My wife’s sister recently got married and our little boys had questions about her honeymoon. Our six year old was quick to share his opinion that a honeymoon should only last one day. His mother told him that his wife would probably like to have it last a little longer. He was not convinced, so she told him that when he got married she would help him plan his honeymoon.
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Our little six year old, then proceeded to tell his mom that she would not be able to help him with his plans because she would probably be dead by then. As if a ‘one day honeymoon’ were not enough to show his lack of understanding of the female gender, he then told her that she would probably be dead because she was getting old. To make matters worse, he then proceeded to tell her that he would have daddy help him. Of course I thought it was hilarious since I am quite a bit older than she is.
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Fortunately my wife saw the humor in it as well. Even though she is still quite young and statistically speaking, she should be able to expect to be alive when her sons get married, we really do not know how long any of us will live.
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This week we received some very sad news. A friend of ours was killed in a head on collision on I-35 south of Albert Lea. He was only 28 years old and engaged to be married next month. As tragic as that event was, it does have a happy ending. Our friend James was a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and had trusted Him as his Lord and Savior. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 says, “Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-- for we walk by faith, not by sight-- we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” (NASB)
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James death is sad for those of us who love and miss him, but we realize that he is home with the Lord. That is the happy ending.
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We take comfort in eternal life with the Lord, but let me make this discussion a bit more personal. If you were to be the one who died in a head on collision, do you know for sure where you would go when this life ended?
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The only way to know for sure is to trust Jesus Christ alone as your Lord and Savior. He told us in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” He also told us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).
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These verses make it clear that our hope for the next life is based on our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Still, the question remains, can we really know for sure? First of all, let me remind you that Jesus Christ is God and God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). If He promises us eternal life through believing in Him, then we can trust that promise. Further let us not forget another promise that He made in John 6:37, "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” (NASB) He gives a warning as well, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 6:36)
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As a Christian I desire to stay on this earth as long as God wants me here so that I can serve Him, but I also realize that when my life is over and my time here is done, that I get to be with Him because I have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
I’m Struggling With Pride
We have small children so that means that they have a fairly small vocabulary. Before having our family Bible study, I realized that we were going to be reading a passage that dealt with pride and humility. One of the statements said, "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6b NKJV). I realized that my sons did not know what pride and humility actually were . I explained to them how when we are proud we think we are more important than others, but when we are humble we care about what others want instead of always thinking we have to have our own way.
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That conversation reminded me of how easy it is to be proud- to think that I am the most important person in the world. I remember a friend who used to say that he looked out for himself because no one else would. I found that strange because I really did care about him and was even willing to get the shorter end of the stick to help him. Sadly he ended up alienating a number of people by living out his attitude of pride.
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It is a lot easier for me to see pride in my friend than it is to see it in myself. Why? Because my own pride blinds my assessment of myself. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds me, “ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
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It is bad enough that someone might think that they are more important than their fellow human being, but what happens when we end up thinking we are more important than God? Even though I know that God is more important than I am, I have caught myself living as if I believed the opposite.
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For example I have taken pride in living as a Christian ought to live. Why should I be proud of doing what is my duty to do? (Luke 17:10) Yes, we should obey God, but we must remember that even when we do all the right things, we still fall far short of His glory, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) As Christians we are supposed to be like Christ, but when I take pride in being like Christ I become more like the devil who said, “I will be like the most High.” (Isaiah 14:14)
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The same pride that gets me in trouble for thinking I am more holy than I really am, can also get me into trouble by convincing me that I am important enough to do whatever I want to do. Let’s face it, sin can be fun for a short time. When I start to think that I am so important that my pleasures are a greater priority than obeying God, then my pride has again pushed me farther from God. I cannot help but quote Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
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The answer is Jesus Christ. His payment on the cross has once and for all atoned for our sins. That payment is applied to us when we believe on Him. At that time we must humble ourselves before Him realizing He will draw near to us. I realize that when I take my eyes off Christ and put them on myself I end up either being proud of my spirituality or I end up thinking I am important enough that my obedience doesn’t matter, but when I remember that Jesus Christ is God and that He is the most important one, then I realize that I must obey Him without taking pride in doing what I am supposed to do.
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That conversation reminded me of how easy it is to be proud- to think that I am the most important person in the world. I remember a friend who used to say that he looked out for himself because no one else would. I found that strange because I really did care about him and was even willing to get the shorter end of the stick to help him. Sadly he ended up alienating a number of people by living out his attitude of pride.
-
It is a lot easier for me to see pride in my friend than it is to see it in myself. Why? Because my own pride blinds my assessment of myself. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds me, “ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
-
It is bad enough that someone might think that they are more important than their fellow human being, but what happens when we end up thinking we are more important than God? Even though I know that God is more important than I am, I have caught myself living as if I believed the opposite.
-
For example I have taken pride in living as a Christian ought to live. Why should I be proud of doing what is my duty to do? (Luke 17:10) Yes, we should obey God, but we must remember that even when we do all the right things, we still fall far short of His glory, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) As Christians we are supposed to be like Christ, but when I take pride in being like Christ I become more like the devil who said, “I will be like the most High.” (Isaiah 14:14)
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The same pride that gets me in trouble for thinking I am more holy than I really am, can also get me into trouble by convincing me that I am important enough to do whatever I want to do. Let’s face it, sin can be fun for a short time. When I start to think that I am so important that my pleasures are a greater priority than obeying God, then my pride has again pushed me farther from God. I cannot help but quote Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”
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The answer is Jesus Christ. His payment on the cross has once and for all atoned for our sins. That payment is applied to us when we believe on Him. At that time we must humble ourselves before Him realizing He will draw near to us. I realize that when I take my eyes off Christ and put them on myself I end up either being proud of my spirituality or I end up thinking I am important enough that my obedience doesn’t matter, but when I remember that Jesus Christ is God and that He is the most important one, then I realize that I must obey Him without taking pride in doing what I am supposed to do.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Are There Donkeys in Heaven?
As we were driving to church, I listened to our little boys having a conversation. Our 6 year old said that Jesus knew about donkeys because He rode on one. I reminded him that Jesus knew about donkeys because He created them. John 1:3 tells us, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Once I mentioned about Jesus making everything, our little boy replied, “I knew that dad.”
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Actually what had led to this conversation was our boys discussing whether or not there were donkeys in heaven. Soon our 5 year old said, “Yes, there are! I know it.” When his answer did not seem to satisfy everyone he then said, “I know it because the Bible says so.” I raised my eyebrows because he had just turned 5 a few months ago and cannot even read yet.
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I was tempted to chuckle; however, I realized that this was a serious matter that needed to be addressed. I told him that there was actually not a specific statement in the Bible about donkeys in heaven and that we should not say something is in the Bible if it is not there.
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Sadly both Christians and non-Christians alike end up believing that the Bible teaches things that it does not teach simply because they have heard wrong information. That is why it is so important to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV)
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It is understandable that a 5 year old might make a mistake about what is actually in the Bible, but sadly some adult religious leaders make mistakes or intentionally deceive others about what is in the Bible. Sometimes they even say something is not in the Bible when it is actually there.
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The average Christian sometimes struggles to know what the Bible really teaches. For example some may wonder if the phrase, “a penny saved is a penny earned” is in the Bible. Help for such answers can be found by looking up words in Strong’s Concordance, which is a large book that lists all the words in the Bible and where they are found. A simpler option would be to do a computer search by visiting a site like Blueletterbible.org.
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Though such tools are helpful they do have their limits. Consider the golden rule of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Though that exact phrase is not in the Bible, the idea is. Matthew 7:12 says, "Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (NASB)
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Such examples remind us why it is so important to read and study the Bible. They also show why it is important to find a church where the Bible is read and studied. Though our 5 year old cannot read yet, we do read the Bible to him. His confusion should remind all of us to pay attention when the Bible is read or preached so that we not get confused. It is also a good idea to take your Bible along with you to church so you can read along as it is being taught.
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I do not know if there will be donkeys in heaven. I tend to think they will be there, but I want to make sure that I not claim that something is in the Bible when it is not.
-
Actually what had led to this conversation was our boys discussing whether or not there were donkeys in heaven. Soon our 5 year old said, “Yes, there are! I know it.” When his answer did not seem to satisfy everyone he then said, “I know it because the Bible says so.” I raised my eyebrows because he had just turned 5 a few months ago and cannot even read yet.
-
I was tempted to chuckle; however, I realized that this was a serious matter that needed to be addressed. I told him that there was actually not a specific statement in the Bible about donkeys in heaven and that we should not say something is in the Bible if it is not there.
-
Sadly both Christians and non-Christians alike end up believing that the Bible teaches things that it does not teach simply because they have heard wrong information. That is why it is so important to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV)
-
It is understandable that a 5 year old might make a mistake about what is actually in the Bible, but sadly some adult religious leaders make mistakes or intentionally deceive others about what is in the Bible. Sometimes they even say something is not in the Bible when it is actually there.
-
The average Christian sometimes struggles to know what the Bible really teaches. For example some may wonder if the phrase, “a penny saved is a penny earned” is in the Bible. Help for such answers can be found by looking up words in Strong’s Concordance, which is a large book that lists all the words in the Bible and where they are found. A simpler option would be to do a computer search by visiting a site like Blueletterbible.org.
-
Though such tools are helpful they do have their limits. Consider the golden rule of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Though that exact phrase is not in the Bible, the idea is. Matthew 7:12 says, "Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (NASB)
-
Such examples remind us why it is so important to read and study the Bible. They also show why it is important to find a church where the Bible is read and studied. Though our 5 year old cannot read yet, we do read the Bible to him. His confusion should remind all of us to pay attention when the Bible is read or preached so that we not get confused. It is also a good idea to take your Bible along with you to church so you can read along as it is being taught.
-
I do not know if there will be donkeys in heaven. I tend to think they will be there, but I want to make sure that I not claim that something is in the Bible when it is not.
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