FAITH THINGS HAPPEN

There
was an article in the paper some time ago that told of contact
lenses being developed when fighter pilots were shot down in
World War II and it was discovered that the plexiglass often
embedded in their eyes did not cause infection or damage.

The late Dr.
Roy Plunkett, at twenty seven years of age, accidentally
discovered Teflon while trying to develop a new refrigerant. It
changed the way people cooked and became a multimillion-dollar
product used in the chemical industry as well as in the home.

Rubber
vulcanization was discovered in 1839 when Charles Goodyear, a
Connecticut hardware merchant accidentally dropped a mixture of
rubber and sulfur into a fire.

Alexander
Graham Bell discovered the telephone while trying to develop a
hearing aid for his wife and Thomas Edison discovered the
phonograph while working on an entirely different project.

Kellogg’s Corn
Flakes were discovered when someone accidentally left boiled
wheat in a baking pan overnight and paper towels came into
existence when a toilet paper machine got out of whack and
started putting out too many layers of tissue.

A while back
there was an article in the newspaper about a garbage truck
driver, Craig Randall of Peabody, Massachusetts. He picked up a
bag of garbage and it contained a Wendy’s soft drink cup worth
$200,000.

Happenings
like these just give us more assurance that the God of Heaven
and the maker and owner of all still works in human lives. He is
working with us in our labor, our leisure and at times, even in
our dumb mistakes and wanderings. He cares more than we know.

When Gideon
was threshing wheat by a winepress, doing what he could with
what he had, he got a visitation from heaven and was on his way
to a destiny that was far beyond his fondest dreams. He was
elevated from poverty to a deliverer of his people. (Judges.
6:11) We never know when the Lord is going to change the tide in
our lives. Saul was looking for his father’s asses and the next
thing he knew he was being anointed for kingship. (1 Sam. 9:3)

When Joseph
was sold into Egypt by his brothers and month after month of
imprisonment and bondage followed; the great miracle of God and
good arriving on the scene simultaneously happened. When the
struggle was over and he was elevated from a felon to the second
highest level in government, his summation of the ordeal was, “..Fear
not, for I am in God‘s place. But as for you, ye thought evil
against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it
is this day, to save such people alive. Now fear not: I will
nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and
spake kindly unto them.” (Genesis 50:19 & 21 KJV)

The Apostle
Paul, with a lifetime of suffering and sacrifice proclaimed
right in the middle of his hurt, “… We know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are
the called according to his purpose.” (Roman 8:28) He also
said that, “… I reckon that the
sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” (Roman 8:18)

One of the
most dangerous things that can happen to a growing Christian is
for him or her to be removed from their wilderness or trial
before the proper time.

There was a
wine company that used to advertise on television very
frequently. Their motto was, “We will sell no wine before its
time.” If good wine takes time you can bet the farm that you
and I are not going to get a three-minute microwave treatment
from the Lord and be on our way.

I am finding
that getting older really has some great advantages when it
comes to strong faith. As we look back over the years we can
count over and over again what miracles the Lord of Heaven has
performed in the circumstances of our lives. The situation that
we find ourselves in at this moment is just one of the
ingredients that God is using to perform His miracles. Miracles
that will give us our necessary boost, strengthen our faith and
also spill over into the lives of others.

Some time ago
I was talking to a ninety-year-old lady who lives in a very
depressed neighborhood and has confronted three robbers, on
separate occasions, alone in her own home. She said she stood
her ground (without a gun) in the name of Jesus and the robbers
fled. She told of reading her bible through seventeen times. I
thought, my God this woman has the faith and boldness to stare
down a rattlesnake. When I hung up the phone I was charged with
a new level of believing. With every heartbeat, God, in his way,
is developing us, with all of our flaws, into his masterpiece.
The scriptures teach that: “The path of the just is as a
shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
(Proverbs 4:18) They also proclaim that, “The steps of a
good man are ordered by the Lord.” (Psalms 37:23) We used to
sing the old chorus in church, “Every day with Jesus, is
sweeter than the day before …”, and if our believing is
really right that statement is true. He is working things out,
and He is working them out well, even as we speak. 

LIVES THAT ARE RADICALLY CHANGED

A few months
ago Candy Barr, at age 70 died. She was famous for her life as a
stripper, porn star, going to prison, shooting her husband,
driving getaway cars, drugs and about everything else you can
think of pertaining to the wild side of life. She was linked
with Jack Ruby the night club owner who shot President Kennedy’s
alleged assassin, Harvey Oswald. She was also romantically
connected with Los Vegas gangster Mickey Cohen.

But there is
another side to her life. In the late seventies, after about 25
years of her running wild, I picked up the morning newspaper and
there on the front page was a picture of an older and much
different looking lady in a wheelchair. It was Candy Barr and
the headline read, “She Turned From Drugs To Jesus”. The article
went on to tell a little of her life story, how a bullet from
the jealous wife of one of her clients had severed her spinal
cord and paralyzed her from the waist down. Then it told how she
was preaching the gospel.

Some time ago
there was a story in the news of David Berkowitz. He was known
as The Son of Sam, a serial killer, who in 1976 and 77 stalked
the streets of New York City killing six people in cold blood
and paralyzing the area with fear. He was arrested, convicted
and sentenced to 365 years in prison. This newspaper article
told of his conversion to the Lord and how he was preaching on
public access television in the same city through which he sent
horror.

When someone
really knows the Jesus of the Bible, stories like these are not
surprising. They just keep surfacing over the years and over our
lifetime. We learn that not only little sins can be forgiven …
we learn that all sins can be forgiven.

A television
commentator speaking about Larry King, the talk show host, said
“He treats the great people average and the average people
great”. That has to be a God characteristic; he levels the
playing field for all. Jesus knows that greatness lies within
all and he longs to bring it out. He recognizes your hidden
abilities and the longings, desires and dreams in your heart.

Candy Barr and
David Berkowitz did what we all have to do in order to be
genuinely clean and motivated. When we repent; when we really
get serious about the wretched life that we have lived and turn
our sins and failures over to a loving and forgiving Lord a
transformation takes place that is inexplicable to the world.
The agony, the suffering, and the shedding of the blood from the
Savior’s veins and arteries is the one agent that will make all
things new.

This man of
men that walked the streets of pain, bondage, evil, guilt, sin,
frustration, death and sickness is alive and well and His arms
are open to all that dare to make a step of faith in His
direction. It doesn’t matter if you stole a piece of bubble gum
when you were a child or if you are in the depths of
unmentionable wickedness with no way to go but up; this Lord of
the Bible is awake every second both day and night and is
longing for your return to your childhood purity. You can have a
radical change and you can have it this very day! 

WE
HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY

In a rerun of
the late Ann Landers favorite letters is the following classic:

Dear Ann Landers:

A few days ago, my best friend died. He was my
teacher, my idol, my symbol of strength and protection. He was
also my father.

Last year on my 17^th birthday, I
obtained my driver’s license. Three weeks later, I had a minor
accident. I was scared to death of what my father would say when
the police called him. I wasn’t hurt, but I had a few scratches
and was dazed by the impact.

The moment he saw me, he hugged me and tried to
calm my ragged nerves. I kept repeating, “I’ll never drive
again”. He said, “Oh, yes you will. In fact, you are going to
drive me home.”

Then he told me about Thomas Alva Edison and how
he made the first electric light bulb. After seven years of hard
work and experimentation. Edison handed the precious bulb to his
laboratory assistant to put away. The assistant accidentally
dropped it. Of course, the bulb broke into a thousand pieces.
Edison went to work on the second bulb. After he had completed
it, he handed it to his assistant again, to prove that he had
confidence in him. I knew how the assistant must have felt when
I was behind the wheel of that car, driving my dad home.

This was only one of the lessons I learned from
this remarkable man. I am thankful to have had him for eighteen
years. I hope you will find room in your column for my letter.
Perhaps after reading it, the lucky ones who still have a dad
will appreciate him a little more.

– A Loving
Daughter

Some years ago
the God of Heaven placed something precious in your hands and in
mine. It was life. Whether we want to admit it or not … we
dropped it and it broke into a thousand pieces. We still drop
it. Most of us need forgiveness not too long after our day is in
progress. The good news is, we can have it. Why should we carry
a load of guilt? Why should we live without the proper
restraints that the Holy Spirit from Heaven places upon us.

A few years
ago a radio station in Texas publicized the finding of J.R.
Richards, the great fastball pitcher for the Houston Astros. At
the time he was broke and living under a bridge. He went from on
top in the big leagues to on bottom under the big bridge; a very
common happening in our everyday world. I am sure that as J.R.
lay under that bridge and listened to the traffic roaring by in
the wee hours of the morning his mind wandered back to happier
days.

It is so
important for us to remember that things can go bad and they can
go bad fast if we do not develop a strong and positive faith.

Only Jesus
knows the disciplines that you and I need in our everyday
existence. When He speaks, the peace that passes all
understanding floods our being. He will satisfy our hunger with
His multiplying hands. When we finally realize that every breath
of air, every crumb of bread and every drop of water comes from
His supply; we will then have the eternal security for which we
so strongly desire. We must know that it is he that “Openest
thy hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.” (Ps.
145:16) He always stands ready to give; at least one more
opportunity.

We not only
received the gift of life and the gift of eternal life when we
were reborn; we received an awesome responsibility of doing
God’s labor.

Roy Angel was
the senior pastor of Central Baptist Church, in Miami, Florida
from 1936 until his retirement in 1962. He was a precious man of
God that was gifted in his ability to both speak and write for
the Lord. In his book, “Baskets Of Silver”, Broadman Press,
Nashville, TN, he relates this story:

“…In a little village in France after World War,
a detachment of soldiers had been left as occupational troops to
keep order in town. Time hung heavy on their hands. One day they
decided to help the villagers restore their bombed homes and
city. They started on the church. It was a big job, for the
church had received a direct hit. They worked joyously and
cheerfully, cleaning up debris, putting back the windows, and
rebuilding the pews. Amid the debris they found a marble statue
of Christ. It was badly broken, but they managed to cement it
together and set it up in the niche in the wall. But search as
they would, they could not find the hands of the statue of
Christ. And so when they had finished arranging the statue in
its place, a moment of inspiration came to one of them. He made
a placard and hung it on the statue. These simple words were
printed on it, “He has no hands but yours”.

When I read
these words, I can’t really say that they make me feel good.
When we really take inventory of our lives and we survey our
labors that really count in the end, most of us come up too
short. It makes me want to change. You and I are endued with a
very heavy load … we must perform His labor.

BRACING FOR THE ATTACK!

Earl Campbell,
the hall of fame running back for the Houston Oilers and the New
Orleans Saints, in 1989 after four years of retirement from
football was doing fine. One day while riding down the highway
he was attacked by fear and anxiety. This giant of a man that
seemed to have everything going for him was suddenly rendered
helpless, panicked with fear and unable to even leave his home.

After months
of agony and being examined by doctors and psychiatrists, Earl
found that what was happening to him was also happening to
millions of others in America. He found that this condition can
cause irrational fear, dizziness, rapid heart beats, shortness
of breath, trembling, hot flashes or chills, abdominal problems,
loss of confidence and depression. It can also trigger substance
abuse problems. It is a horror of hell that is spreading over
our nation like a gas fed forest fire.

Our Bible
teaches that there is a spirit of fear; a demon that will get in
our face and do unbelievable acts to destroy our lives. It also
teaches that there is a Holy Spirit from God that gives us power
and power to spare to defeat these attackers. The scriptures
say, “Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good and healing all
that were oppressed of the devil.” (Acts 10:38 KJV)

There is a
storm on the horizon of your life and mine. Things are coming
over the hill that are horrifying if we should see them in the
spirit. I don’t know what Earl Campbell knows about the spirit
world, but I do know that an attack of the devil is much more
powerful than the hit of an NFL linebacker. When these demons
from Hades get into a life; only suffering and hell can follow.
Fear and torment are not on the daily menu of the victorious
Christian. Hell and all of its fury cannot and will not dominate
the lives of real believers. When our hearts are right, when we
know that our sins are forgiven, when we are filled with the
Holy Ghost; we have the power. We have the power to walk through
the blackest darkness that hell itself can cast upon us. We can
brace for the attack and we can attack back. We can and do have
the power over all evil. Jesus himself proclaimed,
“I beheld satan as lightening fall from heaven.
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy that nothing
shall by any means hurt you.“ (Luke 10:18 & 19)

ALL
WRAPPED UP

What is on
your mind? The Apostle Paul, writing from the very depths of his
soul and inspired by the Holy Spirit, penned these words: “…
having your loins girt about with truth”. (Ephesians 6:14)
Our loins represent our reproduction capacity. How is our mind
running this machine that will make us productive soul winners?
We all have our number one. Something or somebody is dominating
our thought time. Our spiritual reproduction is directly related
to what we are wrapped up with in our thoughts. There are
thousands of subjects with which we can waste our time and
energy. Many are not really bad, but what is their value when
placed on the eternal menu?

I was reading
where Charles Cook, from San Francisco, for eighteen years
dreamed and worked on his experimental airplane. The article
said, “He took little bits of Styrofoam, glass fiber and wood
and painstakingly crafted them into an airplane, spurning
manufactured kits to build each piece his own way …”. And then
on its maiden flight crashed into flames killing Charles and his
dream. The article went on to tell how he died doing what he
loved to do.

I think we
could all write a better script to the ending of a person’s
life. What good is a dream that crashes and burns you to ashes?
Things could have ended much better. He could have listened to
the ones who had built and studied thousand of planes. He could
have followed the directions of an expert and still be flying
his dream … but he did it his way.

Frank Sinatra
and Elvis Presley both sold hundreds of thousands of recordings
of a song entitled, “I Did It My Way” and we can see lives in
every age group that are still echoing this philosophy. It may
not sound real bad, but when we place it in the proper
perspective … it is real bad. We have a Lord. We do not
know how to live and we will never know how to live. We need
directions for every millisecond of our lives. The last two
words Frank uttered before going into eternity were, “I’m
losing.” I hope he was talking about his life here on earth and
not his eternal home.

We are as
helpless as newborns when it comes to knowing our future. Our
Bibles say, “I will instruct thee and
teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee
with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which
have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and
bridle..” (Psalm 32:8 & 9 KJV)

The wisest of
the wise men wrote, “In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:6
KJV)

So we can be
wrapped up in the right stuff. We can get all wrapped up in the
Lord where permanent failure becomes an impossibility and
happiness is for certain.

GIVING FAITH

If you
happened to know of two people that were retiring next week and
you had to choose which one’s shoes in which to walk, who’s
would you choose if one had never gave any money to the Lord’s
work but saved one million dollars; or would you choose the next
one who had not saved a dime but had given one million dollars
over the years to the Lord’s work?

It would take
a real giver about one tenth of a second to make this decision.
Anyone that gives knows that it brings benefits like no other
activity can bring. I believe that giving puts money in your
pocket, health in your body and comfort in your soul. Giving
will make new friends, keep old ones, and give you good health
so you might outlive them all. I well remember the first time
that I gave blood. At that time I was underweight, a little
frail and I sure did not feel that I had any blood to spare. The
girl that was about to draw the blood from my arm started
telling me how underweight and sickly she was before she started
giving blood. She was a picture of health; she believed, and
convinced me, that her health came from giving blood.

There was a
story in our local newspaper just before Christmas that was a
perfect example of what happens when someone just opens up and
gives.

Rene Robinson,
an artist from Atlanta was here in Tampa buying groceries at a
local Sweet Bay market. As the clerk, Rebecca Harmon, was
checking her out Rene was suddenly horrified because she
realized she did not have enough money with her to pay the bill.
She started removing groceries from the belt but Rebecca stopped
her and continued to finish the checkout. The total came to $100
and Renee had $90. Rebecca reached for her pocketbook under the
counter, retrieved $10 and told Renee to be on her way. The next
evening Renee was in a local Wal-Mart being checked out and was
sharing her story with the clerk. The lady that was next in
line, who was listening, rolled her eyes and said, “Things like
that always happen to other people; it has sure never happens to
me.” Renee said she decided to put the “Sweet Bay” on her. She
told the clerk to check her out and she would pay her bill too.

She not only
paid her bill but she followed her to the bus stop across the
parking lot and gave her her cell phone number and offered to
help with whatever need she could.

It doesn’t
stop here. Renee headed back to Rebecca’s store to pay her the
$10 back and to give her a big fat tip.

When she
arrived she told the store manager what had happened and he gave
Rebecca a fifty dollar gift certificate and entered her name in
the “Spirit of Santa Award” contest sponsored by the Florida
Retail Federation.

It gets
better. Unknowing, she won and they sent a professional Santa
through Rebecca’s line. When she started ringing him up, it
happened again; Santa was short of money too. Rebecca reached
for her pocketbook but this time Santa stopped her, reached in
his pocket and gave her the money to pay the bill, $500 in cash,
a $750 gift certificate and a gift certificate for Rebecca and
her family to spend three days at Dayton Beach.

I believe that
giving will bring a blessing no matter if it is a pint of blood,
a piece of cake or as in this case, a ten dollar bill. Jesus
looks into the eyes of the very poor, the very rich and all of
us that are in between. He sees our needs and our longings; with
his thundering words of unlimited power he says,
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down and shaken together, and running over …”
(Luke 6:38)

Giving makes
you feel better, look better and act better. It is good medicine
for whatever ailment you may have. It is a step of faith that
will give you a knowing that something is going to come back and
it is going to come back good. I feel sorry for stingy people.
They miss so much and have a miserable existence. Their every
need is never met. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Not even God would
appear unto a hungry man except in the form of bread.” If we
will be honest with ourselves we will admit that needs keep
coming over the hill. And it isn’t always money. Rich people
have just as many needs as poor people; different at times but
they are just as, or sometimes more important. A real giver
knows that every crumb of bread, every drop of water and every
breath of life giving oxygen comes from the hand of our Heavenly
Father.

Place your
hand on your heart. If things are going right it will pulsate
about seventy times over the next sixty seconds. Do we have
control of this little wonder of wonders that will outwork
anything that man can make? No. It is controlled by the one that
made all. The man that saved a million dollars over a lifetime
would give it all just to keep this little machine going only a
few more minutes when the end is coming. I don’t believe in
buying the blessings of the Lord, but I can’t help but think he
favors those who favor him. I do know that I am on his side and
I want to learn a little more about being a good giver. We all
do. We all know that giving faith is the generator that will
energize and light every area of our lives! Right now, this is
my day off and I am working the wee hours of the morning. Do you
think I am doing this for anything other than a blessing that I
will need in the future? It is my simple way of giving so that I
may be a blessing to others and that my needs will be met as
they come down the pike. You cannot find a better deal! Giving
faith will detonate your dynamite and secure your future like no
financial arrangement that any professional can prepare. You can
start at any level and set any goal you wish. Giving helps us to
stretch ourselves and is one of God’s answers to the gambling
urge. Even our Bibles challenge us in this area. The scriptures
scream out, “Try it! Let me prove it to
you! Your crops will be large, for I will guard them from
insects and plagues. Your grapes won’t shrivel away before they
ripen”, says the Lord almighty. “And all nations will call you
blessed, for you will be a land sparkling with happiness. These
are the promises of the Lord Almighty.” (Mal 3:10 & 11 Living
Bible)

This is God’s
lottery and you win every time. You can stand in the rain and
not get wet easier than you can give to the Lord and not be
blessed. The givers are the livers; and I want to be lined up on
their side of the ball! Giving faith will revolutionize our
lives and knock out poverty forever; don’t miss out on this
weapon of weapons!

IN
REVIEW

It is so easy
to forget. Let’s go over the high points of the things we just
discussed. To stay positive is a very tough job. We must learn
to keep on reprogramming … over and over and over again.

Number one …
Something great can happen. It may happen while you are in
terrible trouble or while digging through the garbage. A miracle
can come our way at any moment and under all conditions. Stay in
your trial until you are prepared for the promotion! The God of
Heaven is looking over your shoulder.

Number two …
Radical change is the order of the day when we deal with Jesus.
He can and will turn it around. He can make a miracle in the
heart of a murderer and make a porn star precious. He knows how
to treat average people great!

Number three …
Failure only opens the door for another try. Edison had
confidence in his laboratory assistant and God has confidence in
you. Shake off that mistake or bad decision and go at it one
more time.

Number four …
Don’t go from the big leagues to the big bridge. Don’t let fear
come in when you can fill that space with the Holy Ghost.

Number five …
Our hands are His hands. There are some very important tasks
that are going undone. We can start right where we are and
change our world by changing our activities.

Number six …
Get wrapped up in the right stuff. Don’t build a dream out of
garbage that will crash into flames. Don’t be a loser in the
end. We can do it His way.

Number six:
Remember that the givers are the livers. Let us turn our penny
ante life loose and receive the King’s allowance. It just may be
a little better than what we are used to. Let us be a spark in
the land that is sparkling with happiness!

CLOSING PRAYER

Heavenly
Father … please teach me to live … the good life; the life that
you have designed for me to develop and enjoy. Give me wisdom
and understanding. Forgive all of my failures, shortcomings and
sins. Help me to have that clean feeling that seems to have
eroded with time. Jesus just be my Lord … all of the time and
every day.
Amen.

Gratitude
unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough,
and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order,
confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house
into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of
our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for
tomorrow.

Melodie
Beattie Writer

“Let Not Your
Heart be Troubled!”

Jesus

“Only you can
be yourself, no one else is qualified”

unknown

“Give, and it
shall be given unto you…”

Jesus

“The game of
life is the game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words
return to us sooner or later,
with astounding accuracy.”

Florence Shinn/Writer

“Believe in
yourself and there will come a day when others will have no
choice but to believe with you.”
unknown

Footsoldier Ministries/Jim Hobby

CONQUERING PROBLEMS
WITH POWER FROM YOUR BIBLE

The toughest
yet most rewarding task ever assigned to man by God can be
summed up in one simple word. Only a remnant of the six or so
billion that inhabit this great earth have ever exhausted more
than a small fraction of the life changing energy and power that
lurks behind this simple verb of the English Language. Certain
people can be excited by certain words but this word excites the
God of Heaven who made you, me, the universe and everything else
that has been made; seen or unseen. The man that defeated
depression, poverty, sickness, confusion, pain, unhappiness and
every other unlikable thing or situation, which includes death
itself, continually had this word upon his lips. By linking the
pronoun I to this great word we can develop a dynamo of power
that will move us onward and upward from our present
circumstances and into a life that can become richer and better
with the passing ages. With a heart of love like none other can
compare and with his eyes of steel that flinch not at
difficulties or impossibilities of any magnitude, the Christ of
Heaven looks at your problem and my problem and thunders these
words, “ … if thou canst BELIEVE,
all things are possible to him that BELIEVETH.” (Mark
9:23 KJV)

It would be
nice to stop here and let all problems be solved, but that is
not the way it goes. Instead of stopping here, we begin here. At
this very moment of our existence we must think, talk, read,
study, dream, mediate and intercede to the Lord of Glory for
this wonderful ingredient of life to fill our being. Deep down
we get the feeling. Deep down we know that we have this
capability to believe and to touch our source of life. We
know there is a better way and we know that it is within our
reach.

USE
THE RIGHT FUEL

Many years ago
when black people were oppressed beyond reason in this country
there was a man selling balloons at the county fair. They were
all different colors and filled with helium. To get attention,
from time to time the man would let a balloon go and disappear
into the sky. He let a red one go and it went out of sight. He
let a yellow one go and it headed for the clouds. He released a
white one and it soared into the heavens. As a little eight year
old black boy watched and wondered, he finally gathered enough
courage to ask, “Mister, will a black balloon go up when you
turn it loose?” The man looked him dead in the eye, placed
his hand on his shoulder and said, “Son,
the color of the balloon doesn’t matter; it is what I put on the
inside that matters. This is what makes it fly.”

This is what
Jesus teaches you and me. Not only does our color not matter:
nothing else does. No situation that you and I face matters. We
can’t even invent a hard luck story that matters. Our past or
anything that has happened in our past doesn’t matter. We can
dream up some sob story, but it would not matter. Faith is what
matters. Believing is our internal fuel that moves us to our
desired destinations. Faith is the only
indestructible vehicle that will shuttle us to an eternity where
the good life goes on forever.

In the latter
part of the nineteenth century people had trouble getting across
town. A man named Karl Benz invented an automobile with an
internal combustion engine and over the years this problem has
been somewhat alleviated. Someone has said, “Men and
motorcars go forward by a series of internal explosions.”
This is true. Fuel explodes in our automobiles and faith
explodes in our hearts. As this happens we generate power and
keep moving along. It is our duty to keep the fuel going in. We
all know how to find fuel for our automobiles at the service
station but we must go to our Bibles to find the fuel that will
run our lives in the right direction and to the right
destinations. This is the book that changes things around on the
inside and revives the dream that the God of Heaven has planted
in our inner most heart of hearts. So to start gaining ground
from where we are at this very moment, we tank up with faith and
turn on our belief ignition!

THE
BIBLE: CONQUEROR OF FEAR

When Amanda,
my granddaughter, was about six years old she was having
nightmares and was afraid to sleep alone in her room. They had
been having fire drills at school and were using real smoke and
setting up some real fire scenarios. As a result, fear got into
Amanda’s little heart and mind and the sleepless nights and
nightmares followed.

I happened to
remember a sure cure for this sort of thing. It had worked for
my kids when they were young and would hear some strange noise
at night or whatever. The solution? Simple; sleep with your
Bible. Amanda tried this and it worked well. She said, “I
just took my Bible to bed and dropped off to asleep.”

Why does the
Bible work? It works because the Bible emanates faith and faith
dispels fear. There are sixty-three “Fear Nots” in
this wonderful book so we can use a different one for every week
of the year and still have a few left over. It will not only
work for a child on a sleepless and fearful night, it will work
for you and for me. We know these kinds of things confront us as
adults; and they are very real. We all face sickness, loss,
poverty, confusion, death and every kind of horror known to man.
There seems to always be a problem coming over the hill that is
too large for us to handle. Deep down we are still very small
children; we face unknowns and roads that haven’t been traveled.
As we study God’s words and they find their way into our hearts
and spirit, the horrors and the fears move aside. We begin to
feel like an eighteen-wheeler running down the inter-state of
life smashing whatever gets in our pathway. We know that no
problem is too big when God is our power source. His word
proclaims, “… he giveth his beloved sleep: (Psalm
127:2 KJV) He will give it to the grandchildren and he will
give it to us. The answer to this force that could destroy order
as we know it can be stopped in its tracks.

Our faith can
give us tranquility of mind and keep us relaxed no matter what
is happening in our midst. So as individuals we must believe! We
must stand in the midst of horrors of every description and let
the psalmist proclaim to us, “… a thousand shall fall at thy
side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come
nigh thee.” (Psalm 91:7) We do not need to arm ourselves to
the teeth if we are spirit filled and running over. God has
always fought for His people and He is not about to quit now. He
will put brakes on the moon stop the sun and start firing chunks
of ice out of heaven and killing the enemy. We only need a
double portion of that spirit that moved upon the face of the
deep! This is guaranteed protection from every evil force we
will ever face. When Jesus said, “… nothing shall by any
means hurt you”, He meant that NOTHING SHALL BY ANY MEANS
HURT YOU. With our Bibles we can conquer terror and crime!

CONQUERING UNHAPPINESS

The happiest
man that ever set foot on this earth was Jesus. With a gleam in
his eye and a knowing in his heart he said, “These things
have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and
that your joy might be full” (John 15:11) We live in
a world where we are deceived with the idea that if we have
things we will be happy. Somewhere we picked up the stupid idea
that we must secure our future with some kind of financial
security, have an expensive home on the lake or golf course and
live a materialistic life. Nothing could be any farther from the
truth.

When I was a
child, our family of nine lived in a two-room log house without
indoor plumbing, electricity or medical insurance. I remember
that at a very tender age I watched my mother care for us
without any of the creature comforts that we all enjoy today. As
she would iron our clothes, with irons heated on a wood stove
and sing the old hymns of the church there was something that
flooded that old log house that was more powerful than
electricity and would in those days bring our healing without
giving a thought of visiting the doctor or the hospital. As I
watched my mother pray over the food at meal times and kneel
beside our beds and pray when we had our childhood diseases, I
look back now and realize that she was teaching me more by
example in those formative years than I would ever learn in the
years to come in any type of formal educational setting. She
seemed to meditate and talk with Jesus in all her waking
moments.

God’s peace
and joy is universal. He can and does comfort a peasant slaving
in a rice patty and calms the tensions of a born again
billionaire signing the most important document of his lifetime.

Our Lord looks
into the hurting eyes of humanity, both poor and rich, and
invites all who are weary and heavy in heart to come to him for
the rest and peace for which we yearn. He told people then and
He tells people now that a good and full life does not come
through owning a lot of things. He taught and He teaches that we
should live for each day and to not be too concerned about what
is coming over the hill tomorrow. This may sound too simple, but
it isn’t. If we have enough for today we really do not have a
legitimate complaint.

With a small
band of a dozen very ordinary men, Jesus started a caravan of
hope that has spread around the world. Tonight a remnant of our
world population from every walk of life will sleep in peace
because the Holy Spirit of Heaven dwells within their bosoms.
This comforter does His work under all circumstances and in
spite of any conditions. The toughest job on earth is getting
people that are bound and blinded by things that have absolutely
no eternal value or offer no solutions to the real problems of
life to understand the simple way in which the maker and ruler
of all has designed in which we should walk. I would urge you as
you read these words to pause and maybe look up. Jesus himself
said, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts
unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11:13)
There comes a time when we must set aside some things we have
been taught. We must look up to Heaven and ask for this Holy
Spirit that guides us into all truths and satisfies the longing
that everyone who walks this earth has burning in his heart. We
can find happiness, and we can find it in our Bibles and in
being filled with God’s Holy Spirit. There is a sign at one of
our local tourist attractions. It says, “I came here to find
myself because it is so easy to get lost in this world.”
This isn’t hard to understand. Everyday, if we will listen, we
will hear that small and tender voice within. It will gently tug
at our heart and offer itself to guide our lives. As we read our
Bibles and open ourselves to the real truth of God, we will be
ushered into a higher level of peaceful living. What an
opportunity! How much more can we ask? When the night is dark
and fears and uncertainties lurk in every corner of our mind we
can look up and sing in our off key voice:

Peace, peace,
wonderful peace

Coming down
from the Father above

Sweep over my
spirit forever I pray

In fathomless
billows of love

Some years ago
I heard an old war veteran testify. He had lost an arm, an eye
and had other very serious injuries. I will never forget him
saying, “You have never really lived until you have nearly
died.” Most of us know somewhat about what he was talking.
We know that one day we are going to leave this world, yet we
have a tendency to sweep this fact under the rug. Because of our
laws that must show equity to all, no secular grammar school,
high school, or college offers this most precious preparation
course on its curriculum. If you haven’t already done so, maybe
this simple message will in love and good faith someway prompt
you to think of your eternal destination. It is really not too
much of a task to make our stand and to ask for forgiveness; to
open our hearts to an exciting life of faith that will last
throughout eternity. To ask the Jesus that died for us to make
his abode in our hearts. To fill that void that is with us when
we go to sleep on a troubled pillow. To fill that space that we
have tried to fill with so many artificial substances .… and
none have worked.

The Bible has
many benefit lists. One says, “… forget
not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who
healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from
destruction; who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender
mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy
youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:2-5 KJV)

Some years ago
I read a story of an old man who walked the streets of a major
city wearing a sandwich sign. On the front side it said, “I AM A
FOOL FOR JESUS”. After you passed him and looked back, the sign
on his back read, “WHO’S FOOL ARE YOU?”  There is an old song
Connie Frances sang whose lyrics go, “Everybody’s somebody’s
fool, and there are no exceptions to the rule”.

The Apostle
Paul wrote, “We are fools for Christ …” (I Corinthians 4:10)
Then you may add, if we are not, then we are fools of
another nature. If we could be totally honest for a moment we
would admit that some one or some thing
has our number. We are a fool for somebody or something, and it
is best if that somebody is Jesus. With him as our master and
Lord we can conquer unhappiness. We can be happy!

THE
BIBLE TURNS BAD THINGS TO GOOD THINGS

The other day
while I was waiting to have tires put on my car, there was a one
armed man waiting in the same room. When we struck up a
conversation and I asked about the loss of his limb, he replied,
“It is probably the best thing that ever happened to me.” He
went on to tell how it changed his life from hanging around bars
and turning into a drunk to getting an education and being a
leader and inspiration to many people both young and old. When I
first saw him I felt pity; after talking for five minutes I felt
a deep feeling of admiration and respect. He did not speak in a
boastful way, but when he started telling me of the things he
had accomplished and how much that he cared for people; it put
me in a self-searching mode. I thought of the scripture penned
by Paul, “… we know that all things work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.” (Romans 8:28) I have let disappointments get me
down at times. I have been a spiritual casualty. I have at times
just given up; and I know that it had an effect on others. For
this I am very sorry; but I did learn a lesson. The longer I
live the more I realize that the Lord is there with us in every
step of our lives.

Archie Manning
was at one time the highest paid quarterback in the National
Football League. When he was in high school he came home and
found his Dad had committed suicide because of the financial
pressures of his small business. It was a gory mess made with a
shotgun blast and Archie cleaned it up. Little did the senior
Manning know that in just a few short years their household
would produce three super athletes who would earn enough money
to make his financial problems look like pocket change. He gave
in to the pressures that we all face from time to time, and this
always has a tremendous effect on those that are close to us.

There was a
story in the news the other day that read, “Driver Kills
himself Near Spot Wife Died”. The article went on to tell
how a truck driver shot himself to death near the spot where his
wife was killed a year earlier on a motorcycle he had given her.
His pickup truck then smashed into an oncoming car,
killing another man, who was in no way involved
in the situation.

What we are
going through and how we respond is going to have a great effect
on someone near and maybe someone dear. If you are in trouble
don’t you dare give up. If we face impossibility … we must wait
for and receive our miracle. The Bible teaches that good things
come out of bad situations and our faith in a living and loving
Lord will bring these things about.

Many years ago
there was an old country song that said,
“I’ll cry myself to sleep and wake up smiling,
I’ll miss you but no one will ever know.”

We could take
this attitude toward the evil forces we contend with. There are
times we can cry … and weep for help from the Lord. But after
this comes the smile and the knowing in our heart that God is
going to make a way where there is no way. Things are going to
work out and they are going to work out well. It may not be
overnight, but who cares. We only have an eternity left if we
are trusting in our King. He will not let us down and He knows
how to turn our bad thing into a good
thing! How to give us conquering power through our Bibles!

IN
REVIEW

It probably
took fifteen minutes or less for you to read the preceding
pages; just what did we learn? How can we cope … make things
happen; get on with our life and be filled with Godly
contentment?

Number one …
Remember that B word. Grab your Bible, inspirational literature,
CD, DVD, or whatever and start your faith dynamo; by believing
we can change the circumstances and change our lives. The power
is here and it is available to all.

Number two …
Remember that getting across town was a problem until we learned
about internal combustion. It will work in your auto and it will
work in your heart. We go forward with the power we generate to
overcome our trials and obstacles. Keep loading on the fuel and
keep on keeping on! The color of your balloon does not matter …
fill it with heavenly helium and get out of this world!

Number three …
Conquer your fear with the ‘fear nots’ in your Bible. When the
world is caving in and there is no hope; snuggle up to the
greatest book on earth … and sleep in peace!

Number four …
Conquer the crime in your God given space; a thousand shall fall
at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but you are
going to be safe and at peace! Believe in the invisible God!

Number five …
Conquer unhappiness with the joy that comes from heaven; catch
the log house, no electricity, no insurance spirit of the living
Lord … Peace, peace, wonderful peace … coming down from the
Father above.

Number six …
Take a look; Whose fool are you? Someone or something
has us all; What or who has you? Take a
step …This world is NOT a good home.

Number seven …
Let a very good Lord turn your bad thing into a good thing. If
one man can lose an arm and gain a life…we must remember that
something good can come after our tragedy. The decisions we make
will help or hinder someone who is very close, precious and is
watching. It is better to believe and obey! Then conquer that
problem with your Bible!

Prayer: Father
take my life. I realize that every breath (26,000 per day) and
every heartbeat (98,000 per day) is from you. Every crumb of
bread and every drop of water is from your hand. You know my
thoughts afar off, my dreams, ambitions and also my faults; help
me to align my desires with what you desire of me. Forgive my
mistakes, failures and most of all my sins. This moment, this
hour, this day and this life is yours. I surrender to your will
and to your way. Jesus be my Lord forever. Amen

Things wise
men have said…

“You will
always miss 100 percent of the shots you do not take.”

“Some people
dream of worthy accomplishments while others stay awake and
do them”

Footsoldier Ministries/Jim Hobby