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

Have You Lost Your Way?

OK, admit it.  At least once in your life, you thought you knew where you were going and you were mistaken.  Maybe you turned right when you meant to turn left? Perhaps you thought you were headed east when you were actually driving south?  Possibly you were thinking about something else and missed a sign?  Life is like that, isn’t it?  Maybe you’ve heard that college freshman announce to the world that she’ll finish school, get married, head to med school to become a cardiologist, then have 3 kids, make tons of money, save lives and retire rich.  Yeah, how did that work out?  The directions we think we’re headed – the life maps we’ve drawn in our minds – never seem to work out as we expect.  But that’s not all bad.  Just think of the adventures you’ve had when you ended up in an unexpected place.  Consider that where you are now wouldn’t have been possible if you had stuck to your original plan!

Sometimes, we who follow Christ find ourselves believing we have been appointed for a specific purpose.  We believe God has “called” us to a certain task or direction.  If that is true, how do we know?  How can we be certain we are following “God’s will” for our lives?  Can we be absolutely sure we are on the right path?  I would agree that if you walk as closely to the Father as Jesus did, then you’ll always know which turn to make and what direction to head.  But I’m not there, are you?

In fact, my life has been more like that of the apostle, Paul.  Just when he thought he had God’s plan all figured out, he discovered that perhaps God had a different direction in mind:

Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. ⁷ Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. ⁸ So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.  ⁹ That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” ¹⁰ So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.   Acts 16:6-10

The great apostle to the Gentiles, called by Jesus himself on the road to Damascus, thought he was headed in one direction to serve his Lord, yet the door closed.  OK, maybe God’s leading me to Bithynia?  Nope, not there either.  Alright, then, which doors are still open?  I guess God is directing me to Macedonia.  Right!

God has a plan for sure.  And you, if you are a follower of Jesus, have a part in that plan.  But the plan isn’t built around you, it’s built around Him.  Your job isn’t to sit around wondering which way to go, it’s to figure out which way God is going and get with the program! 

Do you imagine you’ve made a wrong turn and now God can’t use you?  Wrong.  Find the path and get back on it!  You failed in your last effort for your Lord and now you think He’s done using you?  Wrong, again.  Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back in the fight!  While God cares intimately for you and cares about your successes and failures, He cares MOST that His will is done “on Earth as it is in heaven”.  If you’ve lost your way, look for the signs of God’s activity in your life – they are all around you.  He’s busy, whether you’ve noticed or not.  He still has a job for you to do, whether you’re willing or not.  But if you don’t do it, someone else will, because He always has a contingency plan.

If you get lost in the woods, it’s good advice to sit down and wait for someone to find you rather than wandering around the forest.  But if you aren’t sure which way to go in your efforts for Jesus, just sitting around waiting for the Spirit to hunt you down and extend a personal invitation for you to participate isn’t the way it works!  When God called you to be His, He gifted you so you could play a part in what He’s doing to redeem the world.  So get up and pay attention; look around and see what God is doing; and plug in.  Maybe the problem isn’t that you’ve lost your direction, but just your motivation.  For Paul, when one door was closed, he tried another.  Eventually, he found the door God intended.  If you aren’t already, start tugging on some doorknobs.  I guarantee at least ONE of them will open.

Jacob