Daily Reflections on 2 Pet. 3:9-14 (Is It Worth It?)

It's amazing the things people kill themself over. With Christmas coming soon, I can already picture the lines. In just a couple weeks after the turkey dinner settles, people will head to the stores to get in line to get their bargains. Some will stand in line all night long to be ready for the early bird specials. The have to have the latest electronic gadget or outfit or whatever. What's funny is the very thing that they just had to have last Thanksgiving is worthless, worn out, or out of style this year.

That's only the half of it. Things that we think are so critical in our business will mean nothing as life comes to an end. When cancer strikes a family, position, power, money, your house, your Escalade or iphone or laptop doesn't really seem all that important. As you stand over the casket, all the things that once seemed pressing are irrelevant.

In this passage, Peter simply says, "Folks, it's all gonna burn some day." No matter how hard you try, you can't take it with you and all the things of this life will become meaningless. So what's worth living for anyway? Peter says your relationship with God is the most important thing, because it's the only thing that lasts. It's the only thing that will carry over to the next life.

The end of life will come like a lightening strike. A few years ago a friend of mine was on a mission trip to Guatemala with his wife. They had gone to minister to people in a remote area where Drs rarely visited. They cared for the sick, fed the hungry, shared God's Good News. But a nasty hurricane struck and the flooding began. They had only hours to get all the missionaries out.

They had tried to get out by trucks but the roads were washed out and the flood waters too high. The only plane they had could carry a handful at a time. Dale sent his wife on one of the early flights out. He had stayed until the last flight. But conditions worsened and they were unable to land at their designated airport. Their attempt to fly through the hurricane to an airport forty miles away ended in disaster. Their plane crashed into a mountain side killing everyone aboard.

But they weren't the only ones killed that day. The Day of Lord came like a thief in the night for 11,000 others who drowned due to the flooding that day. One day alive. The next day, dead. But we have a hope, a living hope Peter tells us in the book of 1 Peter. We look forward to the new heavens and new earth. For Dale and the people they led to Christ, they were ushered into the very presence of the King of Kings and got to see God face to face. His farm, his business, his gorgeous house all meaningless to him.

Less than two months before his untimely death, Dale and I had ridden together on a bus to DC and back for a Promise Keepers gathering on the mall. On our journey Dale shared with me how he was coming to realize that pursuing the things of God were the most important things of his life. That's why he decided to go on the missions trip to Guatemala. His only desire was that his sons would see the change in life and come to pursue Christ in the same way he was.

God, I want to found spotless and blameless when you come for me. I want to found diligent in your work. All else is going to burn. Lord, help me remember that today and tomorrow and the next day.

Daily Reflections on Mt. 16:13-20 (Sticks and Stones)

Jesus liked to use common scenes, items, experiences of people in His day. One of the items very prevalent in Jesus' earthly days were rocks. Rocks are everywhere in Israel. I thought Missouri had a lot of rocks, but it was nothing compared to the Holy Land. At the end of the movie, Schindler's List, people are seen putting rocks on a grave. I thought that was weird until I got to Jerusalem and saw all the rocks stacked on graves around the city in honor of loved ones.

Rocks, stones were a common building block in the period that Jesus walked the earth. The Wailing Wall, in the Jewish sector of the Temple Mount, is constructed with huge stones perfectly hewn and fitted in place. Rock is placed upon rock is placed upon rock in a similar pattern to brick laying today. The foundational stones on the bottom, smaller stones make up the structure.

If Jesus is building the church, why are so many people running from it or staying away from it or leaving it? People think the church is unnecessary, irrelevant, a waste of time, archaic, etc. I don't how many times I've heard people tell me that they don't need the church to have a relationship with God. That's like saying I don't need a family to be birthed and grow up. Okay, now that I've been born just dump me on the street, I can take care of myself.

Here's the issue. The church isn't built or based on doctrine or rituals or traditions. Some have tried to make it built on those things. But the church is built on Jesus. The problem for many, including leaders, is that they have lost sight of that principle. The foundation stones are Jesus, The Christ, The Messiah, The Deliverer, Him crucified and resurrected. But the church is also people like Peter, James, John, Paul, Barnabas, Billy Graham, you and me. In fact Peter refers to us as living stones. Jesus is the foundation, but he stacks carefully hewn rock upon rock to build His church.

Who needs the church? I do. You do. The world does. It's not irrelevant. It's not inconsequential. It's not archaic. It's necessary. It's foundational. The church is vital not because of its doctrines, rituals, traditions, etc., but because it is the embodiment of Jesus gathered and scattered, pulsing and breathing, reaching and caring, serving and sharing, inviting and glorifying, experiencing and watching lives changed, sustaining and pursuing, growing and seeking, salting and lighting, extending and influencing. The church is alive and vibrant.

To hate the church is to hate Jesus. To ignore the church is to ignore Jesus. To dismiss the church is to dismiss Jesus. To abandon the church is to abandon Jesus. To force rules on the church is to force rules on Jesus. To restrict the church is to restrict Jesus. To re-engineer the church your own image is usurping Jesus.

God, I'm glad the church, your church is based on Jesus and not me or my will or my agenda. That would be a disaster. I love you, Lord. I love Jesus. I love His church. Help me keep my hands off your church. I just want to be your servant. I want others to experience you, recognize you, see you, hear you, be drawn to you as they join our celebration of you each Lord's Day. I want people to have the same experience as they encounter your saints, your church scattered throughout the community.

Daily Reflections on Jas. 4:4-6 (Two Timing)

Is it really possible to date multiple people at the same time? Is it possible to have a real "dating" relationship with more than one person at a time? Is it possible to be engaged to two or more people at the same time? It is possible to have a solid marriage relationship and be seeing someone else on the side? My guess is some people would think it is? But then again, we would probably define "solid relationship" or "solid marriage" differently. Generally we call this "two-timing." And although, some guys might fantasize about pulling it off, it's a practice of disgust among the masses.

James simply says in this passage, that you can't two-time God. It just doesn't work. You can't be in love with God and pursue Him and in love with the world and pursue it at the same time. The two are going in opposite directions. The Bible says that God is a jealous God. He wants our sole allegiance, heart, and mind. To enter a relationship with God and then to have an affair with the world is virtually grounds for divorce in God's eyes.

To become a friend of the world is to become an enemy of God. To become involved with the world places you in opposition to God. When we embrace the world the world as a friend or love interest, we dismiss God as significant to us. We are saying we don't really need Him in our life. We take on a form of arrogance, which in turn creates the opposition with God.

But those who humble themselves, who reach out for God, who pursue Him, He embraces. He pours His grace upon them and draws them close to Him.

The irony is that according to John 3:16 God loves the world. He's sees the death and destruction and pain and heartache and deception that's in the world and He reaches out with hope through His son Jesus. He invites people from the world to take His hand, experience His love and grace and freedom.

Too often people read this passage in James 4 and think they have to distance themselves from the world. They isolate themselves from the world instead of extending Christ to the world. James is saying don't flirt with the world, don't have an affair the with world, but he's not saying to go live in a monastery either. Jesus told us to go into all the world and preach His Good News to everyone. To do that you have to relate to it, but you don't have to get in bed with it.

Bottom line: As a follower of Christ, I have to be in the world, but I don't have to embrace its practices or fall to its enticements. I must pursue my love relationship with God. If I pursue my love relationship with God I should develop His passion. As I develop His passion, I'm gonna want to share His Good News to others around me.

God, thanks for wanting a relationship with me. Forgive my flirtatious encounters with the world. I know that you alone have the words of eternal life. I'm pursuing you.

Daily Reflections on Gen. 21:9-21 (Cleaning Up Messes)

What a mess for Abraham in this passage because he didn't trust God. What a mess for Hagar and Ishmael because of Abraham. Sometimes, more often than we care to admit, we create crises for ourselves. When we fail to obey or trust God's way. But in this case, Abraham's lack of faith and decision to take matters into his own hands affected the lives of at least two other people, possibly four other people and maybe his whole community. You have to think at least his servants/employees were affected. In fact, we're all feeling it today. Who said you can live however you want without affecting others? No man is an island. Our actions, behavior always affects someone else.

I like Stuart Briscoe's insights on these verses. He writes, "After Hagar had left Ishmael under a tree so she would not have to watch him die, she sat down a little way off. Both mother and son were crying, alone with their own agonies. But apparently there was a difference! Hagar cried uncontrollably, while Ishmael managed to turn his tearstained face Godward. 'God heard the boy crying.' Tears talk, but we also should try to talk to God through our tears. God responded to Ishmael's prayer.

"By now Ishmael was far too weak to help himself. His life was nearly spent, but God had heard his prayer and suggested that Hagar quit crying and open her eyes to the possibilities around her. She dried her tears then and saw that there was a well right under her very nose. She had not seen it before because she had been crying so hard.

"Does Hagar remind you of us? We get so self-absorbed when we are in the depths of despair that sometimes we miss God's marvelous provision. Prayer is a weapon we seldom use enough in our fight to survive. It is too often replaced by tears of trauma and terror which dim our sight so we cannot see God's answer to our dilemmas."

God, I confess I'm good creating my own messes. I'm not so good at cleaning them up. Anytime I fail to trust you, trouble is almost always sure to follow. Not only am I affected but the people around me also feel it. My messes sometimes spill over on to them and now they too have a mess to deal with. Thanks God for keeping an eye on us and for being there we need to call upon you. Help me get over myself, even when someone else's mess is dumped on me and now I have a mess. Help to quit wallowing in self pity and look to you.

Daily Reflections on Gen. 16:1-16 (Playing Mr. Fix-It)

How many times have we tried to fix something that can't be fixed. We come up with our own solutions only to create a greater problem. I've done it a hundred times trying to save money on my own car repairs. It usually ends up costing me more in the long run. If I'd just taken it to the expert in the first place, I would have saved myself and others a lot of grief, frustration and even time. You'd think I'd learn but I don't. Furthermore, I end up transferring the practice to other areas of life, including personal issues, relationships, church issues, etc. Instead of placing my trust in God's hands and letting Him deal with my issues, I take matters into my own hands. The results are inferior at best and more often than not, disastrous. Waiting on the Lord isn't easy, but the only way to live.

I wonder if God delayed giving Sarah and Abraham their son, Isaac, because of their actions or lack of faith. Could it be that God waits until we demonstrate faith before He fulfills His promise or takes action in our behalf?

God, I can stop myself from trying to fix things myself. I know I usually make things worse. Lord I give you my problems and my church and ask you to handle things your way and in your timing.

Daily Reflections on Mt. 7:13-14 (Finding the Landings Lights)

A few years ago in a neighboring community to where I lived at the time, we heard the news of a tragic airplane crash. It seems a family from a distant state had a loved one, a child at my recollection, who was critically injured on a trip to our community. The family all flew in on a private plane. The small airport they had chosen to land at was virtually shut down late at night. The lights to the runway would come on automatically as a plane approached and sent the signal, otherwise the runway was dark.

Unfamiliar with the airport, the pilot was flying in late night/early morning trying to find the landing strip. He circled the area that he thought was the airport. He lined himself up with what he thought were the lights to the runway and proceeded to land his plane in a housing development a few miles from the airport. He took out several houses while people slept and killed everyone on the plane.

There was only one place to land safely. It was a narrow strip of runway. The child in the hospital recovered, but his family all perished because the pilot didn't get on the right path. Sincerity is not enough. You have to be on the right path.

It seems like God's way is always narrow. He says, "This way." The choice He leaves to us. Many choose not follow God's way seeking an alternative path. Any way but God's way leads to destruction. There is no easy way around the path to which God calls us.

God, please lead me down your narrow path to life. Activate your lights to show me the way. Forgive me when I choose to take the wrong path and guide me back to the path that leads to you.

Daily Reflections on Isa. 43:1-7 (I'm Drowning)

It occurred to me as I read this passage that for the people of this day, Isaiah's day, crossing rivers must have been a scary thing at times. They didn't have bridges like we do. Crossing any river was an adventure. They had to worry about current, depth, wild critters in the water, kids, livestock, the possibility of washing down stream, etc. God says, "I'll be with you. I won't let you be overflowed." What a reassuring promise.

Seems like we live in harried society. There's so much in our life that we feel overflowed, or that we're gonna drown just trying to keep up. The pressures build and build and build. The river is out of its bank and running wild. We've all seen pictures or video of houses washing away as floods rage out of control. All of the stresses and busyness of life threatens our homes and lives much the same way.

That's why its so important to hang onto God for stability, hope, protection, guidance and HELP. When things are out of control, He's still in control.

God, thank you for paying the price for us and for looking out for us. You truly are an awesome God.