Rubber On The Road  

Years ago, we rented a house from a retired minister. In the attic of our house, I found an old cardboard box. 

Inside was a collection of diaries, written by the minister’s great great grandfather, who was a circuit riding preacher. He rode on horseback from city to city, preaching the gospel in the late 1800’s.  

Intrigued, I read through the faded hand written texts. The pages were fragile and the ink spotty, but readable.

Some entries spoke of great revivals and powerful moves of God.  Others spoke of few attending and nobody making a commitment at the altar. As does any man of God, he had persevered through both good times and bad. 

One entry, dated mid November, caught my eye.  The weary minister spoke of endless rain, cold nights and small offerings. He was exhausted and hungry, making note that the cold rain had caused a week’s worth of services to be cancelled.  He was out of food, cold, exhausted and had only a cup of weak tea for supper that night.   

As he sat, chilled to the bone, he wrote of his love for God’s people, his devotion to God’s work and his faith in God’s provision.  In his poverty of circumstance, he praised God that his horse was strong. He stated that since his situation was so dire, tomorrow would be a glorious day!  After all, when you’re at the bottom, the only way out is up. 

With tears in my eyes, I turned the time worn page, eager to read the next day’s entry.  Being certain in my own heart that the following day would be in praise of sunshine, a hot meal and new services scheduled; I turned the page.  The next page had only one line, five hard words; “Last night, my horse died.” 

Life can be hard. We sometimes think that being a Christian means no disaster, sickness or bad circumstance will come our way. Even though the Bible says that in this life, we will have troubles; when devastated, our first thought is often, “Why?” 

When hard things come in life, we often blame our circumstances on a lack of faith or maybe some hidden sin.  The question we ask shouldn’t be, “Why?”  The question we should ask ourselves is, “Is God enough, now?”  When you truly know Him, He is.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Prayer:  Father, forgive me when my mind doubts your presence when life is difficult.  Open the eyes of my heart to see your sovereignty in every circumstance of life. Fill my aching heart with your joy and hope.  Thank you for your provision; I love you, my Lord.  Amen.

My dear friend and I often meet for an unscheduled cup of coffee together. With our beverages in hand, we’ll talk about our day; share about adventures with our grandchildren, our kids and our pets.

We’ll talk about flowers, birds, yard work, housework, and “stuff.” Talking and sharing, we enjoy the unplanned time together. 

One afternoon I was loading the dishwasher and reviewing the things that still needed to be done by day’s end. I’d started out my day with Bible study and prayer, so that was already crossed off my ‘list.’ As I was listing the day’s activities, God spoke to my heart, “Come, have coffee with me.”

Startled, my Lord’s voice so clear that I jumped and looked behind me; I stammered, “whaaaat?”  God spoke into my heart, “Come, get a cup of coffee and talk with me.” Stunned by the simplicity of my Lord’s request, I poured a cup and sat down. As I sat down, God spoke to my heart, “So, tell me about your day.”

We do, of course, need to plan a time for daily Bible Study and prayer, but, sometimes, we need to just stop what we are doing and take a “Jesus break.” Like if a dear friend stuck their head in the door unexpectedly and said, “Hey, have time for a cup of coffee?”

 In Mark 6:31 and Matthew 5:1-48 we see that Jesus spent quality time with His disciples and close followers; teaching them even greater things in private than He did in public.

God did not create me to win the lost, build churches and sing in the choir; I do those things because I love Him.  God created me for relationship with Him. 

No other god wants a relationship with their people, only our God. God wants ME, He loves ME, He wants to spend time with ME. He wants that relationship with me so much that He gave His son at Calvary, cleansing me from sin so that I can have intimacy with Him.

When I make my only time with Him the ‘required’ time, I miss out on the intimacy of personal relationship.  That intimacy is what makes me strong when circumstances leave me weak (Isaiah 40:31) and gives me direction when the road gets confusing (Proverbs 16:9, Psalms 37:23-24)  Our God is the Lord of all the universe, yet, He invites us to sit with Him and just—-chat.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Prayer:  Lord, God, I love you with all of my heart.  I want to spend time with you, to know you, to hear your directions.  Show me how to organize my busyness and make time to sit and “have coffee” with you.  Amen.

Scripture references:

Mark 6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Matthew 5:1-48

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A Pastor friend of mine made a great illustration.  He held up a pan of homemade brownies, saying that his wife’s brownies were the best anybody made. But, he continued, “this particular pan is different.”  

To check the brownies’ doneness, his wife had used a toothpick she’d pulled from on top of a napkin out of the trash by the door; in the trash had been doggie pooh from a puppy mishap. The pooh had been several inches away from the toothpick.

In a hurry, not able to find another “pokey thing” nearby and the dessert needing attention right away, she had grabbed the toothpick up and wiped it on a tissue. Knowing time was of the essence; she pulled the brownies out and stuck the toothpick in the edge of the brownies—perfectly done!   

The toothpick had been several inches away from the puppy pooh  and it was quickly inserted into the pan of brownies in only one little spot. So it would be ok, the toothpick itself wasn’t really dirty, and even if that was offensive to some, only one tiny spot in that BIG pan of brownies—who would even notice? 

Besides, the pooh was not REAL close and well, quite frankly, every living creature poohs; pooh is part of being alive!  Get over yourself, don’t be so—- prissy.

Oddly, nobody wanted a brownie from ANY part of the big pan; even though the questionable toothpick was just stuck in one small section of the dessert. Would YOU eat one of the brownies?  Probably not!  

Yet, we often choose to go to movies and read books that have dirty words and unGodly situations in them. We rationalize the same way; only one bad word—only one bad scene, maybe two, that’s all.  The rest of the movie/book is good.  Besides, those words and attitudes are all around us, everybody ‘does that’ these days; it’s part of today’s society! 

As Christians, what we allow into our lives is important to our relationship with Christ and to our witness of Him to others.  Sometimes, we have no choice but to be exposed to unChrist like words or attitudes; at work for instance, or while living in the world.  We can’t control what others say or do. God is aware of those things we can’t change, He knew how vexed Lot was with the behavior of the people in Sodom and Gomorrah, and made a way out. (2 Peter 2:7)

But, Choosing to expose ourselves to unGodly things is not acceptable, by Biblical standards. How can we expect to embrace the blessings and direction that God’s word speaks of, while thinking the instructions for holy living do not apply to us?  What we willingly submit to can affect our lifestyle and eventually, our Christ walk.

II Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Prayer:  Father, help me to be sensitive to your Spirit, to be aware when what we are doing hurts your heart and our testimony. I love you and want to be totally yours. Show me how to remove the things from my life that destroy my integrity. Amen.

Scripture references

2 Peter 2:7 But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him.

GOT DIRECTIONS?

Proverbs 3:5-6

Not being a “music” person, I struggle with even the simple things that have to do with singing. However, I do my best to participate the best I can; even though I often have to watch those around me to know when to clap.

One Sunday, at our church, the song leader introduced a new song. My eyeballs glued to the overhead presentation so that I’d know the words, I was doing the best that I could to be a participant.

After showing a few pages of song, the direction, (sing Cho.) appeared on the overhead. Not sure whether I was to sing “cho, cho, cho” or a harmonic “choooooooo,” I listened to see what those around me were singing. Surprisingly, they were singing other words instead of the instructed “cho.”

Knowing that sometimes there are special instructions for certain song parts, like the bass line, “come, come, come” while everybody else sings “To the church in the wildwood,” I figured the (sing Cho.) was for a special effect.

Since I didn’t know the words everybody else was singing, I, as best I could to the tune, began to sing, “Cho, Cho, Cho,” as directions on the overhead led. My husband turned and gave me the most startled look! He urgently whispered, “WHAT are you DOING?”

I whispered and told him. He got this incredulous look on his face and then, he began to LAUGH at me. (?) By then, song over, we sat down; me confused and a bit hurt and my husband still laughing into his hands. After church, I learned that (sing Cho.) meant to sing the chorus. In my eagerness to do SOMEthing, I misunderstood the directions.

The apostle Paul started out in misdirection; he was going about arresting Christians (Acts 9:1-2). Paul actually stood watching in approval as Stephen was stoned to death (Acts 8:1).

The Apostle, Peter, also wasn’t clear on directions and was not speaking to Gentiles about Christ because as a Jew, he disapproved of their dietary freedoms. Yet, because of a vision revealing his misdirection in that matter, Peter was directed to lead Cornelius, a Gentile who loved God, to salvation through Christ and the subsequent inpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10).

God uses people who are in motion. Rarely do we find a person sitting, doing nothing being directed to do great things for God. When we are in motion, serving God with all of our heart, God directs us. In James 1:5 we learn that if we need wisdom, all we have to do is ask for it.

Hopefully, God won’t have to “knock our eyeballs out” to get our attention for re-direction, like He did the Apostle, Paul! But, God will make our path straight when we love Him, want to serve Him and seek direction through Bible Study (II Timothy 3:16) and prayer.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Prayer: Father, send your Holy Spirit to me so that I read your Word with discernment. Open my eyes so that I see your truth instead of “truth as I know it.” Help me to always speak, plan and move from an intimate knowledge of your will in all things. Thank you for your direction. Amen.

Acts 9:1-2 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest  and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

Acts 8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.

Acts 10 (the whole chapter, it isn’t long, but it is too long to post here, please, find it in your Bible and read this amazing event of God’s intervention and direction)

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

II Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness

While at the doctor’s office; I was fascinated by a book titled, The 100 Most Dangerous Things in Everyday Life by Laura Lee. The book was very worn so it was obviously well read. It revealed some amazing facts about everyday life.

Are you aware that 5,700 persons in the USA are injured by musical instruments each year?  And I was completely stunned to discover that there are more people injured by Teddy Bears than Grizzly bears! Who knew?  

My mom always said Go-carts were VERY dangerous!  Interestingly, according to statistics, 287,933 persons are injured annually by dining room tables  and  26,700 injuries are incurred from the use of shopping carts! While only 10,500 persons are injured annually in Go-Cart mishaps.

Though my Mom’s intent was noble, there was more risk in eating supper or pushing the cart at the Kroger Store than racing down the street in the Go-Cart!  Where were these statistics when my brothers and I needed them?

Curious, I looked through the index to find statistics on how many persons were injured while attending church services. There were no stats listed for ‘church’. However, injuries suffered through contact with musical instruments and table legs could have occurred at church and just not been made note of.

The book was very interesting and I’m going to remember some of these statistics! The next time I invite somebody to church, I can add that church is one of the safest places to be.

Humor and crazy statistics aside; Satan hates it when I get involved in church. He knows that there is encouragement and strength in fellowship so he works overtime to keep me OUT of the body of Christ.

There is wisdom in a multitude of counselors (Proverbs 15:22) so one of the devils favorite tools is to make me believe that I’m all alone, nobody can help me. The Bible says when I’m sick the body of Christ prays for me and encourages me (James 5:16).  No wonder satan doesn’t want me in church!

Scripture says we are not to forsake or get away from the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25). If satan can keep me away from fellowship with other believers, he knows he can discourage me and make me bitter and judgemental towards other Christians.  

Once the devil separates me from the strength of fellowship, he can convince me God doesn’t care! Satan has more than one goal; he doesn’t just want me to not serve God.  The devil wants me to have no support group and no “rock” to stand on. The devil hates God and he loves it when I stay home from church!

Psalms 122:1 I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

Prayer:  Father, help me to realize that the safest place I can be is in your perfect will.  I know trials and troubles will still come, but my future and my stability are safe when I look to you for direction in every situation. Thank you. I love you. Amen 

Scripture reference

Proverbs 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Hebrews 10:25  not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Have you ever overheard two kids challenging each other on the playground?  “Do it!  I dare you!  I DOUBLE DOG dare you!” Perhaps, that should be our challenge to each other as we pray?

As I was praying and giving God advice on how to handle everything I was praying about, of course, using scripture to ‘back up’ everything I was asking for; God spoke to me.  He said, “Why don’t you just leave this with me and let ME work out the details?”

Startled, I was momentarily quiet.  The Spirit reminded me that Hebrews 4:3 says that God’s plans were established from the creation of the world.  Hebrews 4 continues about entering into God’s rest and how, in order to do that, we must cease from our labors (Hebrews 4:10).

If I don’t believe God allows EVERYTHING for a reason, then, I deny His sovereignty. If I don’t believe God is who He says and he does what He says He’ll do; I don’t believe He is God.  Then, don’t I have more in common with an atheist than I do a believer?

When I listen to my prayers, I realize that I spend a lot of time telling God HOW to fix things. I tell Him what job my unemployed friends need, how to get the attention of my loved ones who are not serving Him, when and how to heal diseases and how to prosper and bless my friends. God is not a ‘man’ that He may need to change His mind after I tell Him all the facts.

HE has already, in full knowledge, decided what should be done to heal, lead, bend or even break attitudes and mold lives. This is NOT predestination. God plans the circumstances of our lives and he does know how it all ends. But, we are free to accept or reject that plan! We have full reign of our own destiny; yet God knows those that are His (II Timothy 2:19).  

God often uses diversity as a tool; the very things I pray for God to remove may be part of His plan. God is sovereign; He does what He wants any way that He chooses to accomplish whatever His will is. He does not want or seek advice, instruction or information (Job Chapters 38-41). He simply asks that we bring our need to Him.

I dare you, I dare myself, to lay our requests before the Lord and leave them there. Make our requests known (Philippians 4:6) then trust Him.  I double dog dare “us”.  

Ephesians 1:11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. (New Living Translation)

Prayer:  Lord, help me to bravely face the issues in life, knowing that your Word is my strong hold.  Life’s problems are sometimes your “school” and I recognize that your sovereign will is first in my life. Keep me, guide me. Thank you. Amen

Hebrews 4:10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. 

II Timothy 2:19  Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

Philippians 4:6  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

It seems whether I’m just cleaning up or doing some serious rearranging, there is one question that begs answer.  “What do I do with ‘this’?” 

Stuffing it all into a box, I shove it onto the closet shelf and have my answer. Nothing. 

Pontius Pilate had a similar, but much more serious, question at the trial of Jesus.

He could find no reason that Jesus should be punished; what was his crime? Nobody could offer an offense serious enough to warrant the punishment of death for this man. Never the less, the people were near riot frenzy demanding that Jesus be killed. 

Then, there was Pilate’s wife and the dream she had concerning Jesus. She had sent a personal message to her husband, instructing him to “have nothing to do with this innocent man–.” (Matthew 27:19) No matter what decision Pilate made, he was in for a hard time. There was no way he could please the people while respecting the advice of his wife. 

In a dramatic public demonstration, Pilate proclaimed that he had nothing more to do with it, let the people choose (Matthew 27:22). Finally, in the hope that he could just simply escape the responsibility of making a decision; he made the dramatic gesture of publically washing his hands (Matthew 27:24). 

Having made the illustration of his stepping away from the responsibility altogether, he freed himself from any guilt that would be involved; or so he thought. Even though he made a big deal about not “making a decision,” he did decide. He chose the pretense of no decision over acknowledging Jesus as the Christ. 

In our own lives, when pressed, we boldly declare we’d never deny Jesus! But our every day life often illustrates that we do the same thing Pilate did.  No matter where we are, we make a moment by moment decision to recognize Jesus as Lord of our life, or —not.  

From choosing to embrace the attitudes of the world to choosing to put the busyness of life before prayer and church attendance, we make a decision on what/who is Lord of our life.  

We think that by not openly denying Christ, we relieve ourselves of responsibility. But, like Pilate, we’re answering the question with our actions. “What do I do with Jesus?”  Nothing—- .

Matthew 10:33  but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. 

Prayer:  Father, I want to please you, help me to be sensitive to the voice of your Holy Spirit.  Give me strength to choose your way with every decision I make. I love you and want to be a fruitful servant. Amen.

Scripture references:

Matthew 27:19  While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

Matthew 27:22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.  They all answered, “Crucify him!”

Matthew 27:24   When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

Today, as I watched kids playing ball, I saw a young boy swing his bat and miss. He then quickly proclaimed, “Do OVER!”  To his relief, his team mates let him have the ‘do over’ and he did hit the ball the second time.

There are things in life that I can look back at and wish I had a ‘do over.’  Mercy sakes!  Times that I failed to resist temptation, or neglected to do my best, taunt me. Who hasn’t said, “If I could just go back and do it again, I’d do it different.”

Satan loves to point out my past failures, reminding me of fumbles, stumbles and falls. My past influences my present but it is up to me whether the mistakes are lessons or lifestyle. Today is tomorrows yesterday, so I think of today as being a ‘do over;’ an opportunity to correct the mistakes I’d regret tomorrow.

I cannot do the same thing over and over and expect different results. If I’m going to change my history, I MUST change what I’m doing in the present.  Nobody can do this for me; it is a personal choice that I must make moment by moment. God’s plan for my life is success (Jeremiah 29:11) but it is my choice whether I go with His plan—or not.  

In my efforts to be successful in life, it is important that I understand satan’s plan for failure involves continued social, moral and spiritual failure (Galatians 5:16-21, I John 3:4-7). God has given me the tools I need not only to live ‘life’ successfully and honorably, but to live successfully as a Christian as well (James 1:22-25, Galatians 5:22-26).

I will ask God to direct me through His Holy Spirit and His Word and make decisions that I will not regret tomorrow. Satan wants me to fail to do my best by leaving my work unfinished, failing to plan responsibly and neglecting relationships; including neglecting my relationship with the Lord. To be successful both in life and in Spirit, I must choose to pursue Christ like principals.

Part of being successful is confessing my failures to my Lord each night and seeking His guidance each morning. I don’t have to fail or fall, but when I do, God has made a way back (Romans 6:11-15). This does not give me permission to stop trying to do right; it does give me comfort that failure isn’t a stopping place (Romans 6:1-2).   

Being aware of the life lessons learned from mistakes I’ve made, I consciously plan, and then discipline myself to do the things that will make me successful. Yesterday is done; today is my chance for a ‘do over’ on tomorrow.

Philippians 3:13-14  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Prayer:  Father, help me to listen to the Holy Spirit when He speaks warning to my heart. I want to be obedient to your Word. Show me how to live today so I have no regrets tomorrow. I love you. Amen.

Scripture References

Jeremiah 29:11  “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Galatians 5:16-21  So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

I John 3:4-7  Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

James 1:22-25  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Galatians 5:22-26 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Romans 6:11-15  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Romans 6:1-2  What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

So, how’re you doing? Are you feeling a little down lately? Do people irritate you?

Are your finances stretched to the wall; the car needs fixed, and you haven’t had a vacation in—wow, can’t remember WHEN?   

Are you always tired and everybody is standing on your very last nerve? Has church become simply another responsibility; you look at your watch 50 times and wonder why you even came when you have so much to do?   

If some, or all, of these questions apply to you, then; you are a real person living in the real world! When everything that is normal to every day life seems bigger than life, there is a reason.   

One of the devil’s favorite tricks is to take a big magnifying glass and hold it in front of you. When seen through the magnifying glass, EVERYthing is BIG. Everybody in your life wants you to do something, even God. 

It’s time to step back, take a deep breath and simply sit down and be still. Weariness leads to discouragement which leads to anger. First thing you know, you’re mad at your family, your friends and even God. 

When we take time to simply sit down and talk to the Lord—not just petition, but chat, one on one, things come back into perspective. The Bible is good for instruction, but it is also meant for encouragement, peace and intimacy with the Lord.  

In all the busyness of life, take time, make time, to be with Jesus.  Sit at His feet, read the Psalms. Tell Him about all the things that bother you, busy you, hurt you, weary you.  Or, just be still with Him and– hush. 

Spending quiet time with Jesus is not a requirement; it’s a gift for– YOU! You will find new strength, encouragement and hope. The rigors of life aren’t likely to change, but you can stop looking through the magnifying glass and choose instead to magnify the Lord.   

Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

One day, my Dad and I were walking at the mall.  An unfamiliar gentleman came up to us and engaged my Dad in animated conversation. 

After talking for a few minutes, the man encouraged my Dad to stay in touch and walked off.  I asked my Dad, “Who is that man?” My Dad shrugged and said, “I have NO idea, but he seems like a good man.”

Many people believe that Jesus was a ‘good man’.  Many religions teach that Jesus was a prophet, a good man who did great works for humanity.  But, they do not believe that He was the Christ, the only son of God.  

Actually, this ‘good man’ concept is not new.  When Jesus was walking on earth performing miracles, people were saying the very same thing. Jews and Pharisees alike, everyone had their own theory; many thought He was a ‘good man’. 

The truth is simple to prove.  If He is not who He says He is, the Son of God (John 14:6-7),  then He is a liar and thereby, NOT a good man! The most important question you can ask yourself today is, who do YOU think Jesus is?  Is he the Lord of your life?   

To miss the truth of who Jesus is would be very sad.  Sadder still would be to recognize who He is; the Lord of Lords, the Son of God, and not accept Him as your Savior nor allow Him to be the Lord of your life. In Luke 4:31-33 we see that even the demons know WHO Jesus is. 

In all your ways, recognize Christ as your Lord.  In every decision, every attitude and relationship, determine to make Jesus, the son of God, your first priority.  

(John 7: 11-12)   ‘Now at the feast, the Jews were watching for him and asking, “Where is that man?”  Among the crowds, there was widespread whispering about him.   Some said, “He is a good man.”’