You told me to resist the devil and he would flee from me,

But I have no resistance.

You have all the power and resistance I’ll ever need,

So give me the power to resist.

You told me I could move my mountains

If I had faith even as a mustard seed;

Yet my mountain won’t move

Even though my faith in you is as great

As I can conceive it.

You made the heavens and earth;

Please move my mountain.

You said, “Flee the very appearance of evil!”

So I ran hard,

But sin overtook me

In my finest hour of effort.

You have power

Over all the power of the enemy

With miracles, signs and wonders.

Deliver me from the trap of Satan.

I don’t even have the strength to put on the whole armor,

So dress me as my armor-bearer.

Do for me what I know I cannot do for myself.

– David Wilkerson

Amen and amen!

Val

The Israelites were standing on the shores of the Red Sea and the situation looked impossible. Behind them came the powerful army of Egypt. In front of them stood the sea. There was nowhere to go and human wisdom had no answer. And, worse, a strong east wind blew all night to add to their misery. The sand got in their eyes, their noses, their ears. What else could possibly go wrong?

Are you in that kind of situation today .. in your life, your marriage, your job? You don’t know where to turn or what to do. You cannot go backwards or forwards and the strong winds of circumstances are buffeting you.

Moses trusted the Lord to make a way and He did. The very wind that was causing them so much discomfort was, in fact, the instrument God used to blow a path through the waters. That is why it had to be a strong wind!

Will you trust the Lord with your problem? Kneel on the shores of your Red Sea and acknowledge His sovereignty in the strong east wind that is blowing in your life.

Completely surrender your heart, and life, and will to the Lord Jesus Christ and allow Him to do it “His way”.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Val

“that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.” – 1 Corinthians 12:25

A body that is torn, bruised and sick is an unhappy body. We know that from our own experience. When one part of our body suffers, the whole body reacts.

That is why we take good care of our physical bodies and make every attempt to heal our wounds.

The same holds true for the Church, the Body of Christ. When one member suffers, the entire church suffers. When one member is honored, the entire church glows with satisfaction and joy.

When schism tears believers apart and brings anger, confusion and pain, the entire Body is disturbed.

The solution is that every member cares for one another, without showing preference or ignoring those who hurt, who are difficult and despondent. Happy members make a happy church – and vice versa.
Are their suffering Christians in your fellowship? Take care of them and you will enhance your part of the Body.

Is there someone you can telephone and encourage today? Do it.

Val Waldeck

Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

“Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?” – 1 Corinthians 6:7

Did you know that lawsuits between Christians are not acceptable behavior in God’s sight?

In His opinion, it is tantamount to telling the world that the people of God are incompetent to handle their own affairs, and that their God is unable to resolve their personal and business issues.

What if the matter cannot be resolved the Biblical way? What if the “other Christian party” refuses to listen, co-operate or repent?
Rather than have the world mock God, it is better to accept the loss and be cheated. That’s what the Word says.

The honor of God’s Name is at stake. Woe to Christians who cause the world to stumble and lose confidence in God because of their behavior. It is not a light thing in God’s sight.

This is radical teaching, but it is God’s way.

Val Waldeck

Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

“Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.” – Romans 16:16

Eastern people greet by kissing each other. Western people prefer to hug or shake hands. The principle is that of warmly greeting people and making them feel welcome in their Father’s House and among their Christian Family.

A sincere greeting, stopping for a few moments to share with someone, or listen to their story, makes an enormous difference in people’s lives.

When they feel God’s people are interested, they begin to understand that God is interested. Like it or not, people tend to judge God’s character by the character of His saints.

The next time you feel tempted to vanish down an aisle, or disappear out a side door in order to avoid someone, stop and turn around.

People may forget what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.

Greet one another warmly in the Name of the Lord.

Val Waldeck

Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

“Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish (instruct or exhort) one another.” – Romans 15:14

Paul’s confidence in the ability of his fellow Christians to admonish, instruct or exhort the believers was based on two facts.

First, the Roman believers were “full of goodness”. i.e. They lived godly lifestyles and were an example of the believer.

Sometimes people have problems listening to us because our lives speak so loudly, they can’t hear what we are saying. Let this be a challenge today because you and I are the only “Living Bible” some people will ever read.

Second, the Roman believers were “filled with all knowledge”. i.e. They had taken the trouble to meditate on the Word of God and receive Godly knowledge.

The people from Berea were especially commended for this. “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” – Acts 17:11 (NIV).

Are you reading the Bible daily and examining the Scriptures? That is basic before we dare attempt to share God’s great truths with others.

Val Waldeck

Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

“Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.” – Romans 15:7

Christ has received us into His Family and He commands that Family Members receive one another in the same way.

There are no “superior” or “inferior” members of His Body. When we honor one another, God is glorified and pleased.

There were some believers in the Early Church who were not too happy about receiving so-called “poor” people into their Assembly and James takes them to task in his epistle.

“Dear brothers, how can you claim that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, if you show favoritism to rich people and look down on poor people? .. judging a man by his wealth shows that you are guided by wrong motives.” – James 2:1-4 (TLB).

The Lord never treats us like that. He is “a great protecting Rock, where I am always welcome.” – Psalm 71:3 (TLB).

He wants us to extend His welcome to all His people as we “receive one another”.

Val Waldeck

Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

“Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.” – Romans 14:13

People are generally very quick to criticize others when they do not fit into the same “box” we have made for ourselves.

Most of the problems that arise in our relationships are “control” issues. We want to control the way people think and act and make them what we want them to be.

God says do not evaluate others according to your personal standards. The only standards required of us are the principles of His inspired Word.
That is why Paul told the Romans to give people space. “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” – Romans 14:5 (NIV)

We have a responsibility to live in such a way that other believers do not have reason to question our integrity.

Here is a great maxim to live by: In ESSENTIALS – UNITY (agreement in Biblical matters of faith and doctrine – agreeing with God’s Word); In NON-ESSENTIALS – LIBERTY (freedom in matters of daily living, subject to Biblical standards); In ALL THINGS – CHARITY (a spirit of grace and love at all times).

Val Waldeck

Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” – Romans 13:8

George Muller – the great Man of Faith who established those huge orphanages in Bristol, U.K., during the war years and ran them by faith – said that God has never made Himself responsible for our debts. He has promised to take care of our “needs”, not our “greeds.”

The scripture instructs us to make sure that we owe nothing to people. Paul is speaking here within the context of relationships among believers.

There is nothing that destroys relationships faster than money being owed by one person to another. Especially if the borrower is slack about fulfilling their obligations.

Do you owe anybody anything? Pay your debts today and so fulfill the law of love.

And if somebody owes you and it is causing a problem, why not consider releasing them from the debt, rather than cause a breakdown of fellowship within the Body of Christ?

Something to pray about!

Val Waldeck

Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow

“Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.” – Romans 12:16

The “Living Bible” puts it this way: “Work happily together. Don’t try to act big. Don’t try to get into the good graces of important people, but enjoy the company of ordinary folks. And don’t think you know it all!” – Romans 12:16 (TLB).

Take a piece of paper and a pen and draw a big circle, representing all available knowledge (known only to God). Now, draw a smaller circle within the larger circle to represent all the combined knowledge of mankind.

Now let’s talk about YOU. How much of man’s combined knowledge have you discovered? Represent your level of knowledge by drawing another circle inside the second circle. Scary, isn’t it to realize just how little we know?!

No wonder God says we should not think that we are superior to other people He has created. Different, yes. At various levels of knowledge, yes. But never superior. There is no place for arrogance or pride in God’s Kingdom.

Purpose to see the true value of every person you meet and thank the Lord for their uniqueness that allows us to live in harmony with one another.

Val Waldeck

Excerpt from His Eye Is On The Sparrow