Dear
Present Truth Magazine Subscriber:
We
are glad to have you as a subscriber to our Present Truth Magazine. Below
you will find articles from individual authors who have written for our
magazine. Our prayer for all who
receive read these articles is that the Lord "...may give to you the
Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may
know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of
His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:17-18).
OUR FATHER’S WILL
By A. Wilson Phillips
As an adult in public life and
service, Jesus Christ of Nazareth said:
I can of Myself
do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I
do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me
(John 5:30).
On one occasion, Jesus’ own
family members spoke disparagingly of Him because of His zeal in doing the
Father’s will. They said, “He is out of His mind.” To add insult to
injury, some Jewish scholars in Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub…He
has an unclean spirit” (Mark 3:21-22, 30).
Those false accusations that
Jesus’ family and Jewish scholars made led Him to take that teachable
moment to declare who the true family of God is. He said, “For
whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother”
(Mark 3:35).
After the cross event, when
God’s Holy Spirit came to dwell in them (Acts 1:14; Jude 1), Jesus’ mother
Mary along with brothers James and Jude learned more about Jesus doing the
will of the Father. Jesus did say the Spirit would be in and
with them (John 14:17).
After the Feast of Pentecost’s
coming of God’s Holy Spirit into new creation believers in Jesus Christ,
the Spirit enabled and empowered all who would obey His voice to do the
will of God.
...for it is
God who works in you both to will and to do for His good
pleasure (Phil. 2:13).
Jesus is the firstborn Son of
the new creation and the pattern for all of us to follow in doing our
Father’s will (1 Pet. 2:21). There are some lessons for us to learn in
doing the Father’s will.
Father God anointed Jesus, the
Son of Man, with the Holy Spirit so that Jesus could do the Father’s will.
After we are reborn, and are in a righteous standing before God, we
need God’s anointing to do our Father’s will (Matt. 3:15-17; Acts
10:38).
Jesus never sinned, yet He
learned obedience to the Father by the things which He suffered (Heb.
4:15, 5:7-8). The only way that we can become mature to live as Jesus
lived is through learning obedience through suffering (1 John
2:6).
Jesus always did the things
that pleased the Father, which included going to the cross as the
substitute for all of us (John 8:28-29; Matt. 26:28-29). Father God
desires to lead all of us as His children to the place of harmonizing
our will with His. However, like Jesus, we will always be in
subjection to Father’s will for He said, “…My Father is greater than I”
(John 14:28).
God’s Holy Spirit will lead all
who will obey His voice to understand the doctrine that is recorded in His
written Word.
Jesus answered
them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone
wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether
it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority” (John
7:16-17).
The bottom line is those who
determine to do our Father’s will must align their
will
with His will. Knowing His will and doing it will satisfy the Father’s
heart as well as our hearts.
There is food
(spiritual food) to eat that many still do not know of. We can have it
while still in our unredeemed bodies. Let’s all follow our elder Brother
who said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me...”
(John 4:34).
A. Wilson Phillips is the co-founding and senior
pastor of Abundant Life Covenant
Church.
REASON vs. REVELATION
By Richard K. Clark
Have you noticed the countless
viewpoints contained in countless books and articles written by Christian
people about living like Christ? Divisions abound concerning man’s need
for and the pathway to salvation (soteriology), the person and work of the
Holy Spirit (Pneumatology), scriptural fulfillment of the “end times”
(eschatology), the inerrancy and the authority of Scripture (bibliology),
and even the nature and ministry of Jesus (Christology).
Since our God is “One,” and He
surely knows what He meant when He inspired the Scriptures to be written,
how can it be that we have so many divisions in the body of Christ? I
believe the answer goes back to Adam and Eve.
Satan tempted Eve and Adam, and
they believed his word over the Word of God (Gen. 2). They ate fruit from
a tree, and this separated them from God’s presence…sin brought death
(Rom. 5:12). Their fallen minds were deceived to think that they could
know what is “good” and “evil.” Spawned from their rebellion have been
generations of people separated from God, who is the source of life,
wisdom, and true knowledge. Contrary to popular belief, the “age of
reason” began when Adam sinned.
Christ is the Word of God made
flesh. He came to reconcile man to God, and included in our reconciliation
is the ability to see spiritual realities as God reveals them. Yet as in
Paul’s day, we still have much carnality disguising itself as the wisdom
of God.
Look at these verses in First
Corinthians:
1:20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom
of this world?
1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the
world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the
foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
1:30 But of Him you are in
Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption—
1:31 that, as it is written, “He who glories,
let him glory in the Lord.”
2:9 But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of
man
The things which God has prepared for
those who love Him.”
2:10 But God has revealed them to us through
His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of
God.
2:11 For what man knows the things of a man
except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the
things of God except the Spirit of God.
2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of
the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the
things that have
been
freely given to us by God.
Truth is a Person
and is revealed by the same—the Holy Spirit of God. Human reason apart
from spiritual revelation will never arrive at God’s wisdom. As we humble
ourselves before His Word and are willing to do His will, we will know the
Truth (John 7:17).
Richard K. Clark is an associate pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church.
Filled with a Person
By Benjamin Davis
Have you ever heard some one
say, “You’re full of it”? The “it” usually stands for some four-letter
word that no one wanted to hear in that conversation. Another expression
I have often heard is, “He’s full of himself.” At other times, we may
refer to someone who is full of resentment, bitterness, fear, pride, or
anger. The Scripture speaks of a more positive fullness when it
describes people who were full of the Holy Spirit.
To be filled with the Holy
Spirit is to be filled with a person. When we are filled with the
person of the Holy Spirit, our personality becomes so dominated by His
personality that we begin to reflect His traits.
Scripture shows that being
filled with Holy Spirit has a direct impact on our words and expressions.
In Acts 2:4, the early disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit “and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
In this case, they allowed Holy Spirit to have control of their tongues to
speak in a language they had never learned.
To be filled with Holy Spirit
always requires a yielding of our tongue to Him, because our tongue is our
main means of giving expression of what (or in Holy Spirit’s case, who) is
inside of us. In Acts 19, the apostle Paul laid his hands on some
disciples, and “the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with
tongues and prophesied.”
Scripture commands that
believers in Christ should yield to the personality of Holy Spirit to the
level of being filled with Him. Paul compared and contrasted being filled
with the Spirit to being drunk with wine. He commanded, “…do not
be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the
Spirit…” (Eph. 5:18).When a person is drunk, he becomes “full of
himself” and often “full of it” to the point of losing self-control. When
we practice the fullness of Holy Spirit, we are no longer full of
ourselves, desiring and doing selfish things. We allow ourselves to be so
dominated by Holy Spirit’s personality that His desires and actions
control us.
Paul went on to describe some
actions of a person who is practicing the fullness of Holy Spirit’s
personality:
…speaking to
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to
God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one
another in the fear of God (Eph. 5:19-21).
Paul also went on to list some
of the fruits or results of long-term yielding to the personality of Holy
Spirit:
But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control... (Gal. 5:22-23).
During the
Thanksgiving season, we in America like to eat until we are full (and
sometimes stuffed) of food. Sometimes, before the holiday season is over,
we get more than our fill of family gatherings. Practicing the fullness of
Holy Spirit’s personality will make our holiday season one that reflects
the Lord.
Benjamin Davis is an associate pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church
“DON’T TAKE YOURSELF SO SERIOUSLY”
By Jonathan Clark
As school started back this
fall, my kids were stressing over the harder classes and the amount of
homework. One morning as I was spending time in fellowship with the
Father, He showed me what to tell them about their school pressure: “Don’t
take yourself so seriously.”
My children have always done
well in school, yet they now had a fear of failure, a fear that they
wouldn’t measure up to the new challenge. As I continued in prayer, the
Lord showed me that their motivation was in maintaining an identity of
doing well and being perceived by others as talented, smart, and
successful. “Don’t take yourself so seriously.”
The Lord took me back to my
days in college and medical school. I had felt a tremendous pressure to
“make the grade” because the Lord was leading me into a medical career. I
would find myself stressing over tests and assignments because I didn’t
want to fail the Lord. My improper motivation gave me an unbalanced pace,
which always leads to frustration. Eventually, He got it through my head
that my daily motivation was to get up and spend quality time in intimate
fellowship with Him—and then go out and obey Him today with the strength,
direction, and ability that He supplied. It wasn’t about becoming a
doctor; it was about obeying Him. If I maintained my focus and desire on
diligently obeying Him today with the ability that He supplied, the
academic and career results were then up to Him. If I was stressing (not
trusting) about a particular exam, He would often bring the thought to my
mind, “What is the worst thing that could happen? You could diligently do
the work, obey Me, and get an ‘F’ and fail?” An “F” in medical school
brought immediate dismissal. “Jon,” the Lord would continue, “If you fail
by obeying me, then I will still love you, accept you, and give you
direction for tomorrow. You will still be successful in My eyes, and My
good purposes for your life will still come to pass.” Wow! What a peaceful
rest I could enter into as I walked with the Lord and diligently obeyed
Him with the ability He supplied. He was teaching me to trust Him and keep
the pride out—“Not to take myself so seriously.”
My children will
do well. I believe in the Christ in them. They are complete in Him. They
can re-adjust their motivation to enjoy serving the Lord with the strength
He supplies, and they can keep the pride out. Honor rolls and accolades
are not their identity and will not
determine their success. They are beloved
children of God, accepted and chosen in Christ because of His mercy
and
grace. They will be successful daily by surrendering to Him every morning
and
diligently obeying Him with the strength and ability that He supplies. It
is God who is at work in them, both to will and to do for His good
pleasure (Phil. 2:13). Just “being” who they are in Christ will be an
attraction to others. They can be pacesetters as they follow the
Pacesetter. They are learning to “not take themselves so seriously”—the
results are up to God.
Jonathan Clark is an elder of Abundant Life Covenant Church and a physician in
Springfield, Missouri.
Removing the Mask
By Holly Davis
My husband and I have been
leading the youth group at Abundant Life Covenant Church for the past
fourteen years. I have seen in youth a constant struggle to be authentic.
They struggle to remove the mask that hides who they really are. Hiding
behind a mask can take over their lives. They are searching for who they
are and fail to see their real identity is in Christ.
Youth attempt to cloak their
fears and insecurities by putting on many different faces. One youth may
hide behind being the life of the party while another cowers in a corner
hoping no one will notice or talk to him/her. There are also those who
strive to be the “good” teen so as not to cause any waves. They all long
to be accepted and often resort to rebellious behavior in order to
accomplish this.
We strive to teach our youth
that true self-worth is in Christ, and the first person they have to be
honest with is God. We tell them to get alone with the Lord and tell Him
everything. God is honored by their honesty and desires to wrap His arms
around them and show them how much He truly loves them and cares about
their deepest needs. He is faithful to reveal Himself to them by His Word,
Spirit, and the people He places in their lives.
The Holy Spirit revealed a
scripture to me that I have had opportunity to share with youth who are
striving to be open and honest with Him. Psalm 73:25-26 says:
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
I often tell the youth that God
wants to be their everything. Colossians 2:10 says, “...you are
complete in Him…” As young people discover this, they are free to
unveil who Christ has called them to be. They will begin to think, speak,
and act as Christ does rather than being who the teen culture says they’re
suppose to be. They must grab hold of the love of God and look in the
mirror to see that Christ has made them holy, righteous, and accepted in
Him (1 Pet. 1:16; 2 Cor. 5:21: Eph. 1:6).
This summer at youth camp, I
led an activity called “The Mirror of Truth.” Before camp, I took a photo
of every youth planning to go. I placed their picture on a paper shaped
like a mirror and asked them to write below their image several attributes
of who they were in Christ. I then had many to share what they had written
and how God had revealed this to them. Many of their responses were
heartfelt, and I sensed God deepening this identity truth in them.
I’ve seen many youth surrender
to the Lord’s calling on their lives and realize they must take off the
mask. In order to have right relationships with their parents, other
authorities, and friends, they must be loyal to truth and desire to be all
God has intended for them to be. Youth can truly know at a young age that
it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27) whom they see
in the mirror.
Holly Davis and her husband Benjamin serve
as pastors at Abundant Life Covenant Church.
JEHOVAH QANNA
The Forgotten Name of God
By Byron Hamilton
From time to time, I have heard
evangelists tell crowded stadiums that if each person listening was the
only person on the planet, Christ would have come and died for them. I
understood why they said it, but I always found that hard to believe. I
could not grasp the exchange value of the incredible suffering and
sacrifice that Christ endured in order to save just one person. I did not
believe the Bible taught that. One day as I was reading the Scriptures,
the Holy Spirit made the following verses alive to me.
For the Son of
Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has
a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the
ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And
if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that
sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray (Matt.
18:11-13).
I realized that my unbelief was
due to my own feeling of low self-worth. I could not picture me being the
only one for whom Christ would die. Since then, God has given me a greater
understanding of the value He has in each of His children.
God saw value in us before we
received our righteousness in Christ. Paul told the Christians in Rome:
For when we
were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly…But
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:6, 8).
How much more value do we have
to Him now that we bear His image?!
For if when we were
enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much
more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life... If God is
for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give
us all things? (Rom. 5:10, 8:31-32)
The great price that was paid
for us gives us value. God wants me to know that He is not casual about
His relationship with me—it cost Him too much. He says to me:
Do you not know
that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you
have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price;
therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's
(1 Cor. 6:19-20).
One day while reading the Old
Testament, I discovered that God’s name is Jealous. It was
more than an attribute; it was His name! When renewing covenant with His
people, God declared:
You shall
worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous (Hebrew: Qanna),
is a jealous God (Ex. 34:14).
We often think of jealousy as a
negative trait; however, it can be a righteous characteristic just as
anger can be. God’s jealousy is based upon His holiness and purity of love
for His children. In essence, it means: being vigilant in guarding
something of value; intolerant of disloyalty or infidelity.
This now made sense to me.
Because God had purchased me and I belonged to Him, I could put no person,
place, or thing before Him. He was to have my total allegiance. I also
realized that my God, whose name is Jealous, would not allow anything to
take His place in my life. He would discipline me if I did.
Take heed to yourselves,
lest you forget the covenant of the
Lord your God …for the
Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God (Deut.
4:23-24).
Like all the revealed names of
God in the Old Testament, this attribute is likewise revealed in the New
Covenant. Paul warned the Corinthians not to place anything before their
relationship with God.
Do we provoke
the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? (1 Cor. 10:22)
God places great value in me. I
must serve Jehovah Qanna with my whole heart and be diligent to
guard against anything that would rob my time and devotion for Him.
Byron Hamilton and his
wife Leesa own Med-Soft National Training Institute in Springfield,
Missouri.
The Pursuit of Intimacy
By Brent Gilstrap
My parents, Adam and Eve, hid
in the garden, and they taught me well. I have been skilled at hiding my
heart. My parents lost the ability to be intimate and, for the human race,
regaining intimacy comes through the sanctification process that Jesus
started with His journey to restore order in the universe and, more
specifically, within my heart. It’s amazing how I fight this process (and
it is a process, not an immediate accomplishment that needs no further
attention). In a way, intimacy is a dying process. I die to myself and my
fears and take the risk of rejection to give myself to someone else.
I know too much to be seduced
by the mirage that intimacy would happen at some other time or with some
other person or in some other circumstances or when my children are older
or when I get to heaven. If I do not experience/practice intimacy at the
level or measure I am capable of now, it won’t happen later. I have to
give all my heart now (in this moment), and I will find that I will have
more to give later. I must meet my wife, my kids, my friends, and my God
where they are and give them myself without reservation.
...If anyone
wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily
and follow Me (Luke 9:23).
Intimacy is joining Christ on
the Calvary road on a daily basis. Yesterday’s manna becomes putrid and
has no life. Intimacy is a journey not a destination (that phrase is over
used, but it is the truth). I believe, because of the way we were created,
it is a journey we will forever experience in the present. More over,
intimacy is a pursuit—something we must passionately pursue—and we must
struggle against the residue of the old nature, putting it to death to
gain the life that our hearts yearn for.
Today if you
hear His voice, do not harden you hearts (Heb. 3:15).
Brent Gilstrap is a licensed counselor in
private practice in Springfield, Missouri.
Word of Knowledge
By Matt Christy
Academics have always been
fairly easy for me, and I often quickly bored of my lessons in school. I
tuned out and stared lazily out the window, my mind filled with stories
and adventures in different times and places. My instructors would
inevitably fuss at my apparent absent-mindedness, leading to surly
confrontations, which equally as inevitably ended in either a paddling
or a short trip down the long hall to the principal’s office. Foolishly,
I believed homework warranted little to no consideration, as I, after
all, had far more pressing issues to attend to, such as watching “Tom &
Jerry” cartoons. Deception whispered in my ear in those days, convincing
me my authorities were stupid and the rules didn’t apply to me. My
behavior landed me a private desk in the front office for the majority
of third grade, a year in which I flunked math three of the four
quarters—not from lack of understanding, but from conceit, arrogance,
and pride.
School incrementally increased
in difficulty, challenging me to focus more on the tasks at hand rather
than on the fanciful meanderings of a wayward mind. Even though the pace
quickened, understanding still came easily, but I still often felt
resentful to those instructors who saw my potential and challenged me to
engage it. I wore mediocrity like a badge of honor, working only just hard
enough to get through without standing out or getting hassled. Rather than
let me follow this course to its inevitable end, the Lord chose to do a
work of grace in my life and led me through many trials and tribulations
to remove from me my vaunty (though little used) intellect. He effectively
reduced me to what I unconsciously perceived everyone else around me to
be: the great unwashed—ignorant and stupid.
Years later, in January 1996, I
took a job with a turkey processing plant on a recommendation of a good
friend and roommate who worked as a crew trainer on the thigh line.
“Humbling” could no better describe those first weeks than “It might burn
a bit” could describe a nice stroll on the sun. I tried for two weeks to
learn how to de-bone turkey thighs, which appeared so easy to do, yet I
simply could not get the hang of it. The more I tried, the angrier I
became, and the angrier I became, the more I failed to get the job done.
In total defeat and resignation (and I believe an effort to keep me from
stabbing myself or someone else), I took my place at the front of the line
as the permanent meat hanger for the rest of the cutters. My bosses left
me on there intentionally, betting I would eventually get bored or
indignant enough to want another shot at de-boning. They were right.
By July, I had learned to
de-bone thighs from a man who spoke no English and went on to run just
about every position on our line. My friend earned his promotion to line
foreman. I soon became his second crew trainer and eventually replaced him
as foreman. Despite these promotions, I could feel myself losing my
abilities to problem solve, to think quickly and creatively, or to manage
the personnel on my line. For lack of a better description, I could
literally feel myself getting stupid. Supervisors would inquire after the
status of my line, and I could not answer clearly or concisely. Some
shifts I even hid in the office to avoid the responsibility for the chaos
on the line. I became a simpleton, and once easy tasks seemed to baffle
me. Only the sheer monotony of the work and the excellent crew under me
allowed me to remain in any semblance of control.
My employer did not bear the
fault for my lost cognitive ability; rather, it simply became the vehicle
through which God chose to get my attention. Two and a half years spent
working second shift, carousing with “the boys” at bars after hours,
sleeping late to “recuperate,” and spending every penny I earned on
frivolous pursuits had taken their toll. I had thrown away my “free ride”
college education, incurred thousands of dollars in debt, alienated most
of the people I once called friends, and burdened my parents with the
knowledge their son wasn’t living up to their expectations or his own
potential.
Despite the promise of
continued promotion into higher management, I desperately sought any
available avenue of escape and took the first door I found. I did not know
at the time that the door was opened by God, and His provision required me
to fail in every area of my life to such a point of desperation I
literally had no way out but through Him. I had to get to where I could
hear His voice. He removed me from my job, what friends I had left, and
everything that I had done in my vain attempts to console my aching heart.
Once in a new state, both geographically and mentally, I became
reacquainted with Him, as He called me from my sorrow to His grace and
forgiveness. His love surrounded me and filled me as I laid down the
tatters of my life before Him, and He freely gave His instantaneous
forgiveness and cleansing.
God’s restoration of my
cognitive abilities took far longer to accomplish, however. While
certainly well within His power to do so, He allowed me to understand why
my intelligence could not be restored instantly. My intelligence suffered
as a result of so many other wrong attitudes, selfish motivations, and
prideful indulgences. An instant restoration would have taught me nothing,
and so He provided gradual opportunities to relearn old skills, regain my
lost abilities, and grow strong once again in my comprehension of complex
problems.
God has shown me repeatedly
since then He is the source of my intellect, talents, and abilities. I
cannot do anything apart from God, for “unless the Lord builds the house I
labor in vain to build it” (Ps. 127:1). I grew ignorant in my youth
(strayed from the words of knowledge) because I ceased to listen to words
of instruction (Prov. 19:27) from my parents, my teachers, and the other
authorities He placed in my life. The foolishness of my life twisted my
ways, and my heart fretted against the Lord (Prov. 19:3).
As I follow the Lord with my
whole heart, He fills me with His words of knowledge, answering questions
I could not answer of my own ability.
For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding (Prov. 2:6).
I once feared success because I
did not want the accountability or the responsibility. God has made me
accountable in all things before Him and has called me to success through
serving others—that His kingdom may shine through my life for all to see.
Matt
Christy is an information technology support specialist for the
Springfield Public Schools
Looking
Back
By Jeff Kerr
When I was a kid, my friends
and I would walk down the railroad tracks, and until we looked back, we
did not realize how far we had gone nor did we notice the turns we had
made along the way. Focused on staying in the middle of the tracks, we
didn’t notice the turns. I have had the same experience in my own life.
Now, when I look back at where I came from, it amazes me to see just how
far I have come and the changes in direction that have been to my
betterment. I also realize much more lies ahead. It is overwhelmingly
apparent that God has had His hand on my life from the very beginning.
I grew up in church. At the age
of seven, I realized that the Lord had come into my life and saved me. In
the tradition where I grew up, I was “saved.” By the time that I reached
my teenage years, I became very disillusioned with church and had a lot of
inner pain. I knew many good people who were sincere in their faith, but I
had questions that seemingly no one could answer. I had a relationship
with the Lord, but I did not know just how much He wanted to help me and
reveal His plans for me.
Like many teenagers, I had a
rough time during adolescence. When I was 13, I never thought I would live
to see 21. I was in very deep depression—the kind that is hard to describe
unless you’ve experienced it yourself. With only 14 years of life
experience, I based my view of the future on my limited history. By the
time I reached my senior year in high school, I saw that there was more
that I wanted to do. To the best that I knew, I sincerely sought direction
from the Lord, desiring to see what was outside my small town and leave
behind hurts and bad memories.
By the end of my senior year, I
had decided to attend Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri.
Intimidated by large cities and large universities, I felt this was a safe
choice. During this time, the Lord began to show me there was much more to
the Christian life than what I had experienced so far. I developed true
spiritual relationships with people and began to trust others again. I
believe that the biggest thing that happened to me at SBU was the Lord
separated me from my past.
At the beginning of my junior
year, I decided to move “off campus.” This appeared to be a good thing to
do; however, I lacked discipline in my life and fell back into some bad
habits and practices. By the end of the semester, I realized that I was
not going to be able to borrow enough money to graduate. This really put
me in a bind. I was sitting in the house that I shared with three other
roommates, and it just came to me to call Southwest Missouri State
University in Springfield (now Missouri State). When I heard how much less
it would cost to attend SMS, I thought, “This is great! I can do this. I’m
going to SMS.” I very quickly got over my fear of large cities and
universities and moved to Springfield.
I’ll never forget the day I
moved to Springfield. It was January 1, 1991. It was cold and snowy, and I
felt very alone. I still knew this is where I needed to be. My first job
after moving was leading the music at my church back home. I made just
enough to make my rent payment and put gas in my car. Friends helped me
out with food. In time, I got a job with a temporary service doing various
data-entry and secretarial jobs. This proved to be steady work and lasted
through the summer.
When God gives someone a word
or promise, it will be tested. The start of that fall semester at SMS was
the beginning of the test. Going to school full-time, I was unavailable to
work normal hours with the temporary service. By October of 1991, it had
been almost two months since I had any real income, and I was starting to
feel the financial pressure. At the end of one Sunday evening church
service, my pastor invited those who had needs to come for prayer. I
accepted his invitation and explained to him my need for a job. He
listened closely, and his response was not what I expected. He asked, “Do
you have a prayer language?” That wasn’t what I thought I needed, but God
was breaking me. I was more open to His leading because I didn’t feel
self-sufficient. I received my prayer language, and my pastor instructed
me to practice speaking it out loud during my time with the Lord or
whenever it was appropriate. So, that is what I did. Two weeks later I got
a phone call from Reyco Industries, a company that I had worked for
through the temporary service back in August. I was offered a decent
paying job that worked with my school schedule. God does meet our needs
when we obey Him.
During my time at Reyco, I
received training in my trade through a real “trial-by-fire.” I was in the
right place at the right time to implement the new computer system they
were preparing to purchase. I had never set up a computer network, and I
suppose that I should have been intimidated to do the task for which I had
no experience, but I was not afraid. Failure didn’t occur to me. By the
end of the project, I had overseen the installation of all the cabling and
had installed every one of the approximately 100 computers. This was the
exact preparation I needed for the job I took four years later with my
present employer.
Never in my wildest dreams
would I have thought I would move to Springfield. I did not think it was
possible to get the job that I wanted just by being obedient to the Lord.
At times, His leading seemed to be taking me in the opposite direction
from where I wanted to go. I did not realize how much God was using my
present circumstances to lead me and grow me up so that I could have what
He had intended for me. Living a life of faith requires that you take the
first step without knowing your destination. I took that step by moving to
Springfield, not knowing where I would ultimately end up.
Like the railroad tracks, I did
not see how significant the turns in my life were until I looked back and
saw where the Lord had taken me.
Jeff Kerr is a technical consultant at
McKesson in Springfield, Missouri.
A
Letter to a Teenage Daughter
The Bible says that you are “fearfully
and wonderfully made,” and you certainly are! God was personally
involved in your creation, and then He fashioned all your future days. His
thoughts towards you are very precious (Ps. 139:13-18).
When God brought you into our
lives, we dedicated you back to Him. He has created you for His purposes,
and your true fulfillment will only come in knowing Him intimately and
following His plans for you.
You are now navigating through
a very critical time in your life. Your high school years should be a
wonderful time of discovery—discovering the person God made you to be, who
He is, what gifts and talents He has placed in you, and the ways to be a
leader. You will be learning how to think more about being a world changer
in other people’s lives and focus less on yourself.
In a world that places a lot of
importance on outward appearance, remember God looks at the heart!
Your emotions can be a blessing
or a curse. We must learn not to let our emotions rule over us. We must
rule over them. In high school you will feel many things. You have dreams
of that first kiss, you have a desire for a “special” relationship with
someone, and you want to feel like you belong. Unless you are very
careful, these normal emotions will lead you into relationships that God
has not designed for you. So it will be up to you not to put yourself in
situations that will prematurely get your emotions “turned on.” Know that
you will be tested, but also know that God has given you the maturity to
hear His voice and follow His leading.
Most of your high school
buddies mistake sexual attraction or emotional connection for love. This
is not love! First Corinthians 13:4-7 gives us the qualities of God’s love
and the qualities you should look for in close friendships.
This is also the developmental
stage of life when you are becoming the right person and marriage partner
for the one God has for you. If you miss this time of development, then
you will not be ready or complete for the wonderful, special man in your
future. During your high school years, you can be praying for him,
speaking his character qualities into being, creating his future with the
Lord as he develops into a godly man. Also, you can be praying for God to
develop you into a woman that will honor her God and bring honor to her
husband. This is not an idle time. This is the seed planting
and watering time of your life. In your twenties, you will reap the
harvest of what you sowed in your high school years. You can sow good
seeds or bad seeds. Don’t settle for anything less than what God has
planned for you.
Please know that God has gone
ahead of you and has selected this special person for you. It is not your
responsibility to find him—he has been found. Therefore, you will not need
to date like many of your friends. Dating is what you do when you have
reached the age to be married. When the time is right, God will bring you
both together. Until then you can relax, enjoy life, and help others
discover their completeness in God. Let God meet your needs.
God has so much more for you than
you have ever thought or even imagined. Love Him supremely, and you will
discover His fullness.
NEW COVENANT
PRIESTS AND KINGS
By Paul Gabbert
Cleansed by
His Word, cleansed by His blood,
We gather together to celebrate our love;
United in spirit in one accord
With hearts of thanksgiving, we worship our Lord.
As New
Covenant priests, we wave not grain,
From lips of love our sacrifice we sing
Lyrics of glory and honor to our mighty King;
Under authority, with Christ we reign,
Fulfilling our ministry as New Covenant kings.
A bride
without blemish, a bride without spots
For His Holy Spirit is removing our dark parts;
And each day as our mind He renews,
His manifest glory comes shining through.
A living epistle for the world to see
Christ’s life lived through you and through me;
Paul’s revelation, once a mystery
Is becoming a reality,
For it is Christ our “hope of glory.”
Paul Gabbert runs R & P Cleaning Service
As
we enter into the Thanksgiving season, I want to express my appreciation
to all of our readers for taking the time to read the stories that our
Abundant Life family shares each month. We endeavor to follow the
apostles’ teachings—for we are “building (you) up on your most
holy faith” (Jude 1:20) and pulling down any mindset that “exalts
itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:5). 
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