Drive-Thru World

Did you ever have a drive-thru morning? Mine was unexpected.

The day was already planned when a phone call changed it. My grandson needed to see his doctor and my daughter needed help taking him. Of course I went.

After taking my grandson to the doctor for an early appointment, we went to the Pharmacy for a prescription. Great--it had a drive-thru!

Naturally we had to wait for the prescription to be filled. So we went to a restaurant with a drive-thru for breakfast. That way we could leave my grandson in his car seat.

After breakfast the prescription was ready, so back to the drive-thru!

On the way home we used the drive-thru at another pharmacy (prescription for Grandma) and then went to the bank’s drive-thru to make a deposit.

When we finally reached home we had been through five drive-thru windows in an hour. Maybe not enough for a world record, but enough to call it a drive-thru morning!

Has America become a ‘Drive-Thru World’?

One of the characteristics of American cars is that they’re full of cup-holders. Why? Because many young families eat breakfast and supper at a drive-thru restaurant. (Usually going to and from the baby-sitter.)

Why do we like drive-thru windows so much?

It certainly is convenient. Especially with a baby in a car seat. It saves on taking the baby in and out of all those places. In fact, if I had to travel with a baby very often, I’d wonder why more places didn’t have a drive-thru.

We don’t have a drive-thru convenience store where I live (yet!), but I remember seeing one once. Very nice when the weather’s bad or if you have a carload of children!

A drive-thru also saves time. It’s usually quicker than parking and going into the store. And if there’s one thing Americans like to do it’s to save time! We always seem to be in such a rush.

But what do you do with all the time you’re saving? Are you investing it wisely?

“Now hold on just a minute. How do you invest time?”

Time is one of the rare commodities in this world that’s irreplaceable. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. You can’t get it back. So we speak of “killing time” or “wasting time.”

The only way to get more time is to spend less of it doing other things. I guess that’s why labor saving devices are so popular.

The Bible gives some good advice about time. It tells us to “redeem the time” or to “make the most of every opportunity.”

What does that mean? Just this: It’s good to have a strategy when you spend what’s irreplaceable. But many people don’t. They spend time as if they had an endless supply. And that’s acting foolishly.

The Bible teaches us that God made us in his image. That he has a plan and purpose for our lives. And that he will hold us accountable for how we live.

The good news is that he wants to bless and reward us if we will trust him and follow Christ.

Will you live for God and please him? If so, when your life is over and you stand before him you will hear him say, “Well done, my good servant. Here is your reward.”

What will you do with all the time you save in our Drive-Thru World?

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Txt Me!

No, that’s not a misspelling. It’s text-speak for “Text me!” Like you would on a cell phone.

If you follow today’s students on Facebook, you’ll see messages like, “Going 2 mall. Txt me!” and “At the beach. Txt me!” or “bout 2 gt bite 2 eat. Got my cell. Txt me!”

And then it hit me. I’d found a major difference between this generation and mine.

I’m from the “Call me!” generation. We prefer phone calls.

But have you ever tried to call a teenager? You get their voice mail and they might call you. Or they might not. Why? Because they’re into texting. Big time.

Email? Way too slow. Just 11 per cent of all teens use it. And then only to communicate with the older generation, teachers or businesses.

If you want to reach teenagers, the best way to do it is to text them.

Texting is now the most common way to communicate for teenagers. Two thirds of teen texters say they’re more likely to use their cell phone to text their friends than to talk to them.

Some teens consider phone calls a rude interruption. They’ll text friends first to make an appointment for a phone call.

If you’re from the “Txt me!” generation, have you read God’s text message?

“Now hold on just a minute! God sent a text message?”

Yes he did. It’s called the Bible. And it reveals how timeless God’s message is! The beauty of it is that you can read it any time and hear God speak to you. Even on your cell phone.

There are free Bible applications for many cell phones available for download. I carry several Bible versions on my phone and use them all the time. Some applications let you search for key words and find verses you remember. That’s something you can’t do with a print version!

When you read God’s text message, what does he say? That he made you for a purpose. And he loves you so much that he wants to bless you. He wants you to live life to the full.

How can you do that? By following God’s son, Jesus Christ in obedient faith. Trusting in him to do for you what you cannot do for yourself: To forgive your sin and give you eternal life.

In text message language that would be, “4 Gd so luvd d wrld dat he gav his 1 n only son, dat hu Blevz n him shll nt di bt av lyf 4ever” (Jn 3:16).

What if, like me, you’re from the “Call me!” generation? God has a message for you, too. He says, “Call me and I will answer you and tell you great and mighty things you do not know.”

Skeptical? Jesus invites you to consider his claims and to follow him in obedience. He said, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”

When true seekers asked Jesus what they could do to please God, he responded with, “The work of God is this; to believe in the one he has sent.”

Many people are preoccupied with the Ten Commandments. But Jesus summed them up this way: “Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Then he added, “And love your neighbor as yourself.”

So no matter what generation you’re from God’s message is the same. Whether you text it or listen to it, God has spoken. Don’t take my word for it. Read it for yourself. On your cell phone or on a printed page. Then go out and do the right thing.

Where should you start? A good place is always the New Testament Gospel of John.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Almost A Christian

Are you almost a Christian?

“Now hold on just a minute! How can someone be almost a Christian?”

A good friend once told me he was “almost a Christian.” He attended church regularly. He sang in the choir. He took Communion. He tried to be a good husband and father.

But the day came when he realized those things didn’t make him a Christian.

His new perspective came when we looked at the Bible together. He saw, for the first time, how the Bible says a person becomes a Christian. In its pages he met Jesus and followed him.

The scripture we read was in the New Testament book of Romans, chapter 3, verse 23. It says, “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

For the first time my friend understood that sin pays a wage. We deserve it. Just like getting paid for work. And the wages for sin, God says, is death. Eternal separation from God.

Then he saw that God wanted to give him a gift, something he didn’t deserve or work for. That gift was the opposite of death. Life. Life that begins now and extends into eternity.

Next we looked at a scripture that specifically tells how to be saved from the penalty of sin. It says, “If you will confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

The Bible adds, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame’” (Romans 10:9, 10).

My friend suddenly realized it wasn’t religion, a church or going to a church that saved his soul. Instead it was a one-to-one, heart-to-heart faith relationship with Christ. He saw that he could receive eternal life by trusting personally in Jesus’ death on the cross in our place.

What I love about the Gospel, the good news of Christ, is that it’s uncomplicated and so simple. Jesus took care of our sin problem. Now the only decision to make is “What will you do with Jesus Christ?” All it takes is simple faith, a child-like trust in him. Because Jesus saves us.

But not everyone hears the good news about Christ and believes in him. A man in the Bible, King Agrippa, said he was almost persuaded to be a Christian. Almost a Christian.

God doesn’t force faith on anyone but he extends an invitation to everyone. Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”

Many people in churches today are ‘Almost’ Christians. Another man put it this way. He said, “I knew my catechism, but I didn’t know the person of Christ.”

The same could be said for many churchgoers. They know about the Bible, its doctrines and what they should believe. They know about Jesus but don’t know him personally. They’re living on someone else’s faith and beliefs. They’re “almost a Christian.”

Like Jesus’ disciple, Thomas, we all need to come to Christ and say, “My Lord and my God!”

What will you do with Jesus? Will you believe what the Bible says about him? It says, “Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” and “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Perhaps up until now you’ve been “almost a Christian.” That can change today.

The Bible says, “To all who received him [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” By faith you can move from ‘almost’ to “I am a Christian.”

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Drowned Out

We are drowning in a deluge of data. At least I know I am! You probably are, too.

Remember when “media” was just a TV or radio and you turned it on or off? Today media has multiplied into smartphones, MP3 and portable DVD players, interactive video games and laptop computers.

In many homes and offices media is always on. You can’t get away from it. Even gas pumps and elevators have video monitors. “Watch! Listen!” they seem to say.

To say we’re struggling in a torrent of technology is no exaggeration. Every day brings a flood of facts and information.

The result? We’re incapable of being “fully in the moment.” Our thinking is thwarted and our capacity to discern is diminished. Information overload undermines our ability to focus.

So much daily data is overwhelming. The average American is bombarded with 5,000 media messages per day. Plus our gadgets allow us to multi-task anywhere, anyplace at anytime.

This nonstop interactivity is one of the most significant changes in the human environment. While we’ve convinced ourselves we’re good at multi-tasking, research shows that to be a modern myth.

A recent New York Times article reports that juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information changes how we think and behave. It creates an addictive excitement.

This constant input also has an unintended consequence: We no longer listen for God’s voice. He’s been drowned out by all the noise of our media.

“Now hold on just a minute! How does modern technology keep us from hearing God?”

It’s true our media brims with Bibles, sermons, teaching and religious programs. But it’s too easy for us to be distracted with our new toys and the habits that go with them.

One techno-savvy student described his problem this way. He said, “a little voice would be saying, ‘Look up’ at the computer, and I’d look up.” And while he intended to read for only a few minutes, he ended up searching his favorite web sites and then checking Facebook.

So how does all this affect us spiritually? The bursts of information are so distracting that we fail to take time to look for meaning in life. We have a lot of data but no discernment.

God says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Many times throughout scripture God calls for our undivided attention. Why? Because he loves us.

Like any relationship, a relationship with God takes an investment of time and attention.

God has done his part. He sent his son, Jesus, to reveal to us what God is like. He gave us the Bible so we might meet him in its pages and learn of his love and forgiveness.

But God knew we’d be distracted. So he gave us the solution. He said, “Be still and know that I am God.” In other words, don’t let the noise of modern life drown God out. Be still.

When was the last time you made yourself stand still or sit still? You’ve probably wanted to slow down but you never found the time.

Try it. It may be difficult and awkward. It may even be uncomfortable. But turn off the media and get alone with God. Read your Bible. The Psalms, maybe. The Gospel of John.

You might hear God’s quiet voice and finally start a relationship of faith with him. Do it daily and you’ll find that, instead of stressed, you’re refreshed. It’s a great way to start the day.

Tomorrow is a new beginning. Slow down. Be still. Tune in to God and find rest.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Hybrid Faith

A hybrid car sits in my driveway. Under the hood are both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. It runs on gasoline and electricity and gets excellent mileage.

Before buying it I discovered that a highly respected consumer reporting group rated it as “the best bang for your buck.” That got my attention and eventually my purchase.

Hybrid cars are remarkable engineering. But while a hybrid car may be good for the budget and the environment, hybrid faith isn’t so good for your soul.

“Now hold on for just a minute! What is hybrid faith?”

A ‘hybrid’ is a combination or mixture of two different things. In the plant kingdom it’s the result of crossbreeding two different types of plants (like roses). In the animal world it’s the result of mating parents from two different species (like the mule).

Hybrid faith, then, would be the combination of two different belief systems. An example would be someone who says, “I believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior” and then adds, “but all religions lead to the same place.”

Surveys consistently show that a majority of Americans believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. They also believe he died on a cross for the sins of the world.

Where many have trouble is with the exclusive claims of Christ. They choke on believing he is the only way to God and eternal life.

But if we believe that he is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, then we cannot ignore his claims. And based on what he said, Jesus taught he was the only way to God.

The founders of other religions present their teachings as the way to God. Jesus presents himself as the way to God when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Another time Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.”

The Bible is very clear. Jesus said, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.”

It’s obvious Jesus didn’t allow for other ways to God through another religion or faith.

Out of eleven major religions in the world, ten teach salvation is through personal effort. Only Christianity teaches it is God’s gift to those who believe in Christ—a gift of faith.

Jesus claimed to be God, know God and speak God’s truth. So you must compare his claims with other religions. And the fact he died for his enemies while praying for their forgiveness.

Besides, hybrid faith isn’t really an option. The truth is that all religions claim exclusivity. Even beliefs promoting tolerance are not tolerant of religious views that claim to be exclusive.

Would I recommend a hybrid car? Well, based on my experience, I would. But I wouldn’t recommend a hybrid faith.

When it comes to faith, consider the claims of Christ. Compare them to other beliefs. Ask God for wisdom and then decide carefully. Because it affects your life now and for eternity.

A hybrid car will get you where you want to go at a real savings. But a hybrid faith is a dead end. It prevents you from having the one thing that offers forgiveness for your sin, whole-hearted faith in Jesus Christ.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!