Tag: Joy

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New Years – God Said “It was good”

Genesis 1:31, “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!…..”

God does not waste time making second rate things or moments without meaning. God did not create a person or moment on this earth that He did not say, “it is very good…”. Anytime you start to believe otherwise, you don’t understand the nature of the God of the universe.

CREATION

Colossians 1:16, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

Before God created the universe, he sketched out every molecule. He detailed every man, woman, child, plant, animal, every cell, every microcell,  every nano cell, and the billions of planets and stars that will ever exist. God knew that we needed a Savior, and God knew exactly when we would need Him. Then He created; then He started everything in motion. And He said, “that is very good.”

Colossians 1:15, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

The complexity of the world we live in is enormous. I met the brother-in-law of a friend of mine over Thanksgiving. He is a cardiovascular research scientist working with the Lymphatic system, a subsystem of the circulatory system. He works in an invisible world that is essential to human health. God created proteins that provide for the health of tiny valves within that system required for our existence. When I tried to visualize how God can scale down the laws of physics to such a microscopic level and still have everything work as it should, it’s inconceivable. 

John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

CHRIST IS BORN

When I think about the importance and timing of Jesus’ birth, ordained before the world was born, the lymphatic system becomes mundane. When I think of the significance of the arrival of our Savior and the birth of you and I, as being very good in God’s eye, I get a chill. Christ saved all of us from permanent separation from God. God created each of us to save someone from that same fate.

Do you not look at your birth with the same importance and reverence as you do Christmas? No, we could never match the glory and majesty of Christ’s importance here on earth. We were not born to save all of humankind through the gift of forgiveness. But we do have a mission, and that mission is just as important to someone out there. God, through Christ, created the building block of our redemption. God gave us a path, through Christ, back to Him; we, all of us, must choose that path. It is this last part that makes your creation so important.

OUR ROLE

Romans 10:14, “But how can they call on someone if they haven’t trusted in him? And how can they trust in someone if they haven’t heard about him? And how can they hear about someone if no one is proclaiming him?”

We cannot save as Christ saved, but we can lead someone to Him so that He may save them. Just as there is not a moment wasted by God, there is not a moment in our lives that is insignificant. People are always watching us to see God’s glory. When He created us, it was good; the act itself was good, not the person. That person was tainted as a byproduct of the fall. But we were created with a purpose of great importance to God; He desires that we live out that purpose.

Job 42:2, “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

As Christian, we need to recognize and accept that we were created for a purpose, and that purpose is to glorify God from generation to generation. We accomplish that purpose by spreading the gospel both in actions and words.

Have you ever thought of celebrating your birthday with the same significance as you celebrate Christmas? You cannot save the world, but you can save it for someone. Remember throughout 2021, when God created you, he said, “it was very good.”

Matthew 5:16, ”In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

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Christmas – The Story of a Promise and Patience

Psalms 9:10, “Those who know your name put their trust in you. For you, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who trust in you.”

Waiting for the Good News

Daniel prophesied the coming of the Messiah over 400 years before Jesus was born. Daniel thought it was 70 weeks after the temple’s destruction, but Gabriel used a turn on words to say it was 70 sevens. By the way, Biblical writers say that Jesus arrived a full 1,500 years after God gave Moses The Law.  Remember, I am a layman and in no way pretend to know the scriptures well; so, let’s say Christmas came later than expected and leave it at that.

For children waiting for Christmas day, excitement crescendos from Thanksgiving day until December 25th; as each day passes, the wait becomes almost unbearable. The anticipation of getting just the right gift, but not knowing if you will, is overwhelming. Christmas day comes, and the bubble burst into excitement.

Israel thought the Messiah’s coming was right around the corner, but then there was another corner. Corner after corner came and went with no Messiah.  Did their anticipation crescendo or faded away? From what we know from the scriptures, I would have to say anticipation faded away for most. When He came, not only did they not recognize Him, some actively denied it was Him.

Matthew 12:14, “But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.”

Receiving the Good News

Jesus was the answer to a great promise God made before creation, but many missed its blessing because it was not in their timeframe. One of the messages we should take from Christmas is patience. Remember Simeon, the man that God promised he would not die until he saw the Messiah. Simeon was late in years but had not lost faith that God would keep His promise. God rewarded his faith, for he recognized the Savior when he saw Him. Had he lost faith that God would keep His promise; he might have seen Jesus and not recognized Him.

As we celebrate Christmas, let us not lose sight that God’s timing is not our timing. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. God didn’t create the universe and say, “Let’s see how this plays out.” He wrote the complete story, end-to-end, before it even began. He loved us then, and He loves us now.

Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new  every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Acknowledging the Good News

Patience is one of the great virtues. Patience not only serves us well when dealing with each other, but it is essential to seeing God in action. Many times we ask God for things that we think are right and good, and for the most part, they are. But we are finite, and God is infinite. God sees solutions we could never dream of seeing. He wrote our story and knows our path.

Be patient in looking for your blessings. God will keep His promises to you. You need to stay obedient to His will and be patient. We wait 364 days every year for Christmas to arrive; Israel waited over 400 years. Those that lost faith missed the blessing. Don’t miss your blessings.

Gabriel heralded the significance of Jesus to Mary; it was the start of God’s promise to redeem His people. Jesus came for all of us. His patience with us and His love for us endures forever.

Luke 1:31-33, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

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Christmas 2020 – A Year of God’s Favor

Luke 4: 18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

In one of the most dysfunctional years that I can remember I find that this year is the year that God challenges us to proclaim His favor in all things and proclaim His glory to those in which He has put us in contact.

I have a big request for this season of celebration; reach out to those who are hurting and offer them a lifeline. Don’t try to cheer them up; love them. Quiet desperation is the most suffocating emotion one will ever face. We are not the solution, only God is, but He can work through us. 

The fortunate among us, myself included, see what God has done in our lives and are thankful. We enjoy the relationships God puts in front of us, the opportunities we have been privileged to experience, and hope of a greater future. We may reminisce about good times, maybe even better times, but we are grounded in the moment. That moment, this moment is ours to make what we choose. God gave us that choice. And at this moment, we choose hope.

Psalm 100: 4-5, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good, and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

There are those around us that, for various reasons, see the holiday season differently. They have broken relationships, their opportunities are few, and the future is bleak. Their minds are clouded by what could have been, but never will be. What they have experienced in their life darkens the soul and grieves the heart. Their life is not a glass half empty; it is a glass too small. 

Psalms 34:18, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

I have compassion for these; I have been there. I have known the darkness of despair. Evil lurks for a desperate heart. No matter how bad life is, it finds a way to bring it further down. Christmas is not a time of reflection; it is a time to try to forget. The joy of others amplifies their pain. The light at the end of the tunnel is a train. Salvation is a myth. Comfort and joy a fairy tale. 

I have prayed not to wake and for tomorrow to never come. I wanted all the endless pain to go away and leave me in peace. But peace does not await the person without Christ. Their destination is not something to be desired no matter how cruel life has become.

Matthew 25:45, “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

This Christmas, invest in another. Don’t try to “fix” their life, instead give them hope. Let them know there is someone who will travel their journey with them. Be that person. Be the one that God weeps for joy over. 

One last thing; We all have broken connections. We have people that have hurt us, or we have hurt them. Extend a kind word. It will change the world for both of you.

Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

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A Christmas for Eternity

Mark 4:18-19, “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”

Is your view of eternity a day at a time? Do the struggles you face today form your worldview? Are your prayers reflective of your needs and pain in the moment? I bring this up because of the year we have just gone through. Many of us have had to put our hopes and dreams on hold. Many of the issues in the news, and life, seem ever evolving. Social Media has made us “in-the-moment” people. Some of us get so caught up in the news of the moment that they lose sight of why they are here. We are here to glorify God from generation to generation.

Exodus 3:15, “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”

THE SHORT VIEW

How we fight COVID-19 today is different from what was reported just a few months ago. The news about injustice changes as new information becomes available. Sometimes our worldview is cemented before we get the whole story. We worry about the economy as closures and unemployment rise. Our worldly leaders seem more intent on persuading us toward their agenda than actually solving a problem.

All of this drives us to a short term view of our lives and the world around us. We start to think that whatever happens in the next moment, the next week, the next year, or the next decade will alter our existence forever. We have to react before it is too late.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Fear is the great enemy of faith. Living in fear is looking at circumstances as if God didn’t exist or doesn’t care. Fear is trying to control the uncontrollable. Fear is looking for solutions that are human-made, not faith-based. Fear shrinks our world and makes us ineffective.

Luke 12:20, “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”

Who will benefit from all your worry?

THE ENEMY

Who is your real enemy? It is COVID, injustice, political leadership, or even poverty? Is it your boss or your neighbor or cultural bias? Or, might it be something that uses all of these to keep you from seeing the real enemy? Do not get me wrong, these are real issues that we should not ignore, but they are not the real danger. If non-believers bring about world peace and do away with poverty, hunger, and disease, are you better off? Short-term, yes, you are more comfortable; long-term, not so much.

We get so tied up in every day that we forget we are creations meant for eternity. Our entire life span is but a moment. A single day almost unnoticeable. It is real at the moment but not worthy of concern when thinking of eternity.

A Short term view of our existence is a tool of the enemy to convince us that God does not love us. It is one of the best ways that the enemy whispers in our ear that if God did love us, he would do what we want, God should address our fear with immediate solutions.

1 John 4:18, “We need have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly; his perfect love for us eliminates all dread of what he might do to us. If we are afraid, it is for fear of what he might do to us and shows that we are not fully convinced that he really loves us.”

THE LONG VIEW

Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone” ― Pablo Picasso

Christ came for the long view. He didn’t come so that the Pharisees would be put in their place or the Romans would be run out of town. He even told His disciples that poverty would always exist in the world. He wasn’t looking to correct the by-products of sin, but to destroy the impact of sin itself.

Matthew 26:11, “The poor you will always have with you”

He died that we might spend eternity with Him. There will be no political parties or disease or hunger or injustice. These are of the world and therefore under His dominion to be eliminated upon His return.

Ephesians 1:22, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.”

I would challenge each of you to divorce yourself from all news and social media for 30 days. I challenge you to only engage in gospel-based learning and information. I think you will find that nothing happened that would not have happened with or without your knowledge. I think you will find your world view has pivoted away from the temporal to the eternal. I think you will find yourself filled with more confidence and hope; concern and fear will decrease. The Bible will guide you in the due diligence required to deal with this world.

 1 John 5:14-15, “And we are sure of this, that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we really know he is listening when we talk to him and make our requests, then we can be sure that he will answer us.”

COVID can’t stop Him. Whoever is in the White House cannot prevent His will. Nothing in your environment will stand in the way of God’s love for you. Stop fixating on things you cannot control and start fixating on the things you should control. Fixate on God’s providence over all things. God will protect your soul. God will prepare you for eternity with Him.

The greatest thing about you is what God has done for you. Live your life with the joy and peace of knowing that God has dominion over all things. You are safe within His hands.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9, “We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

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Your Christmas Story

Ever wonder what the essence of a great story includes? There must be three or four critical components. There has to be a protagonist and an antagonist; you know, the good guy and the bad guy. Then there has to be a great adventure, an adventure that draws you in and captivates you. There has to be a dark moment; when the hero seems to be on the brink of destruction. Then there is the ending, a wonderful, thrilling, defying-all-odds moment that takes your breath away.

We were listening to a Robert Ludlum audiobook on the long drive to and from Missouri over the Thanksgiving holiday. Dr. John Smith was the protagonist, surviving death over and over again. Time and again, Ludlum had him in impossible situations, just to be saved in the nick of time. It got me thinking of my life and the most incredible story of all time; The Christmas story.

You can read the beginning here: Luke 2:1-20

The Beginning

Jesus was there in the beginning. He knew our fall, He knew our struggles, and most of all, He knew we needed a hero, not just an ordinary run-of-the-mill hero, but the Savior of all Saviors. The story of our lives is an epic battle between good and evil. We get to choose the part we play, just like when we were kids playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians. This time the playing is real, and the consequences of our decisions last for eternity.

John 1:1-2, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God….”

John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

In the story of my life, I am not the protagonist; I’m not the good guy or the hero; I’m the one needing rescue. The antagonist isn’t life or the decisions I’ve made; it is the dark force that hides the consequences of my choices. Unlike John Smith trying to save the world from diabolic biological weapons, my story is God trying to save me from myself.

The God of the universe looks down on weak humans being buffeted by the plans and schemes of evil. For the average person, evil does not present itself in situations that reek of sulfur. Evil presents itself in everyday decisions that seem right in the moment. Many times sin will even give us a Bible verse to comfort us in our weak moments. Evil knows the story and knows the ending but pushes on anyway.

The Rescue

The story of Christmas is the defying-all-odds over-the-top ending to our impossible predicament. You see, we cannot save ourselves from destruction; we haven’t the power. I would go as far as to say some of us still don’t know we need saving. Without God’s intervention through Christ on the cross, we fail. We cannot be good enough to overcome the impact evil has on our lives. Christ is the only one who can reach down and pull us up from the abyss.

Romans 5:8, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This Christmas, we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Our happy ending starts in a room no one wanted and ends on the cross. It is not the ending we think of in a novel. It is not the hero living with honor and residing on an earthly throne. It’s bigger than that. Our protagonist not only saves us from ourselves, but He also conquers death itself. Through Him, evil is defeated, and we are saved for eternity.

Hebrews 12:2, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Epilogue

This Christmas spend time with friends, listen to the music of the season, exchange gifts, and eat great food, but take some time to play out your story. Take time to understand that you are not the hero of your story. I am one of the most fortunate men on this earth. I was born in a country of opportunity. God gave me everything a person could want. I have had position, power, and wealth, but I could not save myself. For all that I was, I was helpless. Christ saw me, loved me, and saved me.

Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

Christmas is a time of great joy, do not let that pass you by, but take the time to replay your story; you get to choose your ending, make it a good one.

1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”

Share your story of great joy and peace with all you encounter throughout the year, for we are truly blessed.

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Thanksliving

At Thanksgiving, we give thanks for all that God has done in our lives. We thank Him for our family and our friends and our everyday living. We give thanks for all the worldly things he has bestowed upon us. Then we turn our thoughts to Christmas.

1 Corinthians 1:30, “Everything that we have – right thinking and right living, a clean slate, and a fresh start – comes from God by way of Jesus Christ.”

Thanksgiving is an special day because even the secular world stops for a moment to give thanks for their blessings. If even the non-believer is thankful for their gifts, so how much more should we be grateful? Can you think of a single good thing in your life that was not provided by God?

Giving Thanks

For a moment, just a single moment, bask in pure adoration for the miracle of your life. Lift a prayer before you eat that reaches down from the pit of your soul and truly gives thanks that God created you, wrote your life story, and provided for you throughout your journey. Unfortunately, it is after that point that we then turn back to living our lives. Most of us will overeat, enjoy the companionship of family and friends, and then it’s back to the daily grind. Wouldn’t our lives be better served if we lived in that moment? How do we stretch that moment into the lifelong glorification of a life well lived?

God made us perfectly crafted for our journey ahead. Although we see deficiencies, wrong turns, and rabbit trails, God sees the essence of our perfection. Perfection that will not be achieved this side of Heaven, but is real all the same. We tend to silo our blessings as individual answered prayers rather than view them as a continuum of our story. God does not work on a checklist or a to-do list that is characterized by point-specific blessings. He is always blessing us if we ask Him.

James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

In Dire Circumstances

But what if my circumstances are dire? What if I have strife and conflict and pain that drives what feels like a life unfulfilled and purposeless?  If you are on this side of the dirt, God is not done with you. As long as you have breath in you, God has a mission for you. From personal experience, I can say that the only thing that got me to tomorrow was knowing God had something for me to do today, even in my most dark days. I didn’t always know what it was or why, but I did know it was greater than my pain. I would not go to meet Him unfinished.

1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

The way to rise above your struggles is to distract yourself by immersing yourself in God’s overwhelming love. Remember that God is most gracious to those who are struggling and call on Him. Every moment of every day is a blessing for which we should give thanks.

Isaiah 66:1-2, “This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me?  Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord.

“These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”

Living With Kingdom Purpose

We live in a broken world. It will serve up bitter fruit at times. Some people seem to get a larger portion than others. I don’t get it. I don’t get it in my own life, and I certainly can’t advise you. I do know this when I take my eyes off of the prize, the struggle intensifies. Living a purposeless life magnifies the difficulties. Knowing that there is a kingdom purpose in all things gives me the strength to move forward. Moment by moment, thanking God that I still stand and that God is not done with me yet, gives me purpose. And with that purpose, I have hope. Commit yourselves to not meet God face-to-face unfinished.

In Revelations, we read what should be our final words.

Revelations 7:12, “ Blessing and glory and wisdom and Thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to God forever and ever amen.

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Where is God in your Neighborhood?

My question to you is this: Where does God live in your neighborhood? Have you met Him in passing at a gathering? Have you engaged in small talk to pass the time? Are you so busy creating yourself that you haven’t taken the time to know and love your creator?

This post is a little different for me; it’s more of an allegory than my typical posts. It is a journey through a broken and lonely world that ends in warmth, redemption, and love. We all travel this same road. Some of us are fortunate enough to arrive at the destination faster than others. Unfortunately, some of us never arrive.

I see in my head this timeline of my life stretching from left to right across the horizon. At the far left is the knowledge that God wrote my story before I came into existence. This story is God’s pre-story of my life. His account of my life was to prosper, filled with hope and a future. But as I move along the timeline toward the right, my life story plays out as I lived it. It goes something like this:

I knew God lived in my neighborhood, but I didn’t know which house was His.

As a child, I went to church and knew there was a God, but He was probably busy with some of the other 4 billion people on earth or maybe building the rest of the universe. I wasn’t sure what He looked like or where He lived, or what He did for a living. I didn’t care; I was busy creating my life.

I knew God lived in my neighborhood as I saw Him around once in a while

Later in life, I would see something that reminded me God was there. It was in the clear azure blue skies, the crisp fall mornings, and in the full moon perched precariously above a mountain range. It was a kind voice or a gentle gesture.  I saw God in the complexity of the world He created that seemed to flow so seamlessly. It was like marveling over the beauty and craftsmanship of a Lamborghini Sián Roadster without ever having met Ferruccio Lamborghini.

I knew God lived in my neighborhood because  He talked to some of the neighbors.

Still, later I met neighbors who had met Him and talked with Him. He even did things for them. I didn’t understand why or how, but they were convinced. I thought you had to be His friend to get His time. He seemed like a nice enough guy but had to be busy most of the time. I envied that they knew Him but felt out of His league.

 I knew God lived in my neighborhood because we talked from time to time.

Finally, a friend introduced me to Him. He seemed open and receptive; our conversations were superficial, mostly me complaining about something I wanted. Maybe I asked Him why He didn’t fix something, but I never allowed myself to get close enough to Him to see him work. I wanted Him to help me but didn’t expect it to amount to much as I hadn’t done much for Him. Generally, you don’t get something without giving something.

I know God lives in my neighborhood because He took me in.

Then one stormy, rainy night, my house burned down. I stood by the curb in the cold, dark rain and watch the smoke rise. The life I had so carefully crafted came to an end. The things I have stored up for myself vanished. It was God who was there to invite me to live in His home. I lost a house, a shell of myself created to satisfy my worldly lust. What God gave me was a home filled with love and compassion. I have lived there since.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

Great stories always start with great tragedies. We all like the overcoming-all-odds ending, but we skip past the overcoming part. The overcoming takes away from the thrill of victory. If we have to look at the cost, the prize seems a little tainted. We don’t like asking ourselves if the prize was worth the cost. We want to rejoice.

When we come out the other end after a traumatic encounter with our broken world, getting to the end seems less daunting than when we were in the middle of it all.

Where does God live in your neighborhood?

Many of us live ordinary lives that don’t strike us as tragedies. We pay our bills and are kind to animals. We try not to be overly angry, but there are many stupid people in the world. We help when we can, but we have a responsibility for our future too. Life is a compromise.

Job 4:19 “How much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth.”

That is the tragedy. When we surrender our will to the author of our lives, we no longer live with compromise. We live in the fullness of the life He created. Don’t wait for a storm. Decide to trust your life and all of its decisions to Christ.

Move out of your house into His home.

Ephesians 2:19-22, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.”

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Waterproof Your Boat

Ships don’t sink because of the water around them; they sink because of the water in them. Don’t let what is going on around you get inside you.

Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

As we approach election day, the volume of absurdity crescendos until it envelopes the important. I thought about this statement made by a Taoist Priest. “Chaos only exists for those who do not understand.” Chaos exists in the minds of those whose view is earthly and finite. The world can become a maddening, ever-changing, and endless pursuit of meaning. When you let the noise around you become the noise within you, you sink to fear, uncertainty, and despair.

Jeremiah 25:32, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil is going forth from nation to nation, and a great storm is being stirred up from the remotest parts of the earth.”

We have a God that loves us unconditionally. We have a God that wrote the story of our existence. We have a God that is both omnificent and omnipresent. When we start thinking that our future is in others’ hands, we have lost sight of what matters. Christians are not, and never will be, the victim of random chance or evil forces. Our environment maybe, but we will not.

When we allow worldly thinking to seep into our inner thoughts, we start to sink. When we allow the words of others to dictate our response, we begin to sink. When we rationalize our reaction based on the actions of others, we start to sink. When we let an earthly event poke a hole in the bulkhead of our existence, we sink.

Proverbs 1:27-29, “when disaster comes over you like a storm, when trouble strikes you like a whirlwind, when pain and trouble overwhelm you. Then you will call to me, but I will not answer. You will look for me, but you will not find me. It is because you rejected knowledge and did not choose to respect the Lord.”

I am starting to see the world differently. God, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, made me His ark. The choice animals that I allowed in are; Christian friends, a welcoming church community, daily and weekly scripture readings, Bible study, and prayer. The Gospel is my bulkhead; bible verses are the caulk between the planks. The water will rise around me, but I will be safe.

Psalm 107:29, “He caused the storm to be still so that the waves of the sea were hushed.

In the middle of the tempest of life, I must fight the urge to open a window to take in a worldly view. In doing so, I may let water in. Do it enough times, and I start to sink. Life will rage on. There will always be another storm, but I must stay safe.

Matthew 8:26, “He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.”

Being safe is not becoming ambivalent to the world around us; it is about not letting that world become us. We serve the world with love and compassion as Christ serves us. We help individuals find the shipwright that builds boats that can never sink. Remember, it is not about changing the world; it is about changing the people in the world, one person at a time; when that happens, the world changes.

2 Corinthians 1:4, “who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Christ has built an invincible armada that no power on earth can destroy. We are indestructible as long as we do not let the water in.

Joshua 23:9, “For the Lord has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.”

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Live for What Matters

You are blessed when you become content with who and what you are because it is only then that you receive everything you ever really wanted. It is in that moment that you truly become free to live a life worth living.

Psalm 37:4, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Most of the struggle we have with other people is a struggle within ourselves. It is a struggle to have meaning and value. It is a struggle to be seen and heard. The struggle is not a question of who is right and who is wrong; it is a spiritual struggle to matter in a noisy, confusing and increasingly evil world.

James 4:2, “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet, but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.”

God had made each of us uniquely gifted to live the story He had created for us before we even came into existence. I used to think of that story, much like a novel. It has a plot with antagonists and protagonists; it has a journey and an overcoming. Most of all, it had a happy ending, at least mostly. This story is written in the context of the world in which I lived. The decisions I made about love and jobs, and destinations all had a specific impact on the plotline. I could deviate from the original plot, but then the story lost continuity and rhythm.

But then I started to realize that my assumption was flawed. Maybe the story wasn’t so much about the worldly aspect of  my life, but spiritual? What if the story written by God, especially for me, was to glorify Him in all that I do? What if I was free to choose my path, but the intent remained the same; every step was an opportunity to glorify God?

Now, this new thesis has a caveat. The caveat is that God gave me a unique set of skills and attributes that are to be used to glorify Him, such that a specific path is better than all other ways. But the intent stays the same for all of us; that is to glorify God in what we become. Some paths give us challenges outside of our natural gifts and cause us to stumble. Some people make us struggle with our identity and cause us to take our eyes off of the original intent. We need to stay focused not on our talents and gifts, but God.

Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

We are to be peacemakers. We are to take strife and conflict out of the world, not to be at war with it. We intend to attract others to seek God by them wanting the peace and contentment in which we live. We want everyone to be called a child of God.

John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,”

God made us in His image. He made us so that He could enjoy communion with us. We must learn to be content with who God made us because; He created us for a specific purpose that no other can accomplish. He did not design us to compete with His other creations. They all have a purpose. All are meant to glorify their maker, each in their own way.

Genesis 1:27, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them”

We are to be led by the spirit to use the talents and gifts attributed explicitly to each of us to glorify God. We do not have to fight for meaning or value; they have already been established. If we do not have the right hair color, height or weight, job, education, or whatever your vice is, it’s OK. You are perfect in God’s eyes just as you are. He made you. The greatness in you comes from the contentment of being just who you are. Everything else is dust-to-dust. Live for what matters.

Are we actively seeking God’s kingdom in all that we do and say?

Romans 8:14, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

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Contentment

King Solomon was not only favored by God; he was considered one of the wisest men ever to walk the earth. He made this statement:

Ecclesiastes 9:11, “I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.”

We all struggle with insecurity. That insecurity can be job security, basic provisions, self-worth, or purpose. We live in a marketing-driven world that demands that we strive for perfection. We are continually comparing ourselves to others. It is not always vanity that drives us; sometimes, it is pure competition, the need to matter, the need to stand out in a noisy world.

Galatians 6:4, “Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else”

When I think about what Solomon said, I sometimes go to Hugh Heffner. That is right, Mr. Playboy. By almost any standard, Hugh Heffner lived a bohemian lifestyle, devoid of a moral foundation. He promoted a completely hedonistic lifestyle, not just for himself but also for everyone; He carried the banner for Godlessness, yet he was a multi-millionaire. The Playboy Enterprise was called an Empire. What killed his business model was their success. Pornography has become so widespread and free; Playboy could no longer make money from it.

If the measure of Godliness is worldly wealth and fame, why do the Hugh Heffner’s exist? Just as Job’s friends tried to explain, we should be able to look at the material value of a person and see their Godliness. But it doesn’t work that way.

 1 Timothy 6:6-8, “But Godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

King Solomon reminds us that we are not in control of our future. We can do everything right, and it still can go wrong. We can watch others do everything wrong and prosper. Timothy tells us to be content with whatever happens. He reminds us that we should seek Godliness with contentment.

Romans 14:17, “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Our purpose in life, as Christians, is to know God and bring Him glory. In everything, we should first seek His glory and be content with the outcome. Larry Crabb talks about making the first things first. He warns us about putting worldly issues in front of God’s glory. He states, “The forces of darkness value blessings; they call them life, they feel entitled to them, and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get them.”

Augustine said, “There can be only two basic loves, the love of God -unto the forgetfulness of self, or the love of self-unto the forgetfulness of God.”

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Do our words and deeds glorify God, or do they glorify ourselves? If we live a life focused on glorifying God, are we content with the outcome? God knows what we need as aliens on the earth. He understands the environment in which we live. He wants us to live a life that is attractive to others so that we can share the Gospel. Everything we have or experience should glorify His name to attract non-believers to the contentment within us.

We should use the gifts that God gave us, in the environment that He has put us in, to succeed in what He has set before us. But we do this for His glory, not ours. We are working for Him, not for our gratification.

Live a life worth living. Live a life of contentment and meaning. Live a life that puts you to sleep at night counting your blessings. Glorifying God brings goodness, and peace, and joy to our souls.

Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

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