There Are no Part Time Christians

 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 

 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ Matthew 25:7-9 

  When I was a salesman I entered every day for work through the back door. And I would, symbolically, put on my salesman’s hat when I stepped through that door. And when I left through that door each evening to go home, I would take off my salesman’s hat. 

  Christianity is not like that, or least Christians should never be like that. You should not have a Christian hat that you put on at church, or other religious events, and then remove when you leave. Christianity doesn’t work that way. 

  Christians don’t have days off or vacations from the faith. No, within the Believer, Christ abides. He does not disappear when our faith becomes inconvenient. The true Christian is always walking with the Lord and the Lord is always with us. 

  Knowing this truth, we should behave and live a life worthy of our faith. I must admit that I have too often fallen short of that goal, but we should always aspire to live out our faith in every circumstance. 

  We have freedom in Christ. We are not slaves to a set of laws and regulations. Yet our lives should reflect the reality of our position in Christ as children of God. 

  I know how hard it is to be cheerful, upbeat, and strong in the Lord when we feel weak, worn out, sick and helpless. It is easy to be grouchy, cranky, and generally not very joyful in the Lord. Afflictions can do that to you.  

  Yet His grace carries us when we are too weak to carry ourselves. Let your life reflect Jesus. Let your Christian light shine. When it is easy and when it is hard. For the Lord abides within us and we have a full time faith. 

  Prayer: Thank You Lord for being within us, for changing our hearts, and making us new inside. Help us to reflect the best of You in all circumstances. Amen.  

 

 

For A Moment In Time

 There is a time for everything, 

  and a season for every activity under the heavens: Ecclesiastes 3:1 

  

  I was studying the wallpaper on my computer screen. It was of a 17th century era ship with tall masts and furled sails with the sun setting in the distance. I thought to myself how wonderful it would have been to be that photographer in that moment seeing that view with the sun and clouds and water and ship like it may never be seen again in that exact way. 

  Every moment we live on earth is a period in time never to be repeated in the same way. With all respect to the “Groundhog Day” movie, nothing is ever quite the same as it was just moments before. And no day repeats itself in exactly the same fashion. 

  We are all creatures enslaved to time and limited by time. The older you get, the better you appreciate time and living every moment to its fullest. Also, the older you get the more regrets you accumulate in time wasted, opportunities lost, and bad decisions made. How we wish we could redo moments that are lost to us, and how we regret our foolish actions and sinful behavior of the past. 

  While we can’t undo the past or relive certain moments in our lives, we can count each present moment as precious, and cease wasting time in the here and now. 

  Time is short for all of us. Every moment and each opportunity is precious. There will never come a time when we look back and regret good behavior, excellent choices, and time spent with loved ones. Knowing this, we cannot waste another moment leaving a trail of regret. 

  When we are ill and miserable, we want time to rush by, for the clock to speed up until we feel better. But if we are not careful, even during our times of illness and affliction, we can miss opportunities to be grateful for a beautiful day, for the help and grace God gives us, and the loved ones around us seeking to console and comfort us. Be grateful for every moment God gives to you, both the difficult and the beautiful. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, time flies by so quickly and beautiful moments slip through our fingers. Help to appreciate every day and every blessed moment You give to us. Amen. 

 

 

When We Are At Our Worst He Is At His Best

 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8 

 Feeling the presence of God is one of the best things in the world. Often, it has been during my worst times, at my lowest, most ill periods of my life, that God has felt the closet to me.  

  God knows our greatest need, and He sees when we are suffering and in misery. What a comfort it is to sense His presence in the midst of our pain and suffering. 

  Pain and misery can leave us feeling very alone and isolated. It can seem that no one really understands what we are going through. When all around us people seem happy and their lives are going well, then we consider how great our difficulties and suffering are and loneliness can envelop us. 

  It is human nature to avoid suffering and misery. When one is well, and everything is going their way with few problems to deal with, such a person cannot fully comprehend our situation when we suffer. And their tendency is to avoid thinking about, and perhaps even being around someone who is suffering. Let’s admit it. Going to nursing homes, visiting hospitals, dealing with someone who is sick, these are not at the top of the agenda of most healthy people. They don’t want to consider that someday it could be them in that situation. 

  So often those who are ill and suffering do not find themselves surrounded by comforting people. And even when people do try to comfort us, they don’t understand the depth of our suffering. 

  Thankfully, Jesus knows everything we are going through, and He absolutely understands our suffering. More than this, Jesus is with us in our suffering as His Spirit comforts us and gives us peace in the midst of our pain. He gives us strength for our weaknesses. 

  Call upon Jesus, ask Him into your pain and misery. Ask for His peace in place of your pain. We have a Lord who loves us, cares for us, and is always with us at all times of our life during both the good and the miserable experiences. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, so often we feel alone in our misery, come into our pain and suffering, fill us with Yourself. We need You always, but especially in the loneliness of our misery. Thank You for being with us Jesus, Amen. 

 

 

Read And Understand The Bible Yourself

 

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! Galatians 1:6-9 

 Nearly all of my favorite Bible preachers and teachers have been wrong in one way or another at some point. It is usually not a doctrinal item, but some strange take on a portion of scripture or an extra-biblical view not found in scripture. 

  I grew up in a Baptist Church where the Bible was considered the unadulterated word of God, a God-breathed text that alone held truth and everything needed for salvation in Jesus. 

  It is no wonder my ears perk up when some bit of un-Biblical nonsense is included in a sermon or Bible teaching. Years ago, I went toe-to-toe with a pastor I much respected because he was trying to teach a bit of nonsense that contradicted scripture. I pointed him to the Holy Scripture as the truth, he pointed me to our denomination’s teaching material that was useless and untrue. 

  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26 

  It is vital that you read the Bible yourself. How can you measure the truth of what anyone is telling you unless you have a standard to measure that truth by? 

  Read and listen to God’s word yourself and you will never be led astray by false teachings or un-Biblical nonsense. 

  By knowing God’s word, you can be kept safe from false teachers and have a strong foundation to build your life upon. No one is weak who has a well read Bible. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, in all things remind us of the truth found in Your Word. It will keep us safe and wise in a world of untruths. Amen. 

Our Deferred Hopes

 

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12 

  Deferred means to put off or postpone an action to a later time. For those with chronic illnesses and diseases those deferred hopes are sometimes put off indefinitely. 

  How many times have you made plans and had to cancel them because of your illness? How often has your disease gotten in the way of your wishes and desires? I must admit that far too often my hopes have been deferred because of my health. 

  We need peace from God to get us through times of disappointment, to get us through days when our best laid plans are thrown out the door because illness intrudes upon our lives. 

  We can do everything in our power to smooth the way for the outcome we wish, and yet have health issues so overwhelm us that nothing we do can bring about fulfillment of the best planning. 

  People like to plan for vacations. Yet anyone living with illness and disease must measure carefully their ability and reality against their wants and desires. 

  The facts about our illnesses and diseases must be considered carefully when thinking about our desired outcomes. Seeing the glass half full is good in practice, but acknowledging reality will save us from having to pick up the pieces of unrealistic expectations. 

  If we pray and ask God for wisdom and guidance in our planning, perhaps we can see our hopes fulfilled no matter the outcome. At times challenges may overwhelm our desires, and it is then that we need Jesus to hold us together. There will be times when our hopes get deferred. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to be optimistic realists, willing to push the envelope, but not become undone if that envelope pushes us back. Amen.