Standing Corrected - Martin Wiles

Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don’t let me refuse it. Psalm 141:5 NLT

“My meanest teachers were my favorite teachers because they kept me out of trouble.”

While eating at a local restaurant, I heard a lady sitting behind me make the remark. She didn’t know I taught school, but I grinned under my breath. I could relate. Some of the students I thought hated me because of the workload I assigned or because of my strict disciplinary measures later told me I was their favorite teacher.

One of these students I taught in the sixth grade. He loved to talk. Every day, I called him down numerous times. At the time, we had not established the lunch and learn policy for such matters, so he earned a few discipline slips from me. When I left the school, he cried. I couldn’t understand this strapping young man shedding tears. One year later, I returned. He was in high school by then, but every opportunity he got he stopped by my class to speak and give me a fist bump.

Another student I reconnected with on Facebook after having taught her almost twenty years before. When she told me I was her favorite teacher, I thought, I never would have known by the way you acted. Especially when I caught her cheating, assigned her a zero, and sent her on her way.

As I continue to teach, I keep encountering more of these students who like me in spite of my no-nonsense classroom expectations. Like the psalmist who encouraged the godly to correct him because it appeared like soothing medicine, I am the godly one striking these students with challenging assignments and strict classroom rules.

I, too, hated my parents and teachers’ rules—but at the same time, I loved them both. Deep inside, I knew the rules represented boundaries, and I needed those. Without them, I would wander into harmful attitudes and actions. God used my parents and teachers as His representatives. He also used friends who had a better handle on living a godly life than I did.

Rather than disdaining spiritual friends who lovingly call our hands on bad lifestyles, we should thank them as the psalmist did. They have our best interests at heart, and God sends them as instruments in His hand.

Don’t balk when God sends others to call you away from unspiritual attitudes and activities. They are only acting as His representatives.

Prayer: Father, thank You for sending others to lovingly guide us back onto the paths of righteousness.

Tweetable: How do you respond when God corrects you? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Junk Food Addict - Martin Wiles

Don’t let me share in the delicacies of those who do wrong. Psalm 141:4 NLT

She was a junk food addict.

My paternal grandmother loved junk—and didn’t mind sharing with her first-born grandchild. When I was young, she fed me silver bells (Hershey Kisses) to keep me quiet in church. She loved Little Debbie’s, pies, cakes, chocolate, and candy. Anything sweet.

When my grandmother was in her mid-eighties and confined to the nursing home, the nurses fussed because my aunt brought her junk food. I told her to eat what she wanted. At her age, it wasn’t going to make any difference. And she did until the day she died.

My grandmother’s example rubbed off on me. By the time I reached adolescence, I had a healthy appetite for junk food. Canned chili and beans, frozen pizza, Little Debbie’s, chocolate bars, silver bells, cakes, pies, candy. And my favorite? Barbecue potato chips.

Along about thirty-eight, my bad eating habits caught up with me. Not in health problems, but in weight gain. I also worried about future health issues if I didn’t change my eating habits. While I didn’t completely eliminate junk food from my diet, I did cut back, and I also began an exercise regimen. But occasionally … once a week on my cheat day … I still sit down with a bag of chips and a tall glass of milk. 

Evidently, I’m not the only one who eats unhealthy or doesn’t exercise enough. According to recent research, Americans are more obese than they’ve ever been. To the tune of 100 million people (March 2018 http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/03/americas-obesity-rate-hits-record-high.html.

As unhealthy as bad diets and low exercise rates are, something worse exists. According to the psalmist, it’s the delicacies of the wicked. Bad spiritual food. Crime. Stinking attitudes. Cursing. Anger. Unforgiveness. Selfishness. Misplaced priorities. Unbelief.

Anything that takes my interest away from loving God with all my heart and serving Him with the same is spiritual junk food and damages my spiritual health. Just as I had to take the initiative to curtail junk food from my diet and to exercise for good health, I have to do the same with my spiritual diet.

No one can force us to eat the right spiritual foods. Doing so is a choice we have to make, but one with far-reaching effects.

Don’t be a spiritual junk food addict. Digest the right stuff, and enjoy the life God created you to have.

Prayer: Father, hone our taste buds for the food that will satisfy our hunger presently and eternally.

Tweetable: What kind of addict are you?

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Throwback Tuesday - Driven by Dreams - Martin Wiles

Driven by Dreams

Dreams can be the goad that drives us into God’s bright future.

Dreams are puzzling. During the Old Testament and early church period, God often spoke through them to reveal his message. Some today put a great deal of stock in dreams, supposing they contain secret meanings. Noted psychologist Sigmund Freud believed this. Many, however, put absolutely no faith in them at all. Still, others believe they represent the night’s release of what we’ve experienced and thought about during the day. Read more...

Tweetable: What drives you?

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Robbing Peter - Martin Wiles

You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden. Genesis 2:16 NLT

Once again, we robbed Peter to pay Paul.

I was familiar with the saying. I had heard my paternal grandfather use it many times when referring to the difficult financial times he and my grandmother faced when they first married.

The meaning was simple. If he needed money immediately, he borrowed money saved for a bill due later in the month. When that bill came due, he would use money designated for another bill.

My wife and I were also familiar with the adage. We’d been doing it for most of our married life. We didn’t live beyond our means—or high on our horses—but my jobs often didn’t pay enough to pay our bills and have enough left over for emergencies. When one arose, we robbed Peter for Paul’s sake. My wife became an expert at finagling money.

One recent robbery occurred when one of my wife’s back teeth chipped, causing her increasing pain. Her dentist appointment was weeks away, but we knew ahead of time how much our co-pay would be. The trouble was, we had nothing to save for it. We prayed. Nothing happened. We attempted to sell items on Facebook and eBay. Nothing. We even scanned our belongings to see if we could pawn something. We found nothing of value.

Two days prior to her visit, we still didn’t have the money. We prayed harder. “Lord,” I said, “my wife is in pain. You know this isn’t a want; it’s a need. We’re going to do what we can, but we’re leaning on You and resting on Your promises.”

The night before her appointment, we still didn’t have the money—until an unexpected check came in for a bill due later in the month. So we did what we do best: robbed Peter to pay Paul.

Did God fail us? Some might think so, but we didn’t. The money came—although not in the form we had hoped for. We prayed and depended on God as He told us to, and we worked diligently to do our part.

God didn’t fail us—as He didn’t Adam and Eve. When God placed them in the Garden of Eden, He gave them everything they needed to survive and do His work. He does the same for us.

Whatever your need, God will supply it—even if means you have to rob Peter to pay Paul.

Prayer: Father, we trust You for every need we have.

Tweetable: Are you trusting God or managing your own affairs?

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Not in the Plans - Martin Wiles

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. Psalm 3:3 NLT

My position seemed secure—until….

The wedding date was only months away. My soon-to-be wife planned to stay at home. My salary was enough to get us by, and we planned to live within our means. Then the bottom fell out. The company I worked for had a large layoff, and I was among the ones affected.

After two months of looking for another job, my previous employer called me back with an offer: the lowest paying job in the plant. Sweeping the floor. Excitement about going back drained from me, but any job was better than none at all. I grabbed it.

A number of months later—when I had had my fill of sweeping—an opportunity appeared. The third shift lead person took a supervisor position on second shift, leaving open the third shift lead position. The superintendent—a friend and fellow church member—encouraged me to apply. I didn’t think I qualified for the position. He thought otherwise and told me to apply anyway. I did. He hired me. Suddenly, life was good again.

A lay off wasn’t in the plans—especially with a wedding so soon in the future—but God acted like a shield around my situation just as He did for the psalmist.

In my mind, the layoff was bad—until I received the promotion and a better job. Had the layoff never occurred, the higher-paying job might not have happened. God’s shield is not only in front of me but also behind me and on the sides of me. His shield surrounds me. This doesn’t mean my plans will always turn out the way I want … or the way I think God wants … but God will protect me from spiritual harm and from anything that prevents me from accomplishing His will.

God’s plans often don’t match mine, making prayer a necessity so I can discover what His plans are and align mine with them. Others’ plans for me may not align with God’s plans for me either, making God’s shield necessary so I am protected from their devilish designs.

Regardless of what comes our way, whether in our plans or not, we can hold our heads up, knowing God’s shield of love and divine protection surrounds us. Plans may fail, but God’s shield never will.

Live with confidence each day that God protects you with His shield of love.

Prayer: Father, thank You for surrounding us with Your shield of love, wisdom, and spiritual guidance.

Tweetable: Are things happening that weren't in your plans?

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Flashback Friday - Never beyond God’s Reach - Martin Wiles

Never Beyond God’s Reach

God’s arm can reach where others’ arms cannot. 

Life had collapsed. I was falling into the grips of depression but didn’t realize it. Everything I had labored for was gradually slipping from my hands. What I thought was stable proved unstable. Aches and pains were appearing in various places and worrying me in the process. Nights were almost unbearable. Filled with tossing, turning, worrying, thinking, and trying to garner the strength for another day. What I supposed was a normal mid-night trip to the bathroom turned into a fainting episode that landed me in the hospital. Tests revealed nothing. I was simply depressed. Read more...

Tweetable: Do you feel as if you're beyond God's reach?

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

When Plans Go Awry - Martin Wiles

You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. Proverbs 19:21 NLT

I had a purpose … or so I thought.

At twelve, I perceived God’s purpose for me was to be a Bible teacher—but I made no plans. The temptations of adolescence soon grasped me in their clutches, and I put God’s purpose in the background.

When in my early twenties, I once again felt God’s pricking—this time to be a preacher in addition to a Bible teacher. The difference between this time and the one before was that I made plans. I knew I had to attend college.

During my college journey, God impressed upon me His purpose to teach the Bible at a college, in addition to preaching. I knew this would mean further education. Another college nearby had an arrangement with my college concerning a master’s degree. All credits I had earned would transfer.

Everything seemed in place. Until the bottom fell out. My wife lost her job and couldn’t find another one. I couldn’t work and attend college too. Before I knew it, we were moving back to South Carolina, I had only a bachelor’s degree, and I didn’t have a master’s in education. At least, I could preach. The teaching … well … I didn’t know what happened to those plans.

King Solomon had wisdom … and he planned. He also had enough sense to know God’s purpose would win out in the end—regardless of any plans he had made.

Why what I comprehended as God’s plan didn’t work out the way I felt Him leading, I can’t answer. In literature, we call such an occurrence a plot twist. The story moves in one direction, and we think we have it figured out, but suddenly things turn out in a way we didn’t expect. Life happens the same sometimes. Mine did.

But this much I know. God has a plan for each of His children. He also expects us to plan according to our perception of His plan. Essential in the mix is prayer—before, during, and after planning. In the end, however, God determines how things work out. Our job requires learning contentment regardless of how God plans the plot outcome. He will work all things together for our good and His glory.

Whether your life turns out as you planned, be content, knowing God is in control and has good things in store for you.

Prayer: Father, our lives are in Your hands. Do with them as You wish.

Tweetable: Have your plans gone awry?

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Trained for Life - Martin Wiles

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. Proverbs 22:6 NLT

The result wasn’t what anyone who knew them expected.

Richey and Anthony were members of my father’s church when I was a teenager—as well as friends of mine. Richey was a model son—the kind any parent would be glad to have. He never drank, smoked, cursed, or lied to his parents. I looked up to him, but somehow couldn’t muster the courage to follow his example. Anthony was a good boy too, just not as well behaved as his older brother.

Even in high school, Richey seemed settled. One girlfriend the entire way through. We all knew they’d marry—and they did.

After high school, I lost track of Richey and Anthony … until I was called to preach homecoming at my father’s old church. The one they still attended. Only Richey wasn’t there. Anthony told my wife and me a story I had trouble comprehending. Richey and his wife had separated. Richey rarely attended church, and even though both brothers owned a mechanic shop together, Anthony did most of the work. Richey only came around sometimes.

Many parents cause themselves undue misery by claiming this and other proverbs as absolutes rather than norms, which God meant for them to be. Realizing the proverb is a norm doesn’t destroy the principle, however. My dad did the training, as did Richey and Anthony’s. Without the training, we were sure to walk the wrong path. My children haven’t always stayed on the straight and narrow path either, but I take comfort in knowing I’ve done the training.

I also leave the results to God. He, not me, is in control of my children—and grandchildren. He wields more power over them than I could ever hope to. Wisdom exudes from Him more than it does from me.

Dad felt guilty when I went astray. I didn’t when my children did. I didn’t wonder what people thought of me. I had reared them properly. Their decisions—good and bad—were exactly that: their decisions. Parents who do the training have no reason to feel guilt when their children make poor decisions.

And perhaps the most important thing when training children for life? Pray, pray, pray. Pray for wisdom. Pray for patience. Pray for God to do great things in your children’s lives. Pray for them to listen to God’s still small voice.

Train your children—and leave the results to God.

Prayer: Father, give us the wisdom to train our children in Your ways.

Tweetable: Are you undergoing training?

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Throwback Tuesday - Better Left Unsaid - Martin Wiles

Better Left Unsaid

Just because it can be said doesn’t mean it should be.

They come in various shapes and sizes. Some appear overly wide with large lips and teeth to match. Others seem so small as to make one wonder whether they’re capable of functioning at all. Some are attached to flawless faces while others are implanted on faces scarred with physical disfigurements. Regardless of the shape or size or what type of face they’re connected to, all mouths have the ability to do the same thing: speak. And therein lies the dilemma. For while they can be used for much good, they’re often used for the opposite. 

Gene Hackman, in the movie Mississippi Burning, said to his boss, “You don't know when to speak and when to shut up! That makes you a fool!” Read more...

Tweetable: Do you say things that are better left unsaid?

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

Resisting the Pull - Martin Wiles

But Micaiah replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what my God says.” 2 Chronicles 18:13 NLT

The pull was ferocious, but one team finally jerked the other across the line.

Annual field day holds a favorite place in the life of middle schoolers—especially when one of the assistant coaches plans the events. And the event they like second best—behind dodge ball—is tug of war. Students are evenly divided between weight and strength and placed on either side of the halfway length of the rope, which has knots tied in it every so many feet. Knots make for good grabbing spots.

Sometimes the teams appear evenly matched and much pulling takes place before one team finally pulls the other over the winning mark. At other times, one team jerks the other across the winning line with little effort. Regardless of the teams, resisting and pulling are part of the game.

Jehoshaphat was pulled too. By King Ahab. His adversary. For some reason, though, Jehoshaphat joined forces with a wicked king to fight the forces of Ramoth-gilead. Four hundred North Israel false prophets told Ahab he’d win the battle. Jehoshaphat wasn’t convinced. He called the one prophet of God who remained and asked his opinion. Sure enough, his words differed. The two kings would experience defeat.

Our pull is inner and outer. Jehoshaphat gave into the outer pull from King Ahab, but something on his inside pulled him to associate with wickedness. The Bible calls it a sinful nature. The bent we have that leads us to do things we don’t want to … things that lead us to rebel against God. Satan places outwards pulls in our path, yet the inward pull makes it hard to reject them.

As Jehoshaphat discovered, the crowd isn’t always right. Four hundred prophets predicted victory while only one said defeat loomed ahead. The crowd pulls. We call it peer pressure, and it doesn’t cease when we leave middle or high school but continues throughout life.

Whether the pull is inner, outer, or both, God gives us the power to resist. He promises He’ll never let the temptation become so severe that we can’t walk away. It may seem overwhelming, but God consistently provides an open door of escape. Our part entails asking Him for courage and wisdom. When we lean on Him, we’ll never be disappointed.

The pull of your temptation may appear beyond your ability to resist, but in God’s strength you can walk away.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the power You give that enables us to resist the pull of sin.

Tweetable: Are you resisting the pull of sin?

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.

No Record - Martin Wiles

Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? But you offer forgiveness. Psalm 130:3-4 NLT

My stepfather brags that he has a record of the first one he ever wrote.

I’m not conscientious enough to have kept my first check. But I have and do keep records.

At school, we keep records too. A child can only have a limited number of unexcused absences. Someone has to record the absences. For minor misbehavior incidents, we issue lunch detention. After a certain number of them, we assign discipline slips. The middle school secretary keeps the record. If a student accumulates a certain number of discipline slips, they are suspended.

These records reflect the rules the school board has established. If we didn’t keep the records, it would be no reason to have the rules since one reflects the other. Without records, a student could miss as often as they wanted without penalty and could misbehave in any way they chose without consequence. As a teacher, I’m glad we have rules—and keep records.

The psalmist concerned himself with one record he didn’t want God to keep: the record of his sins. If God did, he was doomed.

God is holy and all-knowing. My sin is an affront to His holy nature and will keep me from Him now and for all of eternity if not dealt with. Fortunately, God took dealing with my sin upon Himself by letting Jesus die for the sins of humanity on Calvary’s cross.

Once I accept the forgiveness He offers, the record of my sins—and all my sins—is destroyed. The Bible says God forgets them—in the sense that He no longer holds them against me. Rather, He clothes me in the righteousness of Christ. I am no longer under condemnation.

After salvation, God keeps a record of our good works, as well as our motives behind doing them. These works will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ, but this has nothing to do with salvation. Christ secures that.

While I’m glad God destroys the record of my sins, I’m glad He keeps the record of my name as one of His children. This, He writes in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Once there, my name will never be erased.

God graciously destroys the record of anyone’s sins who asks. Let Him take the record of your sins and cast it as far as the east is from the west.

Prayer: Father, thank You for canceling the record of our sins and for recording our names in Your Book of Life.

Tweetable: Is your record clean?

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Help us spread God's encouragement through His Love Lines.