{"id":23958,"date":"2018-10-11T03:30:21","date_gmt":"2018-10-11T10:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=23958"},"modified":"2018-10-09T11:57:08","modified_gmt":"2018-10-09T18:57:08","slug":"october-11-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/10\/11\/october-11-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"October 11, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cBut I am poor and needy; yet the LORD thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Psalm 40:17<\/p>\n

Four Desperate Characters<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The movie The Wizard of Oz\u00a0<\/em>frightened me as a child. All those unnatural flying monkeys and other wicked things intent on doing harm to the foursome on the yellow brick road! And I was scared of the wizard\u2019s smokescreens and noise, too, even though he was nothing more than a roaring imposter.<\/p>\n

I doubt if the movie was intended to be a picture of our walk through life, but it is easy to make connections. Our enemy, intent on doing us harm, flies in our faces and tries to \u201cpick us off,\u201d get us off track, and keep us from reaching the One who can help us. The distraction of imposters is real, taking us where we would never intentionally venture. Although the wizard was harmless, he certainly was not the answer the four desperate characters were looking for. They were quite mistaken in looking to a man\u2014especially one who advertises that he is great and powerful\u2014for the things they most needed. And his solution was to \u201clook within themselves,\u201d for supposedly those things already existed deep inside them.<\/p>\n

There is a road that leads to man\u2019s solutions to our problems, but those men are imposters and deceivers. Instead, when we walk on the Calvary Road, the road that leads to Jesus, we are invited to partake of what only He can give.<\/p>\n

The tin man needed a heart. \u201cI will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and cause you to walk ion My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Ezekiel 36:26-27).<\/p>\n

The scarecrow needed a brain. \u201cIf any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(James 1:5).<\/p>\n

The cowardly lion needed courage. \u201cHave I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go\u201d <\/em>(Joshua 1:9).<\/p>\n

Dorothy, feeling quite lost, wanted to go home. \u201cFor this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Hebrews 13:14 NLT).<\/p>\n

Whatever we lack, the only permanent, true solutions are found in Christ. He is meek and humble (Matthew 11:29), and doesn\u2019t make a lot of noise (Matthew 26:63); but He isn\u2019t hard to find (Deuteronomy 4:29), for His Spirit draws us to Him (James 4:8). He is what we seek.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, we look to You to give what we need for this life. Forgive us for looking in all the wrong places. May we walk on the right road, fixing our eyes on You. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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