Month: January 2018

Day 14 of 500. Famine. “Day 14 of 500. Famine. “…the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.” Genesis 41:54

You may find that life has thrown you down a well and left you for dead, or thrown you in prison under false charges, but remember one day those same people who mistreated you may depend on you and what you can do for them for their very survival.  Take your suffering in stride, as James said, “For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”  Endurance is the key to surviving the famines that will come.  And not just your survival but those around you, even your enemies.  Remember what Proverbs says, “When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

The below comes courtesy of our good friend Richard Cook.  He sent me this devotional from The Bible League and it was a “good word in due season.”

The Bible League, Living His Word Daily Devotional

But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. — Genesis 51:19-21 NIV

Joseph had two dreams that revealed what God intended to do with his life (Genesis 37:5-11). Although highly symbolic like most dreams, it was clear that Joseph would one day be, at the very least, the head of his people. God had plans for him to save his family and many others from a famine, but he would have to go through a lot to get to that point—betrayal by his jealous brothers, slavery in Egypt, and then imprisonment there. Perhaps God gave Joseph the dreams to sustain him during the hard times.

When Joseph’s dreams came true and he stood second only to Pharaoh in Egypt, his brothers feared that he would take his revenge against them. That’s when Joseph told them not to worry. They intended to harm him but God intended it for good. And who was he to second-guess God? God took what was evil and turned it into that which made Joseph’s purpose in life possible.

You may not have had a dream, but God has a plan for your life, a plan to accomplish some good. We are “God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). Further, we know that God has given us gifts of the Spirit (I Peter 4:10) and what are they for other than to accomplish some good in the world?

Like Joseph, however, you may have to go through some hard times in order to get to the point where your gifts really begin to bear some fruit. During those times you can be assured that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

God can take what is difficult and evil in your life and turn it into the very thing that makes your purpose in life possible.

As we find ourselves sitting in the bottom of a well or falsely imprisoned, don’t waste time wondering why God allowed it to happen.  Just know that even if He showed you the path He has for you, you either wouldn’t believe it or it would scare you to death.  Read the story of Joseph in Genesis and see if you think Joseph could have seen himself saving the world from famine while left for dead, naked in the bottom of a well.  You think your having a bad day?!?!

Join me in casting my gaze to the Heavens, because all we can do in a well is look up!!!

Billy

Training the body helps a little, but Godly living helps in every way. Godly living has the promise of life now and in the world to come. 1 Timothy 4:8

Fitness.

I HATE to workout!!! I said it. I said HATE.

A few years ago I lost 60 pounds. At one point I was doing a 5K a day, 5 days a week for 5 weeks. I HATED it, but it worked. In the years since I gained back 30 of those pounds.

You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? Galatians 5:7

Well, since our church started an organized fast on 1/3/18 I have lost 13 pounds, but it is time to get moving and get back to where I need to be. I did a 5K on the treadmill today, 4 more days to go this week to keep up the streak.

I have focused on the “Godly living” portion of 1Timothy 4:8, but glossed over the “Training the body” part. I did so knowing that for our own good God tells us to care for our bodies and to watch what we eat and drink.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

If we choose to purposely neglect any one area of our life, be it faith, finance, friends, family, food or fitness, it will have an effect on the others. Disease in any part of the body will quickly spread to the whole.

Today my fitness quest began again.

Yours can too, we don’t have to go it alone!

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1

So who is with me?

Billy

Day 12 of 500. TheNewAndLivingWay.com Favor. “For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.” Psalm 5:12

“The favor of God!” My dear old friend and mentor Pastor Hearne would declare when a good parking spot would be open. He was not using the Lord’s Name in vain, he was sincere.  He found joy in the smallest things in life, because he realized that to God there are no small things in the lives of His children.

“You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” Luke 11:11-13

“For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” Psalm 84:11

“No good thing” will He withhold!  Be it as seemingly insignificant as a fish or an egg or as immeasurable as the Holy Spirit, God as a Good Father knows that ALL the needs of His children bring Him joy when He sees them met. He is pleased when in our hunger we are fed, He rejoices when in our time of need we call upon The Comforter, His Holy Spirit,  and I bet He even smiles when we acknowledge His favor in the simple act of providing us a good parking spot.

“You have granted me life and favor, and Your care has preserved my spirit.” Job 10:12

Life, favor and spirit. Job had lost everything. But yet he knew that all he lost was initially granted at the favor of God. So also it was taken only in God’s favor. And ultimately it was restored many times over, again as a sign of the favor of God.  Life, favor and spirit never left Job, have you let them slip from you?

Do you need to see the favor of God in your life? I know that I do. If so we must do two things:

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

First, Believe that He is!!

Second, Diligently seek Him!!

Remember believing and seeking are continual action verbs, not something done just once in the past.  I need His favor every day, all day.

How about you, do you need His favor?  God is not a liar;  by His own Word,  by acting on our believe, diligently seeking Him, we have and will continue to find favor!!

 

Your Most Favored Friend,

Billy

Day 11 of 500. TheNewAndLivingWay.com “Forsake not the Fellowship.”

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet (fellowship) together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25 

I led worship at church for many years.  There was one song that was special to me and the congregation that we only sang a few times a year:

	What a fellowship, what a joy divine, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms! What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
	Leaning, leaning, Safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning, leaning, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.
	O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms! O how bright the path grows from day to day, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
	What have I to dread, what have I to fear, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms! I have peace complete with my Lord so near, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

When that song began to play the membership knew what to do.  Immediately and with very little coaxing, starting with the pastor, everyone began to go around the church “shaking hands, and hugging necks” as we say down here.  Guests were not aware of the custom so they were easy to identify by the roving regulars.  Those times are still special to me.

Churches often allow time before service for fellowship, foyers have a coffee shop feel.  That allows a nice time to visit with old friends.  But there is just something about fellowshipping within the service that makes us more like a family.  It shows visitors that we actually like each other.

To me it is like Christmas morning.  God the Father gets to see his children love on each other unlike they may do otherwise throughout the year.  I as a father enjoy seeing my girls hug one another and say, “I love you sister.”  I fear they do not do that often outside of the holidays.  As they get older and mature they will I know, I’ve been there and done that with my own sister.  Young, immature members of the family of God are just the same.  We can show them by example what they can and should aspire to, fellowship.

Webster’s dictionary defines fellowship as, “friendly association, especially with people who share one’s interests.”  True fellowship within a body of believers occurs as we become not just family, but friends.  Why shouldn’t we be both, we share the greatest thing in common, a loving Father.

What a fellowship, what a JOY divine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
What a blessedness, what a PEACE is mine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

Those that come into your church are looking for JOY and PEACE.  Sincere fellowship shows them were it can be found, in the EVERLASTING ARMS of our Savior.  Be those arms to them as you “SHAKE A HAND, and HUG A NECK” today at church.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to (FELLOWSHIP TOGETHER), as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25 

Your fellow-fellowshipper,

Billy

Psalm 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

What do you fear?

In church we sing:

Whom shall I fear, Whom shall I fear?
I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind.
The God of angel armies, Is always by my side.
The one who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine.

Personally I fear no one. I may fear outcomes or circumstances, especially those of my own making, but no person.

So, “whom shall I fear?”

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

So, “whom shall I fear?”

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” Romans 7:15-20

The words “I,” me” and “my” occur 24 times in those six verses of Romans above.

So, “Whom shall I fear?”

As Paul wrote to the Romans above it is “I” I should fear. I fear the remnants of sin living in me. I fear that my desire to please God and do His Will comes second to my desire to please myself and do my will.

The only way to overcome that fear is found in Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

So come to find out, the one person I fear, my old man, is actually a dead man. Fear has been replaced by its opposite, trust. As we read above, “So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God.”

We cannot fear and trust at the same time. Fear and trust are literally the opposite of each other. No one can serve two masters.

Choose you today, who will you serve?

As for me “I’m no longer a slave to fear!”

Billy

Day 9 of 500. Focus. “I ask God… to make your eyes focused and clear, so you can see exactly what it is God is calling you to do…” Eph. 1:18 (Mes)

Focus.

At the age of 45 I walked into the Doctor’s office for my first ever eye exam. He said, “You will leave here with glasses.” I said, “We will see!” Notice my joke there, “We will see,” it’s an eye doctor. He asked me to read line 6, I did, then I said, “How about I give you 7 and 8 also.” I did.

He is in the business of selling glasses, I’m in the business of avoiding aging. I know that in reality he is in business to provide clarity to people. To help them bring into focus that which is unclear. That is my desire also. To help others better grasp an idea or a truth that they recognize already in theory but can’t quite grasp the details. They are definitely not seeing in High-Def.

A year later the doctor again told me I would leave with glasses. My pride again said no. We compromised, I went home with the lowest power readers to use in the early morning when my diabetes makes my eyes work a little harder. Just a few months later changes in my diet and stress level have allowed me to put away the glasses. My focus has returned, “I can see clearly now….” as the song says.

My prayer for you and me is the same Paul offered to the church at Ephesus, “I ask God… to make your eyes focused and clear, so you can see exactly what it is God is calling you to do…” Eph. 1:18 (Mes) I’m not asking you to repeat letters on a poster on the wall. Instead we are going to look to God’s Word, especially the Red Letters, to get our eyes to try harder to have clarity as we go further into what God is trying to say. It is just like the lower lines on the eye chart, I have to spend more time, I have to go over them more that once, I have to ask, “Is that an O or a Q,” God am I interpreting your true message for me?

1 Corinthians 13:12 “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” BUT “I ask God… to make your eyes focused and clear, so you can see exactly what it is God is calling you to do…” Eph. 1:18 (Mes)

If you never go to the physician and attempt to read the letters on the wall, you will never know the true clarity of your vision.

If you never go to the Great Physician and attempt to read His Word placed upon the page, you will never know with clarity His vision for you.

“So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision – you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it. Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal.” Philipians 3:15-17

“Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart…”

Billy

Day 8 of 500. The New and Living Way. “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance…”

“OUCH!” is my response to that section of scripture. Let me put it in context:

Luke 3:8-9 “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

The BLT (Billy L. Tingle) version reads, “PUT UP OR SHUT UP!”

Christ is saying a lot in those two scriptures. The first point is “Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance…” You say you have repented and accepted Christ, but where is the fruit as evidence of a transformed life. “What fruit” you may say. Paul breaks it down in Galatians 5:22-23a (ESV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;

Love is listed first, not by accident. With true love the others have no choice but to be present. Christ said in John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” If you are unable to show love then I fear that you have not truly received God’s love yourself. Not just love but love “keeping with repentance.” Love that reflects the love Christ showed you.

Secondly Christ told the listeners, “and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father.” God doesn’t want to hear what your mother or father did or how they led their lives. He doesn’t want to hear how you were raised in church and never miss a service.

His third point showed how He can use anyone regardless of their station in life or family history, “for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.”

His fourth and final statement was a warning, “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” He couldn’t make it much clearer than that. He isn’t judging the tree on what it did in years past, “so every tree that does not bear good fruit” that is a now statement. There is only one outcome for those found fruit-less, they are “cut down and thrown into the fire.”

There is a popular saying, “Common sense is a flower that doesn’t grow in everyone’s garden.” I’m afraid that just as lacking is the fruits of the Spirit, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” How about your own life? Could your fruit fill a produce stand or would you have trouble even making a bowl of fruit-salad?

I’m checking my branches as I type,
Billy

Day 7 of 500 The New and Living Way

There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. (Proverbs 23:18)

That is the current “verse of the week” in our household. I am facing the most unknown future of my life at this very moment. It is so reassuring that as the old song says,

Many things about tomorrow
I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
This scripture hangs over the door in my office. What more could we ask for but “hope and a future” as defined by the very Creator of the universe? Remember the hope He gives is tied to His mercy which knows no limit, the future He offers is based on His calendar which neither begins or ends. Knowing those facts regarding “hope and future,” our minds can’t even began to fathom what His “plans to prosper you” entail. Our small minds rush to gold and riches, but remember in God’s economy gold is used to pave streets and riches are but a hindrance to heaven.

“For I know the plans I have for you…” That is why my future knows no fear. I don’t know what tomorrow holds but I know who holds tomorrow. The old song rings true,

I don’t worry o’er the future
For I know what Jesus said
And today I’ll walk beside Him
For He knows what lies ahead

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6)
All we as Christians need to remember is that our future is comprised of God’s finished work. He leaves nothing undone. He “will continue His work until it is finally finished…” You can be sure of that. We can face the future not with the false hope that comes from the pseudo-religion known as “The Power of Positive Thinking” but instead we are grounded by faith in Christ.

The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy. Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer was a preacher imprisoned and hanged by the Nazi’s but he knew where his future laid on God’s timeline.

Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. (Psalm 37:37)

As Christ said in John 14:27, “I am leaving you (presently and into the future) with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” Breath in deep and say out loud, “PEACE.”

God has the situation well in hand………

Your fellow sojourner on this amazing voyage into the future,
Billy

The New and Living Way.

Frugality

Today’s F-word is Frugality.

Webster defines frugality as, “the quality of being economical with money; thriftiness.” None of us want to hear that. “Need versus Want” is a common battle today. This is of course not something new. King Solomon, the wisest and richest man that ever lived told his own son thousands of years ago, “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.” (Proverbs 25:28 NIV) He meant they had no protection for dangers that were to come. Even before then God instructed us all, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; … or anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Exodus 20:17 ESV)

The prophet Isaiah said, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” (Isaiah 55:2) Pastor Jack Wellman puts it like this,

“We spend money on things that the Bible says will all burn up someday, so why spend money on things that don’t satisfy and work or labor on things that are temporary? If we diligently listen to God, we can “eat what is good, and delight [ourselves] in rich food,” like the Bread of Life, where Jesus said, “whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

I am as guilty as anyone else. I needed a vehicle to get me to work. Did that mean I need a $70,000 truck that could haul 18,000 pounds? I mean I’m somewhat overweight, but come on.

Our excessive lifestyles do more than harm our bank account or make us slaves to lenders and jobs we do not enjoy, there is a greater impact. They hinder our generosity. The wisest pastor I ever knew, Brother Donald Johnson always said, “It is better to give than to receive because if you can give it, that means you got it!” Wisdom like that is rare these days. “The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.” (Proverbs 22:9) How are the givers blessed? If you don’t understand that then I dare say you are not a giver.

If we feed our lusts, how can we feed the poor?
If we cover our bodies in extravagant designer clothes, how can we clothe the naked?
If we spend our time (even more precious than our money) on pursuits that have no value, how can we have time to visit the sick, the imprisoned, the widows and the orphans?
These things were not just suggestions given by Christ, they were commands.

How can we love this world and the things it offers and still say we love God and His children in need?

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children….” Proverbs 13:22a Don’t think that verse means to go to the extreme with your frugality and become a miser or a hoarder. The best inheritance to give your children and grandchildren is the example of a life of self-control, restraint and moderation. Let them see what those accumulated fruits can do to improve the lives of the less fortunate by becoming givers themselves. “Train up a child in the way they should go, even when old they will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

I was young and foolish, today I turned old and wise. Today I learned that a Honda Civic can move an average sized man from point A to point B for 1/3 the purchase price and burn 1/2 as much gas, who knew?

Now I am free to be a blessing to others and not a slave to self.

Frugality equals Freedom.

Billy

Continuing with our Focus on F words, today we look at Faith in its fight against Flesh.

Our text today is borrowed from The Bible League and was sent to me by a dear friend, Richard Cook.

Bible League: Living His Word:

. . . when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the LORD. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
— James 1:6-8 NIV

According to the Apostle Paul, there is the mind of the Spirit (Faith) and there is the mind of the flesh. The mind of the flesh is the mind of an individual person governed by the sinful spiritual state, but the mind of the Spirit (Faith) is the mind of an individual person governed by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:6). These two mindsets stand opposed to one another.

The mind of an individual person governed by the Spirit is the mind of a Christian who believes in faith that they have whatever good thing they ask of God (Mark 11:24). If, however, that person’s mind allows the flesh, the old sinful spiritual state that was “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 5:24), to influence its thinking, then a conflict is set up. On the one hand, there is faith in God and, on the other hand, there is doubt that God will come through.

James likens the Christian person that allows doubt to enter the picture to a wave tossed about by the wind. Every Christian has had wave experiences, has experienced being tossed back and forth between faith and doubt. Every Christian knows what it’s like to be double-minded and unstable. It’s not a pleasant experience.

James also says that when we are being tossed by the wind we should not expect to receive what we ask of the Lord. It’s obviously very important, then, that we stop allowing ourselves to be tossed about like waves. It’s very important that we stand fast in the “peace of God that transcends understanding” that comes to us when we present our requests to God (Philippians 4:7).

Today, let us make up our minds that we will not allow the flesh to rob us of our peace by doubting the God who can even do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).

Two Wolves is a Cherokee Indian legend and illustrates the most important battle of our lives – the fight between our faithful and fleshly thoughts. Here is how the story goes:

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Decide today which will you feed, Faith or Flesh?

“…if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15(ESV)

Fighting the Good Fight along side you,
Billy