In step

[RiverOL]

Know the Lord; Seeing the Works of the Lord
This is what going to the cabin week after week was all about. Mr. Campbell wanted us to know the Lord and he knew if we did and lived in right relationship with the Lord we would see the works of the Lord, which included His answers to prayer. I told you about finding the watch in the hay field. Other answers to prayer were being saved from a bear, and finding a wrench in a large field. There were many more.

Many times as we heard about what the Lord did for Joseph, Joshua, and David I would wonder if God could do this today. Here is what He did.

I told you about getting a bike. It wasn't too long after that when I wished I had a motor bike. My twin Con had the same idea and when he was sixteen he found a Whizzer motorbike and bought it. I thought it was a wonderful thing and it went about fifty miles an hour. Wow! He even let me ride it once in a while. I couldn't find one like it for sale and so I made a homemade one with an old washing machine motor which didn't work too well.

Now for the answer to prayer. Con had taken his motorbike up the mountain to the camp one night and I and my brothers got there in a half-ton truck. Right after the meeting when it was getting dark I heard someone say they saw a bear the night before by the big dam. We would be going right by there on the way home from camp. I thought I would be in the truck and would not need to worry about anything. What do you know? Con came to me and asked me if I would take his motorbike home. I thought, "I heard the story too, brother!" and was going to tell him, but just then the Lord said to me, "Can't you trust me?" Usually Con had a lot of faith, but this time it was my turn.

I prayed, asking God to keep the bike going, especially going by the big dam. The motorbike started and down the mountain trail I went. Everything worked just fine until I got to the big dam. The bike hit a rut and stopped dead. "Oh God, I thought you were going to keep the bike going?" He had a better idea. Shivers were running up and down my spine. It was dark and my eyes were like saucers, looking for the bear.

Right in front of me less than 100 feet away was a big black thing on the road. Instead of a bear it was a big black horse sleeping on the road. Once again I was shivering. God must be here. God must have seen the horse because He can see as well in the dark as in the light. Have you ever had the experience of feeling that God has done something special? I did.

God doesn't always answer prayer the way we think He will, but often so much better. If He had kept the bike going and I hit the horse, I may have had to push the bike all the way home. The horse got up and moved off the road; the bike started and I arrived home safely.

Experiencing the works of God made me realize He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

 

[RiverOL]

Doing What is Right in the Eyes of the Lord

II Chronicles 16:9 says,

"the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those who have a perfect heart towards Him."

Do I do what is right in the eyes of the Lord? Remember it is His eyes and His decision as to what is right, and He is the one who answers prayers or not. This is why we need to know the Lord, who knows our heart, and whether it is up to date with the Holy Spirit, who talks to us about sin, righteousness, and a coming day of judgment.

Mr. Campbell wanted us to know it wasn't just us doing our thing and God will bless.

When God answered prayer concerning the watch in the hay field, and the bear in the last lesson, I wanted to see God answering prayer in other areas of my life. It gave me a sense of AWE towards God and a desire to keep a clean heart. When my heart was not clean I knew 1 John 1:9, and what to do about my sin.

Now I want to tell you about something that felt good and yet was not right. It is about girls. For you girls, it could be about guys.

I told you about finding the mirror as a teenager and the other thing I found was girls. As a child I was too busy working and playing with boys to pay much attention to girls.

As a teenager going to high school in town I started to notice that some girls were nice and some were good at talking nice. Of course Mr. & Mrs. Campbell had told us that if we were a Christian then you should not go with girls who are not. Some of those who are not Christians can look nice and talk nice too. But knowing II Chronicles 16:9 made me know it was wrong and I shouldn't encourage anything.

Is God's favor more important than the favor of others? Wow! God was testing me again. Being tempted was one thing but yielding is another. We knew an old song that said "Yield not to temptation for yielding is sin." Thank you Lord for keeping me from yielding to things I shouldn't do.

AH! But there is another thing and that is: "What about a girl who is a Christian?" God doesn't say you can't go with a girl that is a Christian, so will any Christian do as long as you like her and she likes you?

I met a girl who was a Christian, lived in town and went to a different church than I did. She liked me and I liked her. At first we met when our two youth groups got together, then we would talk before and after the meeting. Then the question came up as to whether I would go skating with her in the big hockey arena Saturday afternoon. There were lots of others skating and the nice music was a plus.

Sometimes we went to watch hockey games together. Naturally, we held hands. This lasted for a couple of months, mostly on Saturdays. We did not commit immorality.

As time went on I came to realize that she wasn't as serious about God and seeing God work on her behalf as I was. But do you know that she quit me and not the other way around? If you are a teenager you may well know what this feels like.

God wanted me to know that I needed to ask Him about who should be my wife and not make decisions on my own. He had something far better in mind for me.

As a result of this experience I began to pray for the girl that God had for me. I'll tell you about that later.

At this down time God gave me another answer to prayer. It was spring time and I was working sod down in a field that was over two miles from anyone else. Have you ever been two miles away from every other human being?

I had a tractor and a tandem disc going over rough ground in a large field. Dad had given me a large wrench which wouldn't go all the way into the tool box on the tractor. I needed to carry it so that I could tighten the nuts and bolts on the disc when needed.

My Dad had a way of putting things when they were important to him. "Don't come home tonight without that wrench," were his parting words. I knew he would let me come home without it, but I also knew he would be disappointed if I lost it.

I was going up and down the field, checking every once in a while if the wrench was still there. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! — Oh no! Now the wrench was gone. Where could it be? Fallen in a furrow and covered over with dirt by the disc?

An hour or so later I got the disc stuck, but managed to get the tractor out before it got stuck. I needed a chain which was about a quarter of a mile across the field by my grease pail.

Just before I left to run across the field to the grease pail, God said "Why don't you ask me to find that wrench?" Good idea! I had learned in the cabin that God knew everything and I knew that He knew where the wrench was. I thought if God knows where the wrench is I will not need to crawl on my hands and knees looking for it.

I was about halfway to the chain when my foot caught in a willow root and I fell flat out on the ground. It was a sudden stop. I was going to get up but turned around to see what I had tripped on. Right there not even two feet away was the wrench lying on the ground. WOW! I felt that God was there and even though I had been feeling low over the girl friend thing God showed me that He still loved me and was interested in me. I came to know, if I would rest in Him, He would take care of the future.

 

[RiverOL]

Work! Work! Work! Is that All We Ever Do?
You may have thought by now that all I did as a teenager was ride a bike, go to the cabin, go to camp after supper, and go to school and be with the girls.

My Dad was very interested in work and he thought we should be. We had chores to do before we went to school and again after school. Almost every Saturday Dad had work for us. I guess when he had four boys he knew he needed to find work and he was very good at it.

We didn't have a lot of nice tools like there are today. Dad was always buying more land and some of this land had roots to pick as well as stones. We used axes to cut off roots and a steel-tired wagon to haul stones. Our hands were what we used to pick the rocks. A little later we each had a tractor to drive with tools to get the task completed.

Did I feel sorry for myself? Yes I did, and yet while working with my brothers we often made a game out of our work: who could lift the most, throw things the farthest, etc.

Did we get paid? Yes we did. How much? It started with one cent an hour, then two, then five, then twenty-five cents per hour. The highest I ever was paid when working on the farm was $1.00 per hour. We didn't buy our own clothes until the last couple of years in high school and we never had to pay for a meal. It was pure profit and believe it or not I saved enough to put myself through college, and then some.

Where did work come from? It started out as something good, when God put Adam in the Garden of Eden so that he could "tend [work/cultivate] it and keep [care for] it" (Gen. 2:15). But when sin came, difficulties and suffering were added to work. Man's experience from then on, as Gen. 3:18 tells us, would be that "in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." And for the woman verse 16 says, "In sorrow [pain] shalt thou bring forth children."

There are people today who don't want to work and it leads to a lot of sin. "I want to do just what I want to do" is a common expression that leads to laziness and many other things. My mother used to tell us "idle hands are the devil's workshop."

Today things are certainly different than they were when I was younger. If a woman finds she is pregnant she can say "I want an abortion." If she has a child she feels she should be able to put that child in a day care. And when he's old enough to go to school she gives him a key and makes him a latch key child. If he gets into trouble, make him a ward of the state. If there aren't enough jails, build more.

There are people who genuinely need help due to their unique situations and we should help them in their difficulty, considering ourselves, that we could have the same problem.

Man was to learn to work. God decided that we shouldn't have too much time on our hands. Work was given to us by God so that we would look to Him for help. We shouldn't receive welfare just because we are lazy.

Now back to my story. When we earned the wages we did, we were careful how we spent the money because it took a long time to earn it. We could buy an ice cream cone for five cents, and a package of gum for the same amount. I remember taking a stick of gum and dividing it in half to make it go farther.

I also remember a neighbor boy who had less money than we did. Then his Dad sold his quarter section. The next time we met Norman he had a package of gum which had five sticks. He was showing us how rich he was now and put that whole package of gum in his mouth at one time. Wow! It wasn't long before he was poor again.

Dad taught us to keep books with our hours worked, if we wanted to get paid. It was a very good practice. It made us realize that our parents loved us and were more interested in our development than our ease.

Work is something that I didn't enjoy too much at the time but came to realize later that I never would have made it in some of the ventures I was in without it.

Mother and Dad worked a lot harder than we did because they remembered the day when people would work all day just to get something to eat. They often told us that money doesn't grow on trees and if we wanted to eat and have a roof over our heads we needed to share in the work load.

I hope you have to work while you are young and learn how to save money.

The Campbells taught us about God and Ephesians 2:8 & 9:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast."

You get to heaven by grace through faith. After we are saved we need to pray, give and go to tell others the Good News of the gospel.

Our parents taught us that on earth we are required to work. They were great teachers who came to have the same mind on these matters. Learning to work was one of the many good things my parents taught me.

 

[RiverOL]

Growing Registered Seed
So far I have spent quite a bit of time telling you about my Dad and Mother and the Campbells. As time has gone by I have come to see they were the perfect team.

Dad was teaching me about farming, work, and things that were important to him. Many times I didn't know what was driving him until later. I thought maybe it was just to give us more work. HA!

One of those things was his desire to sow clean seed. He became a registered seed grower and won prizes for his registered seed. He had taken agriculture in university and was interested in good farming practices. Farmers had come to know that many of the weed seeds that they had in their fields came from getting seed sometimes from many miles away. This might be a better variety than what they had. Unfortunately, in the bag of seed that they purchased were other bad seeds. If this was so, you could be sowing them as well as the good crop. A few bad seeds in the bag could become many seeds in the field if allowed to go to seed for a few years.

As a result my brothers and I spent many days cleaning seed and selling this registered seed on the market. It also was a better way to get a good price for our grain.

Dad didn't want his boys to go to university, and when asking him why, he told us there were things that went on there that he didn't want us to get involved in. I guess there were some bad seeds there too. Dad had picked up a bad habit while at university and it took him a number of years to shake it.

You know when I became a born-again Christian, I didn't think Dad was a Christian because he never talked about it and also had this bad habit. It wasn't until just recently I was handed a book given to him by his godly grandmother. In the cover was a note from her which said,

"Presented to Cecil Roy Durston, on his ninth birthday,
by his affectionate Grandmother
with her best wishes for his Spiritual Welfare.
November 13th AD 1914, your Grandmother, Agnes Scarff."
Dad's mother and grandmother were active in the Salvation Army. Wow! Now I knew why he said "that is good!" when I told him I had become a Christian. Dad later showed evidence of being a Christian and became the chairman of the Christian Business Men's Committee in our town and shared his faith with others.

I said earlier that my parents and the Campbells were the perfect team for me. While Dad was working on clean seed, Campbells were working on clean hearts.

Mr. Campbell knew his Bible well and would teach us the Scripture. A set of verses often quoted were:

"Do not be deceived; God is not mocked [or fooled]: for whatever a man sows that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." (Galatians 6:7-8)

Sowing and reaping in the Bible was just like farming. The "flesh"—what is that? Take the "h" off and turn the rest around: SELF. If we live for self and sow wild oats we will reap a bad reward. But if we sow God's Word into our lives and follow it we will receive a good reward.

My Dad was determined he was not going to sow bad seeds in his fields and Campbells were determined that we shouldn't sow bad habits into our lives. At times it seemed that it took work to have good seed and also took work to have a clean heart. Just wanting to do and have what was right went a long ways to accomplishing the goal.

Was it worth it? One thousand times yes! The right way sometimes requires short term pain, but gives a long term gain. The other way may seem easier at first, but oh the long term pain that can be brought upon ourselves.

If you have been doing the wrong things, then admit it, repent and tell God you are sorry and start doing what is right. God will bless you for it.

 

[RiverOL]

Spraying the Weeds
As a teenager farming wasn't so bad if you had the big picture instead of just seeing the little picture of what you had to do today. Many times we can be so busy doing our homework, going to school this week, and doing things, that we fail to see the big picture.

Dad had the big picture as far as the farm was concerned and Campbells had the big picture as far as eternity.

One other thing that Dad had decided was that I should run the sprayer or in other words be the weed killer. In case you don't know, a weed sprayer was put on the front of a tractor, usually spraying 35 - 100 feet plus at a time, with a tank of spray on the back. There was a time when there were no weed sprayers and they dealt with weeds by summer fallowing which meant they didn't grow a crop on a piece of land for a year. Of course the weeds would still grow with the rain and sunshine, and be killed with the cultivator. It meant that the cost of weeds was one year of crop on that land.

When the sprayers came along you could use spray that would kill the weeds and not hurt the crop. Soon everyone was buying sprayers to save on the summer fallowing. Certain weeds could be taken care of by certain sprays. The question was what kind of weeds do you have? Good question. It meant we needed to get familiar with our weeds. We had Canadian thistles, wild mustard, dandelions, ragweed, and one we called stink weed—guess why? Some of these came to our farm by way of water, others by way of wind; I hope none came by way of the seed we sowed. Of course many of them would reproduce in the field year after year if we didn't get rid of them.

What was the worst weed we had? It was wild oats. It looked just like wheat, oats, and barley when it was young and therefore it was hard to know if you had it until it went to seed early and dumped those bad seeds on the ground before harvest time. There was one way to find it in your field. The crops that looked the same as wild oats had leaves that grew clockwise and wild oats had leaves that grew counter-clockwise. This weed could fool you if you didn't know what to look for. Being the weed killer was a big job in the summer time. A farmer could be wiped out if he didn't take care of them.

Mr. Campbell knew that man can have weeds in his life and people can be destroyed by them. All spiritual weeds can be found by those who know what to look for. All come from one root and that is sin. And all sin comes from selfishness; and the king of selfishness is the devil. The Holy Spirit can pick out our sins and we can have them washed away by the Blood of Christ when we say yes to Him.

Wild oats are deceitful and so are our hearts. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." And verse 10 says, "I the Lord search the heart."

We need to check our hearts and see if they are controlled by wrong motives, wrong attitudes, wrong morals or wrong behavior. These four departments need a lot of daily examination.

How awful it is when you see a field full of weeds, or a life full of sin. How wonderful if you see a field without weeds, or a life of purity and righteousness. We checked the fields for weeds by laying down a 2'x2' open-ended box and counting the weeds and their kind. Doing this in a number of different places in the field gave us a pretty good idea of what was going on. Now you know how to become a weed killer. Do you know how to become a sin killer?

Mr. Campbell could have said the only thing that matters to him is his own heart. Dad could have said that the only thing that matters to him was his fields. Jesus said the field is the world. WOW! What a field! Jesus had the answer for the evil in the world and wanted to know if we would join Him in spreading the Word.

Both Dad and Hugh Campbell knew that there was more to life than sitting around and seeing what happens. We could wish there weren't these problems, but they are there. Now, am I going to be a weed sprayer in Dad's fields all my life, or am I going to work in the Lord's field? What would you do?

When George W. Bush stood at the World Trade Centre after it had been destroyed by terrorists and fire, he said:

"WE ARE AT WAR AGAINST EVIL"
"We will leave no child behind" (educate the youth)
"We will do what is right" (what needs to be done)
"We will stop our disunity" (personal kingdoms)
We are not in a political war, but we are in a spiritual war against evil. THE LAST WORLD WAR HAS BEGUN AND GOD IS GOING TO WIN IT!

 

[RiverOL]

What are You Going to Be When You Grow Up?

At seventeen, Con and I thought we were grown up and yet every once in a while we would be asked the question as to what we were going to do when we grew up. Usually they wanted to know if we were going to be farmers.

It was a good question, and when I look back there are a number of things that have determined where I am today. One was becoming a Christian, secondly deciding who I would marry, and thirdly what I would do with my life.

The truth is that in every one of these areas we need to ask God. Remember, in the cabin Campbells taught us that God knows everything. Wow! Often folk do not ask God and live the rest of their life wondering what would have happened if they had.

I spent a year working on the farm after high school, asking myself all the time the question everyone else kept asking concerning my future. Dad by now had seven and a quarter sections of land and was considered a big farmer in those days. He had in mind that all of his boys would be farmers.

"If you want to be farmers I'll get you a house and a section of land, but if you don't then that is up to you," was the way he put it.

Mr. Campbell was suggesting that we should ask God what we should do. There wasn't anything wrong with farming if that was what God wanted for us. You can tell what God wants you to do by waiting on Him and asking Him for peace concerning a decision.

I felt like it would be nice if God would tell me what He wanted me to do and I would decide if I wanted to do it or not. The problem is, God doesn't work that way. His way is, "you tell me if you will do what I want you to do and then I'll tell you what I want you to do." Wow! Give my life to God by faith? Yes! This caused me to go over again who God was. He is faithful, all knowing, wise, He knows the end from the beginning, wants my good, is all powerful, omnipresent, and stays closer than a brother.

I had read Hebrews chapter eleven which told about men and women of faith. There was one person who really spoke to me and that was Abraham and what God said to him in Genesis chapter twelve:

"Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee… I will bless thee... and thou shalt be a blessing… and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."

What a promise! Of course his being a blessing had to do with Jesus Christ and if I was going to be a blessing it would be through sharing Jesus Christ with others.

I started to pray about this, and in the light of my Dad's seemingly good desire for me, it was a big decision. Actually God was just asking for the first step. Abraham could have said, "God tell me where are we going." This thought about being willing to do what Abraham did became something that I thought about daily.

I remember where I said yes and I could take you to the place. I was cutting alfalfa hay with a tractor and mower in the southwest quarter of section 11-24-19. It was a big decision and brought real peace. It was a decision that I would go one year to Bible College and when I made that decision God began to show me where. My twin Con was asking the same question and we went to Bible College together.

As I look back I see now what a big decision it was. This decision changed the whole direction of my life. God could have told me to farm and that would have been fine but first God wanted me to give the choice to Him. If you really know who God is, it is not too difficult a decision.

If you are a teenager, you could well have had some of the same experiences as I have had. What would you say if God asked you if you would do what He wanted you to do? "Maybe" will not do. Take some time to think about it. There are many things that happened for good in my life as a result of this decision.

About the time my twin and I were thinking about going to Briercrest Bible College, Mr. & Mrs. Campbell were thinking of moving to another cabin many miles away. God was leading them too. We were going to miss them and would remember for the rest of our lives the things that they taught us. The Campbells knew the Lord, saw the works of the Lord, and did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. God blessed them, made them a blessing, and people in the generations to come received the fruit of their obedience. I could tell you of some of the answers to prayer that they received as evidence that the Lord was with them.

Con and I would soon be finding cabins like the Campbells did, and we would be developing places where others could learn about God. We will tell you about this later. Meanwhile keep coming to this cabin on the Internet, doing lessons and you too will learn about God.

 

[RiverOL]

Going to Bible College
After the decision to go to Bible College in the summer time it wasn't so hard leaving for school. My twin was going with me. It probably was harder on Mom than anyone else.

We went to Briercrest Bible College which was 340 miles away. It was a trip we would take many times, usually by bus. The school was an old airport and there probably were over 300 students there. About 50% of them were girls. Our president advised first-year students to keep their noses in the books. Not a bad idea. No dating, but you could smile when you could not say a word.

It was a new experience and an opportunity to meet and make life-long friends, with Christians seeking to study the Bible and asking the Lord what they should do with their lives.

What did we learn at College? For Con and me it was a review of a lot of the things Mr. Campbell taught us in the cabin. Such as a bird's eye view of the Bible, how we know the Bible is true, and the walk of faith. Another interesting subject was coming events in prophecy.

One year led to two, and that was an important year when I took my nose out of the books for a few minutes. I'll tell you about that in the next lesson.

Soon we were in our last year and it was conference time in the fall. Dad had told us that we were going to need to make up our minds if we were going to farm or not. Often there was a world-famous speaker at these conferences and one of those was Major Ian Thomas of the Torch Bearers. He was speaking on Moses, only this was different than I had heard before.

Major Thomas was saying that Moses lived to be 120 years old. He spent his first 40 years learning how to be a somebody and in Acts 7:21 it says, "he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." Remember he was taken from the bulrushes in Exodus chapter 2 and became Pharoah's daughter's son. Apparently he was given the best education. Further it says in Acts 7:21, "he was mighty in words and deeds." Thomas said it is one thing to be educated but it is another thing to know how to use it.

Apparently, God wasn't through with his education. Moses killed an Egyptian when he was 40 years old and he had to flee for his life into the wilderness.

He spent 40 years chasing sheep, not having any fences. I have had the experience of looking after sheep with fences and that was bad enough. It reminded me of Isaiah 53:6:

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Mr. Thomas said Moses spent 40 years learning how to be a nobody. Wow! Everybody likes to be a somebody. Who wants to be a nobody? Can you imagine Moses who used to sit on soft cushions in the palace now sitting on rocks in the hot desert. Did he feel sorry for himself? I'm sure he did. Could he leave? No he couldn't. Egypt was looking for him. Did he kick rocks and stub his toes? Probably. For forty years! Wow!

God was watching him. Was he angry at God? It reminded me of picking rocks, feeling sorry for myself and wishing that I could quit. One day God began to talk to Moses and say, "You know, Moses, it is a nice day. The sun is shining and the birds are singing, and…and you are so miserable. If only we could get rid of you and your attitudes you could have a nice day." Finally, Moses agreed that God was right and asked God to get rid of him, his self pity and fill him with the fruit of the Spirit. Wow! "God if you want me to stay here the rest of my life with you, I will."

Soon after that Moses was looking after the sheep when he saw an amazing sight. A bush was on fire, but the bush was not destroyed. Wow! This was incredible. Did he watch it for an hour? "I think I will move a little closer," and he did.

"Moses! Moses!" God spoke to him. "Get your shoes off. The ground on which you stand is HOLY!" Mr. Somebody had become Mr. Nobody, and God wanted to use him. Moses had been waiting for God and God had been waiting for Moses. Can you see the picture?

Moses had now become so meek before God that later on it was said he was the meekest man on earth. He had excuses, and finally God asked him what he had in his hand and he replied, "a rod." God said, "Cast it down." It immediately became a serpent and Moses fled from it. God said, "Pick it up again" and it became the Rod of God. God used it to glorify Himself in Moses' hand. Wow!

Mr. Thomas said someone here has something in their hand and God may be asking for it. Give it to Him. The serpent in the Bible represents sin and if God wants something and you won't give it to Him there could be sin in it. Give it to Him. He will either take it away and you will wonder why in the world you were hanging onto that thing or He will give it to you again and it will become an instrument of blessing. I knew who God was talking to and what I had in my hand. It was the farm. Con had the same possibility.

Deciding to leave home and go to Bible College was one thing but a final decision on the farm was another. We gave the farms to God. Moses made the right decision and we can read his amazing story of what God did. I'll tell you later of the amazing things God did as a result of a right decision. God is no man's debtor.

By the way, in Moses' case Mr. Somebody became Mr. Nobody and then found out what God could do with a Nobody for the last 40 years of his life.

 

[RiverOL]

Meeting the Girl of My Dreams

I need to tell you something else that happened to me while at Bible College. You will remember that our president said that in the first year we should keep our nose in the books. The other part was that in the second year we could look around once in a while. I did.

I had been making a list of what kind of girl I would want for the girl of my dreams. We'll call them prayer requests. It is not a bad thing to do. I heard recently of a fellow praying that he would meet someone who was more in touch with God than he was.

At about seventeen years of age I started to pray for the girl I would marry. Not a bad idea. I knew that God knew who she was and, like the watch in the field, He knew where she was and how we would meet. I had my request that He would work things out in His time. I prayed that she would be a helpmate, pretty, blonde, be able to play the piano, keep herself for me, and be willing to help in the work I would be doing. God often requires us to learn to wait for His timing.

One day, I was coming out of the dining hall after dinner with a friend of mine who was a year ahead of me in college. What do you know! This beautiful blonde walked by and my friend said, "She is from eastern Pennsylvania, and in first year. I wonder if she is still going with the big fat guy that said he was going with her when he was here last year." Wow! Was she beautiful! I was impressed. I told Don that I would find out, just leave it to me.

Well, I found out later that she claimed that she never did go with that fellow and I came to the conclusion that it must have been wishful thinking on his part.

One day this girl was asked to play the piano in chapel, and could she play! She played by ear, without music sheets in front of her. I was amazed!

Shortly after that I was sitting with some of my friends from first year in their room and one said to the other, "What were you doing peeking through your fingers at that blonde sitting up front?" He turned beat red and I chimed in, "Wow!" (You might have noticed it had become my favorite expression.) I said, "I'm going to have to meet this person." You know she was that very same person and her name was Melba, an American from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Could God who knows everything and sees everything be answering another major prayer in my life?

Now, for the ninety-eight dollar question: would she have any interest in a country boy from Western Canada? I only had one thing going for me and that was that I was the second year class rep… and maybe one more—I could smile. We found a way through mutual friends to meet.

By now I knew that you were okay until the deans found out you were going together. Otherwise you could talk to any girl at any time. After you were going together they kept their eye on you. So, when I found out she wasn't going with anyone else and she didn't mind getting together and could play badminton, I had the perfect plan. We could play badminton for a week or two and probably no one would guess what our second agenda was: to get to know each other. It worked. I heard that our president liked the idea of the right two students getting together, but then hired the deans to keep them apart.

We soon came to know each other a little bit better and were becoming starry eyed over each other. Could this be the one that the Lord had for me? I was beginning to hope so.

One other thing that I found out was that she taught clubs in homes and had worked in the office of CEF in Pennsylvania. She had a flannelgraph board and easel that would be an introduction to my work for over 30 years. You see, once you get to know the Lord, you can expect to see the works of the Lord, and He does "exceedingly, abundantly, above, anything we could ask or think."

Of course I didn't see the flannelgraph board for a while, nor was I looking for it. All I could see was beautiful, blonde, laughter, smiles, and the piano. It wasn't long after the two weeks that I met one of the deans and he asked, "Are you going with Melba?" Oh, oh! He wouldn't have believed me even if I had tried to lie.

Now the way of doing things changed. Maybe you weren't supposed to stand around and talk but there was a mail service, and all that was needed was a friend of hers and a friend of mine. No postage. This, I do believe, was a girl thing. They have ways of doing things too, you know.

I said that going to the cabin was about knowing God, seeing the works of God, and doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Once again I looked back and saw God's hand. What if I had not said yes to God in the hay field and not come to Bible College? What if I had not given the future to God? The wonderful thing is if we do make a wrong decision, we can repent and ask God to get us back on track with Him. If we are sincere in repentance God can still make good things grow out of ashes.

Melba came home with Con and me at Christmas, as her home was just too far away. In the spring, I graduated, we were engaged, married on May 16th, and had a three month honeymoon at the beautiful Wolfe Lake in Muskegon, Michigan, where we attended the Child Evangelism Institute learning how to win and disciple children, with visuals. Melba had no meals to make, and we were seeing her gifts and dreams come true: that of developing in the reaching of children for Christ.

At the end of the Institute we were asked to join the Mission and offered the directorship in Colorado, New Zealand, or back where we went to Bible College in Saskatchewan Canada. We believed that God wanted us in the latter.

Soon we would be doing what Mr. & Mrs. Campbell had done, only with visuals. We would be inviting children into homes—cabins—just like I had been invited many years before. There were hundreds of homes and thousands of children that came.

I'll tell you the rest of the story another time. We used the Mailbox Club, Tell-me-a-story tapes on the phone, and now the Internet. By now I'm not a teenager any more.

I wonder if you could see yourself in these teen stories? Perhaps you are saying, "I wish God would do that for me." Remember, Vaughan is nobody special except for one thing and you can guess what that was.

One step with God will lead to another. Take the first step and leave the rest up to God.

Please keep coming to this cabin. Remember lesson one in the first series of "The Boy and the Cabin"—it might well be part of your answer for God's blessing in your future!

 

[RiverOL]

Forgiven and Loved
Dear Friend,

God loves us with all His heart, and He has wonderful gifts that He wants to give us. Four things are essential if we are to receive the things God has for us.

The work of Christ.

The Lord Jesus died on the cross for our sins and He rose again to be our great Savior. His work is perfect and complete.

The Word of God.

In the Bible, God tells us what Christ has done for us.

My belief.

My part is to believe God’s Word and receive His Son as my Savior.

The work of the Holy Spirit.

When I believe God’s Word, the Holy Spirit makes real in me what Christ has done for me. This is the way we receive things from God.

We need the gift of forgiveness.

Our first great need when we come to God is the gift of forgiveness.

Let us think about a father who has a little son whom he loves very much. The father has a valuable clock and he tells his son, "Don’t play with my clock. You might break it.”

The father goes away. The son looks at his father’s clock and decides that he will play with it anyway. And, sure enough, he breaks the clock.

When the father returns, he finds that his son has broken the clock. He says to his son, “You have disobeyed me. You will have to go to your room and stay there until the clock is fixed.”

The son is not happy at all. He knows that he was wrong to disobey his father. Meanwhile, the father is not very happy either. He loves his son and does not want to be separated from him. But he must deal with his son’s disobedience.

What does the father do? He says, “I will fix the clock myself.” He fixes the clock perfectly. Then he goes to his son. When the son sees his father, he bursts into tears and says, “Daddy, I’m sorry I broke your clock. I don’t know how to fix it.”

The father takes his son into his arms, hugs and kisses him, and says, “I forgive you, son. I fixed the clock myself.”

How God forgives us.
In the story we saw how the father loved his son and how he dealt with his son’s disobedience. This illustrates how God forgives us. We have sinned against God, but in the Person of His Son, God paid the penalty for our sins.

In the Old Testament, God told His people to bring an animal, usually a lamb, as a sacrifice for their sins. A man would bring the lamb to the priest.

Then he would lay his hand on the head of the lamb and say something like this, “I have sinned, but God has allowed this lamb to die for my sins.” Then the lamb was killed, and its blood was poured out on the altar.

When Jesus came, John the Baptist said,

“Behold [look at] the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:25).

It is as though God were saying, “For thousands of years you have been bringing your lambs to Me. Now I will provide My Lamb for you. I am giving My Son to you to be your ‘Lamb.’”

The Lord Jesus came to be the perfect sacrifice for all the sins of all people. Did He finish the work He came to do? Yes, He finished it perfectly when He died on the cross. Just before He died, He cried out, “It is finished!” He had finished the work He came to do.

God is perfectly satisfied with the Lamb which He Himself provided. He does not overlook our sins, but He forgives them because He sees the blood of His Son which was shed for our sins.

God gives us eternal forgiveness.
God forgives us of our sins, not because of what we do for Him, but because of what Christ has done for us. God says to us, “If you trust My Son as your Savior, your ‘Lamb,’ I will forgive all your sins forever!” Speaking of the Lord Jesus, the Bible says,

“To Him [Jesus] give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believes in Him shall receive remission [forgiveness] of sins” (Acts 10:43).

"Remission of sins" means that God forgives all my sins forever! The forgiveness which God gives to me when I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior is an eternal forgiveness. It is forgiveness of all my sins—past, present, and future.

You may wonder, “I can see how God can forgive my past sins and my present sins, but how can God forgive me of future sins—sins which I have not yet done?”

God knows everything—past, present, and future. He sees my whole life, from beginning to end. God gave His Son to die for my sins. At the time when Christ died, how many of my sins were in the future? All of them! God saw all of them, and Christ died for all of them.

God does not just forgive us our past sins and start a new list. God forgives us of all our sins—past, present, and future. He does not hold a single thing against His born-again children. He says,

“Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).

Two kinds of forgiveness.

The moment I received Jesus as my Savior, God gave me eternal forgiveness. God never takes this back. But when I sin after I am saved, I need another kind of forgiveness which we call "fellowship forgiveness."

Once I have been born again into the family of God, I am always His child. I can never lose my relationship with God. But sin breaks my fellowship with God.

My heavenly Father has told me what I need to do to make things right with Him again. I must confess my sins to Him. The Bible says,

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgives us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

When should I confess my sin to God? I should confess my sin as soon as I know that I have sinned. I should not put it off until some later time. I should go to my Father immediately and confess my sin to Him. When I do, He forgives me.

God has great joy in forgiving us.
People have all kinds of wrong ideas about God, which Satan puts in their minds. Jesus used stories called “parables” to help us understand the truth about God.

A parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” The Lord Jesus used many parables to teach Bible truths. The most beautiful of all the parables is the story of “the prodigal son” in Luke, chapter 15.

Jesus used this parable to teach us how God receives us when we turn from our sins and turn to Him. In this story, “the prodigal son” represents you and me, and “the father” represents God the Father.

In this parable a certain man, apparently a wealthy farmer, had two sons. The younger son became dissatisfied and wanted to leave home.

He asked his father to give him his share of the family wealth. No doubt the father begged his son to stay with him, but the son was determined to have his own way. The father divided his wealth with his sons, and the younger son took all that he had and left home.

The son went into a far country and made friends with the wrong crowd. He wasted all the money his father had given him doing wrong things with the wrong kind of “friends.”

Soon all his money was gone. He had no money, not even to buy some food. Futhermore, there was a famine in the land. There had been no rain for a long time, and the farmers had not been able to grow their crops. Food was scarce and expensive.

The son was desperate! The only job he could find was taking care of some filthy pigs. He was dirty, hungry, and in rags, but no man gave him anything. He was so hungry that he wanted to eat the husks he was feeding to the hogs.

One day the son began to think about his father’s house and all the good things there. He said, “How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!”

The son decided that he would do something about his condition. He said, “I will arise and go to my father. I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you. I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me one of your hired servants.’”

He got up and started back to his father. This is what the Bible calls “repentance.” Repentance means turning around. When you see that you have been going the wrong way, and you turn around and go to God, that is repentance.

On his long way back home, no doubt the son wondered how his father would receive him. Would he be angry? Would he tell him that he could not come back after what he had done?

How did the father receive him? Here are the words of Jesus: “When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck [hugged], and kissed him.” This shows me the love that God has in His heart for me.

How does God receive us?
Perhaps you think you are saved, but you are not really sure. Do not go on doubting. Settle the matter now, once for all. Say to the Lord, “Lord Jesus, if I have never really trusted You as my ‘Lamb,’ the One who died for all my sins, I am doing so now. I am taking You as my Savior right now!”

Maybe you trusted Christ as your Savior some time ago, but you have not been living for Him. You want to come back to God, but you wonder how He will receive you.

Don’t wait any longer. Come to Him now. Come just as you are. You will discover that God is much kinder and much more loving than you could ever imagine. He will welcome you with joy. This is the kind of love God has in His heart for you.

Moses—the great deliverer
“The Lord spoke unto Moses, Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” Exodus 8:1
Abraham is called “the father of the faithful.” God made a covenant with Abraham which contained three great promises:

A great nation.
God promised to make the descendants of Abraham a great nation. The great nation which came from Abraham is Israel, God’s chosen people.

A promised land.
God had a special land for His chosen people—the land of Canaan. It was God’s purpose that His people should possess this land and enjoy its riches.

A promised Savior.
This was the greatest honor of all. From Abraham’s descendants would come the promised Savior—Jesus Christ.

The second book in the Bible is Exodus, which means “going out.” The children of Israel had become slaves in the land of Egypt. Egypt is a type of the world-system. Pharaoh is a type of Satan, the real ruler of the world-system. Slaves in Egypt are a type of unsaved people—slaves of Satan in his world-system. It is a “picture” of our redemption from the bondage of sin.

God called Moses to deliver the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt. Pharaoh was determined not to let his slaves go, but after ten terrible plagues, he told them to get out of Egypt.

In the last plague, the death angel passed over the land killing all the firstborn sons. Even Pharaoh’s eldest son was killed. But in the homes of the children of Israel, the firstborn sons were spared.

What saved Israel’s firstborn sons on that awful night? It was the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their houses. What saves us? The blood of Christ—the Lamb of God.

The Egyptian people were so terrified by the plagues which God sent, that they begged the Israelites to leave and they gave them much silver, gold, and precious stones. The children of Israel also took all their flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

God did not forget the promise which he made to Abraham—“I will make of you a great nation.” There were only 70 people in the family of Jacob when they went down into Egypt. When they left 400 years later, the people had grown into a nation of three million people!

God did not forget the promise He made to Abraham concerning the land of Canaan. In time God brought the children of Israel into the promised land.

And God did not forget the promise of a Savior. The first verse in the New Testament says,

“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1).

 

[RiverOL]

Justified Freely
Dear Friend,

The moment I received Christ as my Savior, God gave me eternal forgiveness. He has forgiven me of all my sins—past, present, and future.

God is now my heavenly Father, and I am His beloved child. This wonderful relationship can never be broken, but my fellowship with my Father can be broken. When I sin, my fellowship with my Father is broken. In my heart I know that something has come between my Father and me. But I know what to do when I sin. I go to my Father and confess that sin to Him. The moment I do this, the fellowship is restored.

God wants me to enjoy Him.
Because God loves me, He wants me to enjoy Him and enjoy being in His presence. For this, God must deal with the shame and guilt of sin.

Suppose I accidentally ran over and killed the only son of a godly Christian man. He might forgive me, but I would always feel guilty and ashamed in his presence, knowing what I had done.

God not only forgives me, but He clears me of my guilt and shame, so I can enjoy Him and He can enjoy me.

When Christ hung on the cross, He bore not only my sins but also my guilt, my shame, and everything that was against me. He died and was buried, but He rose from the grave on the third day.

Christ rose from the grave in a glorious, new resurrection body. Where are my sins, my guilt, my shame, and all that was against me? They are gone forever! The Bible says that Christ “was delivered [to the cross] for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:25).

What does it mean to be “justified?”
Being justified means that I have been cleared of everything that was against me and declared righteous in God’s sight. I am “justified in Christ.” The Bible says,

“…through this Man [Jesus Christ] is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are justified from ALL THINGS…” (Acts 13:38-39).

God is the great Judge of the universe. He is the One who justifies us. No one else could do this. It is God we have sinned against, and it is God alone who can justify us.

I come into God’s court as a guilty sinner who has trusted Jesus as His Savior. To my amazement I hear the great Judge of the universe say, “All charges against you have been dismissed. You have been cleared of everything that was against you.”

How can God do this? God can do this because His Son removed everything that was against us by His death on the cross. The Bible says,

“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).

This is the greatest single verse in all the Bible on being justified. “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Isn’t that beautiful! Say it to yourself over and over—“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Notice the word “freely.” God justifies us “freely.” God loves to justify all who belong to His Son. All charges against us are completely wiped out. All guilt is blotted out. No question about the believer’s sins will ever be raised by God.

We are “justified freely by His grace.” What is “grace”? Grace is God’s boundless love going out to undeserving sinners, forgiving them freely “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

In one word, grace means “gift.” Grace means that we do not work for salvation; we simply receive it as a gift. The Bible says,

“For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Four wrong ways.
The Bible warns us against four ways by which we cannot be justified:

We are not justified because of our parents. It is a wonderful blessing to have godly parents, but this will not save you.

We are not justified by good works of any kind. The Bible says,

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…” (Titus 3:5).

Trusting in our good works to save us is actually hateful to God. It means that we are trying to save ourselves instead of resting our faith on the glorious work of God’s Son on the cross.

We are not justified by keeping the laws of God. The Bible says,

“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh [no one] be justified in His sight” (Romans 3:20).

We are not justified by church membership or ordinances. Neither church membership, baptism, the Lord’s supper, nor any other ordinance can justify a person in God’s sight.

God’s way of justifying sinners.
God has His own righteous way of justifying sinners. It is through “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

A stupendous work has been done for us by Jesus Christ on the cross. How do we get in on it? Two short phrases in Romans 3:25 and 26 supply the answer:

“through faith in His blood”

“he who believes in Jesus.”

We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ and His blood which was shed for our sins. God says,

“By Him [Jesus Christ] all who believe are justified from all things…” (Acts 13:39).

I am not looking to Christ to do anything to save me. He has already done it! But I must make it personal. It is not, “We are all sinners,” but “I am a sinner.”

It is not, “I believe that Jesus died for sinners,” but “Jesus died for ME.” It is not, “I believe Jesus is the Savior,” but “Jesus is MY Savior.”

If you have made it personal like this, you are justified in God’s sight. You have peace with God. The Bible says,

“Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

God counts me righteous in His sight.
Being justified means that God not only takes away all the negative things that were against me, but He counts me righteous in His sight because of my faith in Jesus Christ.

When Abraham was 99 years old, God told him that he would have a son by his wife, Sarah. Humanly speaking, this was impossible. But—

“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3).

The same is true for us. When we believe God, our faith is counted for righteousness. God does not require that we do a single thing but believe Him concerning what His Son has done for us. The Bible says,

“To him that works not, but believes on Him [God] that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5).

Forgiven and loved!
Satan tries to make people think that God is a harsh Judge who hates sinners and wants to punish them. The truth is that God loves sinners! He hates sin, but He loves sinners.

God has always loved sinners, but until our sins were dealt with in a way that glorified Him, God could not receive sinners and express His love for them.

On the cross, Jesus glorified God with regard to our sins by bearing all of God’s wrath and judgment against sin. Now God can come out in all His love and take the repentant sinner in His arms and freely show His love for him. The story of the rebellious prodigal son shows us this.

The rebellious son turned his back on his father and his home and left to do his own will. He was saying, “I will do what I want to do!” His self-will took him a great distance from his father.

In the depths of his misery, the prodigal son began to think about how he had disgraced his father. He decided to go back home and ask his father to let him be one of his servants.

What happened? When his father saw him a great distance away, he ran to him. The father did not say, “Son, you will have to change your bad habits and get your life cleaned up before I can receive you.”

What did the father do? He threw his arms around the prodigal son and kissed him. It was not just a little kiss on the cheek. In the original language, the Bible says that the father “covered his son with his kisses.”

In that moment, the prodigal son knew two things: He knew that he was fully and freely forgiven, and he knew how his father felt toward him. He knew his father’s heart attitude toward him. By his actions, his father was saying, “I love you! I love you! I love you! I am so glad you have come back!”

This story shows how God feels toward me—He loves me with all His heart. God is “hugging me to His heart,” even as the father put his arms around the poor prodigal son and folded him to his heart. It is God saying to me, “I love you! I love you! I love you! I am so happy you came to Me!”

God glories in forgiveness!
God is a Savior God, and He glories in forgiveness. He glories in being able to justify us righteously because of Christ’s great work of redemption on the cross.

Let us never forget that while we were ungodly sinners, God declared us righteous in His sight the moment we put our faith in Christ. “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Claim this verse for yourself! Say, “While I was ungodly, God declared me righteous, by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

This is what God wants! He wants us to claim for ourselves, boldly and believingly, what He says in the Bible. The Bible says,

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Moses—the great deliverer
“By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians attempting to do were drowned.” Hebrews 11:29
The Lord guided His people in their journey out of Egypt by a “pillar of a cloud” in the daytime and a “pillar of fire” at night. The cloud shaded them in the daytime, and the pillar of fire gave them light at night.

God guided them to a place by the Red Sea. There were mountains on two sides and the sea in front of them. Meanwhile Pharaoh decided that he wanted his slaves back. Pharaoh gathered all of his chariots and army, and marched after the children of Israel.

The children of Israel were terrified and they cried out to Moses. Moses said, “Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” God told Moses to take his rod and stretch out his hand over the sea. When Moses did, the Lord caused the sea to divide into two walls of water with dry land between them.

God took His people through a “place of death.” They had walls of water on either side of them. God brought them through a place of death into a new land.

The Egyptians pursued them and went after them into the midst of the sea, with all of their chariots and army. The Lord told Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come again.” The waters covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh. Not a single person in Pharaoh’s army was left alive.

The children of Israel learned that day that God was for them. They celebrated with a song, saying,

“I will sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously…the Lord is my strength and song and He has become my salvation…” (Exodus 15:1-2).

Israel’s deliverance was the beginning of a new life for them. They were no longer slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt. They were like “new people in a new land with a new leader.”

All of this is a “picture” of God’s great salvation for us. In my unsaved condition, I was a slave of Satan in his kingdom. God brought me through “death” into His new creation—the kingdom of His dear Son.

God put me in Christ on the cross, so that what happened to Him happened to me. In God’s sight I “died” with Christ, I was “buried” with Him, and I "rose again” with Him as a new person in God’s new creation. The Bible says,

“Giving thanks unto the Father…who has delivered us from the power of darkness [Satan’s power], and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Colossians 1:12-13).

God is for us! It is a great day when we learn this. God has not only forgiven us, but He has defeated Satan and all his evil hosts. By the death of Christ, God has delivered us from Satan’s world-system.

 

[RiverOL]

I am a New Person!
Dear Friend,

One of the wonderful things about God is that He likes to create new things. When sin has ruined something that He created, God creates something new, something that sin cannot touch.

When God looked at me in my sinful condition, what did He see? He saw three things:

• God saw my many sins.
• God saw a sinner.
• God saw me in Satan’s kingdom of darkness.

My condition seemed hopeless. I had committed many sins, and I was a sinner in Satan’s kingdom of darkness.

God is a Savior God, and salvation is God’s work, not ours. We are not saved by what we do for God, but by what God did for us 2,000 years ago in the death of His Son on the cross. God cleared me of everything that was against me; He ended my old life, and He created me as a new person in Christ. Let us see how God did this.

How did God deliver me from my sins?
Forgiving me of all my sins was no easy matter. It cost God the life of His beloved Son.

“God shows His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

My sins, my guilt, and my shame were all on Christ when He died. Now they are gone forever in God’s sight. The Bible says that Christ “loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5b). How this touches our heart!

How did God deliver me from my sinful self?
It is wonderful to know that God has forgiven me of all my sins, but I have a deeper problem. I am a sinner.

When I was first saved, I thought that I would always love God and want to please Him. But I soon discovered that there was something inside of me that did not love God and did not want to please God. Though I was a Christian, I was committing many sins.

Where do our sins come from? They come from our sinful nature. We are all born with a sinful nature called “the flesh.” As long as we are in our present bodies, we cannot get rid of our sinful nature, but God makes it possible for us to have victory over it.

Suppose God forgave me of all my sins and left me here as I was. I would keep on sinning, and that would be terrible! God’s solution to the problem of my sinful self is to get rid of my old self and make me a new person in Christ.

God delivered me from my old self by putting me in Christ on the cross. The Bible says,

“But of Him [God] are you in Christ Jesus…” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

When Christ was crucified, I was “crucified” with Him. My old sinful self, which the Bible calls “the old man,” was crucified with Christ.

Two great facts.
There are two great facts which are true of every child of God:

• Christ died for me.
• I died with Him.

When Christ was crucified, I was “crucified” with Him. My old sinful self, which the Bible calls “the old man,” was crucified with Christ. God wants every Christian to know this. The Bible says,

“Knowing this, that our old man [our old self] was crucified with Him [Christ]…” (Romans 6:6).

How do I know that Christ died for me? I know this because God says so in His Word. How do I know that I was “crucified” with Christ? Because God says so in His Word. The apostle Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ…” (Galatians 2:20). This is true of every believer in Christ. Every believer can say, “I have been crucified with Christ!”

You may be thinking, “But Christ was crucified 2,000 years ago. How could I be ‘crucified with Christ’?”

To help us understand this, let us take a piece of paper and cut out a little man. Now take the little man and place him in a book. Where is the little man now? He is in the book and he will stay in the book.


Suppose we place the book on the table. Where is the little man now? He is in the book on the table.

Suppose we put the book on the floor. Where is the little man now? He is in the book on the floor.

Suppose we wrap the book with the little man in it and send it to another city. Where is the little man now? He is in the book in the other city.

Suppose I take the book with the little man in it and hold it under water. What happens to the little man? He is still in the book, under the water.

In this illustration the book represents Christ and the little man represents me. Just as we put the little man in the book, so God put me in Christ.

Once the little man was put in the book, whatever happened to the book also happened to the little man because he was in the book. The same is also true of me. God put me in Christ on the cross and whatever happened to Him also happened to me because I was in Christ.

When Christ was crucified, I was crucified with Him. When He died, I died with Him. When He was buried, I was buried with Him. And when He rose again, I rose again with Him. Whatever happened to Him, happened also to me.

In myself I have not died, but these things are true of me in Christ. Remember the little man in the book. Once the little man was put in the book, whatever happened to the book, happened to him because he was in the book.

The same is true of me. Once God put me in Christ on the cross, whatever happened to Him, happened to me because I was in Christ. I was in Christ when He died. In God’s sight that was the end of my old life.

In God’s sight, my old life as a sinner ended with my death with Christ. I was “buried” with Him, and I was “raised” with Him as a new person in Christ.

God created me as a new person in Christ. I still have the same body, but I am a new person inside. The Bible says,

“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [a new person]: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I am a new person in a new place!
I am no longer in Satan’s kingdom of darkness. I am a new person in a new place! I am now in the kingdom of God’s dear Son.

Christ has delivered me from everything that was against me. It was a happy day when I learned what Christ has done for me. He has removed everything that stood between God and me.

What about my sins? My sins were laid on Jesus. He shed His precious blood for all my sins. God has forgiven me of all my sins for Jesus’ sake. The Bible says,

“I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake” (1 John 2:12).

What about my old sinful life? In God’s sight my old life ended with my death with Christ. The apostle Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ.” I can say this too, because Christ is my Savior.

What about Satan’s kingdom of darkness? I am no longer in Satan’s kingdom of darkness. God has transferred me out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of His dear Son.

“Giving thanks unto the Father…Who has delivered us from the power [kingdom] of darkness, and has translated [transferred] us into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Colossians 1:12a,13).

God wants me to enjoy Him.
How wonderful it is to know that all my sins are forgiven, and I am a new person in Christ!

Why did God do all these wonderful things for me? He did them because He loves me and because I belong to His Son. God always sees me in Christ!

Because I am in Christ, God always looks at me with delight. Is Christ the Father’s delight? Yes, He is. And I am too, because I am in Christ. God is saying to me, “I love you and delight in you because you belong to My Son.”

Moses—the law-giver
“The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” John 1:17
God is first of all a Savior God and a Deliverer. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32). God is for His people now and forever!

On Mount Sinai God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. With His own finger, God wrote these commandments on two tablets of stone and gave them to Moses to give to the people.

In the Ten Commandments, God said: You are to love and worship Me supremely. You are not to allow anything to come before Me. You are not to make idols, nor bow down to them, nor worship them. You are not to use My name carelessly. You are to keep the Sabbath day holy. You are to respect and honor your parents. You are not to commit murder. You are not to steal. You are not to lie, and you are not to strongly desire something belonging to someone else.

God’s laws tell us what is right and what is wrong in God’s sight. Because we love God, we want to keep His commandments, but because we have a sinful nature, we are not able to keep God’s commandments perfectly. No person, other than the Lord Jesus, has ever kept God’s laws perfectly.

The Bible says that God’s laws are “holy, just, and good.” But it also says that no one can be saved by “the deeds of the law.”

If no one can be saved by keeping God’s laws, why did God give them to us? God gave them to us for three reasons:

1. to show us what sin is.
2. to show us that we are sinners.
3. to show us that we need Christ as our Savior.

Moses represented God’s law but he could not bring the children of Israel into the promised land. Joshua was the one chosen by God to bring His people into the promised land. Joshua is a type of Christ, our Savior. Christ is the One chosen by God to bring us to our “promised land."

The whole purpose of the law is to bring us to Christ, that we might be saved by faith in Him.

God wants us to understand that we are not saved by what we do for Him, but by what Christ has done for us. When we believe on Him and take Him as our Savior, we are saved. The Bible says,

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved…” (Acts 16:31).

When we take Christ as our Savior, He comes to live in us by His Spirit. As we let Him live His life in us, Christ fulfills “the righteousness of the law in us.” (See Romans 8:1-4.)

 

[RiverOL]

Christ is My Righteousness
Dear Friend,

We were created to glorify God and to enjoy fellowship with Him. God’s purpose in saving us is to bring us into a right relationship with Him and to make us suitable to Himself so that He can enjoy us and we can enjoy Him.

God is the great Ruler of the universe. He is all light and glory. He is perfect in purity and holiness, and He cannot be approached by sinful creatures.

The prophet Isaiah once had a vision in which he saw the great and holy God upon His throne. Immediately Isaiah fell on his face and cried out,

“Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips…for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5).

What caused Isaiah to cry out, “Woe is me”? It was his sense of sinfulness. Isaiah knew that he was sinful. He knew that he did not have the righteousness that he needed to be in the presence of such a glorious and holy God.

To enjoy fellowship with God, I must not only be forgiven of all my sins, but I must have a righteousness that is acceptable to Him. God says that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” in His sight.

Forgiveness is like taking a bath to get rid of the dirt; righteousness is like getting rid of my “rags” and putting on new clothes.

When I think about coming into the presence of the holy God, I need forgiveness to get rid of my sins, but I also need to be “clothed” in a special way. I must be clothed with a righteousness that is acceptable to God.

What kind of righteousness does God accept? The only kind of righteousness which God accepts is a perfect righteousness. I cannot make myself perfectly righteous. God must provide this perfect righteousness for me.

How does God make me perfectly righteous in His sight?
God has done three wonderful things to make me perfectly righteous in His sight:

1. He ended my old life,
2. He gave me a new life in Christ, and
3. He gave Christ to me as my righteousness.

To put it simply, God got rid of all that I am and gave me Christ as my righteousness. Let us see how God does this.

God has ended my old life.
There are two great facts which are true of every believer: Christ died for me, and I “died” with Christ.

How do I know that Christ died for me? I know because God’s Word says so. The Bible says,

“…Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

How do I know that I “died” with Christ? I know because God’s Word says so. My old sinful self, which was the source of all my sins, was crucified with Christ. The Bible says,

“Knowing this, that our old man [our sinful self] was crucified with Him [Christ]…” (Romans 6:6).

God has given me a new life.
I “died” with Christ. I was buried with Him. In God’s sight that was the end of my old life. Now God says to me, “I have created you as a new person in Christ.” The Bible says,

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

God has given Christ to me as my righteousness.

In myself, I am not righteous, but God has made me perfectly righteous in His sight. How did God do this? He put me in Christ. I am made the righteousness of God in Christ.

The Bible says,

“For He [God] has made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

This verse says that I am “made the righteousness of God in Him,” that is, in Christ. Just as God looks at Christ and sees Him perfectly righteous, so He looks at me and sees me perfectly righteous in Christ.

If Gabriel, the mighty angel who stands in the very presence of God, were to appear before me in all his beauty and purity, my thought would likely be, “He is righteous and holy, but I am not.” But this would be entirely wrong! God has given Christ to me as my righteousness. I am made “the righteousness of God in Him.”

The prodigal son was made suitable to his father.

When the prodigal son returned to his father, he had no idea how he would be received by his father. The father ran to meet him and “covered him with his kisses.” At that moment the son knew how his father felt toward him. He knew that he was loved and accepted.

But even though he knew that he was forgiven and accepted by his father, he was still dirty and in rags. He could not be completely happy because of his condition.

We can imagine the prodigal saying to his father, “It is wonderful that you love me so much and that you can receive me as you do, but I do not enjoy it because I am not fit for you.”

What did the father do? He told his servants, “Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him.” We may be sure that this new robe was not put over the prodigal son’s dirt and rags. He was given a bath, and his old clothes were taken away.

Then the servants put “the best robe” on him. It is called “the best robe” because there could be no better.

What was the son’s situation now? He was washed from his dirt; he had clean clothes; and he was wearing the best robe. He knew that he was now fit to be in his father’s presence. He could now enjoy being with his father because his father had made him suitable to himself.

The son did not say, “I just do not feel that I can accept this robe because I am so unworthy.” He honored his father by joyfully receiving what his father provided for him. The “best robe” not only made the son suitable to his father, but it made him conscious of his suitability.

God’s “best robe” is Christ.
This story has a deep, heavenly meaning. The Lord Jesus told us this story because He wants us to know what God the Father has done to make us suitable to Himself.

God has not only cleansed me from all my sins, but He has made me a new person in Christ. And He has provided a perfect righteousness for me by giving me His “best robe.”

What is God’s “best robe”? God’s “best robe” is Christ! God has no other robe to make us suitable to Himself. No one can come to God except by Christ.

God has given Christ to me as my righteousness. Because Christ is my righteousness, I have a perfect righteousness before God. God has made me suitable to Himself, and He wants me to be conscious of my suitability.

It is the glorious, risen Christ Himself who is my righteousness before God. One of the names for the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament is “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” The Bible says of Christ,

“And this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 23:6b).

I am “accepted in the Beloved.”
Through my death and resurrection with Christ, I am on “new ground” with God. I am no longer in Adam; I am now in Christ. I am accepted by God because I am in Christ. The Bible says,

“To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the Beloved [Christ]” (Ephesians 1:6).

The righteousness and acceptance which I have in Christ is perfect and complete. I did not earn it. God gave it to me the moment I took Christ as my Savior. I cannot improve my acceptance with God, and I cannot lose my acceptance with God. I am always “accepted in the Beloved.”

God always accepts me according to the way He sees me in Christ, and not according to my conduct. My righteousness before God is Christ Himself. He is my “best robe.” God never takes back His “best robe.” I may fail many times, but Christ is always my righteousness before God.

Though I cannot lose my position before God, I can lose the enjoyment of my position. If I do things which are displeasing to God, I will lose my joy.

When I lose my joy, it means that there is a serious problem in my life which needs to be corrected immediately. Sin has come in and broken my fellowship with God. How is this problem corrected? It is corrected by confessing that sin to God and forsaking it.

God is a holy God. He wants His people to be holy in their everyday living. The Bible says,

“But as He which has called you is holy, you also be holy in all manner of conversation [daily living]” (1 Peter 1:15).

How to Please God
In His Word, God has told me how I can live a life that is pleasing to Him. I please God when I “walk by faith.” Paul said,

“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

“Walking by faith” means that I am living by God’s truth, counting on what I am in Christ. “Walking by sight” means that I am living by my feelings and circumstances.

The battle for a Christian each day is, “Am I going to live by God’s truth or by my feelings and my circumstances?”

God wants me to live by His truth, knowing that I am in Christ and that Christ is my righteousness. Say to yourself over and over, “I am in Christ. Christ is my righteousness! I am accepted in Him.”

No truth in the Bible is more important for us as Christians than knowing that we are in Christ and that He is our righteousness. This is something God did for you when you took Christ as your Savior. If you are not sure of this, read this lesson over and over. Ask God to show you that you are indeed in Christ and that Christ Himself is your righteousness before God.

Joshua—the new leader
“…the Lord spoke unto Joshua…saying, Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan [river], you, and all the people, unto the land which I do give to them….” Joshua 1:1-2
Because they rebelled against the Lord and against Moses whom God had called to lead them, the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness forty years. The older generation, who had murmured and complained, died in the wilderness.

The younger generation was ready to obey God. Moses had died so God chose a new leader for His people—Joshua, the son of Nun. The name “Joshua” means “Jehovah [God] saves.”

When God wants someone to do a great work for Him, He does two things: (1) He calls them to do it, and (2) He promises to be with them. When a person knows that He is doing what God called him to do and God is with him, he is sure of success.

God called Joshua to lead His people into the land of Canaan. God said,

“Be strong and of good courage: for unto this people shall you divide for an inheritance the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them” (Joshua 1:6).

God promised to be with Joshua. He said,

“There shall not any man be able to stand before you all the days of your life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with you: I will not fail you, nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5).

The children of Israel were now at the river Jordan. Across this river was the land of Canaan—the land which God had promised to Abraham and his descendants. There were no bridges and it was the time of year when the Jordan overflowed its banks. How could a great multitude of men, women, children, and baggage cross this raging river?

Joshua told the priests to take the Ark of the Covenant, which was the symbol of God’s presence, and step into the waters. When the feet of the priests touched the water, the water stopped flowing. All of the people crossed over on dry ground.

God had done the impossible! God had said to Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you: I will not fail you nor forsake you.” God had parted the Red Sea for Moses, and now He had parted the waters of Jordan for Joshua. God is always doing the impossible for those who trust Him.

Joshua was the man chosen by God to lead the children of Israel into the land which God had promised them. In this he is a type of Christ.

Christ is the One chosen by God to be the Leader of our salvation.

“For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering” (Hebrews 2:10).

 

[RiverOL]

I am a Son of God
Dear Friend,

The moment we are born into the family of God, we come into great blessings—beyond anything we could ever imagine. A tiny baby is not a very important person himself; everything depends on the family he is born into.

The first son born into the family of a great king is called “the crown prince.” He becomes at once the heir of all the riches and glory of the king himself. As a tiny baby he has no idea of all the wealth and position that belong to him. Nevertheless, it all belongs to him, and one day he will inherit all that the king has.

So it is with the believer. The moment he trusted Christ as his Savior, he was born into the family of God. As a tiny baby in Christ, he has no idea of the wealth and position that belong to him. Nevertheless, it all belongs to him, and one day he will inherit it. Believers are sons and daughters of the living God, and God’s Word says,

“All things are yours…” (1 Corinthians 3:21).

God’s great salvation
God’s great salvation is what God has done for us in the person of His Son. Let us consider the wonderful things He has done for us.

All my sins are forgiven.
The One who took all our sins upon Himself is now seated at the right hand of God. Since this is true, where are my sins? They are gone—gone forever.

I am a new person in Christ’s new kingdom.
Not only has Christ removed my sins, but He has removed the “old me”—the one who did the sinning. My old life ended with my death with Christ. I was buried with Him and I rose with Him as a new person in a new kingdom—“the kingdom of God’s dear Son.”

I am seated with Christ in heavenly places.

Once God put me in Christ, everything that happened to Him also happened to me because I am in Christ. When He died, I died with Him, when He was buried, I was buried with Him, and when He rose from the grave, I rose with Him as a new person in Christ.

But that is not all. When Christ ascended back into Heaven, I ascended into Heaven with Him. When He was seated at the right hand of God, I was seated with Him. This is my new spiritual position—the way God sees me.

I am perfectly righteous in God’s sight.
God gives me a perfect righteousness the moment I take Christ as my Savior. I can never lose this righteousness because it is not a “thing”—it is a Person! God gives me Christ as my perfect righteousness, and I can never be separated from Him.

Christ lives in me.
Because I am in Christ, I am accepted by God in Heaven. Because Christ lives in me, I have the power to live for Christ here on earth. It is a wonderful day when you can say, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

Why does God do all these wonderful things for us? He does them because He loves us! The Bible says,

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loves us, even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us [made us alive] together with Christ, (by grace you are saved); And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-6).

The gift of sonship
God’s great purpose is that we shall be holy and without blame before Him as His sons and daughters. God is doing this, not just for our happiness, but for His own satisfaction and pleasure. God has given us the gift of “sonship.” This means that God accepts us and loves us as He accepts and loves His own beloved Son. The following story illustrates this.

The only son of a godly pastor was robbed and brutally murdered by a young man. He was arrested and brought to justice. The judge sentenced him to death.
At this moment an amazing thing happened. The father of the murdered son stood before the judge and said, “Since I do not have a son now, I ask you to allow me to adopt this young man as my son. I will be fully responsible for him. I will love him and care for him as my own son.”
The judge granted the father his request. The young man was so touched by what the father had done that he broke down in tears. He could not believe that anyone could love him like that. In time he became a Christian and brought honor to his new father.
What does it mean to be “a son of God”?
To understand what it means to be a “son of God,” we must look at the Son of God Himself. By faith we see Christ raised from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and seated at the right hand of God. All of God’s glory and delight rests on His Son.

To be a “son of God” means that I have the same place before God as Christ Himself. I am “accepted in the Beloved.” The Father loves me as He loves Christ Himself. Speaking of believers, the Bible says,

“…as He [Christ] is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).

Let us look again at the story of the prodigal son.

“The robe”
We have seen how the father of the prodigal provided “the best robe” for his son. God’s “best robe” is Christ. God gives Christ to us to be our righteousness. But the father provided two more things for his son—the ring and sandals. He said to his servants, “Put a ring on his finger and shoes [sandals] on his feet.” Let us see what these mean.

“The ring”

The ring in the Bible signifies honor and authority. When a king gave his ring to someone, he was saying, “I am honoring you by allowing you to represent me.” God has chosen us to be Christ’s representatives in this world. Think of the great honor that God has bestowed on us—being chosen by God to represent Christ here! The Bible says,

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ…” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

“The sandals”

What is the meaning of “the sandals”? The sandals speak of sonship. Servants did not wear sandals in the house; they were barefooted. Only sons wore sandals in the house.

What was the father saying to his son? He was saying, “You are to be with me, not as a servant, but as my son.”

This is exactly what God is saying to us. Because of what Christ has done for us, God is saying, “You are loved and accepted by Me, not as a servant, but as My son.”

The robe, the ring and the sandals made the prodigal conscious of his “sonship.” He was conscious of the fact he was a son and that his father loved him and delighted in him. The father of the prodigal did all these wonderful things, not just for his son’s happiness, but for his own satisfaction and pleasure.

God does all these wonderful things for us because He loves us. God is saying to us, “I want you to always remember that you are My son, that I love you, and I delight in you.”

The secret of the parable.
The surprising thing about this parable is that we are not told the secret. The secret is the death of God’s Son. How can we have the robe, the ring, and the sandals? The death of Christ on the cross is the explanation of everything.

Why am I received by God as a son? I am received as a son because Christ died for me. From eternity past it was the purpose and will of God that we should be “holy and without blame before Him” as His sons. It took the death of God’s Son to bring this about. The Bible says,

“…when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son…” (Romans 5:10).

To be “reconciled to God” means that God has made us entirely suitable to Himself. Dear friend, have you realized that, because you are in Christ, God delights in you now as His son? Every believer has the place of sonship before God. The Bible says,

“For you are all the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26).

Do you know what it is to be a son of God? It is to be the object of God’s love and delight.

I may feel, “I am just a poor, weak person. I do not feel like I am a son of God.” Yes, I may feel that way at times, but feelings are not facts.

What is the fact about my place before God? The fact is that I am a son of God, accepted and loved by God in the same way He accepts and loves His own Son. The Bible says,

“Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God…” (1 John 3:1).

I am to live as “a son of God.”
God’s purpose in creating us and redeeming us was that He might have many sons like the Lord Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10).

God wants His sons to have the power to live as the sons of God, so He has given us “the Spirit of Christ.” The Bible says,

“Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6).

As a son of God, I can bring honor or dishonor to my Father by the way I live and the things I do. Instead of saying, “I don’t see any harm in it; besides, everybody is doing it,” my thought should be, “How can I bring the most delight to my heavenly Father who loves me so much?”

Think of the honor and dignity of being a son of God! If we realize who we are, we would never want to do anything mean, or little, or unworthy of God.

The Bible says,

“Do all things without murmurings [grumbling] and disputings [arguing]: That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14-15).

God wants us to understand that we are called to the blessing of sonship. God’s heart of love can only be satisfied by having us before Him as sons and daughters. We are loved as Christ is loved. He prayed, “…that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26). Soon we will be in the Father’s house as His sons, like Christ, and with Him forever.

Joshua—the mighty conqueror
“…so Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses….” Joshua 11:23
When Joshua crossed the Jordan river, he faced incredible odds. He was trying to lead a band of former slaves against the fortified cities of Canaan. The first city he faced was Jericho—the most powerful city of them all. Jericho represents the power of the enemy in the spiritual realm.

Jericho was on a hill and it was surrounded by two huge circular walls which looked insurmountable. Joshua did not have a battle plan. He walked out to get a better view of Jericho. He met a man with a drawn sword. Joshua asked, “Are you for us or our enemies?”

“Neither,” he replied, “but as the commander of the host of the Lord.” It was Christ Himself appearing as a man. Joshua fell on his face before the Lord.

The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given into your hand Jericho.” The Lord gave Joshua His battle plan. He told Joshua to march around the city with all the armed men. Seven priests carrying ram’s horns were to go before the ark. They were to do this once a day for six days. On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times. Then the priests were to blow the horns and all the people were to shout, and the wall of the city would fall down flat. (See Joshua 6:3-5.)

Joshua did exactly as God had told him. On the seventh day, when the people shouted, the mighty walls of Jericho fell flat. Joshua and his army destroyed Jericho and burned it. The layer of ashes and the pile of bricks are there to this day.

There were 31 powerful enemy kings in the land of Canaan, but Joshua conquered them all, one-by-one. The Bible says,

“…the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand” (Joshua 21:44).

God had given Joshua the secret of success before they entered the land. God said,

“This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do all that is written therein: for then shall you make your way prosperous, and then shall you have good success” (Joshua 1:8).

Joshua was born a slave in Egypt, but he became a mighty conqueror. There were three reasons for this:

• Joshua meditated on God’s Word continually and taught it to the people.
• Joshua depended on “the Commander of the host of the Lord.” He was the true leader of the people of Israel.
• The people acted in faith. God has great pleasure in faith because faith says, “All glory belongs to God.”

The Quiet Time

The secret of a strong Christian life is a daily “Quiet Time.” This is a time spent alone with God in the study of His Word and in prayer. Here are some suggestions that will help you form the habit of a daily Quiet Time.

Choose a Time and Place
When possible, the early morning is the best time to meet with God. It is far better for us to meet with God in the morning and get our hearts in tune with Him before the day’s work begins, than it is to meet with Him at night and have to confess many failures.

When musicians give a concert, they always tune their instruments before the concert, not after!

Choose a place where you can be alone. After you choose a time and place, stick to them.

The Bible

Use a Bible that has good print and is easy to read. Have a plan for reading. Read the Gospel of John first. After you have finished John, begin with the Gospel of Matthew and read through the New Testament.

As you open your Bible to read, close your eyes and talk to God. Confess your sins; ask Him to speak to your heart through His Word as you read it. Remember, you are in God’s presence.

Prayer
After reading and listening for God to speak to your heart through His Word, take time to pray. Thank Him for His word to you; thank Him for His blessings—name them one by one; thank Him for the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sins; thank Him for answering your prayers; thank Him most of all for the Lord Jesus, your Savior.

Do you want to ask for something? Tell Him the desires of your heart. He answers our prayers according to His own perfect will.

Remember to pray for your family and friends. It is good to make a list of those for whom you are praying.

Get to know God.
All blessing and joy and power come from the knowledge of God. The Bible says,

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2).

The way you get to know God is by spending time alone with Him each day, reading His Word and talking to Him in prayer.

 

[RiverOL]

I have Everything in Christ
Dear Friend,

All satisfaction, joy, and power in the Christian life come from knowing God and His Son. The Bible says,

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2).

Everything we need in the Christian life is in Christ. This wonderful Person, Jesus Christ, lives in the heart of every believer, but not every believer understands who Christ really is. The Gospel of John was written that we might know who Jesus Christ really is. This book of the Bible emphasizes two great truths: 1) that Jesus Christ is God, and 2) that Christ Himself is the One who meets all our needs.

It will help us understand who Christ really is if we learn about one of His names. He is the great “I AM.”

The name “I AM” is a name which belongs exclusively to God. God Himself said that this was His name. To understand the meaning of this name, we must go back to the time when the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt.

God chose a man named Moses to lead His people out of Egypt and into the land which God had promised them.

Moses was in the wilderness tending sheep when God appeared to him in a burning bush. The bush burned with fire, but it did not burn up.

God spoke to Moses from the burning bush and told him to go back to Egypt and lead the children of Israel out of slavery and bondage.

Moses was afraid the people would not believe that God had sent him. He said, “When I come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you’; and they shall say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

God said, “I AM THAT I AM…thus shall you say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). The name “I AM” is a very special name which belongs only to God.

When God said that His name was “I AM,” He meant that He is the God who has always existed and always will exist. But there is another meaning to the name “I AM.” It is really an unfinished sentence like this: “I AM _______________.”

It was as though God was saying to Moses, “Moses, I am the Almighty God. I am the One who will meet all your needs. You will need courage to do this great work I have called you to do; I AM your courage. You will need wisdom; I AM your wisdom. You will need strength; I AM your strength. You will need patience; I AM your patience. I AM whatever you need.”

Moses believed God and he depended on God to be all that he needed. What was the result? The Bible tells us that God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt “with a mighty hand.”

Jesus Christ is the great “I AM.”
The Jews understood fully that the name “I AM” belonged only to God. No prophet or king, however great he might be, would dare to use this name for himself. It is a name which belongs exclusively to God; yet Jesus took this name for Himself. John records Jesus’ astounding claim that He is the great “I AM.” Here are our Lord’s own words,

“…if you believe not that I AM… you shall die in your sins.”

“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall you know that I AM…”

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:24,28,58

In taking to Himself the name “I AM,” the Lord Jesus was declaring these two great truths:

• That He is indeed God.
• That He is the One who meets all our needs.

If Jesus were not really God, it would have been a terrible thing for Him to claim to be God. But He was and is and always will be God. Jesus said,

“I and My Father are one,” and “He that has seen Me has seen the Father…” (John 10:30; 14:9).

When Jesus Christ came into this world as a man, He laid aside His glory and privileges as God. But when He went back to Heaven, He resumed all His glory and privileges as God. He is now the glorified Man at the right hand of the Father, with all power in Heaven and in the earth.

Jesus Christ is the One who meets all my needs.
How does God meet all my spiritual needs? He meets all my spiritual needs by giving Christ to me, to live in me. Everything comes to us from God, but it comes through Christ.

We need to see that we have everything in Christ, who is now seated at the right hand of God. In giving us Christ, God has given us everything we will ever need.

• Christ is my power. The Bible says that Christ is “the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). I am able to say with the apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
• Christ is my wisdom.He is “the wisdom of God.” When I need wisdom, I should turn to Him. He knows exactly what I should do and He lives in me.
• 
• Christ is my love. Love is a Person—Jesus Christ! Christ is the One who loves all people. He lives in me now and He is my love.
• Christ is my peace. The Bible says, “For He [Christ] is our peace.” Before He left this world, Christ told His disciples,
• “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you…” (John 14:27).
• Christ is my joy. The Bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice.” We may not always be able to rejoice in our circumstances, but we can always rejoice in the Lord—in Christ. We can rejoice in who He is and what He has done for us.
• Christ is my patience. In myself I do not have much patience with other people, but Christ has come to live in me and He is my patience. The Bible says,
• “Strengthened with all might, according to His [Christ’s] glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness” (Colossians 1:11).
• Christ is my satisfaction. Christ said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven.” Bread represents that which satisfies us. Christ is our “living bread”—the One who perfectly satisfies us.

Everything is in Christ, and Christ is in me.
Everything I need in the Christian life is in Christ. The question is: How do I get these things down here?

The answer is: I get them by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of Christ.” The very same Spirit that is in Christ Himself is in me!

Everything I need is in Christ, and Christ is living in me by His Spirit. Christ is the Source, the Joy and the Strength of my new life. I live by faith in Him. The apostle Paul said,

“I have been crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

How do I apply these wonderful truths in my life?
There are three simple steps that will transform your life: 1) Know the truth, 2) claim the truth, and 3) live the truth. Let us consider these.

Know the truth.
Jesus said,

“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

The truth is that the Man Jesus Christ has been exalted to the throne of the universe, and He lives in me by His Spirit. I have in Him everything I need to live for Him here. The Bible says,

“For in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in Him…” (Colossians 2:9-10).

Claim the truth.
Jesus Christ, my Savior, is now glorified and exalted at the right hand of God. He is not only my great Savior, but He is my Friend, the Source, the Joy, and the Strength of my new life.

I must not only know the truth, but I must obey it and claim it for myself by making it personal. It is not just, “Christ lives in the hearts of His believers,” but “Christ lives in Me!”

It is not just “Christ loves His believers,” but “Christ loves Me!” The apostle Paul made it personal. He said, “The Son of God loved Me and gave Himself for Me.”

Christ living in me means that I have the privilege of living moment by moment in a warm, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is my Friend, and He is seated at the right hand of God. I am not concerned about what others may think of me. Christ loves me, and I love Him. Knowing Him is better than anything this world has to offer.

The wonderful thing about having Christ living in us by His Spirit is that every believer can have Christ all to himself!

Live the truth.
This simply means that I depend on Christ in me. He is God. He is the One who created the universe. Christ in me is sufficient for anything!

Satan says, “You will not make it. You cannot live the Christian life!”

I say, “Lord Jesus, You are God and You live in me. You are sufficient for anything that happens to me today. I am trusting You to live Your life through me.”

The most important relationship in your life is your relationship with Jesus Christ. To enjoy daily fellowship with Him, you must spend time with Him, reading and meditating on His Word and talking to Him in prayer. How much do you love Him?

One of the great secrets of a life of victory is spending time alone with the Lord each day, in the study of His Word and in prayer. This is called a “Quiet Time.”

Gideon—the fearful warrior
“And the Lord said to him, ‘Surely I will be with you, and you shall smite [defeat] the Midianites….” Judges 6:16
Once they had conquered the land of Canaan, the children of Israel failed to honor God. They would turn away from Him and fall into sin. God would judge them by allowing an enemy nation to come in and oppress them. They would repent and cry out to God, and God would raise up a deliverer who would defeat the enemy.

This cycle happened six times! One of these happened in the days of Gideon. The Bible says,

“The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years” (Judges 6:1).

The Midianites were desert bandits who came from the Arabian desert to raid the farms of Israel. Untold thousands of bandits would come out of the desert, steal their food and their animals, destroy the land, and then run back into the desert.

This went on for seven years! Finally, the people repented of their sins and pleaded with God to send them a deliverer. The angel of the Lord [Christ in the form of a man] appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty man of valor!” Gideon must have been shocked. He was timid and fearful, and he certainly did not see himself as a mighty warrior.

Gideon said, “Oh, my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are the miracles which our fathers told us of?” The Lord replied, “Go in your strength, and you shall save Israel…Have not I sent you?”

Gideon said, “Oh my Lord, how shall I save Israel? My family is poor in Manassah, and I am the least in my Father’s house.” The Lord answered, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall smite the Midianites as one man” (Judges 6:16).

Gideon had run out of excuses. He had the two things needed for victory—the call of God—“Have not I sent you?”, and the promise of the Lord to be with Him—“Surely I will be with you.”

Gideon was still fearful. He asked God to give him a sign. Gideon said, “I will put a fleece of wool on the ground, and in the morning, if it is wet with dew and all the ground around it is dry, then I will know You will save Israel by my hand.”

In the morning, the ground was dry around the fleece, but the fleece was so wet that Gideon wrung a full bowl of water out of it.

Gideon asked God for one more sign. He would put the fleece out as before, but this time let the fleece be dry in the morning and the ground around it wet. In the morning it was so. Gideon was satisfied. He now knew that the Lord was with him.

 

[RiverOL]

Who am I?
Dear Friend,

The question, “Who am I?”, can be answered in three ways: I am the person I think I am, I am the person others think I am, I am the person I think others think I am.

Who am I really? I am the person God says I am. Regardless of what I was before God saved me, regardless of what other people think of me, I am now the person God says I am. Let us see what God says about those who belong to Him.

• I am God’s forever-forgiven child.
God has forgiven me of all my sins—past, present, and future. he will not even remember them. God says,

“Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).

• I am a new person in Christ.
My old life ended with my “death” with Christ. When Christ rose from the dead, I “rose” with Him as a new person in Christ. The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Faith makes this real to me.

• I am a son of God.
I stand before God, not as a servant, but as His son, accepted and loved in Christ. The Bible says,

“You are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:7).

• I am a person in whom Christ lives.
The apostle Paul said, “Christ lives in me.” This is true of every believer.

• I am a citizen of Heaven.
The Bible says,

“For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

God’s way of saving me.

We should never forget that we all were born in Adam’s sinful family. We all were “in Adam” by birth. We all were sinners because we inherited the life and nature of Adam.

When I was in Adam, I had the life and nature of Adam flowing in me. It was natural for me to be selfish, to tell lies and to lose my temper.

God’s way of saving me was not to try to change me, but to take me out of Adam and put me in Christ. Now Christ’s life and nature flow in me. The Bible says,

“But of Him [God] are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification [holiness], and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

This verse does not say that God makes us wise, righteous, and holy. It says that God has put us in Christ, and we have wisdom, righteousness, and holiness in Him, because I am in Christ and He is in me.

God has united me with the glorified Christ.
If you drop a lump of sugar into a cup of boiling hot tea, the sugar is united with the tea. It becomes one with the tea.

God has given me the place and acceptance of Christ Himself. The Bible says,

“…as He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17b).

This is one of the most amazing verses in the Bible. It is speaking of how God sees me. In God’s eyes, my position before Him is the same as Christ. God looks at each Christian as Christ. To be one with Christ means to be one with Him in all that He did and all that He is today.

• I am one with Christ in His death.
The Bible says, “Knowing this, that our old man [our old self] was crucified with Him…” (Romans 6:6). My old life ended with my death with Christ.

• I am one with Christ in His resurrection.
My new life in Christ began with my resurrection with Christ. The Bible says,

“Now if we died with Christ…we shall also live with Him” (Romans 6:8).

• I am one with Christ in His exaltation.
“[God] has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).

• I am one with Christ in His Father’s love.
Jesus prayed to His Father for His disciples,

“I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in One: and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them, as You have loved Me” (John 17:23).

• I am one with Christ in His righteousness.
Without a righteousness that is acceptable to God, no one dare face God. What is my righteousness? The Word of God tells me that my righteousness is Christ Himself.

“For He [God] has made Him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

• I am one with Christ in His plans.
Jesus said,

“From now on, I do not call you servants; for the servant does not know what his lord does: but I have called you friends; for all that I have heard of My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).

• I am one with Christ in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
God has given me the very same Spirit that dwells in His Son. The Bible says,

“Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son, into your hearts…” (Galatians 4:6).

• I am one with Christ in His glory.
Jesus prayed for His believers,

“The glory which You gave Me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:22).

• I am one with Christ in His sonship.
The first thing Jesus did after His resurrection was to place His believers in the same relationship as He is with His Father. He told Mary Magdalene,

“…go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God” (John 20:17).

• I am one with Christ in His acceptance with God.
The Bible says,

“To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the beloved [in Christ]” (Ephesians 1:6).

God’s side of Salvation
We know something about our side of salvation—what God has done for our satisfaction and happiness. But did you know that God has His side of salvation?

God’s side of salvation is what He does to satisfy His own great heart of love. Jesus gave us the wonderful parable about the prodigal son to teach us God’s side of salvation. The prodigal might have been satisfied to be one of his father’s servants, but this would never have satisfied the heart of his father.

The father’s heart was not satisfied until the prodigal was in his house, received and accepted as a beloved son in whom the father delighted.

It is a wonderful day for us when we see God’s side of salvation. We might be satisfied to be in Heaven as God’s servants, but God’s great heart of love can only be satisfied by having us in His house, received and accepted as His beloved sons and daughters in whom He delights. We will be with Christ and be like Him forever.

The prodigal’s father was pleased when his son accepted and enjoyed all that his love had provided for him. He was pleased when his son was conscious of the fact that his father loved him and delighted in him.

When we come to the end of the story of the prodigal son, what do we find? We find the prodigal, received and accepted as a son, made suitable to his father in every way, sitting at his father’s table, enjoying his father. The Bible says, “They began to make merry.”

This is a picture of our spiritual place as sons of God! God is doing all this to satisfy His great heart of love for us. It is His delight to have us in His presence as His sons and daughters, enjoying him and all that He has provided for us.

Think rightly about yourself.
At times a child of God may be discouraged and say, “I am such a poor, sinful creature. I am of no account to God.” This is not pleasing to the Lord.

God is pleased when we take up our true spiritual position of being one with Christ in all that He is. God is pleased when we are conscious that He loves us and delights in us as His sons and daughters.

I have a new way of looking at things. I have discovered that God is not at all like I thought Him to be. Before I was saved, I thought God was a hard judge who wanted to punish me for my sins.

To my amazement, I have discovered that I have a heavenly Father who loves me with all His heart and blesses me in spite of myself. I am filled with the consciousness that God is for me! He delights in me! I am at home in “my Father’s house.”

I am a “believer,” not a “feeler.”
My biggest battle as a Christian is: “Am I going to live by my feelings or by God’s truth?” God is pleased when I choose to be a “believer,” and not a “feeler.” Regardless of my feelings, I can choose to believe God’s truth.

When I feel worthless, I choose to believe God and not Satan. The truth is I am precious to God and He delights in me. How can God delight in me when I have so many faults and failures? God delights in me because He sees me in Christ.

When I feel lonely, I choose to believe God. The truth is that I am never alone. At times I may be lonely, but Christ lives in me, and He said,

“I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

When I feel rejected, I choose to believe God. The truth is, God loves me and accepts me as He loves and accepts His own Son.

When I feel condemned, I choose to believe God. The truth is,

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 8:1).

When I feel discouraged, I choose to believe God. The truth is, I can be “confident of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in me will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." (See Philippians 1:6.)

When I feel afraid, I choose to believe God. The truth is,

“God has not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

When I feel disappointed, I choose to believe God. The truth is,

“We know that all things work together for good to them that love God…” (Romans 8:28).

When I feel unchanged, I choose to believe God. The truth is, I am a new person in Christ.

“If any one is in Christ, he is a new creation…” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Gideon—the mighty man of valor
“The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.” Judges 6:12

The Lord told Gideon to destroy all the places of idol worship. Gideon obeyed the Lord at once. The Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he rallied an army of 32,000 warriors from the surrounding towns.

Gideon had 32,000 men, but he was going into battle against 130,000 Midianites. Gideon probably thought he needed many more soldiers, but the Lord said, “You already have too many. If they defeat the enemy, they will brag that they did it. Tell your men that whoever is fearful and afraid, let him leave now….” When the men hear this, 22,000 left.

In the service of God, the fearful must be eliminated. God wants His believers to have the courage to stand for Him. The Bible says,

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Gideon now had 10,000 men. But the Lord said, “There are still too many men.” The Lord gave Gideon another test to further sift his men. After this test, Gideon had only 300 men! But the Lord was with him.

The Lord gave Gideon His battle plan. He was to divide his 300 men into three groups. He was to give each man a pitcher with a torch of fire inside it, along with a trumpet to carry. At night they surrounded the enemy camp. Gideon was to give the signal and the men would break the pitchers, wave the torches, blow on the trumpets, and shout, “The sword of the Lord and Gideon!”

The Midianites and the Amalekites were terrified! In the confusion they slaughtered each other. Before the night was over, 120,000 enemies were dead.

Gideon’s 300 men chased the rest of them, and before the battle was over, the Israelites had killed nearly everybody. The few that survived ran into the desert and never came back.

The great lesson of Gideon is this: the Lord chooses to use the most unlikely people. Gideon had small thoughts of himself. He said, “My family is the least of the families, and I am the least in my family.” Have you ever thought, “God can use other people, but I am just a nobody”?

That is just the kind of people God uses! The Bible says,

“God has chosen the foolish things of the world…and God has chosen the weak things…and base things…and things which are not…that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

God is not looking for “wonderful” people. If you are little enough, God will use you. He uses ordinary people who give themselves to Christ and trust Him to work through them. A great man of God said, “If you are willing to be a nobody, Christ will be to you that great Somebody.”

 

[RiverOL]

Learning to Accept Myself
What you believe about yourself is very important. It affects your happiness and everything you do. It affects the way you get along with other people. Most important of all, it affects your attitude toward God.

Your “self-image” is what you believe about yourself. It is how you inwardly see yourself. Your feelings are largely determined by your self-image.

Tim is unhappy. He never gets compliments on his test papers at school. His classmates tell him that he is stupid and he does not argue with them. Tim believes they are right.

To add to his problems, Tim has quit trying to do better. He does not make an effort to study. He is convinced that he is a failure, and that he will always be a failure in everything he does.

The problem Tim has is the same problem that many others have. Almost everyone, at one time or another, has this problem. What is this problem that causes so much hurt and pain? It is the feeling that you are not as good as others—that you are ugly and unattractive and that nobody likes you. It is the feeling that you are dumb, and other people are smarter than you. It is the awful feeling that you are worthless.

Believing... Doing... Feeling
Whether we realize it or not, we are controlled by the way we inwardly see things to be. What you believe determines what you do and what you feel. What you believe may not be true at all, but if you believe it, you will be controlled by it. The Bible says,

“As a person thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).

When we have right beliefs, we do right things, and have right feelings. When we have wrong beliefs, we do wrong things, and have wrong (or unpleasant) feelings.

Where do wrong beliefs come from?
Wrong beliefs come from Satan. The Lord Jesus said that Satan is “a liar and the father [source] of lies.”

In the Bible, Satan is called “the god of this world.” Men think they are in charge of things, but behind the scenes Satan is the real ruler of the world-system.

Satan uses his world-system to put wrong beliefs into people’s minds. The Bible says,

“If our gospel is hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them that do not believe” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

What does the world value most?
The world says that the most important things in life are: 1) having good looks, 2) being smart, and 3) having a lot of money. Let us think about these things.

Having good looks.
The world says, “If you are good looking, you are worth a lot, but if you are not good looking, you are not worth much and you probably will not be happy.”

This is one of Satan’s lies, but most people believe it. Many people dislike themselves and some even hate themselves because they do not like the way they look. They think, “If only I could look like so-and-so, I would be happy.”

The truth is: Beauty in itself does not make a person happy. Many of the most beautiful and handsome people in the world are among the most dissatisfied and unhappy human beings in the world.

Our body is just the “earth suit” we live in now. God says that what we are on the inside is what counts.

“Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

When the Son of God came into the world in human form, He did not come with great physical beauty. The prophet Isaiah wrote of Him,

“…when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2).

Being smart.

The world says, “If you are smart, you are worth something; if you are not smart, then you are not worth much.” This is another of Satan’s lies.

The truth is: Your worth is not determined by how smart you are. Some young people have a hard time in school. They do not learn as easily as others. When they give a wrong answer in class, everyone laughs. This makes them feel dumb and inferior.

The more a person fails at something, the more discouraged he becomes. Gradually he comes to think that he is a complete failure. He may decide that he cannot do anything right and quit trying.

God never values a person by how smart he is. When the Lord Jesus chose His disciples, He chose plain, ordinary people.

Having money.

Another way the world values people is by how much money they have. The world says, “If your family is rich, you are worth something, but if your family is poor, you are not worth much.” This is another of Satan’s lies.

The truth is: Money does not make a person happy, nor does it determine how much a person is worth.

When the Lord Jesus was in the world, He was very poor. He never had a home of His own. So far as we know, He never had any money of His own. Did this mean that He was not worth much? Of course not! He was the Son of God!

Winners and Losers
Have you noticed that the world puts its emphasis on what a person has in this life? People who are smart, handsome, or rich are classified as “winners.” Those who do not have these things are classified as “losers.”

Jesus told about a certain rich man who had everything he wanted. He lived in luxury. At his gate was a beggar named Lazarus. This man was “full of sores.” He lived on the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table.

From the world’s viewpoint, the rich man was a “winner,” and poor Lazarus was a “loser.” But in death, things were very different. The Bible says,

“It came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom [paradise]…” (Luke 16:22).

The rich man also died, and was buried. In hell he was in constant torment.

From this account, we see that death is not the end of our existence; it is the “door” to the next life. For those who have taken Christ as their Savior, death is the door to Heaven. For those who die without Christ, death is the door to hell.

So the real winners in life are those who trust Christ as Savior, and the losers are those who die without Christ. Jesus said,

“For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

Change your thinking!
The real you is the person God says you are. Say “NO!” to Satan’s lies and the false values of the world-system.

Right beliefs lead to right actions and right feelings.

Some Suggestions…
• Recognize that other people have the same feelings that you have.

When you see your classmates smiling and laughing, you may think that they never have feelings of worthlessness like you have, but this is not so. Everyone has these same feelings at one time or another.

• Do not compare yourself with others.
No one had a choice as to his parents, his race, the color of his skin, his intelligence, his physical appearance, or his natural abilities. These all came to us by birth and they all came from God. Since this is true, there is no place for pride on our part. The Bible says,

“Who makes you different from another? And what do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).

We do not have anything to be ashamed of regarding the way God made us. You would not like it if a person made fun of someone you love, and God does not like it when a person makes fun of someone He loves.

In case you are not too happy about how you look, remember that your body is just your temporary “earthsuit.” In Heaven you will get a glorious, new resurrection body like that of the Lord Jesus. Throughout eternity you will be delighted with your “Heavensuit.” Guaranteed!

• Make friends.
You do not have to be beautiful or smart or have a lot of money to make friends. The best way to have a good friend is to be a good friend. Respect others and accept them as they are. Let them know that they are important to you.

• Learn to do something well.

One of the best ways to overcome feelings of worthlessness is to learn to do something well. Find something that you like to do and work at it!

Say to yourself, “I will learn how to play a musical instrument and I will do whatever is necessary to be good at it.”

Do you like a certain subject in school? Then try to be the best in your class on this subject. Of course, you must try to do well in the other subjects also.

Perhaps you like sports. Pick out the sport you enjoy most and try to be your very best in that sport. You can learn skills in sports, so practice, practice, practice!

Do not go around feeling sorry for yourself. Make the most of what you have. Develop a skill that will make you feel good about yourself.

• Face your problems honestly.
Get alone where you can be quiet and think. Begin thinking about all the things that you do not like about yourself.

Do you dress in a sloppy way? You can do something about that. Make sure that you take time to be clean and to look your best each day.

Are you overweight? You can do something about that. Cut out cookies and candy. Eat less bread and eat more vegetables and fruits. Get some exercise each day. Soon you will be looking better and feeling better about yourself.

Do you make poor grades because you do not study properly? You can do something about that also. Begin taking time to study as you should. Surprise your teacher and yourself!

Be thankful.
Many years ago, a doctor made a tragic mistake that caused a little girl to lose her eyesight. The little girl, Fanny Crosby, was born with normal sight, but when she was only six weeks old, she had an infection in her eyes. The doctor put the wrong medicine in her eyes and it blinded her for life.

She could have been bitter and resentful about what happened. She could have hated the doctor who made such a tragic mistake. She could have even blamed God for letting it happen. But she did none of these things.

Fanny Crosby had a grandmother who held her in her arms and taught her to know and love the Lord Jesus. As a small child she opened her heart to the Lord Jesus and took Him as her Savior. Fanny Crosby did something else too. She made up her mind to be happy and content.

When she grew up, Fanny Crosby began writing hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God. She wrote over 6,000 hymns! Millions of people around the world have sung her songs such as, “To God Be the Glory,” and “Blessed Assurance.”

Though she was blind and spent her life in darkness, Fanny Crosby was one of the happiest Christians who ever lived. What was the secret of her happiness? It was this: She made up her mind to be thankful! She trusted in God’s love and wisdom. She even thanked God for her blindness. She said, “When I open my eyes in Heaven, the first person I will see will be Jesus!”

Samson—the strong man
“You shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come upon his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God...” Judges 13:5
Times were tough for the people of Israel. They had done evil in the sight of the Lord and the Lord had delivered them into the hands of their enemies, the Philistines. God raised up Samson to deliver His people.

Before Samson was born, the angel of the Lord appeared to his mother and told her that he would be a Nazarite from birth. A Nazarite was one who was separated unto God. He took vows which included three things: 1) He would not touch or eat anything “unclean,” 2) He would not drink wine or strong drink, and 3) He would not cut his hair.

Samson was no ordinary man. He was dedicated and separated to God. When the Spirit of the Lord came on him, he was the strongest man in the world. He wandered about in Philistine territory and fell in love with a Philistine girl. He said to his parents, “Now get her for me as my wife.”

Samson’s parents were horrified. God had strictly commanded his people not to marry unbelievers. They said, “Is there not a suitable woman for you among the daughters of our people? Must you go and take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?”

Samson was determined to have his own way. He said, “Get her for me; for she pleases me well.”

His parents agreed to go with him and meet the girl’s parents. They went on ahead. As Samson lingered behind, a lion attacked him.

The Spirit of the Lord came mightily on Samson and he killed the lion with his bare hands. Later, when Samson was on his way to the wedding feast, he passed by the place where he had killed the lion. A swarm of bees had settled in the dried-out carcass and filled it with honey. Samson ate some of the honey.

At the wedding party, Samson gave the Philistines a riddle, “Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong something sweet.” The Philistines could not possibly answer the riddle. Who ever found honey in a lion? They told Samson’s wife, “Get your husband to explain the riddle or we will burn you and your father’s household to death.”

Day after day, Samson’ wife cried, and nagged, and begged him to tell her the secret. Finally Samson could stand it no more. He told her the secret and she told the Philistines. They said to him, “What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?”

Samson knew that his wife had betrayed him. He stormed off and took out his anger on the Philistines by burning their fields of grain, their vineyards, and olive groves. They blamed the girl and burned her and her father to death.

 

[RiverOL]

Gaining a Clear Conscience
Dear Friend,

Have you noticed that you get an uneasy feeling inside you when you say or do something wrong? That is your conscience. My conscience is like a voice inside me that tells me when I am right and when I am wrong. I must learn to listen to my conscience, because this is one way God speaks to me.

To be a happy Christian, I must have a clear conscience. I must know in my heart that I am right with God and right with other people. The apostle Paul said,

“I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense [a clear conscience] toward God and men.” (Acts 24:16).

When I sin against God or sin against another person, my conscience will tell me that I am wrong. I will have a guilty conscience.

To get rid of a guilty conscience, I must make things right with God, and I must make things right with those I have hurt or offended in any way. When I do this, I will have a clear conscience and I can be a happy Christian.

How to make things right with God.
To make things right with God, I must confess my sins to Him. The Bible 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).

If you sin, call it sin. Do not make excuses. God forgives sins which are confessed as sins, not excuses. As soon as your conscience tells you that you have sinned, go to God and confess it. Do not let sins pile up. The moment you confess your sins to God, He forgives you and you are clean in God’s sight.

How to make things right with other people.
To have a clear conscience, I must not only make things right with God, but I must also make things right with the people I have wronged in any way.

If I want to have a clear conscience, I must make things right with those I have offended. I must allow God to search my heart and show me the wrong things I have done to other people. Here are some questions I need to consider:

• Have I lied to someone?
• Have I stolen from someone?
• Have I had a bad attitude or been disrespectful toward my parents?
• Have I talked or acted wrongly to others in my family?
• Have I talked or acted ugly or disrespectfully to a teacher at school?
• Have I acted improperly toward someone?

Take definite steps.
There are some definite steps to take to make things right with others:

Make a list of the wrong things you have done and the people you have hurt or offended in any way.

Write down every wrong you have committed and the person or persons you have hurt or offended. Do not be in a hurry. Some things will come to your mind quickly. It may take time to think of other offenses and the people you have hurt. When you have completed your list, it may look something like this one.

Go to each person and apologize.
Once the Lord has shown you that you need to apologize to someone, do it promptly. The best way to apologize is to go to the person and speak to him or her alone. Do not talk to other people about it. Go directly to the person and go at a time when you can speak to him or her alone.

Apologize correctly.

When you apologize to someone, say what you did wrong and ask the other person to forgive you. Do not try to blame someone else.

Many times a person apologizes in the wrong way. If you apologize in the wrong way, the offense is not cleared up and it will still be on your conscience.

Many people do not know how to apologize. Here are some examples of wrong ways to apologize:

• “If I did anything wrong, I am sorry.” This apology is not a correct one because you have not really admitted that you did anything wrong.
• “I was wrong, but you were wrong too.” This is not right because you are trying to excuse yourself. You must take full responsibility for what you did, regardless of what the other person did.
• 
• “I am sorry I lost my temper, but you made me do it.” This is wrong because you are blaming the other person for what you did.

To apologize correctly, I should say that I was wrong in what I said or did, and not blame anybody else. Then I should ask the person to forgive me, and wait for their answer. Here is an example of the right way to apologize: “Anna, I was wrong in losing my temper and talking to you the way I did. Will you forgive me?”

To settle the matter completely, if the person says that you are forgiven, it is good to ask, “Do I need to say any more about this matter?”

Make things right with the other person.
If you have stolen from someone, you must make things right with him.

It is not enough to say, “I am sorry that I stole from you. Please forgive me.” You must also return what you have stolen or pay for it. If you stole money, pay it back. If you are not able to do this immediately, make arrangements to pay a certain amount each week until it is paid back. Be sure to keep your word and do what you promised to do.

Do not make excuses.
Sometimes we know what we should do, but we make excuses for not doing it. It is wrong to allow an excuse to keep you from apologizing to someone when you know you should do it. Here are some common excuses:

• “I will do something special for that person to make up for my offense.”

You cannot say, “I know I talked ugly to my mother, so I will help with the dishes tonight to make up for it.” This will not clear up your offense. If you talked ugly to your mother, you need to go to your mother and ask her to forgive you. Then, if you want to do something special for her, that’s fine.

• “I will apologize later.”

Putting things off is a bad idea. Jesus said that we should go quickly to those we have wronged and ask for forgiveness.

• “I was wrong but the other person was wrong too.”

That may be true, but you are still responsible for what you did that was wrong. The other person may have been more in the wrong than you were, but you are still responsible for your part. When you apologize for your part, perhaps the other person will apologize for his/her part. Even if he/she does not, you have done what was right for you to do.

If your conscience tells you that you are wrong, listen to your conscience! Make things right with God by confessing your sins to Him. Make things right with other people by apologizing and asking for forgiveness. No one should be able to say to you, “You wronged me and never apologized or tried to make things right with me.”

Your conscience not only tells you when you have sinned, but it also warns you when you are about to do something wrong. It lets you know that this thing that you are thinking of doing is not pleasing to the Lord.

How to say “No.”

As you grow into maturity, you will face many temptations. Learning to say no is the best way to stay out of trouble. No doubt, a time will come when you will be offered drugs and told about the wonderful feeling you will have. A friend may try to get you to drink beer with him. God’s Word says, “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent” (Proverbs 1:10). A good way to say no is: “I don’t think that’s a wise thing for me to do.” Practice saying this!

What about sex?
Keeping yourself pure in a sex-crazy world will not be easy, but it will result in great, long-term benefits. Here are some facts.

God is not against the idea of sex. In fact, it was His idea to begin with. God loves teenagers and He wants the best for them. He does not want you to experiment with sex and end up feeling used and empty. That is why God says that sex is for married people…period! Only between a husband and wife can sex be the wonderful, intimate experience that God intends it to be.

When you get involved sexually before marriage, you are actually sinning against yourself. It is the sin of fornication, and the Bible says,

“Flee fornication…he who commits fornication sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).

It is definitely in your best interest to say no to sex before marriage. By denying yourself some sinful thrills now, you are providing for your brightest, long-term future. The following story illustrates this:

Let us say that you have a fabulously rich uncle who is very fond of you. On your fourteenth birthday, he makes a wonderful promise. He says, “On your sixteenth birthday, I am going to bring you a check for a thousand dollars."
Sure enough, on your sixteenth birthday, your uncle’s big automobile rolls up the driveway. He has the check in his hand when he greets you. He says, “Here is the check I promised you. You are free to do whatever you want with the money.

“But I want to teach you to plan for your future, so I am making you another promise. Whatever you have left of this thousand dollars on your twenty-first birthday, I will give you that amount every month for the rest of your life!"
That changes the whole picture! If you have only $100 left on your twenty-first birthday, you get $100 a month. If you have $500 left, you get $500 a month. And if you have the whole $1,000 left, you will get $1,000 every month for the rest of your life!
That is the way it is with sex! When you deny yourself some momentary, sinful thrills now, you are providing for your brightest, long-term future with God’s blessing.

Write out your standards.
You need some unbreakable, unshakable rules that you will not break for anyone. Take time now to write out your standards—what you will and will not do. Things like:

• I will not be involved in smoking, drinking, or doing drugs.
• I will keep myself pure for the one I will marry some day.
• I will not go to parties where I know there will be drugs, alcohol, and sex.

Samson—the man of faith
“Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray, and strengthen me…that I may be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” Judges 16:28
Samson judged Israel twenty years. During this time Israel was delivered from their enemy because the Philistines were so afraid of Samson. The amazing thing is that Samson never led an army. He was a one-man army!

In himself, Samson was like other men, but when the Spirit of the Lord came on him, he could not be defeated. One time he killed a thousand Philistine warriors using the jawbone of an ass. But Samson had a weakness. He did not control his fleshly desires, especially his desire for sex.

One of the women Samson loved was a Philistine beauty named Delilah. When the Philistine leaders learned about Samson’s love for Delilah, they promised her a huge sum of money if she discovered the secret of Samson’s power.

Delilah was an agent of Satan. She knew how to use her sexual charms to discover Samson’s secret. She begged him daily to tell her his secret. Finally Samson gave in and told her that he was a Nazarite unto God from his birth, and if his hair was cut, he would be as weak as any man.

Delilah knew that Samson had told her the truth. She sent word to the lords of the Philistines to come and bring the money with them. When Samson was asleep with his head on her lap, a man shaved his head. Then Delilah woke Samson, saying, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!”

Samson thought he could go out as before, but he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. This time he was as weak as any other man. The Philistines captured him. The first thing they did was to gouge out his eyes. They bound him in chains and led him off to prison in Gaza.

They made Samson grind grain. They ridiculed him and tormented him daily. But soon Samson’s hair began to grow again.

One day the Philistines made a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god. They wanted to celebrate. They said, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”

When they were full of drink and their hearts were merry, they called for Samson so they could make fun of him. They put him between the pillars that supported the temple. The temple was full of people, and about 3,000 were on the roof.

In a mighty act of faith, Samson prayed, “O God, strengthen me just once more…let me die with the Philistines.” The power of God came upon him and he pushed the pillars apart. The whole structure collapsed, killing Samson and thousands of his enemies.

 

[RiverOL]

Learning to Respect Authority
Dear Friend,

When God created the universe, He established a principle to govern it—the principle of authority. God Himself is the highest authority. The angelic beings created by God were under His authority. When man was created, he, too, was under God’s authority.

Authority is the right to be obeyed.
As the Creator, God has the right to be obeyed by every intelligent creature in the universe. But all of God’s intelligent creatures have not obeyed Him. The Bible tells us about two major rebellions in God’s universe.

The rebellion of the angels.
The first rebellion in God’s universe involved the angels. Among the countless angels which God created was the archangel Lucifer.

Apparently, Lucifer was over all the other angels. But a time came when he was dissatisfied. He decided that he should be above God. Lucifer said in his heart,

“I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…” (Isaiah 14:13).

Lucifer rebelled against God’s authority. As a result of his rebellion, his name was changed to “Satan” which means enemy or adversary. One third of the angels in Heaven followed Satan in his rebellion against God. These fallen angels are called “evil spirits” or “demons.”

Satan, along with his fallen angels, set up a kingdom opposed to God and His kingdom. Since that time there have been two kingdoms at war in the universe—the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.

The rebellion of man.

God created the first man, Adam, and placed him in the Garden of Eden. Then God created a wife for Adam. Her name was Eve.

God wanted a race of people in His image and after His likeness. God wanted them to love Him and to be loved by Him. Satan wanted to put his spirit of rebellion into Adam and Eve. Satan deceived Eve into disobeying God.

When Adam knew what Eve had done, he chose to disobey God. In his heart, Adam said, “I will do what I want to do!” By Adam’s rebellion, sin entered the world. Adam passed his sinful, rebellious nature on to his children and to the entire human race. We are born with this sinful spirit of rebellion in our hearts. The Bible says,

“…we have turned every one to his own way…” (Isaiah 53:6).

God’s great plan.
It seemed as though Satan had defeated God’s purpose, but God cannot be defeated. God had a plan. He would send His Son into the world to be our Savior.

What kind of man was Jesus? He was perfectly obedient to His Father at all times. The principle of His life was obedience. The Bible says,

“Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).

Because Jesus Christ was obedient unto death, God raised Him from the dead and exalted Him to the very throne of the universe. Jesus Christ is “Lord of all”! God made Jesus Christ the Head of His new family.

There are now two families in the world—the children of Adam and the children of God. The Bible says those in Adam’s family live their lives “according to the prince of the power of the air [Satan], the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).

Those who have been born again into the family of God have the Spirit of Christ—the One who said, “Not My will, but Yours, be done.” They are called “obedient children.” This does not mean that they never sin. Christians do sin, but their heart-attitude is to obey God.

God delegates His authority.

All authority belongs to God, but God has two ways in which He exercises His authority:

• Direct authority. This means God tells us by His Word or by His Spirit what He wants us to do.

• Delegated authority. This means God delegates His authority by putting certain people to represent His authority here.

When God puts someone over us, that person is God’s delegated authority. Since this person represents God’s authority, he or she must be obeyed. Some examples of God’s delegated authorities are:

• Parents
• School principals
• School teachers
• Police officers
• Your boss at work

God’s delegated authority in the home.

In the home God has delegated His authority to the parents. God’s plan is that the father is the head of the family under God. The father is to be under God’s authority. The wife is under God’s authority, but she is also under the authority of her husband. The Bible says,

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22).

Children are likewise under God’s authority, but they are also under the authority of their father and mother. The way you treat your parents is an indication of the way you treat God.

The relationship between children and their parents is so important that God made it the subject of one of the Ten Commandments. In this commandment, God promises a good life and a long life to children who honor their parents. The Bible says,

“Honor your father and mother; that your days may be long…” (Exodus 20:12).

God’s Word says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1). There are times when children would like to change God’s Word to excuse their disobedience. They would like for the verse to read: “Children, obey your parents…

…if you think they are right.”
…if it is what you want to do.”
…if they ask you nicely.”
If you want God’s blessing on your life, do not rebel against your parents. Rebellion is the principle of Satan. Wise parents set limits on their children and tell them not to do certain things. When they do, it is because they love their children and want what is best for them. It is spelled C-A-R-I-N-G.

God’s delegated authorities.

In your school the principal is God’s delegated authority. Since the principal represents God’s authority in the school, he or she is to be respected and obeyed.

In the classroom the teacher represents God’s authority. Because this is true, the teacher is to be respected and obeyed. To disobey your teacher is like disobeying God. To be disrespectful to your teacher is like being disrespectful to God.

You may say, “But suppose I do not like my teacher. Do I still have to obey her?”

Yes, you do. Your teacher is in a position of authority over you and you must obey your teacher, whether or not you like that teacher. The Bible says,

“Obey those who have the rule [authority] over you…” (Hebrews 13:17).

This means that we are to obey the people God places over us. You may or may not like a certain teacher, but that does not affect that teacher’s position as God’s delegated authority over you. You cannot say, “My teacher told me to do something, but I did not do it because I do not like her.”

If you really want to please the Lord, you will study hard and try to do your best in your schoolwork. The Lord Jesus wants you to do your work as though He Himself were your teacher!

The Bible says,

“Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Colossians 3:23).

Throughout our lives, we will always be under God’s delegated authorities. The way we treat these delegated authorities will determine if we are living our lives on the principle of obedience or the principle of rebellion.

The right way to obey.
There is a right way and a wrong way to obey God’s delegated authorities. Many times children grumble and argue with their parents when they are told to do something. This is not pleasing to the Lord. In His Word, God says,

“Do all things without murmurings and disputings [arguing]” (Philippians 2:14).

We please the Lord when we obey in the right way. The right way to obey those whom God puts over us involves three things:

How to change your attitude.
Perhaps you are thinking, “I know my attitude has not been right, but how do I change my attitude?” You change your attitude by changing the reason you do things. Instead of pleasing yourself, you choose to please the Lord. You choose to do things in a way that pleases the Lord.

If the Lord Jesus Himself appeared to you and asked you to do something, no doubt you would obey Him with a good attitude and in a way that would please Him. The Lord is saying to us, “I want you to obey those I put over you as if you were obeying Me.” The Bible says,

“Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Colossians 3:23).

It is easy to say, “I love the Lord and I want to please Him,” but the test of my love is this: Am I obeying those whom the Lord puts over me in a way that pleases Him?

Will you choose to please the Lord in all that you do? Begin to do this now and you will see that the Lord will bless you and make you a happy child of God. Jesus said,

"If you know these things, blessed [happy] are you if you do them” (John 13:17).

Samson and Joseph
The Bible tells about two young men who faced strong sexual temptations. Samson disobeyed God and suffered terrible consequences. Joseph obeyed God and was blessed by God.

God chose Samson to be a deliverer of His people. The children of Israel had done evil and God had allowed them to be defeated by their enemies, the Philistines. God raised up Samson to deliver His people.

In himself, Samson was like other men, but when the Spirit of God came on him, he had incredible, superhuman strength. But Samson had a fatal weakness—he did not control his desire for sex.

After his capture by the Philistines, Samson spent the rest of his life, blind and in chains, grinding grain for his enemies.

The lesson God wants us to learn from the life of Samson is this: When we choose to disobey God, there are always bad consequences.

Through no fault of his own, Joseph ended up as a slave in the house of a wealthy Egyptian named Potiphar. Joseph was diligent and he served his master well. Soon Potiphar made Joseph his overseer and put him in charge of all that he had.

Joseph was a strong, handsome young man. Potiphar’s wife was attracted to Joseph, and she determined to have sex with him. She said, “Lie with me.” But Joseph refused.

Day by day, Potiphar’s wife begged Joseph to have sex with her, but he refused. He would not be alone with her. One day, when there were no other servants in the house, she caught him by his coat and boldly commanded him, “Lie with me!” Joseph ran out of the house.

Potiphar’s wife was furious! She called the other servants together and told them that Joseph had tried to rape her. When her husband came home, she told him the same lie. Potiphar put Joseph in the king’s prison.

Again, through no fault of his own, Joseph was in terrible circumstances. But God was with him. In time, Joseph was exalted by Pharaoh to be made ruler over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh gave Joseph a beautiful bride who bore Joseph two sons. Later, Joseph brought his father, Jacob, and his whole family to Egypt to save them from a famine.

Joseph chose to honor God, and he ended up with a beautiful family and a lifetime of happiness with God’s blessing. The lesson God wants us to learn from the life of Joseph is this: If we honor God, God will honor us. God says,

“…those who honor Me I will honor…” (1 Samuel 2:30).

 

[RiverOL]

My Enemy, "the World"
Dear Friend,

Every Christian has three terrible enemies—“the world,” the flesh, and the devil.

• What is “the world-system”?
• How did it come into being?
• Who controls “the world-system”?

The Bible uses the word “world” in three different ways. First, it can refer to the earth which God created. The Bible says,

“God…made the world and all things in it…” (Acts 17:24).

Next, it can refer to people.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16).

A third use is found in 1 John 2:15 where the child of God is told,

“Do not love the world, or the things that are in the world.”

The word “world” here refers to “the world-system”—the enemy of every child of God. This is the sense in which we will be using the word “world” in this lesson.

Satan's problem.

To understand what has happened in the world, we must go back to the beginning of things. When God created the world, He put Adam in charge and gave him dominion over everything.

When Adam rebelled against God, he took sides with Satan and came under his rule. Thus the rulership of the world passed out of Adam’s hands and into Satan’s hands. This is why the Bible calls Satan “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Even though Satan now had the world under his control, he still had a problem. His problem was how to keep people in his kingdom. There was a way of escape. Those who turned to God escaped from Satan’s kingdom. Satan did not like this so he came up with a plan.

Satan organized the people and the things in the world into a “world-system” based on selfishness, pride, greed, ambition, and sinful lusts and pleasures. There is nothing of God in these things.

What is “the world”? It is human society with God left out. Satan’s world-system includes entertainment, business, education, religion, politics, world kingdoms, world organizations, news media, and hundreds of other things. The world is anything that shuts God out.

Satan deceives people into thinking that this world is the only thing that matters. With his world-system, Satan can give people riches, possessions, fame, power, and all kinds of sinful pleasures.

Who is the ruler of “the world-system”?
The ruler of this world is Satan! Satan allows people to be in charge of things and seemingly to make the decisions, but Satan himself is the unseen ruler of the world behind the scenes. The Bible says,

“…the whole world lies under the power of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19).

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” 1 John 2:16

Satan knows that he cannot keep Christians from going to Heaven, but his object is to conform them to the world. He wants them to think like unsaved worldly people, to seek the same things they seek, and to do the same things they do.

We are warned against loving the world and the things of the world. The Bible says,

“Do not love the world, nor the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

God wants us to see that the world-system is controlled by Satan. To be a friend of the world is to be the enemy of God. The Bible says,

“…Do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).

The world is doomed to destruction.
Our deliverance from the world comes from seeing the world as God sees it. The world crucified God’s Son. It is the enemy of God, the enemy of God’s Son, and the enemy of God’s people. God has condemned it to total destruction!

God wants us to see that the world-system has no future. The world is like a giant ocean liner that is old, rusted, and leaking badly. The engines have stopped working. Water is pouring in faster than it can be pumped out. It is only a matter of time before the ship sinks.

The captain of the ship has received an urgent message from the owner of the ship: “Don’t waste your time trying to save the ship! A rescue ship is on the way. I have a new and much better ship waiting for you. Do all you can to get the passengers into the lifeboats.”

If I understand that this world is controlled by Satan and that it is doomed to destruction, what place of honor do I want in it? NONE!

The two creations.
The Bible says that Jesus Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world” (Galatians 1:4). When Jesus rose from the dead, He rose as the King of God’s new creation.

There are now two creations—the old creation and the new creation. The old creation is the kingdom where Satan rules. The new creation is the kingdom where God’s Son, the Lord Jesus, reigns. Nothing of the old creation can come into God’s new creation.

How could I, as a sinner, come into God’s new creation? There is only one way. God must end my old life and give me a new life. That is exactly what God did!

God put me in Christ on the cross. When Christ died, I died with Him. When He was buried, I was buried with Him. That was the end of my old life so far as God is concerned.

When Christ rose from the dead, I rose with Him as a new person in God’s new creation. The Bible says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ; he is a new creation…” (2 Corinthians 5:17). God has delivered me from Satan’s kingdom and put me in Christ’s kingdom. The Bible says,

“Giving thanks to the Father…who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Colossians 1:12-13).

Satan wants to deceive us.
Satan wants to deceive us into living for the things of this world instead of living for God. But now we know the truth. We know that the world-system is controlled by Satan. We know that the world-system has been condemned by God. One day this world and all that is in it will be completely destroyed by fire. The Bible says,

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also and the works that are in it shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).

The world’s wealth and splendor, and all its glittering attractions lose their power over the person who is continually expecting his Savior to return in glory and power to translate him in a moment to the glories of Heaven.

We belong to Christ! He could come for us at any moment! The Bible says,

“Our citizenship is in Heaven, from which also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body…” (Philippians 3:20-21).

“How can I live in a way that pleases the Lord?”
There are some definite things that you can do that will please the Lord:

Love Jesus Christ with all your heart.
Your glorious Savior at the right hand of the Father loves you with all His heart. When you love Him with all your heart, the things of this world lose their power over you. The Bible says,

“Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8).

Separate yourself from the sinful things of the world.

No Christian makes any progress until he separates himself from the unclean things of the world. God says,

“Come out from among them, and be separate… and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and you shall be My sons and daughters…” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).

God is saying to you, “If you will keep yourself from the sinful things of the world, I will be a Father to you, and I will love you and take care of you.” This is much better than being a friend of Satan’s world-system.

Confess Christ’s name.
The Lord has left us in the world to be His “ambassadors” to the unsaved. If you love your unsaved friends and relatives, tell them about the Savior who loves them and died for them.

Every time you mention Christ’s name with reverence, it will be told to the tens of thousands in Heaven! Jesus said,

“Whoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of Man confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).

Remember always that Christ lives in you.
Jesus said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). My main object should be to please Him. Since Jesus is always with me, I must ask myself some questions. Is Jesus pleased when I watch a TV show or a movie with bad stuff in it? No, He is not. Does the Lord Jesus enjoy listening to music that has dirty words in it? No, He does not. If I truly love the Lord Jesus, I will not want to do anything that would displease Him or make Him ashamed of me.

God delivers us from the love of the world by giving us something better. If I see a little child playing with a sharp knife, how do I get it away from him? I offer him something bright and colorful. He drops the knife and takes what I am offering him. That is the way God delivers us from the love of the world. He shows us something much better!

Christ is better than anything this world can offer us. When we know Christ and His glories at the right hand of God, we have the key to everything that God has in mind for the universe.

God says, “My Son, Jesus Christ, is going to be the Center, the Glory, and the Head of everything in My new universe.”

The great secret of blessing is to keep your eyes on Christ in glory. All of God’s satisfaction and glory rests on Christ. I am in Christ and He is in me. I am an object of delight to God because I love His Son. One day Christ is coming to take me to be with Him forever in Heaven. The Bible says,

“As it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

Ruth—she chose God
…Where you go, I will go, and where you live, I will live: your people shall be my people, and your God my God….” Ruth 1:16
During a famine in the land of Israel, a man named Elimelech took his wife, Naomi, and their two sons to the country of Moab. Soon after this, Elimelech died, leaving Naomi and her two sons.

The two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, took wives of the women of Moab. One was named Orpah, and the name of the other was Ruth. They lived there about ten years; then both of the sons died.

Naomi heard that the famine was over in the land of Israel, so she left Moab with her two daughters-in-law. Naomi urged them to return to their land and marry again. Both wept because they loved Naomi. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law as she was leaving. But Ruth made a decision that changed her future forever. She said,

“Do not intreat me to leave you…for where you go, I will go, and where you live, I will live: your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried…” (Ruth 1:16-17).

Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem at the time of the barley harvest. Naomi had a kinsman, a mighty man of wealth, whose name was Boaz. Ruth went to glean what grain she could in the fields of Boaz.

In time Boaz fell in love with Ruth. He bought back the land that had once belonged to Elimelech and took Ruth to be his wife. God blessed them and Ruth had a son, whom they named Obed. The women said to Naomi,

“Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto you a restorer of your life, and a nourisher of your old age: for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, is better to you than seven sons…” (Ruth 4:14-15).

Originally, Ruth was a Moabitess, and a worshiper of idols. But she learned of the one true and living God from Naomi. She chose to leave her people to serve Naomi’s God. God always rewards those who choose Him. He rewarded Ruth by giving her a son, Obed, who was the father of Jesse, the father of David, Israel’s greatest king. From David’s descendants came our Lord Jesus Christ.

In establishing David’s family, which was to produce the Savior of the world, God chose Ruth, a beautiful heathen girl. He led her to Bethlehem and made her the bride of Boaz. She became the great-grandmother of David, Israel’s greatest king.

This is God’s grace. He adopts the Gentiles into Christ’s family. We see also how God rewarded the faithfulness of Naomi. It was from Naomi that Ruth learned of the true God.

 

[RiverOL]

My Enemy, "the Flesh"
Dear Friend,

In our last lesson we learned about our enemy “the world.” This enemy is an external enemy. But we have another enemy which is an internal enemy. It is called “the flesh.”

A general was explaining his strategy for capturing a strong enemy city. He said, “I have four columns approaching the city. I have a column approaching from the north, a column from the south, a column from the east, and one from the west. But my most valuable column is my fifth column.”

When asked where the fifth column was, the general replied, “My fifth column is inside the city.” The general had people inside the city who were loyal to him. He counted on them to open the gates and deliver the city to him.

Satan’s “fifth column.”
Our enemy, Satan, has a “fifth column” inside of us that cooperates with him in his battle against us. What is Satan’s “fifth column”? It is our sinful nature which the Bible calls “the flesh.”

“The flesh” is not my body, but my sinful nature that dwells in my body. One form of the flesh is SELF. If you leave off the “h” and spell the word “flesh” backwards, what do you have? You have S-E-L-F.

Before I was saved, I lived for myself. I did what I wanted to do. SELF was on the throne of my heart. The Bible says,

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way…” (Isaiah 53:6).

The moment I received Christ as my Savior, Christ came to live in me. I was so happy! I thought I would always want to please the Lord and obey Him. But before long I made a shocking discovery: when Christ came to live in me, SELF did not move out! Not only is SELF still there, but SELF wanted to continue ruling in my heart.

What is SELF like?
The Bible tells us three things about the flesh or SELF:

SELF will never obey God.
SELF hates God and hates His Son. The Bible says,

“The carnal mind [SELF] is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7).

SELF is a sin-factory.

It is wonderful to know that God has forgiven me of all my sins, but I have a deeper problem. I am a sinner. I am the one who does the sinning. I am a “sin factory”!

Where do my sins come from? They come from my sinful nature—the flesh. Jesus said,

“From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:21-23).

SELF is controlled by Satan.

The flesh is Satan’s “fifth column” inside of us. Here are some of the ways SELF expresses itself:

• Self-pride

SELF says, “I am Number One! I want people to look up to me and honor me.”

• Self-love

The person I love more than anyone else is myself!

• Self-pity

SELF says, “Poor me! Nobody treats me right.” SELF is always grumbling and complaining, never satisfied.

• Self-righteousness

SELF is quite satisfied with its own goodness and morality.

• Self-will

SELF always wants to have its own way. SELF says, “I will do what I want to do! I do not care what the Bible says.”

Where does this spirit of rebellion come from? It comes from Satan! The Bible speaks of “the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). That spirit is the spirit of Satan! We carry about in our body that which hates God, hates Christ, and will never be subject to the law of God. (See Romans 8:5-8).

What did God do?
How could I as a sinner come into the presence of a holy God? There is only one way: my old life must be ended, I must become a new person.

Because God loves me and wants only what is best for me, He did three wonderful things for me.

God ended my old SELF-life.
God has His own way of doing things. One of His ways is that He does not try to change or improve something that sin has ruined. Instead, God creates something entirely new—something that sin cannot touch.

When I trusted Christ as my Savior, God put me in Christ on the cross. When Christ was crucified, I was crucified with Him.

Why did God crucify me with Christ? He crucified me with Christ to bring my old self-life to an end, so that I might no longer be ruled by SELF. The Bible says,

“Knowing this, that our old man [my old SELF] was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed [put out of business], that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6).

God made me a new person in Christ.
When Christ rose from the dead, I rose with Him as a new person in God’s new creation. The Bible says,

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In my old life, I was “in the flesh,” in the old creation which was under the rule of sin and Satan. When I died with Christ, I passed out of the old creation.

When I rose with Christ, I rose as a new person in God’s new creation. I am no longer “in the flesh.” I am “in the Spirit” and I have the Spirit of God dwelling in me. The Bible says,

“You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Romans 8:9).

God gave Christ to me as my new Master.
In Christ I see a Person who lived to do the will of His Father in Heaven. Jesus said,

“…I seek not My own will, but the will of the Father who has sent Me” (John 5:30).

Satan had no “fifth column” in the man Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “…the prince of this world comes, and has nothing in Me” (John 14:30). When Satan tried to tempt Jesus, he was utterly defeated. Twice God spoke from Heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

At the end of His life, Jesus prayed to His Father,

“I have glorified You on the earth: I have finished the work which You gave Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me…with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:4-5).

How can I stop SELF from ruling?
As long as I am in my body, I can never be rid of SELF, but I do not have to be ruled by SELF. Let us see three steps that we can take.

• I choose to keep SELF on the cross.

SELF must not be allowed to reign in my life. SELF is so hateful to God that He says the only place for SELF is on the cross. God wants me to agree with Him. The Bible says,

“They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh [SELF] with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:24).

• I choose to make Christ King.

Now that I have chosen that SELF shall be on the cross, I choose that Christ shall be on the throne of my life. This is His rightful place. In the past I have been occupied with myself, living to please myself. But SELF is a hard master. SELF is never satisfied!

Now I see a Person I love more than myself. I have fallen in love with what I see in Jesus. He is the true lover of my soul. Nobody knows me better than Jesus, and nobody loves me more. I gladly make Him King in my life. I want to live for Him, not for myself. The Bible says,

“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died [spiritually dead]: And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

• I choose the Christ-life.

When Christ is on the throne of my heart and SELF is on the cross, I am living the Christ-life. The Holy Spirit can then produce beautiful fruit in my life. The Bible says,

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith [faithfulness], meekness, temperance [SELF-control]…” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Once I have chosen that Christ shall be King in my heart and that SELF shall be on the cross, I must daily say “no” to SELF. Day by day I must learn to say “no” to SELF and “yes” to the Lord Jesus. Jesus said,

“If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself [say no to SELF], and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

How does this work out in my life? Let us say that I am doing something that I want to do, but my mother asks me to do something for her. What would SELF do? SELF would grumble and complain. What do I do? I say “no” to SELF and “yes” to the Lord Jesus. I obey my mother without grumbling and complaining.

Somebody says something mean to me. What would SELF do? SELF would get angry and say something mean back to that person. But I am to say “no” to SELF and let Christ be King in my heart. What do I do? I smile at them and say a kind word to them.

God is for me.
Throughout my life I will have to deal with this enemy, SELF, that lives within me. There are some things I must know if I am to win this battle.

• God does not count my sinful nature against me. God says, “I count that as belonging to your old life. In My sight your old life ended with your death with Christ. I always see you as a new person in Christ.”

• Temptation is not sin. The Lord Jesus was tempted with terrible temptations by Satan, but Jesus never sinned. I sin only when I give in to temptation. You say, “But sometimes I have really bad thoughts!” Every child of God has terrible thoughts at times, but they do not come from our new life.

Satan has the power to put terrible thoughts into our minds. He tries to make us think that these are our thoughts, but they are not. We can say to him, “Satan, you are a liar! These are your thoughts, not mine, and I refuse them!”

• God is for me! God knows the battle I have with SELF and with the devil, but God is for me! David said, “When I cry unto You, then shall my enemies turn back: this I know, for God is for me” (Psalm 56:9). Claim this verse for yourself. Say, “I know this—God is for me!”

David—the shepherd-boy
After the people of Israel were established in the land which God had promised to Abraham, they begged God to give them a king. Israel’s first king was a man named Saul. But Saul did not have a heart for God, and He disobeyed God.

God told the prophet Samuel to anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be the next king. The eldest son, Eliab, was tall and handsome. Samuel was impressed with his appearance. He said, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed one,” but the Lord refused him.

The Lord said to Samuel,

“Do not look on his countenance, on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord sees not as man sees: for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but God did not choose any of them. Samuel asked, “Are these all your children?” Jesse said, “The youngest is keeping the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him.”

When David came in, the Lord said to Samuel, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he.” In the presence of David’s father and his brothers, Samuel took oil and poured it upon David’s head. Thus David was anointed by God to be the next king of Israel after Saul died. The Spirit of the Lord came on David from that day onward. The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul because he disobeyed God.

David returned to care for his sheep. It would be seven years before Saul’s death. Meanwhile, David was faithful in caring for his sheep. When a lion came and took a lamb out of his flock, David went after him and saved the lamb out of his mouth. When the lion attacked David, he killed the lion. The same thing happened when a bear tried to steal one of his lambs.

Even as a young boy, David loved God with all his heart, and God took notice of this. Under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, David composed 73 of the 150 psalms in the book of Psalms. The best known of these is the twenty-third psalm. This is actually David’s testimony:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
“He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters.
“He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”