Month: May 2023

Our text for today is Romans 12:19-20

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore if your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

May God bless the reading of his word.

What do you do when life isn’t treating you fairly? Sometimes it is because it is someone who is treating your unfairly. Anger and then bitterness are often the emotions we experience after feeling mistreated. This is especially valid if we’re not happy with how things turn out. 

The offending party may refuse to acknowledge their error or even lay the blame on you. If you’re a Christian, you already know that God expects you to forgive the person or individuals who hurt you or mistreated you in accordance with His Word. When that happens, our soul cries out, “It isn’t fair!”

I’m not going to debate what is or isn’t fair. I can only say that a lot of things in life are unfair, but fortunately we worship and serve a God who values fairness. It means that if we follow Him, He will make things right in due course. 

It may seem unreasonable to demand us to forgive someone who has wronged us even if they won’t repent or accept responsibility for their actions, but God commands us to do just that. Why? Because when we forgive, we are actually doing ourselves a favor rather than our enemies.

We are tortured as long as we harbor grudges, rage, and bitterness. Until we let go of the problem and trust God to make things right, we are actually letting the person who wounded us to continue hurting us. If you have anything against somebody, just forgive it, let it go. This is a gift you give yourself.

Lonnie Davis

Our Text for today is Habakkuk 3:17-19

Though the fig tree may not blossom,Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,And there be no herd in the stalls— Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 

The LORD God is my strength.

Have there ever been instances in your life when God’s presence seemed to be absent? Even if we try to hold onto our faith when life’s worst happens, it’s simple to doubt God. The Apostle Thomas, because he lost hope, is often referred to as “Doubting Thomas.” Even Jesus on the cross cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.”

It is not shocking that we sometimes feel that way. When a loved one passes away far too soon, where is He? Where is God in death, illness, and divorce? When battles break out, where is He? Yes, sometimes we are left looking for God in the midst of everything because it appears like the world is heading toward catastrophe.

What are you dealing with right now? Does it seem like everything is going wrong in your life? How are you going to handle it? 

Of course, you cannot always choose what you will experience, but you can always choose how you will experience it. 

Choose patience and joy and trust that God who can see farther than  you can, can see the end of this too.

You can choose to say with Habakkuk, who in the midst of tough times said, “Yet, I will rejoice in the Lord…the God of my salvation.”

Remember, this struggle is temporary.

Lonnie Davis

One of my favorite scenes in the Bible is the funeral scene of Abraham in Genesis 25:8-10. We begin by reading that verse.

^“Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife.

That is the way to go – in a good old age, surrounded by your people, and buried by your children.

When you have lived for a few decades, you think about what it means to get old. One man wrote a poem (H.S. Fritsch) that has helped me through the years. I want to share that with you now. Perhaps it will bless your life.

Age is a quality of mind.
If you have left your dreams behind.

If hope is cold,
If you no longer look ahead,

If your ambitions’ fires are dead
Then you are old.

But if from life you take the best
If in life you keep the jest,
If love you hold;

No matter how the years go by,
No matter how the birthdays fly –

You are not old.

I didn’t wrote that poem, but they resonate with me.

Lonnie Davis

God Will Test You

In John 6, when the disciples saw the big hungry crowd following Jesus, Jesus tells his disciples to give them something to eat. Maybe this is where the idea of a church dinner first came from? Well,  anyway, our text tells what comes next. – John 6:5-7

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

Why would Jesus tell them to get food for and feed 5,000 people? Actually the text tells us. the Bible says, “He asked them only to test.” “He already had in mind what he was going to do.”

You too will face tough situations. You might not know what to do, but you need to ask yourself, “Is this a test?” If God is watching, and of course he is, then we need to remember that it is a test. Handle this crises so that God is pleased with your faith.

Proverbs 17:3, tells us God works this way with us. “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.” Heat doesn’t make silver or gold. It merely reveals it. The heat and pressures of life don’t make you strong. They just reveal your true strength. Perhaps, even strength you didn’t know you had.

God is not bound by our human limitations. He can turn our problems into victories, our struggles into successes, and our weaknesses into strengths.

Lonnie Davis

Thousands of people were following Jesus to hear him preach, but thousands of poeple bring there own problems. They might not get tired, sick, or weary, but eventually they always get hungry.

With this background we begin with the reading of Mark 6:35-37

 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take eight months of a man’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

In the middle of nowhere, a remote place, how do you feed more than 5,000 people? The disciples have a suggestion.

Send the people away. It doesn’t have to be our problem, they think. Let them buy something for themselves. Actually, I get it. There seems to be no other solution.

But Jesus has another idea. He tells the disciples, “You give them something to eat.”

Do you see the cycle? 

They say, Let them go somewhere to eat. In other words, let’s duck this problem.

Jesus said, “No, You handle it.”

There are a two great lessons to learn from this story.

#1. Handle your problems. 

If you ignore them, they won’t go away. They will get bigger.

I once knew a man who would, when a problem arose, would retreat into his bedroom until the problem went away. You may have some form of that yourself. They #1 way of hiding is to retreat into tomorrow. Tomorrow I will handle it. Then tomorrow there will be another tomorrow. Your may think the problem goes away because it seems to settle down, but unhandled, unresolved problems are usually still lingering just beneath the surface of life.

#2. God always has a plan, even if you don’t know it. 

“You give them something to eat” must have seemed ridiculous to them. They didn’t have enough resources, or so it seemed to them. The only ridiculous thing was for the disciples not to understand that when Jesus told them to do something, he would always provide the resources for them to do it. 

God still works in that way. Once you know what God wants them just do it. He will help!

Lonnie Davis

Our Scripture for today is John 10:7-10

Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Notice how he starts this teaching, “I tell you the truth…” 

And what is the reason for the truth that he was telling them? He shares the answer with us at the end of verse 10, “I am come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

So why do so many of us live lives that don’t feel like an abundant life? Perhaps it is because we do to drink in the full experience of Christianity. The following story is a great illustration of how we miss so much in life and certainly in the Christian life.

The story is told of a little boy who lived on a farm in the 1800s. When he was a twelve-year-old, he heard that a travelling circus was coming to his little remote town. He had never been to a circus and was excited about the possibility. When he first heard the news he ran home and asked, “Daddy, can i go?” He was from a poor family, but the father sensed how important this was to his son, “If you do your chores ahead of time, I see that you get to go next Saturday.” 

On Saturday morning, with chores done, he went to his dad. His dad reached into the pockets of his work clothes and dug out a dollar. It was more money than the boy had ever seen. His father cautioned him and sent him on his way to town. 

On the way to town, the boy feet hardly touched the ground.  As he neared the outskirts of town, he noticed people lining the streets. He worked his way through the crowd until he could see what was happening. It was the approaching spectacle of a circus parade! The parade was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. 

Caged animals roared as they passed. Bands beat their rhythms and sounded shining horns. Acrobats did leaps and flips while flags and ribbons swirled overhead. After everything had passed where he was standing, a circus clown, with floppy shoes, baggy pants, and a brightly painted face, brought up the rear. As the clown passed by, the little boy reached into his pocket and took out that precious dollar bill. Handing the money to the clown, the boy turned around and went home. The boy thought he had seen the circus when he had only seen the parade!

God has promised us great things, but too many of us upon seeing the parade, clap and then go home and think we have seen the parade. 

Jesus did not come to make life average. He did not come to make life tolerable. He did not come to make life good. He came to give you life to the full. The NAS and KJV say, “Abundant life.” Jesus meant for you to have an abundant life now. 

Lonnie Davis

The Main Job

Our text for today is Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Before I read, let me explain what I am going to read. There are two commands. The first is to all folks. The second is to those who hold the most important job on earth. It is not the job of a king or a president. It is not the job of a teacher or a doctor. It is a job of a Godly mom or dad. 

The first verse we read is to all of us. 

[5] Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 

This is the greatest command.  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. But the greatest job is found in the next four verses. It gives instructions to mothers and fathers.

[6] These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. [7] Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. [8] Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. [9] Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

So the greatest job is to see that our children know about God. Nothing is more important. Remember these words from Deuteronomy 6. 

I will close with reading a poem that reminds us of why. It is called “The Bridge Builder.”

An old man going a lone highway, 

Came in the evening, cold and gray, 

To a chasm vast, both deep and wide, 

Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;

The swollen stream was as naught to him;

But he stopped when safe on the farther side, 

And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,

“You are wasting your strength in labor here;

Your journey will end with the closing day,

You never again will pass this way.

You’ve crossed the chasm deep and wide

Why build you this bridge at eventide?”

The laborer lifted his old gray head,

“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,

“There followeth after me today

A youth whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm which has been naught to me

To that young man may a pitfall be.

He, too, must cross in the twilight dim.

Good friend, I am building this bridge for him.”

Miss Will Allen Dromgoole

Remember to help build a bridge for your children. Build is so they will have an easier path to God. 

Lonnie Davis

I call this writing, “Religion for Losers”

 The title of this article is a description of Christianity by billionaire Ted Turner.

In the end of his life, he changed his view. He said that he regrets his fifty years of negativism toward Christianity. He apologized and said Christianity is a positive influence. 

Why he turned against Christianity a lifetime ago is a sad story. When he was 15, his 12-year-old sister developed terminal lupus. He prayed for her for one hour every day for most of five years. Over those five years he saw her in pain and finally her death. His conclusion was that God her and so he quit God.

His is not an unusual story. We see it all the time. Someone prays for a heartfelt, specific outcome and God does not grant it. The praying person becomes frustrated with God and quits Him.

 The quitting does not always manifest itself in a “religion for losers” mentality or an “I’ll never go to church again” attitude. Sometimes the quitter just quietly quits worshipping or maybe continues to frequent services, but settles into a duty bound, joyless religion.

There is such a thing as “religion for losers,” but it is not true Christianity. Religion for losers is a religion that does not feel the joy or power of God. Religion for losers often worships but counts the minutes until it is over. Religion for losers does not lead us to our knees in prayer.

When those with true faith pray, they do not always get what they ask for in exactly the way they asked. God is not a genie in a bottle and prayer is not like rubbing the lamp.

True faith knows that the Father knows best and is willing to leave it with him. True religion knows that when life tumbles in, when our hearts break, and when struggles surround us, God is faithful. (1 Cor 1:9)  

You may not always understand Him, but God is always faithful.

Lonnie Davis

Our reading today is from Malachi 3:10-11

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts,

“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you   such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

How to we learn to trust like this?

The Bible tells us about Abraham, who went to a place where God called him to go, even though he didn’t know where he was going. This has led some people to believe that we should always trust God, even when we don’t know what’s going to happen.

However, I think we get this wrong. Abraham’s faith was amazing, but God doesn’t ask us to leap into the dark. When the Israelites fled from the Pharaoh, he pursued them. Israel escaped to the Red Sea and the Pharaoh chased them there.

When Israel was safely on the other side of the Red Sea, an amazing thing happened. The water that had parted for God’s people came back and drowned the Egyptian army. Standing on the other side, the Israelites saw the bodies of the Egyptians that washed up on the shore. 

Moses tells us, “When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses His servant.”

Did you catch that? When they saw with their eyes, their faith grew. It is good to grow from experiencing God. This is not the only time this happened. Gideon asked God to show him evidence of His power. Moses struggled with faith even after seeing a powerful sign from God.

God calls on us to test Him. As our text for today said, “‘Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.'”

God knows we are made of clay. God knows we have weaknesses. He does not blast us for our weakness, but “leads us beside the still waters.” Our problem is not that we have tested God and found him to fail. Our problem is that we do not test Him at all. Learn to lean on Him. He is the only leaning post that will never fail you.

Lonnie Davis

Our text for today is John 9:1-3, 6-7

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 

When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

The story of the blind beggar teaches us three important life lessons:

1.      God helps us with what we need, not just what we ask. 
The blind beggar never asked for anything more than a few coins. He was born blind and begging was his life. God worked behind the scenes to heal him, even though he did not ask. This is a reminder that God knows our needs even before we ask, and that He is always working to help us.

1. God can help in the most hopeless circumstances. 
   The beggar had been blind since birth. He had never known what it was like to see. He had lived his entire life in darkness. He was poor and had no means of support. He was forced to beg to survive. Despite all these challenges, Jesus healed the beggar. This is a reminder that God is not limited by our circumstances. He can help us no matter how hopeless our situation may seem.
2. Jesus meets our needs in ways we do not expect. When Jesus healed the beggar, he did not use expensive medicine or surgery. He simply made some mud with his spit and put it on the beggar’s eyes. This is a reminder that God can help us in ways we do not expect. We should never assume that we know how God will help us. We should simply trust Him and obey His commands.

We may not be blind beggars on the side of the road, but God is still ready to help us with what we need. Just as the blind beggar was ready to receive Jesus’ gift of sight, we should be ready to receive the gifts that God has for us.

Lonnie Davis