The Wanderer

I saw my aunt and uncle at Costco wholesale store this morning.  He was an electrician by trade, and is now enjoying retirement.  On occasion he will help out at church doing electrical work when it is needed.  He is a wonderful man of God. 

During our visit, he briefly recapped how he met my mom’s sister on a blind date when he was on leave from the army.  He believes that it was fate in meeting her, and that it changed the destiny of the rest of his life.  He said that he was well on his way to becoming an alcoholic.  Uncle Wayne, as I call him, was also a slave to tobacco, and smoked like a chimney.

This man respected and loved my aunt so much that he did a complete “about face” from the life he was living to becoming a Christian; no longer a wanderer in search of something worth living for.  He found the precious gift of salvation and his soul mate for life.

It is amazing how God knows our name and where we are at any given moment even in our wandering from place to place and having little vision of what tomorrow may bring; just living for today.

Like my uncle, I too was headed down a wide road to destruction; lacking the hope that I now possess through Jesus Christ the Lord.  I was indeed the wanderer that was looking for stability in all the wrong places.

No matter where a person is spiritually, or what side of the tracks they find themselves on, or how deep in sin they have ventured, there is no love like God’s love for those that are wondering aimlessly in search of peace.  He gives peace.

(John 14:27), “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

I believe things happen for a reason to open our eyes to the reality that we are lost and need a Savior and that we cannot achieve sanctuary within our own ability and strength.

We all need Jesus in our life to heal broken pieces and take away the loneliness that sinning causes.  He alone can take the cares of living and turn them into joy, thus, providing an abundant life that we so desperately need, when all else has failed.

All it takes is to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and ask Him to forgive our sins, and we will be saved.  When the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit make their abode in our heart, the wandering ceases and stability takes precedent.  We become a new creation in Christ.  Old things pass away and all things become new in Him.

It goes without saying that things just don’t happen in life, but they are ordained by God and if we heed His perfect will, things occur in positive ways.  Looking back and assessing my life as I often do, I realize that certain things just didn’t happen; God was involved, arranging and influencing situations to bring me to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

God in heaven has a plan that supersedes our own intellect, imagination and dreams.  There is no doubt in my uncle’s mind that my aunt was sent to him, through circumstances, to lead him to the Lord, which altered his life in most positive ways.

Perhaps you have doubts that there are forces at work with you in mind; having good things in store for you.  Put your uncertainties and misgivings to rest.  GOD LOVES YOU!  I promise!  He wants the very best that His Son made possible when He died on the cross for your sins and the sins of humanity.

You need only to reach out and receive the gift of salvation—Jesus—God’s Son.  The wandering will cease and the joy will come.

(Acts 4:12), “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Written by, 

Papa Boyd

Humpty Dumpty's Great Fall

It is one thing to fall captive as a result of sin and fail God when yielding to temptations that go contrary to the Bible’s teachings, but it is a far greater mistake to lie face down in the mire of wrongdoing and wallow in self-pity and regret, without doing something about the fall.  We must ask God to forgive our transgressions.

There are individuals that are prone to exert false religiosity of self-governing convictions, while setting themselves above others with a haughty persona and prideful spirit.  And there are people with shrinking personalities that suffer acute inferiority complexes.  All in all, whatever the personality may be, every person on earth has the same adversary, the devil, with demons of their own to overcome.

(Proverbs 21:2-4), “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.”  vs.3 “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”  vs.4 “A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin.”

Whatever the character of a person’s moral fiber, every person is subject to falling short of that which God expects of them on a personal level.  Everyone has negative traits that must be dealt with and overcome.  God gives the victory when life becomes a challenge or when we take a fall like Humpty Dumpty’s great fall in the nursery rhyme.

That which seems right in the eyes of those that have their own way of doing things or those that are like shrinking violets, it is a struggle to find their way through life, especially if they are non-Christians, no matter what their personality is like.  Their actions may, in fact, be foolishness in the eyes of God and not His will for them to consume or partake of such things.

(Proverbs 14:12), “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

If we are not careful we can end up like Humpty Dumpty—broken and undone.  He had a great fall and the broken pieces could not be put together again even with the help of all the king’s horses and all the king’s men.  They found it impossible to achieve success.  Without God in a person’s heart, they can be overwhelmed and defeated in every way, because of the falls they take in life.  Their spiritual well-being is no exception.

Promises, vows, commitments, and similar actions of the heart are hard to repair when broken, much like an egg that falls to the floor.  Satan, the deceiver and father of lies, tells every individual that has fallen that it is far easier to give up and lay in the mire of sin and less painful, rather than obtaining the bonding adhesive of the Holy Spirit and having Him put the pieces together again. 

Satan knows that the moment the Lord takes control and lovingly applies His bonding agent to each broken piece, with the utmost care, this act of love resurrects brokenness to a state of wholeness.  

Christians, likewise, have struggles.  They sometimes find themselves atop the wall of “do nothing” while sitting and watching others scurry about doing God’s will.  It is not that they intentionally set themselves apart from those of like-faith or their involvement in the Lord’s work, but through neglect of responsibility, dedication, and commitment they fail to stay active in using their talents and gifts to minister to the needs of others.

While sitting there doing little to encourage people around them, they sadly find themselves licking wounds of hurt feelings; thinking they are not needed anymore in certain positions that they held for years.  Often they feel too old and out of sorts with people and the programs at church.  Remember, feelings are not reality; they are only surface sensations that lack substance, which are unlike foundations of stability found in the purity of truth. 

When Christians listen to the wrong voice, notions can surface like, “It is easier to leave commitment to the younger generation.”  This leads to, “I’ve done my part and I’m going to rest now.” 

With this kind of philosophy, one could say that it is indeed effortless, with less pain, to sit like a bump on a log on the edge of a wall, swaying back and forth in the breeze of complacency, while others do the work of God.  But what does God think about this thought process?

It doesn’t take long before the swaying becomes more pronounced to the point of losing one’s spiritual balance and toppling to the floor of life where the severity of the fall seems to be a total lose; as if the pieces cannot be put together again.  This is a lie from Satan himself. 

The great fall is not what breaks a person into pieces; it is the sudden stop at the end of the journey and then laying there in total defeat, while those around come to their aid like the king’s horses and the king’s men came to Humpty Dumpty. 

Those that fall must get hold of their emotions and rise above the false feelings that are generated, which give bogus impressions.  God works hard to establish trust in those that are hurting from a fall.  God loves us and desires that we be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ; to be someone that He can count on to meet the needs of others.

God is able to reunite broken relationships; restore shattered dreams; and rekindle crushed pledges and covenants.  A person need not lay there in shame; having thrown in the towel of defeat.  Jesus is the restorer of brokenness and hopes that were smashed to bits, because of a fall. 

The Lord is faithful to repair and refurbish broken pieces, while reassuring those that have fallen that the son/daughter status is real, because of the price that Jesus paid on the cross for our sins.  He gave His all when He died for us.  Even though Satan would have us believe that when we fall it causes a separation between the Father in heaven and us, this untruth is a lie from the pit of hell.

(1 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.”

If a person should fall for whatever reason, they can be restored to health and pick themselves up with the help of God and “keep on keeping on,” as they allow Him to mend the broken pieces of their life together again.  Our Father in heaven desires that His children be whole and complete in Him and not dependent upon their own ingenuity and strength to keep them abiding in truth.  They need not end up without hope like Humpty Dumpty.

Written by,

Papa Boyd