Six Hours Ahead

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 have always been a clock-watcher.  No matter where I am, no matter the circumstance, at least once during a conversation, a class, or a presentation of some kind, I will look at the clock just to get my chronological bearings.  My students are very used to this by now.  The first thing I do in class is place my watch on the table where I can see it and the last thing I do is check it before dismissing them.  In between, I glance at it several times just to make sure I’m on track and on the pace I’ve set for the class.

When I lived and studied in France for the first time, I became even more sensitive to the time both in France and back home in the United States.  I had a digital watch that displayed two different time zones so I always knew what everyone was doing back home.  While I was eating breakfast, they were sleeping.  When lunchtime came, they were just getting out of bed and as I lay down to sleep, they were sitting down to the dinner table.  We lived in the same moment of time, but we measured it differently.  No matter the day or the situation, while in France I was always 6 hours ahead of my family and friends at home.

This proved to be particularly important because my mom and dad would call on Saturdays around lunchtime.  For them, it was 6 a.m. but for me it was high noon.  It took me a while to grow accustomed to my parents telling me good morning when it was clearly afternoon where I was.  Eventually, however, I adjusted to the change and could go about my business without worrying too much as to what time it was half a world away.  I knew that if I needed my parents, I could call them, I just had to be sensitive to their time zone.

The writer of Psalm 46, however, didn’t worry about time zones.  He understood that God doesn’t carry a watch and that time is meaningless from His perspective.  We live in time, God lives outside of it.  For us the clock is always moving forward and for our Heavenly Father it is always now.  This idea is reflected in the opening verse of this psalm.  In Psalm 46:1, the writer tells us, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Two words in this verse leap off the page at me, “trouble” and “ever-present.”  First, let’s consider this notion of trouble.  We usually understand this word to mean something bad has happened in our lives.  However, trouble can also mean we are in a difficult place, facing challenging circumstances.  For example, we may experience a difficult illness, we may find ourselves with an emotional crisis we didn’t see coming, or we may be backed into a corner where we must learn to trust God with our situation.  None of these situations is a result of something we did; it’s just that life happens while we are living it.

This is where the word, “ever-present” comes into play.  God is always with us.  He constantly knows all that we are facing.  His eyes and ears are always attentive, always alert to His children, always aware of their situations and needs.  While the Scriptures tell us God knows the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning and that He is all-knowing, they reassure us that God does not leave us and is not six hours away from us.  No, He is very near, as close as our heartbeat.  Whatever the circumstances are, whatever the situation, God is always present, ready to help us in our time of need, caring for us and doing for us those things we cannot do for ourselves.

What time is it where you are today?  Rest assured that no matter what the clock on the wall or the watch on your wrist says, God’s clock always reads right now!

Different Sound, Same Song

              

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y favorite piece of classical music is Pachelbel’s Canon in D.  I just can’t seem to get enough of it!  When I hear it, or any portion of it, I immediately stop what I am doing, crank up the radio, sit back, and drink in the wonderful strains pouring forth from the speakers.  I love the work so much that I purchased a CD recording of the Canon played in just about every way imaginable.  That’s right, there is only one song on the whole CD but it is played in so many different ways.

Now you may think I’m just a little odd to buy a CD with only one song on it, but I know what I like.  I have purchased a CD that had a whole slew of songs on it I didn’t like just to listen to the one song I wanted to hear.  To my mind, it is less odd to spend money for what you do like than to purchase what you don’t like.  But hey, that’s just me!

In any event, I’m digressing—back to the Canon.  Every time I hear that CD I am amazed by the many different ways that composition can be played.  Yet, no matter how upbeat the tempo, no matter the composition of the orchestra playing it, and no matter how the particular conductor interprets Pachelbel’s work, one thing remains the same—the music!  It is unmistakable and the telltale notes and sounds of the Canon are readily and immediately recognizable.

The writer of the book of Hebrews would have appreciated my recording of Pachelbel’s Canon.  In one sentence, he encapsulated the one overriding theme of the Scriptures.  This statement is found in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Every page of the Bible looks forward to the coming of God’s Messiah and the redemption of the human race.  The writings of the prophets are filled with the refrain, the sacrificial system of the Old Testament speaks about him, and God’s own words promise that He would send a redeemer to restore the relationship between Him and man.

That promise was fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Redeemer of mankind.  Jesus said that his gospel would be preached to the whole world and that his followers would be his messengers.  Since the giving of the Great Commission, the good news of Jesus Christ has gone out to the entire world.  Jesus never taught in any language other than his own and yet the gospel has been recorded and told in almost every language known to man.  Jesus never used radio or television and yet the good news of his salvation is beamed to all points of the globe.  Jesus never had a computer yet through the Internet millions have an opportunity to hear and to learn about God and the salvation He offers mankind through His son, Jesus Christ.

Yes, composition of the orchestra, the means of delivery, and even the tempo of the message may be different than it was in Jesus’ day, but the message is the same.  Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday.  He is the same God present at the creation of the world and the same God reconciling man to Himself on Calvary’s cross over two thousand years ago. He will be the same God tomorrow that He is today.  He will not change.  No matter the method of delivery, by Internet, by radio wave, by television antenna, in French, Spanish, Swahili, Polish, Russian, Italian, Arabic, Hebrews, etc, the message is still the same.  Jesus saves!

Are you a part of this orchestra?  Are you reading the music and playing it so that others can hear?  As Christians, we are called upon to share the gospel with all those around us.  The sound may be different; but the music is still the same!  Are you tuned up and ready to go today?

A Trip To The Bakery

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rom time to time I reminisce about the opportunities I have had to live in France.  I remember places I’ve visited, friends I’ve made, and conversations I’ve had. However, my daily surroundings remind me that I am no longer in Paris.  Yet, it’s not the fact that I can’t visit the Eiffel Tower; it’s not the fact that everyone around me is speaking English, and it’s not the fact that I can drive a car instead of taking a metro.  None of these facts, while true, are as poignant a reminder as the fact that I cannot run down to the local bakery and buy a freshly baked French bread!   I guess you could say I am addicted to the stuff.

Every morning in Paris, I ran down to one of several bakeshops in the neighborhood and bought fresh bread and fresh croissants!  It was the best part of the day and one I eagerly anticipated!  You might say, I became a regular customer of the small bakery located just at the end of the street.  In fact, I referred to it as my boulangerie (bakery)!

A trip to this bakery was always an ordeal because it always involved somewhat of a dilemma.  The place was always busy. People from the neighborhood were busy buying their breads, desserts, and sandwiches for the day ahead.  For me, the bread selection was easy; it was the pastries that posed the problem.  Would it be a croissant, an apple turnover, a flan, a small quiche, etc.?  The possibilities were endless! Thank goodness, the patience of the lady behind the counter was not!  Finally, I would decide and hurry out of the place before deciding to purchase something else.  But no matter what else I had in my hand, I always had bread with me.

Bread, it seems, is the quintessential staple of life.  No matter the culture, no matter the language, no matter the country, bread is simply one thing we all have in common.  Perhaps this is why Jesus spoke so often of bread.  The word bread appears 63 times in the NIV version of the New Testament.  But the most well-known reference is found in Matthew 6:11 where Jesus teaches his followers to pray.  In this verse, Jesus simply says, “Give us today our daily bread.”

Two important ideas are presented to us in this small passage from Matthew’s gospel.  First, we see Jesus asking God to supply our bread.  This means we do not provide it for ourselves!  Far too often in the Christian life we try to be self-sufficient, trying to discover ways and means to provide for our needs.  We say we trust God yet we attempt to do everything for ourselves.  Jesus simply asked God to supply the bread, the very staple and the most basic need of life.  After all, that is God’s promise, isn’t it?  He promised to meet the needs we have in life and He is faithful to that promise.

The second lesson we need to grasp is the frequency with which this bread is delivered.  Jesus did not pray for weekly bread, monthly bread, or for a bread truck that would delivery on a pre-determined schedule.  No, he prayed for daily bread!  He wanted his followers to understand that we need God every day, not once a week, once a month, or just when we get into trouble.  We need Him every moment of every day and Jesus used the picture of daily bread to teach this every elementary but most important point about God.  We must partake of Him daily as the most basic and quintessential part of our lives.

Early every morning, I went in search of fresh bread and every morning I was rewarded for my efforts of getting up, getting dressed, and walking to the bakery.  The same principle is true for us today.  We must get up, open God’s word, plumb into its depths, partake of it, and make it the most integral and central part of our lives each day.  God stands ready each morning to provide your daily needs so trust Him and take Him at His word.  Have you made a trip God’s bakery today?

A Scented Letter

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hrough the slit in the top of my mailbox, I could tell that several letters had arrived during my absence.  Nothing can rival the pure joy of returning home from a long vacation and finding not one, but several letters waiting to be opened.  As luck would have it, several of my friends stopped by for a visit and they were present when I opened my mailbox to withdraw all the cards and letters left there by the mailman during my two-week jaunt in Europe.  It was a moment I wasn’t to live down for a long time.

During the spring of 1984, I visited Spain, Italy, Austria, and Germany.  Since the other members of my group already had travel plans, I journeyed alone, seeing things I had only read about in books, visiting places that beforehand were only pictures or images in my mind.  The journey afforded me many experiences and taught me many things about myself I would not have learned otherwise.

However, vacation came to an end and we had all met at one of my friend’s apartments to compare notes and swap stories about our travels.  On our way to a small café, we stopped by my place so I could check the mail.  As I mentioned earlier, the box was full so naturally I was very excited.  As I placed my key into the receptacle and unlocked the box, a wonderful aroma filled the foyer.  As I foraged through the letters and cards in the box, the odor intensified.  For a few seconds, I wasn’t sure of the origin but one of my friends quickly pointed it out.

That wonderful smell was coming from a rather thick envelope I held in my hand.  It was from a good friend back home but why she sent me a scented letter was beyond me.  All I knew was the guys really had a good time at my expense, ribbing me about receiving a “smelly” letter from a girl who obviously thought I was something special.  As it turns out, she kept her stationery in her perfume drawer and the bottle turned over, soaking everything in the drawer with perfume.  I, of course, never shared this small detail with the guys.  I simply played along with their version of the story.  To this day, I can still smell the perfume contained in that letter.  It filled the entire foyer of our apartment building and all the guys standing with me were affected as well.  The aroma was very pleasing and affected everything and everyone coming into contact with it.

The book of Exodus reminds us of the important role incense played in the sacrificial system God established for the people if Israel.  Exodus 30:7-8 describes the altar of incense and how Aaron, the high priest, was to attend to it on a regular basis. "Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps.  He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the LORD for the generations to come.”

This altar sat right in front of the curtain separating the holy place from the most holy place, or the Holy of Holies.  Aaron was to burn incense on this altar continually, keeping incense before the Lord always.  The incense for this altar was a special mixture and represented constant prayer before the Lord. Anyone entering the Tabernacle, would smell the incense and I imagine that Aaron would carry the aroma of that mixture on his clothes so that the fragrance could be enjoyed by all those around him.

This leads us to a very important question about our own relationship with God.  Is there a constant, pleasing aroma arising to our Heavenly Father?  Does the altar of incense of our prayer life continually put forth an aroma that is pleasing to God?  Do others enjoy the perfume in our lives that comes from being in God’s presence?  When our hearts are opened and those around us examine our lives, do they receive the pleasing aroma of God’s presence?  Are there any scented letters in your heart’s mailbox today?

A Rope, A Well, and A Bucket

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ife on Rearden’s Farm was anything but boring.  Tom’s father had purchased the place during the Great Depression and although times were lean, the family always had food on the table and a warm place to stay.  Tom remembered those days as some of the best ones of his life.  The hours were long, working from sunup to sundown, but the lessons he learned and the experiences he gained working alongside his parents made it all worthwhile.

Now Tom was passing these lessons along to his son, Jack.  Every morning before school and every afternoon after classes, Jack had chores to do.  There were eggs to be gathered, cows to be milked, chickens to be fed, and water to be drawn from the well.  Honestly, it seemed to Jack as if the list of things to do would never grow shorter.  As soon as one task was finished, his dad always found other things for him to do.  But Jack never complained and he always enjoyed helping out around the farm.

Of all his chores, however, the one he liked the least was getting water from the well.  He had to let the bucket down—that was the easy part—and wait for it to fill with water.  Then he hauled the bucket, which weighed so much more than it did empty, back to the surface.  This was always a struggle but the family needed the water so Jack did his best to draw enough water to meet all the family’s needs.

There was one thing about their well, however, that puzzled Jack.  Lately, he had noticed that the water level in the well had dwindled.  The well was not going dry but it took longer for the bucket to reach the water which meant Jack had to attach a longer rope and work harder.  The funny thing was the water was colder and tasted better the deeper he went.  Although it required more work, the reward of fresh cold water, especially on a hot summer’s day, was worth all the effort it took to wrestle that bucket to the surface. 

Jack’s experiences could apply to any number of people and the various experiences they have had in life.  But would it surprise you to know this story can be found in the Old Testament in the book of Nehemiah?  Let’s look at a very small passage that contains a huge biblical truth for us today.

Nehemiah 1:4 simply states, “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.”  Nehemiah was a man in need as we all are!  When news reached Nehemiah that the walls of Jerusalem were torn down and the city’s gates were burned, he was heartbroken.  Earlier attempts almost 150 years before had been made to repair the walls but they were still in ruin.  Nehemiah knew this was the city where God promised to put His name but the walls were broken and needed repair.

Nehemiah could not go to Jerusalem straightway and repair the walls.  Israel had been carried into exile by the Babylonians and the Holy City lay in ruins.  So, Nehemiah did what he could do—he prayed!  Notice that he sat and wept and fasted before the God of heaven.  Nehemiah was letting his bucket down into the well of God’s grace and mercy.  He prayed to the depth of his need, confessing his people’s sins as well as his own.  For days, he neither ate nor drank and he remained in constant prayer until the bucket hit water!

God heard his prayer and answered Nehemiah!  He was allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls so the city could be restored.  Nehemiah let the bucket of his need down into the well of God’s grace knowing that the deeper the bucket went the sweeter would be his reward.  This is the lesson we must learn about prayer and about our relationship with God.  We must learn to pray to the depth of our need, letting that bucket down until it finds the pure spring of God’s grace.  There is enough water in the well to meet every need but we must lower that bucket and draw from God’s infinite resources.  God has the well; do you have a bucket and a rope today?

No Borders

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he border between Italy and Austria is well known for its customs checks. Trains crossing the border in either direction are stopped for several minutes while guards from both countries conduct a thorough search of all compartments and verify the passports and official documents of the passengers on board. I had the pleasure of experiencing this phenomenon first-hand in the spring of 1988.

I was studying in southern France and during spring break, I had a little over two weeks to travel. Most of my friends visited a small island off the coast of Spain; but I decided to do some travelling on the continent. My travels took me to Spain, Italy, Austria, and Germany. It was during these travels that the Austrian border guard taught me a valuable lesson about crossing over from one country into another.

I took the train from Rome, Italy to Salzburg, Austria. Because there were so many people travelling at the same time I was, the train was completely full. There were no empty seats to be found on the train and I stood for several hours before space became available. At

last, a compartment opened and I could use one of the benches as a cot with my backpack serving as a pillow.

At four o'clock in the morning, a blinding light awakened me as the border guard turned on the compartment's light. There, in my face, was a German shepherd police dog sniffing for drugs. The guard asked to see my passport, took one look at the cover, saw I was from the United States, and let me go back to sleep. I was able to cross over into Austria with no difficulty. However, there were a few passengers who were detained for questioning. Eventually, the trains crossed into Austria but those detained by the border guard were not permitted entry into the country.

This is a stark contrast from the freedom I experienced over the past two days as I drove from Texas to North Carolina to spend the holidays with my family. As I crossed from one state to the next, there were no questions to answer, no papers to show, and no border guards to confront. Instead, I could come and go as I pleased. The entire country, every part of it, was opened to me with no obstacles to prevent me from arriving at home.

The relationship we have with God is directly comparable to my experience on the border between Rome and Austria. Before we become Christians, we have no legal basis permitting us access to God. Try as we may, we simply cannot cross over to where He is because we don't have the proper papers. We get stopped at several places on life's border and when we try to enter God's kingdom, we are refused. Our "spiritual passports" do not bear the seal of God and are not recognized by Him.

Neither our good works, nor our good intentions, nor our reputations, nor our verbally claiming to know God will permit us to enter His kingdom. The only way we are able to cross the border separating us from God is to change our citizenship and become a part

of His kingdom. We do this by willfully renouncing our former allegiance to sin and willfully accepting Jesus Christ as our personal savior. This gives us a new passport, one that is instantly recognized by God and that grants us immediate entry into His kingdom.

Once we change our citizenship, we have free access to all of God's promises and resources. We are free to travel the road of life without fear of border crossings, interrogations, or customs officials. We may travel with confidence and assurance that we belong to God's family and that He welcomes us whenever we call on Him and wherever we are on life's road. Our passport, our legal claim as citizens of God's kingdom, is the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus, himself, said in John 10:9 "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” Jesus is the border guard. It is only through him and by him that we gain access to God. There is no other way to cross over except through Christ. Once we accept him, once we obtain new citizenship and new passports, we are welcome in his kingdom and can travel unhindered. Once we belong to him, there are no borders between us!  We belong and have direct access to God. When was the last time God asked to see your passport? Are you free to travel life's road or are you hindered by border crossings?

Around the Clock

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here is always something to do, it seems, around the house.  My mother particularly enjoys it when I make this statement because she is constantly working in her house, making sure everything is clean, maintained, and operating at premium levels.

Honestly, I don’t know how she did it with 3 kids and a full-time job.  No matter her schedule, our clothes were always clean, our house was always tidy, and meals were always served warm.  How I wish I could match her efficiency. Even today she can, and does, work circles around me.

This was very evident in just the past few weeks as my parents and my sister visited with me for two weeks.  I arrived home from my trip to Europe on Friday, March 19^th. On Sunday, March 21^st, my family showed up.  It didn’t take mom and dad long to get to work, tidying up the yard and attending to a few things in the house.  I arrived home from work to find one less thing on my “to do list” and supper was hot, just as I knew it would be.

What amazed me was my parents desire to work even when they were on vacation.  Every day they had things to do and every day when I arrived home I found them done.  In my absence work—and plenty of it—had been done.

Have you ever stopped to think just how busy God is on a daily basis?  He is constantly watching out for you, making sure that you are protected, that you have food, that you have a job that your heart keeps beating, the list just goes on and on.  Yet he never tires and he never fails to attend to the tiniest detail.

Jesus, himself, underscored this idea in the 5^th chapter of John’s gospel.  The Pharisees were strict keepers of the law and when Jesus performed a miracle or if his disciples ate grain on the Sabbath, they were quick to point it out.  Jesus never grew impatient with them. Instead, he wanted them to understand that God always works, even when we are unaware of it.

In John 5:17, Jesus simply says, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."  Notice that Jesus wants his listeners to understand that his Father is always at work.  But Jesus takes it one step further by stating that he is also at work.  His work was to do the work that God sent him to do.  In other words, we are to be about God’s business and we are to be about it on a continual basis.

When I was growing up, I was amazed at the amount of work my parents turned out.  The house was always clean, the grass was always mowed, clothes were always washed, folded, and put away, and there was never a lack of things to be done.  In our walk with the Lord, we need to understand that the work is constant.  Whether we are reading our Bibles or having a conversation with a co-worker, we are to be about God’s business.  He is always working.  How about us?  

Wind Advisory

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ne morning I awoke to the sound of wind whipping outside my bedroom window.  The wind was not constant but came in gusts, sending a wooshing sound across the shingles, along the windows, and around the walls.  The forecasters had been correct in their prediction that gale-force winds would visit the Dallas-Fort Worth area during the evening and would most likely remain with us throughout the day.

The morning’s newscast confirmed those predictions.  Our entire area was under a wind advisory until 6:00 the evening and all ready the news anchors had warned everyone to drive very cautiously and to take extra care, making sure to keep both hands on the wheel.  I could just imagine how interesting my morning commute was going to be!  I decided I’d better leave a little earlier than usual.

Anyway, back to that wind.  The tree in my front yard continued to take great bows as if it were being applauded for a stellar performance.  My bushes were joining in the act as well and the flags at the entrance to our community were fully extended.  The effects of the wind could be seen everywhere and I heard it as it whippe around the corner of my house and over my rooftop.

But inside, it was safe, warm, and cozy.  The lights were on, the coffee maker worked, the toaster was operating at peak performance, and the heating system ensured that I would not get cold.  All this is happened on the inside because the house had a good foundation and was built very well.

All this brought back the parable Jesus told of two men who built very nice houses.  But when a storm came with wind and rain, the end result of those structures was very different. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 7:25, “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

There are a few things we need to glean from this small verse of scripture.  First we need to notice, that even though this house was built on the rock, the storms still beat against it.  There will be storms in life, especially the Christian life, as we live according to God’s commands and not the world’s whims.  Second, even though the storms beat against the house, it stood firm, protecting those who lived within.  It performed as a house should and it did so because its foundation was firm, solid, and sure.

As I learned several years ago, the most important part of any house is its foundation.  The carpet, paint, wallpaper, flooring, bricks, etc. are nothing if the foundation isn’t secure.  No matter how lovely or ornate the structure, unless it has a firm and sure foundation, the building has been constructed in vain.

And how about us today?  Are we standing firm?  Does the foundation of our lives hold us securely when the storms of life come?  Is the wind howling around you today?  Are the rains beating against you with seemingly merciless force?  Take courage!  Your house will withstand the rains, and the winds, and anything else life can dish out if your foundation is Jesus Christ.  This does not mean we will be free from pain or difficulty but it does mean we have a strong underpinning, a firm foundation which cannot be shaken.  So, how’s the weather where you are today?  Are you under a wind advisory?

God's Crosswalk

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ast Elementary School was about a 10-minute walk from our house on Main Street.  Every morning, unless it was bad weather, I grabbed my book satchel, opened the heavy front door, and stepped out to meet the day.  I followed the sidewalk to the corner of Main and Cone Streets.  The latter street was named after my grandfather and proved to be my first great hurdle.  I had to cross Cone Street in order to gain the sidewalk that would take me to school.

I made sure to look both ways for oncoming traffic, just like my mom and dad had taught me, and then I crossed over to the other side.  I made a left turn and began the last leg of my daily jaunt to school.  I passed the Cornwell home, my uncle’s house, the Clarks, the Dellingers, and I walked past the Medical Center Pharmacy and the trees my dad had planted as a young boy.

When I arrived at the corner of Cone and Academy Streets I came to a full stop.  Academy Street was very wide and there was a large crosswalk which led directly to East Elementary’s main sidewalk.  There was a crossing guard who stopped traffic so I could safely cross over.  His name was Richard and he always spoke to me and told me to have a good day.

Above our school flew the American and North Carolina flags and a green pennant that reminded us of safety. One day Richard visited our class to remind us to always look both ways before crossing the street and to always stay within the crosswalk.  As long as we did that, we would be safe and as long as we were safe and there were no accidents, the green pennant would remain fluttering in the breeze above our school.

That very afternoon, something terrible happened.  On the way home, at the corner of Cone and Main Streets, a huge crowd had gathered.  An ambulance and a police car were also there and a policeman was directing the ever increasing traffic on Main Street.  Richard was there and he and the ambulance men were working with a small boy who had not remembered to look both ways or to remain in the crosswalk when crossing the street.  That young boy was injured and did not recover.

I never come to that intersection but I think about that day.  Although it has been 47 years since that accident, the scene is indelibly etched in my mind.  The lesson of the crosswalk has stayed with me all these years and as I read God’s word I see the lesson of the crosswalk within its pages.

In John 5:24, Jesus makes the following statement, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”  Do you see the crosswalk in the words of Jesus?  Every crosswalk has two boundaries between which we can safely walk.  Jesus, in this passage, says that we must hear his words and believe in God who sent him.  As long as we listen and believe, we walk safely and cross over.  Inside the crosswalk is life; outside the crosswalk is danger, pain, and death.  Jesus reminds us in the closing words of this passage that those who hear the word and believe in God have “crossed over from death to life.”

The road of life is fraught with many intersections.  Intersections are a necessary part of the Christian life and how we choose to cross them demonstrates our faith and our trust in Jesus Christ.  Are you at an intersection?  Are you at the corner of Main and Cone Streets today?  Are you looking for a way to cross over and continue in the path God has for you?  If so, open God’s word, listen to His voice, and believe in Him and in His son, Jesus Christ, and you will safely cross over.   Are you walking in God’s crosswalk today?

How Long Is Until?

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ow long do I have to clean my room, mom?”  Now you know when you ask a question like that the answer just can’t be good!  “Until it is clean”, she always replied.  I told you the answer would not be good.  In fact, I hated this answer because it meant I would be in my room a long time, and from the looks of the clutter under my bed and in my closet, I would be there until doomsday!

The lesson my mom was trying to teach me with that little word until was the importance of carrying a task through to completion no matter how long it took.  Had she told me fifteen minutes, I would have worked for that amount of time and stopped, regardless of the condition of my room.  Some things cannot be measured in time.

This is the lesson found in Luke 15:1-7, “Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

We know this passage as the story of the lost sheep, a parable Jesus told to illustrate God’s great love for those who are lost.  The attitude of the Pharisees and teachers of the law is still prevalent today.  Everybody, it seems, is a far worse sinner than we are and the sins they have committed make ours look like children’s pranks.  But the irony is, that while we are busy pointing out the fact that everyone else is a sinner, we neglect to include ourselves in the group.  Everybody listening to Jesus’ voice that day was a sinner.  There are only two groups of people, those in Christ, and those outside of Christ.  There is no middle ground!

But if we read very closely we will find that little word, until.  How did this shepherd search for that one lost sheep?  Just how long is until?  Is it measured in minutes, hours, days or weeks? Does it have a measure?  That is a great question.  We read this parable as if the shepherd were gone a few hours at the most.  But what if he were gone for weeks, months or even years?  What if it took a lifetime?  That puts a very different perspective on things, doesn’t it?

We must also notice that when the shepherd found the sheep, he put it on his shoulders and went home. How long did he carry that sheep?  He carried it until he arrived safely home. In other words, he searched until he found and he carried it until the sheep was back in the fold.  The shepherd carried that sheep for the same amount of time he spent searching for it.  Both are simply covered by the word, until.

What a beautiful illustration this is of God’s love for us.  His love for us is not measured in minutes, hours, days, weeks, or years.  His love for us is measureless and his grace toward us is boundless.  How long is until?  How far is it?  We’ll have to wait until we arrive safely home to find out!

Good News! Bad News!

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ne Tuesday morning, I received a phone call which began, “Blake, I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news.  Which do you want first?”  Not exactly a swell way to begin the day, is it?  The voice on the other end of the line was my doctor.  It seems the results of a blood test who had come in and the report was less than stellar. 

When offered the choice of good news or bad news first, I opted for the bad news.  I figured it could only get better from that point! Ah, the eternal optimist in me came shining through!  The blood test showed that a family of unwanted bacteria had set up housekeeping in my stomach.  For the past two months, I had felt their effect in the form of strong heartburn.  Medications weren’t helping so we, my doctor and I, decided to delve further into the mystery.

He had given me the good news first!  The infection was not really what concerned him; it was the treatment.  In order to evict these unwanted and uninvited guests, a two-week regimen of eight pills per day would be required.  The medicine could also cause a little bit of an upset tummy but the outcome would be worth the coming forced march through the bacterial desert!

So, I went straight to the pharmacy, filled the prescription and started the long 14-day trek back to health.  I did some quick math and deduced that over the next two weeks I would consume 112 pills.  Man, I just love that!  But the medicine is necessary if I am feel better and get back to eating pizza, ribs, pie, cake, cookies, well, you get the picture.

Would it surprise you to learn that there is a message in the New Testament book of Romans that closely resembles the conversation I had with my doctor?  If the Apostle Paul had had access to modern-day technology, he could have called, faxed, or e-mailed his message to the church in Rome, telling them he had good news and bad news.  Instead, he wrote it in his letter to them and we still read his words today and draw strength and assurance from them.

Romans 6:23 is Paul’s good news, bad news conversation with us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”   Notice here that Paul gives us the bad news first.  Sin equals death.  This truth echoes all the way back to Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve at the forbidden fruit and fell from relationship with God.  Adam had been warned that if he ate of this fruit, he would surely die.  While Adam and Eve physically died, they did not do so until many, many years later.  However, the death of their relationship with God came with the first bite!  From that point on mankind has lived in a fallen state, incapable of saving himself, unable to have a right relationship with God.

But now for the good news in Paul’s letter.  Notice the last half of this passage.  Paul tells us that eternal life is God’s free gift to us if we place our faith in Jesus Christ and accept him as Lord and Savior.  This is the good news of the New Testament and it doesn’t require a two-week regimen of 112 things you must do.  No, it is instantaneous!  Once we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, then we regain the right relationship God intended for us to have all along.  We then can and should spend every day in His presence, reading His word, talking to Him, learning from Him, praising, and worshipping Him.

Tuesday morning, I would have indeed been disheartened had my physician stopped with the bad news.  There would have been no cure, no hope, no chance of regaining my health.  Paul offers us the same notion.  He states categorically that sin leads to death, but he does not leave us there.  He tells us that God has the remedy for our disease and He offers it to us free of charge.  It is His gift to us.  So, are you in the mood for some good news today?  

The Lesson of the Rain Barrel

I remember watching Gun Smoke as a kid.  Every day Matt Dillon was on some new adventure, chasing a band of marauders, foiling the plans of a master criminal, keeping Miss Kitty, Doc, Newley, Festus, Sam, and the rest of Dodge City free from the threats of the nefarious outlaws that plagued upon the good people of that city.  I loved it when Marshal Dillon reluctantly pulled his pistol to make sure justice was done.  The good guy always won and the bad guy always lost.  

But there was something in every one of those episodes that went unnoticed.  As a matter of fact, these items were everywhere. They dotted the main street of Dodge City, they were found in front of and behind the various businesses in Dodge, and each household had at least one. In fact, no one would be caught in Dodge without this item. The item, as indicated by today’s title, was a rain barrel.

A rain barrel, so what?  What could that possibly have to do with the Scriptures?  And who even uses those things anymore and do they still exist?  These are all good questions and I can answer each of in turn.  Yes, rain barrels are still made and they are still in use.  My parents have two for their home as a means of staving off the rising cost of water.  They have several trees and plants that require a lot of water so they’ve decided to use the water God sends as rain to make sure their plants have what they need when the weather is hot and dry.

As far as the Scriptures are concerned, we need look no further than the first book of the Bible to learn the lesson of the rain barrel.  In Genesis 41:56 we read, “When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt.”  Please look with me as we learn a great lesson from God’s word today.

From the story of Joseph we learn a great biblical truth. The last few words of this passage tell us that the conditions in Egypt were not always pleasant.  Famine and drought plagued the land so that no food stuffs would grow.    Pharaoh had dreamed about this famine and had entrusted Joseph with caring for Egypt’s grain during the time of plenty so there would be food during the time of famine.  Joseph had done all Pharaoh required of him.  He stored 20% of Egypt’s grain for a seven-year period.  There was so much grain that he stopped keeping official records.  But in time of need, the food was there.

Joseph was a good steward of God’s blessing.  He lived in God’s provision when times were good and when times were bad.  Joseph’s faith and his faithfulness never wavered.  He trusted the Lord when there was plenty and he trusted Him when there was little.

I fear that Christians today have forgotten this principal.  We never expect times to get difficult and we always expect God’s blessings to bring about prosperity.  But if you read our passage very carefully you will see that there was a great famine in the land, a famine that lasted 7 years.  And through all those years, Joseph lived in God’s provision and made sure there was enough to eat, not only for Egypt, but for those countries around it as well.

The rain barrel has but one purpose, to collect water to be used when water is scarce.  Oh that we would learn this in our Christian walks.  In times of great joy, in times of great blessing, in times of great strides in our Christian walk, let us learn to store up faith so that when the famines of life come—and come they will—we can draw from that faith and live in God’s provision no matter the circumstances.  Have you learned the lesson of the rain barrel today?

Bumper Stickers

A few days ago I was making my way from Fort Worth to Arlington, trying to arrive a little early to the office to attend to some much-neglected paperwork.  As I gingerly navigated the traffic on Interstate 20, the day seemed to be progressing normally.  No accidents, no traffic jams, even the parking lot at the local doughnut shop was free of tangles!  Will miracles never cease?

In any event, as I continued my journey down Cooper Street toward UTA,  a car passed me.  I don’t remember the color or the make of the car.  I couldn’t tell you who was driving it and I don’t remember if the vehicle was remotely attractive.  The only thing I remember is the sticker proudly displayed on its bumper.  The message was simple, yet convicting.  It simply asked, “Have you spent time with God today?”

Now there was a  question!  In the middle of traffic, on my way to hectic schedules, shuffled papers, and moving bodies, I was confronted with the most important question of the day.  Sadly, my answer to that question was no.  In my hurry to get moving and start my day, I had neglected the most important step, time alone with God.

The Scriptures are full of examples where great men and women of God spent time alone with Him in prayer.   But there is perhaps no greater example of this than Jesus, himself.  In Luke 6:12 we find this example, “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”

Two elements of our walk with God are to be found in this simple statement.  First, we must get alone to talk and listen to God.  Jesus took no one with him; he went away from everyone and everything.  There was to be nothing between him and his father, no interruptions, no knocks at the door, no conversation with anyone else, no guests of any kind, invited or uninvited.  This time was God’s time, a time for talking to God and for listening to Him.

Second, Jesus spent the entire night in prayer.  The conversation lasted hours, not minutes.  He took everything to God and spoke to Him in very intimate terms.  There was open communication, peace, joy, and wonderful communion.  It was a time of complete fellowship, fellowship that is hard to leave, fellowship that makes the rest of our existence mundane!

And this is something we all can and must do.  We must spend time alone with our Heavenly Father.  We must listen to His voice and we must spend time, quality time, in His presence.  Nothing else matters until we have spent time alone, in prayer and in listening to God.

Isn’t it amazing what a little bumper sticker can do?  Is the bumper sticker of your life encouraging others to spend time with God?  Is your witness such that it stands out in the crowd and brings attention, not to you, but only to your Heavenly Father?  Have you spent time with God today?  What will your answer be?

Whose Side Are You On?

In a fight, especially one that really counts, it is always good to know who’s on your side.  This was the position the people of Israel found themselves in as they marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days in a row. For six days the people walked around the city once.  On the seventh day, however, God instructed them to march around the city seven times and when they heard the trumpet they were to give a loud shout and the walls would fall.  Then they were to run up to the city and take it.

As any good general would do, Joshua takes a survey of the terrain before him. He wants to know what lies ahead and what challenges Jericho will present for his people.  As he surveys the area around the city, he lifts his head and sees a man standing there with a drawn sword.  Curious as to who this man is and whose side he will take in the upcoming battle, Joshua approaches him.  The exchange between these two men provides our scripture reading for today and provides Joshua with a set of circumstances beyond his expectations.

In Joshua 5:13-15 we find the conversation between Joshua and this warrior.  “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"  "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"  The  commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.”

Joshua learned very quickly that this was no ordinary man.  He was an angel, sent from God to remind Joshua that the battle that lay before Israel belonged to God and He would fight for them.  All they had to do was remain faithful and obedient.  Notice how quickly Joshua changes his tone and his question.  The commander of the Lord’s army is not on anyone’s side.  God is sovereign and doesn’t take sides.  The real question was not whose side was the Lord on but rather whose side was Joshua on?  That is all that mattered.

The same is true for us today.  We are constantly bombarded with ideas, movements, temptations, etc. all vying for our attention.  We are continually urged to join this group, to subscribe the a certain philosophy, or to choose which segment of Christianity we are going to join.  But the most important thing is that we are on God’s side.  That is all that matters because if we are where God is we are right where we are supposed to be and He is with us.  If, however, we are not with Him, then it really doesn’t matter what or whose side we are on, does it?  To be aligned with someone else is to be aligned squarely against God.

Wherever you are today, be it at work, at school, on the road, at home, or in the grocery store, please know that as a child of the living God He is fighting your battles for you.  All He requires of you is that you remain obedient and faithful to Him.  He will help you through every trial, every difficulty, and every obstacle as long as you follow the path He has laid out for you.  The question is not about God being on your side; He is.  The question we must answer is are we on His side today?

The Turbulent-Free LIfe

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ow was your flight?”  This was the first question my dad asked me as I climbed into the car at the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina.  “The flight, “ I said, “was fine, except for the turbulence!”  My statement was indeed accurate.  For the majority of the flight, it was smooth sailing.  But every once in a while, we would encounter pockets of rough air and the small jet was bustled and jostled from all sides and in all directions—not exactly my idea of a swell time.

The more I fly, the more unrealistic about flight I become.  I expect the flight to be smooth from takeoff to landing with no incidents of turbulence, no hints of gusty winds aloft, and certainly no bumps, rattles, or shakes during the flight.  I know what you’re thinking.  “You’ve got to kidding, Blake.  Get real!”  And I would certainly agree with you that I need to be a little less naïve about flying. Hey, what can I say?  I’m an eternal optimist!

The turbulence does serve its purpose though and is a good lesson about living the Christian life.  Although being strapped in a metal tube at 38,000 feet is no picnic when the winds are buffeting, it is also the safest place to be in that environment.  The only place of safety, the only place where you can survive is inside that airplane.  It has been designed to withstand the pressure exerted on it by the atmosphere and it has been designed to fly in all weathers and in all conditions to deliver its cargo safely to its destination.  The very fact the plane is designed and built with these conditions in mind means the engineer knew there would be bumps along the way and made provision for them.  That turbulence exists comes as no surprise to the designer or the pilot, although it may be unnerving to the passenger.

The number of Christians who believe a walk with God should have no bumps, shakes, rattles, or turbulence is surprising.  Yet, nowhere in the Scriptures are we promised that life gets easier when we become a Christian.  Nowhere in the Bible does God promise that once we accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord that the road automatically becomes smooth and we just sit back and enjoy the ride.  No! It is in the difficult times of life that we understand and learn just how faithful our God is and just how much strength, assurance, and grace He gives to us.

Jesus’ words in John 17 should teach us that there will be bumps in the road of life.  In John 17:15 he says, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one."  This verse is taken from the section of John’s gospel known as the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus.  If you have never read it or if it has been some time since you have, I invite you to do so now.  This is where Jesus prayed for his disciples because he knew the hour for his crucifixion had come and that their lives would change and become turbulent.  Notice he does not ask God to take remove them from the world but to protect them from the evil one.  In other words, Jesus did not ask for smooth or turbulent-free living for the disciples; he asked for protection.  You only need protection if you are in danger, not out of it!

At 38,000 feet, the airplane protected us from the turbulence outside. It did not take us out of it as my shot nerves and aching muscles would tell you.  But only in that turbulence was my faith tested and rewarded.  Had it not been for the rough and bumpy patches in the flight path, I would have never appreciated the long tracts of smooth air nor the firm ground beneath me.  If this is the case with a flight, my friend, how much more true is this in our walk with God?  There is no such thing as a turbulent-free life and I thank God there isn’t!  Only in the most turbulent times can you here His voice saying, “Peace, be still!”  Thank God for the bumps in your road today!  Bon voyage!

What You See Isn't Always The Whole Picture

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 few years ago on a visit to the dentist, I was reminded just how deceiving initial impressions can be!  I had been having some twinges of pain and knew I needed to see someone about it but keeping the appointment was a major step forward for me because I dislike the dentist’s chair a great deal.  But when I arrived for my appointment, I was pleasantly surprised by my dentist and her staff.  They took great care of me and provided excellent care.

As soon as I sat in the chair, a series of X-rays were in order.  They would show the true condition of my teeth and determine what needed to be done.  At first glance, the films showed only that the tooth in question might need just a filling.  However, one more film placed in a slightly different location, revealed that more damage than originally thought was present inside the tooth.  The dentist commented that from the outside, the tooth looked great; but on the inside, it was, quite frankly, a mess!!

And so my Odyssey across Root Canal Sea began.  Once opened, the decay hidden by the tooth’s white enamel shell was exposed. That’s when I began to feel little indications that all was not well inside.  As we continued with the procedure, I could still feel pain.  So the dentist decided to stop, place a temporary filling and send me home with a load of antibiotics to kill the infection over the next week.  We will try again to complete the procedure, this time with most of that decay knocked out by the antibiotic!

What a detailed and true to life picture of the words of Jesus found in Matthew 23:27, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.”  In this passage from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus takes the Pharisees to task!  This particular passage, labeled as the six woes, still speaks to us today about our walk with the Lord.

The Pharisees were the most religious men of their day.  They revered the Law and did all within their power to keep it.  They were so afraid of breaking it that over the years they had developed a myriad of traditions to keep them from becoming lawbreakers.  The only problem was, they began to worship and revere their tradition more than the Scriptures.  They confused their priorities, making them appear to honor God’s law while down deep they worshipped their own tradition.

This is why Jesus called them hypocrites.  Outwardly they looked religious and did all the “right things.”  However, inside, down deep where it really mattered, they were filled with decay.  They practice the letter of the law but not its spirit.  They made converts only to honor themselves rather than honoring God.  Much like my tooth, they looked good on the outside but were filled with decay on the inside.

Today, so many people are trying their best to make a good impression and look religious.  Unfortunately, some of these very people fill our pulpits, teach our Sunday school classes, or serve as deacons, elders, or fill other leadership rolls within the church.  We must be willing to let God examine us and plumb our inmost beings if we ever hope to be clean and free from decay.  What you see isn’t always what you get!  When was the last time you let God really examine your life?  Won’t you let Him do that today?  You’ll be so glad you did!

Turn On The Lights

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n December of 1988, my brother and I purchased a house that turned into a labor of love.  From my perspective, there was much more labor than love but it was a wonderful learning experience and I must say I enjoyed it tremendously. 

The house had been in our community for as long as I could remember and when we acquired it, it was in desperate need of repair.  New wiring, new sheet rock, new plumbing, new molding, new paint, new wallpaper, a new heating system, a new hot water heater, in essence, a new everything.

I distinctly remember the night we succeeded in wiring up a few lights so we could work at night.  After several long evenings working by the light of the setting sun and flashlight, we finally hooked up a few recessed lights, plugged in the house, and threw the switch.  Tada, instant light!  Yes, you read that last sentence correctly.  We had to go outside and plug the house up to the temporary power source to have light.  But it didn’t matter. Where there had been only darkness, now there was light, light that made our work and our lives easier as we steadily worked toward our goal of restoring the house.

Several thousand years ago, the prophet Isaiah described a time when the lights would also be turned on in the house of Israel, light that would shine forth for all the world to see and participate in.  The light he spoke of had nothing to do with remodeling houses; it had everything to do with rebuilding lives.  In Isaiah 9:2 we read, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”

This passage of scripture is very familiar and is often quoted at Christmas.  Isaiah was indeed writing of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the true light coming into the world to light man’s way out of sin and into the light of life.  It is interesting to notice how Isaiah describes the people searching for this light.  Notice he calls them the people who walked in darkness and who lived in the land of the shadow of death.  These words are a perfect description of man without God. 

That is why God sent his son into the world, so that through him the world might be saved (John 3:16-17).  This passage was written to share the joy and the excitement Isaiah felt as he wrote about the day when the light of life would shine forth and dispel the darkness of sin and death.  He describes the Messiah as a great light, a light that the people will see.  No wonder, then, that Jesus refers to Himself as the light of the world and says that no one who follows him will ever walk in darkness (John 8:12).

Are you walking in God’s light today or are is it still dark where you are?  Remember that God gave his son so that we could have not only eternal life, but a daily relationship with him.  God reached down through the lonely darkness, met us in our place of need, and turned the lights on.  Won’t you come into the light today?

Maintenance Required

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ou know how it is.  You’re driving down the road, listening to good music, enjoying the scenery, taking advantage of light traffic, and thinking pleasant thoughts, and then it happens.  The little light on the dashboard suddenly comes on and your focus shifts from a lovely drive through the park to the gripping reality that something may be terribly wrong with your car!  Ain’t life grand?

This happened to me just a few years ago.  I was enjoying a leisurely drive when suddenly the little light on the dashboard sputtered and came to life.  At first, I was very alarmed.  The car is not even a year old so I couldn’t imagine anything major could be wrong, but being the mechanic that I am—and believe me I’m no mechanic—I assumed the worst.  The light read, Maintenance Required!

I arrived home, picked up the phone, and called the dealership where I purchased my vehicle.  The lady in the service department told me I had nothing to fear and no cause for worry. The car is programmed to remind me to have scheduled maintenance every 5000 miles.  I was approaching 10,000 miles on the car so the light was there simply as a friendly reminder to make sure I scheduled maintenance.

What a relief this was and what a wonderful lesson about my spiritual life.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had a built-in Maintenance Required light?  Then we would know when to go to the doctor, when to visit the dentist, when to get groceries, etc.  Life would be so much easier, wouldn’t it?  Well there are certain things built into our systems.  We get hungry and we search food.  We get sick and we see a doctor.  We have a toothache and we go to the dentist.

But what about our spiritual lives?  Does the Bible say anything about maintaining our relationship with God?  What type of maintenance schedule do the Scriptures speak of?  In Hosea 12:6 we find these words, “But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always”.  Can you find the Maintenance Required light in this passage?  It is right there, glaring out at us.  Notice that Hosea encourages his readers to do three things.  First, we must return to God.  What a punch these few words pack!   On a daily basis, we run the risk of distancing ourselves from the Lord and when we do, we are in need of returning so we can maintain the close relationship He longs to have with us.

Second, in our lives we must maintain love and justice.  Neither of these comes naturally to the human heart.  Love, real love for others, not just for those who love us in return, is only possible when we allow God to love others through us.  Without Him, we cannot possible fulfill Christ’s command to love each other in the same was as he loved us.  Moreover, justice is almost a lost concept today.  We talk about fairness but God’s standard is justice.   The two are not synonymous.  Yet, Hosea instructs us to maintain justice and to do this we must have a consistent relationship with God.

Third, and this is the most difficult, we are told to wait for God always.  Waiting is never easy and it is never fun but it is always necessary!  In fact, the word “always” is the equivalent of the Maintenance Required light on our cars.  In the Christian walk, we are always in need of maintenance.  Daily, we must spend time alone with God and have ourselves checked over, adjusted, and tuned up by our Master Mechanic.  Only He can affect repairs and make adjustments that equip us to do His will daily.

What does the dashboard of your life look like today?  Are you paying attention to the little light that tells you maintenance is required?  Are you maintaining your contact with God?  Is everything in the proper working order today?  If not, how about going into the shop for a little required maintenance!