Passing Life’s Tests - Martin Wiles

The LORD examines both the righteous and the wicked. Psalm 11:5 NLT

My goal was straight As, but tests often kept me from reaching it.

While in high school, I was satisfied with earning Cs. Even my parents settled when they saw my lack of concern for school.

By the time I entered college, my mindset had changed. Now I wanted to make As in each class. Getting an A on written papers or other assignments wasn’t a problem. Tests were another story. They covered a great deal of material. Professors were not known for giving reviews. True/False sections were tricky. Essay questions were subjective. Missing a few points on each one was common.

But I learned from my test mistakes. I looked at what I missed and why. I researched the correct answer. After the first year of college, I learned the art of test taking: learn your professor. They look for certain things. If I could master that, my chances of earning an A increased.

According to the psalmist, God also gives exams to everyone—His followers and His rejectors. But His tests are not on how much of the Bible we know or on how much we’ve learned in life. His tests are processes that last a lifetime.

Tests are sent and allowed by God. This explains why tests that exam my moral fabric come with regularity. Satan is out to make me fail the test of godliness. God allows this—as He did with Old Testament Job—but His goal is not to fail me. God’s tests—and the ones He allows Satan to give me—are designed to teach, as were the tests I took in school.

As on my school tests, I often make mistakes on God’s tests—with this difference. I won’t fail God’s exams as long as I keep trying. His forgiveness is limitless. Through the tests, I’ll grow and be conformed to His image.

Some of God’s exams are fiery trials, testing the fabric of which I’m made. They are designed to destroy dross in my life and refine what is good. Dross often comes disguised as wrong motives for things I do. When this is removed, God can make the good even better.

Learn not to dread God’s exams. He only has your best interests at heart. His tests will take you further than you ever thought you could go.

Tweetable: Is fear causing you to fail God's exams?

Prayer: Father, guide us through life’s exams so that we might learn what You want to teach us. 

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Flashback Friday - Stones of Remembrance - Martin Wiles

Stones of Remembrance

As I approached 40 years of age, I immediately noticed the change.

One disadvantage of aging is memory impairment. Things that once came easily to me don’t anymore. The first thing to go was my ability to remember people’s names. Then other episodes of memory lapses occurred. Sometimes I look at a student I’ve taught for two years and can’t remember their name. Or even recall the grammar concept I’m currently teaching. Memory lapses frighten me. Some things I enjoy forgetting—the hurts, disappointments, and trials. But there are other things I want to retain until my final breath. Read more...

Tweetable: What stones of remembrance are you erecting? 

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Shot at but Missed - Martin Wiles

The wicked are stringing their bows and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. They shoot from the shadows at those whose hearts are right. Psalm 11:2 NLT

I felt the wind of the arrow as it whizzed by my head.

My cousin was over for a visit. As middle-school aged boys, we loved playing in the woods. A few years later, we’d be hunting in the woods, but games would have to suffice for now. Cowboys and Indians was the game. I was a cowboy, my cousin an Indian. I had the six-shooter strapped to my waist; he had the bow and arrows over his shoulder. My guns were fake, but his arrows had real points.

Young boys don’t think about danger. Sometimes older ones don’t either. I hope he wasn’t thinking when he loaded an arrow into the bow and aimed it at me. Fortunately, he was a bad shot. But the arrow flew close enough to my head to make me stop and think about what we were doing. Had it hit me, it would have been bad news.

The psalmist said the wicked were doing the same thing with him as my cousin did with me: shooting arrows. Only in his case, the wicked were lurking in the shadows. And he wasn’t playing a game with them. They were shooting at him because he was righteous.

Satan hasn’t changed his tactics. Just as he was behind the wicked who shot at the psalmist, so he is behind every evil act committed on earth. He still uses evil people to shoot at God’s people. Sometimes the arrows (or whatever weapon they choose to use) are real, but more often the arrows come in the form of taunts, underhanded tactics, and other mean-spirited actions and words.

Satan and his friends work from the shadows. The reason is obvious. If he performed his dirty work in the open and made his temptations overtly obvious, we’d know he was trying to trick us. His purpose is to make us fall and make us ineffective for God. He knows he has no power to take our salvation.

But the good news is that Satan’s attempts are ultimately futile. Others may persecute me—my life may even be taken—and Satan may tempt and try me, but his doom and my success are inevitable. God gives me the power to overcome temptation, and if evil attacks result in my life’s end heaven awaits.

Don’t fear the war. With God, your success is guaranteed.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the victory we have through You over Satan and his sinful tactics. 

Tweetable: Is fear keeping you out of the war? 

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Abide, Don’t Strive - Martin Wiles

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. John 15:4 NLT

The stalk leaned over, as if it wanted to touch the ground. But doing so would destroy all chances of it doing what it was made to do.

When we moved to our new place of residence, we found our small backyard bare—except for a few hills of hasta and one lone shrub. The last owner had dug up everything else she had planted and took it with her. 

As spring made its way, the itch to plant overtook me. Like my grandfather, I love to plant a garden, but where? Why not where I intended to plant shrubbery? And why not let my oldest grandson help?

So we did. Before long, corn, cabbage, beans, squash, cucumbers, and eggplants were growing in our backyard. One day, I noticed one corn stalk tilted over. Though it wasn’t uprooted, I knew its position would affect its outcome. It wouldn’t tassel or produce earns of corn in that position. I carefully stood it up and packed more dirt around its base. I’ve had to do the same with other stalks.

Jesus taught from an agricultural perspective. Grapes, vines, and wine were familiar to his listeners. They knew if a branch was severed from the vine it wouldn’t produce fruit. It can’t. The life-giving nutrients no longer flow. But Jesus wasn’t talking about vines and grapes. He was talking about people.

I connect to Jesus, the Vine, through a faith relationship. If I choose not to—for whatever reason—I’ll die, spiritually. But if I connect to Him, I’ll produce spiritual fruit and enjoy life as He intends that I live it.

Once connected, I must abide—not strive. Striving involves self-effort while abiding means resting—but at the same time not inactivity. I can’t do enough good things for God to save me, nor can I do enough good to remain saved. I depend on faith and God’s promises.

When we abide, we can live in peace, knowing all is well between us and God. Through abiding, God’s Spirit will give us the power to obey God’s commands and live a life of holiness. We can’t do it on our own, but God can do it through us—which is how God designed the process to work.

Abide in Christ, so you can live out your God-intended life.

Tweetable: What, or whom, are you abiding in?

Prayer: Father, give us the strength to abide in You each day so we can receive the spiritual nutrients we need to live the life You’ve called us to live. 

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Throwback Tuesday - Tearing Down the Barriers - Martin Wiles

Tearing Down the Barriers

On February 8, 1968, a barrier led to the deaths of 3 young men on the campus of a local university and to the injury of 28 others. Deaths and injuries that could easily have been prevented. 

The above incident happened in my hometown of Orangeburg, South Carolina, and is now referred to as the “Orangeburg Massacre.” The melee began when the owner of All Star Bowling Lane decided to turn away nonwhites. Riots and demonstrations resulted, and this single racial barrier resulted in unnecessary deaths and injuries. Read more...

Tweetable: What barriers keep you from others? 

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