Category Archives: Direction

The Key to Peace

Perfect Heathen

“Listen, that boy is a perfect heathen,” she said. Actually, I wasn’t really listening as much as overhearing, but I couldn’t help but marvel at the obvious paradox. A heathen is, by definition, a person that does not acknowledge the God of the Bible, let alone live by His instruction. The Bible speaks of the heathen one-hundred-fifty times, and never in a good light. In fact, God calls the ways of the Heathen filthy and abominable. He commands us time and again not to participate in the “shame of the heathen” nor learn their ways.

If someone were aspiring to be “perfect” at something, heathenism would certainly not be a good choice. True, the word heathen seems pretty benign in American culture. How about the word pagan? That word tends to evoke lots of horrible images –images of everything from polytheism to the heinous, unspeakable sins that the pagans commit– yet the words heathen and pagan are pretty much synonymous.

Conversely, striving for “perfection” is a worthwhile and desirable pursuit. King David said, “I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way (Psalms 101:1,2a). The Hebrew word for perfect is taw-meem, which means that David’s heart was undefiled, full of integrity and truth. The Bible uses the word, perfect -with all its derivatives- almost one-hundred-fifty times as well. However, that which is “perfect” is always pleasing to God.

Perhaps you believe, dear reader, that you can never be perfect. Truthfully, if you are striving for perfection according to the heathen’s definition, you probably won’t ever attain it. But if you acknowledge the God of the Bible, and have a heart like King David’s, you most assuredly can. After all, perfection and righteousness are pretty much synonymous; and the Holy Bible has given us ample instruction as to how to live righteously before the LORD.

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Co 7:1).

Having said that, I pray you all have a perfectly glorious day!

The Biggest Little Word

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What is the biggest word in the Bible?

The answer may surprise you. The biggest word in the Bible is “IF.” You may ask how I could come to that conclusion? Simple, it is because this tiny word carries enough power in it to move mountains. Even so, this word is probably one of the most overlooked and neglected words in the entire Bible.

For example, notice the first word of II Chronicles 7:14:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Is it possible that there is so much turmoil in our land because we are asking God to heal our land but neglect the “if” part –to humble ourselves, and pray, and seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways?

God is not a man that He should lie, so obviously, we as a nation are neglecting the prerequisites that God set forth for the healing of our land.

Another example may be found in the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy. Here, we are instructed:

And it shall come to pass, if you shall listen diligently to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that the LORD your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth.

Scripture then goes on to promise abundant blessing and prosperity to those who obey all of God’s commandments. I hear much about the blessings, but seldom do I hear anyone mention the prerequisite “IF.”

The Bible says that God uses the foolish thing of this earth to confound the wise. I guess he uses the smallest things too. Remember, dear reader, the word “if” has enough power in it to move mountains, when we obey the words that “if” preceeds.

Bumps and Spills

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He was a tall man, so I couldn’t see the contents of the cup he was holding. I assumed it was coffee, but I was wrong. You see, as quickly as his bouncy sidekick bumped into him, orange juice sloshed all over his expensive white dress shirt. No one would have ever known what was in his cup if he hadn’t been bumped.

That made me think; human beings are all “vessels” (Romans 9:21). However, we do not all contain the same thing. Sometimes, the best way to know for sure what is inside a person, is to see what spills out when he or she is bumped.

O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things (Matthew 12:34,35).

Dear reader, has someone bumped you lately? And if so, what spilled out? As for me I, like King David, pray:

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer (Psalm 19:14).

A Canardly

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A few years ago we adopted our outdoor dog from a rescue shelter. She’s a mixed-breed, but I was fairly certain of what those breeds were, based on her color and markings. Still, I asked our veterinarian for his opinion. He told me she was a Canardly. I’ve never heard of such a creature, I told him. “There’s really no way to tell what she is,” he explained. With these mixed breeds, one can ‘ardly tell.” I thought that little play on words was cute, and I’ve used it ever since.

Our beautiful Canardly has turned out to be the most loving and loyal dog of all. Plus, she is an incredibly vigilant watchdog. Obviously, being a Canardly isn’t such a bad thing for a dog. I don’t recommend it for Christians, though. How can we teach others about Jesus if they can ‘ardly tell that He is the Lord of our lives?

Jesus warned: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth (Revelation 3:15,16).

I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I would rather someone be frustrated by my fervor than confused by my complacency. After all, if I’m not passionate about my Lord, Jesus Christ, how can I expect others to be?

Today, I leave you with this thought from Charles Spurgeon:

Believe me, brothers and sisters, if you never have sleepless hours, if you never have weeping eyes, if your hearts never swell as if they would burst, you need not anticipate that you will be called zealous; you do not know the beginning of true zeal, for the foundation of Christian zeal lies in the heart. The heart must be heavy with grief and yet must beat high with holy ardour; the heart must be vehement in desire, panting continually for God’s glory, or else we shall never attain to anything like the zeal which God would have us know.

Polished Pearls

Little Pearls of Inspiration