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We Can Depend on His Word

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You Can Depend on His Word

Four years ago today we thought God would bring healing to our precious granddaughter through open heart surgery. But God had other plans for her healing.

After many weeks of suffering through two open heart surgeries and a cardiac arrest, God chose to heal Lindsay by giving her a new heart. If you read yesterday’s blog, God led my daughter and wife to the same passage of Scripture which they circled as God directing that Lindsay would be healed. They thought the healing would come through her surgery.

When Dr. Green laid Lindsay on the table after we all went through the process of saying goodbye to her, he told the kids that she was now with the Lord and the time of her death was 1:00 PM.

That moment, like many others, is freeze-framed in my mind. Laura standing on one end of the bed and Jan on the other. Laura looked at her Mom and said, “God’s Word was true! He healed Lindsay at 1:00 PM!”

The outcome was not what we wanted. But a powerful reminder that WE CAN DEPEND ON HIS WORD. God has blessed Laura and Jon with three children since Lindsay’s home-going. The third child was born this March – and he blessed us with a precious little girl – Sydney Lin.

Kathie Lee Gifford wrote a song that Robert and Joyce Hayes sing. These words echo what we felt during those difficult days four years ago:


The Skies growing darker as the evening draws near
Storm clouds have gathered and shadows are gone
When all hope has faded replaced now with fear
Tell me what can we depend on?
We can depend on His word- when all hope is gone
We can still depend on – We can depend on His Word.
When troubles grown deeper and the desert is dry
And our hearts are so broken – that we can’t even cry
When our faith is wounded and our joy is gone
Tell me what can we depend on?
(Bridge)
When the rain comes and the pain comes,
And we know that it will
We can still trust – He is still just the same
He still call us by name

When our faith is wounded and our joy is gone
Tell me what can we depend on?

We can depend on His word – when all hope is gone
We can still depend on – we can depend on His Word.

Team YOU: 2 Kings 24-25; Proverbs 16; John 5:1-24
Motivations: Prayer is exhaling the spirit of man and inhaling the spirit of God.
Edwin Keith
Practice to Remember: Level 1:Ephesians 6:13; Level 2: Ephesians 6:14-21
Powered Up:  I am often praying for others when I should be doing things for them. It’s so much easier to pray for a bore than to go and see him. C. S. Lewis

We Can Depend on His Word

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We Can Depend on His Word

John 4:46-54 So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son was lying ill in Capernaum. 47 Having heard that Jesus had come back from Judea into Galilee, he went away to meet Him and began to beg Him to come down and cure his son, for he was lying at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, Unless you see signs and miracles happen, you [people] never will believe (trust, have faith) at all. 49 The king’s officer pleaded with Him, Sir, do come down at once before my little child is dead! 50 Jesus answered him, Go in peace; your son will live! And the man put his trust in what Jesus said and started home. 51 But even as he was on the road going down, his servants met him and reported, saying, Your son lives! 52 So he asked them at what time he had begun to get better. They said, Yesterday during the seventh hour (about one o’clock in the afternoon) the fever left him. 53 Then the father knew that it was at that very hour when Jesus had said to him, Your son will live. And he and his entire household believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Jesus). 54 This is the second sign (wonderwork, miracle) that Jesus performed after He had come out of Judea into Galilee. (Amplified Bible)

If you are reading through the Bible with us (passage listed every day) this is today’s passage from the gospel of John.

Four years ago on this day, my wife and daughter were sitting in CCU at Boston Children’s Hospital with a granddaughter, Lindsay. Lindsay was scheduled on May 16thto have open heart surgery to receive a Berlin Heart (artificial) in order to live.

Jan and Laura were both reading their Bible and God directed them independently to the same passage of Scripture which is our reading for today. Both of them were blessed in their spirit because Lindsay’s surgery was scheduled for 1:00 PM the next day.

They circled that promise in their Bibles and in their hearts. What would God do? Could they depend and count on His Word? Would He be faithful to His promises?

Some of you already know the story – but I will share the outcome tomorrow. I can tell you this – YOU CAN DEPEND ON HIS WORD! – Bill Welte is President & CEO of America’s KESWICK

Team YOU: 2 Kings 22-23; Proverbs 15; John 4:31-54

Motivations: The Cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough for its sparks to fall on us. John Scott 
Practice to Remember: Level 1:Ephesians 6:13; Level 2: Ephesians 6:14-21
Powered Up:  Our Lord in His teaching always made prayer, not preparation for work, but THE work. Oswald Chambers
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GOD’S RESOURCES NEVER RUN SHORT

“God is able to make all grace abound toward you.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

            When we face the daily challenges involved in a life committed to serving the Lord, they can be overwhelming.  Too often we can’t see the Lord because our “problem” gets between us and Him, distorting the view.

            We need to get our eyes back on the One we are serving and on what He is able to do.  Ask yourself some questions:

            What does Jesus actually mean to me?
            Is He someone special or just some “figure” from history?
            Is He really my Almighty God?
            If He should ask me to suffer for His sake, is He able to take me through that experience?

Order your copy today:732-350-1187
            Many Scriptures assure us that OUR GOD IS ABLE.  I’ll quote parts of just a few, but you should read the complete verses.  He is “ABLE TO SAVE completely all who come to God through Him” (Hebrews 7;25); “ABLE TO KEEP us from falling away” (June 24); “wonderfully ABLE TO HELP us when we suffer and are tempted”  (Hebrews 2:18); “ABLE TO SAFELY GUARD all that I have given Him until the day of His return” (2 Timothy 1:12).

            Now, even though GOD is able, sometimes we don’t receive what we request because WE hinder God.  Our expectations are too low.  We ask for small things.  We don’t really expect Him to do great things, ignoring the fact that it is “HIS almighty power working in us.”  So, too often we live in spiritual poverty because we are the ones who have limited God.

            When God says “abundant,” what does He mean?  How much is abundant?  PLENTY, ENOUGH!  ALL that is needed and ALL that He has promised and more to spare.  His resources are unlimited.

            Let’s begin to appropriate in a greater way that ever before that which the One to Whom we belong offers us.  “Him who is ABLE to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).  “God is ABLE to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having allsufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). Ruth D. Raws (some thoughts taken from Streams in the Desert, April 20)

Ruth D. Raws was a missionary nurse who served in Latin America. Her father Addison Raws was the son of the found of America’s Keswick


Team YOU: 2 Kings 19-21; Proverbs 14; John 1:1-30

Motivations: Holiness is as indispensable for a spiritual warrior as is eyesight for a military fighter pilot.C. Peter Wagner
Practice to Remember: Level 1:Ephesians 6:13; Level 2: Ephesians 6:14-21
Powered Up:  It is quite useless knocking at the door of heaven for earthly comfort; it’s not the sort of comfort they supply there. C. S. Lewis

Mom

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MOM

Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised! Proverbs 31:30 (Amplified Bible)

Sunday is Mother’s Day and I trust that you will take the time to either visit your Mom or if nothing else, pick up the phone and call her to tell her you love her.

My Mom went to be home with Jesus a number of years ago and I sure do miss her. I think about all that she has missed. She never got to meet Zach – she would have loved him and he would have loved her.

And she never got to meet her great-grandkids. She has met our granddaughter, Lindsay. So Lindsay gets to spend Mother’s Day with my Mom.


My Mom left me a BIG spiritual legacy. She was never a famous lady from the world’s perspective – but she had a huge impact on dozens of kids that she mentored while leading the nursery of our home church for many years.

My Mom taught me the value of having a personal daily quiet time with the Lord. When we were kids, she would have daily devotions with my brother and me. She read daily from the Word and from Streams in the Desert. (Maybe that is why I have really come to love that devotional!)

My wife has been an incredible Mom to her children. I love the fact that my girls have a friendship with their Mom. It thrills me to see that, and it makes me miss my Mom even more.

And now my girls have become wonderful Moms to their kids. I am very proud of them. And my son Zach has it really good! He has an earthly Mom to love on and he has two sisters that have been good Moms. When he gets married (20 years from now!) – he will know the kind of Proverbs 31 woman to choose for his wife!

Happy Mother’s Day to my special Mom’s! – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Team YOU: 2 Kings 13-14; Proverbs 11; John 2

Motivations: If someone annoys you, pray blessings from the bible for them and your heart will soon change to one of love. Anonymous 
Practice to Remember: Level 1:Ephesians 6:2-3; Level 2: Ephesians 5:15-21
Powered Up:  The seeming inactivity of prayer on the hill proved to be a greater test of spiritual stamina than fighting in the valley. It was Moses who tired, not Joshua. J. Oswald Sanders

A Prayer For Times When I Feel Overwhelmed

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A Prayer For Times When I Feel Overwhelmed

When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:15-17

I had to chuckle when I read this devotional yesterday after I wrote the blog that you read yesterday. Recognize the verses? These are the same ones that I wrote about on Wednesday. Coincidence? Hardly.

Pastor Scotty Smith penned a book of prayers centered around the gospel. They have been a blessing to read. I commend his book to you, Everday Prayers – 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith (Baker Books):


     Gracious Father, there are times when the “odds” feel quite stacked against us. With the naked eye, the enemies of justice, truth, and the gospel greatly seem to outnumber your “troops.” At times, serving you feels quite overwhelming, even futile, if not foolish. But just when we begin to retreat into a basement of fear or question your concern and faithfulness, once again you open the eyes of our hearts and show us the way things really are. You’re such a patient and merciful God.

     It is so good—no, it’s vital to know that because of the gospel, “those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16). If our God is with us, and you patently are, then who or what can, ultimately prevail against us? On our behalf, you didn’t spare Jesus. You freely gave him for our slavery to sin. But, of course, you will keeping on giving us everything we need to serve and honor you.

     But the way of the gospel will always be strength in weakness, the transforming treasure of the gospel in fragile clay pots, like us. It was three hundred poorly armed soldiers, not thirty-four thousand fighting men, you sent with Gideon to defeat the Midianite army. Jesse’s youngest son, David, a young shepherd, was your choice to be the king of Israel. Most profoundly, it was the crucifixion of Jesus, not an insurrection of zealots, which won our salvation.

     Father, the odds are never really stacked against your covenant purposes and your transforming kingdom. You’re not “trying” to do anything. You never have to resort to plan B. You never hedge your bets. You are God, and there is no other.

     So help us, and your servants throughout the world, not to become weary in preaching the gospel and planting churches, in doing justice and loving mercy, in loving our addicted friends and waiting for prodigal children to come home. We will reap a harvest at the proper time, if we do not give up (Gal. 6:9), and the gospel is all the motivation, hope, and power we need to not give up.

     Before he returns, Jesus will redeem his pan-national bride; and when he returns, Jesus will finish making all things new—ushering in the new heaven and new earth. Our labors in the Lord are often exhausting and discouraging, but they are never ever in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). Hallelujah, several times over! So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ trustworthy and triumphant name.

I needed that today. How about you? – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick


Team YOU: 2 Kings 10-12; Proverbs 10; John 1:29-51

Motivations: Christ is the most cheap physician, he takes no fee. He desires us to bring nothing to him but broken hearts; and when he has cured us he desires us to bestow nothing on him but our love. Thomas Watson
Practice to Remember: Level 1:Ephesians 6:2-3; Level 2: Ephesians 5:15-21
Powered Up:  If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where would I be know? C.S. Lewis

Lord, Open My Eyes

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Lord, Open My Eyes

Then Elisha prayed, Lord, I pray You, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17

Maybe it is because I have now had to have two rounds of laser surgery – both eyes. When I went to the retina specialist, I asked him what was causing my problem. His response was not what I wanted to hear: “Your eyes have lived long enough!”

In both eyes the retina separated from the gel in my eye creating huge floaters. It wasn’t that I couldn’t see – it just clouded my vision from being really clear. Thankfully the laser surgeries were successful, and most of the floaters are gone. I can see much clearer now.
I love this story in 2 Kings 6 when Elisha is standing there with a young man who has become overwhelmed and fearful about his circumstances. From his human eyes, the battle raging all around him was so intense that there didn’t seem to be any way out.

Elisha saw life from a totally different perspective. His intense and intentional walked with the Lord helped him to see that God was at work all around him and that even when he couldn’t necessarily see EVERYTHING – He placed his trust in the one who sees ALL.
I love Elisha’s prayer – Lord, open his eyes that he may see! Not a long drawn out prayer. Not a prayer filled with tons of “Christian-ese.” Simple. Direct. Right to the point.
And God heard Elisha and answered his prayer of faith. The Lord pulled back the curtain and allowed this young man to SEE with eyes of faith that all around him were a host of horses and chariots of fire! Wow!

I find myself praying just about every day – Lord, open my eyes that I may see you at work all around me. I don’t want to miss Him at work. He’s there. He is working out His plans and purposes. Sometimes I get to see BIG picture stuff. Sometimes I get to see Him at work in little ways that I might miss because of a floater passing by – the floater of busyness or the floater of my agenda.

I keep writing these things in my journal because I don’t want to forget them. They are reminders that HE can be trusted and that HE IS ALWAYS AT WORK ALL AROUND ME.

Don’t knock it – try it first, then write me and tell me I am a whacko. Are you bold enough? Daring enough – to ask God to open your eyes to see Him at work all around you? I dare you! In fact, I double-dog dare you. – Bill Welte is President & CEO of America’s Keswick   

                            
Team YOU:  2 Kings 7-9; Proverbs 9; John 1:1-28

Motivations: Christ asks no preparation of any kind whatsoever, – legal or evangelical, outward, or inward, – in the coming sinner. And he that will not come as he is shall never be received at all. It is not exercised souls, nor penitent believers, nor well humbled seekers, nor earnest users of the means, nor any of the better class of Adam’s sons and daughters, but “sinner”, that Christ welcomes. He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Horatius Bonar
Practice to Remember: Level 1:Ephesians 6:2-3; Level 2: Ephesians 5:15-21
Powered Up:  The right relation between prayer and conduct is not that conduct is supremely important and prayer may help it, but that prayer is supremely important and conduct tests it. – William Temple

Go On

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GO ON

“How long are you slack to go to possess the land,
which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you?” (Joshua 18:3)

            The question seems so simple that we may wonder why it would be asked.  The answer seems so obvious that we may wonder why it is necessary.  You will recognize the historical setting.  Joshua was leading Israel to the land promised by God.  The amazing work of Israel’s God in getting them to this point in history was well known to Israel.  They had seen both His purpose and His power. They had witnessed His presence in the process.  His provision for every step of the journey could not be questioned.  Yet “there remained among the children of Israelseven tribes, which had not received their inheritance.” (Joshua 18:2)

            The question is to the point.  “How long are you slack…?”  How is it that you can come so far and see so much and then go slack in your desire and be so distracted from your objective?

            Such a situation in history shakes me to ask the same question of my pilgrimage. Is there a provision I have not possessed? Is there a victory I have not claimed? Is there a territory I have not conquered?

            Am I content with less?  Do I by forfeiture say to God that I simply do not care to go farther with Him?  Do I simply ignore His wisdom in providing more? Have I become content with that which is less than a God-styled and God-provided life?

            Do I believe that God is not able to take me further?  Do I take the attitude that it would be “pushing my luck” to trust God for more?

            Have I become wearied with discipline? After all, to go on with God does require the daily pursuit of His will. The successful journey does demand daily obedience. Have I lost sight of the value of such? Is personal discipline a thing not desired?

            Or shall I deal today with the question of slackness in my attitude, my discipline and my devotion to the “high calling of God?”  The provision is His.  The choice is mine. Dr. Robert L. Alderman will be speaking again this summer at America’s Keswick. Check out our summer brochure: Summer Brochure
Team YOU: 2 Kings 4-6; Proverbs 8; Luke 24:36-53

Motivations: From the tiny birds of the air and from the fragile lilies of the field, we learn the same truth…God takes care of His own…. At just the right moment, He steps in and proves Himself as our faithful heavenly Father. Charles (Chuck) Swindoll
Practice to Remember: Level 1:Ephesians 6:2-3; Level 2: Ephesians 5:15-21
Powered Up:  The best and most wonderful thing that can happen to you in this life, is that you should be silent and let God work … — Dag Hammarksjold

Seek God

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Seek God

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! PSALM 119:9–10
Recently I read a book by Pastor Joe Thorn called NOTE TO SELF – THE DISCIPLINE OF PREACHING TO YOURSELF.
It is a powerful book on helping us understand the importance of and how to preach the gospel to yourself. It is a series of notes to self, covering a variety of topics related to victorious Christian living.

We seek after so many things in life. Your list is probably different than mine, but at the heart of it, they are very similar if we are seeking after things or stuff apart from seeking after the only ONE who can give us true fulfillment in our heart of hearts.

Most of us do battle in our lives with ups and downs. For some it seems that there are more downs than ups. Could it be that we are seeking after the wrong things instead of the RIGHT ONE? Listen to the words of Pastor Joe:

Dear Self,

You tend to forget that seeking God is not only a quest for the lost, but it is also to characterize the life of the found. The whole of your life should be seen as a seeking for God. This is not, of course, seeking for that which you do not know or have. God has found you, bought you, and owns you. You have been adopted, and nothing can separate you from the love of God in Jesus. Yet your need to seek God never ends. 

Seeking God means that you are continually aiming and working at knowing him more deeply, depending on him more thoroughly, and experiencing his grace more richly.
The psalmist says that his desire is to remain “pure.” He wants to live uprightly and to honor God. He knows that this means he must guard his life according to God’s Word, but he also recognizes that this is not just an act of willpower. It is the hope of God’s sustaining grace that he finds as he seeks God.

 It is unfortunate that you forget your need to seek God, for though you are right that God is enough, you forget that he is only found to be enough by those who seek him. Seeking God means that in all you do, you keep his honor in your mind, his Word in your heart, and his glory as your goal—so you are seeking to actually know him and make him known.
Thorn, Joe (2011-04-05). Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself (Re:Lit) (pp. 58-59). Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition.

Good for stuff for you and I to think about as we preach the gospel to ourselves. Are we seeking God today? – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

Team YOU: 2 Kings 1-3; Proverbs 7; Luke 24:1-35

Motivations: It is one of the terrible marks of the diseased state of Christian life in these days, that there are so many who rest content without the distinct experience of answer to prayer. They pray daily, they ask many things, and trust that some of them will be heard, but know little of direct definite answer to prayer as the rule of daily life. And it is this the Father wills: He seeks daily dialogue with His children in listening to and granting their petitions. Andrew Murray
Practice to Remember: Level 1:Ephesians 6:12; Level 2: Ephesians 6:1-13
Powered Up:  How good is God to deny us mercies in mercy! William Jenkyn

Don’t Miss The Talleys

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Spring Concert!
Featuring: The Talleys

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 7:00 PM

The Talleys have become one of the most beloved and respected groups in Christian music. The east Tennessee family’s unmistakable style of progressive southern gospel has kept them at the forefront of gospel music for many years. The hallmarks of the “Talley” sound are their lush arrangements, close-knit harmonies and powerful vocals.
$15 per person
Call America’s Keswick to make your reservation:
732-350-1187

Abide in the Vine

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Abide in the Vine
“I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

I need to be reminded of this truth often. Be a person who is a doer and a people pleaser, I need to remember that it isn’t about me. It is all about HIM. I can do lots of things in my own strength and blow it big time. OR I can choose to abide in HIM and allow HIM to work through me. That’s what Dr. Henry Blackaby shares in Experiencing God – The Devotional:
       There are those who feel that they must be constantly laboring for the Lord in order to meet God’s high standards.  Jesus gave a clear picture of what our relationship to Him ought to be like.  He is the vine, the source of our life.  We are the branches, the place where fruit is produced.  As we receive life from Christ, the natural, inevitable result is that fruit is produced in our lives.
       In our zeal to produce “results” for our Lord, we sometimes become so intent on fruit production that we neglect abiding in Christ.  We may feel that “abiding” is not as productive or that it takes too much time away from our fruit production.  Yet Jesus said that it is not our activity that produces fruit, it is our relationship with Him.
       Jesus gave an important warning to His disciples.  He cautioned that if they ever attempted to live their Christian life apart from an intimate relationship with Him, they would discover that they ceased to produce any significant results.  They might exert great effort for the kingdom of God, yet when they stopped to account for their lives, they would find only barrenness.  One of the most dramatic acts Jesus ever performed was cursing a fig tree that had failed to produce fruit (Mark 11:14).  Are you comfortable in abiding, or are you impatient to be engaged in activity?  If you will remain steadfastly in fellowship with Jesus, a great harvest will be the natural by-product.
I need to make ABIDING IN CHRIST a non-negotiable priority in my life. Let’s partner together to abide in Him! – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick
Team YOU: 1 Kings 16-18; Proverbs 4; Luke 22:47-71

Motivations: “A Gospel-empowered believer rests his or her identity in Christ. In his Epistles, the Apostle Paul often used the expression “in Christ.” We can’t come close to addressing the breadth of this phrase, but to be “in Christ” means to share in Christ’s death and resurrection, and to be placed under the headship of Christ rather than under the curse of Adam. It means that we now live with a completely different relationship with God. Christ’s death and resurrection are the foundations of the Gospel-driven life. Dying with Christ means finding no life in the things that used to run our lives and it means living under a new dominion and a new King. For instance, while self and success are the central motivations in a performance-driven life (expressed in varied ways), Christ calls us to do everything for his glory and not for our own. Being raised with Christ means rising to a new way of living under his Kingship… Rather than being driven by a selfish desire to be successful for our own glory, we’re moved by a passion and calling by God upon our lives to be image-bearers and missionaries in obedience to Christ and for the glory of God.” Graced Again
Practice to Remember: Level 1:Ephesians 6:2-3; Level 2: Ephesians 5:15-21
Powered Up:  I have lived to thank God that all my prayers have not been answered. Jean Ingelow