Thou Shall Not Fear!

When my friend Max was a boy, he visited his great aunt Ruth to spend the night. He was always afraid to sleep there because she lived in an old, spooky three-story house, where the floors creaked like a haunted house in the movies. 

That night he went to his bedroom on the third floor and climbed into bed. The room was dark, but enough light was coming through the window that he could see a man standing in the corner of the bedroom!
 
Max was absolutely terrified. He knew that if he tried to make a run for the door, the man could easily catch him. He figured the only thing to do was to lay still and pretend to be asleep. All night long he worried about the man. He lay in bed with one eye open, ready to run if the man made a move.
 
He kept still for hours until the sun came up, and as it got brighter in the room, he could see that the man in the corner was. . . just a coat rack with a hat on it! He spent a night in torment because he believed something that wasn’t true.

Although some fears are based on reality, most fear and worry are usually nothing more than our imaginations out of control. Ninety-two percent of the things we worry about will never happen. You’re probably thinking, “But what about the other 8%? That's what makes me worry.” The other 8% of things we worry about won’t be as bad as we think, or God will give us the grace to get through them. That takes care of 100% our worries.
 
You cannot worry and trust God at the same time. One forces out the other. Putting your complete trust in God is the only cure for worry. David wrote, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You . . . In God I have put my trust. I shall not be afraid” (Psalm 56:3-4). Are you worrying, or are you trusting God?
 www.makinglifecount.net
 
BIBLE STUDY:  Don’t Be Afraid!
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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
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www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
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How to Hear God Speak More Clearly

The young man had lost his job and didn’t know which way to turn, so he went to see the old preacher. Walking back and forth in the preacher’s study, the young man ranted about his problem. He shouted, “I’ve begged God to say something to help me. Tell me, Preacher, why doesn’t God answer me?”

The old preacher, who sat across the room, quietly spoke words of wisdom, but the young man couldn’t hear what he said. “What did you say?” he asked.

The preacher softly repeated himself, but it was still hard to hear. The young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher’s chair. “I’m sorry, but I still didn’t hear you.” 

With their heads nearly touching, the old preacher repeated his statement. “God sometimes whispers so we will move closer to hear Him.” When we are going through troubling times, God wants us to draw closer to Him so we can hear His voice.

The prophet Elijah was troubled and afraid of Jezebel, who had threatened to kill him. Instead of trusting God to protect him, he ran away and hid in a cave. Then the Lord asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9) God hadn’t told him to hide in a cave, so why was he there?

God then manifested His supernatural power by sending a strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire. Sometimes we think God must do something loud and unusual to make His will clear to us. But God didn’t speak to him through those things. He followed those loud demonstrations by speaking to Elijah in a still, small voice, which was a low whisper (19:12).

God’s voice will become clearer as we draw closer to Him. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). Draw close to Him, quiet your spirit, and listen carefully. Then you will hear Him whisper to your spirit. www.makinglifecount.net

BIBLE STUDY  Does God Speak to People Today?****************************************************************************************************

Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
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www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
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How Can Salt Lose Its Saltiness?

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot” (Matt. 5:13). In those days, salt was used to preserve food. The only way salt can lose its saltiness is to dissolve it. 

 The salt at that time was not refined like the pure granular salt we buy today at the store, but was poor-quality rock salt. Salt in Israel came from the rock salt found by the Dead Sea. When people gathered up chunks of salt, dirt and gravel were collected with it into a bag. Later, if the salt got wet and dissolved, the insoluble bits of rock would remain. It didn’t take much moisture to dilute the salt and leave behind a bag of useless tiny stones.
 
Once most of the salt content was lost, it was no longer useful. However, it couldn’t be tossed in a garden or a field because the remaining salt would ruin the soil. The best place to dispose of it was in the street, where it was “trampled underfoot” by pedestrians.
 
Since Jesus’ followers are the salt of the earth, that means faith is what makes a believer salty. Salt loses its saltiness when it is diluted, and a believer loses his saltiness when he waters down the gospel and compromises his faith. His faith is diluted by worldly ideas and immoral living, which makes it useless.
 
Don’t lose your saltiness. Let your faith influence the world. www.makinglifecount.net
 
BIBLE STUDY  What was the purpose of the Old Testament sacrifices?
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Tearing Down Idols

Years ago, evangelist James Robison's ministry was in desperate need of financial help. In what appeared to be an answer to prayer, someone donated over a million dollars’ worth of ancient artifacts that could be sold to meet the ministry’s financial obligations.
 
On the day the collectors were to purchase the relics, God spoke to James’ heart that the artifacts were idols that needed to be destroyed. Although the items would bring top dollar with those interested in fine art, they had been used in pagan worship in foreign countries.
 
What would you have done? You have a large ministry in need of help. Surely it would be for the good of the kingdom to take this gift and pay off the bills. But James refused to trust in the idols to provide for his ministry. In what appeared to be insane from man’s point of view, James and the donor broke them into pieces and threw them into a lake.
 
Even though James was in a financial crisis, he knew God couldn’t bless his ministry if he trusted idols to meet his needs. His stand for uncompromising integrity also set an unforgettable example of not bowing down to idols. Today James' ministry, LIFE Outreach International, is blessing the world with both food and the gospel. This would not be the case if he had placed his faith in an idol.
 
The apostle John wrote, “Little children, guard yourself from idols.” An idol is anything that is more important to you than God. Could a career be an idol? Maybe. How about a hobby? It’s quite possible. You have to check your own heart to see if there are any idols in there (Ezek. 14:3-7).
BIBLE STUDY  “Is it possible to resist God’s grace?”
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Would You Have Passed the Test?

When Crawford Hill was a boy, he applied for a job at a local store. Mr. Peters, the storeowner, told him to go into the attic. “You will find a long, deep box up there,” he said. “Sort through all the junk in the box and separate the things that need to be saved from the things we need to throw away."

Crawford went up the stairs into the hot attic and began sorting through the box. For the next few hours, he separated bent nails from the good ones, and kept everything that was worth salvaging. When he got to the bottom of the box, he noticed a $20 bill laying on the bottom.
 
He scooped it up and ran downstairs, holding it in the air and shouting, "Mr. Peters! Look what I found in the box!" Then he handed it to the store owner. Mr. Peters smiled because he knew he had found a boy to work in his store.
 
The old junk box was just a test. He had filled the box with nails, screws, and other items to test his faithfulness—to see if he would work in the hot attic without complaining, even though he didn't understand the purpose for the job. He planted the $20 bill at the bottom of the box to test his honesty. If he didn't report finding the money, he knew he couldn't be trusted with the cash register. Crawford passed the test. Years later Mr. Peters retired and turned his business over to Crawford to manage. (Making Today Count for Eternity, p.45-46)
 
Did you know that you are sorting through a junk box at your job? You are sorting through the box whenever you’re faced with a difficulty. God is watching to see if you'll be faithful and honest, especially when you don't understand why you are going through it. Remember, it's a test. It's only a test.
 
I hope you'll hear your Master say, "Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master." (Matt. 25:21)
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P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
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When God Does Not Heal

 
The following comes from Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals Day 35
 

Randy Frieouf was a member of our church who suffered with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. As the months passed, his health continued to worsen. He was confined to a wheel chair, and finally to a bed. Many people were praying for him during this time.
 
One day my thirteen-year-old daughter Hannah said, “Dad, I had a dream last night that Mr. Frieouf was walking.” I told her, “Let’s keep praying for him. All things are possible with God.”
 
The next week Hannah told me, “Dad, last night I had another dream that Mr. Frieouf was walking!” Again, I encouraged her to keep praying for him. 
 
Not long after this, we received the phone call that Randy had passed away. When Hannah heard the news, she got upset and hurried into the bedroom. A few minutes later, she came out of the room and said, “Dad, I asked God why Mr. Frieouf died after I had those dreams. God just spoke to me.”
 
“He did? What did He say?”
“He told me to read Psalm 1:1, but just the first part. Dad, I didn’t know what that verse said, so I looked it up. God told me to read just the first part of the verse.”
 
She held out an open Bible and read from it. “The first part of Psalm 1:1 says, ‘How blessed is the man who does not walk.’ Dad, the man who does not walk is Mr. Frieouf! Do you think He told me this to let me know he is happy in heaven?”
“Yes, that’s exactly why He told you that,” I said. “He wants you to know that he’s healed and blessed in heaven.”
 
It’s a reminder to us that Christians who are not healed on earth will receive complete wholeness in heaven.  www.makinglifecount.net  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com
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NEW BIBLE STUDY:  Do the gospels contradict each other when they describe events differently?
 
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Pruning the Wrong Way

Can you believe that these two pictures are both crape myrtles? The ugly tree on the left was pruned incorrectly, while the beautiful one on the right was pruned correctly. The purpose of pruning is to cut off diseased, damaged or unproductive branches to make the tree more fruitful and beautiful. The goal is to make it look like the tree on the right.
 
Why would anyone butcher a beautiful tree and make it look like the ugly, knotty stump on the left? It’s because the people pruning it didn’t know what they were doing. They watched their neighbors cut off the tops of their crape myrtles and copied them, without researching how to correctly prune the tree. Mis-pruning is a common problem that horticulturalists call “crape murder.”
 
No one would ever prune an oak tree by cutting the trunk off horizontally, but crape murderers will keep cutting off the multiple trunks horizontally each year (which creates the big knots) and never let the tree grow up vertically like the beautiful tree.
 
Jesus said, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2). God wants to prune away the harmful habits like gossip, negative talk, and toxic relationships, which keep us from being the beautiful, fruitful person that He intends us to be.
 
But some people, like the ugly stump, prune off the wrong branches. They stop reading God’s Word, praying, and fellowshipping with other believers. They’re cutting off the things that are necessary to promote healthy growth and spiritual fruit. You can decide which one you will end up looking like. It all depends on what you prune away.
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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT  Feedburner has announced it will stop sending out emails in July, which means if you receive this devotional by email it will cease at that time. However, you can still visit www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com each week until I find another service to deliver the weekly devotionals by email.
 
PREVIEW Kent’s new book Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals
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Do You Need to Make Restitution?

A Manhattan, Kansas cable company received $300 in cash in the mail, along with an unsigned letter from a man apologizing for his actions and asking forgiveness. The letter-writer said when he was a sophomore at Kansas State University, he had pirated cable TV from an upstairs apartment.
 
He wrote, “I didn’t fully consider at the time how we were cheating your cable company out of revenues” and that he wanted to commit himself to the teachings of the Bible. The $300 was restitution for the cable TV signals he had taken without paying.
 
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector in Israel and became rich by swindling people out of their money (Luke 19:1-10). One day he heard Jesus was coming to Jericho, so he climbed a tree to see over the crowd. Jesus looked up, called him by name and said He wanted to stay at his house. Zacchaeus told Jesus, “Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much” (Luke 19:8). Notice that Jesus did not tell him to do this. Zacchaeus decided on his own to make things right.
 
Restitution is God’s way of paying back to the rightful owner what was lost, stolen, or damaged. The restitution amount wasn’t equal to the crime, but often much more than the amount taken. The book of Exodus speaks about making restitution for a variety of situations. If a thief stole an ox and killed it, he had to pay back five times as much. If he stole a sheep, he had to pay back four times as much (Exodus 22:1).
 
If you’ve stolen something or damaged someone’s property, God will show you how much to pay. It will relieve your guilt, heal a relationship, and will be pleasing to the Lord.
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BIBLE STUDY:  Answers to Theological Questions
 
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Can You Recognize Wisdom?

A gem dealer was strolling down the aisles at the Tucson, Arizona Gem and Mineral Show when he noticed a blue-violet stone the size and shape of a potato. He looked it over, and then as calmly as possible, asked the vendor, “You want $15 for this?”
     The seller, realizing the rock wasn’t a pretty as the others in his bin, lowered the price to $10.
 
The stone has since been certified as a 1,905-carat natural stone sapphire, about 800 carats larger than the largest stone of its kind. 

It was appraised at $2,280,000. To one guy it was a potato worth $10, but to another it was priceless.

If you don’t understand the value of wisdom, why would you want it? Job said, “Where can wisdom be found? Man does not know its value…Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can silver be weighed for its price” (Job 28:12-15).

 
Wisdom is worth more than silver and gold, but to a foolish person it just looks like a potato. Many people don’t ask the Lord for wisdom because they don’t have a clue how much it would help them in life. Wisdom is the ability to see your situation as God sees it, which is beyond common sense. Wisdom is divine aid from heaven to help you make correct decisions.
 
Think how much heartache you could avoid if every decision you made was correct. That’s worth far more than silver and gold, and the amazing thing is that God will give it to you for free. James 1:5-6 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom (that's you), let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
BUT, if you don’t ask…well, you’re not going to get it.  

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10).  

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BIBLE STUDY:  How do we know the Bible is true?
 
PREVIEW Kent’s new book Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals
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All Things Are Possible With God

In 2011, fourteen-year old Taylor Hale suffered a brain hemorrhage due to a severe head injury. Doctors fought to save Taylor’s life, but her brain sank part way into her spinal column. Her brain “had turned to mush” and she was declared brain-dead. Doctors told her parents that no one comes back from that. Arrangements were made to take her off life support and discuss organ donation.
 
That afternoon, Jeff Stickel, a chiropractor and friend of Taylor’s parents, visited the hospital and asked if he could pray for her. They agreed. He put his hands on her neck and prayed for God to heal her, then he left. Later that afternoon, doctors turned off the life support that had helped her breathe since the accident.
 
Then something unexpected happened. Taylor struggled to take a breath under her own power. The medical staff reconnected her on life support. As the day went on, Taylor’s brain activity began to increase. She opened her eyes and moved her fingers and toes. The doctors told her parents they had no medical explanation for what was happening to her.
 
Taylor miraculously recovered, learned to walk again, and graduated from high school (see the before and after picture). But she did lose memory of her childhood and doesn’t remember the accident. Nevertheless, her recovery is nothing short of a modern-day miracle.
 
Doctors can’t explain what happened, but what about that prayer by Jeff Stickel right before they turned off the life support? Could that have something to do with it? No doubt about it. Jesus said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God” (Luke 18:27)

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Enjoy Life—Even if You've Been Wronged

A man watched a boy skating down the sidewalk on one skate. He said, “Don’t you know that you’re supposed to skate on two skates?” The boy told him, “Someone stole my other skate and that’s why I’m skating on just one skate.”
As the man walked away, the boy yelled, “Hey Mister, did you know that you can still have a lot of fun on just one skate?”
 
When someone wrongs you, it’s natural to get upset at that person. But you can’t be angry and enjoy life at the same time. That’s one reason why Jesus said, “Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either” (Luke 6:29). Your happiness is more valuable than a coat, or a shirt, or a skate. God doesn’t want you to lose your joy just because someone took something away from you.
 
The early Christians kept their joy when their property was seized because they believed God would make it up to them. “You … accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better and lasting possession (Heb. 10:34).
 
Jesus doesn’t want us so attached to “stuff” that it affects our attitude. He said to “lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great” (Luke 6:35). If your neighbor borrowed your shovel but moved away and never returned it, don’t lose your joy over a shovel. Trust what Jesus said and consider it as an investment in your heavenly reward.
 
Remember this the next time someone mistreats you. If you’ll keep a joyful attitude, God will more than make up whatever you lost. And don’t forget to keep having fun on that one skate.
 
PREVIEW Kent’s new book Amazing Stories & Daily Devotionals
      CLICK HERE to read 28 devotionals (January 1-28)

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God's Providential Will

God’s Perfect Will is what God desires to happen. When we obey what He calls us to do, we are fulfilling God’s perfect will (Rom. 12:2).
 
God’s Permissive Will is when God allows people to disobey what He wants. He gives us a free will, which means we can make decisions against His will (Acts 14:16).
 
God’s Providential Will is when God overrules the permissive will. Eph. 1:11 says, “We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” God’s Providential Will means He can guide us, protect us, and provide for us in spite of the schemes of evil people who attempt to destroy us.  
 
We can understand God’s “Permissive Will” and “Providential Will” by seeing it as a chess game God is playing. He allows an evil person to move a chess piece (permissive will) and then He makes a counter-move (providential will).
 
PERMISSIVE WILL: He allowed Israel to choose Saul as king, who tried to kill David.
PROVIDENTIAL WILL: God protected David from Saul’s attacks and eventually promoted him to be king.
 
PERMISSIVE WILL: God allowed Joseph to be sold into slavery, falsely accused, and thrown into jail.
PROVIDENTIAL WILL: God overruled those actions, promoted him to be a ruler in Egypt, and saved Israel during a famine. Years later, when Joseph was reunited with his brothers, he told them, "As for you, you meant evil against me (PERMISSIVE), but God meant it for good" (PROVIDENTIAL) (Gen. 50:20). Their “little hands” and God’s "big hand" were both working at the same time, and God used them as pawns to accomplish His purposes.
 
PERMISSIVE WILL: God allows His followers to be persecuted.
Jesus said, "Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorned your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man..." (Luke 6:22).

PROVIDENTIAL WILL: God rewards His followers for being persecuted.

"...Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven" (Luke 6:23). 

Did you see God’s Permissive and Providential Wills in this verse? When people persecute you (permissive will), at the same moment God is giving you a great heavenly reward which will last for all eternity! (providential will).
 
So when evil people seem to be winning, remember to keep a positive attitude, focus on God’s “big hand” at work, trust Him, and leap for joy!
Over 270 printable Bible studies at www.makinglifecount.net
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God's Permissive Will

Contrary to popular belief, not everything that happens is God’s will. Otherwise, why does Jesus tell us to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10)? There are three aspects to God’s will.

God’s Perfect Will is what God desires to happen. When we obey what He calls us to do, we are fulfilling God’s perfect will. Romans 12:2 says “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
 
God’s Permissive Will is when God allows people to disobey what He wants. He gives us a free will, which means we can make decisions against His will. Acts 14:16 says, “He permitted all the nations to go their own ways.”
 
God’s Permissive Will went into effect when Israel chose Saul to be their king. It wasn’t what God wanted, but He allowed them to do it. The people of Israel told the prophet Samuel to appoint them a king so they would be like the other nations. God told Samuel, “They have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them” (1 Sam. 8:7).
 
When Samuel presented Saul to Israel, he said, “Here is the king whom you have chosen” (1 Sam. 12:13). King Saul deliberately disobeyed God, so Samuel informed Saul that the Lord had rejected him as king (1 Sam. 15:26). Not long after this, Samuel anointed David as God’s choice to be king (1 Sam. 16:13) but it would be years before David actually took the throne.
 
Saul continued being Israel’s king, even though God had rejected him. On two occasions Saul threw spears at David, trying to kill the future king of Israel. Unfortunately for David, he had to suffer the consequences of Israel’s foolish choice of Saul. He spent years running from Saul, who was continually trying to kill him. Even though God’s Permissive Will was still in effect, God was able to lead David and protect him from Saul’s attacks. Keep in mind that God is still able to lead and protect His people, even when an evil king like Saul is on the throne.
 
Fortunately, God has a Providential Will, where God can overrule the Permissive will. We will examine that next week.
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Making Life Count Ministries
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