NS Ministries

“This poor man called, and the Lord heard him…” Only those who have recognized the poverty of their spirits and called out to God can really understand the power and significance of those 8 words!

Let’s take a closer look at the word “disgraced” and take it out of the dictionary and dissect it and look at as two connected words. Ready?  “Those who go to him for help are happy, and they are never dis-graced.” Those who go to God for help are not only happy but need not worry about God’s grace coming to an end. Like God, God’s grace is eternal and those who call continually call him Lord and back that up with live action will never be without grace.

Let’s look at the word “disgraced” from another perspective and perspective hinted on by the Apostle Paul.  “From this time on we do not think of anyone as the world does. In the past we thought of Christ as the world thinks, but we no longer think of him in that way. If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation. The old things have gone; everything is made new! All this is from God…” (2^nd Corinthians 5:16-18)

  To rephrase what Paul was saying, “Those who do not belong to Christ are disgraced and those who do belong to Christ are graced?” And those graced by God enjoy the presence of a diversity of spiritual resources up to and including angels.

“Examine and see how good the Lord is. Happy is the person who trusts him. You who belong to the Lord, fear him! Those who fear him will have everything they need. Even lions may get weak and hungry, but those who look to the Lord will have every good thing. Children, come and listen to me. I will teach you to worship the Lord. You must do these things to enjoy life and have many happy days. You must not say evil things, and you must not tell lies. Stop doing evil and do good. Look for peace and work for it.” (Psalms 34:8-14)

Examine God but do not test God. To examine God is to put your life under a microscope and look for how he has graced your life with his. To examine God is to test your faith in God. Faith comes in the form of a gentle spring rain not like a sudden cloud burst. If you want to see faith you first need to look over your shoulder and examine how God has made a difference in your life. 

One of the greatest benefits of the scriptures is their ability to teach us – yet it is not really the scriptures that teach us because they are only words the real teacher is the Holy Spirit. Even if you are in a bible study class being taught by the most notable scholar the bible comes alive not through the knowledge of the scholar but through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

“Children, come and listen to me,” the Spirit whispers to you, “I will teach you to worship the Lord. You must do these things to enjoy life and have many happy days.” And the teaching begins.

The Lord sees the good people and listens to their prayers. But the Lord is against those who do evil; he makes the world forget them. The Lord hears good people when they cry out to him, and he saves them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the   brokenhearted, and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed. (Psalms 34:15-18)

The Lord sees all and hears all! I am not sure what year it was when the United States Air Force added to it’s arsenal of weapons the Stealth Bombers. You’ve heard of them they can fly into a warzone and the enemy will never know it until it’s too late. As I’ve stated I may not know the year but one thing I do know God has been using stealth technology for thousands of years. Because of his use of stealth technology the Lord knows not only what’s on the surface of your heart he also knows what lies beneath.

Got a broken heart? God will exchange your broken heart for a healthy one.

Got a sinful heart? God will exchange it for a forgiven heart.

God a heart filled with conflict? God will exchange it for a peaceful heart.

Card shops may be filled with all occasion cards but heaven is filled with all occasion hearts and God is getting one ready for you as you read these words.

Oh, I almost forget there is one heart you need not ask for because of all the hearts God has to give away you’ll not find an evil heart so don’t even think about asking.   

People who do what is right may have many problems, but the Lord will solve them all. He will protect their very bones; not one of them will be broken. Evil will kill the wicked; those who hate good people will be judged guilty. But the Lord saves his servants’ lives; no one who trusts him will be judged guilty. (Psalms 34:19-22)

Let me tell you those first 10 words are absolutely, without a doubt truer than true! People who do right and especially those that try to do right not only may have many problems – they do have many problems! And you can take that to “God’s problem solving bank of blessings”!

When Jesus went to his tomb for a brief visit his body while being lifeless was intact he died with all his “original equipment” not one bone was broken. I’ll not be able to say the same thing. While I may not go to my grave without any broken bones I’ll not get there with all my original equipment. When my body turns to dust somewhere in the dust you’ll find two pair of well used hips.

But I tell you the truth (I love that phrase because Jesus used words similar to those) my hip problems have been my greatest blessing! And I don’t have to explain to you why do I? Yup! “…the Lord saves his servants’ lives.”

Speaking only for myself the hardest thing for me in being a Christian and living like Jesus lived his life is trusting God. I am writing this at a Nature Preserve overlooking a small pond used for model sailboats. If Jesus were to tap me on the shoulder and say, “Gary, how would you like to walk not around the pond but over the pond?” I’d probably say something like, “Okay, Lord take my hand and let’s go!” (Of course I’d have to swallow my heart first.)

Then he say, “I didn’t say I’d go with you.”

“But Lord, I can’t do it without you!”

“Do you trust me, Gary?”

“Yes, Lord I do trust you.”

“If you trust me than step onto the water and go for a walk.”

“But… But… But…”

Then with a big smile on his face he’d touch my shoulder and say, “Do not worry. Did I not say my Spirit would be with you always?”

I know that sounds far fetched but when you stop to think about it each and every day we wake up we step into life trusting that we will not walk alone even into places filled with danger.