HOW TO BE FRUITFUL

Most Christians want to know

how to be more fruitful for

God. Not being an expert on

such matters I want to say,

"I don't know how. It beats

me."

However the Lord has drawn

several things to my attention

in the last few days. One is a

thought put forth by Oswald

Chambers. In part he said,

"The people who influence us most are not those who

buttonhole us and talk to us, but those who live their

lives like the stars in heaven and the lilies in the field,

perfectly simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives

that mould us.

"If you want to be of use to God, get rightly related to

Jesus Christ and He will make you of use unconsciously

every minute you live."

-My Utmost For His Highest, p.101

That tree in the top photo

is not real, as you know. And

the "fruit" (Let's call it that.)

obviously is just "stuff" my

wife hung on it. (You know,

just like Religion.)

Not good to eat.

This next photo (Poor as

it and the tree are.) is

the real thing. A real

tree with real fruit.
 And the fruit would be eatable

- if you could stand it.

What did the tree do to produce fruit. Just

existed as a tree and the life of the tree flowed

through it producing fruit. To bear fruit for

God, we simply connect to him and let his life

flow through us. Then the fruit comes.

I want to relate one incident in my life that

illustrates how God can use us without even

trying.

When I was in High School a new boy moved

in the area. His family had been living out

of the country and returned home. So he had

some adjustments to make.

All I remember is I liked the guy. We were both

Christians. He was a nice clean cut fellow. And

when our little group would get together for

Bible study at school (Yes, back then we could.)

he would be, in my estimation, a spiritual

leader - if we even had one.

I had a car. He, didn't. I had a motorcycle, he

didn't. So sometimes I would be taking him to

various Christian functions in my old Ford. We

even cut class together one time. We took my

motorcycle and went up in the mountains. I

think we made it back before the next class. But

my transmission went out in the ordeal. Wow,

what fun for a couple of teenagers.

In short, we were just two Christian teenagers

having a good time together. He went on to

college and got smart. I got married. And of

course our ways parted.

I would hear of him from time to time. He went

on to pastor a church. Then got a doctorate. And

the last I knew was apparently a professor in one

of his denomination's colleges. [I don't know

what he professed. But that's what professors

do, isn't it? Profess.]

Fast forward about thirty five years.

One day leaning against my bench at work a

Christian brother, from another church, came

ambling across my work area. He called this

0ld friend by name and ask if I knew him. Yes.

He ask me if I would be interested in the paper

my friend mentioned my name in. Of course.

I want to quote most of his comment,

"I personally, as a high school student, moved

from the edge of tumbling into the wasteland

of becoming a drop-out into the rich and

productive life I have experienced as a minster

of the gospel, all because a ------ ----- gave me

the most priceless of human gifts - friendship."

Hey! I didn't even try. But God let me be a help.

Jesus said,

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who

abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears

much fruit, for apart from me you can do

nothing."

-John 15:5 RSV

There we have it. Just abide - stay - in Jesus.

Let his life flow through us and grow where

he planted us.

A THOUGHT ON PRAYER

Prayer is breathing

for the Christian.

Without it we cannot

survive. It is the

Christian's life.

For years I have

wanted to be a man

of prayer. Like

everything else, I never made it.
At least to my satisfaction.

Years ago I was reading a book on prayer by a

noted pastor on the west coast. I remember him

saying "that when he set in his chair to pray..."

I thought, no way. Coming before the very God and

creator of the universe. And setting in a chair. No.

The only proper way to come before the King of

Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Potentate of the

universe is prostrated before Him.

Now that I am a older, when I set in my chair

to pray......

Today I was sorting through a few of my books. I

try to keep my books on prayer together as a group.

I have some of the classic books on prayer like

Bounds set and other men of God. And of course a

few of the newer hot shots. No, I have not read all

of them yet. That's so I can always have another to

read, I guess.

As I was sorting I noticed that the pile of books on

prayer was getting larger than several of the other

subjects. And I realized that even with all these

books, I still was not the man of prayer I wanted to

be. There were sixty two books and booklets on

prayer.

Now I'm a simple man. And a very simple thought

came into my mind. With all these books on prayer,

I'm still not the man of prayer I want to be. Wouldn't

I come closer to being a man of prayer by simply

spending more time talking with God?

PROTECTED AGAIN.

I detest calling attention to myself. But you have had

those times that you want to let the world know what God

has done for you. So you will understand, won't you?

As Christians God has called us to be "a chose race, a

royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people,

THAT YOU MAY DECLARE THE WONDERFUL DEEDS

OF HIM who called you out of darkness into his

marvelous light." [Emphasis mine].

-1 Peter 2:9 RSV

So, I'll try.

For the last several years each morning I pray that God

will protect each of us in the family. That "he will give his angels

charge of you to guard you in all your ways."

-Psalms 91:11 RSV

And he has done that lots of times. That is why I am

still alive today. But hear one more.

Yesterday (At the time of this writing.) afternoon I was

at work on my office. I am building it so there is a loft area

above it. That will allow storage of all the stuff we never

should have bought in the first place. And the things that

are used only on occasion, such as luggage.

I was working on the floor of the loft when I tripped. I fell on

my back with my head and shoulders hanging over. I could

feel myself teetering on the edge.

What kept me from falling head first eight feet onto the

concrete and building materials below, I don't know. It had to

be God giving an angel charge over me to protect me.

Praise God and thank you Jesus.

The picture. That's where I would have landed,

if the Lord had not intervened.

LEARNING FROM EVAN ROBERTS

I have been reading an article, "Evan Roberts &

the Welsh Revival" by Ken Horn in the Nov. 15. 09

issue of the Pentecostal Evangel. pp.11-13.

It really grabs me. Oh! that we had preachers and

teachers like that today. Roberts humility and

utter desire to only lift up Jesus seems foreign to

us now. Ken points out several things about Roberts.

• Roberts never let himself become the center of attention.
• He granted no interviews.
• He would not allow pictures to be taken of him.
• If he felt people came to see him, he would apologize and leave.
• His sermons became briefer as the revival progressed.

In "Higher Praise Greatest Preachers (Evan Roberts)" we find

Roberts was anything but conventional. Some times he would

only lead the people in prayer or read the Scriptures. Other

times he sat silent as people confessed their sins and gave

testimony of Christ's victory. "He was a constant example

not of how to preach, but of how to be led by the Spirit."

That sounds more like a New Testament meeting than a

meeting of today.

After reading several accounts of Evan Roberts life and

work, one thing stands out to me, his motivation. Even

from a young age, when he was seeking after God and

thirsting for Spiritual things, it seems that his motivation

was not to be a preacher or teacher. But his motivation

was simply to glorify Jesus and the salvation of his fellow

country men.

Is it any wonder that he was an instrument that God could

use in drawing 100,000 Welsh people to Christ.

"Lord help me to die to self and only lift you up."

DADDY'S STRESS SERMON

My youngest daughter was/is experiencing some heart problems. She sought my prayers in particular, and any advice I might have. (Maybe Daddy just wanted to give some.) Emailing her back she was assured of my prayers. And knowing my "little girl" [She is a grandmother, but will always be my little girl.] I suggested that she eliminate the stress in her life. Then jokingly told her I would send my "Stress Sermon" later.

It occurred to me the thing I wanted to convey to her, might be of help to someone else also. So my "Stress Sermon" was turned into a post.'

What qualifies me to give any advice. Well nothing. But consider the source - this old man. When I was a teenager the family doctor diagnosed me as having a heart problem. [No. That was not in horse and buggy days. We actually drove cars by then.] I had an irregular heart beat or murmur or something. Probably trying to be an Israelite. You know, murmuring and complaining in the desert. The stuff they gave as medicine was awful. It didn't help either. I suppose nothing did until I met my little girl's mother.

About that time the selective service called me up in the draft. But I flunked the physical because of my heart. That was good for what we called a 4F then. I really wanted in the Naval Air Reserve. As you can figure, I flunked that physical too. But someone in the administration building messed up and swore me in anyway. I was in whether they liked it or not.

After my little girl was born, I was trying to act like an insurance salesman for an old line insurance company. Trying to buy insurance for myself they turned me down because of my heart. My staff manager went after them. Well! Selling insurance and not having any myself? You figure it out. I was taken into the home office and a team of doctors tested me with all kinds of neat high tech stuff. They relented enough to sell me a rated policy. That is I had to pay a lot of extra money just to get insurance. So what? I am seventy five years old and work harder six days a week than most young people. That's what.

The answer really is in God. He is the one that deserves all the thanks, honor and glory. He is the one that keeps my old pumper pumping. But what about my part? The precautions I have taken are to have a cheerful heart. (Well, when I can.) The good book says, "A cheerful heart is a good medicine...." -Proverbs 17:22 NRSV The way I have a cheerful heart is diet. That is, lots of candy, cookies, pie, cake, ice cream and anything else sweet I can get. You know. Attitude adjustment. No. I am not joking. I don't do any thing for my heart. Zilch. Nothing. Don't even go to the doctor. If I did he would just try to put me on something expensive so they could take all my money. Then I would be broke and have all the side effects to suffer too. Of course the sweets do not help my heart. It's the Lord who watches over it.

By nature I am hyper or high strung. So I do preach this sermon to myself, sometimes. Our text for today is Proverbs 14:30 NRSV Please stand in honor of God's Word. [That's the way we do it in our Church.] "A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh,"

Now the point I want to make. Years ago I was listening to "Focus on the Family". They told of an incident that went something like this. One of their staff members had a heart attack. Latter in a recovery group they were trying to determine the common denominator that caused their heart attacks. As I remember in the recovery group were all sizes and shapes of people. Some had been in excellent health, and some not. But they had one common denominator. STRESS. Stress will kill you. Even with a good heart.

Now get rid of the stress. Jesus said, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry..." -Matthew 6:25 NRSV Paul said, "Do not worry about anything," -Philippians 4:6 NRSV Peter said, "Cast all your anxiety on him," [That's Jesus.] -1 Peter 5:7 NRSV There you have it. Jesus wants to take your stress and let you enjoy life with him. Take your problems, dump them on the Lord. Then lighten up and live.

GOD'S PREPARING A WAY FOR YOU

Reading in the book of Esther
I was impressed with the way God
prepares in advance for his people.
God knows the beginning from the end. He saw a
problem coming up for his people by the name of
Haman. So he had his solution in place when
the problem arose. He could have used a thousand
different ways to prepare. This time he choose
a little Jewish girl named Esther and made her
queen.

How long before did he began to work on the problem?
I don't know. Neither do you. Let's work backward
to get an idea.

Esther had been queen long enough the honeymoon was
over. King Ahasuerus had not called for her in thirty
days. Even kings don't get too busy to neglect the most
beautiful lady in the land. So either they had been married
a considerable period of time, or he was very, very, very,
very old.

We also have to take into account the time of the "Queen
Contest". It is obvious from the Scriptures that they did
not simply parade all these beautiful young ladies in front
of the king so he could select one. But he had to try
them all out. One lady at a time. A full night was allotted to
each lady to try and convince the king she should be queen.

Before the contest the contestants had to be prepared.
It sounds like they soaked them in oil for six months to make
them soft. No doubt to heal up the chapped skin from the harsh desert sun.
Then they soaked them in perfume for
six months to make them smell good. Many of them had
grown up around camels, donkeys, sheep and goats. Not
the recommend oder for a palace. ( Well. you read it and
see what you think.) That's why it took the king all night
to check them over for softness and oder.
I'm glad we don't do it that way today. We have refined
the process.

Backing up further. The king spent some time getting
lonely. After kicking the last queen out he found
his councilors just could not take the place of a good
wife. We don't know what period of time that covered.
But it appears he was in no hurry.
Back further God started the process. At the end of a
party that lasted for about six months, God put it into
the mind of queen Vashti to snub her husband, the king,
causing him to discard her . This opened the door for
God to have the solution ready for the problem.

The same loving God, that makes all things work together
for good for his people, is all ready working on your coming
problems. How? Don't know. But it encourages me to
know that he is already putting things into place for
your and my coming problems. Praise His holy name.

A TRUTH WE DON'T WANT TO ADMIT

A truth you know too. That is, deep down. We just

prefer to ignore it.

Over the years the privilege has been mine to be

associated with at least three "home Bible studies".

I love them. These were with different Churches.

Usually they were mostly the Church

folks. You get to know each other better. You

share together. Help each other. Pray together, and

for each other. And on and on.

The first one was an over coffee and donuts type.

Bible spread out on the table in front of us and a cup

of coffee in hand. And we studied(?)

The second one was a Saturday night "pot luck".

The ladies decided each time what the meal theme was

going to be the next time. So we ate. We sang.

We prayed. We read. We shared, we studied(?)

And it was exciting.

The third one was similar to the second. But forget

all the meal planning. Just bring something. Believe

it or not, the Lord let it work out great without all

the meal planning. Friday nights we met together

and unwound from the week. Something to look

forward to each week and encourage each other

in the Lord. We fellowshiped, eat, prayed and studied(?)

Just a side note. The last one was "sparkpluged"

by a wannabe preacher. That was O.K. for years.

Then he tried to "institutionalise" it into a teaching/

preaching opportunity. - THAT KILLED IT.

The truth I learned over the years is that

most of the people, at a Bible study, do not want

to study the Bible. That would be work and

require thinking. THEY WANT TO PRETEND TO

STUDY THE BIBLE. It's a lot easier that way.

A LESSON IN SUCCESS

I have a friend. I know. You find that hard to believe. But actually there are several. This particular friend is unique among my friends. He is totally successful in his field of endeavor. We all have different aspirations. Thus success could be different to each of us. But by diligent application this friend has succeeded in an outstanding way. That is, in his field of endeavor. Independence.

  This young man - in his early forties - like no other, demonstrates his independence. No one is going to run over this man. No one is going to take advantage of this man. No one is going to tell this man what to do. His diligent application of these principles has given him a simply amazing string of successes.

 One of the earliest, I am aware of, is his release from ALL duties and responsibilities with the Army. He was sent on his way to pursue his dream of Independence. I did not see the paper work. But would assume it has such a glowing adjective on it as "insubordination". This has given him the opportunity for a great deal of adventure. He simply migrates around the country. He migrates through this area about every six or seven years. 

On his last migration through this area he shared with me his list of all the places he has lived. Back then, he would have been in his mid thirties, he had lived in sixty six different places. Some of these multiple times. His adventures in independence has put him in the hospital several times. Every one did not share his enthusiasm for his independence.

I have noted, over about a twenty year span, there have been a multitude of employers who have had the opportunity to learn from this man. That is. They are not going to take advantage of him. They are not going to push him around. And he does not have to work for them. He can go to where the pastures are greener.

In fact. Due to his consistent application of independence, I do not know of him ever spending more that a few days, or weeks at the most, in jail. Can you boast of record like that?

By his diligent application of his independent nature he is able to keep his responsibilities to a minimum. He does not have to worry about a wife. He does not have to worry about children. He does not have to worry about a house. In fact he has managed to keep his responsibilities down to a thirty two year old vehicle to sleep in. Several changes of cloths. And a cat.

 The other day he confided in my wife that he was thinking of getting rid of the responsibility of the vehicle. Indeed. My friend's success in pursuing his ambition of independence has led him to the point that about the only true worry he has is - where is the next meal coming from.

PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS

Back about the time

you were born (If you

were born late enough.)

I became acquainted

with a very interesting

man. [Well, that is one

way of looking at it.]

He was a married man
with teen age children.
If I remember his wife correctly, he had been going to

school for twenty six years at that time. He had

several different majors and had studied seven

languages.

He told me that one of his majors had been archaeology.

He said the digging was too hard. So he changed his

major.

Later at a "work day" for some one in the church, or

in the community, I noted something. He sat in a

chair, in the shade, and read, while his family and

every one else worked. Hmmm.

I begin to understand his lack of interest in

archaeology.

I cannot remember any of his other majors. But

later he wanted me to recommend him to the

school of Theology he was applying to. What would

you think? You guessed it. He was what we called a
"Professional Student".

As you know, a few years later when he could no

longer get grants he quit going to school.

After all those years in school, he took a menial job

in a local hospital.

Apparently that did not suit him either. He divorced

his wife and married a tottering old lady with -

M-O-N-E-Y.

Thus I learned what professional students are.

Come with me to church for a few minutes now.

Currently I attend a good church. A small church.

Mostly older folks. But still a good church.

Consider our mid week service. It is a Bible study.

Not a prayer meeting. But a Bible study. Now Bible
study is good and good for you. We all know that.

This Bible study has older, mature Christians attending.

There is one younger fellow. He was "born and

raised" in the church, and is now an aspiring minister.

That puts him a long way from being a new Christian.

But most of us have been Christians from ten to sixty

years.

The Scriptures say,.

"Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of

Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a

foundation of repentance from dead works and of

faith toward God, with instruction about ablutions, the

laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and

eternal judgment." - Hebrews 6:1,2 RSV

Do you know what we are studying, and has a good

attendance?

Biblical Foundations. Repentance, how to be

saved. Water Baptism. The second coming of Jesus etc.

I thought we were supposed to go on the maturity.

Now think with me. I'm sorry. I know thinking hurts.

But please bear with me.

The "Western Church" as we know it is weak, anemic,

powerless. Like a rat that has been living on d-CON

for the past week.

Could it be because we have become "Professional Students".

It it easier to study than to travail in prayer.

It is easier to study that to witness.

It is easier to study than to serve.

It is easier to study than obey.

Have we substituted studying for living and

working for God?

Are we, "Ever learning, and never able to come to

the knowledge of the truth." - 2 Timothy 3:7 KJV

Do we need more knowledge? Or just to apply what

we already know?

JUST READ IT.

I cringe every time I am offered a Bible reading schedule.
Why do we read the Bible the way I used to read my "love letters"?

I was in the Navel Air Reserve. When away on a cruise
(Well, we flew.) My fiancee would write to me.
When Mail Call came I tore open her letters. I would
first look at the length. Then determine how many
paragraphs were in it. Then I could plot out how to read
it.  Twelve paragraphs. So today I will read paragraph five.
Tomorrow I will read paragraph three. Then the day
after read paragraph eleven.

If you believe that was the way I read those letters,
you would believe anything the Devil tells you.

But we read our Bibles that way!
Being too simple to understand much, I just picked
my Bible up and started reading. For years now, over
and over, and over. Yes, some times I would go back
and reread, or think about, or study, or memorize.
But the routine was, over and over and over.
Want to read through your Bible in a year?
Just pick it up and read it.

At church lately there has been a "preacher" visiting
with us. You can spot them when they walk in the
door. They have not found a seat before you know
they are either a preacher or a wantabe preacher.
You know what I am talking about. You have seen
them too. And they don't take to long to let every body
know they are ministers. Then as soon as possible
they will begin demonstrating their vast store of
knowledge when given an opportunity. Or even
with out an opportunity.

One night at the midweek Bible study this minister
was back in his full regalia of finery.  He looked as
good as any prosperity preacher.
At an appropriate time he began to wax eloquent,
becoming very emphatic about a certain position.
But the Holy Spirit brought to my mind and obscure
verse that I've never studied, thought on, or
memorized. It of course blew his position clear
out of the water.

I did not say anything. It did not matter that much.
BUT, the Holy Spirit protected me from being mislead
by reminding me of something I have read, over and over.
This is something that has happened numbers of times.

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in my name, he will teach you
all things, and bring to your remembrance all
that I have said to you."
-John 14:26 RSV

One time I had a pastor, a very good pastor. In a
Sunday School discussion he admitted that
he had just finished reading the Bible all the way
through for the first time. He had been preaching
twenty six years. Now that is pathetic.

If you ever get a chance, get a copy of the book
"How To Master The English Bible" by James
M. Gray. They are available as reprints.

Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho, pastor of the largest church
in the world, in his book "The Fourth Dimension"
on page 150 says,

"You must read the Bible. But do not read
the Bible for religious pretenses; do not
read the Bible to seek out new legalistic
rules for living; do not read the Bible for
historical purposes. Rather, read the Bible
to feed your mind and to renew your
thinking life. Fill your thinking with the Word
of God. Then God can have a free approach
to your life and flow out to do mighty things
for the glory of God through you."

JUST PICK IT UP AND READ IT.

HEARING FROM GOD

HEY! Be quiet. I can't
hear.

You have either said it,
or had it yelled at you.
When you want to hear
something you quit talking.
You do, don't you.
 Or you may turn off an appliance
or lower the volume on the T.V. You minimize any
distracting noise or influence you can so you can hear.

In an upholstery shop in Pomona, California I saw
a sign that said, "You can't learn anything while
you are talking." That is still true today.

The Scriptures say,
There is "a time to keep silence, and a time to
speak;" -Ecclesiastes 3:7 RSV

We all know about the speaking out part. At
least about the things we are interested in.
And that we should for the Lord. But do we
know how to be silent - so we can hear?

The most powerful church service I was ever in
was in one of the local churches. The
visiting evangelist was there with a musical team.
The presence of God was so real and close you could
feel it. You did not want to move or do any
thing that would disturb the way God was working
in our midst.

When the evangelist finished he turned it over
to the local pastor. Even the pastor was moved. The
pastor appreciated the service so much that he spent
the next 20 minutes telling how much he
appreciated the service.

He killed it. Literally killed the service dead. You
could not have killed it any "deader" with a shot
gun. The time to be silent was lost. The moving
of God's Spirit was gone.

I do not know how many services I have been in
where the preacher preaches a great sermon. Then
kills it himself.
He preaches till the sermon is finished. He knows it.
The congregation knows it. God knows it.
But he is enjoying preaching. Especially if the Holy
Spirit has been moving. He does not want to stop.
So he goes on and on killing his own sermon and the
moving of God.

Currently I attend one of those churches where
for some unfathomable reason they think some body's
mouth has to be going all the time. Numbers of times
the Holy Spirit has been ministering to me. But
some one thinks they have to say something. Maybe
in between the verses of a song or just at a pause. And
it quenches the working of the Spirit.

Jim Cymbala said it so well when he said,
"We must quickly be delivered from the delusion
that someone always has to be talking, teaching,
'sharing' or singing; that to keep the crowd interested
we have got to keep things 'moving' lest there be a
lull where God might actually draw us out of
ourselves into real spiritual communion."
-From, Whatever Happened To The Prayer Meeting?
in July 2009 Herald of His Coming, page 3.

God said, "Be still, and know that I am God."
-Psalms 46:10. RSV
Even for Elijah the Spirit of God did not minister
to him in the earthquake or the fire. But in "a
still small voice."

With God's help I want to quiet down and listen
for his "still small voice". How about you?