Be Secure - Martin Wiles

For I can do everything with the help of Christ, who gives me the strength I need. Philippians 4:13 NLT

Donned in my walking attire, I looked at my wife and said, “Anyone who can wear this is secure in themselves.”

For years, I’ve walked to keep off the extra pounds. But one day, when I dressed in the clothes I intended to wear while walking, my wife took one look and said, “That’s a hot mess.”

My pants had stripes, and my jacket had checks. I topped off my outfit with a striped Fedora hat. I really didn’t care what anyone else thought about my outfit—but that hasn’t always been true.

When I was a young lad, my appearance caused me great insecurity. Somewhere along the line, I stopped caring what others thought and became secure in my identity.

Paul had many reasons to be insecure after choosing to follow Christ. He was hounded frequently by unbelievers who would have loved nothing better than to destroy his ministry. The multiple trials he faced also added to his precarious situation. But he was confident.

As followers of Christ, we can be secure in our identity. The Bible calls us saints. The last time I checked, I was far from sainthood, but that’s my position in Christ. When we trust Christ as our Savior and receive his forgiveness, we trade in the label of “sinner.” Though we still sin, it’s not the pattern of our lives, nor does it have to be. The indwelling power of the Holy Spirit gives us the power to live above sin regularly.

As believers, we can also be secure in our life situations. Paul experienced good times and bad times. He established many churches and witnessed thousands trust Christ as their Savior, but he also experienced patience-trying and life-threatening situations. Yet he was secure. In another place, he wrote, I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. Learning that lesson isn’t easy or quick, but when we’ve mastered it, unpleasant situations won’t cause us to feel insecure.

Further, as God’s child, we can be secure in our gifts. God gives all believers at least one gift of the Spirit, but most have more. Our responsibility is to use it (or them) wisely, faithfully, and in ways that honor the God who gave them.

If your life is hounded by insecurities, God can empower you to overcome them.

Father, I give my insecurities to you, believing you can help me conquer each one. 

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Throwback Tuesday - Martin Wiles

A Tax Collector’s Attitude

I was once one so I can imagine how he felt…unappreciated, hated, scorned, threatened, and misunderstood. 

For five years, I worked at a county tax office where vehicle and property taxes were collected. And where property was sold and driver’s licenses suspended for those refusing to pay. My responsibility was suspending driver’s licenses. Most assumed the dealer paid their initial taxes…a misconception some dealers cultivated. When I attempted to collect, I was cursed at repeatedly, threatened occasionally, and hung up on regularly. It wasn’t the most fulfilling job, but someone had to do it…and the boss selected me. Read more...

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Be Secure - Martin Wiles

For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. Philippians 4:13 NLT

Donned in my walking attire, I looked at my wife and said, “Anyone who can wear this is secure in themselves.” 

Lately, I’ve been trying to walk off the extra pounds. On this particular day, I dressed in the clothes I intended to wear while walking. My wife took one look and said, “That’s a hot mess.” My pants had stripes, and my jacket had checks. I topped off my outfit with a striped Fedora hat. I really didn’t care what anyone else thought about my outfit—but that hasn’t always been true. 

When I was a young lad, my appearance caused me great insecurity. Somewhere along the line, I stopped caring what others thought and became secure in whom I was. 

Paul had many reasons to be insecure after choosing to follow Christ. He was hounded frequently by unbelievers who would have loved nothing better than to destroy his ministry. The multiple trials he faced also added to his precarious situation. But he was confident. 

As a follower of Christ, I can be secure in my identity. The Bible calls me a “saint.” The last time I checked, I was far from sainthood, but in Christ that’s my position. When I trusted Christ as my Savior and received His forgiveness for all my sins, I traded in the label of “sinner.” 

Though I still sin, it’s not the pattern of my life, nor does it have to be. The indwelling power of the Holy Spirit gives me the power to live above sin on a regular basis. 

As a believer, I can be secure in my life situation. Paul experienced good times and bad times. He established many churches and witnessed thousands trust Christ as their Savior, but he also experienced patience-trying and life-threatening situations. Yet he was secure. 

In another place, Paul wrote, I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. Learning that lesson isn’t easy or quick, but when I’ve mastered it, unpleasant situations won’t cause me to feel insecure. 

As God’s child, I can also be secure in my gifts. God gives all believers at least one gift of the Spirit, but most have more. My responsibility is to use it (or them) wisely, faithfully, and in ways that honor the God who gave them. 

Is your life hounded by insecurities? God can empower you to overcome them. 

Prayer: Father, we give our insecurities to you, believing You are able to help us conquer each one.

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Walk the Path - Martin Wiles

Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. Proverbs 4:26 NLT

Though once clear and distinct, the path has now disappeared. 

Paths vary in length and purpose. The Appalachian Trail marches over 2,000 miles of the roughest terrain in the Eastern United States and is traversed by thousands every year. I’ve walked parts of it. The Foothills Trail meanders some 80 miles along the most remote mountainous areas of the North Carolina South Carolina border. I’ve walked all of it. 

But there was another path…one that connected my grandparents’ home with my aunt and uncle’s. Though not many people walked it, thousands of footprints kept it well-worn. Footprints that represented numerous trips for various purposes: to eat a meal, to spend the night, to ask a question, to have a glass of Southern sweet tea, to borrow a cup of sugar, to go fishing, to go hunting, to play in the hog pen. In 1991, one terminus of the path vanished when my grandmother died. Recently (2015), the other terminus moved when my aunt died.  

On a recent and final trip to see my aunt, I noticed the path had vanished. What was once well-worn was now grass covered. No one had walked it since 1991. There was no reason. Strangers had bought and moved into my grandparents’ home. Exactly how long it was after people stopped walking the path that it disappeared, I’m not sure. But eventually, the last sprig of grass crept over the final bare spot, and it was gone—never to be seen or walked again. 

For me, this path between the two homes led to family, fellowship, love, fun, and safety. Other paths have various purposes. The one we must walk to Jesus represents forgiveness and eternal life with the God who loves us. As we walk it, spiritual growth should take place. 

Paths can also take us to new friendships and love relationships. Our life path should lead to happiness and contentment. And, of course, some paths—those that are damaging to us spiritually, emotionally, or physically—should be left alone to grow over like the one between my relatives’ homes. 

Consider the paths you’re walking. Where are they taking you and why? Then walk the path your Creator wants you to. 

Prayer: Father, guide us to the path that leads us to You and then to the path of service. 

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Throwback Tuesday - Martin Wiles

Thinking God’s Thoughts

At nine years of age, my father took me into his office and explained a better way. After all, I was a sinner who needed saving. “Have you ever lied to your mom or me?” Or his infamous one, “You know when you sass (his favorite word) us? That’s a sin too.” 

From a sordid introduction, he scurried to a respectable solution…“God sent his Son to die for your sins…” then to the sinner’s prayer. The prayer worked well until the cringing fingers of peer pressure began clawing at my otherwise moral fiber. For nine years, lying and sassing were among my tamer sins. Questions penetrated the hard shell of my rebellion. Was I an alcoholic, or just someone who drank? An addict or merely someone who used occasionally? A criminal or simply someone who sporadically broke a few laws? More importantly, a rebellious child of God or not one at all? Was I defined by what I did or whose I was? Read more...

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Never Forsaken - Martin Wiles

My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me? Why do you remain so distant? Why do you ignore my cries for help? Psalm 22:1 NLT

I had a few chickens and a couple of ducks, why not add a goat?

The call came from a church member: “I have a goat whose mother won’t nurse her. Would you like to have her?

“Sure, why not,” I said. I’d bottle fed a pig some years earlier. Why not try a goat.

We made her a bed in our utility shed. My schedule was flexible—unlike the rest of the family, so feeding her fell to me: morning, noon, evening, before bed, and once in the middle of the night. When she was weaned, I placed her in the pen with the chickens and ducks. She was more of a pet than a farm animal. Gracie discovered being forsaken by her mom didn’t mean everyone would forsake her.

Why the psalmist felt forsaken and penned this psalm, I’m not sure. But Jesus used the same words while hanging on the cross dying for the sins of humanity. He said it because He was bearing the full weight of the world’s sins. Being the holy God that He is, His heavenly Father had to turn away in that moment. How the Divine could turn from the Divine is unexplainable, but it was only momentary. When the deed was done, God accepted what His Son had accomplished, raised Him from a grave, and received Him back into heaven. 

I’ve felt the pains of being forsaken by others: peers who thought I was different and didn’t want anything to do with me, work associates who thought I attended to my responsibilities too intricately, church members who didn’t like the changes I suggested, and others who were turned off by my faith stand. 

Being forsaken happens in life. Though others forsake us for various reasons, God will only do so for one reason: unbelief. Even then, He continues to prick our consciences with His Spirit, desiring that we repent of our sins and trust Him. As His child, He’ll never turn His back on us. Even when we’re unfaithful to Him, He’ll be faithful to us. He made the promise that He’ll never leave or forsake us. And we can depend on His word. 

Gracie may have felt forsaken, but she wasn’t. We may feel God has turned His back on us, but He never does. 

Prayer: Father, we thank You that we can always be sure You are by our side.

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God’s Grasshoppers - Martin Wiles

We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. We felt like grasshoppers next to them, and that’s what we looked like to them. Numbers 13:33 NLT

Quan was struggling with a foreboding sense of insignificance. 

Quan's people were celebrating a feast for their gods. They didn’t want them to send evil spirits to punish them. Quan, however, wasn’t participating. He would rather spend time with the local Christian missionaries, the Folicks. They had arrived on his island two years ago to tell his people about a greater God. Only a few listened. Quan was one of them. His life had radically changed, but he felt insignificant. What could one person do to influence the actions of so many? 

Joshua and Caleb no doubt felt insignificant as well. Among twelve spies Moses had sent to spy out the Promised Land, they were the only two who returned with a favorable report. Yes, the cities were walled, and yes, the people were fierce, but they had God on their side. They could conquer the land. God rewarded their diligence. Joshua was chosen to lead the new generation of Israelites into the Promised Land, and Caleb was given a parcel of land. 

I—like Quan, Joshua, and Caleb—have felt the creeping fingers of insignificance. I listen to media sources, and it appears evil is overwhelming good. What can I possibly do to stem the flow? Christians are in a minority, and I circulate in a very small part of the world. How much of an influence could I possibly exert?

Lack of trust will keep me feeling helpless, and this is exactly where Satan would love for me to camp. God, on the other hand, wants my faith. Faith—even as small as a mustard seed—can move mountains because it is placed in the One who has the ability to shift them. I can do great things because the One who lives in me is greater than the One who lives in the world. What appears small to me, He can use to make a major impact. 

One thing we have that Quan, Joshua, and Caleb knew nothing about is technology. With the click of a mouse or the tap of a finger, we can send the gospel—along with spiritual encouragement, across the world. 

Think of one way you can use your technology to overcome feelings of insignificance. 

Prayer: Father, when we feel insignificant, remind us who we truly are in Jesus Christ. 

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Expect the Unexpected - Martin Wiles

Don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 1 Peter 4:12 NLT

A deer in a dove field is not what I expected. 

While I didn’t grow up in the country, both sets of my grandparents had. Dove hunting was one part of country life I enjoyed. One of my cousins would perch me and another cousin atop his car, spin out through a field—slinging dust and us across the hood of his car, and finally deposit us at one edge of the field. Now that everything in sight was stirred up, we waited for the doves to fly across. 

As I lingered, what came wasn’t doves but a cry: “Shoot him, shoot him.” As I turned my eyes from the sky to the ground, I glanced a large buck thrashing across the field and aiming directly at me. Although I had buckshot, I had no time to load it. I shot, but to no avail. I was expecting doves…not a buck. 

Early believers—Peter’s audience, was peppered by persecution. Being a Christian in the first century was dangerous—and sometimes life-threatening. If Jesus was persecuted and killed, they shouldn’t expect any less by identifying with Him. 

Life is full of expectations. Spouses expect their spouses to love them, not leave them. Employees expect their bosses to pay them, not fire them. Children expect parents to love them, not abuse them. Landlords expect their tenants to pay them, not abuse their dwellings. 

Life is also dotted with the unexpected. Divorce, abuse, wrecks, broken bones, life altering events, tragedies, financial meltdowns, emotional battles—and attacks from Satan and those who represent him. 

We shouldn’t be surprised by the unexpected attacks. We live in a shattered world ruled by an evil personage who loves nothing more than to see us turn our backs on God and descend into the pit of bitterness and anger. 

Expecting the unexpected, however, helps us respond in a healthier way. Trusting in a loving God, believing He is in control, and asking Him for strength to face what’s assaulting us is always the healthier approach. Nothing is allowed that isn’t for our ultimate good. 

Prepare for the unexpected. It’s just around the corner. 

Prayer: Father, give us wisdom and courage to face the unexpected. 

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Flashback Friday - Martin Wiles

Praising God Continuously

Praising God is easy when life runs smoothly; it’s a challenge when life repeatedly takes us down bumpy roads. Doing it continually is even more demanding.

Praising God is effortless when the kids get along but strenuous when they’re cantankerous. Having many children by multiple wives made David’s situation fragile. Especially when son of wife one raped daughter of wife two. And when son of wife three wanted the throne God promised to son of wife four. Read more...

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Security in … - Martin Wilies

So the total number of Israelite men counted in the census numbered 601,730. Numbers 26:51 NLT

Numbers don’t always provide security; sometimes it’s found in other things. 

Our second born grandson is what I classify “high maintenance.” The first we could feed, rock to sleep, and place on the bed. He would stay there for hours. Still will. When awake, he was content to lie on the floor and entertain himself. While the second loves to be fed and rocked to sleep also, lying on the bed by himself doesn’t work. Occasionally, he’ll sleep for several hours, but it’s not the norm. Playing on a blanket on the floor doesn’t interest him either. My wife’s cure: “I’m fixin to swaddle him.” She places one of his blankets on the floor, nestles him in it, and wraps his arms and legs tightly. Once asleep, he’ll snooze for hours. Security. 

The book of numbers is aptly named. In this particular instance, it’s about the number of men who are of military age. When the leaders finished the second census, they gave the number to Moses and Eleazar, who both must have found great comfort in the results. More than 600,000 men would provide security as the people entered the Promised Land and faced their enemies. 

While security is often found in numbers, it’s not certain. Security is one of humanity’s basic needs, so it’s important I find it somewhere. Wrapping myself in a blanket or joining the military won’t necessarily provide it. 

Merely telling others I find security in my relationship with Christ is somewhat shallow. It goes deeper than a flippant statement. Details are needed. What’s involved in the relationship is crucial for me to understand and others to hear. 

Within the relationship is the knowledge God has accepted me into His family and that nothing can separate me from His love. He not only numbers me among his family but also among his friends. What He holds securely, no one can snatch. God actually enjoys hanging around with me. 

Knowing He is orchestrating the details of my life and maneuvering them to form me into His Son’s image is also comforting.  Believing this helps me view life’s events—pleasant or not, through a different lenses. Nothing happens randomly or by chance. Nor is it controlled by fate. 

A relationship with God is the source of ultimate security. What are you finding security in? 

Prayer: Father, we praise You for the security we can find in our walk with You.  

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Bottled Up - Martin Wiles

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. Psalm 56:8 NLT

They cuddle on the cabinet, snuggle on the shelf, and frolic on the floor, but none are doing what they were originally designed to do. 

Old bottles are one of my passions. I don’t go out of my way to find or collect them, but when I come across one at a decent price, I snatch it up. Many in my collection were given to me by people who saw no purpose in having them, and others I’ve bought at discount prices from store owners who didn’t know their true worth. They range from soda bottles to medicine bottles and everything in between. But they all have one thing in common: they’re empty. 

None of my bottles are filled with their original contents, nor are they presently being used for their initial purpose. The beauty is now in their historical significance and the unique designs and raised markings they display. I could bottle them up with something—water if nothing more, but they still wouldn’t fulfill their earliest purpose. They serve merely as reminders.

The psalmist was discouraged. Enemy troops were tracking him, slanderers were stalking him, spies were spying on him, and his emotions were raging. Appealing to God helped calm his nerves. He reminded himself that God took notice of his situation and could bottle up his fears, disappointments, and sorrows. 

Whatever was originally stored in my bottles could be uncorked or uncapped and poured down the recipient’s throat. Pleasure or relief from pain resulted. God can take sorrow, discouragement, and disappointment and bottle them up. But He seals them so tightly no one can release them again. 

Life can be overwhelming. Sin taints the world so thoroughly that the results of it are bound to touch my life repeatedly until I die. A range of emotions result when they do. Emotions that can lead me in unhealthy directions unless I remember God hasn’t abandoned me. When I feel overcome with peace destroying emotions and thoughts, I look at my empty bottles and ask God to do what the psalmist did—bottle them up. Seal them tightly. Cork them completely. And then I ask Him to help me to see clearly what I can glean from the confined contents. 

Are you feeling overwhelmed by life? Ask God to bottle up the things that baffle you. 

Prayer: Father, we thank You that we can come to You with our petitions and pains and count on You to bottle them up so we can live with peace and purpose.

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Throwback Tuesday - Martin Wiles

Living Above Insecurity

Series: Conquering The Past

She was a farm girl whose future looked as dim as her present.

Frankie was an only child living with a stern father on a small farm where they both slaved from sunup to sundown. She had no time for girly pursuits and wore the clothes of her trade: overalls and boots. Her hair was plainly brushed and her face unadorned. 

Then Frankie met Ellie who was startled by Frankie’s unfeminine appearance. She began taking female “doodads” to the farm for Frankie, but it took several angry encounters with her father to convince him that dolling Frankie up was more advantageous. A future husband would be of more help than Frankie. Because of her past and present conditions, Frankie struggled with insecurity. Read more...

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