Pasture or Palaces

1 Samuel 17:13,15    And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle…but David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 

David had lived a unique life. He was the youngest son of Jesse, a simple keeper of sheep. He was a man content to dwell wherever God, his father, brothers, or king of Israel could use him. Not many of his age and rank were ever called to be the soother of the King’s spirit. He was a “pasture man” by preference, but if service called upon him to be a “palace man,” he would go.

However, here’s an interesting thing to note: there came a day when the music playing in the palace was replaced by the vocal challenges of a giant in Shochoh. He could not go to the battlefield, so now he must go from the palace back to the pasture. Yes, there is far more honor and prestige for those who would hold a palace ministry. Yet in our focus verse this day, we see David was content to go back to a pasture ministry.

I wonder, if God changed you from a palace ministry to a pasture ministry, could you keep your pride from ruling your spirit? I know most who hold the office of a pastor might struggle going from a “high profile ministry” to a “no-profile ministry.” I know some who are teachers in a Sunday school class, if they were asked to be sweepers of the same class, would struggle with the new assignment because of pride.

Please, keep in mind the duty you have been given is not because you so wonderful, but rather because God chose to use you there. Do not allow yourself to become convinced that you are too good to go from the palace to the pasture. David had no struggle in switching back and forth between places. When God moves you from palace to pasture, are you content just knowing “The Lord is my Shepherd”? Would to God we could develop that demeanor in our places of service.

“I Loved the Word More!”

Job 23:12   Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

Recently, I spoke in a service in NC. After the message a woman came up to me and said, “I loved the delivery of the message today; but you should know, I loved the Word more.” 

In 39 years of my Christian experience and 23 years of preaching, I have never heard this said. However, I walked away feeling wonderful inside that she loved the Word of God more than what I had to say.  Often, I have thought, “I do not want people to walk away and say, ‘What a message; but rather, what a Master.’”

If someone is kind enough to express positive feelings about the message I just preached, I am grateful. However, it takes discipline not to accept the praises as my own. Yesterday’s words helped me more than anything. She loved God’s Words more than anything I said. 

That is what I desire. May someone love God’s Word more because of my service to Him this week!

He Remembers

Psalm 132:1 LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions: 

Have you ever been in mid-sentence and totally forgotten the person’s name with whom you were speaking? Or even forgotten what you were going to say? Some would attribute it to age; others to a lack of concentration: still some would say, “It must not have been important.” No matter the cause, the effect is a struggle.  You have begun to make a statement and now must say, “Oh, I forgot what I was going to say”

Do you realize God has never been in mid-sentence and said “Oops, what was his name again? Nor does He say, “What was he going through?” Know this: He can only remember whom we are and what we are going through.  

The Psalmist pleads, “Lord, remember David and all his afflictions.”  This simple plea from a forefather in the faith is identical to ours today. We cry, “Lord, remember me.” Oh, He remembered Noah in the flood. He remembered Abraham and freed Lot. He remembered Rachel and Hannah and gave them children. He remembered mercy for Israel.  He will remember you.

Content with Emptiness

1 Samuel 16:14    But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

Have you ever walked into a house without a single piece of furniture? Every room seems large without the usual articles that accompany a house. There is a lonely feeling to being in such a house where the owner no longer occupies. You look at it and say, “Something doesn’t look right.”

Saul is certainly a house without furniture. You walk into his life through the pages of Scripture and see no furniture. “Something is not right here,” you say. Yes, it is a house; but it doesn’t look right. You get a feeling of empty loneliness when you look at him. The owner’s belongings have been removed from the premises.

Sad is the day when the Spirit of the Lord’s communion with us is evicted by our sinful choices. ** The Scripture says, “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul.”  The Spirit of the Lord was there no longer. He left. How empty the house of Saul’s life became! 

Today in our churches both in the pew and the pulpit, I have seen empty “houses of the heart” in believers. The believer’s “house of the heart” is no longer filled with the Lord’s Spirit. Many go through the spiritual motions but they are empty personally. It is no wonder why churches gathering for worship in the Lord’s house are empty corporately. There seems to be contentment with the emptiness.

Is the house of your heart empty today? Does the emptiness no longer plague you? Turn to Him. Evict every obstinate way from you heart and seek a fresh filling today of His presence!   

**Our verse for today has sparked many a theological discussion. However, this venue is not to explore the depths and implications of Saul’s eternal relationship with the Lord. Just the emptiness that can come to a believer’s life!

A Chapter of Life

 2 Samuel 16

If our lives were viewed like a book, there would be chapters that would leave our readers scratching their heads. 

Some chapters of our lives would contain days where we cast a positive reflection of God. Yet some chapters would cast a negative reflection on and of our Lord. 

There would be days we could say, “I did right.” Other days, “I didn't do so well.” There are days where our lives clearly bring glory to God and other days where our lives bring shame on the name or work of Christ.

I am happier with myself on the days I do right and am disappointed when I fail.  

David's life, like many of our lives, has chapters we can be content with and some with which we will not be content. How you handle adversity and adversaries are indicators on how you're doing as a believer. 

I read this morning in my devotions about a moment in David's life that gave me pause. I reflected on David's response when faced with a moment where he could blow it or choose better. 

It was a good chapter in David's life; it's a chapter I want to emulate in my own life. 

I'll call this chapter: Choosing the Honorable

David had a person in his life that wouldn't leave him alone. His name was Shimei who accused, attacked, and even abused David. This bitter man, who could not resolve his ill feelings for the demise and downfall of Saul, now makes it his mission to make David's life miserable. 

You know that there are people God allows in our life who are bitter; they can bring out either the worst or best in us. 

David was on the run. Absalom, his own son, was solidifying his own position in Jerusalem. David was on the move. 

He encounters this bitter man, Shimei. The Bible notes that he is from the house of Saul, the man from whom God removed His hand. 

David and the people are weary. (16:14) 

Notice the behavior of Shimei:

v5 He came forth cursing. He cursed as he came.

v6 He cast stones at the King. 

He cast stones at the servants of the king.

David was surrounded by God's people and God's man.

v7-8 His cursings were nothing more than bringing up his past: misrepresenting his present, and mocking his place and power with God.

v9 Godly men around David said, “Let me kill this dead dog. Let me take off his head.”

v10-11 David speaks

1. Let him curse. (“My own son wants to kill me: I'll not bother with the likes of him.” 

2. Let him alone.

3. Let God work it out.(whether God told him or not)

4. Keep moving.

When the curses fly.

When the stones are cast.

When the accusations are hurled.

When dust is stirred.

When others have the upper position. (along on the hill’s side over against him)

Be a Jonathan

1 Samuel 23:15-17 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.

January 4, 1991, the telephone rang in my home at 10:45 pm. The news was unsettling at best. My father had collapsed in his home and was being rushed to the hospital. The next call was the news of his death. The next day I went to be with my mother and siblings. That day following a friend of mine drove over 1000 miles to come and sit with me. For the next 48 hours, all he did was strengthen my hand in God. Those hours I needed a friend and God sent me one.

David, the king anointed, was on the run. Saul had relentlessly been pursuing David to take his life. David represented everything Saul used to be and now was not. Recently David had been in Keilah. When Saul learned of this, he moved immediately to attack. God confirmed in David’s heart that he needed to head to the woods of Ziph. In the woods of Ziph, God knew exactly what David needed. He sent his best friend Jonathan to him. 

Odd, isn’t it? Jonathan could find David, but Saul could not. Jonathan walked into the woods and found his friend. Consider this: he forsook his king and his father’s wishes to find his friend and help him. This visit was a precious reunion. David was at a low point. He and his men had been running. God, knowing this, allowed the heart of Jonathan to have been knit to David’s heart in the early days of the palace. So now Jonathan strongly desired to see him. Jonathan had one thought on his heart: I am going to strengthen my friend in God.

Jonathan arrives with his mission clear. Strengthen my friend’s hand in God. Oh, what a transaction of encouragement! What a moment of tender friendship! Jonathan, though unintentionally, set the role of how a friend should respond to another friend’s distress. Look closely what he did. 

Jonathan sought to replace David’s worries with the Word of God. (Fear not)  

Jonathan assured him that his pursuer would not be successful. (…the hand of my father…) 

Jonathan renewed his hope in the promises of God. (…And thou shalt be king…) 

Have you a friend in distress? Has his burden become so heavy that you feel it personally? Well friend, here is your strategy. Find your friend.  1) Seek to replace his worries with the word of God. 2.) Tell your friend he will make it.  3.) Tell him that God’s promises are sure.

You know this same David would later have a son who learned well this truth from his father. God would allow him to say, “There hath not failed one word of all his good promise.”

Find your friend today and be a Jonathan to him.

A Curve Ball

Proverbs 3:5–6    Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Occasionally life throws you a curve ball. You think you understand the game. Then you wake up in the morning and you discover a new pitch. 

What does the Word of God say about days like this?

My responsibility: 

• Total Trust: I learn

• Total Dependence: I lean

• Total Observation: I look

His responsibility:

• Total Direction: He leads

He Intercedes

Romans 8:27   And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.  

 As you face this next day, consider this: Christ is praying for you.   

Have you ever felt the strength in your bosom surge when you found out a friend had prayed for you during a struggle? There you were in your spiritual battle and somewhere down the street, or across town, or halfway around the world, someone was beseeching God on your behalf.    

The child of God would do well to consider that even when our prayer partners on this side of the eternal veil may not be able to pray, Christ is praying for us. Oh, how the heart leaps with joy!   

The will of God is how Christ makes intercession for us. He knows our hearts because of His searching of them. He knows the mind of the Spirit because of His relationship with Him in the Godhead. Christ is praying for me!   

You will make it today; Christ is praying for you.   

How Do You Need to be Spoken To?

1 Corinthians 3:1    And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 

I have always found it funny to watch adults speak with babies and children. I have watched powerful men of ministry and merchandise get on hands and knees, sit on the floor, and say the silliest sounds to little children. Images of hearing these men from the pulpit and watching these men in their industry indicate they are no-nonsense individuals. Yet the moment you see them cooing and babbling with the infant at the baby’s level, you recognize though they could communicate with great oratory and official tones, they are communicating at the level the hearer understands.

Paul too, wanted to communicate to the church in spiritual tones but could not because they were carnal. He found them even as spiritual babes. Many a church has adults who are chronologically grown up, but spiritually infants because of carnality. Paul spoke to them at their growth level.  

They were adults by age but they were infants by their attitudes and actions. They had attitudes that were carnal and their actions were infantile. Verse three defines their carnality. Amongst them were envying, strife, and divisions among them. These were the indicators of their spiritual growth. 

Many church members today need to be spoke to as babes because of their carnal and infant ways. Are you prone to envy of another believer’s accomplishments, abilities, and associations? Are you given to struggling with fellow believers over prestige, possessions, and preferences? Do your words, works, and walk as a believer unite or divide people’s allegiances and associations? 

If you answered, “yes” to any of the above questions, let me speak “baby talk” to you for a moment, “Grow Up!” Do you have the tendency to lean toward carnal behavior? “Grow Up!” We have enough carnal believers and babes in our churches today. Lay aside these things and “Grow Up!”

Give it your B. E. S. T.

1 Corinthians 4:12–13    ...being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we entreat:

I love staying at a certain chain of hotels. They have a promotion with their employees called, “Catch Me at my Best.” Guests are encouraged to “catch” employees at their best and notify management, by way of a card, so that employee may be commended and rewarded.

Because I travel much, I have many opportunities to witness people at their worst and best. As well as I have many opportunities to catch me at my best and worst. 

As a believer, we have many opportunities for the world to catch us at our best. You know these type of moments of observation come unannounced. Believers and unbelievers watch us often when we are unaware. How are you doing when they do come?

Paul gave advice to the church at Corinth and told them how to be caught at their best.

When people revile you, bless them.
When people persecute you, suffer it.
When people defame you, entreat them.

So, at all times we are to B-less, E-ntreat, S-uffer and T-rust God. How many times this year have you been caught at your best? The last time you were faced with adversity, did you bless the person, entreat him (chose to respect), and just suffered it, all while trusting the Lord?

I hope you catch me at my B E S T.

I Can Pray

Romans 15:30-33 

A dear friend of mine, Danny Whetstone, spoke from Romans 15:30-33 on how we as Believers can “strive together.” The last point of his positive message spoke of striving together in prayer. His message referenced how Paul asked the church at Rome to pray for him. 

Paul requested prayer of the church in three areas. He requested prayer for three things. These should be a help to us when we pray for our missionaries.

1. Protect my missionaries. 15:31a

2. Provide opportunities for my missionaries. 15:31b

3. Prosper my missionaries. 15:32

Confidence in the Plan and Purpose of God

Romans 8:28    And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.    

What must have Paul thought as the Holy Spirit laid upon his heart these words to write as he penned our devotional verse for today? Notice his confidence in the plan of God. Note also his confidence in the  purpose  of God. Yet what clear understanding must have been in his heart when he reflected on the day when Stephen was stoned. Though the event made him sorrowful, the verse reveals his contentment and confidence in the purpose and plan of God.  

Stephen was the early church’s deacon and disputer of the enemies of Christ. Yet the day he was stoned for his preaching, an unconverted Saul was watcher of the coats of the stoners. (Acts 7:58) The first verse of the next chapter says he was a willing watcher of his death. 

Yet what good in the plan and purpose of God could come in the death of Stephen? Stephen loved God. Truly, he was a man called according to God’s purpose. Yet in his death, God’s plan made a new defender of the faith: the man whom we call the apostle Paul.  

Faithful servant and lover of God, your difficulty today is in the purpose and plan of God. Never allow life’s circumstances and conditions shake your faith in the purpose and plan of God. Know this: God has a purpose and plan that He is working even in deaths, disasters, and disappointments.   

Are Your Words, Your Words?

1 Corinthians 2:4-5    And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

The question to the average person may seem silly, but for the child of God called upon to communicate the gospel and doctrine, this question is paramount. Our passage indicates Paul’s inspired testimony to the Corinthians. This testimony certainly establishes an implied and desired goal for every soul winner, preacher, and teacher.

Each time I stand to preach, I must evaluate if what I am going to say is merely enticing words full of man’s wisdom or will I be preaching in demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power? Oh, yes, it is a temptation to offer human wisdom to fix, adjust, or steer a congregation. However, if I speak out of human wisdom, what have I done but placed their faith in my wisdom and not the power of God. 

Consider yourself today. God has placed you in a position to communicate His great love and righteousness. When you communicate, are you doing so by His power and His Holy Spirit? The great danger in attempting to do His work any other way will produce a people who follow what you say and not His word!

Our power is no replacement for Holy Power. 

Our principles are not a substitute for His principles.

Our wisdom is not a substitute for His wisdom.

Our work is not a substitute for His work.

Our intellect is no replacement for His inspiration.

A Faith Walker

2 Corinthians 5:7   For we walk by faith, not by sight 

From the moment we are taught to walk, we are told, “watch where you’re walking.” We hear, “look both ways,” along with a myriad of other statements. These phrases all establish you should not venture out unless you can see what’s ahead. 

However, the Word of God gives polar opposite instructions. “For we walk by faith, not by sight:” The believer walks by what God says will be there. That is the condition of being a faith-walker. 

Remember, God’s ways and thoughts are above man’s ways and thoughts. When you can’t see the steps in front of you, don’t revert to human nature. Cling to the Word of God. We walk by faith, not sight.

Good Men to Do Nothing

"All that is necessary for the forces of evil to succeed or triumph is for enough good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke

Psalm 15 

I was summoned for jury service recently. This was my first time to be summoned where I did not have to defer. I appeared with an eclectic and diverse group of individuals in my county in NC. 

I was amazed at the process and impressed with the responsibility of fulfilling this constitutionally appointed task. I realized something a friend said to me about this process. He said that, when considering the collection of people who could sit in judgment of me for a crime, I would hope reasonable and normal people would make the effort to serve. After this experience, I agree.

The selection and querying process was interesting. The accused was seated in the room as prospective jurors were asked questions. The accused's presence certainly added to the weight of this duty. As we neared the end of the first day, the judge gave somber instructions about listening only to the facts presented in the courtroom. It was then in open court, I spoke up.

Earlier an event occurred in the jury holding room. It was well before we were even going to head in to see if we would be selected. The jury handler made a comment to help us know what was upcoming. She mentioned the type case we would get and that the accused was a repeat offender with 3-4 previous charges. She intimated it would not be a long case.

Her statement was unfair to the accused; it prejudiced minds about the individual. I knew I could not keep silent. So I spoke up in court as the judge gave these somber instructions. I asked the judge if what we heard from his staff about the case prior to our arrival in the court room should have bearing. Obviously, it did.

The judge dismissed the jury pool and called me into the court room again to give answer his questions. The next day, he released all the jurors.

The next day, when I arrived, I met with the judge again and then later again with the jurors in our pool. He dismissed us with gratitude. He explained the process must always be fair to both sides. He personally expressed gratitude for my courage to stand up for the sake of justice. The accused will have his day in court. He will be given an opportunity to defend himself before an untainted jury. Justice will be served that day, as it was this day.

A college professor in that room told me on the way out, "Sir, all of us heard what you heard, only you had the courage to stand up and say something. Thank you for your courage.”

I realized the significance of a quote, attributed to Edmund Burke (18th century British statesman), "All that is necessary for the forces of evil to succeed/triumph is for enough good men to do nothing." I am glad that I said something in that courtroom.

If you have an opportunity to serve, do so. Do it with vigor and vigilance. It is an honor.

Parroting the Ignorant

Psalm 73:17   Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.

Social media is replete with statements of that God allows shootings to happen because prayer was judicially removed from schools forty years ago. Don't be guilty of speaking without thinking. Yes, society's eviction of God and its pursuit of secularism does create a vivid contrast compared to a society that once honored God. But did the shootings in America's malls, schools, streets, and churches happen because prayer was banished? Of course, not!

A shooting in America, whether en masse or singularly, represents a heart problem, not a handgun problem. Consider, Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

Our world has dealt with murders since the killing of Abel by his own brother. These brothers were reared in a Godly family with home education. The parents grieved over the loss of their son. But no legislative act prevented the murderous action of Cain, a man depraved. Man is desperately wicked.

If I were grieving the loss of my son today from such a tragedy, I would not want to hear people making my grief a platform for their pet issue  (prayer in school, Christ in Christmas, or tougher federal laws on gun control). I would want to know I had friends and family who could remind me of God's promises. I would want a nation who mourned with me. I would want a Pastor who'd stand in the pulpit today and remind me that God is in control.

A Cast-Down Believer?

Psalm 42:6   O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore, will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.   

Have you ever seen a person in the throes of despair? His back is slumped. His shoulders are heavy. His eyes seem to be focused on a distant object in another world. His head is held up only by his hands which seem to be powerless. Truly this is the picture of a person who is cast down. Yet should this ever be the picture of a believer?   

In our focal verse, the Psalmist speaks of a soul of a believer that is like the one described above. It seems oxymoronic; a believer, cast down. Yet this is the state that describes many a believer today.    

The Psalmist could not rationalize why his soul would be cast down since he was a child of God. He turned to God and forced himself to remember times three times when God's power was clearly manifested in his life. He identified them for us by naming the places. He lists the land of Jordan, the land of the Hermonites and the hill Mizar. 

These places are where David experienced God's power, protection, and provision. These were the times where David experienced God's riches, rewards, and righteousness. These were situations where David experienced God's grace, goodness, and gifts.    

Is your soul cast down? Why?   

He Will Perfect Me

Psalms 138:8   The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth forever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

If you know me personally, you know I love to cook meals, grill meat, and eat good food. 

When I grill, I know that the preparation of the meat (dry rub, never wet marinade), the arrangement of the coals, the placement of the meat on the grill and the turning of the meat is critical for pleasing the eaters at the table.  These elements are also critical for the satisfaction of the chef in a job done well. 

I will season the meat hours before its grilling and serving. I will prepare the wood for grilling. I will light the wood at the right time. I will turn and move the meat on the grill based on its thickness, composition, and the eater’s preference.

In grilling (Using a gas grill is not grilling; charcoal is grilling; I digress), the meat needs to be moved to the cool spot on the grill. Or, if I am using the second grill, I put it on the other grill for a different temperature range. When I believe it’s nearly done, I will pull the meat off the grill. I know the meat will finish cooking, even when it’s off the heat, to the eater’s desired preference as we wait to serve it. 

If the meat were personified, it might say, “The chef is not using me right now. You see he put me on another grill.”  Or it might say, “He’s got me set aside on this serving plate, but I am not being used. I wish he would hurry up; I’m tired of waiting.” 

Whether finishing in the cool spot on another grill or resting on a plate before it’s ready to be used, the chef knows how the meat will be used. He knows what it needs to be doing now for a perfection later. He knows when it is right to move it, turn it, pull it, and place it in a resting place. He will place the meat into service when he is ready.

The Psalmist wrote about a similar thing. God, the Master Chef, knows how we will be used. He knows where will be used. He is aware of the places we need to be in the process for Him to get the most glory out of us. Sometimes, He places us over the heat directly. Sometimes, He uses indirect heat. Other times, He places us on another grill for a different purpose. Yet sometimes before the actual serving, He puts on a resting plate. He does this to allow for the final cooking. He knows when to pull the foil off us for that prepared place of service He’s designed to have maximum efficiency and glory. 

If you are cooling, resting, or waiting to be placed into service, know this: He will finish the work He began. He will not forsake the work of His hands. He is merciful.

Don’t worry; enjoy this place of rest. Don’t pine for a place of service before His time. He knows where you are. He knows what He needs you to be. He knows when you need to be there. He will perfect that which concerns you. He desires to get maximum glory. He won’t forsake you.

Fat, Dull, and Closed

Matthew 13:11-15

When questioned by the disciples about His use of parables, Jesus replied that there were three issues affecting mankind’s ability to grasp Him. He identified a problem not just in His time. He did it by quoting a message by Isaiah generations earlier. This moment of teaching lends valuable insight to modern problems on Planet Earth.

The average believer today has the same failure to grasp Christ. Yes, we have hearts, but we have over-indulged in self and have become fat. True, we have ears, but we have allowed God’s Spirit and Word to be ambient noise we tune out so we can hear what we want. Certainly, we have eyes, but they are closed to seeing anything but our preferred mirrors that we select because of their ability to make us look good.

In this season of over-indulgence, let’s pause and examine our hearts, ears, and eyes. Have these portals to the soul become fat, dull, and closed? May we slim down, sharpen up, and see around us what He would have us to learn. It would be a shame today if we missed His lesson for us today because of being fat, dull, and closed.

Follow the Leader

Luke 9:57   And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.    

Childhood memories fade from us rather too quickly. However, most can remember playing the game “Follow the Leader.” Oh, the simplicity of the moment when the leader moved in one direction and the “followers” would move in the same direction.  

“Follow the Leader” should truly be the way we conduct God’s work today. God leads through His word and we should follow. 

However, many “would be followers” have reasons they will not follow.  Three men said, when faced with the opportunity to serve the Lord, “I would follow…but.” One was consumed with his daily needs. Another was burdened with family concerns. The third was prone to delay to avoid possible regrets.   

Jesus knew the things holding each of them back from following Him. He said to the three that there would be no rest, no returns, and no regrets. Many today feel justified by saying, “I just want to make sure I have taken care of what is important to me.” Some have even said, “I have wants, too!” Oh, the selfishness that has crept in God’s churches and workers today!  

What is your reply to His gentle bidding? Is it a response of an unconditional yes? If it is not then you have a heart problem. You can remain unfit for His service or you can rest in His faithfulness and step out and serve.