GOD OF COMFORT

2 Corinthians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.”

It was flooding in California. As the flood waters were raising, a man was on the stoop of his house and another man in a row boat came by. The man in the row boat told the man on the stoop to get in and he’d save him. The man on the stoop said, no, he had faith in God and would wait for God to save him. The flood waters kept rising and the man had to go to the second floor of his house. A man in a motor boat came by and told the man in the house to get in because he had come to rescue him. The man in the house said no thank you. He had perfect faith in God and would wait for God to save him. The flood waters kept rising. Pretty soon they were up to the man’s roof and he got out on the roof. A helicopter then came by, lowered a rope and the pilot shouted down in the man in the house to climb up the rope because the helicopter had come to rescue him. The man in the house wouldn’t get in. He told the pilot that he had faith in God and would wait for God to rescue him. The flood waters kept rising and the man in the house drowned. When he got to heaven, he asked God where he went wrong. He told God that he had perfect faith in God, but God had let him drown. "What more do you want from me?" asked God. "I sent you two boats and a helicopter."

Many people deal with unresolved hurt. Pain in their lives over something that is still lingering. Maybe it is the loss of a loved one. Maybe a broken relationship. Maybe a failure in the workplace or a moral failure in their life. Maybe it is a recent hurt, or a distant hurt, but one thing is certain—unless hurts are dealt with, they will haunt us for the rest of our life. When we let the hurt linger, we open the door to resentment—resentment toward others, ourselves, even God. And instead of dealing with the hurt immediately, we hide it away, and never deal with it, and live lives of regret, resentment, and remorse.

The problem comes when we try and resolve hurts in ways other than God intended. Some people try and resolve their hurts in things. Sometimes it’s alcohol, sometimes it’s cigarettes, sometimes it’s drugs. Sometimes it is in shopping—you know, go on a shopping binge. Sometimes, it’s a cleaning binge. You know, you get so mad, you’ve just gotta clean something. Or maybe it’s a drive, or a golf outing, or all kinds of different things. But when you try and substitute your own method of resolving hurts, you will never resolve them, only postpone them.

God offers us the promise that you never have to deal with it by ourselves. In fact, you were never meant to. Our scripture shows us how to deal with the hurts in our lives—how God wants us to deal with the hurts.

The word comfort is repeated ten times in 2 Corinthians 1:1–11. We must not think of comfort in terms of “sympathy,” because sympathy can weaken us instead of strengthen us. God does not pat us on the head and give us a piece of candy or a toy to distract our attention from our troubles. No, he puts strength into our hearts so we can face our trials and triumph over them. Our English word comfort comes from two Latin words meaning “with strength.” The Greek word means “to come alongside and help.”

The greatest comfort you can have in life is knowing that you never face it alone. You may be in the darkest of valleys; abandoned by everyone else; nowhere else to turn, all hope lost, but you will never be alone. God is the God of all comfort – turn to him.

HOPE ETERNAL

Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

It was a balmy October afternoon in 1982. Badger Stadium in Madison Wisconsin was packed out. That day there were more than 60,000 die-hard University of Wisconsin football fans watching their team take on the Michigan State Spartans. It didn’t take long to determine who the better team was. Michigan State was moping up the field with the Badgers. But what seemed odd was that even as the score became increasingly lopsided against their team, there were bursts of applause and shouts of joy from the Wisconsin fans. How could they cheer when their team was getting trounced so decisively? It turns out that 70 miles away the Milwaukee Brewers were beating the St. Louis Cardinals in game 3 of the 1982 World Series. Many of the fans in the stands were listening to portable radios and responding to what was going on in another game, in another sport, in another place.

There is something to be said for being plugged into what is going on elsewhere. Sometimes, the things that are going on where you are become extremely difficult. So as Paul writes the words in Romans 8, he wants to make sure that our faith in God affects the perspective in which we view our circumstances. No matter how difficult or even desperate our situation seems, Paul says we can face it with hope.

You don’t have to be a very astute observer to notice that we live in a world that struggles against hopelessness. If you talk to people at all, you are going to get in a conversation with someone who is going to tell you that they are discouraged. Listen to any of the radio talk shows or watch the news and you are going to hear people who are cynical about life. They think the world is going down the tubes. On a world scale, it seems that we go from crisis to crisis. In many or your lifetimes there has been W.W.II, Korea, Vietnam, Iran hostages, Iraq, and the Middle East, just to name a few of the highest profile conflicts. And in spite of our best efforts, we know there will be more conflicts. There have been economic crises. Today in our country we are faced with an ongoing crisis in leadership. But not all the struggles are on a national and international scale.

In our personal lives there is pain. We have physical problems that afflict our bodies. We endure emotional turmoil that comes with losing a loved one or that comes when we are disappointed by someone we love. If we are honest, we have to admit that we have spiritual struggles as we find ourselves disappointed with life and looking for God.

As Paul talks about life, he does not want to candy coat the pain and struggles that we go through. But what he wants to do is to put them into perspective. Paul uses language that helps us see life as an eternal proposition. We live here on earth for a little while, but we live forever. What Paul wants to make sure of is that we don’t get so discouraged with the difficulties of this life that we lose sight of the big picture of eternity. He says, "Don’t forget, there will be a time when there won’t be any more struggles, pain, death or tears. For those who are in Christ, there will be only joy and happiness."

The good news is that in Christ we live in a constant state of hope that the pain of this world will give way to the painless reality of heaven. The promise from the Bible is that in that time Christ will dry all our tears. But that hope isn’t just "Pie in the sky in the sweet by and by." That hope infuses us now with the ability to turn our eyes away from our pain to God’s glory.

GRACE CHANGES EVERYTHING

Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”

In his book "What’s So Amazing About Grace," Christian author Philip Yancey writes about a friend who invited him out for a cup of coffee one night. This friend, it turns out, is contemplating leaving his wife after 15 years of marriage because he’s found someone younger and prettier, someone he says makes him feel alive. As a Christian, Yancey’s friend knows his decision will devastate his wife and permanently damage his three kids. He also knows that his relationship with God will never be the same again. Even so, the force pulling him toward this other woman was like a powerful magnet. So finally he asks Philip Yancey, "Do you think God can forgive something as awful as I’m about to do?’

Yancey’s friend was looking for assurance that he’d still be accepted by God, still under the cover of God’s grace. I’ve had lots of people ask me the very same question as they contemplate doing things that are clearly wrong and destructive.

Because of this way of thinking, many people have been critical of the Christian idea of God’s grace. Somehow we’ve domesticated the idea of grace into a generic prayer we pray before a meal, but when you really think about it the Bible’s concept of grace is very radical. Grace of course means that we can’t earn or merit acceptance with God no matter how hard we might try. Grace means that God offers restoration on the basis of a free, undeserved gift, that there’s nothing we can do to earn it, buy it, perform for it, or merit it. Grace means no amount of trying will make God love us more and no amount of sinning will make God love us less.

Every other religion of the world rejects the idea of grace, and insists that we must contribute something to our salvation. We must try harder, we must be better; we must live morally, and so forth. All the various religions of the world offer a self-help way to merit restoration with God, whether it’s the eightfold path of Buddhism, the karma and reincarnation cycle of Hinduism, the laws and ordinances of the Mormon Church, or the four pillars of Islam. Only the Christian faith dares to suggest that God offers a relationship to people on the basis of pure grace.

Because of this scandalous idea of grace, many people through the years have felt that the Christian faith actually encourages people to live sinful, immoral lives. That’s exactly what Philip Yancey’s friend was looking for. The reasoning goes like this: Why try to be good if you already know in advance you will be forgiven? Why not live like the devil, enjoying every minute of it, and then ask for forgiveness in the eleventh hour? The French philosopher Voltaire captured this idea when he said, "God will always forgive…that’s his job." The idea of grace is scandalous to common sense.

Our scripture tells us how grace changes everything. When we encounter God’s grace, we offer ourselves to a new master. The new reality of grace, where Jesus is king and where sin and death are defeated foes, this new reality places us under the lordship of a new master, Jesus Christ. But we must continually choose to yield ourselves to the lordship of this new master. How does God’s grace change us for the better? Well it doesn’t give us an excuse to sin or a license to live any old way we want to. If that’s what we think then we’ve entirely misunderstood what grace means. We’ve not understood how we’ve passed from one reality to another, from one kingdom to another, from one master to another. God’s grace changes us, because when we encounter it, we die to our old way of life, we are introduced to a new way of living in Jesus, and we offer ourselves to a new master. You see, God’s grace doesn’t just change us for the better, but God’s grace changes everything, absolutely everything.

Philip Yancey says he sat across the table from his friend for quite a while before answering his friend’s question. He says the question lay on the table like a live snake, and only after three cups of coffee did he dare answer it. His answer went something like this: "Can God forgive you? Of course. You know the Bible. Forgiveness is our problem, not God’s. But what we have to go through to commit sin distances us from God…and there’s no guarantee we will ever come back. You ask me about forgiveness now, but will you even want it later, especially if it involves repentance? Can God forgive? Yes. Will you be the kind of person who wants God’s forgiveness? That’s another question entirely."

God’s grace doesn’t give us an excuse to sin more, but it changes everything

BLIND SPOTS

John 9:39 “Jesus said, For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they lay down for the night and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend. "Watson, look up and tell me what you see." Watson replied, "I see millions and millions of stars." "What does that tell you?" Watson pondered for a minute.

"Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Why, what does it tell you?" Holmes said, "Watson you idiot, someone has stolen our tent."

Sometimes we are blind to what is going on right in our midst, and in a spiritual sense, we can be blind to what God is doing so well for us. You know what a blind spot is. If you’re driving in a car and are relying on your rear view mirrors to check the lanes, there are some spots that you still won’t be able to see. The back right corner. The back left corner. Those are blind spots. You can turn your head and take a gaze at those spots so that you will know if anything is there. But for the moment that you check your blind spots, you are unaware of what is happening in front of the car. Blind spots are created by virtue of the fact that we don’t have eyes in the back of our heads, and that it is physically impossible to see everything at once.

The Pharisees of John chapter 9 were said by Jesus to be blind. The irony is that Jesus had just healed a blind man. And in the aftermath of the story, when the Pharisees tried to find a legal technicality to undo the miracle that Jesus had performed, they reveal themselves to have a blind spot where Jesus is concerned. Jesus said that he came so that those who do not see may see, and that those who think they see will realize that they are blind. And revealing their arrogance and pride, the Pharisees responded to Jesus by saying, "Surely we are not blind, are we?" The man had just cured blind eyes, and the Pharisees were trying to say that he wasn’t of God.

When we have spiritual blind spots, like these Pharisees in the story, we can’t see what God is doing. God had just performed a miracle through his only son, and still these religious leaders couldn’t see it. When you’ve got a spiritual blind spot, God can be doing something fantastic right in your midst and you still won’t see it. You can see how you want things. You can see how you think things should be. You can see what you want to see. But when you’ve got spiritual blind spots, you might just miss out on what God is doing right next to you, right in your midst.

Our prayer today ought to be that God will open our eyes. Let’s pray that he reveal himself to us in a greater way so that we can see past our circumstances and see the God of love and hope. Don’t allow your vision to become stuck on things that are not a part of God’s plan for your life. He truly desires to show himself to each of us. See with his vision today and be encouraged to press on.

A HANDFUL OF PEANUTS

2 Corinthians 9:6 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

Amedeo Obici was born in 1876 in a small village near Venice, Italy. His widowed mother read him letters from his uncle in America, and Amedeo told everyone he was going to America one day. Everyone knew he was an exceptionally bright and enterprising child. By the time he was 11 years old, his family had helped him save enough money for an immigrant's ticket to America, and he set sail by himself.

One story says Amedeo had no money for food, so his mother gave him a bag of peanuts which was all he had to eat for the 10 day trip across the ocean. In this land of opportunity, Amedeo, at 11 years of age, went to work as a bellhop and a helper at a fruit stand. He worked hard and saved his money as he had promised his mother.

Amedeo soon learned that Americans liked the peanuts he shared with them; but few, if any, were growing them here. So, he found a place to plant the handful of peanuts he had left. While his peanuts were growing, he saved enough money to buy a horse and wagon. When his peanut crop came in, he drove around calling himself "The Peanut Specialist" selling roasted peanuts. By 1906 he had developed his own method of blanching and roasting peanuts and founded Planters Peanuts headquartered in Suffolk, VA. He became
wealthy enough to send money to his family in Italy; and, years later, he gave to the city of Suffolk the Louise Obici Hospital named after his wife.

Now, Amedeo had only a handful of peanuts; but he had the choice of what he could do with them. He could have eaten them or sold them, but he wisely chose to plant what he had so that, in time, he would have enough to eat, give away, and sell to send money to his family. I don't know if Amedeo knew about the Law of the Harvest in the Bible, but he certainly practiced it.

I’m sure that we all would like to see great harvests take place in our lives. It may be financial. It may be spiritual. It may be emotional. But whatever abundance that we are longing for will begin by a period of sowing. Our scripture says it best, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” Does that mean that I have something to do with how much I can be blessed? Absolutely. Why? Because I have something to do with how much I sow.

You see, we all are given a certain level of resource or seed. From there we choose what to do with it. We can eat it and enjoy its benefits immediately. We can hide it away so as to never lose it. Or we can plant it and then reap the harvest of our growing seed.

God keeps his promises. The Law of the Harvest is absolute. We should be encouraged today to trust and be patient as we faithfully wait for harvest time. Don’t allow discouragement to cause you to foolishly use your seed. Trust God, be faithful, and sow the seed he has given you. In due time, you will reap what you have sown.

HE'LL CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK

Acts 10:33 “Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”

Have you ever believed something, pictured something one way, only to find out that it was completely different? I think that’s how it is, quite often, when people start to learn more about God. “I always thought God was this way. I always pictured him this way.” But then, after spending some time in the Bible, reading God’s Word, you find out that he’s different, not the way you had pictured him. Is it possible, that you have always believed something about God, even though it’s not really true?

That happened to a person in our scripture – a member of the Roman army. He had pictured God one way, only to find out that he was very different from how he had pictured him in his mind.

Cornelius was a centurion in the Italian regiment of the Roman army. These centurions were in change of 100 men, and they were always men of very noble character. The Bible describes Cornelius and his family as God-fearing and devout. He was always donating money to the poor, and he prayed to God regularly. Cornelius was a great guy, but something was wrong – he wasn’t going to heaven. Why? He seemed good. He followed the religion of the Jews. He prayed and he donated to the poor; he tried to live a good, clean life. In his mind, that’s what God wanted – that’s the way to heaven.

But something was wrong. Something was missing in his heart, something big, and so God sent an angel to Cornelius, and told Cornelius to find the Apostle Peter. And so he does – Peter comes to his house and shares with Cornelius the true way of salvation. Something was missing in the heart of Cornelius, and that something was more important than all the good works in the world. And without that something, no matter how hard he tried, Cornelius wouldn’t be going to heaven. That something was faith in Jesus Christ. Cornelius had heard of Jesus before, how he died. He knew that people were saying good things about him. But he didn’t understand that Jesus was his Savior.

Can you relate to this Roman soldier? I always thought that I could live “good” enough to make it to heaven. In a performance driven society, it can be so easy to think that way. And then, you find out, no, that’s not how it works. Through his Word, God changes the way you think. You find out that no matter how good you are, you’ll never be good enough, you’ll never do enough to earn God’s favor. Through his Word, you find out that even the nicest person in the world still has his faults, still has his shortcomings, and because of those short comings, you can never be nice enough to earn your way to heaven. That’s what God tells us in his Word.

But then you find out who Jesus Christ really is. You find out that he’s more than just an example of how to be a good person. You find out that he has done something for you, something that you really need. You find out that he has taken all your faults, all your shortcomings, all your sins, and has washed them away, by dying on a cross. You find out that Jesus has risen from the dead, to prove to you that God really does love you and forgive you for all the mistakes you have made in life. You can stop trying to earn your way to heaven, and you can start trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

From time to time, just like Cornelius, we need to allow God to change our thinking. Be open to his guidance that is found in scripture. Don’t get bogged down by the same old thought patterns. Get a new revelation today and live free.

MEAGER BEGINNING - ABUNDANT BLESSING

Zechariah 4:10 “Who despises the day of small things?”

Occasionally we all wonder if our efforts are making a difference. It is easy to grow discouraged thinking that our acts of kindness are insignificant. Many Americans suffer from depression because they do not get a sense of the significance from their lives. People need to know that what they are doing counts.

The Israelites faced a similar problem when they returned from Babylonian captivity and began to rebuild Jerusalem as they fell victim to despondency. The people were discouraged because their numbers were small and their efforts seemed feeble when compared with the accomplishments of their ancestors. When they started to rebuild the temple they only saw how meager their contributions would be and stopped working. Paul once wrote to the Galatians, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:9-10)

Here’s a great quote: “God can do a lot with a little. A little is a lot with God”

Faith gives meaning to small acts of service. Trust in God means that we believe God can accomplish everything he wants through our lives no matter how insignificant it might appear in the eyes of people. Many people will not see the greater works that God has been working through their small acts of love until they get to heaven. The Lord is able to take the seeds of small acts of love, faith and truth telling and multiply them significantly.

Faithfulness in small things leads to promotions. Jesus said in Luke 16:10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” People who fail to be trustworthy in showing love, kindness and service in little opportunities will not be given greater responsibilities in the future. Whoever serves God and does good with the little time, talents and resources they have, will be entrusted with more blessings. The person who hides their talents, resources or service abilities will never improve and grow stagnant. How can we expect God to enrich us with more if we do not serve him with what he has already given? One man put it best, “Use it or lose it.”

Great things come from small beginings. Jesus said in Mark 4 “The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants.” Plant seeds of kindness, truth and love where you ever you go. Give people hope that their lives are getting better in the Lord and it will change their outlook on a whole range of issues. Allow the Lord to use your seeds to expand his kingdom and righteousness in qualitative and quantitative ways. The work of grace is always small in the beginning but it becomes great in the end.

Do not wait until you think an act of kindness is significant before serving someone. Nobody is able to determine if his or her actions are will make a great or small impact on another. Let God use you in great ways, but realize he is the one who gives ultimate success, fruit and blessings. If you wait until you are asked to do something great, you might never be given these lofty opportunities. Be faithful in little things and God will make you faithful over much.

IN THE HANDS OF GOD

John 6:11 “Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.”

When I hold a basketball in my hands, it’s merely a basketball, but when you place that same basketball in the hands of Kobe Bryant, it turns into championships. Put a golf club in any of our hands, and it’s merely a golf club, but when you place that same golf club in the hands of Tiger Woods, it turns him into the best golfer in the world. A paintbrush in my hands might result in a pretty good picture if it’s paint by numbers, but when a paintbrush was placed in the hands of Renoir, it turned into incredible works of art. A gun placed in the hands of a hunter is a tool used for sport or obtaining food, but when placed in the hands of a terrorist, that same gun becomes a weapon of destruction. How is it that the same instruments and the same tools can bring about such differing degrees of results? Quite simply, it depends upon who is holding them and how they’re being used.

Our scripture is an excellent example of what can happen and how things can be used when we place them in the hands of God. The scene is a grassy meadow near Bethsaida across the Sea of Galilee from Capernaum. Jesus has been preaching and healing the sick much of the day. He has retreated in order to get some rest and recharge his batteries, but when he looks up, the crowd has followed him. He turns to Philip, because this is Philip’s old stomping grounds, “Where can we buy bread for these people?” Somewhat quizzically, Philip replies, “Don’t you understand that it would take more than 6 months’ wages to buy bread for all these people?” He knew that Jesus was kind and thoughtful, but even for Jesus, this was out there. All of a sudden Andrew shows up, “Hey guys, there’s a little boy here who has 5 barley loaves and two fish.”

Besides it being a miracle, what’s the significance of Jesus taking 5 barley loaves and two fish and feeding 5,000 people? The significance is that it illustrates for us what can happen when we place ourselves in the hands of God.

Don’t think what you have is insignificant or can’t be used. Too often we think, “There’s nothing God can do with me.” God didn’t expect that boy to have enough to feed the 5,000. He only expected the boy to place it in his hands, and leave the rest up to God. This applies to all aspects of our lives. Not only does God want you to place your gifts and energy and talent in his hands, he wants you to place your pain as well. Many times we cling to our grief, we cling to our bitterness, and we cling to our anger in such a way that we cripple ourselves. Just as God wants to take the offering of our barley loaves and fish and multiply it, he also wants to take what’s eating away at our souls, robbing us of the joy in our lives, and do away with it; for much as when you place a basketball in the hands of Michael Jordan, it turns into greatness, when you place your life, including your pain, in the hands of God, he will also turn it into greatness.

When you place your life in God’s hands, expect incredible things to happen. No one expected anything from those five barley loaves and two fish. It just goes to show the incredible places of growth, healing, and nourishment that become ours when we place ourselves in the hands of God.

FAITH OR FUTILITY

Psalms 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.”

In Edinburgh, Scotland, the city seal reads in Latin, “Nisi Dominus Frusta”, or “Without the Lord, Frustration.” This motto appears on all city documents. Both of these sayings ought to be inscribed where we work.

To this motto we add, “Unless the Lord builds the house its builders labor in vain.” Benjamin Franklin quoted the opening words of Psalm 127 in a challenge to the Continental Congress, adding, “Do we imagine that we no longer need God’s assistance? The longer I live the more convincing proof I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men…without his concurring aid we shall proceed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.”

Solomon, the author of this psalm, did some building of his own. He built the Temple in Jerusalem. Psalm 127 reflects his observations about the vanity of life apart from God. He knew that, without the right priorities, his work was in vain. Unless God blesses our efforts, unless he is a part of what we’re doing, our labor is worthless. All of life is meaningless—if we leave God out of the picture. We have choices: faith or futility; self-reliance or trust in God. Self-reliance ends in despair, while trusting the architect of our home leads us to find purpose and meaning in our lives and livelihood.

The focus of Psalm 127 is on people, not things. Our relationships, how we touch the lives of others, is infinitely more significant that the possessions we accumulate. Nonetheless, people drive themselves to exhaustion, then wonder why. Or they give up, figuring “What’s the use?” God wants to make our work meaningful—he gives us job satisfaction. We can go to work on Monday morning with eager anticipation, if we’ve taken the time to consider how Biblical values ought to impact our work. We are successful in God’s eyes when we labor for his glory, and by his strength. This may take some restructuring of our priorities. God wants us to trust him for promotion, for job security, and for a sense of accomplishment. He also wants us to become sensitive to the spiritual needs of those around us.

Paul gives similar counsel in Colossians 3 “Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward and the Master you are serving is Christ.”

We are a success-driven society. Sadly, some people climb up the ladder of success only to discover they’re on the wrong ladder. Success Inc. magazine conducted a survey called “What Workers Want”. Under the category of success, they asked, “Which one of the following would most give you the feeling of success in your life?” The number one answer, with 62%, was “Happy family life.” Money, prestige, and fame, all came in with meager numbers. That’s encouraging, but now we need to live those values.

We should heed this “Song of Solomon.” Things fall into place when we have the right priorities. If we try to “build the house” we will fail. When the Lord does the building, we’ll be able to “contend” with anything and everything.

WHAT TIME IS IT?

Romans 13:11 “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”

How would you like to receive a check everyday? It would be the same amount as everyone else in the world. No matter how you spent it, you would get the same amount the next day and the next day. Wouldn’t that be nice? Well each and every one of us gets the same amount of time everyday. Each of us has 24 hours in a day. That’s 1440 minutes, and 86,400 seconds. How do you spend your 86,400 seconds?

Time is such a strange thing. It goes at the same speed. It neither speeds up nor slows down. An hour is always 60 minutes, and a minute is always 60 seconds. There are always 24 hours in a day. There is no way to get more time. You can’t buy and sell time. Every single person on the planet has the same amount of time in the day. The rich don’t have more and the poor don’t have less. The old man in India has the same amount of time as the young girl in Canada. No matter how wise or foolish we are with our time, we get the same amount every day. You can’t put time in the bank for another day. Every day we are presented with another 86,400 seconds to use.

Paul is telling us that while each of us gets the same amount of time each day, that won’t last forever. Because our time is short, Paul tells us that we should be mindful of what time it is. He tells us to “wake up” or be aware.

When we are awake we are aware of what we are doing. When we are asleep we aren’t aware. We aren’t aware that we are snoring or tossing and turning. When we are asleep, we have no idea what is going on around us. Paul is saying that it is time for us to wake up. Paul isn’t talking about physical sleep. He is talking about spiritual sleep. Spiritual sleep manifests itself in indifference to what’s going on in the world around us.

We may need to evaluate how we spend our time. Then we may have to make some changes. Paul says that the night is over, and it’s time for a change. Paul says, “The night is far gone; the day is at hand.” When the night is over and we wake up in the morning, we make changes. We change from our night clothes into our day clothes. We don’t wear our pajamas to work. We fix our hair. We change to scent of our breath by brushing our teeth. If you have a baby in the house the first thing you do is probably change a diaper. We make many changes when the night is over. Paul is talking here about time.

How do we spend our time? Paul tells us in verse 14, “Make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” We will spend our time gratifying the flesh or gratifying Christ. There is no other option. It’s not both. It’s either or. We must choose which we will gratify. Will we spend our 86,400 seconds per day gratifying our flesh, or will we spend it gratifying Christ?

The question we must ask ourselves is, “How am I am going to spend my 86,400 seconds each day?” Let’s commit to spend those 86,400 seconds each day living for Jesus.

OPEN TO CHANGE

2 Kings 22:2 “Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.”

Back in 1980, there was a guy, who was called Mountain Jack. He had been living on Mount Saint Helens for almost all his life. Mountain Jack was a true mountain man in every sense of the word. Then one day a geologist came and explained to him that he was living in danger. They told him that according to their records, Mount Saint Helens was an active volcano and that it could erupt at any moment and destroy everything for miles.

Mountain Jack explained to the geologist, “I have been on the mountain for years, and no little rumbling in the ground is about to scare me off. I have heard rumblings long time before and nothing happened. I appreciate your concern, but I will be staying put.” On May 18th, 1980, Mount Saint Helens exploded with such a force that it blacked out the sun for many cities in the west. Mountain Jack was never seen or heard from again.

Have you ever been in a situation in your own life, where you didn’t make a change when you should have, and it has cost you dearly? Sometimes people may have even come up to you and suggested that you change, take a different course of action, let that person go, move out the house, go back to school, but for one reason or another, you decided not to make the change. The only problem is you know now that you have missed out on an opportunity that could really have made a difference in your life. The good news is that Jesus Christ can still help you to make the change you need, to get back charge of your life.

Sometimes, we need to make a change, and we do not know it. We can be deceived by all the good things that are going on around us and think that it’s going to last forever. But in reality the world around us is changing, circumstances are changing, and we ourselves are changing. Change is an inevitable part of life. We have to make choices everyday, and the choices we make today are going to affect us for a very long time to come.

Josiah became the king of Judah under odd circumstances, but the nation itself was enjoying a relatively peaceful time. First of all the nation was at peace with its neighbors so times were pretty good. The economy seemed to be doing all right. The people were very relaxed in their relationship to God because there was no pressing emergency.

Some time into his reign, however, Josiah realized the moral decay of his nation and he began to seek the Lord. At age 16, Josiah recognized that he needed a change in his own life. The funny thing is that on the outside, he pretty much had all that he could want at age 16. What curfew do you give to the king? What allowance do you give to the king? What girl is not willing to date the king? He could have left things comfortably as they were. But Josiah knew something was missing from his life and he wanted to know why. He just knew it was time for a change.

For each of us, comfort and normalcy can be a deceitful thing. It is so crucial that we are constantly remaining open to the voice of the Lord in our lives, especially that which is found in his word. Don’t get so comfortable that you are unwilling to change. God may be trying to move you in order to bless you. Listen up and be prepared to change.

LASTING PEACE

Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”

If we took a poll to identify what people want most out of life, what their hopes and dreams revolve around, the list would probably include things like good health; financial prosperity; positive relationships; rewarding work. And who could argue with any of those things? Who wouldn’t one want to be healthy and wealthy, with a great career, and a loving family? But there’s a more fundamental need we have; a deeper desire, and that’s the desire for personal peace. Peace of mind. Freedom from fear and worry; freedom from trouble and distress. Most people, in their daily lives, are searching for peace; doing what they can to avoid the painful turbulence of life. They diet and exercise to avoid poor health, because illness would threaten their peace. They work, and save, and invest to avoid financial hardship, because poverty would upset their peace. And they choose to enter into relationships with people they like, relationships they hope will bring peace, rather than conflict. In other words, one of the strongest motives behind the way we live is a desire for personal peace.

Does it work? Do our efforts bring us peace? Yes. But only to a limited extent, and only for a limited time. If we’re lucky and diligent, we can keep the forces of chaos at bay, at least for a while. But eventually, and inevitably, something will break through; something we can’t control; something we don’t anticipate. And then the carefully constructed world of peace and order that we’ve labored so hard to build will come crashing down. Sometimes it happens without warning – a pink slip, a sudden illness, a fire, an arrest, an emotional breakdown. And sometimes it develops over time, in spite of all our efforts to stop it. A slowly deteriorating marriage. A long stock-market slide that erodes our savings. A chronic medical condition that becomes less and less manageable. And besides all these things, all these private threats to our peace, we live in a dangerous and unpredictable world, in which we’re constantly at risk from things like wars, and terrorist attacks, and natural disasters. It’s no wonder, then, that Henry David Thoreau would write this:

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country . . . A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind."

In general, people fail to find lasting peace because they are looking for it in the wrong place. They are seeking peace in pleasant circumstances. They think that if they can eliminate from their lives all sources of pain and conflict, they will be at peace. But this strategy has two fatal flaws. First, it just isn’t possible. We simply don’t have the ability to control all the chaotic forces at work in our lives. No one does. We may succeed for a while, but any peace that arises from our circumstances will be tenuous and temporary. Something will always come along to burst the bubble. What we need is a peace that is not dependent on circumstances.

The other reason that a peace built on circumstances won’t last is that peace is a matter of the heart. It’s internal, not external. And so any successful effort to find true peace must focus on what’s inside us, not on what’s going on around us. True peace comes from God. Not from things, not from circumstances, not from people, but from God. If you lack peace, seek it in God. If you desire peace, look to God. He alone can quiet your heart; he alone can give rest to your soul. And he will, if you seek him and place your trust in Him.

LIVING LARGER THAN LIFE

I Chronicles 4:10 “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory. Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.”

Gordon McDonald writes in his book, "Restoring Spiritual Passion" … You see someone you know, and ask a simple question: "What’s going on in your world these days?" You may get an all too common answer: "I’ve got to cut down! I’m into too many things." Or you ask someone how he or she is feeling and you’re liable to hear the response, "I think I’m on the edge of burnout... or something." You comment on how busy the last few weeks seem to have been, and someone agrees and begins to philosophize: "Tell me, do you ever ask yourself why we’re doing all of this anyway?"

The last thing anyone probably wants to think about is "doing more" We are people living a life that is larger than us. Jabez was praying just the opposite … he wanted to live larger than life. He was seeking to live life by the motto, "Wanting to be more and do more for God." When Jabez prayed for the enlargement of his territory … I believe he was asking for more than just land acquisition. He wanted more influence, more responsibility, and more opportunity to be and do more for God.

If we are going to be "living larger than life" we have to move the boundaries lines of our lives. We have to start praying differently by asking for more rather than for less. Bruce Wilkinson put it this way, "O God and King, please expand my opportunities and my impact in such a way that I touch more lives for your glory. Let me do more for you."

I have often times found myself praying for God to give me some relief. Asking that I could have less to do. It’s true that life is busy and schedules are tight. But, when I am honest with myself, I must admit that the moments in which I feel overwhelmed with tasks or responsibilities are the moments in which I am solely depending upon my own ability to get things done. That, of course, is a recipe for disaster. But when I am in tune with God, when my heart is focused on him and when I am working out of worship to him I find myself with an increased capacity for great things.

You see, like Jabez, most of us would love more territory. We would love a greater influence and greater opportunities. But what we often struggle with is the concept of maintaining balance. Are we spending enough time with our family? Are we getting enough rest? Do we spend enough personal time with God? It cannot be all work and no play. We cannot sacrifice our own well being just to stay busy. So we should ask the question, “What gets us out of balance?” We must allow God to be our balance. We must do what we do under his direction and his strength. We must pray for God to enlarge our territory instead of plowing ahead on our own. Jabez prayed, “Let your hand be with me.” That’s the key.

Jesus taught in Luke 12 that “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” If we ask, God will grant us an enlarged territory. We may be flooded with opportunity to build the kingdom. It will come at the cost of effort and passion. It will also come with the reward of blessing and fulfillment.

GUARD YOUR HEART

Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

Fort Knox is located close to Louisville, Kentucky and is home to much of the nations gold reserve. This reserve is protected in a very special way. Our nations gold reserve is housed in a two story building constructed of granite, steel, and concrete. It is 105 ft by 121 ft, and is 42 ft above ground level. Within this building is a two level steel and concrete vault that is divided into compartments. The vault door weighs more than 20 tons. No one person is entrusted with the combination. Various members of the staff must dial separate combinations known only to them. The vault casing is constructed of steel plates, steel I-beams and steel cylinders laced with hoop bands, and encased in concrete. The outer wall of the depository is constructed of granite lined with concrete. Construction materials used on the building included 16,500 cubic feet of granite, 4,200 cubic yards of concrete, 750 tons of reinforcing steel and 670 tons of structural steel. At each corner of the structure on the outside, but connected with it, are four guard boxes. Sentry boxes, similar to the guard boxes at the corners of the depository, are located at the entrance gate. A driveway encircles the building and a steel fence marks the boundaries of the site.

The building is equipped with the latest and most modern protective devices. The nearby Army Post provides additional protection. The depository is equipped with its own emergency power plant, water system and other facilities. In the basement is a pistol range for use by the guards.

There is another place which needs to be well guarded. We need to make certain of its security because it is the most important place in the world. That place is our heart. Why is the heart so important? Why does it need to be guarded with such diligence?

The word heart is found 963 times in the Bible. Of these usages the heart can mean the mind, the emotions, the will, or the inner man. It can even refer to the person as a whole.

The heart is of important because the Lord considers the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

The heart is important because life is conceived in the heart. Think of the heart as being the womb from which all of our actions, attitudes, ambitions and articulations are conceived. When Solomon encourages us to keep our hearts....he is saying "above all things that you keep.....keep your heart because life springs from it. The word "Keep" is elsewhere translated preserve, observe, watchers, watchmen, and even besieged.

We should always be taking an inventory of the things in our heart. The condition of the human heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked according to the prophet Jeremiah. Only God can change, and cleanse the human heart. Man in not only incapable of changing it, he is even incapable of knowing it.

What we do is a product of the heart. What we say is evident of what lies within the heart. The heart is a precious place. We must guard our heart with diligence, and allow Jesus to be Lord of our heart. If he is Lord in our heart, he will be Lord of our lives.

DON'T BE DISCOURAGED

Nehemiah 4:14 “After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."

Many years ago, there was a man in Kentucky who had recently retired from the postal service. He was sitting on his front porch when his first Social Security check arrived and he looked at it and felt so frustrated. He thinks to himself “Is this all I have to look forward to for the rest of my life?” He’s put in a long and hard career and now has little to show for it. Was it really worth all of that hard work? So he sat down and made a list of all of his blessings and the good things he had going for him. Included in that list was his mother’s famous recipe for fried chicken which included eleven different herbs and spices. He was the only one who knew that recipe. So he went to a nearby restaurant and asked if he could cook the chicken and they said yes. Pretty soon, it became the most popular item at the restaurant. So he opened his own restaurant and called it Kentucky Fried Chicken and the rest is history. Harland Sanders was tired and frustrated but he refused to give up.

Every once in a while in life, we all reach a point where we are just ready to throw in the towel and give up. We’re tired, frustrated, and exhausted and feel like there’s no use in continuing to try. Whether it’s a job, a relationship, health related problems, school; trying to lose weight, etc…we sometimes just don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel and had rather just quit the fight. Have you been there before?

Discouragement has been defined as “the feelings of despair in the face of obstacles.” It’s when you’re just tired of giving forth the effort and you’re ready to call it quits.

This passage in the book of Nehemiah is a great story about both the causes and the cures for discouragement. Many years earlier in the history of Israel, the walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed and the people were now defenseless and vulnerable to their enemies.
Nehemiah was called by God to lead the people in rebuilding the walls. But it seemed like an impossible task and the moral of the people was low. They were very discouraged and couldn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.

They were tired. They were frustrated. They felt like failures. They said “we cannot do this.” They were even gripped with fear. No doubt, it was a monumental task. But God was preparing to give them the strength to accomplish something special. We must determine what it is that is causing the discouragement in our life. Fatigue? Frustration? Failure? Fear? Once you have discovered it, you must do something about it-Rest, Reorganize, Remember and Reconnect with God, Resist it, reload and keep fighting the battle, but never give up.

Most importantly, reconnect with God. He’s waiting to hear from you. He doesn’t care whether you’re angry or depressed, frustrated or worried; He just wants to hear from you. Discouraged today? Perhaps it’s time to get reconnected. God will revive your passions and you will do great things.

WISDOM -- WHERE DO I BEGIN?

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

Life is made up of a series of choices. Every day we are faced with them. To, what we are going to wear in the morning to what we are going to listen to on the radio, how much we are going to save on our next paycheck to whether or not we will come to church. Or whether or not we are going to obey the speed limit. Now, I don’t think God is overly concerned with which shoes you wear to work. But he is concerned about whether or not you are walking wisely on this earth.

One thing you see over and over in the book of Proverbs is that it is focusing on the reality of wisdom. What is wisdom? Here is a definition based upon Nelson’s New Illustrative Bible Dictionary: “ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding.”

Now there are many who we consider wise. Maybe it’s based on their education or their experience. It’s crucial to understand that the wisdom in the Bible is different from the world. The wisdom of the world bases its decision making on human rational thought. Biblical wisdom on the contrary basis it’s decisions on the Bible and pleasing God.

We need wisdom today. Every single one of us needs wisdom as we walk in the world. We do have the capacity to make wise choices every day and be blessed by them. The Bible is our guide. It is a record of God’s revelation to us. It tells us specific things for our benefit. Not because God wants to harm us but so he can help us. There is black and there is white. But you know there are some choices that we face where there is not a clearly defined yes or no. And so sometimes we ask ourselves is it right or is it wrong when the real question should be, is it wise?

So, how do I attain wisdom? No matter where you are in life whether you are a child, teenager, adult…No matter what your educational position is…we all attain wisdom the same way. Even before we ask for it something has to happen. That something is found in our scripture. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. You see, there is no bypassing that stop. There’s no traveling on the road to wisdom without stopping here. “I can get a little wisdom to get me ahead in life” some say. That’s not how it works. Fear of the Lord means a trust, a reverence, and awe. A respect for what he says in his word. A commitment to the one who is already committed to you. It’s the beginning point. We are all on the same plane. We have to get to a point in our lives where we say, “Okay God, I understand that I don’t know it all. I’m bankrupt and only you can help me live this life.”

We attain wisdom by asking for it. James 1:5 says, “If you need wisdom---if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.” How does he give it? In what ways? Well, in my life I know he’s just pressed something upon my heart. I just had to trust in my instinct. He has also shown me wisdom through the words of a trusted friend. Surround yourself with people that aren’t just going to tell you what you want to hear. He has given me wisdom by applying his word. He has shown me wisdom by learning from life.

The choice is ours. Both folly and wisdom will call out to us. Follow after wisdom. The starting point is a fear of the Lord.