Heart Held High

BROKEN THINGS

Many of us are broken at one time or another. We are sometimes broken in
spirit, sometimes broken in body, sometimes broken in relationships and
sometimes broken by the death of a loved one or even the loss of a job. We
often struggle to find a reason for this happening, but we just as often
struggle for a reason to go on, to have some purpose in our lives. We want
to cry out, "What's the use?" "Why should I even try." "No one cares, no one
sees me."

It may be that you are hurting, lonely, feeling dejected, useless or
abandoned. broken. I understand how hard that is to deal with in your life
right not, but remember that God always has a use for you, always has love
for you, even when you feel unlovable and unloved.

I recently found a quote from "Heart Held High," that reminds us of some
amazing things about God. The author wrote, "We are now his broken things.
But remember how he used broken things. The broken pitcher of Gideon's
little army. The broken roof, through which the crippled man was lowered,
and the broken alabaster box, which shed its fragrance over the broken body
of our Savior."

Have you been broken? Maybe that is not the "end of life as you know it".
Maybe God does have more for you to do and be for him.

Don't get caught up in holding on to things so dearly here on this earth,
that the loss of them breaks you beyond use or recovery. The apostle Paul
had the right idea about holding onto things. He shared his philosophy
regarding t his in Philippians 3:7-11.

"I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them
worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless
when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For
His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so
that I could gain Christ and become one with Him. I no longer count on my
own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous
through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with Himself
depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that
raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death,
so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the
dead!" (NLT)

What are you holding on to? What gives you the ability to stand strong when
your world crumbles around you? Paul also wrote these words in 2
Thessalonians 2:15, "With all these things in mind, dear brothers and
sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to
you both in person and by letter."

You see the key is to "stand firm and keep a strong grip on" God's word. You
may be broken now or may be yet in the future, but remember to let go of the
world and stand firm in the Word of God. Because, even broken things can be
used by Him.

Russ Lawson

Remo Williams

If you have ever seen the movie, "Remo Williams," the spy spoof, you may
have noticed at the end of the movie it displays the words, "The adventure
continues".

Sometimes the adventure takes us on the road we would prefer to be on. I got
a call from a friend this week, saying that his father was in a coma and not
expected to live. He surely would be at some other point in his life.

What is it that excites you in your life and makes it worth hanging on, even
in the bad times? What is it that makes you look forward to tomorrow, or the
next day or the next week or the next month? Is it a sense of expectancy;
looking forward to what may be the "unknown". For some the unknown future is
a scary thing, for others it is something to be savored. My wife and I often
talk about our life as just another leg of the adventure of life. Sometimes
the road is smooth, sometimes it is rough, but it's the only road we have,
so let's accept it and keep moving.

I was surprised by a sign I saw today that said, "Only 300 days until
Christmas". I don't know whether you will groan or be excited by that
information. For some folks whatever future they arrive at is just like a
kid's Christmas, something which builds in excitement and anticipation.
While others live in dread of what the next day may bring.

Granted I don't know anything about your troubles, your problems, your
heartaches or even your blessings. What I do know is that no matter what,
there is always something to look forward to in life.

One of the encouraging passages concerning the future is found in
Philippians 1:23-25, where the apostle Paul writes: "I'm torn between two
desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.
But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. Knowing this, I am
convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow
and experience the joy of your faith."

Paul was excited and encouraged regarding his future, knowing that he will
"go to be with Christ," at some point. That really is what should, perhaps
must, motivate us to keep on in this adventure called life. Jesus said,
"I'm going to prepare a place for you." I don't know about you, but that's
where my journey here on earth will lead me to another leg of the adventure.
Keeping that thought firmly planted in our minds is what keeps us "Living
Expectantly".

Russ Lawson

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Romans 6

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO RISK?

It was a small and rather poor town with a small and rather poor church, so
poor they could not afford their own meeting place. The only place they
could find to meet was on the lower floor of a dilapidated old building with
a dance hall on the second floor. It was a terrible situation, as the dance
hall was almost always full of people with loud music accompanied by the
stomping of many feet and boisterous shouts.

One Sunday the church was meeting and the usual melee was going on above
them. Suddenly there was a loud crack and plaster falling from the ceiling
as well as the lower portion of a woman hanging through a hole in the
ceiling.

Immediately the preacher called out, "Any man that raises his eyes to the
ceiling will be struck blind by the lord." Dead silence descended upon the
congregation as everyone wondered what would happen next. Then in a shaky
quivering voice an old man in the back of the hall was heard to say, "Well,
I think I might risk one eye anyway."

I know it's a humorous story, but it speaks to a very serious problem in our
world and sadly in our churches today. We are constantly bombarded by nudity
and fowl language in the sanctity of our own homes now. The television
programs seem to be trying to push a liberal view of what is acceptable and
what isn't. Honestly, we have had to turn off and stop watching several
programs in the past year, because of the sinful content of the programs.
They know that sex and nudity grabs people and causes them to watch the
programs. They know exactly what they are doing, but not living lives guided
by God they really don't care.

One of the problems is that it is possible to become hardened to what is
being shown and honestly we don't realize that we have been watching
something wicked. God demands that we change the way we think, act, live and
what we allow to influence us.

Paul writing in Romans 6:1 reminds us of the transformation we made when we
decided to serve Christ. Notice his words, because his question is still
valid for us today: "Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can
show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have
died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?"(NIV) The old King James
Version says, "God Forbid" that we should do such a thing.

The problem with far too many of us is that we are "willing to risk one
eye," to indulge in just a little sin. Yet, that's not the way it works with
God. You must be either 100% for him or you are against him, you can't be
lukewarm in your commitment or he will judge you as guilty, (Revelation
3:16). Your kids might scream and holler that they like that show and all of
their friends watch it, but God expects us to live differently from the
world. The Psalms perhaps say it best in Psalm 101:3 here the writer says
simply, "I will set no wicked thing before my eyes."

As for me, I think I'll try my best to keep both eyes where they need to be!

Russ Lawson

Pens would not work at zero gravity

Sometimes it is the simple solutions that work best; the problem is that we
often reject them just because they seem too simple to work. Some folks
reason, that if it is that simple it can't possibly be right.

A friend sent me a list of simple rules to live by recently, here is one:
"To avoid cutting yourself when cutting vegetables, simply get someone else
to hold them while you cut." Now I ask you, what could be a more simple
solution than that?

I also read that when NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they
found out that the pens would not work at zero gravity (ink will not flow
down to the writing surface). Solution 1: To solve this problem, it took
them one decade and $12 million. They developed a pen that worked at zero
gravity, upside down, underwater, in practically any surface including
crystal and in a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees
C. Solution 2: And what did the Russians do...?? They used a pencil.

We live in a messed up world in lots of ways, quite often value systems are
very questionable. Probably each of us has an idea of what a perfect world
would be like. I know that this will vary with each individual, but
basically everyone wants to have a peaceful world in which to live. For most
it contains the idea of it being a world free from evil, no relationship
problems, no fear, etc. The solution is simple and it hasn't ever changed.

In Genesis God saw (in advance) mankind's tendency to mess things up and
seek after the wrong things and he laid down one simple rule. The rule was,
"Don't". And today men ask, "Don't what"? God's response is, "Don't do what
I told you not do to!" And man's response is, "Oh that, I don't think that
really matters!" God might rely, "Do you want me to come down there again?
Remember what happened to Adam and Eve when I did."

If we could just get mankind to understand that the perfect world is a
possibility, if we will just do what God says. If we could do that, things
really would change for the good. You can argue about what is or is not
acceptable to God, but there is only one way to get it right. Go to the
source, God's Word. The problem is that many can't seem to shake off the
vice like grip of the world that has hold on them. Jesus offered a prayer to
the Father for his followers in John 17:14-17. These followers had a similar
problem; notice what he said, "I have given them Your word. And the world
hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong
to the world. I'm not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep
them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than
I do. Make them holy by Your truth; teach them Your word, which is truth."
Another translation says, "Thy word is truth!"

Like I said earlier, it is the simple solutions that most often work and are
most often rejected by folks. If your world is troubled, then why not give
God's way a chance. Stop doing what your friend, family, co-workers and
Hollywood say is the right way to live. It's easy to see that their lives
don't have peace. Why not begin to listen to the one who gave you life, the
one with the words of truth. Where do you find it you might ask, why not
look to your Bible for the answers.

Russ Lawson

Change

We live in a world where (almost) everyone wants change. We want to see new
things, do new things, move to a new house, change jobs, learn new things,
experience new thrills, challenge ourselves to do things we have never done
before. Desiring change is not a bad thing, at least in regards to most
things.

One of the more familiar quotes we see from time to time is: "If you always
do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got." (Doug
Caufmann). There is truth to that statement. If you keep doing things the
same way, you are not going to have change. Our society seems to think that
the lack of change is a bad thing, but is that always true? Now, I'm no just
being an "old foggy," who doesn't believe in change. I love change in my
life and expect it in our world. My wife and I have lived in 7 states as
well in Kenya, East Africa. We love to experience new things and different
people. We embrace change in our lives for the most part.

However (you knew there would be a disclaimer didn't you), I cannot and will
not embrace change to God's church or God's Word. I've been disappointed in
churches and church leaders throughout our land who want to try and make
changes to God's church. They go to extremes to try and make "church" more
palatable to our young folks who desire change. And, if they don't get the
change they want, they go somewhere they can find it. It's really not
surprising, we were warned about it a couple of thousand years ago when the
Apostle Paul wrote a young preacher, Timothy. Notice what he said, "For the
time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to
suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of
teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy_4:3)

Here is what we see happen so often. People who do not have a lot of
knowledge of God's word start to desire change. They want more services that
are more entertaining, something that makes them feel good. They approach
the leadership and demand change in the church. The leadership either caves
in to their request or they threaten to leave.

At some point we must realized that, yes, there are some things that we can
change, but there are some things that we dare not change. Why? Because God
gave us directions as to how things must be in His Word. He was not
mistaken, he did not communicate unclearly, he was not just kidding when he
told us what he wanted us to do. God doesn't think or act as we do as
humans.

We tend to forget what we are told in Numbers 23:19, that: "God is not
human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his
mind." God has given us clear directions regarding what is necessary for our
salvation. He it clear on what is morally and ethically acceptable. He is
clear about marriage and sexual relationships. He is clear about the worship
that is acceptable to him. These things are not given to change just because
or society has decided that they want them to change.

What about those who demand change to what God has already put into place?
Psalm 55:19 speaks of: "God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not
change, he will hear them and humble them, because they have no fear of God.
You see, it all boils down to having a "fear" for God and His Word. (Hebrew
lit. "respect or fear to displease him").

Let me encourage you to be careful as to what you change rather than one day
standing before God and being brought to your knees in shame, (humbled).

Russ Lawson

The books of first and second kings

Introduction to the book of First Kings:

www.abiblecommentary.com/introductiontothebookoffirstkings.pptx

 

Introduction to the book of Second Kings:

 

www.abiblecommentary.com/introductiontothebookofsecondkings.pptx

 

 

 

How to have world peace

World Peace

 

    Could you imagine what went through the minds of the scientists who developed the initial atomic bomb once they saw the damage it inflicted? According to the numbers cited by Richard Rhodes in The Making of the Atomic Bomb, 100,000 were killed in Hiroshima and 70,000 were killed in Nagasaki.

 

    One scientist, Edward Teller, believed strongly that world government would be needed to bring world peace, in light of the "Super." He said, "World government is our only hope for survival. ...I believe that we should cease to be infatuated with the menace of this fabulous monster, Russia. Our present necessary task of opposing Russia should not cause us to forget that in the long run we cannot win by working against something. We must work for something. We must work for World Government" (cited by Rhodes, 766). He made that statement back in 1948.

 

    Well, we've not had another world war but the United Nations has certainly not kept peace in the world. Author Gil Elliot, in Twentieth Century Book of the Dead, did some research and estimated that man-made deaths in the twentieth century came to about 100 million. Yet, his book was written in 1972! The Vietnam war was not quite finished and several wars, genocides, and other atrocities have been committed since then. The United Nations has not brought world peace.

 

    There is no - I repeat "NO" - political solution that will bring about world peace. There is also no military solution to world peace. The world's problem is not politics nor is it who has the most toys. The world's problem is spiritual. There is only one Man and one group who can bring about world peace.

 

    Jesus is the Man and you and I are the group - the Church.

 

    Isaiah prophesied the coming of Christ: "It shall come to pass in the latter days 

that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, 

to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (2:1-3).  

 

    Jesus came - He came and established His kingdom. The angels announced that peace was now available on earth: "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:10-14).

 

    When every man submits to Christ, then peace will rule in his heart and then there will be peace among men. Isaiah goes on to say about the rule of Christ in man's heart: "He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore" (2:4).

 

    If we would have world peace, the Ambassadors of Christ need to preach reconciliation through Christ. That's the only way we'll have world peace. Support your missionaries! They are saving souls and, thereby, bringing peace into the world.

 

--Paul Holland