Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of they tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Psalm 51:1, 2 & 7

Last Monday, we discussed the “cleaning agent” that is better than Tide.  But, the best laundry detergent in the world cannot remove the stain of sin. It takes the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son.  That is the process David describes in Psalm 51.

The idea of purging appears again in Isaiah 1:25 where God says, “And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:” Purging was not only used by the person who did the laundry; it was referred to as a process used by refiners as well. Malachi 3:3 says, “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” When the Bible talks about purging something that is unnecessary or something that is impure out of our lives, it illustrates it with the process by which gold, silver, and other precious metals are purified.  Ore, dug out of the earth, has impurities and less valuable metals mingling with the gold or silver.  That must be removed before it is valuable and useful.  Because God is filled with mercy and truth, He places us in the crucible of affliction and turns the heat up on our lives.

When God turns up the heat on your life and puts you under pressure, the dross comes to the surface.  Have you responded to something and been surprised by what you said or did?  Put in the right situation, you will say things that you never though you would say.  Where does that come from?  It comes from the inside heart of man having been brought to the surface by pressure.  We tend to think that if God loved us, He would not allow us to experience so much pressure; but in reality, God’s love is why He puts us in those situations.  God, in His mercy and in His truth, is so committed to seeing us be pure and clean and white that He brings the pressure.  God wants to bring the dross to the surface so that we will deal with it and remove it from our life.

We see the concept of purging again in an agricultural setting.  Matthew 3:12 says, “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Wheat is a wonderful and useful grain, but it comes encased in chaff which is completely worthless.   The process of purging the wheat removes that which is unnecessary and unproductive so that only the good remains.  In Bible times, wheat was threshed—literally beaten with sticks to knock the chaff loose.  I am sure that if a grain of wheat could talk, it would have said something like, “Whoa! I don’t like this winnowing.  It hurts when those sticks hit me.  Somebody make this stop!”

Purging is the result of God’s mercy and truth.  I am convinced that much of our praying is spent asking God to take away things He has sent into our lives to make us more like His Son.  The next time you endure painful circumstances or difficult situations, instead of trying to get out, look for something God is trying to purge from your life to make you more valuable and useful to Him.

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Dr. Paul A. Kingsbury

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By mercy and truth iniquity is purged; and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. Proverbs 16:6

Mercy and truth produce the power to purge us from our sins. I have no doubt that everybody has a sin problem.  We may have tried to get rid of our sin on our own, but it is impossible apart from the mercy and truth of God that we could ever give up that sin which doth so easily beset us.   When the Bible talks about purging, the word means “to clean out, or to remove, or to take away.” If you are old enough, you probably remember the Fuller Brush man.  A fuller was a man or woman who washed clothes for a living.  The process of cleaning clothes was called purging. The bottom line of purging was the removal of the dirt. What the Bible is saying here is that mercy and truth together is like a fantastic detergent. It removes the dirt out of our lives and makes us clean and white in our garments for God.

When Solomon was inspired to write this verse of Scripture, I wonder if he thought of his father.  In his confession in Psalm 51, David talked about God’s mercy and truth and about being purged from his sins.  In 1946, Proctor and Gamble introduced a new laundry detergent.  They had perfected a combination of ingredients that would get almost any stain out of clothing.  Within three months, Tide was outselling every other brand on the market, and today it remains the best-selling laundry product in the world.  But, the best laundry detergent in the world cannot remove the stain of sin. It takes the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son.  That is the process David describes in Psalm 51.

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of they tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:1, 2 & 7

If you have iniquity in your heart–unconfessed sin before God–then God sees you as dirty.  Your life is sullied by the sin. How can it be purged from your iniquity? The Bible says that purging from iniquity comes through the blood, but it comes as God dispenses it in mercy and in truth.

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Good morning to all!  I want to continue to share with you some of the privileges of being a child of God.  When we’re born for the first time, it is not with divinity in us.  We are sinners and a part of a family with the devil as our father.  The devil is the spirit of bondage.  He wants to make a slave of you as well as wreck and ruin your life.  He uses fleshly pleasures which are fleeting.  With our new adopted family, we have a new Father.  We are no longer in bondage and fear, left to wonder if our needs will be met.  For many people with adult salvation coming out of a troubled background, whether it’s the absence of a father or abusive parents, there is a lingering skepticism.  Last week, we discussed the importance of being adopted into the family of God and the first privilege of being a child of God; personal leadership of the Spirit of God in your life.  In this blog, we will evaluate two more privileges of being God’s child; consistent undying love, compassion, and protection of God; as well as the assurance we belong to the Lord.

It is a great privilege to have a compassionate Father Who loves and protects His children.  The word “father” for some people has a negative connotation.  When you became saved, you were placed into a family with an absolutely perfect Father.   Through the Spirit of adoption, we are not taken in as slaves, but as sons and daughters.  I like how the Scriptures demonstrate how wonderful and personal this relationship is.  For example, in Romans 8:15, “Whereby we cry, Abba Father”; the Bible refers to the cry of a child.  The cry of your children even amongst a large group is easily identified.  This is how it is for our heavenly Father.  He is so close, personal, and loves you so deeply that He hears your cry regardless of any situation or circumstance.  Why should we linger on serving the devil and sin when we’ve been adopted into a new family?  We don’t have to work there any longer.  Nor do we have to be a slave to the devil anymore.

Another privilege of being a child of God is the assurance that we belong to the Lord.  Romans 8:16 says that the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit which reveals that we are the children of God.  He’s the Spirit of communication.  However, He does much more.   Our relationship and the knowledge of Him comes froma desired revelation through the Spirit of God.  In John 14:7, Jesus declared to His disciples that when the Holy Spirit would come, He would be the Spirit of truth.  He also said that the world would not receive Him, but you are going to know Him and He’s going to be in you.  How do we know Him?  How is His word illuminated to us?  That is a ministry of the One who bears witness.  He carries a testimony.  The Spirit of God is the One Who internally explains how God the Father and the word of God operate.

As we read the word of God, the Spirit guides and directs us.  As we learn more about spiritual things through the ministry of the Spirit of God, He bears witness.  He’ll guide us into all truth and alert us to danger ahead.  God knows what’s waiting in the future. This exemplification lies in 1 John 4:6:

The privileges of being a child of God are designed to lead us to a life of fulfillment in Christ.  Next week, in the last selection in this series on privileges of being a child of God, we’ll discuss the last two privileges:  ultimate gain through Christ and the glorification of God. Let’s appropriate our adoption into God’s family and appreciate all its benefits, that we may live victorious Christian lives.  Spend some time today to bask in God’s mercy and undying love for you!

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Everyone check out the new RU Homes informational video send to anyone who needs residential addiction treatment.

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Often I read stories in the Bible and meditate on them before I drift off into sleep for the night.  I love to “re-live” these stories as I close my eyes. Often, I become the “hero” of the story in my mind…

On one such night, I read the story of the Good Samaritan.  In my mind, I became the “Good Samaritan.”  Most sermons I have heard about this text makes the main application be that “we shouldn’t be like the Levite or the priest who passed by the wounded man without helping him. We should be like the Good Samaritan.”  However, God showed me that this is not the meaning of the story. Jesus was teaching us about Himself. The main lesson isn’t that we are to help the pitiful, helpless man – it’s that we are the pitiful, helpless man! Jesus is the Good Samaritan who found us after legalism and religion didn’t lift a finger to help us.

Another time, I read the passage in Matthew 13:4, where the Bible says, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field”.

As I began to meditate on this passage, and become the “hero” as the man who finds the hidden treasure.  I have heard it preached as a soulwinning sermon.  We are to go out searching for hidden treasure.  But God, again, gave me insight.  In this parable, Jesus told the man sold everything he had to buy the field so that he could have the treasure. We certainly can’t pay anything to receive Jesus Christ, or to help someone else receive Jesus Christ.  Quite the opposite is happening here!  He, Jesus Christ, paid everything so that He could have us. Again, it is Jesus who is the hero in the story. He did not just see a waste land, a deserted, left for ruin fallen human race.  No!  He saw, amidst the snakes, and spiders, weeds, thorns, thistles, and ruin, a people he wanted to redeem.  Praise God he saw us worthy enough to die for!  I cannot think of better news for the alcoholic, the drug addict, and even self-righteous church member!  God looked on us as sinners, and thought it a worthy cause to “buy” or “redeem” us back to Him.  I love that old song even more, “Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb…

Most recently, I read about the pearl of great price described in Matthew 13:45-46,“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”

How many times have you heard Jesus described as the Pearl of great price? But, no, He’s not the pearl in this story – you are! The Hero here is the One who paid everything so that He could “purchase [us] with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). He is the One Who gave everything.  He is the Hero!

It’s not about you and me. It never has been and it never will be. It’s all about Him. However, since we always look for the “hero” in the story, let’s consider this – may the resurrected power of Christ enable us to stop making ourselves the main character in the “divine drama”! Babies think everything is all about them, but with maturity comes a true understanding. The story is “His” story and He has the leading role. We are simply the recipients or beneficiaries of His wonderful love and grace.  Is He your Hero??  Have you told Him so?? Jesus….did You ever know that You’re my Hero??

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Benjamin R. Burks

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And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. (Hebrews 12:5-10)

Life is Difficult

No matter who you are, whether you are saved or unsaved, life is difficult.  If you are unsaved, your life is difficult because you do not have the Lord Jesus Christ in your life.  If you are saved, your life is difficult because you do have the Lord Jesus Christ in your life.  If you got saved thinking your life would not be difficult any more, you were wrong.  Whether you are saved or unsaved, life is difficult and full of trouble.  Now, for the unsaved, there is no hope.  At the end of the road is Hell—a lake of fire forever and ever.  For the saved, we can look forward to a better land.  But, throughout life, we are going to be dealing with pain and struggle and difficulty; and for those of us who are saved, the chastening hand of God.  In Hebrews 12:10, we see three purposes that lie behind the chastening we receive. Recently, we discussed the first purpose – chastening is for pleasure.  “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure.” God does not take pleasure in the fact that we are being chastened; but rather, the pleasure is because He knows that chastening has divine blessing and benefit as its end result.

Secondly, chastening is for profit.  “But he for our profit.” Personal profit or benefit is only realized following pain.  Now, I know we are living in a world that does not want to believe that.  People want a pill they can take to eat all they want and still lose weight.  We want great relationships without having to make any investments in them.  There is no free lunch.  As athletes say, “No pain, no gain.”  There is no way to get paid in advance in the spiritual realm.  You cannot get the profit unless you endure the pain.  God says if we endure chastening, then we will be rewarded.  God will not do for us what we must do for ourselves.

Hebrews 11:6 says “he that cometh to God.” God wants us to come to Him.  Jesus said, “Come unto me, all yet that labour and are heavy leaden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)  Some people do not benefit from the Lord because they are not willing to come to Him.  They are what I call “couch potato Christians.”  They just sit around, wanting everything to come to them.  That is not the way God designed for us to work.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said when people persecute and falsely attack, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad.”  Now, most of us do not respond that way when we are having troubles.  We do not jump up and down and click our heels and celebrate.  But Jesus said that is how excited we should be.  Why?  Because we have a great reward in Heaven waiting for us! There is profit in chastening.  If we endure the pain now, we get the profit later.

God brings pain and suffering into our lives because He loves us too much to let us sit back and expect people to take care of us.  There is a mindset common in our country that says, “People owe me something.  I’m just here to get what I can get.  I deserve all I want.”  The only thing we deserve is to die and go to Hell. Anything else is only the result of God’s grace and mercy.  As a result of that spirit of entitlement, we have lost the work ethic that our parents and grandparents had; the idea that if you wanted to get ahead, you had to roll up your sleeves and get to work.  The old farmers said, “The best place to pray for corn is at the end of a hoe handle.”

You cross a boundary into a new level of maturity in your life when you can sincerely look to the Lord as He allows suffering and say, “Thank you, Father.”  If you are not being hypocritical about it, but mean it sincerely, then you have reached that level.  The principle that we profit through pain is hard to learn in the classroom; instead God brings us into crisis.  It is hard to gain this truth from academics; instead God brings us into adversity.  And if we learn this truth, then we gain the reward that comes to those who endure chastening.

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Good Morning! We are 138 days into 2010…how are you doing with those New Year’s resolutions?  One of the most popular resolutions is the promise to stop smoking. However, it is also the resolution that usually doesn’t last past January.  Why is it so hard to stop smoking?

Tobacco, with its drug nicotine, is probably the most widely abused chemical substance in the world. It is one of the most difficult addictions to conquer. It is difficult to conquer because there is not only a strong physical addiction to the nicotine which basically touches every part of the body but there is a significant psychological addiction to the activities associated with smoking. I have had some patients who struggled more with the psychological addiction than the physical, but both can be a formidable foe. Tobacco is dangerous and deadly and needs to be taken seriously.

Cigarettes are designed to addict. They are chemically engineered to deliver nicotine to your brain. Along with the nicotine there are numerous other dangerous substances in the cigarette smoke which cause devastating health issues. Some of these substances are acetone, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and formaldehyde. These chemicals are added to the tobacco which makes the cigarette even more deadly. These added chemicals are given the general name “tar” and include everything in a cigarette but nicotine and water. The cigarette is manufactured with a deadly delivery system, designed to efficiently send high doses of nicotine to the brain. As you inhale the cigarette smoke, the tar infiltrates your lungs, and the nicotine “rides the tar” into the blood stream. As the cigarette smoke is inhaled there are over four thousand compounds present in that smoke to make that “rush” of nicotine faster and more enjoyable. Out of the over four thousand compounds present in cigarette smoke, at least sixty of them are known to be carcinogens (cancer-forming chemicals).

Tobacco is quite insidious with its consequences. Unlike cocaine, heroin, or other dangerous drugs, tobacco’s nicotine and poison can go undetected for many years. Tobacco can gradually create addiction to nicotine and gradually kill. Tobacco is legal and accessible, but it is one of the leading causes of death throughout the world, causing almost half a million deaths in the United States annually.

As people smoke cigarettes they are not only exposing themselves to the dangers of tobacco but also their loved ones and friends they smoke around. Second-hand smoke was once considered harmless but we now know better. Second-hand smoke is poisonous and it kills. It is estimated that exposure to second-hand smoke causes an estimated three thousand lung cancer deaths each year among non-smoking American adults.

Nicotine withdrawal is a very unpleasant process to go through. For you see, when you take nicotine away, your body craves it, and makes you feel like you need more nicotine or you will die or get sick. Your body will rebel with all kinds of symptoms such as: headaches, anxiety, depression, fatigue, hunger, trouble sleeping, thirst, decreased attention span, agitation, irritability, anger, and frustration amongst many others. The above symptoms can occur in just a few short hours after your last cigarette. They will be at their worst two to three days later and can last for weeks. It is not only a physical withdrawal from nicotine that a smoker goes through. In quitting tobacco, there are physiological and emotional changes that occur. For you see, smokers just don’t depend on nicotine physically. They depend on it behaviorally and psychologically. Smoking is what they do when they get together with friends. And, in fact, it is a major means by which they blow off steam when they are feeling tense. It is what they do while drinking their morning coffee or relaxing after dinner. That is why breaking the bondage of nicotine addiction can be difficult and, in fact, be harder to quit in some instances than heroin or cocaine. A patient of mine that was involved in polysubstance abuse (including tobacco) stated to me, “It (tobacco) was the hardest to quit, and it was the last to leave.” He went on to say, “The thoughts of tobacco use still haunt me.” But, breaking the bondage to your nicotine addiction is of vital importance for you and those around you. Breaking this bondage is well worth the effort.

So, we see the significance of breaking the bondage to nicotine/tobacco addiction. It is so important from the physical side as well as the mental side, but also, and even more importantly, from the spiritual side. What you need to do instead of picking up your cigarette with your morning coffee, pick up your Bible and read it. Instead of lighting up a cigarette on your drive home, put in a preaching CD or a Joy Belle music CD. Instead of a cigarette after dinner, take a walk and meditate on the things of God.

Friend, regardless of where you may be in your struggle with nicotine addiction, the good news is that there is life after cigarettes. Please trade in your cigarettes for Christ Jesus and your nicotine for the name above all names – Jesus. Let Him, the Truth, make you free…finally.

If you failed to keep your New Year’s resolution, don’t wait until January 1, 2011 to try again!  You can start today!  Give God the glory for what He can do in you!  I Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Dr. George Crabb D.O.

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Psalm 119:97-104, “MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.  (98)  Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.  (99)  I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.  (100)  I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.  (101)  I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.  (102)  I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.  (103)  How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!  (104)  Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.”

The knowledge gained through the study of the Bible is intended to be more than mere idle speculation. Such is often the case for those religious scholars who boast of their prowess in the original languages and their intellectual mastery of the Bible’s content but who demonstrate, on the other hand, little or no concern for its Divine origin or its absolute truth. That kind of knowledge is far removed from the understanding this “MEM” stanza is talking about. Spiritual understanding is exclusively for those who love the Lord with a pure heart, and are willing to walk in the light of His precious Word.

“Through thy precepts I get understanding…” (vv. 97-100). Understanding requires study, and God is concerned with how we study too. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to study material you really enjoy and, conversely, how difficult it is to dig into subject matter you simply do not care about? The former is more profitable, right? So it is with the Word. God wants us to love His Word, and we will if sin is not allowed to harden our hearts and dull our receptivity to the Holy Spirit’s speaking through it. The psalmist loved God’s law, and pondered its truth night and day. It is no wonder then that the fruit of his meditation resulted in an astuteness that surpassed all the learned, and even his enemies (vv. 98-100). Notice, too, the connection between the ability to understand the Word and a disposition to obey it: “I understand… because I keep thy precepts” (v. 100). Many times we rebel against God and then wonder why the Bible has lost its sweetness and attraction. There is no mystery here at all; we know what needs to be done.

… Therefore I hate every false way” (vv. 101 – 104). How contrary this statement is to what we hear on every hand today. We are told to be positive, not negative; to look for the good in everything, even if that means that what is bad is consciously overlooked. Oh, no! When the Bible speaks to a matter, whatever is contrary to the eternal Standard must be labeled as such and handled accordingly. There is no virtue whatsoever and soft pedaling what God has said is wrong. The Holy Spirit will never lead us to endorse what God has condemned, or accept what God has rejected. Meditate on these concluding verses and then ask yourself if God would have us focus on that which is a bit negative at times.  You may be amazed at what you discover!
Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Dr. George Crabb D.O.

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I often hear young people use a single word to describe someone who is defeated or “misplaced”. The word is “LOSER”. I thought recently of Moses who perhaps thought, at times, that he himself was a loser. My Pastor has been teaching on leadership from the life of Moses. When I think of leadership in any ministry position, I see some correlations from the life of Moses. The Lord chose Moses to lead His people out of Egypt and Moses tried his best to convince the Lord that he wasn’t the man for the job! He felt as though he was definitely “under-qualified!” (Have you ever felt that way?) Five times Moses refused to listen and argued with the Lord. Do you remember? Let me share with you how I think it may have gone:

MOSES:
“Lord, You don’t really know me or You wouldn’t have even thought about asking me! I’m a nobody. And that’s not all – I killed a man-I took a man’s life! Therefore, I’m a social outcast and a hated man. I have been for almost forty years-living out here in this wilderness-isolated-hiding-lonely-forgotten.

You say, “I will be with you,” but how do I know that You will stay with me? I could have at one time in my life said that I was a friend of Pharaoh. I lived in his palace and I was even looked upon as part of his family. I had “clout!” No more. Whose name can I use to impress these people to whom You are sending me?

And furthermore, how can I be sure the people will believe me? I’ve been humiliated deeply and enough is enough! I don’t want any more of that! They will reject me! They won’t listen to me! I’ve never done anything like this before. I was a valiant warrior when I was young. People respected me. I was a hero! But talk to people? I’ve never been a good speaker. That’s just not me, Lord.

No. I am Moses. A loser. I know who I am, Lord. Choose someone else.”

Ever felt that way? Ever felt that you are who you are and you cannot see how anyone, let alone God, would desire you to do “___(blank)_________”. Have you ever wondered what was inside of the mind of God?

GOD:
“I don’t remember asking you to do anything, Moses. I said that I would do it all for or through you. You are to be My spokesman. And Moses, you are not a loser! Yes (in your flesh) you were at one time, but I have touched your life! You’re different! The killer, the outcast, the humiliated man-that man is no more! Moses. I am now a part of you. The God of the universe is with you. I will lead you. I will empower you. I know you, Moses. I made you and created you for just this time. Moses, I AM that I AM. I AM GOD!” (Exodus 3-4)

I think most of us relate to Moses. Perhaps it is fear, insecurity, instability…it really doesn’t matter. God wanted Moses to KNOW who he was and to KNOW Who God was! He just as surely wants you and me to know who we are and Who He is!

We’re new! We’re different! We live IN Christ and He lives in us! He doesn’t ask us to do ANYTHING! He tells us over and over again, “I’ll do it all for you, dear one.” He desires for us to be strong in the strength of Someone else. That Someone else is the Holy Spirit Who indwells every Christian. We are not called Christians because of what we do, but because of what He does through us.

The Lord is alive and He is alive IN me and IN you. That makes me something very, very special. “I can’t do it, Lord,” should never pass our lips without this phrase added on – “but I know that You can!”

O how thankful I am for the scriptures that teach our need for total dependence upon Him. For we are not under the law, (man doing the work), but we are under grace, (God doing the work). We are not losers…no, we are victors IN HIM!

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Good morning! I pray that you have spent some time with your Savior already this morning and approach this blog with an open heart and mind. I believe God has a wonderful truth to share with us and then for us to apply to our lives today.

This past Friday I was driving from Rockford to a small city in northwestern Michigan called Wellston. I was asked by their pastor to come to their church and present the ministry of RU and preach the three services on Sunday. During the seven hour drive, I had a lot of time to think and meditate. During this time I found myself in the midst of a spiritual warfare, Satan was constantly bringing to my memory an event that transpired over 25 years ago in my life when I was yet a teenager and had made a bad choice which hurt my testimony and the cause of Christ. When this occurred in my life, I immediately went to my pastor (also my father) and confessed my sin and got things right with God.

For over 25 years I really have never thought that much about it until this trip to northern Michigan where I was going to share the awesome ministry of RU and preach the wonderful Word of God. Satan was buffeting my mind with the thought, “How can you stand in front of those people and represent RU and then preach the Bible to them?” He went on to say to me, “You should just turn around go back home, call the preacher and tell him something came up and you wouldn’t be able to make it.” I realized I was in a fight with the evil one. My immediate thought was that God was going to bless our meeting and much fruit would be gained for the kingdom of God. Obviously the devil did not want this to transpire – thus the attack.

As these thoughts crossed my mind, I would immediately cast them down and meditate on the Word of God. I prayed that God would give me guidance and comfort in this time of extreme spiritual warfare, which was not only going to affect me but the whole congregation at the church in Wellston.

When I arrived at Wellston, I checked into my hotel room and contacted the pastor that I had arrived. Then I immediately went to the Word of God. I had left off my Bible reading that morning with Ecclesiastes chapter 10. Therefore I began reading chapter eleven and, in verse three, God so graciously gave me my answer. It says “…and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.” The Holy Spirit told me that my past event was a tree that God and I had cut down together when I acknowledged my sin and confessed it to Him and He so faithfully forgave me. I realized this fallen tree had no life left in it thus it had no power over me anymore.

The Holy Spirit ministered unto me by telling me that, yes, this tree once was alive and powerful but by the grace of God it was cut down over 25 years ago and had no power or influence over my life. He went on to comfort me by telling me to stop looking at this dead tree, step over it by the power of God, get on with my life, present the RU ministry and preach the Word of God like I had never done before. This is exactly what I did and, my friends, God showed up in Wellston, Michigan this past weekend! Many hearts were touched and many decisions for God were made.

What about the fallen trees in your life? You may say, “There are things I can’t change!” OK, it happened…so what? Go on and serve God. So the tree fell. What are you going to do, make a memorial out of it? Are you going to talk about it the rest of your life? We cannot allow the fallen trees in our life keep us from doing what God wants us to do.

Step over that fallen tree and get on serving Him!

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Dr. George Crabb D.O.

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