Sometimes Robin goes through a whole list of things that she could fix for dinner. “What would you like?” She verbally runs down her mental menu of delectable entrees until one tickles my fancy. “That sounds good!” I respond. And dinner is served! It is only by the grace of God that we can enjoy the privilege of such abundance and I am truly grateful that we do have cupboards that are stocked. In other words, I am thankful that I don’t have to ask, “Do we have anything to eat?” But what I want to deal with here is not whether or not we have food to eat, but am I hungry? You see, she first asks if I am hungry before she asks what it is I would like to have. There is really no point in searching for something for dinner –if I don’t want to eat! Life is full of questions like this. What are we going to wear to the party? Well, we must first know what kind of party we are going to. What our major in college is going to be is answered after we decide what our careers will be. There are some questions in life that must be answered first, before other questions are tackled. Again, I would like to say that we, here in America, are awfully privileged because of God’s blessings upon us. Some of the questions that we deal with in life are so trivial and insignificant that it would be ridiculous to even mention them here. Nevertheless, we must go through this life deciding and answering questions of various degrees of importance.

But I wonder! Do we miss out on a lot in life because we waste time with trivial questions? Or do we ask amiss because our questions are asked outside of their proper time frame? For instance, Jesus said that we should give no thought about our lives, what we shall eat and drink, or about our bodies, what we should wear. He tells us to first ask ourselves, “Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes?” In other words, answer those two questions first and the succeeding questions come into perspective. Let me illustrate what Jesus was saying this way. If you are eating for this life only, then go ahead and eat what is going to satisfy the palate and fill your stomach. But if you are going to eat for eternal life, then share your bread with the hungry. We must first answer the question of life’s importance before we can attempt to answer life’s questions. Here’s another example: Jesus said that we should set our treasures in Heaven… for where your treasure is there your heart will be also. Would it stand to reason to first ask the question, “What is it that I treasure?” and secondly, “Can I put what I treasure in Heaven?” For some folks the answer is a resounding, “No!” In some instances, to ask God if we could store what we liked in Heaven would be comparative to the trash man asking if he could keep his garbage at our house. Life is full of questions. You would do well to begin your search for answers within God’s Word where God has recorded not only the answers but the correct questions as well.
 
Have a great week!
Pastor Jim

The party was “lame.” The event planners couldn’t organize their pocket change! I think the party-goers were looking for the exit before their arrival. Have you “been there?” I have! The next time that I’m invited to such a party, I will cringe and secretly hope my dentist calls for my annual cleaning! But he won’t and I will grudgingly plan on attending. But what makes matters worse is when the “inviters” ask me to invite! “Tell everybody you know!” they say with great enthusiasm. My bubble bursts and my shoulders droop –I have no desire to invite anybody. Why? Because I feel that the blame falls on me if the guests that I invite do not have a good time.

I think that sometimes this is the line of thinking when it comes to inviting our friends and acquaintances to church. I’m not saying that church is a party, but I think we hesitate to invite because we are not sure they will accept. Oh, they may accept our invitation, but will they accept the church service? We have many reasons why we don’t invite people but in reality none of our reasons hold any validity. For this reason alone, I want you to realize that we are not just inviting people to a church service. We are (or should be) inviting them to Jesus Christ and to a relationship with Him. We are inviting them to eternal life! The Bible is full of invitations and every one of them ultimately leads to Heaven. That, my friend, will be a party you don’t want to miss! Jesus invites with a promise for rest. God invites with a promise to wipe away every tear. The Spirit invites free of charge. No matter how you look at it, the invitation to party in Heaven is greatly to be desired and God has commanded that we invite others as well. Many times we hesitate to do this. But think about this: if we truly believe what God has testified about eternity, we wouldn’t think His command to be burdensome. Paul says that the love of Christ compels us. Since we believe, and know what it means to fear God, we should try to persuade men and women to accept Christ’s invitation to eternal life. I am inviting people to go bowling with us next Friday because I believe that those who come will have an opportunity for a great time. I would even expect people to come up to me afterwards and thank me for the invitation. Think about it; wouldn’t you want people to come up to you in Heaven and thank you for your invitation? Wouldn’t it be great if while they were thanking you, your eyes meet with the Savior’s as He gives you an affirming nod and an appreciating smile? Oh, Saints of the Most High God, let us be about our Father’s business. The party is going to be the greatest!

A recent slogan for a major insurance company says, “Life comes at you fast…” Their commercials show people in different circumstances that quickly turn into predicaments that usually spell out –financial disaster! These advertisements hint of a truth with a humorous slant –great ingredients for any sales pitch. It was kind of ironic then, when this same insurance company was in the news for denying customers (of the Katrina catastrophe) certain benefits. These folks had to go to court and fight against this company just so they would pay up. The courts’ decision was in favor of the company. Can’t you just hear it now? You know, as the lawyers and agents were leaving the court room, looking to those who thought they were covered but were not; “Hey, life comes at you fast!” Life does come at us fast, there is no doubt about that. One day you’re working a steady job the next day you receive your “pink slip.” One day you’re out and about, active and healthy, and the next day you’re making an appointment with a specialist. Yesterday everything was normal and routine at the college campus, today S.W.A.T. teams have the building surrounded. Yes, life comes at us fast, very fast and nothing here on earth, nothing under the sun is secure. You may have money in the bank today and tomorrow it can be gone. That marriage may seem good and wonderful today but tomorrow she may leave you. Life comes at you fast and life has a way of putting you in situations that you thought you would never be in. Sometimes these predicaments are self-inflicted and other times they are beyond our control. I’m not dealing with that here today. But what I want to share with you is simply this:
If you are a Christian and you have Jesus Christ –you have eternal security. Now, before the “Arminian” crowd railroads me out of town, I want you to know that I am a full believer that Jesus Christ is the Vine and we are the branches. Any branch that does not bear fruit is in danger of being cut off and thrown into the fire. But if I continue in the faith and add to it as the Apostle Peter had instructed, it will keep me from being ineffective and unproductive in my knowledge of Jesus Christ. If I continue to grow in this way he goes on to say that I will never fall and I will receive a rich welcome into the Kingdom of Heaven. 2Pe.1:5-11 The writer of Hebrews gives an even a greater assurance of the promise of receiving a kingdom (here and now) that can never be shaken. Heb.12:28 Brothers and Sisters, Jesus has purchased our souls by His Blood and guarantees us entry into Eternal Life. He has not failed nor will He. No matter what life dishes out, no matter what predicament you find yourselves in, God has spoken a promise to you and He is faithful to see that you will receive it. Listen, men will always let you down but God will always come through. Life may come at you fast, but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!

King Nebuchadnezzar ransacked Jerusalem, burned the Temple, and stole all its gold. He did great exploits and was a grand architect. He even designed one of the ancient wonders of the world, the hanging gardens of Babylon. One day he was out on the roof of his palace admiring his great kingdom and all that his hands had accomplished when he heard a voice coming from the heavens. He immediately went crazy and his kingdom was gone –just like that! His subjects chained him to a tree and there he remained. Solomon tells us, “All of man’s efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.” What he has done here is given us a little insight into the nature of man, the fallen nature that is. Why is it that we boast of what we do? Why do we feel it necessary to speak of our achievements? Is it all because of that thing we call the ego? The ego is not a bad thing. It is the conscious aspect of our psyche that lets us know that we are self and not someone else. Our ego allows us to be aware of ourselves in the midst of all the other things of creation. But since the fall of man, our ego has been in need of exaltation. For example: I need to do special things for Robin and then let her know that I did them for her. This helps me feel good about myself. I want her approval and when I get it my ego is satisfied –for the time being! You see, I think Solomon was exactly right. I complain to myself that I don’t do enough and if I don’t do something about it, then I usually end up feeling pretty useless after awhile. If I would let these feelings go unchecked, who knows what kind of depression I would end up in? The ego can work the other way as well. I can try to do all kinds of good things and meet every need I see. I can get to feeling pretty good about myself, thinking that I’m just the right chap and I don’t see how the world could turn without me? I call that the “Nebuchadnezzar syndrome” and it will ultimately end with my insanity. Someone once said that they have been to the top only to realize that nothing was there. How truly anticlimactic all of our achievements really are! Do you want to know why all our good works will never satisfy our ego? Because when we do good things we are not doing anything any more special than what we were suppose to do from the beginning when God created us! We were created to do good and accomplish great things. But when man fell from grace our egos were damaged and they have been in need of soothing and exalting ever since. It is only in Christ that our egos can be healed and kept from ruining us. While Nebuchadnezzar was chained to that tree he lifted his eyes toward Heaven and acknowledged that God was King. And God restored his sanity and his kingdom. Do you feel worthless? Are you a glory hound? Is your ego a friend or foe? If you surrender your life to Christ he will make you glad that you are you! And because of the love that He has especially for you –you’ll be glad that you’re not somebody else!