Philosophy Jesus Style - Martin Wiles

And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:50

Fundamentalist was the term Dad used to describe himself. 

Mom’s take on things, I was unsure about. Occasionally, I would pick up vibes that she disagreed with some of Dad’s philosophy. I knew he believed faith was the way to God, but the constant emphasis on rules seemed to interfere with what he attempted to teach me about God. What seeped through was the “thou shalt not’s.” When I finally began meditating on God’s Word rather than just reading it, I discovered God wanted more in our relationship than me obeying a list. 

I doubt the sinful woman who approached Jesus was a churchgoer. She was considered a “sinner” and probably wouldn’t have been welcome. She wasn’t at this party either, but for some reason, Simon, the host, didn’t throw her out. Perhaps her actions toward Jesus astonished the guests and Simon so much that they couldn’t speak. Maybe they let her carry out her actions so they could get more proof that Jesus wasn’t the Messiah. Either way, she stayed and cried on Jesus’ feet, wiped them with her hair, and anointed them with perfume.

Jesus rewarded her actions with praise. He didn’t give her a list of things to do when she left if she wanted to be His disciple. He merely recognized her faith and told her to go in peace. She had discovered what the religious leaders thought they had—but hadn’t. Their service to God was like mine when I was young—obeying a list of commands. Jesus went deeper with the woman.

The philosophy of the religious elite of Jesus’ day was plain. One connected to God through obeying numerous rituals and hundreds of commands. The result was failure and turmoil. By allowing the sinful woman to perform her ritual, Jesus tried to demonstrate their error. His philosophy has to do with repentance and faith. Her actions portrayed her faith, and her faith—not rote obedience to rules--saved her. She received what the religious snobs tried so hard but failed to obtain—a relationship.

What philosophy of religion are you following? If it doesn’t include repentance and faith, it will fail you.

Father, remind me that the way to You is through faith and repentance. 

If you enjoyed this devotion, please share it with your friends. 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! 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.

Jesus to Me - Martin Wiles

Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Luke 7:38 NLT

“Fear God” was a command I often heard in my dad’s sermons. And I did.

Some years after my father’s death, I uncovered the only recorded sermon I have of his. I had forgotten what a fireball he was when he preached. Most of my memories are of him as a Southern Methodist preacher. He was strict—almost legalistic. Fearing God—literally--was a part of his theology, at least as a young preacher.

As a child, I took my father’s advice and feared God. Of course, I probably misunderstood the definition of fear at this young age, but I was scared. Scared of committing the wrong sin and having God annihilate me. Scared I might not make it to heaven after all. Scared I wouldn’t please Him regardless of what I did. A skewed interpretation, but mine nonetheless. And one that didn’t change for many years.

The sinful woman’s view of God must have been quite different than the pugnacious religious leader’s. She pranced into their legalistic religious gathering and marched right up to Jesus. Actually, she fell before Him, anointed His feet with her tears and then oil, and dried them with her hair. How bold. To think, she would march up to the Son of God and fall before Him. Perhaps she understood more about Jesus than her snobbish peers.

Somewhere along the way, my view of God changed as well. No longer was He a faraway deity I couldn’t approach. While I still held a healthy fear of Him—after all, He could snuff out my life by issuing a second long command—I came to understand He wasn’t out to get me. Yes, He has standards, and yes, I was obligated to obey them, but He was after a relationship with me. He wanted me to love Him with all my heart and serve Him consistently.

Fortunately, I avoided the other extreme view of God: that He is the grandfatherly type who will let me get away with sin. God is a God of discipline, but He is more interested in teaching than punishing me.

In the person of the Holy Spirit, God is as near as the breath we breathe. He calls us to a holy fear but more so to a loving relationship.

How does your picture of God affect your journey with Him?

Father, may my fear of You lead me to love You wholeheartedly and serve You diligently.

If you enjoyed this devotion, please share it with your friends. 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! 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.

Beef and Gravy

 

 

Ingredients

1 ½ POUNDS STEW MEAT

     
2 SOUP CANS OF WATER

   
2 CANS CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

1 ENVELOPE LIPTON ONION SOUP MIX

 

Directions

BROWN MEAT IN DUTCH OVEN.

MIX SOUP, WATER, AND ONION SOUP MIX TOGETHER.

ADD TO MEAT AND BRING TO BOIL.

TURN UNTIL TENDER.

Tweetable: Why not serve this up as your main dish?

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! 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.

Armed for Battle - Martin Wiles

You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet. Psalm 18:39 NLT

Not all battles use guns, tanks, planes, and ships.

John* was accustomed to the oxygen machine snuggled in the pouch hanging around his neck. And he was also used to the apparatus under his nose and the long cumbersome line he had to manage as he walked around. What he hadn’t planned on was a stint in the hospital or a long recuperation period where he was confined to his home.

Flu season was terrible that winter, and although John didn’t get the flu, he got bronchitis and pneumonia—courtesy of his COPD. Doctors thought one round in the hospital was enough, but it wasn’t. John wound up there again, and when he finally came home, he did so with home health care visiting him several times a week, along with a therapist.

John and his wife were regular churchgoers, but this episode took them away for almost two months. Although the battle was tough—and John had periods when he worried whether he was going to make it—John fought like a trooper. Everyone smiled and greeted him and his wife warmly when they finally returned to church. While he fought his battle, church members sent him cards and food and called regularly to check on them. John was ready, no matter how the battle ended.

My grandmother, on the other hand, worried a little more than John. Until she got older, she never worried about her health. But when she began to feel the effects of aging, she convinced herself she had cancer. She had no signs—and tests showed nothing—but she knew she was dying with cancer. She didn’t. She died of effects related to Alzheimer’s. She also wasn’t convinced she was armed for the battle against what she only had in her mind.

I’ve been in similar battles as my grandmother. Periods when I convinced myself I had some awful disease the doctors hadn’t discovered. Or when I felt a little twinge in my chest and thought a heart attack was imminent. I saw others fight terrible physical battles—and wondered if I could do the same. At other times, my emotions traveled to forbidden areas—and sometimes my feet followed.

David’s battles were physical, emotional, and warlike, but God armed him for them all—as He does all His followers.

God provides spiritual armor for the spiritual battles we fight with temptation: the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the shoes of peace. He gives us the mind of Christ so we can control the emotions that would lead us down destructive pathways. And He gives us amazing bodies that are created in such a way they can ward off many physical attacks and can be worked on by doctors who can remove, exchange, or juggle around parts.

Regardless of the nature of the battle, God provides what we need to fight it. Look to Him when your fight comes.

Father, I trust You to arm me for whatever battle comes our way. 

Tweetable: Are you armed for spiritual battle? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! 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.

Fear Not - Martin Wiles

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. Isaiah 41:10 NLT

I stared at the button that read “Reset Settings,” thinking it might solve my issue. Fear, however, kept me from clicking it.

Computers seem to have a mind of their own. Sometimes, an update will change the way something performs. Or I may accidentally press a key combination and find my computer doing things never done before.

Once, mine stopped giving me prompts when I typed in words I’d typed in previously. Not a huge discomfort, but when I’m in a hurry, it’s easier to click on an email address than type it. I also save seconds by clicking on my name rather than typing it.

So, I had my IT friend take a gander. After trying a few things unsuccessfully, we came to the dreaded “Reset Settings” button. He said, “Click on it.” I feared what might change. He told me not to worry. If it changed something, he could fix it. So I clicked, and all my missing functions reappeared. I had languished in aggravation for a month when I could have stepped out in faith.

Fear may be a natural human emotion, but it often gets in the way when serving God. It has stymied God’s people on more than one occasion. Fear led Abraham to lie about his wife. Fear kept Moses from wanting to approach Pharaoh. Fear made Gideon ask for a sign assuring him of God’s presence. And fear made the disciples think they were going to die in a storm on the Sea of Galilee.

Fear has kept me at bay a few times as well. What would my friends think if I served God instead of the addictions they did? How would I pay my bills if I left everything to attend college and study for the ministry?

An old saying comforts me: “If God leads you to it, He will lead you through it.” Trite? Maybe. But true nonetheless. God never takes us where He hasn’t already been in His plans. He never asks us to do anything He won’t provide the means and sustenance for us to do. “Fear not” should be our battle cry as we move out into the unknown lands of God’s will.

Where does God desire to take you that fear won’t let you go?

Father, give me the courage to follow wherever You lead with the confidence You’ll go before me.

Tweetable: Is fear ruling your life? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! 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.

Just Bursting Rocks - Martin Wiles

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10 NLT

They were all doing the same thing, but their perspectives were different. Some thought they were just bursting rocks.

He lumbered through what appeared to be a construction site. As he came upon one who was bursting rocks, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The worker replied, “I’m bursting rocks.”

He asked another. “I’m working for my family,” he said.

Then a third, “Sir, what are you doing?”

“I’m building a church,” he replied.

In fact, they were all bursting rocks—the results of which would be used to build a magnificent cathedral. But only one grasped that perspective. For the others, it was just work to pass the day or support a family.

On God’s construction site, we should never say, “We’re merely bursting rocks,” or “We don’t know why we’re here. God wasted His time creating me.”

Every believer has at least one spiritual gift. Among them are wisdom, knowledge, faith, discerning false teachers, and mercy.

How many gifts we have or get may in part be determined by what we do with the one God gives us. God removes what we don’t use but gives more when we’re faithful. Nor does He expect us to use them all the same way. Our opportunities are unique. Even when we have the same opportunities, we use them differently because our personalities differ.

What gifts we have isn’t nearly as important as what we do with them. Christians aren’t in competition. We are bursting rocks for a greater purpose—to advance God’s Kingdom. If we lose sight of that, we’ll lose our excitement in doing His work. Focusing on the result—the salvation and growth of souls—helps us maintain our perspective.

Most of us won’t live to see all the results of our work for God. Many of the construction workers died before the cathedral was completed. While it is wonderful to witness someone coming to Christ or deciding to get serious in their walk with God, we will only see the entire impact of our work when we reach eternity. But we have the confidence that nothing we do in God’s name with the right motive will go unnoticed by Him.

Are you merely bursting rocks? If so, ask God to change your perspective.

Father, remind me that whatever I do in Your name is important and will not go unnoticed. 

Tweetable: How do you view your life's purpose? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! 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.

Beefy Macaroni and Cheese

 

Ingredients

1 POUND GROUND BEEF

1 ONION (DICED)

1 CAN ROTEL

1 CAN TOMATO PASTE

1 ½ TEASPOON CHILI POWDER

SALT/PEPPER

¼ CUP WATER

1 ½ TEASPOON SUGAR

8 OUNCES MACARONI NOODLES (COOKED AND DRAINED)

Directions

BROWN MEAT AND DRAIN.

ADD ALL INGREDIENTS TO MEAT EXCEPT CHEESE AND NOODLES.

COOK ON MEDIUM HEAT FOR 30 MINUTES OR UNTIL SAUCE THICKENS. 

STIR IN MACARONI NOODLES AND TOP WITH CHEESE.

BAKE IN A GREASED CASSEROLE DISH AT 350 DEGREES UNTIL THE CHEESE IS MELTED.

(Photo courtesy of isinginthekitchen.com)

Tweetable: Why not add this delicacy to your main meal? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! 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.

Defining Marriage Part 3 - Martin Wiles

And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21 NLT

“If he wasn’t a preacher, I’d divorce him.”

Martha had been a pastor’s wife longer than she cared to remember. In fact, it seemed like a lifetime. She and John had only been married seven years when he informed her God was calling him into the ministry. She hadn’t bargained for a lifetime of being a preacher’s wife, but what choice did she have? She could leave. That would go against everything she’d been taught about sticking with your spouse through thick and thin. Instead, she chose to stay in spite of the many aggravations she had to endure: a husband who worked continuously, church members who were backstabbers and complainers, and children who rebelled against having to move from place to place every few years.

Successful marriages take mutual submission.

For Martha, staying with John was one of those submissions. There have been historical periods when women had no rights and did what their husbands said without question. Society might have accepted that; God never intended it to be that way. Telling his listeners that husbands and wives should submit to one another was a radical statement in Paul’s day. One-sided submission makes for miserable marriages.

God has established guidelines for the marriage partners.

Children should obey their parents. Wives should honor their husband’s God-given spiritual authority. Men should step up to the plate and lead. They must love their wives as Christ did the church—enough to die for them. Marriages are successful when we obey God’s guidelines—whether or not society recognizes or endorses them.

Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church.

The church is the bride of Christ. Believers submit to Him. He is our head. He promises to care for our every need and never to leave us. Christian marriages reflect the salvation connection to unbelievers.

Marriage is not for everyone.

Some have the gift of celibacy—singleness. And according to Paul, they have more time to serve God. Playing matchmaker is only a good idea if we’re sure the one we’re matching up is supposed to be matched up according to God’s plan for them.

When God is at the center of marriages, success is possible. Put Him there and see what happens to yours.

Father, I commit my marriage to You. Make it strong so that I might enjoy the partner You have given me. 

Tweetable: Are you relishing your marriage partner? 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! 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.

Words of Love - Karen Huffaker

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 NKJV

If we want to know the real story, we sometimes need to listen to a small child.

What children see is what they tell. They may misunderstand or take something out of context, but we’re more likely to get the scoop on what happened—much to the horror of some parents. Children don’t have a filter in their conversations. When they speak innocently, their words tumble out. They haven’t yet learned discernment, good judgment, or discretion.

I am reminded of the old television show, “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” hosted by Art Linkletter. Kids are still learning about truth and wisdom. Aren’t we all? 

Adults can be like this as well. We often speak before we think. Raw emotions can drive our words, and our thoughts may be one-sided. Grownups usually know the better way to communicate about many things but fail to apply their knowledge in conversations.

If we filter our words and thoughts through Jesus, we will more likely speak the truth with love, kindness, gentleness, and patience. And we will reflect the light of Jesus as we go into the world. This is a work in progress for me, and I have a long way to go.

A coffee filter strains out the grounds and other impurities we don’t want in our morning coffee. Likewise, the counsel of the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures teach us and help strain out impurities in our minds, hearts, and spirits.

Think of ways to better filter your words so that they exhibit God’s love. 

Tweetable: How can you share words of love? 

Karen Huffaker is a freelance Christian writer. She has taught children’s Sunday school and single mom’s Bible studies and written poetry. She is from the Deep South and loves reading Christian books, devotionals, genealogy adventures, fishing, and all things family. She is also passionate about her grandchildren’s sporting events. 

Thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts! 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.