Sunday, September 29, 2019

Knocking Until the Door Opens


Late one afternoon when the office was ready to close, the business manager finally allowed a life insurance salesman to see him. The manager told the salesman, “You should feel highly honored. Do you know that I have refused to see seven insurance men today?” 
“I know,” replied the salesman. “I’m them!”

Jesus told a parable about a man who went to a friend’s house at midnight and knocked on his door, asking for bread (Luke 11:5-8). His neighbor told him to go away. But the man kept knocking on the door, knowing his friend wouldn’t get any sleep until he opened the door and gave him bread. Jesus concluded, “Because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he wants.”

The man did not give him the bread because of their friendship. The only reason for granting his request because the man kept pounding on the door. Jesus used this as an illustration of the kind of persistent faith that He’s looking for. Persistence is the most overlooked way to receive God’s blessings. (If God Knows What I Need, Why Should I Pray? p.81)

What if he had quit knocking after the first refusal? He might have thought, “It must not be God’s will or he would have opened the door on the first knock.” But it was God’s will because he finally received the bread.
What if the four men who carried the paralyzed man to Jesus would have turned around because of the crowd around the house? (Mark 2:2-12). They could have given up and said, “It must not be God’s will.” But they persisted and lowered him through the roof. And it was God’s will because Jesus healed the man.
What if the Canaanite woman had turned around after Jesus ignored her? (Matt. 15:22-28). She could have said, “It must not be God’s will.” But it was God’s will because she persisted and Jesus healed her daughter.

Sometimes you won’t get what you're praying for because it’s not His will. But what if you don’t get it because you quit knocking too soon? God won’t get mad at you for pounding on His door. He might even open it and give you the bread you need.  www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
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Making Life Count Ministries
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Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Reinventing Yourself


During the Great Depression, Wallace Johnson was fired from his job at a saw mill. He and his wife desperately needed income from his job just to get by. His worried wife asked, “What are we going to do?” Wallace thought through his options and told her, “I’m going to mortgage our home and go into the building business.”

Wallace was forced to reinvent himself. His first venture was constructing two small buildings. God blessed his business with more construction projects. Within five years, Wallace had become a multi-millionaire and later a co-founder of Holiday Inn motel chain.

He wasn’t bitter at the man who fired him. Instead he said, “Today if I could locate the man who fired me, I would sincerely thank him for what he did. At the time it happened, I didn't understand why I was fired. Later I saw that it was God’s unerring and wondrous plan to get me into the ways of His choosing.”

What looked like the worst thing that could happen to them actually became the best thing. “The Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you” (Deut. 23:5).

Sometime during your life you might have to reinvent yourself. “Reinventing yourself” means that when a door closes, you chart a new course for your life. You might have to do something that you’ve never done before, just like Wallace Johnson. “Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established” (Prov. 16:3). With God involved, the new path can be more blessed than the original route. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
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Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
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Sunday, September 15, 2019

Don't Judge By Appearance


While grocery shopping with her father, Janet picked up the last can of peaches on the shelf. She noticed the can was slightly dented, so she put it back. "Why'd you put it back?" her father asked.
"Because the can has a dent in it." "The container doesn’t look good, but the peaches inside are fine," he said. "Don’t judge what’s on the inside by how the outside appears."

God sent Samuel to select the next king from the sons of Jesse the Bethlehemite (1 Sam. 16:1-13). When Samuel saw Eliab he thought, “Surely this is the man God has chosen.” Then God spoke to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of this stature…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (16:7).

Jesse made all seven sons pass before Samuel and each time God said, “This isn’t the one.” I’m sure Samuel scratched his head and thought, “Something’s wrong. There must be another son who isn’t here.” Jesse told him the youngest one, David, was tending sheep. At the time, David was a young person and probably didn’t look like a king, but he was the one God chose to rule Israel.

The lesson is clear—don’t judge others based on outward appearance. On the outside, the person might look like a dented can, but Jesus sees someone worth dying for. In God's eyes, the homeless person lying in the gutter is just as valuable as the most admired movie star.

Paul said, “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer” (2 Cor. 5:16). The real person lives on the inside. But you must look past the skin to see it. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
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Making Life Count Ministries
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Sunday, September 8, 2019

Touching a Sore Spot


One Sunday morning I greeted a man as he entered the church. When I shook his hand, I placed my other hand on his shoulder. He immediately recoiled in pain, moaning "Owww!"

I didn't mean to hurt him when I greeted him. I was trying to make him feel welcome. I had gently touched him on his shoulder, the same thing I had done to several other folks that morning. However, no one else had pulled away from me. This man reacted differently from the rest because He had injured his shoulder a few days before. I had touched his sore spot.

Suddenly I understood how physical injuries can teach us about spiritual wounds, and why people with wounded spirits are offended by innocent comments and react abnormally. They’re protecting sore spots on their souls. The slightest touch on their hurting area affects how they react to others.

Even King David had a sore spot. He said, “For I am afflicted and needy, and my heart is wounded within me” (Ps. 109:22). Because a sore spot is invisible, no one knows where it’s located until someone touches it. An abnormal reaction to an innocent remark, which wouldn't bother a healthy person, usually indicates a hidden hurt has been detected.

Even if you were wounded years ago, an unhealed sore spot can cause pain today. If someone says something that triggers a hurtful memory, you’ll either react defensively or withdraw in pain. Someone has said, “A person with a toothache cannot fall in love.” That’s true. It’s hard to love others if you are hurting inside.

Healing begins by forgiving the person who hurt you. Ask God to heal you of your hurts from the past. You’ll feel a lot better tomorrow if you will do it today. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
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Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
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Sunday, September 1, 2019

The Wrong Solution to the Problem


Suppose one morning your car doesn’t start, so you replace the battery. Your car still doesn’t start, so you put in another battery. Your car still doesn’t start. You replace the battery again. You keep doing this and before long you have a garage full of batteries, never realizing that the car is out of gas. You’ve chosen the wrong solution to your problem.

Many people look for the wrong solutions to their problems. Choosing the wrong solution not only doesn’t solve the problem, but usually makes your situation worse! For example:

Situation #1 Boy and girl fall in love, both thinking they’ve found “the one.” Wrong Solution: Decide to live together in same bedroom (Heb. 13:4). If it works out they will get married. Right Solution: Choose to live separately and stay sexually pure until marriage (1 Thess. 4:3). If they are meant for each other God will bless their marriage.

Situation #2 You have high credit card debt, a new car payment, and can barely make your payments. Wrong Solution: Keep buying more with your credit card and get Pay-Day loans to cover the difference (Prov. 22:7). Right Solution: Cut back on spending. Downsize to a less expense car. Sell unnecessary items to pay off your credit card. (Rom. 13:8)

Situation #3 Your 13-year old daughter wants to go to a party where you know there will be drinking. Wrong Solution: Give her permission to go but make her promise to not drink (1 Cor. 15:33, Prov. 13:20). Right Solution: Don’t let her go but instead let her invite a couple of friends to your house under your supervision (James 1:5).

What problem are you’re dealing with? Wrong solutions bring immediate relief but ultimate unhappiness. Right solutions are usually more difficult at first but bring peace and happiness. Many problems are caused because we haven’t obeyed what God has told us. Jesus said, “And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46) Are you doing it God’s way? www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
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