He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me." (Mark 9:19)
 
The occasion of the words mentioned above was sometime during the third year of the Lord’s earthly ministry.  A father’s son was possessed with a demon causing him to behave violently.  Though the Lord had given his apostles the authority to cast out demons, because of their lack of faith they had failed in healing this boy.
 
Fortunately, Satan has no power today to possess a person as he did during the time of miracles.  However, there is still an important lesson for modern disciples.  Our faithlessness mirrors the faithless activity of these early disciples.
 
While we do not live the age of demon possession, Satan is still exerting much influence in our world.  Personal lives, homes, communities, and local churches have been affected by his power to deceive and entice.   We ought to be able to help that poor “demon possessed” friend, but it could be said of us as well – “they could not”.  The disciples could not and we cannot.
 
In our unbelieving generation churches have tried every gimmick in the book to gain the numbers.  Those churches on the left have tried the allurement of the social gospel – “win ‘em with coffee and donuts, fun and games for the family, etc.”  Other churches who would oppose such tactics have pushed such gimmicks as – “you’ll really like our singing, or our preacher, or our Bible classes”.  All of the above mentioned methods are carnal.  We forget about the One who has the power to solve our problems. 
 
“Bring them to me”, Jesus said.  Our job is not about the latest religious gadget, but about winning others to Christ.  He is the only one who can bring them into a right relationship with God.
 
George Slover

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)
 
Pete Dawkins was born March 8, 1938 in Royal Oak, Michigan.  Dawkins was stricken with polio as a child.  At the age of eleven he developed scoliosis, a debilitating back condition.
 
Due to his health Dawkins was told he would never play sports.  However, Pete Dawkins’ love for the game of football motivated him to persevere.  Thus, he entered into an experimental training program that included aggressive physiotherapy.  A regimen of weight lifting was considered to be a cure for curvature of the spine.
 
Six years later the 180 pound Dawkins, a quarterback for Michigan Prep School, pursued a career of football at West Point.  In 1956 Pete Dawkins joined the Army football team.  After a few varsity practices coach Earl Blaik gave Dawkins two choices 1) quit the team, or 2) become a scrub.  Coach Blaik made it clear that Pete Dawkins would never play a game of football for Army.  Dawkins chose to be a scrub.  His brutal job was to return punts, or become tackling practice for a team of hungry cadets.  In 1958, against all of the odds, Pete Dawkins won college football’s most coveted award – the Heisman Trophy.
 
The secret to Dawkins’ success was an exercise he’d learned during his early years with scoliosis.  Each night after taps, when the lights were out, this determined cadet would lift weights on his room floor.  This was an exercise prohibited by college coaches.  It was believed that lifting weights would be harmful to a player’s agility.
 
In 1958 this one-time scrub unleashed his 220 pound body to reap the fruit of years of hard work.  Dawkins likes to say,  “Sometimes the things you think are the most awful disappointments turn out to be the most important opportunities you ever had.”  
 
The Christian’s life is full of setbacks and challenges, but we must give all we’ve got.  We must run hard for the finish line.  One day God will award the victory crown!
 
George Slover

“But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.”  (2 Thessalonians 3:3)
 
Living each day for God is often challenged by personal temptations, by people who disappoint us, and by physical trials.  Many opportunities for failure and discouragement are presented to the Christian.
 
Where can the child of God go for help?  Certainly, one should be able to go to brethren, or friends or family for support.  However, there are times when men fail us, but not God, for He is faithful. Men may disposed to do you wrong but, God will “establish you and guard you from the evil one”. This is the promise of God.
 
To “establish” is to make stable, to strengthen, to make firm.   In Colossians 2:6,7, Paul commands: “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith.”  Believers can be established when they come to God’s word and allow it to influence their lives.  It will be manifested by (II Thessalonians 1:3) a growing faith, ( II Thessalonians 1:3) an abounding love, and (II Thessalonians 1:4)an enduring patience.
 
It is equally reassuring to know that God will faithfully guard us from the evil one.  Jesus commands us to pray:  “And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13)  Paul then assures us that God will deliver on our request by providing a way of escape in time of temptation (I Corinthians 10:13).  God, according to Ephesians 6:10-17,  supplies us with the armor necessary to win the battle.  God is faithful!
 
This is so wonderful to contemplate! What great consolation to the faithful Christian to know that God is always loyal to the “cause” they love.  We have all failed God on several occasions, but He has never failed us!  God wants us to succeed!  He is faithful!
 
George Slover

Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You! “(Psalms 119:11)
 
The above verse is a truly practical one.  The best defense against sin is reading and meditating on God’s word.  I would venture to say that almost all of my readers would agree with this.  So, why is it so difficult to get folks to devote some time each day to daily reading, meditation, and prayer?  Maybe, it is because we fail to see the seriousness of the battle!
 
If you were deserted in a wilderness, but you had a manual that listed essential rules of survival, would you read it?  Absolutely!  Reality:  You are in the middle of a wilderness. You are in a battle for the survival of your soul!  Reality:  God’s word is your survival manual!
 
Unfortunately, we view the discipline of daily Bible reading with the same enthusiasm of a child who is told to brush his teeth!  “We ought to do that”, but we are not fully committed!  In modern times such apathy is inexcusable.  Use that MP3 player to download gospel singing, gospel preaching, or the text of Scripture.  Remove the CD with secular music from your player, and insert one with gospel music.  Take time to pray!  Your spiritual survival may depend upon it!
 
Time with God each day is not just about knowledge.  It is about your eternal destiny.  It is about connecting with God!
 
George Slover

"to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,”  (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)
 
The Scripture above is one of the few that speaks of the condition of the lost.  Paul plainly states that such a state will 1) involve “destruction” or to be cut off from the presence and glory of God, and 2) will last eternally!  Christ is coming “in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God.”  Hell is an awful reality!
 
The very idea of such a place is either ridiculed or quickly diminished in modern times.  Our society has lost its sense of moral accountability.  And modern churches are more interested in preparing one for retirement or success in business than in saving souls from hell.
 
There are two classes of people in the World.  They are 1) the saved – i.e. those who have obeyed the Gospel, and 2) the lost - i.e. those who do not know God.  There is no in-between state.  Every person is in one of those two classes.
 
I have a good friend whose profession involves rescuing people from burning buildings.  Suppose you were in that building and someone rushed in to save you.  Would you refuse?  Jesus Christ came into the World to deliver you from a burning house!  He did not die on the cross to help you succeed in this life, but to free you from the dread of hell!
 
It is not a very popular subject, but judgment is coming!  Jesus Christ can either be your Savior or your judge.  This important choice is left up to you.
 
George Slover