Where Are the Nine?

"Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?" - Luke 17:17 (NIV).

"You probably read about Paddy who was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place.

"Looking up to heaven he said, 'Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Church every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey.

"Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

"Paddy looked up again and said, 'Never mind, I found one.'"

While we make jokes about such things, I wonder how often I pray, God answers, and I forget to say thank you ... or fail to even see that God has answered my prayer because it wasn't in the way that I wanted or expected it to be.

The fact is, when my prayer is sincere from the heart, God always ears and answers it. Sometimes the answer is "Yes," sometimes it is "No," and sometimes it is "Wait a while." And sometimes it is in a way that is totally different from what I expected.

The important thing is that we always thank God for hearing and answering our prayers regardless of the way in which they are answered because God always knows what is best for us. Let's not be like the ten lepers whom Jesus healed and only one came back to acknowledge and thank Jesus for healing him.

The Season Of Abundance

"In the evening you will have meat and in the morning you will be stuffed with bread, and you shall know that I am Jehovah your God.
- Exodus 16:12 (TLB). 

There is something very satisfying in seeing row upon row of canned goods added to my shelves, jars of fruit and vegetables that are the colour of gems: ruby salsa and spaghetti sauce, golden peaches, pale pears, emerald pickles, and jams in a rainbow of colours. This is the season of abundance, and it is very obvious in my kitchen.


Just as God provided for the Israelites, He provides for us. So many of us have more than we need. Our cupboards are filled to overflowing. In this season of abundance, let's take a moment to remember others, and to share some of what we might have. As God has richly blessed us, so may we bless others.

Seeing God

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word [Jesus Christ] became flesh and made his dwelling among us" - (John 1:1,14, NIV). 


Philip Yancey, in his book, Disappointed With God, tells about an experiment the great scientist Isaac Newton once conducted when he stared at the image of the sun reflected in a mirror. The brightness of the sun affected the retina in his eye and he suffered temporary blindness. Even after shutting himself away in a dark room for three days the bright spot didn't fade from his vision. Had he stared much longer, he may have permanently damaged his sight. The human eye simplycannot withstand the brilliant light of the sun. 


Yancey explains how the ancient Israelites lived for many years with visible evidence of God in their midst but of all the thousands who left slavery in Egypt, only two survived seeing God's presence.


If we cannot look at the sun, how can we look directly at God? We can't and live, at least not while we are still living in our sinful condition. But we can see God in Jesus, his beloved Son, who came to earth as a man so we could come to God through him—and see God and live.


And because of Christ's sacrifice for us, one day we will see God and Jesus face to face. As Job said, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes."- Job 19:25-27, (NIV).

Life With a Purpose

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go." - Joshua 1:7 (NIV).

Motivational speaker, Mark Victor Hansen, said, "Setting goals is one of the most important things you can do to guarantee your personal, professional and financial success. Goals are like a road map to your target destination. Each goal accomplished is another mile behind you on the way to where you want to be."

Years ago another speaker said, "Success is the ability to embrace a worthwhile goal and employ all of your powers for the achievement of that goal."

A life without goals is like a ship without a rudder drifting where the winds and waves of chance direct. However, even more important than setting goals is to first discover one's God-given life purpose and then establish goals to fulfill that purpose.

This is exactly what Joshua did. And as long as he and the people of Israel lived by God's laws and followed God's plan, God assured them that they would have good success. God will do the same for you and me too as we live in harmony with his will and follow God's plan and purpose for our life.

The Best Investment You will Ever Make

"The future reward is unlimited - Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." - (John 6:68 NIV) 

In the world of investing, a contrarion is someone who invests in what is currently out of favour. When a valuable commodity or an industry becomes unpopular, contrarion investors buy, and then wait patiently for their investment to pay off, as the world situation changes. They buy based upon their faith in the underlying value of the investment.


Could there be a better time for us to buy as much stock as possible in Jesus Christ, even if it takes everything we have, even though he may be "out of favour" in this wicked world? Sure, I know he wasn't the kind of king mankind expected, and most people only put faith in what is powerful here and now, but let's consider some of the underlying value that makes Jesus, God's "suffering servant", the investment opportunity of our lifetime.


The future reward is unlimited - Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God. (John 6:68 NIV) 

This investment pays great dividends - "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields -- and with them persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life". (Mark 10:29-30 NIV)


This investment will humble every rival - Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-10 NIV)


Security in insecure times - On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive at what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your
salvation is drawing near. (Luke 21:25-28 NIV)


Only available for a limited time - In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2 NIV)


No one is too poor to invest - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NIV)


I don't mean to make light of our Saviour by comparing him to an investment, but in reality, Jesus Christ is an investment choice that every one of us must make. Let us not be deceived, for there is not another name under heaven by which we can receive salvation and everlasting life. If we have not done so already, we must make our investment today, while there is still time.

Temptation

"But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust." - James 1:14 (NASB). 

Temptation. It befalls all of us. It can come directly from the devil, a devil's advocate, through a friend, or from my own self.


We are all open to temptation for, like a lawn bowl that has a bias (weight) on one side that causes it to curve away from the goal, we have a bias that, unless guarded, causes us go astray and miss the mark of God's goal for us. The bias is our sin nature that we are all born with.


So how do we defend against temptation?


First and foremost, as author Max Lucado suggests in his book, On the Anvil, there are two very simple strategies for protecting ourselves from sin and temptation. The first is to recognize Satan. So often, we are lured into a sin because it looks so attractive, so fulfilling, so right at the time. So we find ways to rationalize our actions and make excuses for our attitudes. Instead, we must be like Jesus in the desert and call Satan by name. No more sugar-coating the truth. Don't try to water down the power of sin. Call it what it is.


Second, we can guard against some temptations by making sure we get legitimate needs met in legitimate ways. For instance, after fasting for forty days, Jesus was hungry. This is when Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread. Satan always has a way to tempt us at our weakest and/or neediest point. For another example, many singles when they are lonely, instead of getting their companionship needs met in healthy ways, turn to sex as a poor substitute for love.


Third, realize that God's salvation begins at the point where we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord of our life—and as we grow in wholeness and maturity. As Jesus often asked, "Do you want to be made whole?" Wholeness is a requirement for wholesome living, for only to the degree that we are made whole will our lifestyle, our actions, our thoughts (the beginning point of temptation), our behavior, and our relationships be wholesome.


Fourth, walk with God. Growing in wholeness is a life-long process, so in the meantime to avoid giving in to temptation, we need not only to make sure we get our needs met in healthy ways, but also to walk with God. That is, we need to know what his Word teaches by reading and studying it faithfully, and we need to commit and trust our life to God every day, and seek his guidance and help to live a life that will glorify him in all that we are and do.


Fifth, be filled with God's Spirit who gives us the insight to recognize temptation for what it is and the power to overcome its onslaughts.


Sixth, pray. Sometimes a simple prayer such as, "Help, God, Help," can be the best antidote against falling pray to temptation's alluring charms.


Lastly, when we do give in to temptation and sin, remember that God says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9 (NKJV). The important thing is to get up, put things right where needed and possible, and go on.

 

You perhaps recall the story of the blacksmith who gave his heart to Jesus. Though living a more Godly life, still he was not prospering materially. In fact, it seems that from the time of his conversion more trouble, affliction and loss were sustained than ever before. Everything seemed to be going wrong. One day a friend who was not a Christian stopped by to talk to him awhile. Sympathizing with him in some of his trials, the friend said "It seems strange to me that so much affliction should pass over you just at the time when you have become an earnest Christian. Of course, I don't want to weaken your faith in God or anything like that. But here you are, with God's help and guidance, and yet things seem to be getting steadily worse. I can't help wondering why that is." The blacksmith did not answer immediately, and it was evident that he had thought the same question before. But finally, he said, "You see here the raw iron which I have to make into horse's shoes. You know what I do with it? I take a piece and heat it in the fire until it is red, almost white with the heat. Then I hammer it unmercifully to shape it as I know it should be shaped. Then I plunge it into a pail of cold water to temper it. Then I heat it again and hammer it some more. And this I do until it is finished." "But sometimes I find a piece of iron that won't stand up under this treatment. The heat and the hammering and the cold water are too much for it. I don't know why it fails in the process, but I know it will never make a good horse's shoe." He pointed to a heap of scrap iron that was near the door of his shop. "When I get a piece that cannot take the shape and temper, I throw it out on the scrap heap. It will never be good for anything." He went on, "I know that God has been holding me in the fires of affliction and I have felt His hammer upon me. But I don't mind, if only He can bring me to what I should be. And so, in all these hard things my prayer is simply this: Try me in any way you wish, Lord, only don't throw me on the scrap heap."