Glory Versus Futility

What does it mean to become futile? Are your efforts futile? How does someone who is wise become a fool? Why would anyone exchange glory for foolishness? Why give up God for idol worship?

We may believe turning to idol worship is foolish. And it is. We may believe giving up glory for foolishness is outlandish. And it is. But have we done so ourselves? A tough question only we can answer for ourselves.

As we believe in sharing in the glory of God, we must understand what the cost is. The price is both minimal and exorbitant. It all depends on your perspective. The cost is exorbitant if our perspective is the same the world. If we prefer a grand house, luxury vehicle, and name recognition over God, the price is extremely high. If we allow those things to be our idols and we put them ahead of God, His glory is out of reach. This is not to say those things are bad themselves. They are only bad if they own us, they become our idols.

However, if we are not concerned with worldly possessions, but prefer God over anything the world can offer, the price is minimal. When putting God’s plan ahead of our own, following where He is leading, we share in His glory.

If we have known God and give up His glory for chasing worldly idols, our thinking has become futile. Can you imagine? We become useless. We fail to achieve a good result. Our thinking becomes unimportant. Why would we give up the glory of God to become useless? We are tricked by Satan’s schemes and chase after worldly desires. The shiny object we can achieve today replaces our focus on the ultimate glory we are granted by staying focused on God.

I pray we all hold on to our faith in God. I pray we refuse to trade our glory in God for the futility of the world. I pray each one of us change our perspective to be the same as God’s. Do not give up. Hold on to God. Look forward to God’s glory. Worship God alone. Put Him first.

Romans 1:21-23 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

Reconciliation and Perfection

Have you ever considered yourself to be an enemy of God? Was there a time when you were not part of God’s family? Have you since been reconciled to Him? Do you want to be saved from God’s wrath?

We live in a broken world. When we choose to ignore God’s invitation, we are an enemy of His. If we are not reconciled to Him, we will experience His wrath. Reconciliation is offered to every human being by our gracious God.

To be reconciled, we must be justified. Justification by human standards requires us to provide proof, a legal argument, or medical reason to mention just a few options. It is often frustrating to gather the evidence needed to be justified.

We have been provided justification freely by Jesus’ sacrifice. What makes it tough for us is we must admit we are lost, be willing to accept the gift, and be willing to follow Him. Giving up our pride and selfish ways are not easy. Yet, that is the only way we can truthfully accept the justification offered and be reconciled.

For many of us, it is a work in progress. We have made the initial decision. We have accepted reconciliation. And we continue to progress toward being who God wants us to be. It does not mean we must earn the reconciliation. It does mean we continue to move toward the perfection God wants for us.

I pray we all give up our pride and selfishness to accept justification. I pray we decide to be reconciled to God. I pray each one of us continues to move toward the perfection God desires for us. Accept God’s gift of justification. Be reconciled to God. Escape His wrath. Give up your desires. Move toward perfection. 

Romans 5:9-10 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Open Your Mind

What do you know about God? Do you know who He is? Do you think He cares for the living? Do you think He cares for the dead? Do you know what Jesus says about who God is? Do you want to know?

Many people have their own idea of who God is. Often, He is created in their own image rather than them being created in His image. In other words, they think of Him as what they have heard from someone else or using their own imagination.

Because many people want God to be who they want Him to be, they fail to see Him for who He is. They have a closed mind. They limit God. They limit themselves. They fail to realize that by opening their mind to the possibility of God being far greater than they think, they lose out on their best life.

If I tell you that God is only the God of the living, how do you react to that? The truth of the matter is, He is the God of the living. But that isn’t bad news. In fact, it is wonderful news! That means we never die. Take a look at today’s passage. When Jesus quotes God as being the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and saying that God is the God of living, we can take comfort in knowing we never die. Why do I say that?

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had long since left this world before Jesus walked on it. Their mortal bodies had given out. But they were and are living with God. Jesus gives this example in response to a question about how resurrection works. He states we will be different than we are in this life. We don’t know exactly how that will work, but we do know we will be different and will be living with God.

I pray we all open our minds to God being far greater than we give Him credit for. I pray we listen to Jesus. I pray each one of us believes we will never die but live with God forever. Open your mind to who God is. Believe Jesus’ words. Know you will never die. 

Matthew 22:29-32 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

Living Forever

What do you believe about the resurrection? Do you believe you will be raised after dying? Do you believe it means the body you currently have will be raised? Do you believe you will never die? Do you take Jesus at His word?

There are a variety of beliefs about the resurrection. Some believe there will be a resurrection of their current body at some future date. They believe until then they will go into a holding place. Upon resurrection, they believe they will go to heaven.

Others believe they never die. Oh, they believe their physical body dies, but their spirit lives on. They believe they go to be with Jesus in heaven immediately upon the death of their physical body. They believe they will be given different, perfect, spiritual bodies as Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:42-43.

When Lazarus died, his sisters were distressed. They believed that he would not have died had Jesus been there. They believe Jesus would have healed him. When Jesus shows up, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days, they were both glad to see Him and likely a little bitter that He had waited so long to come.

Jesus made a statement to Martha, saying that Lazarus would rise again. Martha said she believed he would in the resurrection. Jesus then tells her that He is the resurrection. What does Jesus mean by this? We find later in Scripture (Revelation 1:4) that Jesus is referenced as the firstborn from the dead, which means He was the first to be resurrected. As we read through Revelation, we find there is a continual resurrection of Jesus’ followers. So, Jesus was telling Martha we continue living, even if our physical bodies die. Do you believe you will never die? Jesus has said that is the case, if we believe in Him.

I pray we all choose to believe Jesus. I pray we choose to believe we will be given perfect bodies. I pray each one of us believes we will continue living, even after our physical bodies die. Believe Jesus. Take Him at His word. Believe you will be given a perfect body. Believe you will live forever.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Take Your Stand

What have you taken your stand on? Who have you taken your stand on? Have you taken your stand on the gospel, the good news, of Jesus Christ? Are you holding firmly to it? Or have you let go and believed in vain?

We may take a stand on an issue. In fact, we often do. Sometimes, we take a stand on issues that don’t really amount to a hill of beans in the long run. Sometimes, we take a stand on issues without knowing all the information.

But taking a stand on the gospel of Jesus Christ is the right stand to take. He is the rock on which to build our lives. He is the rock that will stand forever—all eternity. The good news of Jesus invites us to accept Him as Lord and Savior. By accepting Him as Lord and Savior, we acquire salvation, hope, and confidence we will spend eternity with Him. We gain the knowledge He is always with us, and we can lean on Him during tough times.

As Paul states in today’s passage, if we believe initially, but do not hold firmly to our faith, our initial belief was in vain. So, let me ask you this question, do you ever like to throw away time you have spent on something? Personally, I don’t. I don’t like spending my time, which I consider precious, on a project and just dump it. I don’t like to give up on a goal I have been working toward. This is no different.

We are encouraged by Paul both positively and negatively to hold on to our faith. On the positive side, we are told of the rewards we get in both this life and for eternity. On the negative side, we are told our initial belief was a waste of time, if we do not hold on to it. Which choice will you make?

I pray we all believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray we take our stand on Jesus. I pray each one of us chooses to hold on to our faith, reaping the eternal reward we are promised by God. Believe in Jesus. Believe the good news. Take your stand on Jesus. Hold on to your faith. Never give up.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

Prevail In Faith

How is your faith? Are you holding onto it? Are you finding it challenging to do so in our current times? Do you long for easier days? Are you hanging on by a thread? Have you asked God to build your faith?

We are living in troubling times. We have several disconcerting worries and activities going on simultaneously. We battle a pandemic in the midst of discontent and distrust. We wade through a plethora of data and wonder what data to believe.

We continue to wrestle with racial inequality, political distrust, gender preference, and cancel culture. Battle lines are drawn nearly everywhere we look. Those who agree on one issue disagree on another. We argue over what can be taught in our schools, who can preach in our churches, and stare at each other with wary eyes.

So, where is our faith? Do we believe God is in control? Whether we believe it or not, God is in control. He has a plan and is executing it. Satan also has a plan and is executing his to counter God’s plan. Whose side are we on?

We are encouraged throughout Scripture, and especially in the New Testament, to hold on to our faith. Our faith in God’s plan. Our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Our faith the Holy Spirit lives within us, if only we will listen to Him.

When going through tough times, we can prevail by holding on to our faith that Jesus is the Son of God and sits at the right hand of God’s throne. We can prevail in our faith that He loves us and will return. We can prevail by faith, knowing we will spend eternity with God.

I pray we all hold onto our faith in God. I pray we grow our faith through our relationship with Him. I pray our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior is strong, so we prevail through the tough times. Hold on to your faith. Grow your faith. Be strong in your faith. Trust God. Trust Jesus.

Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

Forty Days

What is your understanding of Jesus’ resurrection? Do you understand it as Him being raised from the dead in bodily form? Do you know He appeared to a few of His disciples on the first day?  Do you know He appeared to people for more than a month?

We often talk of Jesus being raised from the dead. We confidently say He is alive today. We likely remember the story of Him appearing to a couple of women who followed Him just outside the tomb where He had been buried.

We may remember the race ran by a couple of His apostles to the empty tomb upon hearing He was alive. One of our favorite stories is of Thomas stating he would not believe until he saw Jesus himself. We like to poke fun at Thomas for doubting. But do we doubt ourselves?

We may remember the story of Jesus meeting a couple travelers on the road to Emmaus. There is also the story of Him meeting a few of His apostles beside the Sea of Galilee and having breakfast with them. But have we read and caught the fact that He met with five hundred people at the same time (1 Corinthians 15:6)?

Luke tells us in today’s passage that Jesus appeared to a wide variety of people for a period of forty days after His resurrection. Is there a significance to the forty days? Is it coincidence it rained for forty days and forty nights to flood the world? Is it coincidence the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years because of their grumbling and disobedience after being freed from Egypt? Is it coincidence Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days after His baptism being tempted by Satan? Maybe. Maybe not.

What we can know for certain is Jesus was seen by numerous people for forty days after He was resurrected. We have eyewitness accounts of His appearance. We have eyewitness accounts of His ascension to Heaven. Jesus was and is certainly the Son of God.

I pray we all believe Jesus is the Son of God. I pray we know that He was resurrected. I pray each one of us ponder His appearing to numerous people for forty days after His resurrection. Believe Jesus is the Son of God. Believe He was resurrected. Believe He appeared to many. Believe the eyewitnesses. Believe He lives today.

Acts 1:3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

Scripture Fulfilled

Do you expect promises to be fulfilled? Have you had promises made to you that went unfulfilled? Have you made promises you did not fulfill? Do you know that God fulfills all His promises and has already fulfilled many of them?

We generally expect people to follow through on their promises. Most of us make every effort to follow through on promises we make. Yet, all of us fail at some point. We make promises and one thing or another gets in the way of fulfilling them.

Don’t you love the assumed promises children hear? As a parent, when a child asks to stop to get ice cream after the game, we might say “We’ll see.” The child immediately assumes they will get ice cream after the game. Now, there was no promise, but the child interprets it that way.

Sometimes, we assume God has made promises He hasn’t as well. We assume that Jesus stating He came to provide us an abundant life (John 10:10) means we will be rich and have no worries. That is not the promise made. The promise made is that we will have joy in Him no matter our circumstances. If we have tied our joy to material things, we have allowed ourselves to be sadly misled by Satan.

Jesus fulfilled some of God’s promises while He walked this earth. As today’s passage states, Jesus, Himself, claimed He had fulfilled prophecy (promise) that was recorded in Isaiah 61:1-2. His claim included Him being anointed, proclaiming good news, proclaiming freedom from Satan’s shackles, giving the ability to see Satan’s schemes, freeing the oppressed, and proclaiming God’s favor.

There are promises of God’s that are yet to be fulfilled. But just as Jesus fulfilled some promises, God will finish fulfilling the rest in His time. We can trust Him. He has proven Himself to be trustworthy. He is God.

I pray we all trust God. I pray we trust He will fulfill His promises. I pray each of us see clearly and live in the freedom Jesus has granted us, following his example to proclaim the good news. Trust God. Know God fulfills promises. Be free in Christ. See Satan’s schemes clearly. Follow Jesus’ example. Proclaim the good news of Christ.

Luke 4:21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Believe Jesus is Alive

Are you sometimes baffled by something you hear? Do you ask the person to repeat themselves? Have you heard some outlandish claims? How do you react to those? In disbelief? Accept them for truth? Have you accepted Jesus as truth?

There is no denying that some people say the most outlandish things. Sometimes, it is just to garner attention. Other times, I seriously wonder if the person actually believes what they are saying, even if I know in no way can it be true.

The story of Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection can be one of those outlandish stories to someone who refuses to believe. They ask for physical proof, and even if they get it, they still will not believe. But the question we must ask ourselves is, “Do we believe Jesus’ story?”

To paraphrase C. S. Lewis from his book Mere Christianity, we must accept Jesus as the Son of God. If we do not, we must consider Him a lunatic or a madman. Lewis also states we cannot consider Jesus a mere moral teacher. If you have not read Mere Christianity, I strongly encourage you to do so.

In other words, those who look at Jesus as merely someone who taught good moral standards, but don’t look at Him as Lord, Savior, and God are kidding themselves. They might as well be saying Jesus was a liar, a false prophet, or sent from Satan. As John the Apostle lays it out in his gospel, it is an either-or proposition. You cannot straddle the fence.

Paul tells us that God raised Jesus from the dead and He will raise us, too. Do we believe that? Do we believe that Jesus is alive, sitting at the right hand of the throne of God? If we do, how has that changed our lives? The teaching of the Bible is not mere moral teaching. The purpose of the teaching is to show us who God is and to bring us into a right relationship with Him. It is to bring us to the point of giving up our desires for His. It is to convince us to accept His gift of salvation—spending eternity with Him.

I pray we all accept Jesus for who He says He is. I pray we accept Him as Lord, Savior, and Son of God. I pray each one of us accepts the gift of salvation God has offered. Believe the story of Jesus. Believe Jesus’ words. Believe God’s message of salvation. Accept His gift. Spend eternity with God.

1 Corinthians 6:14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.

Righteousness of God

What are you looking for help with today? Are you in need of a boost in your faith? Do you need to be reminded of your salvation? Do you remember God’s righteousness is your righteousness?

We need to be reminded from time-to-time of who we are—Whose we are. We are inundated with the world’s message. We hear repeatedly we don’t meet the standard, we need to look out for ourselves, no one loves us, we are worthless.

We are told we must lose weight, make ourselves prettier, dress in the latest fashion, be better than someone else and let everyone know it. The world looks at the outside and makes a judgment. We fall prey to the world’s attitudes, messages, and desires.

God presents a better way. His plan comes through Jesus Christ. The good news, gospel, is that we are loved, and Jesus died so that we may be saved and spend eternity with Him. Our salvation has already been purchased. We don’t need to follow the world’s way; we are to follow Jesus’ way.

By accepting God’s gift of salvation, accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are made righteous through our faith in Him. No, that doesn’t mean we are perfect. It does mean that God doesn’t judge us by the world’s standard but by looking at us through the lens of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

Once we accept Him, we are called to live by faith. Not blind faith, but the faith that trusts in God’s promises. We learn of God’s promises being fulfilled throughout the Bible and can trust His promises for the future will be fulfilled. Let’s all remember we are righteous in God’s sight, and we can trust Him at His Word.

I pray we all accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. I pray we are reminded that we are righteous in Him. I pray each one of us lives by faith, trusting in God’s promises. Remember the good news. Know that you have salvation. Know that you are righteous. Trust God’s promises. Live by faith.

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”