PREVENT A WASTED LIFE

Last week in this space I wrote that I am appalled by “the amount of money spent in America to persuade people my age to start wasting the rest of their lives.” My premise was that retirement was never meant by God to be the dissipation of the last couple of decades of our lives focused chiefly on the pursuit of our own pleasures.

As the retirement gurus tell you, how well you retire is generally determined by how well you prepare for retirement. Of course, what most of them mean by that expression is that the amount of money you have to spend in your post-working years is based on how wisely you earn and invest money during your working career. The assumption behind this is that how well you live depends on how much you have.

Jesus looked at life rather differently. He said, “Be alert and watch out for greed. Life does not consist of what you possess, even if you have an abundance” (Luke 12:15). Jesus then told a parable about a rich man, who foolishly supposed that his worldly wealth would guarantee a happy retirement, only to discover that God was bringing him up for judgment on the basis of whether he used his riches for himself or for the Kingdom of God (Luke 12:16 - 20).

Jesus clearly wants us to focus on the “why” of life, rather than the “how much:” for what purpose are we alive? If we are living for ourselves, then we will think of retirement just like we think of the rest of life: a time to maximize our resources for the service of our own wants and the fulfillment of our own desires.

Holy Scripture presents a radical and eternal alternative to such self-absorbed existence. One verse sums it up: “Let the thief engage in thievery no more. Instead, let him labor earnestly, doing something good with his hands, so that he may have something to give away to those in need” (Ephesians 4:27).

Did you notice the point? God’s Word tells His people not only to work hard instead of stealing, but tells us also why we ought to work hard: so that we may have plenty to give away. In other words, don’t steal to get, and don’t work to get. Work to give.

With this more biblical understanding of life, let’s take a tip from the retirement gurus. However, let’s apply it to the fact that we were, each of us, created to display the glory of God. The conclusion is this: how well we display the glory of God in our retirement days depends on how well we prepare to display His glory every day.

Are you preparing to display the glory of God by the way you live? Any other purpose for living leads only to a wasted life. By all means, let us work to prevent such a waste.

Living For His Glory Until the End

As a pastor, I occasionally get to talk with people who are nearing the end of their lives. These folks need to discuss certain things, to review the truth of the gospel, and remember that though God is holy and they are sinful, Jesus’ perfect life and death are sufficient to save all who trust in Him. They also need to take stock of their lives and have someone with whom to process their joys and regrets.

In all my discussions with folks as they approach the end of their lives, I’ve never heard anyone say, “I wish I had spent less time with my family and more time at work.” Never. Not once. Not anybody. Indeed, most people – men especially – generally wish they had spent less time at work and more time with their families; less time pursuing their personal hobbies and more time pursuing a deeper relationship with their kids; more time in worship and prayer, and less time in front of the TV; less time doing nothing at all and more time doing something for God.

We who are not yet nearing the end of our lives would do well to learn from the regrets of those who are, so that we don’t suffer the same pangs during our last days. God’s Word records one of the prayers of Moses, who asked God, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). In other words, “Lord, remind us of our impending mortality, so that we may adjust our daily lives accordingly. Teach us to live with the end of our lives in view.”

I am currently in my mid-fifties. Something that appalls me is the amount of money spent in America to persuade people my age to start wasting the rest of their lives. They call it “retirement,” and the mantra of the retirement gurus is this: “You’ve earned it, so now enjoy it. Consume ten, fifteen, twenty years in play, lying around doing pretty much nothing. Never mind that the world around you is going to hell. Forget the fact that these days you so avidly devote to leisure are a time of your life God calls you to redeem in the service of the gospel. Go ahead: fish, putter, play bridge, and collect sea shells.”

How sad to think of such self-absorbed recreation as the final chapter in a life that shall soon end with you standing before Jesus, as He holds out His nail-scarred hand and asks, “How did all that pointless self-indulgence put My glory on display?”

In an effort to live contrary to the culture, I have begun to plan a retirement aimed at diminishing the regret I might otherwise experience at the close of my days. I do not want to shuffle off this globe wistfully wishing I had done things differently!

I believe that, deep in your heart, you want to use your life well! Spend it, then, until the end, upon what eternally matters, for the glory of God!

Because Kids Matter to Jesus

Last Sunday morning at the church I am blessed to pastor, our Children’s Minister Mona Bowey presented to the congregation some fascinating statistics about children and young people in the United States. She had gleaned most of this information from a book by George Barna called, “Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions.” Let me share with you a little of what Mona shared with us.

Only about one in three adolescents believe that the Holy Bible is accurate in all that it teaches. By contrast, about seven out of ten pre-teens think that Satan is not real, but merely symbolic.

Among children age 8 to 12, 80% think the way to get to heaven is by being good enough. Seven out of ten in this age group believe that the same thing happens to all people when they die, no matter what they believe.

Most preteens say that they would like to have an adult role model, but only 44% of them say they have one.

Children ages 8 to 13 average 48 hours per week of “mass media intake,” which means watching TV, listening to music, watching movies or engaging in on-line entertainment. Yes, that’s right: 48 hours per week!

Only one out of ten Christian families with children ever spend time praying or reading the Bible together outside of Sunday worship.

One additional bit of information from the book may explain some of the above statistics. According to Barna, “Only three out of ten born again parents included the salvation of their child(ren) in the list of critical parental emphases.” Translation: most parents who claim to be born again don’t believe it is their responsibility to lead their children to Jesus. Astonishing!

So let me get personal and ask you parents and grandparents a couple of questions. First, do you trust Christ exclusively for your salvation and seek to follow Him in your daily life? Second, if you answered yes to the first question, are you striving to lead your children or grandchildren to trust Christ exclusively for their salvation and seek to follow Him in their daily lives?

According to the U. S. Census Bureau, just over one in four residents in the Sterling community (where I am a pastor) is age 18 or under. That’s about twice the number of area residents age 65 and over. Do the ministries and budgets of the churches in our community reflect this reality? If not, why not?

Jesus wanted the children to come to Him. He knew the facts that statistics bear out today: the older people get, the less likely they are to turn their lives over to Him and submit to His Lordship. Therefore, kids matter to Jesus; and because kids matter to Jesus, they must matter to us.

But that can’t just be a slogan, a catch-phrase. The Lord is looking for application and action, not just words and rhetoric. The truth is that if kids really matter to us, we’ll do everything we can to lead them to Jesus.

Forgiveness and Hope

There is a debilitating condition that is more widespread than some might think. It is a condition that can lead to alcoholism or drug use. It can result in child abuse and spouse abuse. It may lead to either obesity or anorexia and the chronic health problems that accompany them. It can ruin marriages, destroy homes and make the workplace a living nightmare. If left unchecked over the long term, it can even lead to suicide.

This devastating condition is hopelessness; and it is far too rampant in our community for us to neglect it.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There is no more hopelessness here than in other communities. However, hopelessness is increasingly common throughout our entire culture, and we are not exempt from it here.

The point, however, is what can be done about it.

To grasp that, it’s important to understand how hopelessness arises. People who are hopeless generally have become convinced that their future contains no possibility for improving their situations or solving their problems.

When people feel that way, they may resort to angry and desperate measures. The end result is further unhappiness, and an ever-tightening spiral of hopeless despair.

The irony of the whole dilemma is that the cure for hopelessness is exceedingly simple and universally available. That cure is forgiveness.

Let me explain.

Hopelessness is a primary by-product of unforgiveness. This is because unforgiveness binds us to bad things (i.e. sins) in the past, and keeps us trapped by the pains and wounds those sins caused. Thus, unforgiveness makes us turn from the possibilities God offers for the future by keeping us preoccupied with past wounds and present problems.

Or, to put it another way, when you fail to forgive those who have wounded you, you give their sin power to keep drawing you back into the past and closing the door on God’s plans for your future. You end up dragging the past around with you everywhere you go, and it cripples your ability to pursue the promises of God with hope and expectation.

Forgiveness, by contrast, is God’s supernatural way of delivering us from these past sins. The word “forgive” in the New Testament is a translation of two different terms in the original language: one means “to release” and the other, “to send away.” Thus, when someone who believes that Jesus died to forgive sins takes a step of faith to forgive others, it simple means releasing that person’s sins to Jesus, allowing them to be sent away from one’s own heart and placed on the cross of Jesus.

The blessed result is this: when you are convinced that Jesus’ death was full payment for other people’s sins and you let go of their sins against you, you find that those sins have let go of you. Untrapped by the past, you are now free to enter a future determined by God’s promises rather than by someone’s sins.

And that, my friends, will give you hope.

YOU ARE PARDONED!

Imagine a pair of whimsical scenarios. In the first, you find in your mailbox a letter bearing the Colorado state seal and the Governor’s return address. Tempted to pitch it with the rest of the junk mail, your curiosity gets the best of you, so you open it and read these words: “By the power vested in me by the State of Colorado, I, Governor Bill Ritter, do hereby exonerate and absolve you from your crimes against the state, which crimes rightly resulted in your just and proper punishment, and from which you are now permanently released.”

What a surprise! You’ve never been tried for “crimes against the state,” never been convicted, never even been arrested. The letter must be a huge mistake, or else somebody has pulled a colossal practical joke on you. You decide to show the letter to some friends, knowing they’ll get a big laugh out of it. “You,” somebody will say, “pardoned?! Shoot, I didn’t even know you were condemned.”

The second scenario is different. An inmate awaiting execution on Colorado’s death row receives a letter bearing the same seal and return address, containing the same message: “By the power vested in me by the State of Colorado, I, Governor Bill Ritter, do hereby exonerate and absolve you from your crimes against the state, which crimes rightly resulted in your just and proper punishment, and from which you are now permanently released.”

While this man’s surprise is as great as yours, his response is quite different. He jumps and shouts. His wildest dreams have been realized. His life is saved, his future is restored, and his freedom is granted; and all because he received an unearned pardon. Had he done anything to deserve it, or even to merit any notice from the Governor? Of course not. It’s a gift, plain and simple.

The first scenario shows how people react to the Gospel when they don’t know that their sins have placed them under the righteous wrath of a holy God: “God is willing to forgive me? So what. I don’t need forgiveness. I’m really not all that bad.” But when folks realize how desperately in danger of eternal condemnation they are, then the offer of an unconditional pardon from the Judge of the universe is good news indeed. It is something no sane person would refuse.

That’s why any presentation of the Good News must also include the bad news: pardon makes sense only to those who acknowledge their condemnation. As C. H. Spurgeon put it, “Sin deserved God's wrath; that wrath has spent itself on Christ.” The pardon is not without cause, nor is it an impulse of heaven’s whimsy. Forgiveness is offered to you because God, in His mercy, depleted His wrath on His only-begotten Son.

Christians then, may say, with all the redeemed, “Forgiven? Really? But, I deserved to be in hell forever! Oh, thank You, God! Thank You for pardoning me!”

Can you say that?

JESUS SAID, "GO!"

Jesus said, “Go!”

The church usually just says, “Come!”

Let me explain.

Time and again, Jesus instructed the infant church about sharing the Gospel with the lost world.* While the details of His instruction varied a little bit from situation to situation, it is clear that Jesus expected His people to go into the world around them, and penetrate the culture with the Gospel. We are instructed not only to invite people outside the family (Matthew 22:9), but to eagerly search for them (Luke 15:4), and even to compel them (Luke 14:23) to come be with us!

In contrast to Jesus’ clear expectation, the church typically simply hopes that people will come to us, if we provide good programs and try to meet their needs. Several studies indicate that only a small percentage of active church members ever invite anyone to church. Dr. Thom Rainer’s book, Surprising Insights from the Unchurched, states that only one in five active churchgoers invites anyone to church in the course of a year. Even more sadly, only one in fifty church members has ever invited an unchurched person to church! One in fifty. Ever. No wonder the American church is not growing! Ironically, other studies show that most unchurched people would attend church, if they were invited by a friend they knew and trusted.

Do you invite your unchurched friends to church? Do you invite anybody? Ever?

But, let us note that Jesus clearly expects His followers to do far more than simply extend to the lost a personal invitation to come join us in worship and study. He commands Christians to actually share the Gospel with the lost.

Doing that will require three foundational changes in the way we look at the world we live in. First, we must see the people around us the way Jesus saw the people around Him: lost souls in peril of hell, and in need of a Savior. Second, we must see ourselves as Jesus saw us: agents of the Gospel, sent by Him to tell the truth about Who He is. Third, we must see Jesus as He truly is: the Lord of our lives, Who both expects us to obey Him and empowers us to do so.

Two pertinent questions arise from these considerations. First, how can we expect God to draw the unchurched to our churches, while we consistently operate in longstanding and blatant disregard to His clear commands to go to the lost, invite them, and tell them the Gospel? Second, how might God move among us and through us if we actually became more obedient in these crucial areas of ministry?

I, for one, have become increasingly burdened that the church in America – and the churches in Sterling, Colorado, including the one I pastor – must soon discover more effective ways to go, invite and tell. I’m not sure what that looks like, but I’m praying God will make it clear. Would you join me in asking Him to do so? If Jesus said, “Go!” we’ve got to find ways to do what He said.

*If you are interested in checking out some of the passages in which Jesus issued these instructions, here is a sample:
Matthew 10:5-16
Matthew 18:12-14
Matthew 22:8-9
Matthew 28:18-20
Luke 10:1-11
Luke 14:16-23
Luke 15:4-7
John 15:14-16
John 20:21
Acts 1:7-8

What Is the Gospel?

The Apostle Paul wrote that he was “not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God to save everyone who believes it” (Romans 1:16). That, indeed, is good news, very good news. But then, what IS the Gospel?

At the risk of over-simplifying, I propose that you can state the basic framework of the biblical Gospel in three simple sentences of three words each. Here it is.

God is holy. People are sinful. Christ is sufficient.

The first statement is “God is holy.” It’s only appropriate that the Gospel should start with God. After all, everything started with God: “For from Him and through Him and back to Him are all things,” as Romans 11:36 says.

But why start with His holiness? Because in Scripture, every time God discloses Himself to humanity, the first aspect of His self-revelation is His utter holiness. Over and over, God shows Himself as the Holy one. No wonder that Scripture says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10 and Proverbs 9:10). And on those rare occasions when God gives us a glimpse into heaven, we hear the angels sing, “Holy! Holy! Holy is the Lord” (Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8).

So, we start – indeed, we MUST start – with the holiness of God. “God is holy.”

And whenever we remember the truth about God’s absolute holiness, the next thing to cross our consciences is always our sinfulness. So the next part of the Gospel is, “People are sinful.”

Since “God is holy,” and “People are sinful,” that means we are in eternal danger: sinful people can’t be admitted into God’s holy heaven. If God were to let people into heaven with their sin, heaven wouldn’t be holy any more, with the result that it wouldn’t be heavenly either.

So, who can solve this problem? That’s where the person and work of Jesus Christ come in: “Christ is sufficient.”

What Jesus Christ did for you is sufficient to take away your sin and establish you in a right relationship with God, Who is holy. By living a perfect life, Jesus satisfied the righteous requirements of the law. By dying as His Father’s appointed substitute for you, He took upon Himself God’s holy wrath against your sin. Thus, He is sufficient to save you from the due punishment of your sin and grant you admission to heaven forever.

Some innovative forms of the Gospel water it down a lot. Instead of “God is holy,” we get “God is pretty nice.” Rather than “People are sinful” we hear some nonsense like, “People are just incomplete, or sick, or misinformed, or even underappreciated.” In place of “Christ is sufficient,” we are being told, “Jesus is here to help you make the most of your potential.” Sadly, though that incomplete Gospel may make folks feel a little better for a while, it is utterly powerless to save anyone.

Only the biblical Gospel can do that.

God is holy; and people are sinful; but – praise be to Him! – Christ is sufficient! Hallelujah!

GUARD THE GOSPEL

Thirty-four years ago, in his commentary on Paul’s second letter to Timothy, Dr. John Stott made the following observation about the Anglo-American church: “All around us we see Christians relaxing their grasp on the Gospel, fumbling it, and in danger of letting it drop from their hands altogether.” What Dr. Stott warned about a generation ago, we see coming to pass among us today.

We Americans are steeped in pragmatism. Questions like, “What works?” “What can I do?” and, “How can I solve this?” drive our very understanding of reality. We tend to be doers, fixers and solvers. Add to this the natural bent of us sinners to please ourselves first and foremost, and you have the multi-billion dollar self-help industry.

The church, in its recent effort to be “relevant,” has accommodated its message to the trend of the age. I find that extremely odd. Was the Word of God ever in danger of becoming irrelevant, and we weren’t aware of it? Yet, many among us have concocted a kind of self-help “gospel” by which we can have our problems solved, our hurts healed, and our dysfunctions made more functional. The church is fast becoming a servant to seekers of self-help.

And the Gospel is in danger of being lost.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that the Gospel is in any way contrary to happiness, fulfillment, or wholeness. But what I am saying is that the Gospel is so much more than all that. By focusing more upon its occasional temporal benefits than upon its eternal substance, we have nearly lost the Gospel.

So, what then IS the Gospel? Here’s a hint: the four biblical accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus are themselves called “Gospels.” That tells us that the Gospel, more than anything else, is about Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Son of God. It’s specific, factual, real and objective.

In addition, these factual accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John concentrate mainly upon the death and resurrection of Jesus. Almost half of the verses in these four books deal with Christ’s suffering, crucifixion, burial and victory over death.

In keeping with this focus, the apostle Paul summarizes the Gospel message this way: “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the Gospel I preached to you . . . that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1, 3-4).

There you have it: Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again, just as the Old Testament predicted He would. The Gospel is Jesus doing for us what we could not do for ourselves, even with help.

Indeed, what the Gospel says is the opposite of self-help. The Gospel tells us that we can’t help ourselves, not at all, not even a little bit, because we are spiritually dead. Dead people can’t help themselves. Dead people need someone to take their deadness upon Himself, and give them His death-conquering life.

And that is exactly what Jesus did.

Do you believe it? You should. It’s the Gospel truth. It’s your only hope.

What Jesus Did NOT Come to Do

The title isn’t the best grammar; but it gets to the point. What I want us to do is consider the question, “Why did Jesus come to earth?” Or to put it another way, “What did Jesus come to do?”

A lot of people have some really bone-headed notions about Jesus’ mission. One of the ways of clarifying what He came to do is to debunk the faulty understandings of His mission. So let’s look at some of the things Jesus did NOT come to do.

First – and in our “meet-my-needs” culture, this point may seem a bit blunt – Jesus did not come to make unhappy people happy. Instead, He came to make unholy people holy.

Jesus came to take away your sin and put His Holy Spirit in you, so that you could walk in obedience to the will of God. Walking in obedience to God may be very costly and difficult; but, in eternity if not in time, it brings great reward. In fact, happiness can sometimes be the by-product of obedience to God. More importantly, however, holiness means being in an intimate relationship with God, and that is far better than happiness, because it lasts forever.

Second, Jesus did not come to make irreverent people religious. He came to make God’s creations into God’s children.

The point of His mission was not to transform the so-called “religious aspect” of people’s lives. Indeed, as you read the Gospels, it’s clear that Jesus didn’t care that much about religion at all. Far from making people religious, He came to put people into a right relationship with God.

Here’s how that works.

By trusting in Jesus’ finished work, you can be born again and thus become a child of God. Prior to trusting in Jesus, you are just a creation of God; made in His image, to be sure, but lifeless in terms of eternity. By trusting in Jesus, you receive God’s eternal life within you, thus making you God’s eternal child.

This brings us to the last thing Jesus did not come to do.

Jesus did not come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people alive. The primary focus of Jesus’ mission on earth was not morality, but rather eternity.

Scripture makes it clear that all human beings are dead in their sins. When Jesus came, He took our sins upon Himself, and suffered the punishment and death God requires of sinners. He then rose again from the grave, “because it was not possible for Him to be held by it” (Acts 2:24), so that He could impart His death-breaking life to you. It doesn’t do you any good to strive for moral goodness if you’re spiritually dead. Jesus can make you morally good; but first, He has to make you spiritually alive.

In summary, Jesus’ mission was to make unholy people holy; to make God’s creations into God’s children; and to make dead people alive.

Is He fulfilling His mission in you?

Distinguishing Marks of a Cult

Several people in my church have asked me lately about cults. Some of the questions have been about specific and well-known cults, while other questions have been more general.

In addition, I recently had a conversation with another pastor here in Sterling who has had similar questions asked of him. As a result of that conversation, he and I, each of whom writes for one of our two local newspapers, decided to each write a newspaper article about the topic, “What are some distinguishing marks of a cult?”

First, in considering the question, it’s important to be clear about what we mean by the word “cult.” Orthodox Christianity stands upon the exclusive assertion of Jesus Himself: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Indeed, in terms of all that is needed for salvation, “the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21).

In contradistinction to these claims, by definition a cult is any religious system that asserts its so-called “truth” comes from somewhere other than, or in addition to, Holy Scripture; or from someone other than, or in addition to, Jesus Christ. Well-organized cults typically have their own book or set of books, usually written by the founder. Even though some cults read the Bible or admire it as an inspired book, a key element of a cult is that it has another “scripture” that contains its identifying doctrines.

Another common mark of a cult is the nature of its leadership. Cult leaders allow no questioning of their teaching, claiming absolute adherence at every point of doctrine. They must be viewed by their followers as infallible interpreters of truth. Indeed, they typically do not allow their followers to receive any form of teaching, or even fellowship, from any source outside the cult itself.

By virtue of the unquestioning loyalty cult leaders require, they make uncanny demands upon their followers. They may command them to sell property, change jobs, relocate, or sever relationships with friends and families. In some cases, they may even direct their married followers to divorce or even exchange their spouses. Mind you, these are not voluntary moves the followers make, but requirements imposed by the leaders as a condition of remaining in the group.

Perhaps the two clearest marks of cults are their doctrine of salvation and their teachings about the person of Jesus Christ. Holy Scripture indicates that Jesus claimed to be the eternal Son of God and the only way to salvation. His actions so clearly supported His claims that He could boldly state, “The works I do in My Father’s name bear witness of Me” (John10:25; see also verses 37-38). Orthodox Christianity has always asserted that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, revealed in Holy Scripture alone, for God’s glory alone.

By contrast, even though cults may use biblical vocabulary, talk about Jesus, and even admire Him and His teachings, they always assert that the way of salvation requires something else or something more. The salvation message that cults preach always involves obedience to a human leader, or to a set of duties and obligations. For cults, Jesus is never enough.

It is vital for you, Christian, that you know the truth. There is plenty of deception going around in our world. Don’t be taken in. Know the truth. Know Christ. Know His Word. The best way to avoid the influence of cults is to know the Word and walk in It.

ETERNITY IS A VERY LONG TIME!

How do you get to heaven? A recent letter to the editor in the *other* Sterling newspaper (not the one for which I write) posed this question, and raised some doubts as to whether the question could be answered with certainty.

Frankly, it’s a question we all should be asking, because eternity is a very long time.

Of course, your eternal destiny doesn’t depend on simply asking the right question, but rather on knowing the right answer. And there are lots of wrong answers.

The most common wrong answer in western society is that people get to heaven by being good, or pretty good, or perhaps even not so bad. The typical rationale of this position is that since heaven is a good place, then good people go there.

There are at least two serious errors in this view. First, heaven is a perfect place, not a good place. Scripture makes it clear that no sin is allowed into heaven (Revelation 21). Second, there are no good people. God’s Word is unequivocally clear on this point. “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). Jesus said, “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). So, the getting-to-heaven-by-being-good notion is obviously out.

Other people believe that everybody eventually goes to heaven, even if they spend time being punished for their sins after they die. Again, this view is contrary to Holy Scripture, which declares, “it is appointed for people to die once – and after this, judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Jesus made it clear that some people go to heaven and some people go to hell, and they all stay in their respective places forever. Plainly, the everybody-goes-to-heaven idea is also wrong.

Jesus’ mission on earth was “to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Therefore, He taught with extreme precision about how you and I can be certain we will spend eternity in heaven. His conversation with Nicodemus, recorded in John 3, encapsulates His teaching on the matter. Here’s the gist of what He said there.

The eternal Son of God was sent to earth by His Father to take our sins upon Himself, and suffer the just punishment of God on our behalf. He gave His life for us – a life that is perfect and eternal – so that by trusting in Him we could have His life in us and live forever in heaven with Him.

Jesus also stated very clearly that He is not merely one way to heaven among many, but that He is the only way. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” He stated. “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

With these words, Jesus conclusively put to rest any and all other notions about the way to heaven. You can’t get there by being good, by being religious or by suffering for a little while for your sins. Only Jesus can get you there.

I remember sharing this once with a man who had recently been told he had only a short time to live. His response amazed me. “I’ve led a pretty good life. I’ll take my chances,” he told me.

Take your chances?! With eternity? That’s a pretty big gamble. And the consequences of taking the wrong chance are immensely tragic, especially in view of the sure thing Jesus offers you. He’ll take your sin if you’ll give it to Him, along with the punishment you deserve. In return, He’ll give you His life and eternity with Him in heaven.

Be sure you know where you’re going. Indeed, you can be sure, if you’re trusting Jesus.

And please remember: eternity is a very long time to be wrong!

Redeemed

One of the formative memories of my childhood was pasting the “S & H Green Stamps” we got at the grocery store into little green booklets of twenty-four pages, fifty stamps to a page. I can still remember the awful taste! It was a great day when I got to start using a wet sponge to moisten the glue on the back of those things.

After we got enough stamps pasted into enough booklets, we would take them to a place called a “Green Stamp Redemption Center.” I remember being very confused by this term the first time I accompanied my parents to the “Redemption Center.” As a preacher’s kid, I had only heard the word “redemption” used in connection with what Jesus did for us. So, I had to have it explained.

Redemption, as the explanation went, comes from the word redeem, which, at its most basic, simply means to purchase or exchange. Thus, at the redemption center, we were exchanging all of these booklets of stamps for items we would otherwise have to purchase with cash.

Since then, I’ve learned more about this concept. I’ve learned that the word “redeem” itself derives from the little used and somewhat archaic term “deem,” which means to take account of something or to place a value on something.

The word might have been used like this in seventeenth Century England.

Mr. Smythe goes to the village market and sees a hen he wants. To the merchant, Mr. Browne, he says, “I deem that hen to fetch a price of one penny.”

Mr. Browne replies, “I deem her at three pence.”

“One pence and a half,” offers Mr. Smythe.

“Tuppence,” replies Mr. Browne.

“Sold,” says Mr. Smythe, and because both gentlemen repeatedly “re-deemed” the value of the hen, the bird is eventually redeemed, or purchased.

That’s exactly what the word portrays in its Christian meaning. Humanity has deemed itself being worth only the pursuit of pleasure and things. God the Father, Who indeed knows best, deemed us worth the price of His own Son’s death. By paying such a price for us, He literally re-deemed us: He placed His value upon us, not because of anything we had done or could do, but simply because He created us for eternal intimacy with Himself.

That is very good news. I am redeemed, or re-deemed, as it were: re-valued, purchased and held by a new Owner. I paid nothing for myself. Instead, I am the recipient of God’s re-deeming grace, unearned, undeserved, and undeservable.

A great portion of the Christian life involves simply learning how to make daily decisions on the basis of this marvelous truth: God has placed His value upon you and, by some inexplicable miracle of His love, deems it appropriate that His Son should have died for you. In contrast to the value the world and devil consider you to have, God re-deems you.

How do you deem yourself? Do you consider yourself as God does? Are you re-deemed?

A fascinating postscript:
The Sperry and Hutchinson ("S & H") company started offering stamps to retailers way back in 1896, still does something like this. Today it's called "Greenpoints," and is all accomplished online. For details, go to http://www.greenpoints.com/account/act_default.asp

Believe or Know?

Do you know anyone who doesn’t know God?

Notice I said “know.” Not “believe in.”

According to many recent studies, believing in God is almost universal in America. One study says ninety-five percent believe in God, another says ninety-seven percent. Whatever the numbers, almost everyone believes in God. Indeed, scripture says that even the demons believe in God – and they tremble (James 2:19).

We are, indeed, a believing nation.

But, honestly, so what? What does believing in God mean if it changes nothing about the way people live? Does the word “believe” refer to mere mental consent to a creed or doctrine?

In this sense of the term, God did not create us to “believe in” Him. He is patently not interested in our merely acknowledging that He exists.

What He created us for is to be in a relationship with Him. He wants us to know and love Him like He knows and loves us. The original plan, revealed in Eden’s fair glade, was that we enjoy an intimacy with God comparable only to a healthy marriage – full knowing, deep closeness, and delightful love.

The problem is, we have spoiled the original plan: we ignore Him. Though He fashioned us to be in love with Him, we have fallen in love, instead, with ourselves. Like Narcissus, we gaze with sinful vanity into the pool of our own depraved self-will, and find there not the image and reflection of God, but only our mirrored selves. Enthroned upon our own hearts, and infatuated with the pursuit of our own desires, we have excluded Him from our lives by blatant neglect.

And yet, we say we believe in Him.

This “belief” is a far cry from biblical faith. It’s an impersonal, imaginary thing, a passing nod to some invented notions about God. The fact that such “belief” utterly fails to change lives reveals it for what it truly is: a powerless deception masquerading as faith, a fig-leaf bandage to conceal our shameful conceit.

Jesus’ coming to earth, His death and resurrection, reveal with passionate clarity what God is looking for: a relationship with you. God desires to be so near to you, so intimate with you, that it can be described only as Him living in you.

As you actively turn from your sin-driven self-love – an act the Bible calls “repentance” – your life opens to Him: Jesus enters in, and fills you with Himself. At that point, He not only forgives your sin, but changes you into a brand new person on the inside.

Thus begins a whole new relationship. Paul described this relationship as the defining quest of his life: “I consider everything loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

I repeat: knowing Him, not just believing in Him.

So, let’s return to the initial question: “Do you know anyone who doesn’t know God?”

Could that person be you?

Is America Still Under God?

Are we a nation under God or aren’t we?

Listen to these words that shaped our nation, that prove that the U. S. A. was, indeed, created and designed to be a nation under God!

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” – The Declaration of Independence, 1776

“It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.” – George Washington, 1789

“We have staked the whole future of American civilization . . . on the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, and to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." – President James Madison, 1813

“It is the duty of nations . . . to recognize the sublime truth . . . that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.” – President Abraham Lincoln, 1863

“It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work . . . that this nation under God shall have a new birth . . .” – President Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, 1863

The fourth verse of our national anthem, written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, includes the words, “May the heaven-rescued land praise the Power that hath made and preserved us . . . and this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust’.”

Because of this undeniable history, Congress voted in 1954 to add the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance, “thus reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future.” – President Dwight Eisenhower, June 14, 1954.

The fact that a few people are offended by those two words doesn’t change our history; nor must it be allowed to change our future! “America’s heritage,” as President Eisenhower put it, is undeniably tied to the God of the Bible. America’s future will grow ever more grim if that Godly heritage is stripped away.

Wednesday morning, I began my celebration of Independence Day in a prayer meeting at the church I pastor. We prayed that the church in America would repent of its passivity and once again grow strong to take a leading role in the shaping of American culture. Though we can never return to the past – nor should we ever desire to do so! – God is certainly calling us to turn from the sins of our past and turn to the future He has planned for us.

If America is ever to live up to its founders’ intention to be a nation under God, it will take churches under God. And that means Christians under God, serving Him with earnest love and complete obedience in every detail of their lives.

Is America still under God? I guess the answer depends upon how you live your life.

Christ's Exclusive Claims

Jesus never seemed to worry about how people would respond to Him. In fact, quite the opposite seemed true. He made all kinds of statements that today would be deemed politically incorrect if not down-right offensive.

It’s ironic: Jesus never sinned, yet many took offense at the things He said and did. And the biggest offense people took had to do with the things He claimed about Himself, Who He was, and what He was on earth to do.

Here’s a partial list of what Jesus said about Himself, along with a few examples of where to find these claims in the Word of God:

The Son of God

Matthew 11:27 – All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

John 10:36 – Do you say of Him Whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

Mark 14:61b-64a – Again the high priest asked Him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." And the high priest tore his garments and said, "What further witnesses do we need? You have heard His blasphemy. What is your decision?"

The Messiah, the Jewish Savior

Matthew 16:15-17 – He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.

Matthew 26:62-64 – And the high priest stood up and said, "Have You no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against You?" But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "It is as you say. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."

John 4:25-26 – The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming, He who is called Christ. When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

The One Who Can Forgive Sins

Matthew 20:28 – even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many

Mark 2:9-11 – “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – He said to the paralytic – “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”

Luke 7:47-48 – Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven--for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." And He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

John 8: 24 – I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am He you will die in your sins.

The Ruler and Judge of the World

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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

John 5:22-27 – “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.”

The Only Savior of the World

John 3:13-17 – “No one has ascended into heaven except He Who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Yes, you read that last astonishing claim correctly: Jesus forthrightly claimed to be the only Savior of the world. As recorded in John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” As if that affirmation were not enough, He stated further, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” In other words, Jesus declared Himself to be not just ONE way to heaven, but that He was and is the ONLY way to heaven.

Oddly enough, some are offended by such claims. “How dare this Jesus make such a statement?” some say indignantly. “That’s not what He really meant” others maintain, as they engage in some form of interpretive chicanery in an attempt to circumvent the plain evidence of Holy Scripture.

It’s like this. Humanity is drowning in an eternal sea of our own sinful rebellion, and Jesus has jumped in to save us, calling out as He does so, “Trust Me. I’m your only hope of being saved.” How tragic that so many of the drowning respond to Him, “How dare you claim to be my only hope?!” even as they sink under the everlasting waves of their own perdition.

And so the exclusive claim of Jesus as the only Savior goes often unnoticed or ignored, hidden behind the offense people take at His having made such a claim. The offense is, I believe, a demonic ploy to cover up two more foundational issues: that humanity desperately needs a Savior, and that God’s willingness to save ANY of us is a complete and unearned miracle. The fact is, He wasn’t in any sense required to do even that.

And yet, He did. By virtue of His amazing grace, the Father sent His Son, Who alone has authority to judge the world and forgive sins, as humanity’s unique source of salvation.

Some say it’s offensive to think that He claimed to be the only way to heaven. I say it’s an undeserved wonder of God’s grace that He has offered us any way to heaven at all.

What do you say?

The Truth Shall Set You Free

When Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32), He wasn’t talking about just any old facts. And He certainly didn’t have some relativistic idea of an evolving kind of “truth” that supposedly changes from time to time and from place to place.

In contrast, today’s post-modern society is characterized by a refusal to acknowledge the concept of “absolute truth.” The irony is that no one has ever proven that there is no such thing as absolute truth: those who hold this view simply assume that it is so.

Please note, however, that denying the existence of absolute truth is a logical contradiction. When people say, “There is no such thing as absolute truth,” they are themselves making an absolute truth claim.

Let’s listen in on a brief conversation between Joe and Mary.

Joe: “There is no such thing as absolute truth.”

Mary: “Are you sure?”

Joe: “Yes I am.”

Mary: “How can you be so sure?”

Joe: “Because it’s true.”

Mary: “So . . . it’s absolutely true that there is no such thing as absolute truth?”

Joe: “Uh, yes, I mean, no - well, maybe.”

I’m sure you get the point. Postmodernists, in their denial of absolute truth, have come perilously close to cultural insanity. They assert with absolute certainty the notion that nothing is absolutely certain, thus sawing off the limb upon which they stand.

Sanity is restored by knowing the truth; or rather The Truth, with two capital T’s.

Among the many things Scripture says about The Truth, three stand out as being critically important to post-modern culture. First, there is the relationship of biblical love and The Truth, described in that great love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. Verse 6 says, “Love . . . rejoices in the truth.” Why? Because if you truly love someone, you don’t want that person to live in error, because living in error causes needless pain.

Second, Scripture tells us where to find The Truth. Ephesians 4:21 says, “The truth is in Jesus.” If you want to discover The Truth, develop a relationship with Jesus. All The Truth you need for life and salvation is found in the person of Jesus Christ.

Finally, Jesus Himself made an immense claim in John 14:6, when He declared, “I am the way, the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through Me.” By declaring Himself to be identical with The Truth, and by claiming to be the only way to heaven, Jesus forced upon us a crucial decision: is what He said false, or is it true?

If it is false, then He was either a liar or a lunatic. If it was true, then He was, and remains to this day, the Lord of the universe, and the only hope you and the rest of humanity have for eternal life.

We’ll examine more on this subject next Friday, as we consider Christ’s exclusive claims.

What It All Comes Down To

A group of well-dressed mourners stands around the graveside of a major corporate executive. The funeral service was a testimony to his success and widely-felt influence. The coffin is beautiful, the headstone is imposing, and the crowd is large.

As the pastor finishes the benediction, a mid-level-management type standing at the back of the crowd leans over to whisper to one of his partners. He asks a question that has been in the back of everyone’s mind ever since Mr. Big’s health began to fail a few months before.

“How much do you think he left behind?”

His imagination is weighing the bequests, the will, the millions, and what he would do with that money if any of it were coming his way. He asks his seemingly oblivious friend again, “Hey, man, how much do you think he left behind?”

His partner turns his head to utter a hushed reply, “All of it.“

No doubt. However much he had, he has none of it now: he left it all behind.

Ironic, is it not? Our best efforts to be found successful in this world all come to naught if we consider success something to be found in this world. I’ve done lots of funerals, and I’ve never seen a U-Haul behind a hearse.

Indeed, when it all comes down, what it all comes down to is legacy and character: the legacy you leave behind in this world, and the character you take with you out of it.

Legacy is the heritage of lasting value we impart to those who follow behind us: not the temporary things like stocks and bonds, net-worth and annuities; but rather the non-tangible and eternal things, like faith in Christ, a pattern of Godly living and a commitment to family and church.

Each of us leaves a legacy, though many among us do so by accident. I want to leave a legacy on purpose. I want to be remembered for something worth remembering.

What do you want to be remembered for? When people meet at your memorial service, what do you want them to talk about?

In truth, your legacy is determined by your character. Character is who you are and what you do when nobody is watching. It’s the real you, the inner you, the you that is determined by your core values and what you believe to be true and important.

So let me ask you: how are you on the inside? Who is the real you? What are you like when nobody is watching?

If those questions make you a bit uneasy, join the crowd. We all fall short not only of God’s glory, but of our own aspirations too.

The good news is that God is in the business of continual transformation. I offer you this brief prayer asking Him to change you.

“Lord, I want to leave behind a legacy of Christ-like character. Please keep changing me. Make me more like Jesus today. In His name, Amen.”

Bill Maher Needs Jesus!

The mainstream media are at it again, bashing Christians with unbridled abandon. The chief perpetrator seems to Bill Maher, whose HBO talk show recently sank to a new low. Maher began a recent program with a mocking diatribe aimed at Rev. Jerry Falwell just three days after his death. Later in the same program, he made a sexually-explicit comparison between the Roman Catholic eucharist and homosexual intercourse!

As offensive as Maher’s comments were, more astonishing is the lack of apology from HBO or any sign of concern from the media or human rights watchdogs among us. Contrast this with what happened to former CBS radio talk show host Don Imus, whose ill-advised reference to the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed ho’s” stirred a week of public protest followed by his ignominious dismissal.

Should Imus have been fired? I certainly think so, and for his sheer stupidity if not his racist remarks.

But what about Maher? Imus lost his job for a brief, unthinking, off-hand comment on live radio, three words he apologized for and wishes he had never said. Maher made his comments in a rehearsed and scripted show, and stands by them unapologetically.

So where is the outcry? Where are the national media personalities coming to the aid of conservative evangelicals and Roman Catholics, calling for earnest apologies and early dismissals?

There aren’t any. And I don’t expect it to happen.

So, then, what should conservative evangelicals and Roman Catholics do? Certainly it’s appropriate to write letters of protest to Time-Warner, which employs Mr. Maher. I’ve done so myself. But, ultimately, there’s a better thing to do, and it’s modeled for us by the early church.

As recorded in Acts 4, as the infant church unabashedly proclaimed the Gospel, it fell under the ill-will of its culture. There was animosity and overt hostility, until it came to the point that the leaders in Jerusalem issued an edict specifically ordering the church “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). In short, preaching and evangelism were forbidden by governmental decree.

How did the church respond? With a petition drive calling for a restoration of their rights? No. They had a prayer meeting, and here’s what they prayed: “Lord, look upon their threats and grant to Your servants to continue to speak Your word with all boldness, while You stretch out Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus” (Acts 4:29-30).

In other words, Lord we don’t care what the culture says and how they oppose us. All we’re asking is that You make us even more bold to speak the truth, and that You continue to do miracles.

Is that how we respond to Maher and his ilk? When the culture or the government opposes us, do we pray and get bolder? Do we increase our efforts to share the Gospel and proclaim the truth? Do we devote more money and time to reaching the lost and serving the truly needy?

Or do we whine and wish for the privileged good old days?

If the church ever regains its godly influence in our culture, it will be because you and I quit complaining about the loss of our rights, shed our entitlement attitudes, and go share the Gospel with a humanity gone mad: even Bill Maher. Because, like everyone else, Bill Maher needs Jesus!

The Wonder of It All

When her mother came to pick her up after the first day of Vacation Bible School, she took Mommy’s hand and led her into the big meeting room. With wide eyes and a quiet kind of awe in her four-year-old voice, she said “This is where the music is.”

Then she escorted Mommy all around the room, slowly showing her the dozens of balloons (an attempt to look like undersea bubbles), the inflatable shark and sea-turtle, the pictures of whales, the big sea-horse, the big fishing net, and the place where the lady stood and led them in all those fun songs about Jesus.

Over and over she said, “Look, Mommy!” as she pointed at another picture or balloon.

“Look Mommy!”

“Look Mommy!”

“Look!”

And, though she wasn’t speaking to me, I too began to look. And to see.

During much of our preparation for Vacation Bible School, during which we tried to transform our sanctuary into a kind of undersea world, I could think of little except how much work our volunteers were putting in. But then, as the first day of our week-long adventure drew to a close, God gave me a glimpse of the whole endeavor through the eyes of a four-year-old. Suddenly, the wonder was there, as it should have been all along.

The wonder is not simply that a group of busy adults would spend more than a hundred hours decorating a church building for a VBS program. That kind of effort commonly takes place, in churches throughout this community, many times over every summer. The wonder is not that these adults and youth put in hours of preparation and prayer, baked thousands of cookies, and put up with unnumbered inconveniences to make their church’s Vacation Bible School programs as successful as possible.

The wonder is not in the effort or the program.

The wonder truly is seen in what lies behind the effort: hearts touched by God, full of His love, and gripped by a passion to share His love with others and let the little children come to Him, no matter how much work it takes.

The wonder is in the outpoured love of God seen in His Son dying on the cross for wide-eyed four-year-olds and weary middle-aged pastors alike.

The wonder is the fact that He loved His rebellious creation so much that He came and lived among the rebels themselves, and even took the just punishment for their rebellion upon Himself.

I remember, when I was just a little child myself, my dad singing the words of a song made famous by one of the singers in Billy Graham’s ministry, George Beverly Shea. “Oh, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me!”

Indeed. Just think of it. And then, like a little child, come to Jesus again, and thank Him for how much He loves you. It’s a wonder!

Trust and Tragedy

For Christians, part of living out our trust in Jesus Christ is dealing with things we don’t understand. If ever there was such an event, the horrifying murders at Virginia Tech are a perfect example. In our effort to comprehend this calamity, our brains are about to short-circuit.

Questions penetrate our souls like bullets of doubt and fear. How? Why? Who?

It reminds me of the biblical account of Job. In the course of a single day, he suffered immense personal tragedy, including the loss of his nearly twelve-thousand head of livestock, and the murder or kidnapping of dozens of employees, and the death of his ten children.

His response is both astonishing and informative. Scripture declares that when he learned of the terrible events of that tragic day, “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped” (Job 1:21).

Let’s unpack the amazing actions of this mighty man of faith, and see what we can learn from them.

First, Job tore his robe and shaved his head. In ancient Israel, these two actions were expressions of extreme grief. What this shows us is that Job wasn’t just a stoic. He was truly devastated. His losses were great and they affected him greatly. He was in deep and serious anguish, and he didn’t care who knew it.

But notice what else Job did. Though he was an emotional wreck, he didn’t let this keep him from worshiping God. In his grief, he “fell on the ground and worshiped.”

Why did he do this? For that matter why would we?

One obvious reason Job worshiped in the midst of tragedy was that he was a worshiper. In other words, he understood himself as a person who lived to worship God. Job’s practice and response in all circumstances was to worship God. Worship was not a circumstantially-motivated action for Job. Worship was the core of his being. He worshiped. Period. So it was natural that when catastrophe struck, he worshiped then too.

What about you? Do you think of yourself as a worshiper, someone who lives to worship God? Or do you just worship when things are going well?

Another reason Job worshiped in the midst of disaster is that he saw beyond the situation to the goodness of God. He knew God for Who He truly is, and thus, his worship was motivated by the truth about God, not the circumstances of his life. Because he had spent so much time getting to know God, Job had developed a deep and abiding confidence in His everlasting goodness and grace. No trials of this temporary life could shake this trust.

How much time do you spend getting to know God? How much energy do you devote to the development of a trust relationship with Him? When tragedy strikes, it may be too late for you to develop that relationship. Now, today, while you still have the opportunity, is the time to run to Him and worship. With all your questions, praise Him. In your confusion and grief, bow down to Him. He is there, waiting and worthy for your worship.