Jesus

The Pace of Life’s Race

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time1This has been one of those weeks where the minutes don’t drag on; they race by, and it there doesn’t seem to be enough time to get things done.  When I realize I’m rushing from one project to the next, I try to slow down by spending some time in the Psalms.

One of the Psalms that helps me manage the pace of life’s dizzying race is Psalm 103:

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

3 Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

4 Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

There are four things that I think about when I read this Psalm:

  • I need to get the right start by saying : “Bless the Lord, O my soul”
  • I need to take an inventory so I don’t “forget” my resources.”
  • I need to total my assets or “benefits.”
  • I need to see God at work: He forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, and satisfies.
  • I need to gauge my power: I am “renewed like the eagle.”

I encourage you to read the Psalm again and use the list above as a guide.  I hope it helps you as much as it does me.

The Standard of Purity

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81rMuq0yIEL._SL1500_In recent years, the debate over greenhouse-gas emissions has been hotly debated.  At issue is the matter of stifling the effect of the toxic emissions without trifling with industrial-strength free enterprise.

Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory think they may have an answer to the problem.  They believe it’s found in caviar-sized bubbles that are designed to absorb carbon dioxide.

The ecological impasse over greenhouse gas may have found a solution to the world’s pollution in something as simple and mundane as baking soda.  According to a Bloomberg report, these micro-bubbles have a” highly permeable polymer shell and a fluid (made up of sodium carbonate solution) that reacts with and absorbs carbon dioxide.”

I see a similarity between the ability of these micro bubbles infused with baking soda and the spiritual cleansing you can find in Jesus:

  • Paul said that it is, “Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing kindness. He poured out his kindness by giving us every kind of wisdom and insight (Ephesians 1:7).”
  • In Hebrews, it says that Jesus was crucified outside of the city, so he could purify people from their sin with his own blood (Hebrew 13:12).

Arm and Hammer market their baking soda as “The Standard of Purity,” and it helps eliminate the smelly odors in refrigerators; however, before the soda can work, the box must be opened.  The same is true in your relationship to Jesus—you must be open to Him: “ Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me (Revelation 3:20).”

I’ll leave you with this link to Alan Jackson as he sings about Jesus’ standard of purity.

Siri: Where Am I?

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pigeon-statue-11If you were a statue, you would think of a pigeon about like the kennel boy does a dog.  Not me—I raised pigeons when I was just a kid, and the unique ability of these birds to find their way home has always amazed me.

Evidently Cornell and the University of Pittsburgh share my appreciation for this innate ability of pigeons.  The research from both universities has concluded that pigeons use multiple facilities to help them determine the correct sense of direction.  While the sun is their primary orientation, they also use the earth’s magnetic field as a guide to get them safely home.

After an all-to-common and failed attempt to get directions from Siri (iPhone), I’ve decided I might have better luck finding my way home if I could somehow tether my truck to a pigeon.  Even though I speak clearly, Siri only understands about 10% of what I say when I ask for directions.

As I thought about the proficiency of the pigeons and the sad service of Siri, I was reminded of the words of Jesus:  My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

Whenever we are lost or feel alone, we can listen for the Shepherd’s voice and have the comfort of knowing we are never lost when we are with Him.

Your Piece of the World

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03world-puzzleWhether you live in the USA, England, Europe, Africa, or Asia, there is one thing you hold in common.  You and the rest of humanity want peace in your piece of the world–certainly, this is the case in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio this morning.

I know I’ve grown weary of all the protests, murders, shootings, and rapes that I see on the screen of my TV.  The headlines of the newspaper are depressing with stories of theft, scandals, and abused children.

Here is what I am going to do in my piece of the world today. Instead of being, “overcome by evil, I’m going to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).”  I am going to try my best to, “pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another (Romans 14:19).”  J.B. Philipps translated this same verse in these words:  “Let us concentrate on the things which make for harmony, and on the growth of one another’s character.”

Will you join me and make this your goal for today:

  • I will pursue and concentrate on bringing peace to my piece of the world.
  • When confronted with the off-key and unkind remarks of others, I will try to bring harmony to the situation.
  • I will do my best to be a positive presence in the life of those I encounter.

So what in the world are you going to do today?  I encourage you to bring peace to your piece of the world.

Urgent Email

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MailChimp is a company that is focused on email, and their website says:  “MailChimp helps you email the right people at the right time.”  In 2013 the company studied 24 billion successfully delivered emails, and they discovered the power inherent in one word.   When the word “urgent” was in the subject lines, the emails were much more likely to be opened.

Words like “urgent” will jolt most dolts out of their daydreaming existence and back to reality.  This type of charged language, unless overused, can effectively capture the attention of the intended audience.

To apprehend the attention of those who could only pretend righteousness, Jesus spoke a word of urgency:  “Repent or you will perish (Luke 13:3, 5).”

When you read the gospel of Mark, the first words of Jesus are an evangelistic call to repent:  “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15).”

“Repentance comes from the Greek word “metanoia,” and it means a” change of mind.”  When a person repents, he turns from sin to God.  The story of the Prodigal Son is a good example of repentance:  When he came to himself, he said . . . “I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.”

“Praise” and “worship” are two of the feel-good-words associated with the church today.  These are important features of a person’s relationship with Christ, but they are meaningless unless you attend to the urgent need to repent of your sin.

People don’t mind focusing on the failures, faults and sins of people they know, but they start to back-peddle and say, “Don’t meddle” when it comes to their personal need to repent.

 

I’ll Give You $15 for Your Benjamin

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usd-loi-d13dbI had to chuckle when I opened my email and read an offer for a free gift card.  That’s right, free.  When I spend $100, the merchant will give me a free gift card in the amount of $15.

I’d like to make the same offer to you:  For every $100 you place in my hand, I’ll give you $15 in return—no stipulation, no fine print, and no questions asked!  It’s free!

Evidently there is some disparity between that merchant’s idea of free and my understanding of the word.  One the many meanings of free is “no charge.”

This two word definition also sheds some light on the nature of salvation.  It is a “no charge” salvation because Jesus has paid the price of sin.  According to Scripture:

  • You were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body (I Corinthians 6:20).
  • The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).
  • God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the payment for our sins (I John 4:9-10).

The gift of salvation is exactly that—a free gift from God at the expense of Christ.

. . . by the way my free offer still stands:  $15 for every $100 you give me.

Peace On Earth

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Christmas Bells 11516When Jesus came to this world, it was not to address the peccadillo needs of a few, but to fill the chasm of sin that separated man from God.  He did not come to just please the whims and fancies of the human race, but He came to pacify of the righteous demands of a holy God.

His coming was full of promise; yet, the people to whom He came rejected Him.  John said:

He came into the world—the world he had created—and the world failed to recognize him. He came into his own creation, and his own people would not accept him. Yet wherever men did accept him he gave them the power to become sons of God. These were the men who truly believed in him, and their birth depended not on the course of nature nor on any impulse or plan of man, but on God (JB Phillips)

Whenever I read the verses above, I am intrigued by four words:  “the power to become.”  When people accept Jesus, not an idea nor a philosophy, but the person of Christ, they receive “the power to become” a child of God.  This spiritual transformation is the real hope of the Christmas story.

At this time each year I see people go to great expense to decorate their house–to transform it from the ordinary ho hum to an extraordinary display of flashing lights; yet they still miss the meaning of Christmas.  While they are willing to pay homage to a diorama of Christmas, they fail to worship the Christ of Christmas.

Longfellow wrote the words to the song I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.  In the third stanza of the song, he stated the condition of mankind without Christ:

 And in despair I bowed my head:

“There is no peace on earth,” I said,

“For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

As you celebrate Christmas this year, remember peace on earth is only possible because a piece of Heaven was born in a manger.

Paul: Judaism to Jesus

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church-of-christA person’s concept of Christ often undergoes a dramatic change from the first time he thinks about Him to the time he trusts Him as Savior.  This was the case with the Apostle Paul.  He started his life as Saul of Tarsus and sought out Christians with a raging hatred similar to that of mad dog infected with rabies. When Saul first heard of the “hope of the resurrection,” it sounded like empty rhetoric and a powerless promise.  After he encountered Jesus on the Damascus road, he experienced the transforming power of Christ’s salvation and his name was changed to Paul.

By developing a dynamic relationship with God, Paul came to know Him in several dimensions.  When he wrote to the Hebrews, Paul said God “is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”   Paul also spoke of this in 2 Timothy 4:

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  There is reserved for me in the future the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.

To know God as a rewarder, you must first know Him as a redrawer.  Paul had been the rising star of Judaism, but he walked away from the Law to a life of grace:

As far as keeping the Law is concerned I was a Pharisee, and you can judge my enthusiasm for the Jewish faith by my active persecution of the Church. As far as the Law’s righteousness is concerned, I don’t think anyone could have found fault with me. Yet every advantage that I had gained I considered lost for Christ’s sake . . . I considered it useless rubbish compared with being able to win Christ. God has given me that genuine righteousness which comes from faith in Christ. How changed are my ambitions!

For whom have you lived—Devil or Jesus?  You will be known for either the good way you live or evil will define you.

When you meet the Gateman will you be wearing his nametag?    If so, you just might hear Him say: “You have fought the good fight; you have finished the race; and you have kept the faith.”

 

Note:  I enjoy playing with the English language.  Go back and find the single words I have italicized in a couple of sentences.  Forwards and backwards, what do you see?

The Advantage

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advantageFor a brief period of my professional life I was involved in sales. As part of my training, the company sent me to a week-long school to introduce me to the finer points of salesmanship.

Throughout the training, one phrase was emphasized time and time again: The advantage to you is . . . After making that statement to the prospective client, I would finish the sentence by highlighting the distinguishing characteristics of the product I was selling.

From a Christian perspective, you can complete the phrase several ways. The advantage to you is that by becoming a Christian, you can:
• Know Jesus as your Savior
• Be assured of a home in Heaven
• Find comfort in His Word
• Depend on the Holy Spirit for guidance
• Be reassured and find strength through prayer
• Have hope even in times of sorrow

Most viewpoints have both a positive and negative side to the argument. The real “advantage” can be understood sometimes by also considering the negative side: How would my life be different if I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus?

What are the positives and negatives of your life, and what are the advantages you’ve discovered?

Who’s Your Daddy?

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ar131489176261418“Liar, liar, pants on fire” is a childhood chant that challenges the integrity of a story-telling individual. Some people are so prone to lying, they can be labeled as a mythomane: A person who has a strong or irrestibile propensity for exaggerating. pinocchio

The fictional character most often associated with telling a lie is Pinocchio, and Charles Ponzie is a good example of bad business practices. His deceitful methods gave birth to the phrase “Ponzie Scheme.”

Lying and deceit was a problem long before Charles Ponzie and Pinnocchio. Jesus addressed the issue in John 8:44: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

The words of Jesus in which He just identified Satan as the father of the lie is a strong contrast to God the Father and Paul’s description of Him as the One who “cannot lie (Titus 1:2).” Lying is inconsistent to any discussion of God because it would be a corruption of His holy nature.

Lying and deceitfulness are questions of integrity. Because your life is scrutinized by others who are watching for inconsistencies, honesty is the best policy.

When you examine your life, does truth reign or are you a mythomane? This may be a clue to the question: “Who’s your daddy?”