“Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.”

I remember when I was a little girl, oftentimes my friends and I would share “secrets”.  Almost always, before the secret was told, the person would ask, “Can you keep a secret?”  We would tell the person we would keep their secret, however, sometimes we would not do it.  We would share that secret with someone else and proceed it by saying, “I’m not supposed to tell anyone…but…”  I know you all have been in the position of the teller or hearer at one time or another.  I believe we like thinking that we “know” something about someone that no one else does!  But that’s not true, is it?  Why?  Because God knows all our secrets; whether we have spoken them or not.

God is everywhere and knows everything about us.   God knows the number of hairs on my head and He can certainly know the thoughts and desires of my heart.  That’s why the Bible tells us to keep “keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).  It was in Genesis 6:5 where God’s word tells us that GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (I added the emphasis)  We can try and deceive our spouse, family, co-workers, etc., but we cannot deceive God – because He sees our heart and knows our thoughts. 

I am reminded of this song, “God Sees the Heart.”  The words are this:

Our God measures man by a standard divine, For He sees underneath ev’ry outward design.  He looks past possessions and costly attire; He studies the heart – ev’ry thought and desire.

Our God does not judge by how tall we may stand, Or how much we possess, or the rank we command.  His gaze goes far deeper to things that endure; He honors the man who keeps his heart pure.

Chorus: For the eyes of the Lord are searching to and fro.  We have no secrets that our God does not know.  Our father knows our thoughts; He understands ev’ry part.  Man sees the outside, but God sees the heart.

That’s a wonderful song.  Why don’t you meditate on Psalm 44:21.  Christians, search your hearts and confess your secret sins to the Lord.  Think on these verses as well:

 James 4:8   Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.  Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

I John 1:9   If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” –Edmond Burke

Do you ever feel like you are getting old?  As I sit here, writing this, I am reminded of one of the great certainties of life – the certainty of aging.    If the Lord tarries His coming and give you long life, you will, sooner or later, feel the effects of being as the Bible calls it, “well stricken in years.”  The Bible has many examples of older people doing great and wonderful things for God.  I love the story of Caleb and how he went into the Promised Land as an older man because he chose to trust God in his youth (Numbers 14).

My desire today is that I finish my course with godliness and zeal and that I make my life count right up to the last minute.  Often, the tendency is to want to slow down and be drawn to the rocking chair.  What we need to be drawn to is the battlefield because the Christian soldier’s war is never over.  We need never feel as if God is through with us.  Although I do not agree with everything Dr. Jerry Falwell said and/or did, he often spoke of his “fourth-quarter ministry” and how he wanted to be his most effective in service to God.  I can think of many Godly men who served God greatly in their latter years – Dr. Tom Malone, Dr. Lee Roberson and others).

One of my husband’s favorite historical figures is a man named David Jones.  Jones was a pastor of two churches in addition to being a Baptist Chaplain during the Revolutionary War.  He was converted in 1758 at age 22.  At the age of 40, Jones was appointed as a Chaplain in the Continental Army.  He published a sermon that was widely circulated entitled, “Defensive War in a Just Cause Sinless.”  General Washington considered Chaplain Jones to be a loyal confidant and had his deliver several secret messages during the war.  He was also a leader in several scouting expeditions.  Once, when Chaplain Jones was returning from camp after a visit with his family, he stopped at an Inn to spend the night.  While eating his meal, a certain man aroused his suspicious and Chaplain Jones threw his pistol and placed the man under arrest.  The man turned out ot be a British officer.  Chaplain Jones was so active in irritating the British, that he had a bounty placed upon his head by British Geveral Howe.  Chaplain Jones served his country and his God for several years.

When the war of 1812 began, the now 76 year old again received a Chaplain’s commission.  Chaplain Jones’ contemporaries had this to say about him, “In danger, he knew no fear.  In fervent patriotism, he had no superiors and few equals.  In the Revolutionary struggle, he was a tower of strength and in peity, he was a Christian without reproach.”  Here is a man that made a difference with his one life from his youth to his life’s end.

How can we be like Caleb and Chaplain Jones and make our life count until the very end?

1.  Stay active, stay busy and keep on fighting the good fight.  There are so many things that can keep a person busy for God.  Consider volunteering at a restoration ministry (such as Reformer’s Unanimous) or be a mentor for some young person.

2.  Tell the Gospel message to everyone you can.  Win souls to the Lord.  Give out tracts and Gospel literature (Proverbs 11:30).  Remind people of the true Christian history of America.

3.  Champion Judeo-Christian values.  With the coming one-world religion and one-world government not so far away, it may seem that the importance of protecting life and the family that God instituted when He brought Eve to Adam may be losing luster.  However, we need to take heart, because in the end, Biblical values do win the day.  Be pro-active politically.

4.  Keep a sweet spirit.  Be kind.  Someone has rightly said, “If you are unkind, you are the wrong kind.”  Kindness will endear a person to others allowing them to be more effective for the cause of Christ.

5.  Be determined.  Determination is the vehicle that delivers success.  If you are determined to make a difference, you can and will succeed, not only in your youth but also in your golden years.

The time to get activated towards making a difference is now.  Do all you can for God with the only life you have.  We have, “only one life will soon be past and only what’s left for Christ will last.”  When it comes to being salt and light, remember we do not have all day; we have to get on the move as we meditate on these thoughts today.  My prayer is that God will help us to be faithful, busy and focused on honoring and pleasing Him with our ONE life; right on up until the very end.  Never stop being the “salt”.

Getting older is not so bad after all.  We have a God that never changes.  Old school…there’s no school lie the old school.

Faithfulness is a subject spoken on a lot these days.  It seems we are seeing less faithfulness in our churches, families and our own personal lives.  When someone speaks of being faithful, there is not much doubt as to what the word means (although some seem to “forget” the meaning so easily).  The word “steward” however, is a word that not many understand.  We read this verse and it goes right over our head.  A steward is a manager or an overseer, in charge of something.  The Lord wants us to be faithful in our management of all areas of our life.  There are three areas of our lives that I would like to focus on.

The first is talents.  Oh, how we can all testify of the Christians that have been blessed in one area or another (singing, playing instruments, etc.) and have wasted that talent on the world when they could have been used to glorify God.  Many of the world’s famous musicians and singers began in church.  But instead of using their talent to glorify God, they used them for selfish purposes of money and fame. 

Everyone has been blessed with some kind of talent.  I know several ladies on our Vessels Unto Honour board that are so talented in sewing, singing, crafts, cooking, etc.  I get a little envious of their talents  and wish that I could do those things too.  The talents that I have may not seem big to me, but they could be a blessing to others.  Have you found your talent?  Are you a people person?  If so, your talent could be communicating with others.  What a perfect opportunity to be easily befriended and share the Gospel with someone.  Are you good with plants?  What about having a ministry where you pot some plants you have grown and take them to those that are sick or hurting.  Are you a good cook?  What about cooking a light meal and taking it to a shut-in.  Or better yet, stay and eat lunch with that shut-in, giving them some company!  Food is a wonderful tool to make friends, comfort those that are hurting or just encourage someone.  I love to read books about the Amish and in one, this young man who loved to bake would bake loaves of bread and include a Bible verse on the tag.  Are you a good singer or musician?  Join the choir!  Sing a solo!  Are you a good teacher?  Ask your Pastor what he would have you do in the church.  Maybe you can’t do any of those things.  Can you clean a toilet?  You may be laughing, but I thank God for those who are willing to work behind the scenes and keep God’s house in order.  Be a blessing to those around you and glorify the Lord with your talents.

The second is relationships (read I Corin. 7).  Are you being a good manager of your relationships?  If you are married, don’t ever give your spouse a cause to doubt.  Since I am mainly talking to women here, ladies, make your husband feel like he is truly the king in his castle.  Pamper him, love him, pray for him, do the little things to show him you care.  Abstain from all appearance of evil (I Thess. 5:22).  Do not make it a habit of speaking with other men alone.  My husband is a Pastor, but he also works in a home health care business with mostly women (at one point he was the only man – but now there is one other!)  He took an anonymous poll one time in preparing for a sermon about marriage and asked the women several questions about their thoughts on their husband and what they could change.  A big majority of the women said that if there was one thing they could change, it was the trust issue.  They could not fully trust that their husbands were being faithful or telling them the truth in all things.  Why?  Because at one point, their husbands had given them reason to doubt.  If you never give someone a reason to doubt, that will never hang over your head.

This applies to courtship or dating as well.  Be a good steward of your relationship by doing it the way God wants you to do it.  Do not be unequally yoked (II Corin. 6:14).  Never “date” someone that you would not potentially marry.  You young ladies that are looking for a husband, do not think that you will be able to “change” a man into what you want him to be.  You are setting yourself up for heartache.  The Lord will send the right person for you.  You just have to wait.  Don’t jump ahead of the Lord’s will.   Doing so could affect your life forever.  You will have nothing but sorrow.

Lastly, are you being faithful in your Christian service?  What about your Bible reading?  Not only read your Bible but study it as well (II Tim. 2:15 and I Peter 3:15).  The best educated person is one who knows the Bible.  Do you spend more time on the computer than your Bible?  Ouch….  Do you read your Bible daily?  If not, you are missing your communication with the Lord.  Praying is you talking to God, but reading your Bible is God talking to you.  We all know how one-sided conversations go…not too good.  Speaking of praying, do you set aside a time of prayer each day?  Here are some tips on praying:

*Pray daily at a set time (Psalm 5:3);     *Pray out loud if possible (this reduces distractions);     *Use a list;     *Pray specifically (specific prayers get specific answers);     *Pray without ceasing (I Thess. 5:17) in other words, but in a constant state of prayer.  Do not let anything stand in the way when you need a fast answer to prayer – keep short accounts with the Lord!     *Pray until your answer comes.  Your answer could be yes, no, or not now.  (For more encouragement on how God answers prayer, read about George Meuller and how the Lord answered his prayers).;    *Ask for large things (Psalm 81:10).

Another area of Christian service is your church attendance.  Be faithful to your church.  Your pastor is depending on you and so are the other members.  A vote to miss church is a vote to shut the doors.  Don’t let things get in your way.  The devil will use all kinds of things to get you to miss church.  Our immediate and extended family know that we do not miss church.  If a reunion is planned on a Sunday – we will go if it does not interfere with our church attendance.  Ball games…forget those if they are on a Sunday (or Wednesday for that matter).  You have to set your standards and then adhere to them!

What are you doing to be a witness for the Lord.  What will make you wise?  Winning the lost! (Proverbs 11:30).  We have the Great Comission, which was given by Jesus in Matt. 28:19-20.  My husband says it is not a suggestion, but a command to evangelize the world.  We may not be able to go to the uttermost parts of the world, but what about your street, your neighborhood, your town/city.  Why not start with those right around you!  There are all kinds of ways to witness.  A verbal witness is always best, but there are not always opportunities to do that.  Keep your purse full of tracts.  Leave them in the restrooms, on the table at the restaurant, give them to your cashier, banker, etc.  Do you pay your bills through the mail?  Stick in a tract!  Give them to those walking past you.  Wow, we miss so many opportunities to get the Gospel out.  I have read testimony after testimony and have heard personal testimonies of people saved from the tract ministry.  God’s word will not return void.  That is a promise! (Isaiah 55:11)

God only asks for one thing – faithfulness.  He requires no results – just faithfulness.  Your efforts are not in vain (I Corin. 15:58).  I have heard this quote many times, “Only one life will soon be past and only what’s done for Christ will last.”  The Lord is coming soon!  Amen?!!  Let’s get busy and remember that it is “required in stewards, that a man be found faithful”.  Are you faithful?

Jackie Kennedy

     I love the Psalms and Proverbs.  It is amazing how although the words were written so long ago, they are still applicable, here in 2009.  Why is that?  Because the Word of God is inspired and God knew what we would need even in the 21st Century. 

     My husband and I have a jail ministry.  I am able to minister to ladies in two county jails and my husband is able to minister to men in several county jails.  We both are able to go in our local prison.  I find that often I go in to be a blessing and I come out being the one blessed! 

     Proverbs 22:3 is a common verse that my husband uses in the jail ministry.  It tells us that ”A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished”.  How true this is.  We see that both individuals are faced with the same thing, but the choice they make determines the outcome. 

     A prudent or wise man will study the situation, think about what the temptation is, and then hide himself from the situation.  He may have to put on his armour (Eph 6:11-18) and stand guard in order to “hide” from the situation. 

     The simple or foolish man is one that will not believe the warnings and will pass on and be punished.  This person goes into the situation knowing what the warnings are, but continues on anyway.  I am glad that the Bible tells us that in times of temptation, God provides a “way out” (I Cor 10:13) if we take it.

     In working with the ladies, I have heard lots of stories about why they are in jail.  One lady sticks out in my mind.  She was in jail due to drugs.  She gave a clear salvation testimony but had backslidden and become addicted to drugs.  She remained in jail for quite a while and we saw growth in her Christian walk.  I forewarned her that upon her release, the devil would tempt her in every way possible to get her to go back to her old lifestyle (physically, through friends, emotionally).  It was not too long after that I saw her back in jail.  I questioned her as to what happened.  She said she was in “that” area of town one day running some errands and came to a stop sign.  To go home, she would take a left.  To go to the old drug house, she would take a right.  She decided in her mind that she wanted to “ride by” to see who was there.  She was not going to stop and doing drugs was the last thing on her mind.  Needless to say, she made that turn, made that stop and did what she thought she would never do again.   “…the simple pass on and are punished.”  I have seen many lives ruined due to just one bad choice.

     There is an old saying that says a fool does not learn from mistakes, a smart person learns from his mistakes but the wisest person of all learns from the mistakes of others.  The Bible is loaded with instruction and warnings for our day-to-day living, and has examples of men and women who made poor choices and those that made the right choice.  We cannot see into the future, but we know Who holds the future, and we have His Word to guide us.   Be prudent and wise when making decisions and facing life’s challenges.

The world is not expected to remember why we celebrate Christmas, but we as Christians do not have an excuse.  Christmas is the time set apart especially to celebrate the birth of our Messiah, Jesus Christ.  It is sad how easy it is to get “caught up” in all the commercialism of the holidays and forget the real “Reason for the Season”. 

Have you ever been to a birthday party and did not take a gift for the person of honor?  I do remember one time that happened to me when I was a child.  I was invited to a birthday party, but I was unable to get my friend a gift because my parents had not been paid.  My friend understood of course, but I felt pretty bad when it came time to open presents and I was the only one without a gift to give.  This may sound sad, but is it really any different than we are this time of the year?  We are celebrating Jesus’ birthday but He doesn’t get any gifts.  We hear the Preacher mention giving a gift to Jesus and we get upset because it means less in our budget to buy a gift for someone else.  We may then give a gift, but give it begrudgingly.  Does that kind of spirit line up with II Corinthians 9:7?  Why don’t you memorize that verse this week as you think about why we celebrate Christmas.  What gift will you bring to the birthday and what type of Christmas spirit will you have to go along with it?

II Corinthians 9:7  “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

Does anyone really have a good heart? The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful and wicked, and who can really know it.  There is One who knows just what is in your heart.  You may be able to hide it from your husband or even your closest friend, but God knows your heart.  There are no secrets with him.  He knows your thoughts (Matt 9:4; 12;25; Luke 5:22; 6:8; 11:17, etc). 

That leaves us to ponder…do we have “heart” trouble.  First, you are really in trouble if you do not have Jesus in your heart.  When God looks at my heart, I want Him to see Jesus’ shed blood.  I KNOW He will, because I settled that long ago.  Second, if you do have “heart trouble” confess your sin and He will forgive (I John 1:9) and then forsake it!

Why don’t you memorize Jeremiah 17:9 this week and ask the Lord to help you keep a clean heart. 

Jeremiah 17:9   The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?