February 13 – Keep Yourself Alive

        Luke 12:35 – "Be dressed, ready for service, and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can immediately open the door for him."

        In 1994, King's X recorded a song called, "Sunshine Rain". The bridge had these words:

...a friend of mine

who's fallen down a million times

told me, told me

feelings never go away

you have to learn to live this way

and keep yourself alive -

that's what he said.

       The context of the song is vague, but I can glean a few spiritual truths from those lines. First, although unrelated to the verse above, I can walk by faith in obedience to the commands of God, no matter how I feel (2 Corinthians 5:7). Secondly, there is a sense in our lives, that we have to "keep ourselves alive", in a spiritual sense. This is where the verse in Luke 12 applies.

        Jesus expects us to live our lives daily on purpose. His life was perfectly lived that way. Even if we don't know what specific direction to take in the circumstances in which we find ourselves, we are to watch and be ready for our master to "show up" unexpectedly.

        In my 40s I would spend a few weeks every year hiking the mountain trails of West Virginia. One October, I pitched my tent by the side of a road on top of a mountain, right next to a trail that led to an well-known eagle lookout, with a small building. It was foggy at dusk, when I pitched my tent, so I didn't know that there was actually a house nearby. I awoke in the middle of the night to hear voices, which was quite disturbing. However, I eventually went back to sleep and awoke at daybreak. I had hoped to hike to the lookout, but it was still quite foggy. I decided to venture anyway. The fog was very thick, which did not hinder me following the trail. However, I could not see more than 30 feet ahead of me at any given time. As I walked, I heard a voice inside say that when one cannot see what is ahead, keep walking anyway. To me, that was God's spirit telling me to keep walking in faith, keeping myself alive. This concept is related to what we find in Philippians 3:16. "Only let us live in step with what we have already attained."

        What are some practical ways of "keeping ourselves alive"? Hebrews 10:24-25 commands us to "consider how we may spur one another towards love and good deeds. Let us not quit meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another all the more..." That can mean attending church, as long as there is purposeful conversation among believers, not just listening to a soliloquy.  Another way is to set aside time in our day to worship God, praying to him, thanking him, and spending a little time reminding ourselves of what is communicated in the Bible. Of course, we need to engage people where they live, acting upon what we know to do, in accordance with Jesus' commands (which are numerous, but not burdensome) (1 John 5:3-4 & James1:22).

        Don't let yourself start to fade spiritually. Keep yourself alive. Let's press on, seeking to experience that abundant life that Jesus talked about in John 10.

February 9 – No Condemnation

        Romans 8:1 – "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

        As a believer, this is one of the most encouraging verses in which we can trust and to which we should cling. We should memorize it and meditate upon it frequently. Here is why.

        Condemnation has to do with the end of second chances. It is final; it is utter ruin. It is being fit for nothing good, anymore. It is death, without any hope for a life in God's paradise. No one is finally condemned until after death. As long as persons live, there is hope for redemption. As believers, we are no longer self-condemned as John 3:17 puts it. And, since God himself does not condemn us, we should be thankful and excited to realize that God loves us more than we can imagine. Further in Romans 8, we read in verse 31, "...if God is for us, who can be against us?" Of course, lots of people and demons are against us. But Paul is stating that because we are in God's family, there is victory in life, now. and/or, ultimately. That in itself should encourage us to press on to know God more intimately, and to desire to be used for his purposes.

        Nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35f). (Can you tell that Romans 8 is my favorite chapter in the whole Bible?) Not even sin! 1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins (at any point in our new life) that God is faithful and just to forgive us. And finally, Hebrews 4:16 gives us the confidence to always approach God, even when we have sinned. "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need."

        Thank you, God, for not condemning us, but purchasing us through the precious blood of Jesus, our savior.ca

March 13 – My Times (Part 2)

        Acts 5:3-5 – “Then Peter said, 'Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit...? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.' When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died...”

        My times are in God's hands. Does that mean that God knows the length of my times? And/or does God control those times? Can I sabotage my own life and cut short those times? The story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 is a story that gives pause, causing one to think that one could cut short his own life. It is a story clearly about the sin of deception, not about giving 100% of the profits from selling a piece of land.

        Ananias and his wife were believers, followers of The Way. However, they decided to lie to men and to God in order to appear as bigger givers than they really were. The consequences thereof turned out to be instant death, a clear, swift, fatal judgment of God. (I believe that God was making this an example for the whole church to take notice that he wanted purity in his early church.) Was their death God's ultimate will for their lives? I don't think so. Did he will them to sin? Definitely not! God will not cause anyone to sin, nor even tempt them to do so. This is why I believe that while their “times” were in God's hands, they also brought upon themselves this untimely, premature fate. God says that he will not share his glory with anyone else (Isa. 48:2). Ananias and Sapphira were trying to get more glory from something that they didn't do but said that they did. The positive side of this story, which can only be assumed, is that as true believers, they went straight to heaven to be in God's presence, regardless of the fact that they had just sinned.

        Just because God can see all of history before it happens, doesn't mean that he controls all of history, just to make it happen as he sees it. Remember that God sees my life to come; I don't. So I can make decisions to affect my future, while God sees all the possibilities of the choices I make, or could have made. Read the story of David in 1 Samuel 23 to get the full impact of this concept.

        The bottom line is this: If we keep seeking to obey God daily, we should have no worry about a premature death, even if Satan should bring us a fatal sickness to which we succumb. Our times are in God's hands. Let us live in full confidence, serving him, and eventually receiving all the rewards and inheritance that he has promised his sons and daughters for their obedience (Eph. 1:18; Rev. 22:12).

March 12 – My Times (Part 1)

        Psalm 31:14-15 – "But I trust in you, O Yahweh; I say 'You are my God.' My times are in your hands...."

  

       My times are in your hands, David writes. That is an intriguing phrase, and not one that we use in everyday communication. "My times" refers to our length of years within the bigger picture of history, specifically how are lives are sculpted by, and attempting to sculpt, our culture. It really is a "big picture" concept within the definition of the word "time". Time is this continuum that we cannot stop, without leaving its confines altogether (read: dying).

        I had to research briefly the word "time" in Hebrew, just to make sure that I was not tricking myself into making a modern translation more than it really is. I thought for sure that there would be some different Hebrew meaning behind this odd English phrase. I was pleasantly disappointed. The Hebrew meaning is quite generic, and simply means "time, hours, or times", in a variety of normal general contexts, which we use today when talking normally about events happening at a certain time.

        Let's go back to the longer phrase. My times are in God's hands. Not everyone can say this truthfully, and succinctly, unless God is his Father. This is not just a passive saying, in which we throw up our hands and concede that fate is controlling our destiny. That kind of thinking is for those ignorant of the word of God. David's complete trust/submission to God throughout his life is indicative of his lifestyle. He was a man after God's heart. He was a true believer – a follower of the living God. He was not a person glibly moving through life, fatefully stating that everything happens for a reason, all the while not having a clue what those reasons are. No, he knew that his life was really being cared for, by the God who loved him – the God who is interested in us all – and by the God who is accessible and not far off.

        "My times" also consists of the desire to live a long, full life. Because of the fall of man, physical death for every person is unavoidable. But we were really meant to live for ever. Even though that is not physically possible, our natures desire to not die. For Christians, however, physical death is entrance to heaven, to bliss, and to rest with our heavenly Father. We have faith that our future will be so much better than our present could ever be. Yet, we live mostly in attempts to preserve this physical life as long as possible (partly because of our ties with family and spouse). In many psalms, including Psalm 31 above, the writer cries out to not be killed "prematurely". Verse 13 states, "they conspire against me and plot to take my life". In the previous psalm, David writes, "What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you?" These are questions we may ask when premature death stares us in the face. Even the Apostle Paul despaired of life. See 2 Corinthians 1:8-10. Yet, in verse 10, he states that his grim circumstances were there to produce more trust in God, who delivered him at that time from death. In Philippians chapter one, Paul takes this big picture concept to another level in our understanding. In verse 21, he writes from prison, "....[I] will have sufficient courage so that....Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. To live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in this body, it will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far." (Paul was obviously not "choosing" suicide just to be with Christ. That was a figure of speech.) In some way, he was echoing the sentiment of David in Psalm 31, that Paul's times were in God's hands. Like David, Paul was a true believer, and the best example we have of a devoted Christian.

        So, while we are trusting God that our times are in his hands, let us not worry or be anxious. Jesus stated, "...who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life"? James adds, "You don't even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then who knows the good he ought to do, and doesn't do it, sins."