Hard to Believe

Have you ever heard something that just seemed to be too good to be true? Did you believe what you heard? Were you skeptical? Did you downright disbelieve it? Is there something you have heard many times over that still seems to be too good to be true?

We have heard some outlandish stories in our time. Some of them have been true and others not. Through experience, we come to expect things to follow a pattern. We inherently develop a belief system regarding what is possible and what is not.

Sarah could not believe that she was going to have a child. After all, she was about ninety years old. She was beyond childbearing age. Her husband, Abraham, was bout one-hundred years old. Through their decades of marriage, there had been no children. Neither expected to have children at this time in their lives.

God comes to tell them they were going to have, not just a child, but a male child within the year. A male child was important as the first-born son inherited the land and property of his father. Sarah laughed at the prediction. She thought it was preposterous. But God reinforces what he told Abraham…and it came to pass just as he said.

We may believe the idea of spending eternity with God in paradise without sin, pain, and sickness is too good to be true. Or we may hold onto a ray of hope it is true without fully believing it. We live our lives as though whatever we do in this life will last forever. It is not to say what we do in this life is unimportant, but it is not the end game. We live this life to choose to follow Jesus, to commit to God, and to accept his promises as true. When we fully believe his promises, we no longer need worry about this life.

I pray we all believe God’s promises. I pray we learn the lesson from Sarah and Abraham. I pray each one of us will choose God, commit to him, and give him all our worry in this life. Believe God’s promises. Trust God to fulfill them. Choose to follow Jesus. Commit yourself to God. Give God your worries.

Genesis 18:13-14 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.”

Recommit to God

How do you go about repaying your debts? Do you set up a payment plan? Do you pay them as quickly as you can to get out from under them? Have you repaid all your debts? Do you know there is one debt you can never repay? How does that make you feel?

Paying off our debt feels good. When we make the last car payment, we are thankful it is done. Making that last house payment is cause for celebration. It can be a relief to simply repay a friend or family member. We pay off many debts in our lifetime. Some of them small and some much larger. 

Despite paying off many debts, there is one we can never repay. However, that does not mean we simply ignore it. We can never repay God for his blessings, especially the gift of eternal life. Yet, we can give him all the credit for his blessings. We can commit ourselves to him. We can declare his blessings before others. We can spread the good news of Jesus.

Notice how the psalmist attempts to repay. Though he knows he can never fully repay God, he honors God. We might say he toasts God, not with a cup of wine, but with the cup of salvation which he knows came from God. He calls on God to give thanks and to vow to be loyal to God. He does this not in a private setting but publicly.

We, too, can toast God and proclaim our faith. In fact, we do just that every time we gather around the communion table. The cup of salvation is the cup we drink that represents the shed blood of Jesus Christ. At the same time, we also renew our vow to be loyal to God. When we think on these things, it makes our time around the table with Jesus a little more significant.

I pray we all lift the cup of salvation to God. I pray we recommit ourselves to Jesus each time we drink it. I pray each one of us call on the name of the Lord publicly to declare his wonderful blessings. Honor God. Give him the credit. Be thankful for his blessings. Lift your cup to him. Recommit to him daily.

Psalm 116:12-14

What shall I return to the Lord

for all his bounty to me? 

I will lift up the cup of salvation 

and call on the name of the Lord,

I will pay my vows to the Lord

in the presence of all his people.

Follow Me

What does it mean to follow someone? Do you recall a mentor you had earlier in life? Do you think of following someone down the highway? Do you think of people who are following you? Are you following someone today?

Over the course of our lives, we may follow many different people. We may follow in the footsteps of our parents. We may follow a mentor or teacher. Social media provides a means for us to follow people or organizations we do not know personally.

In Jesus’ day, to follow someone meant to literally walk in their footsteps. This was especially true of those who followed a rabbi. As the rabbi lifted his foot to take a step forward, his follower would place his foot in his footprint. He would follow so close the dust the rabbi kicked up would land on him.

Jesus asks us to follow Him, just as He asked Matthew to follow Him. Matthew had a well-paying job, even if he was not well liked by his fellow Israelites. Yet, he simply got up and followed. He had no idea where he was going. He did not know what would become of him.

Jesus does not ask us to follow Him and give us all the answers beforehand. Implicit in His asking is to trust Him into the unknown. But is that really any different than anything in life? We have no way of knowing what tomorrow will bring. But when we follow Jesus, we can trust He has our best interest at heart.

I pray we all hear Jesus asking us to follow Him. I pray we trust Him to lead us where we need to go. I pray each one of us will choose to follow Him into the unknown. Hear the call of Jesus. Follow His lead. Go where He asks. Trust Jesus. Give Him your life.

Matthew 9:9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

Be Healed

Who do you hang around? What type of person are they? Do you judge the people others hang around with? Do you look down your nose at certain types of people? Have you considered what those people need? Or, Who they need? Have you heard why Jesus came?

We hang around people we like, and get along with, generally. Our human nature is to look at those who are different with a bit of wariness. We are unsure about them. Any number of things about them can cause us to pause when we think about them.

When it comes to accepting those who are not like us, we are normally wary. It is not until we spend time with them, getting to know them, that we finally accept them into our circle. It is part of our built-in self-preservation. Most of us don’t want to allow people who will hurt us into our lives. We also do not want to allow people into our lives who may cause us to change our point of view. In other words, we are often like the Pharisees.

Take a look at what Jesus told the Pharisees. He said it was those who are sick who need a doctor. He came to heal those who are sick. In other words, He came to heal all of us! We are all sick! We may not admit it, but we all have something wrong with us. We all battle with sin of some sort. We all need Jesus. Yet, we often are unwilling to share Him with others as Jesus told us to do.

I pray we all realize we are sick and need Jesus. I pray we stop judging others for their shortcomings. I pray each one of us will ask Jesus to heal us and share Him with others. Stop judging others. See your own sickness. Ask Jesus to heal you. Share Jesus with others.

Matthew 9:11-12 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

Waiting on the Promises

Are you waiting for a promise to be fulfilled? Do you become frustrated when someone promises something, but it takes a long while for them to fulfill it? Do you prefer promises be filled soon after they are made, if not immediately?

Waiting for a promise to be fulfilled can be frustrating. That is especially true if the promise is a grand promise, something we know will be wonderful. It can be agonizing having to wait. It is exacerbated if the promise doesn’t live up to our expectations.

God promised Abraham that he would be a blessing to all nations. He promised Abraham that he would inherit prime real estate. But Abraham did not receive those promises in this life. It was only after he had passed from this life into eternal life that Abraham had those promises fulfilled. In fact, him being a blessing to all nations continues to be fulfilled.

God has made us promises as well. Some of those we will see fulfilled in this life. Others will not be fulfilled until we inherit eternal life. The question is, are we willing to endure until that occurs? We can endure if we are willing ask God for help. He will grant us the strength to endure, to wait, to inherit what he has promised.

We can be like Abraham. We can see God’s promises fulfilled in this life and eternal life. We will be blessed with more than we can imagine. But we can only do so through our faith and trust in God. Our faith and dependence on him will carry us to the promised land.

I pray we all endure until God fulfills his promises. I pray we ask God to strengthen us with resolve. I pray each one of us continue in our faith and trust in God. Be like Abraham. Put your faith in God. Ask God to increase your faith. Wait for God to fulfill his promises.

Romans 4:13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

Give Up Your Life

What are you willing to lose? Are you willing to lose something you have so you can acquire something better? Are you willing to trade away something valuable to gain something of higher value? What if that is what is required to gain more than you can imagine?

We often do not want to lose something we have that is of value to us. This is especially true if the object was handed down to us from a parent or grandparent. It may also be true if we paid a large sum of money for it. We like to hold on to our possessions.

Notice that Jesus states that we must give up ourselves to be His follower. Obviously, this does not mean we must physically die. It does mean we must give up our personal preferences, our own desires, and perhaps our possessions.

We must carry our cross. Our cross may be any number of things. We may be like Joni Earekcson Tada, who became a quadriplegic through a diving accident. We may wrestle with being lonely. We may have any number of sins that we continuously fight against.

But notice how Jesus wraps this up. He says to save our life we must lose it. He means we must surrender to Him and His desires for us. When we do this, we gain an abundant life and eternal life. It is through submission to Him, His teachings, and following His example that we gain true life. Otherwise, we live a substitute life. We might call it a fake life. Jesus is the only one who can grant us real life.

I pray we all submit to Jesus. I pray we decide to lose our life to gain a true life. I pray each one of us will give up our preferences, desires, and even our possessions as God requires of us. Submit to Jesus. Give Him your life. Accept true life from Him. Turn your desires over to Him and receive His desires for you.

Luke 9:23-24 Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.”

Express Your Faith

Which is better? The law? Or righteousness? Are you answering a certain way because you have heard it is the right answer? Do your actions support the answer you gave? Have you considered the way you worship? Is it legalist or free to express your faith?

In our everyday culture there are laws to be obeyed. If not for laws, we would not be a civilized society. We know that disobeying those laws comes with punishment. We are taught from an early age to obey rules and laws. We do not want to face the punishment of disobedience.

Is the same true for our relationship with God? Often, we are taught at a young age to sit quietly in the pews. We are taught that a worship service must include specific rituals: singing, praying, Scripture reading, and preaching. We may have been taught they must be conducted in a specific order. They order of worship becomes routine, rote, and often not fully understood. It becomes more legalistic than faith based. This is not to say ritual in and of itself is bad. In fact, ritual can be very good…if we understand why.

The Apostle Paul tells the church in Rome that the law, meaning the law of Moses, is not what makes someone righteous before God. No, it is faith that makes someone righteous. The same is true of rituals. The Jews have developed rituals as a means of obeying the law. But just like we sometimes see today, the rituals became legalistic and rote. The people did not understand the reason behind the rituals.

Paul states it was Abraham’s faith that made him righteous and it is our faith that makes us righteous. So, if we are performing the rituals out of faith, we are being righteous. However, if we are performing them out of rote behavior, we are no more righteous than if we had not performed them at all.

I pray we all decide to learn more about the rituals we perform. I pray we seek to express our faith through worship. I pray each one of us will seek to strengthen our faith in God. Refuse to be legalistic in worship. Seek to understand the rituals. Express your faith in worship. Be righteous.

Romans 4:13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

Be In Awe

Have you noticed just how blind we are? Have you noticed how self-consumed we are? When was the last time you stood in awe of God? When was the last time you looked around and acknowledged it was all created by God?

As we pause for a moment to take an objective look at our world, we see the mass of humanity consumed by their daily desires. We work to fulfill them. We seek to be entertained. We long for a loving touch. We believe we are entitled. We believe we deserve good things.

We are told often in Scripture to be in awe of God. We are told to take time to contemplate who he is. We are told to go to a quiet place to spend time with him. Unfortunately, we are running a race we were not designed to run. We have stepped off the path God laid out for us and onto the treadmill of materialism.

To spend time in prayer does not mean we must physically be on our knees in a back room or Sanctuary. We can sit on our front porch and observe what God has put before us. It can be sitting on a hilltop overlooking a portion of God’s creation. We can observe and be amazed at the birds and other animals we see along the way.

We need to be observant and stand in awe of God. When we acknowledge all that God has created, we are humbled, realizing we are just one small bit of his creation. It is when we come to this realization that we can truly submit to God. We can stand in awe of God now, accepting his wonderful gifts of grace, mercy, love, and salvation. Or…we will stand in awe and bow in fear when Jesus returns.

I pray we take time to observe God’s creation. I pray we are humbled when we realize how small we are. I pray each one of us will stand in awe of God and give him the glory. Take notice of God’s creation. Realize how small you are. Be humble before God. Be in awe of God. Give God the glory.

Psalm 33:8-9

Let all the earth fear the Lord; 

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 

For he spoke, and it came to be; 

he commanded, and it stood firm.

Night Stars

Have you gazed at the stars lately? Have you observed the vastness of space? Have you ever wondered what angels might be like? Have you thought about how the vastness of space and all the stars were created? What if you could have a personal relationship with their Creator?

We may think it is poetic to look up at the stars at night. We may not think anything of the stars. We may be in complete amazement to hear there are people working on a capability to travel to Mars. We may not think about space travel at all.

In my previous profession, I worked on the information technology systems for a company who is contracted to build a prototype jet engine to take people to Mars. That may sound incredulous to most of us. Some of us may wonder why we would ever want to go there. It all boils down to humans being a curious breed. We are constantly seeking.

What are we seeking? It is really a question of Who are we seeking. Whether we realize it or not, we are seeking our Creator. We seek to know and understand him. We seek to understand our environment. For some of us, we merely focus on our immediate environment. For others, we are seeking to understand something more.

Standing amazed at the creation God has made is a proper attitude to take. Knowing that God spoke all things into being, including the space and stars of our universe, is one part of knowing God better. We don’t have to understand it completely. We are simply to give God the glory he deserves for his wonderful and amazing creation.

I pray we all take notice of God’s creation. I pray we believe God created everything in the universe. I pray each one of us stand amazed when we look at the stars shining in the night sky. Seek to know God. Believe God created everything. Be amazed at his creation. View the stars. See the vastness of space. Give God the glory for his creation.

Psalm 33:6

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, 

and all their host by the breath of his mouth.

Highest Authority

What is your mission in life? Have you pondered that question? Have you figured it out? Have you considered the path you are on? Have you laid out interim steps to get where you want to go? Have you considered asking God where he wants you to go?

A question everyone wrestles with at one time or another is what their purpose is. If we didn’t, we would blindly amble through life. God has given us a purpose. The bigger question is, are we fulfilling it? Some of us are. Some of us are not.

As Christians, we talk about the great commission. Unfortunately, too often we don’t act on it. Oh, we might once every blue moon ask a friend to come to church with us. But we don’t really live out the great commission. If we did, our churches would be overflowing.

What does it mean to live out the great commission? It means every moment of our lives are lived for Jesus. Everything we do brings glory to Him. Our words. Our actions. Our attitudes. Ensuring all of these are done to glory Jesus does not mean we have to constantly speak His name. It means we speak, act, and have the attitude of Jesus at all times.

Jesus gave us the great commission due to the authority given Him. We often don’t think of His authority. Yet, His authority is the greatest authority in the entire universe. It is greater than any government or corporate position. Adhering to His authority is the most important thing we can do.

I pray we all recognize Jesus’ authority. I pray we seek to do everything so as to bring glory to Him. I pray each one of us will speak, act, and have an attitude like Jesus. Know that Jesus has all authority. Go to glorify Him. Speak like Jesus. Act like Jesus. Have an attitude like Jesus.

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”