Our 2015 summer kicks of this weekend with our Memorial Day Weekend conference with Dr. Ron Cline. Please check out our website for details. It is going to be a great weekend. Check it out: www.americaskeswick.org

Live Courageously

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

On one our trips to Disney World my kids wanted to ride Space Mountain. Knowing that I really don’t like roller coasters, they were surprised that I wanted to ride Space Mountain with them.

They kept telling me that I shouldn’t ride it because it was a roller coaster and I was “too old” to ride it. Even up to the last minute they begged me not to do it.

What they didn’t know was that when they were younger we actually go to see Space Mountain lit up while riding the people mover. Space Mountain was being worked on so all the lights were on. Space Mountain is just a bigger version of the ride I loved as a kid, The Wild Mouse.

In the dark, everything looks and feels worse than it really is – much like life. When we are in the midst of a crisis, a difficulty, a challenging time, if we can’t see clearly, fear and anxiety grips our hearts and we begin to lose courage.

Some once defined fear as “False Evidence Appearing Real” whereas faith is Forsaking All I Trust Him. Even in the midst of the most challenging times, we have this promise from the Lord to hold onto. It’s not a suggestion, my friend –it’s a command: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

So here’s what we want you to take away from this year’s theme – whatever you may be facing in your life – the good, the bad, the difficult – you can trust Him completely. There is no need to be afraid. There is no reason to be dismayed. You can do it with His help – LIVE COURAGEOUSLY. – Dr. Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Do you have a copy of our daily devotionals, Real Victory for Real Life? If not, stop by our book table or call 800-453-7942. You can read a devotional each day that will help you LIVE COURAGEOUSLY.

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 14-15; Matthew 9:18-38

Think About This: Righteousness and generosity are inseparable. The person whose heart longs for God also longs to give to others. Dillion Burroughs

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You. Psalm 33:20-22

Need Directions?

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly… (Psalm 1: 1a)

The other day I was in the check-out line in a store and overheard an interesting conversation. Two women were making plans to do something the next day together. One of the women said, “I wish I could say ‘yes,’ but I’ll have to read my horoscope.”

I thought, “There is a woman who wants direction in her life.” If a newspaper column said it would be a good or a bad day, then she would give her “yes” or “no” to plan accordingly. I am amazed how people become addicted to this kind of thing, trying to find what their future holds and whether, through the “stars” in their daily newspaper or by other means, they should do this or that.

You should do what I did the other day. I took two different newspapers and looked at the horoscopes they ran. Do you know what I found? I read two completely contradictory horoscopes for the same sign. It might be wise for those who are “hooked” on reading horoscopes to do the same thing.

But there is a better choice. As those who have come to know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we have God as our guide. Who needs to walk in the counsel of the ungodly?

In Psalm 32: 8, God promises, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. In Psalm 1: 6 we are told that the Lord knows the way of the righteous.

In a real sense we sin and slap God in the face when we choose to seek the horoscope of the day. Our todays and tomorrows are in God’s hands; He knows the way.

Look to Him, believer, for His direction! Rev. John Hibbard is the morning Bible teacher at the Colony of Mercy and serves on the Board of America’s Keswick

Keswick, America’s  (2012-12-13). Real Victory for Real Life Volume 2 (Kindle Locations 5145-5165).  . Kindle Edition.

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 8-9; Matthew 8:1-17

Think About This: Wishing will never be a substitute for prayer. Ed Cole

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “ … in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.” Titus 2:7-8

We Can Do/Have/Be…What?! PART 1

“Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.”  Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 (NLT)

Secularland has always promoted a “Do what thou wilt” philosophy, hasn’t it? I don’t care what century it has been or what governing body it had taken on, “Do what thou wilt” as always been the whole of its law. The funny thing about this is that it is a law that has to be broken and it is mostly broken by the ones who endorse it. Because at the heart of its matter Secularland can only endure so much chaos before someone steps up and takes command of the situation. This can come with an unfortunate truth however, and that is the one who makes the stand comes with some dangerous absolutes that are basically centered in a “Do what thou wilt” framework and a society suffers because of it.

There is no question of the suffering Jesus endured on the way to and by hanging on The Cross…but I wonder about His 40 days fasting in the wilderness. The Father announces to the world, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” after Jesus is baptized, then we turn the page to read this, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1) Not exactly what I would call “good times” but this needs to happen. The Edenic problem needs to be solved and Jesus Christ is the solution. By the time His 40 days are coming to its end the adversary shows up with the same temptations he had for Eve in The Garden. This time there will be no caving in to them but that doesn’t mean it ends there.

The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is alive, well and breathes its contemptible little self in the very hearts of our existence. If it weren’t for the fact that our God didn’t want robot’s worshipping Him I would venture to guess those three elements were to never exist at all, but they do. And for those of us who may think that when we do wrong we can fall back on the saying, “the devil made you do it” needs to rethink that. The devil only really makes suggestions based on appealing to our egos. So if one were to have a high opinion of one’s self then you are open to suggestion.  “Surely God wouldn’t want this or that to be this way or that way” or “Did God really say this or that” are popular suggestions of thought we deal with…daily!!

I’ve been reading a booklet titled “Understanding Temptation” by Mark E. Shaw and he has brought some interesting thought to this whole idea of temptation.  His one point is that Satan may be a real threat but Jesus taught the primary source of all sorts of wickedness is our own hearts. He shared a quote from a Chinese general who basically said if you know both you and your enemy you will not need to fear your battles. If you know you but not the enemy you’ll get a victory then a defeat BUT if you know neither you will succumb in every battle. And that my friends is how it rolls in Secularland as it does in Christendom.

Over the course of the next few weeks understanding temptation and getting to its antidote will be my subject matter. Yes, we now know that Jesus is the antidote but to say that early on is like saying just drop a nuke over our enemies and blast them back to Stone Age. You have the answer now but you didn’t have it then and if you don’t take the time to understand the history you’ll just take the antidote for granted. Like if we keep on sinning, God is faithful and, because of Jesus, will just keep forgiving us for our sin (by the way, that’s REAL BAD THEOLOGY). I hope that we can get to heart of the matter and realize that what we read in Romans 12 isn’t a suggestion but a doctrine to live by. Amen? – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger. You can write to Chris at cphughes515@verizon.net

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 6-7; Matthew 7

Think About This: The widest thing in the universe is not space; it is the potential capacity of the human heart. Being made in the image of God, it is capable of almost unlimited extension in all directions. And one of the world’s worst tragedies is that we allow our hearts to shrink until there is room in there for little besides ourselves.”—A.W. Tozer

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “ … in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.” Titus 2:7-8

So I’m the Enemy?

Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity. Psalm 64:2

I remember the old Flip Wilson skit where he would dress up as Geraldine and would always use the excuse “The devil made me do it”. And although while an unbeliever can maybe stake a claim to that statement, we, as believers can’t.

The Bible is clear that as believers in Jesus Christ the devil has no power over us, he can tempt us with an evil desire if we give him a foothold but has no power to make us do anything.

My focus verse lately has been 1 Corinthians 10:13  “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it”. It is a reminder that when I have an evil thought that is tempting to me it is actually enticing that old man that is at war with the Spirit within me. Galatians 5 tells us “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish”.

It amazes me that the end of the verse says “so that you do not do the things that you wish”.  Sometimes the conversations with myself about the thought of being disobedient are actually a desire and seem to be attractive. One of the avenues of escape for me is what I learned in the Colony, “Play the tape thru”. In other words think about the outcome of the choice that seems so desirable and reveal the destruction at the outcome of that choice.

I often look at Psalms that refer to the enemy that comes against me in verses like the ones in Psalm 64 as “Me”. It’s as though I am talking to myself and begin to feel the victory over temptation as I rebuke my fleshly desires and stake a claim to the truths in God’s word that tells me that. Although the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to destroy, my downfall can only happen when I allow my evil desires to be enticed as James tells us in the first chapter of his epistle ”But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed”.

So let’s take heed to the opening verses of Psalm 64 that tells us “Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation, preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity”. And again in Psalm 61 “Hear my cry, O God, attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Because we know, He will never leave us or forsake us and has the power to protect us even when the enemy is ME. Rob Russomano graduated from the Colony of Mercy and serves full-time at America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 3-5; Matthew 6:19-34

Think About This: Empty relationships are nothing; if we profess ourselves God’s servants and do not honour Him by our obedience, we take but an empty title. Richard Sibbes

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “ … in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.” Titus 2:7-8

3 Simple Lessons

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (Psalms1: 1-3)

My first passage of scripture I memorized, and I really enjoy the way the psalmist lays out this very direct path for success. My wife calls me a list maker or taskmaster. And this passage communicates the way I adhered truth.  I’m not a deep theologian or a great philosophical individual; give me truth direct. Out of the many, let’s explore 3 nuggets of truth in this passage.

1. Relationships; who are in our close circle? While watching the chaotic videos from the horrific event in Baltimore, One of the looters was standing on top of an innocent bystanders car smashing the widows. There were a number of individuals’ videoing the event on their phones, but no one told them that this is a bad idea. Are we surrounding ourselves around individuals that cosign our mess, or do we have the constituents that are leading us toward righteousness. Christians should long for friendship, but genuine friends are hard to come by.
2. Mediating on the Word. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing form the Word of God. There are many ways and methods to live well, but as Christian we cannot and ought not devalue the importance of the transformation power of the Holy Word of God. In a world that presents many changes and challenges the Word of God is an immovable rock. Our pleasure, our happiness is not found in society and the works of the wicked, its found in the God’s truth. In my foodservice terms, “Marinade on It.”
3. He prospers! It literally declares that this type of man prospers. If you are struggling in an area in your life, this is the ticket for victory. This is not the temporary success that the world presents; it’s the victory the Word declares. I’m not promoting prosperity gospel. Its obvious God provides for our needs and some of wants. But Prospering in the Kingdom is further gospel, it is building healthy relationships, it’s loving and serving God, as well as serving His people. The psalmist provided truth 1000s of years ago that is applicable for us today. God Bless! – Chaplain Juan Mendez serves full time at the Colony of Mercy and is a graduate. You can write him at jmendez@americaskeswick.org

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 1-2; Matthew 6:1-18

Think About This: Christ is the only way to God, but there are as many ways to Christ as there are people who come to Him. —Os Guinness

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “ … in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.” Titus 2:7-8

Come To Me and Rest

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11: 28 KJV)

One of the devotional tools I have been using the past two years is Spurgeon’s Chequebook of the Bank of Faith. I am addicted to leather-bound devotionals, and while you can get this in paperback from Amazon or CBD, Christian Heritage Publications has a nice little leather-bound edition.

Spurgeon’s January 14th devotional really spoke to my heart and I wanted to share it with you:

“We who are saved find rest in Jesus. Those who are not saved will receive rest if they come to Him, for here He promises to “give” it. Nothing can be freer than a gift; let us gladly accept what He gladly gives. You are not to buy it, nor to borrow it, but to receive it as a gift.

You labor under the lash of ambition, covetousness, lust, or anxiety: He will set you free from this iron bondage and give you rest. You are “laden,” yes, “heavy laden” with sin, fear, care, remorse, fear of death; but if you come to Him He will unload you.

He carried the crushing mass of our sin that we might no longer carry it. He made Himself the great Burden-bearer, that every laden one might cease from bowing down under the enormous pressure.

Jesus gives rest. It is so. Will you believe it? Will you put it to the test? Will you do so at once? Come to Jesus by quitting every other hope, by thinking of Him, believing God’s testimony about Him, and entrusting everything to Him. If you thus come to Him the rest which He will give you will be deep, safe, holy, and everlasting. He gives a rest which develops into heaven, and He gives it this day to all who come to Him.”

What are you doing battle with today? He wants you to come to HIM and rest! Dr. Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Keswick, America’s  (2012-12-13). Real Victory for Real Life Volume 2 (Kindle Locations 5742-5764).  . Kindle Edition.

Daily Bible Reading: Jonah 1-4; Matthew 5:27-48

Think About This: God creates out of nothing. Wonderful, you say. Yes, to be sure, but He does what is still more wonderful: He makes saints out of sinners. Soren Kierkegaard

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “ … in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.” Titus 2:7-8

That New Song

Sing unto him a new song; (Psalm 33: 3a KJV)

The Psalmist spoke about it on several occasions. So did the prophet Isaiah who expressed it this way – Sing unto the LORD a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth, (Isaiah 42: 10a KJV).

That is the inspiration of anticipation. We may not know all of the reasons we experience the desire for that new song but we do know that there are times when the heart and the soul yearn for such a refreshing experience.

Such a desire is prompted by our LORD’S declaration. Isaiah passed it to us in these words, Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth… I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house…. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth,… (Isaiah 42: 5-10 KJV, emphasis mine).

News like that should prompt a new song and it often does in the hearts of the weary and depressed, the lost and the heavy laden, the burdened and the bruised.

It is a song of security; I… will hold thine hand, and will keep you. It is a missionary song; I will give thee …for a light for the Gentiles. It is a song of purpose; … to open the blind eyes. It is a song of emancipation; …to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

But our greater anticipation is that which we see in the great exaltation of our Lord Jesus. It breaks with splendor upon the scene of eternal praise and is known as The Song of the Redeemed; And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people… (Revelation 5: 9 KJV, emphasis mine).

Just perhaps, are you now ready for The New Song? Are you at that time of life where you need the reality of that which is new – and eternal? – Dr. Robert L. Alderman is Minister-at-large at Shenandoah Baptist Church in Roanoke, VA. He is a popular Keswick speaker.

Keswick, America’s  (2012-12-13). Real Victory for Real Life Volume 2 (Kindle Locations 5015-5042).  . Kindle Edition.

Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 29-31; Matthew 3

Think About This: But how to be present to another? Our hearts are so hard. We are so insensitive to the suffering of others. We must pray the Holy Spirit to change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh so that we may give life, for love is giving of life and liberty. Jean Vanier

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. Proverbs 28:6 ESV

Who Do You Think You Are?

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12

I can still hear that question to me posed by my parents when I would become disrespectful after not getting my way. I would typically go too far and say something or do something out of line and then the question, “who do you think you are”?

Of course I never had an answer but if it was my Dad asking my Mom would usually answer with “you’re getting too big for your own britches”, whatever that means. When I evaluate that same question in my adulthood, it causes me to consider my actions and re adjust my attitude.

In 1^st Corinthians 10 Paul uses the example of the Israelites and their trek through the wilderness, how all participated in the same blessings of God and yet not all followed.  He says that we should look to this time in history as an example and to examine the error of their ways, he says, “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted”.

“Lust after evil things”? When I think about the road that leads to me thinking I’m something that I’m not it’s usually because my desires are turned inward and “self” is in control. That’s when verse 13 comes into play, to hear the Holy Spirit ask that question “who do you think you are”?

When we fall into the temptation of the things the Apostle John warned us about in 1^st John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world”, we are living too big for our own britches. The key verse in 1^st Corinthians is that we are to look for the way of escape, because He will always provide one.

I remember a time when my kids were young and the oldest threatened the younger. When I told my daughter she shouldn’t talk to her brother that way it didn’t hold much weight, but then in a more stern voice I reminded her that she was threatening “my” son, well, that got her attention. So, in the Christian circles we fellowship in, when we forget who we are and who it is we are talking to regarding our brothers and sisters in Christ, if that relationship doesn’t curb our actions, maybe we need to be reminded we are addressing God’s child and hear him asking, “Who do you think you are?”. Scary, right?

The moral of the story and I believe the message of 1^st Corinthians 10 is unbelievers are watching how we treat one another, Paul ends this chapter with a charge to us all.

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God,  just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”  Rob Russomano is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and serves full time at America’s Keswick. You can write him at rrussomano@americaskeswick.org

Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 26-28; Matthew 2

Think About This: The habit of introspection may be abused, to divert the eyes of the soul too much from Christ. —R.L. Dabney

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. Proverbs 28:6 ESV

A Lot Like Lot

“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.”                                                                                                                            2 Peter 2:7 (NLT)

It probably wasn’t a good idea anyway, but who knew? It starts back in Genesis 13:10, “Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the LORD or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)” Now between Abram and Lot it was really all about farm animals and grass but I guess their herdsmen couldn’t figure out a way to make it work so Abram and Lot parted company, it was decided like this, “So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain.” (Genesis 13:12) but ended up like this, “When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!” (Genesis 19:17)

This is one of those Old Testament stories that can be very relevant in the 21^st century. Abram was a righteous man, so much so that YHVH roots a nation in him but there’s this nephew, Lot, that is under Abram’s canopy. It would seem that Abram is Lot’s kinsmen redeemer but Lot really doesn’t get the righteous stuff down does he? I mean Lot is with Abram right from the beginning when it is time to “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.” Surely Abram would have let Lot in on this being a command from YHVH but I am not too sure if Lot gets it. From what I can gather is that Lot gets himself into some pretty sticky situations and needs lotsa savin’, doesn’t he?

How many of us have a Lot in our lives, better still how many of us could say we are a lot like Lot? We ain’t livin’ in a world that once had the actual beauty that The Garden had (we lost that with Adam). Don’t get me wrong, we got some places that have that certain allure to them but their plastic and hollow, and then we get kinda sucked into it. Without seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit we can find ourselves just as stuck as Lot did in Sodom. All his worldly marbles had been invested in this dung heap and it certainly didn’t look like Lot sought any advice from YHVH. That can be us too…knee deep in debt, can’t make waves at work for a raise in fear of losing the job, kids just won’t see the light of The Gospel, wife may have gotten herself preoccupied with the hardship of life’s circumstances or maybe as a man you just ain’t where you thought you would be at your age.

There are some ugly truths that need to be shared with you that comes from Lot’s life. Ya see when we have the righteous of Christ imputed to us we need to not take these truths for granted. One…making a selfish choice like Lot choosing the Jordan valley. Two…the effect of living in a wicked environment like Lot moving into Sodom. Three…surrendering your children to the wickedness of this world, like Lot did (I would have belted him in the chops for doing this) and finally knowing that YHVH is the only true judge of a man’s heart and does the saving of his soul. Lot lost sight of this when he left the company of Abram and it happens to us when we part ways with those we fellowship with.

In the long run it is always gonna be about having the fear of The LORD. Abram knew it up close and personal because of his encounter with YHVH. Lot didn’t have that but he also didn’t look for it in Abram.  Following Abram was a familiar thing to do but when it got crowded it was time for Lot to set out on his own BUT he should have sought YHVH’s favor for himself. Like us, we can hang around the righteous and receive benefit from it but in the longer run we need to work out our own salvation with a healthy fear of The LORD and trembling, purpose in your heart today not to pitch a tent near a 21^st century Sodom and realize that this is for me as well. I received the same warning when it came time for ungodly living to come to an end…GET OUT or you will be swept away. Praise God for the right choice. AMEN? – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and blogs weekly. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net

Today’s Bible Reading: Numbers 23-25; Matthew 1

Think About This: “As believers we are assured that no matter how dark it becomes around us, God will faithfully provide the illumination of His Spirit. God’s Word is a light that shines in a dark place until the morning star rises in our hearts. “—A. W. Tozer

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. Proverbs 28:6 ESV

Eat the Fish and Spit out the Bones (Part 2)

Last week we talk about the importance of being open minded to the founders of the faith. Because God will in fact use these heroes to strengthen our walk with Him. And if we adopt the mindset of the Bereans, whom diligently searched the scriptures to balance truth. However, some of us have the opposite issue, we can accept truth from affluent individuals of the faith, but we select who is qualified.

Are you open to listen for truth from unlikely sources? A roaster has crowed and convicted Peter. Moses was ordained by a burning bush. Jonah spent time in the belly of a whale to make adjustments. A donkey warned Balaam. Jesus told the disciples to eat his body and drink his blood. Let’s not even begin to discuss Ezekiel’s story. These were some unorthodox methods of ministry.

The privilege of being a counselor is the countless truth unveiled through the voices of the counselees. For instance, while encouraging one of the residents through a tough time, I mentioned that in this crisis you must believe. One of my staple responses I have embraced from the Experience God book. He thought for a minute, and responded isn’t it a crisis because I don’t believe. The crisis wasn’t the situation, but the lack of belief! Wow! I walked away thinking it is a crisis for believers, who don’t believe. Truth from unlikely source.

“To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” (Colossians 1:27-29)

My addiction has consumed me in many area of my life, for several years. It has caused various physical issues, a ride on an emotional rollercoaster, and has damaged my fellowship with God. It drove me to the Colony of Mercy, where He has literally changed my heart, my life, and provided me with eternity. Through my addiction, I found a relationship with God. Definitely an unlikely source

“But God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27)

Let’s be watchful for the unlikely sources to speak to hearts. – Juan Mendez graduated from the Colony of Mercy and serves there full-time. You can write to Chaplain Juan at jmendez@americaskeswick.org

Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 20-22; Revelation 22

Think About This: Many Christians are so spiritually frail, sickly, and lacking in spiritual vitality that they cannot stick to prayer for more than a few minutes at a time. Wesley L. Duewel

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. Proverbs 28:6 ESV