now holds. He came home depressed and ashamed. Telling me this was the best he could do. It actually paid less than we got on welfare.'

She paused for a moment and walked toward Joe. 'I have always been proud of him and always will be. You see I don't think the job makes the man. I believe the man makes the job!'

'We needed to live in the borough in order to work here. So we rented this home,' Joe said.

'When we moved in, this quote was hanging on the wall just inside the front door. It has made all the difference to us, Bob. I knew that Joe was doing the right thing,' she said as she handed me the frame.

It said: ‘If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep the streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'- Martin Luther King

'I love him for who he is. But what he does, he does the best. I love my garbage man!'

So how was your day? Did you give it your best?

STANDING IN THE GAP

By:  L. Adams

Several years ago following a surgery, I discovered anew how important it is to stand in the gap, or pray, for others. There were a few days when I felt very bad. I felt weak and helpless. Certainly my suffering (if it can be called that) was not on the magnitude of people who are dealing with terminal illness, yet I felt bad enough to allow me to feel empathy for those who suffer. There were several days that I did not feel like doing my Bible study or praying. All I wanted to do was just lie still and hope the day went by quickly. 

Initially, I felt quite guilty for not feeling like spending time with the Lord, but after the Lord brought me through those days, I realized that He had reminded me of a very important concept—that of intercessory prayer or standing in the gap for others. I had many people say to me in the days after my surgery, “I am praying for you.” How those words blessed me because I knew that the person was faithfully praying for me at a time when I could not pray for myself. I also knew that those prayers were especially sweet to the Lord. 

The prophet Ezekiel gives us the words of the Lord in Ezekiel 22: 30,

“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”

Although this verse deals with the sins of Jerusalem, I believe that we have permission to apply it directly to our lives. The is a very sad verse because Jerusalem was in a sad and horrible state and the Lord was saying through the prophet Ezekiel that He was searching for someone who would intercede for Jerusalem and do what was necessary for her salvation. When He looked He found no one who would intercede for the nation and the city. 

There are times when we are in sad shape because of illness or life circumstances and we need the prayers of others to hold us up and encourage us. We may not even be able to pray in our own behalf because of our situation. That is when I believe God calls Christians to especially pray on behalf of others. This kind of praying requires commitment on the part of the person doing the praying. It is not just a quick one time prayer, but rather a request that is brought before the Lord many times until the person being prayed for sees results. 

My intercessory praying has changed as a result of my experience. I consider it an honor and a duty to be able to stand in the gap for those who are unable, for whatever reason, to pray for themselves. It is my hope that you will take very seriously the honor that you have of standing in the gap and praying for other people. 

PROGRESSIVE LIVING

By:  J. Meyer

Every time God is ready to bring us higher, there is going to be new opposition that comes against us. It could be something we've dealt with in the past that comes back against us in a stronger way than before—or something new that we've never dealt with. If we plan to progress in life, we need to know that there's a price to pay.

In 1 Corinthians 16:9 the apostle Paul tells us that with a new opportunity to bless more people, there also comes much opposition and many enemies to come against it. But 1 John 4:4 tells us ...He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world. We don't need to be afraid of facing opposition.

Change Brings Opposition

When you and I say to God, "Change me," we'd better know what we're saying because we are not just going to wake up different the next morning. Instead, God is going to give us an opportunity, through opposition, to grow as we change. If we tell God we want to change in our love walk, then we can count on Him putting someone in front of us that's hard to love.

“ If we plan to progress in life, we need to know that there's a price to pay. ”

James 1 tells us how important it is to have patience when we're changing and facing opposition. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit that only develops and grows under trial, and is something we need. James 1:4 says that when we have it, we're perfect, lacking nothing. However, there's just no way to get it without going through something to receive it.

It doesn't mean that all we'll face is opposition, but it does mean that along the way the devil is going to try to stop us from having what God wants us to have or doing what God wants us to do. If we really want to be victorious Christians who serve God and make a difference in the world, then we are going to have to go through some challenges. I think the absolute worst thing we could do is look back on our lives and realize that we didn't choose to let God work through us to bless other people.

Be Determined

As God works through us, He encourages us to be steadfast, stable and determined to never give up. We need to make up our minds that we will never give up when facing opposition. We may not hit it right every time or the first time, but we shouldn't quit.

Have you ever been around people who have so much going for them, yet don't do anything with their life? Then there are others who don't have much at all going for them and they end up doing great things. It's really not about natural gifting and talent. It's really about being determined to do something with what we do have.

Remember, it's not about what we don't have; it's about being determined to never, ever, ever give up.

No Pain, No Gain

The Word of God tells us that God wants us to be blessed. He wants us to prosper. (See 3 John 1:2.) To do this, we need to find out what the guidelines and the spiritual laws are that lead to prosperity and blessing. And there's one thing that stands between knowing and doing: pain. Pain is not just a physical or emotional thing—there is also the pain of obedience. For example, if we hear about giving, and then go home and God puts it on our heart to give away a favorite possession, we're going to feel some pain. Our flesh is not going to cheer us on.

How about the pain of forgiving someone or not getting back at someone who has hurt us? We could talk for hours about being submissive to authority and we wouldn't feel any pain. But wait until the first time someone tells us to do something and we don't want to do it.

The Bible talks about those who progress and those who don't. It talks about the Word of God being sown like a seed into different types of hearts. Some people are fine. They hear the Word, receive it with joy and are all excited until they receive some opposition. (See Mark 4.) It's the same thing when it comes to progress.

Why Doers Progress

Talking about doing something is easy. But just hearing about it is not going to change our lives. It's doing the Word, living it out day-by-day, that brings progress in our lives. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does (James 1:25 NASB).

Let's choose to be doers of the Word so that progress and blessing come into our lives. And let's be willing to push through the pain of opposition, because there's no such thing as a drive-through breakthrough. With steadfast determination and patience, we will continually move forward in our walk with God.