Dependable God - Martin Wiles

I am the Lord, and I do not change. Malachi 3:6 NLT

I was as dependable as the newspaper I delivered.

Among the several jobs I had as a teenager, delivering newspapers was one. Since I delivered the state paper, I delivered to customers who were widely separated. This required getting up early to complete my route. Fortunately, I was a responsible teenager. I set my alarm clock for 2 a.m., dressed, and headed for an abandoned gas station where I picked up and assembled my papers. From here, I drove several miles to my first stop. Although I didn’t have hundreds of customers, my route required around two hours to complete, giving me about an hour to sleep before I had to get back up for school. When I got up, I often asked Mom, “Did I run my paper route?” Regardless of my feelings or the weather, I delivered my papers.

Pagan gods were often fickle. Undependable. They could grant a bountiful crop. Or they could sit back and watch the humans sweat and then send a terrible storm or dry spell that would completely wipe out any potential crop. So those who worshiped them thought. In contrast, the one true God the nation of Israel worshiped was different. He was consistent and dependable. 

God is also dependable in delivering salvation. Not only does He tell what is wrong with humanity, but He also promises a solution. We are sinful. If not delivered from those sins, we’ll pay eternally for them. On the other hand, we can accept what God has done on our behalf by believing in Jesus Christ. When we do, God promises to deliver salvation. And he does every time and to every person who seeks it.

Love is another of God’s dependable traits. He loves unconditionally. Regardless of how we treat him, he will love us. His love won’t overlook our transgressions should we choose not to repent, but he will continue to love even when he expresses it through his holy wrath.

God’s guidance is also dependable. We can rely on him to provide direction no matter our circumstances. God enjoys helping those he has created and loves. He has our best interests at heart and will willingly guide us into a bright future when we follow his plan.

Lean on the God who is dependable. Don’t depend on other things that will disappoint you.

Father, when all else fails me, I am confident you never will. 

I invite you to try my book Grits, Grace, and Grands. If you have grands, 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.

Cheating Death - Martin Wiles

You boast that you have struck a bargain to avoid death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. Isaiah 29:15 NLT

During my teenage years, I often cheated death--or so I thought.

Growing up as a teenager in the 1970s made it easy to rebel. Everyone seemed to be against something. Add to this that I was growing up in the home of a conservative preacher, and it should be easy to understand why I chose to join the rebellious. 

My rebellion took me down the path to bad addictions: tobacco, drugs, alcohol. Like most teens, I thought I was invincible. Although the thought of death frightened me, it didn’t scare me enough to make me change my ways. Driving drunk or drug-intoxicated was the norm on the weekend. How I got home safely without killing myself or someone else is nothing short of a miracle. I cheated death, but only because God had other plans for me. 

Isaiah spoke about death for his listeners who thought they could cheat death. God would send their enemies, and when they came, death would follow. 

I may have cheated death numerous times as a teenager, but I won’t cheat it in the end. If Jesus tarries with his Second Coming, I will walk the way all others have walked. Sickness will overtake me. My organs will finally shut down. A tragedy will strike. Whatever the form, death will strike. 

Death is the great leveler. We may differ from others in social standing, religious beliefs, and other ways, but the ground is level where the end of life is concerned. Science may discover many medical marvels, some of which can extend life, but it will never make a discovery that will prevent death. 

As a teen, I feared death, even while thinking I was unconquerable. Although I don’t enjoy thinking about it now, I no longer fear it. My life is now in God’s hands. He has forgiven my trespasses against him, cleaned the slate, and assured me of a heavenly home. I can now face death with the calm assurance of an eternity with my heavenly Father.

I knew Christ as a teen, but from a distance. Now I know him up close. I cannot cheat death, but I can face it through faith, with the knowledge that I’ll be victorious over it through the resurrection of my body and spirit. 

Don’t think you can cheat death. No one can.

Father, even though I must walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I know you are with me and will protect me.

I invite you to try my book A Whisper in the Woods 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 Violated Conscience - Martin Wiles

Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night. Daniel 6:18 NLT

Before I knew what a violated conscience was, I experienced what happened when I did it.

Long before my parents told me I wasn’t supposed to talk back to them, I felt a nagging sense of guilt when I did. When my eyes wandered onto a classmate’s test paper, a little voice in my head said, “Don’t do that.” During my teenage years, when I told my parents I hated them under my breath, a sense of shame arose in my gut. I always felt terrible if I lied about something that happened at school when my parents questioned me.

Early in my childhood, Mom and Dad taught me this voice was called my conscience. If a psychologist examined my brain, he would fail to pinpoint it, but it’s there, nevertheless.

Daniel was a teenager when foreign invaders captured his homeland. At around eighty, he was exalted by a succeeding king who gave him a position of honor. The new king was then tricked into signing a bad law by men jealous of Daniel. When Daniel violated the ungodly law, the envious crowd turned him in. Although the king had Daniel thrown into the lion’s den, he found himself in his own lion’s den. His conscience stalked him all night.

"Let your conscience be your guide" is an old idiom, the truth of which depends on what I’ve done with my conscience through the years. I can trust if I’ve programmed it with teachings from God’s Word. But I can't if I’ve pummeled it with lies and ungodly material.

Even though a doctor can’t locate my conscience, I know it exists. God created it as an invisible part of our makeup. He works through it by the presence of His Spirit. When we violate His guidelines, He uses it to let us know. When we’re sensitive to our consciences, we’ll quickly repent when we violate it or, better yet, listen before we’ve done or thought something we’ll have to repent of.

Can you let your conscience be your guide?

Prayer: Father, help us program our consciences with Your teachings so we can hear clearly when it guides us. 

Tweetable: Have you violated your conscience? 

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.

Meandering Monday - Scared to Death of Death - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday, where we take a trip back to an earlier post and enjoy it again.

Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. Hebrews 2:15 NLT

I was suddenly and unexplainably overcome with the fear of dying.

It seemed odd that I should experience this, especially since I was only a pre-teen and statistically had sixty or seventy years ahead of me. This fear was also strange because I had no reason to fear. Dad preached often on heaven and hell. Those who accepted Christ would enjoy the first while those who rejected him would experience the second. I had done the first. Yet, I feared not waking up, having a heart attack, or being involved in a tragic accident. This sense of dread seemed to last forever—although, in reality, it was only a few weeks.

To identify with humans, Jesus took on flesh and blood. We experience death, so he decided to face it as well—but for a different reason. Taking my sins upon himself brought death for Jesus. Satan has the power of death, but when I trust in Christ, death’s power is broken. No longer is it necessary for me to live with the dread of dying.

The ways we try to redefine death are numerous. We refer to the person as deceased or passed rather than dead. Instead of funerals, we attend homegoings or memorials. Regardless of what term we use for the person or the event itself, death is still death.

Also fascinating are the ways we try to avoid death—or at least its timing. Lifts on various parts of our bodies, workouts, vitamins, wrinkle creams. The list is endless. Death still comes.

The only way I’ll escape death is if I’m alive when Jesus returns. Barring that, I’ll die. But I’ve already conquered death. Christ defeated death by rising again, and since I’m in Christ through faith, I’ll do the same. I don’t have to fear death, try to prevent it, or cushion the reality of it with other names. My hope and confidence are in the only One who can set me free from the fear of dying: Jesus Christ.

Have you conquered the fear of death?

Prayer: Merciful Father, thank You for taking away the sting of death by giving us the hope of a wonderful eternity with You. 

Tweetable: Have you conquered the fear of death? 

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.

Confronting Shame - Martin Wiles

At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. Genesis 3:7 NLT

What I wanted to do to cover my shame, I couldn’t.

My teen years were rough—but not because they had to be. I had a wonderful Christian family who loved me and attempted to steer me in the right direction. But I had rebellion on my mind. I didn’t want their lifestyle. The hippie culture pulled me in directions my parents hated and I shouldn’t have gone.

Having a good spiritual foundation, my going in this opposite direction brought shame—shame I didn’t know how to deal with. If I would have had a choice, I would have stopped going to church, but I was a preacher’s kid and forced to go.

My rebellion continued after I graduated from high school and left home. I tried some other things to handle my shame. I didn’t go to church as often, I slacked up on reading my Bible, and I hung around with those who shared my new lifestyle. Eventually, I did the only thing I could do to deal with my shame.

Adam and Eve did the only thing they knew to do as well after eating from the tree God had told them to leave alone: tried to cover their nakedness … their shame … by sewing fig leaves together. It didn’t work.

When I sin against God, shame follows. When I don’t live the life He desires, He’ll bring on the guilt. Not because He wants me to feel miserable, but because He wants to form me into His likeness and image, which brings present and eternal joy.

I can try to ignore my shame over my disobedience, but it won’t go away. The only cure now is the cure I finally tried as a young adult: confession. When I finally did that, God restored me, and the shame and guilt left.

Occasionally, the shame over my past sins returns, but I quickly deal with it. God doesn’t bring up sins He’s forgiven. That’s the enemy’s job. So I tell him to leave me alone. The blood of God’s Son has covered my sins and freed me from a guilty conscience.

If your lifestyle is causing you shame, confess it to God and let Him help you live as He desires. If shame over past sins you’ve confessed haunts you, tell the enemy to go back where he came from. Christ’s blood has cleansed you.

Prayer: Father, thank You for covering our shame and guilt with the blood of Your Son.

Tweetable: Is shame holding you back? 

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.

Flashback Friday - Hearing Voices - Martin Wiles

Hearing Voices

The Jebusites taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here! Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” 2 Samuel 5:6 NLT

When I was a teenager, I heard voices.

“Let’s get drunk,” said the first voice. The 1970s were in full force. Drinking seemed to be a way of life, so I agreed. And since this voice represented acceptance by my peers, I justified my listening. Read more...

Tweetable: What voices are you listening to?

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