Monday, May 15, 2023

DO YOU AND I HAVE A ONE-TRACK MIND?



     In 1953, one year before I was born, Lionel Train Company had a promotional campaign entitled “A ONE-TRACK MIND!” Here is a picture of the promotion. Lionel touted the fact that young boys were fixated on—and almost obsessed about having a Lionel train and track set.
     So my question today is—is it good to have a one-track mind?
     When I became a Christian some people in my family, and others thought I was way too focused on God and Christianity. They told me several times that they didn’t want to hear from me about their need for God.
     I also worked many years in a community mental health center, and sometimes in meetings with other mental health professionals, I heard the words, “religiously preoccupied” as it related to specific clients. These professionals shared their concern about clients who in their words were going “off the deep end” with their religious views—and their concern that the religious preoccupation would take those clients further into unreality.
     Psychologists tout the benefits of having a well-rounded mind with various interests. While they understand that some of our greatest inventions and creative performances come from people that are obsessed with a focus on one thing--they readily discuss the pitfalls of those obsessions.
     Reading Acts in the Bible has given me some perspective about having a one-track mind about our Christianity. I’m sure that Paul and the apostles had other interests that they talked about among themselves and with other people. But the writers of the Acts never made it evident. Everywhere the apostles went they shared Jesus with people in large crowds—and small gatherings. Nothing interfered with their purpose of sharing the gospel with everyone they met. Acts 28:30-31 sums it up:
“Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house (in Rome). And he welcomed all who visited him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.”
     It could be said of Paul from those verses that he had a one-track mind focused, obsessed if you will, on sharing the love of Jesus with others. Do you and I have such a one-track mind?

Monday, May 1, 2023

POWER GRID INFRASTRUCTURE PROBLEMS


     In the last year, our electric power has gone off about four times, sometimes for extended hours. Mostly it was due to the weather, or a car hitting a pole. But we have frequently been hearing in the news about the fragile state of the power grid infrastructure in the United States.
     I think we as Christians also have power grid infrastructure problems. What we’re lacking is an up-to-date power grid infrastructure in our lives to be able to access the great power God has for us. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:19 the following:
“—what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.”
     What then is the infrastructure that we’re lacking? I’ll give a few ideas that I have.

1. I think we have a lack of knowledge of the 385 times that power is mentioned in the Bible, most of those times related to God’s power, Jesus’ power, the power of the Holy Spirit, and lastly the power God makes available to us as believers.
2. If we do know about the many, many mentions of power, I think if you are like me, it’s difficult to internalize and know how to access that great power that’s available to us.
     
     How then do we bolster this power grid infrastructure in our lives? Again, I have a few ideas.

1. If you have a Bible computer app or program, just type in the word “power”, and look up the almost innumerable references to God’s power, and especially His power available to us who believe.
2. Write down several of those verses and put them in your prayer list or journal.
3. Meditate daily on those scriptures about power.
4. Pray fervently that God shows you His great power available to you.
5. Remember that God is ready and very willing to allow you to access His great power. Jeremiah 33:3 states: 
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things which you do not know."
6. Talk to other believers about God’s great power available to us, and pray that it will have a snowball effect collectively in the lives of the believers around us.
7. Remember, this isn’t the power to get rich and successful—but it’s the power to fulfill God’s will in our lives to bring glory to Him.
8. I believe strongly that the main way to bring glory to Him is to tell others about His wonderful love for them—and to tell them how to have a relationship with Him.

Sunday, April 23, 2023

THE PATH OF LIFE



     This week I read a scripture verse that I almost can’t stop thinking about. David in Psalm 16:11 wrote:
“You (God) reveal the path of life to me;
in your presence is abundant joy (some versions have fullness of joy):
at your right hand are
eternal pleasures.”
     If you’re like me you might think of the inevitable difficulties or negative things in life. Jesus put it into perspective in John 16:33. He said:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
     Back to Psalm 16:11. Many, many people in today’s world, or if we want to tell the truth, throughout the centuries, claim they have the answers to life’s problems. They offer solutions, or paths if you will, to remedy the many ills in society.
     But what excited me about what David said about God, is that God alone—no one else—reveals the path of life for us that leads to abundant joy and eternal pleasures. And that path is only through His Son Jesus Christ.

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

HAVE YOU HAD THE VEIL REMOVED? (An Easter Plea)




     
I didn’t realize it then, but before I became a Christian back in the 70s I had a veil over my heart.
     What was having a veil over my heart like? For me, it was like swimming upstream and never being able to reach my destination. I was searching for meaning in my life, but it eluded me.
     On the day of my Grandpa’s funeral in 1977, the veil was lifted. God met me in my car, and I knew my life was changed forever.
     So what about you? Have you had the veil removed as 2 Corinthians 3:15-18 explains so well? This Easter season is a prime time to do it by asking Jesus to forgive you for your sins and accept him into your heart.

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

KEITH GREEN'S AMAZING 10-YEAR LEGACY!


“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Hello Friends:

     Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember again what Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
     I’m again piggybacking off the Jesus Movement theme. Even though I gave my heart to Jesus about five years after the height of the movement, I grew up during that time and I call myself a “hippie wannabe” with my long hair, beard, and my definite search for meaning in life. My last website post and video were about the “The Jesus Revolution”, based on a 1971 Time article, and the “Jesus Revolution” movie currently showing in theaters across America.
     For this post I explored a little bit more about Keith Green, a prolific Christian music artist, who gave his heart to Jesus in 1972, one year after the Time magazine “Jesus Revolution” article was written. Keith also grew up in the hippie scene in the Los Angeles area where Pastor Chuck Smith had such an impact on the hippie culture. The interesting thing is that I didn’t hear or read of any connection between Green, Pastor Smith, and the Jesus movement.
     Keith Green was less than three months older than me, so I can identify with him in the era we both grew up in. But I can in no way identify with him in the area of talent. He was a child musical prodigy and at the age of eleven Keith was the youngest person ever to sign a major recording contract. Decca Records’ goal was to make Keith a teen idol. My wife and I watched him perform on “I’ve Got a Secret” in 1965. I did a video with 11-year-old Keith Green on the piano and singing—transposed into twenty-four-year-old Keith Green again on the piano and singing.
     The problem with the 11-year-old Keith Green’s recording career was that the Osmond Brothers, and particularly Donny Osmond, stole the limelight. Keith’s rock-‘n’-roll career waned, and I could only find proof of two recorded singles.
     Soon afterward as a teen, Keith drifted and he struck out on his own to find out what life had for him. He experimented with drugs and spirituality. In his search for God, he was struck by one fact. All the other religions said that Jesus was a prophet. They said that Jesus was one of many ways to experience God. It struck Keith, however, that Jesus said about Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through me.” Keith was swayed by the fact that Jesus claimed to be the “only” way to reach God. 
     So in 1972, with this logical deduction, Keith made a calculated decision to follow Jesus, since he claimed to be the only way to find God. The problem was the fact that Keith wasn’t yet born again. That came sometime later when attending a small Bible study. It was told that when Keith finally gave his heart totally to Jesus in 1972, his fervor which was so evident in his music, turned to a fervor for Jesus, and telling others about the love of Jesus.
     Friends said Keith wasn’t a perfect man. Sometimes he could be overbearing if people didn’t see things the way he saw them. But there was one thing. He was on a path in the next ten years that left a legacy that will never be forgotten. Following is Keith Green’s amazing 10-year legacy:
  • 1972: Keith Green gave his life to Jesus.
  • 1973: Married Melody Green. 
  • 1975: Keith and Melody started taking people in need into their small house, dubbed “The Greenhouse”, because it was a place of “growth” for people in their faith in Jesus.
  • Their home in Los Angeles became too small, so they purchased a home next door, and rented five more to eventually help up to 75 people at one time.
  • 1977: Keith and Melody started the non-profit Last Days Ministries
  • 1977: Released his first album with Sparrow Records entitled, “For Him Who Has Ears to Hear”.
  • 1978: Released second album “No Compromise”.
  • 1978: Greens started publishing “The Last Days Newsletters” from their garage.
  • 1979: Negotiated release from Sparrow Records to produce albums to give away at no charge. Also, to go on free-to-the-public concert tours. Keith felt that the Gospel shouldn’t be sold. He only accepted love offerings for albums and concerts.
  • 1979: Outgrowing their space in LA, they packed up and moved to Texas, and started their ministry there on 180 acres of land that included an airstrip. The ministry grew exponentially in the next three years, including nationwide distribution of the “Last Days Newsletters” to students.
  • 1980: Released third album “So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt”. Bob Dylan, a good friend of Keith, played harmonica on one of the songs.
  • 1981: Released the “Keith Green Collection”.
  • 1982: Released “Songs for the Shepherd”.
  • 1982: Tragic plane crash, killing Keith, two Green children, a family with six children, and the pilot.
  • 1984: “The Prodigal Son” was an album released by Melody in 1983 after Keith’s death.
     So, the amazing facts are that Keith Green, in 10 short years became a Christian, started an outreach ministry to needy people, released six albums with fifty-four very, very impactful songs, and expanded the Last Days Ministries exponentially to reach students all over America. What a legacy!

Until I see you next time, keep sharing the wonderful love of Jesus,
Arlen

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

THE JESUS REVOLUTION: CAN IT HAPPEN AGAIN?

 


“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Hello Friends:

     Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember again what Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
     Time Magazine put out an article in June 1971 where the cover page reads, “The Jesus Revolution”. 
     The article inside discussed the turmoil of the late 1960s and early 1970s with the Vietnam War, protest riots, and the hippie movement with its prevalent drug usage. The result was that thousands of young people, including hippies, turned to Jesus for answers. On the first page of the article, it explained the following wanted poster popular at the time that was put out by a Christian underground newspaper:
WANTED
JESUS CHRIST
ALIAS: THE MESSIAH, THE SON OF GOD, KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS, PRINCE OF PEACE, ETC.

Notorious leader of an underground liberation movement.
  • Wanted for the following charges:
    • Practicing medicine, winemaking, and food distribution without a license.
    • Interfering with businessmen in the temple.
    • Associating with known criminals, radicals, subversives, prostitutes, and street people.
    • Claiming to have the authority to make people into God's children.
APPEARANCE: Typical hippie type—long hair, beard, robe, sandals.
  • Hangs around slum areas, few rich friends, often sneaks out into the desert.
BEWARE: This man is extremely dangerous. His insidiously inflammatory message is particularly dangerous to young people who haven't been taught to ignore him yet. He changes men and claims to set them free.

WARNING: HE IS STILL AT LARGE!


     I went to see the “Jesus Revolution” movie on Thursday afternoon with some friends. The experiences shown in the movie brought back memories, some bad—some good.
     I graduated high school in 1972, so I was aware of the hippie movement, and after high school, I entered my phase of what I call “hippie-wannabe”. I grew shoulder-length hair and a beard. I even had one friend tell me, “Man, you look like Jesus.” Soon afterward, however, my hair on top mostly fell out, and I then looked like—and felt like an insecure bald man.
     I did just a little bit of the drug scene in those days—but like both Greg and Cathe Laurie in the Jesus Revolution movie, I had two really bad experiences tied to using drugs. I’m thankful, in retrospect, for the bad experiences, because with the last one, after three days of extreme paranoia, I made up my mind, even without living for Christ, to never use drugs again.
     In the Jesus Revolution movie, Pastor Chuck Smith was on his last leg as a pastor. His Calvary Chapel church was floundering. His daughter then introduced him to a hippie she met named Lonnie Frisbee. The relationship started rocky between the Jesus-freak hippie and strait-laced Pastor Smith. But later they warmed to each other, and Lonnie began bringing other hippies to his church, against the wishes of many in the congregation. The church began to flourish with young people attending from far and wide.
     Lonnie Frisbee in the movie said eloquently what was driving young people toward Jesus. He said, “It’s desperation, man”! Young people were desperate for hope. They were desperate for true love. And they were desperate for meaningful friendships.
     I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, even with the flaws of some of the characters on full display. After the movie concluded I asked a teenage boy in the lobby, “Do you think a Jesus Revolution can ever happen again?” He shyly said he thinks it can.
     So, what do you think? Can a Jesus Revolution happen again? What will it take? Can people in today’s world be so desperate that they again call out to Jesus for help—and are you and I so desperate for our loved ones and others that we call out to God—for Him to bring another Jesus Revolution?

Until I see you next time keep sharing the wonderful love of Jesus,

Arlen

Saturday, March 4, 2023

WHAT HAPPENED?


“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Hello Friends:

     Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember again what Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
     I’ve been watching some Adam Bowbrow ping-pong videos on YouTube. Adam is trying to bring ping-pong back into popularity all over the world. Back in the day, I was a pretty good ping-pong player, but I realized recently, without any practice, I'm fair, but no longer good at ping-pong.
     Adam, in his ping-pong videos, shares a meme with almost every video. It’s of a Chinese man who Adam played in the past. In the meme, the man was in disbelief at an unbelievably good shot made by Adam. He then smiled at Adam, and uttered the 
famous words—"What happened?”  It’s a very funny meme.

     The meme mirrors my concern about—“what happened” to mine and our power in the church. After all, didn’t Jesus promise us power with what He said in Acts 1:8? “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
     Didn’t Jesus promise us power in John 14:12? He said, “Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”
      Didn’t Paul write about power in Ephesians 1:19? “What is the immeasurable greatness of his (Jesus’) power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.”
     Didn’t Paul pray for God’s power to be manifested in us in Ephesians 3:16? He wrote, “I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through His Spirit.”
     Paul once again wrote in Colossians 1:11 about the power we have access to. He wrote, “Being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience.”
     In James 5:16 James wrote, “The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.” James didn’t say that our prayers might be just a little powerful—but very powerful.
     Peter in 2 Peter 1:3 wrote, “His (God’s) divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” We as believers have direct access to God’s divine power.
     Power is mentioned in some form 385 times in the Bible. Most times it refers to the power of God, His son Jesus, and His Holy Spirit. But as you have just seen, there are many references to God’s great power that He gives you and me as believers.
     So my question is about us as believers not realizing that great power—“What Happened?”

Until I see you next time keep sharing the wonderful love of Jesus,
Arlen

Thursday, February 16, 2023

WEIGHING IN ON THE ASBURY REVIVAL

 


“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Hello Friends:

     Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember again what Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
     Most of you have probably already heard of the Asbury Revival going on right now at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, and many other campuses around America. Many people see what's happening to our young people as a good, and even great thing. Others are sounding the alarm that Satan is behind what's happening. I thought I would weigh in on it, although most of you have likely already made up your mind about how you feel about it.
     Many packed their vehicles and headed to Asbury University, including my pastor—and to other universities to experience the revival event. I’m not sure of the motivation of everyone going to these places, but it’s not my job to question motivation. In the same way, it was not anyone’s job to question the motivation of people flocking to see and hear Jesus in the hills of Galilee. Jesus was able to perceive the motivation of people then—and I’m sure He can perceive the motivation of people going to these universities to experience the revival firsthand.
     For the last couple of years I have been praying—or trying to pray daily for young people in America and around the world to have an awakening. The future of our church depends on our young people. I think it’s OK for me, and a myriad of Christian people praying for revival in our young people to take just a tiny bit of credit for what’s happening at Asbury and these other universities. James in James 5:16 wrote, “The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.” I think God is telling all of us who prayed and are praying for revival among young people. “Good job. Keep up the good work.”
     But before we take too much credit for the revival, I think I heard God telling me the real bottom-line reason for His movement in the hearts of people at Asbury University and other college campuses. It’s found in 2 Peter 3:9. Here it is: ”The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.”
     The bottom line is God has such a great love for us and unwillingness for anyone to die and go to hell, that He intervenes in the lives of people—as I think He is currently in the Asbury Revival—so that many will accept Him and eventually go to be with Him in heaven.
     Just like in the book of Acts, there will be unscrupulous people that try to take advantage of the situation. But, God was able to take care of it then—and I'm sure He can take care of it now.

Until I see you next time keep sharing the wonderful love of Jesus with others,
Arlen

Sunday, February 5, 2023

MAKING ORDER OUT OF CHAOS



“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Hello Friends:

     Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember again what Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
     I’m struggling lately with thinking of content related to evangelism for my website videos. And for that matter, sharing the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ with others.
     Our family has been hit with many unforeseen blows in less than two months. It started with the frigid snow and wind storm before Christmas resulting in a power and internet outage. After that several other things went wrong:
  1. Our garage door sensors stopped working requiring me to get new ones. The door opened, but we had to shut it manually until I installed the new sensors.
  2. We got a new internet service provider after our old one failed three times in the last year for up to two days. This change required many changes with emails and all the websites that used our old email. What a long chore that was!
  3. Our basement started leaking some water again after last summer thinking I had it fixed. It's not bad, but any water in a basement is not good.
  4. I had to take my wife’s laptop to a computer repair shop to replace her hard drive with a solid-state drive. Thankfully, my cloning of the drive was successful! I was sweating it for a while. Some computer companies sure don’t make laptops very accessible to change things.
  5. An unexpected problem out of the blue with Social Security.
  6. Heat pump failure. Does anyone realize the cost of replacing an old R22 coolant system with a new R410 system? It isn’t cheap.
     I don’t deal well with circumstances causing chaos in my life. Anyone that knows me understands that I like things to be orderly. When things get out of order and chaotic my feeble brain almost can’t take it.
     I don’t think I have a full-blown Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or OCD, but I do think I have some OCD tendencies like perfectionism or a preoccupation with details. It makes it difficult at times for me to move forward with a task if something else is looming in the background. I’m very prone to try to resolve first the nagging background problems, or chaos if you will.
     My OCD tendencies have followed me all my life, even into employment. My former bosses acknowledged it in me, but I think they sometimes saw the benefits of it, as long as I was able to reign in the time-consuming aspects of it. 
     I had one boss tell me when I was thinking about going back to college to get a higher degree, “Arlen, just do what you have to do to pass. No employer will ever look at the grades you got.” That boss didn’t know me very well, thinking I might be able to do something just half-hearted.
     At my last job, I ran an employment program. I took time to assure the procedures of the program were as repeatable and standard as possible. The benefit of the extra time I took was that I and the workers under me didn’t have to strive so hard to follow the standard procedures. My bosses knew that I would to the best of my ability follow the directives of the State of Ohio oversight board to whom our program was accountable.       Also, the national accreditation board every three years was always very impressed with my attention to detail. One accreditation official from New York City even gave me his card and encouraged me to consider becoming a fellow accreditation official, traveling the country to make sure that other employment programs did things correctly. I was honored, but with a family to consider, I declined to pursue it.
     Now that I’m retired I still have that drive to get things right—to make order out of chaos. It has helped me to write grants for Mission to Amish People. It has also helped me when doing remodeling projects at home and for others. I am persistent to try to do things right.
     But how does this OCD tendency to make order out of chaos affect my drive to share with others the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ? It hasn’t been easy, as evidenced by the fact that I haven’t posted anything in about a month. And worse yet, I’ve only personally shared the gospel with two heat pump guys.
     My conclusion is that my only option is to trust Jesus and His Holy Spirit to help me make order out of chaos. Probably my favorite verse lately that I’m calling on to help me is found in Jeremiah 33:3. I have used it in several posts in the last number of weeks. Here it is:
“ Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know."
     Who is better to help us make order out of chaos than God?

Until I see you next time keep sharing the wonderful love of Jesus with others,
Arlen

Sunday, January 8, 2023

ARE YOU AND I LIVING AN ABUNDANT LIFE?

          


“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Hello Friends:
     Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember again what Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
     Do you feel like you are living an abundant life? I fluctuate in my feelings about it. Sometimes I feel very close to Jesus and His wonderful Holy Spirit, and I feel very thankful for the life He has given me. Then things happen—and I don’t feel the same way.
     Starting in 2023 I’m trying more and more to focus on God’s promises. God’s promises to us as Christians are too numerous to mention all of them. I’ll share just a few of the nine that I try to look at each day:
  • “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” John 10:10. 
    • Dictionary.com defines abundance as “an extremely plentiful or over-sufficient quantity or supply.” 
    • I think it’s clear Jesus isn’t talking about financial wealth. Jesus, after all, wasn’t financially wealthy. He was talking about a life full of joy and contentment living for Him.
  • “For he will give his angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways.” Psalm 91:11.
    • Do you ever think about angels protecting you? Do you ever think about the fact that we as Christians can be sure that angels are all around us, just ready to protect us?
    • There is one song about angels that had a profound impact on me as a young boy over 60 years ago. Mom played at Christmas, a song sung by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians entitled “Angels We Have Heard On High”. I remember laying on the couch and thinking it was the most beautiful song I ever heard. I remember picturing the shepherds in the field looking up at the sight and searching our Bible encyclopedia for more pictures. I still often play the song at Christmas.
Angels We Have Heard On High

(Verse 1)
Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains

(Chorus)
Gloria in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo

(Verse 2)
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
Say what may the tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song

(Verse 3)
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him Whose birth the angels sing
Come, adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord, the newborn King

(Verse 4)
See within in a manger laid
Jesus Lord of Heav'n and Earth
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid
With us sing our Savior's birth
    • Also, some years ago we bought a Ring doorbell camera. Included in the box were Ring decals to place on our door, warning would-be intruders that the house was being protected. After that, Dee found in a store door window decals with an angel on them that stated the following: “Warning! This Property Protected By Angels Wireless Security System.” We loved it, but the decal faded severely, so I recently printed out a bigger, more colorful version of the decal. I placed it above my Ring decal on two of our front doors.
    • We are now double-protected—but I’m sure that the Angels Wireless Security System in our house—and yours—offer much greater protection than Ring.
  • Two great verses were written by Jeremiah in the Old Testament, and Paul in the New Testament that contain words describing God’s great, great love for us—and the insurmountable power He gives us to do His will.
    • “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things which you do not know."  Jeremiah 33:3. 
    • “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.” Ephesians 1:18-19.
     I want to point out three things in these verses about God that will almost knock your socks off.
  1. God will show us “great and incomprehensible things” that we don’t already know. 
    • Think of people called savants. One dictionary defines a savant as a person that is "over-the-top smart" in a specific area. While we may take an entire day to solve a problem, a savant can figure it out in maybe, five minutes. God is saying, in essence, that if we call out to Him, He can make us spiritual savants.
  2. God will cause the "eyes of your heart to be “enlightened”.
    • To me, the term "eyes of your heart" is somewhat amusing. I said it in a recent Facebook post. The bottom line is that God wants to "enlighten" us. Again, He wants us to know what other people will never come close to knowing on their own.
  3. God will use His “immeasurable” great power to help us and protect us. 
    • That is one stupendous amount of power."
  • Jeremiah 3:15: “I will give you shepherds who are loyal to me, and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill.”
    • I’ve always wanted a mentor in my life who is loving and passionate about Jesus. I don’t think of myself as a needy person. But in a way, all the people surrounding Jesus in and around Galilee were needy—so I’m in good company.
    • Jesus was in no way mediocre. And I think He in no way wants the people that lead us to be mediocre. He wants them to be excellent. I’m not saying “perfect”—but I am saying “excellent”. And they need to be men and women that love Jesus with their whole hearts.
     There you have it. Four or five Bible verses—and there are many more where those came from—that can change your life—and where God and His Son Jesus are calling us to live an abundant life.

Until I see you next time keep sharing Jesus with others,
Arlen