Poisoned Pills

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 14:12 ESV). Perhaps you remember a twisted act of individual terrorism that happened a few years ago, it turned relief into tragedy. Someone had managed to put poison in some pain relief capsules - there was a sudden series of deaths from some people who took this particular brand. I remember reading, for example, about a flight attendant who arrived home after a trip with a serious headache. She reached for a couple pain relief capsules. I'm sure she thought they would make her feel better soon. Instead, she died from them. Our reading today is one of the most sobering, unsettling statements in the Bible. Several years ago, just before Good Friday, America was stunned by the mass suicide of 39 members of the "Heaven's Gate" cult. Then we saw some of the video testimonials made by those people just before they took their own lives. They talked about how at peace they were, how happy to be taking this next step - suicide. And we learned that these were not some religious freaks - they were bright, competent people. They believed very sincerely that they were graduating to something better. But listen to Jesus, the Son of God. He says, "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved" (John 10:9). And it is Jesus who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." If you're counting on anything or anyone other than Jesus to get you to heaven, you're just not going to make it. Sincerity doesn't make what you believe in right - that flight attendant sincerely believed that pain reliever would help her. Peaceful feelings don't validate what you're counting on either - the people who died from those poisoned capsules were expecting relief. They died instead. Our hearts are incurably spiritual. We need a spiritual answer, and we know it. We are looking for something bigger than ourselves . . . something that can give us significance . . . that can conquer the darkness inside of us . . . that can take us to something better someday. Ultimately, we are looking for a savior who can make us what we could never be otherwise and take us to a heaven we could never go to any other way. And there is only one Savior - there's only one Person who took the death penalty for the sinning you and I have done . . . that's Jesus . . . on the cross. And no belief, no religion - even if it is about Jesus - can get you to heaven when you die. Only the savior can do that. You may be on a beautiful spiritual road that looks and feels right - but like pain relievers that contained poison - it may lead to death.

Better Than Ever!

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:1-12 ESV). A broken bone is always difficult to deal with. However, after it heals it will be better than ever. In fact, if you are healthy otherwise, where it’s broken will be the strongest part of your bone when it heals properly. You’ll be able to feel a little ridge where it’s healed up. You might even have a little advanced warning for a cold front. But you will be better than ever after you get your muscle tone back. While it seems strange, it’s true when healthy bones heal from a break, they are strongest in the place where they were once broken. And it’s true in more areas than just broken bones. Or at least it can be. God has always found a way to redeem and use the weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and failures of people devoted to him. In fact, he turns these “deficits” into opportunities for his power to be displayed. Whether it’s being down to five loaves and two fish to feed a crowd, the moral failure of a King who repents when confronted (King David), or the greatest enemy of the Christian movement being converted (the Apostle Paul), God has a powerful way of turning deficits into plusses, failures into opportunities, and weakness into strength. Now don’t get me wrong, we’re not talking about an excuse for failure or complacency about our weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and failures. But there is great comfort in knowing that God can use my past disasters to equip me and strengthen me so I can bless others. There are, however, three key ingredients for this kind of turn around.  First, as believers we want to have healthy “bones.” We usually take away from disasters what we brought with us into them, only more so. Healthy bones are stronger where they’ve been broken and healed. Diseased bones are often much weaker where they’ve been broken. Commit yourself to be “healthy” in the Lord so that when disasters, failures, or problems come, you can be healed and made stronger.  Second, we must acknowledge our brokenness and bring it to God to be fully healed. Hiding what is broken, or trying to just let it heal itself, will usually only make what is broken heal improperly. If it’s sin, confess it. If it’s failure, admit it. If it is weakness, acknowledge it.  Third, offer yourself back to God to be used by him in his work. Like the boy who brought the loaves and fishes, what we offer may not seem like enough to meet the demand. But when it is offered to the Father, he makes it more than sufficient. He takes what is broken and makes it strongest in the broken places.

Missed Opportunities

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:9-10 ESV). Benjamin Franklin said, "One today is worth two tomorrows." His words point out a real danger for all of us: while dreaming about a better tomorrow, we can make the mistake of neglecting today. Recently I read a poem titled “Missed Opportunities.” It is very thought-provoking: There was a very cautious man Who never laughed or played. He never risked, he never tried, He never sang or prayed. And when he one day passed away, His insurance was denied. For since he never really lived, They claimed he never died. That man went through the motions, and never really enjoyed life. If we are not careful, we can do the same. Psychologist William James said that, "Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources. The human individual . . . possesses powers of various sorts he habitually fails to use." Thus, James discussed in professional terms what the poem talks about. Both describe people who go through the motions, hoping that somehow things will be better tomorrow. Unfortunately, they miss many good aspects of life because they fail to make the most of each day. I read somewhere that yesterday is a canceled check, and tomorrow is a promissory note. But today is cash, ready for us to spend in living. How are you spending today? In John 10:10, Jesus said that he came that we might have life, "...and have it to the full." Decide now to make the most of each day. Start by asking God to help you build a closer relationship with Him. Or, if you've never made a commitment to Him, take this step today. And talk with Him about how you should spend the time He has given you. Then follow up by making adjustments in your life. Finally, remember that one today is worth two tomorrows.

How Well do You Listen?

And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” (1 Samuel 3:10 ESV). An incident in the life of President Franklin D. Roosevelt provides some interesting insight about listening. The incident illustrates how we often fail to really listen to what others say and do. President Roosevelt got tired of smiling that big smile and saying the usual things at all those White House receptions. So one evening he decided to find out whether anybody was paying attention to what he was saying. As each person came up to him with an extended hand, he flashed that big smile and said, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." People would automatically respond with comments such as "How lovely!" or "Just continue with your great work!" Nobody focused on the real meaning of President Roosevelt's words. In fact, when one foreign diplomat approached the President, Roosevelt said, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." Rather than expressing surprise, the diplomat simply responded, "I'm sure she had it coming to her." Most of us have relatives, friends and co-workers whom we care about. However, we fail to demonstrate our care by listening to them. Instead, we ask people how they are doing, exchange brief remarks, and then do our own thing. As Mature Living notes, "Talking to yourself isn't always a sign of old age. In this day and time it may be the only way to be sure someone is listening." In short, we fail to really listen. We don't focus on other people and their needs, so we don't understand them. The result: hurt feelings, painful conflicts, and broken relationships. Another result of not listening is that we miss important truths about life. Isaac Newton, one of history's most distinguished scientists, reflected back on his life and said, "I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." Newton's words contain a lot of meaning for our lives. There is a great ocean of truth out there for each of us. Our Creator wants to reveal it, but we have to listen in order to gain His understanding. Are you listening? Real listening depends on your attitude. This is the background of our reading this morning. Samuel's attitude was: "Speak, for your servant is listening." God spoke, Samuel listened and became a great man of God. Most of us do very little real listening to God. When we pray, we can't wait to get to the things we want to communicate about the things we want. God's desires and what He wants to communicate to us receive little, if any, attention. So for new understanding, shift your focus away from yourself. Make an effort to really listen to other people. Your relationships with them will improve significantly if you do. Also make an effort to really listen to God. Adopt Samuel's attitude in your life. Your life and relationships, with God and others, will take a dramatic turn for the better when you do. How well are you listening?

Swept and Bagged

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10 ESV). As I left the house one day last week I saw some of the neighbors out doing some yard work. The leaves have all but fallen completely here in Middle Tennessee and it is easy to just use the gas-powered blower to “sweep” them away. One neighbor was doing just that as he cleared his driveway of the falling leaves. It was a quick way to clean it off, but they were still in the yard! It’s only a matter of time before a “norther” blows in. Now a norther in our area is a six hour big blow of arctic wind as a cold front moves in and changes our temperature about 30 degrees toward the chillier end of the scale! My neighbor will find that the leaves will be everywhere after that first windy day. Not only will his leaves be back on his driveway, they’ll be all over the yard too. The only real way to get rid of them is to sweep AND bag them. This requires a broom, a rake, and a trash bag, not a leaf blower! We live in a leaf blower culture! Get it done in a hurry. Don’t mess with the details. Why use a broom and get rid of the problem when you can blow the problem into someone else’s way. But it’s not just our culture. It’s also our walk with Jesus. We often look for shortcuts. When we’ve blown it, we want instant forgiveness. God generously gives us forgiveness, but we seldom look for growth, we take the shortcut to clean up in our own hearts and so we fall into the same traps again and again. Our reading this morning speaks of forgiveness in the context of community. Whether you call it small group, Christian friends, an accountability partner, we all need others to help us get through. To ask forgiveness and then not place ourselves into a relationship of accountability with others is like blowing leaves off the driveway. Everything looks clean for the moment, but the problem’s not gone. It’s just waiting for another ill wind and back come the leaves. Until we’ve swept them up and put them in a bag, they’re going to come back. You know, the next season for leaves to fall comes soon enough without having to deal with the ones that are already on the ground again. While a leaf blower works quickly, it doesn’t really get the job done. If the goal is to have clean sidewalks, they’re going to have to be swept and bagged, not just blown. Isn’t the same true with you?

Live Long and Prosper

Some of you will recognize immediately the phrase I have used as a title this morning. It comes from a standard greeting used by Vulcans, especially Mr. Spock, in Star Trek. I couldn’t help but be reminded of this as I began to ponder the many things that could be in the future for Faith and Logan. Tom Heyman, in his book, In an Average Lifetime, writes that the average American spends: 3 years in business meetings, 13 years watching TV, $89,281 on food, consumes 109,354 pounds of food, makes 1811 trips to McDonalds, spends $6881 in vending machines, eats 35,138 cookies and 1483 pounds of candy, catches 304 colds, is involved in 6 motor vehicle accidents, is hospitalized 8 times (men) or 12 times (women), and spends 24 years sleeping. All of this and much more in the average life span of 71 years! While that span of years is nearly double that of anyone born at the end of the 18th century, and there have been some who have lived well beyond that age, the measure of a person’s life is not best made in numerical years. “Live long and prosper” must take into account so much more than that! Listen to the words of Jesus: Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. (Matthew 16:24-27 ESV). Here are a few suggestions if you want to live long and prosper. First, take control of your life. By that I mean change the things that may be changed and accept those that cannot. Second, stop worrying. Easier said than done, but essential nevertheless. The quickest way to ease your worry is to practice faith. Believe the Lord for your past, present, and future. Third, eliminate stress. Obviously there is a certain level of stress necessary for normal life to continue. However, most of us are stressed so much that we cease to function at optimum levels and lose our joy in the process. The burdens we have accepted are far beyond our capacity. Fourth, talk positively to yourself. It is amazing how positive self-talk can increase self-esteem and self-confidence and thus create inner peace. I have noticed that most people are their own worst enemies. These and more are some of the things that I wish for my grandchildren. Can they possess these traits? Of course they can. Anyone can. There is no secret to possessing and practicing these positive attributes. Begin with faith in Christ; continue by following Him in all that you do. He will lead to you Live Long and Prosper!

Meanderings of My Mind

This morning I began to let my mind wander a bit. While it has been just a few days since we celebrated Faith and Logan’s birthday, my thoughts have been filled with the lessons God is teaching through them. I have always been able to learn best through my family! The following are just a few of the meanderings of my mind today. Perhaps they will speak to you as they did me. “Faith Michelle” is a name full of meaning. Obviously her first name simply means “faith.” It is from the English word and was one of the virtue names favored by the Puritans. Michelle, on the other hand, is the French feminine form of Michael and means “like the Lord.” So much has been written and spoken about the character of faith and our lives as children of God. V. Raymond Edman expresses it well in the following verse: Faith is dead to doubts— dumb to discouragements, blind to impossibilities, knows nothing but success. Faith lifts its hand up through the threatening clouds, lays hold of Him who has all power in heaven and on earth. Faith makes the uplook good, the outlook bright, the inlook favorable, and the future glorious. “Logan Allen” is also a name full of meaning. Logan is from a surname, which was originally derived from a Scottish place name meaning “little hollow” in Scottish Gaelic. And Allen means “handsome.” None of you who know me would have any problem believing that I think Logan is “handsome.” After all, he is my grandson! But, his first name began to take me along a different thought path. The prophet Isaiah recalls the greatness of our Savior in the following verses: Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? (Isaiah 40:1-12 KJV). Wander a bit with me. Faith is the essential element in our relationship with God. Once we exercise faith we are brought into a relationship that guarantees God’s protection. He holds us “in the hollow of His hand.” The two are inseparable, just as twins at birth! Sometimes I have forgotten that truth in my life. I have called out to the Lord for His protection and forgotten that it merely requires my faith in Him! His strength and beauty are available to me simply by believing in His word!