A Windup World

Philippians 2:12-18

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2%3A12-18&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

Did you ever play with a windup toy when you were a child? They were a lot of fun except they didn’t last very long. You had to keep rewinding them over and over. Eventually, the key would break and the toy forgotten.

 

Some people feel that way about God. They seem to think that he wound up the world and just let it go, never to be seen again. David sure did at times.

 

¹ God, are you avoiding me?
    Where are you when I need you?        Psalm 10 MSG

 

^1-2 Long enough, God—
    you’ve ignored me long enough.
I’ve looked at the back of your head long enough.

    Long enough I’ve carried this ton of trouble,
lived with a stomach full of pain. Psalm 13 MSG

 

If we’re honest, we’ve all felt that way sometimes. God just doesn’t seem to care; He doesn’t seem to have a purpose for us; He doesn’t seem to be at work in our life. Paul wrote to the Philippians about a God who does care; who does have a purpose; who is at work in your life.

 

¹² Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. ¹³ For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.   NLT

 

Even David, who experienced such deep, discouraging moments, recognized that God was ever present in his life.

 

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139 NIV

 

¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.            Psalm 139 NLT

 

You don’t live in a windup world where God has randomly placed you, like a toy, to aimlessly wander. Indeed, God has a plan and a purpose for you to fulfill and is constantly at work in your world. Therefore, go and discover what He is doing, and be a part of it.

 

 

 

 

Powerball

Mark 16:15-20

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2016%3A15-20&version=NIV;ESV

 

What would you do if you won $550,000,000? That’s how much the Powerball jackpot was scheduled to be at the time of this writing. Would you buy a new luxury home or

car? Or would you set aside a trust to pay for your grand children’s college? Or would you donate 10% to your church or a ministry or charity?

 

If you are a believer and follower of Christ, in a way, you’ve already won the lottery because you know that eternal winnings are available now, and waiting for you in Heaven. The things of this world will perish, but Heaven is for eternity. It’s priceless. So what will you do with your priceless gift?

 

When Jesus was crucified, the disciples had lost all hope. They were sitting around feeling sorry for themselves, “mourning and weeping”. Even after Mary Magdalene and two other followers had seen the resurrected Christ, the disciples refused to believe; refused to act. They preferred to mope and do nothing. Then this happened.

 

¹⁴ Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.        ESV

 

Jesus called them to action. He called them to “proclaim the gospel”. Basically, he gave them a swift kick in the pants with the following result.

 

²⁰ And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.          ESV

 

Jesus is still calling his disciples across the millennia to action. He’s calling you and me to be his hands and his feet. He’s calling us to touch the lepers of this world. He’s calling us to bring a message of hope to the hopeless; to the addicted; to the imprisoned. He’s calling us to share his love, grace and forgiveness with people at work, at school, in our neighborhood and in our family.

 

We’ve already won a bigger jackpot than Powerball. Let’s share it with those that God brings into our life. Let’s get up off the couch and do something. We don’t have to go around the world… just next door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life or Death

Romans 6:14-20

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%206%3A14-20&version=NIV;NLT

 

What would you do if you had only two choices with every decision? Can you imagine in this day and age what that would be like? How would you feel if when you went to the grocery store there was only two kinds of chips and not a whole isle? Or what would it be like to buy a car where your only choice was a stripped down version of a plain black car or a plain white one?

 

We like to have multiple choices because it makes us feel like we are in control. We can decide what flavor or brand or crinkle we want in our chip. We can decide what color or size engine or package of options we get with our car. We decide… therefore, we control.

 

Paul gives us a different perspective on decision making in Romans.

 

¹⁶ Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.      NLT

 

Paul is so black and white about things. We like it better when our choices have some gray area to consider. Then we can be graded on a curve instead of exact percentages. We like essay answers where we can explain why we chose what we did, instead of true and false questions that leave no room for interpretation.

 

Then, just when we think we understand, Paul wrote this.

 

¹⁴ Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.    NLT

 

He just got done saying that you are a “slave to whatever you choose to obey” and now he’s talking about living “under the freedom of God’s grace”. Confusing right?

 

Maybe the lesson for us to learn is the next time we are facing a decision, we need to look at it like Paul did. We have two choices. The one that leads to death; or the one that leads to life? Which one do you want to choose?

 

Well… when you put it that way, it doesn’t seem like much of a choice.

 

 

Security Blanket

1 John 5:18-20

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%205%3A18-20&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

In the comic strip Peanuts, the character of Linus is always shown carrying his security blanket and sucking his thumb. If a cartoon strip character could have feelings, Linus would have felt protected. We all have insecurities and turn to different things to deal with them; to feel protected.

 

Many people turn to their spouse or significant other. Children naturally look to their parents. Students to their teachers. Addicts to their drug. The haves to their possessions. Many put up an emotional wall to protect themselves from being hurt. Anger, intimidation, abuse – all can be tools of protection.

 

Here’s what John wrote about being protected; about feeling secure.

 

¹⁸ We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. ¹⁹ We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.          NLT

 

We live in a world “under the control of the evil one”. There are dangers everywhere. Yet, as a child of God, we can rest in the assurance, in the security, that our Heavenly Father will protect us.

 

In verses 18-20, there are three “we know” statements in the New Living Translation. The first two are in the above quote. Here’s the third.

 

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.            NLT

 

When you combine these three “we know” statements, here’s what you get: Because we know that God’s Son holds his children securely; because we know that we are God’s child; therefore, we know the true God and live in fellowship with Him.

 

That’s enough knowledge for even Linus to give up his security blanket.

 

 

 

Vacation in Paradise

Revelation: 21:1-4

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2021%3A1-4&version=NIV;NLT;MSG

 

Vacations are a great time to get away; to relax; to decompress. Recently my wife and I returned from a week in Paradise. The Riviera Maya is the stretch of white sand beaches south of Cancun, Mexico filled with all-inclusive resorts.

 

Staying at one of these resorts is a life of luxurious living where you are pampered by staff whose only goal is to serve you. The food is gourmet; the architecture is elegant; and the setting is ideal with palm trees, a pristine beach, never-ending sunshine and crystal clear blue water.

 

But the problem with going on a vacation like this is that eventually you have to return to reality; and reality can you hit like a sledge hammer.

 

Upon our return, instead of laying in the sun with 85 degree temperatures, we bundled up with winter coats in 35 degrees. Instead of enjoying the warm summery breeze of the Caribbean, we were buffeted by North wind gusts of 60 miles per hour. Instead of taking a leisurely walk down the beach with waves gently washing over our feet, we battled the commuter traffic for 45 minutes each way. Welcome home!

 

The New Jerusalem that John writes about in these few verses sounds like Paradise. And actually… it is.

 

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. ² And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.            NLT

 

The new order means living in the presence of God.

 

“Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They are his people, he is their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.”            MSG

 

What sounds better to you, a temporary vacation only to return to the daily struggles of life? Or a permanent vacation in Paradise, living in the presence of our loving God? Immanuel: God with us.