2020-12-02
1 Corinthians 15:55 KJV
When Carolyn Arends’ father lay dying in the hospital, an oxygen mask made it virtually impossible for him to communicate with his family. So they were surprised to hear him humming an old Sunday school song: With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm, as we go sailing home. Just hours before he went home to heaven, a boyhood chorus he had learned sixty years ago gave this dying man comfort and strength.
Arends writes: “I hope I go down singing, speaking, and thinking about Jesus…Death unaddressed is the bogeyman in the basement; it keeps us looking over our shoulders and from entering joyously into the days we’ve been given. Dragged out of the shadows and held up to the light of the gospel, death not only loses its sting, it becomes a reminder to ‘use wisely all the time we have’ (See Psalm 90:12 CEV)…A race toward the finish line has a different sense of purpose and urgency than a jog around the block.
When a believer acknowledges he’s headed toward death [tomorrow or in 50 years], he [or she] can stop expending the tremendous energy it takes to deny his mortality and start living into his eternal destiny here and now. He can be intentional about investing in the things he wants to be with him at the end…Death hurts, but it’s not the end…we don’t mourn as those who have no hope…I don’t know how many days I’ve got left, but I want to use every one to get the truth about who Jesus is – and who I am in Him – more deeply ingrained.”
Soul food: Jos 1-4; John 15:18-27; Ps 65; Prov 28:17-20
2020-12-01
Psalm 16:11 NKJV
Ask twenty people to describe heaven, and chances are you’ll get twenty different answers. But there’s one thing that’s not open to speculation: “To leave this life and be with Christ…is much better” (Philippians 1:23 NCV) than anything we can imagine.
Recalling a conversation with her mom before she went to heaven, Billy Graham’s daughter Anne writes: “I told her about my recent visit to Westminster Abbey, where kings and queens are crowned and royalty are married. The door for tourists that leads to the cathedral entrance is a dark, cramped space. Opposite is another door that opens into the magnificent, glorious, cavernous sanctuary of Westminster Abbey. The dimly lit narthex is just a place to purchase your ticket and guidebook before transitioning to the cathedral.
I can’t imagine anyone clutching a ticket or leafing through a guidebook being satisfied with staying in the [entrance hall]…We pick our ticket to heaven when we’re born again through faith in Jesus. And we familiarize ourselves with the ‘guidebook’ to heaven – the Bible…My mother left the narthex and moved into the sanctuary on June 14, 2007…It’s unimaginable that I can no longer see the sparkle in her eyes, or hear the wisdom of her words. Yet despite my aching heart, I know her whole purpose for being – and ours – is to transition into heaven.
The psalmist said, ‘In your presence is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.’ One day I too will move, to live forever in the sanctuary. In the meantime, I want to show others a glimpse of our Father’s house, so they’ll look forward with hope to moving there.”
Soul food: 3 John; Jude; John 15:5-17; Ps 14; Prov 28:13-16
2020-11-30
Lamentations 1:12 NLT
At a Metro station in Washington D.C. on a cold January morning, a young violinist played several Bach compositions as people rushed by. After three minutes, a middle-aged man stopped briefly, then hurried away. Four minutes later the young man received his first dollar; a woman threw it in his hat without stopping. Six minutes later a man leaned against a wall to listen, looked at his watch, and walked on. After ten minutes a little boy stopped, but his mom hurried him along. Other kids did the same, but every parent, without exception, rushed them on.
The young musician played for forty-five minutes. During that time six people stopped and listened for a while, and twenty gave money as they walked past. He collected a total of $32, and when he stopped playing nobody noticed or applauded; there was no recognition at all.
What’s remarkable is this: The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the world’s greatest musicians, and he played some of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, he’d sold out a Boston theater where seats averaged $100 to listen to him play the same music he played at the Metro station that morning.
So here’s the question: If you’ve no time to stop and listen to one of the world’s best musicians playing the finest music ever written, on one of the most beautiful instruments ever made, what else are you missing as you barrel through life? It’s worth thinking about, isn’t it? (Note: Joshua Bell played incognito as part of a social experiment conducted by The Washington Post.)
Soul food: 2 Chr 35-36; 2 John; John 14:26-15:4; Ps 146; Prov 28:9-12
2020-11-29
Romans 12:2 NLT
Our high-tech society is producing stressed-out people. Next year we will have even less time because statistically for every hour technology saves you, it consumes two more. Author Keri Wyatt Kent writes: “Every time you say ‘yes’ to something, you’re saying ‘no’ to other options. Activity cloaked in ‘Christian window-dressing,’ is still activity. Don’t copy the behavior…of this world; our world is hurried. Take time to listen and care. The hallmark of a Christian is love, and you can’t love in a hurry.”
So to slow down you need to: (1) Simplify your life. “Don’t fuss about what’s on the table…or whether [your] clothes…are in fashion” (Matthew 6:25 TM). Put God first and everything else will follow. When Marlene Eissens decided to switch careers, she set out for grad school with only the stuff she could fit in her car. Today she’s in ministry. She has a house, but resists filling it, and anything she hasn’t used for six months goes to charity. She says, “I feel real freedom because with less stuff I’m free to focus on God.”
(2) Keep the Sabbath. Todd Gitlin says, “We’re a nerve-wracked society. We have difficulty sitting back and thinking of the purpose of what we do.” Set aside at least one day a week to rest, spend time with your loved ones, and fellowship with your church family.
(3) “Be satisfied with…[what you have]” (Hebrews 13:5 AMPC). You’ll still be tempted to hurry and wish for more or nicer stuff, but you’ll grow closer to God by making more space in your life for Him. As J. I. Packer says, “We dishonour God when we proclaim a Saviour who satisfies and then go around discontent.”
Soul food: Josh 1; Ps 27:11-14; 2 Tim 2:1-13
2020-11-28
Philippians 3:13 NLT
We live in the day of multitasking. We talk on the phone, apply makeup, drink coffee, eat lunch, feed the kids, and even read text messages while barreling down the highway. Dr. Richard Swenson says: “In some instances we are more productive…some people crochet while watching the news. And in certain jobs it’s considered necessary; clerks on the Stock Exchange floor are required to run around doing five things at once. But isn’t it bizarre that when a 48-year-old broker drops dead, his colleagues keep working around the lifeless body receiving CPR?
The dramatic escalation of busyness has given us too much to do in a short time. The standard strategy…instead of refusing to take on more…is to do two, three, or four things at once. It’s an extension of the do-more-and-more-with-less-and-less philosophy. But someone forgot to do the math! By doing two things at once you divert 30 percent of your attention from the primary task; you sacrifice quality for quantity, which leads to more errors. You may end up finishing more tasks, but with poorer products and frazzled nerves. The downside of multitasking isn’t well-advertised…so we keep experimenting to see how far we can push the envelope.
However, when it comes to relationships, multitasking can be disastrous. We don’t listen…it takes too much time. Families need focus…babies need what they need when they need it. You either parent them or you don’t.
Paul didn’t live like that. He focused ‘on…one thing,’ which was the person in front of him.” A dog has four feet, but it doesn’t try to walk down four roads! So slow down and establish a pace that’s sane and sustainable.
Soul food: 2 Chr 32-34; John 14:15-25; Ps 118:19-29; Prov 28:5-8
2020-11-27
Isaiah 58:5 NIV
God never commanded you to examine your emotions, experiences, or sins. What He did say is, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NAS). Victory over sin comes from focusing on Christ – not beating yourself up!
In the Old Testament the Israelites reached a place of despair. They’d fasted and “afflicted” their souls, yet God ignored their efforts. They sought spiritual restoration in their own self-directed way, and God rejected it, saying: “Is this the kind of fast I have chosen…for people to humble themselves…bowing one’s head like a reed…in sackcloth and ashes? Is that…acceptable to the Lord?” Clearly, God is not pleased with the misery that comes from self-focus! He has a more effective way to liberate us.
Rather than have us weighed down with remorse, He said: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice…set the oppressed free…break every yoke…share your food with the hungry…provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not…turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58:6-7 NIV).
God’s way eliminates the “paralysis of self-analysis” by commanding you to forget about yourself completely; to stop dwelling on your imperfections and get involved in the lives and needs of others. His four-point plan for overcoming your flesh is: (1) Acknowledge His grace and see yourself as “righteous” in Christ. (2) Fix your eyes on Jesus. (3) Shun obsessive self-focus. (4) Serve God by serving others.
When you do all these things, “Your light will rise in the darkness…The Lord will guide…and…strengthen [you]” (vv. 10-11 NIV).
Soul food: 2 Chr 29-31; John 14:1-14; Ps 118:10-18; Prov 28:1-4
