Steak Knife Salvation

In a city synonymous with great steaks, one man is grateful for the steak knife that helped spare his life. Steve Wilder, of Omaha, Nebraska, used a steak knife to perform an at-home tracheotomy. He took this drastic measure because he thought he was going to die one night last week after awakening and being unable to breathe.

Wilder said he didn't call 911 because he didn't think help would arrive in time. So, the 55-year-old says, he got a steak knife from the kitchen and made a small hole in his throat, allowing air to gush in.

As someone who is about as squeamish as any human being can be, this story churns my stomach. I cannot imagine performing my own tracheotomy! However, in addition to being completely "grossed out," it also helps me to reflect on the value of life.

What some people have done in an effort to spare their own lives is astounding. The stories you have, no doubt, heard of men amputating trapped limbs with small, dull utility knives should further serve to illustrate just how far human beings will go to preserve life.

Mr. Wilder was saved from death by his own courage and determination to live. How far will you go to be saved from "the second death" (Revelation 2:11), that is, eternal condemnation and separation from God? The wonderful news is that God's grace has provided the sacrifice we needed, but could not ourselves supply (Titus 2:11) in Christ. God requires only our faith (Hebrews 11:6), loving obedience (John 14:15; Hebrews 5:9), and a humble attitude of self-sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2).

How important is your own life? God has instilled within man an innate desire to live -- both physically and spiritually. When a man loses his desire to live (physically), this indicates a problem...perhaps mental illness. And when a man does not possess a desire to save his own soul, this too indicates a problem...a spirit that needs to be awakened and revived!

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6:2, ESV

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Mark 16:16, ESV

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Trained By Constant Practice

Charles Ray Fuller, a 21-year-old from North Texas, was arrested on forgery charges last week for trying to cash a $360 billion check (see the photo at right for an image of the actual check). I don't know how many $300+ billion checks pass through the average bank in a week, but tellers at the Fort Worth branch where Mr. Fuller attempted to cash his were a bit suspicious.

Fuller said his girlfriend's mother gave him the check to start a record business, but bank employees who contacted the account's owner said the woman told them she did not give him permission to take or cash the check, according to police.

In addition to forgery, Fuller was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon and possessing marijuana. I suppose there may be a link between the check scheme and the marijuana possession.

So, how did these bank tellers know the check was bogus? Do you suppose they were given years of intensive training by the FBI and U.S. Treasury? Do they possess some sort of super-human intelligence? Highly unlikely.

The bank tellers must have known Mr. Fuller's check was fraudulent because of their very average ability to discern the plausible from the implausible. This reasonable level of discernment has, no doubt, come through gaining months -- perhaps years -- of experience. The constant exercising of these senses has made the average bank teller savvy enough to pick up on many varieties of fraud. This reminds me of a verse of Scripture:

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 5:14, ESV

Let's shift gears away from check fraud and think about spiritual discernment. It is constant practice that gives the child of God the power to discern truth from error. By continued and consistent hearing, believing, praying, and obeying, the Christian becomes more well equipped as time goes by.

The English rendering of "constant practice" ("exercised," NKJV) is taken from the Greek term gegumnasmena, which literally means "to practice naked." When one understands the custom of the athletes in the ancient Grecian games of competing in the nude, this makes perfect sense. By intense training and constant practice, the Christian gains the same dexterity in navigating through life that the elite athlete does for his moment of glory on the field of play.

Let's all engage in a constant state of spiritual exercise, training ourselves to wind successfully through the course of this life in anticipation of that which is to come!

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Power-Packed Prayer

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
James 5:13-16, ESV

Three components of effective prayer seen here in these verses:

1) Persistence (v. 13-14)
2) Faith (v. 15)
3) Confession (v. 16a)
3) Righteous living (v. 16b)

Prayer is packed with power when these components are present. When we communicate with the Lord in the way he has prescribed, prayer has "great power as it is working."

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Strengthening The Souls Of The Disciples

The 13th and 14th chapters of the book of Acts details the travels of Paul and Barnabas as they made their way preaching the gospel throughout Asia Minor. They had preached to and converted a notable number of individuals in cities throughout the region, including Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.

Persecution of the saints of God was fierce at that time. A mob of Jews that had followed Paul and his fellow laborers from Antioch and Iconium persuaded some of the citizens of Lystra to aid them in stoning the evangelists. There, they dragged Paul out of the city and left him for dead (Acts 14:19-20).

After departing from Lystra, Paul and Barnabas journeyed to Derbe (v. 20-21a). The gospel was preached to the people of Derbe, and many obeyed the Lord and became His disciples. From Derbe, Paul and Barnabas returned to the cities where they had previously preached -- Iconium, Antioch, and Lystra (v.21b). Yes, the same Lystra where Paul had been stoned within an inch of his life!

What was the purpose? What could have been so important that it called for such a risky move on the part of this apostle? Verse 22 gives us the answer:

...strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Acts 14:22, ESV

Paul realized how crucial following up with recently converted disciples was in doing the work of an evangelist. Truthfully, at what point can we say a disciple of Christ is no longer in need of such encouragement? Does the need cease after one has been a Christian for five years? Ten years? No, my friend. We all need to be strengthened on a regular basis -- whether we have been a child of God for one year or 50 years!

A handful of observations here:

1. We sometimes place all the emphasis on how many baptisms a preacher, missionary, or congregation has to their credit. No doubt, baptisms are important; but what are we doing to keep them "encouraged and in the faith"?
2. I have heard of preachers who say something to the effect of, "I'm tired of preaching to the saved." To one who has such a mindset, I would simply say that the saved need to hear the gospel every bit as much as the unsaved!
3. Life has peaks and valleys. If we will immerse ourselves in the word of God before we get to those valleys, we will be more likely to "continue in the faith." It may be too late to encourage someone with the gospel by the time they are standing in the midst of that valley.

Let us never lightly regard the importance of teaching the gospel -- to the unsaved so they can be saved, and to the saved so that they can remain saved!

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The Secret To Daniel's Success

The secret to Daniel's success is not really all that much of a secret, for it has been recorded in the pages of Scripture for about 2,600 years!

When Daniel had been found alive by King Darius after a night in a den of lions, this was the explanation given by Daniel himself:

My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.
Daniel 6:22, ESV

Well, that was rather predictable, right? That same cause and effect has been observed and related in Bible story after Bible story. Ahhh, but you would be forgetting the rest of the story!

How was it Daniel was found to be "blameless before him [God]"? This did not come about by accident, but with a determined effort to live a holy life unto the Lord. Rewind your "mental video" of the account of Daniel back to almost the very beginning of this book.

When Babylon had conquered Judah, King Nebudchadnezzar summoned for some of the people of Israel (Daniel 1:1-3). As part of his decree, he requested some of Judah's finest young men to be brought forth (v. 4). Among these young men were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (the latter three being more widely known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego).

King Nebudchadnezzar's plan for these young men was for them to be educated in the ways of the Chaldeans for three years (v. 4-5). When young Daniel was offered the king's food and wine, he declined. There was quite apparently something associated with the meat and drink at the King's table that would have conflicted with Daniel's religious convictions.

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
Daniel 1:8, ESV

Regardless of what the reasons may have been, this attitude of unwavering faithfulness to his God in the midst of a crooked and ungodly society would prove to be the key to Daniel's success. The key word is "resolved."

Daniel's success came in the form of surviving a night in the midst of a hungry den of lions. Your success and mine will come by overcoming our adversary the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

If we will "resolve" to do what is right and shun what is wrong, we can experience success. If we wait until we come to the "fork in the road," my friend, it is probably already too late! Be resolved even now to be faithful to the Lord your God!

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Thoughts On 'The Christian Graces'

Verses five through seven of Second Peter chapter one are commonly referred to as, "The Christian Graces."

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
2 Peter 1:5-7, ESV

Consider these brief thoughts relative to "The Christian Graces":

1. All of us need these.
2. All of us need all of them.
3. None of us are born this way.
4. Adding these to our character will enable both others and ourselves to see that we are a child of God.

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Polly Want A Wake-Up Call?

Parrots can be a noisy nuisance sometimes, but there is at least one Muncie, Indiana family that may never complain about that noise again.

Shannon Conwell and his nine-year-old son awoke about 3 a.m. last Friday to find their home on fire after hearing their Amazon parrot, Peanut, imitating a fire alarm. The smoke alarm was functioning properly and had activated, but it was the bird's matching call that awoke Conwell. Upon realizing the gravity of the situation, Conwell grabbed his son and the bird on his way out of the house.

Paul's God-breathed words to the church in first century Corinth were as follows:

For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you then, be imitators of me.
1 Corinthians 4:15-16, ESV

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1, ESV

When you follow the example of a true-hearted Christian, you are following Paul. When you follow the Godly example of a Christian who is following the lead of Paul, you are following Christ. Your words stake claim to being in the light of Christ. When people imitate your faith and manner of life, are they (by connection) following Christ?

The Conwells of Muncie, Indiana learned how crucial an effective imitation can be. Men and women outside the body of Christ need an accurate imitation of Christ -- sounding the warning cry, and leading others to safety.

When people imitate your faith and manner of life (and they will), will they be led toward or away from safety?

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Remember Lot's Wife

In Luke 17:32, Jesus made this very simple statement: "Remember Lot's wife."

When we go back and look at the example of Lot's wife in the divine record (Genesis 19:1-26), here is what Jesus is telling us to remember:

Remember Her Privileges

• She was faithfully instructed
• She was a relative to one of God's chosen -- Abraham
• She was warned of danger

Remember Her Fate

• It was merited
• It was sudden
• It was final

Practical Reflections

• Beware of earthly entanglements
• Beware of questioning God's commands
• Beware of disobedience

May our memory of this woman's fate, recorded for time immemorial, be an admonition to trust and obey the word of our God.

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Look Up!

"Give ear to my words, O LORD,

Consider my meditation.

Give heed to the voice of my cry,

My King and my God,

For to You I will pray.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;

In the morning I will direct it to You,

And I will look up."

Psalms 5:1-3

If you want to be distressed, LOOK WITHIN.

If you want to be defeated, LOOK BACK.

If you want to be distracted, LOOK AROUND.

If you want to be dismayed, LOOK AHEAD.

If you want to be disappointed, LOOK TO MAN.

If you want to be delivered, LOOK TO CHRIST.

If you want to be delighted, LOOK UP.

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Take A Lesson From The Roadkill

There are few things in life more distasteful than a man who refuses to take a firm position. Living in the "gray area," "straddling the fence," and "standing in the middle of the road" on any important issue seems to be more popular than ever in this "uber-politically-correct" world in which we live.

How does your opinion of an individual change when you find out they have been "playing to both sides?" It is hypocrisy at its very height. Why is standing in the middle of the road dangerous? For one thing, you are in danger of getting knocked down from the traffic on both sides. Take an lesson from our little friend in the photo above!

Another reason that certainly bears our consideration is that such a non-committal, cowardly way of thinking greatly displeases the Lord. Consider his words...

And Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you go limping between two different opinions; if the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." And the people did not answer him a word.
1 Kings 18:21, ESV

So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:16, ESV

History's greatest men are those who have dared to commit to a cause. The has-been's and never will be's of the ages are replete with those who were not committed enough to any cause to stand up and fight.

Are you "limping between two opinions?" Quickly vacate the "middle of the road," for that is truly the worst place you can be!

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Unfeigned Faith

When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that is in thee also.
2 Timothy 1:5, KJV

Most English-speaking Americans do not utilize the term "unfeigned" on a regular basis. We might be more inclined to say, "sincere," as the English Standard Version so translates. Obviously, this sincere faith is a very commendable attribute; it is something to be desired by the people of God today. Here is just a handful of items entailed in this idea of sincere faith:

1. A firm stand for righteousness (Ephesians 6:13-18)
2. A life that triumphs over sin (1 John 5:4)
3. A heart indwelled by Christ (Ephesians 3:17)
4. A life growing in spiritual attainments (2 Peter 3:18)
5. A consistent walk of good report (Hebrews 11:1-2)
6. A life lived to please God (1 Thessalonians 4:1)

I am thankful for you who live "sincere faith."

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