As I write this on the 4^th of July my thoughts go back to the days when Independence was declared from Great Britain. The eighteenth century was not just a time of political and 
military significance for this country, but also a time when spiritually there was a strong faith in God and an adherence to his Word.

In 1776 John Wesley was still preaching both in Britain and here in America. The great George Whitfield had been dead just 6 years but the effects of his powerful evangelistic ministry was still remembered vividly. The church building was the most important one in every community and the majority of the people were God fearing.

America was unique. The people that came here did so with the goal of living for the Lord in a way that was pleasing to Him and being free from the Religious tyranny that tied them to a corrupt State church.

In 1776 after years of struggle, political Independence became a reality.

Sometimes little things cross our paths and make an impression on us. Little things that cause us to think about other things that have greater significance.

As I left the house one day this week I saw a turtle making his way along the path. Thinking that I was doing a good turn, I lifted the little fella up and placed him gently on the grass.

A few minutes later I returned to the house to get something and looked to see where the turtle was. To my surprise he was about a hundred yards away and moving right along towards his eventual destination.

I watched him for a while as he slowly but consistently went on his way and it was then that the personal significance of what I was seeing started to capture my imagination.

My thoughts drifted to how, like that turtle, the journey that we are on has more to do with slow steady progression than in spasmodic, inconsistent sprints that are no more than a series of stops and starts that ultimately get us nowhere.

The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to “Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”( Heb 12:1).

In the preceding chapter of Hebrews we are told that Moses “Persevered because he saw Him who is invisible” (Hebrews11:27).

One of the great facts about the Christian church, is that throughout it’s existence, the Lord has chosen to use very ordinary people to do his work. It seems as if the He delights in taking folk that would perhaps escape the attention of everyone else and yet use them in ways that surprises everyone.

If any one of us was asked to pick twelve men that could change the world, I doubt that we would have chosen people of the kind that the Lord did when he chose the twelve apostles. They were ordinary working folk who according to the Pharisees were “Ignorant and unlearned men” Nonetheless these uneducated commoners, were not only pivotal in taking the gospel all over the Roman Empire but were also responsible for writing several of the books in the New testament.

Church history is full of examples of men and women like that. People who may well have been disregarded by the wise of this world and yet chosen by God to do great things in His service.

I think of William Carey, the cobbler, who as an apprentice, was invited to church by a fellow apprentice and there gave his life to Christ at the age of seventeen. At the age of thirty two, he set sail for India and that nation was transformed by his ministry and the missions organization that he spearheaded. One man said, “The Christian church owes more to William Carey and his mission than any one person since the Apostle Paul. Yet when he was seventeen everyone who know him would have said “This is just a cobbler”. They said of Jesus “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” Oh how little the carnal eye sees.

Who would have thought that a Pharmacist’s son from Barnsley in England, would after becoming a Christian at the age of seventeen, go on to form the “China Inland Mission” but that is what Hudson Taylor did. During his fifty one years in China, he was responsible for bringing 800 missionaries to that country, starting 125 schools and seeing 18000 people coming to Christ.

Those are just two examples of very ordinary people that the Lord used in amazing ways. Never doubt the potential that you have for being used by God. He can see something in you that no one else can........ not even you. Remember God doesn’t always call the qualified but he always qualifies the called.

That was the heart of David’s resolution.

In spite of the circumstances he was in—perhaps because of them—he used his voice to call on the Lord in prayer. He determined to express his faith and trust in his loving heavenly Father; he refused to sin with blasphemous words that have no place in the vocabulary of God’s children.

Lord, may we be resolved to do as David did, even when we’re facing what seem to be insurmountable obstacles, and we don’t understand why.

New Year’s Resolutions

Part One: Prayer

Happy New Year, everyone!! I pray that 2009 will be a blessed one for you and your families.

The past year has been a difficult one for our country in many ways.

The economy has taken a big hit, and people everywhere have felt the effects of what has happened nationally.

Many of us, myself included, were dismayed at some of the shenanigans that took place during the election season and are still very concerned about what clearly seems to be corruption and dishonesty in the corridors of power.

The lies and deception perpetrated by the mainstream media are nothing short of disgraceful. As a Christian, it is painful to see so much of what we value being trampled in the dust by godless people who despise what we regard as precious.

A number of years ago two men sat together on a train. As they sped along, one of them appeared to markedly enjoy the passing scenery. He declared now and again, in a fairly loud voice, “Wonderful . . . wonderful!”

One of the things that caught my attention this week reminded me of the faith of a child.

I went into the bedroom of our twin grandchildren, Evan and Leah, to pray with them at bedtime. After we prayed, I offered to tell them a story. They were, of course, more than ready for me to do so.

You are not really interested in analyzing what makes sense and what doesn’t. The following morning, the first thing Evan said to me was, "Grandpa, let’s go and find the bear." It was hard to explain to a three-year-old that it was only a story. To him there was no question. He was ready to act upon what he had heard.

 Although this was a totally insignificant, made-up children’s story, it was enough to remind me about the reality of a little child’s faith.

 My thoughts went to the time when Jesus called some children to Him and said these wonderful words: "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will

During my 35 years of full time Christian service, I’ve seen over and over again, the undeniable and glorious evidence, that God’s Word produces fruitfulness in the lives of those who take the time to study it and are diligent in applying what they learn to their day to day life as believers.

There is no substitute for the preaching of Word of God in the local church and yet so many churches today are replacing it with other things.

There is a large segment of this present church generation, believing that people can be reached not by the God ordained and instituted methods of evangelism and church life, but with a new, man made and in their minds “Improved” version (Yeah right!!). It’s a version tailored to try and reach a culture, that they believe will no longer respond to the simple preaching of the Word of God as past generations have.