Living in light of eternity

I suppose I was a deist. Roughly speaking I believed that God had created the world like a great watchmaker.  He had established the rules and regulations for all things, including humans.  I believed that if I lived according to His rules and regulations, I could have the best life possible (the summum bonum).  This seemed to work well until I reached college age.  A hard break-up taught me differently. It appeared that “playing by the rules” didn’t work that well.  It was at this point I changed directions.  I decided to forget about the rules and go my own way. Unfortunately, this didn’t work so well either.  My first year at the university was one of the darkest periods of my life.  I felt that life should offer more, but I couldn’t find it. Now I must clarify a bit.  When I say I had been playing by the rules, that wasn’t strictly true.  I had some very basic rules to follow- don’t hurt anyone else, try to be truthful, do what is ri...

  The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,“Therefore I have hope in Him.”   [1] (Lam 3:22-24) So what does it mean to “hope in Him”?   I suppose it’s a lot like faith.   We trust God’s faithfulness.   We trust in His goodness.   We hope in Him.   There are many things we can hope in.   This life promises financial stability, relationships that last, opportunity and achievements.   But none of these are foolproof.   The only truly reliable hope is in the LORD.   His very nature is secure, and the promises of His Word are sure.   The disappointment of placing our hope in earthly things can be quite overwhelming.   Hope deferred makes the heart sick , But desire fulfilled is a tree of life. (Prov 13:12) There is joy and peace when we hope in God. This sustains us through all the ups...

  In Psalm 51 David expresses his deep remorse and regret for his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite.   By way of reminder, he used his position as King to precipitate an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and maneuvered to have Uriah her husband killed on the front lines in battle.   Nathan the prophet confronts him: ‘Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. (2 Samuel 12:9) And David repents.                Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord .” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. [1] (2 Sa 12:13) Fortunately, we have Psalm 51 as a more descriptive version of David’s repentance.   The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God...

  Amy Carmichael lived in the first half of the 20th century.  She was an Irish Christian missionary in India who served for 55 years without furlough and wrote 35 books about the missionary work. She was famously quoted as saying, “I’d rather burn out than rust out.” As it turns out, George Whitfield, the famous revivalist in the 18th century, was the first to express this sentiment when he said, “I would rather wear out than rust out.” He preached over 18,000 formal sermons over a span of 33 years.   Both are excellent examples of commitment to the cause of Christ over the long haul.  They had nothing good to say about rusting out. Rusting out is not a good look for Christians.  The Christian life certainly can be very challenging.  It would be very easy to burn out or wear out in the service of the Lord. But there is no place for rusting out. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow wear...

“You are so heavenly minded you are no earthly good.”   Have you ever heard this phrase?   Is there any legitimacy to it?   Can a person have his head in the clouds in such a way that he is ineffective with the everyday responsibilities of life?   I suppose so.   But what about the opposite?   Can a person be so worldly minded that they are no heavenly good? Certainly.   I think I see a lot more earthly- minded people than heavenly- minded.   And what does the Scripture say about this.   Quite a bit.   Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first p...

  Have you found how easily we are distracted from pure devotion to Christ?   Every day we are bombarded with urgent demands on our time and energy.   These demands may be urgent, but are they important? Have we neglected the most important thing, our relationship with Christ?   And what is the result? By focusing on the wrong things, we become worried and bothered about many things.   This reality was pictured in Luke chapter 10. Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus were some of Jesus’ closest friends (John 11:5).   Martha had invited Jesus into her home and was preparing a meal for Him.   Let’s pick up the story in Luke 10:38-42 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister...

  Sometimes it’s good to reflect on your life.   As I’ve considered my years before I received Christ, there are many things I regret.   One of my most serious regrets is my competitive spirit.   You see, I loved playing with my younger brother.   I loved competing with Gordy.   When little, we would spend countless hours playing games of all sorts- action games, war games, and board games.   He was three years younger than me. Considering the age differential, it’s not surprising I won most of the time.   I loved winning.   I loved the feeling you get when you best someone.   My regret is that I rarely considered how it might have made Gordy feel.   I valued the competition over the relationship.   That is my big regret.   This spirit of competition has continued to haunt me.   As a Christian I’ve honestly wondered how to integrate it with my walk with Christ.   Does the bible have anything to say to us who st...