Harry Whitt on the Journey with Jesus
The world lay in the sway of darkness, sin, and death. Man’s journey from the Garden was marked by a trail of death and tears. Each tomb was a reminder of every man’s fate. Death reigned in the world by a cruel master, Satan, whose very name meant “Adversary”. The Hebrew prophets of old had prophesied approximately seven centuries before of a coming Messiah who would save and deliver.
Continue reading “Jesus: Born a Man for Men”
I often advocate for a balanced approach to life. People get a little dizzy when their lives get out of balance. Humans have a tendency to lean to the extremes. We can obsess over anything.
I have been pondering about being sufficient in God versus self-sufficiency. As Christians, there needs to be an overriding reliance upon God without becoming child-beggars. The things we can do with our hands and minds are only possible because of God. He gives us health, strength, knowledge, and the ability to reason and create.
When my children were small, they loved the frozen waffles Eggo®. At first, I cut them up with a fork and knife. Then I tried to teach them to use the utensils, but they were not coordinated enough. So, I made them tear them into pieces with their hands before we poured on the syrup. Just a wee lesson on being self-sufficient.
Good parents teach their children to grow up to be responsible adults with reasonable self-sufficiency.
God loves to see His children solve problems, build things, create, paint beautiful pictures, and play beautiful music. He is glorified when we see our own work and give Him the thanks for the ability we have. I’m sure your picture is on God’s refrigerator, but He has one of my coloring sheets on it.
God created us to create. God worked six days to make a place for us and to make us in His image. An aspect of that image is to create as He created. He made everything from nothing. We get to re-purpose pallets into all sorts of cool things.
When we were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, God told mankind that man would eat by the sufficiency of his work. “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground” (Genesis 3:19 NKJV).
“Much food is in the fallow [un-cultivated] ground of the poor” (Proverbs 13:23 NKJV). Many folks are sitting on potential.
Yes, our sufficiency is in God. Our next breath is in His hand. Our next logical thought is in His hand. Our very lives and our next day are in His hand. Yet, He loves to see His children be self-sufficient in life to the degree of being productive adults.
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Cor. 3:5 NKJV).
Make God smile, get up and go do something!
Yours on the Journey,
Harry L. Whitt
You might enjoy a related blog I wrote years ago, “I Shine My Own Shoes.” You can read it here.
Continue reading “Balancing God and Self-Sufficiency”
We often complicate things too much. Lofty philosophical and theological ideas often leave no footprints in the dirt.
After trusting Christ as our Savior and Lord, what do we do to mature in our faith? Here are four basic points everyone needs to do consistently.
Continue reading “Four Pillars of Discipleship”
I remember in the late 1990’s having good intentions about door-to-door visitation. I, along with some fellow ministry workers, knocked on every door of a nearby city’s government housing projects. We had good intentions but nothing tangible resulted from it. Maybe one person visited our church but no new converts. I know we encouraged a few people, but we never saw a harvest of our efforts.
I learned that building relationships is more effective than cold-calling.
Churches and mission organizations are full of good intentions. We have to be honest and ask ourselves the question. Are our good intentions bearing fruit or do they just make us feel better about ourselves? We often learn by trial and error.
Continue reading “Good Intentions”
Most of us have read accounts of religious martyrdom in historical books and the Bible. Few of us have witnessed it with our own eyes. Recently, we saw Charlie Kirk killed at one of his events. Some would argue that this was a political hit, not a religious one. Whether you loved or hated him, he was an adamant Christian who never minced his words.
The original Greek New Testament word for martyr is the word ‘martus’ pronounced [mar’-toos]. Its basic meaning is witness. A martyr is a person killed for his witness.
It is estimated that over 70 million Christians have been martyred since Jesus Christ himself was martyred on the cross. Most of those have been in the 1900s under fascist and communist rulers. Depending on the historian, some estimates say that since 2000 there has been an average of 100,000 per year. Martyrdom is not just in biblical times but also in relative modern times.
Continue reading “Christian Martyrdom”
Most of us watched in horror as Charlie Kirk was assassinated before our eyes. Many of us viewed the footage where Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee was stabbed to death on a Charlotte train with no provocation. Those of us with any sense of morality or common sense, ask the question, “Why?”
I am relieved to know that so many of us can’t fathom how these things can happen. It seems such a senseless act to destroy another human being—a being made in the very image of God. Our hearts cry and our reasoning minds can’t comprehend the depths of hate.
Continue reading “Murder Grows from the Seed of Hate”
Jesus never promised us an easy life. He did promise to be with us. Listen carefully to these words of Jesus. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation [trouble]; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NKJV).
How do we deal with the trouble of this world? Consider the next five points:
Continue reading “Five Spiritual Guidelines for Troubling Times”
The calling of God’s work must be greater than our strength or it is only the work of a man. If it can be accomplished outside of God’s power, it is the mere work of man. The work of God’s kingdom is accomplished only by the strength and power of God.
Jesus said it very plainly in John 15:4-5 (NKJV). “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
When a person believes he has a God-given calling in His kingdom, he must see something beyond himself. With such a calling or dream, there are two possible outcomes. One, it is a miracle only God can do. Secondly, we look foolish. The fear of failure or looking foolish causes many to not pursue the work of God.
Continue reading “Faith Over Fear: Pursuing God’s Calling”
Jesus descended from the Mount of Olives on a young donkey in 30 AD. This short journey would be called the Triumphal Entry. Jesus the Messiah entered the Holy City and entered the Temple Complex. As He drew near to the city, He began to cry. His cry turned into a prophetic pronouncement of the city’s destruction forty years later.
He used the words, “If you had known…” and “because you did not know the time of your visitation.” The ‘City of Peace’ as its name implies, would become a city doomed to destruction because of its rejection of the Messiah. The Roman general Titus destroyed the city and the Jewish Temple in 70 AD.
Continue reading “Consequences of Rejection: What Jesus’ Tears Teach Us”
While reading through the Bible again this year, I saw something for the first time. That happens when you crack the Book again and again!
I discovered two accounts of Jesus’ ministry that were back-to-back. I had never seen them related. I am talking about Jesus with the children and then the young, rich ruler. Both are found in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. For reference purposes, they are found in Matt. 19:13-30, Mark 10:13-31, and Luke 18:15-30).
Let’s look at the comparison.
Continue reading “Oh To Be A Child Again”
Pathway Journey 