“And that’s the end of the inning. One hit, no runs, no errors, and one left on.” If you’re a Twins fan, you might have heard the late Herb Carneil or now-retired John Gordon say these words many times. Of course, leaving a man on base without getting him all the way home is always disappointing. The whole object of the game is to score runs. Our spiritual life is like this as well. The object of our faith is to get all the way home to heaven, safely.
You might picture yourself as the man on third base waiting for someone to hit the ball somewhere that will allow you to get home safely. The process isn’t always easy, because the opposition is trying to keep you from scoring. Every base runner depends on several things to help him run. Coaches give encouragement and advice. Other players do their best to advance him to the next base. And then, there’s the sacrifice play. That’s when one batter purposely hits the ball where he will be thrown out but allows another player to score. In our run around the bases of life, we depend on many people to guide us, encourage us and push us to the next base. In our spiritual journey, the only way any of us get “home” is by the sacrifice play of Jesus Christ. He willingly gave up his personal stats to make it possible for you to score! As we help our team get around the bases, let’s try not to leave any runners stranded. Oh, by the way, you’re up next! “Life is like a roll of toilet paper, the further down the roll, the faster it seems to go!” Do you ever feel that life is moving too fast? Where did the years go? How did I get those wrinkles?
I never felt old until one day, while having coffee with a number of salespeople at a real estate office, the conversation turned to the question, “Where were you when John F. Kennedy was shot?” It turned out that half the people at the table hadn’t even been born yet! That’s when I began to feel old! The Bible says that our lives are like a vapor. We are here one moment and gone the next. Because of this, I’ve decided that my number one goal in life is not to become the richest man in the nursing home. What it all comes down to is that only those things that last beyond this life are really important. So the question remains, “What are you doing that is of eternal significance?” My observation is that it’s relationships that really matter. Our relationship with God and our relationships with friends and family, these things have eternal value. What we invest in the lives of our children and our community can out-live us. What we do in discovering and knowing God will definitely out-live us. So enjoy today. Squeeze all the life out of it you can. It will never be repeated. And, while you’re at it, do something that will make a difference beyond your earthly life. God bless you and have an awesome day! One of my favorite movies is The Princess Bride. Some may think the movie is kind of corny, but the movie has a lot of good lines and it has a neat message of love conquering all. My favorite scene is when the main character, the Man in Black, has a swordfight with Inigo Montoya. Inigo is so confident of his own swordsmanship, he has predetermined to fight the Man in Black left-handed just to make the fight more of a contest. However, the Man in Black is an excellent fencer himself and tells Inigo, “You know I’m beating you.”
“Yes, I know,” says Inigo. “Then why are you smiling?” asks the Man in Black. “Because,” he replies, “I know something you do not know.” “What’s that?” asks the Man in Black. “I am not left-handed!” he declares. And then he switches hands to continue the duel with his better hand. Of course, the Man in Black was also fighting with his left hand and announced he was not left-handed either! We also can have this inner confidence in the midst of adversity in our lives. When the enemy presses in and mounts his attack against our health, or finances or relationships, we can have an inner joy that says, “I know something you do not know! I have strength you can not beat!” It is written in Philippians 4:13, “We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.” Christ gives us the inner strength and peace to fight on and win. He is our secret weapon. We need not go through the battle of life depending only on our own strength. That would be like sword fighting with your weaker hand. Go to the one who has promised to be your shield and defender, your strong right hand. And then you can smile in the face of adversity as you put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to save you and protect you and give you victory! “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me!” That old rhyme ranks right up there as one of the most inaccurate clichés ever. Careless words or purposefully harmful names, in fact, do hurt us. They inflict more damage than most of us realize. “Why can’t you be more like your sister?” or “You don’t see Bobbie crying like you are, do you?” “You’re stupid, you’ll never amount to anything.” These types of statements are like seeds being planted in a person’s life. Repeated a few times and they, very likely, will become reality. How better it would be if our speech reflected something positive.
There is incredible power in the tongue. We can heal or hurt with the words we use. The Bibles says the tongue is like the spark that sets off a whole forest fire! It compares the tongue to the rudder o a large ship. It’s a small part of the ship, but it can change the direction of the whole thing. We can alter the direction of our children, employees or spouse by the words we choose to use. A word of praise and encouragement gets better results than a word of rebuke or correction. How about catching someone doing something right and letting him or her know you noticed? Try it out on a cashier at the gas station or with the next person you cross paths. Let your speech produce positive results. Guard your words carefully; they’re hard to put back once they come out. And, as my mom always said, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” One of the first things children are taught when they reach pre-school age is how to call home. It’s important for every child old who may venture out to know his parents’ phone number and home address. Knowing how to reach home can be a valuable safety measure as well as a convenience to parents.
Of course, as kids get older, they often forget to call home and sometimes cause all kinds of anxiety for their parents. It isn’t that they don’t know how to call, it’s just not that important in their minds. That’s similar to the way we often are with our Heavenly Father. We learn to “call home” as children by saying bedtime prayers and meal-time grace, but later, we often go on our merry way forgetting to check in with the father. Just as parents want to hear from their children, so God, our Heavenly Father, wants to hear from us. Not just when we’re in trouble, either. He’s interested in every aspect of our lives and longs to get a call from us. The Bible says in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call onto me and I will answer you.” God is saying, “Why don’t you initiate a call to me? I am sitting here by the phone waiting for your call. Tell me how your life is going. I am available if you need help or need a friend to talk to.” Take a moment to call home! You do remember the number, don’t you? “Trust me.” “Take my word for it.” Have you ever heard these statements? You had a legitimate question, but the answer you got was, “Just trust me.” A lot of people rely only on what other people tell them to be true. Some people depend upon their pastor or priest to tell them what the Bible says. Even though I have a lot of confidence that a clergy person can help us get truth from the Bible and understand it, no one should ever use them as their only source of Biblical truth. I can’t stress enough the value of personal time spent reading the Word of God, the Bible.
The scriptures challenge each of us as individuals to “study to show yourselves approved, a workmen that correctly handles the word of truth.” I encourage you: don’t take my word for it! Check it out for yourselves. Otherwise you will be apt to believe something that may not be true. II Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible is a gift from God to us, a gift to be used and applied. Of course you’re not going to understand everything you read. I know I don’t. But God will give you wisdom to understand what you need for the circumstances of your life. Certainly, ask questions of your pastor. He or she will be thrilled to know you’ve been reading the Word. Be a man or woman of the Word. It will change your life because it is the power of God unto salvation. “You’ve been adopted!” Every orphan wants to hear those three words. Families that have opened their hearts and homes to a child know what it’s like to go through the agonizing waiting and hoping period while the legal process is completed to officially recognize a child as their own son or daughter. The child has a new name, a new home, and a new heritage. He or she becomes entitled to all the benefits of this new family: the food, the shelter, the clothing, and most of all, the love of a father and mother. For whatever reason, the birth parents were not able or willing to give the child the care it deserved and needed. The adoptive parents assumed all of those responsibilities.
What if the child refused the adoption? What if they chose to continue to live as orphans, or remain in a neglected home, even though the adoption had all been arranged and paid for? That wouldn’t seem probable, much less very wise. The Bible says that God’s gift to us is his offer to adopt us into his family. It says that Jesus Christ paid for the adoption with his own death on the cross. Whoever trusts in him has the right to become one of God’s children. This offer is to everyone, everywhere. Many people, however, reject God’s gift. They choose to try to make it on their own. That’s sad, because they cannot enjoy all the benefits that come with the adoption. Only by accepting God’s offer can we hope to live forever in his kingdom. Only by trusting Christ can we have access to the help and power and advice of the Heavenly Father. Will you take God up on his offer? You can be a child of the King! Your Heavenly Father is waiting to hear from you! I can't wait to have some homegrown tomatoes! There's nothing like a tomato that’s vine-ripened! Compared to the store-bought ones available to us in the winter, it's like comparing a Harley Davidson motorcycle to a three-wheeled bicycle. Why is there such a difference in the taste and texture? I have been told that it's in the length of time the tomato is on the vine. Store-bought tomatoes that come from who-knows-where have to be picked while they are still green. They haven't had the benefit of the extra days of receiving nutrients that give flavor and juiciness.
The Bible tells us in John 15 that if we expect to achieve our potential, we have to "abide in the vine." Jesus said he is the vine. To "abide in the vine" simply means to hang out with Jesus! If we detach ourselves from Him and His leadership, we cut ourselves from the life-giving power he wants us to receive. We need the nutrients of God's love and wisdom in order to know the best course for our lives. The fullness of life we experience is proportional to the amount of time we spend hanging out with Jesus. It is God's plan for us to be connected with Him everyday, all-day. Not just at church or at home. Stay attached to the life-giving power of God through Jesus Christ. Otherwise, you’ll be as bland as a store-bought tomato in January. May the Lord be with you today! In the late 1980s, my wife and I spent a few days in Honolulu on Waikiki Beach. While we were enjoying the surf and the sand, a man with a camera and a large parrot came up and said, “Let me take a picture of you that will make all your friends back home jealous.” He showed us some samples of other photos he had taken that he had turned into postcards. One of the samples was a photo of actor Tom Selleck with that same parrot on his shoulder. We took him up on his offer and bought a few postcards to send back home.
Even though it was a good picture of my wife, the parrot, and myself, the postcard didn’t give our friends a complete picture of what Hawaii was really like. We could point out Diamond Head in the background and explain where our hotel was in relation to the photo, but the photo didn’t capture the warmth, the beauty or the “hang loose” attitude that we found there. When we read the Bible, it’s like looking at a postcard from God. We are given a glimpse of his power and majesty, but we cannot see the complete picture until we see him face to face. Likewise, we can only grasp a fraction of his love for us now. But one day we shall see him in all his glory and we will respond by joining the angels in their never-ending chorus of “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.” That’s when we will realize fully that God is bigger and better than we have ever imagined. At that moment, every doubt or fear we ever experienced will disappear in the light of his glory and grace. For now we try to see as much as we can through our postcard-view in the confident hope that we will one day be in the very presence of God where nothing will be hidden. I finally figured out how to deal with the “check engine” light on my car. For several months now, the “check engine” light has been coming on. It’s not on all the time, and the car seems to be running fine, so I haven’t repaired anything. But that “check engine” light can get annoying. Not anymore! Now, thanks to a handy business card over the light, it is not such a nuisance!
The philosophy, of course, is “out of sight, out of mind”. Now, I know I haven’t really fixed the problem—I’ve just covered up the warning signal. That’s the way a lot of us deal with the warning lights in our life. Not opening the mail won’t stop a bill from coming due. Undressing in the dark won’t stop the waistline from expanding. Ignoring God today won’t prevent us from facing him about eternity. Throughout our life, God sends warning signals when we drift away from him. He loves us and wants us to stay in harmony with his plan for our lives. When we go our own way and avoid him, he cares enough about us to remind us of our need of him. These reminders could be a gentle nudge—though a sermon or a song. Or it could be a little more blaring, like going through financial or physical hardships. We could ignore or cover up these signals, like I’ve done with the business card over my “check engine” light. But that will only make matters worse. It’s better to respond quickly to the signal, find out what God is trying to say to us, and take action. If you have a warning light flashing in your life right now, go to the Master mechanic for an early detection and correction. It’ll help you avoid a breakdown in your relationship with Him, and you will go further down the road of life. “When I was a kid, I used to walk five miles to school in chest-high snow, up-hill…both ways!” We’ve all heard the accounts of “when I was a kid”. You’ve probably used them yourself; I know I have. If you’re like me, your family had certain expectations for each person in the family. Every child, for example, had chores. In my family, my little sister would set the table, I would clear off the table after dinner, and my older brother would dry the dishes as Mom washed them. I always encouraged my brother to finish up the uneaten potatoes or vegetables, because I hated finding Tupperware bowls to fit leftovers into. The point is everyone was expected to do his or her share of the work to make life better for all of us.
You know, the family of God isn’t any different. Your church is like a family. The Bible says that we grow and become strong as we build one another up in love and as each part does its work. You wouldn’t expect to get all the benefits of living at home without doing some of the work. The church family is the same way! This weekend, go tell your pastor you want to know what your chores are! After you’ve revived him, tell him you aren’t kidding! There’s no telling what God will accomplish when each member is doing his and her part. Be a participator, not a spectator in your church family. Everyone will win that way. Did anyone ever tell you how to catch a monkey? In some jungle tribes, the method used to catch a monkey was to put some bait in a container that had a hole in the top just big enough for a monkey to slip his hand inside. The catch was that as soon as the monkey grabbed a fistful of food, his hand couldn’t come back out of the hole. He could run away and avoid capture simply by letting go of the bait, but nearly every time, the monkey was unwilling to do it.
There’s a story in the Bible about a man who had a similar problem. This young man was rich. He came to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus’ answer was, “Let go of the riches in your hand!” Was Jesus opposed to wealth? No—hardly! But if wealth and the pursuit of it are more important to you than eternal life, he’s opposed to it. In fact, it’s not just money we hang on to—it can also be relationships, position or status amongst friends or in a community. Pride in who you are or what your abilities are can also take priority over a relationship with God. The Bible says if we seek to save our life we will lose it, but if we give up our life for Him, we will gain it back. What do you have to lose? Jesus challenges us to let go of whatever has become more important than God in our lives. Jesus has promised to gives us all we need, but first we must let go of what we have. He is either Lord of all—all that we possess and aspire to become, or he is not lord at all. May God help us to release those things in our hands and lead us to life today! A team of firefighters returned to a station house to find it was on fire! According to press reports, Firefighters in a Dallas, Texas suburb left some potatoes cooking on the stove when they responded to a fire in the city. The overcooked potatoes started a fire in the kitchen area of the station house. Firefighters from other stations had to be called in to assist in putting the fire out. Officials tried to put a positive spin on the event by reminding the public to not leave food cooking on the stove before stepping out.
The report reminded me of how easy it is for us to be busy putting out other peoples’ fires that we neglect the ones at home. Careers and commitments can become the primary focus of one’s life. Assuming everything is taking care of itself at home, we respond to every need outside of it. It’s a danger nearly everyone must guard against. Those that successfully balance their time and attention between family and career reap the rewards of being able to share their success with the ones they love. After all, what good is it if the whole world thinks you are indispensable, but your family barely knows you? People of faith are called to serve one another, but the circle of service begins with those closest and dearest to us. Like those firefighters in Dallas, we must remember the first fire that needs our attention is the one at home. I pity the fool who takes my favorite cup! I’ve got this coffee mug that is mine— all mine. I like the heft of it. I like the amount of coffee I can pour into it. And I like how it looks. I really don’t want anyone using it. I know it sounds selfish, but I’m kind of attached to it!
Did you know that God actually sees each of us in a similar way? He considers each of us a vessel, a container for which He has his own special purpose and plan. The Bible tells us that every vessel is unique. Some are designed for every day, general use. Some are designed for special circumstances. Some cups can take a lot of abuse. They can be dropped and they don’t break. Others are very fragile and are suited for entertaining special guests. Some are designed for strength, some for beauty, and some for promoting a product or service. In any case, every cup is designed for filling up. No matter how nice a cup, it’s of little value unless something can be poured into it. You and I, as vessels for God, have a purpose. We are to be filled with God’s love, peace, and joy. As containers of these good things, we are able to pour them out throughout the day. Love, peace, and joy flows from God, pouring out onto places and situations needing what God has given to us. Ask God to fill you up today. Then ask him to help you to find the people that need what he is supplying to you. Don’t worry about running out; he’ll keep refilling you as you return to him. And remember, God is particular about you—you are His favorite cup! Prospicience. That was the final word correctly spelled at the 2002 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee championship by then seventh grader, Pratush Bradige. With a name like that, no wonder he was good at spelling! Even spell-check doesn’t recognize the word prospicience, which means “the act of looking forward”.
We all need to practice prospicience. Too often we find ourselves looking at the past a little too long. We can certainly benefit from an occasional glance over our shoulder, but our primary focus should be on what’s ahead. The proportion is well illustrated in your car. The windshield is way bigger than your rear-view mirror. Checking the mirror isn’t nearly as important as looking at the road in front of you. In life, your past can hold you back, whether you’ve had success or failure. Past failures can discourage you from trying again. Past successes can cause us to live on the memory of successes instead of using it to launch us into even greater success. You don’t have to be a great speller to practice prospicience. Everyone can do it. The apostle Paul said it like this: Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14 Be a prospicient person by keeping your eyes focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the author and finisher of our faith! [Hebrews 12:2] Just when you thought the campfire was out, along came a gust of wind that brought the flames to life again. Anyone who has spent time in the great outdoors has learned a thing or two from a campfire. First, there’s the trick of getting the fire started in the first place, especially if you don’t have lighter fluid, gasoline or most importantly, a match. Assuming you have the good fortune of successfully starting a fire, that doesn’t mean you can sit back and relax. Next you have to feed this fledgling fire carefully, first with small, dry kindling and gradually working up to a log or two. Once you’ve built it up, the fire will burn nicely on it’s own for quite a while. It’s during this time that the fire can be used for cooking or heating up water or just to enjoy its warmth. However, it will eventually die down if no new fuel is added.
The correlations between a campfire and our spiritual lives are numerous. When the flame of God’s love is ignited in us, it usually starts out hot but in danger of quickly dying out if no one is there to add solid teaching and an occasional prod to keep us turned towards God’s presence. From time to time we are allowed an opportunity to relax and enjoy the warmth, to taste the benefits of sustaining this fire. But to keep it going, we need to allow God to add new truth and inspiration on a regular basis. Even if we do allow the flame to die down, thankfully it only takes a fresh gust of the Holy Spirit to blow through us to cause us to once again be burning enough to be built up again. Our responsibility is to tend the fire. Keep feeding it with God’s Word and worship. You’ll not only be revived, but the fire in you will bring warmth, joy and sustenance to the world around you. Halt! Who goes there? You may never have been ordered to stop and be recognized, but it’s possible you have at some time not been yourself. Someone might say, “That’s not like you.” We may behave or talk in ways that are inconsistent with our real, ordinary self. We become Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired and begin acting out of character. That’s when you hear someone say something on the lines, “Halt! Who goes there?”
Those can be uncertain or even dangerous times. We could say or do something we will be sorry for later. That’s why it’s a good idea to recognize these times and do what the acronym spells—HALT! Stop and realize you are not yourself. Are you Hungry? Get some food. Are you Angry? Get some space. Are you Lonely? Find a friend to be with and to talk to. Are you Tired? Get some rest. “You are fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). God’s plan for us is to be nourished daily by food and by His Word. He gives us positive ways to channel our anger. Through His Spirit in us, he gives us the patience and self-control we need. He never leaves us, so we are never truly alone. Beyond that, we are part of a network of friends—brothers and sisters in Christ—with whom we can meet with on a regular basis. And He has even commanded us to take a day of rest every week, for our benefit! Even Jesus got away to rest when he was exhausted. Next time someone says, “You don’t seem yourself,” HALT! Find out what is influencing your character, and get what is necessary physically and/or spiritually. You will find yourself being recognized once again as the wonderful person God intended you to be. Are you a messy-desk person, or a neat-desk person? I tend to be a messy-desk person. I don’t have files—I have piles! I don’t need less stuff on my desk—I need a bigger desk! Every once in a while I have to wade through the mess and start throwing, filing, and organizing. What always amazes me is the amount of things I kept that I should have thrown out when I first got it. But, you know how it is. I think to myself, “I might need this someday.”
You may not have the problem of a cluttered desk, but all of us have a tendency towards allowing clutter in our lives. The extra stuff we don’t really need but hate to throw out as well. When you sort through your garage, basement or closet you consciously decide what’s important to you. You keep those things that have value or purpose and get rid of things that you no longer need, or that no longer work or fit! Sometimes, in the process of uncluttering you find something you forgot you had—something you could really use now! Today, in the process of uncluttering spiritually, there is one thing you won’t ever need to throw out. That is your trust in the Lord. If your trust in Him has gotten buried under a bunch of other things, pull it out. That’s the one possession that will last for an eternity. Maybe it’s time to dust off that relationship and renew it by spending time with him. Maybe it’s been a while since you attended and participated in a worship service or meditated on Scripture. Simply pull that trust out from under the clutter and place it as a priority over all the other things that try to make their way into your life. Whether you are a messy-desk person or a neat-desk person, trusting in the Lord will help you manage every item. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2016
Categories
All
|