Hating the Holy - Martin Wiles

Don’t give pearls to swine! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you. Matthew 7:6 NLT

As far as he knew, he was the only Christian in his office.

John was fresh out of college and had just taken a promising job in his hometown. Not ashamed that he was a believer, he quickly decorated his small cubicle with Christian décor. Imagine his surprise when his boss approached him and told him to remove it. The excitement over his new opportunity soon digressed as the antagonism against him progressed. The actions and words of his co-workers demonstrated they hated the holy. He stayed, though, and continued to cast pearls before them.

I’ve owned a few hogs in my lifetime. They are avid eaters and cared for nothing except food and slop to eat, dirt to root in, and a mud hole to wallow in. Had I thrown anything of value in the pen along with their food, they would have trampled it. Trying to give them what they didn’t care about would have wasted my time.

Jesus wasn’t giving a command to pig farmers. Nor was he teaching we shouldn’t share with those who are unreceptive. Instead, he warned about what to expect when we toss the gospel to those who aren’t interested . . . to those content with their evil ways.

Selfishness and contentment with filth are in a hog’s nature. But there is good in the hog when the dirt is washed away—everything, in fact, some say, except the squeal.

Changing a hog’s nature is almost impossible. Changing ours is impossible, too. Like the hog, we’re quite content to wallow in the filth of sin and disobedience. I, too, have cast pearls before some people who had no interest.

God, however, can give anyone a new nature—a nature that loves pearls and all things holy . . . a heart that drives us toward obedience to God’s commands rather than mud.

Wisdom is necessary to know where to cast our pearls. While everyone needs to hear about God’s love, allowing God to guide us helps us throw them where they will reap the most results.

If God has changed your hate for the holy, how can you cast that same pearl before others?

Father, give us wisdom to cast the pearl of the gospel where it will garner the most fruit. 

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Fitted Together Perfectly - Martin Wiles

Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. Ephesians 4:16 NLT

Sixteen was a special number, but not because I had a sweet sixteen party.

When I performed the calculation, I had belonged to sixteen churches. Like any other child who doesn’t have a choice about where they attend church, as a preacher’s kid, I didn’t either. And since my dad didn’t stay at any one place long, I had been in five churches by the time I reached sixteen. Then I went into the ministry and repeated the pattern, although staying a little longer than good ole Dad.

I’ve seen my share of oddities as I've made the church rounds. One church melted when ladies began wearing pantsuits. Another had to wait for the monthly business meeting so they could vote to purchase the necessary parts to repair a toilet. Still another lost a few members when they decided to use the family life center for something other than meals. One had policies to follow if a person of another race or culture showed up. One was even bold enough to close down the sanctuary and move to the family life center to accommodate the growth in numbers they expected.

While different from each other, all shared a commonality: they fit together perfectly. Those on the outside may not have understood some of their beliefs or practices, but those on the inside knew their whys intimately.

Each of the churches was a body unto itself. But they also formed a body collectively—even though they encompassed different denominations, beliefs, and worship styles. Their commonalities included belief in Jesus Christ and members using their gifts.

As the human body only functions perfectly when each part is operating normally, so does the church. It’s up to us to determine what part we are by examining the gift God has given us and then locating a church where we can fit our role into the existing ones. When we discover the perfect fit, our body part will enable that church to advance God’s Kingdom. But if we try to fit where we don’t belong, we’ll only experience frustration and create discord.

Have you discovered the church where you’re the perfect fit?

Father, help us discover the church where our gifts will fit perfectly. 

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Cherry Yum Yum

 

Ingredients

4 CUPS CRUSHED GRAHAM CRACKERS

2 STICKS BUTTER (MELTED)

1 16-OUNCE CONTAINER OF COOL WHIP

2 8-OUNCE PACKS OF CREAM CHEESE (SOFTENED)

2 CANS SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK

2 CANS CHERRY PIE FILLING

2 PACKAGES INSTANT VANILLA PUDDING

3 CUPS MILK

Directions

MIX PUDDING AND MILK TOGETHER AND SET ASIDE.

MIX BUTTER AND CRACKER CRUMBS AND SET ASIDE.

BEAT CREAM CHEESE AND CONDENSED MILK UNTIL FLUFFY.

ADD PUDDING AND MIX WELL. FOLD IN COOL WHIP.

IN A LARGE DISH LAYER CRACKERS CRUMBS, PUDDING MIXTURE, AND CHERRY FILLING. REPEAT LAYERS.

SAVE A FEW CRUMBS TO SPRINKLE ON TOP.

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Respecting the Boundaries - Martin Wiles

He makes peace in your borders, And fills you with the finest wheat. Psalm 147:14 NKJV

 

During the day, they roamed freely, but at night . . .

 

As the early morning light graced the farmland surrounding her house, she inched across the backyard, scattering food for her chickens. As they gathered around her feet, vying for the corn and scratch feed she sprinkled on the ground, she snatched one by the neck—a nice plump hen. Before that chicken knew what was happening, she had wrung its neck, plucked its feathers, removed its innards, dissected its body, and placed the various parts into a cast iron frying pan boiling with hog lard.

 

I never actually saw my grandmother do this—but I did in my mind as my mother told the story. My grandmother loved chickens—or at least what they provided. She even knew how to cut and cook the pulley bone—a piece rarely cut now. When the person eating it finished, they often invited someone else to put their hand under the table and help them pull the bones apart. Whoever got the longest bone would have good luck.

 

But at night, my grandmother confined her chickens in a small coop nestled just behind her house and outside her bedroom, where she could hear if something got in the chicken coop. Nocturnal creatures wouldn’t bother the chickens during the day, but at night they slithered around. Coons, opossums, foxes. Her chickens were too valuable to lose. They provided meat for her family and eggs for baking and cooking.

 

Evidently, the chickens didn’t mind the boundaries. When my grandmother called them at dusk, they willingly walked the small plank into the coop.

 

My grandfather followed suit with his hogs and hunting dogs by placing fences around their areas. Years ago, folks allowed hogs to run free in the woods and only penned them before butchering, but not my grandfather. Had he not fenced them in, they would have wandered into the road or strolled miles away for someone else to catch and kill. The same thing would have happened with his hunting dogs. If the road had not killed them, someone else would have gladly taken them.

 

God, too, placed boundaries around His Old Testament people—limits that are still in place for believers. He calls them His commandments. God promised fruitful harvests and peace within their borders if they obeyed. If they disobeyed, the opposite would happen. Some boundaries we might not understand—and some might appear burdensome—but He places them there with purpose.

 

I’ve not always appreciated the boundaries others placed on me: parents, employers, doctors, government officials. But deep inside, I know they benefit me—especially God’s borders. His guiding commands and moral principles protect us from harmful things, nurture us so we can grow spiritually into the person He wants, and demonstrate His matchless love.

 

How can you learn to live willingly within God’s boundaries? Remember, He puts them there out of love.

 

Father, thank You for the boundaries You have placed around me. 

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Fired for God - Martin Wiles

But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than human authority.” Acts 5:29 NLT

“He was fired for flying the Christian flag . . . and in America.”

Although I struggled to wrap my mind around the statement, I couldn’t deny I was hearing it. The speaker talked about a fellow employee—a fine Christian young man who wasn’t afraid to express his faith.

While a debate bustled at one state capitol building over another historical flag, this man focused on the Christian flag. He proudly flew it from the back of his pickup truck . . . even at work. His supervisor instructed him to remove it. While on break, he did, but then he reinstated it during lunch. At four o’clock, his supervisor called him into the office and fired him.

I can still remember when prayers were articulated in public schools, teachers were allowed to express their faith, and Christian principles permeated society. Hearing about someone getting fired for flying a Christian flag in America disconcerted me.

Jesus said the days before His return would be wicked, like Noah’s day. He also said believers should rejoice when persecuted.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego chose a fiery furnace over a pagan statue. Daniel chose the lion’s den instead of an order to stop praying to his God. And the apostles chose jail rather than the command to stop preaching about Jesus.

The offense is immaterial; the result is disturbing. Some are fired for flying a flag. Others are told to remove Christian paraphernalia from their office space. Children are suspended for wearing clothing with Christian messages, and papers are scored a zero when written about a Christian topic. All in a country founded on Christian principles—contrary to what some historical revisionists now teach.

Suffering and persecution are parcel of following Christ. If we’re not opposed, we’re probably not shining our faith lights brightly enough. While we shouldn’t cultivate a martyr complex, neither should we shy away from the consequences of following Jesus Christ. We should expect opposition and misunderstanding. Some will shun us, and others will seek to harm us. Our duty entails standing fast and loving those who don’t love us. And we can when we trust God for strength.

How can you lovingly respond to those opposing you because of your faith?

Father, enable me to stand firmly when the powers of persecution rise against me.

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Holding to the Truth - Martin Wiles

Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ. Ephesians 4:15 NLT

He was a hell-fire-and-brimstone preacher who held to the truth . . . regardless.

My dad preached for forty years. He labeled himself a “fundamentalist.” I re-discovered the truth of this when I listened to the only recorded sermon of his I have. He was a young man at the time, in his late 30’s. His voice undulated with passion. He preached the “unadulterated” gospel with zeal. He didn’t mince words to be politically correct; he simply preached what the Bible said. If the Bible called something sin, he did, too—regardless of what anyone else thought.

Dad held to the truth, as Paul instructed early believers to do. Only Paul included to do so with love. As early believers took the gospel into the world, they encountered pagan lies. Confronting those lies meant speaking the truth, but getting the people to listen required speaking it in love.

Spiritual truth isn’t always pretty. It can cut to the quick and raise the hackles on necks. When violating it and having someone call our hand, we can follow our gut reaction, get angry, and snap back. Truth reminds us of how ugly we can act.

The truth of the matter is we are born sinners. We may have been a pretty baby, but we had an ugly nature. It just didn’t show up initially. We didn’t arrive with a clean slate that was later corrupted by a sinful environment, although our circumstances can affect it. All Satan must do is capitalize on what is already present.

The truth is also that we will live and die the same way unless we allow God to do something about our nature. He can change it but won’t unless we agree with Him that we have sinned.

But the prettier truth is God can change us. By repenting of our sins and believing in Jesus Christ as our Savior, we can exchange our ugliness for Christ’s righteousness. This new nature won’t take away our struggle to obey—in fact, it will intensify it. But now God has something to work with. He can bring us into a state of obedience to His commands. A condition we could never enter before.

Have you accepted the cold hard truth about your nature?

Father, may I never shy away from the truth but speak it boldly to people who need to hear. 

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Homemade Biscuits

 

Ingredients

2 CUPS SELF RISING FLOUR

2/3 CUP BUTTERMILK

¼ CUP OIL

1 TEASPOON SUGAR

Directions

MIX BUTTERMILK, SUGAR, AND OIL. STIR UNTIL BLENDED WELL.

ADD FLOUR AND MIX WELL.

ROLL OUT BISCUITS ON A FLOURED SURFACE.

CUT BISCUITS AND PLACE IN A GREASED PAN.

BAKE AT 450 DEGREES FOR TEN MINUTES.

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