Zeroing In - Anita van der Elst

So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?” Luke 15:3-4 NLT

Ever feel lost in the crowd? Though surrounded by people, are we even seen? 

A dear friend shared with me that she’d been accepted as an extra for the filming of season five of The Chosen, a popular Christian TV series set in New Testament times. How excited I was for her. 

Many years ago, she and I were involved in church theatrical productions, sometimes with speaking roles, but often just part of the background crowd, adding a sense of realism. Now, whenever I watch a movie or show, I tend to search out the scenes behind the major players.

One requirement that my friend had to fulfill was to provide her own costuming. A perusal of the tote bin of costumes I’d saved from years before revealed a couple of items that could serve as part of her wardrobe. She was happy to accept the loan of the pieces to augment her own. I told her that I would search for her in the crowd scenes when the show aired, knowing what she’d be wearing. 

The heart of Jesus longs to pick each one of us out of the crowd. Jesus looked for me, searched for me as the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to rescue the one lamb that strayed. 

Jesus zeroes in on the individual. He’s looking for you. He treasures you. Don’t hide from him. 

Anita van der Elst finds joy in creating with words, believing God gifted her with the desire to do so. Married to her best friend, Edward, since 1976, she is a proud mom of four adult children and Oma to three of the most delightful grandchildren ever. Other joys in her life include bringing beauty to Facebook through photos she takes on her iPhone, exploring the state parks in the PNW, facilitating a small group of women, and participating in a Bible study.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Follow the Son - Martin Wiles

Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. Isaiah 30:21 NLT

The road was covered by shade, except for one spot.

The highway leading to the church I pastored meandered through miles of country. Acres of forest line each side of the road, making for a shady drive. One of the only two turns I had to make was often difficult to see because of the numerous trees—until I spotted a landmark.

As I drove along, looking for my turn, I noticed a stream of sunlight arch across the highway. This was the only break in miles of shade, and it was the exact spot for my turn. If I followed the sun, I never missed the road.

Isaiah reminded his listeners that God would do the same for them. God was behind, in front of, and all around them. If they would listen and look, they’d never miss or make a wrong turn.

My wife tells me I’m directionally challenged, and she’s right. At the time, our car had no built-in compass, so what seemed like east to me might be west, and north might be south. I travel by road numbers; she looks for landmarks. She can get us where we need to go; I can get us lost.

I’ve lost my way in life more times than I care to remember. My misplacement came because I wasn’t listening to or looking for the Son. When I turned where he told me, I always arrived at the correct destination, but if I turned where I thought it looked like a good road, I wound up at the wrong place and with the wrong people.

Since God sees the beginning, end, and everything in between, it only makes sense to consult him for life’s directions. He will shine the light where we need to turn and prompt us when we need to take another direction. His Word provides a road map, and his Spirit gives us wisdom to read it or hear his promptings clearly. Busyness, selfishness, and misplaced priorities will cause us to miss turns. But a sold-out heart to the Son will get us where we need to go every time.

Look for the light. The Son will never lead you in the wrong direction.

Father, as you shine your light to guide my path, give me wisdom and courage to follow where you lead.

I invite you to try my book Mastering English Grammar Basics. No one escapes life's hurts, but we can move beyond them to hope and healing. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

A Way Back - Martin Wiles

Then Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland. Ruth 1:6 NLT

Getting there proved easy. Getting back was the problem. And there could be anywhere or nowhere in particular.

My wife calls me directionally challenged, and I have been long before she came along. As a youngster hunting in the woods or fishing on the lake with my grandmother, I would travel to a particular area to hunt or fish, but when it came time to return home, the woods and the lake looked awful unfamiliar. I’ve been known to put notches in trees or sprinkle powder on the ground just to make sure I didn’t get lost.

When I started driving, things didn’t change. Dad taught me to read a map (almost a lost art in today’s world of technological marvels), so getting from point A to point B didn’t challenge me. Getting from Point B back to Point A did. When I thought I needed to turn left, my wife would tell me to turn right.

Occasionally, I’d argue my point (no pun intended), and she would say, “Well, go that way if you want to, but we’ll end up in ______.” Of course, she was right, but I still had to find out for myself. Eventually, I just let her drive. I knew a way back existed; I just wasn’t proficient at getting there.

Naomi needed a way back—the right way. She, her husband, and two sons had left the land of Israel because of a famine. While in the land of Moab, Naomi’s husband and two sons died, but she had gained two daughters-in-law. When she heard the famine had ended, she returned to her homeland. And God provided the way for her to do so.

Getting off track geographically is one thing; getting off track spiritually brings greater ruin. Fortunately, God provides a way back. When I chose to live in sin, God provided the ways of repentance and confession, which brought me back to a right relationship with Him. When I made poor choices that took me down paths God didn’t want me to travel, He gave guidance through His Spirit to get me back to where He wanted me to be.

Jesus mentioned an unpardonable sin, but the circumstances surrounding His statement don’t exist today. Unbelief is the only thing God can’t and won’t pardon. With anything else, He provides a way back if we’ll seek it and ask for it.

No matter how far you’ve gone in the wrong direction, God will show you the way back. Just ask.

Prayer: Father, we thank You for always providing a way back when we have strayed.

Tell us how you've gotten over wrong life turns. 

Tweetable: Are you lost and looking for a way out? 

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.

Lost and Found - Martin Wiles

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Romans 3:23 NLT

I wondered how she could misplace a six-foot bulky chord.

“Have you seen the charging cord for my laptop,” my wife asked. I hadn’t, but knowing she always kept it close by her laptop on the kitchen table, I pondered what could have happened to it.

The search began. We racked our brains and ransacked the house, looking in every nook and cranny and in places it surely wouldn’t hide. Earlier in the day, my wife had plundered the kitchen table with craft items, making Mother’s Day gifts for our moms, our daughter, and the mother of the child my wife keeps. “Did you accidentally put the chord in one of the bags with the craft items?” I asked. We looked. Nothing.

By this time, my wife’s laptop had died. Not a good situation when she was in the middle of planning a wedding for a friend. Our friends joined in the search. The man, who sat on the love seat, looked under the furniture, and ran his hands down beside the cushions. All he found was three dinosaurs and a pair of woman’s underwear (We inherited the love seat from our daughter, who inherited it from a thrift store.). This brought a good laugh.

“I still think someone picked it up by mistake,” I commented again. But who? We taxed our brains, thinking of who had visited during the day. Then it dawned on us. Another friend had stopped by to pick up jewelry and a digital antenna she had let us borrow. Could she have picked up the chord with the antennae? A quick call brought a sigh of relief. She had.

Although finding the lost chord was important, doing so wasn’t nearly as important as fixing the lost state every one of us finds ourselves in when we come into this world. Paul classifies us as sinners—not a popular word, but a biblical one. Unless we’re found, the result of our lostness will be spiritual and eternal death (Romans 6:23).

Fortunately, God knows our location and wants us to know it as well. Being found entails admitting our sinfulness and turning to Christ as our Savior. Once found, we can live the life God intended for us to live when He created us. A simple confession of our sins, along with a plea for saving, is all God requires.

If you haven’t let yourself be found by God, why not do so today?

Tweetable: Have you let God find you? 

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.

More Time Lost Than Found - Martin Wiles

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3 NLT

The trip was less than three hours one way, but it took longer than it should have.

Tragedy struck our family during the Thanksgiving holidays. A first cousin was playing golf with his only son the day after celebrating Thanksgiving with his family when he suddenly fell over and died. Nothing his son, through CPR, or the medics did could save him.

His younger brother called to say the family wanted me to conduct the services. I had conducted the funerals for their mom and dad. I agreed. Mom and my wife would sing at the funeral.

We loaded up our gang in two cars. Mom and my step-dad are getting up in age and having trouble negotiating the highways, but, since they were following us, we wondered what could happen. We soon found out.

Mom stopped in a town one mile from the funeral home to get a pair of socks. The ones she had on didn’t match her pants. We went on to the funeral home. Shortly after arriving, Mom called. “We took a wrong turn. I don’t know where we are. Can you please help us?”

A fifteen-minute conversation with my cousin finally led them to the funeral home. They had gone thirty minutes out of the way. On our way home, they got lost again when they got in the wrong lane to get on the interstate. This led to another out-of-way experience that cost them more time.

Nicodemus spent a large amount of time lost as well. I don’t know his age when he approached Jesus, but he was a religious leader who thought he had all the answers about how to connect to God. He was wrong. Jesus told him he had to be born again—not just meticulously obey the letter of God’s law, as he had assumed.

Vain pursuits in life can cost huge amounts of time. Time wasted. We don’t end up where we thought we would, or we don’t enjoy where we end up when we get there. Bad choices. Ones that take us places we never should have gone and keep us there much longer than we want—or should—stay.

Getting found entails being in a relationship with God through Christ and spending our time doing only what God plans for us to do. Anything else wastes our time and places us in a lost condition.

If you’re feeling lost, consult the only One who knows where you should be heading.

Prayer: Father, remind us that You always know where we are.

Tweetable: Do you feel lost more than you do found? 

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.

Follow Directions - Martin Wiles

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. James 1:22 NLT

“Well, you told me to call if we got lost.”

My mom and stepdad were the recipients of a free time-share week in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Their friend who owned the timeshare was in the hospital and couldn’t use it, so she offered it to them for free. Not having been anywhere recently, they jumped at the offer.

But Mom and my stepdad had been having problems each time they went out of town: they would get lost. I sent her step-by-step directions. She printed them. My wife sent her turn-by-turn directions from Cherokee, North Carolina, to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We thought we had the bases covered. Surely, they wouldn’t get lost.

When she called, they were going the wrong way on Interstate 40. When they got to Cherokee, they got lost again. My wife stayed on the phone with my stepdad until she got them on the road to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. They finally arrived—one hour past check-in time—which meant they had to find another place to get the key. As I write this, I’m wondering if they’re going to make it home without getting lost again.

Mom and my stepdad listened to the directions we gave, but somehow something was lost in the translation when it came to actually doing what we said. First-century Christians must have had the same issue. James warned them not to merely hear God’s Word but to obey and do it.

God’s directions have purpose. He didn’t give them to make our lives miserable, but enjoyable. Knowing what’s best for us—whether we think so or not—God instructs us to follow His directions. I don’t always do a good job at that, but every time I go awry of them unfavorable consequences follow.

Although God doesn’t enjoy disciplining His children—as a parent doesn’t enjoy disciplining theirs—He will when He knows it’s in my interest. His disciplinary measures are designed to get me back on the right road—the road I’ve veered from.

As my wife and I were willing to help when Mom called, so God is eager to help us get back on the right road when we’ve taken a wrong one. All we have to do is ask. He’s never too busy to answer our cries for help.

Don’t risk traveling the wrong road in life. Turn to God for directions.

Tweetable: Are you following God's directions?

Prayer: Father, thank You for giving us directions that will always get us to Your desired destination. 

Looking for a wide selection of genres in inspirational books at discount prices? Click here to see selections.

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, and Twitter. Help us spread God's Word.

The Searcher - Martin Wiles

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Psalm 139:23 NLT

I bounced all three and watched them disappear.

Gumball machines and bouncy ball machines. Just about every store had them, and almost every child wanted something from them. The highlight of any trip to a store was asking my parents or grandparents for a coin so I could get a bouncy ball or a piece of chewing gum.

On one trip, my grandmother gave me enough money to purchase three bouncy balls. I planned to bounce all three at once and see if I could catch them. Standing in the hallway of my grandmother’s old house, I aimed all three at the floor. When they came back down to earth, they scattered in all direction, never to be seen again. My grandmother and I searched the house for weeks. We looked under beds, in closets, in drawers. Anywhere a stray ball might attempt to hide. But our search was fruitless. 

The psalmist appealed to a better searcher than I was: God. Although God knew where my balls were, I didn’t figure He cared, so I never prayed and asked Him to show me. I imagined He was concerned with more important things—things such as the psalmist talks about. Things like searching my heart. Or searching for the cause of my spiritual anxiety.

God is the master searcher. The hound of heaven. And I’m glad He is. Had He not searched my heart and searched for me, I would never have known I was a sinner who needed His saving grace. His conviction—searching, clued me in so I could confess and repent.

God also searches for other reasons. Without His searching, I might never know what is causing my anger, frustration, depression, and disappointment. Perhaps it’s a sin issue. God’s Word searches my heart as I read it. Perhaps my anger is erupting from an unforgiving spirit. God’s Spirit can reveal that to me. If my spiritual life is off track, God can search my heart and show me. When the events of life have made me anxious, God searches and comforts. There is absolutely nothing beyond the searchlight of God’s Spirit. Though my search was fruitless, His never is.

Don’t live with denial, anger, uncertainty, or anxiety. Let God search your heart and reveal how healing can take place. He will give you wisdom for every decision.

Prayer: Father, search our hearts and reveal any issues we need to let You heal. 

Tweetable: The hound of heaven is constantly on the prowl. 

Looking for a wide selection of genres in inspirational books at discount prices? Click here to see selections.

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, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.