Category: Uncategorized (Page 18 of 34)

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

We have done a lot of cool things with the grandkids over the years, but what I have noticed is that no matter what we do, the kids are ready to do the next thing with great anticipation. We may have just come off setting up a tent, making houses for small animals, or even having milkshakes, but if they hear we are going to something else, they are ready. They are always ready.

As believers we should be the same way. One day, perhaps sooner than we realize, Jesus may return. For the believer that is a day to be anticipated. We will get to heaven in one of two ways- we will go to Him or He will come for us. According to Thessalonians if He comes for us, we will not be getting several warnings like we give the grandkids when we are going to go somewhere. We let the kids go back several times to get the shoes they forgot or the fishing pole they wanted to take or to say goodbye to someone who is not going with us. We will not have that opportunity when Jesus comes. We will just be “caught up” and be gone.

That term, “caught up” is translated from that Greek word harpazō, which means to take forcibly, to snatch, or to catch up. And that is what the Rapture will be. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”  There will be no warning that allows us to go say good bye, gather our things, or even read a couple of quick verses to impress God. We will be gone.

The word “maranatha” is a Syriac expression that means: “our Lord comes.” In the early church it was used as a greeting instead of hello or goodbye. Some Christians today have a similar thing in mind when they say, “See you there (someplace here) or in the air (heading for heaven). Regardless of how we say it, we need to carry that awareness of the imminent return of the Savior with us all the time.

I have read two books on British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and they are two of the best I have read. When the expedition’s main boat was crushed by enclosing ice while headed toward the South Pole, Shackleton had to leave part of his crew on Elephant Island while he took the other half to try to reach civilization. He promised the crew that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back to rescue the crew left behind, huge icebergs blocked the way and it looked like the men would perish. But suddenly an avenue opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard and no sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Shackleton said to his men,
“It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go!” They replied, “We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, ‘The boss may come today.’”

We need to be like kids anticipating the arrival of the coming event. At our house it is Nana who is the boss and the kids are excited when they know she is coming. How excited we should be when we know that the arrival of our boss, Jesus, may happen any minute. We should always be ready. We don’t want to be half-packed or carrying things we shouldn’t. It could be this afternoon, so when we see each other, let’s not say goodbye, but say “Maranatha!” See you there or in the air!

“To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit…” 1 Peter 3:8

We are bombarded every day with negative news. There seems to be more violence and evil acts than ever before. It may seem like this is a new phenomenon, but this kind of behavior has existed ever since the fall. Cain killed his brother Able and it has been downhill ever since. But we are of a faith that calls not for violence, revenge and hate but one which calls for peace, forgiveness and love. That is a unique message among the people of today.

The New Testament and most notably the epistles of Paul were written for us today. In most of the Old Testament there were two kinds of people- the people of Israel and the gentiles (everyone else). In the Old Testament there were also countless stories about fighting among the people. There seems to be a painful story of violence scattered throughout every book. But though violence in the world has not ended, the message of the Bible for us today has become clear. Although there are still only two kinds of people in the world, those of the body of Christ and those who are not of the body of Christ, the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ has brought a new message of love into the world.

In today’s verse Peter calls us to get along with others, to be kind toward others, to be compassionate toward others. At the beginning of the verse he uses the phrase “to sum up” and this is a fair portrayal not only of his previous words, but the words of the whole New Testament. Throughout the New Testament we are instructed to care about one another. Whether the speaker is Jesus, Luke, James, Peter, or Paul, or one of the many others, the exhortation is one of love. I am convinced that if we who know Christ lived as the Word instructs, the need for missionaries would be eliminated. Everyone who came in contact with a Christian would want to know more about Christ, and anyone who knew Him would be able to share Him. Our love would be like a wildfire on a dry hill, spreading with every gust of wind that hits it.

I have wept in the night for the shortness of sight,
That to somebody’s need I was blind;
But I never have yet felt a twinge of regret,
For being a little too kind.

One of the most prized awards in sports is the Pierre de Coubertin International Fair Play Trophy. The trophy is named for the founder of the modern Olympic Games, and it has been awarded annually for many  years to people in sports who have demonstrated nobility of spirit.  In the past, the trophy has gone to a Hungarian tennis player who pleaded with officials to give his opponent more time to recover from a cramp, and to a high school basketball coach who forfeited the Georgia (US) state championship after he found out that one of his players was scholastically ineligible.

The first trophy went to an Italian bobsledder named Eugenio Monti for a gesture that exhibited a touch of class. In the two-man bobsled event at the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics, Monti was the leader after his final run. The only one given a chance to beat him was Tony Nash of Great Britain. As Nash and his teammate got ready for their final run, they discovered that a critical bolt on their sled had snapped at the last moment. Monti was informed of the problem and immediately took the corresponding bolt from his own sled and sent it up to Nash. Nash fixed his sled, came hurtling down the course to set a record and won the gold medal.

So kindness is the trait that almost everyone respects, but we as Christians have more even cause for kindness than the rest of the world.  It is a reflection of our savior and a living out of the pages of scripture.  We not only have the opportunity, but the responsibility to be the people that God calls is to be.  Anything less hurts our witness to the world.

Today we will have countless opportunities to show the world who Christ is. It may be in small ways or big ways, it doesn’t matter. We may be the closest some people get to Jesus today. Our small kindness might be the last step in series of happenings in their journey to know Christ. The world is full of evil, but Christ calls us to be good, and the good that we can do should contrast so vividly with the world that people cannot but ask who this Jesus is we follow. Remember, we do not do kind deeds for just kind deed’s sake. We do kind things because it will give us the opportunity to share Jesus. Our kindness, though called for in the Word, will not, on its own, introduce others to Jesus. Our kindness should just be a vehicle that allows us to share where we receive our power to good.

So do good today. In this pretty dark world, it can sure use some light, and as we know, Jesus is the Light of the World.

He also said: “A man had two sons.  The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.’ So he distributed the assets to them.” (Luke 15:11-12)

In my morning devotions I once again came across the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The more I read, the more I realize that there are a lot of truths packed into a small number of verses. I have usually concentrated on the father in the story, but this time I have noticed some harsh warnings through the actions of the son.

As we can see in verses 11 and 12, the youngest son was unsatisfied with his life and not willing to wait around for his father’s demise (I hope not all children are like that!), and he asks for his inheritance early. Surprisingly, his father grants his request and gives him his portion of the estate early. The son takes the cash and makes a dash for his new life of excitement. In doing so, he leaves us a playbook of destruction that if we follow will result in eventual pain and suffering.

The young son was unhappy with what he had in his normal life and was seeking more. He was much like all of us in different times of our lives. Benjamin Franklin said that, “Discontent makes rich men poor, and contentment makes poor men rich.” I think he had it right. We often look at the lives of others and envy what they have. Constantly looking at what others have and comparing it to what we have is a dangerous venture. It can lead to pursuits that take us into the wrong places, to meet the wrong people, to experience the wrong pleasures. Often instead of hobnobbing with the princes we end up hog-slopping with the pigs.

“Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country,” (Luke 15:13a)

We can notice here that to be involved in a new lifestyle, the son had to go to places where his new lifestyle was accepted. People who want to absent themselves from the things of God, must absent themselves from the places of God. Church is not a very good setting to run a gambling ring (ignoring the Baptist bingo rings here). Most people think it would stink to get skunk-drunk at a Bible study. Telling dirty jokes in a sermon seems a little too….well, dirty.

If we want to replace God in our lives, we must place ourselves in some pretty ungodly places. That is the first thing this young son did. He ran off to a place far away that would not remind him of the things he was avoiding. He took his money and ran to a non-threatening setting where he could be “himself,” surrounded by others who could be “themselves,” in an environment of nonrestricted behavior. It was a nirvana of guilt-free bliss…for awhile.

I read a story once about a person who took in a raccoon as a pet. Raccoons go through some radical physical changes at about two years old. During this time they can (and most of the time do) become very aggressive. The raccoon owner was repeatedly warned about the danger, but believed that her raccoon would be different and their relationship would overcome the natural tendencies of aggression.
The woman had to go through several surgeries after her pet attacked her and left deep lacerations in the her face and neck. We can develop a relationship with sin and believe that it will never turn on us, but it does. That is the natural way of sin. Sin is a slicked-up escort who comes dressed for an elegant ball and takes us the sewer sock hop instead.

“But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.” (Luke 15:30)

These were the words of the unhappy older brother. Apparently they had some knowledge of the younger son’s behavior in his absence. We can see here that the younger brother had taken another important step in starting a new life without God. He had to replace the people in his life with those who would be complicit in his new lifestyle. We find out that he began running with riotous people and harlots. These people would be enablers more than advisors. They could not condemn his lifestyle without condemning their own.

Years ago a psychology professor performed and experiment in his classroom. He would bring in ten students, nine of which were in on the ruse. They would look at three lines on the board of varying lengths. He asked the group to raise their hands when he pointed to the longest one. The nine students who were in on the ploy raised their hand when he pointed at the medium-length line. The “stooge” would look around and eventually raise his hand. It happened time and time again, in fact, the unsuspecting “sucker” went along with the group 75% of the time.

There is a saying that many people would rather “be president than be right.” In other words, it is easier to go along with the crowd than to examine the truth. If we surround ourselves with people who will reinforce what we want to believe, like the young boy did, we will not see the flaws in our thinking. We will go along with things that may be wrong and be happy about it.

The son in this story would probably say that he wanted to hang with people who were not judgmental (ever heard that before). He wanted to buddy with those who would not correct him or point out the danger in his decisions. The boy squandered all his money. Did his friends council him away from such. Probably not, because they may have even had a part of the action themselves. After all, maybe they could make up for some of the money they had already squandered. There is a commercial that says, “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” Is there an outcry against this commercial because it illustrates intolerance?  No, because it is right to warn people of danger and everyone knows it. Is it judgmental to stop people from doing something that is not good for them? I would think it would be evil not to stop them.

“where he squandered his estate in foolish living.” (Luke 15:13b)

Finally, the young boy had to change his pleasures if he was to truly adopt this new lifestyle to its fullest. He had to immerse himself in activities that left no reminders of his previous commitments. It is doubtful that his pleasures included worship any longer. Pleasures that conflicted with a godless lifestyle would have to be abandoned because he would not want throw a moral monkey wrench into his new and exciting life.
When the son abandoned his family, he had to also abandon any activities that reminded him of the life that was. He had to take on new pleasures that would not give him any tinges of guilt. His pleasures had to help sustain his new life by not reminding him of the old.

Of course, sin only satisfies so long. Sin is like cotton candy. It looks substantial when you buy it. It can be a pink delight twice the size of someone’s head. But it is really just a small amount of sugar and coloring whipped up to look large. As soon as you take a bite, you realize that it melts into nothingness. It is not filling. Can you imagine how many cotton candies it would take to fill us up? More than any of us could afford, I am sure. Sin is that way. It looks satisfying, but will come up short in the long run.  It is like the modern bag of chips that is size of a pillow, but consists of air and six chips.  After all, Satan is a deceiver. He will not let us be “fulfilled” for too long. He is much like the fickle slot machine that will let a person win just enough to keep him coming back, but lose enough to keep the person broke.

The lesson of the prodigal is a warning for all of us. Most of the time, if we are running from God we will change the places we go, the people we see, and the pleasures we enjoy. If we see ourselves moving away from the things of God we should check our hearts. Often our move away takes place slowly until there seems to be no turning back. Most of us will not change lifestyles in a moment’s time. The young son in Luke 15 did not change overnight. In his heart he started a move away from God, and his feet finally followed.

Satan won’t let the party last too long. After a little festive celebration, a person will look around and realize his life is a pigpen and the only thing on the menu is slop. It is inevitable. If we want to stay close to God, we need to surround ourselves with God things. We can run, but we can’t hide. He will be wherever we go, but we often try to overwhelm His presence with the things of the world. He stands in the field, checking the horizon, awaiting our return, so He can run to meet us.
We need to do our daily check to see if we are getting closer to or further from God. Where do we frequent? Who do we run with? What do we like to do? If God things play a minor part in these areas, we might want to check the previews of coming distractions. We might not like what we see.