OUR OPPORTUNITY IS NOW

In Genesis 16 we read a story that we could easily disregard as having little to do with us as God’s people. It is the story of Abraham’s concubine Hagar. His wife Sarai was barren and it was her idea to give her maidservant Hagar to Abraham to bear children. Abraham agreed and soon Hagar was with Abraham’s child. Ironically, this ticked Sarai off big time, even though it was her idea in the first place. Abraham gave in to Sarai and told her to do what she wanted with Hagar. What Sarai wanted to do was treat her with Hagar was treat her harshly, and she did. So much so that Hagar eventually fled from them.

She fled to the wilderness and was found by the Angel of the Lord. The Angel of the Lord said to her, Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand. And then he promised to multiply her descendants. She did as she was told, made the most of the situation, and bore a son to Abraham.

So an Angel speaks to her and tells her that her present lot in life is to submit to moody Sarai and make the most of the situation, and eventually blessings will follow. There is a lesson here.

Often our present lot in life or even our calling is anything but glorious. Sometimes it seems we are far from blessed. We have a vision of what we want our life to look like and perhaps our present circumstances bear little resemblance to our version of what should be. Welcome to life. Life is a process. We don’t always win and it isn’t always roses today or tomorrow or the next day. Sometimes life just stinks for a time and our real purpose and calling isn’t revealed until later.  Most of us don’t have grandiose callings. Our calling amounts to what is written in Micah 6:8:

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

For most of us our lot in life is just everyday obedience to our God. Many travel to and fro and read endless books to find out the will of God for themselves. Yet the Bible makes it quite clear that the will of God is everyday obedience. Anything beyond that will come only after we get good at every day obedience.

So how does the story of Hagar fit into this? We are to make the most of where we are in life now. It is not ours to coast through years of what we think is a lesser calling but to make the most of it. In 1 Corinthians 7 we see Paul telling slaves to make the most of their lives. If they can obtain freedom, well and good, but there is still a life to live for God, even in slavery. He tells the married to make the most of their lives, as well as the unmarried. The point is it is fine to hope for more or better, but not at the expense of our lives now. What live looks like now may not change anytime soon or it may never change. Should we waste away our now only hoping for better in the future? Where we are in life now is alright with God, it is where He has us now. And along with where He has us are callings and opportunities to make the most of it and live for Him…now.

Sometimes we even find ourselves in sickness, persecution or tribulation of some sort. God will see us through and things may get better. But until then, opportunity knocks. Ours is to recognize our ever-present help in the time of trouble and learn to completely trust Him. Tribulation builds character. We learn things in the tough times we wouldn’t learn in the easy times. We become people in the bad times we wouldn’t have become in the good times. No matter where we find ourselves in life or what is thrown our way, opportunity knocks. We can live for our God, learn to trust Him and be the better person for it.

A few closing verses come to mind:

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16).

Make the most of every opportunity (Colossians 4:5).

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).

These verses do not suggest we wait until we feel we are at the top of our game. They aren’t for tomorrow, they are for today. For nearly three years I have been battling stage IV cancer to stay alive, and yet the blessings and opportunities along the way are countless. God is a good God in the good times and the bad, and we should make the most of our days, whether they are good or bad. Life is short no matter how long it is. It may change significantly, it may not. Make the most of every opportunity, it may be the only opportunity we have.

 

LIVING A WHOLE LIFE WITH A HALF A HEART: PART 2 A CHECK LIST

In our last blog, we talked loving our God with all our heart and being intentional and devoting our entire being to the cause. Because life it busy and has endless distractions too often the Lord gets the left overs of our time, money, strength and the like. We must guard against this and seek and serve Him first and foremost and reverse the left overs cycle, giving Him our best and the temporary things of this life what is left over after God gets what is due Him. Again, we are reminded of a verse spoken by Jesus:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind (Luke 10:27).

• We must not gloss over the word “all” lightly. So let’s do a little self-examination to see whether our lives and hearts need some tweaking on this subject:
• How is our attitude and practice with money? When we get paid, do we enthusiastically give first to the causes of Christ and then pay the other bills second? Do we give sacrificially, sometimes more than what our normal habit of giving is?
• Do we take time every day to pray, worshipping and petitioning the Lord for what is near and dear to His heart? Do study the scriptures, hiding the word in our heart with the goal of becoming more Like our God?
• Do we deny ourselves pleasures in this life in favor of obedience and time to live for the Lord first?
• Do we consciously order our lives, redeeming the time? Do we live in such a way that if we happen to be in the later part of our lives we are living godly, productive lives, that we can be sure that we did our best to use every day for eternal purposes and really, honestly expect to hear, “Well done” in the end? Or are we expecting to just barely squeak through at the final judgment?
• Do we consciously feed our spirit with holy things instead of feeding our flesh with carnal things? We are told to make no provision in regarding the flesh, and to live holy lives, seeking first the kingdom of God. How is that going? Do we sin regularly or is it an exception?
• When we wake up, what are our first thoughts, God or worldly things? Same with when we retire for the day? When we have some down time during the day, what do our thoughts and affections gravitate toward? Do we ever take some take some unexpected time (or plan it) to create an oasis in the day with our first love, our Lord Jesus Christ?
• Many of us are good with how we spend and invest our money. Do we intentionally make decisions with the goal in mind to lay up treasures in heaven instead of just on earth?
• Do we feel the love and great affection we have for God?
• Do we meditate on Him and pray without ceasing?
• If we were to be honest, how much of our lives are dedicated to eternal things vs how much of our lives are dedicated to temporary things?
• The Bible says out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. How’s that going?
• Do we speak to others about their eternal souls and spirits?
• God has spoken of some people with these words: “God is not in all their thoughts.” How is our thought life? The Bible says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Do we think about God throughout the day, with great affection?
• Could we do better? Will we set goals and intentionally reorder our lives to be lovers of God rather than lovers of ourselves and lovers of the world?

Of course becoming a true God lover can be a process but really is quite measurable. With some intentional moves toward drawing near to the Lord, He will intentionally draw near to us. We should easily be able to see a difference in our lives in a few short months and know for certain that we love God more and our lives will look like. Our goal is to love Him with everything, having Him be our first love, and everything else be a distant second. Start today, dear warrior…and God lover. Let’s see you stronger and more tender toward Him a few months from now.

 

A BIRTHDAY BLOG

As of 7:50 on November 17, I turned 56 years old. Four years ago I was diagnosed with stage IV terminal Lung Cancer and was given no chance of long term survival. There was over an 90% chance I wouldn’t see today. It is incredible to me that over 90% of those diagnosed the same time as me who also tried this or that treatment didn’t make it. In light of these numbers, I give thanks to Him in whom we live and move and have our being. The Bible says it is appointed unto a man once to die, and after that the judgment. Though I fear neither, I am not in any hurry for either! Don’t get me wrong, I look forward with great anticipation and great affection to my going home to be with my God. But life on earth is a special opportunity to do things we can’t do in heaven.

On earth there are people who don’t believe in God or, if they do, haven’t crossed the line to saving faith in Him. On earth, there are believers who have been sidetracked from their mission and are pursuing the same things as unbelievers are. I love to influence and encourage both to faith in God or stronger faith in God. When I breathe my last, my voice will never again speak encouragement to another in this life. I am writing a lot to keep my words alive after I pass away, but it is not the same as being here. Incidentally, my second of several scheduled full-length books is nearly complete. It is called, “Praying the Psalms.” I will let you know when it is available in print and on Kindle.

Another thing I am thankful daily for is my precious family. I was brought up well and have succeeded in my faith because of it. My extended family is a group of well over a 100  and are mostly solid believers and a pleasure to spend time with. They have been an invaluable help in my past four years of difficulties, not to mention the many years of trials that proceeded these. I adore my wife of seven years and am daily blessed by my six children, who also walk with God.

Someone has said life is all about what you do with plan B. Indeed, there is lots of truth in this statement. I came across this picture recently that explains life well:

No kidding. When you think back to all your hopes, plans, and dreams and then recall what really happened it often bears little resemblance to where you thought life would go or how it would go. When I hear a young man or woman wax eloquently about their plans for the future I smile to myself knowing that much of what they anticipate is unlikely or at least won’t be the same as what they expect. Life happens. This is why it is so important to have Jesus Christ as plan A. Then it doesn’t really matter what the storms of life throw at you. Plan A is still on solid ground and will always succeed beyond your wildest dreams. I am reminded of a parable Jesus told in His Sermon on the Mount:

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27

Yes, life happens, but when your plan A is built on solid ground, it lasts forever. If your plan A is built on a temporary foundation, it will fall and great will be its fall. Put all your eggs in the eternal basket today. I have, and cancer has no long lasting hold on me. I will live forever.