Today turning 45

Psalms 26:7 That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.

Can life get any better? You have heard of the expression enjoy life? I am enjoying life. I am not the riches person, I don't have a lot of possessions and I am not very famous, but I am enjoying life.

Why am I enjoying life? First of all because God is in my life. It took him 17 years to find me, but since then, though I have not always been the person I should be, his grace and mercy has been at work in my life. The second reason is because of the person he brought into my life 26 years ago. What can be more satisfying than being married to your best friend? I am also enjoying life because of my kids. I never knew having children could be so much fun. When we sit around and talk and my girls just keep going on and on I think to myself, it doesn't get any better than this.

Lastly I am enjoying life because I am doing what I like to do. Not that being a husband, father, missionary and pastor is easy and there are not difficulties, but I wouldn't want to be doing anything else. At 45 I am not having a mid life crises of I wish I had..... in life. No, life is good and I wouldn't want to change a thing.

Let's do what has been given to us

Deuteronomy 29:25 The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Why do we spend so much time wondering or seeking the will of God and so little time doing the will of God? There are great mysteries in the Christian faith and there are great truths to be discovered. However, God has chosen to reveal to us what is necessary for obedience. The things that are revealed to us are the things that are important for us to do not the things that are not revealed to us. Often I meet Christians who are on a quest to find God's will. I want to say; "Hey, wake up, don't have to seek God's will, it has already been given to us, just open the Bible."

God's will is not so much about seeking something that we think God is hiding from us but obeying what God has revealed to us.

What happened to keeping our word

Deu 23:23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

Last October when I came back for furlough I needed to buy a car. I found a car that was owned by a Christian and when he found out I was a missionary he was willing to let it go for a good price. However, when we discussed payment, he was not willing to take a personal check but wanted a certified check. I was thinking;"what I am a missionary, he doesn't trust me?" Then I stared thinking of some the the missionaries I have dealt with and sadly I had to admit that I didn't blame the man.

I can remember my grandfather telling me he was able to get a house loan on a handshake. We have come a long way haven't we, we can't even trust a missionary. What does your word mean today? Can your spouse, kids and coworkers trust your word and be confident that when you make a promise you will keep it?

Don't listen to just one person

Deu 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

How many people have been put in jail because of the testimony of an unreliable or false witness. Recently there have been studies that have proved that the eye witness account of a person can be inaccurate. The person may believe that he has identified the right person or recalled an event correctly, but in reality he could be wrong. Just recently a man was released after spending 30 years in prison.

Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in more than 75% of convictions overturned through DNA testing. (http://www.innocenceproject.org/)

Not only in the judicial system, but how much more in our interaction with people at work, school, and church should we not listen or believe the testimony of just one person. This principle in the Bible was given to us over 3,500 years ago, it is time that we started taking it seriously.

12 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,13 To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

Many today talk about discovering the will of God for their lives. Yet, the will of God is not something that is hard to find. The Bible clearly reveals for us the will of God for our lives. Here is one of many verses that show us clearly what God desires. We are to fear him, walk in his ways, love him, serve him and keep his commandments. There is enough of the will of God in this verse to keep us going for a long time. Maybe instead of trying to discover some mystic or secret will, we should be more concerned with doing what God has already revealed to us.

Notice another point here, it is for our good. You will not be serious about keeping God's statues until you understand that is is for your good. I have never been disappointed because I have obeyed God's Word. I have never been hurt or lost by keeping God's laws. They are a delight, and the more I live the Christian life the more I am grateful for the God's statues.

Deuteronomy 8:1-3

Tested to reveal the heart

When Jesus was tempted he used the Scripture to confront and defeat the temptations that Satan was throwing his way. Jesus quoted from the Old Testament when He said man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

The context of the verse is found in this passage. God had a purpose in brining the children of Israel through the wilderness, at that was to see what was in their heart. It is easy to say we will serve God when everything is fine and we are not tested. The testings are what shows what is in our heart.

What did the children of Israel do when they where hungry? They could not go to the store or the restaurant. They were dependent upon God, they cried out and he fed them with Manna from heaven. They lived by the Word of God. We live in a society that is self reliant. We want to live by our own hands. Maybe that is why we are dying? Maybe that is why we are unsatisfied? We are not living by the Word of God, but by the bread that perishes.

Testings reveal if the Word of God is in our heart. God wanted to see what was in their heart. What is in your heart today? Are you living by and through the Word of God or are you feeding only and the Manna that perishes.