Can You See Your Goal?

This is a time of year that reminds me of when I was in high school playing football.  I really enjoyed playing, and looking back, the game of football really has some hidden life pointers to help in achieving your life's goals. How can that be? Let's take a look.

• The first step in playing football is getting every player focused on the goal. The goal is carrying the football across the goal line more times than your opponent.  Each player has to see in his own mind the crossing of the goal line and what it means to the team, the school, the fans, the town, the coaches  the parents and to him. He has to, in his own mind, visualise the sight of winning and sounds of victory, feeling the emotions of cheering fans in his heart. He must see the importance of 100% participation of the whole team.
• Next, every play must be mentally etched in each players mind, so when it is called in the huddle, there are no questions of each player's responsibility.  To have this automatic response requires practice running through each play until perfected everyday.
• Mental and physical toughness is required to play four quarters of football..  Running the drills, the sprints and the plays in practice when you feel like you can't put one foot in front of the other, builds stamina for that fourth quarter of play you will be facing.You need all of your strength and mental toughness to execute the plays with as much accuracy as you did in the first quarter of play.
• Trust without question, the coach who leads, calls the plays, directs the practice, and takes full responsibility of each game day preparation.
• Knowing the rules in the game of football is a must. Doesn't matter how well you run the ball, if you step out of bounds, the play is dead. If you drop the pass, it is incomplete. The player's opinion doesn't count. The referee calls the game according to the rule book that everyone, even the fans, understand. If a player steps out of bounds, everyone knows what the ruling is.There's no room for opinion. If opinion was allowed and the rules could be changed at each game, there would be nothing but chaos. It would be no fun to play or even watch the game.
• Everyone needs a cheerleader. Self motivation is good, but when you have people cheering you on, you get that extra emotional push to get you through the fatigue of the fourth quarter. Many a time in the fourth quarter when I was so tired, I would look and see that special girl, I was wanting to impress, cheering me on. Naturally, I would use every bit of energy I had left to try to make an impression.  I don't care who you are, we all need someone to care enough about us to cheer us on in our life goals.  It just gives us that emotional strength we need.
• Every play is not going to produce a first down much less a touchdown.  Learn to fall down and get back up. Football fans, which game would you leave early from, a game that is lopsided in the score or one that is won in the third overtime? Games that are lost, plays busted up, third downs not converted, field goals missed, fumbles and passes dropped all prepare you for the next game.  Players cannot quit because of losing.  Good teams learn from their losses.
• Losing to a worthy opponent is not as bad as losing because you know that you and the team didn't give 100% effort. In that case, the opponent was really you.
• We may not win every game, but by looking back at the end of the season, you can see how much better you are with the priceless experience gained. Developing discipline, persistence, and teamwork will be a valuable asset you can use the rest of your life.
• Finally, if you do not believe you can win, you never will.  You must believe to get you through the pain of injuries and disappointments.  That belief will produce a faith in yourself, also with your coaches and teammates.

The Christian's life has many spiritual goals, but the most important one is being with God in Heaven when we die. How do you and I visualise this goal? In order for this to be our goal, we must, like the football players, both see and feel this goal.  Do we want this goal so much that we will daily spend time in prayer and study of His word? (I Tim. 4:13, IITim. 2:15 and IThess.5:17)

To defeat the devil, we need to know God's word to identify Satan's devices and to put on the the whole armor of God.  This response against the devil should be without thinking, as the executing of the called plays to the football players. Remember, the football players studied the plays and practiced them so much that each play called was known and carried out. (2Cor. 2:11, Eph. 6:10-18)

We need to trust in God.  His way is the only way ,and we need to trust in His promises and guidance given by His word.  We need to trust in the blood of Christ to wash away our sins when we have obeyed the Gospel. (Prov. 3:5-6; Matt. 12:21; 2Cor. 1:9-10; 2Cor.3:4-6; 1Tim. 4:10; and Heb.2:13)

As the rules of a football game are known and obeyed by players, coaches and fans, so are the commandments of God obeyed by His children. If a player commits a foul in a game the referee will penalize the team. The player can argue that he didn't know that specific rule. Will the referee say, "OK since you didn't know, we will play it over, and I will waive the penalty"? We know the kind of chaos this would cause. Do you think God will look at disobedience any different than the referee?(Rom. 10:3; John 14:15; 15:10; Matt 19:17;Mk. 7:7;and 1John 2:4.

I don't know about you, but I need encouragement in my goal to reach heaven.  I need the support and edification of every Christian.  Sometimes I need their forgiveness and just cheering on, the same way as the football players.  How different would a game of football be without fans and cheerleaders?  If no one cared about the game enough to come and watch, would there be any use in playing?(Heb.12:1; Rom.14:19; 1Thess. 5:11; and Heb.10:25)

We do not need to love God in a weak fashion. We need to love Him with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. Loving God this way will insure our doing our best for Him each day. We enjoy watching football players giving their best for the team. We must expect no less from each other in living the Christian life. (Luke 10:25-27)

There will be times in our Christian walk that we will fail or fall short, the same as a football team losing a game, but if we confess our sins, continue to walk in the light, and be faithful until death, we will receive a crown of life.  (1John1:5-9 and Rev. 2:10.

Finally, we must believe in God and His promises and that we can obtain a crown of righteousness by God's grace.  (Heb. 4:14-16 and Acts 15:11) Also, as the players on the team were united as one, played as one, understood the plays as one, and followed the rules as one, we too as Christians should be one.  This was Christ's prayer.  What a difference we could make if those who believe and want to follow Christ were one in mind, belief, and actions, to further the goal of spreading the Gospel and showing God's light in the darkness of this world.  Christ prayed for this kind of unity.(John 17: 11,22)

Working together for the goal of heaven can make us a better nation. I ask this question.  If in the community in which you live, each person's number one goal was to reach heaven, would your community be different than it is now?  Would you be different?

Please send me your comments to rhepler52@gmail.com .  We all need God and each other to make a difference. I know my readers do not like what is going on in our country today, both economically and morally, but together with God's help we can make a difference.  If you know someone who is hurting, lonely, depressed, and struggling in this life please give them a call today and encourage them. Be like the cheerleaders. Also, pray for our country. Remember the effective, fervent prayers of a righteous man avails much.(Jas. 5:16)

Thank you!
Rick Hepler

We Called it "Bullfrog"

 I like this time of year when the nights get cooler and the humidity drops.  It reminds me of corn "shellin" and playing high school football.  Those were fun times.  I would like to tell you about one of those times.

I was a junior at Fulton County High School in Hickman, Kentucky. The time was the fall of 1968. I was center for the Fulton County Pilots football team. We didn't win alot of games, but we had fun anyway. We were getting ready to play Lake County, Tennessee the next week.  Lake County was known for their excellent football team.  Those guys were big, tough and could definitely play football. We had to come up with a very good game plan to be victorious over them. Well, Coach Moore introduced us to a trick play in practice that week. The play was called "bullfrog". Here are the details. When Coach Moore sent in the play, we were to notify the referee of what we were about to do so he could make sure we were following the rules.

Remember I was the center, the one who hikes the ball to the quarterback. Next when the play was called, my job was to hike the ball to the quarterback and fall down to the ground on my knees and hunker down over the football.  The quarterback would then place the ball under me, carefully placing in where it didn't touch me anywhere. Technically, this was considered a fumble if I didn't touch it. Then, the rest of the players, except the right guard, were to run to the right like we were running a sweep right.  The quarterback was the key player in this play. He had to perfectly deceive the defense into thinking he had the ball and immediately, everyone else had to run to the right of the field as hard as they could go. When the players were to the right of the field, the right guard was to pick the ball up from under me and take off running as fast as he could the other way to the goal line.  The key again was deception. We had to get every player on the defense following all of our players to the right.

Well, the time came, coach relayed the play call to us" bullfrog".  We had practiced all week. Had we perfected it? I hoped so. If I touched the ball after the quarterback dropped it under me, it would all be over.  The ref. was warned and watching me.  I know why they called it bullfrog, because I looked like a big bullfrog crouched down over that ball.  My heart was pounding, "hut one!, hut two!" and I hiked the ball. This play worked perfectly. The quarterback was a master of deceit. The rest of our players took off running like they were running from a bear. Herd instinct set in on the defense, and they took off, too. After they were away from the ball, our right guard, Don Lattus, picked it up and ran for about 60 yards before they stopped him. I can't remember if he he scored or not, but the play worked perfectly. We had pulled it off. The defense had been caught off guard. No player on their team was watching the ball. They had just assumed where it was.

Now this play is only good for once every ten years, and this is why.  The last game of the season was with Sharon High School in Sharon, Tennessee. The game was going good and Coach Moore again called the play "bullfrog".  We were all confident knowing that the play had worked so well the last time.  Well this time when I hiked the ball and fell to my knees, I believe all of their eleven players jumped on top off me.  I thought I was going to smother before the refs got them off.  You see, they had been prepared to be vigilant in watching for any trick plays, and they executed well. They had studied our plays and especially this one. With that kind of preparation ,we could not possibly deceive them.

Satan pulls trick plays on us everyday.  Paul says Satan can transform himself into an angel of light. (2Cor. 11:14)  We need to be vigilant and not take our eyes off the ball. (1Peter 5:8)  We were able to deceive Lake County because they took their eyes off the ball . Sharon's football team was vigilant and watching. They did not allow themselves to be deceived.  Check out God's word and make sure no one deceives you. Be careful of what you assume in your faith.

Just remember we do not want to be deceived and follow the devil. We know where he is going for deceiving us. We do not want to ignorantly follow him and deceive others. ( Read Revelations 20:10)

Let's not let the devil or anyone else pull a "bullfrog" play on us. Be vigilant!!!

I would love to hear from you.  We passed the 2000 read mark yesterday.  Please send your comments to me on facebook or at rhepler52@gmail.com .

Thank you so much!

Rick Hepler

A Tangled Mess

Years ago, my wife, Debbie, gave me a bait casting reel for my birthday.  I was still fishing and hunting back then, and I couldn't wait to try it out.  One day after work, I went to a local pond fishing. I never had a reel like this and thought fishing with it would be easy.  I was wrong!  Everytime I cast, I would get a tangled mess. Eventually, I might get one out of five cast without messing up. I spent all of my time untangling fishing line.  Well, it is setting on a shelf today.  I never did take the time to master casting with it nor did I ask anyone to teach me how.

Sometimes our life gets in a tangled mess. We fail several times and just seem to give up and set ourselves on a shelf like I did my fishing reel.  Whether the failure is related to spiritual failure, financial failure, health failure or career failure, we just get all tangled up with the failure, and our energy and hope is severely depleted. We lead a life of despair thinking we can never get forgiveness or be useful to anyone.

Well, that is a lie and the devil is the source.  Many characters we read about in the Bible had failures, but then they allowed God to step in and mold them for His use.

After we have tangled up our lives in such a mess, can God really use us?  Let's go to His word for the answer.  In Gen. 1:1-2 it says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, but look at verse 2. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.  Now go to verse 31.  Then God saw everything He had made and indeed it was very good.  God took the dark, empty, no form earth and created something that was good, but He put the emphasis, "very good".  Next turn to Jer. 18:1-6.
God tells Jeremiah , go down to the potter's house and there He would cause him to hear His words.  The potter was making a vessel of clay that was ruined in his hand. The potter made it again into another vessel that was good. Then God spoke to Jeremiah saying, "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" "Look as the clay is in the potter's hand , so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!"

You may be thinking, but I have really sinned against God and have gotten my life in a mess. My sins are so many I am not worthy.  Read what God says in Isaiah 1:18.  "Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." In Hebrews 8:12, the Lord says, For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."  Does that sound like your case is hopeless?

Another passage that always gives me encouragement on the love and mercy of God is the parable of the lost son.  You can read this in Luke 15:11-32.  The son had failed terribly by riotous living and lost all of his money. When he came to himself, he decided to go home. Look what happens. His father, which represents God in this parable, runs to meet him. Does he treat him as unworthy? No, he put a ring on his finger, the best robe on him, and sandals on his feet.  He also killed the fatted calf.  Wow, we are not use to this.  Well, that is God. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Do not believe Satan's lie, because you have sinned and failed in your past that you can't have godly sorrow, repent and let God mold you into a new life for His purpose.  We have to trust in God. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Yes, our lives get in a tangled mess sometimes, but we do not need to give up.  God can patiently and lovingly unravel the tangles if we will just trust Him to do it. 

Speaking of a tangled mess, I read today something that is really disturbing.  I have not seen it on the news and probably will not.  On August the 17th there was an academic conference in Baltimore, MD. with a group seeking to normalize pedophilia. They called pedophiles "minor attracted persons" trying to gradually desensitize us of this horrible sin.  They are wanting to just call this another lifestyle without criminal consequences.  You say they will never do this.  When did you first hear the word "gay" used as an alternate lifestyle.  The majority remained silent and currently we have the fruit of that silence.  Go to yahoo or google and search, academic conference in Baltimore seeks to normalize pedophilia.  We do not want our great grand children to say, "Why didn't Christian people do something?"  We need to watch this one!  Remember, truth in love.

Please send me your comments to rhepler52@gmail.com .

Thanks for reading!

Rick Hepler

The Lost Book

On a spring afternoon in 1967, I got off the school bus and hurriedly changed clothes.  The Ford tractor with a 3-bottom breaking plow was parked and ready for me to take to the field. I enjoyed breaking ground in the springtime. The smell of freshly plowed ground, and the warming weather always had a calming effect to me. This particular afternoon I needed calming.

I drove to the field, put the right wheels of the tractor in the furrow, and began plowing. I always did a lot of thinking when I was plowing and that afternoon I needed to.  I was a freshman at Fulton County High School, and they had handed out report cards. I had my first failing grade, ever. The subject was algebra I. I could not grasp the idea of letters, formulas and numbers, therefore I didn't like studying or getting the home work. I thought I would do enough just to pass. Well, this time the plan didn't work, and I failed that six weeks. As I was plowing, I was trying to figure out how to tell my dad.  I came to the conclusion, you can't pass algebra with your book in the locker instead of bringing it home, studying and doing the home work. Dad had the same idea, but put a little more (alot more) emphasis to it.

You could tell by my grade on the report card that I seldom opened my algebra book. You also can tell by some one's life what books he reads and doesn't read. Let's talk about one now.

There was once a book lost in the Old Testament times. You can read about it in 2Kings chapter 22 and 23 and also the same account in 2 Chronicles chapter 34. Josiah was the king, and it was said of him, he did what was right in the sight of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father, David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. In the twelfth year of his reign he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of any type of idols and anything related to idol worship. After this cleansing, he returned to Jerusalem.

In the eighteenth year of his reign when he had purged the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan, Maaseiah, and Joah to repair the house of the Lord his God. When they brought the money for the repairs, they gave it to Hilkiah, the high priest. Then they put it in the hands of the foremen who had oversight of the house of the Lord; and they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of the Lord, to repair and restore the house. In doing all of this work, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the Lord given by Moses. He gave it to Shaphan the scribe. When Shaphan went to report to the king the workers were doing all they were committed to do, he told him Hilkiah had given him a book. Shaphan then read it before king Josiah. When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes. He had them to go to inquire of the Lord for him concerning the words of the book that was found. He realized how great God's wrath was on them because their father's had not kept the word of the Lord according to all that was in the book.

Hilkiah and the men appointed went to the prophetess Huldah.She told them the Lord was going to bring  calamity on this place and its inhabitants, and about all the curses written in the book because they had forsaken their Lord and turned to idols. The king later gathered all the people together. He made a promise to the Lord to follow all of His commandments with all his heart and soul. He made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So they did according to the covenant of God, and Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel and made all who was present diligently follow the Lord. All Josiah's days, they did not depart from following the Lord their God of their fathers.

Why did God's people not follow His Laws?  They had put His book aside, nor was the book read to them.  You could tell they had not read it because of the way they were living. I failed algebra that six weeks because I didn't pay attention to the book. I just pushed it aside every day. By my grades, you would have thought I had lost my book.

Now here comes the question.  Do you think by the way people in our country are living today, the book, "God's word" is lost?  I would say the majority of Americans have at least one copy of the Bible.  We have several at our house.  Do we read them?  You can tell if Debbie and I read them by the lives we live.  I will let you make that call.  The king stood up and made a covenant with the Lord to follow all God's commandments with all his heart and soul.  I call that commitment. He saw the importance of obeying God and leading the people to obey God.  What a king!

Where do you not see a Bible laying today much less being read?  From 1958 to 1963, the school I attended probably had a Bible on the majority of teachers' desk.  Each morning it was read to the students. Once a year the Gideons would come and give out New Testaments.  Did we have sin back then?  Yep, but here is the difference. Sin was not glorified and there was no political correctness trying to condone it. You started  seeing acceptance of sin and immoral living gradually increasing in the early mid 60's. Look what was going on  starting in 1963; Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the hippie generation, later in the 70's Roe vs. Wade.

When the government takes God's word, the Bible, from schools and all government offices, what kind of message does this send our children? They see it as either a bad book or not needed. A minority slipped this in past a majority. Why do they need to eliminate God's word?  They want to live any way they want, perform any type of sexual perversion, and have people respect them while they are doing it.  Forty years ago did you think homosexuals would be protected by the law and allowed to parade their perversion in the streets of our cities?  Give it another ten years and pedophiles will have protection and will be glorified by Hollywood.  Does God love these people? Yes, He let his Son die for them and us too.  Do I love them? Yes, I do and do not want them to die lost, and I do not want to mistreat them in anyway.

Is your copy of God's word lost? How often do you read it? Does your life reflect the way you read it? Do you think you need to read it? Do you believe what you read? The most important question I can ask you is, do you want to read it?

We let one woman take God's word, the Bible from public life. ONE WOMAN!  When our grandchildren get old enough to start asking why we cannot mention God's name in school and government places, and we tell them one woman stopped it. They are probably going to ask us this question.  Where were all the Christians?  Why didn't someone do something?

Christianity is not a spectator religion. It is a religion of showing God's light, love, wrath and being the salt of the earth. It's doing all of this because you love God, not because you think you can work your way to heaven, because that's not possible. Christ died for us. He paid the price for us.  We do these works because we love Him and are grateful for what He has done for us and the place He is now preparing for us.

Again, is God's word lost in your home?  Will we do as Josiah and make a covenant before the Lord  to follow the Lord and keep His commandments?  When will we do this?  We are running out of time for the sake of our grandchildren. Remember what was said in Rev. 21:8 "But the cowardly( or fearful).... .

Let us all read God's word, live it, stand up for it, and teach it, in love, to others.

Thanks for reading.

Rick Hepler

Send comments to rhepler52@gmail.com  .

Our Mama Was A Point Man

My brother, Randy and I shared a room when we were growing up. Rusty my youngest brother had his own room. I am nine years older than Rusty, so we didn't get in to much trouble growing up as Randy and I did. 

During this era of my life, my dad worked the night shift at American Metal in Union City. My mother had the watch over three boys at night, but this wasn't a problem for her. Mama was like a Point Man in the army. If there were any noises or anything else going on, she would check it out quickly to make sure we were not in any harm. She could hear better than any dog on Stateline Road. She could probably out run anyone in the community, and I don't mean running from. I have seen her chase my dad and us boys, but I don't ever remember mama running from anything.  Have you ever heard of someone being so tough they could fight a circle saw? I don't know exactly what it means, but if it was after Randy, Rusty and me, mama would fight it.

If you have ever lived on a farm and watched a mother hen protect her chicks, cow protect her calf, or sow protect her pigs, you understand maternal protection. Well, Mama could be meaner than all three put together if it meant protecting her three sons. Let me put it like this, when we went to bed at night were were not afraid.

Living on the farm, we would often have some uninvited guest try to make their winter home in our house. One cool fall night we had all gone to bed, and everything was quiet. Suddenly, we would hear it.  We had sliding, hollow, wooden doors for closet doors. You could take a finger nail and just barely scratch it to make a loud noise. Well a mouse got in the closet and started chewing on that closet door. From the sound he was making, you would have thought the house was falling in. Randy started, little girl, screaming, " mama! mouse, mama! mouse."  Mama was already at the door with three rolled up towels, a broom and a fly swatter. You see, you would put one towel under the bedroom door, run the mouse out of the closet and put the other two towels under the closet doors. He had no where to escape. He had to face Mama with Randy and me jumping up and down on the bed, like cheerleaders, cheering mama on.  Finally, Mama would end his fright with the broom. Everything turned quiet again with one more "mouse killin" experience to tell about.

Mama (Mother) would have given her life for any of her sons. I do not doubt that for a second. She was always strong and still is. She and Dad did a good job raising and protecting us.

As Christians, we need to be strong and of good courage. (Deut. 31:6) I was reading Rev.21:8 the other day and after reading over it a couple of times I realized I had been overlooking the first part of the verse. "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Did you notice the cowardly is first on the list. Why? The early Christians had to have courage to not deny Christ when threatened with death and death to their families.  They had to trust Jesus with His promise of a crown of life, if they were faithful unto death. (Read Rev.2:10) Jesus was preparing them to have courage. As Christians we must remember what Jesus told the rich young ruler in Mark 10:21. "take up your cross and follow me."
What ever trial, heartache, sickness or disappointment is our cross, we must have the courage to take it up and follow Christ. Christ gave up everything on this earth and carried His cross to His death for us. This took courage and love to the highest limit.  If we wear His name, we should do no less.

The definition of a "Point Man" in the military is: one who goes ahead  of the group and scouts out any danger. (I read a book by Steve Farrar several years ago titled, " Point Man: How a Man Can Lead His Family.") Do you know of any "point men" today in your group of friends, church, or family? One who sees ahead the coming danger of deceptions and lies from the devil, and who is armed with the whole spiritual armor of God, and by no means afraid to use it. Do you know Christians whom are not cowardly but have courage to stand up for the truth of God. Regardless of what anyone says about them?  Keeping other Christians from falling is their main concern. They take a moral stand even if it means losing their business, job, or friends. How many people do you know like that?

In 1Samuel 22:1-2, David was running from King Saul and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Joining David was about 400 men who were in distress, broke and discontented, but in 1 Chronicles12:8, these men are described as mighty men of valor. Men trained for battle, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like faces of lions, and were as swift as gazelles on the mountains. David was their captain.  These men were fearless.  Look what God had made out of those men.  They served their King, David, valiantly.

In the new testament we see men like Stephen, Peter, Paul, Silas and others put on God's armour and fight the spiritual battles for their King of kings, Jesus. These men had the courage to carry out Christ's mission of spreading the Gospel all over the world.  These men were "point men" warning people of the dangers of sin that lie ahead. Look at the men chosen by Jesus, and what God made out of them.  Christ told them in Matthew 16:24-25, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."
Again we see men of courage, not cowardly, giving all they had in carrying out the mission of saving the lost. How concerned were they? They always placed God first in their lives and many died standing for the truth.

So, where does that leave us today? Many say we are a Christian nation. (Pew Poll of 2008 said 78% of Americans were Christian.) Is that in name only?  Why would I say a cruel thing like that?  Well, I have seen people, who call themselves Christians, vote for politicians that support abortion, and same sex marriages for a start.  Some men wanting to get married to each other call themselves Christians. Many Christians go to worship God only at their convenience.  We as Christians are to be holy. (1 Peter 1:13-16)  A lot of the Christians I know, look like the world, act like the world, think like the world, drink like the world, dress like the world, and do not know the Word of God like the world.

We all have been lost in sin. We have become Christians by burying the old man of sin in baptism and being raised a new man seeking to do God's will.  Remember who God has used in the past, Paul helped crucify Christians,  and Peter denied Christ, not once but three times.  If we humble ourselves before God and repent of our sins, I don't care where we have come from, God will save and make us into mighty men and women of valor to do His good works.

I will remember every day Rev. 21:8, "but the cowardly..." and make sure I am strong and have good courage carrying out the will of my heavenly Father every day no matter the cost.  A crown of life is worth the cost.

Can we have spiritual "point men" and men of valor as Christians?  Yes. What about you? Are you cowardly in your Christian walk, or do you have good courage? Don't talk about the morals of our country if you are not willing to make the sacrifice to change it the way God wants us to be.

Comments can be sent to rhepler52@gmail.com

Christians, we can make a difference. The mission begins with us.

Thanks,
Rick Hepler

Be Still

Today with the market down, people really concerned about the direction our country is going, global problems with radical Muslims, and many other problems too numerous to mention both worldwide and local, turned out to be a good day.  You ask, how? 

Well, I went to my in laws for lunch, and after lunch I sat on their front porch. I just wanting to rest from it all. I then began noticing the beautiful red miniature roses. I took a deep breath, looked at the roses and noticed their petals and leaves looked as though they were reaching for the sun.  The noonday sun was brigthtly shining and the roses were busy making food from the sun. It's amazing how that works, photosynthesis that is. Then I looked up at the trees with their green leaves standing out against the bright blue sky, swaying back and forth from the gentle breeze. A breeze invisible only to feel and only to see where it had blown.

Off in a distance, I could hear a dove cooing, a robin and a blue jay. Each having it's own distinctive sound.  I saw also, a squirrel scurry up a tree. I later went home and walked out to the garden to see if we had any ripe tomatoes. We did, and we had peas ready to pick.

Why do I mention all of this?  For just a few minutes, I quit thinking of the problems of the day and was just still. Taking just a few moments to observe the flowers, birds, the garden, the leaves blowing in the wind and the bright blue sky. I regret to say it, but I do not take time to do this often enough. We all take for granted the beauty of creation all around us. Observing the creation can have a calming and strenthening effect on us if we would only let it.

If you are an athiest or evolutionist, this has no meaning to you, but I can see God through His handywork.  Just think about it. Can man make a live plant that produces flowers, fruit or even leaves?  What about a bird or squirrel?  Did the sun just evolve to be the exact distance from earth, not to burn it up or freeze it? Can flowers on their own create photosynthesis to feed themselves from sunlight? A reasonable person can immediately recognize an intelligent designer not self creation.

God tells us in Psalms 46:10, 'Be still and know that I am God; I will be exhalted among the nations, I will be exhalted in the earth!'  Get up early before sunrise, get a cup of coffee, and go outside to watch the day awake.  Be still and you will see God's intelligence, order, vastness and power.  You will realise, YES! HE IS REAL!  You can see His wonderful creation, then go to His word and hear Him say, "Be still and know I am God". You can know He is God, if you get all of the worldly distractions out of your mind. When I realized this, there seemed to be a confident peace come over me. Yes there is a God, and He loves you and me very much. The words He has left us in the Bible are true.

When I come home at night, if the lights are on, Debbie's purse is on the table, the tv is on, and I smell food cooking, I know Debbie is home.  The same thing when I see the beautiful creation every day, I know God is home.

Let us trust in our heavenly Father. He loves us and will take care of us. He is real. Go to Him in prayer, get close to Him in His word, and let Him dwell in you.  The obvious is, God can take care of us.  Let's trust, obey and love Him, and believe he will take care of us.

DON'T WORRY.  Rejoice that we have a Heavenly Father and a saviour, Jesus Christ.

Remember, BE STILL AND KNOW HE IS GOD!
Go to rhepler52@gmail.com  to comment.

Thank you,
Rick Hepler

Sometimes Repentance is Required

Growing up with two younger brothers, we would occasionally have misunderstandings,and our mother would catch us fighting. She would have us tell each other we were sorry.  There was no repentance just sorry we got caught. Randy and I always misbehaved at church in worship. We did it so often, when we got home, we would go in the bathroom, bend over the commode, and wait for dad to give us our licks. Again, sorry we got caught, but no repentance.

Many times growing up, I would do something I shouldn't, and say I was sorry.  I am more mature now, and if I do or say something wrong or disrespectful to another, I will sincerely say I am sorry. I back it up with a change of heart(repentance) not wanting to damage the relationship with the person involved. 

Even in my marriage, I have said things or acted in a way that I shouldn't toward Debbie. Not only do I tell her I am sincerely sorry, I try my best to repent and never do it again. Why? Because I love her and I do not want to damage our relationship.

Many today, when caught doing wrong, will say they are sorry. It is usually a worldly sorrow. Just sorry they got caught. One time before church services I met with a young man who professed to be a Christian which had the reputation of drinking and partying.  I asked him about his behavior, and he admitted his wrong doing and said he would go forward after the sermon to confess and repent of this sin. He did, but he was partying again in a few days. We have all been there sometime in our life.

Repentance is a change of direction in your thinking.  Whatever sin you may be involved in, you want to change direction and not continue in that sin. What makes us want to repent? For many, it is a fear of going to hell, and for others it is a desire to go to heaven.

I would like to go to the Bible and read about a few cases of repentance.  First, let's go to 1 Samuel 15:22-26. Saul disobeyed God, and his rebellion was as bad as the sin of witchcraft. He later blamed his sin on the people. Saying, he feared them and obeyed their voice. No godly sorrow here, nor do we ever see Saul having a good relationship with God again. Now let's turn to a story we are all familiar. In II Samuel 12:7-13, David was confronted by Nathan about his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah. David said he had sinned against the Lord, but in Psalms 51 we see his heart flow out to God. He had a heart which did not want to lose the relationship he had with God. Psalms 51 is a beautiful prayer of repentance.

The New Testament gives us the account of Peter, who said he would die for Christ. Instead, he denied Him three times. In Matthew 26:69-75 we see Peter went out and wept bitterly.  Why did he do this?  He had a relationship with Christ, and it devastated him in knowing he denied Him three times. Later in Acts, we see the great servant of God that Peter became. In Matt.27:3-5, we read were Judas was sorry, but instead of having a change of heart(repentance) went out and hanged himself.

What do we have to do, before we are willing to repent?  First, we have to know what sin is,which sin we are committing, and who ultimately we are sinning against.  For us to change our hearts and go in a different direction, there has to be a reason. In my life as I get closer to God, when I do something contrary to His will, I repent of the sin seeking His forgiveness. I do not want to loose the relationship I have with Him. I want to be walking in the light and having full fellowship with Him. I had to be taught this. I was taught at an early age about sin, and also the love God has for us. I began to search the scriptures daily to help me grow my Christianity in this life. Can I still sin? Yes I can, but I hope when I do, I will have the same godly sorrow that Peter had and repent. 

I have said many times, the people in the United States need to humble themselves before God and repent of their sins, turning to Jesus, and obey the Gospel.  I ask you a serious question. What would make them repent? We now have a second generation that does not know God. The only glimpse of God they may have is Christians. Many have tried to take God out of the public life. Others make fun of Christians for standing against sin.They cannot have godly sorrow until they know how much God loves them and how much He abhors sin. Many do not believe in hell. Some think when you die you just die.

Christians, we have an enormous and critical task before us. I myself need to repent of the idea someone else will spread the Gospel of Christ. I need to have a faith as the early Christians had. One that the whip, sword, being thrown to wild animals, or being burned alive could not stop.

Times were terrible in the 1st century. Twelve men full of the Holy Ghost, on a mission for God, preached Christ crucified, shed His blood for the sins of mankind,and raised from the dead.  No TV, No Text Messaging, No emailing, No Facebook, not even a copy of the New Testament. Those twelve turned the world upside down. They lived right, obeyed God, did what was right in God's eyes instead of their own eyes, and all were one, speaking the same thing.  They knew how much God loved humanity, and they wanted to teach the Gospel to as many as possible.  What faith, persistence, and courage they had.  Then the early church went on the same mission, teaching the lost.

Christians, I am going to ask some hard questions that may not be easy for you to answer, but I am asking myself first. Do we need to go and repent before we ask someone else to?  How does the world and other Christians see us? Do we love unconditionally, and are we forgiving? Do they see us putting God first in our lives? Do they see us as hypocritical or strong in our faith? When they are around us do we show them that we care about them? Do we come across as being humble with the message or self righteous? Most importantly, do they see our relationship with God as one we value so much that we never wish to hurt God by habitually sinning against Him? 

When we Christians get our lives on the right tract and others see God's word living in us, the word will attract the world. And yes, they will want to repent from the life that has brought them hardship and no hope.  How blessed it will be when we see people repenting and obeying the Gospel of Christ.  Seeing the hope of heaven in their eyes will be more of a reward than anything this world can offer.

Christians, we can do this. We have chosen to be Christians and along with this choice there is a mission.
God is good! Let's live like He is!

I am going to have to cut back to writing 3 or 4 post a week. I have started writing a book and need to spend time on it. I haven't decided on the title yet, but it may be: Christians-Can We Talk?

Please send this to family and friends. I am trying to increase the number of readers. Other than here in the good ole USA, I have had people from, Germany, United Kingdom and Australia.  Many of you have commented and some have helped in editing. I am very grateful. 

Please send comments to rhepler52@gmail.com .

Thanks so much!
Rick Hepler