He's All I Need

There's an old song that I grew up singing almost every week in church services.  He's all I need, He's all I need, Jesus is all I need. Over the years many other songs and choruses have echoed those thoughts. We sing them with gusto, reaching out to embrace the One who is more than enough for us. But do we really mean what we are singing.

A friend of mine once said the biggest lies Christians tell are the songs they sing in worship. It is easy to say that Jesus is all we need; it's quite another matter to live as if we really mean it. We make the claim and then cling to our earthly possessions as if our lives depended on our having those things. When God begins to strip our possessions one by one, our tune often changes to woe is me.

I know what you are thinking. God would never strip me of the things He has provided for me! Think again, He allowed it in Job's life. Job lost his wealth, his family, his health, everything he had. Yet Job could still worship his God. Over the past few years I have seen some of what I held dear stripped from my life. The question God continues to ask me is, "Am I still enough?"

This life gives us no guarantees. If tomorrow you lost your wealth, and God asked the question, "Am I still enough?" what would you answer? We want to believe that God has promised all American Christians prosperity and that we will never lack for anything. What makes us think God loves American Christians more than He loves those who suffer in third world countries? Some of those faithful servants of God live daily without the simple necessities of life. Yet, they love God and serve Him with their entire being day and night. Jesus and His disciples knew the trials of living life without basic necessities, but they went on never turning back from God's plan.

Regardless of what I have or what I lose is Jesus still enough? Yes, Lord, You are enough! 

Not When But Why

When is Christ coming back to earth to take his people home? According to the book of Matthew no one knows. Twice we are told to keep watch.

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."

-- Matthew 24:42

"Therefore keep watch because you do not know the day or the hour."

                                                                                                            -- Matthew 25:13

In my mind that makes it very obvious that we will not know the exact time that Christ will return for his people. However, that does not change the fact that we know he will return.

I find it interesting that we can so easily get caught up in trying to figure out God's timing. We come up with all kinds of creative ways to calculate and arrive at the exact time, even though we are told we won't know. Yet, we tend to ignore or pass over those commands that we are to not only know, but also put into action. How can we be so creative in figuring out what we are not supposed to know, but have trouble creatively doing what we are supposed to know?

Someone told me years ago that they had figured out exactly when Christ was coming back. I admit to being a skeptic, but I just had to ask when. Their answer, "When the last person has accepted Christ as Savior." We desperately try to figure out the timing of Christ's return, but few desperately try to share Christ with the unchurched to let them know why he is coming. We are not in charge of timing; we are in charge of telling.

It does not matter when Christ is coming. It only matters that he is coming.  

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."           

  --1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Love Will Keep Us Together

It's February, the month for love. Valentine's Day is fast approaching and love is in the air! Everyone grasps for their share of the love for the March winds will soon come and blow the love away.

We live in a society where people fall in and out of love as often as they change their clothes. A couple may be madly in love one moment and a few days later they have moved on to the next love of their life. Love has become nothing more than a four letter word.

Several years ago Captain and Tennille made the song "Love Will Keep Us Together" popular. In that song a young girl is singing to the love of her life advising him to keep his eyes focused on her. He may be able to turn the heads of other young women but she reminds him that she alone is the one who will love him forever. Towards the end of the song she reminds him of the future with these words:    

Young and beautiful 
Someday your looks will be gone
When the others turn you off 
Who'll be turning you on

I will, I will, I will, I will 
Be there to share forever
Love will keep us together
Said it before and I'll say it again while others pretend
I'll need you now and I'll need you then
Stop 'cause I really love Ya
Stop I'll be thinking of Ya
Look in my heart and let love keep us together

God never meant love to be an 'on again, off again' emotion. In fact, God always speaks of His everlasting love. John 3:16 says God loved us so much he sent his Only Son to pay the penalty for our wrongs so we could spend eternity with him in heaven. That's love! God loved us then, he loves us now and he will love us forever. Why settle for less when you can have the real thing?

No Need to Run

There is no doubt we are living in troubled times. Crazy things are going on all around us. How can we protect ourselves from other human beings whose minds seem to snap as they reach for a gun and determine to end the lives of other humans? Do we take up our weapons or build a fortress and retreat from the world? Even if we think the likelihood of our becoming the target of someone's frustrations is slim to none, daily life can be filled with trials and problems that can easily zap our strength. Where do we go to find relieve? The temptation is to seclude ourselves; to find that place where we are unreachable to other humans. We seek to get away from it all and simply live in our secluded little sanctuary where no one but God is allowed to enter. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with spending 'alone time' with God. In fact, I would say that is an absolute necessity these days. Jesus often went away to be alone with the Father in order to recharge, refocus, and I believe recommit to the plan of God for His life. I am all for those times of getting alone with God to recharge, refocus and recommit to God's plan. However, those times, as good as they may be, are generally not extended stays. Those moments of recharging and refocusing must end with moments of recommitting to God's plan as I step out into the world to which God has sent me. The good news is I never step out into the world alone. I am never without His protection. Psalm 61:2-4, "From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!" The towering rock, the fortress, the safe refuge, the shelter of His wings can all be found in the very midst of the battlefield as we carry out the mission God has sent us to complete. There is no need to hide, no need to run, when God sends you into battle He is more than able to protect and keep you in the midst of the battle. 

Count Your Blessings

There is a very old song that tells us to "count our blessings, name them one by one…" Have you ever tried to do that…just sit down and start counting the good things in your life? It sounds easy enough but what usually happens is, we sit down and name number one…let's see…I got it! I am definitely thankful for Coke. Now let's see, number two would be…uh, number two would be…man there's got to be something else I'm thankful for.

Obviously, I'm being a little facetious but most of us find it tough to come with anything beyond family, home and church. On the flip side if I were to ask you about your struggles within two minutes you would have a list as long as your arm. Why is it always easier to remember the bad parts of life? Could it be because that's where we choose to focus our thoughts? We mull over the bad things that happen to us, we throw our little pity parties, we rant and rave about the unfairness of it all, but we never really do much to change it.

Good and bad comes to every life, but we still have the choice as to which we want to focus our thoughts on. Allow me to challenge you. The next time something bad happens to you, take some time to think about something good in your life. Take time to really concentrate on that good thing, mull it over in your mind, throw a celebration party and shout to the world how wonderful life is. Not only will you be amazed at the change in your attitude, your neighbors will be totally freaked out and will be calling to see what's going on.

This Thanksgiving season take some time to count your blessings, and then share them with the world around you.  

Less than Perfect Life

It is early morning as I write this blog. Something is weighing heavily on my mind and I need to share it. Oftentimes we write blogs to encourage each other and to strengthen our beliefs. We write to show the world how awesome, wonderful and caring our God is – and He is all those things. Yet, our efforts tend to generate pictures of a God who is uncaring and partial to those who are able to live a certain lifestyle. Intentionally or unintentionally we are still painting pictures of a God who is oblivious to those who struggle through life. So, this morning, I write as Paul instructs Timothy to speak, "Preach the word of God. Be persistent, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching" (2 Timothy 4:2).

 

The faith community as a whole has spent far too many years hiding behind the four walls of the church building attempting to live for God by keeping the bad out. Our motto became, "Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil, so we can do no evil." Yet, that very mindset is in disobedience to the words of Jesus to go out into the world to preach the gospel and make disciples (Matthew 28 and Mark 16). We have become comfortable with our lifestyle within our four church walls, so comfortable, in fact, that we won't even allow Christ followers to enter our abode if for whatever reason they are unable to live the joyous, overcoming, victorious life we have set as the standard for 'true' disciples. Many of us have never overcome anything in life. We have never gained victory over any situation; we are simply joyous that we are not in the same condition as those people. We have God's blessing, unlike those who are suffering and live in mental, physical and sometimes spiritual pain. Does that sound familiar? Check out the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18:9-14.

 

We live in a world where life is not always fair. Bad things happen to good people and life isn't always blessed and wonderful. Does that mean I have somehow lost God's favor? Of course not! Paul's life after his encounter with Jesus was all about getting the news of Jesus to the world. Paul was an obedient, faithful, follower of Jesus Christ; however, Paul still faced his struggles in life. He had to deal with his thorn in the flesh issue (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Paul wrote to the believers at Philippi, "I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little" (Philippians 4:12). Notice Paul doesn't say God always gives me enough so I never do without. No, he says I have learned to do without, he knew what it was to be hungry!

 

Pain, suffering, hunger, sadness and depression are facts of life for many in our world today. The faith community cannot continue to hide their heads in the sand and push the suffering aside simply because we do not want to deal with it. In the process of pushing aside pain, suffering, depression, etc. we are pushing aside our own brothers and sisters in the Lord. Yes, people of faith suffer and it's not always because of sin. Jesus told his disciples, "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Jesus is not saying He will take away all the pain and the suffering. He said it would happen! However, He has overcome the world and Heaven awaits those who persevere through all these trials and sorrows.

 

We in the faith community must wake up to the fact that life isn't always perfect. Suffering, pain, sorrow are a part of life on earth. We cannot continue to push aside those living less than perfect lives, simply because it makes us uncomfortable. We cannot continue to simply say we are praying for them and then walk away from the hurting. We must learn to walk along side the suffering, the hungry, the hurting, the depressed, doing what we can to alleviate their pain and sorrow. It's time for the faith community to come out of the four walls we call church and get into the trenches. Yes, we will get our hands dirty. Yes, we will feel the pain of others. We will also be painting a true picture of a loving, caring God who desires to love and care for all humanity.

 

May we as a faith community diligently strive to follow the advice Paul gave Timothy, "Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at bringing others to Christ. Complete the ministry God has given you" (2 Timothy 4:5). Only as we strive to follow this advice can we say with Paul at the end of our life, "As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me – the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return…" (4:6-8).

Coke and the Bible

Coke and the Bible? You may be thinking those two things have absolutely nothing in common and if you are not a Coca Cola lover, you may be right. However, for those of us who are Coke fans, I have found several similarities.

The most obvious is ‘It’s the real thing!” True Coke drinkers could never be fooled in those taste tests. There’s just nothing even close to the taste of Coca Cola. It’s the real thing, the others are just copies of the true taste of cola. The Bible is also the real thing! It is the Word of God in written form. The apostle Peter testified to that fact in his second book when he stated, “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.”

In the middle of our busy day, where would we be without our daily boost? Coke gives us that extra burst of energy to finish out our day. Granted there are other forms of caffeine that will do the same thing, but they’re not the “real thing” and they just do not taste as good. A simple dose of the Bible can have the same effect. As the day goes by and we become tired, God’s Word is just the pick me up we need to finish our day strong. 

On a hot day nothing compares with the refreshing taste of Coca Cola. It cools you from the inside out. The Bible has that same effect when the pressure is on and we feel like we just might explode if something doesn’t happen to cool us off. God’s Word speaks peace and rest into our lives allowing us to step back, relax, cool off and then continue on. 

Yeah, there’s just nothing like a nice tall glass of cold Coca Cola to sip on as I fill my inner person with the soothing, refreshing Word of God. Grab your glass of Coke and your Bible and let’s discover some answers to life’s issues. 

2 Peter 1:20-21