Longer Life

Do you seek a longer life? Have you hoped that you live a long and prosperous life? Do you aspire to live well into your nineties or perhaps one-hundred or more? What are you doing to help you live that long?

We often honor those who live long lives. People in the nineties or more than one-hundred years old become objects of respect. We even ask how they were able to live so long. The answers vary person-to-person.

Just as God promised Solomon that he would extend his lifetime, God will extend ours. The caveat was that Solomon was to keep God’s commandments and follow his guidance. The same is true for us today. How can I promise you this?

Let’s think about God’s conditional promise for a minute. When we follow God’s commands and his guidance, we are living a life that is pleasing to him. Not only that, but God’s commands and guidance are for our own good. By following them, we do not tear down our bodies by doing bad things to them. Following God’s commands and guidance nourishes our bodies with good things.

Therefore, if we follow God’s commands and guidance, we are working along with God to extend our lives. Notice, God does not promise how long our life will be. He simply says it will be longer than if we do not follow his commands and guidance.

I pray we all seek to work with God. I pray we follow his commands and guidance. I pray we trust that our lives will be extended by following God’s commands and guidance. Remember God’s promises. Follow God’s commands. Follow God’s guidance. Live a longer life by obeying God.

1 Kings 3:14 “If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.”

Bread of Heaven

How hungry are you? Do you sometimes get so hungry you are hangry? Do you sometimes think you can eat an entire pizza all by yourself? Are you a bread lover? Do you like it toasted, buttered, with jelly or apple butter? What about bread from heaven?

Eating may be our favorite pastime. Even if we are not especially fond of eating, we know we need to eat. We may like to eat junk food, especially when we go to a fair. We have the funnel cakes, popcorn, corn dog, and ice cream. Yes, eating can be quite enjoyable.

But we also know there are healthy foods such as vegetables, lean meats, fish, chicken, whole grains, and fruits. We know we need a balanced diet, one that includes proteins, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and a small amount of carbohydrates. Eating healthy can be challenging when there are so many foods that taste much better but are not good for us.

Jesus says He is the bread that came down from heaven. He says He is not like the manna the Israelites were given by God when they were wandering through the desert. Those who ate that manna lived and died. The manna could not give them eternal life. When Jesus says those that eat His bread will live forever, He is saying they will have eternal life.

The early Christians were sometimes called cannibals because they ate “the body of Christ” and drank “the blood of Christ.” We all know it was not His real body nor His real blood. Yet, His promise is true. As we eat the bread and drink the wine or juice, we are participating in the meal He instituted during the Last Supper. It is a meal to remind us who Jesus is, what He has done, and what He continues to do for us.

I pray we all participate in the meal with Jesus. I pray we partake of the bread and the wine. I pray each one of us know that by partaking in it we are accepting the gift of eternal life Jesus is giving us. Participate in a meal with Jesus. Partake of the bread. Partake of the wine. Accept eternal life. Jesus is freely giving it to you.

John 6:58 “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Why Holy Communion?

Why is Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist so important? Why should we regularly partake of it? Is it all for show? Is there real meaning in it? Are we just going through the motions? Do we understand why we are to partake of it?

Unfortunately, some Christians are not really sure why they partake of communion. They know they should because they have been told they should. They may know that it was implemented by Jesus at what we call the Last Supper, but not much more.

Jesus, Himself, gives us the answer to the question. We are to partake of it so that we may have life. There is mystery wrapped up in partaking it that we do not fully understand. Yet, we know that Jesus tells us to partake it, just like He tells us to believe in Him. In the partaking of communion, we are granted life. Not just any life, but eternal life.

Not only are we receiving eternal life, but we are being renewed in Him. As we focus our hearts and minds on Him, our mind is being renewed through the remembrance of what He has done for us. Our minds are also renewed as we ponder His teachings. Perhaps the pastor who leads at the table provides something specific to remember about Jesus. That helps renew our minds.

Holy Communion is a sacred rite. It is a time of reflection on ourselves, a remembrance of Jesus, and a time to be thankful. Being in the right state of mind, meaning open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we experience Holy Communion differently each time we partake. Something different is brought to mind. The Holy Spirit moves differently within us. Each time is unique and each time we are renewed with life.

I pray we all know we are to partake of Holy Communion. I pray we open our hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit. I pray each one of us experience Holy Communion each time we partake of it. Partake of Holy Communion. Open your heart. Open your mind. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you. Be renewed. Receive eternal life.

John 6:53 So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

Be Filled with the Spirit

What does being filled with the Spirit mean to you? Do you think of it as having the Spirit in you, accessible like a genie when you need him? Do you consciously think to ask God to guide you and listen for the Spirit? Or do you forget you have been given the Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is often ignored, not talked about much. We do not conduct many classes in our churches about the Holy Spirit. He is often viewed as this mystical person we know little about. People often have confusing and conflicting views of who he is.

The Apostle Paul tells us that we are to be filled with the Spirit. He juxtaposes being filled with the Spirit with being drunk. How does that help us understand the Spirit? When we think of someone drinking until they are drunk, we know that it takes a little time for that to happen. We can interpret that to mean that we need to continually ask God to fill us with his Spirit.

In addition to asking God to fill us with his Spirit, we should ask God to help us hear his Spirit. The Spirit speaks to us in various forms. He may speak as a voice in our head, though that is not often. More often, he speaks through nudging’s or gut feelings, letting us know the right thing to do. He grants us peace with decisions as opposed to continued worry.

Not only are we to be filled with the Spirit but we are to sing with gladness in our heart to God. We are to give thanks to God the Father for the blessing of his Spirit. That thanks should be given through the name of Jesus. The more we ask, sing, and give thanks, the more we please God.

I pray we all ask God to fill us with his Spirit. I pray we sing praises to God. I pray each of us will listen to the Holy Spirit and give thank through Jesus for God’s gift of his Spirit. Ask God to fill you with his Spirit. Listen for the Spirit. Sing praises to God. Give thanks to God. Do everything in the name of Jesus.

Ephesians 5:18-20 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Living Wisely

How do you live? Are you living day-to-day? Are you living by a five-year plan? Do you live unwisely? Do you live as a wise person? Are you living somewhere in between? Do you make the most of the time given to you? Are you willing to make a change in your life?

Living our lives in today’s culture is challenging. We are inundated with things that vie for our attention. Watching videos or playing video games are a major distraction for young folks. Some of our jobs demand more of our time. And, of course, we want to spend time with family.

How are we to determine how to spend our limited time wisely? It is a daily decision. It requires us to set priorities and stick to them. At the same time, we must be flexible for that rare emergency that pops up. It is a balancing act that requires all our faculties to maintain it. We must decide what to attend to from all the things seeking our attention.

The challenge of it all can wear us down. We can become overwhelmed, downtrodden, depressed, and ready throw our hands up in air giving up. When we are feeling that way, we need to turn to God in prayer. We need to pour our hearts out to him and ask for him to guide us. This is the wise way to prioritize and live our lives.

In addition to seeking God’s guidance, we are to make the most of our time. Seek the most efficient way of accomplishing a task. Look for opportunities to accomplish more than one task at a time. Evil continues to try to trip us up. Yet, that has been the case for thousands of years. We are not facing anything new; it just comes in different forms. Leaning on God to make wise decisions it what will help us live wisely.

I pray we all seek to live our lives wisely. I pray we set priorities for our lives. I pray each one of us will look for opportunities to make the most of our time, efficiently completing tasks. Seek to live wisely. Set priorities. Ask for God’s guidance. Look for efficiencies. Lean on God.

Ephesians 5:15-16 Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

Fear of the Lord

What is wisdom to you? How would you define it? Do you desire to be wise? Grasping for wisdom can feel like grasping to hold onto mist. We see it. We can move in it. But we can not hold onto it. It seems to continually escape our grasp. Why is that?

Too often, we equate wisdom with knowledge. In our world of continual inventions and discoveries, we feel as though there is always something new to learn. But wisdom isn’t all about knowledge. Wisdom is not knowing the most but properly applying the knowledge we have.

In our passage today, we are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The phrase “fear of the Lord” can be translated as reverence or piety. In other words, if we place God first in our lives, we are taking the first step toward gaining wisdom. What does that mean and what does it look like?

It is not merely attending worship services, though that is important. It is not merely attending Bible studies, though that is important as well. It is going to God and trusting him with all our decisions. It means that we ask God to help us understand our current situation and how we are to maneuver our way through it.

Trusting God rather than our own understanding will increase our wisdom. Giving God the credit is also key to our gaining wisdom. The more we lean on him and give him the credit for his blessing of wisdom, the more he is pleased. As we gain wisdom and understanding, we will praise him more because we gain a better understanding of who he is.

I pray we all are pious before God, giving him the reverence he is due. I pray we lean on and trust God in all situations. I pray each one of us will seek wisdom and understanding from God. Revere God. Be pious before God. Lean on God. Trust God. Seek wisdom from God. Seek understanding from God.

Psalm 111:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; 

all those who practice it have a good understanding. 

His praise endures forever.

Praise God in Community

Do you praise God? How often do you praise him? Is it only when he has blessed you with something you wanted? Do you praise him with your whole heart? Are you willing to praise him in the company of others? Will you praise him in public?

Praising God can be a challenge for us. Sometimes, we simply attend worship services and stoically stumble our way through them. Other times, our hearts are lifted to heights we never thought we could reach. We may experience tears of pure joy.

Praising God is different for each of us and often different every time. It may the hymns we sing that lifts our hearts and brings us to tears. It may be a Scripture read that touches us deep inside. It may be the message the pastor delivers that causes us to think, remember, or see how our praises can be more heartfelt or better lifted to God.

We may experience an even greater level of praise when we worship with others. Praising God can be contagious. Singing along with hundreds of people can fill our soul in a way that we cannot fully explain. Praising God with a group of people is one of the key ways for us to praise him. We are meant to be in community, especially among other believers.

When we allow ourselves to let go of our inhibitions, we can praise God with our whole heart. When we no longer fear what others may think, we can unleash our souls to praise God the way we were designed to. We can praise God as he would have us praise him.

I pray we all praise God. I pray we praise him with our whole heart. I pray each one of us will unleash our souls and eliminate our inhibitions to praise God as he desires us to praise him. Praise God. Lift your heart to him. Praise God with your whole heart. Praise him in community.

Psalm 111:1

Praise the Lord! 

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, 

in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

Pray to Imitate Christ

Do you seek to be like Christ? Do you long to be the person He wants you to be? How do you go about that? Do you work hard at fixing yourself? Do you spend time praying, asking God to make the changes in you that he desires?

We can say we want to be like Christ all we want. We may even want it. But unless we pursue it with all our heart, we simply won’t get there. One way in which we can pursue it with our heart is to go to God in prayer.

Our prayers are a reflection of our beliefs, behavior, and thoughts. On the opposite of that, our prayers can influence our beliefs, behavior and thoughts. Ever think about that? Those things are in a symbiotic relationship. Each one has an effect on the other.

As we pray that God works in our lives and open ourselves up to him, we can change. The changes are not merely intellectual. They are physical. They become visible in our behavior. They become verbal in our speech. As we experience those changes in our speech and behavior, our beliefs change as well. Why? We are experiencing God.

For several verses above today’s passage, the Apostle Paul tells us what negative to let go and what positive to replace it with. We can use his instructions as a guide to pray. Pray that God works in your life to replace the negatives with positives so that you may imitate Christ.

I pray we all desire to imitate Christ. I pray we use Paul’s instructions as a guide for our prayers. I pray each one of us will that God change us into the person he wants us to be so we may shine the light of Jesus to everyone we meet. Desire to imitate Christ. Pray according to Paul’s instructions. Pray that God changes you. Shine the light of Jesus.

Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Please the Holy Spirit

Do you like to grieve? Of course not! Do you like to experience sorrow? What about being depressed? Or maybe exasperation? Do you want to be the reason for someone else experiencing any of these feelings? Have you thought you might be?

We don’t like to feel sad or down in the dumps. We don’t want to be depressed or exasperated. We most certainly do not like grieving. Yet, we may cause others to experience these feelings. We absolutely cause the Holy Spirit to grieve when we are disobedient to God.

The Apostle Paul lists several ways in which we grieve the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 4:25-31. The list includes being false, sinning in anger, stealing, speaking evil or lying, being bitter or rotten, wrath, wrangling, slander, and malice. That is quite a list! Do we think when we act or speak in these ways that we are grieving the Holy Spirit?

Imagine the Holy Spirit when we are disobedient. He is grieving. He is sad, feeling frustrated at our behavior or speech. He lives in us to guide us, and we are ignoring him. We may think the Holy Spirit does not experience those feelings since he is spirit. Yet, we know God experiences feelings and the Holy Spirit is God. So, why wouldn’t he experience those feelings?

Can we keep ourselves from bad behavior and filthy speech on our own? No. This is why we need to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us. We need to be in sync with him. We need to be able to hear his voice, feel his nudging’s, and follow his guidance. When we do, those bad behaviors and talking will be replaced with truth, peace, good works, building one another up, kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. In other words, we will be obedient to God.

I pray we all seek to be in sync with the Holy Spirit. I pray we listen for his guidance. I pray each one of us will follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance and be obedient to God, pleasing the Holy Spirit. Be in sync with the Holy Spirit. Hear his guidance. Follow his guidance. Be obedient to God. Please the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.

Wisdom and Truth

Do you ascribe to the truth? How much falseness are you willing to accept or let slide? Do you spread false information? Do you put on a false personality? Are you supporting false stances? Would you prefer to know the truth? Do you do your best to speak the truth?

Falseness is all around us. It is not just in the make believe of television shows. It shows up in our workplaces, schools, politics, and even in our churches. Why? We are human. We make mistakes. We are tempted. We fail to do proper research. We like juicy rumors.

One of the biggest contributors to falseness is the fact that people like to talk too much. The writer of proverbs states, “Even fools who keep silent are considered wise” (Proverbs 17:28) and “The mind of the wise makes their speech judicious, and adds persuasiveness to their lips” (Proverbs 16:23). The wisdom of these proverbs can be restated as: Talk less and listen more.

The Apostle Paul tells us to put away falsehood. In other words, stop lying, put on a false personality, and speaking half-truths. He says we are to speak the truth to others. Yet, he does not give us license to be rude, crude, or offensive in telling the truth. We are to tell others about the good news of Jesus, but not beat them over the head with the Bible.

When we pair the proverbs with Paul’s teaching, we see that truth and wisdom requires us to be sure we know what we speak is truth, which requires us to verify what we think we know. Not only that, but we are to spend time taking in the information, processing, balancing it against God’s Word, and determine if it is useful to pass along. If it is not useful, why tell someone else? What good is it to you if I tell you a web application contains millions of lines of code written in multiple languages?

Setting aside the falsities all around us and speaking only truth is not simply a good thing to do because Paul tells us to. It is also following the example of Jesus. He spoke truth to tell people about God and to turn their hearts to him. Our goal should be to do the same. It is what we are called to do.

I pray we all set aside falsehood. I pray we speak the truth to others in love. I pray each one of us seek to follow Jesus’ example of speaking what is edifying to others and builds them up. Set aside falsehood. Speak the truth in love. Be wise. Edify others. Build others up.

Ephesians 4:25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.