Well of Grace

In the life arena which we all travel our memories are filled with interactions with both friend and foe. Some of these we encounter will bless us some will blister us. There is an Old Testament narrative that has always intrigued me concerning Ahab. Ahab like many people today was the kind of person that was wrapped up in number one. Me my mine was his mantra for life. One day going into to battle he disguised himself in a futile attempt to protect himself from harm. The opposing army said in modern day terms, “Men, we are here to win this battle but first and foremost, we want to kill Ahab.” So to confude matters Ahab sequestered Jehoshaphat to change garments with him so they would not recognize him. Low and behold when Ahab and “J” entered into the battle the army looked their way and said to themselves, “Looks like Ahab but it is not.” But one man thought to himself, “just in case i am wrong i am going to send one arrow that way.”
As providence would take place, it landed just between Ahab’s protective vest and inner garments. Being wounded, Ahab made a statement that i would like you to ponder. He said, “Carry me out of the host for I am wounded.” They say within a short distance was the healing balms of Gilead. Did Ahab avail himself to these? Why no, instead he died from a slow bleeding wound. Over the course of history people like you and I have been hurt. Some people hurt others indirectly, some do it intentionally, whatever the motive it happens.
Ahab is a picture of many people that get hurt and die without the aid of any healing which is available. I guess what i am trying to say is it does matter who hurt us, but what reallt matters is who we run to when we are hurt. The word tells us in Ps 32 to seek the Lord while he may be found.
Where can I go, Oh where can I go? Seeking a refuge for my soul, needing a friend to help me in the end, where can i go but to the Lord.
It is like Bull Riding, not a matter of will i get hurt but when i get hurt. What will we do when we are wounded. Run to the sweet balm of Gilead, to the one that heals the most undesirable of wounds. In Zechariah there is a question that is directed to the very Son of God, “Where did you receive those wounds? to the which he replies, “From my friends.” Speaking of Israel. Looking back over life i regret to say i did not always run to the right place when i was hurt. Sometimes i ran to the juniper bush of self pity. What a lonely pitiful place. Other times i ran to the wrong crowd for empty, vain, companionship. Then there were times i ran to extra cirricular activities like a sport. All in a feeble attempt to drown some pain i was not willing to confront and take to the one that could heal any and all wounds, The Lord Jesus.
Casting ALL your care upon Him, for HE careth for YOU!
God Bless

Ecclesiastes 9:8Let thy garments be always white, and let thy head lack no ointment.

   It was late in the evening and my youngest daughter Amy wanted a glass of her favorite softdrink, “Cheerwine”. It is like

a version of Dr. Pepper. As i grabbed one of the drinks from the six pack i twisted the cap and to my dismay we had an instant

Cheerwine shower in the kitchen. After cleaning the countertops and floor from sticky Cheerwine i proceeded to pour little Amy

a drink.  After caring for Amy’s drink need i went about what i was doing when drink order was placed and then it happened, i looked down and all over my shirt was the stain of Cheerwine. Thankfully i am eqipped with in home washer and dryer facilities so i removed yonder sweater and

began the stain removal process. Short cycle on warm/cold got the job done. Praise God for modern technology.  That stain lasted some two to four hours. The admonition we are considering says let your garments be always white. I do not believe it is referring to color as much as it it

consistency or even character of the garment. Now we all know that life sometimes gets dirty. Even the average day of constant interaction with a workforce can be tough to keep yourself clean within. The OT preist when entering into their preistly duties comeinto contact first and last with the laver. Number one to cleanse themselves before serving and then to cleanse themselves after serving. What a peculiar thought. How could a garment get stained in the arena of His service? Seems odd but true. It may be a caustic comment, a snide remark, a look, a letter, a deed or even close association with one that you are earnestly trying to help get out of the snare of the devil. Just the mear fact of hearing about their struggle can at times affect the cleanliness of our garments. We are all about clothing by the way. TV shows now, What not to wear…. for instance helps people to get geared up in cool garments. But what about the garment of the christian. Doesn’t specify with single pleated or double breasted, stripes, solid, plaids, or paisley. But it does specify, “always white.”

      Allow me to say that the Word does specify that we are to wear one garment always, We are to be clothed with humility. I believe this is the foundation to a good white garment. The Lord doesn’t want us to dress up in a clean garment to strut our spiritual stuff but rather to put to silence the foolishness of ignorant men by doing the right thing. Jesus saw the good dressers of his day and declared them to be whited walls full of dead mens bones.  The theme most recently remembered was Shout detergent. When you get a stain,Shout it out. Friend when we get a stain, we too need to shout it out.  He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

God Bless

Now we fundamentalists go on and on about eternal security but in practice we don’t much practice it. Some will say well if the fire is not brighter now than it was when you were born again it has gone out. No, our service may have fizzled, our church attendance may have fizzled, our soul winning efforts may have fizzled, but His fire has never gone out. I love the fact that the Lord is the keeper of the flame.
There are many analogies concerning fire in the bible. Often times it is a reference to the Lord and His work in our life. Jeremiah said, I will no longer mention his name….. But His word was as a fire in my bones and I could not stay.In other words i sing for i can not be silent.
The fact remains that; 1.The fire never goes out. In laymans terms, your salvation is eternal; Jonah 2:9 Salvation is of the Lord. What God does is eternal; Other irrefutable texts concerning security for the digging deeper crowd, Romans 8:38-39, Eph 4:30, John 10:27-29
Although the fire never goes out it can be quenched, or grieved. How do we as believers quench this eternal fire or maybe a better term would be dampen the flame??
a. compromise; anytime we compromise His word for the sake of our flesh the flame is dampened. Romans 12:2 Be not comformed to this world. Romans 8:5-6
b. complaining; there were more people killed for murmuring than any other thing in the Word. Eph 4:31
c. complacency; we are guilty of sitting on the premises and not standing on the promises. We get complacent when things are good. We need to be watchful that we are not found sittinf on our lees.
d. contention; Only by pride cometh contention. How many times has your fires been burning brightly only to be quenched by a contentios person?? Some folks are not happy unless they are in the heat of a battle with someone. Why not quit putting wood on the fires of contention?? Where no wood is, the the fire goeth out. Said Solomon.
I must confess i have been guilty of throwing many senseless jabs in the flesh that caused contention only to live to regret them. Oh it it quenches the fire in the hearts of the faithful saints of God. The strife was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Sound familiar?? I pray that the scene is not a familiar one. Go into any church and ask a faithful member who is the contentios man/woman of this church??It will take them 1 sec flat to give you a name. Many feel like they are doing so in Jesus name and for His cause. How foolish..
Enough of the discouraging reasons why the fire is dampened, Let’s take a look at how the Fore is Stoked!
Let’s face it folks, some have got the fire of God burning brightly in their life and others do not. There is a reason for this, is there not??
1. Musing; David said, While i was musing the fire burned. What is musing?? It is simply meditation. Joshua 1:8 tells us that we should meditate on the word day and night if we want to succed in this life. I believe if i am not mistaken this is the only reference to the word success in all the word of God. A successful christian is one that meditates upon the word daily. This is the reason it is so important that we memorize the word. Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. Ps 119:165 If your want to get to know the God of the Word you must meditate on the Word of God! Meditation is the best medication for the carnal and complacent christian. One verse a week would be a great goal and a doable one for all of us. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. said every tragedy is the result of a process of wrong thinking. If our meditation is on the Word instead of the world we will be a lot better off. Maybe the reason for our dismal, negative, downhearted attitude is the fact that we do not meditate on the word. What is the great consuming thought of each day?? I challenge you to wake up and say, This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. It disturbs the devil when we fire positive godly thoughts his way! May God raise up an army of meditators across the country that will fight him tooth and nail until the day we are taken out.
2. Music; David was a man after God’s own heart and he was the sweet Psalmist of Isreal. Though he killed a giant with a sling and five smooth stones he has killed thousands of bad attitudes with his psalms. Myriads of Giants people face have been defeated by the truths found in the songs. Preachers of yesteryear were found faithful with two books packed in their circuit riding saddle bags; The Bible and the Song book. Weeping may endure for the night but joy cometh in the morning. God still inhabits the praises of his people.
Mr Spurgeon said it is good to grin and bear it, but it is better to sing and bear it! A song in the heart is the cure of many downcast moments. Well i never get down… Liar!! Everyone needs the good songs of God to encourage the heart. I am a firm believer in the Old Hymns of the faith. Why is that?? Are you against all the 7/11 comtemporary singers of our day?? Yes if they exclude the good old hymns. They are robbing themselves. There is doctrine in the old songs. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs… They are good for you, spiritual.
Is your fire burning brightly?? Have been guilty of damping the fire or would you be considered a stoker. Here is a challenge christian, tellyour pastor you love him and are praying for him, stoke his fire. See what happens you will reap what you sew. Someone will soon be on your trail stoking your fire. Barnabas was the son of consolation. He was an encourager, a man that helped others run the race. Be it financially, friendship wise, faith building of just calling someone’s name in fervency before the throne of God may the Lord help us to be fire stokers and not wet blankets for the devil.

The man looked at me and just bluntly said, “Dan, it is not about you, it is about God.” I am currently reading an old book i picked up at a used christian bookstore it is an autobiography of Dewitt Talmidge. A very good book but one thing i have found throughout the book is that he wants his children and grandchildren to see that it is not him and his story but God and His working in his life. When this life is over we will look back and see that it was not about us, but rather about God. Recently i read the twentieth chapter of Exodus and you know that this contains the ten commandments. One of the first commandments is that we are not to have any other Gods before the one true God which is Jehovah God. When we get to the place that a person becomes more important than God we are in the middle of an idolatrous life. This same prophet that came my way told me, “Dan, there will come a day when the most important thing in your life will be God, and the relationship you share with Him.” Guess what??? He is right. Hopefully this is getting through to you that we have gotten to the place that we idolize poeple and put them before God. Well, i just couldn’t make it without _______. Whoever that blank is in your life needs to be put back in the place where they belong. In second place behind God.
Our number one motive in life is to please God and noone else. When we get in the business of pleasing people we get in the business of failure. Men will fail you and the bottom line is you can not please man. So if it is not about me what is it about??? For i am crucified with Christ nevertheless i live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh i live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal 2:20 It is about him. Honoring Him in life and in death. If ye then be risen with Christ seek those things which are above. Col 3:1 We live in a Me first nation. My schedule, My pleasure, My job, My agenda, My rights, My opinion, my goodness you will see a lot of my in our world. It is manifested in the way we live our lives. By putting our personal benefits before anyone else. The church at Ephesus was likened to this when they left their first love. May God help us to fall out of love with self and back in love with the Savior once again. See you back at the Well of Grace soon. Thanks for reading.

Matt 13:22 The Parable of the Sower. This is a tremendous passage of scripture giving us the way the seed falls in different places. Often the seed falls on stony ground and does not take root. Sometimes it falls on good ground and yields fruit. Then there are other times when the seed falls on thorny ground and it is choked by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. When the word falls on the worldly it is going to be a thorny place because this world was cursed by sin. I have heard preachers say and have said so myself, We do not have a seed problem. Our seed is inspired and inerrant, infallable. We don’t have a sower problem. This actually is a problem in many cases because of qualifications and discipline. There are certain things i believe a man can do to disqualify himself from the pastorate. Adultery is one of those things. He can no longer be a blameless man. He can be a forgiven man but not blameless. Some sowers are flat lazy and indifferent. They are selfish in that they think only of themselves and not about the person they encounter on a daily basis.
For instance, in the workforce do all of your co-workers know you are a christian? We need to make sure we share our faith and not just keep the faith. The particular phrase i would like to talk about is this, “the cares of this world.” We are basically a self centered nation. My phone, my house, my car, my sports, my, my, my. Hopefully we all understand that the quest to fulfil the cares of this world is futile. Not only is it futile, it is fatal spiritually. Philippians 4:6 tells us to “be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known unto God.” Any care that we carry that is based on the arena of this world it is one we need to lay down immediately.
A question many Americans have found difficult to answer in practice is, “How much is enough?” Having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” (I Tim 6:8) So what are the bare necessities of life? i read a book recently called, “Scratch Beginnings”. A young man with $25 in his pocket, a 8 x 10 tarp and a book bag got on a train in Raleigh, NC and rode to Charleston, SC where he got off the train with one goal in mind. He wanted to prove to family, friends and the nation that you can make it without what we call necessities. Interestingly enough he did. After six months he had a job, a vehicle and an apartment. He began at the bottom, in a shelter. For seventy days he learned how to make it on as little as possible. It is an edgy book language wise but does teach a good principle. By the way he ws able to save over $2500 in a six month period as well.
Someone said a mouth full recently when they said it is pretty ludicrous to hear someone complain about the price of gas while they drink a $4.00 latte. The ultimate price we pay when we are consumed by the cares of this world is that the influence of the word is choked out. The optimum place to be for the believer is to be ultimately influenced by the most important influence in print. I have an aquaintance that reads his bible through monthly. Not a speedreaders pace either. He meets with the Lord three times a day for 45 minutes and just reads the word. I do not see him being consumed with the cares of this world. If you have a care rest assured of this timeless truth, “Casting all your care upon him, for he CARETH for YOU!” Is that not some good news for our weary souls.
Surely he hath bourne our greifs and carried our sorrows: The very care that wears us down is one that we have picked up only after the Savior has already carried it. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. To do this we must live above this world. Ephesians teaches us that we are seated in heavenly places. Positionally we are already there. Though we dwell in this sin cursed world we have the potential to dwell in sweet fellowship with the one that carries our cares to His Father’s throne.

In prosperity God is silent, in pain He speaks through a megaphone…. Ever heard this phrase?? It is worth pondering for a few moments this morning. When is it that we most often rejoice?
Habakkuk 3:17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
No figs, no fruit, no flock, no feast waiting in the stalls. Sounds like the prophet has painted a pretty dismal picture. Then he goes on to say, yet, I will rejoice. I will joy in the God of my salvation. When He is the source of our joy NOTHING can stop it. Do not focus on the weakness of man but rather on the greatness of God. For it is not by might nor by strength but by my spirit saith the Lord. Zech 4:6
The same God that made the stars made you. The same God that made the galaxies made you and formed you by His sovereign power. This same God has designed your life circumstances. Will we turn to Him with praises or with pouting? Are we under the juniper or are we waving the palm branch? Let us cry out in unified praise unto the holiest! Let the high praises of God be in OUR mouth and a two edged sword (Heb 4:12) in our hand. He alone is worthy to receive glory honor and praise. In a world full of man praisers may God help us to get back to the place where we will praise the lord for His goodness, grace, and glory. Next time we cry out to God and say why? instead say Why Not? God you have chosen me and ordained me that i should go and bear fruit. Let the first fruit in your life be the fruit of praise from your lips. The world that always expects pouting and pettiness will stand in awe as they see a child of God praise in the bleakest of providences.
You may stand in doubt and say, i could not do that. Ponder this thought friend, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, God will never call us to do anything that he does not first equip us to do. You were created for this moment. He deserves our highest praise.

The Apostle Paul was a man that responded to the call of God with whole hearted devotion. While following the Lord in his calling he had no doubt many distractions. I am sure there were times that he would look back and think of the day he witnessed the stoning of a young man by the name of Stephen. As he stood there he witnessed a faith that would affect his life till death. As Stephen was stoned Paul (then Saul of Tarsus) held the clothes of Stephen and heard the words that still peirce his soul today. “Lay not this sin to their charge.” What grace displayed in the face of persecution.
Some well meaning men of the cloth have taken this text and twisted it to say, “This one thing I do”, as, I do one thing well that is it. I am afraid this is a grossly negligent example of herminutical practice. Although it is a good principle they are trying to teach, it is erroneous in the context. The one thing is this very simply, forgetting those things which are behind. Are there some things you have a hard time forgetting? If so you are part of a great multitude of believers that will do well to practice this truth. Good golfers know this is true, if you have one bad hole you will often allow that bad hole affect the next few.
I am of the humble opinion that there are two major things that most have a hard time forgetting. 1. Sins of the past 2. Successes of the past. Both of these could have affected the Apostle Paul and i am sure they could affect you as well. Lot’s wife turned to salt for this reason, she looked back. Jesus said, No man having put his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. We must adopt this teaching and make it a part of our being. No doubt this is easier said than done. We are dealing with pain and pleasure. Some have gone as far to say that the worst thing that can happen to some men is success too soon. Failure hath slain its thousands and success hath slain its ten thousands. If the Lord gives us a measure of success in any field we will be wise to remember that it is God that gives us the power to get wealth or success. (see Deut 8:18, Josh 1:8)
On the other hand there is pain. No man liveth unto himself. Sin is costly and painful, bitter as wormwood. The challenge is when it affects other people, and it always does. When faced with this delimna we need to remember I John 2:1 & 2 The word to see here is, “propitiation”. the merciful removal of guilt through divine forgiveness. Notice, for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. What a God! Ok we are glad you do one thing. Great you are a good writer, Super you are a good preacher, Fantastic you are a good outliner. Unfortunatley the days of a one act man are over. You had better be able to accomplish a lot of different things with some measure of confidence. Multitasking is the buzz word of our day. I am thinking of a man that is an aquaintance of mine, he is a preacher, teacher, coach, referee, evangelist, father, husband, staff member, author, and i am sure several other things that i am not aware of. He can not truthfully use this text to preach it the one act way. Hopefully we can all be helped in this way. This one thing i do, forgetting those things (plural) which are behind. Maybe this is why the Lord put our eyes on the front of our head instead of the back?

I have read some good books recently that i know will be a good help to you as well.
1. Victory over Darkness; Neil Anderson This is a tremendous book on the subject of spiritual freedom. THis book adresses the issue of identity that is most helpful.
2. What’s on your Mind? John Goetsch Also a very good read and great for personal application. I like the way Bro Goetsch put the questions at the back of the chapters. The questions and review are very helpful for retention sake. He has one chapter in this book dedicated completely to scripture memory.
If you have recently read a good book and would like to share please email me at; drhelvey@gmail.com.
Many people can look back to a time in their life that the reading of a good book was the turning point of their life. You might say, well i don’t have time to read. You know that is an excuse for we all have more time than we think we do. The challenge is disciplining ourselves to carry out the responsibility. Set a goal now for this year make it your best yet. You will be amazed at the blessings you will receive for being a diligent reader.

I have numerous books by the following authors;

Steven Farrar

Charles Spurgeon

Phillip Yancey

S.D. Gordon

Gene Edwards

Theodore Epp; FYI; The commentary on Joshua is one of the best ever written. You will find much help in these pages.

RT Kendall; This author has written many good books. One i would wholeheartedly reccomend is, “Total Forgiveness’. Very convicting and convincing.

Warren Wiersbe; Author of the “Be” series of commentaries. I have a copy of “Walking with Giants”.

FE Marsh; author of Fully Furnished. Dr. Harold Sightler said of he could have one book alone besides his bible it would be this book. It is out of print but worth the search. I have one copy i will let go.

John Maxwell; I have almost all his titles in hardback in good shape.

John McCarthur;  I have several titles; His triology of Preaching, Pastoring, and Counseling is a worthy purchase.

Ironside; Comm on Ephesians,  “In the Heavanlies”

John Hagee; Seven Secrets, Life’s Challenges, Your Opportunity.
To purchase any books email me at; drhelvey@gmail.com

   We often sing the old song, Precious Memories, How they linger…. When we think of precious memories, what is it that comes to mind? Maybe the birth of a child, a friend, a salvation experience, a fresh anointing form heaven, you get the picture. While reading my scriptures this morning i came across an interesting thought. Ecc 11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. Wow, is that heavy or what. Fact of the matter is i have spent many days and hours in laughter and frivolity. The problem is i can not remember those days. But oh how fresh are the dark days. Those days you wish you would have kept  sleeping. Those days that made Job say, Curse the day i was born. Those days that made you say, “I don’t think i can take another step.” Those days that you faced an uncomfortable confrontation and you would have rather let it go.

        In my book of rememberance (Mal 3:16) let me record only the good memories. Let me remember the afternoons at grandma’s house having apple fights in the orchard. Let me rember the days of sitting in the swing reading a book and drifting off into an afternoon nap, Let me rember the cool fall nights lying in a freshly plowed cornfield listening to my favorite coonhound trail a raccoon. The Lord has said in his word remember the days of darkness. There is no words in Holy Writ that are not there for a purpose. So with each one let us meditate and ponder the paths of our feet.

 Dark Day Principles;

1. Lessons learned in the Dark should be shared in the light; may God help our struggles, failures, sad days be a source of help for those in the race. Luther said he learned more in the furnace than the study. Lord help us to be attentive while we go through to the other side.

2. Your day of Darkness is His-Appointment not just Dis-appointment. We must understand that God is a sovereign God and He knows what is best for us. That is really easy to say and really hard to flesh out. Who wants disappointment? None of us, we want bright shining days of prosperity. I Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

3. Dark days are a surety that we will be able to help others in any trouble; 2 Cor 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. Enemies would not desire our being comforted of God. But the word says God is our refuge and strength a sure and present help in the time of trouble. Can you see that the dark is the class room for you to pass through so that you might instruct others on their way?

4. Failure to learn from dark days will ensure a re-enrollment later; When we fail to learn the lessons God has for us we become subject to the wilderness wondering crowd. Always going in circles doing the same thing over and over yet expecting a different outcome. Sophmore English was my repeat class in bible college. It seemed that our teacher had this plan to make our lives miserable by making us memorize greek roots. My failure to plan the memorization made that days even darker. All the sudden i founf myself taking the same class on saturday mornings in the front seat of a Chevy Chevette being proctored by my Greek teacher Dr. Phil Pinns. Those were some challenging days. But it was a process for me to go through. In essence the lesson is this, learn it or repeat it.

5. It is in the deepest mines that the greatest jewels are mined; This past week while reading a book by Neil Andrson, “Victory over Darkness” he tells the story of a girl in an insane asylum. Her name was, “Little Annie”.  She suffered from a lot of abuse from family and had gotten to the point that she would not respond to anyone. Finally one lady worker at the asylum said whe wanted to give it one last shot to get Annie to talk. She hadn’t spoken in months to anyone. The approach was this, the nurse would sit in front of Annie’s cell and read book after book telling her story after story. Finally one day after offering food for days on end the nurse noticed a brownie was gone from the plate. Now at least she was eating. Before long she began speaking and fully recovered. She left to help others. Years later Annie was the woman that helped a lady by the name of Helen Keller. Little does anyone know that the one that helped Helen was one day helped by another through her dark days.

     Friend you may be facing unexplainable grief please remember these days are not for you they are for another that needs the lesson. Will selfishness keep the other from learning or will you allow your dark days to help others?