Mistaken Identity - Martin Wiles

On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ . . . But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ Matthew 7:22-23 NLT

She flashed her light repeatedly but her husband kept going.

Katrina and her husband were traveling to visit family. These were the days when people had to invent ways to signal each other. Flashing lights were a common signal. When Katrina flashed her lights, it meant she needed to stop for a restroom break.

Some miles down the road—as they approached a rest area—Katrina flashed her lights. Her husband kept going, passing the rest area as if he had not seen her signal. As the next rest area approached, she flashed her lights again. Once again, her husband kept going. Katrina was perplexed. She was giving the proper signal. Why wasn’t he stopping? She flashed her lights again. She didn’t care where they pulled over. She needed to find out what was going on. Why was he ignoring the signal?

Suddenly, a car like her husband’s came up quickly behind her with lights flashing. She looked in her rearview mirror. The man driving was her husband. How could that be? He was in front of her.

At the next rest area, she pulled over and so did her husband. He clarified what she was confused about. A car similar to hers had gotten in between her and her husband earlier on. Her husband did, in fact, pull over at the first rest area, but since she was following the wrong car she had kept going. It was a case of mistaken identity. Her husband had had to travel at speeds of one hundred miles per hour to finally catch her.

Being mistaken about another car is one thing; being mistaken about your soul is more serious. And some will be according to Jesus. Some will think they’re heaven bound when they’re not. Some will think they’re on good terms with God, but won’t be. Finding this out on judgment day will be horrible. No second chance to change will be offered.

God wants us to know for certain that we are right with Him and have eternal life. And we can. Being right with God isn’t about good works, whom I know, who my parents or grandparents were, or whom I hang around with. It is only about whether I’ve made a conscious faith decision to follow Him as Lord.

Don’t be a case of mistaken identity. Know who you are.

Tweetable: Do your actions portray your identity?

Prayer: Father, we thank You for letting us know who we are. 

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Flashback Friday - Smelling Good for God - Martin Wiles

Smelling Good for God

We were deep in the mountains of northern Georgia, and it was the middle of the night when I heard my brother whisper, “I’ve got to go.”

Books have been written on the difficulty of answering the call of nature while in the woods. With several years of backpacking in the mountains under my belt, I concur. And when the darkness is stifling and unfriendly nocturnal creatures lurk about, it’s even more challenging. But my brother had to go. So he went. But where he went—combined with the wind’s direction, left an unpleasant aroma wafting through our tents. Read more...

Tweetable: Do you smell good for God? 

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Pack Lightly - Martin Wiles

Then Jesus said, "Come to me who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 NLT

I thought I had enough, but it was more than needed.

Our possessions were spread over the living room floor. The things my daughter and I would need for the next five days: sleeping bags, flashlights, food, clothes, cooking equipment, tent, batteries, matches, toiletries. We were heading out on a five-day backpacking trip on the Foothills Trail.

Although we were somewhat novices when it came to hiking and backpacking, we had been doing it long enough that I thought we could handle five days without any trouble. I was wrong. After carefully placing all the items from the floor into our packs, I weighed each one. My pack weighed in at fifty pounds and my daughters at thirty five. Much too heavy, but there were no re-stocking places along the way, so we’d have to carry everything we would need.

One day on the trail and I knew we were carrying too much. Our backs ached, and my new boots had given me a blister I’d have to nurture the remaining way. Uphills were miserable, downhills a relief. When we reached our camping destination each day around two o’clock, we were exhausted. But we had no options. What we had, we needed. Yet, I came to understand the need to pack lightly.

Jesus called those who were weary and carried heavy burdens to come to Him for rest. My daughter and I were both of those adjectives, but Jesus had other burdens in mind. I’ve carried many of them at various times in my life and known others who have as well. In fact, at any given time, I may be lugging around two or three of them.

The burdens Jesus references are familiar: fear, worry, anxiety, loneliness, debt, addictions, doubt, tiredness, grief, discomfort, bad relationships. Sometimes, others’ actions load me down with these burdens, but normally I don’t need any help. I pick them up all by myself.

God doesn’t intend for me or anyone to carry these unbearable loads. Jesus said giving them to Him results in rest: emotional, spiritual, and physical rest. The rest comes from learning to depend on Him, from going deeper spiritually with Him, and from learning to live with contentment regardless of my circumstances.

Don’t lug around loads God never intended for you to bear. Give them to Jesus and experience an incomprehensible rest.

Tweetable: Is your load too heavy?

Prayer: Father, our tendency is to pack heavily, but we ask You to teach us to pack lightly. 

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Scaring Away Fear - Martin Wiles

I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4 NLT

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt comforted the American people with those words in his first inaugural address. And he needed to. Several years before, the stock market had crashed, hundreds of banks had closed, huge amounts of money were lost, and America found herself in the throes of the Great Depression. Many feared for the future of the country as well as the future of their lives. While America would eventually emerge more stable than before, it would take years for that to happen. Fear needed to go so confidence could take over.

Roosevelt instituted many programs that eliminated most people’s fears, but those same programs couldn’t keep future fears from arising. The nature of wars changed. No longer are they fought the traditional way with enemy facing enemy. The Vietnam War and terrorism changed their faces.

Along with others, I too have faced fears: finances, relationships, death, unemployment, education, crime. The psalmist David wasn’t unaccustomed to fear either. As a young shepherd boy, he faced wild animals who hungered for his sheep. Later, he faced the wrath of a jealous king. He even ran in fear from one of his sons who carried out a coup against him.

Fear is a natural emotion God has implanted in the human psyche. Without it, we would walk into dangerous situations rather than run from them. Instead, we exercise the fight or flight syndrome. When danger affronts us, we fight it or run from it. Along with emotion, God gave us wisdom. Choosing to confront a mother bear with cubs is foolish. Flight is the right approach.

Allowing fear to control us is a different story and not something God intends. David prayed, and God freed him from all his fears. He still experienced the emotion, but he didn’t live in a state of fear.

Regardless of what my circumstances are—and what fears they arouse in me, giving them to God ushers in a peace that’s beyond my comprehension. Somehow, I know He’s got the problem, along with the solution. Fear runs scared and with it go worry and anxiety. Peace settles in, and I know God is in control.

God doesn’t want you to live in a state of fear. Give your fears to Him. He’ll scare them away.

Tweetable: Are your fears controlling you? 

Prayer: Father, we thank You that no fear is bigger than Your ability to replace it with peace.

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Throwback Tuesday - Pennies for God - Martin Wiles

Pennies for God

Canada stopped producing the cent in March 2013. They claimed the cost to produce it was more than it was worth.

My in-laws—who live in the United States of America, beg to differ. As we were walking into one of my mother-in-law’s favorite stores recently, she bent over and picked up a coin. When I looked to see what it was, I saw only one small copper cent. Had I noticed it first, it would have continued lying on the hot asphalt.

Then I was reminded why she and my father-in-law make the effort. Read more...

Tweetable: Are you saving your pennies for God?

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A Taste Beyond All Others - Martin Wiles

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Psalm 34:8 NLT

Loving to taste is why I’m where I am.

Though I love vegetables and meat, I’ve always had a taste for junk food. Nothing like sitting down with a bag of barbecue potato chips, a Reese’s peanut butter cup, and a glass of milk. And Little Debbie’s?  Any kind will do. Surely, God anointed the person who invented them. I’d rather eat a few of them than a homemade cookie or cake.

For many years, my taste never led to weight gain—and I wanted to gain weight. I was skinny and often made fun of. So I topped off my junk food diet with things like Weight On. Nothing worked. Around age 38, my wish to gain weight came true. The trouble was, I didn’t want to gain as much as I gained. Twenty years later, I still have to monitor my taste habits to maintain the proper weight level.

I think we’ll still enjoy eating in heaven—but with an added pleasure. I’ll be able to taste and consume anything I want without worrying about weight gain. The psalmist had another type of tasting in mind: tasting of the Lord to see how good He is.

When Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples, He gave them bread and told them to taste it. It represented His body which would soon be given for their sins and for the sins of the world.

Tasting the Lord involves accepting Him as my Savior, which is preceded by recognizing I’m a sinner in need of salvation. But doing this is only the beginning of a lifelong journey. Doing nothing more won’t let me experience how good He is.

On a regular basis, I must taste God’s Word. Like the bread, I must ingest it, let it settle into my inner soul, and then bear fruit in my actions. I’ll never know how good the Lord is without tasting His Word. Tasting is also more than just a quick read. I ingest by thinking about what the Word says and by asking God’s Spirit to lead me into full understanding so I can let it influence my thoughts, actions, and words.

I also taste when I ask God to give me a continual hunger for Him. A hunger to know Him better. A hunger to understand His ways more fully.

Don’t back away. Taste and see how good God is.

Tweetable: Have you tasted of God's goodness?

Prayer: Father, motivate us to taste of You daily so we can experience the fullness of a life lived well. 

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