“For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37 ESV) 

The Worst Day of My Life, when everything looked impossible!

It was the winter of 1967, and I was living in Sitka, Alaska, where I worked at a grocery store. One day, I was scheduled to work the late shift, but when I arrived, the store manager called me into his office and accused me of doing something the previous day that I absolutely had not done. It was his word against mine, and I could not prove my innocence. He angrily fired me and ordered me to leave the store. 

I Did Not See It Coming

In complete shock, I headed home to my apartment. When I arrived, a group of my friends was there having a party. Usually, I wouldn’t have minded, but I wasn’t in a party mood. When I insisted they leave, they beat me up and threw me outside into the snow. I pulled myself together and walked to my landlord’s home nearby, telling him about the drunken people in my apartment. I asked him to help me get them out, but he just yelled profanities at me and said he was going to call the police. I quickly left the scene because I didn't want to be there when the police arrived. 

I Didn't Know What to Do or Who to Turn To

It was a bitterly cold Alaska night, and I was freezing. I walked to my parents' house and knocked on their door. My dad answered. I told him what had happened and that I didn’t know what to do or where to go. I asked if I could come in and sleep on their couch for the night. But he angrily told me to grow up, take responsibility for my own problems, and go away. He shut the door in my face and turned off the porch light.

I Thought Suicide Was My Only Answer

I walked along the dark street, feeling panic-stricken, confused, rejected, and very cold. I tried hard to figure out what to do next, but I couldn't think of any answers. I felt completely out of options. At that moment, I decided that suicide was my only answer. I had some money in my pocket, so I would get drunk and then end my life.

I went to a nightclub and began to drink one drink after another. At the back of the room was a small dance band. During one of their breaks, the band leader came to the bar near where I was sitting. As he waited for his drink, our eyes met. He smiled and asked, “How are you?“ I replied, “Do you really want to know, or are you just saying that?“ He responded,  “Of course I want to know how you are.”

“Well,” I said, “today has been the worst day of my life! I lost my job, got thrown out of my apartment, and was beaten up by my friends! My landlord wouldn’t help but instead called the cops on me! Even my own parents won’t let me sleep on their couch. I have nowhere to go, so as soon as I finish this drink, I’m going to end my life!”

Without hesitation, he said, “No, please don't do that! My family and I live nearby. We have a couch you can sleep on. Come stay with us!”

His instant kindness kept me from the worst possible outcome. This person, Jean Dawkins, and his wife changed the course of my life.

Shortly after I went to live with them, he lost the bass player in his band and immediately offered me the position as a replacement. It was a dream job for me. I had a place to stay, wonderful, kind people to live with, and I got to play music. I really loved it. I played with them for several months while they finished their contract in Sitka.

Then they decided to move to a town I had never heard of—Lynden, in the state of Washington—and they brought me with them! It was in Lynden that I heard about Jesus Christ, received Him as my personal Savior, and met and married Susan, the woman of my dreams. I also began attending classes at Vancouver Bible College and became an ordained minister. As part of my training, I learned how to do advertising, publications, and direct mail marketing. I became very successful at it and started helping others advertise their businesses. This eventually led me to specialize in advertising and marketing for the automotive recycling industry for nearly 40 years, where I have met so many dear friends. And today, after retiring, it is my privilege and honor to continue in this industry as chaplain. Looking back, I can plainly see God’s hand was in it every step of the way. 

God does the impossible

Many times, in life, we may face situations that look impossible. Like I did on what felt like the worst day of my life, it can be hard, even impossible, to see a way through it. But God is never taken by surprise and often turns what looks impossible to us into His perfect plan for us. Nothing is impossible for Him!

“But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt. 19:26 ESV)

“Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” (Jer. 32:17 ESV)

“Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” (Gen. 18:14 ESV)

“And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” (Mark. 9:23 ESV)

Therefore

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” (Eph. 3:20 ESV)

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Eph. 4:13 ESV) 

Quote:

“Darkness comes. In the middle of it, the future looks blank. The temptation to quit is huge. Don't. You are in good company... You will argue with yourself that there is no way forward. But with God, nothing is impossible. He has more ropes and ladders and tunnels out of pits than you can conceive. Wait. Pray without ceasing. Hope.” - John Piper

“He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” (Luke 24:27 ESV)

Dr. George Sweeting tells of an incident in the early 1920s when Communist leader Nikolai Bukharin was sent from Moscow to Kiev to address an anti-God rally. For an hour he abused and ridiculed the Christian faith until it seemed as if the whole structure of belief was in ruins. Then questions were invited. An Orthodox church priest rose and asked to speak. He turned, faced the people, and gave the Easter greeting, “He is risen!” Instantly the assembly rose to its feet and the reply came back loud and clear, “He is risen indeed!”

And yes, He is risen indeed, and it was God’s plan for many good reasons.

• By His resurrection from the dead He was declared to be the Son of God in power

“And was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.) Rom. 1:4 ESV) 

• He was raised from the dead so we could be born again

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3 ESV)

“Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Rom. 4:25 ESV)

• He was raised from the dead to provide eternal life to whosoever believes in Him

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26 ESV) 

“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9 ESV)

Therefore

“More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Rom. 5:11 ESV)

“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 6:8-11 ESV)

“Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (Rom. 8:34 ESV)

Quote

“Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection.” - Watchman Nee

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24) 

The wages of Adam’s sin brought death to all humanity

“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” (Rom. 5:12)

“For the wages of sin is death…”

Because of Adams sin in the garden (Gen. 3:3), all humanity was infected thereafter with a sin nature that they cannot personally do anything about. No matter what they do, they will always fall short!

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23a)

Jesus died on the cross to pay for Adam’s sin and He made it a free gift

“… but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23b)

Jesus’ death on the cross was voluntary

“The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.” (John 10:17-18 NLT)

“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” (Heb. 9:14 ESV) 

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 ESV)

Jesus death on the cross was God’s free love gift of salvation to the world 

“That whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:15-16 ESV) 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9 ESV)

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8 ESV)

Therefore

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:10 ESV)

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21 ESV)

Quote

“The purpose of the Bible is simply to proclaim God’s plan to save His children. It asserts that man is lost and needs to be saved. And it communicates the message that Jesus is the God in the flesh sent to save His children.” - Max Lucado

“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” (Isa. 46:9 ESV)

Forget someone's name? Misplace your car keys?

Lapses in memory happen to all of us. It seems like I’m always looking for something. I often find myself holding my car keys or the TV remote while going to get something in another room, only to absentmindedly set them down while reaching for something else. Later, when I need them, I spend frustrating minutes retracing my steps to find them.

A certain amount of absent-mindedness usually occurs when we aren’t paying close attention to the task at hand. As we get older, it also becomes more challenging to remember things.

The Bible reminds us to remember important truths and not let them slip away

“Then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Deut. 6:12 ESV)

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” (Heb. 2:1 KJV)

Remember the works you did at first

“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” (Rev 2:5)

God will help you remember

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26 ESV)

Therefore

“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them” (Eccles. 12:1)

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.” (Psalm 77:11)

“I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.” (Psalm 143:5)

Quote

“Next time God teaches you something during a sermon or a devotional time, write it down. Give it “earnest heed” so that it doesn’t slip away.” – Rick Warren

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:14 ESV)

• God formed you

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you…” (Jer. 1:5 ESV)

• God made you in His own image

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:27 ESV)

• You are God’s created masterpiece

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Eph. 2:10 NLT)

• God knows the number of hairs on your head

“But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matt. 10:30 ESV)

• God loves you

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8 ESV)

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1 ESV)

• You are valuable to Him

“Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matt. 19:31 ESV)

Therefore

God’s has good plans for you.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jer. 29:11-13 ESV)

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Pet. 2:9 ESV)

Quote

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” – Jesus Christ  (Matt. 6:25)

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1 ESV)

A different kind of “believe” 

In the above passage, we read the words of Jesus saying, “Believe also in me.” This kind of “believe” is very different than what we usually understand the word to mean. It’s not like simply acknowledging the existence of something, such as recognizing that the president of the United States or God exists. The Bible states in James 2:19 that even devils acknowledge this and yet are not saved. The kind of “believe” Jesus is talking about includes faith from the heart in Jesus and confession of the mouth.

Believing and confessing

“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Rom. 10:9-10 ESV)

Whoever believes in Jesus will be saved

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God..” (John 3:16-18 ESV) 

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12 ESV) 

Therefore

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12 ESV)

“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16 ESV)

Quote:

“Believing and confessing go together; and you cannot be be saved without you take them both. "With the mouth confession is made unto salvation." If you ever see the kingdom of heaven you have to take this way.” - Dwight L. Moody

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Eph. 4:29 NIV)

Back in the 1950s, when I first started watching television on our small black-and-white TV, people on all the shows were very careful about what they said. No one used swear words. That was then; this is now! Have you noticed that people are no longer cautious about their language on TV? There are no longer any filters or limits on speech, and you can no longer escape hearing swear words without them being bleeped out.

I have a personal rule that I try to follow when listening to the radio, watching television, viewing movies, or even scrolling through posts on my devices: I turn it off when I hear the Lord’s name taken in vain or when swear words, such as the "f" word, are used. As a result, I find myself turning things off quite often these days! However, I have chosen to obey God’s Word, regardless of what the world seems to be doing and how it expresses itself across all mediums as the new normal.

The passage at top says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths.” It is a very clearly stated command for us to obey (not a suggestion). The last part of the verse, instructs us to say, “only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” This means we must never engage in “unwholesome talk.”

What is “unwholesome talk?”

According to the dictionary, unwholesome is defined as: “detrimental to physical or mental health; harmful to moral well being.” Synonyms for unwholesome are: wicked, bad, evil, corrupting, perverting, degrading, immoral, depraving, demoralizing, and maleficent.

The Bible has a lot to say on the subject.

Be careful what you say!

“After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, ‘Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.’” (Matt. 15:20-11)

“Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The lovingkindness of God endures all day long. Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit. You love evil more than good, Falsehood more than speaking what is right. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.” (Is. 52:1-4)

Say only uplifting things

Say uplifting and encouraging things to others to build them up in faith. 

“A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit.” (Prov. 15:4)

Therefore

“A man has joy in an apt answer, And how delightful is a timely word!” (Prov. 15:23)

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” (Prov. 16:24)

Quote:

“Kind words produce their own image in men's souls; and a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used.” - Blaise Pascal

“Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked.” (Gen. 3:11 NLT)

The devil lies and deceives people

Since the very beginning, people have listened to lies directed at them from the devil. He spoke to Eve in the garden (Gen. 3:1) and influenced her to question God’s Word and to do what God had commanded not to do; she ate the forbidden fruit and then gave some to her husband, Adam, to eat. This resulted in sin, separation from God, and fear by Adam and Eve and their descendants.

Something dramatically changed after sin interred the world 

 “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Gen. 3:2-11)

What to do

Ever since sin entered the world in the garden, the devil has continued to deceive people. The good news is that we don't have to remain ignorant or powerless to the devil's schemes; we can watch out for them and act with God's help. “ … For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Cor. 2:11 NIV)

• Stay alert and watch out for the devil’s schemes

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:9)

• Resist the devil and submit to God

“Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (1 Peter 5:9-10 NIV)

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 NIV)

• Use God’s armor

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Eph. 6:13 ESV)

Therefore

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:57 ESV) 

Quote

“I'm not afraid of the devil. The devil can handle me - he's got judo I never heard of. But he can't handle the One to whom I'm joined; he can't handle the One to whom I'm united; he can't handle the One whose nature dwells in my nature.” - A. W. Tozer

“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” (Gen. 15:1 ESV)

Shield: Something or someone which provides protection against a particular danger or risk.

The Lord is your shield and strength

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” (Psalm 28:7 ESV) 

“But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” (Psalm 3:3 ESV)

Therefore

“For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)

“Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” (Prov. 30:5)

Quote

“The safest place in all the world is in the will of God, and the safest protection in all the world is the name of God.” -  Warren Wiersbe