Corruptible Knees

 

"For this corruptible must put on incorruption,

and this mortal must put on immortality."

1Cor. 15:53

A few days ago I was going for a short three-mile run. I was very happy, it was a warm day and I was running outside on the streets for the first time after a foot injury. I was feeling really good and had gone a little over a mile, when suddenly out of nowhere there was a sharp pain in my right knee that shot up to my hip. My first reaction was... what now! I kept running and limped a bit until the pain subsided, I was able to finish the run feeling great, but still have no clue what happened with my knee.

The incident got me thinking about 1 Corinthians 15:53 as I was reminded that I have corruptible knees and a mortal body.

Paul refers to our bodies as corruptible and mortal because our bodies are decaying and they won't last forever. The day we are born we start to age, this aging isn't bad at first, in fact I used to look forward to birthdays and getting older! I'm not sure at what age I decided that getting older wasn't such fun, I just know it was a few birthdays ago.

Many see this aging process as depressing, but as Christians it's not depressing, for we have an eternal perspective. We understand that these bodies of ours are temporal, but in Christ, one exciting glorious day we will be clothed with incorruption and immortality. That day...that glorious day isn't here yet, so until then, let that aching knee and sore back remind you that your body and the things of this earth are passing away. Therefore, set your hearts not on that which is earthly and passing away, but on Jesus, the heavenly and the eternal.

No Shortcuts

 

 "Therefore, the king asked advice, made the calves of gold, and said to the people, 'it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you from the land of Egypt!' (I Kings 12:28).

Israel had divided into two, the northern and the southern kingdom.  Jeroboam, king of the northern kingdom feared that if the people went to Jerusalem to worship at the temple, their hears might be drawn back to their southern brethren.  Therefore, he made a new altar for the people to worship at so they wouldn't have to go to Jerusalem.

Notice how he appealed to the people? He told them that going to Jerusalem was too much of a hassle...to inconvenient to go such a long way.  He told them to stay up north, that it was easier. There was an altar and a temple there.  Sadly, the people listened.

Part of the appeal of Jeroboam was to make religion convenient and easy.  Do you realize that a solid walk with the Lord is not always easy?  Spiritual disciplines are not always easy.  There are no shortcuts to spending time in the Word and in prayer...you just need to do it.  Our busy lives at times makes it inconvenient to get to church on Sunday or midweek.

Our flesh will always be lured by the call of Jeroboam...'it's too much of a hassle'....'let's not listen'.  A theologian coined the phrase "easy believism".  His point was in reality there is no such thing.  The flesh will always look for the easy, convenient shortcut, but there is none if we long for a vibrant walk with Jesus.  Let's set our hearts to be disciplined in the Word, prayer and fellowship!

What Time Is It?

 

"I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them, says the Lord your God." Amos 9:15

Our generation has been blessed to witness one of the most tremendous fulfillments of Biblical prophecy. God prophesied that His people Israel would be dispersed among the nations, but one day He would gather them back to their land, and they would inhabit it and prosper there. After two thousand years this was fulfilled as Jews from around the world came back to their homeland and Israel became a nation again in 1948.

Israel becoming a nation again ought to fill us with great zeal, not only because it's exciting to see prophesy fulfilled, but because these prophesies state that this would happen in the latter days. When the Jews came back to their land, it was as if pieces of a puzzle began to be put into place, all pointing to the return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. If you wonder what time it is (prophetically speaking), look at world events, but most especially look at what's happening in Israel.

These days it isn't real popular to speak about the Lord coming back soon. There are many who say it's escapism or a distraction that causes the church to lose focus. I have seen how it has become a distraction for some, but the Lord told us what to watch for concerning His return so that we might sharpen our focus and be more bold in the gospel as the day approaches.

Have you ever wondered why we have been raised up in these days? Amazing! "So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors!" (Matthew 24:33)

Sown Much, And Bring In Little

 

Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: "Consider your ways! You have sown much, and bring in little; your eat, but do not have enough; your drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes."

Haggai 1:5-6

The other day I was at the gym and did my cardio work on a treadmill. When I had finished, I checked the machine and it told me how long I had been running, how many calories I had burned and that I had had run four miles. I had worked up a decent sweat and my heart rate was up so I knew that I worked hard, but the fact is, in reality I didn't go four miles because I was standing in the exact same place I was when I began the treadmill workout.

I tell you this story because it is a great picture of the way many people live their lives. They expend a great deal of energy and are working very hard, but when it comes to that which matters most, the eternal and spiritual, they get nowhere. There are far too many who have laid up their treasures here on earth, who have set their hearts on earthly gain, and sadly when it is all said and done will be left with nothing.

The Lord calls you to consider your ways. Are you expending most your time and energy on the temporal or the eternal, on earthly or the heavenly? As you commit your ways to the Lord He will give you a new perspective and new priorities that your life might have lasting eternal fruit. Don't work so hard for nothing, seek His kingdom first!