It's Your Opinion

People have differing opinions on major topics in life.  Who’s right, who’s wrong?  What makes one person’s opinion more accurate than another person’s opinion?  Can a difference of opinion separate a relationship, friendship, a family bond or even a job?  Yes, and it happens every day.

As humans we are given free will to make choices in life.  Your parents made choices for you when you were a child, but then you grew into an independent thinker, capable of good and bad choices.  Without a doubt, in your life you will make many good choices and just as many bad choices. Many times we believe that our bad choices are actually good, and we stand firm on the principles which led us to these choices.  What are these things that influence your decision process and choices in life?  A few examples might include: your upbringing, your social connections, your self-interests, your fears, beliefs and moral values.  With the known fact that your opinions, your choices in life are based on your own perspectives, why would you expect that others should fall in line with your thoughts? 

If the entire world thought the way you thought and had the same opinions and perspective on life, we would break the truth of independent free will.  Do you want the entire world to think like you, share your opinion and agree with your choices on major topics?  We are all convicted about our opinions and to assume that everyone else is going to have the same opinion implies that you are right and they are all wrong.  That seems a little bit arrogant and self-centered to me. 

The first and second commandments say; (Exodus 20:3-4) “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol.”   If you are choosing to hold your opinion as fully righteous and judge all others as wrong, who are you lifting up as god?  There is only One who is righteous and knows absolute right from wrong.  We all interpret and draw conclusions from His word, but should we assume that we are capable of fully comprehending and knowing His thoughts?  Impossible.  Isaiah 55:8 tells us: ““For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.”  We cannot know the true spirit of the Lord, for we are evil in our nature and He is not.  Paul the Apostle wrote to those in Corinth: “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”  (1 Corinthians 2:11)

Shall we think we have a better understanding of God’s ways than these men?  Are we that confident that we know God’s ways?  Knowing comes from studying, prayer, worship, and becoming completely enveloped in His presence and spirit.  Few of us can claim that.  Let us not place our opinions upon those around us, but help them to see His truth through His word and through a closer relationship with Him.  Keep in mind that God is sovereign, omniscient and knows exactly where this world is, in relationship to His grand plan.  We are servants, we are not God.  Love those around you, and trust that God is in control and cannot be overcome.

Hide N Seek

When I was little we played hide n seek.  I’m sure most of you have done the same.  One person would lean against a tree and cover their eyes and counted to 25, while everyone else ran and hid.  In this game the seeker would yell out, “Ready or not here I come.” when they completed their counting.  They then would hunt down those hiding and upon spying one of them would yell out “Olly, olly, Oxen free!” which signifies to all other hiders that someone has been found.  Of course over time there have been variations to the game but the basic principles remain the same.  It was a great game to play with the neighborhood kids on those cool summer evenings just before dark.  We would play for hours as children.

As adults now, I wonder how many of us are still playing that game with God.  How many of us are waiting for Him to yell out “Ready or not here I come”.  We live our lives as if He isn’t aware of our actions, words, emotions and feelings.  Adam and Eve hid in the garden after committing the original sin, (Genesis 3:8-9) “They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?””

Where can one go to hide from God?  As the Creator and Sovereign Lord, is He not omnipresent.  In Jeremiah 23, God is telling of the last days and the coming Messiah and tells us; (Jeremiah 23:23-24) ““Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? “Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord”

God does not seek you in your hiding place for He knows all things, and knows where you are at all times.  In the bar, in the hotel room, in the brothel, in the street, at work, at play, at school and at home.  There is nowhere to hide from the Lord, neither can we hide our thoughts, words or actions.  Omniscient means He knows all things.  That means ALL things, even those hidden secrets that your mother and your spouse don’t know.  David tells us in (Psalm 139:7-10)
“Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me.”

All of your life you have been running from God, hiding your inner thoughts, your sinful nature, your inexcusable lies and actions.  Do you not realize that He already knows of these things.  Confessing them to Him, and acknowledging to Him that you were wrong and that you are sorry, opens the door for true forgiveness and redemption.  It’s an act of humility and acceptance that He is God and only He can wash away the stains of iniquity in your life.  Hiding behind the sin of this life will only keep you from truly embracing His love and purpose for you.

If God were to call out to you, “Ready or not here I come” would you then not pick yourself up, clean yourself off and prepare for His arrival.  He is coming, but He will not be yelling out beforehand.  The scriptures tell us, “He will come like a thief in the night.”  Be prepared my friends, confess your unrighteousness before the Lord, so that you are ready when the Son returns and judges the world.

The Apathetic World Around Us

Apathy – lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting

Would you say that there is a feeling of apathy toward God in the world today?  I have seen an increasing feeling of ambivalence and apathy regarding the deep spiritual meaning of life.  “I don’t care if there is heaven and hell.”, “I’m living for today and what’s in it for me.”, “This is all there is, if there is something after this life, I don’t have any control of that, so it is what it is.”  These are all statements from individuals when posed with the simple question, “Do you believe in Heaven?” 

What is happening to cause individuals to disregard their eternal presence as the most important decision they have to make?  The world view has a tendency to discredit anything that cannot be proven within the infinitely small perspective that we as humans have of what is really happening around us.  According to an Albert Einstein quote, we humans use less than 10% of our brain’s capacity.  Hollywood made a movie last year called “Lucy”, which expanded on this very topic.  I am not promoting this movie, nor condoning it’s message, but simply stating that we are led to believe that we are brilliant, genius and scientifically advanced enough to answer life’s most complex questions.  When actually, we are extremely shallow in our knowledge and wisdom of what is really happening around us, by our inability to use the fullness of “grey matter” provided by our Creator.

If indeed we are incapable of using the fullness of our brain’s power, than how can we even begin to believe we can interpret the true complexities of this world.  Where does water originate from?  Who formed the first grain of sand?  What force began the world spinning endlessly upon it’s axis and holds it perfectly in place in the vast universe?  Who taught the ant to reproduce?  These are just a few of the questions that mankind has no intelligent, defendable answers for.  Therefore we say it just happened during a massive energy explosion billions of years ago.  By stating this, they have determined themselves that it is beyond our limited knowledge, so it must have been a random chaotic event that started it all.

Doesn’t it take an enormous amount of faith in the unknown to believe this tale?  Part of the world’s apathy toward God and eternal things is their inability to know, without complete evidence, that it is truthful. Because it takes significant faith to trust that God is real and that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, so we may join Him in Heaven one day; when there is no physical evidence one can see with our eyes.  Many need that 100% confirmation before they can believe, and without it have chosen to believe in something so extraordinary and unexplainable as the Big Bang and theory of evolution from primordial soup. 

Do you not see that it requires extreme faith to believe the human body, muscle structure, bones, nervous system, senses, hair follicles, brain matter, organs, etc are all by chance and evolved from organisms in the slime following the so-called Big Bang.  Seriously.  Where did that original super-organism that could evolve into life come from?  Did it evolve from something else?  If so, where did that come from? And so on and so on.  There must have been an originating intelligent life form or an explanation on how a living organism came from nothing.  Who is really stretching the faith spectrum farther – the person who believes in a single Creator of all things (albeit an unseen Creator); or the randomness of a living organism coming from nothing and then evolving into an extremely complex system of neurons, muscle, bone, tissue and emotions.  The world will say there is fact for the latter and therefore it is believable, and will avoid the essential question of how it actually came into being.

Much of the world has an apathetic opinion toward God today, because they do not like being told to conform to the set of rules and guidelines as prescribed in the scriptures.  They choose to reject the God of the Universe in the hope that the Scriptures aren’t truth.  Many people no longer fear the God of the Bible, but try to conform God to meet their choice of lifestyle and sinful actions.  They accept the worldly view of origin and evolution because it requires nothing from them to live righteously.  It says in Romans 3:14-18:
¹⁴ “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
¹⁶ Destruction and misery are in their paths,
¹⁷ And the path of peace they have not known.”
¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

The scriptures tell us to repent from our sins and turn toward the way of Jesus Christ and be redeemed for our unrighteousness.  There will be a judgement day and we all will stand before the Lord to defend our actions.  Please stop believing in what the world tells you is okay, and read for yourselves the truth that is found in His Word.  I care for each of you and ask that you take this as your number one priority in life.  

Be the Father they deserve

Someone is teaching your children about things beyond this world.  Their friends, their teachers, neighbor parents, the television, social media and the music they listen too.  Yes, all of these people and things are influencing their perspective on life, death, right and wrong.  If they are young they are very impressionable.  If they are in college they are making choices, setting life directions and establishing their own opinion on these major topics in life.  There are choices that will impact who they marry, who they befriend, who they look to for leadership and who they will influence. 

Are you having an influence on your children on these important topics?
Have you actually sat down with them and discussed life, death, salvation, Jesus Christ and God’s grace; or are you expecting them to pick it up on their own?  If the latter, I’m sorry to say, it’s not likely going to happen.  There are too many forces in this world that will push your children in an alternative direction; and give them the comfort that it’s the truth.

It’s your job, it’s your single biggest responsibility in this life.  If you call yourself a Christian and you are not even willing to discuss it with your wife, your husband and your children; then you need to ask yourself why.  The bible teaches us, “Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.”  - Proverbs 22:6.  It is biblical, and very much to the point that Fathers and Mothers are to teach their children the scriptures, the gospel and the saving grace through Jesus Christ.  You are responsible for this.  Not your church, not your kids teachers, not your kids friends; no – you are.

So, Father’s are you doing this?  Are you taking seriously the task of leading your household with a Christian mindset, and educating your children about Jesus Christ?  We are so quick to brag about our children and their latest achievements in sports, school, relationships and work.  Where are the FB posts about your child’s walk with Christ and their salvation?  Is it not 100x more important than anything else they may be engaged in?

We, as parents, need to set our priorities properly.  If you expect your child to pick up Christ by watching you model Christian behavior, than you better be getting it right 100% of the time.  They should be watching Christ and how He lived.  He is the example of perfection in human flesh.  He alone is the one your children should be modeling their lives after.  By all means, you should be living for Christ and allow them to see that in action, but teach them that there is only One mediator between mankind and God, and that is Jesus Christ.

I’ve recently spoken to a friend about his children and their faith.  He could not even tell me if they believed in Jesus Christ, yet alone that they were walking in a daily relationship with Him.  They were at college and they didn’t speak often, so he was unclear on where they stood.  This is a shame.  The influences impacting their spiritual walk are in most cases extremely liberal and opposed to the traditional Christian doctrine of Jesus Christ as the only way to the Father.  Are you seriously willing to stand by and allow your child to be influenced by the world without a fight for their soul?  The outcome is not pleasant, and as a parent of 5, grandparent of 3(almost 4) I cannot stand by and let my children’s faith be minimized, replaced or reduced to a worldly view.  It is our role as Father’s to shepherd our children through their spiritual walk and help them draw closer to Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

Only One Truth

Who taught you to lie?  Who taught you to be selfish?  Who taught you to want?  Who taught you the emotion of anger?  Think carefully about it, and you’ll realize that the answer is no-one.  We don’t teach our children when and how to lie, we teach them to tell the truth.  We don’t teach them to hoard their toys but rather to share their toys.  We don’t teach them to be rude or disrespectful, we teach them to be polite and use their manners.  We don’t teach them to want material possessions and desire new things, we teach them to be grateful and thankful for what they have.  I know not one parent that train their children to be more angry each day, but we teach them to be joyful and choose happiness in the face of adversity.

We are born with these sinful characteristics, all of which are complete opposite of the characteristics that God desires in His children.  Romans 3:11-12 tells us,
“There is none righteous, not even one;
¹¹ There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
¹² All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”

So, what then are we to do?  If indeed we are all born into sin, with inherent sinful characteristics that prevent us from achieving heaven and eternity with the Father, why are we born?  I don’t care how good of a person you are, who you have helped, how much you have given to charities, how many trips you’ve made to the shelter or to a foreign land to help starving children, how many homeless people you have given a dollar to or how many times you’ve given food to the hungry.  These are not the things that get you into heaven or erase the sinful nature of your life.  Ask yourself how many good things are required to offset a lustful thought?  What good thing must you do to reconcile the jealousy, greed and anger that wells up in your mind each day?  You see, sinful actions, as judged by the law of Lord (10 Commandments), are not reconcilable through actions or doing good things.  It is stated in 1 John 3:4-5,
“⁴Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.
⁵ You know that He {Jesus} appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.” 
This is the challenge facing every one of us from the moment we are conceived.

So what is your plan for reconciliation?  If you believe there is something other than redemptive grace provided through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, than please let me know.  The Bible tells us the path of salvation is through the Son, Jesus Christ, and only through Him (1 John 2:1-2, “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins”)  If you have an opinion that there are other methods of salvation, than I would like to understand your Biblical reference which demonstrates this redemptive process.  Many will acknowledge that Christ is the Son of God, but then will comment that other’s beliefs are just as valid and that all religions point toward the same God.  In stating this, many will then deduce that as long as they believe in the same God, their path to salvation is just as valid.  If indeed this is your perspective, how can you claim to be a Christian (follower of Jesus Christ)?

A belief in Jesus Christ, as Savior and Lord, mandates acceptance of His deity and thereby His word as 100% truth.  It very clearly states in several places but most knowingly in John 14:6,
“Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, 
and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
I for one believe the Word is God breathed and Holy inspired writing and therefore truthful.  I ask that you carefully consider your position if you believe there are multiple ways to heaven, seriously open your heart in prayer tonight and ask that the Lord make very clear to you that this is a lie of the Evil one.  Then, with this realization, you can in turn can help others come to the same perspective.  We are God’s children and in that role we have a responsibility to be truthful to those who are blinded by the world.  We must share His gospel and truth with them. Be blessed my friends.

No Promises

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about everything we take for granted in this world.  People, money, furniture, cars, our job, internet, telephones, texting, education, food, water, health, vision, hearing, taste, oxygen, sunlight – just to name a few.  We blow through each day, and seldom stop to think about or focus on these things.  No, we just use them and move along.  Have you ever imagined waking up one day and some of these were unavailable to you?  I’ve heard of people going on a “purge” of electronics for 24 hours.  You arrive at a hotel and upon check in they confiscate your cell phone, your ipad, your laptop, your ipod (if you still have one) and any other devices you happen to be carrying with you.  They give you the key to your room (an old skeleton key) and as you walk in, there is no TV, no radio, no telephone.  One the table are board games, cards, books, magazines, etc. intended to be your entertainment for the next 24 hours.

I must say, as much as I think this is a shocker, I am almost tempted to do it.  We waste so much time online and socializing on the net that could be used doing something constructive.  Who, like me, actually longs for the days before we were all tethered to our devices?  If we are only given 86,400 seconds in a day (1,440 minutes) are we making the best use of the time we have to expand His kingdom.  After all, isn’t that the reason we are all here?  If there is something more important, please let me know, for I know of nothing that even comes close.

Our time is given to us each and every day as a gift from above.  It is not a guarantee or promise that there will be another one tomorrow.  We take it for granted that we are going to go to sleep and wake up in the morning, but show me a scripture that promises that.  The scriptures I find relative to this subject all state that time is limited and valuable, so be busy about the work of the Lord.  James 4:14 states: “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away”  In the Old Testament, Colossians 4:5-6 tells us, “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person”

We are called to live life to it’s fullest.  That means each and every day, rediscover what it is that the Lord has for you that day.  Your breath is a gift, your sight is a gift, your hearing, your voice, your home, your car, your job, your friends.  Everything you have is a gift from the Lord to be used for His purpose and to glorify His Kingdom.  Stop wasting the resources He has given to you, and start using them for Him.  As Isaiah said in Isaiah 6:8, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”  Be a ready and willing servant, rather than a checkbox Christian.  So many of us went to church, checked the salvation box and then went on living in the world, but the worlds standards and values.  That is not a relationship with Jesus Christ, that is an insurance policy against Hell.

Paul told the church of Ephesus in Ephesians 5:16-17, “Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”  He was teaching them how to imitate Christ, and we should all follow that teaching.  Christ walked this earth as our perfect example of what God wanted from mankind.  Our goal each and every day is to become more like Him, until that day He takes us home.  Be the good and faithful servant that you so desire to be, and give it more than lip service, get up and go out to the world with His message.v

Today's Perfect Plan

I awoke this morning and found the day was like any other day.  The sun is rising on the horizon and there is a soft haze/fog across the tree tops.  With a careful ear one can here the birds in distant trees singing out their praise to rising sun, while squirrels play and frolic from roof top to roof top.  The cicada bugs are buzzing already as they talk back and forth across the trees and bushes, and my neighbor’s dog barks periodically to see if any of his friends are out and about.  Sitting on the front porch is a great opportunity to slow down, take it all in and just relax in the presence of God’s amazing world.

We are often times lost in the hurriedness and the busyness of trying to check things off our to-do list that we are blind to the world around us.  It’s easy to dwell on the problems in this life and fail to take in all of the goodness.  Think about it for a moment.  When is the last time you completely stopped and just breathed in God’s beauty and amazing wonder?  I realize it’s often times difficult to just put life on pause and rest without worrying about what’s not getting done.  Even as I say this, today’s to-do list begins rolling through my mind.  At that point, I look up, close my eyes and listen.  Listen to the world around me and realize that God gave me everything I have.  Not as a burden, but as a blessing.

I recall younger days, right after Lisa and I were married.  We lived in an apartment by the Railroad tracks in Britton, Michigan.  It was barely 300 sq ft of living space: living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.  That was all we could afford at the time.  We spent our spare time decorating those walls, hanging pictures, painting and going to garage sales on the weekends to find furnishings.  We had very little at the time, but we had each other, we had a roof over our head and we had food on the table.  We would drive by homes where husbands and wives would be in the front yard mowing, planting flowers and tending to the maintenance of their home.  We would envy them and their ability to have a yard to mow, a fence that needed painting, a porch to sit and laugh and a flower bed to hoe. 

Now, I sit on the front porch of our spacious 2 story home and can’t stop thinking about the list of things that must be fixed before we sell it.  My laptop is open as I look at my unmowed grass, weed filled flower beds, paint peeling off the window sills, 2 broken down cars and kids bikes strewn about the driveway and feel like complaining.  My gosh how spoiled I have become in the last 28 years.  How can I be so blessed and yet still feel like whining.  Where is that man I was, who was fun always happy, content with the little things and wanting for nothing.  Eighteen years in this home has made it seem more of a burden then the blessing it truly is. 

God has given us every thing we have.  I know it is so easy to get wrapped up in what we don’t have, but that is nothing more than selfish desire and wants.  When we are focused on Him, the things we have or don’t have shouldn’t matter.  We get caught up in trying to live in our comfort that often times we forget why we are here to live in the first place.  Let us keep in mind that this is not our home, this is nothing more than a residence on our journey to the eternal presence with God Almighty.  The people in our lives, the simplicity of laughter, the embrace of a friend, the love shared with others and the peace found in serving God are the jewels in this life.  The iPhones, the computers, the flat screens, the cars, the houses, the vacations, the square footage, the aged wine, and so on and so on mean nothing.  I mean it.  They mean absolutely nothing in this life. 

If that is how we are defining ourselves, than shame on us.  Shame on us, for allowing this world to control our perception of who we are, and what we have become.  I want to share with you this one closing thought.  God made you perfect.  He doesn’t make mistakes.  He has loved you since you were conceived and has never stopped loving you.  His love is not dependent upon your possessions, your accomplishments or your actions.  It is freely given without reservation without strings attached.  There is nothing you can do to make Him love you more than He already does, and nothing you have done makes Him love you less.   You need only accept that He alone is your purpose for getting up each day and stepping out into the world.  If you allow Him to be involved and help you through each day, He will use you to help His Kingdom on this earth.  You have to allow Him to use you though, He will not force it upon you.  So stop looking at the problems of the day and realize that you have the next 86,400 seconds to change the world for Him.  Now what are you going to do about it?