Walking With Jesus

Your Truth?

“Pilate said, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus responded, ‘You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is truth.’ ‘What is truth?’ Pilate asked.” (John 17:37-38a NLT)

Truth is not relative to circumstance, opinion, time, stage of life, or someone’s “strong” belief. Truth is not dependent on how smart the person is who speaks or lives it; it is inherent in the person, life, and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. He IS the embodiment of all Truth. If it violates His name, ministry, mission, or holds up anything false or contradictory to who He is or what He taught it’s a lie and is not Truth.

Jesus said of Himself in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.” “Well,” you may think, “that’s just one man’s opinion. I could say that about myself, but it doesn’t make it true.” And that’s “true!” But the word Jesus used that is translated “truth” in this verse means: “what is true in any matter under consideration; truly, in truth, according to truth; of a truth, in reality, in fact, certainty.” It has other dimensions of meaning, but the fact is Jesus IS the Truth, period!

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Truth isn’t how you feel about something or what you’ve deduced by research or investigation, unless and until it complies with the Person of Christ. What does that even mean? It means Truth liberates, it doesn’t confine or suppress. In the moral morass that exists in our world today “truth” is relative. Essentially, truth, as it’s defined in our world today, is however each person defines it, thus, there is no absolute “truth” that applies to every person in every age in every circumstance.

The problem with that is that it’s a lie perpetrated from the depths of hell. Jesus said in John 8:32: “You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” As many today, the Jewish leaders who heard these words initially rebelled against them and tried to deny them, claiming they’d never been enslaved to anyone. But Jesus told them: “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.”

The Bible is clear that we’ve all sinned and can never forgive ourselves or make ourselves fit for heaven. “But,” some may ask, “what if I have no desire to go to ‘heaven,’ whatever that is?” Then follow whatever you believe is “true.” We have no obligation to follow Jesus, each person is completely free to follow the dictates of their own conscience, believing whatever is “true” in their heart and mind.

The problem with that is, to miss Jesus is to miss life as it was always intended to be. “Yeh,” some may object, “but I AM alive. I’m breathing, I have the capacity to make choices and to live anyway I desire.” And to that I would say, “You’re exactly right!” But remember the verse from John 14 above? Jesus IS the life! He’s not only the reason to live, but the reason to be alive, to have existence on this planet.

To exist as a slave to ourself, driven by our sinful desires, enslaved by our sinful nature, isn’t to live, it’s to exist without understanding why. It’s to breathe without knowing the purpose of who we’re made to be. There are people who don’t know Jesus who accomplish remarkable things and perform feats that improve living conditions and bless people worldwide, but they do those things for their own glory and benefit. Their reward will end with the acclaim of mankind, then they’ll die and be forgotten.

To know the Truth of who Jesus is and what He has created us to be frees us to be all He desires us to be while we’re here on earth, then we get to be rewarded for our life in Him for all eternity. Our creativity never ends because He frees us to be alive with Him forever and ever and ever.

That, my friend is life. And that’s the Truth!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Are You a Good Forgetter?

“But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets your free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” (James 1:25 NLT)

Having just turned 76 a few days ago I can bear witness to the truth that your memory is among the first things you begin to lose as you age. While I can still remember many of the verses I’ve memorized, I don’t always remember where they are in the Bible. But one of the good things about having a poor memory is forgetting the things that people say or do that are offensive or hurtful.

Hopefully, by the time you’re my age you have formed godly habits that will be ingrained in your heart and mind so you can not only maintain your walk with the Lord, but continue to grow in love, grace, mercy, and closeness to Him. While it’s not uncommon for older people to become grumpy and out of sorts, unless there is a physical, mental, or emotional reason, I pray I can be gentle, kind, forbearing, and forgiving as long as the Lord gives me breath.

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Obviously, there are legitimate reasons to forget and to not forget. We should quickly forget things that are said or done to hurt us because of our faith in Jesus. It’s dishonoring to the Lord to harbor resentment, anger, or bitterness against another person, especially another believer, but also, we should let things go that are said to us in anger or purposely said to get the proverbial “rise” out of us.

One thing the Lord has taught me over the years is that He has broad shoulders, and He can handle mean, disrespectful things that people say to and about Him, especially when said in ignorance. Each of us has thought, said, and done things in our lives for which we have deep regret, but having confessed them, now have certainty that the Lord has forgiven and forgotten them.

There are things we say without thinking that are wrong on many levels, but mostly they dishonor the Lord and violate His holy Word. Depending on which side of those words we’re on, realizing we’re the perpetrator should force us to our knees to cry out for forgiveness from the Lord and to seek forgiveness from those we’ve harmed. But, if we’re on the receiving end of those mean or inappropriate words, we need to run to the Lord to find the strength to forgive and to restore the damaged relationship as quickly as possible.

Of course, there are many variables in these kinds of situations, but regardless of whether we’re the offender or the offended, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to search us and cleanse us of our wicked ways and to seek reconciliation quickly. The longer we allow these angry and damaging feelings to fester, the more eternal damage we will incur.

One word of clarification. When we’ve been violated in some way – emotionally, physically, sexually, or in other inappropriate ways, forgetting may not be an option. We will likely carry the horror and trauma of such an event with us to our grave. The danger is that we will drink the poison of bitterness, revenge, and hatred, not to the other person(s) demise, but to our own.

The Apostle Paul quoted God’s words from Deuteronomy 32:35 in Romans 12:19 when he wrote: “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back’ says the Lord.’”

Because God is omnipresent and omniscient, nothing escapes His eternal notice; thus, no one ever gets away with anything. Sometimes the most righteous and God-honoring thing we can do is to become a good “forgetter.”

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Building Up or Tearing Down?

“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.” (Ephesians 4:29-30a NLT)

Do you realize that your words can give hope, strength, energy, support, enlightenment, and many other very positive resources to build up those in your spheres of influence? But your words can also destroy, damage, hinder, hurt, and tear down.

The adage we used to say as kids: “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me” is a lie. Words can damage irreparably. Words like: “I’m leaving you, I want a divorce,” “your son has leukemia!” “you’re under arrest!” “You’re fired!” are the kinds of words that change the trajectory of your life forever.

But there are also affirming, positive words that can also change you forever: “I love you; I want to spend the rest of my life with you!” “Your tests came back – you’re cancer free!” “There was a mistake, you’re free to go!” “You’re hired!” “You’re forgiven.”

Much of the time we underestimate the power of our words to help and heal and/or to damage and hurt. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 18:21: “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.”

Pastor Rick Warren wrote: “Sometimes our words are like a sledgehammer. We swing away without thinking, and suddenly we look around and realize a pile of relational rubble surrounds us. When you thoughtlessly sling your words around and tear people down, your relationships are going to suffer.”

There’s also a verse in James 4:17 that I’m not sure we think about in this context, but perhaps we should. James wrote: “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” How many times has the Lord prompted you to send a note or make a call to encourage someone and you blew it off?

How often is that “still, small voice” prompting you to pay for someone’s meal, but you make excuses for yourself. Someone I know followed the voice of God to pay the bill for a young woman and her two small children without her knowing, and when they told the waitress what they wanted to do the waitress said: “You’re an angel!” It wasn’t necessarily their purpose, but more than just that mother and her kids were blessed.

That’s how it is when you’re seeking to be a blessing, when you’re always on the lookout to build someone up, not tear them down. May I encourage you to be on the lookout for ways you can lift someone up, especially those who are closest? Our temptation is to “correct” or “advise” our family, and too often we don’t watch our tone. We should lavish our praise on those we love the most.

Compliment generously for someone’s smile; their hair; their outfit; a job well done; a good thing they did without seeking any acknowledgement; a sermon well delivered; a song well sung; there are literally hundreds of little things people do without any expectation of being complimented, but oh what a blessing when they are.

The greatest temptation many of us face is to say things we don’t mean when we’re angry. “It’s just who I am! I can’t help it!” That’s a lie from the pit of hell, and you’d better “help it” if you’re a child of God. Walk away! Or better still – run away from any temptation that threatens to hurt someone with your words. Don’t regret it later, just don’t do it in the first place. The danger is just too great that you can tear down someone in ways that you can never repair. Please don’t take that risk.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Order or Chaos?

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble…The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:1, 7 NLT)

In this season of my life, I strongly believe our lives are allowed to be more chaotic than they should be, especially if we’re a Jesus follower. What comes to your mind when you see or think of the word “chaos?” The Hebrew word used in the verse above and is translated “trouble” means: “distress, affliction, adversity, anguish, tribulation.”

As you think about your life – your spouse, family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, social acquaintances, essentially anyone in your spheres of influence – how would you describe all or some of those relationships? And I’m not suggesting that chaos reigns across your whole life, or even is restricted to just relationships, but our interactions with others often characterizes our life as a whole.

How would you define “chaos” as it relates to your life? It may be your house at the end of the day when you have 4 pre-teens running rampant; or the dining room table and kitchen after serving your family Thanksgiving dinner; or your desk at work while preparing for a major presentation.

These and a thousand other scenarios can render our lives “chaotic,” and we can chalk it up as just a part of life, and on some levels it is. While there’s a measure of chaos in anyone’s life at times, chaos can also paint a picture of what we’re feeling and experiencing within – in our heart and mind.

E. Stanley Jones made an interesting observation when he wrote: “If you don’t surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos.” For me, and I suspect for you, the greatest arena in my life for chaos is my mind. What we think about comes about, so, when our mind is filled with chaotic thoughts and considerations, they’re most likely going to work themselves out in our behavior and interactions with others.

Anger is often an instigator of chaos, at least it has been for me. Depression is often seen as anger turned inward. We blame ourselves for the people in our lives who reject us; for our poor performance at work; or our inability to make and keep long-term friends.

“Why don’t people like me?” soon can become: “I’m just a bad person!” And yes, of course, this is an oversimplification to make a point, which is, at least as I understand it as a child of God – order in our life, lifestyle, and interactions with others, grows out of knowing who we are and why we’re alive. Knowing Jesus gives our lives meaning and purpose.

Many people find their purpose in their family, their work, their hobbies, and in many other things, but ultimately, to find cohesiveness in our heart, mind, and soul, we need to commit our lives and ways to Jesus. He is the integrator of my life and the One who orients every dimension of who I am to enable me to be productive in positive and meaning-filled ways.

He is our Refuge in whom we can find strength in times of trouble; our Fortress in whom we can hide when life becomes overbearing. But He’s also our best Friend in whom we can confide, with whom we can face the challenges of life, and find our way through them.

Honestly, being a Jesus follower doesn’t eliminate chaos, as well it shouldn’t. Troubles are often the pathways to potential, to fulfillment, to learning that can be attained in no other way. Chaos can be our friend in opening opportunities for improvement in many areas of our lives – in how we order our lives, how we work, how we play, but most importantly how we love – others and even the Lord.

So, it boils down to not an issue of order OR chaos, but living in a world with order AND chaos.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Where Is the Lord Asking You to Go?

“As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ So he started out…” (Acts 8:26-27a NLT)

When the Lord prompts us to do something or go somewhere we have to assume He has a good reason and should not tarry, but immediately obey, but it’s critical we know the prompting is from the Lord and not a bad burrito.

While attending a minister’s meeting in another city several years ago, the Lord prompted me to leave the meeting and go home. He had never done that before, so I packed up and headed home. As I came in the door, my wife’s response was: “You’re home early.” To which I responded, based on the conversation I had with the Lord on the drive home: “Yes, I am, because I missed you and I just wanted to be with you and the kids.”

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When you boil it all down, we live our lives to please our Master, the Lord Jesus. He deserves to call the proverbial “shots” in our life, directing our steps in a manner, direction, and timing that please Him. To believe we can make our own schedule without first seeking the Lord’s input is to make assumptions that aren’t ours to make.

When I left my meeting, I thought there may be a problem or emergency of some sort with which I would have to deal when I got home, but there was none. It occurs to me that we don’t need to know the why, we only need to obey and trust the Lord has His reasons.

Is the Lord asking you to go somewhere or do something that seems odd to you? Is your heart stirring to make a change, but you’re not sure why or when? My intention isn’t to be melodramatic, but simply to encourage you to always be open and sensitive to the Lord’s voice.

But a word of caution! Satan will seek to manipulate your feelings and have you “follow your heart,” but apart from the Holy Spirit our hearts are wicked and unreliable. The antidote to quick decisions based on emotion is a commitment to prayer and waiting. A rule of thumb that I learned by jumping into too many things that “looked” or “sounded” too good to pass up is this – make yourself wait at least 7 – 10 days before jumping into something.

And, yes, I realize there may be a “small window of opportunity,” so you “must act now,” but I also know that “small window” is too often so the other person can get what they want, even if it ends up costing you money, time, energy, or something else you don’t have to spend.

When I was selling cars, I had an opportunity to lease a new car at a very reasonable rate, and at the time I was making enough money I could have easily covered it. But almost the moment I signed on the dotted line I knew I’d made a mistake. I ended up having to find someone to take over the lease after the first year.

Did I not desire to do God’s will? Of course, I did, but “my will” got in the way and God was dishonored through the frivolous way I was using His money. And please don’t hear what I’m not saying. You may be in a much better position than I was, and the Lord may be leading you to get another vehicle (or something else), but just give it prayerful consideration before you leap into something that could turn out bad for you.

If your leading is truly from the Lord, He’ll give you certainty as to what He’s asking you to do.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Are You Someone’s Last Chance?

“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” (Luke 19:10 NLT)

How is Jesus seeking the lost today? His whole purpose for living and dying while here on earth was to seek and save the lost. To create a way where no way existed for lost men and women, boys and girls, to find a home in heaven.

It’s estimated that 90% of the 3 million people who live in my city are lost, without hope, facing a Christless eternity. My mentor used to say: “we’re going to love people to Jesus, one person at a time.” If you think about it just in terms of the sheer number of lost people, it can be overwhelming, but if you break it down to “one person at a time,” remarkably, it becomes doable.

Think of Jesus on the Cross. He had preached, prayed, healed, delivered, forgiven, and loved thousands of people, and now He hung on the Cross with moments left to live – but He’s not finished! One of the two being crucified beside Him said: “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom” Some of us, had we been in Jesus’ place, might have said: “You’ve waited too long, leave me alone. Let me die in peace.” But not Jesus! Jesus said: “I assure you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”

Do we not realize that some of those we thoughtlessly pass by on the streets of our communities, or sit with in waiting rooms, or eat near us in restaurants – are we blind to their need of a Savior? Are we too deaf to hear the cries of their heart? Are we so tuned in to our own needs we can’t see the needs of others?

Jen Wilkin wrote: “We must love God with our minds, allowing our intellect to inform our emotions, rather than the other way around.” When we allow our emotions to believe there are just too many lost people, “there’s nothing I can do!” we negate the purpose for which the Lord gave us life. As a Jesus follower our whole purpose on earth is to serve the desires of our Master.

And, yes, of course, He may not have called all of us to be a Billy Graham, or a C.S. Lewis, but He’s called each of us to have a heart for the lost in our spheres of influence. Maybe we won’t win hundreds or thousands to Jesus, but can we win one? Can we influence one life to miss hell and to choose heaven?

Ron Hutchcraft wrote: “Mike said he hadn’t seen all those people going to hell for a long time until his daughter helped him put on Jesus’ glasses. Maybe you haven’t seen them either and they’re all around you. God describes the people you know who don’t belong to Jesus with words like these out of the Bible: they are “being led away to death” (Proverbs 24:11)… they are “separated from God” (Isaiah 59:2)… they are “lost” (Luke 19:10)… they are, the Bible says, “condemned already”… they will be “punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). This isn’t just some theological concept.

This is someone you know, people Jesus died for so they could be rescued from all this; people who may never know Jesus unless you introduce them to Him. He has divinely positioned you in their life to be their rescuer, to be their chance at Jesus, to be their chance at heaven.”

Once you see what Jesus sees, you’ll rescue the dying whatever it takes and whatever it costs! And you’ll look in the mirror and say, ‘I am someone’s chance.'”

This isn’t about guilt, it’s about opportunity. Would you allow this chorus by B. B. McKinney to become your prayer today? “Lord lay some soul upon my heart, and love that soul through me. And may I nobly do my part to win that soul for Thee.”

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Our Inevitable Appointment with God

“And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.” (1 John 5:11-12 NLT)

The Old Testament Prophet Amos warned: “Prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel!” Similarly, the writer of the Hebrew letter wrote: “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment.” Why is that important to you and me?

Perhaps you or others you know aren’t ready to meet God. Perhaps a spouse, child, grandchild, friend, or coworker. They may not know that Jesus died for their sin, but I strongly suspect they know that one day their life on earth will end. Most likely they have themselves convinced it will be a long time, not realizing God has made us no promise of a long life.

Every day in America roughly 200,000 people die by accident. What’s the implication? They leave home expecting to return, but they don’t. Without Jesus every day we wait to let Him save us could be one day too long. Please, if you’re reading this and you haven’t received Christ’s offer of forgiveness of your sin and new life in Him, please don’t wait another second.

Putting your faith in Jesus isn’t only the best decision you’ll ever make from an eternal perspective, but from a daily perspective as long as you live on this earth. I’ve walked with the Lord for more than 60 years and I thank Him everyday for the gift of His presence in my life. I have no fear of death and know that when I pillow my head each night, if He calls me home, I’ll be in His holy presence forever.

Perhaps you or someone with whom you’ve been sharing has the opinion that they have no real interest in all that religious “stuff.” I get it, neither do I. I don’t pray, give, serve, attend, participate in all the things I do because I’m religious, I do them for the same reason I make sacrifices and give of myself in my marriage – because I love someone.

It’s not about “religion” for me, it’s about relationship. Jesus isn’t only my Savior and God, He’s my best Friend. He’s promised me He will never leave or forsake me. He’s a very present help in times of need. He paid the penalty for my sin that I could never have paid, even if I had all of eternity. I’m looking forward to my inevitable appointment because for me I’ll just be going home.

But for those who haven’t received forgiveness and wholeness through faith in Jesus it will not be something to look forward to. Quite to the contrary it will be eternal misery. Why? Because you’ll have all eternity to ponder the reasons you waited for what you will then understand fully would have been the best decision you could have made for yourself.

Why would God allow that to happen you may wonder? Isn’t He a God of love and compassion? Love and compassion led Him to allow His only perfect, sinless Son to die an agonizing, painful death to make it possible that no one would have to suffer eternal torment. But it’s a gift that when rejected carries with it an eternal death penalty.

God the Father did everything possible to prevent people from having to go to hell, but He also gives us free will that puts the burden of decision in our lap. We alone decide our eternal fate – not God, nor anyone else. Me and you, my friend, are the ones who decide our eternal destination. So, please, stop blaming God for “sending you to hell,” when there’s no one to blame but the person staring back at you from the mirror.

Please, if you don’t know for sure that you’re ready to meet God, click this link and watch a 3-minute video by Ron Hutchcraft to help you understand exactly how you can know you’re going to heaven. You can trust God’s Word – you don’t want to go to hell.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Thanksgiving Is More Than a Day

“He has paid a full ransom for His people. He has guaranteed His covenant with them forever. What a holy, awe-inspiring name He has!” (Psalm 111:9 NLT)

*Please allow this Thanksgiving meditation by Sylvia Gunter to become more than a quick read that is soon forgotten. Perhaps it’s something you could read in part or in whole at your dinner table before everyone begins to stuff themselves. Allow her words to be something you seek to apply, not only today, but every day. Blessings, Ed 😊

While many associate Thanksgiving Day with family, overeating and over-shopping, let it propel us toward a heart of gratitude. It is a time to consider God’s goodness, grace, and provision for us. He is the Author of encouragement, help, and hope. I like to think of Thanksgiving as trust-giving and thanks-living.

Thanksgiving should not be a one day event, but a life committed to thanks-living each day. It is an act of trust-giving to be thankful even in the hard places of life. And when things go well it is easy to forget to pause and say thank you to the Giver of those good things. Paul exhorts us to give thanks in all circumstances. He said the Bible points us in the right direction. “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

God’s covenantal relationship with us is the basis for thanks-living. God said, “I will maintain My love to him forever, and My covenant with him will never fail” (Psalm 89:28). The psalmist said, “He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever- holy and awesome is His name” (Psalm 111:9). We partner with God when we affirm that we are holding on to Him and His goodness. Our thanksgiving testifies to others that He is worthy of trust.

William Law, a classic Christian writer in the early 18th century, wrote, “Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most, or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms…but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness, and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.”

Thanksgiving is a lifestyle, not a day. Can we commit to willing everything that God wills and cultivating a grateful heart that finds the goodness of God in all things even the hard things?

May you be blessed daily with a heart ready to praise God for all things in sincere trust-giving and thanks-living.

What Are You Living For?

“But if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me.” (1 Corinthians 14:11 NLT)

Having visited other countries I understand, at least in part, the frustration of not being able to speak to a person in their native language. On some levels the frustration is magnified when we speak to someone who understands the language, and they use familiar words, but their words have different meanings.

For example, I have friends who belong to the LDS church who speak to me about Jesus, salvation, the church, and many other Biblical concepts and teachings, but what they’re saying and what they mean by those words are very different than the words as they are used in the Bible.

Similarly, in our world today more and more people are losing their way because they fail to find meaning in what they’re experiencing in their life. While their lives are filled with better means of communication than ever, more people are lonely and finding less reasons to want to be alive. Knowing how to function as a human being and how to have purpose and meaning for being alive are two very different things.

John Stonestreet spoke to this in a recent Breakpoint: “In a culture broken and enmeshed by meaninglessness, double damage is done to these hurting souls. If we hope to prevent our neighbors from dying too soon, we’ll first have to help them answer the question: ‘What is there to live for?’. A life without meaning will remain empty, no matter how much we try to fill it with prosperity, status, technological gadgets, ‘autonomy,’ infinite choice, and distraction.”

Realizing there are many in the Body of Christ who are suffering, it’s important to acknowledge that suffering isn’t an unbeliever’s plight. Pain and suffering aren’t punishment for disobeying God, and we’re not exempt from them because of our faith in Jesus.

Pain and suffering are a part of the fabric of human existence this side of the fall of man, but meaning isn’t found in health, prosperity, or busyness. True meaning is found in following the One who is life and light and love – the Lord Jesus.

Stonestreet continues: “To borrow from Thomas Aquinas, an increasingly secular culture removes any real conviction we have that it’s even possible to “share in the goodness of God.” Thus, it’ll take the Church, both as an institution and as individuals, to reach those who are hurting. Remaining open to our own pains and struggles, we can place them within a larger framework of meaning and hope. Christians, too, battle with despair but while knowing it will not have the final word. Christ does, so hope does.

Living for something that is visible is to ultimately be disappointed and or disillusioned. Everything that is visible to our human eyes has an expiration date, including this earth. Only what is seen by the eye of faith will last forever. Investing our lives in service to Jesus has merit and benefit while we’re living on this planet, but the real rewards for our faith journey are given when we leave this life.

There are those in our families and spheres of influence who are hopeless and despairing of life. We, as God’s children, have the answer, but many today are confused and hurting to the point they no longer feel they have a reason to live. There are more people taking their own life or seeking help in ending their life than ever before.

But please listen, child of God, for God has positioned us, not only geographically, but in terms of this time in history, to be a voice of hope to those who have no hope and who believe they no longer have anything for which to live. Please be sensitive to those around you who may need a caring word, a loving touch, or a voice of hope, and determine to be those things for the ones the Lord puts in your path.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Has You?

“When Jesus heard his answer, He said, ‘There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.’” (Luke 18:22 NLT)

Money and possessions can be the tentacles of Satan when they become our priority. When fear of losing them causes us to hold on more tightly, the reality becomes – they have us, we don’t have them.

We know very little about the man who came to Jesus, but there are a few things we do know. He obviously had some training in the Jewish faith, at least enough to give him an understanding of the 10 Commandments and that there was life after death. He believed Jesus was a “Good Teacher,” and something in him hoped that Jesus would somehow validate His love for His possessions, and still allow him to go to heaven. But that’s not how it works. Jesus always calls us to make a choice – follow Him or hang on to our stuff.

With Jesus, He’s either Lord of all or not Lord at all. And the problem for us is, while we may not wrestle with a love of money or possessions, there are a thousand other things that are vying for our worship. Depending on how God wired us, it may be pride, lust, anger, covetousness, sex, drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography, our phone/electronics – the list is nearly endless of the addictions that enslave us and prevent us from being able to commit to the Lordship of Jesus.

Sometimes our addictions come camouflaged as children, work, even volunteering for the church or other worthwhile causes. How can that be? What are the signs or evidence that even something good in and of itself, can become our lord and captor? The two most prominent indicators are time and money.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

Perhaps a good rule of thumb for what we consider our treasure to be is: how easy would it be to walk away or to entrust whatever it is to someone else’s care? And even as I write that I realize we shouldn’t walk away from our marriages, our children, and depending on our circumstances, it would be foolish to walk away from our job or to stop volunteering, unless the Lord makes it very clear, as He did with this rich man. So, there must be another way.

For me, in this season of my life, my treasure is Jesus. How do I know that? Because He’s the center and focus of my heart and life. He’s nearly always in my thoughts, my desire is to keep Him front and center in everything I do, say, and think.

His will for each of us is to put Him first by loving well those in our spheres of influence – our spouse, kids, family, brothers and sisters in Christ, neighbors, and those whom He places on our heart who are lost.

The key in finding and keeping balance in our lives is allowing Jesus to sit on the throne of our heart and to rule every other area and dimension of who we are or ever hope to be. If I or someone or something else is on the throne of my life, I will be out of balance and I will focus on the created thing more than my Creator.

And please understand, this sounds a lot easier than it is. It’s a process that takes time, effort, and energy, but it’s got to start in your heart and mind. Like the rich man, we have to decide – not once, but every day (sometimes every second) that we want Jesus to rule. As long as we have breath we’ll have the inclination to rule ourselves and to desire what we want, when we want it.

The key for me is that I want Jesus – now and forevermore! How about you? Who or what has you?

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊