Tag Archives: God

July 23, 2024 · 11:37 AM

God-Talk In The News

I love it when God is in the news. He has been the subject of news stories a couple of times recently. Both instances are related to the current race for the White House.

After a disastrous showing in his debate against former President Donald Trump, current President Joe Biden faced calls to step down as his party’s nominee to serve as president for the next four years. He refused to give up. He insisted on staying in the race.

In an interview on ABC News just days after the debate, Biden was defiant, rejecting the notion that he should step aside and let someone else run against Trump. Pressed by his interviewer, Biden conceded that if the Lord Almighty told him to quit, he might quit. Might?

President Biden seemed to correct himself a moment later by saying that if the Lord Almighty came down and told him to quit, he would quit. But then he added that the Lord Almighty is not coming down. Hmmm. I took that to mean that he was not expecting God’s advice, nor was he seeking to get God’s advice.

Biden’s statements about the Lord may be confusing, but he introduced God into the public conversation. I always welcome that!

It didn’t take long for God to make the news again. Former President Donald Trump was speaking publicly about surviving an assassin’s bullet by the slimmest of margins. The attempt on his life happened while he was delivering a speech at an outdoor rally. At just the right instant, the former president turned his head and avoided death. The shot came so close to hitting its target that it bloodied Trump’s ear.

As the former president recalled this harrowing experience, he gave credit to God for saving his life. Others spoke about the providence of God or the hand of God’s protection in preserving Trump’s life. The circumstances certainly seemed to go far beyond mere coincidence.

Not everyone was comfortable with such talk. Some people seemed agitated by assertions that God acted on Trump’s behalf. Predictably, they invoked the separation of church and state as support for their criticisms. Their well-worn arguments always seek to silence those who dare to include God in the public dialogue. They imply that God talk is somehow a threat to democracy.

As Baptists, our heritage includes strong support for the separation of church and state. In the formulative stages of our nation, our Baptist forefathers insisted on religious freedom. They believed passionately in the distinctive realms of authority that distinguish religion and government. They worked hard for constitutional guarantees to protect the church from state control and to recognize the legitimate realm of authority granted to the state by God.

But a wise separation of powers does not require a foolish silencing of honest dialogue. Recognizing the legitimate realms of church and state does not force private citizens or government servants to edit their beliefs about the most important subject of all: our Maker and Savior. Separation of church and state should never be used as an excuse to silence the truth.

We live in an age that has been called the ‘cancel culture.’ Some believe that their political opponents should be canceled and excluded from public discourse. Sadly, it seems that a significant number of Americans are having second thoughts about our fundamental liberties: freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

One thing I know for certain: You cannot cancel God. Those who are hostile to God may be able to intimidate people into silence for a while, but God isn’t going away. God-talk isn’t going away. God is big enough to handle our dialogue about him, no matter how difficult the questions may be.

Let’s rejoice when God is in the news. Let’s keep God in the conversation.

May the Lord inspire and enable us to speak the truth with love,

Brother Richard

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July 10, 2024 · 4:21 PM

Church and State: David or Daniel?

The State of Louisiana just passed a law requiring public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments. This new law will undoubtedly face multiple legal challenges. Several groups have already announced their opposition, citing the separation of Church and State.

Opponents of Christianity have often used the separation of Church and State as a legal tool to deny Christians influence in the public square, including public schools. Sadly, this approach has been successful in many cases.

Why are the Ten Commandments so controversial? Why do we need a law to simply post the Ten Commandments for school children? Why do so many people see Christianity as a threat?

When King David ruled Israel some three thousand years ago, citizens expected the government and religion to work hand-in-hand. Aside from the occasional power struggles or corruption, the king and the priests shared common goals and worked together for the benefit of the nation. They recognized that national prosperity required a solid spiritual foundation.

At the beginning of our nation’s history, a friendlier and more cooperative relationship existed between the State and the Church. Citizens agreed that spiritual guidance was good and necessary for secular institutions. The Ten Commandments were not controversial. They were welcomed.

Our founding documents denied the government power to prohibit the free exercise of religion. It was common at the time for European governments to favor one expression of Christianity over all others, often coercing citizens and sometimes persecuting them. As a result, our founders limited the federal government from respecting an establishment of religion.

These wise words in our First Amendment were not intended to create an absolute wall of separation that refused any cooperation between Church and State. Primarily, they were intended as protection for the Church from a coercive State.

Things have certainly changed! We now live with growing hostility toward Christianity. Groups wish to use the government not to respect an establishment of religion, but to silence the voice of Truth.

Predictably, pagan expressions are encouraged, often promoted in attempts to compete with and defeat the efforts of Christians. If Christians start Bible clubs in schools, opponents start Satanist clubs. If Christians teach kids about sexual integrity and purity, opponents send drag queens to twerk for the kids at the library.

This is not the first time that God’s people have lived in a world that is hostile to godliness and spiritual truth. Some four hundred years after David was king in Israel, the people had become defiant and disobedient toward God. They refused to listen to his warnings. He expelled them from the Promised Land. They found themselves living in Babylon.

In Babylon, God’s people were a minority. They were often despised and treated as outsiders. Sometimes they were treated like enemies of the State. One man hated them so much that he tried to use the power of government to destroy them completely (see the book of Esther).

Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego lived during this difficult period. They were carried away from the Promised Land against their will. They were forced to live in Babylon, a pagan land hostile to their beliefs. Despite the risks of persecution, they decided to remain faithful to God.

Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for praying to God. His friends were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to worship idols. They stood for God and God stood by them.

Followers of Jesus in the U.S.A are finding circumstances to be more like Daniel’s were in Babylon than David’s in the Promised Land. But we need not despair. Even when we find ourselves in a hostile pagan culture, we can follow Daniel’s example. We can choose to be faithful to God despite the short-term risks and difficulties. God is faithful. We will share in the victory!

May the Lord inspire and enable us to always be faithful to him and to his truth,

Brother Richard

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June 5, 2024 · 6:51 PM

Who Tells You What To Think?

We love Vacation Bible School! The Bible verse for VBS this year is Romans 12:2. “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (CSB).

This present age will tell us what to believe, what to value, how to spend our time and our money, who we should be trying to impress, how to ‘get ahead,’ and how to define our identity.

Social media, internet, sitcoms and movies, news reports, influencers and popular opinions, celebrities and political leaders, all these and more tend to pull us in their direction, to conform us to this age. This age has a thousand avenues into our hearts and minds.

This evil age will not encourage us to believe God’s word, to value God’s ways, to spend time and money seeking and serving our Maker and our Savior. This wicked world cares nothing about pleasing the Lord or advancing his kingdom. This world avoids talking about or thinking about eternity, accountability, or judgment.

This wicked world is so pervasive and so invasive that it seems impossible to resist. In fact, without help, we get swept away by the beliefs, values, ideas, and lifestyle of this world. What can we do?

First, we decide not to give in, not to be conformed to this age. Second, we present ourselves to God to be transformed. Note that Romans 12:2 does not say, “transform yourself.” It says, “be transformed.” We don’t have the strength to overcome the ways of this world. We need someone who has the power. God is the one who is able.

God’s transformation starts with our thinking. It says that we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In this world, people tend to be skeptical of God’s way of thinking. They tend to believe and trust friends, feelings, influencers, celebrities, anything but God or Jesus or the Bible.

As Christians, we have decided to trust Jesus. We believe his words and meditate on them. We think about how to live according to his words. God’s Spirit enables us to discern his will. In other words, we learn to recognize what is truly good, what pleases God. As Romans 12:2 says, we realize that God’s will is perfect.

Those who are conformed by the wicked ways of this evil age may have some fun for a season, but they are chasing the wind. The things of this world always leave us unfulfilled, needing more, endlessly searching but never satisfied.

In contrast, God’s will is perfect, whole, complete, without error or omission. We need nothing more than God’s will. God’s good and pleasing will touches every part of our lives, every circumstance, every need. When we pursue and practice God’s will, we need no supplements.

We no longer see social media as the world does, or the internet, or sitcoms and movies. We don’t decide how to spend our money and our time based on the world’s values and ideas. We choose to do what pleases God. We choose God’s good and pleasing and perfect will.

We pursue God’s will not because it makes our lives easier. In fact, we find ourselves at odds with the ways of this world. Nevertheless, we choose to be transformed because it is right in God’s eyes. It pleases God and that pleases us!

May God bless our kids and bless us with a fun and fruitful VBS in 2024,

Brother Richard

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May 8, 2024 · 8:51 AM

Is God Failing?

Things looked bleak. It seemed like everyone was giving up on God, turning away from worshiping him. There was a new god in town: Baal.

Elijah refused to give up on the God of Israel, the true and living God, Maker of heaven and earth. God blessed Elijah with a miraculous victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18-19).

Despite the great victory over Baal’s prophets, things didn’t seem to get any better. Elijah’s life was threatened by the evil queen, Jezebel. She was a devoted follower of Baal.

Elijah was afraid. He was discouraged. He fled.

The frightened prophet ended up in a cave on Mt. Horeb. God asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” The prophet explained that everyone had abandoned worshiping God. He was the only one left and they wanted to kill him.

God told Elijah to stand on the mountain in his presence. When he did, there came a mighty wind, but God was not in the wind. Then there was an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. Then fire, but God was not in the fire.

After the fire was a still small voice. Elijah covered his face and went out to meet the Lord. The discouraged prophet told God all his troubles, how he was the only true worshiper left, how they were trying to take his life. What was the point in carrying on?

God responded to Elijah’s discouragement in two ways. First, he gave Elijah some things to do. It was no time to give up and stop working.

Second, God told Elijah that he was not alone. Seven thousand had not turned away to worship Baal. They were still faithful to the Lord.

Generations later, the Apostle Paul referred to Elijah’s experience. In Paul’s day, most Jews were rejecting Jesus as God’s promised Savior. Like Elijah, some people were questioning God’s work, wondering if it was failing.

Paul pointed out that God had a remnant chosen by his grace. God always has a remnant chosen by his grace, in the Old Testament, in the early days of the Church, and now.

Today, followers of Jesus may be tempted to adopt Elijah’s pessimism. We can easily feel outnumbered by those who have turned their backs on worshiping and serving God. After all, how would we assess the spiritual condition of our nation today? Things do look pretty bleak.

How would we assess the spiritual condition of the churches in our nation? It would be easy to give in to discouragement because of the spiritual decline we see all around us.

Remember God’s answer to Elijah. I have left seven thousand for myself. The first-century apostle put it like this: “In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.” Chosen by grace means it is according to God’s sovereign choice and plan. God has not lost control of the situation!

God’s people have always tended to be a remnant. If this is true in our day, we should not be surprised. Elijah implied that God was failing. God assured him that was not the case. Neither is God failing today.

Elijah was acting out of his fear of Jezebel. Elijah’s trust in God should have been greater than his fear of Jezebel. Our trust in God must be greater than our fear of this world’s powers.

God gave Elijah work to do. It was no time to quit. It is no time for us to quit. God has work for us to do because his kingdom plan is advancing toward the inevitable victory.

God does some of his best work when things look bleak. When Jesus was dying on the cross, God was providing salvation for the world. We can trust him and continue his work, for his work will overcome all obstacles and lead us to the ultimate triumph.

May God’s Spirit inspire and enable us to be faithful despite discouraging circumstances,

Brother Richard Foster

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April 3, 2024 · 5:28 PM

Praying Like Jesus

Jesus prayed to Abba. Who is Abba?

Abba is an Aramaic word. Aramaic was the language spoken by Jesus and his fellow Jews in the first century. It had taken over from Old Testament Hebrew as the common language in Israel.

Abba was a familiar term in the first-century Jewish household for addressing one’s father. Some people equate it with our word daddy,but that might be too informal. Something like dad is a close English equivalent, maybe papa.

Other Aramaic words appear in the New Testament. Mark’s Gospel records Peter’s eyewitness accounts about Jesus’ life and ministry. In some instances, Jesus’ words had left such an impression on the fisherman, that he related them in Aramaic then translated them into Greek for his audience.

When Jesus raised a little girl from the dead, he said, “Talitha koum!” which is translated, “Little girl! I say to you: Get up!” On the cross, Jesus cried out, “Eloi! Eloi! Lama sabachthani!” which means, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” These were certainly unforgettable events.

Abba is the word Jesus used to address God when he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane just hours before he went to the cross. “Abba, Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup from me! But not what I want, but what you want.” In his humanity, Jesus struggled with the suffering he faced. Through prayer, he bowed to his Father’s will.

Jesus’ striking familiarity with God was a dominant feature of his ministry and teaching. In fact, Jesus irritated the Jewish religious leaders with his unusually intimate relationship with God.

It’s not that Jews or the Old Testament never spoke about God as Father. The Israelites did think of God as their Father. But Jesus did so in a new and remarkable way that made them uncomfortable.

And Jesus taught his disciples to do the same. “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father (Abba) in heaven.’” Followers of Jesus for 2,000 years have imitated Jesus in this practice. It is a sign of being Jesus’ follower, a sign of having a close relationship with God like Jesus does.

In Romans 8:15, we read that God’s Spirit enables us to cry out, “Abba! Father!” Of course, that’s just the beginning of the prayer. The content comes next. What is your prayer to the Father? How do you complete this prayer right now? Abba, Father! Thank you for. . . . Abba, Father! You are my. . . . Perhaps you have a cry for help. Abba, Father! Please. . . .

We have in our hearts the Spirit sent from the God of heaven and earth. And, we call the God of time and eternity our Father! The one who spoke the universe into existence and who gives us life, he is our Father!

Let’s rejoice over our privileged position before the Lord. And let us take full advantage of our access to the Almighty. Pray without ceasing!

May our Father in heaven always hear and answer your prayers,

Brother Richard

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March 1, 2024 · 4:07 PM

He Gets Us But Is That All?

He Gets Us. Jesus Gets Us.

Okay. So what? Why is that important?

“He Gets Us” is an ad campaign designed to remind people that the story of Jesus belongs to everybody. The ads have certainly stirred a lot of debate. Their most recent efforts included ads during the Super Bowl game. The ads featured several versions of a single theme. Each one depicts someone washing the feet of another person.

The idea of foot-washing comes from an incident in Jesus’ life which is recorded in the Gospel of John. The night before he was crucified, Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem. Walking on dusty roads made people’s feet dirty. Once indoors, a servant usually washed those dusty feet. On this night, the job was undone. So, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. He did the humble work of a lowly servant, even though he was their Teacher, their Master.

Surely the room was filled with silence by the time Jesus finished this menial task. Once he was back at the table with his disciples, he explained his act of kindness. It was symbolic of his servanthood, an attitude he wanted his disciples to adopt. If he was willing to serve them in such a humble manner, then they should serve one another in the same way, which includes far more than foot-washing.

On one occasion, Jesus said that he came not to be served, but to serve. His service was not limited to his close friends. Not only did Jesus wash his disciples’ feet, but he also reached out to people who were marginalized by the dominant cultural group at that time. Jesus courageously and lovingly crossed cultural barriers. The recent “He Gets Us” ads focus on this attractive aspect of Jesus’ life and teaching.

So, why have the “He Gets Us” ads been criticized? Simple: The ads present only a fragment of Jesus. True, it is a lovely fragment, but it is far less than the real Jesus. The foot-washing ads reduce Jesus to a super nice guy who encourages acts of kindness.

Yes, Jesus engaged in acts of kindness. Jesus has nothing against acts of kindness. I would certainly agree that Jesus is an advocate of acts of kindness. But is that all? Is that what has made Jesus the most important person who walked the face of the earth in the past two thousand years? his acts of kindness?

Jesus said that he came not to serve but be served. But that’s not all. He also said that he came to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus not only gets us. He saves us. He transforms us. He makes us right with God.

The story of Jesus does belong to everybody, but not in the sense that anybody can rework and reinvent Jesus for their own purposes. The Jesus of history belongs to everybody in the sense that everybody needs the truth about Jesus, the real Jesus, the complete Jesus. Everybody needs the truth about Jesus because Jesus is God’s one and only Savior.

The reason we still discuss Jesus is not because he was a nice inclusive guy who advocated for random acts of kindness. The reason we still talk and write about Jesus is because his claims are off the chart.

He is sent by God. He is God’s one and only Son. He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. He is Lord of creation. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Jesus. He has power over death. He is coming back to take his followers to be with God in heaven forever. Wow!

Not only are Jesus’ claims of cosmic proportion. They are true. Jesus still has a commanding place in culture not simply because his story is compelling, but because Jesus is alive and he is Lord!

May the Risen Lord Jesus Christ reign in our hearts.

Brother Richard

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January 6, 2024 · 12:13 PM

Honoring God His Way

King David wanted to honor God. He made extensive preparations. He gathered a large group of people. It was a big congregation. He put together some wonderful music. They used all the latest instruments.

At first, things went great. But all the enthusiasm and the music came to a bitter end. One of the men serving that day died in the middle of all the excitement. He was struck down by God.

They were moving the ark of the covenant up to Jerusalem. The ark was the ancient container that held the people’s copy of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments reminded them of their covenant relationship with God.

More than that, the ark was a symbol of God’s presence among his chosen people, Israel. They were blessed because the God of heaven and earth invited them to approach him and to worship him.

God instructed the people to keep the ark in the innermost room of the tabernacle, the room called the holy of holies. It was seen only by the high priest, only once a year, and only with the proper sacrifices.

When it was necessary to transport the ark, only Levites were supposed to carry it. When David moved the ark to Jerusalem, however, it was transported on a cart pulled by oxen. The oxen stumbled. Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark.

That’s when it happened. The Lord struck Uzzah down. David was angry. But David also feared the Lord that day. He seriously doubted the ark could ever be brought up. He left it in the house of a man named Obed-edom.

David could have let his bitterness grow and become a permanent barrier between himself and God. Instead, David learned from his mistake. He adjusted. He tried again.

On his second attempt, David made sure the ark was transported as the Lord instructed: not by a cart, but by the hands of the Levites. He also offered sacrifices to the Lord. By offering sacrifices, David was acknowledging that sinners can only approach a holy God by appealing to his mercy and his grace.

This time, things went well. David and the people had a wonderful time worshiping the Lord. The ark of the covenant was brought into Jerusalem where the temple would later be built. There, God’s people would worship him for many generations.

Success! But not perfection. After the worship was finished, David went home to bless his family. His wife, Michal, ridiculed him for his passionate public display of worship. David had been dancing before the Lord with all his might. Michal accused him of making a fool of himself in front of the people. What a disappointment!

David did not let criticism change his mind about worshiping God, even though the criticism came from someone in his own household. He was committed to honoring God with his very best.

This episode in David’s life reveals important truths about seeking and serving God. David learned to honor God on God’s terms. Even though it required him to make adjustments to his original plans. David was committed to passionate public worship, even though it required him to suffer criticism inside his own household.

Let’s worship and serve the Lord with passion this year. Like David, we may sometimes need to make adjustments. And, like David, we may sometimes face criticism. But the Living God who loves us and saves us is worthy of our very best.

Honoring God his way includes participation in regular public worship. And, as New Testament believers, we honor God with the Lord’s Supper. Remembering Jesus’ sacrifice with the bread and the cup is the premier act of worship for Christians.

Honor the Lord his way, passionately!

May we seek to honor God with all that we say, think, and do,

Brother Richard

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November 4, 2023 · 12:38 PM

My Dad Was A Faithful Man


My dad was Eugene L. Foster, known to most folks as Gene. He was born in 1935 and passed away October 8, just twelve days before his 88th birthday.

My dad was a faithful man. He was faithful to his wife, my mom Barbara. They were married in 1959. They made a life together until she passed away in 2014, fifty-five years. My dad was a widower for nine years, and it was clear that he missed his ‘better half.’

My dad was faithful to his family. Mom and dad kept their arguments private when we were young. Occasionally my siblings and I would be witness to one of their disagreements. Mom used the ‘silent treatment’ on my dad when she was angry. He would sometimes get so upset that he would leave the house. He always returned, but I wondered where he went.

Once, he took me with him. I guess he thought I was old enough to learn the secret of where he went and what he did when he left in a huff. On that occasion, we went and bought French fries at McDonald’s. While we ate them, he told me not to worry about their arguments or his going out to cool down. He promised that he would never leave us. He never did. He stayed with us, even when things got tough.

Once, when money was tight, he was forced to drive a lumber truck. That must have been difficult for someone who spent his life in comfortable offices, wearing business clothes, and working as an accountant. We always had what we needed. He provided for us.

My dad was faithful to his church. He was a member of the same Baptist Church in Euless Texas for more than forty years. He attended faithfully. He served as a deacon. He went on mission trips. He did more than I will ever know.

When Karen and I left Texas to serve at Grace Baptist in Camden, Arkansas, my dad visited us regularly. He and mom both came to see us until she passed away. After a while, I started to notice that dad visited us when the church was having a potluck, or our Sunday school class was going out to eat! But he worshiped with us, too.

Dad also went on mission trips with Grace Baptist. Once, when we were knocking on doors and doing outreach in a community near Memphis, a dog attacked him and bit him on the leg. His injury required a trip to the Emergency Room. I was mortified! I was sure that would be his last mission trip with us. It wasn’t. He took it in stride.

Dad made a lot of friends at Grace Baptist. In fact, the church family in Camden accepted him as an honorary member of Grace. He was encouraged by such love and acceptance, especially after my mom was gone. Dad was blessed to have two church families!

My dad was more than a faithful man. He was a man of faith. More than that, he was a man of the faith, the Christian faith. His trust was in Jesus Christ. His life was filled with service and worship of God and fellowship with other believers.

To all who trust Jesus, God’s word says, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians, 3:20, CSB). As his life in this world was slipping away, my dad was clear about his desire to go and be with his Lord. He wanted to go where his permanent citizenship is. He wanted to go home.

My dad is forever home now. I’m honored and proud to report that he leaves behind the witness of a faithful life.

May God in heaven inspire us to be faithful in all things,

Brother Richard

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October 5, 2023 · 9:43 AM

What Makes God Happy?

God was unhappy. The spiritual leaders of his people had failed. The Lord rebuked them through the prophet Ezekiel. They were not strengthening the weak, healing the sick, bandaging the injured, bringing back the strays, or seeking the lost (Ezekiel 34:4).

The language God used was taken from the world of shepherds and sheep. David’s 23rd Psalm made this comparison famous: “The Lord is my shepherd.” God’s people are his sheep. He protects them, provides for them, and guides them as a shepherd does his flock.

God’s desire for his people is expressed in the list he gave Ezekiel. The Lord wants those who are weak to be strengthened. He wants those who are sick to be healed. The injured must be bandaged. These three actions are related. We could summarize them with these words: Help those who are hurting.

The final two items on the list are also related. Bring back the strays and seek the lost. The strays are those who were formerly in the flock. They have wandered away for some reason. As a result, they are in danger.

This category seems especially relevant in our COVID-altered culture. The stresses and strains of the pandemic scattered many people who were formerly participating with a local church family. As shepherd of the flock, the Lord wants those who are scattered to be gathered. He wants them to be in fellowship again.

Just as surely as sheep need a flock, Christians need a church.

Last on Ezekiel’s list is God’s desire to seek the lost. We can think of the lost as people who have never been part of the Lord’s flock. They have never been eternally saved and adopted into God’s family. The Lord wants them to be found, to be saved. He wants them to hear the good news about salvation by faith in Christ. He wants them to become followers of Jesus.

Jesus exemplified the actions listed in Ezekiel 34:4. He used his miraculous power to help those who were hurting. People came to Jesus by the thousands, bringing friends and family members who were sick. Jesus healed them. He gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk, cleansed those with leprosy, and more.

Jesus also brought back the strays and sought the lost. The religious leaders harassed Jesus because he ‘rubbed elbows’ with tax collectors and sinners. He assured them his mission was to those in need of salvation. He came to seek and to save the lost.

Jesus portrayed his mission in pastoral terms. He is like a shepherd who has a hundred sheep and loses one. He leaves the ninety-nine and goes looking for the one lost sheep. He rejoices when he finds it. In the same way, Jesus said, there will be more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who is found than over ninety-nine righteous people who are already saved (Luke 15:1-7).

“I am the Good Shepherd,” Jesus said. “The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Jesus is fully invested in God’s people. His personal sacrifice on the cross at Calvary proves fully and forever his deep and eternal love for his flock.

It is the wolf who scatters the flock, the Enemy. To this day, our adversary is feverishly working to scatter the flock, to divide believers from their church families, and to keep unbelievers from hearing the gospel.

Jesus has honored his followers with the great task of making disciples of all nations, of all peoples. He has entrusted Christians with God’s mission to gather a people for himself. We gather the lost by proclaiming the good news about salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Jesus is our message. He is the Savior. Jesus is our authority. All authority in heaven and on earth is given to him and he has commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus is also our power. He promised to be with us even to the end of the age. The Spirit of Christ enables us to successfully carry out the work of seeking the lost.

In a dark world filled with confusion and deception about the meaning and purpose of life, we have the greatest mission, the greatest message, the greatest authority, and the greatest power. Victory awaits us!

May God’s Holy Spirit always inspire us and enable us to seek the lost,

Brother Richard

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September 6, 2023 · 9:19 AM

Need Some Soul Refreshment?

David risked his own life by facing the giant Philistine champion Goliath with a sling and a stone—and with his remarkable faith in God. God gave him the victory. What did David get? King Saul was bitterly jealous and tried to assassinate David.

David played the lyre for Saul when he was tormented by an evil spirit, trying to make him feel better. What did David get? Saul kept throwing his spear at David, trying to kill him.

David served with distinction in the military under Saul’s rule. Time after time he saved the people from their enemies. What did David get? Saul’s assassination attempts got so dangerous that David was forced to flee. He lived in the wilderness, moving from place to place, trying to stay one step ahead of Saul’s relentless pursuit.

Saul’s hatred for David was deadly. The jealous king believed the priests at Nob were assisting David, so he had them slaughtered and their city destroyed. David knew that all those who were sympathetic with him were in danger from Saul’s irrational violent acts.

The pressure on David must have been enormous. The temptation to doubt God must have been ever-present. How long can a person live under intense stress? Even someone as strong as David needs a break now and then.

On one occasion, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men. Suddenly, Saul was called away to go and fight the Philistines. A coincidence? Hardly. God’s providence at work! Not only did God’s invisible hand remove Saul for a while, but David just happened to be near a place called En-gedi (1 Samuel 23:29).

En-gedi is notable because it is a beautiful oasis near the western shore of the Dead Sea. After all their running and hiding in wilderness strongholds, what a refreshing change it must have been for David and his men to spend time at an oasis. Abundant springs of water. Lush trees and fragrant plant life. And their enemy Saul was kept busy with the Philistines.

Finally, a precious moment of rest.

We may sometimes experience times of great stress. Our faith in the Lord may waver and wobble. We may grow tired and weary, worn and wanting. We need a break. Even Jesus occasionally retreated from the crowds and his teaching and healing ministries. In his humanity, he needed to be recharged.

Watch for the opportunities God makes available to you. His invisible hand is always at work. Sometimes he distracts our enemies, giving us rest from the battle. Sometimes he brings us to a spiritual oasis, giving us refreshing for our souls. We need these times and God is good to provide them.

After all, the Lord is our Shepherd. We shall not want!

May the Lord protect us and lead us to places of beauty and refreshment,

Brother Richard

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