2 Corinthians 4:18 12/31/2019*

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Let me prepare you for the onslaught of “20/20 vision” references you are about to endure this year. And at the same time try to set your focus for a new decade.

What are your 2020 resolutions? … Are you pursuing the seen or the unseen?... The eternal or the temporary?

The most common resolutions are exercise, weight loss, and getting organized…and those are all good decisions…however they are also all temporary.

You are an eternal being, briefly living in what God calls an earthly tent (2 Cor. 5) so focusing on the short-term comes naturally – but, what are you doing for your soul?

Let me challenge you to make some lasting investments…

Your greatest eternal possessions are your relationship with your Heavenly Father, and your relationship with His children. So, let’s concentrate on those two objectives..

Let me use the list from last week’s blog and again encourage you to make these commitments for 2020:

-      Every day read your bible.

-      Every morning spend time in prayer. 

-      Daily work on scripture memorization.

-      Regularly meet with people who encourage and hold you accountable.

-      Allocate days each month to purposefully serve others.

Scripture, Prayer, Community, Compassion…all of these carry eternal repercussions. Nothing is wasted…Nothing diminishes with time.

This is not a list of fads or untested theories …These practices have always produced unending value. They are God’s clearly defined instructions for growth.

Stop chasing worldly things and short-term fixes. Your soul is eternal and will never be satisfied with temporary playthings. Set your eyes on the unseen… pursue treasures that will gain in value, not deteriorate.

If you are frustrated and disillusioned you don’t have to stay that way…. You are simply a bird walking on the ground…. Spread you wings and do what you were made to do – pursue things with everlasting worth.

God knows what you need…and if you want perfect vision you must fix your eyes on the unseen, only then will you discover the enduring treasures your eternal soul was created to enjoy.

“Heaven wheels above you, displaying to you her eternal glories, and still your eyes are on the ground.” -  Dante Alighieri

1 Corinthians 9:25 12/24/2019*

“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

How strict is your spiritual training now, compared to your physical training during your athletic career?  If you had approached athletics with the same consistency you currently have toward spiritual exercise how far would you have gone?

Everybody wants to improve …but “wanting” isn’t enough …you must put in the work in order to achieve results. Every day you must do the mundane, repetitive, difficult things that create progress.

Paul makes the “physical / spiritual” training comparison to the Corinthians and takes it a step further.  Not only should we train as hard spiritually as we do physically…but harder … because one is temporary and the other eternal.

Christmas should motivate us to serve God better, and a new decade gives us a clean slate to begin a training schedule that will produce results.

Expect it to take time. You didn’t begin working out one day and suddenly become an amazing competitor …It took hard work, discipline and consistency …and eventually you became skilled at your craft.  But it never would have happened had you not decided - and started.

So, let’s make the decision and start today…. Resolve to workout spiritually like you did athletically. No excuses:
 

-      Every day get in the Word.

-      Every morning spend time in prayer. 

-      Daily work on scripture memorization.

-      Commit to regular meetings with people who will encourage you and hold you accountable.

-      Allocate days each month that you will intentionally serve others.

These cannot be proposals; they must be commitments to your “spiritual weight room” that are non-negotiable.

Will you instantly become a great man or woman of God?...maybe not, but you will improve. And God says that the seeds you plant will grow. Plant some good seeds today - and tomorrow - and the next day … and soon you will enjoy a great harvest. 

By the power of God, the next decade really can be different…commit to it…start simply, and simply start.

“If we believe that life with God is possible in this world, and if we believe THAT life is the one we've always longed for, then it would be worth whatever it cost us to pursue it.”
― Mike Cosper

Luke 4:14 12/17/2019*

“When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.”

Jesus had been tempted for 40 days with hunger, fame, riches, and pride. Each attack was a misreading of scripture - which Jesus responded to with correct application of scripture. So, there is a lesson there… but let’s focus on the end of the verse. 

Christ had just overcome every temptation the enemy had hurled at Him…and yet the verse ends with satan leaving “until an opportune time.”

That should make it clear that we can never drop our guard. No matter how big a spiritual victory you are coming off of…. no matter how much God has done to clean up your life…you are not immune to temptation and must stay vigilant.

I assure you, no matter how well you’re doing, you’re an easier target than Jesus was…and If satan was planning a follow up attack on Christ – you can bet he’s not done tempting you.

Scripture says be alert and sober minded… “your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”. Lions look for prey that is distracted… targets that have wandered away from the herd, confident in their own strength…And when prey escapes… lions begin planning their next attack.

You will never be in more danger than when you believe you are untouchable. Spiritual growth does not remove you from the danger zone and thinking it does puts you at more risk. Your marriage, your career, your reputation…are all targets that satan wants to kill, steal, and destroy. You must actively and intentionally protect them.

A reporter once asked Billy Graham how his ministry had avoided scandals for so long, to which Reverend Graham responded, “I run scared young man…I run scared”. Pride equals destruction but humility brings prudence.

Don’t allow the enemy an “opportune time”. Be in community with people who have your back.  Stay in the Word. Keep your head on a swivel. We are in a war – and will be - until we hear our King say, “Well done good and faithful servant”. Then you can drop your sword and relax.

But until then, stay alert and “play to the whistle.”

If you will tell me when God permits a Christian to lay aside his armor, I will tell you when Satan has left off temptation.  

- Charles Spurgeon

Romans 5:8 12/10/2019*

“But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

It is a shame that familiarity has lessened the impact of what this verse says…While it is not often thought of as a Christmas verse - it captures Christmas and contains the bulk of what you need to know about your salvation. 

Your Christmas gift is a receipt, stamped “Paid in Full” by God Himself. Offered only because He loves you…. You did nothing to earn it in fact you actively pushed it away.  

If you ever wanted proof that you are loved?.... Christmas is it.

The cost of sin is death…by definition, it separates us from a perfect, holy God. That is the price tag and there is no other possibility.  If you have sinned (and you have) you are under that sentence.

BUT God … did something that demonstrated His love. He didn’t want to lose you …so He paid your debt.  You were not pardoned…the debt was not forgiven…He did not decide to ignore it…. He paid it.

Don’t miss that…HE paid the price for YOUR sin. This didn’t happen because you cleaned up your act… you were still sinning when He set up the plan. It happened because He loves you…not because of your deeds - but in spite of them.  

What a gift…what grace and mercy was delivered to the world on that first Christmas.  It is undoubtably the most important day in history. The pivot point for all humanity. The day God launched the rescue mission to restore us to Himself.

The cost of that plan shows how much He cares - paying for our crimes as we were still committing them - and offering us the benefit at the price of His Son. 

The gift is yours for the taking. Admit you need it, hate the depravity that made it necessary - and receive the Holy Spirit to empower you to resist sin.

You are being offered the key to freedom at no cost to you…and it cost Him the ultimate sacrifice…. That is love…and that is the only Christmas present that matters…because it is the only gift that will change your life.   

“Grace means undeserved kindness. It is the gift of God to man the moment he sees he is unworthy of God's favor.”  - Dwight L. Moody

Luke 15:20 Rev 19:13-15 12/3/2019*

Luke 15:20
“… his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. ^“

Rev 19:13-15
“He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, … ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him…. ¹⁵ Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter.”

Both of these verses describe attributes of God …if one of them makes you uncomfortable then your view of God may be inaccurate.

If you picture God as a Santa Claus like figure on the auction block for your consideration … or you think He is a cruel judge waiting to zap you when you make a mistake – then you have been misled.

We tend to focus on certain aspects of God and insist He fit in the box we’ve made for Him. We feel the need to grant our approval of His actions, so we try to explain what He allows and rationalize everything that happens.  When men can’t do this, many will either declare God does not exist - or reject Him…

But the created should not expect to fully comprehend the creator.

Job says, “God is so great that he is beyond our understanding”.  The great theologian John Wesley said, “Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, and I will show you a man that can comprehend the Triune God.”

God is much bigger than you think He is - and the importance of grasping that is impossible to over-emphasize. 

We must not cling to one characteristic of God and ignore the others.  If you are not aware of the “mighty warrior” side of God then you cannot understand the price that was paid for access to the “Loving Father” side of God.

To not comprehend the repulsion and rage of a Holy Deity at your sin…is to not understand the dreadfulness of the Cross.  It is to not grasp the magnitude of what took place at Calvary.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…recognizing that our feeble attempts to define God are inadequate is the first step towards seeing the immensity of the Great I Am. What good would a god be that was little enough for you to explain?

No matter how we try to define God our box is too small…The righteous, powerful warrior is also the merciful Father who loves you …. So, stop trying to explain what you cannot comprehend and focus on what He has revealed to you in His word.

Just a glimpse of His grandeur… will produces a reverence that makes offering to Him anything less than all you have, unthinkable.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” – God