Daily Inspiration

How Christians can make the biggest impact on the world today

Eternal truths pop up in the work of most of the great writers and speakers. Both C.S. Lewis and Oswald Chambers shared a point that is highly relevant to all Christians in this hour.

Christian Success Requires Focus

Time is running out and we are called to be more than casual observers, each having his or her own tasks.

The Secret of Success from C.S. Lewis

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next… precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven.” – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Lewis goes on to make the point that making heaven our goal corrupts the whole process. The Christian goal is eternal life with Christ. If your goal is to have a perfect marriage or perfect children you will end up divorced from your spouse and estranged from your children. Humans are not perfect. We seek relationship, not perfection, because the latter is not attainable in our mortal frame.

Oswald Chambers and the Judgement Seat of Christ

“Keep yourself steadily faced by the judgement seat of Christ; walk now in the light of the holiest you know. … It is not only God who punishes for sin; sin confirms itself in the sinner and gives back full pay.” – Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Chambers explains the result of keeping your focus on the judgment seat of Christ by stating another phenomena of relationship with the Lord. What we seek in His name He allows us to find. Chambers continues, “If you learn to live in the white light of Christ here and now, judgement finally will cause you to delight in the work of God in you.”

Walk in the Light of Biblical Truth, Not in the Wisdom of Men

Every parent and every ministry seeks to improve the lot of those in their care. The ultimate goal is to shepherd their lambs until they join the flock of Jesus Christ. Stay simple and remain focused on what comes next in order to create the greatest change here and now.

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“Becoming a millionaire God’s way” – the doctrinal error of promised wealth

Does the Bible promise wealth to God’s faithful? This question started a new discussion in a LinkedIn Christian business group.

God's tools for Christian wealth?

Question: A great book to read is “Becoming a Millionaire God’s Way” by Dr. C. T. Anderson. Has anyone read it yet?

One member replied,

“Its what God actually promised in His word: remember God for its He that gives you power to obtain wealth. Deut 8v18.
Although I’ve not yet read the book.”

The next reply was from a professional Christian who supported the book’s concept. I have not read the book nor do I intend to. This post has nothing to do, one way or another, with Dr. Anderson’s book. Recognizing that I might receive a bunch of negative replies, I decided to enter the conversation anyway.

Until that moment I had no idea what I was going to share with you today. Well, that problem has been solved.

Doctrinal Error and False-Teaching – my reply:

The promise of wealth to everyone faithful is false-teaching. The body of Christ is composed of many members, some glorious and some not. Each of us has some parts of our body that are beautiful and some parts that are not. Some will have wealth, some health, and some not.

The pursuit of wealth itself is mentioned in the New Testament in purely negative terms. How did such pursuit ever morph into a Christian topic in the first place? Christianity is about relationship not net worth.

The message of Deuteronomy 8:18 follows, and applies to, the one sentence that precedes it in verses 11-17. The message is not that God promises wealth. The message is cautionary lest one think he or she has any abilities other than those given by God.

This verse is closer to being a warning against natural human conceit than any promise of wealth. And we see that warning ignored in the behavior and doctrinal error of many today, both Christian and not.

God alone gives power and whatever else He see fit to give

¹¹ “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, ¹² lest— ¹⁷ you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’

¹⁸ “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

The message from Deuteronomy is one of power – God’s power not our own. God promised Abraham and his descendants land, progeny, and means. Obviously there were funds necessary to build the Temple and maintain the Israelites. When resources were low God provided manna as noted in verse 16. Certainly God made provision to fulfill His covenant. And what God gives He can also take away.

God does provide. But what is wealth to one is rubble to another. For most people, wealth cannot be measured by dollars and cents. All you can take with you is the fruit of relationship with Jesus Christ.

Is wealth a blessing or a temptation?

The first response given in the forum rightly said that God gives power to obtain wealth. The pursuit of money and the pursuit of sexual pleasure are the two greatest temptations that have plagued both men and women since the gate to Eden slammed behind Adam and Eve. A better blessing might be the God-given power to resist the temptation to amass wealth for the sake of wealth alone.

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“The Destructive Power of Uncertainty”- Why don’t you get answers to your prayers?

It is time to speak truth – the absolute truth created and shared by God who created the universe. Why does fear persist in the body of Christ? Why aren’t prayers answered? I am delighted to share these excerpts from  The Destructive Power of Uncertainty with you.

Reality Revelation - Roger Williams

To seek yet not find

“More than once I said to a person, young or old, “You’ve got a knot in your stomach, you feel as though you’re up against it and you can’t sleep at night, can you?” Few there were who denied it.  I discovered that everybody is looking for certainty in life, the solution or the breakthrough to sustained happiness.  I also discovered that most people go to their graves without finding it.”

Roger Williams (New Zealand) is a dedicated and passionate witness to the power and truth of a right relationship with Jesus Christ. Notifications of each new post on Reality Revelations arrive in my email inbox and I read every one – every one! Most of us sift through our subscriptions and pick and chose which ones pique our interest of the moment.

When prayers go unanswered

“So why is it that when most people pray to God they don’t get any answers? Lots of reasons … they won’t acknowledge the One True God Who reveals Himself to them in the Bible, they won’t acknowledge the Bible as being the sole word of God to them, they won’t acknowledge sin in their lives, they won’t acknowledge their need for a Savior, they won’t acknowledge their need for Christ’s Lordship over their lives.”

The message of Amazing Grays Ministry is faith that overcomes fear through Jesus Christ. Make time to read the entire article or bookmark it for later – or share it with others who will be blessed by this clear, refreshing dose of truth.

The death of absolutes

“It’s fashionable today for the sophisticated and the intelligentsia to say there are no absolutes, no right or wrong, no good or bad.  Karl Marx and his crowd came up with that - not that many of these people have studied his works, they just mouth off what they hear from others.  What a disaster it turned out to be for Marx … he destroyed his wife, his family and himself.”

Rapture and Revelation (coming this spring) contains an entire section dedicated to the reality of our times where the only absolute is that nothing absolute exists. If you are a regular reader you’ve already been introduced to this startling fact.

Roger Williams and “Reality Revelations”

“Himself, music & alcohol were his gods for the first part of his existance. Then 26 years ago he had a dramatic encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. That experience changed his life and led him into community ministry for 3 & 1/2 years. He’s been a radio broadcasting presenter of the Gospel for 18 years, was a driving instructor for 7 years and has spent the last 7 years as a motor vehicle crash-avoidance consultant working with the corporate world. ”

Thanks, Roger, for a great piece.

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The Destructive Power of Uncertainty

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The Blessing of Godly (and Creative) Parents

Barbara Schoeneberger is a dear friend, a gifted writer, and a director of Amazing Grays Ministry. She is also a blogger and editor. I enjoyed the article Barb posted yesterday so much that I wanted to be sure you had a chance to read it yourself. It’s a great piece about faithful parents and a head of lettuce…

Barb and Roger

If you grew up in the 50′s or 60′s like I did you know how different the world is today. The transition from personal responsibility to  the idolization of the individual has had a negative affect on most parent-child relationships. Barb’s story is a trip down memory lane.

Personal Accountability and Memory Lane

Of course, the root cause is the present lack of accountability to God.

Visit Barb’s post to enjoy this great story and lesson about the gift faithful (and creative) parents teach their daughter and son when she pitches the head of lettuce at his head with unexpected consequences.

Growing up Accountable

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There’s no need for fear in this modern day of Christian persecution

The body of Christ is being hunted by the soldiers of Satan. It’s that simple. Any child of the King who looks upward and ahead to joining Jesus in the air at Rapture is the prey.

Atheists don't realize they work for Satan.

The Bible records a number of general messages of hope for Christians. One of my favorites is John 16:33 -

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

There is little doubt that we are moving ahead with increasing speed toward the day of Rapture. What one might wonder is just how much of the depravity, lies, and evil the church of Christ will have to endure before being called home.

Matthew 10:23 addresses that very issue:

“When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

Stay focused. Stay steady. Fear not. Before we are run into a corner with no avenue of escape left… we will be gone.

Have a blessed day.

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The Door is Open – So why won’t you come on in?

Sometimes the most frustrating encounters we have with our kids, dogs, or horses offer valuable lessons for us as children of God. Have you ever stood at an open door or gate and invited your horse, dog, or kid to come in and they just looked at you like they didn’t know what a door or gate is?

Knocking at the wrong door.

Calling the “Flock” to come in.

Recently we went out to the horse side of our barn (we live on the other side) and called the six horses in for the day. Every day is the same, they come in through the gate inside the barn and walk to their rooms. The open layout of our barn makes it possible to see every spot in the barn no matter where you’re standing. There are no full stall walls or separations that might confuse my poor horses.

At the south end of the barn breezeway is a gate that opens to the pasture. Our horses can look inside and be close to us anytime they want, but they do not come in to the barn through that gate.

There is an order of appearance each morning; first Asti, then Bo, then Swizzle, then Shiner, Cooper and Ace. Sometimes Bo makes it in before Asti, but this is the usual routine.

One little lost ‘lamb”

On this particular day Ace didn’t come to the barn gate. Instead, he hung his head over the breezeway gate and gave us the “Please let me in, don’t forget about me!” look. I told Ace to come around. He just tried to stretch his head and neck further over the gate at the end of the breezeway. When he made no move to come around I closed the breezeway door on him so he couldn’t see  me and I couldn’t see him.

The horse's rooms in our barn.

Had Ace lost his mind? He “desperately” wanted to come in and have breakfast. Yet he didn’t go to the gate. I didn’t want to go back into our side of the barn with Ace still outside so I went to the inside gate and called Ace. I walked another 20 feet and called again. Ace finally came around and went in.

You can’t fool God

Guess what happened the next morning? You got it. Ace didn’t come in again; choosing instead to look over the breezeway gate begging for me to open it. I told him to come around and closed the overhead door. The battle for power was on. Ace got a lick in on me the day before when I gave in to his little ploy. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

Ace was knocking on the door begging to come in – but it was the wrong door.

Jesus tells us that if we knock the door will open. Did you ever consider whether or not you were knocking on the right door?

There is only One Door – Jesus Christ

Ace thought it far more convenient to come in through the door nearest to where he was; the most convenient door. He knew I could open the breezeway gate if I wanted to and he was making a pathetic little power-play to see if I would give in.

But, in my barn the horses come in through the smaller inside gate. That is the only gate I will open and they know it. Horses are better people trainers than humans are horse trainers. God, however, will never be “schooled” by one of us.

God told us which gate He would open. He told us it would be very narrow. He told us it is the only gate that will allow us to enter.

The lost lamb comes home

Once Ace realized that there would only be one open gate, what did he do? He used his own horse power to walk around and in through the open gate. He knew where it was, he just wanted to come in the easy way.

No matter how pathetic your plea, or how much God loves you, there is only one open door. He told you where it is. Will you come in?

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Fighting the Good Fight and Finishing the Race – REPLAY?

After all the blood, sweat, and tears you spent fighting the good fight; now that the end of the race is in sight do you really want to rerun the game film and do it all again?

Why replay a victory?

In my study this morning I read Paul’s second letter to Timothy. When I started my regular work there was an email asking writers to submit articles about how to turn back the aging clock. I wrote a post on Simple truth – Simple faith about the fight against wrinkles and gravity. It melded perfectly with Paul’s message to Timothy.

“I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.”  -  2 Timothy 4:7

Our body bears visible evidence of the battles fought and won over the years. It is the soul that binds body and spirit together and the scars of your rigorous race are just as eternally etched on what is not visible.

The end is in sight. The King is coming. The race is nearly over. Victory is but a heartbeat away.

God doesn’t expect us to cross the finish line looking as fresh as we did at the beginning. Paul told Timothy he was poured out wine and that the time of his departure was at hand.

Parents, grandparents, teachers, and ministers are also to be poured out wine for their children, grandchildren, students, and fellows.

Poured Out and Used Up

God expects us to arrive at the finish line in a threadbare suit of clothes, not dressed in a perfectly fitted and ironed designer outfit without any wrinkles, stains, or signs of use.

Do you hanker after a more youthful appearance? Would you replay your life if the opportunity existed? Don’t worry about wrinkles and gravity.

The finish line is closer than you think. How can you help someone else cross it with you?

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Linked to this article:

LynnBaber.net:  Pursuing youth – Would you really turn back the aging clock if you could?

AmazingGraysMinistry.com: Walking with Jesus – A suit of clothes

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God’s Uses Simple Creatures to Instruct the “Wise”

In my study this morning I came across this familiar message from Paul. May I share it with you?

Learn wisdom from the simple.

^” For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;  and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are”

1 Corinthians 1:26-28

God is simple. Nature is simple. Little children are simple. Horses and dogs are simple. Paul’s message reminds us to observe and learn from such simple ones that we too may learn the truth of His creation and His Word.

Go out and thank a horse today!

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Why Should Anyone Fear a Loving God? Horses know the answer.

“The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom”, yet “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die” for us. How can such opposite messages both be true?

Round Pen Experience

Nothing in this life or eternity is truly important except relationship. Allow me to use the human-horse relationship to explain why both concepts are true.

“Please Don’t Bring a Horse that is either Hopeless or Fearless”

The most unique program we offer is the round pen experience with a troubled horse. The set up is simple, a 30-foot pen, an audience, and a horse with an issue.

Don’t expect to see any miracles, dust, anxiety, anger, or aggression. I don’t do miracles, I hate dust, and if the horse exhibits any negative emotion I screwed up.

The point of the program is to demonstrate simple worthy leadership. My interaction with the horse in the pen helps those watching understand what causes problems in their own relationships and where they may fall short in any position of authority as well as in their walk with the Lord.

Relationship isn’t the biggest thing, it is the only thing.

The first requirement in establishing any relationship is awareness and focus. When we book a round pen program I caution against bringing a horse who is truly hopeless or one who is completely fearless. I can work with either, but it takes longer than most people want to sit and watch.

As long as a horse is either hopeless or fearless it cannot enter into a relationship with me. Hopeless horses have given up entirely. Fearless horses are usually so spoiled they don’t believe anyone will ever hurt them no matter what horrible thing they do.

When One is Hopeless

Whether horse or human, there is no possibility of relationship until the concept of hope has been introduced. The man or woman who has given up cannot enter into relationship with God until He introduces hope to their spirit. When there is no hope, God enters as  a loving, worthy leader.

A horse who is completely withdrawn by the absence of hope cannot enter into relationship with a human until the possibility of “salvation” returns to their equine spirit. Without hope there can be no relationship.

The Source of Hope

God’s commitment to offer hope and salvation was so complete that He gave His only Son to die for us.

When One is Fearless

Whether horse or human, there is no possibility of relationship until the concept of fear has been introduced. A man or woman without fear cannot enter into relationship with God until He introduces fear into their spirit. False prophets teach that God will never hurt you because He loves you. The one fact left out is the most important one – God saves His own, and that requires a right relationship.

Most fearless horses are spoiled. They may have been slapped, swatted, or yelled at for kicking, biting, rearing, bucking, or refusing to cooperate, but no matter the degree of their bad behavior there was never a penalty that got their attention or respect.

God is faithful to introduce fear into the life of a spoiled human.  God knows how to get attention and respect. Feel blessed when the “horse” in the round pen is you. That is proof positive that you are one of His own.

The fear of God is the beginning of both wisdom and relationship.

Round Pen Relationship

The round pen experience for a horse who is afraid or lacks respect will be very similar. No miracles and no dust. The same may not be true for a horse without fear.

To introduce hope I must prove I am worthy of the horse’s faith in my leadership. Establishing a beginning is usually a slow and quiet process.

The Leader owns the feet.

Introducing fear requires me to convince the horse that I hold the power of life and death over him. Usually this is accomplished by “owning” his feet. If I control the feet of the horse he cannot access his primary means of escape. The faith I ask for demands respect. While there are no miracles, sometimes the fearless horse will kick up a little dust before making the decision to pay attention.

Correction, Education and Motivation

Once a relationship has been established between horse and human or God and man, progress is made through the application of correction, education,  or motivation at the proper time and in the precise degree necessary.

Horses understand both hope and fear. Horses respond to correction, education, and motivation. The same is true for Christians in a right relationship with God.
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Please contact me at lynn@amazinggraysministry.com to inquire about hosting a round pen program.

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3 Emotions That Prove a Lack of Faith

Overcoming fear through faith in Jesus Christ is the main message of Amazing Grays Ministry.  There are three emotions that generate observable evidence of fear:

Shared Faith

1. Anger

2. Aggression

3. Anxiety

The proof of perfect faith in a leader is the absence of fear and a completely balanced personality.

Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer, says a balanced dog is one who is calm-submissive. Any sign of anger, aggression, or anxiety signals the onset of imbalance. Unless the leader takes steps to correct the problem it will escalate.

As one of the many horse whisperers* today, I know that allowing a horse I work with to feel any degree of anger, aggression, or anxiety signals failure on my part.

Evidence of Faith

When a leader allows a follower (congregant, student, child, horse, or dog) to indulge in any of these three emotions, fear begins to grow because the leader has proved themselves to be unable or unwilling to fix the problem. Faith in the leader has obviously been misplaced.

Simply stated, the leader lied about their ability or desire to be a worthy shepherd.

Worthiness of God

If anger, anxiety, or aggression are signs of fear, what does it mean when a Christian indulges in any of these three emotions?  It means that faith in God’s ability and willingness as a leader to handle all of life’s issues is imperfect.

Responsibility for the state of relationship between human and animal belongs to the human. Any error is the fault of a human one way or another.

Responsibility for the state of relationship between  a man or woman and God also belongs to the human. The error is never God’s.

There is no instance where God is UNABLE or UNWILLING to solve our problems. Being a new creation in Christ is a daily journey that never ends on this earth. Confidence that one is completely renewed, a finished work,  is really a refusal to grow further; it is UNWILLINGNESS.

This article is a broad overview of the relationship between faith and fear. Please ask about hosting a talk, workshop, or round pen clinic to hear more. We come with or without horses. Or, visit the ministry store and check out the books that contain our message.

*Horse whisperer – Anyone who works using a relational leadership style. I explain in more detail in this article, “What is a Horse Whisperer?” and in this post, The Very First Horse Whisperer

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