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I guess I’m old enough know to start to understand all those complaints from my grandparents about how fast time flies. It doesn’t really seem to matter when time seems endless in front of you. But, I’m quickly approaching the midpoint of my time on earth (if I haven’t passed it already). I can start to imagine the amount of time I may have left.

This is not meant to be morbid, because I’m looking forward to my life after death. But, I know that my time here is a preparation for then. With this realization that the clock has been ticking, I start to think clearly about what is worth my time and what isn’t.

I’m beginning to realize that as much as I love what I do for a living, I can’t let that block out my study of the Word and my relationship with Jesus. I find myself wanting to make time in my schedule to learn more about Scripture and what it can teach me. I find myself considering time as a valuable currency that I want to spend wisely. I can’t hoard it or spend it in bunches, so I had better be sure that it’s being used well.

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-17

I used to spend time like it was never-ending. Now, I’m spending it like real cash. The day will come when time seems like gold bars and I’ll want to spend it very wisely and get the most out of it.

Redeem your time!

If I give my coat to a homeless man, is that an act of Christ-like love from me? Most would answer in the affirmative. If I berate my friend into giving up his coat instead, is that an act of Christ-like love from me? I think you’d get a mixed response to that scenario. If I point a gun at a passerby and take his coat to give to the homeless man, is that an act of Christ-like love from me? I would hope that nobody believes that to be the case.

Sure, the homeless guy got a coat in all three situations. That’s good! The poor were helped. But, is this a net benefit morally? You could argue that, ultimately, it was still a sacrificial gift on the part of my friend in the second scenario. I don’t believe there is any act of love in the last one.

We cannot measure a series of actions based solely on the outcome.

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9

Remember that our relationship with Christ is very personal. When He says, “give,” He’s pointing a finger at you and one at me saying, “You give.” When He says, “care for the poor,” He’s again pointing at you and me as individuals. These are tasks for us to take upon ourselves personally or by directly supporting organizations that do so.

I believe it is hypocritical and evil to interpret this commandment as authority for us to either verbally or physically force others to obey it. Remember that Jesus is a gentlemen. He has explained what a better life looks like, but He never grabbed anyone by the collar and dragged him to it.

Love sacrificially, but don’t be hypocritical or justify evil in an effort to cause others to join you.

Now is not the time to rest. Sure, we can take a breather or unwind for a bit, but we can’t really rest in the Biblical sense. It’s not time to do that, yet.

I recently had an evening with very little sleep and even that bit was at an unusual hour. By the time I had passed the forty hour mark (with only about three hours of sleep in the middle), I was in desperate need of some rest. However, the hour was such that resting earlier would have meant missing my normal working hours. It would have meant missing a chance to get tasks done and move my projects forward. It turns out that it even may have meant missing a new opportunity as it germinated. I wanted rest, but it wasn’t time, yet.

Hebrews speaks of the rest God has promised:

“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” Hebrews 4:1-2

Just because you know of the promise, doesn’t mean you are a beneficiary. You must have made the decision to live by faith in Christ.

“For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” Hebrews 4:8-10

The rest God promises has not been granted, yet. It is still to come. So, don’t get complacent and comfortable with a cheap substitute now. And, since we have not entered God’s rest, yet, then our work is not done, yet.

The good news is that real rest is promised and will come to those who believe. Don’t settle for something less.

It’s not time to rest, yet.

There was a time in my life when my family enjoyed touring the Street of Dreams exhibitions every year. I saw more than my share of big houses with impressive amenities. After a few tours, I started to recognize the names of the various builders. I could connect who was building the big homes, who was doing the best kitchens, and who was building the high tech homes. Certain names would slightly impress and others we’d go out of our way to see.

Understanding the skills and capabilities of the builder helped you to understand more about that person or company and what they were capable of. If a person were to be in the market for a ginormous home, he could decide who to choose based on the track record and understanding what the builder could do.

This is the point the author of Hebrews is making when comparing Moses and Jesus. The Israelites rightly held Moses in high regard, so the author uses him as a yardstick to describe Who Jesus is.

“For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” Hebrews 3:3-6

Moses did some impressive building and did some legendary serving. But Jesus is the Builder and we all serve in His house. And it only makes sense that we honor the Builder over the handiwork.

This is a useful tactic when describing Jesus to anyone new to the Gospel. Jesus wasn’t another in a line of prophets and teachers. Jesus was the Teacher, the High Priest, and the Builder. He is something very different and unique.

Jesus is God.

What will you do with your second chance? How will you react? What will your state of mind be?

A guest speaker made great use of these questions this weekend and I appreciated his clear approach to answering them. God is a god of second chances. He continues to give them every time we ask for them. Our growth can be measured by what we do with them and what attitude we take. Scripture offers up some great history for us to compare and contrast. Jonah is famous for disobeying God’s call and ending up feeling like bait. When he asked to for a second chance, he got one:

“Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD.[...]” Jonah 3:1-3a

Jonah took advantage of his second chance and obeyed God, but what was his attitude when the Ninevites had the temerity to listen to him and repent?

“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.” Jonah 4:1

Jonah may have obeyed, but he was still angry with God’s plan. His attitude was still self-focused.

Now, Paul was also given a second chance when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. We know that Paul grabbed on to his second chance with both hands became a leader of the early church. But, what was his attitude?

“Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” Philippians 2:17

“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4

No matter the plan God had, Paul wanted to rejoice in God and in what Jesus had done for him. His attitude was Jesus-focused.

So, your lesson for the day is to ask and take advantage of a second chance. And, do it with the right attitude.

There are 10 kinds of people in the world: those who can read binary and those who can’t.

This old joke still elicits chuckles with computer geeks like myself. (For those still stumped, 10 is the binary representation for 2). There are others in my sphere of acquaintances who have the bad habit of dividing people in other ways. There are the educated and uneducated. There are the liberals and conservatives. There are the rich and the poor. There are the normal people and the Jesus freaks. It goes on and on.

I, for one, am always annoyed with discussions that are based on dividing people according to race, sex, political orientation, etc. I don’t think any of those things are the most important thing about a person. I don’t think we can have an honest discussion about people if we need to boil them down to some arbitrary grouping so we can pigeonhole them and treat them like everyone in the group is the same.

I think there is only one worthwhile way to divide people: saved and unsaved. That’s the only quality that will matter as we head into eternity.

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:26-29

We are all one in Christ Jesus. None of those classifications should divide us now, but we should be willing to point out the divide between the unsaved and the saved. We should not do it to brag or act superior, but to do everything we can to help others hear the truth and save them from an eternity of separation.

Nothing else is more important.

It is heartbreaking to see close friends and family pursue lives of emptiness. It’s even worse when they broadcast it. In those cases when they are uninterested in hearing the Gospel message, your best witness is your own life. If you can’t speak out loud, live out loud. But, to be a witness, you have to be noticed and nobody will notice you if you live or sound like everyone else.

“For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:3-7

We were there, but now we’re not. We used to live like that, but now we don’t. We are renewed, regenerate, and blessed. We are set apart. We are holy.

Live so that others notice. Live out loud.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I remember these scene clearly, but I have watched “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” more than a few times. It’s just not a good movie, but for whatever reason I’ve seen it repeatedly. Anyway, there’s a scene when the crew takes the newly refurbished Enterprise out for a spin and they attempt to go to warp speed. However, they accidentally create a wormhole and are being drawn inexorably toward an asteroid and everything seems to be moving in slow motion with cheesy early-80s graphics. It’s not until Kirk and Decker destroy the asteroid that things return to normal. Not focusing on the destination properly nearly destroyed the ship (of course, this movie nearly destroyed the entire franchise).

In Greek mythology, the Sirens were creatures that caused sailors to change course and shipwreck on their island. The warning to sailors was to no lose track of your destination. Don’t be drawn off course.

Peter walked on water as long as he was looking at Jesus. When he looked at the storm around him, he panicked and fell in. He lost focus on his destination.

The world is clamoring for our attention. The enemy would love nothing more to distract us and make us useless. Our flesh cries out for gratification. Our own willpower will never be sufficient to hold off these adversaries. It’s only with God that we can have the strength of will to resist.

“You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3

It’s when we let the mind drift and lose focus on our destination that we are in danger. You want to enjoy some real peace? Keep your mind “stayed” on Him.

It’s the slippery slope. It’s the drifting of an unanchored boat. It’s slouching toward hell. It’s that place where you’re so far off track that you can’t even remember what it means to be on track.

There have been a few moments in my life when friendly debates will stop dead because my debate partner has just revealed his ignorance of a seemingly obvious fact. I get a little tongue-tied because I didn’t imagine I would have to debate the existence of evil or the faults of moral relativism. These things seem obviously wrong to me as much as claiming two plus two equals five hundred.

I’ve come to realize that those situations require a whole different discussion. You can’t be arguing the finer points of philosophy when the other person has drifted so far he doesn’t recognize reality anymore.

“To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.” Titus 1:15-16

Those who are not pure are so far gone that they can’t even recognize their own faults. Now, don’t laugh, that was once you and me. We have only gained any modicum of clarity through Jesus. The reason we trust the Word over our own opinions and judgements is precisely because we have a hard time seeing truth without coloring it.

In your debates, be aware of whether your partner is working with the same foundation you are. If not, you need to back up and have a larger discussion. Anything else is pointless.

Strive to be pure and think clearly. Check yourself against the Word as often as humanly possible.

Beware of the drift.

If you surgically remove Scripture from its context, you can make it appear to support just about any idea. Like statistics, it’s all of the footnotes and details that tell you if the postulate is defensible.

Consider this quote from Paul detailing some recent personal events to Timothy:

“Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.
At my first defense, no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them.” 2 Timothy 4:14-16 NKJV

This seems to expose some vengeance in Paul’s tone. He seems to be looking forward to Alexander’s comeuppance while also hoping for mercy for some others who left him alone in court. That’s from the New King James.

The New American Standard reads this way:

“Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.” 2 Timothy 4:14 NASB

That sounds more passive on Paul’s part, as if there’s nothing he can do about it. That feeling gets even softer with the New Living Translation

“Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, but the Lord will judge him for what he has done.” 2 Timothy 4:14 NLT

In this case, Paul is not only saying that the Lord will take care of the consequences, but he seems to also be saying that knowing this fact softens the blows. It’s as if knowing that God will take care of the injustice makes it more bearable.

So, where do we stand? Is Paul vindictive? Passive? or, has he already begun to let those actions go knowing that God will deal with Alexander?

I think we can analyze Paul’s personality and heart through the rest of his writings to know. What analysis like this shows us is that the translation isn’t easy and the right answer is somewhere in between all of these choices.

One thing we know for sure, though, is that the right conclusion will not contradict the rest of Scripture. So, if we choose see Paul as vindictive, we would have a hard case to argue because that’s not his style anywhere else and he knew the facts to be otherwise. He knows that justice is for God to mete out.

We cannot use Paul’s example to take joy in the justice God will impart on the unsaved. We should weep for their blindness and for the life they are missing. If we know much about the rest of Scripture, we should know better.

Before you start making life decisions or theological frameworks, do a little research and be honest about what the most likely interpretation is.

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