Pick a Side
Father, it has sure been a challenge recently to make the time to be with You. Every day this week I have been up at 4ish to be at work by 6:00. I’m not sure how well my mind would process anything at 3:00, so instead, I have been trying to write in the evening. I am so grateful that You are available anytime I can sit down with You. Bless our time together this evening. Amen.
Matthew 25:31-46 (<<click to read the passage)
In life, there are things that we can choose or not choose to participate in. We can be in the thick of things or we can choose to hide in our shells. But in our relationship with Christ, we cannot abstain from participation. We may choose not to follow Him but in so doing it does not exempt us from participating. Either we are for Him or we are against Him. Period. It’s an all not, nothing kind of thing.
Jesus makes it very clear, by repeatedly speaking of it, that He will return to take His rightful place as King of…well, as King of absolutely everything! Just because many believe that to be a false statement does not make it any less true. We are allowed to be delusional but, again, it does not exempt us from participating in a relationship with Him.
When the final judgment comes, every person who has ever come into existence “will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.”
That division will be based on what we did in regards to our relationship with Jesus and interestingly enough that is based largely on what we did in our relationships with others! What it really boils down to is service – addressing the basic needs of one another’s existence. And those needs would be food, drink, shelter, clothing, physical care and companionship to the lonely.
Love is a participation sport. If we truly love we cannot sit on the sidelines. We cannot skip attending the game. All of us are in the game, even as you are reading this. For whatever we did for “the least of these my brothers and sisters, [we] were doing it to [Christ]!”
No excuses! No notes from your mom or your doctor! Pick a side and go! And make it count! “Eternal punishment” or “eternal life” – it is our choice.
Oct 31st, 2018, Wed, 7:11 pm
Grow Where You Are Planted
Father, I praise You a productive day – for strength to accomplish the tasks at hand, for the intellect to process all that needed to be done, for the enjoyable interaction with fellow workers, for a wonderful time with my beautiful wife this evening and everything we were able to get done. I am blessed by One who loves me more than I ever could comprehend!
Matthew 25:14-30 (<<click to read the passage)
Many years ago, while I was still in college, I had the privilege of serving under a wonderful man by the name of Tom Lasley. He was a bi-vocational pastor. He was an educator by vocation but was a pastor by the calling of God. He told me early on that he felt he had been called to serve in that dual capacity because, “Small churches needed good pastors, too.”
And truly, that is the way I have gone the last third of my life. In high school, I felt called to ministry but felt no tugging on my heartstrings at all to be the pastor of a church. I was called to be a minister of music and pursued an education in that direction – my first two years out of college that’s just what I did.
My next place of service called for me to be a minister of music but included ministering to youth as well. Then eventually I became a children’s pastor (one of my most favorite jobs ever!) But then the winds of change came upon me. As I began taking courses toward becoming an ordained elder, God began leading me in the direction of being the pastor of a church. It wasn’t a smooth transition but I have now served in that capacity for 16 years!
I feel Tom Lasley’s influence. I’ve had opportunity to pursue a full-time pastorate but…I decided to grow where I was planted because small churches need good pastors, too. I’m not a spectacular pastor by any means…but I love my people. I feed them faithfully what the Lord lays upon my heart. I’ve not seen vast growth numerically but I can tell the people with whom I work, both in the church and at Kohl’s, are impacted by the God who lives within me – who lives through me.
When the Lord returns I want to be about His business, no matter where I am. It may be behind the pulpit or behind the jewelry counter or behind the wheel of a big yellow school bus. It makes no difference where we are planted but it makes all the difference in eternity that we grow where we are planted and that we bear fruit to impact the lives of people around us. Amen!
Oct 30th, 2018, Tues, 8:54 pm
Not Me
Today, Father, was a day to “mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15 NIV) Father, please comfort them in their loss. Amen.
Matthew 25:1-13 (<<click to read the passage)
Growing up a favorite comic strip of mine was Family Circus and as I read a little about Jesus’ Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids (or as I recall – The Ten Virgins) one of Bil Keane’s characters from Family Circus came to mind – Not Me.
Whenever Billy did something he shouldn’t have done and he was confronted with it, and as the comic above shows, his answer would often be, “Not Me.”
When it comes to our own spirituality, we may think we can pass the buck, as it were. But the reality of the matter is that I, and I alone, am responsible for my spirituality. No one else can make that decision for me – not my mom or dad, not my pastor or my Sunday School teacher. I alone am the one to decide if I will follow Christ as my Lord and Savior…or if I will place myself upon the throne of my soul.
In Jesus’ parable, five of the ten virgins were prepared – and five were not. Five made responsible choices and five chose not to be responsible. When the bridegroom returned for the wedding party, the five who had chosen wisely were able to join him. By the time the irresponsible five returned from taking care of what should have been taken care of from the start, it was too late.
When the time comes and our Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, returns and we are asked, “Are you ready?” we will not be able to answer “Not me.” and think someone else will take the blame for our foolishness. We alone will have to answer for our actions.
Are you ready?
Oct 29th, 2018, Mon, 8:01 pm
A Lesson from Pompeii
A busy but good day, Father – time with others in worship, time with family, and now, time with You! Thank You, Father, for all You are and all You do!
Matthew 24:36-51 (<<click to read the passage)
I really enjoy history. It was one of my favorite topics in school and to this day I still like reading it and watching documentaries when I get the chance. In fact, currently, I am reading a book entitled, If the Allies Had Fallen: Sixty Alternate Scenarios of World War II. It’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is for me!
I’m sure most people have heard of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the catastrophic devastation in inflicted upon the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum on that fateful day of August 24, 79 AD.
Many can recall seeing pictures of the preserved victims. Many of those who did not flee when the eruption started were buried alive by ash and other molten material. It is estimated that about 16,000 people died in it. Most victims died instantly as the superheated air burned their lungs and contracted their muscles, leaving the bodies in a semi-curled position to be quickly buried in ash and thus preserved in detail for hundreds of years.
Although the eruption caught people off guard, the signs had been coming for years. Just 16 years earlier a massive earthquake shook the region, and damage from the earthquake was still being repaired when Mt. Vesuvius erupted.
Are you ready for what is coming our way? My study Bible* says,
“Christ’s second coming will be swift and sudden. There will be no opportunity for last-minute repentance or bargaining. The choice we have already made will determine our eternal destiny.”
Right now, you have a choice. “…no one knows the day or hour…” when Christ will return. There are warning signs of His imminent return all about us. Is it safe to put off a decision to repent of sin and follow Him? Or is it better to decide today to be ready for His return?
1 Corinthians 15:52 tells us,
“It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.”
Lord, help us to see clearly what will transpire. It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. But You will return.
“…choose today whom you will serve… But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Oct 28th, 2018, Sun, 7:55 pm
The Root of the Problem
Father, thank You for helping me to get up and at it. My bed was so comfy but time with you will be much more beneficial! Open my ears that I might hear. Amen.
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I am by no means an avid gardener but I have done my fair share of yard work (and there is a bunch of it that needs to be done now!). I love flowers and have on occasion written of nature and how it can reflect our own actions. As it often happens, on one of my trips down the hall last night, Lord, I believe You “planted” a thought in my heart.
Just saying the word “dandelion” can generate a fair amount of responses – especially from those who enjoy green lawns in the spring and early summer. Beyond herbicides getting rid of them is very problematic.
We have a nice flower bed in front of our home. We have a bench, three nicely painted pavers, a bird bath amidst a cluster of beautiful holly bushes along with an array of beautiful perennials – mums, coneflowers, black-eyed susans, sedum, and, of course…dandelions!
No matter how many times I try to pull those little boogers up, they come back! And most of us know why. When we pull them out, inevitably there is part of the taproot, which can be up to 10 inches long, left in the soil. And any part of it left generates a whole new plant! It is a never-ending battle!
Do you see where this is going? What has the same impact on our spiritual lives? Sin. For all of humanity, sin is something which we must always be on the lookout to eliminate from our lives. Quite often we have those sins that seem to impact us in particular. We come to Christ seeking forgiveness and the sin in our lives is eradicated. Though our sin may be “cast into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19) our minds do not so readily forget them.
We have been forgiven through and through but our memories are the taproot. We may go for days and not be bothered by them, because we live in a world full of sin, something we see or hear stirs that memory and that “taproot” begins to regenerate.
First, keep James 1:13-15 in mind,
13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
And then secondly, remember 1 Corinthians 10:13,
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
We have the Master Gardener by our side – he never leaves or forsakes us (Deuteronomy 31:6). He is our Savior! Thanks be to God!
Oct 25th, 2018, Thurs, 6:48 am