Author: Bob Nichols

(Below is an excerpt from Pastor’s book, “How To Triumph in Troubled Times”)

It is unimaginable that a group of people could have a hatred that runs so deep that everyone outside their group is considered infidels and should be destroyed.  They justify it all in the name of religion.  If there has ever been a time that I am thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is now.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a religion of hate (I do not like to call it a religion, but you understand what I am saying).  It is a Gospel of Love!  If anyone ever walked the love walk and lived the example of the love of God, it was Jesus.

A pastor has a fix-it heart.  We want to fix things.  We want to help people.  I do not like to see people hurting.  I do not like to see people in difficult times.  I do not like to see people that are up against impossible situations.  I am always thinking, “How could we pray about that?  How could we make a difference?”  Of course, you cannot help in every situation, but that is just a pastor’s heart.

When 9/11 happened I asked myself, “The way things have escalated, what can we do? How can we change our world?”  I will be honest with you, even though I know the power of the Gospel of Christ, there was almost a feeling of helplessness that came over me.

When I asked God, “What can we do?” He responded, “I will tell you what you can do that can effect change in your world. You can walk in love in a world of hate.”  That does not mean that you do not defend yourself, or that a nation does not protect its citizens.  You and I may not single-handedly be able to turn the world around, however we can walk in love in a world of hate.  That is exactly what Jesus did.  He cast out devils because He loved people.  They even said He cast out devils by the power of the devil.  He healed the sick and they attributed that to the devil and ultimately put Jesus on a cross.  But even on that cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).  Jesus came to show His love to the world.  God so loved the world that He sent Jesus.  Look at what a world changing effect His love made!

(An excerpt from Pastor’s Book, “How to Make Your Life Count for God”)

Now, two or three more things you need to get a hold of.  A seed must be planted in order to reap a harvest.  Some people are waiting for their ship to come in and they have never even sent out a rowboat.  A seed brings more than a financial return.  A seed can meet any need.  I will tell you this: a seed planted in faith cannot, and will not be ignored by God.  It is God’s way to manifest blessing.  You cannot just give mechanically you have to mix faith with your giving.

If you need a car, tell Him you need a car and then sow for it.  If you want to see your kids come back to Jesus, you can sow and see them return to God.  You can sow seed for any need.  What about Cornelius?  He was a great giver.  He was a person of prayer.  His giving became a memorial before God (Acts 10:4).  Finally, one day God said I cannot handle this any longer.  Go down and help the man and do what he needs.  The Scripture tells us that his entire household was saved.  No, you cannot buy this kind of blessing but you can surely sow toward it.

There are seasons when God deals with you about giving special offerings.  Years ago we were in Florida and a very wonderful church there needed eighteen acres.  A drug dealer had been arrested and the government had seized his property and put it up for auction.  The church wanted to make a bid on it.  To purchase it they would have to pay approximately thirty thousand dollars for it.  We pledged five thousand dollars of that.  Some pledges are easy to fulfill and others are more difficult. I knew this was not going to be easy but within ninety days we had that pledge paid.  Little did I know that this pledge would prove to be a significant seed.  We had been forced to sell a portion of the land attached to our downtown location in order to secure financing.  It would remain in the hands of others for thirteen years.  We had paid six hundred and fifty thousand dollars for it; we sold it for eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars.  For thirteen years someone else paid the taxes on those eight acres; for thirteen years someone else had to maintain it.  The maintenance was part of the contract.  In addition, they had to put in a lighted parking lot.  They said, “Pacify the church.  They will not be there for very long.  They will not make it anyway.  Sure, we will put up a parking lot – whatever you want to do.”  During the time the property was owned by others it had been cross-collateralized from eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars to seven million dollars.  I could name three major hotel corporations that were in the process of making offers on that property.  It seems that no one could make a deal for this property.  God was keeping it for us.  Then one day a group of men representing the federal government and a savings and loan in Dallas came to my office and said, “Make us an offer on that property.  It has been a Jonah ever since we have had it.”  We offered them one hundred thousand dollars and the government cancelled seven million dollars of debt and we bought the property back.  Remember, originally we paid six hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the land then sold it for eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars so we made two hundred thousand dollars at that time.  Which was good, but we needed that acreage for parking and future growth and we wanted it back.  I had always called it our “Isaac” on the altar.  In that thirteen year period the owners maintained and improved the property and it was ours to use at no cost.  It turned out this was our season to invest five thousand dollars in somebody else’s church and the seed we sowed was turned into our miracle harvest.  Five thousand dollars was given and God cancelled seven million dollars of indebtedness against the property.  Just like Abraham must have been thrilled to see Isaac get off that altar of sacrifice, we were rejoicing that our Isaac had come home.

So how do we make our lives count for God?  Through our service, in our worship and out of our giving we purpose to offer our very best with a grateful heart.  We do this not just with an expectation to receive, but with a joy about what He has done for us and what He will be able to do through us.  Dedicate your life right now and purpose to be like the woman that anointed Jesus; she gave him her very best.  This is the only life worth living!

(An excerpt from Pastor’s Book, “How to Make Your Life Count for God”)

Sometime ago, when I was on a trip to Colorado, I discovered that I had lost my wallet.  I looked everywhere, but I could not find it.  I almost resorted back to that old deal making mentality, “God I promise you this and I will trade you two of this if you will help me out of this situation.”  Now just for a moment that thought crossed my mind.  You know what I am talking about, when things are not working, we try to bargain with God rather than just standing in faith.  I was in a desperate situation. I had lost something that I was counting on.  Finally I said, “Father, no deals.  I am caught up on my tithes and offerings. I have even given on this trip.  In the Name of Jesus, I say if You have to send an angel out to bring my wallet back, do it.”  That very thing has happened to me more than once.  After looking for something in one place and not finding it, I went back to the same place again and found it there.  And by the way, that is what happened in Colorado, somebody gave me some money and I eventually found my wallet.

When you know everything is right, you do not have to go through this make-a-deal conversation.  “Yeah, Lord I will do this, or I will not do that…oh, Lord, I will not think that again.”  NO DEALS – JUST FAITH!  I do not have to make a deal.  I have already made my deal.  I am a tither.  I am a giver.  Joy and I do our best to be obedient to God.  Every once in a while, I walk in the bedroom and say, “Lord, I want to remind you of all the tithes and all the offerings that this child of yours has given to You.”  Oh, Thank God, His computer never goes down.  He keeps accurate records.  He never forgets a single offering you have given.

I am not just talking about giving money; I am talking about responding to God by doing what is right when no one is looking.  This is a matter of doing what is right because it is right and pleasing to God.  When you move beyond the deal stage and get into the faith stage things begin to work.  When you are in faith and all hell breaks loose you do not say, “Oh, my God, what did I do?  Let’s make a deal, God.”  No, no, no, you remember that the just live by faith and not by making deals with God.

(An excerpt from Pastor’s Book, “How to Make Your Life Count for God”)

In all four gospel accounts it states that it was a woman who poured the ointment.  I find this very interesting given the status of women at that time.  Women living in biblical times usually did not have access to this much wealth.  This woman had access to something very precious; she had access to a costly ointment that was worth up to at least one year’s wages.  She had it at her disposal to give.  This may have represented her entire life savings, yet she was willing to pour it out.

This expensive gift to Jesus caused religious people to become very angry.  Their complaint was that giving this to Jesus was a waste.  Once it was poured out it could never be retrieved.  All monetary value was lost the moment she broke the container open and began to pour.  But you cannot lose when you give to God.  Let me remind you that you cannot put one penny in the offering plate or give one dollar to Jesus that does not have an eternal reward.  Giving to Jesus is never a waste – never!  If you give your money to the sports or entertainment industry no one thinks it is a waste.  Yet they said giving this expensive gift to Jesus was a waste. The secular world would hear about this woman’s offering and say, “Yes, there is another preacher after money.”  But, how did Jesus feel about this offering?  Jesus did not say, “I am sorry lady, you are giving too much.  That is far beyond the call of duty to give away one year’s wages.”  No, Jesus said, “Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me.”

We know we are really starting to give when our relatives and friends say that our offering is a waste.  When you give something near and dear to you be prepared for people to misunderstand.  This woman gave out of her thankfulness and she was not moved by what others said.  I want to love God with all of my heart and please Him.  In John 8:29 Jesus said, “… I do always those things that please Him,” and I want to do the same.  Even to this day, I can get caught up in trying to please people.  I have to remind myself you cannot please everybody.  You have to do what pleases the Father.  Obedience today is so very important.

(An excerpt from Pastor’s Book, “How to Make Your Life Count for God”)

Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.-  C.T. Studd

I do not even remember the first time I heard that line, but through the years this quote has been a reoccurring theme in my life. You get involved in a lot of little stuff that you think is so important but one day your life will all be over and they will be having your funeral service.  It will happen to all of us if Jesus tarries.  That is why I want to make my life count for God.

If the Word of God says something one time it is important.  I noticed that all four Gospels tell the story of a woman who poured expensive ointment on Jesus.  The account in Matthew 26:6 – 13 says it this way: “Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.”

(Excerpt from Pastor’s book, ‘How to Get a Grip on God’s Promises”)

Now, the prophet of God returns to the Shunammite woman’s home and if there was any doubt about the child’s condition, 2 Kings 4:32 says, “…the child was dead.”  Maybe you are thinking he was just ill.  No, the Bible says, “…the child was dead.”  I want you to see the progression of faith in the face of disaster.  The child is dead.  The mother puts him in Elisha’s room, shuts the door and runs to the prophet of God.  Here comes Elisha now and he goes into the room and shuts the door.

There is something about this shutting of the door.  In another story, Elisha told a woman with only a pot of oil, “And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons…”  We could take this to mean shut out unbelief, shut out what people think, understand, or misunderstand.  Shut the door and pour.  Sometimes the problem is that we leave the door open, so we have many distractions, voices, and choices entering in.  Sometimes, you just need to go in the room, shut the door and get alone with God for yourself.

Now the prophet of God shuts himself in with the dead child. There is something else that happened right after he shut the door.  Elisha prayed.  Oh, the power of prayer!  Elisha prayed unto the Lord.  This was not a casual prayer.  This was a prayer of total involvement.  Many people today do not know how to pray like that.  They know how to whine, or how to cry, or to tell somebody how bad things are.  You must know how to hit the deck, get on your face before God, open your Bible and put your finger on a promise of God and say, “Father, this is what the Word says.” Then you pray until God gives you the assurance in your heart that everything is going to be all right.  It is the only way that things are going to change.  The prophet lay upon the lifeless boy and prayed, and life returned to the child.  The prophet said to the woman “take up thy son.”

Take up the promise of God that you considered dead. Today, you can take a new grip on your faith.  You can purpose to take back what the enemy has stolen.  Get back on the Word of God.  Let this be your day of renewing your grip on your faith – your faith in God’s Word and your faith in God’s promise.

(Excerpt from Pastor’s book, ‘How to Get a Grip on God’s Promises”)

While Peter was willing to fight for Jesus, he also failed to stand up for Him.  So many of us have said, I will never deny Him.  “Oh, yes, I will stand.  Oh, yes, you can count on me, Lord,” and then an hour later we have just blown it all.  That is what I call short-haul faith.  You know what God is doing in the Body of Christ?  God is getting rid of this short-haul faith; the big explosion, big grandiose confession that says, “I will go wherever you want me to go,” but then refuses to actually follow through.  God is putting some staying power in the Body of Christ and we are not going to blow up on the short-haul anymore.  We are going to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Instead of failing and falling, God is putting a new strength, a new depth into the hearts and in the lives of those that will trust in the Lord.

Yes, prophet of God, I may have problems at home, but let me tell you what I have in my heart.  I have safety and wellness.  I am happy.  My family has good health.  We are prosperous.  We have favor.  We are at rest.  We are whole.  Everything is going to be all right.  Listen to me today.  It is not what is happening around you, it is what is happening on the inside of you that makes the most difference.

(Excerpt from Pastor’s book, ‘How to Get a Grip on God’s Promises”)

There are some very interesting things that this woman did.  When they brought her child in from the field and the child passed away, do you know what she did?  She picked up the child and walked straight to the room that she and her husband had built for the prophet of God.  She ran to the investment that she had made in the Kingdom of God.  Do you have such an investment? When the storms of life come can you run to that investment and say, I may not understand what is going on, but I have an investment in God’s Kingdom.  You make an investment in good times and God is going to help you in the difficult times.

What do you do when the pressure is on?  Your first response many times determines the outcome of your situation.  What it looks like at the beginning of a challenge is not the way it has to remain.  If you put seed in the ground before the storm, then your harvest will be ripe when you need it.  Just like this woman, you can have confidence in what God promised.  She picked up the lifeless body of her son and walked right into the prophet’s chamber and laid him on the bed.   Did she fall down beside the bed and weep and scream and carry on?  No!  She walked out and shut the door.  She postured herself in faith for a miracle to be manifested.  Is she outside the door, mad at God and mad about what happened?  No!  She went to her husband and said I am going to see the man of God.  Give me a young man and a donkey that can help me move quickly.

She did not run away from her problem; she ran to the source of help.  There was no hesitation in her spirit; she was not going to let go of her manifested promise.  She never told her husband that their son was dead.  She just moved in faith.  When her husband began to question her actions, she said, “It shall be well” (2 Kings 4:23). That word well is translated from the Hebrew word shalom which literally means peace.  So when the husband said, “Wife you do not just run off without any explanation. What is going on?”  She said, peace, “…it shall be well.”  She was telling her husband that she knew what to do. Everything is going to be all right. She knew her son was dead, but she just kept saying, “…it shall be well.”

Do you know where we usually miss it?  We miss it in our initial response to the situation.  In that moment we have a choice; we can choose to believe God’s Word or we can just align ourselves with the circumstances.  If we do not guard our faith, life will chip away at it until it is gone.  Usually when our faith wanes our peace wanes.  If you can have the kind of peace this woman had in the midst of a tragedy you are going to make it.  If you can have peace when the bottom has dropped out, you are coming through.  If you can have peace when the doctor’s report is very negative, you are going to be all right.  The night a devastating tornado destroyed our church building, Joy and I were absolutely overwhelmed for a few moments.  But we decided to get a grip on the promise of God for our future. We began to proclaim that we would come out stronger than before and that God would get the glory for the victory.

(Excerpt from Pastor’s book, ‘How to Get a Grip on God’s Promises”)

Was there ever a time that you had greater joy in your heart about serving God?  If so, the enemy has stolen from you.  If there has ever been a time that you enjoyed reading your Bible more than you do today; if there was ever a time when you enjoyed spending a quiet time with God in prayer more than you do today; then the enemy has stolen from you!  We need to be challenged to walk in our first love for Christ.  Keeping our first love for Jesus is probably one of the greatest challenges that all of us have, preachers included.  People need to be taught how to live.  People need to be taught what is right and wrong and how to keep their purity; how to flee from sin and its consequences.  Sin has no respect for anybody.  It will steal, it will kill, and it will destroy.

The question then becomes: if God gives you a promise, how could Satan steal it?  If you do not guard what God has given you, believe me Satan can take it from you.  As a pastor, I see it happening quite often.  I am constantly on the lookout for people that once had the fire of God burning in their hearts.  I wish I could just shake them and command them to be on fire for God again.  But I know it does not work that way.  It is something that each of us has to choose. It has to happen on the inside first then it will manifest on the outside.

The story of the Shunammite woman is an intriguing story.  The message comes that her child is sick and I look at this woman, and say, “Woman, what do you do now?”  What do you do when the pressure is on?  Where do you run when the pressure is on?  What do you say when the pressure is on?  Who do you turn to when the pressure is on?”  I will tell you one thing I appreciate about this woman, she did not quit!  She refused to grow bitter!  She did not sit at home and complain.  She kept a solid grip on God’s Word.