Just for fun...

bibledex

Here's a great site on youtube that has a video explanation of every book in the bible. Check it out here. I think you will enjoy it.

Shipwrecked

I've been thinking about some of the people I talk to on a weekly and often daily basis. In my role as a pastor I spend a lot of time counseling. Often I am the last resort...just before the shipwreck happens. Many times the decisions have already been made and I find myself trying to convince them to turn quickly before "they hit the rocks." Usually I'm unsuccessful. I know that many have already made their choices and are simply looking for a way to not feel the pain of their decisions.

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It's hard to watch as I see life after life shipwrecked on the rocks....now unable to do what God designed them to do. A ship grounded on the rocks is a defeat, a loss, for the captain. It's a clear sign that he failed and his failure is evident to everyone. When I tell someone, "watch out for the rocks!" and they reply, "oh, they won't hurt me." I have to cringe as I watch the shipwreck that happens next in that person's life. For some reason many Christians believe that you can disobey God and not suffer the results of those choices. It's simply not true! Disobedience to God's word (sin) ALWAYS has results...there will always be a shipwreck. You will not avoid, escape or ignore the results of sin. They will happen...you will hit the rocks.

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This is why every ship captain has extensive maps of the ocean currents, routes, shallows and rocks. The captain's job is to sail his ship safely, not run aground on the rocks. A captain who grounds his ship has failed. A Christian who runs aground in sin has also failed. He failed to read or follow the warnings from the map. Our map, written to help us avoid the rocks in life, is God's word. When you claim you can do what you wish because "God wants me to be happy" I will promise you that your "ship" will soon be on the rocks. Another ship captain's failure, another person shipwrecked on the rocks of sin's choices. Another captain who refused to believe the maps.

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This week I have watched as several lives have hit the rocks. The hard part to deal with is the fact that the choices of one life affect many others. Whether a husband, wife or child our choices have impact on those around us. We don't steer our ship up on the rocks without bringing others into jeopardy as well. Our choices have consequences and almost always affect someone else.

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That's why I constantly ask people I spend time with, "Are you in the word of God?" It's a critical question. It's like the captain of the ship asking the first mate, "have you looked at the maps for this region?" If you haven't, then problems await. You can't see all the rocks that lie below the surface. You don't know what awaits if you haven't looked at the maps. And, honestly, if you aren't reading God's word your life is a shipwreck waiting to happen. Without his map to guide you there will be a wreck to deal with very soon.

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The reason this is in my mind is because I have so many tell me that they are "the captains of their ship, they are the masters of their fate"....but I want to remind them that if you don't check the map (God's word) then your sailing days will soon end with your ship on the rocks.

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This is not funny!

For some reason one of the guys in our church e-mailed me a whole series of cartoons dealing with dieting. He didn't add any text, just the cartoons. Now, I'm thinking...was he trying to tell me something without actually saying it? It's like telling someone a difficult truth and then adding, "I was just kidding." I wish I could tell you....this is not funny! But it really is....here's a couple of the cartoons my friend sent me.

Content

If you want to be content you must deal with the content of your life.

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Philippians 4:11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

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For us to be content we must deal with our expectations. What do you expect from life? What do you expect from God? Are you focused on the content of your life to make you content? Does content make you content? Do you need extra resources in your checking account to be at peace? Do you worry when you don't see how things will work out? To be content is a skill learned by changing focus from our content to God's supply. Whether you are content or not should never be determined by the content of your bank account, your house, your refrigerator or your pockets. Content has nothing to do with content.

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It is, according to Paul, a secret to be learned. It's a change of focus from what I have to who is my supply. Have you heard of "just in time inventory?" It's something that businesses do to cut down their cost. The supplies for the production lines come in just before they are needed. It's a fascinating concept, but implies that as my need draws near my supplies are in route to me to meet the need. It means I must learn a secret- the secret is this: God is my source. He is the master of "just in time inventory." He has the trucks on the way as my needs arise. If I keep my focus on him and not on the content of my bank account I can learn the secret of being content.

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Do you want to be content? Learn the secret Paul learned- to be content is based on my source, not of my reserves. Content has nothing to do with content.

The only way to stand

I don't know how this keeps happening, but again this morning another verse showed up in my Bible that wasn't there last time I read this passage. I realize that I'm often blind to certain passages until the time I need them and then, suddenly, they appear as if for the first time. Here is one of them,

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Isaiah 7:9b ".....If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."

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Now, how is it that I missed this? But as I read it this morning I caught myself...."What did that just say?" Again I read it. Clearly, God is telling him people there is only one way to stand. Unless we "stand firm in our faith" we will not stand at all. Amazing statement, isn't it? What is this phrase talking about? It's clearly not a statement elevating faith. It's an invitation to put your full weight and faith in God. Unless you trust God in these days you will not be able to stand and withstand the winds and storms of the days we are living in. I know some would put the focus on faith here, but that's not the author's intent. He intends that God be the focus. He's clearly warning them that if they don't firmly trust God through the days they live in there is no other place you can stand, no other one you can depend on. It's God or nothing. Stand trusting him or fall completely. It is, according to God, the only way to stand. It's the only place that anyone can stand. I wonder if we can apply this to our lives today? ...

Wouldn't it be great...

Wouldn't it be great if we started every day this way? We should...God tells us,

Psalm 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Providing provisions

Romans 13:14 (NASB)

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But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

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I read this verse last week and have been thinking about just one word in this short verse. It's the word provision. I'll come back to that in a moment.

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One of the things I like about Paul's writings is the way he clearly gives us direction- Do this, but don't do that. It's a clarity that a simple mind like mine needs. I need someone to help me with the do's and don'ts of the Christian life. This short verse is potentially life changing if we would really act on it. He begins with this strange wording, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." It's as if you were dressing for the day. Put on this person...become them....dress up to be Jesus walking around in the real world. I know Paul wouldn't tell us to do something that isn't possible, so the believer can put on Christ, allow him to lead, be Lord and rule as I start my day, and that decision of dress will impact other decisions....especially the next one in this passage.

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"And make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." The "do" is put on Christ. The "don't" is don't provision the lusts of the flesh. If you have ever gone on a camping trip this word provision is clearly understood. You go to the store and buy all the provisions you will need to survive your week in the woods. You provision yourself for the trip. It's the stuff that keeps us alive. What Paul is saying is this- Don't buy food to feed your lusts. Don't provision your lusts.

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DO put on Christ, DON'T feed your lusts. Now, if you don't feed them there will be some hunger pangs that will make themselves known. You will clearly hear the hunger rumbles of your lusts as you deny them food, but one thing I can tell you from my life and from talking to others, is that if you starve your lusts long enough they will die. It's part of our Christian growth that must be done intentionally. We have to decide what we will wear- our old flesh or Christ. And, we have to decide what we will feed- our new man (Romans 12:1-2) or our lusts. What you provision will thrive and take over. What you starve will wither and die. This is Paul's invitation to living intentionally. It's got me thinking about what I feed and nurture. What part of your life are you buying provisions for?

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Monday's cartoon

Quote of the day

Those who are often most obsessed with God are the very ones who say he doesn't exist. It's funny, but no matter how much we protest his existence we cannot get away from the God who is.

Saturday's cartoon

The big lie

I watched the beginning of a video a few weeks ago that is haunting. I couldn't watch it all. I didn't want to see the end. It was the video of a young lady committing suicide. Someone had filmed it. The beginning of the video was heartbreaking as she just stood there...on the edge of this tall building looking down. I stopped the video before she moved a muscle. The title told me all I needed to know. I can't imagine the thoughts of someone as they make this kind of life ending decision. It's a tragic event in the life of someone God has made. It's a horrible end of the life of someone dear to God. I just couldn't watch the point of decision...the point where she leans forward and moves beyond her ability to make any other decision. The rest is inevitable.

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It made me think about something that I have been dwelling on for a long time. It's what I call the big lie. It's a lie that started many centuries ago, but continues to be believed even today. Here's the lie- I can find happiness disobeying God. It's a lie that we have believed to our own fall for centuries. At first, you have a sense that all is well. You might find pleasure for a moment, a little excitement, maybe a thrill; but there will be a moment when you move past your ability to make any further choices and you begin to fall. The outcome is unavoidable. It will happen every time and yet I hear over and over again, as people tell me they want to make a choice that is clearly sin in scripture, "I just want to be happy..." My response is the same each time. It's a response I have repeated to those on "the edge of their building" over and over again...."You will never find happiness disobeying God." But what I know is that most people don't believe me and so they go on that horrible quest that starts with the decision to jump and always ends in death.

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Here's how the book of James describes it,

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James 1:15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

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Look at the way James describes this- conception, birth, full growth and then death. From conception to birth there is a time of growth. The baby is growing in the mother's womb. For a few months it looks like there were no results from the intimate act that had in fact conceived a new baby, but soon the action begins to show....soon there's a birth, then growth and finally death. This is the perfect description of disobedience to God. For a moment there is pleasure, no one disputes that, but there will be a birth coming. There will be results from sin, it will come to light, it will grow up and ultimately there will be a death because of the choice. Sin has a price and it's high!

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I've seen this so many times in my role as a pastor I could almost predict the outcome when a person decides that it is "ok" to disobey God because...."don't you know....I just want to be happy." There are a hundred stories I could tell. They all end the same. The big lie has not changed in centuries, nor have the results. Don't believe the culture when they tell you that it's ok, because God would surely want you happy. I must tell you that God is more interested in your obedience than he is in your happiness. If you do things God's way happiness will be one of the results. If you do things your way happiness will always elude you because...you will never find happiness disobeying God.

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Today

Life happens so quickly. Before we realize it years have passed, opportunities have been missed and our lives come to a quick finale. I'm thinking about this because of a verse I'll share with you in a moment, but let me talk about today for a bit. Today is what we call these moments of consciousness that we live through. Between our today's we sleep a bit and then another today dawns. We only get today. You can't use tomorrow. Someday is only a dream. All we have is today. Life is made up of thousands of today's. How are you using today? Here's a passage from Psalms that has made me think,

Psalm 95

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving

and extol him with music and song.
3 For the LORD is the great God,

the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,

and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,

let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7 for he is our God

and we are the people of his pasture,

the flock under his care.

Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,

as you did that day at Massah in the desert,
9 where your fathers tested and tried me,

though they had seen what I did.

And in Hebrews,

Hebrews 3:13

But encourage one another daily,

as long as it is called Today,

so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

Today, it's an opportunity to listen to and respond to God. It's an opportunity to walk with him. Today is the only day you have to focus on. In this day, today, worship God, listen to him, don't let sin harden you to him. How you respond to God today affects your tomorrows.

Monday's cartoon

The battle for relationship

I just started reading the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi. It's a challenging little book because it addresses our constant struggle- the struggle to keep a relationship with God from becoming a religion about God.

It's strange, but when I have a relationship with God I do what he asks out of love for him and fellowship with him, but when my relationship dims I continue to do the same things I did before, but now they are out of guilt and obligation. The progression from relationship to religion is subtle and happens far too easily. We have to constantly work on our relationship with God to keep our fellowship with him vital and our obedience to him based on love for him.

The problem that developed in Malachi's day was that the nation of Israel had moved from relationship to religion and didn't even know it had happened. They were still doing the same things, but now their motive and motivation had changed. Their relationship had become religion....sterile, cold, impersonal religion. They lost their love for God, their passion to please him and the reason they served him. Now it was just a cold empty shell of what God wanted it to be and Malachi comes to reprimand and remind them.....don't you remember what we had? What you are doing now is not what I want from you. I want a relationship, but you have made it a religion.

Here's the strange thing about all of this- no one likes religion, but everyone likes relationship. God made us for relationship. God wants intimacy with us. But so easily, so subtly we make relationship with God into an obligation and become cold, sterile and dead. God's whole purpose through Malachi was to woo back his love and remind them of the relationship they had. He's doing that today as well. God wants relationship. We settle for religion. And neither we nor God are happy with the outcome.

Relationship with God....it demands time, attention, talking and listening to each other, spending time with him, hanging out in his presence. It demands time in his word to hear him and know him. It demands time in prayer to share your heart and kindle love and intimacy. That's why we settle for religion....religion takes no time at all. It's easy to do, but it's artificial, dead and empty.

Malachi is reminding me again how easy it is for me to slip back into religion and miss the joys and blessings of relationship with the living God. Religion is easy, but relationship with God? That takes time....time to be with him, but it's so worth the investment.