Good Monday Morning, Dear Friends,
The book of Acts in the New Testament records the time when Peter and John were indicted for preaching on the streets of Jerusalem. The court demanded that they be silent. But Peter declared his allegiance where it should have been: “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29). That’s the only kind of approval which really counts.
Don Yocum tells about a man who went to see his doctor. After the examination, the doctor said to the man, “The best thing you can do is to stop drinking, go on a diet, and stop carousing around town at all hours.” The fellow was thoughtful for a moment and then asked, “What’s the next best thing?” That’s the way many of us are. We want God’s approval, but we are convinced that the price is too high.
There are not many things that I know for certain, but I do know this: Only God’s approval really counts and supports us during the vexing moments of life. Look for the sanction of the crowd, and the crowd will let you down. Jesus was enthusiastically greeted by the multitude the day he went to Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11). Five days later they nailed him to the cross. Sometimes when you depend on your own judgment in making a decision, your whole life is filled with doubts and anxiety. But if God’s will is your purpose, there is a peace which no one can give or take away.
Robert Schuler told about seeing an English bulldog going up the street one day in answer to his master’s call. There was a little terrier playing in the street. When the bulldog passed, the terrier began to bark. Soon the terrier had assembled a whole neighborhood of small dogs, yelping, and snapping at the bulldog that walked sedately on. Not once did the bulldog lose a step. Schuler said he went to his room and knelt in prayer. “God, whatever that bulldog has, I want some of it. Oh, for the ability to hear the Master’s voice, to walk straight while others yap and snap at your heels, to be one whose ears are too close to heaven to hear the growls of a threatening world.”
As the years have gone by, I’ve been trying to pray that prayer, too. I don’t always manage to hold my course, and I get sidetracked many times. But when I manage to do what I know God wants me to do, I’m not afraid of what life may bring in this world, or in the world to come.
Trust your invisible means of support,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
