I Know I Should, So Why Don’t I?

Do you enjoy opening your computer and seeing how many emails you’ve received each morning?  Checking email is the first thing I do each day, especially because my morning paper comes in one of those emails.  How about checking Facebook to see what’s happening with all your friends?  Don’t you love to peruse the pictures and find where and how your friends have been engaged?  It’s certainly an easy way to keep up with the kids or grandkids and your old school chums.  And don’t you just love to open your Bible early in the day to seek out God’s wisdom and truth as you face an uncertain path through life?  Hmmm.  Is that crickets I hear instead of a resounding “Amen”?

Why is it that many of us would rather read emails or scan Facebook and spend perhaps many hours each day doing both, yet we seem to lack the motivation or discipline to crack open the pages of Scripture to allow the Creator of the universe to speak with us?  Your response may be one of these:

“I know I need to study the Bible more, but….”

“I try to have a daily devotional time, but….”

“I have a hard time understanding what I read and I WANT to spend time with God, but….”

If you and I DO take time to open the pages of Scripture, we find passages like this:

 Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!  ¹¹ Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.  ¹² Blessed are You, O Lord!  Teach me Your statutes…¹⁵ I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.  ¹⁶ I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.   Psalm 119:10-16

Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.   Psalm 119:18

Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way.  ³⁸ Establish Your word to Your servant…   Psalm 119:37-38

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

God promises us that something amazing will happen when we open and read our Bibles.  We find wisdom, direction, guidance, and even correction.  Paul urged Timothy to use the Word for just those purposes:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.  2 Timothy 3:16-17

As followers of Jesus, we are challenged to be good stewards of all God provides to us.  That stewardship certainly pertains to the material wealth God gives us.  We must spend and invest carefully to fulfill that requirement.  But TIME is like money.  We only receive a certain amount each day – none of us can claim more.  When we spend our moments and even hours on what the psalmist called “worthless things”, we must ask whether it’s time to change our behaviors.

My faith journey is likely very similar to yours, since we live in the same world, challenged by the same time-devouring possibilities.  Why don’t we covenant together to be more careful with our time?  To make opening God’s work our HIGHEST priority each day?   If you’ll do that with me, we can both enjoy the promise that John penned in the last book he wrote while he was in exile on Patmos:

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.   Revelation 1:3

God doesn’t ask us to spend time in the Word to keep us from other pursuits.  He urges us to do it because He knows we’ll be blessed when we do.  What else can you do that PROMISES a blessing?  I don’t know about you, but I could certainly use the blessing of God in my life!  Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”  (Luke 4:4) 

I don’t miss very many meals.  Now if only I could hunger after God’s Word the same way!

Jacob

This is a Line You Will Want to Cross

Barriers are a part of life.  Some are formidable and man-made, like the 5,500-mile-long Great Wall of China that took 2,000 years to complete.  The wall was constructed to keep out invading hordes from the north, and for the most part, it worked.  Other barriers are a product of nature, like the swollen rivers many of our ancestors had to cross as they pushed west to settle this country.  While still other barriers are cultural constructs, like being from “the wrong side of the tracks”.  I always wondered who decided which side of the tracks was the “right side”?  But we all understand where the term comes from and that the barrier it creates is just as challenging as any of the others mentioned. 

Humans are amazing in their quest to overcome whatever barrier stands in their way.  The Great Wall didn’t keep out ALL the invaders, our families forded rivers and built bridges, and those of us from the “wrong side of the tracks” found a way to cross over and find success.  Yet one barrier couldn’t be overcome without divine help.  Each of us is born into this life already in bondage to sin, the natural result of which is death.  (See Romans 6)

The soul and body we possess at birth is tainted by the sin nature that fills each of us – most religious groups call that “original sin”.  The idea of being born into the kingdom of sin is on David’s mind as he penned this Psalm:

For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  ⁴ Against You (God), You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight…⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.   Psalm 51:3-5

Yet Paul reminds us that: 

…Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death…   Romans 8:2

Being born into and living in the kingdom of sin and death is an inescapable truth of the human experience.  Staying there forever, though, is a personal choice, akin to sitting on the river bank and wishing to be on the other side, but doing nothing to build the bridge to get there.  And if crossing the line from death to life depended only on you, you would be forever condemned to remain where you are.  But Jesus came to make a way for us.  HE is the bridge-builder who makes the crossing from death to life possible.

Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.   John 5:24

All of us begin life below the line.  Jesus invites us to live life ABOVE the line.  That’s what the Good News is all about.  When we accept the invitation that Jesus extends, we step from life that is the “best we can do” into an existence that will last for eternity.  Kingdom life is what Jesus offers all of us.  Life above the line – life lived to the fullest extent (John 10:10) – life that doesn’t have to wait for “someday” to experience the joys of the Kingdom of God. 

Who gets to pass from death to life across the bridge that Jesus built?  Anyone may.  Only those with a heart to know God can.  And while there are no magic words that allow you to pass from death to life, the following will get you there if you mean them with all your heart:

“Lord Jesus, I understand that sin has control of me, and I have been OK with that up to now.  But I want more.  I want to know You and know more about Your love for me.  I know Jesus died because of MY sin and I’m sorry.  But I know He died so I could be forgiven, so I ask you now for that forgiveness.  I want to live life as you intended. I want Jesus to be the Lord of my life, now and forever.  I believe your promises and ask you to allow me to pass from death to life at this very moment.  I pray this now in the powerful name of Jesus.  Amen”

If you prayed those words for the first time and meant them in your heart, I can assure you that you’ve crossed the line.  Welcome to the Kingdom of Life!  We’ll have lots of time to get to know one another.  Bless you!

Jacob

What Are You Waiting For? Open It!

Imagine that it’s your 10^th birthday.  This one is especially important because you’ve been told every day since you can remember that on your TENTH birthday, you’ll receive the most special gift you’ll ever get.  The day has arrived, and after you’ve bounded down the stairs and glance around the house, you spy it!  Just as promised, the most beautifully wrapped gift you’ve ever seen is waiting on the dining table, and it has your name on it.  You inspect the outside of the gift and marvel at the skill and quality of the wrapping paper.  The ribbon is exquisite!  This MUST be the most marvelous gift ever!  And when you take the hand-lettered tag in your small hands, you open it to reveal these words: “Not to be opened until your 21^st birthday.”

What wretched hoax is this?!  How can it be that something you’ve waited for so long can’t be fully appreciated until…YEARS from now?!  This can’t be right!  This “gift” in the box that was going to make you the envy of everyone you know can’t be fully appreciated until you’ve reached old age!  Not fair!  Whose idea was this anyway?

OK – stop imagining now.  We can all empathize with the poor child who expected something life-changing but only got the promise of such.  This is where I need your full attention – if you are a follower of Jesus, I fear you have experienced the same kind of “delayed gratification” as our 10-year old in the story.  Too often, we come to faith in Christ, and are thrilled to receive salvation – our beautiful gift – and assume we must delay opening it until we die and finally receive what God has prepared for us.  How sad for us.  After all, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  (John 10:10)

Let me be clear: if you are not a follower of Christ, the “Good News” message to you is that, though you are separated from God by your sin (and we ALL are), God Himself made a way for you to be reconciled to Him.  Jesus came to live and die and be resurrected for each of us, but we must acknowledge our need and submit ourselves to the life-giving Savior.  Paul summed it up when he wrote in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel (Good News) of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…” 

But Jesus came – by His own words – to give us more than just eternal life in heaven.  He intended for us to live as participants in the Kingdom of Heaven NOW!  In Matthew 4, Jesus said, “Repent!  For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”  And the next time Matthew records that Jesus preached, He taught us what living in the Kingdom of Heaven looks like.  He told us what was IN THE GIFT!  You would do well to read the whole passage in Matthew 5-7, but let me summarize some of the things Jesus told us we should be experiencing as followers of His.  These are the ways others will know we follow Him and these are the ways He makes our lives abundant NOW:

We are meek and merciful; seeking after the things that are righteous and pure.  We build bridges instead of tearing them down.  We love instead of despising; we bless others even when we are harmed by them.  We make such a difference in people’s lives that they honor God because of it.  How are you doing with all that?

We don’t act “righteous” on the outside, while allowing ourselves to harbor wrong feelings inside.  We do what we say we will do, even if it’s difficult.  We always “go above and beyond” in our dealings with others, including those who seek to take advantage of us.  We trust God to take care of us, and we know that He can even settle accounts for us.  We don’t need to condemn others for their behavior – that’s HIS job if they deserve it.  We just love them and live in such a way that they want to know why we are like we are!  And then WE get to share OUR Good News with THEM.  Are you still doing OK?

The Gospel is our invitation to eternal life.  But aren’t you grateful you don’t have to wait until you die to enjoy the gift?  When we come to faith, we admit, “Jesus, I don’t have any way to make up for my sin except to trust You to do it for me.”  And in response, Jesus says, “I’ll take care of that.  And by the way, I have a gift for you.  But don’t wait to open it, because you’ll enjoy it much more if you open it NOW!”  What a great idea! 

Jacob

Do You Have Faith Like a Child?

The older I get, the harder it is to remember what it was like to be a kid.  I remember moments from my childhood, but what seems to leave our memories as we age is what it was to like have the “mindset” of a child.  What do kids think about?  How do they approach each new day?  Most kids in this country get out of bed without worries about what they’ll eat or where they’ll live.  They don’t seem to be overly concerned about what they’ll wear – they just put on whatever is close and start to live the new day, anticipating only good things!  They run and jump and laugh and enjoy life because they aren’t burdened about things over which they have no control.  Though I’m not to my point yet, I do want to remind us all of what Jesus said:

³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² ...For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.   Matthew 6:31-33

The point I DO want to make is that children just live life.  They accept that someone else is in charge – that someone else is responsible for them – and they dive into life with the gusto and freedom God intended.  They trust that whatever issues arise will be handled by someone who loves them.  The hard questions that children shouldn’t need to answer are resolved by someone that knows more than they do.  Concerns about health, money, and the future rarely enter their minds.  They just live life knowing that whatever comes up, someone with the resources to handle it will be there to protect them from facing challenges they have no power to resolve.  It is especially sad when children don’t feel that protection, but that’s for another day.

Why is it that adults, at some point in their lives, seem to conclude that THEY are in charge – that THEY are responsible for how life will unfold?  Do you have power over your circumstances or the future?  Can you determine how life will treat you?  Sure, it’s important to accept personal responsibility for your health and provision.  Eating right and going to work are presupposed.  But you have no control over the outside influences on your life.  Hurricanes, cancer, and drunk drivers are beyond your scope.  Sometimes bad stuff happens in life that you can't prevent.  

But God is there.  Just like our parents did when we were small, He handles the big stuff – the things that are outside our control.  Jesus even used a child to make that point to His disciples:

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, ³ and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.   Matthew 18:2-4

The “gospel” isn’t just about forgiveness for sin and salvation through Jesus.  The Good News is also about being a part of God’s family in the Kingdom.  And Jesus’ death for us is what makes that possible.  Jesus used the term “Kingdom of Heaven” thirty times as recorded in the book of Matthew.  He kept repeating it because it was important for His followers to get the whole picture.  Our faith doesn’t just punch our ticket for heaven, it changes how we live NOW!  All the preaching Jesus did in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7) was so people would understand what living in the kingdom looked like. 

Kingdom living is about faith and humility and doing good to others and living in a way that brings glory to God.  Ask yourself this: “Has anyone honored God this week because my life prompted them to do so?”  Yet that’s what kingdom living is supposed to do.  Kingdom life is characterized by trust in the provision of God and sharing with others to advance the kingdom.  Kingdom living isn’t characterized by fear and anxiety, but by trust and generosity.  Jesus wanted to remind His disciples that children get it.  The gentle, loving, trusting preschooler is a good example for you to follow.  When we get older, we get tough and cynical and afraid.  And God just gently responds, “Don’t worry my child.  I’ve got this.”  Why not drive on over to the park and go down the slide, or swing a bit, just to remember what it was like.  I guarantee you’ll smile – and I think God will, too.

Jacob