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Friday, March 20, 2026

HOW TO DEAL WITH HECKLERS!

 

Friday, March 20, 2026

 

HOW TO DEAL WITH HECKLERS!

 

Neh 4:3

3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.

 

Judg 6:15

15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

 

1 Cor 15:9-10

9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am…

 

          In these three verses we see hecklers. One is external and the other is internal. Nehemiah and his people were rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. This included rebuilding the homes that were attached to the wall. These were not professional builders but patriots so their work was made more of passion than perfection. Yet the work progressed and the wall began to take shape. It both impressed and frustrated the enemy who tried to shout them down by saying that the weight of a fox would cause the wall to crumble.

 

          Gideon’s internal heckler responded to the angel by saying that his tribe had been so thinned that it could no longer stand before its foes and he was the smallest in that weakened tribe. The angel said he was a “mighty man of valor” but Gideon just couldn’t see himself in that way. He was already defeated in his own mind.

 

          Paul used a Greek word that meant that he was short of stature. Perhaps he was. He did not feel worthy to be an apostle because of his past. He had persecuted the church that now he was trying to build. Finally, he said: “But by the grace of God I am what I am.”       

 

The world is full of critics, self-proclaimed experts, and hecklers. Usually, they are spectators and not participants. Every baseball team could use a man who plays every position perfectly, never strikes out and never makes an error. The trouble is, there is no way to make him lay down his hot dog and come down out of the stands!

 

The best way to treat a heckler is to just go ahead and succeed. With the external heckler you might have to work with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. The internal heckler just needs to be quietly ignored while you work steadily on. In Walt Kelly’s comic strip, Pogo is quoted as saying: “Yep, son, we have met the enemy and he is us.”

 

Dear Lord, all day long the heckler inside keeps telling me that I can’t succeed while the angel of the Lord refers to me as a mighty man of valor. Help me to trust your opinion of me and not that of myself. AMEN

 

Thursday, March 19, 2026

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT!

 

Thursday, March 19, 2026

 

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT!

 

Song 2:10-13

10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. KJV

 

          When is the last time you heard a sermon from Song of Solomon? Exactly! It is so intimate as to be almost embarrassing. We excuse ourselves and slip away to give the couple some privacy.

 

          We quickly understand that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We know Him to be both Lamb and Lion, but do we know Him as the loving husband of the bride? Are we intimate with Him?

 

          Our casual culture has reduced not only the majesty of God but the terms of endearment as well. God is now our copilot and the Man Upstairs, but seldom is he our beloved!

 

Song 2:16

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies. KJV

 

Beloved Lord, remind me that ours is not a theological discussion but a relationship of love. AMEN

 

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

RUN YOUR OWN RACE!

 

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

 

RUN YOUR OWN RACE!

 

Heb 12:1-2

12 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

          Adam Clarke says: “Here is another allusion to the Olympic games: the agonistae, [those who were agonizing] or contenders, were often greatly animated by the consideration that the eyes of the principal men of their country were fixed upon them; and by this they were induced to make the most extraordinary exertions.”

 

          The Greek hupomone is translated “patience” and means “cheerful and hopeful endurance.” Living the Christian life has always required more exertion and endurance than expected. Christ’s offer of abundant life is often misunderstood as leisure ease. It is not! It is cheerful and hopeful endurance.

 

          More than a misunderstanding of the nature of the race is the comparison of myself with other runners. It is my race alone and I will never win if I watch others who run. My focus must be on Christ for He is the author and finisher. He fires the starting gun and watches the tape. I must keep my eyes on Him.

 

1 Cor 9:24

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but [only] one receives the prize? So run [your race] that you may lay hold [of the prize] and make it yours.

AMP

 

Lord, let me not be distracted by other runners but let me sprint the last mile with my eyes firmly on you. AMEN