Company Rules

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 29:1-18

Key Verse: Verse 18 - “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

Key Words: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he 

In today’s world many see laws, rules, and regulations as restrictions to one’s rights.  But in reality laws, rules, and regulations are for our safety.  So rather than begrudge rules, we should rejoice in them.  Let me explain.

Timothy Munyon says, “While living in Florida, I have friends who worked cleaning rooms at a nationally known inn located directly on the white sands of the Gulf of Mexico.  They would spend their work breaks running barefoot in the sand.  The problem was that the inn required all employees to wear shoes at all times while working.  I noticed the employees responded in two ways.  The majority thought the rule restricted freedom.  The rooms had shag carpeting, delightful to bare toes, and just a few steps away lay the beach.  To them the rule requiring them to wear shoes was nothing more than employee harassment and intrusion into their personal rights.

But a minority of the employees looked at the rule differently.  Sometimes late-night parties would produce small pieces of broken glass.  Occasionally a stickpin would be found hidden in the deep piles of the shag carpet; and still others knew the pain of skinning bare toes on the steel bed frames while making beds.  The minority saw the rule as protection, not restriction.”

So were God’s rules written to make life miserable, or were they written by a loving Heavenly Father Who cares about His children?

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

            ✞ Rather than complain about rules, rejoice in the  safety they produce.

      ✞Ask God to give you understanding in regard to rules and laws.

How Big is Your God?

Bible Reading:  Exodus 14:1-22

Key Verse: Verse 13 & 14 - “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight  for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”

Key Words: Verse 13:  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not

                     Verse 14:  The LORD shall fight for you 

Have you ever considered what Moses had to go through, and how he had to trust in God in order for him (Moses) to lead Israel?  Consider the following:

What would have happened had Moses tried to figure out what was needed to accomplish God’s command?  One of the biggest mathematical miracles in the world was required in the desert.

Moses led the people of Israel into the desert…Now what was he going to do with them?  They had to be fed, and feeding 3 ½ million people required a lot of food.  According to the U. S. Army’s Quartermaster General, Moses needed 1,500 tons of food a day, filling two freight trains, each a mile long.  Besides, you must remember, they were cooking the food (not to mention for keeping warm, and if anyone tells you it doesn’t get cold in the desert, don’t believe them!).  Just for cooking this took 4,000 tons of firewood and a few more freight trains, each a mile long and this is only for one day!!  They were forty YEARS in transit!!!

Let’s not forget about water, shall we?  If they only had enough to drink and wash a few dishes (no bathing?!), it took 11,000 gallons EACH DAY – enough to fill a train of tanker cars 1,800 miles long.

And another thing!  They had to get across the Red Sea in one night.  Now if they went on a narrow path, double file, the line would be 800 miles long and require 35 days and nights to complete the crossing.  So to get it over in one night, there had to be a space in the Red Sea three miles wide so that they could walk 5,000 abreast.  Think about this; every time they camped at the end of the day, a camp ground the size of Rhode Island was required, or 750 square miles.

Do you think that Moses sat down and figured out the logistics of what God told him to do before he set out from Egypt?  I doubt it.  He had faith that God would take care of everything. 

Let us have courage; we share the very same God.

                                                         Dr. Mike Rouse                                                                

What to do:

      ✞   Remember we have a B-I-G God.

      ✞   Can you name one need in your life God can’t supply?

      ✞   Tell others about God.

 

The Kingdom of God

Bible Reading:  Mark 10:13-31

Key Verse: Verse 14,15,23-25  - “But when Jesus saw  it, he was much displeased, and said unto them,   Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter   therein. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that   have riches enter into the kingdom of God!   And the  disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how  hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!   It is easier for a camel to go   through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Key Words: Kingdom of God 

As you read the Bible, you read about two primary kingdoms: the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven.  The Kingdom of Heaven is heaven itself, the dwelling place of God.  On the other hand, the Kingdom of God is all that belongs to God, both in heaven and earth.

That would include all born-again believers.  Those who are saved belong to God; they are a part of His kingdom.

John Hess Yoder, missionary to Laos, tells the following.  “I discovered an illustration of the Kingdom of God while serving in Laos.  Before the Colonialists imposed national boundaries, the kings of Laos and Viet Nam reached an agreement on taxation in the areas.  Those who ate short-grain rice, built their houses on stilts, and decorated them with Indian-style serpents were considered Laotian.  On the other hand, those who ate long-grain rice, built their houses on the ground, and decorated them with Chinese-style dragons were considered Vietnamese.  The exact location of a person’s home was not what determined his nationality.  Instead each person belonged to the kingdom whose cultures and values he or she exhibited.”

So it is with us – we live in the world, but we are to identify with God’s Kingdom, not this world’s kingdom.

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

      ✞Live by God’s standard, not the world’s.

      ✞You will be labeled by whose standards you choose. 

God & Impostors

Bible Reading: Matthew 7:15-23

Key Verse: Verses 15 & 21 - “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

Key Words: Verse 15: beware of false prophets

                    Verse 21: not every one that saith Lord, Lord 

Police court records tell the story of a young man who registered at one of the leading hotels in New York shortly after the turn of the century.  He wrote down one of the most famous names in the United States, and the hotel clerk was very deferential to him.  He had an air of arrogance.  When packages began to arrive from several large furnishing houses and a jewelry store, the hotel received them and paid the accounts.  After a few days the time for settling came; the young man brushed them off with excuses, which aroused the suspicion of the hotel management.  They notified the police and a quiet investigation revealed the startling fact that the famous man whose name the young man had written on the register with “Junior” after it, did not have a son.  The young man, confronted by the authorities, put on an air of bravado; he blustered that there was some mistake.  Finally, it became necessary to take him down to Wall Street, to the office of the well-known millionaire.  The latter walked into the room and looked at the culprit.  He said simply, “I never laid eyes on this young man before in all my life.”  That sealed the doom of the impostor. 

Multitudes of people who claim that God is their Father are just as guilty as was this young man. I trust today that you are not an impostor, because God knows the difference!!

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

      ✞Are you real or are you pretending?  Be real.

      ✞Many impostors claim to be born again.  Make sure your salvation is genuine. 

The Blind Officer

Bible Reading: I Peter 3:1-7

Key Verse: Verse 4 - “But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”

Key Words: But let it be the hidden man of the heart 

Our text verse advises us that God prefers inward beauty to outward glamour.  I read recently about a young officer who was blinded during the war. He met and married one of the nurses who took care of him in the Army hospital.  One day he overheard someone speaking about himself and his wife, and they said, “It was lucky for her that he was blind since he never would have married such a homely woman if he had his sight.”

He rose to his feet and walked toward the voices saying, “I overheard what you said, and I thank God from the depths of my heart for blindness of eyes that might have kept me from seeing the marvelous worth of the soul of the woman who is my wife.  She is the most noble character I have ever known.  If the conformation of her features is such that it might have masked her inward beauty to my soul, then I am the great gainer by having lost my sight.”

The Bible teaches us that man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart (I Samuel 16:7).  If a man or woman possesses physical beauty, they should be thankful to God for it, but they should realize it’s really inward beauty that matters to God.

                                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

            ✞ We have little control over our outward beauty, but we do have control over our                 inward beauty – work on it!!

            ✞ Outward beauty with no inward beauty still equals “ugly.”

Facing the Wall

Bible Reading:  I John 1

Key Verse: Verse 9 - “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Key Words: he is faithful and just to forgive us 

Sir Edward C. Burne-Jones, the prominent nineteenth-century English artist, went to tea at the home of his daughter.  As a special treat his little granddaughter was allowed to come to the table; she misbehaved, and her mother made her stand in the corner with her face to the wall.  Sir Edward, a well-trained grandfather; did not interfere with his grandchild’s training, but the next morning he arrived at his daughter’s home with paints and palette.  He went to the wall where the little girl had been forced to stand; and there he painted pictures – a kitten chasing its tail, lambs in the field, and goldfish swimming.  He decorated the wall on both sides of the corner with paintings for his granddaughter’s delight.  If she had to stand in the corner again, at least she would have something to look at.

When a Christian commits sin and is put into a corner, God does not send him to hell.  When a child of God sins, he does not fall from grace. Wonderful it is that instead he falls into grace.  If your particular sin has been confessed, God has restored you; when God put you into the corner, He went to you there and painted a picture of His forgiveness and love.

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Many people can forgive everyone but themselves.  If God forgives you, why can’t you forgive yourself?  Go   and sin no more – but you are forgiven!

      ✞If God can forgive others, why can’t you?  Try it!  A bitter, unforgiving spirit destroys the one not willing to forgive.

The Victory

Bible Reading:  I Corinthians 15:50-58

Key Verse: Verse 57 - “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Key Words: But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory 

When the Japanese launched their attack against the Philippines, several thousand United States troops were on those islands, totally unprepared.  How bravely they fought on Bataan, slowing the enemy and making him pay heavy losses for each foot of gain!  The men fought on, hoping against hope that reinforcements would soon be available.  But our fleet had been severely wounded, and there were no reinforcements available.

A year later, however, we were ready to launch the great offensive in the Solomon Islands.  The papers that told the news of the great battle raging on Guadalcanal also published an assurance from our Secretary of War.  He said, “There is twice as much food as the soldiers can eat; there is twice as much ammunition as the soldiers can fire; there is twice as many nurses and doctors as would ordinarily be needed in any military engagement; there are twice as many medical supplies as could be needed; there are twice as many airplanes as are possessed by the enemy.  We are prepared for victory.”

The Secretary of War spoke of a military victory.  In our text, the victory given by God is a spiritual victory that does not come through man’s effort, but through accepting Jesus as our Savior.  It is the greatest of all victories!!  Are you a part of the winning team?  Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior?  If not, why not bow your knee and your heart to Jesus right now, and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, and accept Him as your Lord and Savior?

                                                                                         Dr. Mike Rouse

 What to do:

      ✞Join the winning side – accept Jesus as your Savior.

      ✞If you are saved, live victoriously because you are on the winning side.