Month: April 2023

Exodus 2 gives us one of the most famous stories in all of the Bible. Moses’s mother, living under the rule of a pharaoh who wanted the male Hebrew babies dead, had a son. We’ve probably all heard how Moses’ mother put him in a little boat and put him in the river. By and by, the Pharaoh’s daughter found him and saved his life. This story seems like Moses’ mother had done all she could so that is why she gave him up to the river, but by the providence of God, everything worked out. I have a different view of things.

I think his mother did not abandon him to the fate of the river. Mom stayed home with him as long as possible and then as she lived under the Pharaoh’s rule, she had to go back to work. Knowing that baby Moses was in danger. She put him in the boat and left his sister to watch after him. That way, if soldiers came by, the sister could leave for a few minutes and then later go back to watching over the baby. This would mean at the end of the work day, Mom could come home, retrieve her baby and care for him another night.

God had another plan. As Moses was in the basket in the river, the daughter of the Pharaoh found him and claimed him. Moses’ sister went to her and ask whether she should get a Hebrew woman to care for the baby. The royal daughter told her to do so, and by the way, give the woman wages.

As the baby’s mom returned home. She didn’t have to leave anymore. She was getting paid to take care of her own child. God has a wonderful way of taking care of things for us. She only had to do three things: First, Do the best she could. Second, let go of the problem, and Three, trust god.

That is the same plan we all need to follow. Let go and let God. After all God works in wondrous ways.

Lonnie Davis

This is for all of you who have ever had a problem and wondered what to do about it. I think that means all of you. It involves a true story with some of the best advice I have ever heard.

In 1939, the Nazis were invading the Netherlands. The first people to be affected were the Jews who lived in the Netherlands. A group of Christians came to the Dutch theologian, Henry Cramer, and told him, “Our Jewish neighbors are missing from their homes.” They then asked, “What must we do?”

Cramer’s answered, “I cannot tell you what to do. I can tell you who you are. If you know who you are then you will know what to do.”

Read those last words again, “If you know who you are, then you will know what to do.” The Nazis are not marching in our streets, but those words should still convict us. When Satan sends temptations, you do not need to ask what to do. You only need to remember who you are.

Sometimes Christians will be confronted with a temptation to evil. It sounds holy and righteous to hear them say, “I will pray to God for an answer about what I should do.” It is not holy and righteous. It is weak. God has already told us what to do with sin. We only need to remember who we are.

In our story, the men and women who asked the question of Henry Cramer became part of the Dutch resistance movement. They helped save the lives of many. In times of stress and temptation, if you and I will remember who God is and who we are, it will determine our conduct.

2,000 years ago, on a storm tossed ship in the middle of the sea, Paul used that principle to make his decision. He told the freighted sailors, “Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.” (Acts 27:23-25)

Paul said, “I know God knows me and I know who I am and whose I am.” Since he knew these things, he knew what to do. When you know those things, you too will know what to do.

                                                                                                ~Lonnie Davis

These words are for all of you who have a task you need to accomplish but fear you do not know how to do it.

It was the first Sunday after the crucifixion of Jesus. 

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome gathered spices so they could finish the job of anointing the body of Jesus. Just after sunrise they started toward the tomb of Jesus. As the women were nearing the tomb they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mark 16:3)

The stone in front of the tomb was heavy and these women were not able to move it. They went to the tomb anyway. They did not know who would roll away the stone. They went to the tomb anyway. There were soldiers to guard the tomb. They went to the tomb anyway.

Even the casual observer would say that these women, though they were well intended, did not have all their “ducks in a row.” Why didn’t they get some strong men to go with them to roll away the stone? Why didn’t they ask the rulers if the soldiers would move the stone or else let someone move the stone? They did not have the answers, but they went anyway.

Israel left Egypt with clothes and shoes. They may have had enough to last them for the few weeks journey to the Promised Land, but not enough for 40 years of desert wanderings. It did not matter. God is an anyway God. “During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.” (Deuteronomy 29:5)

Israel did not worry about shoes as they left Egypt. They trusted the God whom they served. The women did not fail to go to the tomb because they did not have the answer to the stone. They all started the task and trusted that God would work things out as they went along. 

If there are stones in the way or shoes that need to be replaced, just start anyway. God will provide. Tackle the task in faith. God is the “Anyway God.”    

~Lonnie Davis

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.” – Psalm 14:1

In my 30s I spent a few days in the hospital. The doctor came to my room and said, “When you see the wonders of the kidney, it is hard to imagine that anyone doesn’t believe in God.” As life when on, I understood that more and more.

Unfortunately, ours is an age when more and more Americans are believing less and less in God.  A recent Gallup poll found that 81% of Americans said yes to the simple question, “Do you believe in God?” This was down from 87% in 2017. In 1944, that number was 96%.

As I reflected on these sad statics I pondered why people do not believe in God. I came up with several reasons.

1. Misunderstanding the bible. Those who do not know the meaning of the words that God said will attribute all kinds of things to him. They make him so absurd that they simply cannot believe in God. They think God promotes slavery, child cruelty, or even war. One atheist told me that the wars fought God’s named killed more people in the 20^th century than anything else. As the old saying goes, “Ignorant is bliss.” They do not know the history of the world, or the word of God.

 2. Some do not believe because they confuse the religion of a man with the existence of God. If a man does evil, that does not mean that God is not real.

3. Personal failure. Some experience moral or personal failures in their own lives and deny God rather than accept accountability for their behavior. Hey! If God doesn’t exist, then I don’t have to worry about answering to him.

4. Failure to study the evidence. Thousands of brilliant people have dedicated their lives to studying the evidence for the existence of God. There are many wonderful arguments for God’s existence, but many simply deny him without studying the evidence. No question in anyone’s life is more important than “is there a God.” Take time to study the question.

5. Feeling-based faith. It is dangerous to claim to believe that God is real, simply because you feel him in your heart. Feelings change, but God does not.

6 The dumbest reason of all to reject belief in God is that you cannot “see” him. Adam and Eve knew God personally, but they rejected God’s authority in their lives. Two thousand years ago, the Jews saw God’s son and they crucified him. Seeing is not always believing.

This is a very short list of why people claim to be atheists. If you ever struggle with this question, it is not a shame. It is a call for you to “Study to show yourself approved unto God.”

Lonnie Davis

Have you ever struggled with anxiety?
Then today’s Bible verse is for you.

Philippians 4:6
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…”

Anxiety is a normal and often healthy emotion. However, when a person regularly feels disproportionate levels of anxiety, it can become a medical disorder.

One Bible verse commonly used to help with anxiety is Philippians 4:6, which says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Here are 2 observations about Philippians 4:6 that relate to anxiety.

First, It encourages the reader not to be anxious:
The verse begins by instructing the reader to “not be anxious about anything.” This is a clear and direct message to trust in God’s care and not let worries consume one’s thoughts.

When my children were teenagers and they would be late getting home. If I were not home, my wife would stay up and wait for them. She would call me and when I got home, she would go to bed. She knew I would watch for the child and see that things were okay. Her reasoning was that there was no point in both of us worrying about the same thing. I think that is God’s reasoning here. If we take our trouble to God and then fume and fret about it, we are wasting energy. God has it so let go and let God handle it. Don’t be anxious about anything.

Second, It emphasizes the power of prayer:
The verse says to present one’s requests to God through prayer and petition, indicating that prayer is an important tool in overcoming anxiety. Sometimes we might have a problem and say we have done all we could. Well, have you prayed about it? Until you have prayed about it, you haven’t done all you can. This is not to suggest that if you have the problem of an illness, you can just pray. Praying is not all we do, but it certainly is one thing we should do.

I call Philippians 4:6, “The Antidote for Anxiety.”

I know it is because the very next verse tells us so.

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

There it is! True peace comes at the end of true prayer.

Lonnie Davis