Today our three adult children were all together for the day, along with our grandchildren. We all went to a professional photographer for family photos. The photographer did a good job getting us all artistically arranged so it all looked nice. With twelve of us present, four of them children, it was not an easy task to capture all of us with eyes open, smiling, staring into the camera, at the same time.
He took a lot of photos, and afterwards, he took us through them one at a time. In nearly every picture someone was looking aside, blinking, or just looking unnatural. But we did agree on three poses that look as good as it gets. We determined children will always be children, and decided to not be so picky with them.
Having family photos taken is valuable because it freezes a moment in time. Some die, all change, and some grow up, but that photo locks that image for eternity.
I have an image of my great-grandmother as a 16-year old beauty, frozen on a tin-type forever. Having died in 1939, eight years before my birth, I never knew her. Yet that photo speaks loudly about her beauty and grace, clothing and hair styles of the mid 1800s.
I believe our every action is frozen in time for God to see on judgment day. Our only hope is that Jesus has died for that sin and redeemed us of it. Only when sin is paid for can it be forgiven. Has Jesus paid for your offenses? How do you know?
Tags: forgiveness, time
David declared in 2 Samuel 24:24 that he would not offer a sacrifice that cost him nothing. An acceptable sacrifice will cost you something.
Two boys were playing Noah and the flood after some recent rains. They had made an Ark out of scrap wood and gathered all their toy animals into it. One of the boys got the bright idea, “We should offer a sacrifice.” “Great idea,” responded the other. The first one collected sticks for an altar and the other ran into the house for some matches. Everything was ready, but as the boy looked at all the shiny new animals, he just couldn’t bring himself to burn up one of them.
So the boy ran into the house and down into the basement where his mother had been saving things for a future garage sale. After a few minutes of intense searching, he triumphantly pulled out a little toy – a horse with a missing leg.
The boy and his pal solemnly placed the broken toy on the altar. The fire was kindled, and soon the flames consumed the useless toy horse. They had made a ‘sacrifice’ that had cost them nothing.
What will your sacrifice to God cost you?
Tags: Noah, offering, sacrifice, stewardship
Although they lived in a hostile territory, Mordecai and his niece, Esther, tried to live peaceable lives. But when a plot was hatched to destroy all Jews in the land, they both knew they had to risk their lives trying to reverse the situation and deliver the Jews from evil hands. They carefully planned a risky approach to the King, and then considered, “And who knows whether you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14b).
There are times in one’s life where we must take some risks that are major; but they’re worth the risk. In the case in point, the surviving Jewish culture was at stake. A madman had arranged the worst. But Esther stood in the gap.
Could it be that the thing that God is doing in your life today was arranged “for such a time as this?” Perhaps your life’s purpose is that project which stands in front of you. Perhaps the very reason you have been brought to the Kingdom is to love those people, serve those people, encourage those people into the Kingdom of God.
That simple opportunity in your life this weekend just may be the reason He has set before you. Let’s set our pride aside and do it. Be bold. Who knows?
Tags: Esther, purpose
There is a sense of grandeur about the Bible. It talks about the creation of the universe in Genesis and the consummation of God’s big plan in Revelation. It talks about a global flood, the earth standing still and the dead being raised. The Bible talks about a literal heaven and a literal hell. This Word of God simply inspires awe in us.
And yet the life of the gospel is in our conveying the love of God to people who are hurting, whether they believe in God or not. The Bible allows me to participate in the grandeur of God’s plan by just loving and caring for people. We rarely think about how grand it is to serve God in the workplace, in school, or in my neighborhood. But, its the truth.
As God knows how to humble Himself to come to our aide, we humble humans have a opportunity to step into a scale well beyond ourselves, actually being the hands of God. Wow! You’re not as lowly as you thought you were. Let’s do some grand things today!
This a new day! Yesterday is past and will never rise again. There can be no more damage or hurt from yesterday. It is gone.
Tomorrow is yet in the future. Today is what counts. As someone once said, today is the first day of the rest of your life. Make it count. A wise strategy is to intentionally, in our minds, set apart yesterday. Take a deep breath this morning, and think fresh. Look at everything and everyone with fresh eyes. Hold no enemies or grudges. Fear no attacks. Fear no mistakes. Look down on no one. This is a new day.
Walk into that workplace with your head held high and confidence in your steps. He makes all things new. You are a born again child of God. Act like it. Believe it. Pray like your Father is right there with you, protecting you and sheltering you. Then let people see that new confidence. Your confidence will give others confidence. God intends to prosper your way today. You can do this!
When I was in Bible College we had a professor that said, “Whenever the church has two opposing views on something, the truth is somewhere in between.”
There are denominations that view Christianity as a set of rules. The Bible has plenty to say about how we should live our lives. We can’t please God living like the devil. The Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier and we can’t be sanctified going back to the pig sty every day. Put on the new man!
But there are other denominations that teach that Christianity is not rules, but relationship. You can’t legislate morality. Salvation is a free gift and can’t be earned. So just believe and your life will be OK with God.
Whenever the church has two opposing views, and both sides can support their view with scripture, the truth is somewhere in between. We must believe and trust God’s forgiveness, but there is some responsibility on our part to clean up our lives. God cleans up the inside, but we must clean up the outside.
Tags: clean, doctrine, obedience
The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all.
The above is from Ecclesiastes 9:11. Ecclesiastes, also known as The Preacher, is not the most inspiring book in the Bible. The author sees things from “under the sun”, or from the human experience, not from God’s point of view. From man’s point of view, he concludes that everything is “Vanity! Vanity!” (Meaningless!).
Only when we come to understand the meaningless of all the stuff we’ve collected and busyness we’ve wrapped our lives up in can we appreciate what is going on in the spirit world around us.
Let not your life be meaningless today. Let’s stay aimed at discovering God’s will today and add some eternal meaning to our lives.
Tags: purpose