I got  a call yesterday from my sister saying she would like to visit a little before she goes back to Connecticut. So we spent some time this afternoon together with our Mom and her kids.  It was an effort on her part as she drove some hours today then will even more tomorrow on her return home.  I got up earlier to get things done, did some work beforehand I normally wouldn’t have to spend the time with them, my efforts were smaller in comparison to hers but strong family ties and the effort to build them is worth it. We enjoyed the time together once again, despite the sibling ribbing ! HA ! 

Jesus Christ exerted the MAXIMUM effort to place us in the family of God, He died for us !   And because of this effort we’ll reap tremendous benefits.  When John recorded Revelation for us one of the verses he jotted down was this: “And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it.”  (21:24).   The “it” here refers to the “glory of God” specifically as personified in the “Lamb” (Jesus) !!   Those who have been born again by asking God’s forgiveness for being a sinner and accepting Jesus as Savior will spend QUALITY time with the “family” throughout all eternity ! Where I should say the “time” in quality time is perhaps not a proper phrase then for time will be a non-issue !!

Good friends and family in far away places like Tanzania, China, Hawaii, Indiana, even Connecticut will be with us so much more in eternity.  We’ll have forever to enjoy the ties that bind us !  Do you miss your family/friends?  Do you wish you could spend more time with them?   You will, my friend, you will ! Thanks to the Lord’s maximum effort for us who have been saved !  Won’t it be great?   Think on this next time life here gets a little trying !

So what’s “on your plate” this week?  Got a busy week ahead or no?  For most Christians the answer to that is probably “Yes !”   If you working that 40+ hour job you have that plus church and family responsibilities. If you’re retired and still active in your church you have things to do there, etc.  But for the most part the serious Christian is, and rightly so, a “busy lil beaver” !   Unless you’re on vacation you have a lot of irons in the fire more than likely.  Sometimes you wonder how it will all get done !!  Take a cue from Jesus’ earthly life though, He was engaged very much so but also took those periodic times to get apart so He wouldn’t come apart too !!

If this kind of describes things in your little slice of the world, rejoice  ! Take some encouragement today from the Bible that there is coming a time when all the rigors of this life will be over and the blessings and joys of eternity will be a vivid reality.   When John was given a glimpse of what YOU will see as a saved person one day he wrote, “And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. . .and there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb, shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him.” (Rev.22:1,3).   

 Yes, we will serve Him in eternity but without the proverbial “Murphy’s law” kicking in !  Things will go right and service will be especially gratifying.  Until that time we’re called to toil, give our best efforts, and store up treasures to lay down at His feet today and this week by doing what we do FOR Him.   “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear (respect) and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as UNTO Christ.” (Eph.6:5).      So give it your best today and this week whatever is “on your plate”, keep the nose to the grindstone as there is coming an eternal reward for YOU then and the warm and welcome response from Jesus Himself “Well done thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” !!! (Mt.25:21).

So go ahead and start working on that plate, take a big bite out of life today but remembering that “dessert” is just around the corner !!

 

 

As the new school year approaches, summer elapses and fall begins new routines being to emerge. In our area, you make adjustments for the 40,000+ Penn State students coming to town and living here most of the year. State College becomes the third biggest city on PA on a football Saturday ! So you make allowances for the extra people in your errands, planning, etc.   

What I’m saying is especially this time of year its good to look at your priorities.  It’s an interesting and apt word for it comes from “prior” and has the idea of superior, taking precedence because of importance.  Your priorities have to do with what you deem important.   Abraham permitted Lot to choose a part of the Promised Land before him because he deemed things less important than his nephew. Lot, we know, had other priorities. Consequently, his being wrong, he suffered much in time due to them.  Jacob viewed scheming to get ahead in life  yet said near the end of his life, “few and evil have been the days of my life” !  His priorities hindered his life and what he could’ve otherwise done well. 

Moses tells us in the decalogue to have no other gods before God (Ex.20)  and Christ Himself sums up the gist of Scripture with our need to love God supremely  and to seek Him (Mt.6:33) above all !    We worship the FIRST day of the week for a reason and Paul said, “let nothing be done through strife or vain glory but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Phil.2:3).    I realize its more fashionable (and I use that term loosely as you will soon understand) to dress more casual to God’s house today. But what does that say about our priorities to the world, our fellow worshippers and even moreso to the Lord?  Yes some dress to impress and outdo others but we must be careful not to use that as an excuse for being well-groomed for God.  As they say, what would you wear to the White House if invited?  Speaking of priorities, Who is more important in that scenario ??

Since God is a God of order (1Cor.14:33) and we are to reflect His likeness there must be Christlike priorities in our lives.  Take some time today to evaulate if God is TRULY first with you.   Do you have a service for Him tomorrow at your church? If your priorities are right you won’t do it “half-baked” or prepare at the last minute.  You will give it your best effort.  Is tithing important to you? It is to God.   Or do you give Him what’s left over?  Aren’t you glad He doesn’t work that way with you?   When the new week starts will you opt for fun to the neglect of family responsibilities?  Will a hobby take precedence over how your home looks?   Will you engage in “ministry” to massage your ego or humbly serve the Master?  You are very important to Him, enough to DIE for you !  And that should serve as the impetus for your priorities, loving God FIRST and FOREMOST !!

I have always been intrigued by a statement Paul made in Philippians 4:11, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have LEARNED, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”    Real contentment is something we all want, yet it eludes many because many don’t allow themselves to be “schooled” as did Paul.    As a Christian, we know the deal that such satisfaction can only be found through Christ. We know that “in theory” yet sometimes that breaks down in practice as we hit those “road bumps of life”.

Pity the poor folks at our church who hear repeat illustrations from their pastor but for any not in our church this may be the first time you have heard this poem. If not, its worth repeating.  It came from a little eight year old girl:

“Oh what a happy soul I am,
Although I cannot see !
I am resolved that in this world
contented I will be !

How many blessings I enjoy
that other people dont,
To weep and sigh because I’m blind
I cannot, and I won’t !

The great hymnwriter Fanny Crosby who was blinded by a quack “doctor” in her infancy refused to allow her situation to ruin the life God had given her. So she gave God her best and she gave us in turn many great hymns we still enjoy today like “Blessed Assurance”,  “Safe in the Arms of Jesus”, & “All the Way My Savior Leads Me” . She was friend to many of our presidents and a great many more “common” people.  She had memorized huge portions of the Bible like the first five books for some, and all in Braille !!  There was a girl who refused to let her handicap get the best of her.  She too had learned contentment.   

Still I wouldn’t say Fanny or Paul learned that through a simple decision of the will. No, I think Paul clues us in as he writes in vs.13 that confident remark we’ve maybe said, thought or had spoken to us in times when we felt weak or discouraged, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”     HE is the key here undoubtedly.  If you read the context of that verse Paul was saying that no matter what happened, whether “abased” or “abounding” he had been “instructed” in the lesson of contentment thats not based on a good day or a bad day but a good and powerful God !

If you’re saved then just like Paul and Fanny Crosby, YOU have that same good and mighty God too.   And whatever is on your plate today,  draw from His peace and strength and be content !

 

Did you hear the news of the 61 year old swimmer Diana Nyad who just attempted to swim around 100 miles to Cuba in shark infested waters? Wow !  Her shoulder prevented the feat but she did give it a great try. Twenty-nine hours in the ocean is a worthy attempt indeed.  Yes, she’s a world renowned swimmer, yes she evidenced tremendous courage and yes she even shunned her age for a very challenging goal. 

She is not unlike many of God’s children when you think about it. We live in a dark world as children of light and as James said there come to each of our lives “divers (not related to swimming) temptations” .  Our “waters” are at times deep and murky and for those who love the Lord there are always “sharks”. Like Diana, we grow weary and just want to give up the “swim”.   I’m often reminded of Paul’s adage in Galatians 6 where he urged us to “not be weary in well doing for in due season we SHALL  reap if we faint not.” !

Perseverance is the clarion call of the Lord to His children as He knows we have toils, snares and all kinds of waves looking to thwart our journey. Yet He is there with us all the time, a very present help in trouble and we may all go boldly unto the throne of grace to bring our hurts and cares to Him and when you think about it the journey is soon over. The other day I was chatting with a guy in his 80’s who still works 60+ hours a week (he’s “swimming”) and he reminded me yet again how very fast life truly is.

  Keep at it today child of God, the “swim” will be worth it !  As Jesus agonized in Gethsemane He continued that we might live eternally and be able also to navigate troubled waters in this life too.  Think how much your struggles handled well will also translate to huge blessings in time too: in due season YOU SHALL reap, if you faint not !!  Think how much you will show Christ to others around you as you give your best to your “swim”. Oh, you may not set out to accomplish all you want, as Diana, but God just asks your best effort as I preached on Sunday. And when you give that rest assured you will hear His “Well done thou good and faithful servant” ! (Mt.25).