Tell Others about Your Great Deal  

Recently we were presenting one of our daughters with gifts for her birthday. As she was opening them, my wife excitedly explained the good deals she had received on a couple of the items. She laughed at herself, knowing that it isn’t proper to talk about how much you spent on presents. However, she was so enthused about the bargains that she felt like she had to share the news, knowing that our shopping-savvy daughter would appreciate it.

Shouldn’t we be similarly excited to share the good news about the wonderful deal we have received from the Lord? When you think about it, what a bargain! First of all, consider the great value of what we have been given by God. He hasn’t presented us with some unwanted or unneeded gift that we will never use. Neither has He given us some cheap gadget that will fall apart the first time we try to use it. He has given us just what we needed and a gift of the highest quality. He has made a way for us to have our sins forgiven, our relationship restored with Him, and a way for us to avoid the eternal consequences of our sin. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). We can know that it is well with our soul. We can also have the joy of knowing that the Lord is with us as we travel life’s pathway. We can look to Him as our strength, help, and guide.

Not only can we experience the many spiritual blessings in Christ right now, but we also have the assurance and hope of a heavenly home to look forward to. What God has given us will not wear out or expire. The benefits of following Him now are just a foretaste of what is yet to come. We will continue to reap the blessings from it forever and ever.

Such a gift seems priceless. How could we ever afford to pay for it? That is where the news gets even better. We didn’t get this wonderful gift of salvation at half-off the regular price. It wasn’t on sale for 70% or 80% off the normal cost. It was free! We couldn’t have paid for it even if we had wanted to do so. We didn’t have to work extra hours in order to gain enough money to pay for it, as we might have had to do with other gifts at times. We didn’t have to do more good works in order to achieve it. We didn’t have to trade anything with God in order to receive it. No, God absorbed the cost for it Himself, through sending His Son to go the cross as the sacrifice for our sins. Jesus paid the price! Therefore, although it is very costly, it actually costs us nothing.

Salvation, deliverance from sin and hell, peace in our hearts, fellowship with God, a joyful and meaningful life, a heavenly home, and so much more – are all freely given to those who put their trust in the Lord. Isn’t that something to get excited about? Isn’t it great news to share with others? This bargain wasn’t just meant for us. It is available to all people. Therefore we need to let them know about it – not just so they will admire our eye for a bargain, but so that they can experience it for themselves.

Have you received this great deal from God? If so, let’s tell others about it. What Jesus has done for us, He can do for them. Let’s not hesitate to spread the news.

 

Have You Truly Tasted the Lord?  

During a recent bout of illness, my sense of taste was greatly affected. Nothing tasted as good as it had previously. Additionally, certain foods, no matter how flavorful or spicy I knew them to be, seemed totally bland to my altered palate. I forced myself to eat, but I discovered how difficult and unpleasant it can be to do so when you can’t taste the food.

It reminded me of the declaration expressed in Psalm 34:8: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” I believe that those who sincerely and honestly take the plunge to open their hearts to God will find that He doesn’t disappoint. He is the only One who can truly satisfy that hunger in the innermost part of our being. If we will “taste” Him and put our trust in Him, we will find Him to be everything we had hoped for and more.

However, there are obstacles to be overcome in connection with this important “taste test.” We often allow our preconceived ideas about God get in the way of our willingness to experience Him fully in our lives. It is similar to when one of my grandchildren refuses to eat a certain food while declaring that he doesn’t like it. But when I respond by asking if he has ever tried it, he sheepishly squirms and shakes his head. In reality, he doesn’t like the look of the food or what he has heard or assumed about it, but he hasn’t really tasted it for himself. And too often those negative ideas we imagine color our perspective whenever we do try something for ourselves. We have already convinced ourselves that we are not going to like it before we ever taste it.

People do that with God. They get certain ideas about Him that are hard to overcome. Maybe they think He is totally bland and that following Him would be a life void of spice and fun. Or maybe they have this picture of an angry, harsh God who takes pleasure in the suffering of people. Others may go to the other extreme and imagine a God who is so sweet and sugary that they can’t take Him seriously or have proper respect for Him and His authority. Whatever our misconceptions about God may be, we need to see Him and receive Him for who He truly is. The Bible gives us the true, balanced picture of God. Like the bowl of porridge in the old fairy tale, He isn’t too cold or too hot – He is just right. He is good.

However, another problem is that we let our taste get skewed by our sin and selfishness. God doesn’t taste good to us because we don’t want to give up our ideas or behaviors and submit ourselves to Him. As the psalmist indicated, to taste Him is to trust Him. We haven’t really given God a chance if we haven’t actually gone so far as to put our trust in Him, His Word, and His way of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Some people have gotten a taste of religion by attending church, saying prayers, reading the Bible, and rubbing shoulders with Christians. And in some cases, it has admittedly left a bad taste in their mouths. But they haven’t really tasted God until they have given Him their hearts and trusted Him enough to let Him have His way in their lives.  

Have you truly taken a taste of the Lord? Have you gone beyond religion and actually put your trust in God? I am confident that if you do, your testimony will be in agreement with the psalmist’s evaluation – the Lord is good.

 

Misguided Efforts Could Be Making Things Worse  

Last week I mentioned a health scare I had that turned out to be nothing significant. Nevertheless, I do know people who have heart issues and have been prescribed a blood thinner. Some of them are even required to go periodically to get their blood tested in order to make sure that it isn’t too thick or too thin. I know of one such person who recently discovered that his reading was not within the acceptable range of consistency. Adjustments were made in order to try to get his blood back to where it should be. However, it kept getting worse. Finally, it was realized that there had been a misunderstanding about his test results. While it was thought that his blood was too thin, it was actually too thick. Therefore his efforts to solve the problem had actually been making it worse.

Let’s not make a similar mistake when it comes to seeking to get our hearts right with God. Some people recognize that they have a spiritual problem. They know that due to their sin, they do not fall within the range of being acceptable to a holy God. Therefore many try to ramp up their efforts in order to correct the problem. They seek to be better people and to do more good deeds. They keep trying, making adjustments, and hoping they can make enough headway that eventually God will receive them into His fellowship and have a spot for them in heaven.

Unfortunately, such efforts are actually counterproductive. They don’t get anyone closer to a right relationship with God. If anything, it is taking us further in the wrong direction. None of us are good enough in ourselves to make up for our spiritual fallenness, but trying to be good enough is not the answer. None of us can achieve that goal, and the very act of trying to achieve it gets us further away from the goal line. Granted, such self-efforts might improve our lives in some ways and our good deeds might be helpful to others. However, they don’t take care of our main problem in relation to our sin and God. It isn’t solved by more “blood, sweat, and tears” on our part. It can only be remedied through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. The only way we can truly find acceptance with God is through trusting what Jesus did for us – dying on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins.

The Bible declares that “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7). The subsequent verses declare, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (v.8-9). Forgiveness and cleansing don’t come from our attempts to be good. They come when we confess that we can’t be good enough, that we have sinned, and that our only hope in is Jesus. We need to quit trying and simply trust.

The strange part is that when we put our trust in the blood of Jesus as our means of being made right with God, this new relationship changes us in ways that transform us into the better people we were trying to become. God does what we couldn’t do by our own efforts. At that point we find ourselves doing those good works, not as a means to achieve salvation, but out of our desire to love God and love others.

   Don’t try to work your way into heaven. It will only take you in the opposite direction from what you intended. Trust Jesus instead.

 

Live This Year as If It Is Your Last  

I recently had a little health scare when I found myself experiencing some tightness and pain in my chest area. When it didn’t subside after a day or two, I decided I should probably get it checked out, especially in light of my sister having experienced a heart attack just a few weeks earlier. I am thankful to report that the medical tests didn’t find any problem in connection with my heart. Eventually my wife and I recalled something I had done earlier in the week that could have strained my chest muscles and resulted in my symptoms.

One evening at the height of my discomfort and uncertainty about my health, an unusual thought entered my mind. I looked back at what I had done that day, concluding if I were to die from a heart attack that evening it would have been a good day to have been my last on earth. I had been busy with the work of preparing to share God’s Word with others. I had eaten one of my favorite meals – my wife’s lasagna. And I had enjoyed spending a small part of the day taking a few of my grandchildren to Dairy Queen for ice cream. If it was my time to go, this would have been a good way for me to finish my race.

While we may not like to think about it, none of us know when it might be our last day. As we have begun a new year, it is possible that for some of us this could be our last year. It is more likely for those who are getting well on up there in age, but it could be true of any of us, no matter how old or young we are. None of us know with certainty. With that in mind, we should all seek to come to the end of every day with the sense that if it is our time, that we are ready, we have no regrets, and we have been faithful to run the race God has given us to run.

   When Paul was sensing that his time on this earth was drawing to a close, he expressed the peaceful assurance he possessed as he faced that reality: “The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (II Timothy 4:6-7). If it was Paul’s time to go, he was ready. He had stayed true to the Lord and had faithfully carried out the work he had been given to do.

Can we say that? If this were to be our final year or even our final day on this earth, do we have a similar assurance? Let’s make sure that we have kept the faith – that we are trusting Jesus as our Savior and are living for Him as the Lord of our lives. Let’s be certain that we are fighting the good fight each day – carrying out our God-given responsibilities, resisting temptation and evil, letting our lights shine in a dark world, showing God’s love to others, and sharing His Word with those who need to hear it. And let’s not allow anything to get us distracted from the main things in our lives, from finishing the particular course God has laid out for us to follow. At the end of each day or each year, may we be able to say, “This would be a good way for me to finish my race.”

So let’s live this year as if it could be our last. Follow Jesus. Serve Him and others. Love your family. And even leave a little room along the way for lasagna and ice cream.

 

Let’s Focus More on Jesus This Year  

At our family gathering on Christmas Eve, some of us played a game one person had received as a gift. It involved trying to get others to guess a word or phrase, but you had to use only one-syllable words in the process. It isn’t as easy as it sounds. It takes effort to limit oneself to such simple language when there are bigger words that could better communicate what you are trying to say. And as the name of the game suggests, it really does make some people sound humorously like Neanderthals as they grunt out nothing but monosyllabic sounds.

Such an exercise should make us appreciate the extent to which God has gone to communicate with us. Think about how an infinite God must have to really simplify everything in order for us finite human beings to understand it. Not only are the concepts He is revealing to us so great – His nature, the Trinity, eternity, His vast love for us, His power that is beyond what we can fathom, and so much more – but He is having to translate it all into languages and ideas that we are capable of grasping. It is no wonder that He often resorted to stories, parables, and word pictures to get certain truths across to us.

However, the ultimate manner in which God has revealed Himself to us is through His Son, Jesus Christ. That is what we just celebrated at Christmas. In his Gospel, John puts it this way: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The title “Word” (Logos) has several connotations, but it basically affirms that Jesus was and is the best way for us to learn about God. He is the supreme revelation of God’s nature, character, and will. When we see Jesus, we see the Father. As scripture testifies elsewhere, Jesus is “the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person” (Hebrews 1:3).

Therefore if we truly want to grow in our understanding of God, then we have got to look more closely at Jesus. That is what I have felt challenged to do as we go into this new year. For most of my life I have made it my usual practice to read through the entire Bible during the course of a year. I intend to still do that. However, I am also planning on zeroing in more on those Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry. I am hoping to focus more on Jesus not only in order to gain a better picture of God, but also to help me get a greater vision of what God has called me to be like. After all, His goal for each of us is that we be transformed more into the image of His Son. So if I can see Jesus more clearly, then I will also see where I measure up in comparison to Him. I will see where I fall short, where I need to change and grow, and where God has helped me to become more like My Savior.

I would encourage you to do the same this year. Don’t neglect the rest of God’s Word. It is all important. However, focus more attention on Jesus – the real Jesus of the Bible, not the twisted images of Him which some in our modern society and churches try to put forth. Study the Gospels for yourself. Be willing to see the whole picture of Jesus. See this One who is full of both grace and truth, and seek to be more like Him this year.   

 

God’s Gift is for All and for You  

When one part of our family gets together on Christmas Eve, we participate in one of those “white elephant” gift exchanges. You are probably familiar with that fun practice, as individuals either choose a wrapped package with its mystery contents or “steals” a gift someone else has already opened. Sometimes I end up with a present that I can enjoy or put to use. Other times I am left with a gift that I am ready to pass along to someone else who might better appreciate it. I have always found it a little challenging to shop for the present I bring to this event because it needs to be appropriate for a variety of possible recipients. You don’t know exactly who might receive it. It needs to be more generic than personal.

As we celebrate God’s gift to us of His Son to be our Savior, there is a sense in which this wonderful gift is both appropriate for everyone and tailored for each of us individually. The familiar truth of John 3:16 reminds us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Notice that God’s love includes everyone – the whole world. There is not any individual who has ever lived who was beyond the scope of God’s great love. This gift of sending His Son into the world was motivated out of divine love for all of us. God offers this loving gift to all people regardless of their ethnicity or religion, in spite of their morals or lack thereof, and no matter whether they believe in Him or not. This gift is offered to all.

Likewise, “whoever” can choose to receive that gift. Anyone who “believes in Him” can experience salvation and everlasting life. However, we do have to believe in Him, along with all that such a concept implies. We have to believe in who He is, what He says about our sinful condition, our need to turn from our sin, and the possibility of forgiveness and cleansing through trusting in Jesus as the one-and-only sacrifice for our sins. Every person, no matter who they are or what they have done, is eligible to receive this gift if they will only meet the condition of true faith.

So while this gift of God’s Son is available to and appropriate for all, it isn’t impersonal. While God loves the world, it is also important to realize that He specifically loves each of us individually. He sees you. He knows you. He is aware of everything about you. And He still loved you enough that He sent His Son to be your Savior. What He did for the world in general, He would have done for you if you had been the only person involved.

Similarly, the “whoever” in that call to faith also includes you. God doesn’t just invite “whoever may be willing” to put their trust in Jesus as their Savior. He has sent you a personal invitation to do so. He wants you to enter into that personal relationship with Him. He wants to forgive you of your sins. He wants to transform your heart. He wants to use you in His service in this world. He wants to prepare a spot specifically for you in heaven. Maybe you have heard His call in a sermon, in a Bible reading, through the witness of other people, or through the small voice of the Holy Spirit or His gentle tug on your heart. Have you responded?

Let’s rejoice that God’s gift of His Son is for everyone. And let’s be grateful that it is also specifically for you and me.   

 

The Spirit of Herod Lives On  

After watching one of the classic film versions of The Christmas Carol, I was reminded of the fact that many of our Christmas stories not only have their heroes but also their villains. Bedford Falls has its mean Mr. Potter. A Miracle on 34^th Street has the unstable company psychologist who is determined to get Kris Kringle committed to a mental institution. Whoville has its Grinch. And in the movie I had just watched, there was the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. Some of those characters were transformed by the end of the story. However, others so hardened their hearts that they remained villainous even at the story’s conclusion.  

Even the biblical account of Jesus’ birth has it’s “bad guy.” King Herod connived to destroy this newborn king whom he viewed as a threat to his own power and throne. He deceived the wise men, telling them that he also wanted to find this king in order to worship Him. However, when the wise men were warned not to return to Herod, he acted on his true intention, ruthlessly murdering all the male infants in Bethlehem who might have fallen within the age-range of this special child.

We still have to beware of the spirit of Herod that lives on today. Not only are there those who blatantly oppose Christ and all that He represents, but there are others who claim to worship Him who, whether intentionally or unintentionally, are seeking to destroy Him and replace Him with their own re-created version of Jesus. They are deceiving others and, in some cases, maybe deceiving themselves.

They want to do away with the Jesus who proclaimed that He is the way, the truth, and the life – and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). They want to replace Him with their revised version of Jesus who thinks people of all religions are acceptable to God and are on equal footing, even if their teachings contradict the Bible and even if they reject the truth about Jesus being the Son of God.

They want to destroy the Jesus who plainly stated that He had come to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28), and create a Jesus who was simply a good man, great teacher, and role model rather than the sacrifice for our sins.

They want to kill the Jesus who declared that He had not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, and that not one little part of it would pass away (Matthew 5:17-18). They want to replace Him with a Jesus who allows people to pick which parts of God’s Word to believe and which parts they can reinterpret to fit their own beliefs.

They want to make people forget about the Jesus who spoke frequently about judgment and a place of eternal torment (Mark 9:42-48). They want to substitute a Jesus who only focused on love and forgiveness, one who will make sure everyone makes it to heaven.

They want to destroy the Jesus who from the beginning preached a message of repentance of sin (Matthew 4:17). They want to re-create Him into someone who accepts people and forgives them whether or not they are willing to accept what God labels sin and whether or not they are willing to forsake their sin.

God protected His Son from Herod’s schemes, and I believe He can still protect the truth and those who truly seek Jesus today. However, many innocent souls suffered the consequences of Herod’s actions, and there are those today who are victims of these deceivers. Watch out for the villains of our present-day Christmas. Let’s pray that they and their misguided victims will see the light and experience their own Scrooge-like transformation before the end of their story.