Tag Archives: martinwiles

A Parent’s Prayer – Martin Wiles
avatar

Posted on by

My child how happy I will be if you turn out to be wise!
Proverbs 27:11 NLT

Will they be wise? I may not have asked this out loud, but when I first laid eyes on each of my children, I surely prayed it silently. At the first signs of rebellion I’m sure I voiced it again.

All parents have been there. I remember the day I first held my children and thought how beautiful and sweet they were. I couldn’t imagine them doing anything wrong or spiteful. Of course, that was before they woke you at night screaming for a bottle or before they sprayed baby food all over you. Before they cried, yelled, and threw a temper tantrum.

I suddenly discovered they weren’t the most charming children in the world and I began to worry about the decisions they’d make as they grew. Peer pressure, smoking, alcohol, drugs—the world was primed to toss terrible things their way. When I gazed on them in their cribs I was confident they would always make intelligent decisions, but now with a little experience, fear crept in. My wife and I prayed diligently to keep them on the right path.

Teaching your children to choose the right path is a challenging command with a double edge. The teaching is easy. Trusting our children to make sensible decisions is more difficult and disappointment follows when they fail. God keeps my children nestled in His hands and covered in His promises.

Unlike my father, I don’t blame myself when my grown children make unwise decisions. My conscience is clear. I taught them godly standards and if they choose to walk the broad path of disobedience, that’s between them and God. But I’m always overjoyed when they choose the wise path of faithfulness.

Our responsibility is to teach our children godly principles and turn them over to God. Love them through their failures and celebrate them in their triumphs. Most of all . . . pray.

Each night, when you lay down to sleep, trust your children to Christ. He holds them tight in His palm.

Dr.Martin Wiles is an ordained minister currently serving as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Harleyville, South Carolina. He holds degrees from Baptist College of Florida and Southern Baptist School in Jacksonville, Florida. He has authored two books and has served as a regional correspondent for the Baptist Courier. He has also been published in Proclaim, The Sounds of Poetry, Fires of Genius, as well as other anthologies of poetry. Martin and his wife Michelle, currently reside in Harleyville, SC. They have two children.
Read Martin’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

Old Wine, New Wineskins – Martin Wiles
avatar

Posted on by

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine needs new wineskins. Mark 2:22 NLT

It was 2010 and Upstate South Carolina was expecting snow. My wife and I were visiting for the holidays and were anticipating a white Christmas with excitement. It had been forty seven years since snow had graced the Upstate on Christmas Day.

Most of Christmas day was rainy but by mid-afternoon sleet and a wet mix of snow fell. By evening it was entirely snow. Since accumulation occurred before midnight, Christmas day was registered as a white Christmas.

Snow continued throughout the night and into the next day – Sunday. Churches across the region cancelled services. I was disappointed since it was the perfect day to celebrate the season’s old message in a new setting. Though alive in 1963, I had never witnessed a white Christmas.

Jesus said it was unwise to put new wine into old wineskins. As new wine fermented, it stretched the goatskin bags. Old skins had previously been stretched. Putting new wine into them would cause them to burst, losing the skin and wine. It was a veiled rebuke of the religious leader’s practices. They had become religiously rigid like old wineskins. Jesus’ message did not accommodate their philosophy of hypocritical rules.

But it is possible to put old fermented wine into new skins. This is what Christmas is all about. The message of Christmas is not new; it just came in novel form. Since the beginning of time, God had presented his message of love to humanity. Jesus taking on human flesh and dying on a cross was old wine in new wineskins. Christmas – along with Good Friday and Easter, are graphic displays of how far God will stretch to save humanity.

A story of old never grows old and the story of Christ grows new every day. Get to know the story.

Prayer: Father, help me stop among the hustle and bustle of the season and drink of your old wine.

Dr.Martin Wiles is an ordained minister currently serving as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Harleyville, South Carolina. He holds degrees from Baptist College of Florida and Southern Baptist School in Jacksonville, Florida. He has authored two books and has served as a regional correspondent for the Baptist Courier. He has also been published in Proclaim, The Sounds of Poetry, Fires of Genius, as well as other anthologies of poetry. Martin and his wife Michelle, currently reside in Harleyville, SC. They have two children.
Read Martin’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

The Borrower’s Chain – Martin Wiles
avatar

Posted on by

Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. Proverbs 22:7 NLT

I suppose Solomon would agree with Polonius’ remark in Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” Having always lived on the meager side of the financial scale, I’ve never had to concern myself with the joys (or aggravation) of being a lender. But the borrower’s end I know well.

At the age of sixteen, my dad escorted me to a local furniture store and allowed (made is more like it) me to purchase a solid oak bedroom suit on credit. He wanted to help me establish a good credit line. I guess he knew I would be a lifetime borrower.

Taking on another monthly payment at this age, while working as a bag boy at Piggly Wiggly, was a challenge especially when I had car and insurance payments. The car was a new Chevy Vega my father had purchased. It broke down in our driveway the first day and he gave me the opportunity to purchase it.

I certainly did not enjoy my situation. Teenagers need money to blow when out with their friends, and gas to drive them. Thankfully, I had a money-slipping mother.

But my father’s venture for me was not without lessons, and Solomon’s proverb is not a complete forbidance against borrowing. It is simply a reminder to consider our resources before doing so. A loan I can manage with ease builds good credit. Loans I cannot adequately handle enslave me. Having to pay for what I had, taught me to appreciate my possessions. I kept the bedroom furniture thirty-one years, and it looked almost as good when I sold it as when I bought it. It also reminded me to distinguish between wants and needs.

When you’re tempted to overspend your ability to pay, seek out God’s wisdom through Proverbs and don’t become enslaved by things beyond your means. Find joy in what you have and be thankful.

Prayer: Father, help me to consult You and consider my financial means before making what could be enslaving choices.

Dr.Martin Wiles is an ordained minister currently serving as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Harleyville, South Carolina. He holds degrees from Baptist College of Florida and Southern Baptist School in Jacksonville, Florida. He has authored two books and has served as a regional correspondent for the Baptist Courier. He has also been published in Proclaim, The Sounds of Poetry, Fires of Genius, as well as other anthologies of poetry. Martin and his wife Michelle, currently reside in Harleyville, SC. They have two children.
Read Martin’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

Inseparable – Martin Wiles
avatar

Posted on by

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his (God’s) love. Romans 8:38 NLT

I was twelve-years-old and about to do something I had never done before . . . fly in a plane. We lived in Jackson, Tennessee, ten hours from my paternal grandparents. My grandfather drove an ice cream truck, which meant free ice cream for me and a paycheck if I’d help him. There was one problem. My parents weren’t driving to South Carolina, so they chose to get me there via plane.

As the plane jettisoned down the tarmac and ascended into the sky, I peered out the window at the fluffy white clouds below. Far beneath them, I saw the landscape partitioned off in squares. I could have jumped out of this plane and landed on the clouds, I thought. Then I realized that nothing separated me from the ground.

The apostle Paul was convinced nothing could detach him from God’s love. Not death, angels, demons, fear, persecution, shipwreck, or worry. He was safe in the arms of an omnipotent creator who watched over him each minute of every day.

Just as nothing separated me from the ground, so nothing separates us from God. Though he can and does operate outside of time, he enters time with us as well. Every detail of our life is important to God and available for his touch. Anxiety over monthly bills, worry about retirement, finding the right life partner, even our kids, can never separate us from God’s love or concern. Let Him imprint you on His palm and make you inseparable.

Prayer: May I remember Your love for me is insurmountable and that nothing can ever separate me from You.

Dr.Martin Wiles is an ordained minister currently serving as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Harleyville, South Carolina. He holds degrees from Baptist College of Florida and Southern Baptist School in Jacksonville, Florida. He has authored two books and has served as a regional correspondent for the Baptist Courier. He has also been published in Proclaim, The Sounds of Poetry, Fires of Genius, as well as other anthologies of poetry. Martin and his wife Michelle, currently reside in Harleyville, SC. They have two children.
Read Martin’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

The Mad Dash – Martin Wiles
avatar

Posted on by

Zeal without knowledge is not good; a person who moves too quickly may go the wrong way. Proverbs 19:2 NLT

I made a mad dash to Orkin as soon as the last bell rang. Odd I know, but I didn’t consider where I wanted to work, much less why. All I knew was I had been turned out into the world and I ran to the first place that would take me.

Animals make most of their judgments on instinct. When a rabbit is startled it launches into a mad dash, darting back and forth across the field, never pausing to consider a safe course. He just runs.

It is tempting for us to react this identical way to life. Mad dashes without the facts are usually foolish. They cause us to make wrong turns. Action without thought or knowledge from past experience carries the possibility of disappointment.

It’s typical for man to rush headlong into unknown scenarios, functioning on emotional highs rather than thought out plans. If I feel good about it…I do it, forgetting emotions are extremely fickle. I take the wheel to drive my life rather than allowing God to steer.

God expects me to obey the instructions of his Word and associate with godly friends who will give me solid spiritual advice. God asks me to trust him with my fears because he hasn’t given me a spirit of fear. He invites me to let him guide me beyond my failures. Better yet, He reminds me His plans for me are superior to any I can formulate. When I do this, I avoid the mad dashes that normally result in disappointment and failure. I’m also reminded the unknown is known by God, and I can know the mind of Christ.

My brief tenure at Orkin showed me how miserable life is when I rush ahead with selfish plans and neglect God’s. When I follow his direction for my life, I find true happiness and avoid the disappointments of aimless dashes that drive me to madness.

When you are tempted to make a mad dash, pause and seek God’s direction. Make your mad dash toward Him.

Dr.Martin Wiles is an ordained minister currently serving as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Harleyville, South Carolina. He holds degrees from Baptist College of Florida and Southern Baptist School in Jacksonville, Florida. He has authored two books and has served as a regional correspondent for the Baptist Courier. He has also been published in Proclaim, The Sounds of Poetry, Fires of Genius, as well as other anthologies of poetry. Martin and his wife Michelle, currently reside in Harleyville, SC. They have two children.
Read Martin’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

Best Medicine – Martin Wiles
avatar

Posted on by

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. Proverbs 17:22 NLT

I thought I’d die before I swallowed it. Yet my grandmother shoved the nasty liquid in my mouth. “It’ll help,” she’d say.

I remember cough medicines being among the foulest tasting things and I detested taking it. The extremely bitter taste and the water I chased it with didn’t seem to help. Perhaps castor oil is the most infamous. It’s been used medicinally since the days of the pioneers.

Proverbs suggests that happiness is the best medicine. Happy people seem to live longer. They’re normally stress-free or can handle stress without it affecting them physically or emotionally. However, living with a broken spirit will sap our strength. The one who is taken down by brokenness lets discouragement and depression rule their lives.

Life is tough but if I can maintain a cheerful spirit in the midst of the difficulty, I can be happy because I’m at peace with God. If I’ve confessed my sins and asked forgiveness, my debt to God has been satisfied by the blood of Christ. I’m no longer under condemnation. No matter what might come my way, I’m safe in God’s hands.

Instead of complaining, look for the good in life. Praise God because He guides you and provides for all your needs.

Maintain a prayer life and you’ll find your relationship with Christ brings a happy heart. Seek a relationship with your heavenly Father and find peace.

Take a dose of happiness and it will change your perspective on life.

Dr.Martin Wiles is an ordained minister currently serving as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Harleyville, South Carolina. He holds degrees from Baptist College of Florida and Southern Baptist School in Jacksonville, Florida. He has authored two books and has served as a regional correspondent for the Baptist Courier. He has also been published in Proclaim, The Sounds of Poetry, Fires of Genius, as well as other anthologies of poetry. Martin and his wife Michelle, currently reside in Harleyville, SC. They have two children.
Read Martin’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

Wealth – A Waste of Time? – Martin Wiles
avatar

Posted on by

Don’t weary yourself trying to get rich. Why waste your time? Proverbs 23:4 NLT

Wealth has never clung to my immediate family — except for my grandfather. I loved my grandfather, but he impressed me as a miserly and stingy man. Some might consider him prudent. It wasn’t until he died that any of us found out how much he had amassed.

His appearance depicted a dirt-poor farmer. He never spent money unless it was absolutely necessary and even then it was as little as possible. “Patch up” workers were hired to do repairs on the house. My cousin and I were paid a measly dime to sweep off shed roofs and pull weeds from cotton fields.

Before “Pappy” died, my grandmother had never written a check or paid bills. What money she had came from selling fish to neighbors and harboring the proceeds in a quart jar hidden in the top of her piano.

What it took my grandfather his entire life to accumulate was quickly spent or divvied out after his demise. My grandmother bought a new car and re-roofed the old farmhouse. The land was divided between my mom and her sister. Some funds were disbursed to the grandchildren. In a short time, his wealth had disappeared as though it had the wings of a bird.

While material possessions and money are not inherently evil, it seems a waste of time spending one’s life pursuing them. We can’t control the elements that destroy them nor prevent the thief from stealing them. And when we lay in our coffins, they will not be our bedfellows. A wrong perspective even allows wealth to steal our focus from God and spiritual matters.

God provides for His children but He expects His children to give as well. Wealth is in the giving not in the having.

Are your finances tight in your grip or is your palm open and God in control?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, establish my focus on laying up treasures in heaven where they cannot be stolen or destroyed.

Dr.Martin Wiles is an ordained minister currently serving as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Harleyville, South Carolina. He holds degrees from Baptist College of Florida and Southern Baptist School in Jacksonville, Florida. He has authored two books and has served as a regional correspondent for the Baptist Courier. He has also been published in Proclaim, The Sounds of Poetry, Fires of Genius, as well as other anthologies of poetry. Martin and his wife Michelle, currently reside in Harleyville, SC. They have two children.
Read Martin’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

The Tongue vs Brain Race – Martin Wiles
avatar

Posted on by

The godly think before speaking; the wicked spout evil words. Proverbs 15:28 NLT

Archie Bunker of All In The Family was famous for his demeaning remarks to his wife Edith. In one episode, Edith commented on a subject Archie had “forbidden” her to talk about. As she covered her mouth and apologized, Archie was quick to point out her problem. Her tongue always raced with her brain, and her brain always lost. While degrading, there is an element of truth in the remark. We often have the same problem.

No doubt you’ve heard it said of someone, “they are a person of few words.” While there is no inherent value in being quiet, we tend to get in trouble when we talk too much. It’s almost inevitable we will say something we shouldn’t when we have “diarrhea of the mouth.”

Solomon said the godly think before they speak while the wicked have no concern about what they say. We experience the truth of this statement at retail stores, gas stations, concerts, movies, sporting events, and malls. Our beliefs are evident in our speech. Filthy talk erupts anytime hearts are unhealed by the balm of Christ’s love.

Comfort comes in realizing there are no super saints. We are all in process; evolving into the person God desires. I was reminded of this growing up as a PK (preacher’s kid). Everyone expected me to act and talk like a good little boy when all I wanted to do — and did as a teenager — was demonstrate how bad I could be. Eventually I understood my tongue was outpacing my brain and shimmering defectively on my “God’s child” status.

Scripture repeatedly warns us our speech is a reminder that our talk can be a poor reflection of who we are. Learning to ask God for the right words to uplift those who confide in us takes dedication and practice. When our heart bows to the love of Christ, filthy language and off-color jokes become a thing in our past. Instead of comments that reflect prejudice and hatred, our testimony builds credibility.

When you find it hard to control your tongue, seek God’s help. Let Him determine the adjustments you need so your brain wins the race.

Dr.Martin Wiles is an ordained minister currently serving as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Harleyville, South Carolina. He holds degrees from Baptist College of Florida and Southern Baptist School in Jacksonville, Florida. He has authored two books and has served as a regional correspondent for the Baptist Courier. He has also been published in Proclaim, The Sounds of Poetry, Fires of Genius, as well as other anthologies of poetry. Martin and his wife Michelle, currently reside in Harleyville, SC. They have two children.
Read Martin’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!