One day God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the evil that was going on. He decided to send an angel down to Earth to check it out.

So he called on a female angel and sent her to Earth for a time. When she returned she told God, yes it is bad on Earth, 95% is bad and 5% is good.

Well, he thought for a moment and said maybe I had better send down a male angel; to get both points of view. So God called a male angel and sent him to Earth for a time. When the male angel returned he went to God and told him yes, the Earth was in decline, 95% was bad and 5% was good.

God said this was not good. He decided to E-Mail the 5% that were good and encourage them, a little something to help them keep going.

Do you know what that E-Mail said?

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Ohhhh... So you didn't get one either!

This humorous story reminded me of what I just read from Acts 3:

While he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's, astounded (Acts 3:11 ESV).

Acts 4:22, tells us that this man had been healed at the age of forty. Acts 3:2, tells us that this man was born lame from his mother’s womb. So for forty years this man never was able to walk. He had gone to the steps of the temple for years, begging, asking for prayer and seeking to be healed.

One day, Peter and John arrive and through the power of Jesus, this man becomes healed. He can walk for the first time in his life. Acts 3:11, states that the people were astounded! You know why? Because many of them had been praying for the man’s healing. Many of them even laid hands on him. Many of them had given up. Now before their eyes this man is healed and it is truly an amazement.

Like the email above from God, you may not get one. You may not be the one whose prayers heal the person you prayed for. You may not be the one whom God uses to bring help, counsel and restoration to a hurting family for friend. However, if someone else comes along that God uses to perform a miracle that did not involve you directly, how would that make you feel? Would you still rejoice even if you were not used directly by God?

Notice carefully how the healed man “clung” to Peter and John. He got healed and so he could walk, but he held on to Peter and John. About 24 to 48 hours later, notice what is said in Acts 4:14: But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

Was the healed man “clinging” to Peter and John? No, he was now standing BESIDE them.

Here’s the point: When you help someone to walk again (physically or spiritually), expect that person to be clinging to you for a while. This is natural. This is to be expected. You in a sense are their savior – the one whom God used to answer their prayer. You have become a father, mother or big brother or sister figure to them. Your miracle will cling to you.

But, be sure that after a short while, get him or her to stop holding on to you and start to stand beside you instead. When you do this, you are helping the person to not depend so much on you but to transfer all dependence on God alone. Oh yes, he or she will still come to you now and then for help, advice and direction. But when they do, you are to show them how they can access the throne of God on their own and hear from God themselves.

Yes, we all may not get an email from God since we may not be in that ninety-five percent that is good. But when you see something good happen before your eyes even if you had nothing to do with it, can you still rejoice and give God the glory? Perhaps, if we do this often enough, we may move out of the ninety-five percent that’s bad and into the five percent that’s good.

In Genesis 22 when God tells Abraham to offer his own son, Isaac on the altar as a sacrifice, notice how severe such a test it was? Why did God test Abraham so severely?

Let me offer this as a suggestion: Abraham was tested by God so severely because he failed God’s previous tests that were not as severe, and as an old man who had a great nation riding upon him, time was running out for him to get it right.

Now let me show you how I arrive at this conclusion. But before I do, remember this principle: “Everyone who is given much shall much be required” (Luke 12:48). Therefore, when God gives you or I visions, understandings, light from His Word and knowledge of His will, we become that much more accountable to Him to walk in it. If we fail the tests that come after such visions (by visions I mean an understanding of God’s will through His Word), then subsequent tests from God become more intense.

Vision 1 – Genesis 12

God told Abraham that he would be made into a great nation. God promised him three things: land, seed and a personal blessing (vv. 1-3).

Test 1 – God told Abraham to separate from his relatives (v. 1). Did he pass this test? Look at 12:4: “So Abraham went forth and took Lot (his nephew) with him.” Failure number 1.

Test 2 – God said to Abraham to “go to the land (Canaan) which I will show you" (12:1). How did Abraham do on this test? Look at 12:9-10: 9After this, he traveled on toward southern Canaan. 10At this time there was not much food in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to live because there was so little food.

Notice that the text does not say that there was “no food” in the land; only that there was “little food.” Well how much is little? God would have provided. Not seeing very much food was also part of the test. Rather than staying in Canaan as he was told to be God, he left and lived in Egypt where the food was more plentiful. Abraham failed again!

Test 3 – Since he was living in Egypt, a place where God did not tell him to go, the Lord gave to Abraham another test. This one had to do with trusting God with his safety. Sarah apparently was a beautiful woman. Abraham thought that if the king of Egypt discovered that Sarah was Abraham’s wife, he would have him killed for his wife. So Abraham told his wife to lie about who she was. She was not to tell anyone that she was his wife, but rather his sister (12:11-13). Abraham failed now a third test.

Vision 2 – Genesis 15: God is now going to turn up the heat and give to Abraham more light and therefore more accountability. In this chapter, God reaffirms His covenant with him (vv. 1-5). Abraham believes God (a first step in passing future tests). But now as in all such beliefs, God is going to test his faith with tests of obedience.

Test 1 – Genesis 16: The birth of Ishmael.

When God reaffirmed His covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, Sarah was quite worried over the fact that it was several years and still she had no son. So, she came up with an idea. She gave her handmaid (Hagar) to her husband in order to produce an offspring. The bible says that, “Abraham listened to the voice of his wife” (16:2). He should have listened to the voice of God who said, “The one who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir” (15:4). Although up until this time, the Lord did not give Abraham much detail on how He was going to bring this about, what the Lord wanted from Abraham was his trust and obedience. God will work things out. Abraham just needed to trust Him. When he listened to his wife who was doubting and slept with her handmaid and tried to help the plan of God come about, Abraham failed yet another test.

Vision 3 – God again talks to Abraham and reaffirms His promise to him (17:1-2). Then the Lord changes his name and the name of his wife (vv. 4-6, 15-16). Here the Lord was indicating to Abraham that He was going to bring to pass His promise by bringing about a child from Abraham and Sarah. No one else was to be involved.

Test 1 – God then told Abraham to circumcise “every male among him” (v. 10). By doing this, Abraham was showing outwardly that he was believing and trusting in God and was willingly choosing to be part of this covenant. Did he pass this test? Yes (v. 23).

Vision 4 – Abraham was personally visited by the Lord Himself and two of His angels (Gen. 18). The Lord told Abraham that Sarah would bear a son a year from now (v. 10). Upon hearing this, Sarah laughed (v. 12). God who hears and sees everything, asks Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh” (v. 13)? “Is anything too difficult for the Lord” (v. 14)? Then the Lord told passed onto Abraham an insight on what He was about to do with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (vv. 20-21).

Test 1 – God wanted to see if Abraham would intercede for the inhabitants of the city, especially since Lot his nephew was living there. Did Abraham pass the test? Yes, he did intercede for the city on the basis that God would spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if the Lord could find at least ten righteous people among all the wicked (18:22-32). God was not able to rain down judgment until Lot and his family were safely out of arms way (19:22). Abraham’s intercession for his nephew and family saved their lives (cf. 19:27-29).

Vision 5 – Gen. 19:27-29 – Abraham had witness the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He had witness first hand the power of God to save as well as to destroy. He had seen first hand that God keeps His Word. He is not only merciful, but also just.

Test 1 – Gen. 20 – Abraham after witnessing the power of God to save and destroy, lies once again how Sarah was not his wife, but merely his sister (vv. 1-2). Abraham failed the test by not putting his trust in God to keep him safe and alive!

Vision 6 – Isaac is born from the seed of Abraham and through his wife, Sarah, just as the Lord had all along promised would happen (21:1-5).

Test 1 – Again, Abraham had failed to obey God’s original command to separate from his relatives (12:1). So through Sarah, God had Hagar and Ishmael taken away (21:10-12).

Now with all these visions from God (total of six), and with all the failed tests from Abraham (he did pass two out of the eight tests).

With this in mind, now notice the very first phrase in 22:1: “Now it came after these things.” What things? All the visions by God to Abraham and his subsequent failed tests. It came about that now God was going to give Abraham the MOTHER OF ALL TESTS! He was going to command him to kill his son as a sacrifice to God (22:1-2).

Remember the original principle I gave at the beginning: “To whom much is given, much is required.” God gave to Abraham six visions. Each time God gave to him a vision, there was a test or series of tests that followed. Some of the tests Abraham had passed, and some (most) he had failed.

Abraham is getting old. Time is running out. Isaac is now born to him. And God has to move on. Is Abraham really the “father of faith” (cf. Rom. 4:11, 16) or just another imposter?

Test 2 – Abraham is told to kill his son, Isaac (22:1-2). Did he pass this test? YES! (v. 12). Although he did not actually kill his son because the Lord stopped him just in time, however he was going to go all the way and God had seen his heart and knew that Abraham not only believed that God would make him into a great nation, but Abraham proved his faith by obeying God even when he did not understand how everything would work out.
Summary:

The principle: “To whom much is given, much is required.”

After each vision from the Lord (however God chooses to communicate; mainly He does so through His Word), the Lord tests our faith by giving to us a series of tests to see if we really believe Him, and if so, how much do we believe Him. Remember, the “testing of your faith produces endurance” (James 1:3), therefore, consider all such trials in life which are merely God’s testings as joy (James 1:2).

Trials or testings from God is designed to strengthen your faith in God and His promises; never are God’s tests designed to defeat, weaken or harm you in any way. It is God’s intention for you to excel in your faith and walk with Him, not succumb to despair or defeat. Therefore, each test by God given to you is perfectly times and constructed by God for your absolute best.

Some tests you will fail – we all do. Some you will succeed and pass. The more you fail, the more intense are future testings from God. God cranks it up in order to help you to be more proficient and consistent in your obedience.

If your son or daughter continually disobeys you, what do you do about it? Well, you don’t make your discipline upon him or her lighter, no, you crank it up. The greater the disobedience the more severe the discipline, especially if he or she has been told by you in a clear cut fashion what is expected of them. The greater the light, the deeper the accountability.

Finally, all of God’s testings and disciplines are designed to show us the Father’s love. Check out this passage:

You have forgotten the encouraging words that call you his children: "My child, don't think the Lord's discipline is worth nothing, and don't stop trying when he corrects you. The Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as his child." So hold on through your sufferings, because they are like a father's discipline. God is treating you as children. All children are disciplined by their fathers. If you are never disciplined (and every child must be disciplined), you are not true children (Heb. 12:5-8 NCV).

What the writer here is saying is this: Behind every test or discipline from God is His heart of love for you. Furthermore, if you are tested and disciplined by God, it is for a purpose to help you, not hurt you. Third, the Father’s discipline is His assurance to us that we are indeed His children.

Now do you see the heart behind that trial you are going through right now? Do you understand what the Father is seeking to accomplish in your life. And most of all, do you see your role in receiving it and passing the test?

This is not to deny the pain that trials and testings bring. But it is good to know that life is not a random series of chance events that bear no good results whether we pass or fail.

Take God’s trials seriously and pass the tests that He brings across your path.

Bill Bouknight tells the story of a certain isolated Pacific island where it was the custom that when a young man proposed marriage, he would announce his intention to the entire village. Then he and the whole community would go to the young woman's home. Her father would come outside and then -- in front of the community -- the father and suitor would barter.

The main item of value on the island was the cow. Therefore, a suitor would offer the father a certain number of cows for his daughter. The average bride was worth two cows, perhaps three if she was unusually bright or attractive. The all-time record was four cows.

The most eligible bachelor on the island was Johnny Lingo. He was handsome and wealthy. Imagine all the excitement among the women of the island when Johnny announced one day that he had selected a wife. But then he shocked everyone by announcing that his choice was a girl named Lisa. Lisa was not even in the top ten. She was regarded as rather plain and frightfully shy.

Some of the jokers in the crowd even suggested that Lisa's father might pay Johnny a cow or two.

The community gathered at Lisa's house for the bartering. Then came an even greater shock. Johnny's opening bid for Lisa was eight cows! Her father almost fainted, but he managed to say yes. That very evening Johnny and Lisa were married. They departed for their home on an adjacent island.

For a full year no one saw Johnny and Lisa. Then on their first anniversary they returned to visit their parents. From the moment they arrived at the dock, the grapevine went ballistic with gossip. Everybody said, "Come and see Johnny and Lisa! You won't believe it!" Everybody came, but nobody noticed Johnny. All eyes were on Lisa. She had been transformed! She was a vision of loveliness. She was poised, warm, friendly, and confident.

At the end of the day as Johnny and Lisa were preparing to return to their home, one of Johnny's long-time friends pulled him aside and said, "I want to know the secret of this amazing transformation in Lisa. How did it happen?"

Johnny said, "I will tell you. From the time Lisa was born, she had been treated as though she was not worth very much. She had begun to believe that about herself. But I announced to the community that she was an 8-cow wife, and I have treated her just that way. She has become that vision of herself that she sees every day in my eyes."

If you want an 8-cow wife or husband, or if you want to be an 8-cow Christian, you have to catch that vision first and then treat yourself and others that way. And God, the master change agent, may produce that 8-cow person that you envision!

As you read the story of Abraham and the rest of the great Patriarchs in the bible, you will notice at no time does God speak down to them even though they certainly deserved it.

After God told Abraham that he would be the “father of many nations” (Gen. 12:1-3), how did he respond? He went to live in Egypt and lied to the Pharaoh about Sarah being his sister rather than his wife (Gen. 12:10-13). Abraham was afraid that he would be killed if the Pharaoh saw his beautiful wife and wanted her to himself. So Abraham made his beautiful wife lie in order to save his own life because of fear that was motivated by his “imagination.”

Again, Abraham had done the very same thing this time to Abimelech, king of Gerar (Gen. 20). When confronted by the king afterwards about his lie, Abraham responded, “I thought. . .” (v. 11). In other word, his fear was again motivated by his overworked imagination.

In Genesis 12, God promised Abraham that he would be a great person and from him would come a great nation (Gen. 12). Then in chapter 15, God reaffirms His promise to him. One would think that since God promised this to Abraham, it would be God who would keep Abraham alive!

You see, we often hear about how Abraham was a great man of faith – and he was. But he also failed miserably at times too. Rather than trust God to keep him alive by telling the truth, he imagined what might happened to him and took matters into his own hands and lied about Sarah being his sister. Although he was partially right (Gen. 20:12), the important part he left out was that Sarah was his wife.

God could have slammed dunk Abraham with a few verbal lashings. But rather than doing so, God gave to Abraham a fulfillment of His promise through the birth of his son, Isaac (Gen. 21).

God kept Abraham alive even while he doubted God and lied about who his wife was – twice! God would have kept Abraham alive if he had told the truth as well and Sarah would not have been used as a pawn for his sinful intentions.

Listen carefully: Sin will make you look ugly and others too if you involve them in your plan. God sees you as an “8-cow person.” You are special, called, and good enough for His Son to die on Calvary’s cross for your sin and ultimate eternal destiny. That how God sees you. Don’t make yourself and others look rotten by taking fleshly matters into your own hands.

Trust God and you will look the way God sees you – special, unique and altogether beautiful

Members of the Religion Newswriters Association -- who cover religion for the mainstream media -- voted on their choices for the top religion stories of 2006. Here are the results:

1. Muslims in a number of countries react violently to publication of Muhammad cartoons in Denmark and other European nations. Scores of both Christians and Muslims are killed in riots in Nigeria.

2. Pope Benedict XVI angers Muslims by including in a speech a centuries-old quote linking Islam and violence. He apologizes and later smooths the waters on a trip to Turkey. Earlier, he begins to downsize the curia and emphasizes God's love in his first encyclical.

3. The Episcopal Church riles conservatives when the General Convention elects a presiding bishop who supported the consecration of a U.S. gay bishop, which conservatives oppose as unbiblical. Seven Episcopal dioceses refuse to recognize the leadership of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who is also the first woman elected to the top post. Later, the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin becomes the first diocese to adopt measures that set the stage for it to secede from the denomination.

4. Charismatic leader Ted Haggard resigns as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and is dismissed as pastor of the huge New Life Church in Colorado Springs after allegations surface of gay sex and methamphetamine use.

5. Candidates backed by the Religious Right suffer a series of defeats in the fall elections, with many voters citing morality as one of the strongest motivators in the way they cast their ballot.

6. Religious voices grow louder for peace in Iraq, but by year's end experts fear the spread of sectarian tensions throughout the Middle East Conflicts between Sunni and Shiite Muslims increase, and the Israeli incursion in Lebanon aimed at curbing attacks by Hezbollah touches off major strife within Lebanon. Christian churches also reconsider efforts to pressure Israel on the Palestinian question.

7. The schoolhouse shooting deaths of five Amish girls in Bart Township, PA, draw international attention on the Amish community's ethic of forgiveness after some Amish attend the killer's funeral.

8. (tie) The release of the film The Da Vinci Code adds to the previous buzz about Dan Brown's novel. Religious critics, who say the book portrays traditional Christianity as a fraud, are divided over whether to boycott the film or hold discussion groups. Controversial plot lines include Jesus marrying Mary Magdalene and conceiving a child.

8. (tie) Same sex marriage bans pass in seven of eight states that hold referendums on the issue during mid-term elections; Arizona becomes the first state in which voters defeat a same-sex marriage ban. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples are entitled to the same benefits as married couples.

10. President Bush casts his first veto to defeat a bill calling for expanded stem-cell research, to the delight of religious conservatives and the disappointment of more liberal ones. The issue is later credited with playing a deciding role in the key Missouri Senate race. Meanwhile, progress is reported in efforts to create stem-cell lines without destroying embryos.

As you look at these ten top stories of 2006, the question might be asked: “Where is you in all of this?” As the world focused on the so-called big stories, what about you and your story? Do you have to do something crazy and insane to get the attention you need from heaven itself to look down upon your circumstances? The answer is a definite “NO.”

Here is a very important phrase that I want to pass on to you. It is found in Genesis 8:1 and it reads: “But God remembered Noah.” Four words that says it all.

How long did it take for the water to cover the whole earth? Forty days and forty nights (Gen. 7:12, 17-20). After the highest mountain on earth was covered with water, how long did God keep the earth flooded? 150 days (7:24; 8:3). When the waters receded and he ark came to rest on Mt. Ararat, how long did Noah remain in the Ark? Seven months (8:3-4, 13-14).

Okay, let’s add this all up.

It rained for forty days and nights – 1.5 months.
The ark remained afloat for 150 days (five months) while the earth was flooded.
When the ark came to rest on Mt. Ararat, Noah remained in the Ark for another seven months.

So the total time that Noah lived in the Ark with members of his family and all those stinky animals was about 13.5 months or a little over one year!

Wait! There’s more!! How long did it take Noah and his family to build the Ark that they would stay in while the flood occurred? At least 100 years.

Remember, Noah was 500 years old when he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth (5:32). The same account is given in 6:10, which seems to be in the context of when God informs Noah about his new assignment to build the Ark. Then in 7:6, we read that Noah was 600 years old when the flood came upon the earth. So it took Noah about 100 years to build the Ark.

Now there’s more so stay with me on this. When God looked down on the world at that time and saw the wickedness of the hearts of the earth dwellers, He said: "I won't let my life-giving breath remain in anyone forever. No one will live for more than one hundred twenty years” (Gen. 6:3 CEV).

In other words, God said that mankind had 120 years to repent before He would send a world-wide flood. So Noah built the ark in about 100 years. But what do we do with the extra 20 years mentioned in 6:3? Probably when God spoke His warning in 6:3, He waited 20 years before He approached Noah with his assignment to build the ark. Therefore, when Noah completed the ark in 100 years, it came to be a total of 120 years since the time God issued His warning in 6:3.

At the end of the 120 years, God told Noah to enter the ark with his family and the rest of the animals (7:1-3). Once in the ark, God waited an additional seven more days before sending the rain (7:4). He did this again to give people time to repent. Finally at the end of the seven additional says, God sealed the door (7:16) on the ark and it began to rain.

Therefore, Noah took 100 years to build the ark. Once he got inside, he remained inside for about 13.5 months. Now let’s read that phrase again in Genesis 8:1: “But God remembered Noah.”

No one else did? No one else paid any attention to Noah and what he was doing. He was ignored for the 100 years he built the ark. Finally after the 120 years that God gave in His mercy for the people to take notice and repent, God put Noah in the ark and kept him there for 13.5 months before releasing him.

BUT GOD REMEMBERED NOAH! When no one else was looking his way, God kept an eye on Him.

Here’s my point: It takes time – lots of time to build character in a person. Noah’s assignment was not just to build an ark for him and his family plus a whole lot of animals to hide in safely during a universal flood. No, Noah and wife also had the assignment of being the new Adam and Eve! Everyone on earth accept him, his wife and his sons and daughters-in-law all died! When he came out of the ark in Genesis 8:15ff, it was only him and seven others (Gen. 7:13).

God knew that starting over would be a big job. Noah and his family would have to start to build homes from scratch. So God gave them the training they needed when He commanded them to build the ark. After 100 years of building the ark, they were all seasoned builders.

They also needed patience with one another. God knew that they would remain in the ark for 13.5 months with themselves and the animals. They had to learn to get along. Why? Because if any of them went the way of Cain, that would reduce the size of the human race! So God had them work together for 100 years and live together in a stinky ship for over one year, so when they got out, they knew how to get along. Why? Because they had learned such essential qualities by virtue of developing godly character.

Folks, God has a big assignment for you. But unless you learn the character you need to handle such an assignment, you will not get the opportunity to fulfill your calling. Character takes time!

You may finish a task here or there and think that now you are ready. You may see some fruit from your ministry and think that you are ready. But completing a task or laying eyes on fruit is not the same as building character. God will put you into a situation for a purpose – “To build in you the necessary character qualities that you must have for the assignment God wants to do through you.” Are you willing to do your time? Are you willing to receive your share of bumps along the way? Are you sure you want to go all the way with God?

Stop trying to look for quick results and instant fixes. God does not use a microwave oven to cook you; instead He uses a crock pot and puts the heat on slow cooking. This is when all the juices and necessary flavor from one’s life begins to smell good and God looks upon you and say, “Now you got the character I want you to have for the assignment I want to do through you.”

Just be thankful that you are not Noah! Imagine spending 13.5 months in a box with smelly animals high above the tallest mountains on the earth floating on water? We have it so much easier today. Let God work with you and you cooperate with God. Time is running out. When God shuts the door of opportunity, what side of the door will you be standing?