Stick or run?

If you are married long enough, chances are that you are going to screw-up from time to time.  Some screw-ups are big, some are small, but there is 100% certainty that mistakes are going to be made.  Sometimes it’s the husband’s fault, and sometimes it’s the wife’s.  Occasionally both are to blame!  The question is this:  No matter what happens, are you going to stick or are you going to run?


One of the most colossal screw-ups of all time happened in the third chapter of the Bible. In Genesis 3 we see both Adam and Eve (the first married couple in history) make the biggest mistake possible:  They originally sinned against God.  Talk about adding stress to a marriage!

The interesting part of the story is that when they were alone and away from God, problems began.  Satan wasn't whispering in their ear when they were walking the garden with God.  It's when they wandered away that he swooped in on them.  (By the way, Satan is still in the business of destroying families!)  Even after their sin, God stepped in and offered a plan of salvation.  (Genesis 3:15)  God offers His Son Jesus as a sacrifice for our sin, one freely given, even today.

One thing came to mind when reading this scripture; Adam and Eve decided to stick instead of run.  In Genesis 5:3 we see that Adam died when He was 930 years old.  The Bible said that he and Eve had many other sons and daughters.  Even after the biggest screw-up in history, they stayed together.  It was all because God is faithful.

If you have God at the center of your marriage, you can survive anything.

Healthy Fear

Yesterday afternoon I needed to get some work completed on my laptop, so I came home after lunch and sat down in my favorite chair.  I kicked my shoes and started typing on my computer.  Then something really strange happened that has never happened before to me:  my house moved!

The best way to describe it was a brief, queasy feeling in my stomach.  I hopped up out of my chair and went outside to see what was taking place.  Eventually I went back inside and went about my business.

Last night, my sister in Virginia called me.  She was really excited because yesterday afternoon she had experienced an earthquake.  I asked her “What?  When did that happen?”  She replied “Around 2:00pm this afternoon.”  

It then hit me:  I experienced the same earthquake too!  Never in my life did I ever think I would experience the earth move because I live in a part of the United States that doesn’t have many (if any) earthquakes.  Sure as the world, I felt one yesterday.

What is my point?  A few things:

• Everyday I go through life doing day to day things.  I eat, sleep, bathe, work, etc.  Very seldom do I ponder.  Last night I went outside and looked up at the stars and began letting my mind wander about God.  My day had consisted of a sunrise in the morning, and earthquake in the afternoon, and my evening filled with stars twinkling.  I had an overwhelming fear rush over me.  God is very big and very powerful!  He caused all of those things to happen and was in control.  At that moment, I felt very small.  By letting my mind wander about God, I came to terms with the fact that someday I am going to stand face to face with that kind of power.

• I read Isaiah 60 this morning.  God is speaking to us about the end times, and how He will restore us when He comes back.  In verse 22 God states “I am the Lord, in this time I will do this swiftly.”  I’m not sure what “in His time” and “swiftly” mean, but I am sure that God is going to come back (maybe while I’m alive or maybe after I’m gone) but either way, it’s going to happen.

• Proverbs 1 say “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”  I’m not scared of God, but I do fear Him.  We all should!  He is God and we are not.  Every now and then God reminds me, and for that I am thankful!

Grace is free, but it isn't cheap!

I have two Labrador retrievers.  Eli is a yellow lab, and is the male.  I have a female chocolate lab named Maggie.  They are both rambunctious dogs and love to play with each other.

Eli is twice the size of Maggie.  He is an extremely strong and powerful dog.  When he is playing with Maggie, even though he could over power her, he lays on his back and let’s her tackle him.  She thinks that she is bigger and stronger than him, but the truth is he chooses to be overpowered.  It’s his choice, and he has the power to stop it at anytime.

When reading John 10:17-18 we see a similar situation.  Jesus is explaining to His disciples that “ My Father loves me because I choose to lay down my life.  No one takes it away from me.”  He even goes further to say “I have the authority to lay down my own life and take it back up again.”  Jesus is referring to going to the cross and rising again from the dead.  He drives home the point that it was His choice, and wasn’t being overpowered.  He was doing it because He loved us enough to die for us.

A few thoughts:

• This concept is something that, in my opinion, we the church have misconstrued over the years.  We have painted a picture that Jesus was weak.  We see Him of having no choice of being arrested and overpowered by the Roman guards, leading to His crucifixion.  In reality (same as Eli allowing Maggie to over power him) Jesus allowed this to happen.  At any moment, Jesus could have called the whole thing off, but He didn’t.  He carried through with His assignment from His Father.  He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

• Jesus was extremely obedient.  We see in Matthew 26:39 Jesus asking His Father “if there is any way possible, please let this pass from me.”  In other words, Jesus was tormented with the thought of not only being physically crucified but separated from His Father in heaven because of our sin.  He knew that because of bearing our sin on the cross, His Father was going to turn His back on Him.  (Matthew 27:46)  Jesus couldn’t bear the thought of it but because He loved us, and because His Father loved us enough to send His only Son, Jesus died for us.

• Jesus wasn’t weak or frail.  He wasn’t overpowered but chose to die for us.  It was His choice.  Don’t overlook that.  Realize that you are loved and that the gift of salvation is waiting for you.  All you have to do is admit that you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died and rose again for you, and ask Him into your heart.

Grace is free, but it isn’t cheap.  A huge price was paid for you to be forgiven of your sins.

Shawshank Mindset

One of my favorite movies is "Shawshank Redemption".  It is about a prisoner (Andy Dufrane) who serves a life sentence for a crime he didn't commit.  Towards the end of the movie, Andy sits at the base of the prison walls and has a conversation with his friend (Red).  Andy looks at Red and says "I guess it all boils down to this:  either get busy living, or get busy dying!"

I thought about the movie scene this morning while reading Isaiah 51:6.

⁶ Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
   look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,
   the earth will wear out like a garment
   and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
   my righteousness will never fail.

Without Jesus, we are already "busy dying."  We are dead in our own sin.  We are destined to spend an eternity in hell.  With Jesus, our call is to "get busy living."  Our goal in life is to help others "get busy living" and to tell them about Him.  Life is extremely short!  Let me say it again:  your life is short!  Isaiah says our lives "die away like flies." 

If you don't know Jesus as your Savior, don't waste another second.  Ask Him to save you from your sin.  Do it right now.  Ask Him into your heart to be your King.  If you know Jesus as your Savior, don't waste another day of your life away.  Get busy living!

My Father's Voice

When I was a little boy, I remember being able to pick my Daddy’s voice out of a crowd.  Sometimes it would be at a Clemson University football game.  I would be surrounded by thousands of people and be separated from him.  Just when I was about to panic, I would hear him say “Benji...” and I would turn in the direction where he was standing.  He never took his eye off of me.  He knew where I was the whole time.  I grew up with that voice, and I know it well.

When I was in high school, I enjoyed playing sports.  No matter what sport I played, I could always hear my Daddy’s voice.  Sometimes when it was loud, and the crowd was cheering for our team, his voice would be crystal clear.  When it came time for me to make a play, for some strange reason I could always hear my Daddy telling me “play defense” or “watch your left”.  Sometimes when I was at bat, I would hear my Daddy say “bust it” and it would give me the adrenaline I needed.  

Our relationship with our heavenly Father is no different.  If you are a child of God, He is constantly speaking to you.  In John 10:1-18 Jesus says “I am the shepherd, and my sheep know my voice.”  God speaks to His children everyday.

Some folks have told me that they literally “hear” God say things to them.  I have no reason to doubt them.  The Holy Spirit works in different ways with different people.  Other folks hear God in their heart.  I personally hear God speak to me in my heart and mind when it comes to matters of money, especially when He wants me help someone in need.  I know what that sounds like, and when I hear it, I pay careful attention.

All of God’s people can hear God speak through His word!  If you read your Bible and pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal what He wants you to hear, God will speak to you.  That is why the call it “The Living Word” because God and His word are one in the same.

A few points:

• The reason I heard my Daddy’s voice above the noise was because we have spent a lot of time together.  I knew it as a child.  I still know it today.  In the same way, my son is beginning to hear my voice in crowds and knows my whistle that I make when getting his attention.  The same goes for us with God.  The more time we spend with Him in prayer and His word, the easier it is to hear Him.
• Not all religions are the same.  If you are a Christ follower, then you serve the only living God.  Our God wants to speak to His children. 
• Sometimes you have to be still to hear God speak.  Cut off the telephone, blackberry, television and stereo.  Sit still and spend time with God.  Maybe the reason you can’t hear Him is that you keep drowning Him out with day to day life. Quiet time with God is very important.  What is more important than hearing the voice of God?

Seek Him out daily.  He will speak when He sees fit.  What a great God we serve!

Eye on the prize!

If you were a betting man (or woman) and knew the outcome of a particular game, would you place your bet?  Would you wager on a game if you knew which team was going to win?  Of course you would!

Many Christ followers would say yes to the question listed above, but their lives show something entirely different.  They live their lives defeated, handcuffed by sin and discouragement, unforgiveness or uncertainty.  Many Christians live as if they don’t know the outcome.  The Bible tells us an entirely different truth:  There is a prize at the end of this race!

What would your life look like if you claimed the promise of God’s prize that awaits you.  Isaiah 25:6-8 tells us what that prize is, and what we should be looking forward to receiving when the final race is won:

• On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
     a feast of rich food for all peoples,
  a banquet of aged wine—
     the best of meats and the finest of wines.   We will be sitting at God’s table someday, feasting on the most awesome food you can imagine.  We will have dinner with our creator.  Can you even get your mind around that one?

• On this mountain he will destroy
     the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
  the sheet that covers all nations;
   he will swallow up death forever.   We will never (let me repeat it again….NEVER) have to worry about sin again.  EVER!  We will be whole, perfect through Jesus, without sin.  And to top it off we will never die! 

• The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
     from all faces;   We will never worry, fret, cry, be upset, or want for anything!  Pure happiness awaits us!

• He will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.  Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  The life you lived as a Christ follower will be validated, and everyone will know that you weren’t a fool, but made the right choice in following Jesus.

• The LORD has spoken.  In other words, it’s like God saying “And you can take that to the bank!”

Live your life in such a way that you know the outcome.  As a Christian, you can rest assure that your life as a follower of Jesus Christ is worth it.  Keep your eye on the prize!