Prepared For Jesus

     I knew a man that was involved in building houses.  I asked him what the most difficult part of the house was to build.  “It’s impossible to describe the time and energy that goes into planning,” he said.  “The actual construction of the house is easy once the plans are in print.”

     All of life is the same way.  Every important step requires preparation.  In school we must learn the basics before going on to the “good stuff.”  At work, we must go through training before we can do the job properly and safely.  Preparation is the hardest, most tedious and frustrating thing we will go through in life, yet it is also the most important.  Without preparation, we will not be able to succeed at anything in life. 

     When Jesus came to “seek and save the lost,” He didn’t just appear on the scene.  God had His people go through a long period of preparation ahead of time.  In looking back at God’s planning stages, His love for us is plainly obvious.

     There were the sacrifices to teach that sin carries a death sentence - and that God will accept a substitute in our place.  God’s choice of Abraham teaches us the importance that faith plays.  Through the Law of Moses, we see how far our sinfulness is from His holiness.  The Tabernacle rituals depicted the role of the Messiah in bringing us back to God.  And the prophets told God’s people how to recognize the Savior when he arrived to finish the plan.

     Centuries of hard work, patience and love for God.  And even so, most of God’s people were not ready.  The disciples misunderstood.  The people Jesus was sent to save crucified Him.  Not until 50 days later did 3,000 of them realize what they had done.

     And what about you?  Have you prepared yourself to take advantage of what Jesus has offered?  Are you ready to live like Him everyday and so fulfill God’s purpose for your life?  Are you ready for when he returns again?

     God went to a lot of trouble to save you from your sin.  Learn from all of this and start preparing for the final journey.  It will happen sooner than you think.

Doug

Jesus Rules!

            “What is wrong with people today?”  “How can someone plant a bomb and kill hundreds of innocent people?”  “How can a mother take the life of her own child?”  “How can two people who say they love each other be so cruel to one another?”  I hear these and other questions all the time.  I’ve often asked them myself.  I call these “why” questions.  The answers that go with them are “I don’t know” answers, because only God knows the reasons.

            The only explanation that makes sense to me is that, for many people, God’s principles are out-of-date, impractical and irrelevant.  His people, due to mixing their religion with cultural norms and biases, have perverted the truth about Him so that whatever makes them feel good or bad becomes the standard for right and wrong.  The doubters, God-haters, and social critics consider Christians and their religion to be promoters of bigotry, hatred, violence, and misinformation. And, honestly, who can blame them when those who claim the Name live opposite of what He stands for?

            So it should be obvious why all of these frightening things are happening.  Satan rules in the lives of most people!  Who else can cause so much hatred and chaos?

            Somehow these people (whether in Christ or out) have to be convinced to replace the Deceiver (lies) with their original Ruler (truth); the One they recklessly traded away because they couldn’t see how the Bible applies to their lives today or because it doesn’t affirm their feel-good belief-system or their comfort-zone laziness.  They have to be convinced that God’s principles and Jesus’ teachings make sense and work in every aspect of 21st century living – even if it causes the majority to rise up against them and publicly ridicule them, or to categorize them as “billy-goat herders,” and unenlightened, closed-minded and judgmental hypocrites.  We must all come to understand that God’s way is the only way if we are to get rid of these distressing acts of crime and violence.  And fortunately we have the very thing we need to accomplish this.  God and His Word: the only thing that can defeat Satan.

            The Apostle Peter says it this way; “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:3, 4).

            Notice that we get this power through knowledge.  That means Bible study – not just a cursory reading or storing up trivial facts.  And especially not allowing someone else to tell us what it says or means. We personally must gain the knowledge necessary to use God’s power and effectively teach others so that they also may be able to use it to escape from the Deceiver. 

            By participating in the divine nature (acting like Jesus) we can let the world know that Jesus rules! This is the only way to be free of the effects of Satan’s rules. But it’s going to take total commitment. It will mean being willing to stand against the ridicule, slander, name-calling, and ostracizing that is sure to come. For those who choose to put God first in this way, remember that you are blessed and have a better place to look forward to than your irreligious critics do. And for those who try to avoid the negativity that loyalty to Christ generates, just remember who you will have to be spending an eternity in turmoil with.

            Make doubly sure that Jesus rules in your life, not public opinion. Get to know Him better day by day through personal experience and practice regardless how others around you choose to live.  And look forward to a comfortable eternity of being free from the troubles, chaos, and hatred caused by those who have chosen Satan’s rule.

Doug

The Mighty One Will Save

            I used to think that I'd "seen it all": Drugs in elementary school, Guns on the playground, Armed guards patrolling the hallways in high school, People killing each other for a few bucks, Gangs setting houses on fire because someone looked at them funny.  Yes, I thought I had seen just about everything until one day I read about a 7 year old girl who had burned to death in a house fire.  What was disheartening is that her father stood below her window with arms open, begging her to jump so he could catch her.  But she wouldn't do it.  She just couldn't trust him to catch her.  Sadly, she perished in the deadly smoke and flames.

            There was no history of child abuse on the part of the parents.  The family was very close; very religious; a good example in their new subdivision.  So why didn't she jump to safety?  Probably for the same reason people today won't jump into God's arms to escape the fires of hell.  They don't trust Him to take care of their lives both physical and spiritual).  So many good people are destined to die because they won’t trust in God's ability to rescue.

            Scripture is rich with verses that prove . . .

                        God is big enough to handle any of life’s problems. 

                        He will save you – He alone is Mighty to Save. 

                        He can be trusted – He has your best interests at heart. 

            Space does not allow me to list all of the passages which were written to encourage us to jump safely into God's arms.  Here are a few to encourage you to step out and trust God to lead you.  Read these thoughtfully: Psalms 37:4-6;  Romans 8:28;  Ephesians 3:20;  Hebrews 13:5,6.

            Make a sure connection with God today.  Allow yourself to “jump into His arms” so He can help you work out the solution to your problems.  Don’t get impatient looking for the quick fix or the answer that meets your expectations.  It's unrealistic to think that the answer will be immediate or the way we want it to be.  Sometimes what is required is more learning, understanding, or experience on our part before we can be ready for His answer – the right answer.  But rest assured, His reply always turns out to be the best one.

            Look through your Bible daily. It is a history of how God has dealt with humans.  You’ll find that He has never failed to keep a promise.  Never.  And in all of His dealings with mankind, He has always worked for everyone’s benefit.  Always.  The ultimate proof of all of this was when He sent Jesus to live a perfect life and to die to free us from the guilt of our sins.

            So go ahead and jump.  He has promised to catch you.  You will be safe.

Doug

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

     There are two things that I really hate when driving.  The first is foggy and / or streaked windows.  Since the traffic situation is always changing, I like to have a clear view of everything around me.  Poor visibility increases my stress level.

     The other thing I hate while driving is a lot of road signs and billboards.  I get really distracted from what I’m doing because I have a hard time looking away from the flashy, colorful advertisements.  I especially have a hard time with the ones that have (purposefully) misspelled words in them.  I feel the need to correct the spelling . . . and then I get too close to the car in front of me or beside me! I guess I might be ready for a new car with one of those collision-avoidance systems.

     I’ve noticed that Satan can sometimes work this way in our spiritual lives.  He knows that if he can cloud my judgment or distract me from “the road” ahead, I run a high risk of crashing.  This, I believe, is the main reason for all of the Scriptures which remind us to keep our focus on God and Jesus.  The Hebrew writer says it this way:  “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter [finisher / completer] of our faith” (12:3).

            Jesus had much to say about keeping one’s attention fixed on our heavenly goal.  “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom . . .”  “If you would follow after me, you must deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me.”  “Abide in me and I will abide in you . . . apart from me you can do nothing.”  Yet, so many get distracted and take their eyes off of Him: Peter while walking on water (he began to sink when he got distracted by the storm and the waves), Judas when Jesus was being anointed (he was distracted with the waste of money and lost sight of the woman’s loving devotion to Him), Thomas and the others who rejected the reports of the resurrection (they were too distracted by their fears and grief to acknowledge that Jesus really was alive).

            It is imperative that we listen to and carry out the instruction in this Hebrews passage.  Satan has so many weapons to distract us from returning to God: job stresses, family issues, peer pressure, health issues, future plans, close relationships, car troubles, the bank balance, failed political promises, world injustices, global turmoil, and on and on.  All he has to do to derail our lives and send us off in the wrong direction is to slip a simple “care” or “concern” or “burden” into our thinking and before we know it, we’re sinking like Peter did.  Fortunately, Peter had grown in his relationship with Jesus to know who to cry out to for help.  And Jesus was right there to rescue him.

     Keep your “eyes” on Jesus and build your faith in Him so that Satan’s “storms” are less and less distracting.  In order to make it to the final destination (God), it is vital to persevere in your faith and continue to call on Him for guidance and strength. And the good ending to that story is that He is always near to rescue, encourage, and empower you to stay on the right track.

Doug

Healing of the Nations

            There is an interesting image provided for us in Revelation 22 concerning the heavenly city.  In His discussion about the River of Life flowing down the main street of the city, John also speaks of the Tree of Life being there.  The last time the Tree of Life was mentioned in Scripture was in Genesis 3:22-24.  In that passage, Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden and angels were posted to guard the way to the Tree of Life so they couldn’t partake of it any longer.  God’s reason for keeping them from the tree was so that they would not eat of it and live forever (especially now since they were damaged by sin).

            Here in the last chapter of the Bible, the Tree of Life is given back.  This time, it is given “for the healing of the nations”.  The interesting image being revealed, is the word used for “tree”.  In Greek the usual word for tree is “dendron” which refers to the whole tree (roots, trunk, branches and leaves).  But in the Greek translation of Genesis (the Septuagint) and here in Revelation, the word used is “zulon” which refers to a wood pole (or something made from wood).  What wood pole is there that brings healing?

            Since many NT passages use the word zulon to refer to a Roman cross, we must conclude that this Tree of Life that brings healing to the nations is the cross of Christ, for the healing being mentioned is spiritual healing; the cleansing of sin from the soul.  And the only way sin is removed is by the blood of Christ (Acts 4:10-12).  So, in Genesis, the Tree of Life was taken away because of sin and in Revelation, sin has been removed by Jesus’ sacrifice and this Tree of Life is given back to provide continuous healing of the soul which leads to eternal life. 

            And notice too, John speaks of healing for “the nations”.  This means everybody – regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or social status.  This was a hard lesson for the first century church to understand.  Jewish Christians thought (for some reason) that salvation was only for Jews.  They had difficulty realizing that God accepts all believers on the same level.  Yet that’s exactly what God had prophesied for generations. 

Let’s not make this same mistake today.  Share the soul-healing medicine of Jesus with everyone you come into contact with.  Allow others to “see” Him through your actions, attitudes, speech, activities, relationships; in all that you do (Colossians 3:17).  Commit to helping God heal the nations with Jesus’ amazing Tree of Life.

Doug