Mug of Mercy

Hey Russ — “Your coming on awfully strong…”   “You need to preach a God of LOVE and GRACE.”    “Glad your SAVED — But it’s almost like your TOO SAVED.”

If you seen a blind man walking toward a 500 foot cliff, would you yell out to him and say — “Um, excuse me, I don’t want to offend you you in any way, but your about to stroll off a cliff.  That may be a tad uncomfortable if you do.  Maybe you might want to change your direction.”

Or would you yell out and say: “Hey!  Stop! Your gonna die.  Turn around!”

Look… I’m gonna be brutally honest.  Brutal to myself, mostly — Because to coin a phrase, “I got nothing.”  In myself, anyway.    I’m NOT perfect.  I’ve made tons of mistakes, and I’ve done things I said I would never done.   I’m easily addicted to just about anything, and I’ve struggled with many things all of my life.

I’m not a rich man, and I’m lousy at finances.  I can tell you what it’s like to have your house foreclosed upon, and I figure we were about a week or two from being homeless.    We can bring in all my faults, and I can frankly say without reservation, I am a “Wretch.”     There is nothing in me that is good.   I’m a hypocrite in the highest degree.

Through all of the “trauma and drama” of my life, I can only claim one thing I did right in my life:  I realized that I can’t do anything in my own power.    I realized that the reason I can do ANYTHING is because of Jesus Christ.

If made mention in my posts on how 150,000 people will die today.   Most of those were NOT planned, and probably came as a complete shock to not only the families who loved them, but to the person themselves.   One day, they were planning vacations, living life, watching American Idol and Glee, Going on Facebook, and planning their retirement…  Then — Death.  Game over.   What happened?

Why are we here on this Earth, anyway… And what happens AFTER you die?

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” – Hebrews 9:27

What’s it all about?    And WHY do I, who on my own have NOTHING good to offer you, have messed up more times than I can count, step out and yell “STOP — Your walking towards a cliff!  TURN AROUND!”   Because my “goodness” has nothing to do with the fact that people are walking off that cliff like LEMMINGS.

“Young men and old men, and sisters of all ages, if you love the Lord, get a passion for souls. Do you not see them? They are going down to hell by the thousands.” — Charles Spurgeon

Here is what truly amazes me.  God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son to pay a price for a crime he didn’t commit.   Not one of us deserves this gift, especially the likes of me.   Because he paid that price so I may stand blameless before God, It is my place to put my wrongs behind me, and walk the other direction.

I see an urgency.  Last week I posted a quote from Karl Barth (theologian extraordinaire), “We must hold the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.”  Look around at the world.  Read the news, folks.  Tsunamis.  War.  Earthquakes.  Famine.  Global finance.   The Bible talks about this too.

“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” — Matthew Chapter 24

The verse states that these things have to happen, although it is NOT the end, the end is coming…

“Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change. ” — 2 Peter 3:9 (The Message)

“Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what houryour Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” — Matthew 24:40-44

Two men were playing Wii — One will be taken, and the other left.  Two woman will be watching Glee, one will be taken and the other left…   We should be careful how we spend our days, and what we have on our minds.   It amazes me how 10,000 people just died in Japan, and how it really didn’t phase our American lifestyle one little bit.  I still know people who are traveling about, and paying no attention to this catastrophe.   We are BLIND.   We are ALL walking towards a very large cliff, and death is certain for ALL of us.

We NEED a Savior.   Check out: http://www.areyouagoodperson.org Are you GOOD ENOUGH?

What an amazing thing to witness and to ponder.   Somebody on Facebook started a page called Jesus Daily.  They only make two posts everyday: 1) They post a line of scripture. 2) They post a place for people to request prayers.

I’ve noticed something.  Within moments of Jesus Daily posting an invitation for prayer requests, literally HUNDREDS of requests roll in within just a few minutes.   I would refresh my browser window every second and watch the posts add up by as many as 10 per second.

This astounded me for a number of reasons.  First, it increased my faith that people are still turning to prayer.   The next feeling was the immensity of our God to be able to know and answer all of those requests as they all came in, and know that this is just a very small fraction of all of the prayers being lifted up all over the world.

As I read through the requests, came the realization that every post represented a need of a person or persons that have need of divine interaction.  Every person is a divine miraculous creation of God, to which He intimately knows every single moment of every part of each life.  He even knows the very number of hairs on each head!  (His job of counting is getting easier by the day with me…)

Our prayers and our praise are lifted up to God as a sweet aroma to Him, and He answers every prayer…  Sometimes in ways that we are not happy about — but He does indeed answer every prayer.

A spiritual battle rages all around us, and it is the prayers of God’s people that make a difference in the outcome.  God has blessed us with having a part of the outcome by our choices.  What a blessing to even have the opportunity and choice to pray.

It’s all very mind blowing, and there is no way our mortal minds can comprehend it all.

What I do know is this:  We have an ENORMOUS amount of authority and power at our disposal.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says:

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

If by faith you believe and confess that Jesus Christ was that sacrifice for you and your sins, then you are declared “RIGHTEOUS” in the site of God.   Our prayers are heard by God Himself because of what His Son did on that cross over 2000 years ago.

Later James writes in the later half of verse James 5:16:

…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Which means then that the righteous possess a POWERFUL and EFFECTIVE ability to change the outcome of a spiritual battle raging in the heavenly realms against the forces of all evil!  Never underestimate the power of prayer.

Keep those prayers rolling in!  God can handle ALL of them… He’s got it all under control.

May God bless you!

Evil is overcome by the blood of the Lamb (Jesus) – And the word of your testimony. (Revelation 12:11) — Believer, how has God been working in your life? You may not be able to see the wind, but surely you can see the evidence of it’s presence… Share that evidence!”

What exactly does the title “If The Shoe Fits” have to do with Revelation 12:11?  Not much, without explanation.   That’s my commission to tell you why these two not in common titles actually do go together.

Let’s step back a few months and take you to a Goodwill store in Canton, Ohio.    We saw a couch that was awesome, and was in the final stages of purchasing that when my dear wife Irene spied a brand new, boxed pair of brand new sports shoes.  Size 14 — Just my size.    Wow.    I could end my tale here and say: “Yes — Both the couch AND especially the shoes are evidence of God’s providence.”

In sharing that statement, I am imparting to you evidence of how God is working in my life.  By sharing those good things,  evil  is overcome by the good news happening in my life experience of God’s providence.

As usual, there is an even deeper element at work here…  God knows what you need even before you ask.

So going back to the Goodwill story…  Size 14 black sports shoes — Made by Striderite.  I was excited.  Really didn’t NEED a pair of shoes right that second… But I think I was so impressed that they actually HAD my size, and the price was more than right.   I tend to wear my shoes like tires–  I wear them until the tread is bare, and then replace.   I bought the shoes even before I needed them.

I wore the shoes a few times to break them in, and for the most part they have sat unused as I continued to wear my other shoes.  All that time, sticking in the back of my mind my bargain pair of “Striderites” waiting for me when I need them.

So the months have now passed.

In the past 2 or 3 weeks, I have been having some problems with my left foot.  I really don’t know WHAT the problem is at this point, and yes, I know I need to break down and go figure out what it is — but right now, lets just say I can’t feel half of my foot.  My left foot is numb.  I am attributing the issue to my diabetes — Or at least let’s say I am concerned knowing that I am diabetic and having a problem with my feet.

This past week I was attending a series of meetings in the evening, and since I have been having a problem wearing my normal shoes, I thought it might be nice to try to wear those new Striderites.   Good time to break them in for a few hours.   So I’m putting on my new shoes and getting ready to lace them up.  I’m looking at the script “Stride Rite” lettering when I notice that they really don’t say STRIDE RITE.  The shoes actually say STRIDE LITE.  Stride lite?  Huh?

I look at the shoe.  Made in China.  I’m thinking they must be some cheap knockoff imitation of a Striderite shoe.    Oh well.  Still a very nice and comfortable shoe!

For some reason, it was then that I choose to “Google” Stride Lite shoes.   And that’s when it took my breath away…

“Stride-Lite Diabetic and Therapeutic Shoes”

http://medicalsolutionssupplies.com/stridelite_shoes.htm

Even before I knew I was going to have some kind of diabetic foot problem, my Heavenly Father already knew of the need I would have and provided my size shoes to me so that I would have what I needed.

So — Here I am, wearing my STRIDE-LITE diabetic therapeutic shoes, sharing the good news of the provision of God — A God that knows what we need even before WE know what we need.   That is MY testimony…

Diabetes, disease, sickness, evil and all unfulfilled need is a result of a wrong that was committed centuries ago when a couple disobeyed God and brought what we call “sin” into this world.  That’s the story of Adam and Eve back in Genesis 3

God is a Father that still loves us just as much as ever — but because of the perfectness of WHO He is cannot STAY perfect if He were to walk amongst us today.

We were born into this sinful “Fallen” world.   What to do?   Again, God’s provision — He Himself PROVIDED himself, fully man and yet fully still God in our place to pay the price of that sin.  Jesus was that sacrifice.   It was the shedding of His blood that paid the price of a sin that we were born into.
Indeed then — Evil and sin was then conquered by His blood.     It is our place to accept that sacrifice as our own… And then tell somebody else about that blood and how God, who is now freely able to again be part of our daily life is interacting with us.

In the 12th chapter of the book of Revelation, the apostle John tells us of a battle that is taking place between good and evil.

10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:?”Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,?and the authority of his Christ.?For the accuser of our brothers,?who accuses them before our God day and night,?has been hurled down.

11They overcame him?by the blood of the Lamb?and by the word of their testimony;?they did not love their lives so much?as to shrink from death.

12Therefore rejoice, you heavens?and you who dwell in them!?But woe to the earth and the sea,?because the devil has gone down to you!?He is filled with fury,?because he knows that his time is short.”

Which side of that battle are you on?  Either your part of the SOLUTION — or part of the original PROBLEM.   If you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior — Then you are one of the OVERCOMERS.

Joshua 24:15 states:

15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Choose THIS DAY who you will serve… Choose God, and accept the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ.
Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.

For more information about this Savior, and WHY you NEED HIM in YOUR life check out:

http://www.needhim.com/

Choose while it still today.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. In it, a Jewish traveler is beaten, robbed, and left half dead along the road. First a priest and then a Levite come by, but both avoid the man. Finally, a Samaritan comes by. Samaritans and Jews generally despised each other, but the Samaritan helps the injured Jew. Jesus tells the parable in response to the question of who one’s “neighbor” is.

The colloquial phrase “good Samaritan,” meaning someone who helps a stranger, derives from this parable.

The parable is found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, verses 25-37.

The above summary is taken from Wikipedia.

This morning was a rough one in the Anderson house…  The kids were not right, and it seemed that it would be better for them to stay home from Sunday School this morning.  Irene offered to stay home with them and suggested I go to church today solo.   The Sunday routine was all messed up, and by the time I left for church I was going to be pushing it to get there on time.

So off I went, listening to an audio copy of Josh McDowell’s “More Than A Carpenter, cruising my way to Riverwood Community Chapel in Kent.

There has been quite a few pedestrian fatalities around the area of SR 59 in Brady Lake (Ohio) around the Midway Drive In movie theater, and our local Wal-Mart in the last few years.   For whatever reason, this is just a BAD place to walk.   It was about this area that I noticed that I was REALLY running late — and that there was a man walking with a gas can from his car, obviously out of gas.  I’m thinking… Gosh it must be at least a mile to the gas station.

So now I’m torn — But of course the “Good Samaritan” parable starts rolling through my consciousness.  If memory serves me right, both of the first 2 men who passed the man in need of help in the parable were an there way to church…

Then I’m thinking about how many folks have been hit while walking in this area.    It was that nudge of the Holy Spirit that told me that I would indeed be praising and serving my God by helping my neighbor as needed.

So — Long story short… I picked the man up, ran him to the gas station, and even ran him back to his car.    Yup, I was a little late getting to church… Maybe 1 hymn.    But I think I did the right thing.   I think I enjoyed the service more because else-wise I would have been feeling really bad about it had I not helped.

There were all kinds of ramifications to consider overall.  Would I have helped had I had my family in my vehicle with me?   In today’s world, one really does risk their own personal safety in trying to help.   I have heard the stories about robberies, carjackings and worse picking up stranger either hitch hiking or in need of a ride.  I’d also heard of folks who have stopped to help folks and have died from injury’s of being hit or crushed by vehicles not paying attention.  That’s even happened to first responders trained for these situations.  The road can be a dangerious place.

Whatever the choice, right or wrong — I did what I was called to do.   My life is no longer my own.  I was bought with a very high price of one who gave His life for me to lift me out of a slimy pit.    He Died For Me — I’ll Live For Him.