Going On a Bear Hunt

Daily Bible Reading: Ruth 1-4; Acts 8:26-40

Think About This: The gospel shows us that Jesus chooses those who are failures to display his glory. —Dave Harvey

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah – Psalm 62:8

To Be Sharp* Read God’s Word And Pray

Galatians 5:16-18; 1 John 2:15-17; Hebrews 4:12-16

War is going on inside of me and outside of me every day. Inside of me is the raging struggle with my flesh, the remaining possibility I would fall to the desire to sin. Outside of me is no better. The world system is shaking it’s fist at God, pressuring me to go along to get along. Our culture is changing and becoming more and more anti-Christian. Check the news if you doubt it. In addition, I am told to trust my own resources or even the stability of earthly things.

I might as well give up, right? WRONG!

God, the Holy Spirit dwells within me! He searches me out to see my emotions, thoughts and intentions and sheds light on them. He sees what I put in through my senses and alerts me to the garbage that endangers me if it turns into actions. He uses the Word of God to counter the things warring within me. He directs my mind to the Scripture I have absorbed to counter the pressures and temptations around me.

My strength is taken away when I fail to let the Word of God absorb me through reading it, through meditating on it, through yielding my thinking and actions to it. It is the Word of God that defines me. It is used by the Holy Spirit to reveal the life of Christ in me and allows Christ’s life to flow out toward others.

Jesus tells me I am set apart, by the truth and the truth is the Word of God (John 17:17,19). Even Jesus as he walked, on earth, did not rely on his own resources (John 5:19,30; Philippians 2:5-11) but drew on the resources of God, the Father. It is for this reason I pray. I need to talk to him about the war within me and the pressures and temptations outside of me. I need to talk (pray) to Him about His Word. The conversation is the Word and prayer, listen and speak, back-and-forth, the fellowship with God.

Will you join me?

Today’s Affirmation:
I’ll be sharp*, I’ll read God’s Word and Pray
*Sharp: clearly defined, a distinct outline of what is true – Pastor Bob Wood is a mentor/disciple from Southampton, PA and a seasonal camper at America’s Keswick.  This is his first Freedom Fighter blog. You can email him at Dsprayer@aol.com

Daily Bible Reading: Obadiah; Acts 8:1-25

Think About This: Free will is not the liberty to do whatever one likes, but the power of doing whatever one sees ought to be done, even in the very face of otherwise overwhelming impulse. There lies freedom, indeed. George Macdonald

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah – Psalm 62:8

“God, I Don’t Like It Here…”

“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” Psalm 118:8-9 (KJV)

On April 28, 1559, a 25 year old Queen Elizabeth, through The Act of Uniformity, would require that the common citizenry attend the Church of England…England’s Reformation finally took root!! By August of 1620 Separatists were setting sail from Plymouth Sound and were leaving England for what they thought was Virginia. A storm would blow this ship northward and when it finally came to shore in November, The Mayflower had landed in Massachusetts These Separatists or “Puritans” (as history would later call them) were not ready for the harsh winter that awaited them and even though they were a hardy, courageous and well-organized group half of them died in the months after their arrival.  

Before they decided to leave the Mayflower in 1621, 41 men came into agreement and signed what is called The Mayflower Compact. The document stated that from that moment on their new colony would glorify God and advance the Christian cause and consequently made the church the center of not only their spiritual life but their social life as well.  Though the first few years nearly destroyed the Puritans by 1628 the towns of Salem and Boston were established. Boston was looked upon as a “city on a hill” and with its reputation to be able to have self-governing churches a very Calvinistic Massachusetts General Court made church membership mandatory. 20,000 Puritans would come over from England and spread themselves out over The Connecticut River Valley.

It’s not totally verbatim but that’s what I got from a book titled “How God Saved Civilization” by James L. Garlow when I went looking to see if there was another person who, like Abram, left their native country, their relatives, and their father’s family, and went to the land that YHVH would show them. The search all began with a question, “How did Abraham get to be in the Hall of Faith?” (Hebrews 11:8-10) Just because he had it accounted to him as righteousness? Didn’t the writer of Hebrews ever bother to check out chapter 15 of Genesis? Even though YHVH repeats His promise in verse one, isn’t there a hint of boo-hoo-hoo in verse two? And then it stuck me…Abram may have been doubting YHVH’s promise to him but it didn’t break the vertical connection to Him.

Unlike the Puritans, who made covenants among themselves to insure God’s promise on their lives, YHVH Himself made a covenant with Abram. The part I leave out in the history line starting from Queen Elizabeth I to a Puritan population explosion in America is one simple fact…like we read in the Book of Judges, the next generation after the Puritans did “what was right in their own eyes” and had a no desire to carry on in their forefather’s covenants. That was not the case for Abram because of this simple fact…The Abrahamic Covenant was unconditional because YHVH Himself established it and He didn’t need Abram’s input just his obedience and because of this it is accounted to him as righteousness. This is why Psalm 118: 8 is clear when we read, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”

So with my question on how does Abraham make it into the Hall of Faith answered I wonder why we struggle so much with our own confidence in people. It’s not like everyone I meet is going to fail me at some point but who am I that I should expect them not to do so or better yet be dismayed at them when it does happen. And not everyone should think that the grass is greener on the other side either and set sail for a better situation. I ponder over these recent words from Russell Moore (President of the Ethics and Religious Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention)…”To think that we deserve to live in different times is to tell God that we deserve a better mission field than the one He has given us.” If this didn’t punch you in the nose hard enough then maybe you need to check your vertical connection. Amen?  Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 32-34; Acts 7:44-60

Think About This: “Nothing is more profitable than dwelling on familiar truths. Was there ever a good man who did not believe that it was better to trust in Jehovah than rely on any created arm?”— William S. Plumer

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah – Psalm 62:8

The Values of Biblical Truth

It is refreshing to be a part of a ministry as well as a church that Biblical insights are the primary resources for the answers in life. We know and affirm that God’s Word has the ability to address all circumstances that life brings. Paul encourages his mentor Timothy, “From childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (1 Timothy 3:15-17). The Holy Spirit guides Biblical truth as it illuminates the scriptures to help the Christian with every need.

We have a society that struggles with their identity and the notion of God, and while changing ones actions is a desired result, we must start with understanding and accepting that they have a skewed reality. Spiritual warfare is real, and understanding the battle were up against is critical. This is where the believer trusts in God’s Word and the direction of the Holy Spirit to surpass other faulty ideas. In Romans Paul states, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2). Pain is real, and very consuming; helping individuals to navigate through the truth restores hope. The Bible is good for equipping and the developing, the supporting, the coping, problem solving, conflict resolution, interpersonal relationships and the like. However, Biblical truth is not just a crash course on how to live your life, or how to change or avoid your old ways. It also reassures whom you belong to, and where you will spend eternally.

The Bible emphasizes that prayer is required to heal the broken hearts and gives the lost courage, to begin to trust and find stability. The Word of God is the tool that helps direct us to learn God’s ways, repent, and move forward. Biblical truth reminds people to find their identity in Christ. “When a man’s will is ready to believe, he loves the truth he believes; he thinks out and takes to heart whatever reasons he can find in support thereof; thus, human reason does not exclude the merit of faith but is a sign of greater merit.” (St Augustine) Let’s hold fast to the truth that will, and always did stand the test of time. – Juan Mendez graduated from the Colony of Mercy and now serves in that ministry as a full-time Chaplain. You can email him at jmendez@americaskeswick.org

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 30-31; Acts 7:22-43

Think About This: The more the diamond is cut, the more it sparkles; the heavier the saints’ cross is, the heavier will be their crown. Thomas Watson

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah – Psalm 62:8

Jesus Paid It All

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Yesterday many of us celebrated the Lord’s Table in our church services – a reminder of what Jesus did for us on the cross. He paid for our sins – PAST, PRESENT and Future. Not some sin – but all of our sin.

My favorite modern day devotional writer, Dr. Paul David Tripp in his POWERFUL devotional, New Morning Mercies – A Daily Gospel Devotional (Crossway) reminds us:

Jesus paid it all! There are no bills due for your sin! You are now free to simply trust and obey. Stop trying to earn something from God. Stop trying to gain more of His acceptance. Stop trying to earn His favor. Stop trying to wins His allegiance. Stop trying to do something that would pay for His blessing. Stop trying to morally buy your way out of His anger. Stop trying to reach a level where you will know lasting peace with Him. Just stop trying. Just stop.

Christ did not make the first payment on your moral mortgage; He paid your entire moral mortgage in one single payment so that you could live in relationship to God forever.

So stop trying to measure up to get whatever from God. Stop hiding from Him when you mess up. Stop comparing yourself to other people, wondering if God loves you less because you’re not as “good” as them. Stop naming the good things you do as righteousness that not only gets you closer to God, but also proves to others that you are.

Just stop asking the law to do what only GRACE can achieve, and start resting in the fact that you don’t have any moral bills due because Jesus paid them all on the cross.

And when you sin, don’t pretend you didn’t, don’t panic, and don’t hide. Run to Jesus and receive mercy in your time of need, the kind of mercy He paid for you to have.

Wow! I needed that today. How about you? Think about it! – Dr. Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 28-29; Acts 7:1-21

Think About This: There are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done. —Hudson Taylor

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah – Psalm 62:8

Hakuna Matata

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 19-21; Acts 5:1-21

Think About This: Do not heed the jar of man’s warring opinions. Let God be true and every man a liar. The Bible is the Bible still. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God. Horatius Bonar

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Be gracious to me, O God, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, until destruction passes by. Psalm 57:1

The Flow Of Oil

“Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 Kings 4:1 (NASB) 

As Colony Reunion weekend was coming to a close, Dr. Roger Willmore asked a question during his Sunday morning message, “What hinders the Holy Spirit from working in your life?” Now I’ll tell ya something; the list can get long if I want to head down Melancholy Lane with the whole matter. The woulda’s, shoulda’s and coulda’s that run through my mind with this question make meditation on it a crowded day. This question has left me truly wondering about my own vertical connection with The One who has saved me from the wide road I was once on, suggested to me that I surrender all and who has reminded me that with this choice there comes traveling a road that gets ever so tighter to be on.

One of the things that Dr. Willmore spoke on that Colony Reunion weekend was that obedience is the master key to unlocking God’s blessing in our lives. When we use this key The Holy Spirit begins a work in our life and that Sunday morning he used a story we find in 2Kings 4:1-7 (in some Bibles it is titled “The Widows Oil”) as an example. At first I thought it only a good story about how God used the prophet Elisha to show His glory to a widow who fell victim to the cliché that “bad things happen to good people”, but Brother Willmore changed my perspective on it.

So we start with off with the widow confronting Elisha and letting him know her dire circumstances, “Your servant, my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”

Though the widow is bankrupt, under the legal system in Israel at this time she would not be allowed to declare bankruptcy. I am sure her faith is wavering at this moment as well. Like the widow we can get in these ugly ruts where the things of this world has placed an immense weight on our shoulders, we focus in on the circumstances, we feel just as desperate and desponded as the widow did, we lament over what has been lost and can’t (or won’t) look up. So she rightfully goes to the man of God with her concerns and with that Elisha asks her an unusual question, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?”

This was an important question to ask. You see, this would be no welfare handout! God would use what she had to start with. Her reply speaks volumes, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Now in other translations it can say flask BUT none the matter that may have just been the husbands “anointing oil”. Then Elisha tells her to, “Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few.” Although this would seem an awkward request to most the widow obeys what the man of God has told her and then goes back into the house and shuts the door and begins to pour that small jar of “anointing oil” into those borrowed vessels. And if you have already turned to this story in your Bibles you can see the rest of this story and its results.

Now I propose to you this morning, as I believe Brother Willmore did, that when we feel as if the weight of the world is upon our shoulders, we need to rightfully seek God’s will to the situation and “shut the door” to the world behind us so that The Holy Spirit can pour Himself into our lives. Jesus told His disciples during The Last Supper, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever he hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” (John 16:13) And we need to obediently take this promise from Jesus and be assured that when the world’s weight is bearing down we can shut the door to it, cry out to God and allow the flow of anointing oil (The Holy Spirit) to sustain us. Amen? – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 16-18; Acts 4:23-37

Think About This: “A full Christ is for empty sinners, and for empty sinners only, and as long as there is a really empty soul in a congregation so long will a blessing go forth with the word, and no longer. It is not our emptiness, but our fullness which can hinder the outgoings of free grace.”—C.H. Spurgeon

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Be gracious to me, O God, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, until destruction passes by. Psalm 57:1

Being Kind is One thing, But Forgiveness….

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32 ESV)

While attending my wife’s uncle funeral; repeatedly I kept hearing the same characteristics throughout each testimony about his life. Kind or caring! This was evident even when I met him in his later days. He was a testimony of God’s miraculous handy work.

I believe whole heartily that the Word of God has practical truth regarding all manner of life. To be kind is one of the by products from having an intimate relationship with our Savior.  Being kind can heal, mend relationships, make somebody’s day etc…

But how about the second part of this verse. Even with all the awesome testimonies, someone thought they were obligated to say something negative. There was one, yes one. At funerals, with all the emotions flying, most of us have that one person who will act out. This person’s testimony breathed an unforgiven heart.

If we are honest, the forgiveness process is a lot easier when it involves light afflictions or dealing with people who have sought out forgiveness. And it is tolerable when you actually like the person. However, there are some evil that have been done to us that we need the Holy Spirit in us, to intercede for us, to extend pass our natural limitation or our forgiveness threshold.

Forgiveness is the Christian’s reasonable service, which we have no freedom to neglect. Forgiveness brings true peace and joy that bonds us with gospel in us. Jesus paid it all, and He gave us the space and grace to live, we should extend the same to others. Ask yourself; is there someone that you need to ask for forgiveness or forgive a trespass against yourself? – Chaplain Juan Mendez serves at the Colony of Mercy as a Chaplain. You can email him at rmendez@americaskeswick.org

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 13-15; Acts 4:1-22

Think About This: The gospel is not speculation but fact. It is truth, because it is the record of a person who is the Truth. Alexander MacLaren

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Be gracious to me, O God, for my soul takes

God is Still on the Throne and Still in Control

There has been much written over the past several days about the Supreme Court’s decision regarding marriage particularly on social media. I think one of the best commentaries written was by Russell Moore, President of the Ethics and Religious Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention:

As I write this, the Supreme Court has handed down what will be the “Roe v. Wade” of marriage, redefining marriage in all 50 states. This is a sober moment, and I am a conscientious dissenter from this ruling. The Court now has disregarded thousands of years of definition of the most foundational unit of society, and the cultural changes here will be broad and deep. So how should the church respond?

First of all, the church should not panic. The Supreme Court can do many things, but the Supreme Court cannot get Jesus back in that tomb. Jesus of Nazareth is still alive. He is still calling the universe toward his kingdom.

Moreover, while this decision will, I believe, ultimately hurt many people and families and civilization itself, the gospel doesn’t need “family values” to flourish. In fact, the church often thrives when it is in sharp contrast to the cultures around it. That was the case in Ephesus and Philippi and Corinth and Rome, which held to marriage views out of step with the Scriptures.

The church will need in the years ahead to articulate what we believe about marriage; we cannot assume that people agree with us, or even understand us. Let’s not simply talk about marriage in terms of values or culture or human flourishing. Let’s talk about marriage the way Jesus and the apostles taught us to — as bound up with the gospel itself, a picture of the union of Christ and his church (Eph. 5:32).

As we do so, we must not just articulate our views of marriage, we must embody a gospel marriage culture. We have done a poor job of that in the past. Too many of our marriages have been ravaged by divorce.

Too often we’ve neglected church discipline in the cases of those who have unrepentantly destroyed their marriages. We must repent of our failings and picture to the world what marriage is meant to be, and keep the light lit to the old paths.

This gives the church an opportunity to do what Jesus called us to do with our marriages in the first place: to serve as a light in a dark place. Permanent, stable marriages with families with both a mother and a father may well make us seem freakish in 21^st-century culture.

We should not fear that. We believe stranger things than that. We believe a previously dead man is alive, and will show up in the Eastern skies on a horse. We believe that the gospel can forgive sinners like us and make us sons and daughters. Let’s embrace the sort of freakishness that saves.

Let’s also recognize that if we’re right about marriage, and I believe we are, many people will be disappointed in getting what they want. Many of our neighbors believe that a redefined concept of marriage will simply expand the institution (and, let’s be honest, many will want it to keep on expanding). This will not do so, because sexual complementarity is not ancillary to marriage. The church must prepare for the refugees from the sexual revolution.

We must prepare for those, like the sexually wayward Woman at the Well of Samaria, who will be thirsting for water of which they don’t even know.

There are two sorts of churches that will not be able to reach the sexual revolution’s refugees. A church that has given up on the truth of the Scriptures, including on marriage and sexuality, and has nothing to say to a fallen world. And a church that screams with outrage at those who disagree will have nothing to say to those who are looking for a new birth.

We must stand with conviction and with kindness, with truth and with grace. We must hold to our views and love those who hate us for them. We must not only speak Christian truths; we must speak with a Christian accent. We must say what Jesus has revealed, and we must say those things the way Jesus does — with mercy and with an invitation to new life.

Some Christians will be tempted to anger, lashing out at the world around us with a narrative of decline. That temptation is wrong. God decided when we would be born, and when we would be born again. We have the Spirit and the gospel. To think that we deserve to live in different times is to tell God that we deserve a better mission field than the one he has given us. Let’s joyfully march to Zion.

This was a lengthy read, but I felt it was important to share with our Freedom Fighter family. – Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 10-12; Acts 3

Think About This: Dare to be a Daniel – dare to stand alone! Dare to have a purpose firm – dare to make it known! Philipp P. Bliss

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Be gracious to me, O God, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, until destruction passes by. Psalm 57:1

All (Part 2)

Christ is all, and in all. Colossians 3:11

Last week I shared some verses about this powerful three letter word ALL in Scripture.

Here are a couple more verses to encourage your heart today:

11. All victory is secured in Jesus: Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. (Ephesians 1:21)
12. All dominion belongs to Jesus: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church. (Ephesians 1:22)
13. All fullness is found in Jesus: Which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:23)
14. All wisdom and knowledge are in Jesus: Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:3)
15. All and all is in Jesus: Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:11)

Roy Lessin in his devotional, Meet Me in the Meadow, shares this poem:

Christ is all – all joy, all peace, all love;
all grace, all mercy, all goodness;
All might, all splendor, all majesty;
all truth, all light, all glory;
All hope, all redemption, all salvation;
all fulfillment, all value, all worth;
All completeness, all wholeness, all oneness;
all holiness, all beauty, all life.

Christ is all – in my mind, my will, my heart;
my praying, my doing, my planning;
My tears, my joys, my contentment;
my going my coming, my resting;
My tests, my trials, my difficulties;
my work, my service, my leisure;
My mountains, my valleys, my pathways.

Is Christ your all in all today? If He is, take a few minutes and journal about the ways He is today in your life. Then thank Him for being your all and all. – Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 7-9; Acts 2:22-47

Think About This: The service of Christ is the business of my life. The will of Christ is the law of my life. The presence of Christ is the joy of my life. The glory of Christ is the crown of my life. – Anonymous.

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Be gracious to me, O God, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, until destruction passes by. Psalm 57:1