Category Archives: Today: Make it Count

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March 2, 2023

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Obedience, Sharing Our Faith, Today: Make it Count

… AND GOING (Part 2)

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” [Isaiah 6:8 (NLT)]

I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry
All who dwell in dark and sin My hand will save.
I, who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.
[Dan Schutte]

elephantLast week, after singing we’d come in the opening hymn, we promised to go in the closing one: I the Lord of Sea and Sky. Originally written for a Roman Catholic ordination mass in 1981, it has found its way into many Protestant hymnals. As I sang the refrain, “Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?” I thought of Samuel and Isaiah, both of whom were called by God and both of whom responded by saying, “Here I am.” I wonder if I would have responded as positively as did they. Like Moses, would I have protested or, like Jeremiah, say my age disqualified me? Would I simply have run away as did Jonah? Although Moses, Jeremiah, and even Jonah eventually answered God’s call, I’m not so sure I would have (although three days in the belly of a fish might have convinced me)!

Being a prophet was a little like being God’s press secretary. Acting as His spokesperson, the prophet conveyed God’s words and message to the people. Unlike a press conference, however, negative news didn’t get a positive spin and there was no quibbling about the meaning of words. Prophets didn’t speak off-the-record, dissemble, beat around the bush, or use alternative facts and half-truths. With no need to be re-elected, God never worried about approval ratings and His prophets spoke only the unadulterated and often unpopular truth.

While a bearer of glad tidings is popular and welcome, indicting people for their sins  or bringing a message of judgment and destruction was no way to win a popularity contest in Judah, Israel, and the surrounding nations. As the frequent bearers of reproach, dire warnings, and sad tidings, prophets often were ignored and persecuted. Nevertheless, Isaiah and the others reported for duty and took on a task that few would want.

God’s prophets answered His call because they trusted and loved Him. They knew He didn’t bring the Israelites to the edge of the Red Sea only to have them drown in the waters or be captured by the Egyptian soldiers nor did He send them through the wilderness only to have them die from starvation or lack of water before arriving in Canaan. God didn’t put Noah and the animals on that Ark without bringing them to dry land, He didn’t have Joshua march around Jericho without giving him victory, and He didn’t send David out to meet Goliath without those five smooth stones for his sling! Confident that God would provide all they needed, those prophets answered His call.

The pastor’s choice of opening and closing hymns had us both coming and going that day. The hymns were a vivid reminder that it’s not enough just to come to Jesus; He also expects us to go out into the world for Him. He calls us to service—to be His messengers and spread His word, light, and love to the world around us. When He calls, do we answer or do we pretend we don’t hear? Do we trust God to provide whatever we need or do we doubt and reject Him? Even though God warned his prophets that most people wouldn’t listen to them, let alone heed their words, they heeded His call by saying, “Here I am. Send me.”  Will we do the same?

We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum. A.W. Tozer]

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. [Acts 1:8 (NLT)]

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February 13, 2023

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Faith & Hope, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Promises, Salvation: A New You, Sharing Our Faith, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

FROM DEATH TO LIFE

“I am the resurrection and the life,” replied Jesus. “Anyone who believes in me will live, even if they die. And anyone who lives and believes in me will never, ever die.” [John 11: 25-26 (NTE)]

Matterhorn Memorial - Zermatt

Courtesy of technology, we recently attended an Illinois church service while sitting at our computers in Florida. The choir, accompanied by pipe organ and trumpet, began with Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring and ended with Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee. The trumpet’s bright piercing sound and the organ’s lilting accompaniment in the first song and the uplifting words in the final one makes them popular choices for joyful occasions like weddings, Christmas, and Easter. Although we were rejoicing, we weren’t celebrating nuptials, Christ’s birth, or His resurrection. Instead, we were rejoicing in a life well lived and celebrating the life of a friend who recently went home to God.

During the service, several people spoke of this Christian man’s faith, character, modesty, generosity, humility, compassion, honesty, reliability, thoughtfulness, wisdom, and curiosity. A leader both in his community and church, he built consensus rather than caused discord, bore the fruit of the Spirit, and truly lived his life as a follower of Christ. Although he played the trumpet in college, he never blew his own horn or called attention to himself. Nevertheless, he was a shining light in a world filled with darkness. Our lives were blessed by his presence and he will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

As much as his family and friends mourn his absence, the service was one of unparalleled joy because, while here on earth, he followed Jesus with his heart, soul, body, and mind. We could be joyful because we know death is not the end of our lives—just of our lives in these perishable bodies. As Christians, we have hope of something greater that goes far beyond life and death.

In contrast, I can’t feel joy at any funeral or memorial service for a non-believer. While songs may be sung, they’re more likely to be My Way or Over the Rainbow than Abide with Me or It is Well with My Soul. After sharing memories and listing accomplishments, the person giving the eulogy will say reassuring things about the deceased being in a better place, with the angels, or watching over us—none of which are based in reality. Unbelievers are not going home or into the arms of God, they won’t be “looking down” at their loved ones, and there won’t be a happy reunion in heaven with friends and family. The only way an unbeliever lives on is in photographs and people’s memories; sadly, even those will fade and be lost over time. There is little comfort in the passing of a non-believer.

While there are different opinions in Christ’s church about what happens immediately after death, there is unanimity in His church about what eventually happens—we will come face to face with God and our entire lives will be examined. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection mean that His followers aren’t afraid of God’s judgment on the day. Regardless of our failures and sins, we are recipients of God’s grace and forgiven for our wrongs. Because of God’s mercy and grace, all of His adopted children have a confirmed reservation waiting for them in heaven.

Because the only way to heaven is faith in Jesus and there is no return from the depths of hell, there is no comfort or joy in the passing of a non-believer. On the other hand, in spite of our sorrow, we can rejoice when Christ’s followers depart this world because we know their destination, that our separation is only temporary, and that we will meet again in God’s good time. That’s why, at their passing, we can raise our voices and joyfully sing, “Joyful, joyful, we adore You, God of glory, Lord of love; Hearts unfold like flowers before You, Opening to the sun above.”

Morality may keep you out of jail, but it takes the blood of Jesus Christ to keep you out of hell. [Charles Spurgeon]

I’m telling you the solemn truth: anyone who hears my word, and believes in the one who sent me, has the life of God’s coming age. Such a person won’t come into judgment; they will have passed out of death into life. [John 5:24 (NTE)]

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February 2, 2023

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Salvation: A New You, Today: Make it Count

GETTING RIGHT, RIGHT NOW

Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right. When the south wind blows, you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is. You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.” [Luke 12:54-59 (NLT)]

After admonishing the crowd surrounding Him for being able to predict the weather but being oblivious to the signs of the arrival of God’s Kingdom, Jesus told a parable about getting right with God before judgment. As He was speaking, he was told about a recent incident in which Pontius Pilate ordered his soldiers to murder some Galileans while they offered their Temple sacrifices. On Monday, in “The Man from Galilee,” I wrote about the stereotypes Judeans had of Galileans; along with thinking them to be uneducated peasants, many Judeans regarded Galileans as trouble-making rebels against Rome. Indeed, Galileans had revolted after Herod the Great was named King, and, in 6 AD, another rebellion was led by Judas of Galilee. Indicating Rome’s expectation of armed resistance from Jesus and his Galilean disciples, a contingent (around 500) of heavily armed soldiers were sent to arrest Him in Gethsemane. Jesus even asked if they thought him a dangerous revolutionary. While turning the other cheek and loving one’s enemies was a revolutionary concept, that was not the kind of revolution people expected from a Galilean.

Understanding the crowd’s bias makes it likely that their specific mention of the murdered men being Galilean indicates their suspicion that the men may have been trouble-makers who deserved their deaths. Perceiving the crowd’s smug viewpoint, Jesus asked whether those Galileans deserved their brutal deaths more than any other Galilean and immediately answered His own question with a firm, “Not at all!” Turning the tables on his questioners, He mentioned a recent disaster that had horrified the nation when eighteen men were crushed to death after a tower they’d been building collapsed on them. He then asked, “Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem?” before repeating His caution to repent lest His listeners perish as well.

As long as life goes smoothly for us, it’s easy to self-righteously think that those who suffer deserve God’s judgment. After all, that’s what Job’s friends mistakenly thought about his afflictions. When life takes a turn for the worse and we’re on the receiving end of tragedy as it did for Job, that reasoning flies out the window. None of those laborers were any more deserving of their deaths than were the “Galileans.” By the same token, none of them were less deserving of their suffering, even if they all were truly evil people.

Whether the devastation and loss of life from events like Hurricane Ian or the unbearable horror of a school shooting like Uvalde, experiencing tragedy has nothing to do with one’s righteousness. The Book of Job makes it clear that even the most righteous among us have no right to question God. Suffering, disease, and death originate from God’s curse because of that first sin. Even terms like “innocent child” and “good person” are relative terms since we all are sinners and deserving of God’s righteous judgment.

Tragedies show us that life is fragile and that we must get right with God before we die and face judgment. If nothing else, catastrophe and misfortune should drive us to repentance and Jesus warned the crowd to do just that: “Repent of your sins and turn to God.” It is repentance that keeps us from perishing—not from suffering and certainly not from dying—but from perishing!

“Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.” [Luke 13:2-5 (NLT)]

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December 29, 2022

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Attitudes & Behavior, Faith & Hope, Holidays & Holy Days, Joy, Peace of God, Today: Make it Count

CARPE DIEM – THE NEW YEAR

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. [James 4:13-14 (NLT)]

Hibiscus trionum - Flower-of-an-Hour
Several years ago, a young woman with Parkinson’s told me, “Every day I wake up, I realize that I’m the best I ever will be and it’s only downhill from here.” Rather than complaining, she was explaining how that knowledge made her determined to seize and delight in each day. Unlike her, I’m not suffering from a degenerative disease (other than age); nevertheless, her words continue to haunt me. No matter how healthy or happy we may (or may not) be today, we have no guarantee that tomorrow will be any better. Life is precarious and our tomorrows are uncertain. Yet, we so often squander the hours and days we’re given.

We regularly called a friend whose remaining time was counted in weeks. Having exhausted all treatment options, he was painfully aware of being on a steep downhill run. Like the woman with Parkinson’s, however, he refused to let that knowledge steal his joy in the present. In fact, his awareness of life’s fragility seemed to give him more appreciation of every moment with which God blessed him. Thankful for every morning he saw, he was determined to make that day his best one by rejoicing in its simplest gifts. Of course, being a man of faith, he knew that death does not have the final word and had no fear of what lay ahead of him. Nevertheless, until that time came (as it did last week), he continued to seize the day with all the joy and gusto he could muster.

A new year is fast approaching and, as I started making plans for 2023, I thought about the uncertainty of our tomorrows, not just for my friend, but for all of us. Why do we waste a single breath with anger, regret, resentment, or complaint? Why do we fritter away even five seconds in self-pity or worry when they should be spent in thankfulness and joy? Why do we see the day’s imperfections with twenty/twenty vision when we’re blind to the day’s blessings? The old saying, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life!” is only partially true. We all have expiration dates and today well could be the last day of our lives here on earth. Shouldn’t we make it the best one we’ll have?

Perhaps we can learn from the Hibiscus trionum. Called “Flower-of-an-Hour,” each flower blooms during a single sunny day and remains open only a few hours. Nevertheless, the flower makes the most of its brief time by turning to the sun, getting pollinated, providing pollen and nectar for bees and butterflies, and sharing its leaves with caterpillars and rabbits. Why don’t we make the most of our time in the sun? It shouldn’t take cancer or Parkinson’s to make us realize that today is the best day of our lives! It is the day the Lord has made—the precious day the Lord has given us in this precarious world—and we should rejoice in each and every moment of it!

Father, forgive us when we fail to make the most of the days with which you have generously blessed us. Help us to seize today with joy and thanksgiving and be glad in it. No matter what the future may bring, may each day be our best one ever!

The past, the present and the future are really one: they are today. [Harriet Beecher Stowe]

This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. [Psalm 118:23-24 (NLT)]

Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. [Psalm 39:4 (NLT)]

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December 8, 2022

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Bible Stories, God's Grace & Love, Knowing Him, Salvation: A New You, Today: Make it Count

MIRACLE AT CANA – Part 2

The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”… This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. [John 2:1-3,11 (NLT)]

eastern bluebird
Jesus told several parables about the importance of accepting God’s invitation to the feast in His Kingdom. The wedding at Cana, however, shows us what happens when we invite God to our feast! While we don’t know the reason Jesus and the disciples were at the festivities, the men weren’t wedding crashers. In fact, John makes a point of telling us they were invited guests. The story of Cana tells us that Jesus not only transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary but, when invited into our lives, He also changes circumstances, makes scarcity into surplus, exchanges sorrow for joy, and empowers the servants (us) to do His work, just as He did that day in Cana. That first miracle was Jesus’ simple way of saying, “Invite me into your life and see what wonderful things can happen!”

When Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus into His home, salvation came as well! When Levi the tax collector invited Jesus home for dinner, he found salvation and the despised publican became Matthew, the gospel writer and Apostle. When Peter opened his home to Jesus, his mother-in-law was healed of her fever. Martha welcomed Jesus to her home and her brother Lazarus was resurrected! After the synagogue leader Jairus begged Jesus to come into his home, the man’s dead daughter was brought back to life. When Cleopas and his friend invited the resurrected Jesus to break bread with them, they finally recognized Him as the risen Lord! Good things happen when we invite Jesus into our homes!

The Old Testament tells us that good things happen when we invite God’s messengers into our homes and lives. Because Rahab welcomed Israel’s spies into her home, she and her family were saved when Jericho fell. Because the widow of Zarephath welcomed Elijah to her table and served him her last morsel, she, her son, and the prophet had food enough for the famine’s duration. After the wealthy woman of Shunem invited Elisha into her home, she was blessed by having a much-desired child and then by having her son brought back to life through God’s power. Indeed, good things happen when we invite God and His messengers into our lives!

Jesus didn’t gate-crash that wedding feast in Cana, show up uninvited at the house of Levi/Matthew, or bully His way into the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus; He was an invited guest. Right now, Jesus politely stands at the entryway of our lives, knocks at our heart’s door to gain admittance, and waits to be invited inside. Because we have free will, whether or not we welcome this guest is our choice alone.

There was no room for Jesus when He arrived in Bethlehem that first Christmas. Have we made room for Him this Christmas? Will we open the door to our hearts and lives and warmly receive Him into our homes and lives? Or, as happened that starry night 2,000 years ago, will we ignore His knock the way we would a door-to-door salesman and send Him on His way?

Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen [child’s prayer from 17th Century German hymn]

Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. [Revelation 3:20 (NLT)]

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November 17, 2022

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, Joy, Love & Works, Today: Make it Count

TITHING OUR TIME

You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully. [2 Corinthians 9:7 (NLT)]

white peacock butterflyWhile many people faithfully tithe by giving ten percent of their income to God’s work, I read an article in which the author not only tithes her money but also her time. With 168 hours in a week, she dedicates a total of 16.8 hours a week to serving God. These tithed hours are spent in things like Bible study, prayer, mentoring, visiting the house-bound, bringing food to the needy, or sending encouraging notes.

While measuring out time for God may work for the author, I’m not so sure it would work for everyone. Would we have to tithe 2.4 hours each day or could we pick and choose when to use our week’s hours? Would we be talking gross or net hours? If net, once we’d taken out the eight hours for sleep every night, only 112 hours would be tithable and only 11.2 hours a week would belong to God. Would people need to keep a time-card and clock in and out every time they said a prayer? I wonder if Sunday evenings there might a frantic effort to find a way to fulfill the remaining unused time. Would we call an elderly neighbor to chat while counting minutes until we could disconnect?

Some people might split hairs about what actually determines giving time to the Lord. If we’re bringing the trash bin back to the house anyway, does bringing up the neighbor’s bin count? If we take canned goods to the food pantry, do we get credit for the entire time spent at the grocery store purchasing them? If we talk about church when meeting a friend for lunch count or must it be someone we don’t especially like or to whom we witness? Does the time spent driving to and from our volunteer job at the resale shop count? If we’re taking someone to church or Bible study, can we count the entire drive time or just the extra time it took to pick them up? Do we get extra credit for watching monster children in the church nursery? Once those sixteen plus hours are used, could we then turn a deaf ear to people’s needs or skip praying? If we gave more than 16.8 hours in one week, could the extra time carry over to the following one? Once we’re done with our hours, can we turn a deaf ear or a blind eye to the needs surrounding us until the following week?

The Pharisees got so caught up in the minutia and letter of the Law that they missed its purpose and, like them, with all that nitpicking, it would be easy to get more concerned with tallying time than sharing God’s love. Instead of it being a privilege to give back to God, strictly tithing time could turn worship, prayer, study, and service into a chore. God loves a cheerful giver but this doesn’t sound very cheerful to me.

Admittedly, tithing time originally seemed like a good idea, especially since I spend more than 16.8 hours a week writing these devotions. I’d easily fulfill my weekly obligation at my computer so nothing more would have to be done for or with God! The Holy Spirit then gave me a kick in the behind and said, “You’re never done serving the Lord; I want all 168 hours of your week!” May we always remember that, other than our love, there’s nothing we can give Him that isn’t already His!

Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can. [Attributed to John Wesley]

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. [Galatians 6:9-10 (NLT)]

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