First your are old, and then you die.

Something To Think About When you get done being old you die :

My late father used to jokingly call cemeteries, "scull orchards," though he would, also, often slow down, out of respect, when he drove by one.  I think he was utterly sincere when he claimed to have no concern for how his body would be dealt with after his death.     His line was something like, "I don't care if you bury me head-down in a post hole and mark my name on my shoe heel"  In actuality he wasn't that nonchalant.  He purchased grave plots for himself and my mom.  My dad never really got old. He was only sixty-two when he died.  I've spent my life being a small town pastor.  I've hung around death a good bit.  I've seen folk die and leave the heirs with a real mess, and I've seen others proactively bless their families by the preparations they had made.  I'm not proposing irresponsibilty. My wife and I are entering into a time when we'll be traveling a lot.  We are no longer--as the saying goes--Spring Chickens (though you can't tell it when you look at Kathy).  We figure it is responsible to make some preparations.  We are getting our wills in order.  We're passing on some key information to our sons.  Our house may not be in order, but we are trying to cut down on the chaos.  We, however, refuse to focus on dying.  In fact we don't have to refuse; focusing on death isn't really a temptation; life is just too interesting. Growing old involves some accommodation.  A friend of mine is a good athlete.  He can't jump any more, but he is having a great time coaching those who can.  The deterioration and slow-down that comes with growing older is inevitable, but we don't have to cooperate with the trend.  Let's do what we can to preserve life's vigor for as long as possible. Part of living responsibly, especially at this end of life, includes preparing to die--indeed, I've said on other occasions that one is not really ready to live until he is ready to die.  That doesn't mean, however, that we need to focus on death.  The fact is we will die whether we plan to or not.  We will only really live if we go about it purposefully.  I'm a realist.  Fifty year Guarantees don't impress me much any more, but at this point it would appear that I have some space between here and my appointment with the grave.  I choose to focus on life. Bottom line: Be ready to die (see the link below) and then get on with living(likewise check out the link below), how old you are is irrelevant.   It's Something to Think About. Young or old we all need the Lord. Find out more here.

Learning from a funny man's sad death:

I've spent my life in what used to be called "fly over country."  The big power-brokers are on the East Coast and the trend setters on the West.  Reporters just fly back and forth over our heads looking for news from the edges of our continent.  To be honest, a lot of the news that comes from DC, NY, and L. A. just flies over our heads out here in the hinter-land.  Some Hollywood starlet was arrested for the twenty-fifth time for DUI--"Ho-hum."   A politician on the take?  "Aren't they all?" Sometimes, though, something cuts through the clutter & kicks me in the gut.  Robin Williams death was like that.  Maybe it is because he was about the same age as me.  He enjoyed biking, as do I.  When he was on, he was devastatingly funny.  I figure nobody can be that funny unless they are serious about it.  I like humor.  I appreciate its power. Bottom-line, the news of Williams's death made me think.   In spite of the vast differences between the movie star comic and the small town preacher, there was enough that Williams and I had in common that I found myself responding to the tragic news of his death with, "There but for the grace of God, go I." There is a Solomon-esque Ecclesiastes-like, very un-amusing  quality to the comics death. "WHY?" Solomon had his gardens, palaces, zoos, and harem.  Speaking about his cycling obsession, Bicycling Magazine said, Williams loves bikes. The actor doesn't own one of the best bikes you can get-he owns them all, packed into a San Francisco mega-garage. He can, and does, without hesitation, indulge one of the most intense cases of gear lust in two-wheeled history. If the urge to pedal a favorite back road in Montana hits, no problem: He loads his bike into a private jet and is there in a flash. And while a spin with Lance Armstrong may be just a sweat-soaked chamois dream for most cyclists, the comic counts the Texan as a riding buddy. When Williams attends the Tour, he's a turbo-VIP, following the action from a U.S. Postal support vehicle. You read this and probably ask, "What would I do with a warehouse full of bikes?"  I think I know.  You'd sell them--maybe I'd buy one--and then you'd buy a warehouse full of something that floats your boat.  There is no maybe to this.  I'm sure.  Whatever you or I would fill our store-house full with, would not, will not, can not satisfy.  By God's grace Solomon or Howard, nor you--since you are reading this--did not/have not come to the bitter end that was the last moment of Williams's life.  Let's use our reprieve to learn some very serious lessons from the very sad end of a very funny man's life.  We are are fallen people in a fallen world. The same brokenness that effects the rest of creation, impacts us to our core.  All of us are born with a birth-defect, sin  (seePsalm 51, esp. v.5).  We help those who struggle with congenital blindness, or weak hearts.  Let's help those who struggle with emotional disorders most of us don't understand. I don't care how much you have, when it comes to satisfying your soul it will never be enough.  Don't be like the rich fool, who tried to fill a spiritual hole with stuff.n this fallen world. We often envy the wrong people for the wrong reasons.  I remember reading the article I referenced above.  I had to deal covetousness.  Now, I look again.  I see nothing that makes me want to change places. We desperately need the Lord.  Only He can truly help.     “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26, NASB95)     Indeed It's Something to Think About.

Sacrifice, III

“And do not neglect doing good and sharing,
for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” 
(Hebrews 13:16, NASB95)  

I Peter 2:5 says that part of God's purpose in drawing people to Himself and making them His children is so they can "offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

Many think that Christians are people who do good deeds in order to earn their way to heaven--sort of a celestial barter system.  The reality is, Followers-of-Jesus engage in good works because they are on their way to heaven.  They have been   “rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred . . . to the kingdom of His beloved Son,” (Colossians 1:13).  Ultimately this Kingdom will overcome all the consequences of sin and death in this world.  The "whole creation," which "groans and travails" in it's current state, will one day be "be set free from its slavery to corruption" (Romans 8:21).
Clearly part of our worship of our Redeemer-God is to join with Him in doing Good works in this fallen world.  We cannot, by our human efforts, reverse the curse of sin, but we can--to use a former president's image--create points of light.  Properly done, and accompanied with appropriate Gospel witness, these points of light point to the Light of the world, Who is Jesus.

Christ-follower, find something good to do today.  Do it in the name of, and for the glory of the Lord.  It is a sacrifice with which God is pleased.

It's Something to Think About.

This STTA is part of a series inspired by Pastor Doug Williams's message from last Sunday.  In his handout he suggested that we look at these Bible verses to investigate "spiritual sacrifices": Romans 12:1, Hebrews 13:15-16, Philippians 4:18, Romans 15:15-16.  We are doing that in this week's STTAs.  You can read past STTAs here.
Here is an article that explores the relationship between what God is doing in individual hearts and what He is doing in the world.
 

God's Story in His Own Words. a message composed of nothing but Scripture that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen."

You can find directions for getting where you really want to go here.

Who's It About, Anyway?

Lots of what passes for Christian teaching in our day has to do with success.  God will make us better, richer, prettier, skinnier, more influential, etc., etc., on and on.
Underneath all these claims there is a bit of truth--sort of.
When we live by God's principles there is a change that takes place in our lives.  It affects every part of us.  Food is no longer one of our gods so gluttony with its accompanying results no longer tends to plague us.  Wasteful and destructive habits tend to be controlled so, quite often as our waistline shrinks our bank account swells.  Bad habits often produce bad results.  Deal with those destructive patterns and quite likely the outcomes will improve.  People who seek to live by Biblical virtues like goodness, kindness, mercy, truth-telling are probably going to get along better with the people in their lives.  Other thing being equal it will help their marriage, and make them better parents.
Christianity is not, however, primarily about me. 
The ultimate criteria of the success of the universe is not whether or not life has been good for me.  In the final analysis it is about whether or not God is pleased.  Ephesians 1:6 tells us that what God is doing, He is doing so it will result in the "praise of the glory of His grace." 
So let's learn from God's word, let's follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, and gain encouragement from fellowship with God's people.  There is certainly nothing wrong with enjoying those benefits, in fact our enjoyment of them is part of what brings glory to our Heavenly Father.  Let's make sure, however, that we don't try to pervert the plan of God into something that is all about me.

It isn't.

It's STTA.

  

Find out more about God's plan here.  Write to find out more.  

The Sweet spot between adapting and settling:

SOMETHING  TO THINK ABOUT "What made you decide that you would make an ashtray in ceramics class?" "Really, I never did decide.  I just looked at the thing, and it looked more like an ashtray than anything else, so. . . ." To one degree or another, virtually every hobby project has an element of that kind of imposed parameter about it  It's hard to make a long project with short lumber.  Sometimes the color it gets painted is determined by what was left from the last remodel. Setting out to make a bench six feet long, but ending up with one five feet, nine inches, because you had this lovely piece of oak just short of six feet is likely a good use of resources.  Ending up with one six inches tall--not so much.  Adapting is a virtue.  Settling for that which clearly isn't what it should be, or won't do what it ought to do, is unsettling, to say the least.  Striking the appropriate balance requires, among other things, holding to some unalterable core values, and having a clear view of reality. Over the years, building my greatest project--my life--I have messed up in both directions. On occasions I have gotten hung up on minutiae. Important thingswent undone, essentials were ignored, but I paid close attention to some stupid detail that a year later--maybe ten minutes later--didn't matter at all. At other times I have let my impatience, or desire to please others, or failure to plan, or (fill in the blank) talk me out of some absolutely essential element.  I settled when I should have insisted and persisted. If you get the idea that I struggle some between those two extremes, I'd say you've got it about right.  I've still got some more ideas on the matter, but how about we finish up by doing something I ought to do a whole a lot more, praying. Lord, I need to know the difference between what is essential, and that which doesn't matter.  I know that understanding Your word is essential, so help me to learn it better and obey it more thoroughly.  Lord, don't let my life turn out to be something it never should have become.  Amen We aren't done yet.  Stay tuned. It's STTA.

It's Not About Me:

Those born in the 70s, 80s, and 90s are sometimes called the "Me Generation."  The demographic takes in my sons, their spouses, and a lot of my friends.  I think labeling them with a title that glorifies egoism is unfair.  I don't say that because young adults don't spend more time in front of a mirror than they should or more money on #1 than is appropriate, but because the issue is not one isolated to their generation.  It is part of the human condition.

This brings me to another one-liner:  recently wrote about the brief summaries that I try to come up with for my Junior High Sunday School class.  In that STTA I mentioned a one-word-er, "Hold!"

I thought I'd explore this a bit.  Here is another.

"God is not an idiot."  (I use that word not to refer to one who is unable to think clearly, but who doesn't, or even chooses to not, act in a clear thinking manner.) It's not about me.

 In the Garden of Eden the serpent offered Eve a way to "be like God."  In essence Satan said, God is holding out on you.  (Another one liner.)  To put it in modern parlance, Eve said, "I'm going to have it my way."  "I deserve it."  and she took the fruit.  

At the other end of Scripture there is a group that rises in rebellion against the King of kings.  Like those envisioned in

Psalm 2 they say, "Let us . . . free ourselves from slavery to God."  

Every generation left to itself is the Me Generation.  God is calling us to be counter-cultural.   It's not about me.  All of creation is to bring glory to God.  (See Psalm 150 for example.)   It's not about me.  It is about Him. 

What am I doing today that will bring praise to my great God?

 It's STTA.