Through
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4 KJV).
In East Texas the dirt has a reddish tent to it. When it rains there are places that become almost impossible for anyone to be able to travel through the back roads. It is where my family’s roots are. The deeper the ruts, the more difficult it is for an automobile or even a truck to be able to travel. It was always a big subject growing up when we would travel to the farm in East Texas and return to the coast with that red dirt on our car. People from that part of the country just knew where we had been—the Red Hills of East Texas. In fact, we always received those friendly comments from others who once lived in that part of the country. But those deep, red, dirt ruts were something to experience all of their own. Needless to say I have seen people spin their tires forever trying to get out of the ugly ruts they were trapped in especially after a recent rain.
In life deep, gnawing, frustrating ruts are inevitable. After 6 decades on this planet now I realize more than ever that those deep ruts, those dark, lonely valleys are for a purpose. God allows them to teach us and mold us. But even more importantly, He assures us that He will be with us through those tough, terrific trials we must travel in life. “Yea, though I walk through…” is comforting within itself. He will not leave you stuck in a rut. He will be with you through your adversity. It is one thing to walk through a vicious valley of trouble and trials; it is another thing to be imprisoned in that horrible valley of calamity. Remember it is through the valley He is with you.The shattering nightmares are inevitable! Valleys will come…for everyone. But in your mind you can trust His promise; you are not alone. He is with you today no matter how dire or dark or disastrously your valley may be.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1 KJV).
Down the road ...
Ronnie Johnson
Farther Along
“And so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:17b).
I so often wait for a special, rich nugget of truth. Now and then the Lord will give me great strength from someone else, and their comforting words. I asked my long time friend the Prophet recently just how are we to look at those dry, void, empty times that we must all face in our lives? And why do some people ride the wave of life and others the valley of adversity? He simply said, “Go and read the old song Ron, Farther Along.” When you begin to wonder why….when things don’t go your way…..when you have self-doubts…..when you are confused and afraid…....when you run up against a big giant in your life….when you are prone to give in or give up; just read this old hymn of faith and God will bring to you those moving words of comfort and reassurance. Some lyrics are timeless—this song is filled with great wisdom and assurance. Read it. Study it. Find peace. I did. You will, too.
Farther along we’ll know more about it
Farther along we’ll understand why
Cheer up my brother live in the sunshine
We’ll understand it all by and by
And you will. What comfort! What hope!“ And so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Down the road ...
Ronnie Johnson
The Map
“As my Father has sent me, even so send I you” (St. John 20:21 KJV).
The ship leaving a harbor with no destination in mind will also arrive at such a destination. No map, no meaning. As you mature you begin to realize the significance of a map. Recently at a Hyatt Regency I went to a bellman and requested a local map of the city. It was a neat, small little fold-out map to provide directions for guests of the hotel. Everyone needs a map for life. Without a purpose, without meaning and direction life has nothing of value. People without a map are the most miserable of souls.
The name Martin Waldseemueler may not mean a lot unless you read this past week that he completed the first known map to use the name America depicted in the Western Hemisphere. He was a German-born cleric and cartographer. The 1507 document was officially handed over to the United States by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday.
The clear, emphatic truth about the Christ was that He knew unquestionably His role on this earth. There was never a blur in His mind or on His map. Millions of people live today without a clear and concise map of where they are going and why they are even here. This is why some become so destructive to others and even to themselves. Few people can write as St. Paul who declared, “I have finished my course” (2 Timothy 4:7 KJV).What course? Where did he get his map? How did he even know there was a map, a course in life you’re supposed to follow? “I have finished my map.”
Those closing lines by our Lord are huge when you think about it. The Christ is winding up His stay upon this earth. But He reminds Peter and those gallant disciples meeting in a private room, He reminds you and me, “As my Father has sent me, even so send I you.” Send you and me where? How? Why? When it comes to the spiritual map, you must know heaven’s Cartographer to reach your destination—you must.
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no man comes to the Father, but by me (John 14:6 RKJV).
Friends with the Best,
Jason D. Lloyd
Keep Your Dream in Front of You
“I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves” (Jeremiah 37:12 KJV).
Over many years now on my business cards and other literature in our company I have had the saying inscribed, “Ever seek the best, ever find it.” These words came out of a book I read years ago that were discovered by the author on an old tombstone back east. For me it has become a silent yet strong motto I have carried not only on my business cards, but in my heart. Keep seeking the best, and the best will find you.
Ezekiel needed an encouraging and positive word from the Lord, and the Lord gave it to him in this thought. Where there is death, where there is the worst of happenings in life, God can still “open up the graves and cause you to come out of them.” All too often we give up too soon in life. With all of life’s troubles, and pessimistic news around you it becomes easy to throw in the towel. Satan works on your mind. He wants nothing better than for you to “cave in.” He wants you to lose the desire and aspiration of dreaming. But keep your dream in front of you. Plaster it upon a wall in your room. Plaster it upon your mind. Believe that all things are really possible with God. Exaggerate your faith, not your fears! Believe what God says—believe He will open up the grave of hopelessness and dire failure in your life. Believe also that He will cause you to come up out of the dark, dreary grave you’re in.
The Hebrew term for “come up” is pronounced aw-law. It means ascend to a higher level. It refers to life’s lift. God wants to give you a “lift” today; up out of your grave of doubt and despair, the death grip on your mind. Aw-law also insinuates the idea, the breaking forth of day. Up out of your grave, a new day, light springing forth, hope, help is on the way. Think it! Believe it! Dream it! Keep your dream in front of you.
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5 RKJV).
Down the road ...
Ronnie Johnson
Smart Thinking
“Go and sin no more” (St. John 8:11b KJV).
Go forward with your life. Let the past faze out. Today is a new day. Tomorrow is over—gone! Smart Thinking chews on today’s cud, not yesterdays leftovers. The past will only ensure more “If Only.” When you look back you are still sowing a character you were in those old failures, regrets and griefs. Have a glorious funeral for your yesterdays. The Lord told this adulteress lady with these few words to look to a new and brighter future. Holding on to those dreary difficult days that have come and gone will only smother your spirit more—trust me; nobody really wants to hear about them but yourself. Start digging a fresh new grave for the loss you experienced—bury it deep beneath your soul. “Go and do better.” No more “if only!”
Friends with the Best,
Jason D. Lloyd
Smart Thinking/Sages
“Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten mighty men who are in a city” (Ecclesiastes 7:19 RKJV).
Court wisdom every day. Seek the counsel of those with vast experience who are close to you. In life’s library God provides all of us with associate sages (older people “who have been there”).Sage is derived from an old Latin term, sapere simply meaning to be wise and astute. We also discover the word sagacious; this has a similar kinship in meaning when it comes shrewdness and smart thinking. Whatever you are up against today you never have to face your foe empty-handed or alone. God always has that sagacious sage nearby. God communicates through human sages. For a personal mentor and sage in their lives Joshua had Moses, Elisha had Elijah, and Saul had Paul. All too often we attempt to carry life’s loads alone when this is completely unnecessary. Seek wise counsel. Lean upon the sage God has given you. God employs smart thinking people to help you with your biggest challenges. Visit your very own life library. What a resource! But you, you must exercise your faith by going to the sage (s) He has provided for you. Then you become stronger than ten Pahlavan Rezazaden’s (currently the strongest man in the world).
In the multitude of counselors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14b RKJV).
Friends with the very Best,
Jason D. Lloyd
Deposits That Make the Difference
“Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing” (Luke 14:34 TMV).
Those invaluable words and thoughts from the Lord changed lives, change history, changed the world, changed all mankind’s thinking. Your life, your character and your communication with others, like making deposits at your local bank, become invaluable deposits in the lives of those you touch each day. One positive, meaningful and “nugget-of-gold” deposit in a person’s life can make all the difference in the world. The Christ came “not to be ministered to, but to minister.” His life was a conduit for His heavenly Father to make the most significant deposits in this world. And He did. He gave you and me “life and life more abundantly” (John 10:10 KJV).
The deposits you and I make each day become deposits that make a difference in the lives of others. You are an in-built mentor to those around you; for good or for bad. People watch people. Children watch adults. People see. A child observes. You are videoed by the eyes of those you meet each day—they have that mental picture of you. You and I cannot fool others. There is sort of a human camera in people’s eyes. That camera clicks in synchronization every second you are in front of those you come in contact with. You’re making deposits into life’s bank each day you live no matter what you exude or express.
The ineffectiveness of your witness is when “you are not worth your salt” ethically, morally and spiritually. Salt (sodium chloride) has an incredible history; it is a very valuable mineral—the only ground-up stone that we eat. But when it is flat, however, it is completely useless; void! Your daily deposits of God-consciousness and character into society has never been needed so badly before. Keep salting this earth. Share the good taste of Christ to others. Let your deposits make a difference eternally for Him.
Loving the Light,
Davin B. Scott
My Lois and Eunice
“That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you!” (2 Timothy 1:5 TMV).
I can only speak about my own heritage and what a wealth of support, love and tender care I received growing up from my own Lois and Eunice. My grandmother and mother were people of faith. They taught their faith to me and to my other siblings. They handed down the mantle of hope and trust and faith in Almighty God. What more of a legacy could anyone asked for? I am indebted to them for their faithful gift of faith in God.
Precious memories trigger a lot of things within us. Paul knew and understood that his young man, Timothy, had been given a rich faith through his own grandmother and mother. They handed down other things I’m sure: like quilts, books, jewelry, toys, coins and other material possessions. But the Apostle highlights that one ingredient that makes life worth living—faith. The lineage of faith is the very heart of Christendom. Today this has gone missing in many homes. The results are evident. Many people live in discontent, misery and always lacking that one rich ingredient—faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6 RKJV).What a testament to this young minister and missionary that Paul was grooming and mentoring for the Lord’s work! He could not help but accentuate this heritage and exemplary work within Tim’s family. How fortunate he was to have had such a godly grandmother and mother. And when I read this remarkable passage of scripture, I know, I understand; because I, too, had a Lois and Eunice in my life.
Down the road ...
Ronnie Johnson
Our Print upon People
“Then they went out of the city and came unto Him” (John 4:30 KJV).
The Lord has already touched this woman at the well in many ways. Now she becomes a zealot of His wanting everyone in her city to “come and see this Man who told her all things she had ever done.” And they came. They saw. Many believed in Jesus. Though they were the despised and hated Samaritans of this era of time, the Christ still broke through the social wall by touching the life of this adulteress woman who was simply getting her water from a well. Wherever the Lord went He broke through the biggest of barriers and placed His passionate and perfect print upon human lives.
Leonardo da Vinci somewhere between 1479 and 1508 began to paint a lady with his oil upon wood. She was clad in Florentine fashion and sitting with a mountainous landscape in the background. Little did da Vinci know just how famous and renowned such a work of art would become. The actual woman he painted was La Gioconda. But for us who see the masterpiece of art today she is known as Mona Lisa. The great artist always managed to place his fingerprint somewhere in the fresh paint on the canvas or wood that he painted upon. Even today art experts can see his distinct fingerprint in his most famous paintings.
You and I are placing our fingerprint upon someone’s life today. What a privilege it is to make a positive difference in the lives of human beings, God’s creatures made for eternity. As you touch someone, touch them with an “upbeat” faith and attitude so that they will never be the same again. Touch them in such a manner that they will go out of their way to see the Man who still makes all the difference in this world.
In the Sonshine,
Elizabeth J. Lloyd
That Burning Sensation
“Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures” (St. Luke 24:32 KJV)?
Historians tell us that the great magician, Harry Houdini (Ehrich Weiss, 1874-1926), left a ten-word code for his wife so she could contact him within ten years after his death. With the aid of many mediums, spiritualists and others they tried every way possible to break the code and communicate with the dead Houdini, but to no avail. This Hungarian-born trapeze artist and magician actually helped our troupes during war to escape from handcuffs that the enemies placed upon them. He also left his own personal library of magic tricks to the Library of Congress before his death.
The Man from Galilee left His awesome message to His followers and to people like these two souls on the Road to Emmaus. After the Lord fellowshipped with them, taught them and shared great truths from heaven with them, they were never the same again. Their hearts began to burn, to ignite with a burning like no other sensation known to mankind. Strangely enough He left a way for them and for us to contact Him after He was gone. And we do….don’t we?
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find help in time of need (Hebrews 4:15, 16 NKJV).
Basking in His Grace,
Sarah Li Kim
