Simmer Down Saints - Jim Croft

Simmer Down Saints

A plea for believers to enjoy the rich full lives that God intended 

Jim Croft

I deeply respect Billy Graham. Once, after he entered his senior years, I read a statement that he made about his life and ministry. It was something akin to: If I had it to do all over again, I would spend more time enjoying my family.

My objective in this article is to serve the saints in a manner where at life’s end they can look back and have full confidence of lives well spent. I am not at all sure that lives of incessant, front-burner preoccupation with religion 24/7 can accomplish this. I am not suggesting abandonment of first love fervency for Jesus and for matters of the Kingdom.

I am rather suggesting that hyper, non-stop busyness in any aspect of life cannot produce the quality of a rich and satisfying life that Jesus promised. (Jn 10:10 NLT) In this I have an observation. Christians who have the wisdom to balance their lives between intense spiritual activity and relaxed enjoyment of life’s many God ordained pleasures reap optimum credibility with the converted and the unconverted. (1Pet 2:12)

The Bible

The Word of God might be described as God’s ongoing conversation with humanity. No matter how much we read it and how well we think we know it, the Lord always manages to show us new principles with each reading about living life his way. It is best to discern what the Scriptures imply about the entirety of life, rather than just the explicit spiritual activities spoken of in the Bible.

Godly men were inspired to write the Scriptures. The cumulative revelation of the Bible is greater than the revelation of any single one of its book’s authors. Unbeknownst to them, the words they penned contained much beyond the revelations that they wanted to emphasize in a particular writing session. Their by- the-way remarks carry as much revelation about how we should live as anything they intended to convey about religious practice.

Most sermons and testimonies focus on the spiritual aspects of life in the Spirit. We are constantly challenged to increase our concentration on more prayer, praise, witnessing, spiritual-warfare, greater exploits in spiritual gifts, and the exercise of faith confessions, and so forth. That’s all needed. However, in some regards overdose on that diet can become problematic.

It tends to produce a mindset that leads believers to think that they are failing Christian responsibility if every moment of existence does not have some sort of purposed spiritual activity insertion. Too many saints fear disapproval about taking time to smell the roses of life and to rejoice in their God-given capacities for creativity. Some are hesitant about sharing that they have zeal for pursuit of hobbies and other secular interests. This should not be so.

The Bible speaks of the Wisdom of Solomon. At various points in Ecclesiastes he advocated these sentiments - Enjoy the fruits of your labor. Your portion, along with that of your family, is to delight in God’s blessed provision of clothing, food and drink all of the days of your life. (Eccl 9:7-9)

The New Testament has similar admonitions interwoven into it that are too often ignored. Apart from church involvement, it’s godly to live a quiet productive life minding your own affairs and business. (1Th 4:11; 1Tim 2:2; Eph 4:28)

Unfortunately, there are believers who have been persuaded that if they let up for a moment from heavy spiritual-warfare that something terrible might happen. This is a deception. None of the Bible heroes were exempt  from occasional bad eventualities regardless of their focus on intense spirituality and neither are we.

Solomon said that bad things happen to the righteous as well as the unrighteous. (Eccl 9:2) I have dedicated my life to an environment of zealous Christians. I have not seen evidence or experienced that super spirituality builds impenetrable hedges to tragedies in relationships, health and prosperity.

Does spiritual fervency block much and are there often full recoveries? Yes! But, those who preach guarantees of protection by this method and that are setting- up significant numbers of their audience for disappointment and disillusionment.

A Shepherd’s Contentment

I believe that the early life of the Bible’s David supports leading a quiet life of contentment at minding one’s own affairs. He was a shepherd who led his flock to green pastures and to still waters. However, he wasn’t living in Colorado. He lived in the arid climate of the Middle East.

I’ve seen shepherds there grazing their flocks in areas that had no evidence of lush vegetation. But, those shepherds know that their sheep can grow fat eating the stubble they find in locales that have appearance of barrenness. Herding sheep in David’s day was not a labor intensive occupation.

There were intermittent glances to check on the welfare of foraging livestock. At times, sheep had to be liberated from brambles. Other than that, there was a whole lot of time spent finding a comfortable place to sit to escape the sun’s heat in inhospitable terrain. Any shepherd who did not find a hobby to creatively fill his time was sentenced to vocational boredom.

A hobby of David’s was practicing with his sling to hit imaginary herd assailants. I suspect that a lion, bear, or wolf trying to pick-off a sheep could have almost been a welcome intrusion for him.

Forgive me, but I also suspect that David’s acquired proficiency in playing the harp and at composing poetic songs might have initially qualified as a hobby to offset routine boredom. Later, it was his sling, harp and songs that gave him access to fame and fortune. And, for sure his words of contentment have benefitted godly people throughout the centuries.

Religion or Life

Like David and the members of the Early Church, Christ has made a rich satisfying life available to you. It is not a sign of Laodicean lukewarmness to simmer down from excessive preoccupation with religion.

My churches have always been noted for believers who are of high spiritual fervency and proficiency in various fields of Christian service. I have not ever scolded anyone for taking time off to enjoy family and secular enjoyments.

The fact is that at one time I was concerned that our people were too busied with flocking to church every time the doors were opened. Solution – Stop Sunday services for over a year. We relied on midweek home meetings for fellowship, mutual ministry to one another, and for generating the income for a fulltime staff of 8. All needs were met in every respect.

I have practiced the simmer down approach for many years. When we sense that God is about to move in spectacular ways, we are prepared to respond accordingly by laying aside other interests. When that is not obvious, we don’t try to manufacture it by continuous meeting marathons to call down heaven. Though we regularly pray for and believe for great outpourings of the Spirit, we leave the initiative to God.

Does the simmer down approach work? That it does. The fellowships that I have pastored have had a history of experiencing influential revivals and at producing an uncommon number of laymen who have meaningful ministries of their own.

Not long ago, I was discussing these things with my wife, Prudence.  I made a comment that brought a smile to my lips. It was that I am truly happy with the life with which God has blessed us. An alternate translation for blessed is happier.

That dear friend is what I covet for you. I want you happier than those solely confined to hopes of fulfillment at the next meeting. For me, your betterment in every good aspect of life is worth any criticism that might come my way for denting conventional spiritual perceptions in this article.

Editor's Note: artwork below added by me. Steve Martin

Angels on Assignment - Jim Croft

Angels on Assignment

Jim Croft

Hebrews 1:14 "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?"

Hebrews 13:2 "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."

Mankind and angels are beings of separate, distinct species. Angels were created in heaven in an age before the world was formed. They have celestial bodies that are superior in strength to humans. (1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Pet. 2:11) The only angels that have wings are the cherubim and seraphim. The cherubs will have two or four and seraphim have six. (1 Kings 6:27; Ezek. 1:6; 10:14; Isa. 6:1-3)

Angels, cherubim, and seraphim are all majestic in appearance and are often frightening. When angels appeared to biblical characters, it was not uncommon for them to encourage them not to be fearful. (Luke 1:13, 30) Angels have a number of functions on behalf of the Kingdom of God and for the good of mankind.

Some continually minister to members of the Godhead with adulations of praise. Others serve as emissaries to deliver specific messages from God to individuals. The majority of the time they minister aspects of God’s mercy to saints and sinners alike.

A common function for angels is to orchestrate situations to coincide the paths of the unconverted with Christians who can direct them to the Cross. When they assist in these matters, they either remain invisible or take on the appearance of mere mortals. My parents and sister, Prudence and I, and our four daughters have encountered angels on numerous occasions.

Angel Balances Car

When I was age 9 and my sister was 5, our family took a trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway of the Smokey Mountains. The weather turned bad and the roads became icy. As we rounded a sharp bend, our 1951 Chrysler skidded off of the road and crashed through its stone guard rail.

We were all dazed. When my father came to his senses, he realized that two-thirds of the car was hanging over a three hundred foot precipice.

He commanded all of us to remain perfectly still until help came. My little sister, Candace, said, “Daddy, I see a big man sitting on the back of our car.”

My father slowly turned around and said, “I don’t see anyone. Are you sure?” Her response was that he was still there. My mother and father spoke at the same time. “It must be the angel of the Lord.”

My parents climbed into the backseat and opened the door that was closest to flat ground. My father got out first and then lifted us all to safety. Shortly afterward, a farmer came along in his truck and pulled the car back onto the road with a chain. Then my sister exclaimed, “The man just jumped off the back of the car!” The kind farmer towed our car to the next village for repairs, and my parents led us all in thanksgiving to God for sending His angel to help us.

The Extra Button

While my parents were living in Atlanta, GA, they had a beautiful home in the Club Drive area. It had a sewing room that was set apart for my mother’s passion for sewing. One of my father’s favorite sport jackets was purchased in Europe. It had leather patches on the sleeves and intricately woven leather buttons.

My father had lost one of the buttons. Mom and Dad searched the house and car and could not find it. My mother uttered a prayer, “Lord, send one of your angels to help me find that button”. Several days later as she passed through the sewing room and saw the button sitting on top of her sewing machine.

She thanked the Lord and then sewed the button back onto the jacket. Later she rationalized that she must have forgotten about putting the button on the sewing machine. Apparently, she was having second thoughts about presuming that God would send an angel to locate anything as insignificant as a button.

Later that day she had to run some errands. As she got into her car, she saw a button on the armrest of her Cadillac. It was identical to the one she had just sewn onto my father’s sports jacket. Apparently, our God who keeps track of the number of hairs on our heads is also interested in the mundane matters of our lives.

Glue stick

Prudence frequently helps people with her interior decorating skills. She designed and constructed a built-in couch for one of her clients. When adding the piping around the edges of the couch she saw that she didn’t have enough glue sticks for her glue gun. As usual she prayed about the matter. She asked the Lord to either stretch her supply of glue within the gun or to send an angel to fetch more glue sticks for her.

Three-quarters through the piping the gun ran out of glue. She checked her tool bag and looked for one that she might have missed and found none. She was preparing to leave to purchase some more sticks and laid the piping down at the end of the couch.

When she did so, she saw a glue stick sitting on the floor. She knew that an angel had put it there, as she had not previously done anything on that end of the couch. She giggled with delight, “Thank you, Mr. Angel.”

You have an Appointment

My father served under General George S. Patton in World War II. As his company was advancing, they routed the Germans from a village in Luxembourg. My Dad’s company took some much-needed R & R after liberating the town. The only person who spoke English was a 14-year-old girl by the name Andrea. She became his interpreter and my father appointed her as the honorary mayor of the city.

Fifty years later my parents made one of their frequent trips to Europe. Their purpose this time was to make a trek through the various cities that my father had liberated. At about 2:00 PM one afternoon they arrived in Andrea’s city. Dad located the family restaurant that Andrea’s parents had owned.

He knocked on the front door and there was no answer. He then went to the back door and knocked. Still there was no response. As he started to walk down the path back to his car, he heard a voice saying, “Captain”.

When he turned around, he saw a 64-year-old woman that he recognized as Mayor Andrea. She said that she had recognized him by his distinct walking gait. It was more-less like a John Wayne swagger

Andrea took my parents to her home and introduced them to her husband. They shared a meal and spent the afternoon in reminiscent small talk. As evening came my Dad led the conversation into spiritual matters. Andrea accepted Jesus as her Savior and Lord.

When it came time for the two couples to part, Andrea’s husband fell into my father’s arms and wept deeply. Then they related the following story. Earlier that day they had been visiting the home of friends who lived about fifty kilometers away in a remote farm area. Andrea and her husband were childless, so no one was informed about their plans of the day’s excursion.

Curiously, a man came to the farm house door and asked to speak with Andrea and her husband. Neither of them knew the man.

He said to them, “You have an appointment at your restaurant today at 2:00 PM. You cannot afford to miss it.” A peculiarity was that there were no cars parked along the road which inferred that he had not come by car.

After delivering the message, he turned and walked away and disappeared from sight. There is no doubt that he was an angel of God that had been sent by the Father to see to it that Andrea would be in the right place at the right time to hear the message of salvation.

A Bible for Narumi

Our third daughter, Holly, was married in August of 1997. One of the wedding guests was a young Japanese woman from Tokyo, Japan. Her name is Narumi Kanazawa. At Christmas time of that year, Narumi requested that we extend an invitation for her to travel from Japan to spend the holidays in our home.

We were delighted to have her, and she began to call us her American Mommy and Daddy. She attended a New Year’s Eve party with Holly and her husband, Chris. During the party, she began to ask questions about Prudence and me.

She expressed that we had something special that she would like to have. Holly told her that we were Christians and that Jesus had brought great peace and many blessings to our lives. Her response was, “I want that to.”

Holly telephoned our oldest daughter, Kari who led Narumi through repentance from sin and a confession that Jesus was God’s Son that He raised from the dead. Prudence and I wept for joy when the girls called us and told us of Narumi’s salvation.

The following morning I awoke with the plan of locating a store to buy Narumi a Japanese Bible. When I went into my office, I picked up a magazine from my shelf and there was a Bible under it. What a wonder, a brand new Bible in the Japanese language. I had never seen it before. Surely one of God’s majestic angels put it there just for her.

Later on, Narumi’s employment as a high fashion photographer led her to relocate to NYC in the following December. She dated a young man there and expressed disappointment that he had not invited her to his family’s home for Christmas.

The fellow defended himself by saying that he thought that as Japanese that she would be Buddhist with no interests in Christian celebrations. Narumi’s response makes me smile to this day.

"I’ll have you know that I’m not Buddhist. I am a born-again Christian and a holy angel of God delivered a Japanese Bible for me to my America Daddy. So there, Mr. Smarty Pants." Narumi parted company with the rude guy and is now happily married with children.

God, do what Holly said

Our daughter Holly’s husband is Chris Van Buren. My father led him to the Lord shortly after they were married. Before coming to Christ, he was a decent man, but had little understanding of spiritual matters. He is continually amazed by the things God does.

He is a cabinetmaker by trade. Recently, he was building a cabinet from driftwood for a client. He had purchased some antique hinges for it at a flea market. He found that after installing one of the hinges that the other was missing. He looked all over the shop and could not find it.

He called Holly and she came and helped him clear everything from the garage in hopes of finding the hinge. The baby began to fuss, so Holly had to abandon the search. As she walked into the house, she said, “Lord, send one of your angels to help Chris find that hinge.”

Chris made another thorough inspection of the entire garage, including the cabinet that needed the hinge. The search yielded no results. In exasperation he said, “God, do what Holly said.” When he turned around, his gaze fell on the cabinet shelf that needed the hinge. The missing hinge was sitting on the shelf that was directly in line with the place on the cabinet’s door where it was to be installed.

Help’s on the Way

Debbie has dated Prudence’s brother, Tim for the past 20 years. Their relationship is not platonic. On a cold snowy day, she went down the basement stairs of her parent’s house to fetch something. There was not anyone else at home. She stumbled early in the descent. She was knocked out when her cheek slammed onto the concrete pavement of the basement.

She came to and found that she was seriously injured and could hardly move. Debbie had numerous broken bones including her jaw and was bleeding profusely. She painfully crawled up the stairs and knocked the phone of its hook with a foot. She had two broken arms and could not dial the phone or speak. She hit 911 with her tongue and then passed out.

Later she gained consciousness and decided to crawl out the front door onto the walk, so that the ambulance would be sure to see her. She laid there for a long while. It was bitter cold and she feared freezing to death, so she made the decision to crawl back into the enclosed porch.

Out of nowhere, a man of about 80-years-of-age appeared right beside her. He knelt and whispered in her ear not to be fearful as help was on the way and then he disappeared.

Debbie spent months recuperating in the hospital. During that time she made inquiries by phone and newspaper notices to locate the old man who had spoken to her. She lives in a small rural town and nobody came forth who had a clue about the man’s identity.

When Debbie told us this story, it proved an undisputable fact: Our God is the Father of Mercies. Every day, all over the world, he sends his holy angles to minister comfort to people who are living less than godly Christian lives.

You Too

I encourage you to imitate my family’s practice of calling on the Lord to send his angels to assist you in your daily life. The situation does not have to be a monumental emergency. Whatever is helpful to you is of importance to God.

Jim Croft  jcm888@comcast.net


Love For His People Editor's Note: Angel photo below added by me.  We have this statue in our home. I like the looks of it.

Steve Martin

Let God Be True - Proverbs 16:9

"A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." Proverbs 16:9

Click here to listen to Commentary

Men have intelligence. They set goals and plan the means to achieve them. Irrational creatures cannot do this; they only react by instincts to stimulus. But the sovereign God manages the details of men’s plans, so that you are dependent upon Him, for He may bless the good man with a favorable outcome and turn the evil man’s plans upside down.

This proverb of Solomon is important. God rules your life. Man proposes; God disposes. Man freely devises; God powerfully directs. Man creatively plans; God masterfully dictates. Man acts as he pleases; God is pleased by how He uses man’s actions. God is the LORD! Your life and its plans are in His hands. Learn how to utilize this knowledge.

Many wander and wonder through life, wishing they knew God’s will for them. But His will is not a mystery, and much of the answer is in this proverb. Commit your works to the LORD (Pr 16:3; Ps 37:4-5); devise a way to achieve your desired godly objectives (Pr 16:1; 15:22;20:18); believe that He will take care of the details (Ps 37:23; 84:11).

Obedient Christian reader, these words are for you: the LORD gave you a heart, so follow your affections for what you prefer. He gave you a mind, so think of how you might achieve your goals. Once you commit it to God and follow the rules of Scriptural wisdom, go for it! No matter what it is! Simply submit it to God’s will (James 4:13-15).

There is no “perfect” anything, so do not look for it. You live in a sinful world; everything is imperfect. God has not revealed perfect choices. You cannot see even the outcome of the next five minutes. You will waste your life searching, and you will always be frustrated. Most any job will do, if the Lord directs your steps. And this is the same with marriage, house hunting, business deals, family size, and so forth and so on.

Ruth was a poor widow in a foreign land. She devised in her heart to glean fields – pick up scraps after the reapers – a lowly job with little future potential (Ruth 2:2). But the LORD directed her steps to the field of Boaz, a rich, single man who ended up marrying her, and they had David as their great-grandson (Ruth 2:3; 4:17). Give God the glory!

The Jews were condemned by the Persian Empire to genocide! Esther devised in her heart to have King Ahasuerus and Haman to lunch, though she feared for her life to even ask for the meeting (Esth 4:16-17). But the LORD turned the king’s heart toward her with great affection and responsiveness. After she told him of Haman’s evil plans, the King found Haman begging on her bed, and that was that (Esth 7:7-8)! Give God the glory!

Abraham devised a way to find a wife for Isaac, and the servant met Rebekah first. Jacob devised a way to flee from Esau, and the Lord blessed him to become rich with a large family. Joseph chose to be righteous, and the Lord directed his steps to Egypt’s throne. Jesse devised a way to send food to his sons in the army by his youngest son David, not knowing that God was directing David’s steps for a showdown with Goliath.

But look carefully at Esther in reverse. Haman devised a way in his heart to annihilate the Jews, and he manipulated King Ahasuerus into signing the decree (Esth 3:1-15). But the Lord directed him to total humility and ruin by building a gallows, meeting the king at a time that resulted in honoring Mordecai, and falling on Esther’s bed (Esth 5:1 – 7:10)!

Consider Joseph in reverse. His brothers devised a way to get rid of “the dreamer,” who tormented them by his divine revelations, but the Lord directed their steps to sell him into Egypt, where he saved them all from starvation some years later (Gen 45:4-8; 50:19-21). They eventually fulfilled every dream Joseph had about them bowing low before him.

The Jews devised in their hearts to rid themselves of Jesus of Nazareth, but the glorious LORD turned their devices upside down. His crucifixion was God’s choice for the salvation of the very people they hated and hoped to ruin, and He returned in holy revenge to destroy their temple, city, and nation. Every step they took in this most heinous crime was according to God’s eternal purpose (Acts 2:23; 3:18;4:28; 15:18).

When hearing about plans of wicked men, do not worry. They can bring nothing to pass that God has not already planned from eternity to overrule for His own glory, purposes, and people. The wicked are His pawns or puppets – His sword and His hand (Ps 17:13-14). Remember, He may even allow prosperity to deceive them (Pr 1:32). Remember, He may allow them to be successful for a while to heap up riches for you (Pr 13:22).

When facing a decision and not knowing what to do, here is wisdom. Submit your life and works to the LORD, choose that course that pleases you best within the limits of godly wisdom, obtain the approval of many wise counselors, and move ahead trusting the Lord to take care of the details out of your control. Do not fret about perfect goals or strategies, for you are not capable of picking them. Your Heavenly Father cares for you, and He can more than compensate for any “mistake” you make with an inferior choice.

Learn the additional wisdom of Psalm 127:1-2, where David explained that your best efforts are vain without God’s blessing. Though God expects you to apply yourself diligently to achieve your goals, the outcome truly depends on His favor, not your ability or genius in planning or executing your desire. He wants you to back off unreasonable worries or effort and go to sleep, because He loves you and will provide what you need.

Love For His People Editor's Note: This came through an e-mail I received from another. It is from: 

Let God Be True

Steve Martin 

Christians United For Israel - Rick Joyner Video | Prophetic Perspective on Current Events

Rick Joyner and Victor Styrsky (CUFI)

Reair: Christians United For Israel - Rick Joyner Video | Prophetic Perspective on Current Events

Reair: Christians United For Israel

Rick Joyner

Victor Styrsky

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Rick Joyner introduces Victor Styrsky who talks about the Christians United for Israel organization and God’s purpose for Israel. God has made promises to the Jews that are irrevocable. 

The Jews have been persecuted throughout history many times by the church. Why would people in the church do such things? Rick believes that many of the worst doctrines in history were born out of wounds; much evil has come from infected wounds.

This show originally aired: 10/9/13

Whatever it takes...