Devine Desires!

"For it is God which worketh in you, both to will (desire) and to do of his good pleasure" Phil. 2:13

Memorize this verse. It is powerful truth to live by. Every good desire or deed that you have comes from God. He put that desire into your heart. You MUST respond and do it. When you do what God urges you to do, he will give you more divine desires and opportunities! That is a great principal to understand. "To him that hath (put to use what God has given him) shall be given, but to him that hath not (responded, and put to use) shall be taken away even that which he hath" Matt 25:28. "Use it or lose it." Make sense?
 

Trust God and Pass the Test!

And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humbled thee; and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no and he humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger..." Deut 8:2,3. So many of God's people are going through deep waters and dark days of testing, trials and temptations. God gave this passage to me and my wife 60 years ago and it is a great answer as to what is going on. Testings are from God to bring out the good and temptations are from Satan to bring out the bad. The key is our response. TRUST GOD and pass the test!

"Count it all joy" Jas 1:2 and "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice, in as much as you are partakers of Christ' sufferings" 1 Pewter 4:12,13. "It is given unto you not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" Phil 1:29. The tragedy is Israel murmured and complained and flunked the test over and over. God provided all their food and clothing but they missed so much of the blessings of God. God let me and my wife go through unbelievable trials and persecution the first year of our marriage and ministry. We have seen hundreds quit the ministry and give up for a lot less than what we faced. We flunked some tests but we passed the course, not making A pluses but we passed. We faced discouragement and heart ache but we stuck in there. Now God has used us beyond our fondest dreams and we have preached all over the world. We are grateful.

I have flown a lot. I am so glad a test pilot tested those planes before I got in one. Every person God uses has been through some deep waters and tested to the limits before God can trust them and use them. Whatever you are going through whether big or small, trust God, He is so good. Pass the course. You may flunk some of the tests but hang in there, BY FAITH "count it all joy" and like God did us, He may give you this passage in Deut 8 to show you your diploma and open doors for service and blessing beyond your imaginations.
 

From the Writings of D. L. Moody...

...There must be a deeper work among God's believing people. I sometimes think it is about time to give up preaching to the ungodly, and preach to those who profess to be Christians. If we had a higher standard of life in the Church of God, there would be thousands more flocking into the Kingdom. So it was in the past; when God's believing children turned away from their sins and their idols, the fear of God fell upon the people round about. Take up the history of Israel, and you will find that when they put away their strange gods, God visited the nation, and there came a mighty work of grace. What we want in these days is a true and deep revival in the Church of God. I have little sympathy with the idea that God is going to reach the masses by a cold and formal church. The judgment of God must begin with us. You notice that when Daniel got that wonderful answer to prayer recorded in the ninth chapter, he was confessing his sin. That is one of the best chapters on prayer in the whole Bible.

We read: "While I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; yea, while I was speaking in my prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding." So also when Job was confessing his sin, God turned his captivity and heard his prayer. God will hear our prayer and turn our captivity when we take our true place before Him, and confess and forsake our transgressions.

It was when Isaiah cried out before the Lord, "I am undone," that the blessing came; the live coal was taken from the altar and put upon his lips; and he went out to write one of the most wonderful books the world has ever seen. What a blessing it has been to the church! It was when David said, "I have sinned!" that God dealt in mercy with him. "I acknowledge my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." Notice how David made a very similar confession to that of the prodigal in the fifteenth of Luke: "I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight!" There is no difference between the king and the beggar when the Spirit of God comes into the heart and convicts of sin.
 

An Awesome Lesson in Abstinence

I was holding a notice from my 13-year-old son's school announcing a meeting to preview the new course in sexuality. Parents could examine the curriculum and take part in an actual lesson presented exactly as it would be given to the students.

When I arrived at the school, I was surprised to discover only about a dozen parents there. As we waited for the presentation, I thumbed through page after page of instructions in the prevention of pregnancy or disease.

I found abstinence mentioned only in passing. When the teacher arrived with the school nurse, she asked if there were any questions. I asked why abstinence did not play a noticeable part in the material.

What happened next was shocking. There was a great deal of laughter, should go back to burying my head in the sand. The teacher and the nurse said nothing as I drowned in a sea of embarrassment. My mind had gone blank, and I could think of nothing to say.

The teacher explained to me that the job of the school was to teach facts, and the home was responsible for moral training. I sat in silence for the next 20 minutes as the course was explained. The other parents seemed to give their unqualified support to the materials.

"Help yourself to the donuts, at the back," announced the teacher during the break. "I'd like you to put on the name tags we have prepared-they're right by the donuts-and mingle with the other parents."  Everyone moved to the back of the room.

As I watched them affixing their name tags and shaking hands, I sat deep in thought. I was ashamed that I had not been able to convince them to include a serious discussion of abstinence in the materials. I uttered a silent prayer for guidance.

My thoughts were interrupted by the teacher's hand on my shoulder. "Won't you join the others, Mr. Layton?" The nurse smiled sweetly at me. "The donuts are good." "Thank you, no," I replied. "Well, then, how about a name tag? I'm sure the others would like to meet you."

"Somehow I doubt that," I replied. "Won't you please join them?" she coaxed. Then I heard a still, small voice whisper, "Don't go." The instruction was unmistakable. "Don't go!"

"I'll just wait here," I said.

When the class was called back to order, the teacher looked around the long table and thanked everyone for putting on name tags. She ignored me. Then she said, "Now we're going to give you the same lesson we'll be giving your children. Everyone please peel off your name tags."

I watched in silence as the tags came off. "Now, then, on the back of one of the tags, I drew a tiny flower. Who has it, please?" The gentleman across from me held it up. "Here it is!"

"All right," she said. "The flower represents disease. Do you recall with whom you shook hands?" He pointed to a couple of people. "Very good," she replied. "The handshake in this case represents intimacy. So the two people you had contact with now have the disease."

There was laughter and joking among the parents. The teacher continued, "And whom did the two of you shake hands with?" The point was well taken, and she explained how this lesson would show students how quickly disease is spread. "Since we all shook hands, we all have the disease."

It was then that I heard the still, small voice again. "Speak now," it said, "but be humble."

I noted wryly the latter admonition, then rose from my chair. I apologized for any upset I might have caused earlier, congratulated the teacher on an excellent lesson that would impress the youth, and concluded by saying I had only one small point I wished to make. "Not all of us were infected," I said. "One of us ... abstained."