“Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost.”

— Luke 15:6

Have you ever had the thrilling experience of participating in something bigger than yourself, bigger than your town, bigger than your world? If you and I attend to it, we can have that privilege every day. How can we participate in such an exciting venture? By finding the Good Shepherd’s lost sheep and returning them to His fold.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of a shepherd who, upon losing one sheep, went out to search for it. The shepherd traveled everywhere looking for that lost sheep. He trudged high and low, far and wide. He peered down precipitous ravines. He traveled into the valleys of darkness where the wild beasts had their dens. Finally the shepherd found the sheep trapped in tangled briars, and after freeing the sheep, he joyfully placed it upon his shoulders and brought it home.

When the shepherd returned to his home, he called together his neighbors and said to them, “I have found my sheep that was lost. Rejoice with me. Enter into my joy.” But could his neighbors really do it? Oh, they could come to the party that he provided and enjoy the delicious food he served, but could they rejoice with him? Perhaps they could if they had searched with him on the rain-swept, storm-driven moors. If they had dared to face the dangers of the wild animals and the cold night, if in those circumstances they had found the sheep, then they would have truly rejoiced with him.

Christ’s joy is to find His lost sheep. Heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents and comes to Christ. And we experience that joy when we witness a lost sheep return to the Shepherd. Today, be on God’s search party, and reach out to a lost soul. If you live your life searching for lost sheep, caring for them, and feeding them, then you will one day hear the Good Shepherd say to you, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant … enter thou into the joy of the Lord.”

“To enter into the joy of finding, we must
have entered into the pain of seeking.”

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.”

— 2 Corinthians 13:5

Did you like taking tests when you were in school? If you didn’t, you’re in good company. Most of us dreaded tests, unlike the blessed few with natural smarts and good study habits. I hate to say this, but today is test day. Are you ready? In today’s passage, Paul commands us to take a test—an open-book test comparing our lives with God’s Word. We must administer the test to ourselves, for this test is a self-examination, a test for Christ’s presence within us … a test with eternal consequences.

When it comes to making moral and spiritual judgments, we’re often prone to examining everyone but ourselves. All of us have something of the critic within us, always willing to point the finger at others. The Corinthians had the same tendency. In fact, they were the hypercritics of the ancient world. They criticized Paul’s apostleship, and in reaction to their criticism, Paul urged them to examine the reality of their own faith.

We still have Corinthians with us today. In fact, we so often are the Corinthians. How many of us have left church saying such things as “Well, what did you think of that sermon?” or “How did you like that preacher?” Sounds like Corinth, doesn’t it? But we shouldn’t judge God’s servants. Instead, we need to place ourselves at Christ’s feet and submit ourselves to the judgment of God’s Word.

The Word of God explains that one day we shall give account of ourselves before Christ. On that day you won’t criticize your spouse, your parents, your neighbors, your church members, or your pastors. You’ll give an account of your own life. No other statements or input will be allowed. That’s a sobering thought.

As hard as it is, take that test today. Use the psalmist’s prayer to aid in this process: “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts. And see if there be any hurtful way in me. And lead me in the everlasting way.” Amen. Make sure your heart is right with God. Let’s get our own act together before we try to direct everyone else’s.

“I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man.”
Dwight L. Moody

“In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

— Matthew 26:64, niv

Have you ever heard the voice of someone you’ve never met, such as a radio personality, and created a mental image of that person, and then when you saw the person, were you surprised that his or her appearance was completely different from your expectations? I think when it comes to the second coming of Jesus, some people have in their minds a very different picture from that which will actually come to pass. I have this opinion because I think many people anticipate Christ’s second coming to be a carbon copy of His first.

But consider this:

The first time He came, He was despised and rejected; the second time He will be glorified and admired by all who believe.

He came to hang upon a cross; He will come to sit upon a throne.

He came in dim obscurity; He will come in bright splendor.

He came to be seen by only a few; He will come to be seen by all, for every eye shall see Him; many shall rejoice at His coming, and many will weep because of Him.

He came to be judged for us; He will come as judge over all of us.

Instead of anticipating Christ as the suffering servant He was on earth, we must expect the majestic, triumphant Christ, who will return in power and glory. Because we expect His victorious return, we have a glorious hope. As you walk with Christ each and every day, ask Him to prepare you for that great and magnificent day when you shall finally see Him face to face.

“For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ,
there are eight on Christ’s second coming.”
Paul Lee Tan

“He makes me to lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still waters.”

— Psalm 23:2

What is the pace of your life these days? Do you feel as if you speed from one event to the next with barely enough time to catch your breath? Or do you regularly allow yourself time to rest and rejuvenate, to ponder life’s mysteries, to reconnect with God?

These days, our lives run at almost terrifying speeds. With the advent of the automobile, then the airplane, and later the jet plane—not to mention the telephone, computer, and many other technological discoveries—life races along like a motion picture played at ten times its normal speed.

Our mobility has offered us great opportunities, but it has also cost us dearly. One-third of Americans move every year. People change jobs frequently. Because of our pick-up-andmove mentality, we lack the roots our parents and grandparents once had.

We pay for our busy ways in our relationships, and we pay for them physically as well. Stress takes a major toll on our bodies. Today, over one million people die each year from stress-related illnesses such as heart attacks, some forms of cancer, and a multitude of other diseases. Did you know that stress destroys the walls of your arteries? Once the walls begin to deteriorate, your body must respond. So what does it do? It lays down plaque inside the arteries. The plaque builds up until it finally blocks the arteries, and once that happens, you’re in for a stroke.

All this talk about the effects of stress can add even more stress to our lives. But the Bible has a time-honored solution to all this. God’s Word calls us to stillness. In Psalm 23 David wrote that God leads us “beside the still waters.” In this hectic, frantic, busy, noisy world, we need to find a calm, quiet place to spend time alone with the Lord. Studies have shown that a regular time of prayer or meditation does, perhaps more than anything else, remove stress and its effects.

God wants to lead you beside still waters today. Will you let Him take you there? I urge you drop your responsibilities at God’s feet, come away to a quiet place, and just be still and know that He is God.

To overcome stress:
Rule #1: Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Rule #2: Everything is small stuff.
Dr. Robert Eliot, Professor Of Cardiology

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

— John 14:3

Have you ever felt deeply homesick, wishing with all your heart to return to home and family? Well, as Christians, we are far away from our true home—Heaven—and we should feel “homesick” for it, anxiously waiting for the time that Christ will take us there.

Advent is upon us, and this time of year is a little bit about feeling homesick for Heaven. At this time of year, we celebrate Christ’s first coming and eagerly anticipate His return to take us to our true home. Advent means “to come,” taken from the Latin “ad venio.” At the first Advent, Christ came with much humility. He laid aside His robes of glory and came to earth in a humble stable, in a manger, as a baby, seen only by a few people: the shepherds, the Magi, and His immediate family. But when Christ comes again, every eye will see Him. We wait fervently for that day when Christ will come in glory with all of His angels and ten thousand times ten thousand of His saints, to receive His own to Himself and to destroy all wickedness and evil forever. For Christians, Christ’s second coming brings the greatest excitement and joy. We lift our heads and pray the final prayer of the Bible: “‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

As Christmas works its annual enchantment around us and the songs of the kingdom float on the airwaves, the Christian longs for even more. “I’ll be home for Christmas” sounds so right. It sounds like belonging and peace. For a child of God, the most wonderful Christmas will not take place on this earth. Our climactic Christmas is the one we shall celebrate anew, home in Heaven … when we will forever be truly home for Christmas. Today dwell on that truth, and pray that the Lord will quickly come.

“I do not think that in the last forty years I
have lived one conscious hour that was not
influenced by the thought of our Lord’s return.”
Lord Shaftesbury

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

— Ephesians 4:30

Did you know that the Holy Spirit is a person? The Bible makes it very clear that the Holy Spirit is not just a force, like electricity. Rather, He is a person who knows, loves, speaks, leads, guides, intercedes, teaches, cries, testifies, and approves or disapproves of what we do. And when we love a person very much, we don’t want to do anything that will make him or her sad. In the same way, we need to know that we can grieve the Holy Spirit, just as we can grieve any other person whom we care about.

The Holy Spirit lives in our hearts. When God calls us as Christians, He sends the Spirit to live inside us. This indwelling is called “being sealed” by the Holy Spirit. (John 6:27 tells us that Christ was also sealed by the Holy Spirit: “God the Father has set His seal on Him.”) Being sealed by the Holy Spirit brings us many blessings. It indicates that God has accepted us and that we’re precious in His sight. It testifies to a finished transaction: Jesus has paid for all our sins. It verifies our security: God has sealed our sins in a bag and buried them in the depths of the sea. It attests to ownership: We are His, and He is ours. It indicates authority: Anyone who tries to break the seal will incur God’s wrath. It verifies that we have a personal destiny: Heaven will be our home—the Holy Spirit has sealed us for the day of redemption.

Because the Spirit lives in us and loves us so much, how we live becomes much more than whether we obey certain laws. We must act in ways so as not to grieve Him. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we do not listen to His voice or seek His guidance, or when, having heard His guidance, we choose to disobey.

Do you listen for the Holy Spirit’s guidance? Do you willingly follow His directions? Or have you done something that would grieve Him? The Holy Spirit wants to guide you, to show you the way you should live your life. And He’ll forgive you when you confess going down your own sinful path. Ask Him to show you how you can live to please Him and bring Him joy, not grief, through your life.

“A Christian is a person who is led by the Spirit of God.”

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.”

— Psalm 14:1

Do you get into conversations with people who don’t believe in God? If so, then you’ve probably encountered one or two people who give no credence to your own personal experience or to the truth of Scripture. These people want hard and fast proof that God exists.

Such proof does exist. Let me give you a few bits of information I use when people want proof of God’s existence. First of all, I ask these people to consider the universe. (This is called the cosmological argument. Cosmology means “the study of the universe.”) I point out that the universe is the biggest thing there is, and it had to come from somewhere (every effect has a cause). The universe could not have created itself, because according to the First Law of Thermodynamics, you cannot create nothing out of nothing. Therefore, Someone eternal must have created it. And those are the Bible’s first words: “In the beginning God.” The second proof is the presence of life itself. Life could not have come from non-life, nor could it have happened by chance. It also had to be created. Who else could have created it but God, who is life? The third proof comes from examining the intricate design of the universe. (This is called the teleological argument. “Teleo” means “end” or “design.”) Because the universe is so intricately designed, Someone all-knowing must have designed it. The fourth proof is God’s loving care. If the earth orbited ten percent closer to the sun, we would burn up. If it orbited ten percent farther away, we would freeze and die. Instead, the earth orbits around the sun at just the right distance to sustain life. The fifth proof is the soul’s transformation. This happens so mysteriously that no one can explain it. We know only that Someone changed Paul from a killer of Christians into the world’s greatest missionary, and this Someone has changed our hearts as well.

God is the One who touches people’s lives and brings them into fellowship with Him. But He can use you to accomplish that purpose. So as you speak with those who challenge God’s existence, ask Him to show you when to present any or all of the information I’ve shared with you. And pray that God will ultimately reveal Himself to them.

“The beauty, order, and harmony of the universe is
an expression of the will of God; the structure of the
universe is the work of a great intelligence.”
Aristotle

“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.”

— 1 Corinthians 10:11

Out in his yard, a minister was building a trellis to support a vine that he was going to plant. As he worked, the minister noticed a young boy, about twelve years old, standing nearby watching him. The minister nodded at the young lad as he continued to work, thinking the boy would go away. After a while, however, he noticed that the boy still stood there. Finally, the minister asked the lad, “Getting a lesson in horticulture?” “No,” came the response, “I just wanted to hear what a preacher said when he hit his thumb with a hammer.”

Do you realize that non-believers often study your life, watching to see if your actions and reactions corroborate what you profess? They not only watch preachers; they watch all Christians. Some of them watch hopefully, wanting confirmation of the life-changing potential of Christianity. Others watch hatefully, looking for an opportunity to blaspheme God. In either case, the world is watching.

While we all want to serve as good examples, as humans we can’t help failing. Yet, as humbling as it is for us, God can still use our mistakes as opportunities to show His greatness. Note the candor of Scripture concerning the sins of those who professed faith in the living God. Even the greatest saints have their portraits drawn with all warts present. Consider Abraham and his lie about his wife. Or Moses and his anger and disobedience to God. Remember David’s adultery and his attempt to cover it up with murder. As we turn to the New Testament, let’s not forget the cowardly denials of Peter or the failure of Mark, who turned tail and ran during his first missionary trip. Yet despite their failures, God used these people to accomplish mighty things.

The next time you make a mistake, especially if you know someone has observed it, ask God to forgive you and to use you despite your sinfulness. And today pray that God will enable you to be a good example for the cause of Jesus Christ.

“You may be the only Bible that some people ever read.”
Anonymous

“So he told her everything …”

— Judges 16:17, niv

Have you ever relied on your own abilities to accomplish something, only to fall flat on your face? One of the dangers of self-reliance is our tendency to flirt with temptation. Samson’s trouble began this way. Samson was the strongest man who ever lived, but as he trusted in his own strength, he was weak when it came to resisting temptation.

One day Samson was in enemy territory, a place he should not have gone, when he met Delilah, the woman who caused his downfall. When the Philistine lords realized that Samson loved Delilah, they asked Delilah to lure Samson into telling her the secret of his strength. The Philistines wanted this secret so that they might subdue Samson. So she pursued his secret. On three separate occasions, Delilah tried to extract from Samson his secret, and each time he revealed a secret, she had the Philistines act on it. But he had deceived her each time, and the Philistines couldn’t overwhelm him. After the third attempt, Delilah was very upset, and she said to him, “You have mocked me these three times.” At length, because of her persistence, Samson told her the truth: “If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me.” So as he slept, the Philistines cut off his hair, and Samson awoke weak and helpless. The Philistines gouged out his eyes and forced him to do the work of a beast of burden. His life, which began with great promise, had come to tragedy. However, God answered one more prayer for him. Samson’s hair grew back, and he gained enough strength to destroy the Philistine temple and all the lords within it. He died in this last heroic act, but in his death he killed more Philistines, who had oppressed Israel, than he had in his entire life up to that point.

We see that in spite of his great strength, Samson lacked moral discernment. He had never shown strong moral character. He fell into a trap that even a schoolboy might have enough sense to avoid. When we have faith in ourselves, we lean against a broken reed. But when we trust in the Lord and flee temptation, we won’t be an easy target for Satan, as Samson was.

Are you leaning on faith in yourself for anything? If so, give it to God. Trust in His strength alone to help you resist temptation and to achieve all He has designed you to accomplish.

“Character is destiny.”
Henry Luce

“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”

— Psalm 9:17

Until about fifty years ago, legislators tried to create laws based on Biblical principles. Nowadays, whenever someone proposes legislation that might defend a Christian cause, naysayers often oppose it, arguing that no one can impose his or her values on others. Yet every time our legislators pass a law, they impose somebody’s morality on someone else. And these days, legislators often allow secular humanism to be that morality. By its own definition, as stated in the Humanist Manifesto of 1933, secular humanism is a “religion,” and people who believe in it want to make it the religion of the future, replacing all others. Secular humanism denies that God exists and that any being, other than ourselves, can save us. It replaces God’s Ten Commandments with human ideas of ethics and morality. To achieve its agenda, secular humanism has declared a full-scale war on Christianity, its battleground being the schools, the legislatures, and the courts of our land.

Secular humanists would have us believe that our founding fathers did not form America on Christian principles. But our founding fathers gave their lives to establish a Christian government, and we should do our best to keep it so. In 1828, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story wrote his opinion of the First Amendment. He said its intent was not to approve or advance Mohammedanism or Judaism or unbelief, but to prevent the government from establishing one Christian denomination as more important than others. We need to do what we can to keep our nation on its original path by voting for Christian leaders and making sure they pass legislation based on Biblical principles.

Do you keep up with critical issues in our society? Have you registered to vote, and do you regularly hit the polls on election days, casting your votes based on Biblical truths? As you do these things, you can make a difference in our country. And today please pray for all those in leadership positions: our president, congressmen and congresswomen, governors, and state and local officials. Ask God to give them wisdom as they create laws for us to live by.

“It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their
dependence upon the overruling power of God.”
Abraham Lincoln