In His Love and Glorious Service: Season 2 Recognizing Your Place in His Kingdom

Prologue

And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Then He said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’ Then He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.’

Luke 7:37–38 and 48–50

When I began writing this book, it was a New Year’s resolution. That resolution lasted a month. The next year I made the same resolution, with the same results. Five years went by and I ignored the prodding of God, though many in my family, friends and business associates were encouraging me to write. Thus, the first few months of messages are a bit shorter and differ somewhat from my writing at this later date.

All along, in my heart, I knew I needed to obey God. However, the business of my life and physical problems gave my mind the excuse it needed to avoid the calling from my Lord. Finally, I paid real attention to Jesus and what began as a resolution became a journey.

The pages you are about to read are meant to encourage, educate and enlighten you. God’s Word is paramount and I hope that through the revelations given me by the Holy Spirit, you can see the truth of God’s love and the calling of all His children to love and serve Him.

All of us are gifted by God, in many different ways, to serve Him and those around us. We are all blessed as we abide in His glorious love, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our calling. Just as Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb, He is calling out our names, His children, to boldly come forth and show generation after generation the truth of the gospel message, through those various talents brought to us by the Holy Spirit.

Beloved, you are gifted. You have a significant purpose in your life. God has anointed you and is calling you to serve. He needs you. He loves you. He cherishes you. He did not make you His robot. Rather, He cries out to you, hopefully a willing servant, and asks you to accept His love and be released into His glorious service.

Are you willing? Are you ready? Can you feel the love of Christ flowing through you and calling out to you? Let Him fill your heart, mind and body with His glory. Feel His mercy, accept His grace, embrace His mission and live as though you belong to Him. He has written to you encouragement, love and truth through the words in this year of devotions and messages, divided into three seasons.

It is my sincere hope that the scriptures, messages and poetry in each book touch your heart each day, and help to open your eyes to the love that Jesus Christ has for you. He is the only way to eternal life in the glory of God the Father. I hope you are thirsty and ready to drink from His everlasting cup of grace. I hope you are ready to answer the call, or continue in it, as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ baptizes you into His love and glorious service for the rest of your life. May His face shine upon you and may you enjoy His peace which passes all understanding. May His love move in your heart and bring you everlasting joy.

Charlie

May 1

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Psalm 30:11–12 (NKJV)

When your life is suddenly turned upside down, do you run? Do you have a place to go, where you feel safe from the hurt and pain of your troubles? When my Dad died and I got the phone call, I felt numb. Then I tried to negate it with disbelief. I rushed to Mom and Dad’s house. My eldest sister was already there. As I reluctantly walked into the bedroom, I found him in bed. My Mom was just holding him, as tears flowed freely from her eyes and the deep sobs of all of us filled the room with sorrow.

Where could I run? Where could I go to take this horrible sorrow that I felt again 5 years later when Mom passed? I wanted to lay this sorrow down because it hurt so badly. I also did not want to ever forget them, and so I held on to some of it. The pain of losing them will never be forgotten, nor will I forget the laughter we shared. Our lives were interwoven with Jesus Christ in our midst. It was good to share our love of the Lord. Jesus would take our hands and walk to the shore where we could lay our troubles down. As the water rushed up on the beach, we would watch the foam cascade around our feet and then rush back, as if God’s hands were in the current and pulling it back along with our tears.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote in (Lamentations 1:16 NKJV), For these things I weep; my eye, my eye overflows with water; because the comforter, who should restore my life, is far from me, my children are desolate because my enemy prevailed. Jerusalem was in trouble and needed restoration. As our individual lives are pulled down with sorrow and pain, we feel lost and our joy has faded away. Like an entire city overcome with pain, we need to rebuild the walls that crumbled down, as we suffered tragedy and loss.

Paul wrote to the Philippians and encouraged them to walk in their faith. How did Paul deal with being thrown in prison, beaten and scorned? He said, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:8 NIV) To gain eternal life outweighed everything. No matter what happened to him, Paul stood on the premise that He had gained the immortality of living in peace when He gained his relationship with Jesus. No loss could overwhelm His eternal joy. That’s where he went and that’s where he stayed.

The river of living water, that Jesus spoke of in John 4:10 (If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water) nourished Paul and allowed him to lay his sorrow down. Jesus was the perpetual ocean of comfort, washing away all his tears, his sorrow and his pain. Paul knew that he could always depend on Christ. He knew that as he looked out across the waters, the unknown was not to be feared because of whom he knew. To know and follow Jesus is to gain the eternity of comfort and the safety of your wholeness.

Our tears can change to joy. Our wailing can change to dancing and our fears can be calmed by the everlasting presence of our Lord. King David could see no sense or profit in his loss, so he cried out to the Lord to lift him up.

Beloved brother, beloved sister bring your sorrow to the river and lay it down at the feet of your eternal King. Let Him wash away your tears, your sorrow, your fears and your unbelief. All you need is at the riverbanks. Open up your heart and let the love of Christ well up in you. Let Him take your hand and walk in the water with Him. Let Him remove all the impurity in your life and watch it flow away into the river of forgiveness and love. It’s as real as He is and if you believe, it is yours.

All I want is to be home and free,

To feel Christ’s love and His liberty;

To rest all my fears in His river of love;

To believe and to cherish my eternity above.

May 2

Then I let it all out; I said, I’ll make a clean breast of my failures to God. Suddenly the pressure was gone— my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared.

Psalm 32:5 (The Message)

When I was a young boy, I was taught to go to confession every Friday. And I did. I did not understand why, nor did I care to find a reason for it in God’s Word. I obeyed and went. When I would wait in one of the rows of pews, I would try to remember the bad things I had done that week Then, I went in, got on my knees and waited until the Priest would slide open that little window door. Then I would begin my confession. After I told my indiscretions to the Priest, He would give me a short talk and then my penance. It was a matter of peer pressure to compare penance. It would seem that the greater our penance, the more we would brag. It was cool to be ‘bad.’

However, I must say that after confessing, I did always feel a release of pressure. I always felt better. The same thing would happen when I received communion. I can vividly remember the warm feeling I would have when the host was placed on my tongue. I felt God was actually just placed within me. It was such a holy moment. Confess and then receive.

All of this was felt and done without ever reading one scripture from the Bible. I was totally ignorant about God’s Word, and I did not realize it until I was thirty-two years old. Now, I know. Now, I understand. The confession is necessary. It is vital to our spiritual growth. We must not hold our transgressions within us. We must not be ashamed. We need to go to the throne of grace and receive that which was promised. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 NIV) So you see, you will be purified through your admitting to God that you have sinned.

I have seen enough in human nature to understand what guilt can do to a person. King David talked about how he felt in the psalm above. In verses 1 through 4 he lamented about what the guilt did to him. Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be—you get a fresh start, your slate’s wiped clean. Count yourself lucky-God holds nothing against you and you’re holding nothing back from Him. When I kept it all inside my bones turned to powder, my words became daylong groans. The pressure was never let up, all the juices of my life dried up. (Psalm 32:1–4 The Message)

Beloved, God is waiting for you to fall to your knees and repent. Go to Him and know that the confessional door to His ear is always open. You do not even have to sit and wait. Wherever you are, right now, get on your knees and repent. No matter how small the sin is or how great, He is ready and faithful to forgive you. He doesn’t even give out penance. But, He hopes that through His forgiveness and His grace your heart will be transformed. Paul said, Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2 NIV)

Fall on your knees and confess

Don’t hold things back you’ll regret.

He is faithful and true and His forgiveness makes new

Every day that you walk without debt.

May 3

It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming.

Ephesians 1: 11–14 (The Message)

I’ve got to admit that after I confessed my sins, I felt different. Now when I lie in bed or kneel next to the bed and admit to God that I sinned that day, I am assured that I will be forgiven. There are no conditions. God does not say I will only forgive you if you never do it again. No! His mercy endures forever. Of course, He does not want you to sin, but knows you will. Listen to what King David said the seventh to eleventh verses of Psalm 32: God’s my island hideaway, keeps danger far from the shore, throws garlands of hosannas around my neck. Let me give you some good advice; I’m looking you in the eye and giving it to you straight: Don’t be ornery like a horse or mule that needs bit and bridle to stay on track. ‘God–defiers’ are always in trouble; God-affirmers find themselves loved every time they turn around. Celebrate God. Sing all you honest hearts, raise the roof.

Any of us who has committed sin today should remember to repent tonight. It is good to let go of the sins of each day. As we grow in our faith and in God’s grace, we will learn and begin to live a more holy life. Remember the saying Rome wasn’t built in a day? The French say it a little differently. Their version goes like this petit à petit l’oiseau construit son nid. Or Little by little the bird built his nest.

Build your nest of eternal grace day by day. Grow a little bit at a time. Don’t expect to become like God overnight. He only wants you to move forward. Let the impurity of your life be placed, through confession and repentance, in the sea of forgiveness that God has waiting. He has looked at you with love in His heart since He created you. When you were finally born He watched you as you grew into a child, then an adult. He has never forgotten you, nor will He. He wants to hold you and listen to you as He cradles you in His arms. He is your Father, your eternal friend and the best listener in the Universe.

There is nothing you can tell God that will surprise Him. No matter how ugly the sin, He will forgive it. No matter how disgusting your act, He will cast it into the sea of forgiveness, if you confess it and repent. Some might think that repentance is like the penance I received from the priest, but I do not think it is. The penance never made me stop sinning. Only God’s grace and my awareness of Him within me can accomplish that. I need to change and I cannot do it on my on. I need to love and I cannot do it on my own. I need to forgive and I cannot do it on my own. I need to talk to Him every day and I cannot do it on my own. I need Jesus. I need His strength, His power, His might, His long-suffering, His goodness, His purity, His faithfulness, His love, His tireless devotion to all of us. I need to love my neighbors as I love myself. I need to do this and not just talk it. I need to walk in the steps where Jesus walked and stay on that path. It is really not an option. Although I can do what I want, because I have a free will, God will not honor me with forgiveness, unless I confess.

Beloved, don’t light a candle. Don’t think you can work off your sins in Purgatory. Any work you need to do in your purification must be done here, in this life. Nothing you can do now or for eternity is sufficient to forgive one single sin. Not one. Not a little lie. Not a bit of anger at your little brother or sister. Not one. It is impossible to be forgiven without the blood of Jesus Christ covering you. Do you want that forgiveness? Do you want that covering? Do you want that eternal grace and to feel the power of Christ within you? Then confess. Repent! You must. I pray that you do. There is no place in the universe where our labor can earn that forgiveness. What Jesus did cannot be nullified, nor is it insufficient for any sin.

"All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence." (Ephesians 1:20–23 The Message) Be filled my brother or sister. Be filled.

Now that l am free, I want to be like him.

I’ve got to try, whether I sink or I swim.

For to know who He is and then trust in His will,

Will lead you to paradise’s open windowsill.

May 4

You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down its all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you’re saints, but beneath the skin you’re total frauds.

Matthew 23:27 (The Message)

I remember in the 1960’s or 70’s there was a television show that frequently used the term tell it like it is. In the above translation of Matthew 23:27, Jesus really did ‘tell it like it was!’ There was not a corner cut or implication left out in His portrayal of the leaders of His time on earth. He was brutally straightforward with them.

Have you ever wondered what one of our current Hollywood personalities is like in actual life? We may have seen a particular person countless times on the television or in the movies. Their acting is superb and it is very easy to begin to identify with that person as the character they are playing. I recall one such actress whom I thought was absolutely charming, warm, and compassionate and filled with love for others. When this actress appeared on a late night talk show, her personality absolutely shredded my vision of her. Her ability to take on a specific role in a movie was as astonishing as her real life attitudes were quite the opposite.

How often do you put on the act for your husband or wife? How often do you play concerned parent at the PTO meetings, and then at home rarely find time for your children? So often, we seem to want the world to see us as someone we are not? We are not getting paid to be in a movie. This is reality and our behavior has a gigantic impact on all those around us. It is a terrible game to play in life. One mistake and we will be forever branded as a fraud.

Jesus spoke of the religious leaders as hypocrites. He said in Matthew 23:25 (NIV) Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. This was a pretty straightforward approach by our Lord to these men who were total phonies. Jesus saw their hearts and knew they were corrupt. Yet, they put on a show in the synagogues and on the streets letting people see them as the Hollywood types in their movie roles. God help any of them if their fellow men saw them as they really were.

The ultimate test of our integrity is how we behave when we are alone. We may think no one is watching, but God is recording every moment. That’s right…every moment! Consider this: Jesus has begun his triumphant return to our world for His thousand year reign. At that very moment, you are committing adultery, or plotting a deceiving act for your own personal gain, or you might be involved in behavior that will ultimately hurt someone you love. Perhaps you are in your car swearing at another driver using horrible profanity laced words that would never come out of your mouth at church services or in front of your family. And yet we do those things, don’t we. Our private lives and our public lives often are two different worlds. Beloved, this should not be.

What Jesus did on earth was not a performance. It was as real as the breath you are taking right this minute, as you read this. He was real. He was pure. He had the highest level of integrity in history. Hollywood or Jesus: Which are you?

I thought no one was looking, so I took what wasn’t mine.

Alas, I was discovered, and wished to go back in time.

The real me was displayed for the entire world to see,

Not a shed of integrity remained intact: behold…me.

May 5

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Matthew 23:37–39 (NKJV)

God is so immensely interested in each one of us. Jesus compared us to chicks getting under their mother’s wings. He wants to protect us. He wants us to come willingly under his Lordship. He knows what will happen to us and He is ready to help us. When we face difficulty, He promises to be there to help us overcome that problem. When someone tears us down, He is there to build us up. He uses other people. He uses angels. He uses anything He wants to use. He only needs obedient individuals. Think back when you felt compelled to go and pray for an individual that left their seat for prayer. This individual may have had a life filled with grandeur and then lost it all. They may be filled with such sorrow from losing a loved one that it would appear that their insides were desolate. They felt alone, betrayed by God and were angry.

Think back to the last time you felt your life was a ghost town. You wouldn’t let anybody in and you wouldn’t come out. If this was ‘Dodge City" in an old western, Jesus would be the Marshall and is outside the saloon challenging you to come out with your hands up in surrender. You just couldn’t face Him. Not in front of the whole town. You’ve ignored His pleas day after day after day. And yet, He has returned to the front of the saloon and called out your name. Surrender, my child. I know of your pain. Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. (Matthew 11:28–30 The Message)

I would not advise a shootout with God. He never misses. Our heavenly Father’s love for each and every one of you is so complete and immovable, that no matter what you fire at Him, He will fire back nothing but love and all that He is, which is real. If you hide in the saloon and tremble in the corner, or hide behind a facade like you are acting, God will see right through it. We can fool people around us, but not God. The religious leaders knew Jesus was the real deal and hated Him. They were jealous and filled with the knowledge that He saw their inner desolation. They had to shut Him up, so they attempted crucifixion. Ha! In three days He rebuilt the temple of His body and was resurrected in glory! They fired, but Jesus fired back. Instead of silencing Him they awoke the voice of heaven for eternity to come.

When you know you have sinned and acted horribly, especially when you are alone, go to Him and ask for His help in gaining victory over that sin and accept His forgiveness. Don’t pretend it didn’t happen and just lolly your way back out to everybody and act like you are a perfect Christian. Guess what? Nobody is. There was only one, and He is who you need to go to and release the burden of your inner desolation. The cobwebs in your heart or the dust in the saloon can both keep you in bondage to the rotting of your soul.

If you hear Marshall Jesus calling your name from outside of the saloon, don’t even wait ten seconds. Run to Him! Embrace Him! Accept His unconditional love and let Him fill your desolate soul with eternal grace, mercy and love. If your six-shooter is empty that’s perfect. It’s the best time to run to Him.

‘Well pardner, ya done stole my horse and ruined muh plans.

Ya got ten seconds ta come out and act like a man.’

‘I was hiding in the shadows, now everyone would know

That the way I had been acting was nothing but a show.’

May 6

The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man does not live on bread alone.’ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Luke 4:3–4 / Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV)

Are you good? Or, are you good for nothing? When I ask myself that question, the answer depends on who I am listening to. Should I answer after looking in the mirror? Maybe. Suppose I haven’t shaved in a week and have on tattered clothing and have just come in from outside working in the yard? It’s easy to figure what my wife would say about my appearance, but when we look in the mirror, how deeply do we look? Do we need a mirror to actually perform self-examination?

My self-concept was in the mud for years. Not only did I not have any idea of what my career would be, I had no idea of who I was in the body of Christ! Talk about being lost. For years I drifted through adolescence and young adulthood. I did not want Christ, nor did I pay any attention to Him. My life suffered. I had such a self-hatred that I loathed even looking in the mirror. I was a nobody...a nothing. I thought I didn’t matter to anyone. I sometimes still struggle with these feelings. It is a horrible trap that satan can get anyone in, if they give him enough rope to work with. I gave him plenty of rope and he has hung me out to dry with it many times.

To realize that I am nothing compared to Christ is one thing. However, when we begin to feel no self-worth as a person, it can be devastating to our lives, and to our walk with Christ. When you or I decide that we are no good, we must be listening to something or someone. Just as surely as God speaks to us, satan does too. He sends all kinds of attacks on us, with spirits of self-defeat, depression, lethargy, negativity, self-hatred, anxiety and on and on. He will never let up with someone who gives him an edge. So, what’s the key? Beloved, don’t give him an edge. Cut the rope. Get away from him and all his lying spirits. Trust in the Word of God which is right there before your very own eyes!

You are a child of God. Here is 1 John 3:1 from The Message: What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to. Our big and gigantic problem is that when we look in the mirror we are too often seeing with our worldly eyes. We don’t perceive ourselves as God perceives us. We have a real perception problem. My dear brother or sister-in-Christ, I do not want to label you nor do I want to accuse you. You may be well along in your walk and possibly never have been bothered by this at all in your life. The fact is, satan hates all of us and will never relent in his hatred. If we let our guards down, he can win a lot of battles and cause us all kinds of grief and hardship.

Don’t let it happen!! Remember when Jesus was fasting for forty days, and satan came to tempt Him. What did Jesus use to fight him off? The Word! He used scripture! There is nothing more powerful. It all depends on how deeply you believe something when you say it. When you proposed to your spouse and they were looking in your eyes, can you recall the depth of love you had at that moment? Did your voice exhibit it? Do you think satan will run if you call out a feeble get away, or leave me alone… please? If you can remember this scripture, that you are a child of God and when He tells you that you’re nothing but a big loser or junk, fight back with this truth!

Satan! God formed me in my Mother’s womb. Hear the words of the Lord to Jeremiah (and to me): Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5 NIV) Do you hear that satan?! A prophet to the nations! He made me. God made me, and He does not make anything bad. As a matter of fact, this is what the Lord says-he who formed me in the womb, and who will help me: Do not be afraid, O Charlie [put your name here], my servant, and you Jeshurun whom I have chosen. (Isaiah 44:2 NIV) He’s talking about us!

My dear beloved–in-Christ, listen to God’s words about who you are. You are CHOSEN! He will help you! He has set you apart and appointed you! This doesn’t sound like a loser to me. Don’t be weak when talking back to the devil. Use God’s Word. Get tough with Him. You can be sure He will get tough with you and try to make your walk miserable and humiliating. Don’t let him. The scripture says do not be afraid! So, don’t be! The scripture says you are the child of THE KING OF KINGS!! Act like one!

Nobody but nobody is exactly like you,

but surely you’re not a you that is a nobody.

In fact, let it be told that the right thing to do,

Is to believe that you’re actually and really a somebody."

May 7

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10 (NIV)

Some definitions of the word steadfast are, firmly fixed in place; immovable; firm in belief, determination and adherence. King David asked God to renew a steadfast spirit within him. Notice that he said, renew. Clearly David was in a slump. His passion for the Lord had waned and it was troubling. He was thinking of His sin and was wondering how God could forgive Him. He wanted to be more consistent in his daily behavior and so, he asked God for a steadfast spirit. He needed help in obedience.

I am a sports fan. When it comes to my home football team, I am a sports