Grace by the Stream

Newsletter Article
August 2003

We are ministers. As Christians we are called to minister to unbelievers as well as each other. What does it mean to minister? Here is a definition that I found:

Minister Min”is*ter, v. i.
1. To act as a servant, attendant, or agent; to attend and
serve; to perform service in any office, sacred or
secular.
The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but
to minister. –Matt. 20:28.

2. To supply or to things needful; esp., to supply
consolation or remedies. –Matt. 25:44.

One example of this that I have just read was in Job. Here is someone who could stand being ministered to. He has lost everything. All his children, all his wealth, even his health. Satan wanted to test Job so that he could show God that we are only faithful in our comfort. In all of Job’s afflictions he remained faithful and I would encourage you to read the story for yourself but I want to point out something. Job’s had three friends. If you read the story you will see that perhaps Job could have used some better friends but I want to show you his friends at the beginning of the story. Here is a brief quote from Job;

Job 2:11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Did you get that? SEVEN DAYS!!! SEVEN NIGHTS!!! On the ground. They did not even speak to Job but just sat with him. To comfort him. Are we willing to be that kind of friend? Often we think we are supposed to fix the problem. That is where Job’s friends went wrong later on but at the start they were true ministers.

Now this takes practice and a good dose of the Holy Spirit to point out how and where we should minister. Humans are naturally selfish and self centered. If it were not so, Jesus would not have told us this:

Matt:36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “` Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ` Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

This is how we are supposed to behave. We are supposed to do things out of love. To love is an act, not a feeling. We are to love as Christ loved. He loved us so much that he died for us. I don’t know of a greater measure of love.

Here is how Paul puts it in his letter to the Philippians:

Phil 2:1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

So as you go down the road, look for those you can minister to. It may be something obvious, like helping to change a tire or letting someone use your cell phone. It may be simply to smile at someone who is frowning. It is amazing the effect of a smile on someone who is down. A kind word or to offer to pray for someone when they are struggling. Slow down and look for the chance to be a minister of Jesus Christ to a lost and harassed world.

In His Grip,

Jerry Robertson
Chaplain CMA Crossties

Devotion
August 2003

I want to tell you a story about a chair and a table.

The chair is the one my Grandfather used to sit in before he died. It was not a lot to look at but it was a good memory for me. He used to hold me on his lap and tell me stories. Stories about fishing, hunting, camping. Stories about little boys like me who used to go out into the woods looking for buried treasure. Stories about finding it. I spent many hours in his lap or at his feet listening to him talk. I can still smell his aftershave and the faint smell of a cigar once in a while (when my Grandmother wasn’t looking). You can imagine that this chair was special to me but that chair is gone.

The table was the one that sat in my Grandmother’s dining room. It was a big long table with at least 3 leaves that could be added to make room for the whole family. Grandma, Grandpa, mom, dad, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters. The whole family. We would gather a couple of times a year to celebrate being a family. Thanksgiving. Turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, chicken and dumplings, lime pickles, squirrel, rabbit (we used to hunt on Thanksgiving day with our Grandfather), wonderful yeast rolls, homemade candy, and countless other things that were wonderful to eat. The table was surrounded by all of these folks and laden down with all of that food and my Grandfather would quietly say “Let us give thanks”. We would all get quiet and he would ask our Father in heaven to watch over us, ask Him to bless our food and the time we had together and then the noise level would rise as we laughed, talked and ate. You didn’t want to ask my uncles to ‘pass’ the rolls’ cause they would. From one end of the table to the other in a single toss. A great time. That table is gone now too.

I was just listening to the news reports about the building that houses a shop that refinishes antiques. The reporter talked about the people that came to watch their possessions burn and how they are frantic to try and save them.

The story reads in part:
Damage from a three alarm fire in an Atlanta strip mall could run into the millions of dollars. Dozens of small business were destroyed or seriously damaged in the Friday morning fire. Owners of adjacent shops showed up at the scene after hearing about the fire. Antique dealer Gradon Lisenby’s business was damaged. Lisenby was supposed to work on Friday starting at 11 a.m. We’re all determined to start over and go from there, because I’m not giving up,” Lisenby said. Dealers say a lot of fine furniture and paintings were lost in the fire. More than 150 dealers used space in the buildings and will face a huge loss. “Unfortunately, they operate on a small scale and the insurance is cost-prohibitive. And most of them do not carry insurance. So, this will be a large loss for a lot of people,” Robert Ahlers, owner of Cache’ said. Ahlers hopes to relocate his dealers to a second store. “I’m still a little bit in shock,” Ahlers said. “There are a lot of good people affiliated with the business. Fortunately, no one was injured, and that’s what’s really the most important.”

Now I want to tell you about another chair. This one will not be destroyed by fire. It is the throne of God and He sits on it and tells us to come up on His lap. To sit at His feet while he tell us stories about the people whom He loves. Those that gave up everything to be with Him. Stories about those of His children who would not deny the glory of the Lord so that others might believe in Him and be saved. So that those children could live forever with us when we get to heaven. That is a chair worth replacing the one my Grandfather sat in. In fact, I will be able to sit with my Grandfather at the feet of the one who loves us.

And the table; This table will be even bigger than my Grandmothers cause it will be big enough to hold everyone at the wedding feast of the lamb. We are all invited to the feast if we believe in Christ for our salvation. All your family who believe. Grandmother, Grandfather, Mom, Dad, Aunts, Uncles, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters. All of them. Our friends. Bikers we have shared with who acted on what they heard. Can you picture the scene? We are all seating at the table and it is loaded with food that is beyond our imagination here on earth. But the food is not the thing I want you to focus on. Focus on the people. They are all that is left of the earth. What remains beyond the people is all going to burn up. Just like in that fire and if your friends are not at the table they are going to be cast in to the lake of fire. Not a pleasant thought is it? Do you love them enough to tell them? Tell them again and again even if they don’t want to hear it because you love them. Are you afraid you are going to scare them off? Offend them? Just tell them so they can be at the feast with you and with our Savior Jesus Christ.

I don’t want to have you lose hope for them but I want to have you understand the consequences if they say no, or if they have not heard. Just tell them. That is our job. The Holy Spirit will use our work to do His work. To convict, to draw, to save. Just love them in the Kingdom and to the table. To the throne of God.

Jerry Robertson
Chaplain CMA Crossties

Newsletter Article
July 2003

I just watched a movie and read the book, “Gods and Generals”. If you have not read the book, I would recommend it as an interesting novel with some history behind it. Now I don’t want to try and defend either side of the Civil War in this writing but I want to point you toward an idea that I find appealing, at least in the stories I read. (By the way, read the book. It is better than the movie).

Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was one of the leading General’s of the Civil War. He is said to have faced mortal danger without fear. Here is an exchange between him and Captain Imoboden….

“General,” I (Captain, later Brigadier General John D. Imboden) remarked, “how is it that you can keep so cool. and appear so utterly insensible to danger in such a storm of shell and bullets as rained about you when your hand was hit?” He instantly became grave and reverential in his manner, and answered, in a low tone of great earnestness: “Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me.” He added, after a pause, looking me full in the face: “That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave.”

Here is an eyewitness account from Captain Imboden about the bravery in battle of Stonewall Jackson. I have to assume that it is at least true in part and I marvel at the faith of the man who trusts God so much that he does not worry about his death even in the midst of shells and bullets. This is a perfect picture of the battle we face everyday with the powers of this world.

For those of us who are saved by the grace of God and the blood of Jesus Christ, we are protected from the final death but our bravery is not protected so. If we do not fully trust God then we will not be as brave as He calls us to be. I can tell you that when I am given a chance to pass along some of the love that Christ has shown me my heart begins to beat a little faster. I hear a small voice say inside me “what do I say to him?” or “what will they think of me?” and if I listen too long to that voice, I am not able to hear the voice of the Spirit that lives in me. The voice of the Spirit that will give the words to say. The voice of the Spirit will tell me what He thinks of me when I take a stand for Christ in this lost and fallen world.

The Cambridge International Dictionary defines Brave as:
brave (WITHOUT FEAR) adjective
showing no fear of dangerous or difficult things

Here are some quotes from scripture about fear:

John 20:19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Romans 8:15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear , but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

2Tim1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity , but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life–not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.

So, in our fear we must be willing to be brave in order to do the things God gives us to do. We may want to lock the doors to keep out the world but once we see Jesus we are overjoyed and cannot be contained in a locked room. The bindings of slavery are broken by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross so we are now called sons of God. We can call him Daddy and crawl up on His lap when we are afraid. We are granted the courage by His spirit of power and by the discipline we are given through the Holy Spirit we will never be ashamed to tell others what Christ has done in our lives.

Listen always to the voice of the Spirit that lives within us. Be brave even when it seems that shells and bullets are raining down on us. We will not always know all the answers but we know the One who does. Trust in Him and you will succeed.

In His Grip,
Jerry Robertson
Chaplain

Devotion
July 2003

I hate religion!!

Does that surprise you, coming from someone like me? Let me explain. I just got back from a trip to Linden, NJ and I was reminded of another time I said the same thing. I love the South and I can identify with the bumper sticker that says ‘I wasn’t born in the south but I got here just as quick as I could’. When I have to travel up north I get down and really can get depressed if I have to go someplace like Linden but this story is not about me. I had to go to Linden.

My flight was early in the morning and I had to get the job site for a meeting so I was at the airport early. In spite of my best efforts though, my flight was cancelled. I was placed on another flight, on another airline and it was only going to be 15 minutes later than my scheduled flight. I was certain however that I had gotten the last seat on the flight so I expected a center seat. It was not to be however. I had an aisle seat and after I got buckled in I began to relax and look around. That is when I saw Jim. He is a big guy in the center seat beside me. He seems friendly enough and we begin to talk. I tell him how I got on this flight and we made the normal chit-chat about the weather, etc. Then he asked me a question. “What would you do if you didn’t have to worry about money? You know, what do you really want to do?’. I thought for a minute and I said that I would like to ‘do whatever God told me to do, where ever he told me to do it.’ Jim looked at me and said, ‘you must be really religious’. My response was ‘I hate religion. In fact, Jesus hated religion too.’

Christ encountered a secularized form of Judaism during His earthly ministry which was bound to its traditions instead of to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The religious leaders of the day didn’t recognize the Messiah as their spiritual deliverer. They perceived the oppressor to be Rome, not Satan, the god of this world. But Jesus came to undo the works of Satan (1 John 3:8), not Caesar.

Satan’s ultimate lie is that you are capable of being the god of your own life, and his ultimate bondage is getting you to live as though his lie is true. Satan is out to usurp God’s place in your life. And whenever you live independently of God, focusing on yourself instead of the cross, preferring material and temporal values to spiritual and eternal values, he has succeeded. The world’s solution to this conflict of identity is to inflate the ego while denying God the opportunity to take His rightful place as Lord. Satan couldn’t be more pleased–that was his plan from the beginning.

Let define religion so we are all talking about the same thing.

Religion: personal belief or values, obsession, monk’s or nun’s life.’ Does that sound like fun to you. And what about God? This talked about ‘personal belief’, not God. I prefer the idea of Christianity. I am a Christian. Now you may ask me what is the difference and if I had to sum it up in a few words, I would say it is the difference between ‘do’ and ‘done’.

Religion is something you do. Another way to say that is ‘Religion is man’s work reaching to God’. It usually looks like a bunch of rules. Go to church, don’t drink, pray everyday, don’t each chocolate, don’t go to movies, don’t smoke, etc. It is a bunch of things we have to do in a effort to be acceptable to God and we never know how much to do or if we have done enough to be acceptable.

Christianity is about what Christ has done. It is about God reaching down to man to make him acceptable because we can’t do enough to be acceptable to God. The bible says that Christ came into this world born of a virgin, he lived a sinless, perfect life, taught about the kingdom during his ministry years, was crucified on a cross, died and rose to life again after 3 days in the grave. He paid the price for our sins and made us acceptable to God if we will only accept what He did for us and put our trust in Him alone for our salvation. That is the Christian message. Nothing more, nothing less. It is all about what He did. We cannot add to it or take away from it. Ephesians 2:8 and 9 says that ‘we are saved by grace through faith, not by works so that no one can boast. It is a gift from God.’ Since God knows we cannot do enough to be acceptable He did it for us. But we have to believe.

If we believe that with all our hearts and accept that then we are saved. Now, what does it mean to believe with all your heart?

Look at that chair. Do you believe that it will hold me up? I can say I believe it too but until I sit in it I have not put my faith in it. It is not enough to believe that Christ exists. The devil believes that Christ exists but he is not saved so it is more than head knowledge.

It is simple to tell God that we believe. We only have to pray and tell him that we are sorry for our sins, that we accept the gift He gave and that we want accept what Jesus has done as full payment.

Now, back to the flight with Jim to Linden. Jim and I talked about this for the two hours we were together and it was apparent to both of us that God had arranged this meeting between the two of us. There were just too many things that we were amazed at and at the end of the trip I asked Jim a question. The same question I am going to ask you. Is there anything that prevents you from accepting the work of Christ so that you can become one of the children of God right now? Jim responded right then and there on the airplane as we were on final approach. Even if that plane had not made the landing Jim and I would have had all of eternity to rejoice in his decision to accept Christ and his gift. We are rejoicing and I can tell you that you and I could be rejoicing in a few minutes also.

I am going to pray and if you want to pray with me you can have that gift also.

Father, I am sorry for all the things that I have done that have separated us. I want to accept the work of Jesus Christ as payment for my sins and from now on want to live for you. Thank you for your forgiveness and for accepting me as one of your children. I love you, Father.

Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, you are saved right now and we have all of eternity to rejoice. I want to know if any of you prayed that prayer and we will help you figure out what comes next.

Newsletter Article
June 2003

“I’ve got it.”

Yesterday I took Stephen to Six Flags. Stephen is my 12 year old son. The trip to Six Flags has turned into an annual event that started when he was 10 so this was the third time to make the trip. I want to tell you about the first time, however. Let me set up the situation for you.

I was facing the loss of my company. My job. My income. I was sure of only one thing. The company would stop paying salary the end of the month and I did not have anything else lined up. I had gotten a pretty clear leading that I was supposed to start my own business but beyond that God was silent about my work. I had put a lot of money into the old business. I had taken a second mortgage out on the house to invest into the old company and now that money was gone too. The debt was not gone, however so that was playing on me as well. Sounds pretty bleak, huh?

I had promised Stephen that I would take him to Six Flags before any of this stuff had really started to develop. Early in the spring when school was out I promised Stephen that we would go. Just him and me and we would ride every roller coaster together. We would stand in the ‘extra’ line so we could ride the front seat of every roller coaster, too. Now at 10 years old that is a big deal. (Heck, it’s a big deal at 46 years old, too.) I had told Stephen that we could go sometime before school started up in the Fall again.

It was now Fall and we were down to the last weekend before school. I could not delay any longer and I now did not know where we were going to get the money we needed to keep going. But I had promised and I planned to keep my word. I had to trust that somehow God was going to keep His too. He did.

At that point in my life I was focused on some of the traits of God and the one that really struck me was that He laughs. If you have seen me in my ‘colors’ you have seen the button I wear that shows Jesus laughing. I like to use that picture to start up conversations about God and to use it as a witnessing tool. I carry small pictures to give out to others and I even have a tee shirt that has the picture really large on the front. If you have never seen the picture you can go to www.jesuslaughing.com and get a taste of this wonderful image. Anyway, I had gotten a distinct leading to wear that shirt to the park that day, so I did.

Stephen and I had gotten the Coke cans that offered $15.00 off the admission price so we could save some money and we were off to the park. Stephen I am sure was thinking about the roller coasters but I was thinking about the money. As we stood in line to buy our tickets I was lost in that contemplation of the money and I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and looked at the women who tapped me and she pointed over to the right and said “She wants to talk to you”. I looked over and here is another woman smiling at me and she says “I like your shirt! How many tickets do you need?” I smiled back and said thanks for the comment about my shirt and then said that we were buying two tickets. She handed me two coupons and then was gone.

As we moved up in the line I was looking at the coupons to see what was the better deal, the coupons or the Coke cans. Before I got it figured out it was our turn at the window. I handed the person behind the glass the coupons and asked what they were worth. She looked at me and said that they were free passes to the park and for us to have a nice day.

I was shocked to say the least. Here I was worrying about what I would eat or what I would wear or where I would live and here was God saying to me “I’ve got it”. He says that He will meet our needs. I look at God as a father who will do things for us just because he loves us. It gives Him joy to take care of us and to see us smile. My point is that we can count on Him to meet our every need and some of our wants too. I have been able to use that experience with Stephen to teach a few lessons about God and how much He loves us. To talk about luck and how it really is God in control of things, not just luck. I am sure that the lessons are not over. I still find myself worrying about money sometimes but I get to look back at this experience and recall how God took care of my son and me just to teach me that He is in control and that I should just let Him take care of it.

I hope that there are times in your life that you can look back at and see the hand of God in your life. I see many such stories in the bible about God taking care of His people and I see evidence of that care today. He can be trusted. ” Proverbs 3:5 and 6 – Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding ; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

In His Grip,

Jerry Robertson
Chaplain

Devotion
June 2003

Is the bible true? Have you ever been asked that? What did you say? Do you know for sure that it is true? I am going to try and give you just one way that you can talk to others and perhaps give them the evidence they need to continue to pursue God.

Many times when we get a chance to talk to someone about the bible they have a problem seeing it as the truth that we see it as. They have either not read it or if they tried to read it they started at Genesis and stopped long about Leviticus. They see it as a collection of stories, myths or fairy tails and simply ignore when it comes to their day to day lives. In fact, with out the Spirit to reveal the scriptures to us, I don’t think we can get much from the bible at all. It does not connect to our spirit with out the influence of the Holy Spirit but that is another lesson.

There are all kinds of studies that have been done to prove and disprove the bible. We are not going to talk about them here but instead let’s look at one simple set of facts. First, of the 12 disciples, 11 of them died horrible deaths. Martyrs deaths. Crucifixion, stoning and the sword just to get started. They were beaten, thrown in prison, starved and in general hated by the leaders and followers of the religious community.

Why did these men die? Because they taught that Jesus was the Christ. The living God. The savior of the world. Why did they teach that? Because they believed it. They knew it was true.

Men are willing to die for only a few things I suspect. Family, country, religious beliefs. Maybe a few more but let’s stop there. Religion. We hear a lot about suicide bombers these days. I have to admit that I don’t understand how they can do that. I mean, we don’t see their side do we? They must think they have the truth. The believe it so surely that they are willing to die for it. Do you think they would be so willing to die if they thought it was all a lie? Or if they knew it was a lie.

In that lies the proof we are looking for to show the bible is true. At least the new testament we are looking at when we talk about the disciples. Think about it. The disciples knew Jesus better than any one on earth. Better then Mary or Joseph. Better than the neighbors that lived next door to Jesus before his ministry started. Better than anyone. They were with him on his last night on earth before he died. They heard him in the garden talking about the vine and the branches. Jesus poured his life into these men because he loved them and because this was the plan for saving the people that God loved so dearly. They saw him crucified. They saw him dead. They saw him buried. They lost hope. They felt betrayed, confused, bewildered. What had happened. Jesus was gone.

Then they saw him alive again. They talked with him. They ate with him. They touched him. For 40 days they were with him and then they saw him disappear into the heavens. It was true. All of it and they knew it. They were there. Then they received the Holy Spirit and they started changing the world. Because they knew it was true.

But what if it weren’t true.

They of all people would know it. If they had not seen Jesus die. If they had not seen him buried. If they had not seen the empty tomb. What if they carried off the body as some accused them of doing? They would know it was a lie, wouldn’t they? Would they die for a lie? Especially if they knew it was a lie? Would you die for a lie? If you knew it was a lie? I don’t think so.

So here is some proof that we can relate to real life. Our lives. Their lives. Most times the people we talk to about Christ raise objections is to get us to change the subject and move on. If they are truly interested in the questions they ask, we must honor that and try to answer them. However, if it is a diversion then we have to try and get past it.

I would encourage you to do the research to be able to field some basic questions but be praying when you are talking to a seeker. Try to determine if the question is real or just a smoke screen. One tactic that can work is to ask them to save the question for later or to say, ‘That is a good question. Can we save that for a minute and finish the question about who Jesus is?’. If they agree to save it, come back to it if they want but many times, once you get to talking about Christ, the questions will be forgotten.

If you like, we can start meeting at my house on the first Tuesday of the month to try and answer some of these questions that get asked. If you want to meet with me and do this, let’s get started. We can meet at 7:00 and go for about an hour and a half. Come and talk to me for directions and lets prepare for those that God will send to us.

In His Grip,

Jerry Robertson
Chaplain

Newsletter Article
May 2003

Deception

I’ll bet you know someone that is a liar. You know what I mean, someone who would tell a lie when the truth would serve them better. Now I don’t want you to dwell on who that is but I want you to think about how the lie makes you feel. At first you may not know you have been lied to but after a while you find out. You feel betrayed, used or maybe even angry. It may not even seem like a big lie but you have those feelings just the same.

Satan is a liar. He told Eve that she would be like God if she ate the fruit. Do you think she felt betrayed, used or angry? I suspect that she felt all those things and many more over the course of her life and at the end when one of them died before the other, I believe that the feelings became even stronger. Satan lied. We will surely die, in the end.

That is the way of a lie. It seems like a good idea at the time. It may be you lying to yourself about something. It might be that you purchase something you know you don’t have the money for but you put it on a credit card so you can have it anyway and you tell yourself that it is ok, you’ll pay it off when the bill comes. Then the bill comes and you don’t have the money. You didn’t have the money when you bought it, what makes you think you’ll have it when the bill comes? At the time you are happy to have the new toy but later when you have to pay for it, it is not so nice anymore. In fact, the bible talks about this in Prov 20:17 where it says “Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel .” What would it be like to have a mouthful of gravel? That does not sound like a good thing at all.

God’s way of doing things is different. To do what he wants probably will not seem as much fun on the front end but in the end it brings great joy. Just the opposite of Satan and the world.

…A knock just came at the door and I am going to tell you about it. It fits and I believe that there are no coincidences so it must have been for a reason. My son answered the door and called me to come. There were two people there nicely dressed and friendly in manner. Not at all threatening. As they began to talk I looked at what they were carrying and I see a bible and a small booklet. They begin to talk about how the bible is true and I agree with them. It is. At this point however, I know that they are Jehovah’s Witnesses and that we really have some differences in what we believe. Here is a group that on the surface you have to admire. They are working hard for what they believe and some of them put it all on the line to go out door to door to witness for their faith. The problem is that they have been deceived. They don’t believe that Jesus Christ is God. They will tell you that he is a god but not THE God and the differences beyond that I am not going to address. This one difference is enough to tell me that what they have is not the truth.

This is one example of the way Satan works. He takes some of the truth and bends it, twists it to suit his purposes and gets us to doubt what God has told us. That doubt is not a sin but it can lead to it if we don’t deal with it. Satan did this with Jesus in the wilderness. He prompted Jesus with some of the truth from scripture and while it sounded good on the surface it was a lie. Jesus saw through him and responded with the truth from God’s word. The changes Satan takes us through are small, gentle changes. Small steps that suit his purpose just and well as large leaps into the abyss.

C.S. Lewis wrote in his Screwtape Letters series “You will say that these are very small sins, and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. (Letter XII).

This letter was written by Lewis to illustrate what it may be like to be a senior demon teaching a junior demon the ways of tempting a man. If you have not read the book, I would suggest you get it from the library or purchase a copy and read it. It is entertaining but more importantly it reveals something about us as mankind and how we handle temptation. It gives us some practical lessons (in reverse) of how to deal with temptation when it comes.

All of this letter has been a long time coming out and now I think that I was delayed so that the exchange with the Jehovah’s Witnesses could be recorded. I don’t know what the final impact of this will be but I trust that God will use it to His Glory and for His purposes. What I want to leave with you is that we need to learn to detect the deception of Satan (and ourselves) to prevent us from being separated from God by sin as we do the job we have been given. Spend time in the truth of His word and in building a relationship with God so that when He speaks to us through His Spirit we know it is Him and we listen. If you realize that you have some sin in your life that is separating you from God, confess it to Him and repent of that sin. You will be drawn into a closer relationship with Him and the rewards are many. Stay faithful and spend time with Him.

In His Grip,

Jerry Robertson
Chaplain

Devotion
May 2003

He was a disciplinarian and a devout Christian. Neither trait opened any doors.

Now that is an awful thing to say about someone who is a Christian, isn’t it? In fact, putting those two things together seems wrong unless your view of God is that of a disciplinarian. What does God look like? Think about it. Most of us have some sort of ‘picture’ of God in our minds. Our attempt to understand Him. What does he look like to you?

A kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they drew. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s artwork. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.
The girl replied, “I’m drawing God.”

The teacher paused and said, “but no one knows what God looks like.”

Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing the girl replied, “They will in a minute.”

Father
Grandfather
Husband
Lover
Boss
Teacher
Comforter
King
Strong
Cruel
Loving

All of these words have been used to describe God and if we get the gender thing out of the way, we could include mother, sister, grandmother. Doesn’t God look like them too? Aren’t we all created in God’s image. I don’t want to carry that idea too far but you are starting to see what I mean.

But isn’t God’s desire to be approachable? He sent his son to take the punishment for us so we could have a relationship with him, didn’t He? If he didn’t want to have a relationship with us, why would he do that? We have talked before about the Garden of Eden and God coming to walk in the cool of the evening to talk to man.

I can talk about walking to have a relationship. Susan and I have been doing some walking together. My legs still hurt a little but our relationship is better because of the time spent. That is what God wants. A better relationship. A relationship with His children. All His children. He is giving us the chance to help build that relationship with some of His children that ride bikes. Bikers. What is a biker that God is mindful of him.

Psalm 8:3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! 9:1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

Now how can we have a relationship with God’s children if we are not approachable. He was a disciplinarian and a devout Christian. Neither trait opened any doors. We are not to be like that, are we?

So how do we handle the relationships God gives us to nurture, cultivate and tend? First of all, work on your relationship with the Father. If you have that as a starting place, you have already won. The love and forgiveness that we have received from God will just naturally spill out of our hearts and into the lives of those around us. Second, do the things that show how much you care about the lost. Pray for them. Listen to them when you are together. Do not talk about yourself. Talk about Christ who lives in you.

At church Friday night I heard this quote from John Wesley, “I spend time daily with the Word of God to ignite the fire within me, then people just come to watch me burn.” That says a lot, doesn’t it?

Are you on fire? Do people want to see you burn? I believe that they do and that is what makes us attractive to the world. We are light shining in the darkness and heat in the middle of a cold land and we do it because of the One who has saved us.

Burn on, Brothers. Burn on, Sisters. Burn on.

In His Grip,

Jerry Robertson
Chaplain

Devotion and Newsletter Article
April 2003
Fine, just fine!!!

I can’t claim all of this is from my own experience with God but I can tell you that God is in this and that I want to share what I have seen through this. How many times do you wish you had an opportunity to share God with those you meet? Are you looking for an opening and there just does not seem to be one? Sometimes we can make our own (with a little truth from God’s word).

How many times a day do you do the greeting ritual? You know, “Hi, how are you?” and then the response comes, “Fine, and you?”. Then we say, “Fine” as we walk on past the person. Did you really want to know how they are or are you just being polite? Are you really fine or did you just tell a lie? Are you worried about money, health, work, etc. and just say fine so you wouldn’t have to invest too much time here cause you got ‘places to go and people to see’?

Next time, try this. When you meet someone, say “Hi, how are you?” and then when they say, “Fine, and you?” the response now is “Better than I deserve!!”. Say it with a smile cause it’s true. We are better than we deserve. We deserve death and hell but we are saved by Jesus Christ and His sacrifice through His love. Now you have a chance to share Christ love and sacrifice because you will get a reaction from those you try this on. I guarantee it. Most of the time it is a chuckle or sometimes an outright laugh. Occasionally someone agrees with you and you can be pretty sure they are a brother or sister cause they know what you are talking about. Once in a while you get a funny look like you are crazy. We all deserve more than we have, don’t we? At least that is what the world would have us believe.

This is about finding a way to open the door to the person. Many times we are so busy doing our thing that we don’t see the chances God gives us. This gives us a couple of things. We get to reflect frequently on what we deserve and what we would get if it weren’t for God’s love and we get to share that truth with others.

Give it a try and see what happens. You will be amazed if you do. By the way, this comes from Dave Ramsey, financial counselor on the radio. I heard this phrase from him when he answered phone calls on his radio show. He gives pretty good advice and I have enjoyed using this over the last month or so. The reaction has been revealing. Don’t be concerned that others will think you strange cause we are supposed to be a stranger in this world. IN the world, not OF the world. This is not our home so perhaps our language, greeting and actions are SUPPOSED to set us apart. Make us appear a little strange. Hmmmm. I guess it’s working.

Better than I deserve,

Jerry Robertson
Chaplain

Newsletter Article
March 2003

Two cups of coffee

For those who don’t think God talks to us, I have a story to tell. I am traveling this week and I am staying in a hotel that does not have coffee in the room. They have it in the lobby for us but we have to go and get it. No room service. Now, I am not complaining. Just telling you like it is.

So this morning I got up and got dressed and made the walk to the lobby. That walk takes me across the parking lot. The sun is shining and it is a glorious day that God has made. It is early and I see a couple of people around the parking lot and I smile and say good morning to a woman that is outside smoking a cigarette. She nods and mumbles good morning. I keep walking.

I get into the lobby and there is a small line so I talk to the clerk at the desk while I am waiting for the line to clear out. My turn. As I am pouring the coffee into the Styrofoam cup I think to myself “get two cups” but then I dismiss that and think “I only want one”. The two thoughts sound the same in my mind but they are not. You’ll see why in a minute.

I step out into the sun again and begin to walk across the parking lot. Now, I wanted the coffee but I did not take a sip yet. I didn’t even think about it until she spoke to me again. She said, “If I had known you were going to get coffee, I would have asked you to get me one”. It was the woman with the cigarette.

Now it was clear. God was the one who said “get two cups”. He wanted me to have one too but I didn’t listen. I did however get the woman to take the cup I had and we had a great time talking for about 10 minutes. She told me about her kids, her grandkids and other family. She told me about her husband and their business and many other things. I got to tell her about CMA and God and my family and lot’s of other things too.

I was already feeling pretty good that day cause I was going riding. The sun was out and I was meeting up with a friend to go up to Arkansas for the day. Another part of the story is that I had rented a Road King and was pumped up about my first Harley ride but that is a different story for a different day. Back to hearing God’s voice.

If you have a thought or ‘feeling’ or whatever that is a prompt to do something that seems unusual, brace yourself. You may be in store for a divine appointment. Listen to that still small voice and try to obey it when it comes. I was not expecting such a great time as I had and I could easily have missed it. If I had taken that sip I might have missed the opportunity. The worst that happened is that I didn’t get to have my coffee right away. I did get to have it but God was not finished with me yet.

When I went back to get my cup, I met an older couple that looked at my Colors shirt and she said “Oh, you are with that Christian Motorcycle club”. I didn’t try to correct her but simply said “Yeah, I am. Do you ride?” I then listened to them tell me about all the places they have gone together on a Goldwing. The Blackhills, Mount Rushmore, the West coast and a lot of other places. They used to ride with CMA and still have lots of friends that ride. They don’t ride anymore since her stroke but they obviously love it. Another divine appointment and I hadn’t even gotten on the Road King yet. I was already ‘going like 60’ and was standing still.

I guess what I want to make clear to you is that God does talk to us. He talks to us all the time but we have to learn to listen. We may think that it is a coincidence that all of this stuff happens but I don’t believe in coincidence. I don’t believe in luck. God is in control and He moves us to places of His choosing and His timing for His purposes. We only have to pay attention. To spend time with Him.

Do you want to hear God’s voice? If you do, pray. Read the scriptures and meditate on what you find there. Ask God to reveal to you what He wants to teach you and He will do it through His spirit to your spirit.

I hope you get your coffee in the morning with a different perspective. Even the things like getting coffee can be a divine appointment. Buckle up.
In His Grip,

Jerry Robertson
Chaplain