The Perfect Day

Dr, Mike Murphy

September 23 ,2023

Recently I asked several people, “What would be your perfect day?” Some of their answers made me smile.  One woman told me that perfection would come if for just one day she could get her husband and her children to actually listen to her.  Another elderly woman told me that her perfect day would be finding a spot close to the door when she went to the local Walmart.  One first grade teacher told me that her perfect day would be not having to use the words ‘be quiet” more than twenty times.  One man told me that his would involve the words “lottery” and “jackpot”.  While another man told me his perfect day would only come when the Marlins again won the World Series.  As a big sports fan, I quickly let him know that his perfect day would first require a miracle!

After hearing many responses, one thing quickly became apparent.  Each had a different definition of perfection.  Some defined perfection in the lives of others, while some saw it only occurring when it involved their own life.  

With this in mind, I looked up the definition of the word perfect.  Merriam-Webster describes perfect as “flawless, to be made complete”.  So by this definition. for someone to experience perfection, one would first have to be made flawless, they would have to be made complete.  So what makes us complete? How can we recognize perfection if we have never seen it?   

Only One who is perfect can show us what perfection looks like.  And only One who is perfect, could ever show us what is needed to stand perfect in His sight.  Each day, Christ shows us a glimpse of that perfection, and gives us a little glimpse of what that perfection could look like in our lives. Each day, Christ shows us the patience that perfection requires.  The patience it takes to understand each of us, and to give us a way to overcome our imperfections. Sometimes, He shows us a glimpse of this perfection in a single moment.  While other times, it requires patience, taking us a lifetime to understand.

To best understand perfection, we need to look no farther than the writings of an imperfect man.  A man by the name of David.  It would be hard to find a more imperfect man than David.  But at times, the Lord gives us a glimpse of perfection as He worked through the life of David.  I often ask myself, why was the Lord so patient with David?  And how did the Lord often achieve such perfection through the life of such an imperfect man?  The answer is quite simple! David knew his imperfection, but he also knew where he could find perfection. David knew that perfection could only be found in the name of the Lord!  

Anyone who may doubt this, need look no farther than David’s own words. They need only to read the twenty-third Psalm.  Let us take a look at the words of David in this psalm, and see the perfection that David describes.

The Lord Is My Shepherd(Perfect Salvation)

Sheep were completely at the mercy of the shepherd.  As a shepherd, David understood this well.  He knew that the very life of the sheep depended on the shepherd.  The shepherd, feed and tended to the sheep.  The fields of ancient Israel were filled with roaming beasts, that would attack the sheep.  It was the shepherd that protected the sheep.  He was willing to lay down his life so that the sheep could live.  The shepherd also knew that sheep were easily frightened, and could easily become confused.  Sheep would often become lost, and could be lead astray by outside distractions.  The shepherd would keep the flock in sight, guiding them to where they needed to be.

It is no mistake that Christ is called the Good Shepherd(John 10:1-18, Hebrew 13:20).  It is Christ who pulls us close, and gave His life so that we may live.  He offers us guidance, and keeps us from the evil of this world.  In Christ we see our Shepherd, and we see our perfect salvation!

Two other words of this verse I want us to also look at.  David writes the word “is”.  Not that the Lord “was” or “will be”, but “is” our Shepherd.  David knew that the Lord was right there, with him every minute, guiding his every step.  Also, look at the word ”my”.  David tells us the Lord is “my” shepherd.  Not that the Lord is the shepherd of the flock, but is a shepherd who looks after each of His sheep. David tells us that God is our ‘personal shepherd”, that His perfect salvation is for each of us.

I Shall Not Want(Perfect Fulfillment)

When the sheep were hungry, the shepherd feed them.  When they were cold, the shepherd found them warmth.  And when the sheep were tired, the shepherd found them a place of peaceful rest.  The shepherd provided for the needs of the sheep.  When we, as believers in Christ, follow our Shepherd, we have the promise that He will provide us with everything we will need(Luke 12:22-30).  The Lord not only provides us with everything we will need to find Him, but to live our life for Him.  In Christ, every need is fulfilled, because He alone is our perfect fulfillment.

He Maketh Me To Lie Down In Green Pastures(Perfect Rest)

When we look at the landscape around Bethlehem, we soon realize that green pastures were not around every corner.  The shepherd would have to lead the sheep through trying terrain so that the sheep could find the nourishment and comfort that the green pastures offered. The same is with us today.  In our hectic world, Christ often has to slow us down, giving us a moment to be fed by His Word(Matthew 4:4), and a time to rest in His Presence(Hebrews 4:9-10).  Only in Christ do we find the nourishment to sustain us, and the perfect rest to replenish and comfort us.

He Leadeth Me Beside The Still Waters(Perfect Peace)

Despite how thirsty they may become, sheep will not drink from moving waters.  So often the shepherd would dam up or block the streams so that the waters would become still, and the sheep would drink.  In Christ, we find our still and living waters(John 4:14), the quiet of His Presence that brings us perfect peace.

He Restoreth My Soul(Perfect Restoration)

When the shepherd had lead the sheep to the lush pastures, and they had been brought to still waters, the sheep would become calm, taking comfort in the situation they found themselves in.  Their life and energy would be restored, preparing them for the next day.  In Christ we find our redeeming grace, the words and waters that replenish and restore us, preparing us for whatever may lie ahead.  In the fields that Christ has lead us, and in the waters that only Christ can offer us, we find our perfect restoration.

He Leadeth Me In The Paths Of Righteousness For His Name’s Sake(Perfect Guidance)

The Hebrew word used here for paths actually means “well traveled paths”.  Sometimes the shepherd would have to lead the sheep great distances in order to find the fields and water they needed.  As he did, the shepherd would take his sheep on proven paths, those that had been traveled many times before. The shepherd knew these paths well, as he had traveled these paths his whole life.  He knew these paths would keep his sheep from dangers, and he knew the trouble that could lie on other paths.

Like the shepherd, Christ guides us down proven paths, paths that steer us away from the dangers of the world around us.  Paths that are safe, the trusted “paths of righteousness”. Our Shepherd knows these paths like the back of His hand, and offers us perfect guidance.

Yea, Though I Walk Through The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death, I Will Fear No Evil(Perfect Shelter)

Sheep often made easy targets for the predators that roamed the area. And when not threatened by predators, sheep could often be their worst enemies. When not watched over constantly, sheep would often wander off on their own. As they did, they would often become fearful and startled, some so frightened it would cause them to have a heart attack, bringing on their own death.  Knowing this, the shepherd would gather the sheep to him, protecting them from the predators that could lie in the darkness.

Our world today is also filled with predators, agents of Satan that lie in the darkness waiting to strike(1 Peter 5:8).   In the protective hands of Christ, evil cannot find a way to attack us, and a way to destroy us.  Through Christ’ perfect shelter, we are safeguarded from the dangers this world would bring our way.

For Thou Art With Me(Perfect Companionship)

Each day, the shepherd would often speak aloud, enabling the sheep to feel secure by hearing his voice.  It reminded the sheep of his presence, and they took comfort that he was always nearby.  The same is with us today.  We can take comfort that Christ is always close, and walks each step we take with us. We hear His voice as He is there to comfort us, to calm our fears, to give us encouragement, and to remind us of His ways.  Each day we hear Him speak, and we know that right besides us stands our perfect companion.

Thy Rod And Thy Staff They Comfort Me(Perfect Comfort)

From the moment a boy began to train to become a shepherd, he carried a rod and a staff.  The rod was used for protection, and could be deadly in the hands of a gifted shepherd. The shepherd would also use the rod for another very important purpose.  As the sheep would pass by, the shepherd would hold the rod over the sheep, using it to help him count each.  This brought his attention to each sheep, ensuring he knew and recognized all as part of his fold.

The staff quickly identified the shepherd.  No other profession has ever had the need to carry a piece of equipment like a staff.  The staff was ideal to care for and manage sheep.  With its’ length, the shepherd would use it to guide the sheep.  Tapping them on the side as they went, keeping each in line.  The hooked end also served a special purpose.  With it the shepherd could gently, but firmly, pull the sheep back to him as it began to stray.  And it enabled the shepherd to lift a young lamb out of danger, placing him back near the comfort of his mother and the other sheep.

In the hands of our skilled Shepherd, the rod and staff protect us the same today.  He uses them to protect us from the evil and dangers around us, and to gentle bring us back into the fold when we begin to stray.  Keeping a count of us, knowing when even one of us are not there.  We find perfect comfort when we look at Christ, and see the rod and the staff He has in His hands.

Thou Preparest A Table Before Me In The Presence Of Mine Enemies(Perfect Provision)

We have seen as David described to us the perfect shepherd, now he shows us the perfect host.  Despite what many may think, the two did go hand in hand.  As people would travel the countryside from city to city, it was often the shepherd who would serve as their host. Offering them the comfort of his house or tent, and the hospitality of his table.  Custom taught that once a man entered your dwelling, he could no longer be viewed as your enemy, but only as your valued guest.  The value of the guest went beyond measure, and the host would protect the guest with his very life.  All the host had was available to the guest; his home, his food, his fellowship, and his protection.

No matter what we may have done, or what we may have said, when we accept the Lord’s invitation and enter His presence, we become His valued guest. As we find ourselves a guest in His house, we soon discover the mercy and the grace of our Host.  His offers us all He has, and gives us all we need.  In His house we lack for nothing, and find that all is provided for us.

Thou Anointest My Head With Oil(Perfect Blessing)

As a guest arrived in your house, one of the greatest honors you could bestow on them would be to anoint their head with oil.  It showed the value you shared for your esteemed guest, and placed them in a position of honor.  It showed your guest that you viewed their presence the same as if your house was being visited by a king or a priest.  

As we, today, accept Christ’ invitation, and enter His house, we too are anointed with oil(1 John 2:20).  We are made to be kingdom priest(Revelation 1:6), and we are given the perfect blessing of knowing that we will reign with Christ forever.

My Cup Runneth Over(Perfect Joy)

As the host sat his guest at his table and welcomed them, he would overflow their cup.  This showed his guest they were welcome to all he had, and could stay as long as they wanted.

As we sit at the Lord’s table, we watch as He overflows our cup.  He offers us all He has in abundance, and assures us that His house is now ours(John 14:3).  We can take joy in the assurance that our cup overflows.

Surely Goodness And Mercy Shall Follow Me All The Days Of My Life(Perfect Care)

As the guest was so graciously welcomed, he would often reply, “Your goodness surrounds me”.  He was telling his host that his act was unselfish, giving of himself so freely showed a goodness that blessed all those around him.

As we find ourselves at the Lord’s table, we cannot help but see and feel His goodness. His mercy and grace so overwhelms our life, that His goodness shows in each of us.  There is no goodness that does not start with the hands of the Lord(James 1:17).  And as a guest at His table, we have the promise of having a place at that table each of our eternal days(John 3:16). We have the promise that the Lords perfect care will always be there, filling each of us with His goodness.

And I Will Dwell In The House Of The Lord Forever(Perfect Future)

As we read this verse, we watch as David took the graciousness of the host to a level no man could know or understand through his own logic.  There was once a famous Greek saying that said, “Guest are like a fish, after three days they begin to stink.”  A guest in the Lord’s house is not just welcome for three days, or three weeks, or even for three years.  We receive an everlasting invitation, we are welcome in His house forever.   Forever is an amount of time most of us can never imagine.  But we have the promise that an eternity as a guest in the Lord’s House will be nothing short of amazing(1 Corinthians 2:9). We have the promise of a perfect future.

No one can read this psalm and not see the true understanding that David had of the Lord’s plan of perfection for each of our lives. The love and desire that David had for the Lord. His yearning to change the imperfect man he knew he was, to the perfect man the Lord knew he would one day be.  The eternal perfection that David knew he would one day experience at the Shepherd’s house. But David’s story should not surprise us.  His story is each of our stories. Each of us see the Lord’s perfection as His hand moves in our lives.  Sometimes we see a glimpse of that perfection in the most peaceful of times, when His perfect rest and His perfect joy envelopes us.  Other times we feel that perfection in the most turbulent of times, when His perfect guidance and His perfect comfort encompasses us.

As we watch the chaos of this world around us, I pray each of you will seek a glimpse of perfection.  That each of you will seek the Lord’s face, and that each of you will find His plan of perfection.  I pray that each of you will accept the invitation that is awaiting you to the Shepherd’s house.  That you will find your way to His table, and smile as your cup overflows. That your eyes will water as His anointing oil runs down your face.  I pray that one day I will share with each of you the joy and experience of a true perfect day!

Praying David’s words will become your words!

His Voice

Dr. Mike Murphy
September 16, 2023

They were filled with grief as they left.  They had known him for years, but the man they now saw was a shell of his former self.  Behind the sores that covered his skin, was a man broken by all this life had recently brought his way. Many a man had claimed to lose everything, but before them stood a man who they thought had lost it all.  Within minutes, he had watched as all his wealth was destroyed in front of him, and all his servants had now abandoned him.  If that news was not devastating enough, a messenger arrived with even more traumatizing news. All three of his daughters, and all seven of his sons, had lost their lives in a sudden disaster.

This would be more than most men could bear, but they would soon learn their friend was no ordinary man.  As his grief and loss filled his mind, boils began to cover his skin.  As the pain from his skin began to smother him, his wife began to chide him.  She mocked his integrity, and told him he should just curse God so he could die.  But he know that all he had he received from God, it was not his. So he praised the Lord through it all.

As his friends came to see him, that sat in grief with him.  For days that sat with him quietly, hoping their presence would comfort him.  They tried to help him get beyond all that now cursed him, everything that haunted him.  They pleaded with him to confess his sins, to turn to God and to make his case before Him.  But with each plea, he professed his innocence, assuming no guilt.  As their pleas became stronger, his stance remained.  One last time they pleaded with him to confess his guilt, warning him that his sins would just cause him greater suffering.  But through it all, he remained unchanged.

As they left him, they wondered if that would be the last they would see of their friend. Whether his guilt would completely consume him.  But as they walked out the door that day, they could still hear him praising the Lord above. And as they last glanced into his eyes, they saw a man who was waiting patiently to hear His voice.

We all know and love the story of Job.  With each word, we read of his devotion and of his patience.  And with each word we learn so much about the nature of our Lord.  Job shows us how little we really know of that nature. Just how limited our mind is to the nature of our Lord, and all the things He is doing for us that is out of our sight.  We have so often heard the age old question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”  Job shows us the answer will never be found in the logic and the understanding of man, but can only be found when we listen to the Lord above.

Job shows us that our life is not a series of chances, not a matter of coincidences. Our life has a purpose, a purpose that is found in His voice.  A purpose that always sees the Lord in control.  A purpose when seen, always brings glory to His name, and always brings fulfillment to His will.  In His purpose we can find a perfection.  A perfection that lead the psalmist to proclaim, “As for God, His ways are perfect”(Psalm 18:30).  If we trust that God is perfect, then we must also trust that whatever God does in our lives must also be perfect. Many days our limited minds only lets us see the flaws, not seeing the beauty that we so easily overlook in the perfection.  But God sees first those perfections, and the purpose that will one day allow each of us to see them also.

Our job is to trust in His purpose, to allow His eyes to show us what we cannot always see.  To trust Him, to obey Him, and to follow His will so we may also see the beauty He sees in the perfection.  When we trust His purpose, we soon find that God is present no matter what this life may throw our way. Whether we are standing on the highest of mountains, or we find ourselves in the deepest of valleys, by our side the Lord is always there.  Standing with us in all the splendor of His glory.  A splendor that would lead Job to proclaim, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You”(Job 42:5).

In the midst of the story of Job, we are given a glimpse of God’s purpose, and the perfection that would come from His purpose.  As Job is in the grip of his misery, he asked two amazing questions.  First, Job asks, "Who can bring what is pure from the impure?  No one!?"(Job 14:4).  This is a question from a man who not only knows the perfection of God, but sees the imperfection in each of us.  An imperfection that separates us from the Lord through our sins. But in Job’s question, the answer would one day come in the midst of God’s purpose, as our Lord would place Himself on the Cross so that we may be made perfect in the Lord’s eyes.

A few verses later, Job asks a second question.  “If man dies, will he live again?”(Job 14:14).  In the midst of Job’s greatest struggle, he finds hope that the Lord will restore him.  That death will hold no strength over him.  Again, the answer to Job’s question was found in God’s purpose.  As Christ rose, we have His promise that we will also rise, and that we will live with Him forever(John 14:19).  A promise that is not only the answer to Job’s question, but is the answer to all our questions.  A promise whose purpose holds every answer.

I love reading the story of Job, and often find myself studying it.  With each word, I understand a little more of His purpose, I see a clearer picture of His perfection.  And with a little more clarity I hear His voice.  As so many of you who hear my words already know, I am in the final stages of cancer.  With each day, I feel the grip that cancer has on me strengthening.  And as Job must of often felt, I can slowly feel this life escaping from me. But each day as this body fails me a little more, I hear His voice a little louder.  I see His purpose a little clearer.  And my desire for His will to be seen in my life becomes a little stronger.

Each day, His voice whispers to me that my cancer is not a curse, but a blessing when placed in His hands.  He so lovingly reminds me , my life is not measured by my number of days, but by what I do with each of those days. Each of my days are measured by His will, not by the selfish concerns of my own. Each day is measured by the opportunities He gives me, and what I do with each of those opportunities.  And with each opportunity, I allow His will be to seen, and His glory to be shown.

At the end of each day, His voice softly speaks to me, asking me what I did with the opportunities He gave me that day.  My own answer becomes my measure.  Each day that I follow His purpose and I remember His perfection, I find I cannot wait to hear His voice that night calling to me.  His voice has also taught me that each opportunity He gives me is of equal importance.  He may not be able to use me as often now to speak to hundreds, but He smiles just as wide when He sees me speak to one.  Just like He did with Job, the Lord has shown me that He can change this world just as quickly when we are willing to speak to one, as He can when we are called to speak to many.  Our physical ailments and restrictions are not obstacles in His eyes, nothing more than building blocks that will lay the foundation for His perfect plan, will, and purpose for each of our lives. Just as the Lord showed Job, our limitations are not restrictions of what He can do with us, they are often opportunities in His hands to reach those He so needs to reach.  We are putty in His hands, and whether that putty is soft and pliable, or hardened by what this world has thrown at us, it is still a source of beauty and perfection in the hands of the Master.  A putty that is designed to reflect His will, and show all the world of His purpose.  Putty sculpted into an image so to remind this world of the beauty that is heard in each word of His voice.

I pray that all of you will see the beauty and the purpose in each opportunity the Lord gives you.  Each opportunity is an incredible and an amazing gift, just waiting to be opened and shared with all those around you.  With each opportunity you fulfill, His will and His purpose become a little clearer, and His glory shines a little brighter.  And with each gift you open, I can promise His voice will speak to you a little clearer.  And I can also promise, that you will praise our Lord for the blessing He gives you, allowing you each day to open and share another of his precious gifts.

I will also speak to you the words that I believe Job would say to each of you.  What this world may see as your greatest curse, can be an incredible blessing in His hands. What may bring you to your knees in despair, may be the one thing, in His hands, that keeps you on your knees in praise.  When this world sees you in your weakest or final moments, close your ears to all they are saying, and listen closely for His voice.  He will always be there speaking to you, always glad to share with you the plans and purpose He has for you.  Plans that no matter how weak He may find you, still has opportunities waiting for you.  And when those final moments do come, do not face them with fear and regret. Face them with praise and rejoice, knowing you have made the most of every opportunity He gave you.  That you have opened every gift, and shared each of those gifts with all those around you.  Face that moment knowing that you have the answers to both the questions that Job once asked.  Knowing the purpose and the plans that He will forever have for you. Knowing that in those next moments you will get your first amazing glimpse of the smile that you will forever more see on His face.  And as you take your place in the eternity He has lovingly created for you, take comfort in knowing that you recognize the familiarity of His voice!

Praying each of you will be putty in His hands, and as He sculpts each of you, you will hear the beauty in His voice!

A Field For The Harvest

 Dr. Mike Murphy

September 9, 2023

“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

How many times during each of our lives have we heard these words? Despite how often you have heard these words, how many of you know where these words come from? We all know these as words of encouragement, words that tell us the benefit of diligence and hard work.

Most who know a little about these words, will attribute them to Benjamin Franklin, and his publication of Poor Richard’s Almanac.  In the 1735 version of the almanac, most Americans first saw these words in print.  Words that Franklin saw as giving an earnest intent, with an uplifting message that reached the heart of the common man.  But what most do not know, it was not Franklin who first penned these words, nor was he even the second. Franklin was not the originator of this now common phrase, he was just the one that made it popular.

The earliest record of this proverb goes back to a little known publication called The Book Of St. Albans, printed in 1486.  It was a popular phrase among the people, and by no surprise, it soon made its’ way into print.  So popular amongst the people, that in 1639, almost a hundred years before it was seen in Poor Richard’s Almanac, Baptist minister John Clarke made it a part of one of his publication.

So why did this simple phrase so capture the heart of the people?  It might be because it was not first a phrase of the people, but one God gave to them. When we look at the society and the culture of England in the 1400’s, we soon discover that published books were rare. Because the cost to create a book was so high, most of the common people never saw more than a handful during their life.  But one “book” the people did know.  One “book” the people heard the words of often.  And as they heard the words of this “book”, they would often remember the words they had heard, and repeat those words in their own language.  And just what might that “book” be?  The Bible!

The phrase that was popular by the people in the 1400’s, that found its’ way into the heart of American culture, were words that were just as popular when Solomon wrote them over two thousand years earlier.  Proverbs 6”9 tells us, “How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?”.  It was found here, in the words that God led Solomon to write, that the phrase could first be found.

From the days of Solomon, to the people of England in the 1400’s, to Colonial America, the heart of the people could be found in the farmers.  It was the farmers that made up most of society.  The work done in the fields was the glue that held the society together.  Society evolved around the crops found in those fields, the nourishment, products, and profits each of those fields brought. And no crop was closer to the heart of society than wheat.  Wheat was the core crop that all society depended on, and could not survive without.  And to the farmer that raised wheat, the words of this proverb could not hold any greater meaning.  Wheat can be a demanding crop.  One that requires back breaking work, and long, relentless hours in the field. But with each swing of the sickle, and each hour of sweat, the wheat farmer could see the reward for each hour he had tolled..

Many obstacles stood between the farmer and that reward.  Weather often served as a hurdle the farmer would have to carefully clear.  Often requiring him to perform painstaking hours in the fields to make sure the heat, the cold, the wetness, and the dryness, did not destroy his crop.  From grasshoppers, to locust, to stink bugs, insects lined up to feast on his fields.  The farmer would have to constantly watch and take precautions so the insects did not take over. The farmer must also worry and protect his crop from disease, knowing that wheat can be subjected to more diseases than any other grain crop.  From blight, to blotch, to mildew, to yellow rust, the farmer has to keep a constant watch on his fields. Knowing that if disease is to start, then it can spread rapidly. Destroying his fields before much could be done to stop it.  And if all that is not enough, the farmer has to deal with weeds.  When wheat begins to grow, weeds called darnel spring up all through the field. Both the wheat and the darnel look alike, and it is not until the wheat begins to blossom, and the seed head appears, that the two can be told apart.  But by this time the roots of the two have become intertwined, and it becomes impossible to separate the two until it is time to harvest the crop. So the farmer is required to deal with the weeds in order to make sure his crop can come in.

So why would the farmer raise wheat?  Because of the need for the crop, the life sustaining substance that came to the people from his hands.  Because of the smile that would come to his face as he saw his silos full.  And because, at the end of the day, he could see exactly how all his hard work had paid off.

Of all the people of this world, Christians should best understand the job of the farmer. As the farmer is called to tend his fields, the Christians also have a crop we have been called to tend. A crop that requires both our work and our devotion.  A crop, that like the farmer, should have us up early, eager to find ourselves hard at work tending to the fields.  And just as the day will come when the farmer will rejoice in his harvest, Christ has promised us a day would also come when we will rejoice in a harvest as well.

“At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into My barn.”(Matthew 13:30).  A future day will come, when Christ will call on the angels to harvest His field.  To first gather the weeds and burn them.  And then to collect the wheat and bring it to Him.  But that day will not come without hours of work having been spent in the fields first.  Hours and days needed by those of us who He has called to be the laborers, who is needed to work those fields.  Fields that must be nourished, and a crop that must be protected.  A crop that does not just demand the sweat of our attention, but the desire of our devotion.

The field that Christ has is vast, a whole world that will one day be harvested.  But in the vastness of this field, Christ has called the Church in this country to tend an area of that field.  An area of prime and rich land we call America.  And as we look at the area of the field we have been given the responsibility to care for, what we see has to trouble us.  A field that has been left uncultivated, with crops beaten down by the brutal storms.  Stalk after stalk of wheat that is riddled by disease.  Plants covered with insects, with leafs that are being stripped and eaten away.  A field so riddled with weeds, that we can no longer distinguish between the weeds and the wheat that has yet to bloom.  And as we look out on the field, we see vacancy, with only a handful of laborers trying to revive and keep alive what little crop this field has left.

But despite it all, if we will just take the time to walk the field, to put our hands in the ground, we will find that the dirt is still rich.  A ground bursting with fertility, that just needs enough laborers to spend the day at work in it.  A field that still echoes the words that Christ once spoke to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”(Matthew 9:37).

Church, I plead with you, do not give up and abandon this field!  Do not allow the evil of the insects to ravish and destroy this crop.  Do not give it over to the weeds, but see again the potential in this field that Christ once showed us. The wealth of a harvest that this field could produce, with stalks that stand high and proud.  Stalks of such great stature, that the others fields of this world envy it. That the laborers of those fields turn again to us as an example of what a field should be.

Our neglect of the field may have been great, but the potential reward of this field still stands even greater!  It is time Church.  Time we rolled up our sleeves, picked up the tools that Christ has given us, and got our hands in the dirt.  It is time we awoke from our sleep, got up early, and spent every waking moment of our days hard at work in this field.  Knowing that every minute we spend in the field for Christ will leave us healthy, wealthy, and wise. Eternally healthy, filled with a wealth of grace and hope, and wise in Spirit.  Arise out of bed Church, we have a field to tend!  And with each day in the field we will know, there is a harvest coming soon!

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”(Galatians 6:9)

Dear Church,...(A Love Letter)

Dr. Mike Murphy
September 2, 2023

Dear Church,

I pray this letter reaches you.  Several times, myself and others have tried to contact you, but our attempts to reach you went unanswered.  We worry about you, and are fearful for you.  We know so well how trying these past years have been for you.  We miss you, and the world is not the same without you.

Despite all you have seen and gone through, you have not been forgotten.  Although you may feel as if you are lost, wandering aimlessly most days, you know in the depths of your mind the path that will lead you back Home. To a Home where several of us stand, waiting and longing each day for your return.  We find ourselves glancing at the path that leads to your Home, hoping and praying we will once again see your face.  To see your image returning from a distance, and to find ourselves running with joy to meet you.  We yearn for nothing more that to see you again, and to welcome you Home.

But each day, we read the reports, and hear the news about you.  News that takes you farther from us, and farther each day from your Home.  News that only feeds our worries, and heightens our concerns.  We see the pictures, the news clips, and we read the words of those you have chosen to spend your time with.  Those who do not truly desire to know you, and are only there to use you. There to build a name for themselves at your expense.  They do not love you as so many of us have.  They have not heard the words that once stirred you, the hopes that once drove you, and the lives that have been touched through you. They twist the words that once called you, using your name for their own greed and their own fame.  We plead with anyone who will hear that they will leave you alone, but our pleas fall on deaf ears.  We so helplessly watch as more of these beasts surround you.  Sharpening their fangs, ready at a minutes notice to feed off of you.

I pray that you will once again cling to your past.  That this letter will bring back the memories of your youth.  To a day when you were still young, but showed so much promise. To a series of letters that once defined you, and served to motivate you.  Letters written to you by One who will forever love you like no other ever has.  Letters so touching and so beautiful, guiding you through your toughest times, and bringing you back into focus during your greatest moments.  Love letters unlike others.  Love letters that were mercifully shared for all to see. Words so stirring they have moved the hearts of kings and queens, and have brought the hardest of men to their knees.  But letters I am so afraid that time has forgotten.

Remember again the words.  The words that once filled your heart, and led you to help Him forever change this world.  His first letter found you in a similar situation you find yourself in today, calling you back to Him, back to the embracing arms of your first love. Words of truth that showed you the lie behind the temptations of this world, but words that showed you the promise of what tomorrow could bring.  

He then wrote to you again and again, encouraging you to overcome all this world may throw your way.  He reminded you, that although this world might despise you, His open arms were waiting to protect you.  But for Him to protect you, He needed you to return to those arms. To escape from the evil that surrounded you, and return to the comfort of His embrace.  He knew how strong the hold of this world was over you, the temptations that confused you.  And He implored of you to remember that first love, and to hold fast to that love.  He knew that only through that love could you ever find the future your soul desired. An eternity of looking into the eyes of the One who loved you.

But He worried that His words would not awaken you from the sleep this world had promised you.  A sleep that would keep you from Him, not finding you waiting for His longing return for you. He shouted for you to awaken, promising that His return would keep you from the coming horrors this world had in mind for you.  Horrors that only He had foretold, that the world scoffed at and denied.  He told you of the home He was building for you, a glorious palace where you would reign forever with Him.  But this world would not let you go easily, leaving you torn between His love and their desires.  But His love prevailed as you found Him at your door, and He prepared a marvelous dinner for you.  That night, your love grew, and your love for Him became the desire that drove you.  

Despite all the hardship and trials that was thrown at you, all who tried to destroy the love He had for you, that love continued to grow.  You shared your story of His love with all who would hear, and watched as that story spread like wildfire. Soon the world would know His name, and many yearned to know and experience His love.  As the story of His love grew, your name also grew. Countless numbers flooded to you, so they could hear and know more of this story.  But the world continued to despise you, envious of the love He had for you. Despite the obstacles the world placed in your way, you continued to spread the story.  Spreading the message of His love for all to know.

But the world continued to loathe you, and decided if they could not stop you, they would change you.  They looked for ways to influence you, to confuse you, to dilute the message He had given you.  As days turned to years, we watched as the world sank its’ teeth in you, looking to control you.  We watched each day as it drew you farther and farther away, until one day you had completely lost sight of your Home.

As I stand today with the One who loves you, the only One who truly knows you, I cannot begin to tell you how much I miss you.  I long to see your face one last time, to hear you again speak of the truth and purity of the love He has for you.  As I look into His eyes, I still see the love He has for you.  In His voice, I hear the worries and concerns He has of you.  And in His touch, I feel the longing He has to see you again.  So many days, several of us have searched for you, looking this world over trying to again find you.  A few times we have thought we had a glimpse of you, but soon realized it was just another who was trying to look like you. Everywhere we go, we call out for you, but our voices have become echoes in the silence of this world.  We live in a day, that cries out for you.  A day that needs your voice more than ever, that needs nothing more than to hear the story He gave to you.  I pray each day for you, that you will distance yourself from the ones that hide you, the ones that use and manipulate you, and the ones who look to silence you.  I pray you will find yourself free from the shackles that now bind you, the shackles that you freely choose to place yourself in.  We all need you.  I beg of you, please come Home!

Praying the Church will once again find its’ way back Home!

More Than A Little GOOD NEWS!

Mike Murphy
August 27, 2023

 

“What does the future hold?”  I recently asked several  brothers and sisters in Christ that very question.  I heard about as many answers as we have questions.  Many told me they saw the soon return of Christ.  Several said that the world was becoming consumed with evil, and could not go on much longer. More than one told me they were seeing prophetic events that the Bible foretells coming together at a rapid rate.  One man said, “I watch the news with one eye and read the prophecies of the Bible with the other eye.  Most days I do not know which eye is seeing which.”
The common theme in most of the replies was one of disgust, concern and anxiety. Most felt they were watching as the world was spinning out of control, with Satan setting the groundwork for a tragedy of events that are to soon follow. They saw the days of Noah approaching, and this earth filled with despair.

It is hard to read a newspaper, turn on the computer, or flip through the channels of the television without seeing the warning signs.  But if we look at these signs through the Lord’s eyes, our anxiety soon turns to calmness, and our despair soon turns to hope.  In this tragedy, we see the Lord paint us a picture of Good News!

Let us take a minute and look at this picture, and see a couple of examples why our fears of doom and gloom should actually be full joy and encouragement.

God Is, And Will Always Be In Control.  

In 1867, a young Mark Twain visited the Holy Land.  He published his views of this trip in Innocents Abroad.  He describe the country as completely desolate, with hardly anything living in sight.  He penned these words about what he saw.  “ A desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds… a silent mournful expanse…. a desolation…. we never saw a human being on the whole route…. hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.”  He described how small Jerusalem was by saying, “A fast walker could go outside the walls of Jerusalem and walk entirely around the city in an hour. I do not know how else to make one understand how small it is.”   

Almost one hundred and sixty years ago, before Ezekiel’s dry bones would come back to life(Ezekiel 37:1-14) and Isaiah’s desert would again bloom(Isaiah 35:1), man saw the land of Israel as pointless and barren.  Land that no one would want and could not possibly serve any function.  But what man saw as desolate and hopeless, the Lord looked on with a purpose.

“The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.”, Proverbs 16:4.  This verse tells us that the Lord has made every thing for His own purpose, and for its’ own end.  God has made all things for His glory, for His goodness and wisdom, and so that all things might be revealed through Him.  We see in this verse that even the wicked are subjective to His purpose.  A perfect example of this would be Pharaoh. The Bible gives us verse after verse showing us the rebellion of Pharaoh to the promise of the deliverance to the Lord’s chosen people.  Time and time again, the Lord would send a warning, but ten times we watched as Pharaoh refused to heed to the will and promise of God.  Even when all was lost, Pharaoh would still not find himself repentant before the Lord. In the end, the wickedness of Pharaoh was easily overcome.  The Lord showed the world that His plan and purpose would always be fulfilled, and that no evil could ever stand in His way.  Even in the midst of Pharaoh’s evil, God’s name was declared for all to hear.  The Lord told Pharaoh these exact words in Exodus 9:16.  “But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth.”

When we see things go wrong in our lives or in the world around us, our first instinct is to ask God “why”.  We easily forget that the “why” is a self-serving and pointless question. We can only see things in a finite way, we only see the here and now.  But God, in His infinite wisdom, not only knows what we need today, but what is required for His purpose and plan for our lives tomorrow. Nothing in our life does the Lord do by chance, He has a purpose for every event and encounter.  We must understand, our limited human perspective often does not allow us to see God’s greater plan.

Our finite mind often confuses us when it comes to God’s plan.  We often do not want or wish to know where our free will ends, and the Lord’s sovereignty begins.  It is hard for us to realize that His sovereignty does not begin or end, it is all that matters.  To deny this does the unthinkable, it attempts to put us in control over God.  Our free will cannot and will not disrupt God’s purpose, just as evil will never prevent God’s plan.

We often see evil, or Satan, as a force that is standing in the way of what the Lord’s wants and desires for all of us.  The truth is, Satan will never have more influence in this world than the Lord wants him to have.  Look at Job for the perfect example.  When Satan came to the Lord, he told Him that Job only served Him because the Lord protected him.  So God told Satan he could do limited actions in the life of Job, but no more.  When Satan wanted to act, he knew he could do nothing unless God allowed it.  And look what came from this.  The world saw that Satan held no authority over our lives, and that God’s will triumphs above all.  The Lord turned Satan’s evil plan for Job into a moment of glory for all to see!.

God is in complete control of all things around us.  We have example after example in His Word that proves this to us.  The Lord’s power is unlimited, and evil can do nothing to limit it.  When we begin to understand this and trust this, the future is no longer a desolate place without hope.  It becomes a place of great purpose, filled with the plans and blessings the Lord has for each of us.  The Lord wants us to see, our future  is not a nightmare waiting to happen, but a place that dreams are made of!

We Know How The Story Ends!

I must confess.  I have flipped forward to the end of the Book, and now I cannot wait for this story to get there!  For those of us who believe, this Book will never end.  The Glory of the last pages will be heard in our voices forever.  The plot line of this story will last forever, and we have the promise that this fairy tale will be our eternal reality.  We will get to see and experience the real big bang theory!  This heaven and earth will pass away, but a glorious, new heaven and earth will take its’ place.  And in it we will live with Christ forever(Revelation 21:1-27)!  
Our future is not one of fear, but one of glorious hope.  When we place our trust in Christ, our future is forever bright, one we cannot wait and yearn for.  We realize, evil has no hold over our lives.  Evil no longer plays a part in our future. “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”, 1 John 4:4.   It is not us who should fear Satan, but Satan who should fear us. 
No one knows the words of Scripture better than Satan.  The Bible tells us that Christ was “delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God”(Acts 2:23).  No one knew this better than Satan.  He knew exactly what the birth, ministry, death, and Resurrection of Christ would bring, and knew nothing he did could prevent it.  Not one action by the Sanhedrin, Caiaphas, the Roman Government, Pilate, or Judas could do one thing to stop God’s plan.  The first chapter of Ephesians tells us that before the Lord even began to create this world, He had a plan for our lives in place.  God’s plan of Salvation through Christ was in place before the foundation of this world were laid.  God knew before this world was formed that neither Satan’s rebellion, the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, the Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, or the tower of Babel would slow down His plan for us one second.  He knew these evil and rebellious events would all fail, and in the end all these events would do nothing but bring greater glory to His name.  Just as these rebellious events had no effect on His plan, we can now have faith that the events the Bible tells us the future holds will also not slow down His plan a single minute either.  
We can trust what God tells us about the future, because He has proven to us exactly what He did in the past.  We are not called to fear this future, but to welcome it.  To cherish what the future offers, and to prepare for it in every way. Christ told us He did not come to be served, but to serve(Matthew 20:28).  That is the calling that should prepare us for that future.  We should answer every opportunity the Lord gives us to reach out to this world today, so as many as possible can share in the excitement that we will experience with Christ tomorrow.  We should walk into this world with a message of hope, not one of fear.  We know how this story ends, and we want as many as possible to read and experience the story of this Book with us!

So I ask again, “What does the future hold?”  One thing about the future is certain, it is surrounded with hope!  The future is filled with Good News!

Praying each of your lives is filled with GOOD NEWS!