On my drive to Bend the other morning all of the sudden in my mind was floating the question: "Where would I be without Christ?" It continued to haunt me moment after moment, and hour after hour that day. This question hasnt' gone away yet.
What would my life look like if Christ hadn't stepped in and rescued me? Like everyone else in this world I naturally reject God's direction for my life and rebel against what He expects. This rebellion and rejection leads down a path of death and destruction. Without Christ's deliverance I would be taking step after step in that direction.
Instead at the age of 15 Christ intervened and I stepped out in a new direction. A direction, although imperfectly followed, is leading me toward becoming more and more like my Savior. "Not that I have arrived or have become perfect. . ." but God continues to work in my life, knocking off rough edges.
If Christ hadn't intervened in my life, would I now have the wonderful life-partner in my spouse? Would I have three grown children who desire to honor Christ in every area of their lives? Would I have the blessings of health and direction? Would I enjoy the financial freedom of being totally debt free? Would I have loving and encouraging relationships within the church?
Where would I be without Christ? It would be a very different place than I am now with Christ! Could I be so bold to ask you to ponder that same question and let it sink deep into your soul? Let it spring forth songs of praise and adoration to our loving God who rescues us from the path of death and sets us free!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
No man knows his time.
Why isn't the cruise ship leaving port? It is now after the time we were all to be back on the ship and past the departure time. If I were late boarding, what would the ship do? I wonder who lost track of time and didn't return yet?
All these questions and more were running through my mind as we waited for departure from our port of call on our Alaska cruise. It was about an hour later that the captain spoke over the intercom informing us of four missing passengers and a short time later that they were on one of the flight excursions and the plane sent out a distress call and went down. Search crews were dispatched and there was hope that our passengers would be found. The next morning around 7 am, the captain informed us that the four passengers and the pilot's lives were lost in this crash.
No one knows when his or her time is up on this earth. This was a somber reminder to all on our ship to view our life as precious and each day as a gift from God. The Apostle Paul encourages us to make the most of our time. We do this when we live our lives for Christ and seek to serve Him day by day, hour by hour.
One day, our Lord will call each one of us home and we will have to stand before Him. Those who have placed their faith in the finished work of Christ will be welcomed into glory, those who don't will be ushered to a place of punishment. I am so glad that Jesus took my punishment and I have eternal life.
All these questions and more were running through my mind as we waited for departure from our port of call on our Alaska cruise. It was about an hour later that the captain spoke over the intercom informing us of four missing passengers and a short time later that they were on one of the flight excursions and the plane sent out a distress call and went down. Search crews were dispatched and there was hope that our passengers would be found. The next morning around 7 am, the captain informed us that the four passengers and the pilot's lives were lost in this crash.
No one knows when his or her time is up on this earth. This was a somber reminder to all on our ship to view our life as precious and each day as a gift from God. The Apostle Paul encourages us to make the most of our time. We do this when we live our lives for Christ and seek to serve Him day by day, hour by hour.
One day, our Lord will call each one of us home and we will have to stand before Him. Those who have placed their faith in the finished work of Christ will be welcomed into glory, those who don't will be ushered to a place of punishment. I am so glad that Jesus took my punishment and I have eternal life.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
A Lesson from our Nerves
One of our unique systems God designed for us is our nervous system. Because of our nervous system we can experience touch, a sense of smell and taste, sight, respond to danger and more. Our nervous system acts as the communication lines for our body. Each part uses those lines to communicate to the central processor - our brain. When those lines are broken, this path of communciation is interrupted and we face significant consequences.
God has also designed the church in such a way that we each are a part. We may be the feet, the eyes, the ears, the hands and more. Jesus is the head of the church. For a church to be healthy there needs to be a solid communicating relationship between the parts and with the head. When communication is broken either between the different parts or with the head, this creates major problems.
Sometimes the parts may be communicating but sending messages that have corrupted information - such as gossip, grumbling, slander, and more. This destroys the health of the body.
How would you describe your most recent communication to other members of Christ's church?
God has also designed the church in such a way that we each are a part. We may be the feet, the eyes, the ears, the hands and more. Jesus is the head of the church. For a church to be healthy there needs to be a solid communicating relationship between the parts and with the head. When communication is broken either between the different parts or with the head, this creates major problems.
Sometimes the parts may be communicating but sending messages that have corrupted information - such as gossip, grumbling, slander, and more. This destroys the health of the body.
How would you describe your most recent communication to other members of Christ's church?
Monday, April 2, 2007
Fuzzy Vision
Several years ago I noticed that driving at night had become uncomfortable because the headlights would be glaring and the street signs became harder to read. So I made an appointment with my optomitrist to get some driving glasses. When he examined me he said that I didn't need driving glasses but bifocals. This made me feel old, but the doc had correctly identified that I had problems in both distance and up close.
We recently invited a fresh set of "eyes" to help our church in an evaluation of who we are and what we are doing in ministry. In completing the first step of the process, the "doc" has correctly identified our situation. The area of greatest weakess relates to our leadership. Somehow over time our vision has become blurred. We have gone along thinking that we are on track but somehow have become derailed. We need to get some corrective lenses and make some adjustments.
In the book of James, we read that the Bible is like a mirror that gives us a correct reflection of who we are. When we see reality in a mirror, we have the option to do something about it. We can make the changes necessary or we can ignore them.
My prayer is that my life and ministry will always be open to God's correction and that living close to the risen savior my spiritual vision will be renewed.
We recently invited a fresh set of "eyes" to help our church in an evaluation of who we are and what we are doing in ministry. In completing the first step of the process, the "doc" has correctly identified our situation. The area of greatest weakess relates to our leadership. Somehow over time our vision has become blurred. We have gone along thinking that we are on track but somehow have become derailed. We need to get some corrective lenses and make some adjustments.
In the book of James, we read that the Bible is like a mirror that gives us a correct reflection of who we are. When we see reality in a mirror, we have the option to do something about it. We can make the changes necessary or we can ignore them.
My prayer is that my life and ministry will always be open to God's correction and that living close to the risen savior my spiritual vision will be renewed.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Staying Warm
A week ago today I was able to spend the entire day outside, wearing a simple sweatshirt. We hit the mid-60's - a taste of spring. I cleaned up some of the flower beds, cut back the dead follage of the perenials and more. It felt good to enjoy the warmth.
Today the story is different. Instead of 60's, there is snow on the ground and the high will be in the mid-30's. Compared to the warmth of last Saturday that welcomed and invited me outside, today screams stay inside.
But life goes on, wheather in warmth or cold weather. Before the day is out, I am sure I will venture outside, even if it is only to my garage to spend a few hours enjoying my time.
Our daily walk with Christ is like the weather sometimes. When there is warmth, it is fun to follow. When there are chilly times we hesitate. But as life happens we are challenged to follow regardless of our circumstances. It may require us to bundle up and make the most of a difficult situation. Other times we can bask in great times of warm fellowship with God, giving him praise and thanks for his grace.
What's the weather in your life right now?
Today the story is different. Instead of 60's, there is snow on the ground and the high will be in the mid-30's. Compared to the warmth of last Saturday that welcomed and invited me outside, today screams stay inside.
But life goes on, wheather in warmth or cold weather. Before the day is out, I am sure I will venture outside, even if it is only to my garage to spend a few hours enjoying my time.
Our daily walk with Christ is like the weather sometimes. When there is warmth, it is fun to follow. When there are chilly times we hesitate. But as life happens we are challenged to follow regardless of our circumstances. It may require us to bundle up and make the most of a difficult situation. Other times we can bask in great times of warm fellowship with God, giving him praise and thanks for his grace.
What's the weather in your life right now?
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Just a valve
For some reason our dishwasher quit working. It is only about 10 years old and should have years of life yet, but it stopped. The problem stemed around not being able to get the hot water into the tank. If I manually filled the bottom with hot water, it would run through the cycle and drain fine, but when it came to fill up again, it just sat there.
What to do? I broke down and called an appliance repair guy. He came out as scheduled and replaced the fill valve in the dishwasher - which cost me $70. But after all was said and done, we still had no water. His final critique was the hot water shut-off valve under the sink went bad. So following a visit to a local plumbing supply, an $8 value solved the problem.
It may be true in our lives that an $8 fix is needed more than the $70 repair man. Problems may indicate a need for spending time in prayer and confession. It may suggest the importance of releasing to God our future and plans. It may lead us to develop a new level of trust and confidence in God's provision and leadership in our lives.
When all was said and done - all I needed was an $8 value and in 15 minutes it was fixed.
What to do? I broke down and called an appliance repair guy. He came out as scheduled and replaced the fill valve in the dishwasher - which cost me $70. But after all was said and done, we still had no water. His final critique was the hot water shut-off valve under the sink went bad. So following a visit to a local plumbing supply, an $8 value solved the problem.
It may be true in our lives that an $8 fix is needed more than the $70 repair man. Problems may indicate a need for spending time in prayer and confession. It may suggest the importance of releasing to God our future and plans. It may lead us to develop a new level of trust and confidence in God's provision and leadership in our lives.
When all was said and done - all I needed was an $8 value and in 15 minutes it was fixed.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Gone Forever!
Something has happened! It was acting kind of funny and we restarted and now we can't find a thing. Yup, computer troubles are not fun. My associate had set out on a mission to make the computer she inherited for her office her own. That involved deleting files, and in the process trying to rename the computer by her name instead of it's former user.
Unfortunately in the process of renaming, all of the existing files disappeared into cyber nowhere! Besides that the computer was now acting strangely. It was no longer the same. After a couple of frantic calls and a couple of hours with those who know computers inside and out, our deepest fear was realized. All those saved files and preferences were gone forever :( They were nowhere to be found. Only slight shadows of their existence remained.
When I think about the forgiveness we have in Christ, it is like what happened on that crazy computer. Our life has been purchased with a price, we have been given a new life, the old is gone and the new has come. Our sins have been forgiven and removed from us, as far as the east is from the west. They have been buried in the deepest sea. Our cleansing is complete in God's eyes. Our sins are removed and nowhere to be found. We've been given a new start with wonderful possiblities ahead.
Isn't our Lord great! Rejoice in that our sins are gone forever!
Unfortunately in the process of renaming, all of the existing files disappeared into cyber nowhere! Besides that the computer was now acting strangely. It was no longer the same. After a couple of frantic calls and a couple of hours with those who know computers inside and out, our deepest fear was realized. All those saved files and preferences were gone forever :( They were nowhere to be found. Only slight shadows of their existence remained.
When I think about the forgiveness we have in Christ, it is like what happened on that crazy computer. Our life has been purchased with a price, we have been given a new life, the old is gone and the new has come. Our sins have been forgiven and removed from us, as far as the east is from the west. They have been buried in the deepest sea. Our cleansing is complete in God's eyes. Our sins are removed and nowhere to be found. We've been given a new start with wonderful possiblities ahead.
Isn't our Lord great! Rejoice in that our sins are gone forever!
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Great to be home!
We were making great time. The roads were fairly clear. We were dreaming of stopping for a leisurely dinner at Carino's after a long drive from San Jose. Then just north of Klamath Falls a police car sped by with lights and siren blaring. It wasn't long until we were stopped cold by a very serious accident with a five hour wait until the highway would reopen.
The choice we faced was to turn around head south and find a route around the location of the accident or wait (impatently) for five hours to continue north. So we turned around and looked for an alternative route north. We found a map at a local greasy spoon and set out traveling in new territory. But the journey and adventure wasn't over.
Heading into mountainous areas with packed snow, running low on gas, being stuck behind slow trucks, four hours later we were back on the highway we had left - just 20 miles further north from when we were stopped initially. Instead of getting home at around 5 pm, we rolled in around 9:30 pm. We were so glad to be home.
Life is like our drive home. Sometimes there are periods of smooth sailing, but at other times we face obstacles. Home, a place of rest and encouragement, in this life is when our church family gathers. It is good to be home!
The choice we faced was to turn around head south and find a route around the location of the accident or wait (impatently) for five hours to continue north. So we turned around and looked for an alternative route north. We found a map at a local greasy spoon and set out traveling in new territory. But the journey and adventure wasn't over.
Heading into mountainous areas with packed snow, running low on gas, being stuck behind slow trucks, four hours later we were back on the highway we had left - just 20 miles further north from when we were stopped initially. Instead of getting home at around 5 pm, we rolled in around 9:30 pm. We were so glad to be home.
Life is like our drive home. Sometimes there are periods of smooth sailing, but at other times we face obstacles. Home, a place of rest and encouragement, in this life is when our church family gathers. It is good to be home!
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