April 28, 2023
“Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” (1Timothy 4:16)
Although it sounds contrary to what we have been taught, the Apostle Paul wrote to his son in the faith, Timothy, that there are times when we should join the Me First Faith Club. When you find something great in the Scriptures, how many times is your first thought the person who simply must hear this truth?
In this prescription for spiritual growth Paul writes that Timothy should place the Scripture on his life, and then hold his life up to Scripture. Paul promises Timothy that if he will continuously do this as a spiritual discipline, he will experience salvation and then lead others to salvation.
There are at least three times when committed disciples should put ourselves in first place: when we are judging, when there is sin to confess, and when it comes to our spiritual needs. Many disciples have become casualties because they neglected these priorities.
There is a sense in which if we do not save ourselves we cannot save anybody else. When oxygen masks appear on a commercial air flight, mothers are instructed to place their masks on first and then put their babies’ masks on.
If you are a spiritual leader don’t apply Scripture to others that you have not first applied to yourself. Think of the priorities being taught here as concentric circles. You are the innermost circle. The other circles represent those with whom you share God’s Word after you have joined the Me First Faith Club.
Save yourself and then watch God save others.
Dick Woodward, 27 April 2013
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 25, 2023
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23)
Jesus showed us the importance of our perspective when He told us our lives can be filled with joy or with sadness. Those two awesome opposites are determined by what Jesus calls “our eye.” By our eye Jesus means how we see things. One of the most important questions we will answer is: “How do you see things?”
According to Jesus, if the way you see things is healthy and whole, your life will be filled with joy and light. If your mindset and perspective are not healthy, your life will be filled with darkness, unhappiness, sadness and depression.
God liked to ask the prophets: What do you see, Elijah? What do you see, Ezekiel? What do you see, Jeremiah? The Old Testament is filled with stories of godly people who distinguished themselves in the halls of faith. When God asked them that question, they saw what God wanted them to see.
Solomon wrote, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18) A discerning spiritual leader added these words: “Where there is no plan, the vision perishes.” As the eagle has binocular and monocular vision, we must have a vision which continuously holds in perspective the long view of what God wants to do through us.
We must also have a plan that keeps our vision from perishing as we move forward.
Dick Woodward, from As Eagles: How to Be an Eagle Disciple
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 21, 2023
“Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.” (Psalm 4:5)
In Psalm 4 David has insomnia because he is doing the expedient thing rather than what is right. He’s doing this because if he does the right thing he cannot see how he can possibly survive. Since he is a man of deep spiritual integrity this keeps him awake all night.
In the middle of the night David resolves in his heart that he is going to make whatever sacrifices he must to do what is right, and then trust the Lord for his survival.
This decision changes his emotional climate from anxiety and insomnia to one of peace and peaceful sleep.
His motivation is that there are many people who are asking “Who will show us something good?” In other words, people are looking for someone who will do what is right even if it costs them everything they have to do right.
The Psalm begins with a prayer that is addressed to God Who relieves us when we are in distress. If you want to know what distress is just drop the first two letters of the word. See that this Psalm is all about being relieved from our (di)-stress.
If you are a spiritually oriented person and you are not doing what is right because you cannot see how you can survive if you do, are you willing to resolve to make whatever sacrifices you must make to do what is right and then trust God for the outcome?
This would be a tremendous witness to those who are looking for someone who is willing to offer God the sacrifices of righteousness.
Dick Woodward, 23 April 2010
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 18, 2023
“We don’t know what to do but our eyes are on You.” (2 Chronicles 20:12)
No matter how gifted we may be, sooner or later we will hit a wall of crisis where we simply do not know what to do. The Scripture above is taken from a historical context when the people of God were overwhelmingly outnumbered and they simply did not know what to do.
James wrote that when we do not know what to do we should ask God for the wisdom we confess we do not have. (James 1:5) He promises us that God will not hold back but will provide a truckload of wisdom for us.
Years ago I received a telephone call from my youngest daughter when she was a first year student at the University of Virginia. With many tears she informed me that she had fallen down a flight of stairs and was sure she had broken her back. At the hospital the doctors discovered mononucleosis and seriously infected tonsils that needed to be removed. She concluded her litany: “Finals begin tomorrow and I just don’t know what to do, Daddy!”
Frankly, I was touched that my intelligent young daughter believed that if she could just share her litany of woes with me and tap into the vast resources of my wisdom, I would tell her what to do when she did not know what to do.
According to James that is the way we make our heavenly Father feel when we come to Him overwhelmed with problems and tell Him we don’t know what to do. That’s why a good way to begin some days is:
“Lord, I don’t know what to do but my eyes are on you!”
Dick Woodward, 16 April 2013
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 14, 2023
“….Blessed are the merciful … Blessed are the pure in heart …” (Matthew5:7&8)
Jesus begins His greatest discourse with a “checkup from the neck up.” He teaches eight beattitudes that can make His disciples salt and light and His answer to what is wrong with this crazy world. These eight attitudes come in pairs. The third pair is to be merciful with a pure heart.
One scholar writes these blessed attitudes are like climbing a mountain. The first pair takes us halfway up the mountain and the second pair takes us to the top of the mountain. The third pair takes us half way down the other side of the mountain.
The profound simplicity of Jesus is asking the questions “When people are filled with righteousness that takes them to the top of the mountain what kind of people are they? Are they Bible experts who throw the book at people?” No! They are filled with mercy (which is unconditional love) and while they love in this way they are pure in heart.
To be pure in heart is only understood when we research the Greek word used here for pure. It is the word from which we get our word to be catheterized. It means that as disciples are merciful they have a catharsis through which everything that is not the unconditional love of Christ is removed from their hearts.
If you want to be one of the solutions of Jesus in this world hunger and thirst for what is right and you will find that love is right and right is love. Be a conduit of God’s love and you will become the salt and light of Jesus.
Dick Woodward, 13 April 2010
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 11, 2023
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
This past weekend many heard the Good News that Jesus died and rose again for our sins that we might live forever in resurrection power with Him. Have you ever heard of the Gospel in reverse? The verse I quoted above sounds like a funeral dirge because it begins with Paul’s announcement that he is crucified with Christ.
But, in this verse Paul exclaims three times that he lives! He lives by faith in the Son of God. He lives because Christ lives in him, and he lives because he is crucified with Christ. To summarize and paraphrase, Paul is declaring the Good News that Christ died so he might live and now it’s his turn. Paul must die so Christ might live His life through Paul.
When our holidays roll around we hear that it should be Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter every day of the year. If you want to have a perpetual Easter, realize that what was true of the Apostle Paul can be true for you and me.
Jesus consistently challenged His followers to take up their cross daily and follow Him. (Luke 9:23) In addition to the literal meaning this could have had in that culture, by application to take up your cross daily means to “crucify” all the personal ambitions and plans you had for your life and ask Him to have His will done in your life.
Christ died that you might live. Now it’s your turn.
Dick Woodward, 02 April 2013
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 7, 2023
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
If you want to know what is good about Good Friday the verse from Isaiah quoted above will tell you. This verse describes with great clarity the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross when it begins and ends with the same word. That word is “all.”
The verse begins with what we may call “the bad news.” Isaiah tells us that all of us are like sheep and have gone astray. We have turned every single one of us to our own way. If you want to know the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, agree that you are included in that first ‘all.’
The ‘all’ with which this verse concludes is what we can call “the good news.” Isaiah tells us that the penalty for all the things we have done after turning to our own ways has been laid on Him (meaning Jesus.)
I don’t know about you, but for me that is very, very good news! If you and I confess we are included in the first and the last ‘all’ in this great verse, then we know what we need to know and we have done what we need to do to turn our bad news into good news.
And we know what is good about Good Friday.
If you want to make this Friday of Holy Week a Good Friday, believe what Isaiah has written: “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Dick Woodward, 02 April 2010
Wishing everyone a Good Friday & Easter Sunday blessed with extra doses of God’s mercy, grace & the peace of Jesus Christ! (the blog posting elf!)
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 4, 2023
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Have you discovered that, to the authors of the four Gospels, Easter is far more important than Christmas? Of the 89 combined Gospel chapters, 4 chapters cover the birth and first 30 years Jesus lived, while 27 chapters cover the last week He lived.
Why is the last week Jesus lived so important?
The obvious answer is during that week Jesus died and was raised from the dead. Have you ever wondered why the apostles changed their day of worship from the Sabbath (seventh) Day to the first day of the week? If you read carefully, they never call Sunday the “Sabbath.” They call it “The Lord’s Day” because that was the day Jesus rose from the dead. Every Sunday the Church gathers for worship is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, because on the first day of the week Jesus demonstrated the absolute eternal value.
This is the greatest and most important eternal value: Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead for our salvation. The Good News is that when Jesus died on the cross, God laid on His only beloved Son all the chastisement we rebellious human beings deserve for our sins. In this way, God exercised His perfect justice while also expressing His perfect love.
The beloved Apostle John points to the cross and says: “Here is love. Not that we love God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world.” (I John 2:1-2)
Dick Woodward, In Step with Eternal Values
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Posted by Dick Woodward
March 31, 2023
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (I Corinthians 13:4-7)
I challenge you to meditate on these fifteen applications of love every day for a month. Summarize each one in one or two words on a card you can place on your mirror, in your purse, wallet, or on the sun-visor of your car. Fervently ask God to empower you to be a conduit of His love with this cluster of virtues by Christ, in Christ and for Christ.
Think of one specific person and ask God to love that person in these ways through you. If you are married, begin loving your spouse in these ways. If you have children, apply this love to them. If you are not married, pray for the power to apply this love to your parents, siblings, and those with whom you live and work.
By the grace of God, I have seen this love of Christ change lives. Ask God to give you power to apply this love to the most difficult relationships you have, like your enemies. They will be your best opportunity to prove this love is not coming from you, but from Christ.
Pray that Christ will pass His love through you to address the pain and quiet desperation of the hurting people in your life. As He does, you will affirm where the risen Christ is today.
Dick Woodward, A Prescription For Love
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Posted by Dick Woodward
March 28, 2023
“He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness…” (Psalm 23:3)
Failure is one of the most feared and dreaded experiences in life. The fear of failure drives millions of people all day long. There are many ways to fail. We can fail in our work, in our marriage, or as parents. We can fail personally by feeling we’re not living up to our expectations or our potential. We can fail morally.
When we fail what do we do about it?
The third verse of Psalm 23 gives us a prescription for failure. David knew what it was to fail. When he needed restoration he tells us how his Shepherd God restored him when he wrote: “He leads me in the paths of righteousness.” David had already written that his Shepherd leads him to still waters.
When David uses the word “lead” for the second time he uses a Hebrew word that means God “drives” us into the paths of righteousness.
What David is telling us here is that when we need restoration we should not seek a cheap or an easy one. Rehabilitation means “to invest again with dignity.” He was implying that his restoration was a matter of being driven into the paths of righteousness for some time – perhaps even for years. God used those paths of righteousness to restore David’s soul and give him an opportunity to invest again with dignity.
By application, when you fail and need restoration let our great Shepherd-God lead you into the paths of righteousness that will truly restore your soul.
Dick Woodward, 28 March 2009
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Posted by Dick Woodward
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