Monday, March 18, 2024

More Difficult Than It Has to Be - Martin Wiles

More Difficult Than It Has to Be
God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8 NLT

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of that earlier. I made it so difficult,” my wife said.

A friend and I lounged at our favorite fast-food restaurant, shooting the breeze while our wives walked to a nearby retail store. My friend had lost a lot of weight due to recent health problems and needed a pair of pants that fit him.

Our wives soon returned and plopped down beside us. Mine immediately took out a fingernail file and began working on a pocketbook that looked unfamiliar. It should have because it belonged to her friend, not her. The fabric had caught in the zipper and stuck fast.

After the nail file rendered unsuccessful, my wife asked for my pocketknife. She cut a few slices to no avail. After ten minutes of struggling with a stubborn zipper, she inserted the fingernail file between the zipper, and it immediately separated. With a sigh and laugh, she realized how difficult she had made something so simple.

On the other hand, my friend and I thought of God’s freeing grace. Paul had experienced it, taught it, and lived it. He was a legalist to the core before meeting Christ. His life had been about following all the rules, even those Christ hadn’t given. Now, it was about freedom.

Grace is freeing, just as the contents of the pocketbook were by the separated zipper. My wife attempted to approach the problem in the usual way—unzip the zipper—when all she had to do was open the pocketbook another way.

Grace is the other way . . . the only way. When we place our faith in Christ, his grace forgives our sins and frees us from their chains. Now, we can do what we couldn’t before: obey His commands.

Grace, however, isn’t a license to live recklessly. We misunderstand grace if we think we don’t have to worry about sin anymore because Christ has forgiven our sins. When we understand what grace cost God—the life of His Son—we’ll want to please Him by staying as far away from sinful and spiritually harmful situations as possible. Like soldiers in sync, we’ll march to the tune of holiness.

If you have experienced the freeing power of God’s grace, show your appreciation through obedience.

Father, thank you for making it easy to run into your loving arms. 

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Saturday, March 16, 2024

Green Bean Bundles

 

 

Ingredients
3 cans French-style green beans (drained)

1 pound of bacon (cut pieces in half)

1 stick butter (melted)

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon garlic salt


Directions
 
Wrap seven green beans with a half piece of bacon and place in
 
a greased 9 x 13 pan.

Repeat until all beans are wrapped.

Combine butter with brown sugar and pour over bean bundles.

Sprinkle garlic salt over bundles.

Cover pan with aluminum foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for forty-five minutes.

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Friday, March 15, 2024

Racing Toward Satisfaction - Martin Wiles

racing toward satisfaction
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:12 NIV

Only one time was he content.

As our second-oldest grandson finished his first year of Cub Scouts, the time for the annual Pinewood Derby arrived. I assumed I would help him build the car—many years before Dad and I had helped my son build one. As I recall, it didn’t perform so well. I hoped for better this time around. But I didn’t have to help my grandson after all.

Our daughter now had a fiancĂ© who spent a great deal of time with her two boys. He became the obvious choice for the task. I didn’t mind so much. After all, he knew more than I did about constructing the car, painting it, and aligning the proper weights. I let them enjoy the experience together. When my daughter texted pictures of their work in progress, I smiled. She had found someone to love her boys and our grandsons.

The big day finally arrived. My wife and I made our way to the church hosting the event—9:30 on a Saturday morning. I could have found other things to do, but our grandson needed our support. The scouts, their parents, and the scout leaders had gathered the night before to set up the aluminum track, weigh the cars, and test the cars. Everything was ready.

As race time approached, we could feel the anxiety in the room. We took our seats on the front row and waited nervously for the beginning of the race. The scout leader explained the rules. Twelve scouts had entered. Each car would race six times against different competitors. Our grandson, who typically ran around, sat still and waited for the leader to call number five—his number. He even watched closely as his friends’ car raced, picking one of the two he wanted to win.

Each of the six times, the leader called car number five, my grandson rose to his knees and looked intently as his car pummeled down the track’s steep hill and launched toward the finish line. He also gazed at the digital machine that told which car came in first and which came in second. Like his mom, he’s competitive. If his car won—and it did twice—he raised his arms in the air and whispered, “Yes.” When he lost, his countenance fell, and a touch of anger raced across his face. He only experienced satisfaction when his car won.

Paul had a rollercoaster life after God called him to serve as a missionary to the world. More down than up. Despite the challenges he faced—some life-threatening—he said he had learned to be content. Doing so took him a lifetime, but he mastered the art of satisfaction.

Almost everything in life teaches us not to be satisfied until we meet certain conditions. I must have power, possessions, pleasure, and relationships. And they must contain specific levels or characteristics. If not, I must keep pursuing until they do.

One-time presidential candidate Ross Perot said, “I’ll never be satisfied, that’s my nature. If everybody pronounces it a Swiss watch that keeps time to a thousandth of a second, I’ll be saying-well, how do we make it keep time to another thousandth of a second? That’s just my nature.”

We learn satisfaction by experience. As I get things, I eventually discover I crave more or different things. They tear up, break down, get stolen or misplaced, or don’t bring the joy they did when I first got them.

The pleasure that came with power when I first received it dims over time. I remember how I felt the first time I landed a supervisor position. My head swelled, my shoulders arched, my back straightened, and my attitude changed. However, after a few months, I discovered that many headaches accompanied the power. What I thought would satisfy didn’t.

And how much have I spent on play toys? Not as much as some, but enough to take me into debt more times than I care to remember. As when I was a child receiving new gifts, the newness wore off after a while. I tossed them, sold them, gave them away—and bought more.

Satisfaction is a state of mind—a perspective we choose. Paul discovered satisfaction did not depend on his circumstances or what he had or didn’t have. Satisfaction depended on whom he knew. Before knowing Christ, he knew religion. He had been trained in the most prestigious schools. But all that disappointed him. Only knowing Christ and serving Him satisfied.

We can’t attain this level of satisfaction on our own. Without God’s help, we’ll keep running after the wrong things and throw our hands up in disgust every time our car doesn’t win the race or we see a car that looks better than ours.

With God’s help, however, we can learn what Paul did: contentment comes with knowing someone. When this is in place, we’ll enjoy all aspects of life. Whatever comes our way, we’ll know it originated from God—and He loves us and gives us only what is best.

Let God teach you the art of satisfaction.

Father, I look to You to find the true satisfaction I seek. 

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Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Prayer Works - Martin Wiles

prayer works
For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. Luke 11:10 NLT

People lined the streets as the Roman emperor's chariot snaked along the road in the town parade. Legionnaires hovered nearby, deterring anyone trying to approach the dignified ruler.

As the emperor approached the place where his family was seated, a young boy broke from the crowd and lurched for the emperor’s chariot. A guard quickly grabbed him, saying, “You cannot go out there, boy. Do you know who is in that chariot? That is the emperor. You cannot go near him.”

Struggling for freedom from the legionnaire's grasp, the young lad laughed and remarked, “He may be your emperor, but he’s my father.” Then he continued his run into his father’s arms.

Jesus tells of a friend who visited another friend’s house at midnight. His friend had just arrived for a visit, and he had nothing to feed him. The friend who was asleep had no intention of getting up. He had locked the door and brought the animals inside. His family was snuggled in for the night. But the friend’s persistence persuaded him to get up.

The story isn’t about friends but prayer. God doesn’t have to be begged to answer our requests, but He does reward our persistence. My continual prayers demonstrate my faith and that I’m convinced what I’m praying about is within His will and power to answer. God knows when I’m serious about something. He wants me to know as well.

God isn’t like the friend who didn’t want to get up to give his friend food. He loves to answer our prayers. Doing so demonstrates His love and increases our trust in Him. He has good things in store for us. All we must do is keep asking, seeking, and knocking.

When God chooses not to answer immediately, we must trust He knows what’s best. Perhaps the timing is wrong, or we’re not ready for His answer. If He says, “No,” he knows something we don’t. He knows what’s best for us, just as parents often know what’s best for their children.

Though we may not understand how prayer works, millions of believers can testify it does. Try it regularly.

Father, thank You for allowing me to come before Your throne with the assurance of Your love, interest, and power to answer. 

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Monday, March 11, 2024

Hiding Behind Fig Leaves - Martin Wiles

hiding behind fig leaves
So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves. Genesis 3:7 NLT

Young children can hide in the craziest places.

“Levi, do you want to play Hide-n-Seek with Pop?”

“Okay.”

“You hide, and Pop will find you.”

 I sat in my recliner. He scampered off for the kitchen.

“Ready or not, here I come,” I call as I head to where I know he is.

I find him standing in the middle of the kitchen floor with only his hands over his eyes. In his young mind, he thought that action would keep me from seeing him.

Seems silly, but we adults don’t do much of a better job trying to hide from God. God placed Adam and Eve in a pristine environment with everything they could ever want at their fingertips. But they weren’t satisfied. Fruit from the one tree God said was off-limits lured them. A slithering serpent (Satan) provided the enticement, but they still had the power to say “No.”

After they had done the deed, they experienced an emotion they’d never felt before: shame. They had violated God’s express command and attempted to cover the guilt by sewing together fig leaves. But, they soon discovered leaves couldn’t keep God from seeing them any more than my grandson’s hands could keep me from observing him.

Fast forward a few thousand years, and we find religious leaders attempting to cover their guilt too . . . but with different things. They tried to hide behind a façade of good works. Jesus told them they were just white-washed tombs full of dead bones. He could see beneath their outside.

I’ve sewn a few sets of fig leaves myself. They may have consisted of good works, community organizations, beneficial relationships, or positions in my local church.

Yet, none of the above—or anything else—can erase feelings of guilt. There are just not enough fig leaves. True guilt comes when God’s commands are violated or we have ignored him. Christ has paid for whatever we’ve done, and confession—not fig leaves—will alleviate the guilt. We can’t work to repay what we couldn’t buy in the first place, nor can we ever be good enough to place God under obligation to us. All He requires is heartfelt sorrow.

Come up with a plan of action for when you feel guilt.

Father, I give my guilt to you. I realize only the blood of Christ can cover it. 

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Saturday, March 9, 2024

Grape Salad

 

 


Ingredients
2 POUNDS GREEN GRAPES

2 POUNDS RED GRAPES

8 OUNCES SOUR CREAM

8 OUNCES CREAM CHEESE

½ CUP SUGAR

1 TEASPOON VANILLA

Topping
         1 CUP BROWN SUGAR           

1 CUP CRUSHED TOASTED PECANS

Directions
MIX SOUR CREAM, SUGAR, CREAM CHEESE, AND VANILLA.

STIR IN GRAPES.

IN A SEPARATE BOWL, MIX TOPPING AND THEN SPRINKLE ON TOP OF THE GRAPES.

CHILL OVERNIGHT.

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Friday, March 8, 2024

The Value of a Soul - Martin Wiles

The Value of a Soul
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God, he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 NLT

I had never heard such a statement—nor had anyone in my class.

A plane crash has just killed basketball legend, Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and several other people. Many mourned this tragedy, including students at our school. As I took morning prayer requests, the first two related to praying for Kobe’s family.

But one wise youngster said, “The plane had other people on it, too.”

And that’s also when the unbelievable comment followed: “But they weren’t important.”

The comment shocked me, initially, so much so that I couldn’t speak for a moment. Everyone else in the class experienced the same shock.

I could not help myself. The teacher and adult in me came out. “God may not have cared that Kobe Bryant played basketball.”

If I know God as I think I do, I believe He would have cared more about whether Kobe had a relationship with Jesus Christ, whether he was a good husband and dad, and whether he used his skills and talents to promote the love of Christ in his world. I made my point with the self-centered young girl, and I hope she got it. In her mind, Kobe’s value lay only in playing basketball well.

Value is a funny thing. Something can have value and hold no worth. The opposite can also hold true. Something can have no value but become valuable.

My wife and I often saw this happen at antique auctions. Occasionally, an ugly item would come up for bid but initially receive no bids. Our auctioneer friend knew the solution to the problem. “If you buy this, you will be the only person with one.”

Once he said that, hands shot up, and bids poured in. Suddenly, something that held no value sold for unbelievable money because the scenario changed.

Economics calls this supply and demand. Prices drop when a large supply of something exists, but no one wants it. But prices rise if a limited supply exists and many people want it. Value is not always determined by the item itself but by who wants it and how many people crave it.

Value works differently with people, too. What others think I’m worth doesn’t matter. The writer of Genesis said God created people in His image. We are not identical to God, but we resemble Him in many ways. We can think, feel, love, and show emotion. The image of God in us makes us valuable.

The value of a soul hinges on whom we belong to. Having God as our creator doesn’t necessarily mean we belong to Him. The connection comes through faith in Christ. When that happens, we enter His family and become His child, not just His creation.

My Dad’s hobby was woodworking. He built many beautiful items, but if they didn’t come into his home, they were only his creations, not his personal property.

Value is further determined by what God says about us. He says we belong to Him and that no one can snatch us from His hand. No person or circumstance holds enough power to overpower God’s strong arm that holds us safely in His care.

My young students confused identity with performance. In her mind, Kobe held more importance than the others on the plane because he had fame in the basketball world. God, on the other hand, says our value has nothing to do with what we do but with who we are. And in Christ, we belong to the heavenly Father. That determines our value. Our doing is only proof of our appreciation for what God has done in our lives. We serve because of Who has served us.

Don’t determine your worth by what you do, but by whom you belong to.

Father, may I realize that You determine my true worth through my connection to You. 

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