Power Predicament

     When it comes to physical stature, Americans believe bigger is better. 

     We like our athletes big, strong and powerful.  On sports fields and basketball courts, strength and stamina win the day.  Scrawny types just don’t cut it.

     And when you’re the biggest and the strongest, your friends treat you like a demigod.  That fact isn’t lost on athletes who are tempted to bulk up with illegal drugs that destroy their health.

     But if your confidence is in your strength, it becomes your greatest weakness.

     “Now hold on just a minute!” you say.  “How can strength become a weakness?”

     Because strength leads to pride.   Eventually you’ll face someone bigger and stronger.  And when strength and ability are your only resource, you’ve set yourself up to fail.

     Have you ever heard of Samson?  He was a national hero.  He was the strongest man alive and proud of it. His story is in the Bible book of Judges, chapters 13-16. Read it sometime.

     Samson was so strong he killed a lion with his bare hands.  When bound with ropes, he snapped them like threads.  Attacked by a thousand warriors, he destroyed them single-handed.

     But one day, in a moment of weakness, he revealed the secret of his God-given strength.  His enemies took advantage of his weakness and made him a slave.

     You have a power predicament when you depend on your strength alone and not on God’s power. And when you forget that all you have, your strength, your talents and your intellect – everything – is a gift from God, you’re setting yourself up for a fall.  Just like Samson did.

     As the saying goes, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

     So is it wrong to be strong?  Not at all.  The problem is pride.

     Pride makes us think we’re invincible.  Pride is a seed we sow that leads to a harvest of self-destruction.  That’s why God warns us against becoming proud.

     If pride is the problem, humility before God is the solution.  The Bible says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up.”

     When a person humbles himself or herself and trusts in God, God’s power makes that person strong.  Just consider the example of Jesus Christ.

     Jesus was crucified in what appeared to be a moment of weakness.  But God’s power resurrected him. And then Jesus walked alive out of a solid rock tomb. How’s that for power?

     Maybe you face overwhelming odds in your life.  Your health, your finances or your reputation have been crushed.  You feel weak, defeated and humbled.  If so, take heart.

     When humility brings you to God and you trust in him through Jesus Christ his Son, everything changes.  Suddenly you’re connected to God’s power.  Your failures are forgiven and you can say with the Apostle Paul, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”

     Put your confidence in God.  He can and will save you.

     That outlook led the psalmist to write in the Bible, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”  And it led the Apostle Paul to exclaim, “Thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

     At the end of his life, Samson learned this lesson the hard way.  Tortured by his enemies, he humbled himself and called on God. God restored his strength and gave him one last victory.

     Take a lesson from Samson and avoid a power predicament.  Put your trust in the all-powerful God of the Bible today.  You’ll be glad you did.

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

No Secrets

     Can you keep a secret? Chances are you already do – more than you care to admit!

     “Now hold it right there for just a minute!  How do you know whether or not I keep secrets?”

     That’s a fair question.  Let me answer with the words of Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez: “All human beings have three lives: public, private and secret.”

     In public we cultivate the image of self we want others to believe is true.  Generous. Kind.  Talented.  Family man.  Successful woman. Whatever we think others will like.

     In private we “let our hair down.”  We become the person with whom we’re comfortable.  Only our family or closest friends see this person.  Some parts of this self make us ashamed.  So we guard it closely, afraid others won’t like us if they know the truth.

     Then there’s our secret life.  The self we become when we think no one sees us.  The self of our daydreams and fantasies.  James Thurber famously portrayed this unseen side of life in his classic book, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” 

    Mitty was a meek, mild-mannered man dominated by others.  But in his daydreams he was a fierce, courageous hero’s hero – the man he so desperately wanted to be.

     What we are in the secret playground of our minds is the self we want to be.  And while we may keep our secrets safe from others, we cannot keep them from God.

     The Bible teaches us that one day “God will judge men’s secrets.”  It adds, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

     Accountability is a troubling thought to modern minds.  We fancy ourselves free to do what we please without unpleasant consequences. 

     But the beauty of the Bible is that it presents us with unvarnished truth.

     God’s Word says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.  The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please God, from God will reap eternal life.”

     Such truth pains our conscience.  Why?  Because we know God is ultimately right.

     What makes the Bible unique is its uncanny ability to reveal who we really are.  Its truth “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

     Once we admit our shortcomings and humbly approach God in prayer, we find that “we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

     God is not the angry scorekeeper some imagine.  Instead of sternly looking for people to punish, God offers forgiveness and a fresh start to everyone through faith in Jesus Christ.

     The God of the Bible is the God of second chances in this life.  And the best part is he welcomes all that seek him.  You don’t have to come from a certain nationality or a particular religion.  Jesus said, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”

     Speaking of himself, Jesus added, “Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him, shall have eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day.”

     It is no secret what God can do in a person’s life through faith in Christ.  So bring your secrets to God.  He’ll love you, forgive you and transform you into the person you always wanted to be.  

     Then you can be the same person all the time.  No more secrets. As God’s child, you have nothing to prove and nothing to lose because you’re loved and accepted for who you really are.

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

True Lies

     Can you handle the truth?  Or do you make it up as you go along? 

     When we make up truth it becomes ‘true lies’ we tell ourselves.  We want them to be true.

     “You can’t handle the truth!” is a memorable line from the movie “A Few Good Men.”  And it strikes a chord in us because the truth is sometimes hard to hear. So we accept what’s ‘truthy.’

     “Now hold on just a minute,” you say.  “Is that a word?  What’s ‘truthy’?

     ‘Truthy’ is a word television comedian Stephen Colbert popularized.  He came up with the word minutes before taping an episode of  “The Colbert Report.”  He decided the word ‘truth’ in his script wasn’t ridiculous enough. But ‘truthy’ fit the bill.

     “We're not talking about truth,” he explained. “We're talking about something that seems like truth – the truth we want to exist.  Facts matter not at all.  Perception is everything.”

     Colbert added, “Truthiness is ‘What I say is right.’  It's not only that I feel it to be true, but that ‘I’ feel it to be true. There's not only an emotional quality, but there’s a selfish quality.”

     Many call themselves Christians and believe what’s ‘truthy’ instead of the truth.  In fact it’s common for them to describe their faith as “Choosing what I want to believe.”  As if the Bible was a buffet line, picking what you like and leaving what you don’t.

     It’s probably how many Americans view their faith.  But while some religions may include that approach, the Bible does not. 

     Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except by me.”  Notice Jesus said he is ‘THE’ truth and not ‘A’ truth.

     Another time he added, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” 

     Think about that.  For the truth to set you free you must believe it’s true and act on it.  It’s not an option for you to adjust the truth to your preferences or make it fit your view of reality.

     We can’t adjust truth in a math class.  What makes us think we can do it with God's truth?

     Many people say they believe the Bible and believe in God. They’ve heard the gospel story and agree that Jesus lived, died on a cross for the sins of mankind and rose again on the third day.  But hearing it and agreeing with it are not the same as believing and trusting in it.

     If you truly believe something it changes your behavior.  In this case you put your trust in Jesus Christ to forgive you and save you from sin’s penalty – eternal separation from God.  And then you follow him and obey him.  You live for Jesus and serve others.

     Some don’t see the need to obey Jesus.  They don’t believe his teaching is the only truth.

Instead they believe what’s ‘truthy’ about Jesus. They think what THEY want to believe is true. 

     They might say, “I’m a Christian.  I believe in God.  I pray and attend church.  I do the best I can.”  But contrary to popular opinion, God doesn’t grade us on our efforts.  The Bible says salvation and eternal life are gifts from God received through faith in Christ and not by works.

     God sent Jesus so we could know our sins and mistakes are forgiven and so we could know we have eternal life.  And when you know that, you know the truth.

     Jesus Christ lived, died and rose from the dead to give us all a full and blessed life now and eternal life in Heaven later.  It’s what the Bible calls the good news about Jesus Christ.

     So leave the ‘true lies’ to those who can’t handle the truth.  Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.  Can you handle the truth? If you can it will change your life for good.

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

Joy Ride

     Are you on a joy ride? A joy ride has no particular destination and no goal except to have fun.

     Others go on thrill rides at county fairs and amusement parks.  The goal of a thrill ride is excitement – a sense of adventure.  It’s why people ride dirt bikes, bucking broncos and bulls.

     “Life is like a bull ride,” said a young cowboy with cancer. “It’s not how long you ride that counts but how well you ride.”

     Whatever kind of ride you’re on, one thing is sure:  it’s a short one.  Just like the popular rides at theme parks.  You wait in line for hours – and then it’s over in seconds.

     It seems like we spend our lives waiting for exciting events:  graduation, romance, marriage, a career and births. Then it’s over and we watch the cycle repeat in our children’s lives.

     Just when you think you’ve finally figured life out and the ride is going well – it’s time to get off.  “Watch your step and exit to the right.  Next, please.”

     As a pastor I have conducted funerals for children, the aged and many in between.  But there’s one thing they all had in common.  When God decided their ride was over, it ended. 

     Whether they rode well or not wasn’t for me to decide.  That’s God’s call.

     “Now hold on just a minute!” you may say.  “Who decides what a ‘good ride’ in life is?”

     The best time to find that out is before your ride is over.  While you can still change goals.

     One of my goals in life is to make an impact on this world with eternal results.  And that’s not easy.  You know why?  Because most things we do won’t last forever.

     Some people make an impact on this world but it’s only temporary. If you want eternal results you have to work with the two things on earth that are eternal:  People’s souls and God’s Word.  That’s why Jesus called his disciples to leave fishing and become “fishers of men.”

     If you do decide to follow Jesus, hang on – because you’re in for the ride of your life! In some places, following Jesus (or inviting others to follow him) will get you a free ride to prison.

      At the very least you may be misunderstood, ridiculed and harassed. But receiving eternal life, forgiveness, unconditional love, peace, and purpose from God makes it worth it all.  Plus, you can bring to Heaven everyone who follows you to Christ.

     Now that’s having an eternal impact – increasing Heaven’s population!

     What kind of ride are you on?  Is it all about the money, the pleasure or the power to control other’s lives?  If so, you’ll end up where you started.  With nothing that lasts or satisfies.

     Jesus calls us to a different kind of ride.  One that is not so much about self or controlling others as it is about serving others.  He invites us to follow him.  To love God with all our hearts and to love others as we love ourselves.

     Do a reality check.  What kind of ride has your life been until now? Is your life making an eternal difference?  If not, now is a good time to switch rides!

     The Bible tells us to make good use of the time we have left.  To exchange our lives for something that will last forever.  To put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.  To make him our Lord and our God.  And then to bring others to Christ.

     To find out more, don’t just take my word for it.  Pick up a Bible and read the gospel of John in the New Testament and then keep reading.  It will help you choose a better ride in life.

     Following Jesus is more exciting than any joy ride.  It’s the ride of your life.

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