Still Time To Change

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel awoke one morning to read his own obituary in the local newspaper:

“Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday, devised a way for more people to be killed in a war than ever before, and he died a very rich man.”

Actually, it was Alfred’s older brother who had died; a newspaper reporter had bungled the epitaph. But the account had a profound effect on Nobel. He decided he wanted to be known for something other than developing the means to kill people efficiently and for amassing a fortune in the process. So he initiated the Nobel Prize, the award for scientists and writers who foster peace. Today he is more widely known for the Nobel Peace Prize than he is for inventing dynamite. Nobel is quoted as saying, “Every man ought to have the chance to correct his epitaph in midstream and write a new one.”

As I read this quote, I was hit with a very arresting thought: My obituary has not yet been written. Whatever it is that men think of me, I still have the opportunity to make it better. Whatever mistakes I have made in the past, the possibility still exists for me to correct them. Whatever it is that I have yet not done, but should have, I still have time. As long as God gives me life and liberty, I can make of it something meaningful and lasting. As long as I have breath and desire, I can do my part to improve myself, my family, my neighborhood, the church, even the world.

Everyone still has the opportunity to correct his epitaph, up until the day he dies. Of course, the best thing that could ever be written in our obituary is that we were a faithful Christian. And certainly there are many wonderful things we can add to that. And if you awoke this morning and are able to read this, there’s still time to make sure that is the case.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:15-17).

I Think Your Pants Are On Fire!

There’s an old story about a preacher that announced after his sermon one Sunday that the next Sunday he would preach on Mark 17. He told the congregation to go home and read the chapter. The next week, he stood up, asked for a show of hands on who read that chapter. Immediately hands shot up all over the auditorium. The preacher then announced he would begin his sermon on lying.

Our society had become immune to the truth. People would rather lie then face the truth. Because of this, the ability to trust people becomes difficult. Instead of looking of the best in people, we look for the worst. Even a half-truth is a whole lie!

What’s even worse are members of the Lord’s church engaged in the sin of lying, as illustrated in the above story. If you can’t trust the people that we have a common faith with, who can we trust? Even though God does not deal immediately with liars as He did in Acts 5, He does promise in Revelation 21:8, “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Usually, liars are committing other sins then just lying, but it is sobering to know that lying, in the mind of God, is just as bad a sin as murder! Surely, none of us would commit murder, be we see nothing wrong with being a liar!

Lying violates the second great command, to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. I can’t think of a single person that enjoys being lied to. Can anyone proclaim they have more respect for people that do not tell the truth? Do we want to be identified with the Devil, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44

Hebrews 6:18 tells us that it is impossible for God to lie, therefore, we can trust every Word in scripture. Let us strive to be godlier, let every word out our mouth be true!

Finish The Race

Our number one priority in this life must be to go to Heaven.  Nothing else is as important.  Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  Our soul is the most precious thing we have.  There is nothing that can equal its value.  We read in Matthew 16:26, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”  One certainly does not profit in the tragic loss of his soul.

It is easy in today’s materialistic society to get caught up in the pursuit of materialism if we are not careful.  Our Lord says in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.  But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”  Our bank account needs to be in heaven.

Everyday we need to tell ourselves that the main thing in this life is to go to Heaven.  We read in Colossians 3:2, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”  We should regularly think about going to Heaven.

Heaven is a prepared place (John 14:2-3) for a prepared people.  It will be such a wonderful place, which is beyond our wildest dreams.  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”  There is no way that Heaven can be described so we as mortal human beings can understand how wonderful it will be.

A person will not accidentally go to Heaven.  Going to Heaven is a lifelong race as we read in Hebrews 12:1, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”  Going to Heaven requires endurance, patience, and persistence.  We must finish the race.

The Joy of Christian Fellowship

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:6, 7)

We all have associations in this life. We associate with the people we work with, people we go to school with, or people we are in civic clubs with. There are things that we have in common with others that can fill the social parts of life, but the best fellowship we have is the spiritual fellowship of those that are in Christ! There is nothing I enjoy more than engaging in spiritual conversations with people that are interested in talking about Christ and the Bible. I am grateful that I can attend a function where people are not mean-spirited or using language that is vile and crude. There is joy in Christian fellowship!

But to have this fellowship, to have this connection, we must be in Christ! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (1 Corinthians 5:17). “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” (Galatians 3:26-28).

If you are a Christian but do not feel this fellowship or connection, perhaps we need to examine our relationship to God, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5). 

There is great joy in Christian fellowship, not only for us in this world, but also the eternal realm that we long for. To be in heaven with those that you have loved in the faith on this earth will be the highest joy of fellowship!

Fables and Endless Genealogies

There are many different beliefs in our world. People are religious. I firmly believe our Creator instilled in us a natural instinct to worship. The evidence of a Creator is all around us, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). With our desire to worship and a curiosity about where we came from, it should move us to search deeper, investigate more, and learn about the God that revealed Himself in the Scriptures…after all it’s not hard to do, the Bible is the best-selling book of all time! So why do many people believe different things regarding spiritual matters? Paul’s admonition to Timothy gives us the answer:

“As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.” (1 Timothy 1:3, 4)

Other doctrines, fables and endless genealogies seem to be leading people from God rather than leading people to Him! The doctrines that were being taught in Paul’s day were different from the inspired teachings of the apostles. Paul commanded Timothy to give heed to these teachings or myths and genealogies that were used to remove or reinterpret teachings that would have been embarrassing to the Jews. There were adding their teaching to the word of God and not applying the word to their lives. Since people don’t change, many will change the word of God in our world today because they don’t like what it says. They’ve added their “fables” and “stories” to placate their sinful nature. Not one soul has ever been converted by fables.

Instead, the admonition is to give ourselves to the faith which produces godly edification. The faith that produces salvation. The faith that is pleasing to God. 

Once To Die

On September 8, 2022, England’s queen, Elizabeth II, passed from this life into the next. It certainly is a fascinating time that we live in, having seen the longest reigning queen and now, for many people, seeing the coronation of a new king. As I watched the news coverage of the events, several ideas came to my mind. Chiefly, the statement made in Hebrews 9:27, “As it is appointed unto man once to die, then comes the judgment.” While England, and the world, mourns the loss of their monarch, she still had the same outcome of this life as others before her and unless the Lord Jesus returns, you and I will also have…death. 

Death is not a respecter of persons. She may have been the queen, but death did not spare her any more than the faithful elder’s wife whose funeral Kristina and I attended on Friday. It has been said that death is the great equalizer of this life. So it is important that we prepare for that day. The news coverage said that each monarch prepares for their funeral, and we do as well…the songs, the venue, the speakers…but what I’m talking about is preparing to meet our God. 

Before our life is no more, we need to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. This involves hearing and believing the message that is proclaimed about the work of Jesus Christ in saving mankind from our sins. It means that I want to change the way I’m living, turning my back on my old sins. Acknowledging that Jesus is going to be the Lord of my life, that He has total control. And then culminating with being immersed in water for the forgiveness of sins.

Before our life is now more, having once been baptized into Christ, we need to continually consider our work and faithfulness to the Lord. Has Christ and His church always come first in my life? Have I been faithful in following the pattern of love and service that Jesus left for me? If I find myself lacking in any of these things, a rededication of the heart and prayer to God is always appropriate.

It certainly is a sad time when anyone dies, from the queen to a poor pauper, but if I’m ready for the eternity that awaits, those left in my absence can take comfort in knowing that what they call hope, I can now call home.