Tuesday, November 11, 2014

EACH MORNING, NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Each morning you wake up you have the opportunity to chart a course.  As each week begins you get to consider how you will direct it. You have the opportunity to point your life in the right direction that will bring goodness to you and glory to God.

What is the “right direction”?  For most of us the right direction would be the way that gives us security.  It would be something we can count on.  It would be a foundation on which we could build our lives which would not change or disappear.  It would be a way of life that is dependable and rewarding.  Really, who wants to build a life on that which is unreliable and subject to penalties?

If we can know the things which are reliable and secure, then we not only have a strong foundation on which to stand; we have a motivation, an energy, something that will propel us forward through life.  Most of us want something that will equip us and fuel us in our everyday living.  We want something that will enliven us in an ongoing way.

The good news is that there are at least six things you can build your life on.  These six things are trustworthy, dependable, and secure.  They will last when all else may fail.  They will remain when everything else may change.

Psalm 19 points us in the direction of that which is trustworthy:  The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes. God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree Psalm 19:7-9 (Mes). 

This is why you want to build your life around the six things that will last:

1. God’s purpose for your life will last.
2. God’s Word will last.
3. God’s love will last.
4. God’s church will last.
5. God’s salvation of you will last.
6. God’s presence with you will last.

If you’ll build your life around these six things, your life will be transformed, and you’ll do good things for yourself and bring glory to God.  Build each day, each week, each month around them.  Your life is far too important to invest in anything less.

Monday, November 3, 2014

STAYING BALANCED

Sunday night Nik Wallenda, high wire artist and daredevil, wowed the crowds in Chicago with two sky-scraper crossings on the high wire without a safety net or a harness.  The second crossing he did blindfolded.  Wallenda is a Christ-follower who uses opportunities to share his faith with the world.  He is also the most watched high wire artist and daredevil in the world.  In the last couple of years he’s walked a tightrope across Niagara Falls and across the Grand Canyon.  Just those two feats alone were seen by a billion people across the world.

Wallenda admits that he will be tempted by pride, so after the huge crowds and the media fade away, he commits to a simple spiritual discipline:  he walks where the crowds have just stood and quietly picks up trash.  He recently wrote, “My purpose is simply to help clean up after myself.  The huge crowd left a great deal of trash behind, and I feel compelled to pitch in.  Besides, after the inordinate amount of attention I sought and received, I need to keep myself grounded… I do it because it’s a way to keep from tripping.  As a follower of Jesus, I see him washing the feet of others.  I do it because if I don’t serve others I’ll be serving nothing but my ego.”

Regardless of what we do, we must keep a balanced perspective if we call ourselves followers of Jesus.  He said, “The greatest among you will be your servant” (Matt. 23:11).