KING OF THE HILL

"Disregard for God is the greatest evil in the world today. It is as though an ant on his anthill should disbelieve in the earth." - John Piper

Can you picture it, a tiny ant standing atop his small dirt hill with fists held high proclaiming, "I'm king of the world!" Sounds absurd I know but I'm afraid it's a frightening depiction of how most of us live our lives.

We often get so tied up with our tiny anthill home, our tiny ant clothes, how our tiny ant hair looks and how fit our tiny ant bodies are that we live our lives entirely oblivious to the God who created everything, including us. Or maybe we get consumed by our tiny ant job, what all the other tiny ants think of us or making sure our even tinier ant kids are the best and the brightest around that we forget how truly small, tiny and insignificant we are. Psalms 39:5 says that, "each man's life is but a breath and the span of our years is like a split second before God." Whatever the case may be, many of us forget daily that we are mere ants and that our existence is a gift. We forget that we were created by God and for Him, to work not for our own reputation or renown but for his. We forget that we were created to make his name famous by telling the story of his love to the world, and instead spend our days consumed with ourselves and with being the king of our own tiny ant hill. We go marching about day after day, living however we please and giving little or no thought to God.

Will you expand your view of the world outside yourself today to see all that God is doing and wanting to do in your life? I think the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:7 says it best. "What makes you better than anyone else? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own." When Romans 12:1 says that we are to offer our lives as living sacrifices to God, this is not an act of relinquishing or giving up our belongings, it's giving our life back to God because it was never ours to begin with. Will you make today about more than just living for yourself and will you commit your life to sharing God's greatness with the next generation? (Psalms 78:4) I hope you will.

MORALLY NEUTRAL THINGS

"Now set your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God." 1 Chronicles 22:19

We like to think of Satan as this awful, nasty creature with the frightening power to get us to do hideous things. Things like hate and murder and kill and steal. I'm afraid though that these hideous, immoral things, as bad as they are, are not Satan's most deadly weapon. No, it's the in the middle things, the morally neutral ones that he uses the best. By turning our attention onto normal, good things, in a manner so subtle that we don't even realize it, Satan can distract our focus from God, leaving us lost to the truth and vulnerable for attack.

Just like it doesn't take long for a band without it's director, a ship without a compass or a team without a couch to go astray, human beings giving no thought to God means bad news. Without God as our strength, power and constant reminder of what's true, we quickly find ourselves in a downward spiral and on a crash course with destructive and selfish living.

In the first book of the bible we are told that God created the world and everything in it and that it was good. That means that that everything from food, TV shows, sports and even relationships were all made by God with a purpose in mind. One of those purposes was so that you and I could enjoy these things , recognize that they came from God, and praise him for all he has done. Satan's main goal is to prevent this from happening. If he can make us so obsessed with God's creation that we worship it instead of the creator himself then he has done his job.

Just stop for a second and think about all the things we spend our day doing. Eating, exercising, worrying about the way we look, trying on clothes, buying new ones, working, trying to be successful, trying to be liked, watching sports, playing sports, learning, studying, volunteering, going to church, walking, hiking, vacationing, spending time with kids, with loved ones....the list goes on and on. These are wonderful things no doubt but the real question is how much do you think about all of these things instead of the God who gave them to you? Favorite TV shows, the latest political news, music videos and the like. Is the problem that we're to busy or just that we choose to make no time for God? Satan has most of us so distracted by things, worries, fears, stuff and trying to be what the world wants us to be that we can give zero attention to the God of the universe who has given us everything.

Paul says twice in his first letter to the Corinthians that, "Everything is permissible for me - but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible but I will not be mastered by anything." There are lots of good things that can be the focus of our lives but I hope you will realize like Paul did that "Nothing compares to the surpassing greatness of following Christ" (Phil 3:8). Will you keep Christ as your number one focus and spend time with him today?

PORNED

"Men weren't made to have sex with bodies, they were designed to make love to souls." - Matt Chandler

Today is an incredibly tough topic, but nonetheless an essential one. As we speak, pornography, sexual addiction and infidelity are running rampant through our country, ripping families and marriages apart. The family unit is on the verge of extinction and absolutely nothing is being done about it. Before you tune me out or dismiss what I'm about to say because porn, sex addiction or extramarital affair doesn't apply to you, I want to plead with you not to. Every one of us, and I'm talking mainly to guys, are at fault in this area and need to make some radical changes in our life. Let me explain.

The concept of love and of marriage was not invented by man, but created by God who made both sexes. He made them uniquely different in such a way that they need the other and function best when together. He made our bodies unique as well, as a perfect fit when combined, and gave us sex as a gift and a way to bring us closer. Since God created us, I think it's safe to say he knows us best and only fitting to see what his word, the Bible, has to say about sex.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, we read about the wise king Solomon who God has given us as an expert on the topic. The dude had 700 wives, 300 hookers and got more action that any man could ever imagine. Let's fast forward to later in his life and see what he has to say about women.

"I find more bitter than death, woman, who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains....While I was still searching and not finding - I found one true man among a thousand, but not one true woman among them all." - Ecc 7:26 & 28

Sounds like our man Solomon is pretty bitter. This certainly isn't what you would expect from a guy who had 1000 women at his beck and call. The last part of what he says about finding one true man but no women is extremely important for us to understand. I think Matt Chandler said it best in one of his talks. He said, "Solomon experienced how tough it is for guys to have deep relationships with other guys. Every now and then you find one guy that you really click with on a personal, soul level and you become great friends. But he didn't find this connection with any of his 1000 women. That's because when Solomon sat down to dinner with a girl and she started to unpack her dreams and passions, all he could think about was her breasts and what it would be like to get her in bed."

Solomon was addicted to sex and so are we. In making his relationships with women all about their body and what they could give, he stripped them of their soul. I want to argue that you and I are no different. Any time we choose to look at a women who is not our wife or entertain a lustful thought about one, we trample her soul and become more and more addicted to merely bodily sex. Years of thinking about women in this way, only concerned about the wonder of their bodies, will leave any man, single or married, severely addicted and completely incapable of making love to the most important part of a women, her soul. It's no wonder we fail at marriage.

Nowadays, bodily sexual experiences can easily be had at a moments notice either in person or on the computer but they can never satisfy, just ask Solomon. We give Solomon a hard time for his 1000 women but in our own mind are we any different? The typical course of most marriages seems to be that men enjoy bodily sex with their wife for awhile and then grow bored. Once that happens, they will either secretly pursue some new sexual experience or treat their wife poorly to chase her off so they can do so out in the open. Intimately knowing a women both in body and soul is extremely rare and takes time, but this is how sex was meant to be.

So what should we do? Single guys, if you don't start right now "taking every thought captive" (1 Corinthians 10:5) to think about women in the right way then you will dig yourself into such a hole of bodily addiction that you'll never get out and your future marriage will be subject to failure before it even begins. If you even think to yourself for a second that you'll have fun now and not regret it later, you're wrong. The damage that you will cause to yourself and to your future wife, family and to countless others won't be worth any temporary satisfaction or pleasure you experience, I promise. Married guys, we can in absolutely no way "give the devil a single foothold" (Eph 4:27) and must "flee from sexual immorality" (1 Cor 6:18) at all costs. There is nothing more wonderful or pleasing to God than a godly marriage and a godly family, and there is nothing that Satan despises more. The devil will stop at nothing to ruin your current or future marriage, but will you fight for it? Our world has been porned, sexed, and seduced into thinking about women in the wrong way, will you fight to be a man that loves both body and soul today?

To listen to a great talk on this topic by pastor Matt Chandler CLICK HERE

DEAD MAN STANDING

The other day I was running past a cemetery in our neighborhood and it really got me thinking. I've probably passed hundreds or thousands of these in my life without a second thought but what happened the other day for some reason was different. As I passed by, I couldn't help but stare at tombstone after tombstone and it suddenly hit me that each one represented a life just like mine. Each of those buried people were once alive and like me, grew up, probably went to school, got a job, were married, raised a family, and then eventually died. Sure everyone's story is a little different, but the reality of this thought was humbling to me. That's because there is this tendency I have, and maybe you do to, to think that I'm super important, that my life is the one that matters the most in the world, and that the things I'm doing and thinking are earth changing and have never been thought or done before. Prideful and selfish I know.

The crazy things is, if we stop to think about the millions upon millions that have lived before us and all the great men and women that currently reside six feet under, one cannot help but be humbled and feel incredibly insignificant. I realized the other day that the people in that cemetery lived amazing lives at a level of greatness I will likely never reach but even if I could, would it make any difference? What if I did become famous for doing something great one day and they buried me in a prestigious cemetery with a big headstone so that people could drive by to see where Drew was buried? It wouldn't matter because I would be no different than any other person in any other cemetery anywhere else in the world. What I do in life, the discoveries I make, the money I earn, the awards I win, and any status or reputation that I have when I die will go with me to the grave whenever that day comes. None of that stuff matters when you're dead. The worst part is, that regardless of how I live or what I accomplish in life, some twenty-four year old guy will one day run by the cemetery where I'm buried with his dog and have absolutely no idea who I am.

This makes you and I nothing more than dead men standing and it's only a matter of time until the inevitable fate of death overtakes us all. Listen to how the wise King Solomon came to this same conclusion:

"So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and all they do are in God's hands, but no man knows what awaits him. All share a common destiny - the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who do religious things and those who don't....for the same fate of death overtakes us all." - Ecc 9:1-3

There is nothing you or I can do to add days to our life. Eating our veggies and exercising can't promise that we won't drop dead to the floor at a moments notice. And the crazy thing is that really good people die unexpectedly sometimes while really bad and mean people get to live a long and prosperous life. How does that work out?

I don't know all the specifics of how God works all thing for the good of his glory (Romans 8:28) but I know that he does. I also know that when King David prayed to God, "My times are in your hands," in Psalm 31:15, that he was right. Our times and our lives are ultimately in God's hands and while we don't have any say as to how long we'll be around, we can make choices while we're here to invest in things that matter. Money, fame, and recognition have never been able to satisfy the human soul and they never will. So what should we do about all this craziness? How should we live in this world where few things really matter? Let's see again what Solomon says:

"Go eat food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart...Enjoy life with your wife whom you love, for this is the lot God has given you under the sun. Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there are none of these things." -Ecc 9:7-10

To elaborate on the idea of working with all your might, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that "whether you eat, drink or what ever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

And in Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord and not for men."

God, for some reason, has created this world and placed you and I in it. He hasn't put us here to enjoy life like a theme park where we play all the games, try all the rides and cash out on our tickets at the end for some great prize before we leave. That's just not how it works. He's put us here so that we can enjoy the life he's given us, thank him for it and tell other people about how great and glorious our God is. Investing your life in the things of this world will afford you no gain on the day that you die. On the other hand, investing in the kingdom of God by sharing with others and about the peace, hope and love that he offers will leave a mark on this world that will last for eternity. What's you motivation for living today?

WHEN DIVORCE IS OKAY

Wow! This one word has probably caused more pain and hurt to the hearts and souls of people today than maybe anything else that exists. This in an incredibly tough and sensitive topic to discuss but it has to be brought up. That's because marriage, which was designed to be a solid and wonderful foundation for life is not that anymore and it's no wonder that our world and relationships feel so shaky at times.

I have to say before going any farther that I don't know first hand what divorce is like. But I have talked with several who do and I have talked to even more kids who have been gracious enough to share their stories with me. In a second, I would like to lay out what the Bible says about divorce as far as when it's okay and when it's not but I want to quickly say this first. Knowing what God's word says on this subject will do our world zero good until the time comes when we start to revere God and his word for what they really are. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says that God's message and his way seems foolish to those who don't know and love him. So the real problem is not that we don't know what God says, but that we don't know God, and frankly we don't care to. As you think about your own experiences with divorce or about the experiences of others, will you please pray with me that the hearts of our world will be mercifully changed and drawn to God.

HISTORY
Divorce has been around for ages and dates all the way back to Bible times. Let's fast forward several thousand years though to a more recent event that changed the landscape of marriage forever. In 1969, the governor of California at the time, Ronald Reagan, signed into law the first bill allowing for what was called a "no fault divorce". This law allowed couples to divorce for virtually any and every reason and has played a huge part in the popularity of divorce today.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
Divorce was never and will never be part of God's ideal plan for mankind. God didn't create us for divorce and he didn't create marriage to end in failure. But, because of the the selfishness, greed, and pride of mankind, it is a big part of our world that needs to be dealt with.

In the Bible, divorce is never mandated or required of anyone, but it is permitted in two scenarios:

#1 - UNFAITHFULNESS
In Matthew 19:9, Jesus says, "I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery." So the first and one of the only times divorce is permitted is when an affair of some kind has taken place. Unfaithfulness doesn't mean that a couple should get a divorce, it only means that in this scenario, the loyal spouse in no longer at fault if the marriage fails. This concept of adultery is interesting to think about especially in light of what Jesus says in Matthew 5:28. "I tell you that any man who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

By this definition, almost everyone, and certainly all men, have a nasty record with adultery and this begs the question where does lustful thinking and pornography fit into the concept of unfaithfulness? Gregg Matte, whose recent talk on divorce was the inspiration for much of what I'm writing, uses three key parameters to answer this question: Habitual, unrepentant, and resistant to confrontation. So then, any person be it man or women, who is habitually involved in adulterous thinking or activity and who refuses to repent or respond to confrontation is being unfaithful.

#2 - ABANDONMENT
In this scenario, the apostle Paul is writing in 1 Corinthians 7:13 and 15 about a time when a believer and an unbeliever are married and considering divorce. To this he says, "If a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to leave her, she must not divorce him.... But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances." Is it never right for any believer to ask for a divorce or for them to act in any manner other than out of love that might drive their spouse away or towards infidelity. If a person has done everything possible to love their spouse and they still leave, then the fault is not on that person. An important point to consider along of the lines of abandonment is that of abuse. If a spouse is abusive either verbally or physically to the extent that their partner or children are at risk, and if they are like this habitually and resist confrontation, then that spouse has abandoned their spiritual responsibility to that family and divorce may be considered.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE DIVORCED OR ARE ASKED TO GIVE ADVICE ABOUT DIVORCE
If a person is divorced then they should stay that way until one of three things occurs. Until their spouse remarries, dies or until reconciliation happens. That spouse should pray and try to reconcile (notice that separation is not the same as divorce) but should not remarry unless either of the above conditions are met. This principle comes from Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:32 that "whoever marries a divorced woman causes adultery to be committed." So adultery doesn't occur when people get divorced, it happens when they remarry after getting divorced for a reason other than unfaithfulness or abandonment.

What if a person has already remarried after getting divorced for the wrong reasons? First, that person should confess their wrongdoing to the lord and to anybody else that needs to be talked to and secondly, they need to commit to making their current marriage last for life!

Divorce is incredibly hard. In the words of Pastor Gregg, "It's like a bullet that goes in small but comes out big and and rips things apart on its way. We look at divorce often as a solution to our problems but usually only end up exchanging them for new ones." Is divorce the real issue here or perhaps is it something deeper? Could it be that our incessant obsession with having things our way and getting rid of things we don't like could be a result of our nasty, selfish, prideful problem with sin? I think if we as a culture deal with the sin problem then divorce will no longer be an issue. To quote pastor Gregg again, "Our sin is like a tangled ball of yarn that we can't undo no matter how hard we try." The harder we work at it, the messier it gets. How about if you and I stopped trying to fix our lives or exchange things like spouses and instead went to Jesus and asked him is we could exchange our messy, tangled life for a new one? Try it. He'll grant your request every time because he loves you died so you could be forgiven and have a fresh start.

SWAGGALICIOUS!

Texas monthly recently quoted Fort Worth native and gospel artist and author Kirk Franklin as saying, "My main message is to preach God's word, pure and truthful, but also to make it swaggalicious."

Swaggalicious? That's a new one on me. According to urban dictionary, swaggalicious refers to something that is tight, fresh or cool. I think Kirk is onto something with his approach to sharing the gospel and there is something here we can all learn from.

Is there anything more exciting or wonderful that the gospel of God's good news that he has sent his son to offer you and I forgiveness, peace and joy? There's not, that just can't be beat! As Christians, we have the most wonderful story of how the God of the universe loves us more than any person can imagine and it's our job to take that story to the world.

Our world is changing though and we must be able to change with it. There was a time not too long ago when faith and God's story were normal and accepted parts of everyday life. That time has come and gone. Today, we live in a postmodern age where choices about God are no longer viewed as important or relevant. Faith has become more or less a spiritual grab bag where people choose part of a religion to believe in or even put different faiths together in a way that fits and pleases them. All the while we are expected to be tolerant, to not hold anybody in contempt for what they believe and to be accepting of all.

The problem with this whole scenario is that it completely ignores the concept of truth. Some argue that absolute truth does not exist but that statement in and of itself is an absolute. The reality is that if you and I look around, there is a not a one of us who would say that things in this world are the way they should be. Injustice, pain, evil and wickedness take their toll on a daily basis and we are forced to feel the effects. But in addition to the darkness, we also see goodness, kindness and joy which stand out in stark contrast. Why is this? Where exactly did our concept of right and wrong and good and bad come from?

As we both know, mankind, regardless of how hard we try, is and will always be incapable of doing right all the time. This means the real definition of goodness, truth and justice must be found outside ourselves, in the form of God. So it seems that the concept of a good, holy, perfect God is not bogus or irrelevant after all but rather essential and necessary.

The point of all of this is to say that God's story, the gospel, often no longer falls on open ears but still needs to be told. Most people today don't go to church and don't read the bible but Jesus' command to go and make disciples still applies to every believer. If you and I as God's messengers only quote bible verses and sing praise songs, most people will never understand our message. Fifty years ago they might have but not today. We must be able to share God's story in a manner and language that people relate to and understand.

Like Kirk Franklin, the apostle Paul also understood the huge responsibility we have in how we share God's story. Listen to what he writes in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23. "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do this all for the sake of the gospel." Paul was willing to do whatever it took to communicate how much God loves the world. He lived out God's love in a way that people could see there was something tight, fresh and cool about what he believed. He also took the time to customize God's story each time he told it so that those who were listening at the time could understand.

I'm not saying that we need to ever add or take away from God's story or embellish it in any way but we do need to tell it in a way that people can relate to. Our job is not to convince a person to believe in God, only God can change a heart, but we are responsible for accurately communicating the message in a way that is truthful and reaches people where they're at. When we share and live like this, other people get to experience the aroma of Christ which is totally different than anything else the world has to offer.

2 Corinthians 2:15-16 says, "We are the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To one we are the smell of death, to the other the fragrance of life. Who is up for such a task?"

We know that our message will not always be received well but that should never stop us from sharing. I Corinthians 1:18 says "the message of the cross is foolishness to those to are perishing," but we should never take rejection of God's story personally. Donald Whitney reminds us of this with a great analogy. "In regards to sharing our faith, you and I are most like the postal service. Success is measured by the careful and accurate delivery of the message, not by the response of the recipient."

So how about you? Is your life and the story you tell about God filled with the coolness, freshness, tightness, and newness that should be true of a person whose life has been dramatically changed by a loving God? Go live swaggalicious today.

Some musical stylings from Mr. Franklin:

BEGGARS

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they will inherit the kingdom of heaven." - Jesus

Jesus said the "poor in spirit" are blessed but what does that mean? For me this phrase brings to mind words like downcast, dejected suffering, and solemn. Is that what Jesus is asking of us? A.W. Tozer has helped me a great deal in better understanding what Jesus might have meant when he spoke these words.

I think a great deal of the confusion comes about because of the connotation "poor" carries today. We use poor to describe a performance, outlook on life, or turnout at an event so to us it means "bad" but to the Greeks and Jews of Jesus day, poor literally meant "beggar".

So now the verse reads,"Blessed are the beggars..." That doesn't help much does it? Being blesses by God sounds less appealing than before. Let's stop and think more about what Jesus is asking. He's not saying we must be poor in order to be blessed, but that we must have the attitude or the "spirit" or a beggar. In essence, we must come to realize the paradoxical truth that everything in this world from the shirt on our backs to the air we breath is not ours. It belongs to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 4:7 says it like this, "What makes you different than anyone else? What do to have that God did not give you?" The answer to this questions, if you and I were to truthfully answer, is nothing. Everything we see, own and think we possess isn't really really ours, it came from and belongs to God. We depend on him for our food, breath and entire livelihood. We are beggars are we not? Jesus said that the person who realizes this, the true reality of our humble place before God, will be blessed. A sobering though to say the least.

Maintaining the attitude of a beggar is a difficult task amongst the world of stuff and things that we live in. Our stocked pantries and stock market accounts can easily deceive us into thinking we're in control and and control our own destiny but the truth is that we don't. All it take is an unexpected death or earthquake to remind us of that.

When you find yourself slipping from beggar to big time this or that just take a deep breath and remember who gave it to you. Then thank God for the day and all he has given you. If you do this, I think you'll find that your life will be blessed. Not because you walk around with a solemn and somber countenance on your face but because you understand how much of a lucky beggar you are.

NO FEAR

"I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" 1 Cor 15:50




There was a clothing brand called "No Fear" that was big when I was growing up. I always wanted a t-shirt like the one above because they made you look so tough, cool and brave. I don't know about you, but there are times even now when I that I could use one of these shirts to pump me up because I don't feel very tough or brave. In life, I find myself often facing fears that not only scare me but dictate the way I live. Recently I've realized it doesn't have to be this way. The hope that we have for eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the one and only living God, has removed all fear from the thing we all fear most, death.

We hold on to our lives and living so tightly don't we? We don't like getting sick and especially hate getting diagnosed with things like diseases. As much as we cling to being alive and well, the reality is, we must give all this up if we wish to enter God's eternal kingdom one day. Can you imagine walking up to the gates of heaven holding the keys to your car and a box of pills to take every night before bed? Read the Bible's description of heaven and ask yourself what you're going to bring heaven's gates.

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. " (Revelation 21:1-7)

No death , no mourning, no crying, no pain, everything will be made new. Verse 4 tells us that Jesus will wipe away all our tears and all our hurt, forever, once and for all. I don't know about you but I'm not bringing my keys or pillbox to a place like this. Things like these don't belong in God's perfect heaven.

What a wonderful place heaven will be. But in order for you and I to experience the peace and freedom from fear associated with death we must let go of the flesh and blood of this world. We must be willing to let our bodies decay and die on earth one day if we want to inherit the new body God will give us in heaven. We cannot hold tightly to the world we're in and still live for our heavenly home to come. Only when we let go of this earthly world and its possessions and embraced the perfect home God has prepared for for us all, will we find that our fear of dying is replaced by hope because we know that dying is not the end, but instead, the beginning. This perspective enabled the apostle Paul to say things like, "To live is Christ, but to die is gain" (Phil 1:21). There are not many times in life when you are fortunate enough to have a win, win situation on your hands, but we do because of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:56 says that the "sting of death is sin" but Since Christ paid for the sins of us all, death has lost it's sting and is no longer something to fear. You and I both know that if we trust Christ's forgiveness alone as the only way to heaven we are guaranteed a place in his kingdom.

As long as you and I are alive, we get to experience the joy of spending our days following God and spreading the glory of his name and the goodness of his forgiveness on the earth. In dying, we get to at last leave our sinful, broken world, exchange this flesh and blood for a new body (1 Cor 15:35-49), and spend eternity in the presence of our mighty creator God.

Jonathan Edwards said in his "Resolutions" that he thought on his own death often because it reminded him to make the most of each day. Because of what Christ has done, should do the same. We shouldn't fear sickness, cancer, or the destruction of our earthly bodies. If anything, we should allow these potential fears to remind us that our time on earth is short, motivate us to make the most of each day, and excite us about the heavenly future that awaits.

Life and Death

1 Corinthians 15:49, "And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven."

Death is very real. Every person must come to grips with the reality of death at some time or another. For some, this comes early in life due to the sickness of themselves or a loved one. Others might live into their twenties of thirties before a parent or grandparent dies and they are awakened to the harsh outcome that awaits us all. Whatever the case may be, understanding death, and the realization that we are transient beings here only for a short time, changes everything.

I was a medical student in my twenties when I first saw my dead body. The corpse looked hollow and empty and I have never been so sure that there is both a earthly and spiritual side to every person as I was in that moment first staring at my cadaver. In my study of the the human body, bone by bone, vessel by vessel I realized how fragile life is and how living each day is a gift and a miracle. One tiny tear in a vessel or the destruction of a single protein and you and I would cease to live in an instant. Most of us are reminded more often of the frailty of life with age. As things begin to break down, slow down and shut down, even though we try not the think about it, the eventual outcome that awaits us begins to loom larger on the horizon.

Even in the face of death, there is great hope in Paul's words to the Corinthians. He reminds us that our failing, fragile earthly bodies will be replaced with a new body when we when are resurrected for eternity. Every single person alive today is an immortal being in that their soul will live on in one of two locations. For those that know Christ as savior and Lord, we are promised to inherit a new body, one like Jesus had, and a body unlike anything we have ever seen. We are told in the scriptures that Jesus, after the resurrection, had a body that could eat fish like you and I (Luke 24:42) but also could go through walls (John 20:19). How cool is that! In giving Jesus a new body, God showed that he can conquer death and he promises to to the same with you and I. This too changes everything.

My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Zeimke, or Mrs. Z as we called her really taught me what it means to not be afraid. She was tough, so much so that the thought of failing one of her infamous pop quizzes would bring me to tears from time to time. She caught on to my fears quickly and pulled me aside after class one day to teach me something I still do to this day. She taught me when you're afraid to ask yourself, "what is the worst that can happen?" because asking this question reminds you that failure or something going poorly is usually not the end of the world. For example, if the worst thing that can happen in taking a test is getting a bad grade, there really isn't too much to be fear since in the big scene of life, things are still going pretty well. If you are getting good grades in other classes, you're alive and you have a family that loves you, it doesn't make much sense to get bent out of shape over one bad quiz grade. Mrs. Z. taught me to look at the big picture and not just what was going on at the time.

I said that something going poorly is usually not the end of the world, well this mantra doesn't work so well with death. The fear of dying is a very real fear because there isn't really anything worse than can happen in life than dying. Looking at the big picture with death is quite pointless since there is no longer any picture to look at, unless God steps in. Jesus in, conquering death and promising to give us a new body, provides a new, bigger picture to look at that makes dying on this earth something we no longer have to fear. "Where O death is your victory, where O death is your sting...but hanks be to God! He gives us the victory though out Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Cor 15:55, 57

Gardener not Grower - You're not responsible

When I was young my family loved to garden. We would spend many evenings in the spring, summer, and fall weeding, watering, and tending to our growing plants. It was on one of those evenings, while pulling weeds, that I managed to dig up an acorn with a bright green shoot attached. "Look, a baby tree," I yelled proudly as I help up my discovery. Mom and Dad both suggested that that I replant the accorn elsewhere in the yard so it could grow but I childishly insisted that my new tree should grow in my room. Even though she knew the tree would likely die, mom agreed to my demands and proceeded to assist me as we gently packed soil around the acorn in a red solo cup.

To this day I have no idea how that tree survived. I did a miserable job of watering and even knocked it off the windowseal a time or two. The tree absoltely refused to die, contniued to grow, and now several transplants later, is standing tall in the front yard of my parents house. (See picture below)

I can take no credit for the survival and incredible growth of that red oak tree and it is much the same with the lives that surround you and I. Yesterday we talked about how our actions are very infulential in the growth that occurs in the lives of those we are leading. It is very important however, to remember though that although you are the gardener, you will never be the grower. You can do a first rate job at watering, and tending to the plants you have been given but you are not repsonsible for their growth - God is. He is the only one that is capable of changing a heart and therefore, the only one capable of changing a person.

Go forward with this in mind. When amazing growth occurs give all the credit, glory and honor where it is due - to God and not yourself. At the same rate, when you feel frustrated and burdened by the seeming lack of progress in an individual remember you're not in control and rely on the one who is.

"I (Paul) planted the seed, Apollos (another preacher) watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who palnts now he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." -1 Cor 3:6-7