Did you ever find yourself in a situation where you felt overwhelmed? I am in on those places at the moment. Our summer season is winding down and we are getting ready to head into a very busy month of our anniversary banquets and ministry events. I am facing a stretch of 8 days without a day off in sight. There is stuff to do around the house after neglecting it because of the intensity of the summer season. Preparation for a Board meeting. Messages to be prepared for upcoming speaking engagements. People that need to see me. Phone calls that must be returned. Quite honestly, I have woken up the past several nights simply overwhelmed.

This morning in my quiet time, my spirit was once again refreshed from the WORD! I love the way GOD knows WHAT we need to hear WHEN we need to hear it. Here is one of the verses from today: “From the end of the earth I will cry out to You, when my heart is OVERWHELMED; Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2). It was a refreshing reminder that in the midst of the crazies of life — I have the privilege of crying out to the ONE who understands WHAT I am experiencing. Usually when I am overwhelmed, I end up complaining and grumbling. I may even get short and snippy with my wife, son, or co-workers. But David reminds me that when I am overwhelmed, when the world feels like it is crashing in all around me, when life sees life a merry-go-round and I want to jump off — do this: CRY OUT TO THE ONE WHO IS HIGHER THAN I!

I am reminded of an old hymn, I MUST TELL JESUS . . .
I must tell Jesus all of my sorrow.
I cannot bear all these burdens alone.
In my distress He kindly will help me.
He ever loves and cares for His own.

(Chorus)

I must tell Jesus. I must tell Jesus.
I cannot bear all these burdens alone.
I must tell Jesus. I must tell Jesus.
Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.

Thank You, Lord that YOU understand when I am overwhelmed! Thank you that YOU desire me to cry out to You! Lead me today to the ROCK that is higher than I!

One of the things that I have struggled with most of my Christian life, is consistency in my PERSONAL prayer life. It has become easier for me to pray with others, both face to face and even over the phone. However, my own PRIVATE prayer life has been a struggle. I purpose to get alone to pray, and yet when I do, my mind starts to wander all over the place, and the next thing I know, I am bogged down with a project or on to something else.

In my quiet time this morning, Oswald Chambers addresses the battle so precisely as he writes: “Prayer is an effort of the will. After we have entered our secret place and shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray. We cannot seem to get our minds into good working order,
and the first thing we have to fight is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is overcoming the problem of our idle and wandering thinking. We have to learn to discipline our minds and concentrate on willful, deliberate prayer.

Having a secret stillness before God means deliberately shutting the door on our emotions and remembering Him. God is in secret, and He sees us from ‘the secret place’ — He does not see us as other people do, or as we see ourselves. When we truly live in the ‘secret place,’ it becomes impossible for us to doubt God. We become more sure of Him than of anyone or anything else. Enter into ‘the secret place,’ and you will find that God was right in the middle of your everyday circumstances all the time. Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything! Unless we learn to open the door of our lives completely and let God in from our first waking moment of each new day, we will be working on the wrong level throughout the day. But if we will swing the door our our lives fully open and ‘pray to our Father who is in the secret place,’ every public thing in our lives will be marked with the lasting imprint of the presence of God.” Check out Matthew 6:6 “When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you
openly.”

Good words that I needed to hear today. Good words for you to ponder and apply.

I do a lot of reading in the field of leadership and customer service and today’s view of the work world runs congruently with what is happening in our society — it’s all about ME! For many people, work is something that you do to just put food on the table, help to pay your bills, and hopefully to provide for the future.

Years ago, I spent three summers working at Sandy Cove as a bus boy/waiter, and under the leadership of several godly leaders, I began to learn the value of hard work and a godly work ethic. Dr. George Palmer, the founder of Sandy Cove, grew up at Girard College in Philadelphia, which as I remember was an orphanage for boys. He was taught the value of a work ethic, and his experiences there helped to shape how he would build his ministry in the future.

Dr. Palmer taught young people that there was a connection between how our work would bring honor to the glory of God. Our work was a reflection on our relationship with the Lord. What I did on the job was significant because it was a reflection on my walk with the Lord.

Years later, I attended Bill Gothard’s BASIC YOUTH CONFLICTS seminar and learned that one of the ways that I glorify God is to do my very best on the job so that it makes my employer look good, which ultimately brings glory to God. That concept is not one that I read in 90% of the leadership books as the goal today is to make ME look good.

Solomon wrote “observe people who are good at their work — skilled workers are always in demand and admired; they don’t take a back seat to anyone (Proverbs 22:29 — The Message) Paul wrote: “You slaves must always obey your earthly masters, not only trying to please them when they are watching you but all the time; obey them willingly because of YOUR love for the Lord and because you want to please HIM. Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord, and not merely for your masters, remembering that it is the Lord Christ who is going to pay you, giving you your portion of all he owns. HE IS THE ONE YOU ARE REALLY WORKING FOR. And if you don’t do your best for him, he will pay you in a way that you won’t like — for he has no special favorites who can get away with shirking (Colossians 3:22-25 Living Bible).

How is your work ethic? How would THE master employer rate you today? Good words to think about as we begin a new week.

“Lord, I am convinced that You want me (and all Your disciples) to be as carefree as possible. The life of discipleship is a life of gradual disencumbering, whereas the life of the worldly minded is one of gradual encumbering. The true disciple does what Paul’s captain did — unloads the cargo. But the earthly minded keeps adding cargo as long as he lives.

The self-centered life naturally multiplies its cares because it multiplies its desires. One pleasure must give way to two, and one piece of worldly goods must eventually produce many. The result of all that self-gratification is not the peace of mind but increased anxiety. Jesus called that anxiety ‘the cares of this world’ (Matthew 13:22). Cares are produced by desires, and desires are born in the naturally selfish heart of man.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I must strike at the heart of worldliness. It does not lie in things, but in the DESIRE for things. I must crucify my desires; I must direct them. Only desires that are manifestly displeasing to God must be crucified, but all other desires must be purified by the washing process of prayer (Mark 11:24).

Desires that have been purified lead to holy carefreeness. When God answers my desires, He does so without adding sorrow (Proverbs 10:22); but when I seek my own self-gratification, I sow seeds of bitterness. The world is full of boredom because those are the fruits of a self-centered existence. When I find my gratification in self-denial for Christ’s sake, I find myself marvelously stimulated with the excitement of an eternal adventure. Self-denial is practical immortality to be realized now and to be enjoyed forever! I seek first the kingdom of
heaven and all its right ways, all things will be mine (Matthew 6:33).

‘Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you’ (I Peter 5:6-7).

from DAILY WITH THE KING by W. Glyn Evans Moody Press

“O God of love, I approach you with encouragements derived from your character, for I am not left to feel after you in the darkness of my nature, nor to worship you as the unknown God.
I cannot find our your perfections, but I know you are good, ready to forgive, plenteous in mercy. You have displayed your wisdom, power, and goodness in all your works, and have revealed your will in the Scripture of truth. You have caused it to be preserved, translated, published, multiplied, so that all men may possess it and find you in it.

Here I see your greatness and your grace, your pity and your rectitude, your mercy and your truth. your being and men’s hearts. Through it you have magnified your name, and favored mankind with the gospel. Have mercy on me, for I have ungratefully received your benefits,
little improved my privileges, made light of spiritual things, disregarded your messages, contended with examples of the good, rebukes of conscience, admonitions of friends, leadings of providence. I deserve that your kingdom be taken away from me. Lord, I confess my sin with feeling, lamentation, a broken heart, a contrite spirit, self-abhorrence, self-condemnation, self-despair. Give me relief by Jesus my hope, faith in his name of Savior, forgiveness by his blood,
strength in his presence, holiness by his Spirit: And let me love you with all my heart.”

from THE VALLEY OF VISION — Banner of Truth — Prayers of the Puritans

From the pen of Oswald Chambers — My Utmost for His Highest

“The rich young ruler went away from Jesus speechless with sorrow, having nothing to say in response to Jesus’ words. He had no doubt about what Jesus had said or what it meant, and it produced in him a sorrow with no words with which to respond. Have you ever been there? Has God’s Word ever come to you, pointing out an area of your life, requiring you to yield to Him? Maybe He has pointed out certain personality qualities, desires, interests, or possibly relationships of your heart and mind. If so, then you have often been speechless with sorrow. The Lord will not go after you, and He will not plead with you. But ever time He meets you
at the place where He has pointed, He will simply repeat His words, saying, ‘If you really mean what you say, these are the conditions . . .
‘

‘Sell all that you have . . . ‘ (Luke 18:23) In other words, rid yourself before God of EVERYTHING that might be considered a possession until you are a mere conscious human being standing before Him, and then give God that. That is where the battle is truly fought — the the realm of your will before God. Are you more devoted to your idea of what Jesus
wants than to Jesus Himself? If so, you are likely to hear one of His harsh and unyielding statements that will produce sorrow in you. What Jesus says is difficult — it is only easy when it is heard by those who have His nature in them. Beware of allowing anything to soften the
harsh words of Jesus Christ.I can be so rich in my own poverty, or in the awareness of the fact that I am a nobody, that I will never be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Or I can be so rich in the awareness that I am somebody that I will never be a disciple. Am I willing to be destitute and poor even in my sense of awareness of my destitution and poverty? If not, that is why I become
discouraged. Discouragement is disillusioned self-love, and self-love may be love for my devotion to Jesus — not love for Jesus Himself.”

Interesting words for your consideration today from one of the great devotional authors.

I am a slow learner. You have heard me say this before on many occasions. I just don’t get it at times. My choleric/sanguine personality gets me in trouble because I tend to get the order of things mixed up. I too often speak first and then listen. For most of my years in elementary school, my report card would contain the same lines from my teachers — “Billy would be a great student if he talked less and listened more . . . “

I am glad that the Father is patient with me. His Word keeps hammering me with the truth HE wants me to hear and learn. Today’s chapter in Proverbs hit home: “The one who knows much says little — an understanding person remains calm. Even dunces who keep quiet are thought to be wise; as long as they keep their mouths shut, they’re smart.” (Proverbs 17:28-29 THE MESSAGE) Ouch!

The writer to the book of James says: “Dear brothers, don’t ever forget that it is best to LISTEN MUCH, SPEAK LITTLE . . .” (James 1:19 NLT). I need to learn to do that — with my family, my staff, and with the people I meet. When I put this truth into practice, I am walking the way
HE wants me to walk, living the way HE wants me to live — and in fact, living in obedience to HIS Word.

Yesterday I blew it big time in this area. I was too quick to speak instead of listening. I know that today I need to go back and ask forgiveness of someone that I offended and hurt with my words. Thank You, Lord, for convicting me. Help me to SHUT UP and LISTEN!

“May my spoken words and unspoken thoughts be pleasing even to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 NTL)

I shared with you yesterday some insights that I gained from seeing the movie, THE MARCH OF THE PENGUINS. As I was thinking about it last night, I thought about another cool insight. The penguins do their annual 70-80 mile walk each year to find their perspective mate. Thousands of the them assemble at the main staging area. They spend days squawking until
they finally pair up. After wifey leaves to trek back to the waters to get her food and makes then makes the trek back to find her mate, she faces the challenge of finding her mate in the middle of thousands of “men” who look exactly alike. She needs to squawk and as well as listen for the squawk of her mate. The noise is unbelievable — yet they are able to find each other.

It was an “AHA!” moment for me as I thought about it. The God of the universe who created us — has given each of us different voices. And yet thousands of us can be praying at one time, crying out to Him, and He hears YOUR prayer. He hears YOUR voice. He is, as David penned,
“attentive to YOUR voice and the cry of your heart!” That might not excite you, but it sure does me.

Praise God for His listening ear . . . Ps 116:2
“BECAUSE HE HAS TURNED HIS EAR
TO ME, I WILL CALL OUT TO HIM AS LONG AS I LIVE.”

Good word for today! Think about it!

I normally would never use the Freedom Fighter to recommend a movie, but I will today. If you haven’t seen it, go see THE MARCH OF THE PENGUINS. We took Zach to see it on Friday and I was amazed that people were paying to see a National Geographic special. The theater was packed with people of all ages and it was quite refreshing.

There were many amazing biblical principles that one could draw from this movie, but the one the struck me the most was the incredible love of the father. The penguins walk/crawl for 70-80 miles to the spot where they will look for their potential mate. After they find the love of their life, they lovingly mate. The mother gives birth to the egg that is literally handed off to the father who assumes full responsibility for the care and oversight of the egg. The mother has to travel the 70-80 mile journey back to the ocean in order to eat and gain her strength for the journey back and then to feed the growing baby. She is gone for many months. During that time, the father has to endure the harshest of winters, standing next to hundreds of other Dads who are also caring for their future offspring. The winds and storms of the winter rage all around them, but Dad sticks with the stuff and while losing his strength and body weight to protect his future heir.

We live in a day when in some many of our families, Dad is the absent figure in the care and upbringing of their kids. While we may be good financial providers, making sure there is food and all the other “stuff” our families need, there is nothing like a father demonstrating his love
to his kids. Our kids need hugs, words of affirmation and encouragement. Some of us get bogged down in finding just the right amount of time to spend with them. We get hung up on the QUANTITY sometimes rather than the QUALITY of time spent with them. What our kids need is not how MUCH we know, but HOW MUCH we care.

“What marvelous love the Father has extended to us [one translation says ‘LAVISHED’]! Just look at it — we’re called the children of God! That’s who we really are . . .” [1 John 3:1]

Take some time to lavish your love on your kids this week. And go see THE MARCH OF THE PENGUINS!

As you prepare your heart for worship this morning, reminded of the glorious truth that Christ dwells in YOU! Dr. Jack Hayford says that “right where you are, Christ’s salvation has laid the foundation for a temple — a tabernacle for worship. He invites you to open your life to become a holy site — a place where He can meet with you, dwell with you, and manifest His presence to you and through you. It is Jesus who makes this possible — ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory!’ (Colossians 1:27) Build a life of worship ‘according to the pattern that was shown you on the mount’ (Exodus 25:40). Let each furnishing become a stepping-stone to a full-house life of worship, responding to his call that we:

* rejoice in the completed sacrifice Jesus has achieved for us,
* be purified from the things that would clutter or pollute our lives,
* feed on His Word, letting the Holy Spirit illuminate it and apply it to our lives,
* lift the sweet fragrance of praise and worship from our hearts to the Lord, and,
* come to the mercy seat, where grace and forgiveness are ever assured, and. . . abide there!

Good words to ponder on this HOT Lord’s day.