by leaps and bounds

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119: 105).

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” Whenever you turn to the right hand or wherever you turn to the left (Isaiah 30:21).

So many voices! So many thoughts! So many opinions! What do they serve to do? They serve to distract us from moving straight ahead in our relationship with God.

We can become overly concerned with politics – forgetting that the Kingdom of God is not tied to this world. We can become worried about economics – forgetting that God Himself is our source. We can become fearful regarding events that are happening all around us – forgetting that God’s Word says, “In the last days perilous times will come.”

In Deuteronomy 5:32, God told Moses, “You shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” God was saying, “Do what I say. Go straight ahead. Don’t let anything distract you from the path before you.” We would do well to follow these directives.

Really it is very simple. God’s Word is our road map. Anything contrary to His Word is not for us. Romans 3:4 says, …let God be true, but every man a liar…” Knowing this helps us tune out the voices that should not matter.

If God’s Word is our road map, the Holy Spirit is our guide. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: For he shall not speak of himself; but will show you things to come.” (John 16:13)

What voice should we pay attention to? The voice of the Spirit is our guide. He will speak to us through God’s Word. He will speak to our hearts and minds. We just need to listen.

So, let us not be distracted by all the noise. God’s Word and the voice of the Holy Spirit will keep us moving straight ahead.

Dave Snyder is an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God – Cleveland, Tennessee. Before entering the ministry on a full-time basis, he was a school teacher. He also coached middle school basketball for eight years.

Dave and his wife, Sara, have two children  — Craig and Karen. They also have one ten year old granddaughter  — Breanna. 

Dave and Sara pastored in West Virginia for thirty-six years. Sara is now retired from the banking industry, and Dave is retired from pastoring. However, Dave currently serves as prison Chaplain for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. 

Writing essays, articles, and devotionals is a real passion for Dave. He also enjoys playing musical instruments and singing.

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd (Matthew 9: 35-36).

Everywhere Jesus went, He drew crowds. Big crowds – multitudes of people! Scripture declares that people would press Him – literally be right up against Him. Remember, five thousand men were fed in another setting. Notice, these numbers did not include women and children.

Yes, Jesus dealt with multitudes of people. He didn’t stop there; He concerned Himself with individuals as well. Think of a few individuals our Savior touched.

*Bartimaeus the blind beggar

*The infirmed man at the pool of Bethesda

*The man with the withered hand

*The woman at the well

*The woman with the issue of blood

*The twelve disciples

Truth be told, we have no means to know how many individuals were recipients of Jesus’ compassion and power to heal and change lives. John said it well:

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus in the Christ, the Son of God and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20; 30-31).

Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” He still views the multitudes with compassion. At the same time, He views individuals with the same compassion.

Jesus sees the homeless person shivering from the cold of a long winter night. He sees the prisoner sitting alone in a prison cell. He sees the elderly person in a rest home that no longer has visitors coming to see them.

What about our churches? In a church culture that may at times place too much value on numbers, Jesus sees, sure, He sees the crowd. He also sees each individual in the crowd.

Jesus sees the man in the pew who is struggling with addiction. He sees the wife who comes to church alone but so desires her husband to come with her. He sees the child who is bullied at school, yet has a heart turned toward the Lord. Young, middle aged, elderly – He sees them all.

Aren’t you glad Jesus sees us collectively? Aren’t you comforted to know He sees us individually? Wherever we are there is loving eyes that sees us – the eyes of our Savior.

Dave Snyder is an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God – Cleveland, Tennessee. Before entering the ministry on a full-time basis, he was a school teacher. He also coached middle school basketball for eight years.

Dave and his wife, Sara, have two children  — Craig and Karen. They also have one ten year old granddaughter  — Breanna. 

Dave and Sara pastored in West Virginia for thirty-six years. Sara is now retired from the banking industry, and Dave is retired from pastoring. However, Dave currently serves as prison Chaplain for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. 

Writing essays, articles, and devotionals is a real passion for Dave. He also enjoys playing musical instruments and singing.

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25).

I still believe in the value of the church for Christians today. Church attendance is not regarded as a priority by many, but it should be.

Romans 14:7 says, “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.” As our pastor says, “God doesn’t intend Christians to do life alone.” We influence others and are influenced by others for good or bad. In other words, we need other people to encourage and motivate us.

In reference to the church being the Body of Christ, the Apostle Paul wrote, “But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” Indeed, as Christians, we are to be a part of the Body – the church. The church needs us and we definitely need the church.

How valuable is the church to you? The following verses show us how valuable it is to Jesus:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27).

The bride of Christ is His church – you and me.

Dave Snyder is an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God – Cleveland, Tennessee. Before entering the ministry on a full-time basis, he was a school teacher. He also coached middle school basketball for eight years.

Dave and his wife, Sara, have two children  — Craig and Karen. They also have one ten year old granddaughter  — Breanna. 

Dave and Sara pastored in West Virginia for thirty-six years. Sara is now retired from the banking industry, and Dave is retired from pastoring. However, Dave currently serves as prison Chaplain for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. 

Writing essays, articles, and devotionals is a real passion for Dave. He also enjoys playing musical instruments and singing.

                  Then the Kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard; “Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise answered, saying, “No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.” (Matthew 25:1 – 9)

            In Matthew 25, Jesus gives us guidelines to observe as we await His return. The parable of the ten virgins points to the issue of preparedness.

            In this parable, the bridegroom represents Jesus. The virgins represent believers of Jesus. The wedding points to the time that Jesus is united with His bride – the Church.

            While the bridegroom was delayed, the ten virgins slumbered and slept. In the Bible, sleeping sometimes symbolizes unreadiness. However, the point of this parable is not to stay awake, but rather to stay prepared. As a matter of fact, we rest in Jesus while we are expecting His return.

            At midnight the cry was heard, “The bridegroom is coming, go out to meet Him.” I Thessalonians 4:16-17 tells us there is a shout soon to be heard:

            For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

            Notice that the five foolish virgins were lacking oil for their lamps. They had been prepared for a short time, but not for the long haul. You know, the Christian life is much more a marathon than it is a sprint. We must be prepared no matter how long the wait.

            The five foolish virgins desperately said, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” The five wise virgins said “No, lest there should not be enough for us and you: Go buy some for yourselves.” At first glance, the response of the five wise virgins appears to be selfish in nature. Keeping in mind that Jesus was teaching about preparedness, we readily see that each of us is required to prepare ourselves. The words of Apostle Paul support this:

            Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)

            Paul was telling the Philippians, “Whether I am with you or not, it is your responsibility to obey God and to work out your own salvation.” Likewise, our preparedness is our responsibility.

Dave Snyder is an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God – Cleveland, Tennessee. Before entering the ministry on a full-time basis, he was a school teacher. He also coached middle school basketball for eight years.

Dave and his wife, Sara, have two children  — Craig and Karen. They also have one ten year old granddaughter  — Breanna. 

Dave and Sara pastored in West Virginia for thirty-six years. Sara is now retired from the banking industry, and Dave is retired from pastoring. However, Dave currently serves as prison Chaplain for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. 

Writing essays, articles, and devotionals is a real passion for Dave. He also enjoys playing musical instruments and singing.

   “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

            Let me preface this devotional by admitting, “I do not like winter.” The older I get the colder I get. Besides, I am not eager to drive on snowy roads anymore. However, if we look, we can clearly see our Heavenly Father’s fingerprints in all of nature.

            This morning we have fresh, white snow on our lawn. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” Nature declares: Nature says something about God! That being the case – what does the snow say?

            The snow says, “No matter how bad your sins seem to be, God can wipe them away and make you clean.” Think about it – sins made as white as snow. No matter who we are, forgiveness is here for the asking. Jesus Himself said, “…he that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” The pure white of the snow points to absolute cleansing and removal of all sin.

            The snow also says, “There is a fresh start for anyone who would like to have a great finish.” After all, we all had a miserable start. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

            Aren’t you glad the story doesn’t end there? We can start over forgiven with a better life here and a heavenly future when this life is over. II Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Yes, we can have a miserable start, but a great finish.

            So, even if you dislike winter and cannot stand the cold, there is something to remember. The snow declares God’s forgiveness. The snow says……. 

Dave Snyder is an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God – Cleveland, Tennessee. Before entering the ministry on a full-time basis, he was a school teacher. He also coached middle school basketball for eight years.

Dave and his wife, Sara, have two children  — Craig and Karen. They also have one ten year old granddaughter  — Breanna. 

Dave and Sara pastored in West Virginia for thirty-six years. Sara is now retired from the banking industry, and Dave is retired from pastoring. However, Dave currently serves as prison Chaplain for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. 

Writing essays, articles, and devotionals is a real passion for Dave. He also enjoys playing musical instruments and singing.

Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys the field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:44-46)

I am sure nearly everyone has heard the phrase “all in”. This phrase can be applied to sports, business ventures or any other endeavors that require real commitment.

Jesus taught that we can be “all in” in a negative way or a positive way. We choose which way we will take.

We can choose to pursue everything this world has to offer. A lifetime can be spent obtaining wealth, fame, power and all the trappings that are part of this pursuit. Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 16: 25-26:

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Imagine, spending your days accumulating all you can to make your life what you want it to be on this earth. Imagine, coming to the end of your life to find that you lost your life – and your soul – in pursuit of things that – in the end – do not matter.

In Matthew 13, Jesus spoke about something that is worth so much more than all this world has to offer. The Kingdom of Heaven is definitely worth going “all in” to be a part of it. Two short parables are used to make this clear.

Can you envision the man who knew there was treasure hidden in a field? He found it, hid it, and then sold everything he had to buy the field. He went “all in” to obtain the one thing of great value. Note that Jesus said, “the Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field.” The Kingdom of Heaven is worth surrendering everything else. Indeed, it is the Kingdom of great worth!

Again, envision the merchant seeking for beautiful pearls. He finally found one pearl that was of far greater worth than all the others. Without a second thought, he sold everything he had for one pearl of great price. He went “all in” for the one thing that was of greatest worth. Note that Jesus said, “the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls.”

What about us? Will we waste our lives in pursuit of this world’s treasures? Or will we go “all in” for the Kingdom of great worth? Each of us will choose one way or the other.

Dave Snyder is an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God – Cleveland, Tennessee. Before entering the ministry on a full-time basis, he was a school teacher. He also coached middle school basketball for eight years.

Dave and his wife, Sara, have two children  — Craig and Karen. They also have one ten year old granddaughter  — Breanna. 

Dave and Sara pastored in West Virginia for thirty-six years. Sara is now retired from the banking industry, and Dave is retired from pastoring. However, Dave currently serves as prison Chaplain for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. 

Writing essays, articles, and devotionals is a real passion for Dave. He also enjoys playing musical instruments and singing.