How to Have Friends

Bible Reading:  I Samuel 20:1-23

Key Verse: Verse 4- “Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee.”

Key Words: Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee 

Jonathan befriended David and loved him as a brother.  Naturally, as a result of Jonathan’s love for him, David returned the same love toward Jonathan.  You see, the key to having a friend comes first by being one.

The old saying goes, “I went out looking for a friend.  I could find none anywhere.  I went out to be a friend, and I found them everywhere.”

Out of the furnaces of war come many true stories of sacrificial friendship.  One such story tells of two friends in World War I, who were inseparable.  They had enlisted together, trained together, were shipped overseas together and fought side-by-side in the trenches.  During an attack, one of the men was critically wounded in a field filled with barbed wire obstacles, and he was unable to crawl back to his foxhole.  The entire area was under a withering enemy crossfire, and it was suicidal to try to reach him.  Yet his friend decided to try.  Before he could get out of his own trench, the sergeant yanked him back inside and ordered him not to go.  "It’s too late.  You can’t do him any good and you’ll only get yourself killed."

A few minutes later, the officer turned his back, and instantly the man was gone after his friend.  A few minutes later, he staggered back, mortally wounded, with his friend, now dead, in his arms.  The sergeant was both angry and deeply moved.  "What a waste," he blurted out.  "He’s dead and you’re dying.  It just wasn’t worth it."

With almost his last breath, the dying man replied, "Oh, yes, it was, Sarge.  When I got to him, the only thing he said was, ’I knew you’d come, Jim!"

One of the true marks of a friend is that he is there when there is every reason for him not to be, when to be there is sacrificially costly. 

                                                                                             Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞You want friends?  It starts by first being one.

Truth Ultimately Prevails

Bible Reading:  Daniel 6:1-16 & 28

Key Verse: Verse 28 – “So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”

Key Words: So this Daniel prospered        

Daniel is an example of how truth always prevails.  He obeyed the truth of God’s Word and even though it appeared he was doomed to be consumed by the lions, truth prevailed.  It always does.

The problem we have today is we, rather than accept the truth, want to change it.  The problem with that is that after we change it, it is no longer the truth but it’s a lie.

An older gentleman had some health problems.  He went to visit his doctor and was told to change his diet.  The physician lectured the man on the importance of eating well and gave him a long list of things to eat and not eat.

The gentleman called his son to let him know about his declining health as he knew his son would be concerned.  He explained the doctor’s prognosis and his prescription for restoring good health.

A couple of weeks later, the aged man’s son called to check on him.  “OK, Dad, the doctor gave you some instructions awhile back.  How is the regimen going?” The old man replied, “I’ve changed doctors.”

Sometimes our response to the truth is not the best response. 

                                                                                         Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Remember, it is truth that makes us free…the real truth…not the truth that we want.  John 8:32

You Reap What You Sow

Bible Reading: Galatians 6:1-8

Key Verse: Verse 7 - " Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

Key Words: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap 

The wheels of God’s justice often grind slowly, but they grind surely.  Remember how Jacob deceived his father, Isaac (Genesis 26) but seven years later his uncle Laban deceived Jacob?  We do reap what we sow.

You don’t have to like the law of gravity, but it is in your best interest to respect it. You don’t have to prefer it, but it’s not going to change for you. It is a law of nature. It is a divine law, not a negotiated law.

You may say, “Gravity, you are not going to tell me what to do. It’s my thing, and I’m going to do what I want to do. You are not my boss, Gravity! You are not my instructor! I’m my own man and I’m going to do what I want to do!”

“In fact, Gravity, just to let you know how I feel about you, I’m going to rebel. I’m going to get up on the top of this church building and I’m going to despise you. I’m going to jump. What do you think about that?”

The law of gravity won’t stop you. The law of gravity won’t hold you back. You can jump and, for a moment –a short moment- it may appear like you have outwitted and outsmarted gravity. It may appear like you have had the last word, but a few seconds later as we sweep you up off the pavement, it will become abundantly clear that you have adjusted to gravity; gravity did not adjust to you.

Sin has consequences, and we reap what we sow. 

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Understand that the wheels of God’s justice may grind slowly, so don’t think you’ve gotten away with any unjust act or deed…we reap what we sow…so do good!!

The Goodness of God

Bible Reading:  Nahum 1:7-15

Key Verse: Verse 7 – “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.”

Key Words: The Lord is good 

The Lord is good!!  But many only see God as good when good things are happening in their life; but God is good both in the good times and the not so happy times.

Corrie Ten Boom writes: “Often I have heard people say, 'How good God is!  We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic and look at the lovely weather!'  Yes, God is good when He sends good weather.  But God was also good when He allowed my sister, Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp.  I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there.  Everything around us was dark, and there was darkness in my heart.  I remember telling Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us.  'No, Corrie,' said Betsie, 'He has not forgotten us.  Remember His Word: For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.'”  Corrie concludes, "There is an ocean of God's love available--there is plenty for everyone.  May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love--whatever the circumstances." Because God is always good. 

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Remember Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

The Eyes of the Lord

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 15:1-9

Key Verse: Verse 13 - “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”

Key Words: The eyes of the Lord are in every place 

I once heard the story about a little fellow who spent his summers with his sister on his grandparent’s farm.  They would go to the farm in the summertime and spend the summer riding horses, playing with the cows, and running in the woods.  They just had a real big time.

One day the little boy decided he would make a slingshot.  He got to where he was quite an expert at hitting things with it.  So, he looked out and there was his grandmother’s prize goose. 

Sure enough he hit that goose right on the head and he killed it and he knew he was in trouble.  So he said to himself, “I’d better dig a hole and bury it before anyone finds out.”

So he dug a hole and put the goose into it and he was covering the goose over when he heard his sister say, “I caught you, I caught you, I caught you!  I saw what you did.  I saw you kill grandmother’s goose and I’m going to tell on you!” 

She really had him.  I mean she really had that poor fellow and she made life miserable for him.  When it was her turn to get the water, he had to go get it because he was being blackmailed.  When it was her time to bring in some wood for the stove, he had to do it because he feared she would tell on him.

She just made life miserable for him.  He was guilty and he knew he was guilty.  He was under condemnation and the guilt of what he had done.  It began to eat away at him and finally he just couldn’t stand it anymore.  It was just eating him alive and tearing his little heart up.

Finally, one day he went running into grandma’s room.  He threw himself into her arms and said, “Oh, grandmother.  I killed your goose.  I did it.  I didn’t think the rock would kill it.  I buried the goose and I have been so afraid that sister was going to tell you that I just can’t stand it!  Would you please forgive me for killing your goose?”

His grandmother said, “Why son, I was looking out the window and I saw you kill that goose.  I have known you did it all this time.  I just wanted you to come and ask me to forgive you for it.”

It is true – God is watching!!

                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

           ✞Live your life every moment of every day as if God is watching – because He is! 

God's Infinite Wisdom

Bible Reading:  Romans 8:14-28

Key Verse: Verse 28 - – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Key Words: All things work together for good 

There have been times in my life that I have had to sit back and watch and wait to see how seemingly tragic events could work out together for good.  One such example would be the sudden death of my grandson, taken from this earth at the young age of four; but God was true to His Word.  As a result of Austin’s death, we had the opportunity to see God’s people being used for His glory over and over again.  We saw cold, hard hearts broken and revival fill the hearts of the cold and indifferent.  All things do work together for good.

The story is told of an only survivor of a shipwreck who was stranded on an uninhabited island.  After awhile he managed to build himself a hut, in which he placed what little he had salvaged from the ship.  He prayed and asked God for deliverance and anxiously scanned the horizon each day for any passing ship.  One day returning from a hunt for food, he was horrified to find his hut in flames – all he had had gone up in smoke!  It appeared that the worst had happened, but in reality it was the best thing that could have happened.  A little while later while the man was sitting depressed and discouraged on the lonely island, he heard a voice, “Ahoy, mate!  We saw your smoke signal and have come to rescue you.”  Indeed, all things do work together for good.

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

            ✞ Do not fret and worry.  Pray and understand all things do work together for good.

            ✞ Thank God for even the hard things of life.

            ✞Always remember God is not doing something to you, but for you 

The Unsearchable God

Bible Reading:  Isaiah 55:6-13

Key Verse: Verse 9 - “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your   ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Key Words: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,    and my thoughts than your thoughts 

“If one had to gather up all the golden sunlight that today falls wide over all this continent – falling through every silent hour; and all that is dispersed over the whole ocean, flashing from every wave; and all that is poured refulgent over the northern wastes of ice, and along the whole continent of Europe, and the vast outlying Asia, and torrid Africa; if one could in any wise gather up this immense and incalculable outflow and treasure of sunlight that falls down through the bright hours, and runs in liquid ether about the mountains, and fills all the plains and send innumerable rays through every secret place, pouring over and filling every flower, shining down the sides of every blade of grass, resting in glorious humility upon the humblest things – on stick, and stone and pebble; on the spider’s web, the sparrow’s nest, the threshold of the young foxes’ hole, where they play and warm themselves; that rests on the prisoner’s window, that strikes radiant beams through the slave’s tear, that puts gold upon the widow’s weeds, that plates and roofs the city with burnished gold, and goes on in its wild abundance up and down the earth, shining everywhere and always, since the day of primal creation, without faltering, without stint, without waste or diminution; as full, as fresh, as overflowing today as if it were the very first day of its outplays,  one might gather up this boundless, endless, infinite treasure, to measure it, than might he tell the height and depth, and unending glory, of the pity of God!  The Light and the Sun its source are God’s own figures of the immensity and copiousness of His mercy and compassion.”                           

--Author Unknown

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Do not argue with God, simply accept His way and His words; for His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts.