8, 9, 10! Y'er Out!

"The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.  For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden whether it is good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

We've all seen it, beloved, in the movies if not in real time: the referee crouched over the fallen boxer, counting slowly and deliberately - "8, 9, 10!  Y'er out!"  Then with a dismissive gesture much like that of a baseball umpire signaling that a sliding base-runner is safe, he walks to the still standing opponent and raises his arm in victory.  I believe that the term for the unfortunate loser is "down for the count."  Down and out!

So much is being broadcast today - some on the printed page, some behind the microphone in front of a television camera, and much on public media means such as Face Book, Twitter, and personal blog sites.  The message seems to be that God and His holy standard for mankind are officially "down for the count."  Down and out!  With such dismissive words as we read today, God is deemed to be irrelevant, out of touch, obsolete, and (modern media will love this one) yesterday's news.  You see, we are now "enlightened" as a society.  We've learned our lesson.  We've discovered the liberating truth that we and only we set the moral standards for our own lives, that we and only we have the right to say what is acceptable and what is not.  I would challenge you to check your home page on Face Book on any given day and you will find this alarming trend filling its spaces.  We slap ourselves on the back for being so liberated, so progressive, so "in touch" with mankind.  The only standard for us is now that anything goes and that no one has the right to say that it does not.

Really?  Perhaps we need to go back and consider the words of Solomon, by God's estimation the wisest king whom He ever allowed to rule the nation of Israel.  It was he who wrote the words that are our main focus here.  I love the truths found in these words, beloved, eternal truths, unchanging truths, truths that cannot be dismissed by even the largest majority of foolish mankind.  You see, though we may say or write anything that we please about God and His supposedly outdated standard, though we may refer to the "religious right" as bigoted or narrow-minded or just plain wrong, the truth is that God has given to none of us a vote on the matter.  He is the Creator and Lord and His standard has always been, is now, and forever will be in force.

Consider, then, what Solomon in his wisdom said about the "conclusion," that which will happen when all is said and done, when the last editorial has been published, the last microphone and t.v. camera turned off, the last Face Book thought posted.  Solomon said that when that moment comes - "when all has been heard" - the only conclusion to which we must come is that you and I owe to God reverential awe for His glory and our obedience to His standard for our lives.  In fact, at last God will "bring every act to judgment," all of them, yours and mine.  None will be overlooked or omitted.

I suppose that people will go right on posting comments and sending tweets and publishing articles, expressing the mistaken notion that we are only "free" when we place ourselves above the God who made us.  I suppose that we will keep reading such tragic remarks on Face Book and receiving them on Twitter from whomever wherever whenever.  But one irrevocable truth stands undaunted by all of the trivialities of fallen man.  God and God alone will have the last word.  What was that again that Solomon said?  Oh, yes.  God will "bring every act to judgment."  The Apostle Paul said that mankind lives under a "deluding influence, so that they will believe what is false" (2 Thessalonians 2:11).  We are seeing that lived out before our very eyes today, beloved, and it is tragic to see how pervasive it has become.

The good news is that not only is God not irrelevant but He is loving and gracious.  Not only is He not out of touch but He is merciful and forgiving.  Not only is He not yesterday's news but He is willing even now to cleanse and to transform any and all who will turn to Him in repentance and faith.  And if you and I who know how relevant and in touch and on time God is will only listen very, very carefully, we just might be able to hear a heavenly voice counting over Satan - "1, 2, 3, 4, 5...!  Very soon, beloved, we will hear those glorious words "You're out!" as the arms of the Lord Jesus Christ raise in glorious and eternal victory!

Ron 

Are You Feeling the Love?

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10)

Now you must understand this right from the start, beloved.  I am a kidder!  In fact, I am a selective kidder.  I have a particular niece whom I tease whenever I get the chance.  I sort of "inherited" that job from my father who was himself a classic tease.  And whenever I do tease her, the response I typically get is also classic: "I'm not feeling the love!"  Sometimes when I do get her on the phone, I will play on that statement by starting the conversation by asking: "Are you feeling the love yet?"

 Did you know that this same question also has a very serious side?  There are plenty of people today who aren't "feeling the love" of God simply because they have no idea how much He really does love them!  And, as John as made so clear here, not only does God love us more than we could ever imagine but He chose to love us first!

So how do we know that God loves us?  The Apostle John said it is because He has sent Jesus to be the "propitiation" for our sins.  "Propitiation" is one of those $5 words that is little understood today.  The word implies a covering for in the sense of an "atoning" for our sins.  I think that I personally like the word "satisfaction" best of all.  In the laying down of His life on the cross Jesus has satisfied the holiness of God offended by our sinfulness.  We become acceptable to God in Christ because of His becoming that propitiation.  And only the deepest, most pure and abiding love could motivate anyone to make a sacrifice like that.

Are you feeling the love, beloved?  If not, perhaps you just need to respond to that love by opening your heart to Jesus Christ.  Accept His love unconditionally and you will begin to "feel the love"!  You will also find that your own heart will be able to love God in return because He will first have filled your heart with His love.  Are you feeling the love?

Ron 

After Me, You're First!

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3)

Recently I stopped at a traffic light next to a company vehicle belonging to a major insurance firm.  The driver clearly needed to get into my lane in order to exit just ahead, so as we waited for the light to change, rather than battle it out for first place, I motioned for him to get ahead of me in traffic.  He waved his thanks and off we went.

Contrast that with a more common practice from my high school days.  Whenever we would race to the lunch line at the cafeteria and a late-arriving friend would ask to be let in line, the common response as we would do so was: "After me you're first!"

That attitude from high school days, beloved, has sadly become all too familiar today, even among Christians.  No one is supposed to best us, to take the lead on us in any way.  We aren't to sacrifice ourselves or even be inconvenienced for someone else' benefit.  In other words, "After me, you're first"!

But what did the Apostle Paul say to the believers in Philippi about such an attitude?  How are we to respond when facing the needs of others?  Is ours to be some sort of modified "after me, you're first" focus?  Paul's reply to our question is as unsettling as it is startling.  Regard one another as more important than yourselves!  Very simply, seek the good of others ahead of your own desires.  It is just that simple.

Let me propose to you, beloved, one clear-cut reason why we should have no difficulty considering everyone else to be more important than ourselves.  First of all, we do so simply because that is what the Lord wants us to do.  Paul's words do not constitute a suggestion or recommendation but rather a command.  The apostle is describing in no uncertain terms what the Lord expects us to do.  It is what He demands of those who profess to be His followers, His servants.

Then, because He commands it, as we obey Him in it we are in reality putting Him first.  How often do we who claim to follow Him refuse to put others first?  If we do not consider others to be more important than ourselves, beloved, then we cannot really be putting Him first!  We may as well let this listening world hear us say to Jesus, "After me, You're first" as we would let them see in our living that we do not consider one another to be more important than ourselves.

What is your attitude, then, toward the place Jesus has in your life?  Did you know that it is reflected most clearly in your attitude toward others?  It may begin with simply letting someone in front of you in traffic, but it reaches far beyond something as trivial as that!

Ron 

Coming Soon!

"And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30)

I was on my way somewhere recently, beloved, when I passed a construction site where a new store for a well-known grocery chain is being built.  The sign showed the name of that chain in splendid letters with the two words following: "COMING SOON!"  That corporation wants us as potential customers to know that if we will just be patient and anticipate the grand opening, soon a new store will stand on that location and serve the needs of all in that community.

Even as I passed by and read the sign, beloved, I could not help but smile and think instantly of Jesus' promise to us just like the one in the verse of Scripture above.  And as I see what is happening all around us in the world today, including the staggering changes taking place right here at home, I am thrilled at the prospect that Jesus is indeed coming soon!

If you've never read, and I mean really read, Matthew's twenty-fourth chapter, then let me encourage you to do so...and soon.  You see, Jesus has laid out for us the order of events that will precede His coming and, very simply, this world falling apart morally and socially and politically is a major part of the preparation for that coming.  It is not my intention here in this brief post to examine all the details of events preceding the day of His return, but rather to encourage you to do precisely what that grocery chain that is building the store is urging its future customers to do - anticipate its coming.  I want you to be fully aware of all that is going on around us, especially here at home, but I do not want you to be discouraged or fearful.  Rather I want you to see in all of it the announcement of Jesus that should gladden our hearts:  "COMING SOON!"  This is a time to rejoice, beloved, as well as a time to be as active as we can be in standing up for kingdom values and in promoting the message of the cross to this lost generation.  It may well be our last opportunity to do so.

I am not at all sure if we will ourselves become customers of that soon coming grocery store that is even now being built.  But I do know this.  I know that we will be a part of what Jesus is Himself even now preparing for us, what is even now "under construction."  What a "hard hat area" that must be!  One day we who know Christ by grace through faith will not have to think about Him "coming soon" for He will arrive in power and glory and every promise of Scripture will be fulfilled.  Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords will be forever all in all.

COMING SOON!  Could any news possibly be any more exciting than that?  Are you ready for His coming, beloved?  Do you know someone who isn't?  Why not tell them He's on the way?

Ron     

Fired Up or Spewed Out?

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16)

Tepid.  Now there is a word you don't hear in normal everyday conversation!  Try using that one in a sentence, grammar-fans!  Actually, tepid is a very descriptive but at the same time disgusting word.  Case in point:  Have you ever poured for yourself a steaming cup of coffee, only to be distracted and set it down in order to go and take care of whatever it was that drew your attention away?  Who hasn't?  Some time later you remember that patiently waiting cup of coffee and go looking for it.  When you find it, what happens?  You put the cup to your lips hesitantly and take a swig.  EWWWWW!  Tepid!  The coffee is no longer hot but neither is it yet cold.  It is instead lukewarm.  Revolting!  So you pour it out in disgust.

It is bad enough when coffee that should be steaming and delicious is lukewarm and disgusting, beloved.  But when it happens to those who profess to be Christians, it is a spiritual tragedy.  Jesus described the degree of such a condition in His words to John that were meant for the Asian church in the city of Laodicea.  And in His statement we discover a wonderful challenge for our own living today.

Note that Jesus accused the professing believers in Laodicea of being "neither hot nor cold."  To be "hot" spiritually, a translation of the Greek word zestos, is to be filled with the Spirit of God and to be ablaze with love for and commitment to Jesus Christ.  We like to use the term "on fire" to describe such believers today.  On the other hand, to be "cold" spiritually, a translation of the Greek word psuchros, is to go beyond mere disbelief.  It is to take a stand as strongly against the gospel of Jesus Christ as being "hot" is to stand for it.  That Jesus was sending this warning to a local church speaks volumes of what can and does happen today even among those professing faith in Christ and part of an organized visible body.

Perhaps what is most surprising here, however, is Jesus' stated preference concerning those in Laodicea professing to be His followers, that they be either "hot" or "cold" rather than "lukewarm."  The preference for them to be spiritually "hot" we can certainly understand.  But "cold"?  Perhaps the answer lies in a closer look at the word "lukewarm."  The Greek word chliaros describes a spiritual state in which one professes to be a true follower of Christ, yet in whose life the evidence of the life of God does not exist.  This is the one who has substituted "religiosity" for saving faith and "heated religious activities" for genuine service to the Lord.  Jesus' preference is understood, then, because to be "cold" or an outright denier and rejecter of the gospel tells us what the need is and how to go about meeting it.  But of the one who has all the outward signs of being a Christian yet whose heart Christ does not occupy becomes the worst of all stumbling blocks.  He presents himself to the world to be something he in actuality is not!  And in condemning and rejecting such a person, the world will often do so with a wide stroke of the brush and will reject Christianity altogether.

Jesus declared His preference that we be either "hot" or "cold" instead of choosing to be "lukewarm."  But do not assume for a moment that He would actually have any one to reject the gospel message!  The challenge laid before us here through His words to the Laodiceans is that we need to be on fire every moment of every day for the Lord Jesus Christ!  Anything less is simply unacceptable.  It is already to Him because He said so and it should be as unacceptable to us as well.

Ron