Why Believers Drop Out—and How to Stay Faithful - Martin Wiles

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. 

Ephesians 2:10 NLT

I hated school, so I decided to quit. Join the ranks of the dropouts.

I enjoyed elementary and middle school, but when I got to high school, I developed a sudden distaste for education. By the time I reached my senior year, I’d had all I could take. I had no interest in learning, didn’t see how any of it would benefit me, and wanted out. I pranced up to my parents and said, “I’m quitting school.” Dad didn’t take the news well and politely told me that if I quit, I would be going to work. I was okay with that. I had no plans to sit around and do nothing.

After three or four months, my status as a high school dropout wasn’t fun anymore. The job I found ended, and I was on the unemployment line. Even in the lenient seventies, most employers wanted employees with at least a high school education. I decided I’d return to school. I couldn’t graduate with my class, but I did graduate that summer.

Thankfully, the statistics for high school dropouts have dropped (no pun intended). Only about 5% leave without graduating. But school isn’t the only place from which people drop out. Church follows on its heels. Among 18- to 22-year-olds in America, 66–70% drop out after high school. The reasons vary: life changes, move to college, work, judgmental Christians, and changes in their religious views.

Dropping out of church, however, isn’t relegated to this group alone. Others do as well. And sometimes the dropouts don’t actually leave the church. Some burnout and stay. They take on too much—perhaps because others aren’t doing their part. Others drop out because they’ve been hurt, but stick around and spread their negativity. And some just atrophy, like unused muscles.

God doesn’t intend or want us to drop out of his work. He saves us by his grace and mercy, creates us as his masterpiece, and wants us to do good works that will disseminate his love across the world. These works don’t initially save us or keep us saved thereafter, but they are proof of our connection to him in faith.

When asked, God will give us wisdom to balance our lives, so our chances of dropping out of his service diminish significantly. Don’t drop out on God. With balance, serve him faithfully to the end of your life.

Father, thank you for the privilege of serving you and others. Give me the strength to keep on keeping on in your work. 

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.

A New Normal - Martin Wiles

You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn to the north. Deuteronomy 2:3 NLT

Monday morning arrived, and I couldn’t remember what I needed to do first.

For the previous four years, I had observed the same morning routine. My profession as a school teacher required me to arrive at school by 7:30 a.m. But things changed when I changed employment. I still kept office hours at my new employment, but the hours were variable, giving me more flexibility.

My first morning was slightly confusing. I was unsure whether to follow the same order I used before or rearrange it. I chose the latter but soon found myself confused about what to do first. I also forgot to do some things I had been doing with predictability for the last four years.

The trip from Egypt to the Promised Land was brief—or at least should have been (Deuteronomy 2:3). Stubborn rebellion by the Israelites caused them to wander in the wilderness for forty years until the rebels died. That’s when God gave them a new normal. No more wilderness. Now it was time for them to enter the Promised Land.

New norms can bring anxiety. The Israelites would immediately pass through territory belonging to the Edomites. While they were relatives, they weren’t friendly relatives. God reminded his people that he had been with them in the past and would be with them on this new normal journey as well. God never forsakes us when he leads us into new norms. His indwelling Spirit has the power to soothe our anxieties regardless of how intense they may seem.

New norms can usher in unprecedented victories. With a new fighting force, God led his children to capture land belonging to Sihon the Amorite and Og, king of Bashan. Along with anxiety came victory. God doesn’t lead us to new normals so that we’ll have some place fresh to go. He has plans that will involve us in his Kingdom advancement.

New norms invite the enemy’s attention. Moses experienced victory, but because of earlier disobedience, he couldn’t enter the Promised Land. God has plans for victory by leading us to the new norms, but as always, our enemy works to bring defeat. Honing our faith in the new normal keeps us from falling into the enemy’s traps.

Rather than being overwhelmed by anxiety, enjoy the new norms that God brings you.

Father, help me to trust you when you bring me into new norms. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing. 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.

Serious about Serving - Martin Wiles

All night long I search for you; earnestly I seek for God. Isaiah 26:9 NLT

After nine years of floundering around in the work world, I became serious about an education and serious about serving.

From first to eighth grade, I was serious about school and enjoyed learning. Then the teenage-don’t-care bug bit. Joining in the movements of the time, I found myself rebelling against society and education. Why did I need it? Jobs were plentiful. 

After quitting my senior year and then returning six months later, I finally graduated a semester later than my peers and entered the workforce. The first few years went well, but then the economy turned sour, and so did my employment. After being laid off from the plant where I had worked since graduation, I found myself holding a string of unfulfilling jobs. Nine years after graduation, I finally succumbed to God’s earlier direction and went to college, but now as a married man with a small child. Doing so after graduation would have been easier, but I wasn’t serious at the time.

In the prophet Isaiah’s song of praise to the Lord, he expresses his sincere devotion to serving God. Though I doubt he actually stayed up all night every night seeking God, his word choice relates how much he needed God in his life.

Perhaps there was a time when Isaiah, too, wasn’t serious about serving God. After all, it took a hot experience to set him on fire for God (Isaiah 6). While God didn’t have to touch my lips with live coals to convince me I needed to get serious about serving him, he did use a series of disappointments to get me pointed in the right direction.

Through the payment Jesus made on Calvary’s cross, God demonstrated how serious he was about humanity’s salvation. He wasn’t under obligation to deliver us from our sins, but he didn’t want us to be a lost cause. Christ went all the way for us, and we should do no less for him.

Getting serious about serving God is a decision we can make through an act of our free will. God desires this decision and gives everyone the power to make it. 

Decide today to be serious about serving God.

Father, focus my heart, mind, and will on serving you to the best of my ability. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing. 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.

Engaging God’s Plan - Martin Wiles

But you followed God’s prearranged plan. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to the cross and murdered him. Acts 2:23 NLT

He had a plan, and the plan produced marvelous results.

More than a decade ago, the school where I teach hired a new headmaster. Attendance had languished, and it was time to do something or watch attendance fade. The new headmaster had a plan, which led to an uptick in enrollment. He introduced new technology, putting our school on the cutting edge. He initiated new sports programs and elective classes. A new attitude of excitement permeated the corridors. 

Having a plan is essential in anything we do. Peter reminded one crowd that God had a plan. They didn’t understand it. They couldn’t imagine pagan Gentiles being a part of it or that it included a Messiah who would allow himself to be beaten beyond recognition, ridiculed without responding, and crucified without fighting back.

Yet, as God had a plan for Jesus, so he does for every person. Our starting point in engaging God’s plan involves believing he has one. We’re not accidents—people he didn’t see coming. He knew us before birth, created us in our mothers’ wombs, and mapped out our lives’ courses.

Once we believe God has a plan, we must try to discover and submit to it. God won’t force His plan on us but will willingly give us the strength to pursue and accomplish it when we make the effort.

Recognizing it is God’s plan is essential. We’re the ones it’s happening to, but it’s God’s plan. Trusting him for the power to see it through is crucial. Otherwise, it will become our plan, and we’ll make a mess of it every time.

We should also expect opposition. Most of the Jews opposed God’s plan and demonstrated their opposition through unbelief in Jesus and by eventually convincing the Roman authorities to crucify Him. Satan’s never pleased when we follow God’s plan.

The good news is that we can expect success when we engage in God’s plan. The success might look different than we imagine, but God’s success often does. His success probably won’t result in wealth or worldwide fame, but it will be the type of success he’ll honor.

Engage God’s plan instead of coming up with one of your own.

Father, give me the foresight to see your plan and then the faith to follow it. 

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.

Justice for All - Karen Huffaker

But the Lord has been my defense, and my God the rock of my refuge. Psalm 94:22 NKJV

The classroom was quiet as students worked on their primary lessons. I was focused and minded my own business. Suddenly, Dick leaned over and kissed me. I promptly scolded him, but guess who got in trouble? Not Dick!

Our first-grade teacher blamed me for the disruption. As the principal’s wife, she was stricter than the other first-grade teacher. There was no one to defend me. I was sure a witness was at my table, but no one spoke up. The teacher directed me to stand behind the door for a time. Later, I could return to my seat. This was my earliest experience with fairness and justice, or lack thereof.

In the Old Testament, Joseph, son of Jacob, was wrongfully accused of an offense against Potiphar’s wife, then arrested and imprisoned. But God turned that situation around many years later, and Joseph was a blessing to the Israelites.

When life is unfair, where can we turn? Who can bring about truth and justice? Jesus is our saving defense, the rock of our refuge to whom we can turn.

We hear about situations when truth and fairness occur. We cheer on the little guy—glad he’s had a happy ending to his story and that justice prevailed despite resistance.

I applaud bold and vocal people who stand up for what is right, true, and good. I admire the ones who step out of the shadows and become heroes on the side of justice. There is right and wrong, true and false, and good and evil. 

In any circumstance, I know my true and faithful defense and refuge is God. I can trust in His promises. We can step up to the plate when we know those who are weak, infirm, forgotten, excluded, or destitute. We can be a voice for them and extend our support.

God will judge all things when we stand before His throne. I want to be on the side of righteousness, truth, and goodness. Make sure you are standing there, too. 

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

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. 

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Anger: 12 Things You Should Know Part 4 - Martin Wiles

Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool. Ecclesiastes 7:9 NLT

Homework, projects, and tests tested my patience. And his lackadaisical attitude frustrated me.

Unlike my daughter, my son had no affection for school. “Dad, I need help with my homework” meant, “Will you do it for me?” Projects were no different. He wanted me to do most of the work while he got the credit. Helping him study for tests taxed me excessively.

Although perfectly capable of mastering the material, his desire and initiative were absent—keeping the knowledge from seeping in and frustrating me when he couldn’t produce the answers. The thought of helping him with school assignments caused the anger emotion to flare even before we began.

Anger can be a bothersome emotion, causing all types of issues and leading to all manner of reactions. Knowing some facts helps us deal with it in a healthy way.

Fact 10: Anger can and will consume. Being consumed by healthy emotions such as love and kindness is good. The type of anger that consumes is likely against someone who has wronged us. We haven’t taken revenge . . . but we want to. But not wanting to confront them or do anything illegal, we choose to stew over the hurt. We repress and get depressed. Instead of dividing our minds, anger controls them. We have trouble thinking of anything else except the hurt.

Fact 11: Anger saddens God. Sin always disappoints and saddens God. Sin ruined the pristine world He created and the lives of the first two people He formed when they chose to disobey Him. What could have been wasn’t. What will be won’t for thousands of years. Uncontrolled and wrongly expressed anger is sin. Sin prevents God from using us as He wants. With this type of anger, we can’t realize His perfect and freeing plan for our lives.

Fact 12: Anger excites Satan. Any sin will do for Satan—sinful anger included. If he can convince us to justify our sin and live in it, he wins—temporarily. He knows sin will thwart or at least interfere with God's plan. When we regard sin in our hearts, God will not hear us—and we won’t hear Him. Anytime Satan can keep us from advancing God’s kingdom, he gets excited.

How can you process feelings of anger in a healthy way that promotes good?

Father, when Satan seeks to incite my anger, we ask You to replace it with love, kindness, and understanding. 

Tweetable: Is anger controlling you? 

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The Do-Gooder - Karen Huffaker

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9–10 NKJV

Were you ever considered the do-gooder in school? 

Or was there another kid that students made fun of for trying to be the teacher’s pet by volunteering to clean blackboards, straighten chairs, pass out papers, and do other good works?

I was not a teacher’s pet. I just tried to stay out of trouble, follow the rules, and do what was expected. My basic decorum as a student was to study, do homework, get to class on time, get along with others, and respect authority. Sounds simple, but sometimes, it was boring.

Paul tells us not to grow weary while doing good and to do good to all—not just the teacher or a limited few. That includes family, friends, neighbors, community, co-workers, and humanity.

We have many opportunities and means at our disposal. They don’t have to be costly financially. We can make a difference without ever leaving our homes by calling to check on others, sending encouraging notes and cards, and emailing prayers and scriptures. Neighbors and shut-ins always have needs, and many are alone with no family to help. We can change a light bulb, take out the garbage, take them a dinner plate, or mow their grass. If we sincerely pray about it, God will open doors for us to help and encourage others.

Jesus lived out His ministry by doing good and serving others. He admonished the disciples not to seek to be served but to serve one another. He said whatever we do for the least of others, we do for Him. We are to be good stewards by serving one another in love.

God says that we will reap at just the right time if we do not give up or lose heart.

What can you do to bless or impact someone?

Tweetable: Are you a do-gooder? 

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.

 

 

 

 

A Donut Kind of Day

Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded. Genesis 39:7 NLT

 

She stood there smiling . . . waiting . . . tempting.

 

A lunchtime radio interview about my latest book meant leaving work early. Since I planned to leave around the same time my grandson got dismissed, my wife asked if I would bring him home so she wouldn’t have to get out in the cold weather. This meant an early morning stroll to the elementary wing to let his teacher know I would get him a few minutes early.

 

I entered the elementary hallway and saw my grandson’s teacher standing in the hallway—talking and imbibing on a donut. I followed her into her room and told her I would pick my grandson up fifteen minutes earlier than normal. As I was leaving the room, another assistant teacher stood just outside the doorway—smiling and holding a box of donuts. 

 

“Dr. Wiles, would you like a donut?” she asked.

 

“Do I look like a donut kind of a guy?” I asked. Before she could answer, I continued, “Of course, I do.”

 

She offered the box, and I pulled a large dripping-with-sugar donut from the box. For the next five minutes, I relished the sugar, the dough, and the calories. And I didn’t feel guilty. After all, I don’t do this very often, but I’m a sucker for a donut, especially if it’s a particular brand, which this wasn’t.

 

A local pantry shop had bought a truck and was parking it in a vacant lot on one day each week and selling donuts. The kind teacher had stopped by and bought a couple of dozen to share with teachers and staff. I wasn’t about to be rude and refuse, although some who were still on their New Year’s diet did.

 

When it comes to eating, I follow what some doctors are brave enough to say: “Everything in moderation.” Just as I wasn’t worried about my grandmother eating a few little snack cakes each day when she was in her eighties, so I’m not too worried about imbibing in less-than-healthy food occasionally. I didn’t feel guilty, nor did I see my sugar-indulging as sinful.

 

Joseph, on the other hand, had a larger problem. God considered sleeping with a married woman a sin. Wisely, Joseph didn’t try to reason his way out of the temptation—which wasn’t the sin—but ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction. Even when he did the right thing, he still had to face the consequences of a scorned woman.

 

Temptations come to us all. But the temptations aren’t the problem; it’s what we do with them. Giving in puts us in the sinful category, but we don’t have to. God’s Spirit indwells us, giving us the power to say, “No,” as Joseph did—and as I would have had the kind teacher offered me a second donut.

 

Watching our p’s and q’s—and preparing ahead of time by keeping ourselves away from things we know will tempt us—shows wisdom. And it also helps on those days that are just donut kind of days. Days when everything wrong seems to jump in our path and beckon us to partake.

 

Think of a few things you can do to prepare for the inevitable donut days.

 

Father, give me the strength to say no when temptation comes. 

Tweetable: How do you handle the donut kind of days? 

Don't forget to add your comments below. 

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Shunned - Martin Wiles

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer! Acts 9:26 NLT

Growing up, I was shunned for all the wrong reasons.

Prior to high school, I did my best to live with integrity. I knew God had a plan for me. One would think a good clean-cut kid would have been readily accepted. It didn’t happen. My physique was nothing to brag about. When teams were picked for dodgeball or basketball, the team captains only picked me because they had run out of choices. Neither did my lazy classmates who didn’t like to do their homework or study for their tests enjoy my refusing to let them copy my work. Sometimes I was bullied. At other times, they just shunned me.

Saul planned to destroy this new movement called the Way. After meeting the risen Christ, however, he wanted to share this change with Jesus’ disciples. His anticipation was met with shunning. They didn’t trust him. What if his attempts were merely a ploy to expose believers so he could kill them? 

It is quite common for unbelievers to shun believers. Though Christ mandates us to love unbelievers and offer them an invitation to trust Christ, they often shun us in return—or at least the message we share. Jesus said many would walk the broad road to destruction. He also said believers would be persecuted just as he was.

Shunning can also come from other believers. Perhaps, like these early Christians were with Paul, they’re familiar with our past. They wonder whether we’ve really changed. Can they trust us to teach a class, work with the youth, or date their daughter? Though forgiven by God, our past can hang over our heads like an angry thundercloud.

The good news is that God never shuns those who come to him for forgiveness. When we fail, he continues to give us second chances. Regardless of how others might treat us, we can know we’re always loved and accepted by God.

When others shun you, remember God never will.

Prayer: Father, we thank You for Your forgiveness and for never turning us away when we come to You. 

Tweetable: Have you been shunned? 

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Lying to Myself - Martin Wiles

Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions. Psalm 119:29 NLT

I was telling myself a big one—lying to myself—and the trouble was, I believed it.

My lie began about the time I turned fourteen. It went something like this: “You don’t need school.” If I didn’t need school, I didn’t need to study either. So I did little of it. After I started driving, another lie popped up. If I didn’t need school, why go? Every opportunity I got, I ditched class.

By the time I reached the twelfth grade, the lie had grown. School wasn’t necessary, studying wasn’t essential, and attending was optional. Why go at all? So I quit. I found a full-time job at a grocery store but had to lie about being out of school to get it. After several months, they cut my position. I finally decided to tell myself the truth: I needed an education.

Knowing God’s Word is a privilege. One which keeps us from lying to ourselves. When we know God’s Word, we won’t lie by telling ourselves we’re okay and don’t need God. Instead, we’ll believe the verse that reads, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Neither will we lie by telling ourselves we’ll live forever. We might as well live it up without worrying about whom we’re hurting. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) squashes that lie.

If we lie to ourselves by believing there’s no God we’re accountable to, we read, “The fool has said in his heart there is no God” (Psalm 14:1).

And if we imagine we can get to heaven by any route we choose, we find, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me (Jesus)” (John 14:6).

Lies are always harmful, but the ones affecting our present happiness and eternal destiny are more so. Others may lie to and about us. We may lie to ourselves. But God will never lie. His Word contains unchanging truth that doesn’t vary by time or culture.

Feed on the truth from God’s Word.

Prayer: Father, thank You that we can always depend on You to tell us the truth about sin and ourselves. 

Tweetable: Are you lying to yourself? 

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