John Howell

See, when Satan dangled his bait before my hungry eyes, and desperate heart, I opened wide my mouth and prepared to take a big greedy delicious bite. Imagine, after all the time I’d been following Jesus, after all the time I’d spent studying the Bible, after all the time I’d received godly counsel, after all the experience I’d had through the years doing wrong and learning how to do right, there I had found myself about to fall hook, line, and sinker for the devil’s tantalizing, scrumptious-seeming bait.

We are to say no to selfishness and self-centeredness. We are to say yes to Jesus. If we love Jesus, we obey Jesus. When we disobey Jesus, if we love Jesus, we seek God’s forgiveness and turn back to Him and strive to do what’s right. We live to honor God. Not to honor self. We live to glorify God. Not us. We live to please God. Not self.

Does God talk to you? Do you listen? What does He say? What do you do? God speaks to His children through the Bible, by His Spirit to our hearts in line with the Bible, and through His followers in line with the Bible. He only and always speaks in line with the Bible, so we need to make sure whatever we believe we hear from Him is in line with the Bible to make sure it’s from Him.

She pointed me to the Bible. To God’s Word. To God’s Truth. To stories in the Bible. And to scriptures. My burden lifted. By the end of the little conversation, we were laughing about something together. And I felt better. Because I was back on track. Following Jesus. My eyes were back on the Lord and His Word.

Sorry’s nice. Sorry’s pretty. Sorry’s proper. Sorry’s humble. Sorry’s good. Sorry’s necessary. But when it comes right down to it, sorry ain’t enough.

I can recognize a finger-pointer in a heartbeat. I spent so many years being one that I can spot one in a flash. Do you know what I’m talking about? It’s the person who is so focused on pointing the finger at the other person’s sins that he or she can’t see his or her own and won’t do anything about his or her own. It’s the person who even if she acknowledges his or her sin excuses away his or her own wrongdoing by judging and condemning the other person for his or her sin and decides that the other person’s sin is worse and thereby is the perfect justification to continue in one’s own sin.

Are you in a hard place? I was in such an exceedingly hard place for decades I thought I’d never make it to the other side. But the Lord in His amazing love, mercy, grace, patience, wisdom, and sovereignty not only brought me through, but ultimately showed me what He had done in the midst of it all.

First, you are sinning against God and feel guilty about it and need to turn from your sins and seek His forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross to take our sin penalty and was raised from the dead. You need to feel genuine sorrow over your sin and sincerely desire to turn away from it and not return to it. You need to truly want to live in such a way you are honoring and glorifying God.

The message God spoke to me is such vital truth. Living by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ isn’t about staring at our circumstances and basing our thoughts, feelings, and actions on what we see. It’s about putting our trust in Jesus and believing He will lead us on.

I had met him before. We had already talked about the Lord Jesus Christ. I had seen him a few times since. I knew the answer regardless of how he responded. About whether or not he was sincerely following the Lord Jesus Christ. About whether he was living his life in obedience to God. About whether he was submitted to God’s will and purpose. About whether he was reading the Bible and living according to it. Or whether he was off the path.

God wants us in His forever fellowship. That’s why He sent His only Son Jesus to the cross to pay our sin penalty and be raised from the dead so all who turn from their sins to faith in Christ as Lord, truly devoting their hearts and lives to Him, are forgiven and given an everlasting relationship with Christ that we couldn’t otherwise have because of our sins and His holiness.

Now, mind you, everywhere He has sent me I haven’t wanted to go, He has blessed me immeasurably in the way of opportunities to grow in His image and to love and worship and serve Him and to love and serve others. Not to mention He has blessed me in other ways also – even when it’s been tough to go and tough to stay until He’s moved me on.

Trouble with us humans is some of us especially myself have a tendency to focus on what we don’t like, what’s missing, what isn’t there, what makes us uncomfortable, on our challenges, on circumstances we’d prefer to do without, on the bad weather, on the season we don’t like, on our hurdles, obstacles, etc. When we do this, we don’t just miss the beauty of God’s bountiful blessings He bestows upon us each and every day. We miss the beauty of the Lord Himself!

Mr. Simeon puts his trust totally in me. Having me in sight at all times is exceedingly important to him. So much so that I either need to lift and move his body for him so he can lie on his bed facing me. Or he may even try himself to shift his head and body enough to get me in view. Mr. Simeon must reposition himself or be repositioned in order to be content. If he finds that his focus is not on me, he wants to be repositioned so that it is. Not all the time, as he does love his naps and such. But much of the time!

The young man’s words were pretty telling, weren’t they? That’s exactly how I lived for decades. Living MY dream. For MY enjoyment. For MY pleasure. For MY satisfaction. For ME. For SELF.

I was on my knees when the Lord reminded me of three things He loves. Very simple. Straightforward. Clear. And true. For He always and only speaks in line with His Word. And His Word confirms He had in fact given me this message. God loves LOVE. God loves HUMILITY. God loves PURITY.

More than 2000 years ago, Jesus arrived at our home, the earth. Although he received some gifts at his birth, it was he who came with the greatest gifts of all. He brought his gifts of unfailing love and faithfulness.

I love the sequence of ideas here. God loved us while we were still in need of washing. God loved us and then he washed us. God didn’t wash us clean and then love us. God didn’t free us from bondage of idolatry and darkness, and then say “Okay, I can stand you now.” He loved us first.