“There is a way that appears to be right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”  Proverbs 14:12

Once, I tried assembling a lawnmower without reading the directions. I figured it couldn’t be that difficult, so I proceeded on my own. When I finished, it started right up, but when I shifted to forward, it went backward. What seemed right to me was wrong.

Proverbs warns us that sometimes what seems right to us leads to disaster. This is especially true regarding our attempts to reach God. People have tried in many ways to bridge the gap between themselves and God.

God didn’t create us as robots to love and obey Him. He gave us a will and freedom of choice. We have chosen to disobey God and go our own willful way. The result is separation from God.

I recently attended a funeral and listened to how people get into heaven through good works, religion philosophy and morality. But all those ideas are wrong. No bridge reaches God except one.

Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, paying the penalty for our sin and bridging the gap between God and people. There is only one way and we must make a choice by trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior.

We must admit our need, by confessing that we are a sinner and be willing to repent and turn from our wicked ways. We must believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave. Then through we can invite Him in as Lord and Savior. Only that way is the right way to reach God.

THOUGHT: Ask yourself if you have made this decision and confession or are you playing church. Have you invited Jesus into your heart?

Lord, I am a sinner and I repent of my sins. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and rose from the grave. I invite Him to come in and control my life through the Holy Spirit and I receive Him as Lord and Savior.

By John Grant
used by permission

John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney.

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“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:7

Recently, I toured a tulip farm. It was the peak of blooming season, and what a wonderful sight it was to see hundreds of acres in full tulip bloom, displaying as many colors as in the rainbow.

I was shocked to learn that they were about to trim the flowers, and then I learned why. It seems that the goal in the field is not to grow flowers, but to grow bulbs and when the flowers are trimmed and the stalk remains, it allows the nutrients to go down to the bulbs and make them stronger and more hearty. It gives the bulbs more vitality.

There is a spiritual parallel here. Sometimes God cuts out the beautiful things in our life to allow us to grow.

Since God is the source of all goodness, his glory is the wellspring of all joy. What God does for his own sake benefits us. Therefore whatever glorifies him is good for us. And that includes the suffering he allows or brings into our lives. God refines us in our suffering.

Some consider God egotistical or cruel to test us for his sake. But the testing he does for his sake accrues to our eternal benefit.

How often have you heard people say, “I grew closest to God when my life was free from pain and suffering”? Just as the tulip farmer snips the flowers from the plant, God often walks with us through hardship and despair to deepen our roots in Him and make us all the better for it.

By John Grant
used by permission

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“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 2:26

God often speaks at the most unexpected times. One day I was casually talking with a friend about a situation at my job. In the middle of the conversation I said, “This is driving me crazy.” My friend simply looked at me and said, “Only if you let it.”

In five words, my friend had summed up one of the major issues I have been struggling with for years: how do I keep from giving away the peace I have in Christ?

I confess that I am a perfectionist. If something doesn’t go the way I want it to go, I get anxious and upset. I feel out of control.

I have to remember that the peace of God is with me because the Spirit of God is with me. I must keep my mind on the person and promises of God instead of letting circumstances lead me into thoughts of anxiousness. To me, this means remembering some important truths:

•    I am a child of God (Romans 8:14).
•    God is for me, not against me (Romans 8:31).
•    I have the favor of God (Proverbs 8:35).
•    God’s love for me surpasses my understanding of it (Ephesians 3:19).

It takes practice to keep my mind on Jesus and not on the turmoil around me. But when I can do it, I have His perfect peace in the middle of the storm

Lord, help me cooperate with You to keep my peace. Help me focus my mind on You. Amen.

By Debbie West
used by permission

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“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby”
1 Peter 2:2 (KJV).

Sam was very impatient with himself. Though he was a new Christian, he could not understand why he was not as spiritual as some of the other students who had walked with the Lord for several years.

I explained to him the Christian life, like physical life, involves a process of growth. A person begins as a baby and goes through various stages of childhood, adolescence and young adulthood to reach Christian maturity. Very few, if any, Christians, I explained to him, become spiritually mature overnight.

Lane Adams, a beloved colleague, gifted teacher, preacher and author, said, “I shrink inside when I think of the times I have mounted the pulpit, recited the conversion experience of the apostle Paul, and then indicated that he went out and turned the world upside down for Jesus Christ immediately.”

He continued, “This simply was not the case. There is a difference of opinion among scholars concerning New Testament dating, but it seems rather plain that many years went by before the Holy Spirit laid the dramatic burden on Paul as a missionary of the cross.”

If you strongly desire to serve the Lord in some particular way, such as teaching, ask the Holy Spirit in faith to empower you to become an effective teacher. Now, it may be that the Holy Spirit will see fit to make you a great teacher overnight, but this is most unlikely. So if it does not happen, do not be discouraged. Have faith!

Continue to ask and believe that the Holy Spirit will make you an effective teacher of the Word of God and be willing to work hard and long to develop your natural ability. The Bible reminds us that “faith without works is useless.”

If we are unique members of the Body of Christ, and we are, if we possess special tasks to accomplish, and we do, then the Holy Spirit will empower us to carry out those tasks. God does indeed have a plan for each of our lives. And He gives us the direction and power of His Holy Spirit to accomplish that plan as we continue to trust and obey Him.

Bible Reading: 2 Peter 3:14-18

Action Point: Recognizing that I am in the process of maturing spiritually, I shall seek to accelerate my spiritual growth by hiding the Word of God in my heart, spending time in prayer, walking in the Spirit and sharing my faith in Christ with others as a way of life.

by Dr. Bill Bright
Used by Permission

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“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

Jesus says, “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” (Matthew 5:3 NLT) He means we must come to the end of ourselves. We have to leave behind any self-sufficiency or self-righteousness and come to the place where we realize our only hope is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We must be desperate for God: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and His rule.” (Matthew 5:3 MSG) Bonhoeffer notes the original disciples did not have religious wealth, in the sense that they did not have Pharisaical prestige or position.

And, as they followed Jesus, they were inexperienced in this new way. All they could do was follow Jesus for each next step; they couldn’t rely on well-worn traditions that are so easily leaned upon in place of a relationship with Jesus.

They had nowhere else to turn but to Jesus—and it should be that way for us, as well. If you deeply believed there was nowhere else to turn but Jesus, how would your life change?

By Jon Walker
Used by Permission

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“Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9) and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.”  Ephesians 3:8-9

Our God has riches beyond the count of arithmetic, the measurement of reason, the dream of imagination, or the eloquence of words. They are unsearchable! You may look, and study, and weigh, but Jesus is a greater Savior than you imagine Him to be even on your best day!

Our Lord is more ready to forgive your sin than you are able to transgress.

Our Master is more willing to supply your wants than you are to confess them.

Our Master has riches of happiness to give you now. He can make you to lie down in green pastures, and lead you beside still waters. There is no music like His music. He is the Shepherd and you are the sheep when you lie down at His feet. There is no love like His, and neither Earth nor Heaven can match it. To know Christ and to be found in Him, oh what a life, what a joy! This is everything that is good and wonderful in life.

Never tolerate low thoughts of our Lord Jesus. If you do, you will end up only crowning Him with a silver crown when He deserves the finest gold.

Our Lord does not treat His servants ungraciously; He gives to them as a king gives to a king. He gives them two heavens: A heaven below where we may serve Him, and a heaven above where we may delight in Him forever. His unsearchable riches will be best known in eternity. He will give you on the way to heaven all you need. Your place of defense will be the ammunition of rocks, and your bread and water will be provided; but it is there, THERE in His presence, where you will hear the song of His people that triumph, the shout of the feast, and shall have a face-to-face view of the glorious and beloved One.

The unsearchable riches of Christ! This is the tune for the musicians of Earth, and the song for the harpers of Heaven. Lord, teach us more and more of Jesus, and we will tell the good news to others.

Question: How has God revealed the riches of Christ in your life lately?

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon.  Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2008

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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  2 Corinthians 5:17

On Easter morning, over 2000 years ago, Mary  Magdalene,  along with some other women, brought spices and perfume to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. But the tomb was empty– the body was gone.  They ran to tell the disciples, “They have taken away the Lord.”

After Peter and John had checked out the evidence and gone home again, Mary remained by the tomb, weeping.  When she heard a noise behind her, she turned and saw a man standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him.

“Woman, why are you weeping? Who is it you are looking for?” he asked.

Thinking he was the gardener she said,

“Tell me where you have laid him and I will get him.”

Why did Mary not recognize Jesus? I think it’s the same reason I often don’t recognize the living Christ in my life. Mary expected to find things as she had left them–a dead body wrapped in linen cloths lying in a tomb. Her expectancy was too small.

Aren’t we like that too? We come to Jesus in prayer but we really don’t expect to see any changes.

Not until Jesus called her name, did Mary realize that Christ was alive and standing right beside her.

“Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

Mary hurried home to tell the disciples,

“I have seen the LORD!”

How her face must have glowed! She knew everything would be different from now on.

Like Mary, I want to shed my doubts and welcome the miracle of resurrection life. I want to live in expectancy: What new thing is the living Christ going to do in my life (my family) today?

by Helen Lescheid
Used by Permission

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•  Easter Articles

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“But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.” Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)

The Bible says, referring to Christ’s death on the cross: Jesus “was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.”

When Barb Boswell suffered through breast cancer, she felt pierced too.
After her painful ordeal, God reminded her that Christ was pierced on her behalf.
It was Good Friday, the day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus.

Oh dear one, God used both piercings for His glory.

Through faith we know Christ rose again.  His suffering was for you, to make a way to God.
For Barb, cancer was a life-changing experience, which God has used.
She now reaches out to other cancer survivors with the story of God’s love and grace.

Take a few minutes to read Isaiah 53.

It will put all your sufferings, all your “piercings” into perspective.

Every Time I Turn Around, I Catch a Glimpse of God! By Barb Boswell  https://www.barbboswell.com/

By Vonette Bright
Used by Permission

Isaiah 53 New International Version (NIV)

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“Delight yourself in the Lord.” Psalm 37:4

The teaching of these words must seem surprising to those who have never known real godliness, but to the sincere believer they only restate a recognized and profound truth. The life of the believer is described as a “delight” in God, and therefore true religion will always overflow with happiness and joy. Anyone who doesn’t actively cultivate a relationship with God, including secular scholars who study religion as merely an intellectual pursuit or as a social curiosity, never look upon religion as a joyful thing; to them it is service, duty, or necessity, but never pleasure or delight. If they are personally involved in religion at all, it is either for personal gain or for cultural reasons only.

The thought of delight in religion is so strange to most people. No two words in their language stand further apart than “holiness” and “delight.” But believers who know Christ understand that delight and faith are so blessedly united, that the gates of hell cannot prevail to separate them. They who love God with all their hearts find that His ways are ways of joy, and all His paths are peace. Such joys, such overwhelming delights, such overflowing blessedness, they can continually discover in the Lord. Instead of merely serving Him out of habit, they follow Him even if all the world were to curse His holy name.

We do not revere God because of any compulsion. Our faith is no chain, and our confession of faith is no enslavement. We are not dragged to holiness, nor driven to duty. No, our piety is our pleasure, our hope is our happiness, our duty is our delight.

Delight and true religion are as united as root and flower; as indivisible as truth and certainty. They are, in fact, two precious jewels glittering side by side in a setting of gold.

“‘Tis when we taste Thy love, Our joys divinely grow, Unspeakable like those above, And heaven begins below.”

Question: What brings you delight? What ways does/should the Lord bring you delight?

By Charles Spurgeon
Used by Permission

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Islands seem so romantic.  The gentle sea breezes and the soothing sound of the waves crashing on shore.  The breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. The peace-no hustle and bustle of the mainland.

And yet, an island can also hold us captive.  If we have no way of getting off, we might not be in a 5’x5’ cell but we’re prisoners just the same.  Stuck, going round and round but never accomplishing anything. When the storms come, we’re sitting ducks with no place to run. Isolated and alone.

Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to an Island.  It wasn’t the kind with gentle breezes and the soothing sound of waves.  Oh no, this Island was one of my own making.  It was the Island of “What If?”  Have you ever been there?  What if I don’t get that job?  What if my children grow up to be drug addicts and alcoholics?  What if I’m forgotten?  What if it’s cancer?  What if they don’t like me?  What if I fail?  What if God fails me?  Round and round we go in the “What If’s?”  Held captive, not in a 5’x5’ cell but a prisoner just the same.  The Island of “What If?”

When we allow the “What If’s” to rule our lives, we run round and round never accomplishing anything.  We’re stuck and we wonder why.

“What If’s?” allow fear to run rampant in our lives and keep us from trusting the One who holds us in the palm of His hand. (Our lives are in His hands and He keeps our feet from stumbling.  Psalm 66.9)

“What If’s?” isolate us.

“What If’s?” keep the focus on us. “

What If’s?” hinder us from knowing our God.  (But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things.  I, the Lord, have spoken!  Jeremiah 9.24)

“What If’s?” hold us captive and hamper us from embracing the beautiful plan God has for us.  (“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.  “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29.11)

But there is HOPE!  We no longer have to live on the Island of “What If?”; this Island of shifting sand and endless anxiety!  God wants to lift us up out of this muck and mire and place our feet on solid ground.  (I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and mire and He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. Psalm 40.1-2)

Today is the day to leave the Island of “What If?”!   Call out to Him, put Your hand in the hand of the One who loves you (. . . Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from Me you can do nothing.  John 15.5) and experience FREEDOM, it’s what Jesus gave his life for!

By Kristi Huseby
used by permission

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Do you have a substitute god in you life?

They say that there are two different kinds of people in the world – those who eat to live and those who live to eat.  I confess I am of the latter persuasion!

I love food.  I love to think about food, to cook food and to plan special occasions around food.  I don’t eat emotionally or to salve a deep dark problem in my life.  I eat, plain and simple; because it gives me great pleasure – at least for a little while and then it’s time to eat again.  What I’ve noticed is that the more I eat the less I’m satisfied and that in order to be satisfied I have to eat more and more.

I’ve known this to be a problem for most of my life.  And to be perfectly honest it’s an area that I have not wanted to relinquish.  I mean seriously, I have given over to God so many things in my life – submission to my husband, my children, my possessions, etc. that I have wanted to hang on to this one area in my life.  My rationalization went like this – this is a physical issue, not a spiritual one so I’ll just handle it on my own, I don’t need to bring God into this, He’s got so many more significant issues to deal with, I’m sure He doesn’t have time for this petty little problem.

So on my own, I have tried all kinds of methods to control this issue in my life.  I’ve tried dieting (from cabbage soup diet to Weight Watchers), reading books, prayer (I’ve even resorted to begging God to “heal” me).  But each one has fallen short.  Some of them worked for a while – I even lost 30 pounds with one of the diets but eventually all the weight came back and more and I was worse off than before.

Every time I would diet, there was a sense that I was not getting at the root of my issue.  It was such a battle to deny myself.  I felt hungry all the time and then eventually I would get worn down and give up in defeat.

Just recently I started doing a Bible study on Overeating and for the first time I’m allowing God to get at the heart of this issue and let me tell you it has been humbling and freeing!

I have come to acknowledge that I have a substitute god in my life.  (It pains me to say it but it’s true.)  God has created each one of us with this inner desire to be filled by Him but we often choose to allow other things to fill that hole in our life and that was exactly what I was doing.  I was allowing food to fill me rather than God and that’s why I have been so dissatisfied and have needed more and more to keep me happy.

You see substitute gods TAKE, TAKE, TAKE.   They take your time, your energy, your thoughts, your money, your focus, your purpose . . . If they give it’s only temporary and then it leaves you needing and wanting more and more and more.  That’s what this god was doing in my life.  I was bowing down to the god of pleasure, worshiping and accepting it as lord in my life.

Through the study of God’s Word, He has shown me that I need His sorrow for my sin and His repentance.  I now know that this area of my life is sin.  Before I called this problem in my life everything but sin and by not confessing and relinquishing this area in my life I have experienced frustration, anger and defeat.

Joel 2.12-13 says;  That is why the Lord says,

“Turn to me now, while there is time.  Give me your hearts.  Come with fasting, weeping and mourning.  Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.“

Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  He is eager to relent and not punish.

Repentance is good but hard!  And praise God that He loves us in spite of our failures, in spite of choosing a substitute god over Him!  And each day I’m experiencing His amazing grace as I continue to give this issue in my life back to Him and accept His forgiveness.

I cannot end this article without asking you . . . Do you have a substitute god in your life?  Are you bowing down to the god of Pride?  Pleasure?  Self-righteousness?  Is there an area in your life that you have been unwilling to relinquish and submit to God?

I’m here to tell you, it’s not worth it!  Sin only brings shame, sorrow, frustration and guilt but God is ready and waiting to release you from the bonds of your sin and to set you free!  There is so much joy and freedom and He is patiently waiting.

Romans 2.4 says, Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you?  Does this mean nothing to you?  Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from sin?

So trade in that substitute god for the REAL ONE – it’ll be the best decision you’ve ever made!

by Kristi Huseby
Used by Permission

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Control. I hear this word too often in discussions as I sit in circles of chairs or sit around tables in Bible studies, and the other word I am hearing too often is perfection. Yet, from the same group, the same mouths, I hear these other words…anxiety, stress, fear, and exhaustion.

I don’t understand it. How can we ever think we have control? Why do we demand it and think we must have it? Why does it dominate our thinking when we absolutely do not control anything? Maybe we think we do—but we don’t. And if we think we do, it is only a matter of time until we find out, we certainly do not. Eventually a set of circumstances will occur in our lives that will have us throwing up our hands in helplessness and we will know only God can help us now.

Only God has control. He is a Sovereign God. He is perfection.

We can let go of what we have thought was control, and we can stop striving for unattainable perfection, and we can be free. When we let go and turn it all over to Him, we gain freedom in return. When we walk in freedom, which is a result of fully trusting Him—the anxiety and fear will not control us.

It is hard to live in freedom when we hold so tightly in our grip that which God wants us to release to Him. Why is it so hard to let go? God has a hold of it…far better than we do. Why not trust? Why not yield fully to Him?

Does all of that control bring anything besides control? Are we going to allow control to… control us?

Control, or freedom. We can’t have both, they will not co-exist.

Let’s choose freedom and fully trusting God and not ourselves.

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”

By Kathy Cheek
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

God Is Always In Control

Learning to Give Control to God

Out of Control

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