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When a man becomes cold, indifferent, and careless, one of the first things that will suffer will be his devotion. When a sick man is in a decline his lungs suffer and his voice; and so when a Christian is in a spiritual decline the breath of prayer is affected, and the cry of supplication becomes weak. Prayer is the true gauge of spiritual power. To restrain prayer is dangerous, and of deadly tendency. You may depend upon it that, take it for all in all, what you are upon your knees you are really before your God. What the Pharisee and the Publican were in prayer was the true criterion of their spiritual state.

You may maintain a decent repute among men, but it is a small matter to be judged of man’s judgment, for men see only the surface, while the Lord’s eyes pry into the recesses of the soul. If he sees that you are prayerless he makes small account of your attendance at religious meetings, or your loud professions of conversion. If you are a man of earnest prayer, and especially if the spirit of prayer be in you, so that in addition to certain seasons of supplication your heart habitually talks with God, things are right with you; but if this be not the case, and your prayers be “hindered,” there is something in your spiritual system which needs to be ejected, or somewhat lacking which ought at once to be supplied. “Keep thine heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life;” and living prayers are among those issues.

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled “Hindrances To Prayer,” delivered September 13, 1871.

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The word “Goliath” is derived from the Hebrew word galah meaning “captive”, “stripped bare”, “denuded” in a particularly disgraceful way; shamefully exposed and conspicuously uncovered..

The word “Philistine” is derived from the Hebrew pelesheth, and palash’ words meaning “migratory/exiled” those who “roll” (or wallow)…as grieving in the dust.
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So the Philistines were camped on one hill and the Israelites on an opposite hill with a valley in between. There was no way for the armies to attack each other without being seen from a long distance. It would have certainly been a brutal loss for the one who attacked first.

So the Philistines came up with what they thought was an unbeatable plan – they would put one Philistine up against one Israelite.

Since they had Goliath on their side, and he was almost twice the size of any of the Israelites, they must have felt totally confident that he would obliterate the enemy and they would win the battle.

I had never looked up the meaning of the word Goliath, and was very surprised when I read the definition above. The meaning of names was a huge thing to the Israelites, and I wonder if David somehow knew the meaning of Goliath’s name and it helped him to have the faith he needed for God to deliver him from this giant everyone was so terrified of.

Somehow God worked in his life in such a way that he was able to get past all the negativity and fear of the whole Israelite army and have the total conviction that God would give him victory over this giant that was at least double his size.

Imagine how many people must have tried to talk him out of this ludicrous thing he was about to do (at least it was ludicrous in their eyes.) Nothing about his actions made sense at all in the way they looked at the situation. I’m sure they were bracing for David’s death and sad and fearful that they would be defeated and have to live in bondage for an extended period of time to the Philistines.

No doubt they were bracing for the worst scenario, but they were greatly surprised when they got the best. All of a sudden, they had overcome huge odds to defeat the great giant and the grave situation had turned around in an instant.

The Bible is filled with stories such as this where things looked hopelessly impossible and God intervened in such an incredible way that even the heathens knew He was something special and much better than their gods.

The next time you are faced with a situation that looks gigantic and totally impossible, remember that God is the master of making a way where it doesn’t look like there could possibly be one.

Get on your face before Him, and ask Him for a miracle like the one He did for David. He is the same God yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He wants to give you the victory in a mighty way, so ask Him to give you a mighty faith to believe He will do the impossible.

And Jesus taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

And another fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

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Jesus taught the people in language they could understand by using examples of everyday things they worked with. This way, no matter their occupation, they could understand exactly what He was talking about, as in the above verses.

The principal grains during Bible times were wheat and barley. They didn’t have modern machines that could do the hard work, so they spent much time getting the land ready to plant. The first time they plowed, the plow would only scratch the surface of the ground a few inches. It would have to be plowed many more times before it would be soft enough to plant seeds that would give a maximum yield during the harvest.

The time of plowing for some crops began with the early rains in September or October and continued until March. The field was plowed from several different angles to be sure it was broken up. Then it was gone over with a wooden harrow to level it off to plant. (A harrow is a large wooden timber or heavy piece of wood with nails or spikes sticking out the bottom. As it was dragged, it helped smooth out the field but also made sure the top layer was broken good for planting.)

When a field was cleared for the first time, there were stones and thorns that had to be removed so the crop could have its highest yield. If the thorns had been left, they would have sucked up much of the moisture the crop needed to thrive.

When God has called us to do a certain thing, He then takes the time to plow and cultivate our field over and over so that He can achieve the best yield. This is not usually a fun process because He is taking away thorns and rocks that will get in the way of producing the best crop possible. It is not fun to have sin uncovered in your life that you might have hidden away, or didn’t even know was there.

According the verses 5-7, some of the seed fell upon ground that was not prepared well enough to receive it. This was probably at the end of the rows or just places that had been missed by the plow in cultivation. Some of the soil was partially prepared to receive the seed so it thrived for a short time; but other soils were not prepared to receive the seed at all, so they never got the chance to sprout even for a short time.

Then the last part is about the different yields of fruit that spring up from the good soil.

The fruit yield is directly related to how much the soil has been broken up and how deeply it has been cultivated. To someone who is not a farmer, it would seem ridiculous to plow a field for 6 months before planting even the first seed. The farmer, though, would know that the yield of his crop was directly related to how much the soil had been prepared before planting the seed.

This is many times why you have to wait so long from the time God calls you to do something until the time it actually comes to pass. He is continuously tilling, plowing, and removing stones and thorns until the soil is perfect for planting. Then after the planting there is a time of waiting for the seeds to sprout and the crop to grow to a full maturity. All this must happen before there can be a plentiful harvest.

The next time you feel it is taking too long for God to bring something to pass, remember that He is busy getting all the hindrances out of the way so that He can use you to accomplish what He desires in a mighty way.

The next time you feel that you are being pushed, prodded, poked and bruised, just think about the fact that God is doing what it takes for you to reap a bountiful harvest.

It is God’s Law that you will always reap what you sow, so don’t forget that during the sometimes long process of waiting. Continually sow good things and you will reap a reward that is greater than you ever expected. The reward might come in a different way than you thought, but God always has your best interest at heart and He loves you more than anyone else ever could

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Zoo visitors are supposed to be fixated on the animals. Yet, during our recent family trip, it wasn’t the Galapagos turtles–the world’s largest tortoises—that captured my attention. In fact, it was the cage the zoo was building for them that I found so fascinating.

A sleek sign highlighted features of the coming tortoise exhibit: a state-of-the-art barn with heated floors, specially selected cactus, and an interactive area for visitors. The project would take months to complete at a price tag of $1.2 million.

Clearly, this was an impressive project. Yet, one thing struck me.

IT WILL STILL BE A CAGE.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s going to be a nice exhibit. Guests will probably love it. The turtles may feel like they’ve scored a penthouse suite. But the fact remains, if the tortoises trek through enough exotic plants, they will run into a wall and a reality check. Despite appearances, they haven’t been freed. They’re just being confined behind fancier bars.

The turtles’ scenario prompted me to reflect on my own situation.

Over the course of my life, I too have sunk energy and resources into upgrading my cage. I’ve slightly improved my social or financial condition. I’ve worked to ensure things that represent me—my appearance, job title, the way I carried myself—pleased others, outdid those around me, or at least kept me even with the next guy.

Along the way, I imagined I was moving closer to being free. But a few steps in, I’d slam into reality; I hadn’t found freedom at all. I’d just increased the personal pressure to perform at a higher level, to achieve greater numbers, and to be accepted by the right people. I’d dressed up my weaknesses and imprisoned myself behind fancier bars called “success.”

If anything, my “improvements” often made my journey harder. I ended up with more to prove, more image to manage, and more anxiety about the future.

Unfortunately, all of this soured the warm feelings I was actually chasing. And in the end, what we will find is the same truth the turtles did: you can’t experience real freedom while imprisoned.

So how did I escape my turtle cage? How did I free myself from this paralyzing system that I was trapped in?

The key that unlocked my cage was grace. When I clearly understood who I was in God’s eyes, I was freed. When I found my identity in how he saw me, the prison doors miraculously opened.

My value wasn’t based on my performance, success, or how many followers I had on Twitter. I found no pleasure in the typical benchmarks of leadership success and was truly at peace with being loved and wanted by him.

So how does this play out practically in my life?

Well, over the past few years, I have worked very hard at becoming a “person of no reputation.” I’ve discovered when you give up your reputation, you don’t have to spend so much time and energy defending and proving it.

For most of my adult life as a leader, I used my skills to create cover-ups to hide my failures and dysfunctions. The problem with this plan, of course, was that maintaining a publicly acceptable version of Mike Foster became my full time job on top of my actual full time job. Over time, this became one too many full time jobs.

In hiding my weaknesses, I eventually realized I had been denying something really important: the real me. And as much as I hate to admit it, the less desirable parts of myself are still me.

In fact, those traits are just as much me as any of my strengths or accomplishments. Trying to cut free of my flaws, then, was no more logical than trying to saw off a broken arm. Sure, a broken limb isn’t necessarily pretty or fully functional but, with some healing, it still holds potential to contribute. Good or bad, it’s still connected to the whole; it’s still a part of the story.

Becoming a person of no reputation has allowed me to risk more, take greater pleasure in my work, and to discover true community with friends and team members.

So what about you?

You know it is never too late for any of us to escape from our turtle cages. Maybe your first step is to become a person of no reputation. Or perhaps it means getting on the phone, swallowing your pride, and healing a messy relationship. Your escape might involve you overcoming your fear of failure and pursuing a new venture or job.

Maybe it means saying words we’ve never said before, refusing to dwell on our checkered past, or simply beginning to tell the truth of who we really are. Each of us knows what issues we’ve been dressing up, the fancy bars we’ve installed to imprison ourselves.

I’ve decided I’m through upgrading my cage. I’m taking a jackhammer to its walls and setting out after real freedom.

(Written by Mike Foster. His web site is www.POTSC.com)

It’s funny how we as humans want to always be master of our destiny and be in control of every detail. We want to make all the decisions and decide exactly what we will do and how it will be carried out.

God wants the Christian to live in the same way as a person who joins the military in whatever country they live. For the amount of time they signed a contract for, they are bound by law to obey whatever orders they receive and do it willingly. There are probably very few times they can see the whole picture of how everything fits together. They are only responsible for doing their particular job and are not to worry about any other of the details or how they might be carried out.

That is basically how God works. Sometimes He will show you the whole picture, but most of the time you have to look back and see how many unusual and awesome circumstances have fit together to bring you to the point you are now.

God sometimes decides to work in the lives of several people at once, so He has different scenarios He is working out. You may not need to know all the details because it might cause you to think you know where God is headed and you might try to second guess Him.

If you have asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, take a huge step and let God lead you in a new direction. Even though it might seem as if you are stepping out into the unknown, God is always in control and knows exactly where you are going; He is leading you, so you have no need to worry about getting lost.

Don’t play it safe and stay in your comfort zone any longer. Take an awesome ride with God as your Captain. I can say with certainty that life won’t be boring and mundane.

A gentle tongue (with its healing power) is a tree of life, but willful contrariness in it breaks down the spirit. AMP

Have you ever thought about how powerful words can be? You can use them to either build up or tear down others.

The Bible specifically gives instruction that whichever way you decide to use words will have certain consequences. It is easy to think you can get by with saying bad things because the consequences usually don’t come right away. We would probably all be much more careful about what we say if we felt the immediate results of our actions.

A person who has developed a very negative attitude wasn’t usually born that way. Satan is always on the lookout for the tiniest of openings where he can affect your life. If he can win in one small area, he knows he has a chance of dragging you down. He will start small, but if you give in he will progress to bigger and bigger things until he has control over a huge area; then he will break down your spirit.

How do you feel at the end of a day where you have said good things, had good thoughts, and practiced doing good things? It will certainly be much better than when you don’t make it a habit to practice those things.

Negative talk affects your spirit greatly. It doesn’t take much of it before you get in a bad mood; then you start to take it out on others, who wonder what they have done that would make you be ill towards them.

You always have a choice as to the words that come out of your mouth. You truly can make your life better by speaking good words. It will be health to your very being.

If you have started to become negative, make it a point to watch what you say for one week. At the end of a week, compare it to the previous weeks and see which way you would prefer to live on a daily basis.
With God’s help you can control your tongue and keep it from speaking negative things.

In order to stay on the right track, have a plan of action for when you start to slip back into your negative ways. As soon as you become aware of it, force yourself to get into a better frame of mind. Tell yourself that you don’t have to continue in this way. It is amazing how having a plan of action beforehand can help you stay on the right track.

You can’t control things that happen, but you can control how you respond to those things. Making the right choice ultimately will mean a more peaceful life, which means less stress and better health.

- Said Words
- Time Gone
- Opportunities

These three things don’t seem as important when you are younger as they are when you have lived a few years and maybe have some children and grandchildren of your own.

You quickly realize the power of words to either heal or harm; you also realize that though others have said their share of hurtful things to you, you have also said a few things you wish you could take back.

Each new morning gives you a chance to start over and decide how you will spend the extra hours that are your FREE TIME. You might respond that you don’t have any extra time until you force yourself to take account of how you spend your day. Most of us spend way too much time watching TV, or doing other things that don’t always have a good influence over our thinking.

We all need times of rest and relaxation to rejuvenate ourselves, but when you let yourself stay in a passive state of mind you don’t always recognize a great opportunity when it is presented to you. It might seem like too much work or be too overwhelming to even start.

If you are ready for a great opportunity, you will be in the right frame of mind to start immediately and take several small steps; then in a short time you can look back and see that you have made a huge amount of progress.

You have the power to decide what you will do with your FREE TIME, whether it is 30 minutes or 4 hours each day. You might only have 30 minutes, but that adds up to 10,950 minutes each year, or 182.5 hours.

You really do have much more time than you think to work on something that can truly change your life.

So make your words good, use your time wisely, and you will be much better prepared to avail yourself of a great opportunity to better yourself when it comes your way.

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Joshua might have gone from city to city exterminating the nations, as they justly deserved to be, but Achan had taken of the accursed thing and hidden it in his tent, therefore no victory could be won by Israel till his theft and sacrilege had been put away. Beloved, this is symbolic of the Christian Church. We might go from victory to victory; our home mission operations might be successful, and our foreign agencies might be crowned with triumph, if it were not that we have Achans in the camp at home.

When Churches have no conversions, it is more than probable that hypocrites concealed among them have turned away the Lord’s blessing. You who are inconsistent, who make the profession of religion the means of getting wealth, you who unite yourselves with God’s people, but at the same time covet the goodly Babylonish garment, and the wedge of gold, you are those who cut the sinews of Zion’s strength; you prevent the Israel of God from going forth to victory. Ah! little do we know, beloved, how Satan has hindered us. We, as a Church, have had much reason to thank God, but how many more might within these walls have been added to the number of this Church if it had not been for the coldness of some, the indifference of others, the inconsistency of a few, and the worldliness of many more! Satan hinders us not merely by direct opposition, but by sending Achans into the midst of our camp.

From a sermon entitled “Satanic Hindrances,” delivered October 29, 1865.

This was his story:

I wandered across the moor till I came to a  little cottage where was a sick and dying woman. The priest was just administering to her extreme unction, and when he went out I went in. She was troubled in mind, I told her the gospel, and she believed in Jesus. I found her in a state of nature, I preached the gospel to her until I saw her in a state of grace, and when I came away I left her in a state of glory.

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When your day is planned to the minute, it leaves no extra room for an interruption which might become an opportunity to do good for someone else or tell them about Jesus.

During the three years Jesus ministered on earth, He was interrupted many times by someone who had a great need. Many needed physical healing, and some just wanted to get to know Him on a more personal level; still others had a life that was so miserable they somehow knew He could make it better if they could just get to Him.

We find in the New Testament that the people would sit and listen to Him teach for hours and even days. They cleared their agenda to be in the presence of THE ONE they knew could change their life.

We should never minimize the importance of getting alone with God and having a quiet time with Him each day. You shouldn’t have so many interruptions that you have to spend every moment dealing with them and then have no time for fellowship. Jesus made it a point to get away by Himself at times so He could fellowship with the Father.

But we as Christians should always be open to any opportunity to let our light shine for Jesus. What seems like a distraction to us might be the catalyst that enables another person to turn around and go in a different direction that will eventually change their life for the better.

Remember that God’s open door can sometimes look like just an interruption if you are not tuned in to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

If you are tuned in, though, what a wild ride you will have. Life certainly will never be boring.

seminary class, given by her teacher. She says that

Dr. Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons.

One particular day, Sally walked into the seminary and knew they

were in for a fun day. On the wall was a big target and on a nearby table were

many darts. Dr. Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone that

they disliked or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow

them to throw darts at the person’s picture.

Sally’s friend drew a picture of who had stolen her boyfriend.

Another friend drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a

picture of a former friend, putting a great deal of detail into her

drawing, even drawing pimples on the face. Sally was pleased with the

overall effect she had achieved.

The class lined up and began throwing darts. Some of the

students threw their darts with such force that their targets were

ripping apart. Sally looked forward to her turn, and was filled with

disappointment when Dr. Smith, because of time limits, asked the

students to return to their seats. As Sally sat thinking about how angry

she was because she didn’t have a chance to throw any darts at her

target. Dr. Smith began removing the target from the wall.

Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus. A hush fell over

the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of Jesus; holes and

jagged marks covered His face and His eyes were pierced.

Dr. Smith said only these words…. ‘In as much as ye have done

it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me.’

Matthew 25:40.

No other words were necessary; the tear filled eyes of the

students focused only on the picture of Christ.

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It is very easy to let your entire focus be consumed by how someone else has wronged you, or maybe even what they haven’t done that might have been the right thing to do in a situation that concerned you.

Satan knows that if he can make you dwell on the shortcomings of others, you won’t have much time to allow God to use you for furthering His Kingdom Work.

At some point, other people may disappoint you in some way that you might never understand their motive. It is certainly not in our fleshly nature to naturally forgive someone who has wronged us, especially when it was not something we feel we deserved.

Our natural fleshly self wants to dwell on it for hours or even days or months. We don’t want to rest until we have had retribution in some form, but God has a completely different way of doing things.

You must look at things from His perspective. He only desires the very best for your life, and wants to use you in an awesome way to further His Kingdom work. It is for this reason that God gave the Bible to every Christian as an instruction book on how to be able to live the best life possible.

Each Christian is responsible for making sure they follow the guidelines set forth in the Bible. For example, God tells us very clearly that we have no choice but to forgive others if we intend to stay in fellowship with Him. Our flesh speaks very loudly that this could never be the right thing to do because then the other person will never have to pay for what they have done if we don’t make them.

But God comes back and tells us in His Word that a person will always reap what they have sown. They will always pay in some way for what they have done so God wants you to leave all that to Him and concentrate on what He wants you to do.

Living in the flesh makes you a miserable person, but following God’s plan will bring peace, joy, and fulfillment. I know it is hard to believe that the act of forgiveness could cause such a drastic change in your life, but you just have to try it to see the dramatic results.

If you are concentrated on God, you will start to see Him work in ways that will astound you. It will be hard to believe what He can accomplish through your life if you will let Him.

You can’t forgive on your own, but all you have to do is ask Him to help you and truly mean what you say. God will take it from that point on and you can truly be on the road to living a life of peace, joy, and fulfillment no matter where you have been in the past.

Don’t throw darts any longer at the person who hurt you. Make the choice to forgive and let God handle the rest of the story…