The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of His power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:7-8).

What a statement by the Apostle Paul. Most of us have such an admiration and appreciation for this man that we probably tend to elevate him in our thinking to a place that he would NOT want to be! I’ll be honest. The Apostle Paul, in my mind, is often that of a giant! I mean, think of it. He faced hostile crowds. He traveled on perilous roads. He crashed in the terrible storm on a ship being destroyed. He preached with passion and power even in places where he was beaten and stoned. After being arrested and whipped, he sat in the Philippians’ jail (along with Silas), and at midnight sang praises to the Lord. AMAZING! Yet that is not how Paul viewed himself. Not at all! I truly believe one of the main reasons that the Apostle Paul was so super-effective was that his life was not all about himself. He was humble. He kept a proper perspective of the Lord and a proper perspective of himself. Read again our verses and see how he thought and viewed himself. This is just what we need today.

For today: The Lord is great. I am not. The Lord is high and lifted up. I am not. The Lord is God. I am certainly not. But I can serve the Lord! Folks can be too big to be used but not too small.

“Better is the poor that walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool” (Proverbs 19:1).

Two men and their families lived across the street from each other. How different their lives were. The man on the north side of the street was well-to-do. He and his family had the latest, the best, and the greatest of the goods that this world had to offer. He had something else as well. He had a mouth that was perverse and could be best described as the very mouth of Proverbs 19:1. This idea of perverse has to do with being twisted, distorted or crooked. Some of his funds were gotten illegally. He bragged about his ways of cheating here and there.

On the other hand, a man lived on the south side of the street. He and his family had little of this world’s goods. They worked hard to simply make ends meet. There were times that they had little in the bank, and most would consider them to be poor. But they had something that the wealthy neighbor didn’t have. They had it better! “Better is the poor that walks in his integrity.” This man was known far and wide for his honesty and integrity, and he had the reputation of being a trustworthy citizen. The writer of Proverbs tells us that this man’s life could only be described as “better.”

For today: By the world’s standards, you might not have much in the line of material wealth. But if you are walking in integrity, the Bible says that your life is “better”! Think about that today!

“A man that hath friends must show himself friendly…” (Proverbs 18:24).

I’ll call her “Harriet.” Harriet would sit on the steps of her front porch and scream at the children as they walked past her house. She would tell them, “I own this space. Get off my property.” The “space” upon which the children were walking was the edge of the road that ran in front of her house. She was the most unfriendly person in the entire neighborhood. People tried to help her but would be met with, “Get off my porch!” or “Get away from my door!” She was mean, cantankerous and just downright unfriendly. Then the day came when she told someone, “I’m moving out of this town. No one is friendly around here!” True story! Obviously “Harriet” was an extreme case. But it makes me think just a little bit today.

As a believer, I am to function as salt and light in a very dark world, according to Matthew 5. It would seem to me that to best function in that capacity, I need to trust the Holy Spirit and yield to the Word of God to help me become a person who does not drive people away. In fact, the fruit that the Holy Spirit wants to grow in my life (Galatians 5: 22-23) are the very characteristics of a friendly person who draws people in such a way that they, too, will see the change that Christ is making and want Him to be their Savior. Let’s not be a “Harriet” today!

For today: May the difference Christ can make be clearly seen in our lives today.

It came in the form of a text on my phone. It was a “warning that I had outstanding motor vehicle traffic tickets and that I failed to appear in court. An arrest warrant would be issued unless I paid $318 immediately by following their directions.”

I knew it wasn’t legitimate.

Our county Sheriff’s Department had issued a warning to our residents of this scam. I also looked up the area code where I allegedly was receiving traffic tickets for my apparent reckless and wild driving. The area code from which this text originated was Manhattan, New York. I live in Ohio near Cleveland. Believe me, I seldom drive any longer. I drive primarily just around my small neighborhood and very limited trips.

At first, this scam was little more than a nuisance and an annoyance. Then it made me mad. While I was not fooled this time, I wonder how many other folks would be terrified of an arrest warrant and pay the demands. It would be foolish to do so, you protest. I agree. But can’t you see the correlation between the lies of these scammers and the lies of the evil one?

The Lord Jesus powerfully reveals to us what we need to remember about the character of our spiritual enemy. He said to the rejectors in the crowd of people, “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father, ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). We see his wickedness in his fall (Isaiah 14:12-15). We see his wicked lying and insinuations in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-5). The Apostle Paul gave us this powerful warning in Ephesians 6:10-11, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” He goes on to remind us that spiritual battles are real and that God has provided everything we need in that precious armor (Ephesians 6:12-18).

Dr. Mike, do you really believe in a real, literal fallen devil? Yes, I absolutely believe God’s Word.
Dr. Mike, do you really believe in a real, literal Garden of Eden? Yes, I absolutely believe God’s Word.
Dr. Mike, do you believe that people still fall for Satan’s lies? Yes, sadly I do.

No matter what thoughts come along to you today, no matter what emotions or feelings you might sense, may I honestly and lovingly encourage you to put your trust in what God has told us. We have His Word and can trust it completely, declare and depend upon it, and rest assured that God’s Word will never fail. As you are preparing to be on your way for today, please let me share one more Scripture verse with you. “Thy Word is true from the beginning: and every one of Thy righteous judgments endureth forever” (Psalm 119:160).

“In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

“Jack, I don’t know how to begin to thank you,” Jim said. “From the time I was just a little child I attended a church that had nice people in it. But we never heard much about the Bible, and we certainly didn’t hear how to know the Lord. We thought we had to be good enough to get to Heaven. Then I met you and your wife. You surely were patient with me. I know I argued a lot with you about how to get to Heaven. Thanks for not giving up on me. I’m glad that I finally learned that Jesus Christ paid for my sin in full by His death and resurrection. Thanks for showing this to me from God’s Word,” Jim said as tears filled his eyes.

“Thank the Lord that He never gave up on either of us,” Jack replied as he swatted his friend on the arm.

How about you, friend? Do you know for sure that there is only one way to Heaven? Do you personally know the Lord? Check out “Heaven—Are You Going There” on my website www.michaellpeck.org

For today: Aren’t you amazed at the wonderful grace of our Lord?