How do you and I plan to live the rest of our lives?

Posted by cafegospel

Being a senior this devotion grasps my heart. Will the rest of my life be live in ‘fear’ or ‘faith’? Does God still have significant works for me to do? Let’s see what Dwight Hill had to say on that matters.

Recently I asked a group of businessmen their greatest concern in life. Their answer? Fear:

Of the future, failure, the past, peers, financial ruin, superiors, bad health, the competition, death, personal inadequacies, parents, the rejection of their children, and the unknown.

Aristotle observed the paralyzing effect of fear upon our lives:

“Elderly men… have often been taken in, and often made mistakes. The result is they are sure about nothing and under-do everything. They ‘think’, but they never ‘know’; and because of their hesitation, they always add a ‘possibility’ or a ‘perhaps’, putting everything this way and nothing positively… They are cynical; that is, they tend to put the worst construction on everything.”

“They are small-minded, because they have been humbled by life: their desires are set upon nothing more exalted or unusual than what will help them to keep alive… THEY GUIDE THEIR LIVES TOO MUCH BY CONSIDERATIONS OF WHAT IS USEFUL AND TOO LITTLE BY WHAT IS NOBLE… [They] lack confidence in the future… partly because of their cowardice. They live by memory rather than by hope… ”

Obviously, “fear has to do with torment… ” (1 John 4:18b). But the good news is that God offers us deliverance from its bondage,

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4)

If you are struggling with fear, refuse to allow Satan to gain the upper hand. Claim God’s promises. Memorize, meditate, and appropriate His promises for your life. By so doing, you will put yourself in a position where God can, and will, set you free from the bondage of fear:

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31, 32) (See John 8:36; Psalm 119:45; Romans 6:14-18,22; 8:2)

“‘… Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.… For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid… for I myself will help you,‘ declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 41:10, 11, 14) (See Psalm 27:1, 2; 46:2; 56:3; Isaiah 12:2; 2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 8:15; 1 John 4:18)

QUESTION:

How do you and I plan to live the rest of our lives?

Paralyzed and diminished by fear?

Or liberated by the promises in God’s Word?

As always, the choice is ours.

Income Tax Season

Posted by cafegospel

On a tax forms there is a line for “other income.” Jesus said, ‘Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.’ Life’s best income is not tabulated on adding machines or kept in bank vaults. The good news is that tax collectors are unable to reach that “other income”. The real depressions are not the ones we read about when the stock market crashes. Most mortals live in depression all the time, bankrupt in spirit and destitute within. Most are unaware of their spiritual poverty. Even Christians and churches can, like Laodicea, be “rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” (Revelation 3:17), not knowing that they are poor, miserable, blind and naked.

A man really lives only in proportion to his “other income” of the spirit. Can you list any such non-taxable revenues? The goodness of God day by day, good health, the love of dear ones, liberty and life itself! But the best of all is the gift of God, eternal life through His Son and the earnest of the Spirit, the first down-payment of a heavenly income from then on, forever. Can you list that?

A man may draw a financial income for a while, but without revenue from above he will be a pauper in his soul. Do you have another income?

Extract from: Peace in the Valley, by Vance Havner

Hunting Season

Posted by cafegospel

Some people we might know are doing well in hunting, they are better than most of the other guys. They know were, went, and how to do. But in other area of life, they do not do as well. Other does very well with computer and software programing, but they might not do very well on how to do basic maintenance of their house.

One legendary classic hero was Alexander the Great; by the age of twenty he was proclaimed king by the Greek nobles and his army. He conquers vast Empire such as the Persian Empire. After he conquer the town of Babylon, he took on the title “King of kings”, a title still to this day reserved only to the Lord Jesus Christ. Alexander did many things well, but not everything. In his early thirty, his health decline rapidly because of heavy drinking and possibly cause by an overdose of medication. Alex did many things well, but not everything well.

Only one person in world history did everything well, his name is the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in Mark 7:37 that “He has done everything well!” Not some things but in everything. In his child years, he did everything well. In his teen years, he did everything well. In his young adult years, he did everything well. In his mature years, he was already gone. Alexander the Great died with no purpose; but the Lord Jesus died with a purpose. In Mark 10:45 we read “That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.”

During His life people gave a powerful testimony of His life among them, listen, “He has done everything well! In other words they said that we could trust Him. “But to all who believed (trust) him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Since the day I trusted Him as my personal Savior, He made everything well in my life. The benefits are exceptionally precious.