Ponder It

"But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart."  Luke 2:19

On December 23rd, two days before Christmas, I was in a big fabric and crafts store (with my wife, who needed to get something!).  The whole front section of the store was a mess, there were five or six almost empty racks of what used to be their Christmas crafts section.  As I looked at the picked over and sparse holiday part of the store, I got a familiar sad feeling that told me Christmas was over, and it was still two days before Christmas!  I then noticed over to the left, a whole area filled with fresh new craft items.  The shelves were full and nothing had been picked through, it was very neat and inviting.  The area was filled with red hearts and Cupids.  Yes, two days before Christmas the store had already set up its Valentines Day section.
Our faced paced culture is telling us, Christmas is over, hustle over to the mall and exchange those gifts, and by the way you had better hurry because Valentines is coming soon.  In the above verse we see Jesus' mother Mary doing the exact opposite.  Mary had just been through some pretty crazy days leading up to Jesus' birth, and it says she took the time and "kept" those things in her heart, and "pondered" them.
This is not the season to push on past Christmas, it is the time to all the more dwell on and ponder all of what the season is about.  I say we should hit the brakes, slow down a bit and enjoy Christmas some more.
One of the names given Jesus is "Immanuel", which means, God with us.  That does not mean that God was just with us that first Christmas two thousand years ago, it means God is with us today.  That one thought ought to give us enough to puzzle over, and wonder about, every single day.  February 14th is still a long way off, lets slow down and ponder, its still Christmas, for God is indeed with us today. 

I Get To

"And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger." 
Luke 2:16

The angel didn't appear to religious or political leaders to announce the birth of Jesus, but he went to some lowly shepherds.  I love the response of these men, they went right away, or made haste to fine this newborn Savior.  I also love the fact that they did not have to be commanded to go and find Jesus.  It seems the angel rightly accepts, that upon hearing the glad tidings of the birth of the savior, that the shepherds would want to find Him.  And of course we see that they didn't have to be ordered to go, they believed the message delivered to them from God, and therefore were driven in haste to find Jesus.
The foundation of Christianity is not a set of rules or commands to follow.  What motivates us, is our belief in the salvation given us in Jesus, who's birth we celebrate.  Ours is not a faith that says, "I have to".  Ours is a faith that says, "I want to", or "I get to", or better still, "I love to".  We serve, we love, we read the Bible, we worship, because of the love that God has poured into us by His Son.  Loving and serving the Lord is never a chore, it is indeed a great privilege.  The shepherds have set a great example for us to remember, may the reality of the message of God's grace cause us to make haste, to seek out and worship our precious Jesus.

The Lord Is Good

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" Psalm 34:8

The Christmas season is a time when our taste buds really get a full work out, and its wonderful!  This past week I was given a cookie snack that looked like an acorn.  It looked cute enough, but tasted even better.  It is very easy for me to describe to you what the snack looked like, I already mentioned it looked like an acorn, and that is easy for you to picture.  It is a much more difficult task to describe to you how it tasted....it was a tasty, crunchy, peanut buttery, and chocolate, sort of treat.  The fact is, that the words I use cannot give the true sense of how good this goodie tasted.  The best I would be able to do is to give you one of these acorn cookies and say, taste and see for yourself how good it is.
Isn't it the same when we try to share exactly how wonderful it is to walk in Jesus?  We can describe Jesus, who He is, what He has accomplished, and how to receive Him as Savior and Lord.  But words can fall short when we try to explain His love, joy, and peace in our lives.  The best we can do is present who He is, and plead, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good." 
The key for us then, is to be continually walking in, and tasting of, the goodness of the Lord.  Our best witness is being able to offer the fullness of life in Jesus, a life we know to be good because we have tasted of it ourselves.

Be Sound

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind."
2 Timothy 1:7

Back in my high schools days on some boring Friday night, I talked a group of my friends into going on a scary adventure.  We went and found what was rumored to be a haunted farm house.  The house was located in the middle of an orange grove, so it was dark and spooky.  There were no doors or windows left on the house so it was easy to enter.  After looking through the house for a bit, I gathered everyone together so I could tell them why the house was haunted.  I began to tell everyone a completely made up story, that was told to me by a completely made person.  It was about a crazy farmer that lived in the house, who murdered his whole family.  As I was telling this phony story I could see my friends starting to feel a little creepy, so I poured it on more.  Pretty soon every noise from inside or outside the house seemed to be magnified, and everyone was getting even more scared.  And then something amazing happened, I began to scare myself!  I was making the story up, I knew it wasn't true, I knew it was fictitious, yet I was starting to get a little freaked out.  At long last, there was a thumping creaking sound that came from another room that made us all scream and run for our lives.
How crazy is that?  I was able to get myself into a freaked out fearful state, with my own made up scary story!  I had knowingly brought myself to a place of not being of sound mind.
There is good spiritual application to this story.  It is very important for us to be of sound mind, to be disciplined in our thoughts and imaginations, and to be clear and sober in our reasoning.  Our enemy knows how to get us to the place of an unsound mind, with one fearful thought, our mind begins skipping and our imagination begins to exaggerate situations, and presto, we freak out!  At times the unsoundness is not even from the enemy, it is self-inflicted, we magnify circumstances or problems and we create scary scenarios that drive us to fear.
Our enemy loves to keep us unstable through fear.  The best way for us to battle this, is to be disciplined in keeping our focus on the Lord and on His word.  We need to learn to take our thoughts captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), and as we do, fear will wane and His peace will reign.  Search His word for those promises that keep you heart and mind stayed upon Him.

Rest In His Word

Psalm 119:49-50 "Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope.  This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life."

Words are very powerful.  I heard on the radio this morning that the stock market had taken a major plunge because of word from Greece.  I was on a hospital visit sitting with a family anxiously waiting word from a nurse.  I recently got a prayer request from a man wondering about his health, as he was awaiting word from a medical lab regarding a test he had taken.  And then there was the worry of a young man who knew word was coming from his mechanic as to how much money it would take to get his car running.  All these folks were waiting on words that would bring sadness or relief, fear or joy.
Words are indeed powerful, and we can get words from anywhere, doctors, friends, teachers, lawyers, or co-workers.  It is important to listen to man, but we must be wary not to set our hopes in the words of man, lest our lives be set on an unstable roller coaster type foundation.  Our lives are not to be set on the words of man, but on the sure foundation of God's word and His promises.  As we trust in His word we have hope, and comfort, and life, not matter what we hear from the world.

Best Effort

2 Chronicles 31:21 "And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart.  So he prospered."

A few years back, I was invited by some friends and family to go watch them run the Long Beach Marathon.  I let them know I would go, and then decided a couple of weeks before the race, that as long as I was going to be at the race, I may as well run it with them.  I had been doing some running and felt I was in pretty good shape, I had also run a couple of marathons so I figured I could run another one pretty easily.  I was very casual about the race, and showed up race day having done very little training.
I started the race just fine, but around mile 16, my legs, my back, my lungs, and my stomach, all let me know that I should not have ventured to run this 26.2 miles with such a nonchalant attitude.  I finished the race but felt miserable.  My legs were cramped, I was dizzy, and I lost my cookies a couple of times.  My race recovery, which should have taken a couple of days, took a couple of weeks.  Usually when I do something boneheaded the Lord has a lesson for me, and this time the lesson was simple....never take on a difficult task halfheartedly.  
This application of this lesson is both practical and spiritual.  The Lord desires that our commitment to Him be wholehearted.  He does not want dabbling, nonchalant followers, but those who have counted the cost and desire to put forth full effort.
Our halfhearted efforts for the Lord usually end up in our getting hurt or burned, and our witness being discredited.  On the contrary, our greatest power and joy and peace come in those times that we give the Lord our best.  Our call to the Lord is a long distance race, let's set our hearts to be disciplined, giving Him our best every single day.

Hold Tight

"For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments which the Lord had commanded Moses."  2 Kings 18:6

I have great memories of bringing my children out into the ocean waves for the first time.  I guess I saw it as a fatherly type responsibility, sort of like teaching them to ride a bike.  I would let them warm up a bit by playing with them in the ankle deep water, and then I would take them in my arms and venture out into the deeper water and the bigger waves.  I can still almost feel the octopus suction grip they would have on me as we would get knocked by the waves.  There was always fun and laughter as long as my grip was strong on them, and theirs on me.
To me this gives a great picture of one of Judah's best kings, Hezekiah.  The word tells us that as Judah's king, "there was none like him", and we are told the main reason why, "he held fast to the Lord".  And so we have a great picture of Hezekiah, one of the best and strongest kings, clinging tightly to his God, like a child clinging to his dad in the waves.
Hezekiah became king in a very difficult time.  His father was a horrible king, who promoted idolatry and even went so far as to board up the temple.  Also during that time, Assyria was a powerful enemy that kept threatening Hezekiah.  The young king was indeed venturing out into the bigger waves, yet we see he was bold and strong because he clung to God.
We are living in days of rough and choppy seas.  Our tendency might be to remain on shore, or to stay in the safe ankle deep water.  But we all know that the Lord would call us to the adventure of greater depths and bigger waves.  Its important to remember, His call it not to the waves, but to His arms, and He will never be shaken, nor will He ever fail.  What a blessed lesson we learn from good king Hezekiah, who was a good king because in the midst of difficult days, "he held fast to the Lord".

Don't Move The Furniture!

2 Kings 16:10  ".....and saw an altar that was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar and its pattern, according to all its workmanship."

King Ahaz had been in Damascus, and while there he took a liking to an altar that he saw in one of the pagan temples.  He sent the design of the altar back to a priest in Jerusalem, who built a replica of that altar and put it in the temple in Jerusalem.  God had given Moses the exact plans for the tabernacle and altar and all the utensils used for worship and sacrifice.  Now, Ahaz in his pride saw an altar that fit his tastes better and figured he could replace that which God had designed.
It is always a danger for us to try and develop a god of our own making, to create in our own imaginations a god that suites our tastes better than the true God.  God has revealed Himself to us in His word and through His Son Jesus Christ.  There are many things God has revealed of Himself that may not be fashionable in society today.  At times it gets difficult, as we who trust in the revelation of God's word, might be called intolerant, closed minded, simple, or foolish.  The temptation might be to try and spruce up the gospel, to add something to it, or tone it down a bit, so that it might be more palatable to the world.
Ahaz saw an altar in the world that seemed to fit him better than the altar God had planned.  We don't know all of the kings motives, perhaps the Damascus altar was more up to date, or more attractive to the world's eyes, or maybe he fell into the trap of thinking that if its new its better.  This much we do know, the king clearly felt the altar of the world was better than the altar designed by God.  Ahaz eventually began changing the whole temple around so he might worship the way he wanted, and finally just closed the temple off completely.
I pray that we may all be grounded and steadfast in our faith, for we are under constant pressure from every direction, to "update" our God, or to "modernize" our beliefs.  Our God is perfect, we need to resist the temptation to move the furniture so as to make Him fit us better.

Gut It Up

"If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with the horses?  And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of Jordan?"  Jeremiah 12:5

The Lord knows best how to encourage and motivate us.  There are times He might gently nudge or push us, other times He might put air in our tires with words of inspiration.  And then there are times like in the above verse, where the Lord speaking to Jeremiah, sounds like a football coach.  I suppose a coach may have abbreviated the verse by simply saying, "hey Jerry, just gut it up!"
Don't be surprised if the Lord motivates you the same way He did Jeremiah.  I believe in light of the days we are living in, that the Lord desires to toughen us up a bit.  We know that God loves us, and that He is if for us and not against us.  His word promises that no matter what we are going through, it will turn out for good, and that He will never leave us on our own.  In spite of knowing these truths we can still feel discouraged, defeated, or forgotten.  In the midst of difficult seasons, I might expect that God should feel sorry for me, yet in His love and wisdom He doesn't.  Instead of being coddled most often I hear my heavenly coach holler, "hey Walker, your better then that, just gut it up!"  In His love for me He won't baby me, but instead speaks to me as He did His beloved prophet Jeremiah, motivating me to pursue His higher calling for my life.  In the midst of the trials of life so often we just need to remember who we are in Christ, trust Him, and "gut it up!"

Don't Be A Brute

"Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid"  
Proverbs 12:1

When I was a youngster I would get in trouble if I called anyone stupid, it may have been an offense worthy of my mouth being washed out with soap.  My mom considered it to be a harsh and demeaning word.  We see in the above proverb that the Lord uses that harsh word to describe anyone who hates correction.  The King James version uses the word "brutish", and the Hebrew word literally means, to be like cattle.  I think the Lord feels very strongly about those who don't receive correction!
Frankly, most of us don't like to be corrected.  Being corrected stings our egos, and humbles us.  Correction should be reserved for those who are not as wise or spiritually mature as us.  
The Lord used my first car as an object lesson, to help me understand my own need for continual correction and adjustments.  The car was not a very trustworthy auto, and was out of alignment from the day I purchased it.  When I drove it I had to always pay very close attention at all times, because it would keep veering to the left.  If I did not pay attention and continue to straighten it out, that car would drift into all kinds of trouble.  The Lord used my frustration with that old sports car, as a picture of my own walk.  I was born out of alignment and in constant need of adjustments and corrections, to keep me from dangerous troubles.  As much as my flesh resists it, I know I need the Lord's discipline to keep me in line with His ways and purposes.  
We all need the Lord's correction.  The foolish, prideful, stupid brute, will fight and resist His discipline.  Wisdom would call us to look for and love His correction.

Did You Do This For Me?

"...did you really fast for Me--for Me?  Zechariah 7:4

The above verse is one of those verses that I can't just gloss over, its a stop and ponder verse.  The Lord asks the Jewish priests a very penetrating question, that I need to continually ask myself.  The priests were fulfilling the letter of the law, as far as offering the proper sacrifices, observing the feasts, and fasting.  But the Lord was asking them, are you really doing these things from the heart, or are you doing these things because you are required to?  The priests were very similar in Jerusalem during Jesus' time, for He spoke of them as drawing near to God with their lips, but being far away with their hearts.  They were doing their jobs as the law required, but there was no heart in it.  
Our walk with the Lord can easily slip into a walk of heartless habit, doing religious things, but lacking the life and love that God longs for from us.  Why do we read the word, or go to church, or give, or serve in the ministry?  If we do any of these out of forced obligation, or empty tradition, then that would seem to place our hearts far from Him.  The motivation for all we do ought to be out of love for our God, and a desire to bring Him glory.  We need to be guarded, because these hearts of ours can tend to do good things with selfish motives.  By nature we might do things for the Lord, but sneak in a little bit of glory and recognition for self.  I don't trust my heart, so I think it is a safe practice to invite the Lord to regularly ask that tough question that he posed to the priests of Zechariah's day.....are you really doing this for Me?

Loving To Wait

"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord"  Psalm 27:4

As a new believer I was told something about answers to prayer, that I know many of you have heard.  I was told that when you pray you can expect one of three answers, yes, no, or wait.  I'm sure that we are all pretty much the same when it comes to those answers.  We all love the yes answers, we aren't crazy about the no answers, but it's the wait answers that we have the hardest time with.  At least if you get a no, you can move on to something else, but to wait is tough.  There is something we don't like about it, most of us hate to wait.
The Lord gave me a gentle lesson on prayer, through what I would call a living parable, while I was on a run the other day.  I had run up to an intersection where the light was red so I couldn't cross.  The traffic light was equipped with a new pedestrian crossing button to assist blind pedestrians, that verbally communicates.  When the light turns green a mechanical sounding voice tells you to proceed across the street.  When the light is red and you push the button, it says in a pretty stern voice, "wait".  When I ran up to the light, someone had already been there and pushed the button, and he got the "wait".  The person waited all of about five seconds and pushed the button again, and he got another "wait".  Sure enough within another few seconds, he pushed it again, and the machine said what it was supposed to say, "wait".  It would seem after three "waits" that he would have been content to wait, but indeed he was not, and he began to push the button constantly, and the stern mechanical voice rang out, "wait", "wait", "wait", "wait"!  I wanted to scream but kept quiet, I was amazed, frustrated and so very grateful when the light turned green so I could sprint away.  Within a few steps the Lord spoke to me of my own prayers and my own impatience.  He gently reminded me that when He says "wait", He will make me wait.  There is no need to keep pushing the button, I can't speed Him up by pestering Him, or attempting to change His mind, or quicken His pace.  When the Lord says "wait", then we should.
There are two important things to remember about waiting.  First, is to know who we are waiting on.  We are waiting upon the Lord, the One who knows all things, loves us, cares for us, has a plan for us, and desires the best for us.  We are not waiting on an unfeeling machine, or an uncaring bureaucrat, we  are waiting upon our loving God.  Second, the waiting is not just killing time.  There is purpose in all that goes on in our lives, even the waiting.  God may have us wait until circumstances are right, or until our hearts are right.  Waiting helps to purify our motives, and get our focus in line with God's plans.  Our time of waiting may be the most profitable time for building and strengthening our faith.  Remember when you are waiting upon the Lord it is not wasted time.  In fact, when His answer to your prayer is wait, it is the best answer, as the waiting is sure to bring more maturity and depth to your walk.  So, be of good courage and wait upon the Lord.

Time Flies

"For the form of this world is passing away" 1 Corinthians 7:3

Today is the first day of the sixth month of the new year.  I know we are six months in, so technically I shouldn't be saying new year, but it still feels like the beginning of the new year!  Wasn't the Rose Parade just last week?  Didn't I just get over Christmas?  What happened to Valentines, and Easter?  2011 has raced full throttle into June, and I'm sure the next six months will pass just as quickly as the previous six months.  I know that in what seems like a wink, I will be saying, wow, it's Christmas season already.  This first day of the sixth month serves as a healthy reminder to me that time truly does pass very quickly, and we are called to redeem the time, and make the best of each day in the Lord.
I recently ran into a young man who was a student of mine when I taught high school.  We had a wonderful time catching up on each others lives.  In the midst of our conversation he asked me how old I was when I taught his class.  I let him know, and his jaw dropped.  He was shocked because he is now two years older then I was, when I was his teacher.  We both laughed and spoke of how quickly life flies by.  What most blessed me about my conversation with my ex-student, is that he is making the most out of his rapidly moving life.  He loves Jesus, has a solid growing walk, is a great husband and dad, and is committed to serving the Lord.  He was very excited as he considered the future, because he had entrusted each day to the Lord's glory.  As time goes roaring by, it is important for us to realize that one day, our time here in earth will run out.  How will that precious time have been spent?  What a good reminder on this first day of the sixth month.  By the way, I ran into my ex-student this past New Years Eve, wasn't that just last week?

Rapture May 21st?

"But the day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only"
Matthew 24:36

This Saturday, May 21st, has been set as the day of the rapture of the church, at least according to Harold Camping of Family Radio.  Mr. Camping and his followers have purchased billboards across the country proclaiming: Save The Date!...Return of Christ May 21,2011.  Camping who is a trained civil engineer started his radio ministry back in 1958 and sends out his messages over 150 radio stations.  He teaches that he figured out the date of the rapture using a complicated mathematical formula tied to the date of the Genesis flood.  Mr. Camping also predicted that the rapture would take place back in 1994 (oops).  When the rapture did not take place in 1994, he said his mathematical formula was off.  There are some other things about his teachings that, like his mathematical formula, are a little off.  He teaches that believers can not have assurance of salvation, that Jesus died twice (what!?), and he forbids communion and baptism.  There is actually more the he is off on, but you get the idea.
The media has picked up on this story, and of course when the rapture doesn't take place on Saturday at 3:00pm, he will be depicted as a nut case along with all others who believe in the rapture.  I can't disagree with the nut case description, but I am saddened to be lumped in with Camping and others who have failed in picking the date of the Lord's coming for His church.  The Lord has said so plainly that we won't know the day of His coming, so when people claim to know the day, it distracts from and minimizes, the reality of the rapture.  By the way, you are not a nut case if you believe in the rapture, in fact scripture says belief in the rapture, brings comfort, edification, and is our blessed hope (1 Thessalonians 4:18; Titus 2:13).  Today, even non Christians are wondering at world wide events, and trying to make some sense out of all the political, economic, and even natural upheavals.  The Lord is coming back, and all the false predictions will not speed up, nor slow down His coming.  Ours is not to predict, but to be faithful, watching, and waiting.  Who knows, Jesus may come back before Saturday!

Terrorist Behind The Terrosist

"The devil who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.  And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."  
Revelation 20:10

Osama Bin Laden has been the main front page news story this past week, and I'm sure will be for the next little while.   I have to admit, I hadn't given much thought to Osama for quite some time.  I figured he was already dead, or living a miserable life on the run, hopping from cave to cave in some remote god forsaken part of the world.  As we all know now, he was alive and well and not hopping from cave to cave.  Now that the world's most wanted terrorist has been dealt with, it is important that we remember that the worst of all terrorists is still alive and well, and lurking about seeking whom he might devour.  There is a terrorist behind all terrorists and he is still busy at his work.  His day of judgment will come, and all of creation will truly rejoice, but that time has not yet come, so we must always be wary and alert concerning his workings.  The Bible gives many names to this terrorist, all of which describe areas of his character, these names ought to be enough to stir us all to walk in vigilance.  This we know, the Bible calls this terrorist our enemy, he hates our God, and therefore hates us.  When you add to enemy, the other names describing him you realize he makes Bin Laden look like a girl scout.  These names include.....murderer, destroyer, thief, adversary, wicked, corrupt, accuser, ruler of darkness, prince of demons, evil one, serpent, tempter.....I think you get the point!  We ought always to be awake, for this terrorist enemy of ours is still doing his murderous work from the spiritual realm.  The end of our enemy will joyously come at the coming of Jesus, but he is still out and about today, and we can't rely on Navy Seals for help.  The battle is ours, and the victory is assured.  We must be a people of prayer, an army on our knees, walking in the authority of the name of Jesus, and the certainty of triumph in His cross.

I Need Understanding

Luke 24:45 "And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the scriptures."

On a number of occasions, Jesus had clearly taught His apostles about His death, burial, and resurrection.  Obviously, the apostles did not understand what He was saying.  It is easy for us, these many years later, to wonder how in the world they could have missed the fulfillment of the Lord's words as they unfolded right before their eyes.  I  believe though, that if we were in the apostles shoes (or sandals), we would not have caught all that Jesus said either.  It is no wonder that after the resurrection that Jesus spent time in the word with His apostles.  It was important that they have a clear understanding and comprehension of the scriptures.  Jesus knew that things would not get easier for them, and that He would not be physically with them.  The understanding and teaching of the word would become paramount.  In these unstable last days it is of utmost importance that we wait upon our Lord's Holy Spirit to open His word to our hearts, that we might clearly discern the events of the day.  Let's not miss what the Lord is doing!

Catching Up?

Psalm 119:160 "The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever."

The NCAA basketball tournament is in full swing and the field is now down to the "sweet sixteen".  One of the interesting stories of the tournament is the team from BYU.  The Cougars have been ranked as one of the best teams in the nation, and they are still in the tournament in spite of the fact that one of their best players was kicked off of the team the last week of the season.  He was kicked off the team because he had broken the schools honor code.  Though it was never released how he had broken the code, word got out that it had to do with his sexual relationship with his girl friend.  BYU is a Mormon school, and we are worlds apart from them as far as Biblical truth, but I have to give them props for sticking to their rules.  I'm sure it must have been tempting to hide this, or put off any discipline until after the season, but they didn't.  All of this made for a good deal of conversation on sports talk radio.  As I was listening the other morning one of the commentators who was stirred by "unjust" way the school handled this, decided to give advise to churches and religious people on how to reach young people.  He said if we are ever going to reach young people we need to catch up with the times.  Now this isn't word for word, but he went on to say that the world is evolving at light speed, that morals and what is right and wrong are evolving.  Then he compared religious people to some grouchy old man behind the counter at a local hardware store with a dial up phone yelling at little kids to get off of his lawn.  What this sports guy said is really pretty main-stream, and I'm sure most off his listeners were nodding in agreement.  The idea of sticking to Biblical morals truly is out of step with society.  The belief in absolute truth and absolute morals is thought to be really out of touch and almost backward.  The world tells us, things change, you need to catch up with the times, open your eyes, get out a little more.  You religious folks are stuck in the past, we have cell phones now, color televisions, micro waves, and computers.  Don't you see, abstinence is like the dial up phone and eight tracks, you need to catch up, it's time to evolve, and stop judging.  I know we don't stand on the popular side of this discussion, but we old backward Bible believers have to stick to the truth that God has revealed to us in His word.  Society will always change and follow it's whims, but the word of God does not evolve and change with the times.  His truth was true six thousand years ago and is true today.  His truth and righteousness are established from eternity to eternity.  Our job is not to change truth, or water it down to make it more palatable to the taste of modern man.  Our job is to know His truth, live His truth, and to share His truth as clearly as we can.  Rest assured in these dark and unstable days, the best way to reach young people will be to present to them the unchanging true gospel of Jesus.

Heed the Warnings

Luke 17:26-27 "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all"

It took Noah over one hundred years to build the ark.  The moment he began to build the ark, it became a testimony and warning of a coming judgment of God.  Anyone who paid any attention at all over those one hundred years would have seen the progression of the construction, and as it drew nearer to completion, they could have concluded that the judgment it pointed to must be drawing near.  Sadly for the people of that day, they ignored the warning, and kept living as if there were no sentence hanging over them.  This past week most of us saw the unbelievable devastation of the earth quake and tsunami in Japan.  Not long after the quake a tsunami warning was given for the U.S. western coast.  We were told to prepare for the wave to reach here around 8:30 in the morning.  I'm enough inland so I didn't worry at all, but I was amazed to hear reports of people actually going down to the coast to check things out.  One reporter on the radio was shocked to see joggers, bikers, and even a family with an infant in a stroller.  The warning was given yet somehow people did not heed, perhaps they were thinking nothing could ever happen to them.  My thoughts immediately turned toward the days of Noah, and the warning that Jesus gave us in the above verses.  Jesus warns us that in the last days signs and warnings of His return will abound, yet people will live as if nothing is happening!  We are living in dynamic times, and many Biblical prophesies are being fulfilled before our eyes, yet so many are taking no notice, so many are ignoring the warnings.  How about us?  It seems to me the ark is almost complete, but I wonder, are we living like it?

Happy Lent

"But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

Today is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent.  Lent used to be a big deal to me, since I grew up in the Catholic Church, attending a Catholic school.  On Ash Wednesday the day would begin with mass, and we would all have a black cross of ash smudged on our foreheads.  The nuns in our school would have us fill out cards listing all the things we would give up for the forty days of Lent.  We would also list all the extra devotions we would do in preparation for Easter Week.  In my younger years my family took the season pretty seriously.  We usually gave up all sweets (except on St. Patrick's day), we would also attend the stations of the cross on Fridays and say the rosary every night.  I really don't have any problem with the practice of giving things up for Lent, as long as ones heart is right, in the giving up of things.  As a youngster my heart wasn't exactly right, my primary motivation was scoring bunches of spiritual points with God, and my parents, and the nuns.  Jesus warns us about fasting with wrong intent.  He tells us that God is in that secret place, that is our hearts, He knows our unseen motives and intents.  It is easy for us to look upon our fasting in a prideful or competitive way as the Pharisees did.  If pride is involved it can lead to comparisons with others, expecting that the more I give up, the more spiritual I am, and the more God owes me.  The right motive in fasting or giving things up for a season, is not the giving up, but setting our focus.  Our tendency is to be too flesh centered or self focused.  The fast is to get my focus off of me and my flesh, and set it upon the Lord and the spiritual.  If I give up television or the computer, or newspaper, or meal, I do so that I might take that time that was for physical activity and fill it with something spiritual, like prayer, worship, or the word.  Again, the focus is not the giving up of something, but in setting my heart to focus on the Lord.  I remember another problem I had with Lent as a youngster, those forty days were the only days I gave up anything for the Lord.  I would put in my time at Lent, and bingo, I was done for the year!  It is not about spiritually gutting it up for forty days.  We ought to have a Lenten type lifestyle throughout the year, looking to always live more and more unto the Lord, and less and less unto ourselves.  There is no need for you to run out and put ashes on your forehead today, just let the beginning of this season remind you of the great grace we celebrate in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  And let that great grace stir your heart to live all the more for our precious Lord.

My Big Mouth

"A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit." Proverbs 15:4

The students in my classroom where cracking up, but my gaze was fixed on the young man's face.  The laughing was contagious, it had begun as an instant burst, there was no hint of it being a courtesy laugh, the students were giving a unanimous belly laugh.  The comment that brought the hysterics was quick, witty, comical, and cutting.  The comment also came from the mouth of the teacher.... me.  I have to admit that at first I took joy in the response to my rapid fire humor.  It came forth with hardly a thought or filter and the laughter tickled my ego.  All was well until I caught the look on the face of the young man to whom the comment was directed.  He was trying to hold a smile, while shaking his head.  He knew he was the brunt of my humor and the brunt of his friend's laughter.  He was putting up a decent front, but his eyes gave up what had really happened, I had broken his spirit.  When I saw his eyes I felt a familiar ache in my stomach, and as swiftly as the sharp funny words flew, my heart sank.  The Lord's conviction hit me like a hammer and I was as broken as my student.  As I looked at him trying to hide the hurt, I swore in my heart I would never again bring that kind of brokenness so that I would seem clever.  I tried to divert the attention from the student by making some wise cracks and putting myself down.  But even after the laughter died down, there seemed to be a heaviness about his countenance.  I grabbed him when class was over to assure him I cared about him, and told him I was sorry for my harsh tongue.  He assured me it was no big deal.  I hope it really was no big deal to him, and that it wasn't something he carried with him.  I do know this, I have carried it with me, as a healthy reminder of the power of the tongue.  I haven't mastered my mouth yet, but this I know, it is much better to use it to bring life rather than brokenness.  May we all be guarded.





 

A Whole Lot Of Shaking

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." Hebrews 12:28

Today the streets of Cairo Egypt are packed with thousands upon thousands of people demanding a change of government in their country.  For the past week we have seen on the news, the demonstrations that have turned violent.  There has been rioting, looting, vehicles burning, and government offices set ablaze.  Many of the police force have left, and it is estimated that 60 percent of the police stations have now been burned.  The military has been called into the chaos to establish some order.  With the number of people packed into Cairo today we can only pray that things remain peaceful.  Many feel the events in Egypt were actually triggered  by demonstrations in Tunisia, which eventually lead to the toppling of that government.  There have also been demonstrations in Yemen, Syria, and Jordan, leading to a good deal of global anxiety over the instability in the region.  A major concern in Egypt, is the question of who will fill the power void in the Egyptian government if Hosni Mubarak is removed.  One group taking advantage of the situation and seemingly poised for a power grab, is the radical group, the Muslim Brotherhood.  This would not be good for the people of Egypt or for the region, pray that this does not happen.  As we see these things quickly unfold, and listen to the experts try to guess what the future might hold, it is easy get uneasy.  These are days we need to remember who is in control.  We serve a God enthroned in heaven, who is sovereign over the affairs of nations and men.  His hand has been working in history past, and is still working today, bringing all things together in Jesus Christ.  The Lord is returning and the events we see now are not random, they are a continuation of birth pangs, leading to the final redemption of this world.  We are not to be caught up in the confusion and anxiety of these days, instead our best witness will be seen in our peace and stability, as we trust in our soon coming King.  There is now, and will continue to be, a whole lot of shaking going on, but ours is a kingdom which cannot be shaken.