“—–weep with them that weep.”–Romans 12:15   The prayer recorded in Psalm 56:8 indicates that God collects the tears of the saints and puts them in a bottle. Isn’t that amazing? To think that our tears are treasured and cherished by God is a great comfort. It is also a challenge. If we are to be like God we must “weep with them that weep.” Do we?   I read that during the Civil war, wives and mothers put their tears in little bottles, called “tear vials”, and sent them to their husbands and sons. Just imagine a soldier on the battlefield holding one of these in his hands and looking at the very tears that had been shed for him. This evidence that someone cared would be a great encouragement. Even so, as Christians we have an obligation to express our concern for others.People need to know that we care.   Pastor David Dykes relates this interesting bit of information: “—in the temple in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus they had an unusal custom—They made everybody walk in one door and out the other door—the worshipers would all enter the temple mount from the south, going up the steps of Solomon’s portico, Then they would do their business up on the temple mount and they would all exit usually out of the norhteastern corner. There was one exception—whenever there was a Jewish family in Jerusalem who had gone through a genuine time of heartache and sorrow, that family was allowed to walk totally against the flow of the people traffic. They would enter where everybody else was exiting and they would exit where everybody else was entering. You know why they did that? So that all the worshipers were forced to confront the faces of people who were hurting so they wouldn’t miss their pain.”   We can learn something from that custom! We need to consider the pain that others are experiencing and express our sympathy for them. People need to know that we care and when we do it shows. As I have said so often—Those who care do!

“A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up strife.”–Proverbs 15:1   Bob Griffin posted a good example of this the other day. It was written by an unknown author and makes a great point:

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving
in the right lane when suddenly a car jumped out of a parking space right in
front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the
other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head
around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at
the guy. And I mean he was really friendly. So I asked, “Why did you just
do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!”

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, The Law of the
Garbage Truck. He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They
run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of
disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and
sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally. Just smile,
wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it
to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take
over their day. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so
love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don’t.

“—shine as lights in the world.” Philippians 2:15   D.L. Moody said,”A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns; they only shine.” He was right.We got a lot of folks making a lot of noise tooting their own horn, but they draw attention to themselves rather than Christ. The vain self-promotion that is so common today is sickening. They turn the church service into a hallelujah hoe-down, but they have no concern whatsoever for holiness.   It is God’s desire that every Christian be a lighthouse to a world lost in the darkness of sin. And, just as a lighthouse loses its effectiveness if the glass is stained, we lose our usefulness when we are stained with sin.   Whether you realize it or not, your life is a testimony to those around you. What do they see when they look at you? Is your life a guide to others or has sin stained your life to the point that they can’t see Christ in you? Before you walk out the door and go about your business today, confess every known sin and determine in your heart that you will be the very best lighthouse for Christ that you can possibly be. Others are depending on you. Your witness could keep someone from a ship-wrecked life. Never under-estimate the power of a shining example. A life well lived is a powerful force for good.”Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”(Matthew 5:16).

Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.–Phil. 4:4   Have you ever asked yourself, “Why am I here on earth?” or “What is my purpose in life?” Sure you have. Throughout the centuries people have wondered about this. The Westminister Catechism seeks to answer that question with these words: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” The first part of that statement,”glorify God”, doesn’t surprise anyone, but the second part,”enjoy Him forever”, raises more than a few eyebrows. Can it really be that we are obligated and able to enjoy God forever?   We hear a lot about loving God, serving God, and glorifying God, but not much about enjoying God. Sadly most people have a serious problem in this area. I’m afraid there is more pretense about this than we would like to admit. If you don’t enjoy God you have a serious problem. When the Bible says,”Rejoice in the Lord” it is imperative. It is an obligation, not an option; a command, not a suggestion. So, how are you doing? Do you really enjoy God?   To realize the importance of this think about what the joy of the Lord will do.Here is a partial list: Joy excites us, engergizes us for service, encourages others, exemplfies Christ, exalts Christ, enhances our testimony, and edifies the church. Again I say, if you don’t enjoy God you have a serious problem! If that’s the case, pray as David did,”Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation–“(Psalm 51:12). Do whatever you must, but don’t miss out on the great joy that comes from loving God and being loved by God—nothing else can equal that!

“I have chosen the way of truth; thy judgments have I laid before me.”–Psalm 119:30 “—my heart standeth in awe of thy word.”–Psalm 119:161   Do you believe the Bible? Please–no phony answers! I mean do you really believe the Bible? Do you trust it? Do you obey it? Do you truly believe that it is God’s infallible word? No other issue is more important than this. Your answer will affect the way you think, the way you feel, the things you do, and your eternal destiny!   If the Bible isn’t true we are without any sure standard of right and wrong. Have you ever thought about the ramifications of that? It puts us in a horrible situaton, where every person is free to do as they please. Imagine living in a society where people are allowed to do the most heinous and vile things that the mind can conceive. Everyone knows it shouldn’t be that way. We all know that some things are wrong. But, that is what you get when you reject the Bible as the absolute truth.   You are free to believe what you want, but you better consider the consequences. Belief affects behavior and that can be tragic when you are wrong—tragic for you and tragic for others. Being right is always best and safest. Reject the Bible if you please, but what if you are wrong? What if the Bible really is true? What if you must actually give an account of yourself to God?   For me, it is easy and logical to believe that the Bible is God’s infallible word. But I’m not asking you to believe the Bible just because I do. I’m simply asking you to honestly examine the Bible. This matter is far too important to not consider all the facts. The Bible claims to be God’s Word and it proves itself to be true.   The Bible is a book man could not have written if he would and would not have written if he could.