Promises and Pinky Swears

Do you remember that as a kid, that you’d share some amazing story with a friend, and when confronted by their doubting looks, you could simply say, “Cross my heart”, perform the aforementioned symbolic act, and all doubt disappeared?  After all, who but a truth-teller would ever risk saying, “cross my heart and hope to die”?  Promises were equally binding as a kid IF each party was willing to agree to a “Pinky Swear”.  That simple act (with a gruesome backstory) was intended to cement for perpetuity whatever deal had been struck.  Children devise such actions because trust is critical to functioning in life.  We are often faced with decisions about which we may not be SURE, but about which we must be confident.   Even kids know that.

Yet as an adult, I can’t remember the last time I crossed my heart or made a pinky promise.  Our world constantly confronts us with important and perhaps life-changing information, but in this age of the internet and fake news, how can we be sure that what we hear is really true?  We have been led to believe that even reliable sources may intend to mislead us, and if experience has taught us anything, it is that “people lie.”  Why has truth become such a rare commodity and who can we trust to be honest with us in every circumstance? 

Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to build up the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, ² in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. ³ In His own time He has revealed His message in the proclamation that I was entrusted with by the command of God our Savior.  Titus 1:1-3

The simplest, safest answer to the question “Who can we trust?” is God alone.  That makes our lives fairly complicated, because He rarely (OK, maybe never) speaks directly and audibly to me.  But Paul, in writing this note to Titus, gives us some guidelines for trusting OTHERS that I hope you’ll apply to those who supposedly speak truth into your life. 

·         There are some who have been “entrusted by God” to share truth.  We can believe them, once we identify them.  Treasure these folks in your life. 

·         Those who share, offer truth to “build up the faith” of those who follow God.  Is what you’re hearing building up your faith?  If not, don’t trust it!

·         Whatever you’re hearing, IF it is truth, it will “lead to godliness”.  If what you’re hearing is leading you AWAY from godliness, cover your ears!

·         The ONE TRUTH that matters, is that THIS life is all about preparing us for ETERNAL life, promised to us by a God who cannot lie.  If we listen through the filter of eternity, it makes it a lot easier to determine what is true and whose promises we can believe.

In a world filled with the overwhelming noise of lies, we even hear those who would deny the truth of Jesus, and those lies seem to attack every aspect of who He is.  Was He really born of a virgin?  Was He really dead on the cross?  Did He really come back to life as a sign that we will, too?  Did He really say that HE is the ONLY way to find forgiveness from a Holy God?  Is He really coming back again to receive those who believe and judge those who don’t?  The truth is, YES, YES, YES, YES, and YES.  Can you believe me?  If it helps, I could say “Cross my heart”, but God already did that. 

Jacob

Zombie Apocalypse or Alien Invasion?

How do you think it will all end?  If you watch much television or go to the movies, you’ve been led to believe the world as we know it will end in submission to flesh-eating zombies or that we’ll be overrun by spider-like creatures from some distant planet.  This trend isn’t new at all.  I watched the same stuff growing up MANY years ago and now I’m watching remakes of some of those classics.  But why are we so obsessed with worrying about how our world will come to an end?  Don’t we have enough to worry about with terrorism and hunger and hate?  Why do we need to add all these other potential villains to our list of worries? 

I have a theory.  I believe we’re afraid to face the personal, individual truth about the “end of life, as we know it.”  We won’t have our brains sucked out by swarming zombies, nor by other-worldly cockroaches.  Instead, the vast majority of us will age quietly, having our hair turn from brown to gray to white, and find that one day, our body just can’t go any further.  We will breathe our last, hopefully in the presence of someone who loves us, and then slip off into whatever comes next.  But if you don’t know what comes next, that IS scary!

I am in complete agreement that what WILL happen to us isn’t nearly as cinematically appealing as some apocalyptic conundrum.  But it is real and it WILL happen that way for most of us.  The writer of Hebrews says,

…it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment…  Hebrews 9:27

Frankly, it’s that “after this, judgment” that scares the devil out of people (if only it could!)  None of us wants to die, and certainly no one wishes to face an uncertain future, but isn’t facing reality eternally better than creating a fantasy world of worry?  The God who made us didn’t intend for us to have to make up stories about how the world will end.  He already wrote the last chapter:

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.   Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.   But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.   2 Peter 3:10-13

Whatever you do, don’t miss that part that says everything on earth “will be found to deserve judgment.”  That’s you and me.  And anyone who might still be here when the real apocalypse comes.  Since it’s likely my judgment will come quicker than what Peter described, I’d better be ready for it!  And be warned – there is no bug-out-bag or survival shelter than will make one bit of difference when YOUR time comes.  What WILL make a difference is if you pay attention to the verse that follows the Hebrews passage above:

 so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.  Hebrews 9:28

Facing the “end of life, as we know it” really isn’t all that bad, when you know what comes next.  There are no surprises with God, only mysteries.  In this edition, we find out that Jesus has been waiting to return for those who have been waiting for Him.  There’s nothing scary about that – as long as you’re prepared! 

Ready to bug out when Jesus calls,

Jacob

Freedom Isn’t Free, Is It?

This is the weekend each year when we pause to memorialize those who have gone before us in life, especially those who have given their lives to provide us with the freedom we enjoy in this country.  In my small town, there is a modest monument to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in one of the various wars our country has fought.  I’ll bet your town has one just like it.  Reading over the list of lives lost causes me to pause and be grateful for their sacrifice.  If you’ve ever run your fingers over the names engraved on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC, or walked the rows of graves in a National Cemetery, or paused to mourn those memorialized at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington, then you know the feelings of which I’m writing today. 

Name after name that proves our freedom came at great cost to some.  Why do we need to remind ourselves that “freedom isn’t free”?  Because for many of us who have not directly sacrificed, we may not fully comprehend what it cost SOMEONE.  We must be reminded lest we lose sight of the immense price someone paid for something we may not value as much as we should.

Knowing that human nature requires reminding, the author of Hebrews seeks to make sure we never forget the price SOMEONE paid to provide us with the freedom we have in Christ.  In Hebrews 11, we are led on a virtual stroll through the cemetery of faith, pausing to look at some of the names on the “tombstones” there.  We see Abel and Enoch, Noah and Abraham; Sarah and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph.  And then later in the chapter, the writer takes us on a visit to the “Tomb of the Unknowns”:

Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.  Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.  They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated -  the world was not worthy of them.   Hebrews 11:35-38

You might want to read that list again, just to honor the MANY heroes of the faith who never had their names recorded for us.  In America, we celebrate names like Washington, and Lincoln, and Jefferson.  But how many of our countrymen have given their lives whose names you might not know and never will?  Regarding your faith, how many lives were spent to offer you the simple Gospel you learned as a child:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.   John 3:16

Young voices are free in this country to sing, “Jesus loves me, this I know.  For the Bible tells me so.  Little ones to Him belong; they are weak, but He is strong.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me.  Yes, Jesus loves me – the Bible tells me so.”  Who do you think made it possible?

For those who are helpless and hopeless and defenseless, champions have always arisen to battle.  Men and women have battled to protect our country from division and oppression and anarchy.  Men and women of faith through the ages have fought for truth and righteousness and equality in Christ.  No one gave more than Jesus Himself, who made our hope for forgiveness a reality.  And though your name may never appear on a monument of faith, is it worth it to live your life sacrificing all for those who will still come after you?  Yes.

Lives spent on behalf of freedom will rightfully be honored this weekend.  Lives dedicated to sharing the priceless Gospel of Christ will be celebrated for eternity. 

Jacob

There, Their, They’re. Do Words Matter?

There, there, now.  They’re there now.  They’re theirs now.  Do words matter?  You better believe it!  In the previous three phrases, one is a statement of comfort; one a statement of arrival; and one a statement of ownership.  But if they all sound the same, how can they mean such different things?  I must admit that one of my chief complaints about social media posting by many is that whatever the writer was taught in English class must not have made an impression.  The misuse of homophones like your and you’re, and there, their, and they’re just drives me crazy!  Does it really matter in the whole scheme of life?  YES!!

When God penned His Word to us, the Bible says every word makes a difference because it was inspired – literally “God-breathed” – by the Holy Spirit:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.   2 Timothy 3:16

When the writers of Scripture used stylus or quill to pen their words, those words were coming from God’s heart to us through them so we wouldn’t miss the point or the truth.  If the Bible says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), it means everyone.  When Paul wrote “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13), God directed him to use the word “everyone”.  He didn’t say “some” or “people who like hymns” or “folks who think like you do”.  God said EVERYONE who cries out to Jesus for salvation gets it.  Do YOU get that?

Why is it so important that each word means what it says?  It’s all about trust.  When there’s no one in this life you believe you can rely on, God is trustworthy.  When others lie to you and let you down, He is faithful and true.  When you aren’t sure it’s worth getting out of bed in the morning, God gives you purpose.  And when life is just about finished for you and you lie in bed wondering whether there is a “great adventure” coming next or just empty nothingness, trust these words that were perfectly formed and written just for you:

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”  And the One sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”   Revelation 21:3-5

Trustworthy and True.  Just like God.  THAT’S why words matter so much.  The apostle, John, recorded that Jesus said, “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance” (John 10:10).  Now what do you think He meant by that? 

Jacob