Good News for the Weary (a Devotional by Phil Nelson)

I’d like to share with you a  Bible verse devotional by my friend Phil: [Start of Devotional] Isaiah 40:29-31 (NIV) 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Feeling tired, worn out, empty?  Want to give up and quit?  Before you do take a moment to read the text for today.  Consider the promise and who it is for. Who is it that will find strength from the Lord?  The one who is weary.  Who is it that will receive power to keep on going?  The one who is weak. All you have to do is live in this fallen world a little while and you will notice that it takes something superhuman to be able to face all the challenges of this life. It seems crazy to believe in a God who promises to have everything under his control and that it all will work out right in the end. Isaiah was writing to those who were in bondage in Babylon.  They had lost their homes and families and now found themselves in a foreign land with no possible way of ever getting back.  To make matters worse their own children were now being given foreign names of pagan deities and forced to learn the pagan customs in the public schools of Babylon.  How could all this even be ok with God?  Is he or is he not on the throne? Perhaps this finds you at a time when you have pretty much told God that if he does not come through you are done with this whole Christian thing.  Before you check out take a moment to think with me about what this text tells us. Sure there is enough to cause even the youth to grow tired and weary.  Even the young men in the prime of their life will not be able to stand against such a culture that is set against the very truths we profess.  Is this the end of the story? There is one great big but.  Thank God for the big but.  (My daughter Lydia would be laughing by now.)  Think with me for just one more short moment.  Those who, in the face of such insurmountable, impossible circumstances, refuse to give up their trust in the Lord will renew their strength.  It will happen as you turn once more to the Lord and cry out to him.  You will be lifted up on eagle’s wings to see things from God’s perspective yet again.  You will find a new energy to take up the race once more.  You will find a way to continue to walk in his way and not faint. How can you know this to be true? As you go back to God and place your faith in Him once again.  Trust in his promises and give him your doubts and fears and let him restore you as you meditate on these truths. See you in the skies on wings of Eagles Pastor phil [End of Devotional] ~Riley

Bad News, Sin and Good News: Proverbs 12:10

Here are some recent news headlines:

“pardoned Mississippi killer says he wasn’t on the run,”

“teen sues family over alleged abortion threat,”

“doctors cheated on medical certification exams,”

“crew in disaster, “like Marx brothers,” passengers says.”

We need a better way of thinking.  And when I say “we,” I mean everybody.  You your friends, your relatives.  This is what I’m getting at:  Why do we look at the news each day? To judge the sinners and praise those who have won a prize for working hard?  From all of these abstract news stories, each with its own twist (angle) and details how do we have standards for right or wrong? Are we not all sinners?  Aren’t there people out there who, day to day, do great things and aren’t even recognized for doing them?  

I want to talk about sin today.  The new year has passed and maybe you have turned over a new leaf.  Say you sinned in 2011, you did some horrible things.  And you don’t want to discuss them with anybody because they are in the past.   It’s a new year.  Since 2 weeks ago, you’ve changed.  Maybe you haven’t really thought about sin, you’ve just done whatever you wanted since the first of the year.  I want to share a statement with you.  Here is the statement; sin is wrong.  I need to take this in everyday and you do to.  It’s a reality. 

Each day we sin.  Some days we do it in certain ways, on other days in other ways.  Now when I say “sin is wrong,” do I mean, “some sin is wrong but other sin is permissible?” No! That is, all sin is wrong!  Many times I am tempted to sin and the bible tells me I can expect to be, “my son, if sinners entice you do not consent.” (proverbs 2:10) I love that this is such a simple piece of wisdom, but that it is also so easy to understand and must be obeyed.  If you are tempted to sin, restrain yourself from the urge!  Let me take this a step further.  Though don’t simply restrain yourself from sin.  That is not the lesson here. The lesson is not to restrain yourself from sinful temptations but to do what GOD calls you to do. 

If your job is to teach students, you have the responsibility of being an effective teacher.  Say you are a wide reciever on a football team.  You must listen to your coach and practice day after day so you become good at catching the ball.  When it’s game time, you want to be a player on a winning team.  If you are a professional musician, you have to play the music in front of you the best way it can be played.  Each one of these professions call for hard work on behalf of the teacher, player or performer.  It takes practice, it takes patience.  And though accomplishing something is hard, the LORD gives us patience and the ability to practice.  I’m thankful for this wisdom.

SDG,

~Riley   

Repentance

My pastor gave a sermon a year or two ago and the topic of the sermon was repentance.  Supported by the teachings from the bible, I still holds true today.  My pastor used the book of Samuel to talk about how Saul was unrepentant and the consequences of his being unrepentant.  Saul is afraid of the Philistine forces that are to come against him in battle in Samuel chapter 28.  There were not hundreds but thousands of soldiers accord to ch. 29.  My pastor said the lesson was however, not that Saul should be worried about this incredible number of foes rising against him.  It was that Saul did not have a connection with the LORD.  Consider in ch. 28 verse 6, “and when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not consider him.”  this is the lesson.  My pastor says we should be afraid if this is the case with us.  If we don’t have a connection with Jesus, we should be afraid.  Now when most people are afraid, it’s over tests or stress, uncertainty.  If someone said I had to go skydive sometime, I would be very afraid.  It will probably never happen, the point is this.  We have to worry not about the cares of the world, if we have a job next month, if people will like you, if you will have enough money to afford the rent.  It’s not about these things.  It’s about putting GOD first and repenting.  Repenting means you acknowledge to GOD that you are a sinner, that you fall short of him but that you trust in him to help you.  When you do not put your trust in GOD, you may be seen by GOD as mistrustful.  Psalm 66:18 says, “if we regard inequity in our hearts, GOD will not hear.”  I only want to trust GOD and hope this article helps you understand the concept of repentance in your quest to serve the LORD.

Why atheists have it hard.

I am to answer a question in this post.  But before I do, I have to make a statement.  That is, before I explain why atheists have it hard, I first must argue that atheists have it hard.  So.  Atheists have it hard.  Why do they have it hard?  They do not believe in GOD.  And for whatever reason that is, the unchangeable is they don’t.  If atheists had it easy, they wouldn’t have to explain to everyone why their belief (or lack thereof) is with warrant.  I’m not saying that something must be right if everybody believes in it, and it is not clear to me that everybody believes in GOD.  And indeed, some do not believe in Jesus.  If you are one I encourage you to read scripture.  Here is a verse in Isaiah: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10) “  If it is hard to believe that there is a GOD, one argument is lack of evidence, here is a question.  What evidence do you have that there is no GOD?

Glory be to GOD,

R

 

Bloodlines – John Piper

The Leader of the All Creation (Isaiah 24)

Some people think that there is no higher power, no Muhammad, no Buddha, no Jesus.   I don’t want to talk about these people.  I want to talk about a verse in the bible.

A verse in Isaiah reads, “Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.  And it shall be, as with the people, so with the preist; as with the slave, so with the master, as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the burrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor.  The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the LORD has spoken his word” (ESV).

If I am correct in saying, the word of the LORD in this passage means the bible.  What the bible teaches is that there is one creator (Book of Genesis).  Some say this is false.  What amazes me is that there are some people who see amazing things, and they say, “no big deal.”  There is always an excuse for its greatness, there is never a genuine awe, just cynicism.  So I urge you to look in the bible and read it regularly.  Chances are I cannot convince you to believe in Christ outright if you are a staunch atheist.  But this is why the bible is so important.  It doesn’t just give one non-believer reason to put his or her faith in Jesus, but every non-believer who is as skeptical as can be.  Some food for thought.

Blessed be the name of Jesus,

~Riley

Why Having Discipline Proves that Loving the LORD is Wise (Proverbs:12)

I was watching TV this morning and came across a commercial that impressed me:

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Viewers see a student, Jasmine Wade, who has a goal–to become a pediatrician. She has come up with a plan that will no doubt require hard work and unwavering long-term commitment and dedication, though she says she will devote herself to this plan “100%”

It is great to see this young lady appreciating what her teacher, Ms. Gopie, has done for her and probably convinced her to major in biology in college.

On TV,  what I repeatedly see is silly. People interrupting each other on national news to increase their show ratings and commercials that feature men and women all but completely naked. And this is considered normal! This fact all but makes me sick

I think in this day and age we (and when I say we I mean the average person who watches at least 3 hours of TV a day) watch tv as a practical way to fill our free time. In some ways, it’s for entertainment, but at the minimum it is to fill in the hours we have free every day.  Correct me if I am wrong.

And there are some good shows out there, I will admit. But I think there comes a time when everyone must realize the big picture of things. I don’t know the student in the commercial personally, but I like to think I know she must like discipline. A saying has it, “in order to come up with a plan and stick with it, you need discipline.” I would like to share a verse in the bible. It goes deeper, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

I confess I have not been disciplined this summer with reading the bible, and though I have had a job, it is no excuse. Nonetheless, it is a lesson which importance I cannot stress too much!

Do you have a plan in the long-term future? I want you to take stock in what gift GOD has given you, if you have not already. Maybe you don’t want to be a chemistry teacher. Maybe you see yourself helping the poor. Whatever it is, stay focused and show graciousness to those who help you along the way to achieving it, even if you don’t expect graciousness in return.

A sinner who has been continually blessed,

~Riley

If GOD gave us the ability to sin, then it’s ok right? NO! (Psalm 26:2-3)

I have talked to atheists and agnostics on campus. I want to show each of them their need for Christ. Not just the students on campus, atheists and agnostics everywhere.

What I always seem to hear, in some similar wording is that if GOD gave us the ability to get drunk or watch porn or do whatever that constitutes sin, then we should be able to do these things, because we can do them.

This type of logic is alarming to me. It makes me want to repeat a short story I heard that may help sense of this dilemma.

Imagine you are young. You are about 5 years old. You are in the kitchen helping your mother make dinner. You are an only child and your father is at work. He will be home late, but right now it’s just you and your mom. Your mom is drinking water and cooking. You are doing homework at a table in the kitchen.

Your mom tells you she has to go to the bathroom. She has been frying vegetables in a skillet on the oven range. She tells you to watch the frying pan while she is away. She then tells you calmy, “do not touch the pan, it is very hot.” you agree and accept this challenge.

Your mom leaves and you approach the oven range. You are very curious at this age. Let’s say you understood your mom, but you are very curious about HOW hot the actual pan is. So you reach your finger out and touch it. You burn yourself and it hurts a lot. You scream and your mom returns to you quickly in panic. She finds an ice pack in the freezer and tells you to hold it to your finger. She asks you why you touched it and says, “I told you not to touch the pan, why did you do that?” You tell her that you were curious, and she tells you you need to follow directions.

So what is the application, the take-home point of this story?

When in front of a hot pan, don’t touch it?

When you sin, you know it is wrong. You know you should not do it. Whether it’s gambling or cheating or whatever. But you do it anyway? Are you crazy!? Maybe you’re curious, maybe you’re not. The point is, you do something that you should not do.

Agnostics and Atheists say, “if I was given the ability, then it makes it ok.” Actually an atheist would not believe in being given the ability by GOD because they don’t believe in GOD, but typically it’s what some call a “devil’s advocate” point. You are just trying to play along with the game to understand it better, you don’t actually believe it.

What does the bible say in response to this?

Proverbs 26:2-3 reads, “Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.”

If you truly love Jesus, why would you do what you shouldn’t do? If you want to represent him in the best way you can, you must do what is glorifying to him. By burning yourself, you do not demonstrate discipline. And more on discipline, if you read Proverbs 3:11 you will learn it’s of the first importance to master. If someone tells you not to touch the pan, that means everytime you have the opportunity to touch a hot pan, you resist the urge.

By the way, I have definitely burned myself touching hot pans before. I am the fool in the story. But I am better for knowing now the importance of loving Christ and the wisdom the bible teaches!

Soli Deo Gloria,

~Riley

Atheist Literature

If you have read my blog, hopefully you will have gotten the impression that I love Jesus.

I came across a magazine that had some pretty nasty things to say about anybody who believes.

I would like to share these writings to bring the darkness to light. It’s stuff that, at certain times when I sin, I am guilty of thinking, if not writing. If you do not believe GOD and you are convinced that what you believe is right, here is some of the trashy beliefs you will be associated with.

If you agree with these writings, I wonder why? Do you believe in something similar to them but different?

Here are some writings, the authors names have been left out to preserve anonymity:

“Atheist Evangelist”

I want to peddle atheist bibles

pages filled with the absence of theology

door to door like some kind of pseudo-Mormon

to nations of hopelessly faithful people

I want to sell bumper stickers saying

No Jesus No Problem–Know Jesus Know Problems

and My Boss is a Prussian Socialist

I want to give scientific sermons

to sanctuaries full of converted creationists

who suddenly ask what about the dinosaurs?

I want to perform anti-baptisms

sprinkle babies’ foreheads with cold coffee

while I recite verses from Dr. Suess

submerge new-found non-believers in baptisteries

filled with hot air and the unholy spirit

make my followers mimic words after me

confessing lack of faith to a congregation

of backsliders singing songs of sloth and surrender

I want my communion to consist of

full bottles of wine and absolutely no bread

let the people drink till they’re honest with themselves

I want to be an atheist evangelist

preaching the notion of blessed nothingness

a missionary converting religious savages

sent to save them from their superstitions

to cleanse them with purity as gray as ash

to offer them hope as real as a heart attack

and a destiny as cold as damp black dirt.

(Break)

Here is another one:

“The Religion of Esther Starling

I, too, close my eyes over fried chicken and sugared peaches and let the words of prayer

wash over me the way sleep settles in tired eyes at night. I always believed that faith

was in the calluses on my father’s hands and folded into the crow’s feet around my mother’s eyes.

And hymns were sung best by the water bubbling down Wilson’s creek and the wind sieving

through the pussy willow on the banks where I used to play as a child.

Leaning my head into the soft grass, I would sometimes pretend to be a bird, like robin

always perched on the lowest limb of the cotton wood, while Matilda, only 3, would pluck ladybugs

off her still-white legs. I would not see her get up and wobble to the creek’s edge

until she lay, face submerged, water sluicing through her downy waves. And it was here, watching

my father beat on her chest, her wet hair saturating the earth, that I saw her choke in a small wisp

of air, and that I know God lived not among the think pages resting on my mother’s night table,

but in this grassy knoll, among the cotton wood and pussy willow.

(Break)

So why post these two pieces of prose? One about a man who wants to lead a worship team for Satan, the other who sees God as nothing more than the earth.

Why post these two pieces with Easter being tomorrow? I think it’s important to realize that not everyone believes in Jesus.

There are all kinds of people, people who passively reject Jesus and people who just don’t believe in anything but reason.

And, if I am correct, a believer can expect to see opposition and even people who aggressively do not believe in Jesus.

At this time I would like to quote a verse in the bible, Psalm 3: 1-8:

Psalm 3: 1-8

O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;

many are saying of my soul,

there is no salvation for him in GOD.

But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,

my glory, and the lifter of my head.

I cried aloud to the LORD,

and he answered me from his holy hill.

I lay down and slept;

I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.

I will not be afraid of the many thousands of people

who have set themselves against me all around.

Arise, O LORD!

Save me, O my GOD!

For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;

you break the teeth of the wicked.

Salvation belongs to the LORD;

your blessing be on your people!

(Break)

Isn’t this writing more beautiful and benevolent compared to the first two works? I really am able to see Christ’s grace in these verses.

But that’s not even an acceptable question because nothing can compare with the impeccable word of the LORD!

Soli Deo Gloria,

~Riley

 

Job 32 and why Jesus is Amazing

I had the special opportunity last Sunday to do something I haven’t done before. It was a challenge that a friend of mine from church put me up to. He asked me if I wanted to preach at a retirement home.

At first when he asked me, I thought he meant that we would go to the home and talk to retired men and women about their faith. A sit-down affair. This, however, was not the assignment.

The night before, my friend asked me if I would be up to it. It was something that was definitely out of my comfort zone, because I don’t have a lot of experience speaking in public and I have never really done preaching speeches before. I have of course written blog articles on this site that I hope show who Christ is in a positive light, but to preach the good news of Jesus in the format of a speech is a different task altogether.

My friend said it was not something he was forcing me to do, and that I should not do it if I didn’t want to. I said I would look over a verse and see if I could preach on it and talk to him about it the next day, if I would actually carry through with the job.

Sunday morning rolled around and I found a verse in the bible that I thought was pertinent to the situation. The chapter is Job 32. It speaks of a young man, Elihu, who is talking to three older men. He says to them, “I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you.”

So my friend drove me to the home and I delivered a short message. I was repeating Job 32 to a room full of people, most of whom are aged over 60 or 70 years.

I felt like Elihu. But I was not trying to focus on the part of chapter where Elihu says, “it is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.” If I was, to say I was insulting them would be nothing less than true. Instead, I wanted to emphasize that “[...]It is in the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.”

I repeated the importance of the Ten Commandments and ended on how GOD continually shows his amazing grace.

We sang songs and I had the privilege of hearing testimonies of faith from many of the residents of this retirement home. I was thanked by many for preaching to this group.

Looking back on it, I know it was me talking, which could suggest this is just an act of self-righteousness, and in a way, it was. But my ultimate goal for this speech was to glorify the name of Jesus. And if that was accomplished, then work was done.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Riley