This life is just the warmup act for followers of Jesus. A classic tune from the Righteous Brothers reflects my hope. If you believe in forever,Then life is just a one-night stand. Those lyrics reminded me that even if you hit triple digits on the age odometer this journey is still an eternal blink of the eye. Your significance is not how long but how well you live your life. Not how much fame or money you gain but what you do with time you are given. This weekend a song popped up on satellite radio called “We’re Only Here for a Little While”. Billy Dean is singing about leaving a funeral and recognizing his need to slow down and enjoy the everyday blessings of life. He decides to become intentional about doing the things that matter instead of worrying and tweeting about things that don’t amount to a hill of beans in eternity. Gonna hold who needs holdin’Mend what needs mendin’Walk what needs
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Recently I saw a T-shirt with this message: Even if the voices in my head aren’t real they do have some good ideas. I got an initial chuckle out of that one. But then I thought, “Wait! The voices in my head often have terrible ideas”. I suspect that is true for some of you as well. Some of the bad voices in our heads are formidable foes that come from emotional and spiritual baggage. If I may lean on my sports background here, Satan calls the all-out blitz when people of faith go through seasons of trial and doubt. He delights in accusing and trying to rock the very foundation of your faith. Satan is, always has been, and always will be a liar. You have learned to never trust a liar at work or in other relationships. How much more should we pray to recognize and reject the lies that Satan attacks us with during adversity? There is another
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This week I taught a lesson from Ephesians about spiritual battles. You likely know the passage about putting on the armor of God. A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to
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We just celebrated the miracle of the incarnation. Paul explained what an incredible sacrifice Jesus made when He left the glory of Heaven. Instead, he gave up his divine privilege; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. (Philippians 2:7, NLT) That transaction allowed Jesus to fully experience the frailties of being human. Because Jesus was human He no doubt faced temptations throughout His life. Jesus had siblings and didn’t sin! That is a largely overlooked miracle. When the time arrived for Jesus to begin His public ministry Satan knew he needed to derail the redemptive work of Jesus. His strategy was to throw everything he could muster at Jesus in the form of three temptations. Satan knows the weakness of the flesh so these temptations were the best and most effective in his arsenal. The temptations and the order are so important for us to understand. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into
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We live in such an unsettling time. A global pandemic. Disunity in our nation and even among our church family. Political anger that destroys relationships between family and friends. If my focus is on social media and the news things might seem completely hopeless. But my focus is not on those things. My hope is not in Washington, D.C. My hope is in the finished work of Jesus. This life is just the warmup act for followers of Jesus. A classic tune from the Righteous Brothers reflects my hope. If you believe in forever,Then life is just a one-night stand. Those lyrics reminded me that even if you hit triple digits on the age odometer this journey is still an eternal blink of the eye. Your significance is not how long but how well you live your life. Not how much fame or money you gain but what you do with time you are given. This weekend a song popped
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