If anyone doubted the fact that the Christian life is one of spiritual warfare, they need look no further than in the closing words of Paul's second letter to Timothy in which we read, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7, KJV). In his first letter to his son in the Lord, Paul admonishes him to "fight the good fight of faith" (1 Timothy 6:12). This was a constant theme in a number of his letters as to the brethren at Ephesus he encourages them to "put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (Ephesians 6:10-13), and to the Corinthians he speaks of fighting "not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians 9:26, 27).
It is obvious that this apostle sees the Christian life as a noble conflict with sin, the word, the flesh, and the devil; a conflict that not only has to be fought, but for the Christian it is one that we have to win. Knowing that his death was imminent (see 2 Timothy 4:6), Paul, in looking back over his life, was content with how he had fought the fight of faith. In his commentary on the text, noted Bible Scholar Matthew Henry observes, "[Paul] did not fear death, because he had the testimony of his conscience that by the grace of God he had in some measure answered the ends of living. As a Christian, as a minister, he had fought a good fight. He had done the service, gone through the difficulties of his warfare, and had been instrumental in carrying on the glorious victories of the exalted Redeemer over the powers of darkness."
Every athlete knows it is important to finish an event strong. There is a certain pride that is present when representing one's club or country that propels an athlete to overcome adversity for a chance to stand on the top of the podium. For the Christian it should be no different. As representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ and the kingdom of heaven, we have a responsibility to not only fight the good fight of faith, but to finish strong. Failure is not an option.
If we could know when it is our time to leave this world, and were we to look back on how we fought the good fight, what would we conclude? What would our loved ones write on our tombstones? Now that you have time to ponder, how are you doing in your fight?
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
"I Agree" But to What?
Whenever I install computer software, I am often presented with an end user licensing agreement (EULA) that requires my agreement and acceptance of the terms and conditions of use to continue. If I disagree, the installation is aborted. To make things easier, the software manufacturers provide the two selectable options at the end the agreement. In other words, I don't have to read it to accept it and if truth be known, I take that option though I probably should read what I am accepting and agreeing to!
I was reminded of that as I stumbled upon a statement on the internet to the effect, "To most Christians the Bible is like a software license. Nobody actually reads it. They just scroll to the bottom and click 'I agree.'" Once I got past my initial chuckle, it occurred to me that the author was right! For while some Christians profess to believe the Bible is the Word of God, far too many are ignorant of His claims and promises. Because we have not read "the agreement," we do not know what has been promised to us and what we can draw upon. We do not know the parts that are our responsibility and the parts that are His. We need look no further than how we respond to life's challenges. When we are confronted with these challenges, our initial response is to do the things God says we shouldn't do. We worry, we fret, we complain, we take matters into our own hands and try to be God; all because we don't know what is in the Book.
To be ignorant of God, who He is and what He is able to do, is to be in a bad place. It has devastating consequences. Through the prophet Hosea He declares, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6a), or as one translation puts it, "Destruction has overtaken my people because they have no knowledge." Similarly, Isaiah, speaking for the Lord, warned the southern kingdom of Judah of a coming time of punitive devastation: “My people are gone into captivity for lack of knowledge” (Isaiah 5:13). This lack of knowledge was with respect to God and who He is (Hosea 4:1), and God punished that ignorance.
For us today, Christianity is a religion of instruction and knowledge is a prerequisite to identifying with the faith of the gospel (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Jesus declared that favor with God must involve instruction, reception, comprehension, and commitment (John 6:45). How can we receive, comprehend, and commit to the instructions if we haven't read them? Speaking of which, have you read "the agreement" or did you simply go to the end and clicked "I agree"? I submit that to read it is to find a treasure trove of instructions that will make navigating our time here on earth more manageable. Give it a genuine try and see how it transforms your life.
I was reminded of that as I stumbled upon a statement on the internet to the effect, "To most Christians the Bible is like a software license. Nobody actually reads it. They just scroll to the bottom and click 'I agree.'" Once I got past my initial chuckle, it occurred to me that the author was right! For while some Christians profess to believe the Bible is the Word of God, far too many are ignorant of His claims and promises. Because we have not read "the agreement," we do not know what has been promised to us and what we can draw upon. We do not know the parts that are our responsibility and the parts that are His. We need look no further than how we respond to life's challenges. When we are confronted with these challenges, our initial response is to do the things God says we shouldn't do. We worry, we fret, we complain, we take matters into our own hands and try to be God; all because we don't know what is in the Book.
To be ignorant of God, who He is and what He is able to do, is to be in a bad place. It has devastating consequences. Through the prophet Hosea He declares, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6a), or as one translation puts it, "Destruction has overtaken my people because they have no knowledge." Similarly, Isaiah, speaking for the Lord, warned the southern kingdom of Judah of a coming time of punitive devastation: “My people are gone into captivity for lack of knowledge” (Isaiah 5:13). This lack of knowledge was with respect to God and who He is (Hosea 4:1), and God punished that ignorance.
For us today, Christianity is a religion of instruction and knowledge is a prerequisite to identifying with the faith of the gospel (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Jesus declared that favor with God must involve instruction, reception, comprehension, and commitment (John 6:45). How can we receive, comprehend, and commit to the instructions if we haven't read them? Speaking of which, have you read "the agreement" or did you simply go to the end and clicked "I agree"? I submit that to read it is to find a treasure trove of instructions that will make navigating our time here on earth more manageable. Give it a genuine try and see how it transforms your life.
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Value of Time
It was one of those chain e-mails, author unknown, which landed in my Inbox. Friends who forward them along know the kind of stuff they can send to me and this one was good! It said:
"To realize the value of one year, ask a student who has failed a final exam. To realize the value of one month, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby. To realize the value of one week, ask an editor of a weekly newspaper. To realize the value of one hour, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet. To realize the value of one minute, ask the person who has missed the train, bus or plane. To realize the value of one-second, ask a person who has survived an accident. To realize the value of one millisecond, ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics. Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have. You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special."
There is a lot of truth in that poem. Though we may not think of it in those terms, time has value, a value that we should endeavor to use wisely. It does not mean that every waking minute must be spent immersed in activities, but we should have an awareness that time lost cannot be regained. Author Henry David Thoreau reminds us, "It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?" For professing believers, we are to be good stewards of our time. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul reminds them, "Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15-16, Amplified).
To truly live and to live purposefully means that we will live fulfilling the purpose that God intended for us. To do so means we have to see ourselves the way He sees - living lives of purpose - and resolve to using our time to achieve that goal. M. Scott Peck, noted psychiatrist and author, was right when he states, “Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” Paul encouraged the Ephesian church to "make the very most of the time because the days are evil." How much more evil are the days now?
Let's not be like the man who said, "If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done!" Instead, let us our time wisely and effectively. God, our Heavenly Father, expects nothing less.
"To realize the value of one year, ask a student who has failed a final exam. To realize the value of one month, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby. To realize the value of one week, ask an editor of a weekly newspaper. To realize the value of one hour, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet. To realize the value of one minute, ask the person who has missed the train, bus or plane. To realize the value of one-second, ask a person who has survived an accident. To realize the value of one millisecond, ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics. Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have. You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special."
There is a lot of truth in that poem. Though we may not think of it in those terms, time has value, a value that we should endeavor to use wisely. It does not mean that every waking minute must be spent immersed in activities, but we should have an awareness that time lost cannot be regained. Author Henry David Thoreau reminds us, "It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?" For professing believers, we are to be good stewards of our time. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul reminds them, "Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15-16, Amplified).
To truly live and to live purposefully means that we will live fulfilling the purpose that God intended for us. To do so means we have to see ourselves the way He sees - living lives of purpose - and resolve to using our time to achieve that goal. M. Scott Peck, noted psychiatrist and author, was right when he states, “Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” Paul encouraged the Ephesian church to "make the very most of the time because the days are evil." How much more evil are the days now?
Let's not be like the man who said, "If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done!" Instead, let us our time wisely and effectively. God, our Heavenly Father, expects nothing less.
A Man of Authority
He was a centurion, a Roman officer and a commander of at least a hundred men, who was accustomed to exercising authority. So when he sent his messengers - the Jewish elders - to Jesus beseeching Him that he would come and heal his servant who was dear unto him and sick to the point of death, he knew that it wasn't necessary for Jesus to come to his house. So when Jesus was not far from the house, Luke tells us "the centurion sent friends to Him, saying unto Him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it" (7:6-8, KJV).
The dynamics were interesting. This Roman officer, being a Gentile, knew full well that it was not lawful for a Jew to go into the house of an uncircumcised Gentile. The elders even gave Jesus two reasons why He should help the officer, saying "he was worthy for whom He should do this: for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue" (vv. 4,5). Yet, this wasn't what caught Jesus' attention. For when He heard what the centurion had said, "He marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed Him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel" (V.9). In other words, "I've yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know about God and how He works" (The Message).
Three things merit our attention. Firstly, the centurion recognized Jesus as man with authority who could as easily rebuke and call off sickness and it would obey Him, as he could command obedience from his soldiers and servant, and have it. Secondly, this expressed faith in Jesus' ability resulted in the servant being healed at that instant (v. 10; Matthew 8:13). Thirdly, the people who were supposed to know about God and how He works, those in Israel, didn't have that kind of faith.
How could they not have it? Not only was Jesus among them but they had also seen the miracles He had done. Yet before we judge them too harshly, what about us? Do we really believe in Jesus' authority and His ability to do the things He says He can do, and has done? Do we, like the centurion, entrust to Him the situations dear to our hearts that only He can tend to? What does our actions say? Simply acknowledging that Jesus is Lord is not enough. Our actions are the clearest expressions of what we truly believe so if we believe God then our actions should reflect that.
Paul affirms, "Clearly, God has put everything under Christ's authority" (1 Corinthians 15:27, God's Word), and that "everything" includes all the things that concern you. He is a Man of authority and He can be trusted; one word from Him can change your situation. Just ask the centurion.
The dynamics were interesting. This Roman officer, being a Gentile, knew full well that it was not lawful for a Jew to go into the house of an uncircumcised Gentile. The elders even gave Jesus two reasons why He should help the officer, saying "he was worthy for whom He should do this: for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue" (vv. 4,5). Yet, this wasn't what caught Jesus' attention. For when He heard what the centurion had said, "He marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed Him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel" (V.9). In other words, "I've yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know about God and how He works" (The Message).
Three things merit our attention. Firstly, the centurion recognized Jesus as man with authority who could as easily rebuke and call off sickness and it would obey Him, as he could command obedience from his soldiers and servant, and have it. Secondly, this expressed faith in Jesus' ability resulted in the servant being healed at that instant (v. 10; Matthew 8:13). Thirdly, the people who were supposed to know about God and how He works, those in Israel, didn't have that kind of faith.
How could they not have it? Not only was Jesus among them but they had also seen the miracles He had done. Yet before we judge them too harshly, what about us? Do we really believe in Jesus' authority and His ability to do the things He says He can do, and has done? Do we, like the centurion, entrust to Him the situations dear to our hearts that only He can tend to? What does our actions say? Simply acknowledging that Jesus is Lord is not enough. Our actions are the clearest expressions of what we truly believe so if we believe God then our actions should reflect that.
Paul affirms, "Clearly, God has put everything under Christ's authority" (1 Corinthians 15:27, God's Word), and that "everything" includes all the things that concern you. He is a Man of authority and He can be trusted; one word from Him can change your situation. Just ask the centurion.
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