believe

The One That is Lost

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He counted them once and then he counted them again. He knew he had one hundred sheep but he could only count ninety-nine. So he counted again and yes, one was lost. It was just one sheep, but these were his sheep. He knew each one by name and knew each one by sight. Now most of them are safe, but one was lost.

Ninety-nine sheep are safe. Only one is missing. Outside it is cold and dark. The wolves are howling. It is dangerous to go out. Some shepherds would say, “Ninety-nine are safe, so I won’t concern myself with the one that is lost.” But not the Good Shepherd. He knows His sheep by name and His heart trembles for the one that is lost.

Carrying a staff and a rod for protection, he goes out into the cold darkness. He searches until he finds his lost sheep. Tangled in the briars and brambles, the frightened sheep is torn and bloodied. Using his staff, the shepherd draws the lost one to safety. Anointing him with oil and binding his wounds the Shepherd sings with joy because he has found the one that was lost.

Jesus, my Lord, is the Good Shepherd. Many of His children are safe in the fold. But some have wandered away. Maybe you have been cast into the briars and brambles of addiction. Or maybe you are just confused, stumbling around in the darkness, endangered by the worldly wolves. But Jesus, the Lover of your soul, is heartbroken because you are in danger. He longs for His lost ones to be safe.

Listen to my words all that are sick and lonely, afraid of the darkness that surrounds you. The Savior is calling out your name if you will just be still and listen. The Holy Spirit is the rod that will protect you and the staff that will rescue you. Jesus is the Seeker of the one that is lost. He will draw you close, bind your wounds, and anoint you with healing oil.

Trust in this promise from Ezekiel 34:15-16; “I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down.” says the Lord GOD. “I will seek what is lost and bring back what has been driven away, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick.”

Douglas & Deborah Huff

email- pavementendministry@gmail.com

Memorial Day

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3,000,000. If Google is correct, this is the approximate number of American Soldiers who have died in service to this great country. These are the ones we honor on Memorial Day.

Now this may shock you, but listen carefully. The sacrifices of these great heroes were not made in defense of our freedoms. In their Oath of Enlistment, every American soldier swears to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and to bear faith and allegiance to the same. You see their great sacrifice was made for a document. Oh, but what a document it is.

In its preamble, we read that the Constitution was ordained and established in “Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” So yes they did die for our freedom because they died defending the Constitution and the Constitution secures our Blessings of Liberty.

Now consider this. The Constitution is not the source of your rights, no it only secures them. When we read about “The Blessings of Liberty,” we must understand that blessings can only come from a Gracious God. In the Declaration of Independence, we find these words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” This truth is evident. Our rights are declared by the Declaration of Independence, secured by the Constitution of the United States but they are given to us by our Creator and God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

On Memorial Day I pledge to remember and honor over 3,000,000 great men and women who sacrificed greatly in defense of the Constitution and for my Blessings of Liberty. Also because I am free, I will never stop glorifying my God and Savior Jesus Christ. He has given me the Rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness which is found in the Hope and Promise of Eternal Life.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

The Prodigal Son

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In the Bible, Jesus tells the story of a man whose son demands that he be given his inheritance so that he can go out on his own. The father reluctantly gives his son his own livelihood and watches as the boy goes off into the world. The father knew that this was not about the money; no it was about a son rejecting the father’s love.

As the story goes the young man goes to a faraway land where he blows through his money in no time at all. Of course, when the money is gone the good times are gone, and when the good times are gone so are the friends. Now we find the boy with no money, friends, or food. He has to take job feeding pigs and wishes that he could eat the pig slop. And then finally one day he decides to go home and ask his father for forgiveness.

Now you may think this story is about the prodigal son but it is not. The story is actually about the father. You see as soon as the boy left, his father began to watch and pray for his son to come home. Day after day he would stand at the gate looking and longing to see his little boy coming down the road. Finally, the day comes when the old man sees his son coming home. The old man we tears in his eyes runs to meet His boy. With hugs and kisses, He welcomes him home

You know on second thought this story is not about the old man. It is about God and you. Maybe like the boy you have rejected the Father’s love. Maybe you have taken your life and wasted it. Maybe you have found yourself in the hog pen of life and you have found that hog slop doesn’t taste so good.

Here is the good news, our Father in Heaven has been waiting and watching and longing for you to come home. He is waiting to receive you with open arms. Won’t you leave the pigs and come to the Father? I can see Him now, when you start walking toward Him He will come running to you. He will clothe you in His righteousness and feed you from His table. You know He loves you, pig slop breath and all.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where the Pavement Ends

Come and See

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Come and See

The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”” (John 1:43–46)

“Come and see.” This is a challenge to see in Jesus the Answer to all questions, the Object of all desires, and the fulfilled Promise of all time. Indeed the invitation is to come and see in Jesus the Final Treasure that is worth any sacrifice we have to make.

When Philip said, “I have found Him” he was saying they had been looking for a Messiah who would change their lives and he recognized in Jesus the Messiah. The crisis of our time is that the ones who need Him the most are not looking for Him. Oh, they are looking for something but they don’t recognize that Jesus is the Final Treasure.

A question for you, Christian. Do you recognize Jesus as the Final Treasure? The answer to that question may be the answer to the question of why has the American church lost its ability to impact society.

Brothers, you say that you are a Christian, so I challenge you to make the Word who was in the beginning, the Word who was with God and this Word who is God to make Him the Final Treasure of your Heart. Then maybe you can impart to a dying and thirsty world a desire for this Living Water.

Then when you extend an invitation to “come and see,” they will see that Jesus is indeed The Final Treasure.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

More Faith

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In the movie Jaws, three men were hunting a huge man-eating shark. One of the men, Sheriff Brodie came face to face with this extremely large and hungry shark. When this happened, he said, “We are going to need a bigger boat”.

In the Bible, Jesus taught His disciples that they would face great trials and persecution. He also taught them that they would have to learn to forgive others without reservation. These teachings of Jesus must have seemed as overwhelming to the disciples as the huge, hungry shark did to Sheriff Brodie. So, the disciples said, “We are going to need a bigger faith.”

In Luke chapter 17, the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus then told them that if they had even a tiny bit of faith, they could do great things. Wow, that is a tremendous promise. That is what most of us want. We want to be known as someone who has done great things and we want to do these things with just a little faith.

As Jesus continued His teaching about faith, He explained the characteristics of a faithful person. He shows us in the Bible that those who are great in their faith are servants. He says that a faith-filled person is actively working for God’s glory. And we learn that there is no faith without works. A faith-filled person is not self-centered; they never seek gratitude but serve only for the glory of God.

A person of great faith knows that they are God’s workmanship, created in Christ for good works. A faithful person’s mind is always on Christ and these words are always in their heart, “not unto me O Lord, not unto me, but unto You belongs all honor and glory and praise forever and ever, Amen

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where the Pavement Ends

email-pvementendsministry@gmail.com

Being Old Is Not The Same As Being Done

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In Joshua 13:1 we read these words; “Joshua was now old, getting on in years, and the Lord said to him, “You have become old, getting on in years, but a great deal of the land remains to be possessed.” Now I wonder, was God displaying a sense of humor here? As Joshua stood there with all the aches and pains that come with age and the long years of service to God, do you think that he needed God to tell him that he was old? No, I don’t think so, I think that God may have chuckled when He said this.

I have had a good many birthdays. When I crawl out of bed in the morning my bones creak and pop. Then I reach for my glasses because the years have blurred my eyesight. Old wounds and scars I have accumulated throughout the years remind me of some of the dumb things I have done to myself. So if God were to say to me, ” Doug, you are old and advanced in years” I would chuckle and say, “You think.”

Now, when God told Joshua that he was old, He also told him that there was a lot more land to possess. In other words, God said, Joshua, you are old, but you ain’t done. So rub some oil on those creaky old bones and get up and get busy.

In my years on this earth, I have seen a lot and done a lot. But I am not finished yet. There is still a lot more to do and see. I believe that God has said to me, Doug, you are old and advanced in years but you ain’t done yet. There is more work to do, so get up and get busy.

Now many of you like me, have had a lot of birthdays. All those birthdays are making your bones ache and your muscles hurt. However, if you have pain that is proof that you are alive, and if you are alive that is proof that you ain’t done yet. God is saying rub some creme on those old muscles then get up and get busy. Remember, make plans for the future as if you have many tomorrows, but live today as if you have none.

Douglas Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

The Bird

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There was a bird in the shop the other day. It flew in and immediately flew up to the ceiling. Thinking that the white ceiling was the sky, it kept flying against it. Not wanting him in there, I tried to shoo him out the door. However, to go out the door, he had to fly low. But it was his instinct to fly high. Instead of going out, he kept bumping against an artificial sky which was the ceiling. All day he flew back and forth, trapped because he would not lower himself to go through the door.

The bird reminds me of human nature. So often we become trapped by our foolishness. Refusing to humble ourselves we keep bumping against an artificial sky of our own making. We rush back and forth trying to find freedom, but on our own, we can never be successful.

God wants to show you the way. But you must swallow your pride and humbly kneel in prayer. Freedom can be yours and problems can be overcome if you are willing to do things God’s way. But you have to stop doing life your way.

Do you know how I finally got the bird out? Well, I turned the lights off and shut the door. Birds will not fly in darkness. I then open the door a tiny bit. This caused a small sliver of light to shine on the ceiling. The bird then began to flutter in that small patch of light. He was afraid of the dark and was drawn to the light. Then I took the ladder climbed to where he was and caught him in my hand. Then I took him outside and released him to real freedom.

So often it seems that darkness is driving us into a corner. In the darkness are you not drawn to a ray of light? When the world is dark Jesus is the light. If we will fly to the light, He will take us into His hands and release us into true freedom. Do you believe this? Do you trust Him? He is our only hope.

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12 NKJV

Douglas & Deborah Huff

Faithful People

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In the Bible, Jesus taught His disciples that they would face great trials and persecution. He also taught them that they would have to learn to forgive others without reservation. These teachings of Jesus must have seemed as overwhelming. So, the disciples said, “We are going to need a bigger faith.” This devotion is an audio podcast, click the link below to listen.

https://podpoint.com/pavement-ends-ministry/faithful-people?fbclid=IwAR3a0MT56wLUVWaYTPvmBzYmPIAcfZOZDnWIqNAWENQH5V1MBoCSxQlgfNM#

A Mothers Heart, Honoring all Ladies

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She stayed at home from church today. No, she doesn’t miss church very often. She loves her church and is one of the best workers in the congregation. She is a nursery worker, she teaches children in Sunday School and she may be one of the best youth leaders the church ever had. However, today is Mother’s Day and she is a wonderful mother but she has never given birth to a baby. So she stayed home from church today.

Every year there are ladies whose tender hearts are especially crushed on Mother’s Day. They cringe when the pastor calls for the oldest, the youngest, and the mother with the most children to stand and be recognized. They tremble when the children walk by them without stopping, as they carry gifts to the mothers in the church. It is not that they begrudge these mothers their special day. It is just that their arms long to hold the children they don’t have.

I believe there is a Mother’s Heart in all ladies. Some women are longing to be able to tell their husbands they are pregnant. For years they have prayed for a child but God has not given them a baby, yet. Other young ladies wait patiently and obediently for the Father to send a righteous man into their lives. As the years go by they know that God is enough, but still they long to have a family and to be a mama. These ladies are amazing, they love all children and children love them. But on Mother’s Day, more often than not, their hearts are crushed because you and I often overlook them and their Mother’s Heart.

Mother’s Day is a special happy day. It is a day to celebrate our Mamas. More than anyone else our Mamas deserve a special day. For their children, they work hard, sacrifice greatly, and love unconditionally. It is right that churches have special services to honor them. We really should revive the tradition of wearing red and white roses to honor and remember our Mamas. But let us also start a new tradition, a tradition that honors all ladies on Mother’s Day. Because all ladies have a Mother’s Heart.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

Pavement Ends Ministry

Email- pavementendsministry@gmail.com