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Guest Post-Ryan Spires

Wednesday, November 13th, 2024

It was around 2007 that I met Ryan, Amanda, Dominick, Keegan and Aleah Spires. They had moved into the area from Nashville, TN and had begun a correspondence with one of the men in the church. Chris was the administrator of our church website. After their first visit, we went to Chicago’s Pizza in Elletsville (where they were living) and a friendship began to develop that still stands today. They have moved to Martinsville, IN, about 30-40 miles away, but we still try to get together for a meal. Sometimes Ryan and I have ridden bikes together.  Dominick has recently married. Keegan has moved near Indianapolis to work. Aleah is pursuing a college degree while working at Starbucks. So their household has changed. What hasn’t changed is our friendship. In fact, we got together just this past Friday night for supper. Sadly, Texas Roadhouse was so busy the wait was 55 minutes with no parking spots available! We went just down the road to Cheddars. But the best part of the evening was the laughter we shared.

When I mentioned that I would be posting guest posts while I was rehabbing from my knee replacement surgery, Ryan submitted the following. He told me I could post it…or not. As if…

As I finished up reading Chapter 18, titled “Counted As Warriors” from Brent Henderson’s book The Roar Within, Brent provides a laundry list of emotions, feelings, and thoughts that the enemy had been shooting at him during a low time in his life.   As I read the list, I could see myself clearly writing most of the same.  I even added a few additional.  Satan likes to take the truth and twist it just enough to make it sound like it is plausible.   This is his standard operating procedure and has been that way since the garden. 

How often does he do that with me, with us?  Perhaps he twists the truth enough to believe a little white lie is not all that harmful.   Perhaps he twists the truth enough to justify our negative reaction to our spouse’s or kid’s actions.  Perhaps he twists the truth enough to make us believe that we are to worthless, too sinful, too shameful, too hurt, too broken, too <fill in the blank> to make a difference… So we stop.

The list Brent shared includes items like disappointment, worthless, divorced, unable to please. I added a few of my own: weak, unsupportive, lazy, hypocritical, numb.

I am sure we all have a list of lies we have believed or currently believing. So what do we say when we counter the lies from the enemy and shoot right back with arrows from God’s word? Jesus didn’t simply come up with some nifty self-help quotes when tempted by Satan.  He didn’t try harder, buckle down, and push forward.  He used scripture. 

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

So what should we believe?  We should believe that God loves us UNCONDITIONALLY.  I know we can rattle off the phrase that He gave His only son for us… but let us not take that lightly.   I don’t know anyone on this earth that I would sacrifice my children for.   

Because of our Father’s sacrifice, I am now a CHOSEN and ADOPTED CHILD of the Living God.  I have a purpose and a reason for being.  Not because of what I have done, but because of who God is and what HE did for me.   I have worth and value in my Father’s eyes and I must never forget that.

Good words here. It is so important for everyone of us to remember that we are important and valued in God’s sight. It is also important for us to not listen to the lies of the enemy.  Thanks Ryan for your “heart words.” Do you have something you would like to share with others on this site? I would be glad to include it during my time of recovering. 

BTW: they say Day #3 and #4 are the worst. I’ll let you know. 🙂

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October 30

Wednesday, October 30th, 2024

In my daily Bible reading, I began this morning in the book of Romans. Considered Paul’s magnum opus, it is chalk full of truth. All kinds of truth. The purpose of this devotion today is not to give an overview of the whole book, but to give a glimpse into chapter 1.

  • Verses 1-7 has Paul greeting the Roman followers of Christ. He gives some serious doctrinal truth as to who Jesus is.
  • Verses 8-17 has Paul grateful for the Roman followers of Jesus because the love they have for Jesus has spread and others have heard about their love. He gives, perhaps, the most succinct purpose of the Gospel in verses 16-17: “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes-the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life.'” (NLT)

But then he lowers the boom. He writes about God’s displeasure with sin-all sin. His approach is multi-pronged:

  1. There are those who disregard God Himself. They deny His existence. I would put them in the “We can’t see Him so He is not real” camp. Paul says they are without excuse. (v.20). He says those who want to think that way are fools. Instead of worshiping a real God, they worship a fake god (images of people, birds, animals and reptiles).
  2. Then comes a very distinct and very confrontational passage: verses 24-27. These are called “clobber verses” because they are used as clubs to confront, judge, condemn and beat people over the head who struggle with SSA. In all honesty, only those who want to justify theirs-or someone else’s actions-can overlook this. BUT…
  3. I am stopped dead in my tracks by verses 28-32. Lest I get arrogant and stand on a self-righteous soapbox, there is a laundry list of sin that condemns us all. We may say, “SSA? Not me!” and feel good about ourselves. But hold on! Look at the list: every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. Then Paul writes, “They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.” As each one is leveled, we start hopping around lest His divine foot stomp nail our feet to the floor and expose our sinful heart.

Short recap I know. There is so much more to say. I simply say: investigate on your own. Read this chapter slowly, all the while asking God to speak to your heart. The message will not only be clear; it is one you cannot escape. I think we all need the message of Romans 1, but I especially am grateful for the simple words about Good News in verses 16-17 (see above).

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October 23

Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024

Of all the questions people ask, one of the most frequent is “Where is God when it hurts?” That is put in different way, like “Why do Christ-followers suffer?? or “Why does God feel so far away when I’m going through a tough time?” I’m sure you could add your own variation to that. This morning as I was reading Psalm 13, I flashed back to the first time I ever looked at this psalm in depth. I was in a period of deep questioning-not when it came to where was God- but in my own life’s purpose. It was, and has been, one of the most eye-opening experiences I ever had. I’d like to share that with you today.  I’d like to suggest a Bible and a highlighter (different colors) as you study.

The chapter is written by King David. {Following Scripture is from the NLT}

If God truly forgot David as he says in verse 1a: “O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?”

Why does he say at the same time that God truly loves him unceasingly in verse 5a: “But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me”?

David also says in verse 1 that God hid his face from him: “How long will you look the other way?”

But in verse 6b he says God was good to him: “Because he is good to me.”

In verse 2 David said he struggled (wrestled) with many thoughts and had sorrow in his heart every day: “How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart everyday?”

Yet in verse 6 he sang with joy: “I will sing to the Lord.”

Finally, in verse 2b David said his enemy had the upper hand: “How long will my enemy have the upper hand?”

Yet in verse 5b he says, “I will rejoice because have rescued me.”

How can that be? Is there a discrepancy between the verses? No, actually there isn’t. The difference is between David’s feelings and David’s beliefs.  David felt God had hidden His face from him, but he believed God’s love for Him was unceasing. David felt God had hidden His face from him, but he believed God was somehow good to him.

The same is  often true for us. There is a disconnect between our feelings and our faith. And there you have just one more reason why we should not trust our feelings over our faith. And it is also one more reason why we should not get trapped into thinking “just follow your heart.” Feelings are deceptive.

Follow your faith, not your feelings. Anchor yourself in God’s Word; don’t rely on your feelings.

{Note: my unfailing thanks to Randall Arthur and his book Wisdom Hunter for the insight into this passage. It forever changed my life}

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October 2

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024

The life of a Christ-follower is a life of struggle. If anyone says anything differently tell them to take a hike. The whole idea of an “easy life” is nuts.  The whole teaching that a follower of Christ is to never struggle and live only in victory is whacked.  It has been my experience that to live for Christ is difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. It is hard. It is a constant ripping at the heart, the very fabric of my soul. If, according to the health/wealth false teachers or the New Apostolic Reformation so-called “apostles and prophets,” I’m messed up, then so be it. Jesus suffered; I will suffer. Jesus felt abandoned; so will I. Jesus felt alone; guilty.

The good news is that I am not alone; I do not suffer alone; and I’m not left defenseless. Listen to these words from Psalm 119. See if they don’t challenge and encourage you:

“Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!” (v.5)

“How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word.” (v.9)

“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (v.11)

“Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.” (v.37)

There you have just 4 verses from my reading of verses 1-40 this morning. If I was to “organize” them into thoughts I would say:

  1. Be consistent.
  2. Obey the Word.
  3. Stay in the Word.
  4. Focus on Him.

I wish more than anything that I could say, “Do these four things and you will never fail!” While in theory that may be true, in reality it won’t happen. Stumbling is a reality; failure (giving up) should not be.

Be consistent. Obey the Word. Stay in the Word. Focus on Him. Easy? No. But worth every moment. May the words of this Scripture be your guide today. 

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October 1

Tuesday, October 1st, 2024

Every once in awhile-not often but once in awhile-I hear someone say, “God doesn’t care about me.” I could argue the point from Scripture, but for the most part, when a person’s feelings and emotions get involved that is almost an effort in futility. But, then again, that is my go-to. I can’t argue subjective feelings. And that is why we have such messed up ideas of what is right and what is wrong. Subjective feelings vs objective truth. Many don’t want to hear or follow what the Bible says because the objective truth of the Word goes against their subjective feelings. Way back in the late 70s there was a song called “You Light Up My Life” that had the lyrics “It can’t be wrong when it feels so right.”  That’s it in a nutshell.

If someone is governed by their feelings how do you/how can you point out right and wrong? “The Bible says” loses out to “But I feel.” I read Psalm 118 this morning. Here are some words that set us on the right path: “The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” (verses 6-9 NLT). 

I want to add two more verses to that: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust my feelings. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to follow my heart.” Yeah…I know you are not supposed to add to the Word, but I’m not advocating that. I’m taking the current way of thinking and showing how it would work.

Objective truth vs Subjective feelings. You choose. I know which one I do.

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September 25

Wednesday, September 25th, 2024

Yeah. I know it’s early. Early for what? “I know Bill does these devotions at 0-dark-30. Is that what he means?”

In all honesty. No. As soon as I write what is to follow you will understand.

In one sense, the whole of Scripture is both a lesson in history and a promise for the future, in order that we may become like Jesus and glorify Him in the present. It’s often been said that in the Old Testament Jesus is predicted, in the Gospels He is revealed, in Acts He is preached, in the Epistles He is explained, and in the book of Revelation He is expected. (p.159)

Okay, so may that wasn’t so revealing. 🙂 This will be:

Christmas isn’t only a celebration of what our newborn King came down to earth to save us from; it’s a celebration of what He came to save us for-eternal life with Him in His perfected kingdom. (p.163)

Now you get my drift? This whole month of September I’ve been reading a new book by Alistair Begg entitled Let Earth Receive Her King. Yes. Christmas devotions. 24 of them to be exact. The preceding two excerpts were from #23, which I read this morning. “Seems awful early to be reading Christmas devotions,” you might be thinking. Really? Have you seen the Hallmark Channel? Christmas in July…August…September…October…you get my drift. 🙂

Putting all kidding aside, as I read #23 today-and particularly highlighted those  two excerpts as I read-it struck me how the Scripture all comes together. It is like one big woven story. I once heard someone say, “There is a scarlet thread that weaves its way from Genesis to Revelation.” I’ll add to that: the thread makes its way from the heart of the Garden and Adam’s sin through the sacrifices directly through the heart of the cross all the way through to the return of Jesus.

See the Bible as a whole-not as random pieces slung together. It tells a story-a redemptive story-one woven through the fabric of every scene, specifically designed for us to see and know and learn.

Don’t neglect the Book. And don’t slough off the story of Christmas…even though it is only September. In this one way the Hallmark Channel can teach us that the Christmas story-the real Christmas story-is timeless and to remembered all year long.

{Selections excerpted from Let Earth Receive Her King by Alistair Begg- The Good Book Company- Copyright 2024}

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September 19

Thursday, September 19th, 2024

A switch of gears today. No commentary. No “human” thoughts. Just allowing Scripture to explain and illustrate Scripture.

Luke 19. Jesus is entering Jerusalem riding on a borrowed donkey. It was a prophecy fulfilled from Zechariah 9:9- “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!  Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet He is humble, riding on a donkey-riding on a donkey’s colt.”  The people were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” Meanwhile, the religious leaders were telling Jesus to silence His followers. Jesus replied, “If they keep quiet, the stones along the road would burst out into cheers!” (19:40)

Psalm 98:7-9a. “Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the earth and all living things join in. Let the rivers clap their hands in glee! Let the hills sing out their songs of joy before the Lord.” Jesus knew what He was talking about. If we don’t praise Him, creation will. This is only one example of Scripture, especially in the Psalms, where we are told creation will break out in praise.

Let’s not allow creation to do the praising. The sunrise. The sunset. The vivid colors. The display of God’s handiwork in the sky. The display of God’s creative ability in the changing leaves and the hues of colors. May we be like those on that first Palm Sunday shouting out our praise to the King of kings and Lord of lords.

{Note: All Scripture from New Living Translation}

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September 17

Tuesday, September 17th, 2024

As one can expect there are many different views of God. Some are heretical, but those are not the kind I’m speaking about. Views like God is a God of wrath. Of Love. Of Vengeance. Of Patience. On and on it goes.

There is one which is gaining traction, I think, these days: God is a God who hates. On one end we have disgusting, narrow-minded, bigoted people who say, “God hates fags.” Or “God hates people of a different color, race, or different lifestyle than us.” On the other hand, we find a reaction from the side that says, “God is a God of love and hates bigoted, homophobic, racist people.” You know…ad infinitum, ad nauseum (on both sides).

How about this? God hates no one. While it is true God hates sin-and we all sin and will have to pay someday for our sin-God loves His image-bearers (that would be all of us). Proof you say?

My pleasure. “And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. For this is how God so loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.” (John 3:14-17 NLT)  Please take special note of verse 17. Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save us. Case closed. He has offered us salvation, forgiveness of sin, and freedom from the chains and shame of sin. To all who look to the cross (depicted in verses 14-15) salvation is offered. Not forced…offered. How can anyone read verses 16-17 and say, “God hates (you fill in the blank).” Those verses say the exact opposite! God of hate? Think again.

We might flippantly say, “God is a God of love.” The truth of the matter is that He most definitely is! His arms are open. Open the door of your heart and let Him in.

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September 4

Wednesday, September 4th, 2024

For over a decade the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a ratings juggernaut. Iron Man. Captain America. Spider Man. Ant Man. The Hulk. Thor. Captain Marvel. The Avengers. And more. They seemed like an unstoppable force. Like all fads, however,  they got old. Creativity sometimes goes downhill. Sometimes the crowd changes. Sometimes “watch fatigue” sets in. The man behind MCU was a smiling man wearing sunglasses who always had some type of cameo in the movie. His name was Stan Lee. Stan had a personal catch-phrase he used to sign off  with  in his monthly columns in Marvel comics for decades-the word excelsior. If you look up excelsior in the dictionary it has quite a history. Here is a brief explanation of its history:

Onward and Upward With Excelsior. In 1778 the state of New York adopted a coat of arms incorporating the motto “Excelsior,” Latin for “Higher.” Decades later, the motto sparked the imagination of the young Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and in 1842 he used it as the title of an allegorical poem of doomed idealism. (Merriam-Webster).

That is an interesting use of a term by Stan Lee. I have no clue whether he was a Christ-follower or not, that is not my purpose in this post. Instead, I prefer to take that word excelsior and apply it to the life of the Christ-follower. Stan once tweeted, “Upward and onward to greater glory! That’s what I wish you whenever I finish tweeting! Excelsior!” Again, I don’t know Stan’s eternal state, but those words strike a chord with me. Is that not what the Christian walk is all about? Upward and onward? Is that not what the Apostle Paul was expressing when he said, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things (to know Christ, the power of His resurrection and experience the power of His resurrection from verses 10-11) or that I have already reached perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and received the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling me.” (Phil. 3:12-14)  (The previously mentioned verses 10-11 were also from Phil. 3).

All that growth is possible because of what Paul also writes in Colossians 2:7: “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”  Upward and onward happens when we go downward and deeper. I was recently talking to someone who was having to replace fence posts because the original were not placed deep enough and were breaking off. The same principle applies to a Christ-follower. Can you imagine the Empire State Building still standing if it had been built with a standard footer used to build a house? Think Leaning Tower of Pisa. For the follower of Christ He is our firm foundation. He is the rock on which we stand. Psalm 71:3 says, “Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.”

Where are you planted today? Remember Excelsior, but also remember that happening relies on your foundation.

{Note: All Scripture is from the New Living Translation}

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August 21

Wednesday, August 21st, 2024

I’m thinking this morning about control. In a moment I’ll tell you why, but first let’s consider what I mean.

Control can be seen in a variety of ways-both good and bad:

  • An employer “controls” the atmosphere at work by the way an employee(s) are treated.
  • A parent “controls” the behavior of a child by certain “rules of the house” that are to be obeyed.
  • A teacher “controls” the classroom by threats or by a little black book with check marks for daily actions.
  • A coach “controls” the team by extra practice or punishment for work not done or plays not run.
  • Churches or pastors “control” their church by rules and regulations.

It is the latter that concerns me. Last night I spent considerable time on the phone with a couple struggling with the legalism and “control tactics” of his parents. Scriptures taken out of context were being used to demean and undermine them and their marriage. The parents live several states away and belong to a cult that uses control to force submission on people. Hence the control tactics of the parents. The details are not important at the moment but suffice it to say that laying the guilt on thick is one of their tactics. Rules and regulations taken out of context are used to manipulate control over others. They were seeking guidance on how to handle the newest slam by the parents.

One characteristic of control is a pastor or a church using rules and regulations of their own making to control the narrative. If they can get a person to live up to their rules-go to church, tithe, dress a certain way, etc-the control factor is big. Sadly, a person’s commitment to Christ is judged on keeping their rules. What they really have is law, not grace. What we really have is a perversion of the Gospel.

Jesus once said, “These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.” (Mk.7:6-6 NLT) (And yes, I am a heretic because I didn’t quote the King James Bible).

All Jesus said was “Love me first.” That’s it! Love Him first. Not “Keep these rules and I will know you love me.” Love Him first. ‘Nuff said.

 

 

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