righteousness

Zaccheaus, You Come Down

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Have you ever been thirsty or hungry or tired and not know it? I have, there have been times when I would be busy doing something and simply forget to take time to eat or drink or rest. But then I would hit a wall. I would realize that I could not keep going one more minute because I had a need. I needed food or water or rest. When I would take a drink of cool water it would rejuvenate my whole body. It would make me wonder why it took me so long to realize that I had a need.

Zacchaeus was a man with a need. He had been so busy becoming a rich man that he did not realize how poor and tired and hungry he was. One day he heard a crowd coming, and asked, “What is going on.?” Someone said,” Jesus is coming.” So Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see who Jesus was. When Jesus saw him in the tree He said,” Zacchaeus, come on down I am going to your house today.” That day Zaccheaus found that Jesus met a need he did not know he had.

I know that many of you today are spiritually thirsty, hungry, and tired. You have been so busy trying to live a life that you have neglected to care for your soul. Now, you are out on a limb and you have a need that you can not fill.

Jesus is the Son of Man who came to seek and save the lost. He is looking up at you on your limb and saying, “Come on down I want to go to your house today.” If you will receive Him, He will bring salvation to your house. Then you can quince your thirst with His living water, satisfy your hunger with the Bread of Life and rest your weary head on His gentle shoulder.

Douglas Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

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

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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

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#

Close Enough to Perfect for Me

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““Many women are capable, but you surpass them all! ” Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised. Give her the reward of her labor, and let her works praise her at the city gates.”

Proverbs 31:29-31 HCSB

I have often described the Proverbs 31 woman as the biblical Barbie Doll. Why? Because just as it is impossible for a young girl to attain the perfect form of a Barbie doll, it is also impossible for any woman to attain the perfection of the Proverbs 31 woman. No, perfection cannot be attained this side of Glory. However, in Proverb 31:30, King Lemuel’s mother is telling him that a Godly woman who fears the Lord is close enough to perfect for her.

My Mama, Roosa Lou Moon Huff will be the first to tell you that she is not perfect. But, homemade biscuits and pear preserves for breakfast, macaroni and tomato soup for dinner, and fresh vegetables from the garden for supper, were just about perfect meals. Never having much money, but raising nine children who always felt like they were rich, could only be done with love from an almost perfect heart. Because of my Mama’s love and prayer, all of her children grew up to love Jesus. She also taught Sunday School for years and years. Hundreds of children learned about Jesus because Mama always had a perfect love for Him and the little ones He loved.

So Mama, all of your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, your daughters-in-law and sons-in-law, your sisters and nieces and nephews, all of the children you taught in Sunday School and the G.A.s, that you hauled around in that green and white van, are going to rise up and call you blessed. Many women are capable, but you surpass them all. We love you, Mama. Thank you for always being a Godly woman who fears the Lord. You are close enough to perfect for us.

Douglas Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

pavementendsministry@gmail.com

Rise Up

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I confess, like most people, sometimes I miss important words in the Bible. For instance, in Matthew 11:11 Jesus says “Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist.” As often as I have read that passage of scripture until recently I had not seen the word, “risen.” This is important because John was not born great. Jesus is telling us that John the Baptist rose to greatness.

Yes, I know that the circumstances of John’s birth were miraculous. However, that was not what made him great. John became great when he rose up and unashamedly preached the need for repentance. Pointing to Jesus he joyfully proclaimed that He was the Lamb of God. Then John rose up and fearlessly pointed out the sins of King Herod. After this, he relentlessly clung to the Kingdom of Heaven even as the axe separated his head from his body. No, he was not born great, but by his faith, John ascended to greatness.

Strangely enough, after Jesus honors the greatness of John, He then turns to you and me and says “He who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John.” I believe that through these words Jesus is issuing a challenge to all of us. This is the challenge; Godly men must stand up for the Glory of God and by faith cling to the kingdom of heaven.

This time we live in is strange and terrifying. This world needs great men who will stand up for righteousness and the Kingdom of God. These men will not come from the entertainment or sports venues. Nor will they come from the pulpit or political world. The Holy Spirit is looking for ordinary men who will sink to their knees in prayer and stand on their feet to do battle with the enemy.

For the sake of our children and grandchildren, it is time for ordinary men to cling to the Kingdom of Heaven and by faith rise up to greatness.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

Corrosion and Corruption

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A car battery has corrosion on its battery cables. But that is all right because no one can see it and it is just a little spot. But corrosion and corruption do not stay hidden or small. A corroded battery cable will eventually separate the automobile from its power source and then it will refuse to start. And then the most beautiful car in the world will be useless because it cannot do what it was designed to do.

And here we find the churches of our nation. Claiming the approval of God we tolerate, accept, and even celebrate sin. We choose unrepentant leaders. We refuse to stand for righteousness. We will not confront sinfulness because we don’t want to be considered judgmental. Indeed, we cannot see to judge because of the log that is in our own eye. These meeting places that are called churches can no longer do what they were designed to do. Why? Because the corruption of sin has separated us from the Power source which is the Righteous God.

Our nation has ceased to be exalted because righteousness has ceased to be important in our lives. Since righteousness is not important then neither is God’s approval. If you do not seek God’s approval can you call yourself a Child of God? Let me remind you; God said: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Are you listening?

Douglas Huff

From Down Where the Pavement Ends

Email- pavementendsministry@gmail.com