“Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor.” (Romans 12: 10)

Dr. John C. Maxwell in his new book WINNING WITH PEOPLE says, “if you put yourself in the place of others instead of putting others in their place, it changes the way you see life, and it changes the way you live it.” He goes on to share this neat story about author and speaker Dan
Clark as he recalled standing in line with his Dad to buy tickets for a circus.

“As they waited, they noticed the family immediately in front of them. The parents were holding hands, and they had eight children in tow, all well behaved and all probably under the age of twelve. Based on their clean but simple clothing, he suspected that they didn’t have a lot of
money. The kids jabbered about the exciting things they expected to see, and he could tell that the circus was going to be a new adventure for them.

As the couple approached the counter, the attendant asked how many tickets they wanted. The man proudly responded that he wanted to buy eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets so he could take his family to the circus. When the attendant quoted the price, the man’s wife let go of his hand, and her head drooped. The man leaned a little closer and asked, ‘How much did you say?’ The attendant again quoted the price. The man obviously didn’t have enough money and he looked crushed.

Clark says that his father watched all of this, put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a worn twenty-dollar bill, and dropped it on the ground. His father then reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder, and said, ‘Excuse me, sir, this fell out our your pocket.’

The man knew exactly what was going on. He looked straight into Clark’s father’s eyes, took his hand, shook it, and with a tear streaming down his cheek, replied, ‘Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family.’

Clark and his father went back to the car and drove home. They didn’t have enough money to go to the circus that night, but it didn’t matter. Because they had put themselves in the place of others, they had done something important.”

How about you? “Outdo someone today in showing honor!” Good words to ponder today on this hot, July 27th, 2005.

Last night as we were heading into dinner, Julia Bitler, one of our “adopted grandkids,” came running over to me and my wife to hand us pictures that she made of us. I have tucked mine in my Bible as it was really precious. She sees me quite differently than I see myself — she gave be brown curly hair! I WISH I had brown hair — it was brown once — now its mostly gray and white.

There are some tremendous insights in this little “God moment” that came to my mind. I am thankful this morning that God sees me so much differently than I see myself. He created me and he created you. Psalm 139 reminds us that He fashioned us while we were in our mother’s womb! God doesn’t make junk — He creates masterpieces! He sees in us something totally different than what we often see. The New Living Translation puts it this way: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he
planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:11)

Several years ago we visited the Precious Moments Chapel in Missouri. At the front of the chapel is a huge mural that has been in progress for a number of years. The artist has created a masterpiece that is “still in progress.” He keeps adding more and more beauty to his project. It is a work in progress.

That my friend, is what you are — a work in progress. God is molding and shaping you, conforming you to the image of His dear Son. One day you will be complete! Don’t take yourself off the easel! Allow the Master to continue to do His work in your life today.

Good thoughts to ponder on this hot summer July day.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.” (1 Thess. 5:11)

WHAT KIND OF PERSON ARE YOU TODAY?

There are two kinds of people on earth today;
Just two kinds of people, no more, I say.

Not the sinner and saint, for it’s well understood,
That the good are half-bad and the bad half-good.

Not the rich and the poor, for to rate a man’s wealth,
You must first know the state of his conscience and health.

Not the humble and proud, for in life’s little span,
Who puts on van airs, is not counted a man.

Not the happy and sad, for the swift flying years
Bring each man his laughter and each man his tears.

No; two kinds of people on earth I mean,
Are the people who lift, and the people who lean.

Wherever you go, you will find the earth’s masses,
Are always divided in just these two classes.

And oddly enough, you will find too, I ween,
There’s only one lifter to twenty who lean.

In which class are you? Are you easing the load?
Of overtaxed lifters, who toil down the road?
Or are you a leaner, who lets others share
Your portion of labor, and worry and care.

(from Ella Wheeler Wilcox, “Which Are You?” Custer and Other Poems as quoted in Dr. John C. Maxwell’s book, WINNING WITH PEOPLE published by Thomas Nelson.)

Are you a leaner or a lifter? With your spouse? Children? Employees?
Employer? Good words for you to ponder on this Monday, July 25, 2005.

Today many of you will sing the Doxology as a part of your worship. The word doxology comes from the Greek word doxa, meaning “radiance,” “splendor,” “glory,” and are expressions of praise to God.

The New Testament is filled with DOXOLOGIES and I encourage you to think through them on this Lord’s Day:

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!
How unsearchable His judgments and untraceable His ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His
counselor?

Or who has ever first given to Him, and has to be repaid?
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the
glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)

Now to Him who has power to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the sacred secret kept silent for long ages, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the command of the eternal God, to advance the obedience of faith among all nations– the only wise God, through Jesus Christ — to Him be the glory forever! Amen.
(Romans 16:25-27)

Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly ABOVE all that we could ask or think, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1: 17)

The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.
(2 Timothy 4:18)

Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now, and forever. Amen.
(Jude 24-25)

Fill your hearts with praise this morning on this glorious Lord’s Day!

I was hoping to sleep in this morning, but it wasn’t meant to be. At 5:00 AM our “outside” puppy started to whimper and bark and wouldn’t settle down. At first we thought it might be an owl or maybe the deer trying to get into my vegetable garden. Jan got up to check it out, and
after she was gone for almost 30 minutes, I decided to go out and see what was up.

In addition to our chickens, Zach has been raising rabbits. Cobweb (Dad) and Elizabeth (Mom) have had two litters of babies, and most of them have not survived, especially in the heat. Mom and Dad were living in a hutch in the caged in area of our little farm, but two weeks ago they
escaped and have been running free. Yesterday the puppy was chasing Elizabeth and almost caught her. While running from the puppy she must have injured her back leg.

The commotion this morning was because Cobweb was wanting Elizabeth to get back to the hutch because of her injured leg. He was like a mother hen with his bride, encouraging her to move to safety as quickly as possible. Jan was able to assist in getting her back in the hutch. We
watched in the distance as Cobweb came inside the yard and made his way to the hutch to check to see that all was well. It became quite apparent that he wanted a better look, so he maneuvered around so that he could get back inside as well. We have watched him for the last hour as he has tenderly and lovingly moved around the hutch, kissing and licking his
mate and making sure she is ok.

As I watched these two in action, isn’t it sad that sometimes the animals do a better job of caring for their family better than us? We get so wrapped up in our agenda’s and schedules that we miss out on the times that our loved ones need us the most. Weekends are a good time for
most of us to reconnect with our loved ones after a long week. Don’t miss these golden opportunities this weekend to connect with your family. Once the moment is gone, you can never go back.
Good words to ponder on this Saturday, July 23, 2005.

“If your godliness has freed you from the desire to be rich and has helped you be content with what you have, then your godliness is tremendously profitable.” — John Piper

“Contentment is not only a good idea; it is our duty. If God recommends something, we ought to do it. As J. I. Packer has emphasized, contentment is both commended (‘Godliness with contentment is great gain . . .’) and commanded (‘Be content with what you have . . .’).

Such a forceful endorsement by the Almighty should make contentment a prominent concern for each of us. Instead we make it a secret concealed by our indifference to it. When the Apostle Paul wrote, ‘I have learned the secret of being content,’ his use of the word SECRET was intentional. Those things we expect to bring contentment surprisingly do not. We cannot depend on it to fall into place through the progressive evolving of civilization, for contentment arises from a different source.

Most of us do not know how to uncover this secret and, to be honest, have never seriously tried. Our quest is not for contentment but for MORE. This quest brings us into an immense maze, where before us lie dozens of avenues. Some are wide, luxurious, downhill, and tempting, and
we see a rush of our friends entering them. They lead to beautiful houses, comfortable cars, exotic vacations, and affluence. Other avenues, equally popular, lead to prestigious colleges, distinguished jobs, important friends, and power. Still others direct us to beautiful
spouses, beautiful children, deep tans, and popularity.

All the while, off to one side, courses a narrow uphill road, unadorned and unpopular. It is dusty from its sparse use and lonely from lack of travelers. The sole treasure at its end is an elusive commodity called ‘godliness with contentment.’

Godliness is an attitude whereby what we want is to please God. Contentment, explains J. I. Packer, ‘is essentially a matter of accepting from God’s hand what He sends because we know that HE is good and therefore it is good.’

Contentment is the freedom that comes when prosperity or poverty do not matter. To accept what we have and “to want but little,” as Thoreau advised. The more we choose contentment, the more God sets us free. The more He sets us free, the more we choose contentment.”

from A MINUTE OF MARGIN by Dr. Richard Swenson . . . good words for this Friday, July 22, 2005. God bless you.

“God’s power is undeniable; His precision is impressive; His sovereignty is on display. How can such power fail to dominate every thought and action? Why do we trust Him more? Is it not that God has failed to clearly demonstrate His nature or that He has been lax in instructing us? It is just that we are slow to understand. This world is too much with us.

What we need is a new vision of God. The real God. Not some vague image we fold up and stuff in the back drawer of life, but the kind of God who parts the Red Sea and shakes Mount Sinai. The kind of God who stuns physicists with symmetry, the mathematicians with precision, the
engineers with design, the politicians with power, and the poets with beauty.

The Scriptures build our understanding of God’s sovereignty on a practical level — by that I mean the kind of knowledge that affects our everyday behavior. But science is also a fascinating source of revelation, and increasingly so.

The spiritual implications of modern science are impossible to dismiss. They are a stick of dynamite under the front porch of our spiritual complacency. When we lift any stone of the universe, God’s fingerprints stare back at us. Everything is there, waiting to be discovered. All the evidence we need, and more.

When we understand the sovereignty, power, design, majesty, precision, genius, intimacy, and caring of an almighty God, it takes away our fear. It removes our frustrations. It allows us to sleep at night and trust Him with the running of our own universe. It allows us to have margin.
It allows us to resume our proper role in the order of things rather than taking over His role. It allows us to seek His will rather than following our own mind.

The more we understand about God’s power, the less we worry about our weakness. The more we trust in God’s sovereignty, the less we fret about the future.

from A MINUTE OF MARGIN — RESTORING THE BALANCE TO BUSY LIVES by Dr.
Richard Swenson, published by NavPress.

Good words for us to ponder today. Has Freedom Fighter encouraged you? Then there are two ways to help: 1. Share it with a friend, and 2. Let us hear from you with your comments. Have a great day.

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)

“Bible study will not give you eternal life. You could memorize the entire Bible and be able to discuss minute issues of biblical scholarship and yet fail to experience the truths found in its pages. It is a subtle temptation to prefer the book to the Author. A book will not confront you about sin; the Author will. Books can be ignored; it is much harder to avoid the Author when He is seeking a relationship with you.

The Pharisees in Jesus’ day thought God would pleased with their knowledge of His Word. They could quote long, complicated passages of Scripture. They loved to recite and study God’s Law for ours on end. Yet Jesus condemned them because although they knew the Scriptures, they did not know God. They were proud of their Bible knowledge, but they rejected the invitation to know God’s Son.

Can you imagine yourself knowing all that God has promised to do in your life but then turning to something else instead? You may be tempted to turn to substitutes. These substitutes aren’t necessarily bad things. They might include serving in the church, doing good deeds, or reading
Christian books. No amount of Christian activity will ever replace your relationship with Jesus. The Apostle Paul considered every ‘good’ thing he had done to be ‘rubbish’ when compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8). Never become satisfied with religious
activity rather than a personal, vibrant, and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.”

from Henry Blackaby EXPERIENCING GOD DAY BY DAY published by Broadman Holman

“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:11-12)

Chuck Swindol reminds us that earth is the battleground where we as believers combat lusts that wage war against our souls. He reminds us that “for our brief tour of duty we Christians have on this earth, we cannot get stalled in sin or, for that matter, incapacitated by guilt. To live the kind of live that God requires, Peter offers four suggestions:

1. Live a clean life. Don’t think for a moment that it makes no difference to unbelievers how Christians live. We live out our faith before a watching world. That’s why Peter urges is to abstain from fleshly lusts, ‘in order to get their attention’ and to prove that what we believe really works. We don’t have a clue how man non-Christians are watching us on this very day, determining the truth of the message of Christianity strictly on the basis of how we live, how we work, how we respond to life’s tests, or how we conduct ourselves with our families.

2. Leave no room for slander. When the ancient Greek philosopher Plato was told that a certain man had begun making slanderous charges against him, Plato’s response was, ‘I will live in such a way that no one will believe what he says.’ The most convincing defense is a silent integrity
of our character, not how vociferously we deny the charges.

3. Do good deeds among unbelievers. It’s easy for Christians to have such tunnel vision that we limit all our good deed to the family of God. Do you drive down the street, see someone with a flat tire, roll down you’re window and yell, ‘Hey are you a Christian?’ then if they say, “NO,” pull away and refuse to help them? We win the right to be heard — not by a slick mass-advertising campaign but by our compassionate and unselfish actions. Peter says, ‘on account of your good deeds,’ nor your good words. The unsaved are watching our lives. When our good deeds are
indisputable the unbeliever says, ‘There must be something to it.’ Chances are good that at that point the person will hear what we have to say.

4. Never forget — we are being watched. The world is watching us to see if what we say we believe is true in our lives.

Good words to ponder from HOPE AGAIN . . . WHEN LIFE HURTS AND DREAMS
FADE by Charles R. Swindoll, published by WORD.

One of the great prayer warriors of all times was George Mueller who founded one of the greatest orphanages in England. Here is what he wrote about how one can ascertain the will of God:

1. I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a stare that is as no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord’s will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.

2. Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. Is so, I make myself liable to great delusions.

3. I seek the will of the Spirit of God through or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Spirit guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.

4. Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God’s will in connection with His Word and Spirit.

5. I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me aright.

6. Thus, through prayer to God, the study of the Word and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. In trivial matters, and in
transactions involving the most important issues, I have found this method always effective.

from MAGNIFICENT PRAYER 365 Devotions to Deepen Your Prayer Experience by Nick Harrison, published by Zondervan.