praise

The Man With No Name

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His name was, well we don’t know if he even had a name. He is known as Bartimaus, but that just means that his father was a man named Timaus. The Bible says he was a blind man who sat by the road begging. Sometimes a person would feel sorry for him and throw a cheap coin in his lap. But mostly the world saw him as a person with no sight, no usefulness, and no hope. He was not even worthy of a name, so they just called him the son of Timaus.

However, even blind people can hear and this man with no name had heard that Jesus could give hope to the hopeless, sight to the blind, and would even use useless people. When he heard that Jesus was close he began to shout as loud as he could “Jesus, Son of David have mercy on me!” The people around him considered him a nuisance so they told him to be quiet. But he wouldn’t. He loudly continued to beg for mercy. He knew the people would not help him, but because of his faith and persistence, Jesus did.

Jesus was surrounded by people who had names. These people were irritated because of the loud noise coming from a man who was blind. They wanted him to be quiet. Jesus wanted him to be healed. Jesus said to the blind man, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” When the man received his sight, he followed Jesus, because Jesus is the Way. Once this man was blind and had no name but now he sees and has a name that is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Do you have a name that is written in Glory? Jesus Christ is nearby, call loudly to Him, and don’t stop crying out until He hears you. He will answer and show you great and mighty things. If you have faith and are persistent, you will see like you have never seen and you will have a name that Jesus will never forget.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

Resurrection Morning

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It was early on Sunday morning. The sun had not yet broken over the horizon. It had been late Friday when they took Jesus’ dead body down from the cross and put Him in the tomb. It was almost time for the Sabbath to begin so they had no time to prepare His body for burial.

Now that the Sabbath was over some women were coming to anoint His body with spices. The tomb had been sealed with a heavy stone and soldiers had been assigned to guard it. As the women walked to the grave in the gathering light they wondered how they were going to get into the grave to see their Lord’s body for what they thought was the last time.

As the tomb came into view they were shocked. The stone had been moved and the soldiers were gone. They rushed to the tomb and looked in. The body of Jesus was gone. In the tomb, they saw what they thought was a young man dressed in a long white robe. They stood there perplexed and astonished.

The young man said, “Don’t be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He’s not here, He is risen. Look, you can see the place where He was laid He’s not here. So Go and tell His disciples and Peter that He is alive. He is going to meet them at Galilee and you can see Him there just like He said. Then the ladies ran to tell the disciples that Jesus was Alive

Jesus Has triumphed over death, hell, and the grave. This is why we celebrate Resurrection Sunday.

We Might as Well Go Home, He’s Dead

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In Luke 24 there is a story of two followers of Christ who are walking home to Emmaus. It was Sunday and Jesus had been crucified on Friday. They said, “We might as well go home it’s over.” Some women had gone to the tomb early to anoint the body and came back to report that the tomb was empty. They said something about an angel and Jesus being alive. But the two disciples knew that was foolishness. He was dead and they were going home

Cleopas and the other disciple thought they had found the Messiah. They had heard the great stories and had even eaten some of the fish and loaves. They had seen a cripple man run and heard a mute girl speak. They thought Jesus had to be the Christ, the Son of God. But then He was arrested, tried, beaten, and crucified. Soldiers took His dead body down from the cross and buried Him. He’s dead. It’s over.

These two disciples were very disappointed in this Man named Jesus. They thought He was going to use His power to overthrow the Romans, restore the kingdom of David, and set them free. But He did not do things the way they thought He should. And now He’s dead. So they said, “It’s over we might as well go home.

As they walked home to Emmaus, Jesus Himself began to walk by their side. They did not recognize Him. They had eyes to see but could not see. He chastised them because they were foolish and slow of heart. Then using Scripture, He taught them that it was necessary for Christ to suffer and enter into His glory.

As He walked with them, their hearts began to warm. As he taught them their hearts beat faster. His Word was percolating their hearts. Later when He broke the bread, the full-blown aroma of salvation enveloped and filled them. All of a sudden they saw Jesus. He’s not dead. He is alive. It’s not over. It has just begun.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

I Saw God Today

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I saw God today and He is good. In the waiting room of a doctor’s office, I observed the people around me. This is the kind of place where people sometimes receive bad news. So as I watched the people come and go, I sensed the presence of God and His grace all around me. I saw overwhelming evidence that God is good.

Outside on the sidewalk an old white man and an old black woman embrace in a hug of friendship. Here comes a veteran with his service dog. Over there is an older couple. She has a walking cane and he has his arm around her with a hand on her elbow. He is determined he won’t let her stumble and fall. One woman is spending her day off taking a recently widowed friend to have tests. All around me, I see people being good to each other. This is proof that God is good.

In this place, I am reminded that racism is a commodity of manipulative people. But it is overcome by love and goodwill. Here I see the gentle faithfulness of a dog as he calms the mind of an American hero. The old couple that holds each other up is keeping a promise they made when they stood tall and strong. They have loved each other in sickness and health and will continue until death do them part. The lady giving up her day off for a friend has a true servant’s heart. As I sit in this waiting room, I remember God has said, “Be still and know that I am God.”

I’m not naive. I know that mankind’s heart is deceitfully wicked. So when I see the goodness in the people around me, I know it is the goodness of God working through them. For this reason, I find joy in the strength of God and rejoice in His Salvation. God has met me with the blessing of goodness and His blessings are forever good. Because God is good, He will be exalted in His strength and praised in His power. Yes, I saw God today and I am happy to report that He is good.

Douglas & Deborah Huff 

From Down Where the Pavement Ends

Email- pavementendsministry@gmail.com

Listening to My Friend

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Most mornings I spend a half hour or so listening to my friend. As I sit, mostly with my eyes closed, I try to take in all that He has to say. Sometimes He tells me secrets about Himself that I never knew. Occasionally He reveals His reasons for things that seem to have no reason. Other times He just lets me know how glad He is that I am His friend.

My friend is Jehovah Shalom, the God of the universe, the Creator of all things, the Lover of my soul, and my Prince of Peace. Some people would call what I am doing, “Prayer” but I call it listening to my Friend. Sometimes when I sit listening to Him I drift off to sleep. However, He does not mind that I go to sleep, no more than I mind when my grand-baby goes to sleep in my arms. You see it’s easy to fall asleep when you know the Peace that is beyond your understanding.

You might ask, since you are spending time with God shouldn’t you be praying for your friends and loved ones? Shouldn’t you be telling Him your trouble and asking for help? Aren’t you just wasting your time sitting there with your eyes closed? Don’t you have more important things to do? The answer is no, there is nothing more important than listening to my Friend

All day long God walks with me. He has told me to pray without ceasing, so we have a running conversation. We talk about my friends and their needs. He knows about the ones who are sick and hurting and He knows that you need encouragement. We talk about my family and I ask Him to watch over them. For the most part, my days are filled with me talking and God listening.

That is why most mornings I spend time listening to my Friend. I enjoy the feel of His hand on my shoulder and the sound of His voice whispering in my ear. When He whispers in my ear I feel the warmth of His breath on my neck and His Spirit enlarging my soul. As I drift in and out of sleep, I dream the dreams of eternity. I have peace that is beyond my understanding because my Friend is God, the glorious One, the Lover of My Soul. He is Jehovah Shalom. He is my Prince of Peace.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

Beyond My Imagination

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I have often stood outside on a clear night and marveled at the beauty and scope of the night sky. I know that I cannot count the stars and yet some of the stars are not stars at all. Instead, most are entire galaxies of their own. Science tells us that there could be as many as 100 billion galaxies and each of those galaxies could have more than 100 billion stars. This boggles my mind.

I often wonder about the purpose of all these stars. Why did God create these galaxies? Mankind can never visit them, they are too far away. They can never provide us with any of life’s necessities. All we can do is look at them. They are beautiful but what is their purpose? And what is the purpose of the immensity of the universe?

Could it be that the answer to my question is as simple as this; a Great God needs a big universe to contain the love that He has for His children? Maybe the uncountable stars in the universe are there to illustrate the uncontainable mercies that He has for us. After all, His Word does tell us that “His mercies are new every morning“. And listen to this, science teaches us that even now the universe is growing and expanding in size. Wow, what manner of love the Father must have for His children.

In Ephesians 2:4-7 we read; “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, has raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Let me be bold and say it this way; God loves you so much that he gave His only Son for you and if you trust in Him you can have everlasting life. For that reason, the universe cannot contain “the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Douglas Huff

From Down Where the Pavement Ends

Upside Down

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In the first century, a handful of believers devoutly followed Christ. With the power of the Holy Spirit, this group of believers turned the world upside down. Their numbers grew, and with miraculous multiplication powers, they overcame all obstacles and infiltrated the world.

With a crescendo of Godly power, Christianity molded and shaped civilization. An honest study of history reveals that hospitals, orphanages, and all forms of charitable organizations are rooted in Christian ideals. You will find also that the legal structure of every civilized nation in the world is solidly based on the laws of God that were fulfilled in Christ.

But now we have come full circle. The influence of Christianity has evaporated. Once the worship of God brought about civility, now individual rights have been idolized and crudity reigns supreme. In the days of Christian influence, personal responsibility was admired, but now things of God are considered old-fashioned. No one is held accountable for their actions and personal irresponsibility is treated as a virtue. In this post-Christian world, the Robin Hood syndrome has become a perverted way of robbing from the hard workers and rewarding the lazy and undeserving.

In this era of social Christianity, we have surrendered our ability to impact the world. Instead of the church influencing the world, the world has infiltrated the church. Once upon a time, Godly men turned the world upside down. Now we are afraid to speak the truth because we might offend someone. For the sake of political correctness, we now call wrong right and accept the unacceptable. Once we bore the marks of Christ and had a preservative effect on the world. Now we have turned our eyes from Jesus and the marks we bear are the footprints of the world. Like salt that has lost its saltiness, we are fit only to be walked on.

What many in this world call progress, is actually the destruction of society. We are going the way of Rome, Greece and Babylon. Like these ancient civilizations we idolize gratuitous sex and we worship personal pleasure. And now we are in danger of disappearing into a haze of lunacy.

But it does not have to be this way. God’s children, the crème of His power and mercy can rise to the top again. We must humble ourselves, and in prayer turn from our wicked ways. If we do this, He has promised that He will hear our prayers. He is God and He keeps His promises. The question is will we humbly turn to Him in prayer? Will we do our part? We have to, for the sake of our grandchildren, we just have to.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

Bud’s Helper

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I want to tell you a story about my neighbor Bud and his great-grandson Logan. Bud is with the Lord now and Logan has grown into a fine young man. This story took place many years ago when Logan was a toddler maybe two or three years old.

Bud had a pasture right across the road from my house. The pasture fence was old, the cedar post were loose and the barbed wire was sagging. One day I sat on my front porch and watched as Bud and little Logan worked on this old fence.

As I watched, Bud would push the dirt around the post and then he and Logan would both take hold of a rod and pack the dirt down. Bud would then stretch the barbed wire as tight as he could and. nail it to the post. After he had driven the staple into the post he would then give the hammer to little Logan and let him “ finish” hammering it in. I would hear Bud say, “ has that got it?”. Logan would answer, “yea got it.” Then they would go to the next post.

From fence post to fence post, they went with Bud allowing Logan to “ help” him work on that pasture fence. Now, you and I both know that Bud did not need Logan’s help. No, he probably could have finished quicker and done a better job by himself. However, Bud was not working on a fence that day, he was working on a little boy. That fence and Bud are both gone now. But the lessons that Logan and I learned that day remain.

Jesus tells us in the Book of Matthew that we should take His yoke upon ourselves. When He says this, He means that He wants us to work by His side as He does the Father’s business. Jesus’ yoke is easy because He is the one carrying the load. When He allows us to walk with Him, it is not because He needs us but because He loves us and wants us by His side. Put your hand in His hand and you will find that He is working on you, making your soul fit for the Kingdom of God.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

Email- pavementendsministry@gmail.com

The Crime that Jesus Committed

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Most of us know that Jesus is the only begotten Son Of God. We also know that He is the only truly righteous Man to ever live. His death on the cross was an atonement for our sins. He was bruised for our iniquities and chastised for our transgressions. It is by His stripes that we are saved.

However, for a couple of minutes, I want you to remove from your thoughts the fact of the Deity of Jesus. From a human point of view, I want you to know that Jesus was killed on the cross because He was guilty of committing a horrendous crime. It was a crime that mankind cannot tolerate. You can do almost anything and be forgiven, but not this. We do not forgive people for this crime. What was this horrendous crime? Jesus was guilty because He did not fit in. He stood out from the crowd. He did not do what they thought He should. He was guilty of being different, so they killed Him.

The Pharisees thought He should have conformed to their rules, but Jesus would not, so they pronounced Him guilty. Jesus would not do what the people wanted Him to do, so they called for Him to be crucified. Rome wanted Him to blend into the crowd, but Jesus would not so Pilate nailed Him to the cross. The Son of God was guilty of being a different kind of Messiah, so they killed Him.

Among all living breathing beings on earth, the most hated creature is the one who stands out from the crowd. And yet a famous preacher once said, “The sad thing about modern American Christians is that nobody wants to kill them anymore. Jesus tells us in John 15:18-19; “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”

If you are a child of God, your purpose on earth is to glorify Him and make a difference in this world. You cannot honor God or impact the world if you will not stand out from the world. God’s people must not be tossed to and fro like a reed blowing in the wind. We must be influenced only by the Presence of God, led only by the Holy Spirit of God, and strive to be perfect like the Son of God. Stand out from the world and Jesus will stand up for you.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

Don’t Listen to the Pharisees on the Front Row

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By now almost everyone has heard of the “Asbury Revival.” A Wednesday night chapel service that continued for weeks. It has been reported that the Holy Spirit had taken control. It was also reported that the testimony, preaching, and singing of ordinary people were used in a mighty way.

This happened organically. There were no famous preachers, no well-known musicians, and no influence from religious denominations. It seems the Holy Spirit alone was in control. Jesus was lifted up and people were drawn to Him. And some people didn’t like it.

What I have to say is not in response to the “Asbury Revival.” I was not there so I can’t give an accurate report on it. But I have heard and read commentary on this amazing phenomenon from different people. Most have been positive. Others however have been negative. What I have to say is in response to the negative comments.

When I read the Bible, I see that whenever Jesus was teaching there was always Scribes and Pharisees present. These men were not there to worship, learn or glorify God. The Pharisees would show up to hinder Jesus and try to retain their influence over the people. Sitting in prominent places they were horrified because Jesus didn’t follow their rules and regulations.

Today many self-appointed VIPs have reported their negative opinions on this movement. Some say we should test the spirit, and with that, I agree. Some people ask if this revival is for real. To that, I say “Wait twenty years until we can examine the fruit of this movement, then ask me again.” Until then I will rejoice that the Name of Jesus is heard everywhere. He is lifted up, souls are being saved, and lives are changing. And I will pay no attention to the Pharisees on the front row.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where the Pavement Ends

Email-pavementendsministry@gmail.com