The Spirit of Adoption

To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Galatians 4:5-7 KJVA

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Romans 8:15-17 KJVA

Adoption is one of the kindest acts in the entire bible. The Lord takes those who are not wanted and makes them His own. Along with this adoption come all the benefits of being an heir. The thought of actually being a joint-heir with Christ is incomprehensible. This miracle can only be accomplished as God enters into covenant with Himself on our behalf as He did with Abraham. Our only contribution to this phenomenon is that of giving God our retched condemned lives.

Today God expects us to follow this same pattern so we too may become adopters of the unwanted-making them the wanted. Being grafted into the family of God means you stand with the privileged.

I realize there are many who have actually been adopted yet feel unwanted and unloved because of the rejection of their parents. They not only feel unloved and unwanted but the spirit of unworthiness gnaws away at their very soul by telling them they are not worthy.

Growing up in the late 30s, 40s, and early 50s I was adopted into many homes-even though I was never legally adopted. Unlike the above who felt unwanted, I felt wanted by a lot of people. I may have lacked in many things, but I never lacked in being wanted.

As I think back on those early days perhaps my greatest asset was the ability to see the glass half full rather than half empty.

Today I can not imagine not having those early life experiences. Each one was needed in building my character and preparing me for my life's ministry. I honestly have a deep appreciation for my journey and realize it was unique.

Perhaps my life was a bit usual because it did not fit into the typical pattern of an adoptee. The spirit of sorrow (1 Samuel 1:15) never invaded my mind because God had given me a thankful heart, so I never gave the spirit of sorrow any opportunity to take root.

Father,

I thank you for giving me such a unique life. I was not only wanted by so many people but you wanted me as well. I thank you for all the mothers and fathers who adopted me into their hearts and homes. However, the greatest of all adoptions was when you adopted me into the kingdom of God and made me a joint-heir with Jesus. Then you told me Lord, that I could boldly come into your presence any time I wanted. I truly am most blessed.

Amen!

What You Are Called Will Not Matter

(John 4:20-21 KJV) Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

(John 20:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

There are many different types of churches today as well as a variety of beliefs in each church. Every Christian wants to be right in their beliefs. Perhaps that is why their beliefs vary somewhat.

The thought of being right had to be in the woman's mind when she made the statement to Jesus at the well.

Jesus' answer to her was interesting and should cause all who read this passage to examine their beliefs. It should not only cause us to examine our theological beliefs, but also our ministry calling.

Back in the days when I started ministering I was often asked, "What are you?" What they meant was, "Are you a pastor, evangelist or missionary?" Even though folks could clearly see what I was doing they still asked the question because I apparently did not fit the customary mold.

Answering such a question was hard for me since I had been doing some of all three. As a matter of fact I had a passion for all three. I really wanted to answer their question but felt guilty because I did not have the answer. This agonizing question was on my mind far too much in the first five years of my ministry.

One day while driving from Des Moines, Iowa to Kansas City, Missouri the Lord suddenly spoke to me in such a way that I have never asked Him the question of "What am I?" again. I was so overcome by His presence that I had to pull my car off the highway for awhile as He ministered to me. When I understood His answer to the question I put my head across the steering wheel and repented for ever asking Him the question in the first place. That was about forty-five years ago and I have never asked the Lord that question again.

What the Lord showed me was that He was all things and He wanted to be Himself through me. Putting me in a category would limit Him as to how He could use me. Once I saw the picture I have never wanted to be anything other than an empty vessel for Him to pour Himself through.

I am amazed at how people advertize me on their marquees. Some say I am a teacher, others say I am an evangelist, while others call me a prophet. Each time I look at the marquees I say, "Lord this is what the people need from You today. I thank you Lord for allowing me to be the empty vessel that you are going to pour through".

God is raising up a whole new breed of people today that feel the same way that I feel. They know they have a call of God on their lives, but they do not fit the typical mold of pastor, evangelist or missionary. I want to encourage these people to yield themselves to the "empty vessel ministry" and God will do the rest.

Even though there are many today who do not fit the typical Ephesians 4:11 ministry calling of pastor, evangelistic and missionary...I still believe they are the foundation of all callings.

The woman at the well was seeking truth as to where was the best place and way to worship God. Jesus gave her the answer by saying "believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father." Verse 23 ... "but in spirit and in truth"

Father,

I thank you for giving me the 'empty vessel ministry'. Lord I know that you have a special ministry for all of your children. However, I am particularly happy for the "empty vessel ministers" who have no particular ministry, but stand ready to be used by You at will. I pray they will never be intimidated by the question of "What are you?" because What You Are Called Will Not Matter.

Amen

Hot Check Charlie

As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, So honor is not seemly for a fool.

Proverbs 26:1 ASV

This is quite a profound scripture. I cannot help but wonder what provoked Solomon to write such thoughts in the first place. Snow in summer, rain in harvest and honor for fools-these seem to be far flung thoughts with no explanation. Perhaps Solomon intended for us to search out his meanings of these thoughts for ourselves.

The point seems to be that honor is not bestowed on everyone. There are certain character qualifications that are needed to be a recipient of honor. People can do powerful things in their lives, but if they are without character then they will not receive honor. Hitler is a good example of one who did powerful things, but he died in dishonor. Therefore it is not about how big the things are that you do, but how big your character is while doing them.

Some experiences in life are almost too good to be true, while others are too bad to forget. Such was the case with me and many others like me back in the mid fifties when trying to get a good job was out of the question. That means that I was thrilled to even get a bad job.

I have had many interesting 'Charles' in my life, but the one I want to talk about today was no doubt the icing on the cake. This Charlie remodeled homes for a living and was always open to hire a fresh new dummy. If Charlie paid you at all, he paid you with hot checks. Those of us who worked for Charlie referred to him as 'Hot Check Charlie'. Since jobs of any kind were hard to find I figured I would rather have a bad job with hot checks than no job at all. Charlie was what you might call a high level manipulator who did not have a lick of character. That means if you were going to work for Charlie you had to learn how to out manipulate the manipulator.

A person like Charlie was certainly not a candidate for honor apart from a miracle in his life. However that is what the cross of Calvary is all about. Charlie may not have been guilty of having any real character in his life but neither did I before I met the Lord.

Perhaps Solomon was thinking about all of the 'Charlie-types' of the world when he wrote our text. I think it is far too easy for us to judge those like Charlie who may have been on their way to salvation, and forget about our own wretched 'Charlie-life' before we were saved.

I never cease to be amazed at how quickly we forget about our own 'Charlie-life' as if it never happened. Maybe it would be good for us to reflect back once in awhile just to keep us from walking in false pride.

Father,

As strange as it may seem I do thank you for putting Charlie in my life. I am sorry Lord that I was so busy trying to out-manipulate Charlie's manipulation that I forgot all about telling him about You. Help us all Lord to be more alert to “Charlie spottings” and ministry opportunities for the kingdom.

Amen

Waiting for Bread

"I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread."

Ps 37:25 NIV

I do not think I fully understood this scripture until I was much older. When I was a young preacher I had to believe God for each morsel of bread I put in my mouth. I thought this scripture only worked in proportion to the level of faith I had for my provision. Faith is certainly a major part of receiving from God, and I do not want to minimize that. However, after having ministered for almost fifty years I think I may have missed what David was trying to say. Hebrews 11:6 says, "...without faith it is impossible to please [God]..." No doubt our faith is pleasing to God, but His love and dedication to our well being far outweighs any level of faith we may have to motivate Him.

I think maybe David was trying to tell us that God wants to provide for us because it is His nature as a Father. Fathers usually want their children to be blessed and have more than enough. It is a very comforting thought...to know that our heavenly Father is looking out for our needs and at times even our wants.

There seems to be at least two ways to express one's faith. The first way to express our faith is by believing that the Lord wants to do good things for us.

The other type of faith is what I call a forced faith. This means that you believe God is going to provide for you, but you have never developed a father-son relationship with Him. In other words you do not walk in the cool of the day with Him and talk to Him and find out what is on His mind. However, in spite of that, you believe He is going to provide for you because you believe His word.

Everything takes a measure of faith and I certainly do not want to minimize that. But, on the other hand, I believe we need to be careful lest we use our faith in an unrighteous way. The way to use your faith in an unrighteous way is by expecting God to provide for you, but you refuse to develop a close relationship with Him.

As I look back over the years I realize that God provided bread and provision for me before I even knew Him as Lord. Maybe this is what David was talking about. As strange as this may sound, although I remember as a young child going without food many times, I cannot ever remember being hungry. I think maybe this could even be a part of what David was talking about. Perhaps my heavenly Father was feeding me with a spiritual food that was so satisfying that my natural hunger was erased.

If that was the case, then maybe those who read this should be encouraged that "God is no respecter of persons." If you are going through dark times and your faith is low, God is more than willing to feed you with His spiritual food. Praise God!

Perfecting faith is a journey and not a destination.

Even though God provides for me today in a different way than He did in my past, I shall never forget the joy of learning to walk by faith. He taught me how to believe Him and rejoice even for the small things. Because of those lessons, I have developed a grateful and thankful heart even for the small things of life.

Father,

I realize that living by faith is much harder for some people that it is for others. I thank you Lord for trusting me with this 'faith lesson' and for teaching me to expect your precious provision every day. I also realize that each of us is called to our own individual challenges. Lord you taught me how to wait for the daily bread that you had already prepared for me. Thank you Lord.

Amen.