Tomorrow is Guaranteed to No One

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

            I was thinking recently about how much of life is spent planning for the future. And we do it so confidently, as if it is guaranteed. I certainly am not against planning for the days ahead. I actually think it is wise. But what I think is unwise is the presumption that tomorrow is guaranteed. Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one.

            This year Joanne and I hope to spend some time with our daughter and her family. We would like to visit our son and his girlfriend in Florida. We hope to take a trip in September with two of her siblings and their spouses. We’ve already booked flights and lodging and car rentals. You have to plan ahead for these things. Want good tickets to a game or a concert or an event? Typically you’ve got to get them early. Otherwise they’ll be gone or they’ll cost you an arm and a leg. Got kids you hope will go to college or on to some other kind of post-high school education? You feel a need to start saving so you can help them. Right now I am at an age where I am starting to think about retirement. It’s not all that far away. A financial advisor would say to me… “If you’re just starting now, you’re too late.” Fortunately, I did start thinking about it when I was in my twenties, and hopefully I will be better prepared when I get there… if I get there. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to me.

            So wisdom teaches us to prepare for tomorrow while at the same time recognizing that tomorrow may never come for us. But does that make sense? It makes great sense. It makes the best sense. Anything else is simply foolishness. Have you ever read a newspaper and noticed obituaries around the holidays? When I was younger I had such an idealized idea about Christmas that it was unthinkable to me that someone might actually die on Christmas Day. That had to be wrong. That just couldn’t happen. But it does happen – every year - year after year. It is unrealistic to live a life that forgets that tomorrow is guaranteed to no one.

            One area of life in which this truth is critical is in the area of relationships. How many problems in relationships exist because people thought there would be a tomorrow to deal with them? How much unfinished business exists between fathers and their sons, between siblings, between husbands and wives, between in-laws, between neighbors, between _________. Wherever there is a relationship, today is the day to deal with it. Today is the day to do all that we can to make it healthy and vibrant. We can presume all we want about future opportunities to solve problems, but tomorrow is guaranteed to no one. Procrastination is all about putting off until tomorrow what we could or should do today. But relationships are too precious to put off until tomorrow. Personally, I’ve seen a lot of suffering in people’s lives because tomorrow came, and it ended up being too late. I like what Frodo’s friend Sam says in The Lord of the Rings… “Where there’s life, there’s hope.” Today is the day to do all that we can to be right in every relationship we have.

            No, it’s not wrong to have dreams and hopes and desires for the future. It’s not wrong to make plans. Yet these things must always be held in our hearts with the knowledge that Christ, and none other, is Lord of tomorrow. Therefore, knowing His will and living in it today is our highest priority. Do you have any unfinished business? Are you putting off anything that God requires or expects of you – including a relationship with Him – until a “better” time? Have you placed everyone you love in the Lord’s hands, and are you willing for His will to be done in their lives? Have you trashed your worries about tomorrow and learned to trust them to Christ?

            The only tomorrow that is guaranteed comes from God to the person who has believed on His Son, Jesus Christ. That is the only person in this world who truly has a hope and a future. Without Christ, tomorrow is guaranteed to no one. So… make plans, but do not put your confidence in them. Be confident in the Lord. So… dream big, but let your surrender and submission to God’s will be bigger. And when it comes to those you care about, treasure them today. Be right with them now, for tomorrow is guaranteed to no one.

Romans 12:18 (NIV)  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Luke 12:16-21 (NIV) ¹⁶  And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷  He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' ¹⁸  "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹  And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' ²⁰  "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' ²¹  "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

Proverbs 27:1 (NIV)  Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

PRAYER:  Lord, let me fully trust you for tomorrow and let me live faithfully and confidently today in Christ. May I seek first your kingdom and your will. May I have grace – a grace learned firsthand from your love for me – for those in my life. My hope is in you. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott

What Makes Us Clean Before God

Genesis 8:20 (NIV)  Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.

            Currently in my Bible reading I am in Leviticus. Leviticus is not typically at the top of the list of inspirational reading in the minds of most Christians. But God has included this book of Moses in His Word. Therefore it is a blessing to any reader who loves Jesus Christ. So far the book has been all about various ceremonial states of cleanness and uncleanness. Today I read about what was appropriate for the Israelites to eat and what they had to avoid. I found myself questioning why or how God would allow one “class” of foods and not another (one species of animal, bird, fish, or insect, and not another)… just wondering how He decided the differences. After all, He created it all and declared it all good at the time of creation. Perhaps it had something to do with what would be most healthful and practical for them on their transitional journey to Canaan and beyond to when they had settled there.

            When God used Noah to preserve humanity and animals from the flood, Noah was directed to board two of every species onto the ark, except for “clean” animals. There were to be seven pairs of these. Why was that? When sin entered the world, a process of atonement for sin was established by God which involved the death of an animal as a substitution for the person who had sinned against God. God showed grace to human beings in this manner. But the process is a reminder of the seriousness of sin, which always has a cost, and the response of a holy God toward sin. All sin produces death. By grace God allows the blood of a substitute to work in the sinner’s favor. This history of Noah’s time would have been known by Moses and taught to the people. For after the flood subsided and Noah and his family could go out, the first thing Noah did was to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. For this only clean animals would do. This is likely why more clean animals were brought onto the ark.

            There is an association between clean animals and sacrifice in the Old Testament. It is not just about clean animals and what may be eaten. God’s people were set apart to worship Him. And God arranged for particular animals to be set apart for this worship. “Clean” animals were a reminder to them of this separation unto God. Every time they ate, and every time they sacrificed they would be reminded that they were set apart to God, so even just in the eating they could worship and acknowledge Him.

            In the New Testament we learn that people are no longer judged according to the food they eat. In the new Kingdom Christ comes and He Himself is the full and final atoning sacrifice for sin. God’s own Son ends the need for any other kind of substitute, for He Himself is THE substitute for our sin. On the cross as His blood is being shed, our sin is being punished in Him. At the same time, His righteousness (His “cleanness” before God) is being given to us. In this gospel God works what we call our salvation from sin and death to eternal life. This gospel of God’s grace is received by faith, and through it God transforms our lives. Nothing more than the blood of Jesus – the ultimate sacrifice – is necessary. Nothing less will work to meet our need before a holy God. Nothing else can bring us into relationship with God. The cross of Jesus Christ alone is our hope. I pray that your trust is in Him alone today.

Mark 7:17-19 (NIV) ¹⁷  After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. ¹⁸  "Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? ¹⁹  For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")

Colossians 2:16-17 (NIV) ¹⁶  Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷  These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Isaiah 53:5-6 (NIV) ⁵  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. ⁶  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Hebrews 9:24-28 (NIV) ²⁴  For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. ²⁵  Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶  Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷  Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸  so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Hebrews 10:8-14 (NIV) ⁸  First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). ⁹  Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰  And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. ¹¹  Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹²  But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. ¹³  Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, ¹⁴  because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

PRAYER:  Thank you, God, for the ultimate and complete sacrifice of Jesus, your Son, on my behalf. His death is sufficient for the forgiveness of all my sin. Thank you that I need not depend on any other thing or person… that Jesus has done all that is needed. And thank you that you have declared all foods clean. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott

How to Make a Difference in Someone's Life

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (NIV) ¹⁶  May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷  encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

            The 2015 football season is over – to the relief of some and the disappointment of others. As a faithful Patriots fan I enjoyed the season, though I would have enjoyed it more had they played in the Super Bowl. In their AFC Championship playoff game with Denver they came within two points of having a chance to win. It should have been one point and easier to tie (with a kicked extra point). But they needed two and did not get it with a play. When they failed to tie the game they lost any chance to win in an overtime period. Why did they need two instead of one? Earlier in the game their kicker – Stephen Gostkowski – missed an extra point. Since he is one of the best kickers in the sport this miss was extremely rare and unexpected. When the game ended with a loss, Gostkowski tried to take the blame. Yes, he was responsible for the miss, but not completely responsible for the loss. Sixty minutes of play meant that many team opportunities to get points came and went. His teammates and coach resisted the opportunity to blame him and chose instead to point to his extreme value to the team over the course of the season (and many seasons).

NFL kickers are in a tough position. When they are successful they can dramatically win games and the adoration of millions of fans. When they fail they can be the goat – depriving their teammates and fans of victory and sometimes becoming an object of scorn and even hate. Fans can be extremely fickle in their affections and support. On January 12, CBS News in Minnesota reported the story of another kicker this season. The Minnesota Vikings place kicker Blair Walsh had made an NFL-high 34 field goals. Before the Vikings' playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, he had converted 33 of 34 kicks inside 30 yards in his career. So when the Vikings were down 10-9 with 22 seconds left and Walsh lined up for a 27-yard field goal attempt, it looked the Vikings would win. But Walsh's kick sailed wide and the Vikings season came to a crashing halt. In the midst of the social media storm directed against Walsh, a group of first graders in Minnesota set out to encourage the broken-hearted kicker. First grader Allie Edwards said, "Blair was really sad, and we wanted to make him feel better." One of her classmates, wrote, "Dear Blair Walsh, I think you shood keep trying. Don't give up! We still love you! Git better by practicing." Tyler Doffin filled a whole page for Walsh: "Dear Blair: I fell bad for you. Don't give up. You're still #1. Practis more so that you can get better at cicing. You're so good at cicing. So don't give up! Keep trying! We still love you." The kids' act of kindness got his attention. He was so touched to hear from children who didn't know him that he pushed his flight home back a day to visit the classroom. After the visit he said, "It was very touching to me. … A lot of [the cards] were very pretty and creative. … I will cherish them forever."

            There are no age restrictions or education limitations for encouragers. And people need encouragers. They may not be as devastated as Gostkowski or Walsh, and the occasion of their discouragement may be completely different from a football game, yet encouragement is exactly what they need. That’s where you and I come in. When opportunity presents itself, are you ready? Because you can be used by the Holy Spirit to lift spirits, give hope, and meet needs. Anyone can be an encourager. Yes, it’s true that some people may be gifted in this area, but that should not keep the rest of us from stepping up when we see the need. This is a practice that I know I can improve in my life. It’s often easy for me to be critical. But criticism is rarely helpful. Words from an encourager are a blessing, and we do not always know just how valuable they are. Lives have been saved or dramatically changed just with words of encouragement. Relationships have been transformed with words of encouragement. Hurts have been healed. New strength has come. Let us as disciples of Jesus seek to offer this blessing to others, especially to those who are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Romans 12:6-8 (NIV) ⁶  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. ⁷  If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸  if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

1 Thessalonians 4:18 (NIV)  Therefore encourage each other with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5:11-15 (NIV) ¹¹  Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. ¹²  Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. ¹³  Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. ¹⁴  And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ¹⁵  Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

Hebrews 3:13 (NIV)  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

PRAYER:  Father, let me make a difference in someone’s life today: someone who needs a word of encouragement. It’s easy to criticize. Lead me down a different path, with words that lift up and bless people. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott

When Life Goes "Pop"

Psalm 23:2-3 (KJV)   ²  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. ³  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

            “Pop!” came the sound from the kitchen. I looked at Joanne and asked, “What was that?” Neither of us could figure it out. But later, when Joanne was cleaning the stove, she came across a crack in the glass that formed the cooking surface of our stove. “That must have been what it was,” She told me.

Over and over again… day after day and week after week… for years we have been using those burners, doing our best not to scratch or misuse them. The glass is very strong, but it is not unbreakable, either from direct blunt force or from long-term use. I’ve learned that even if you keep the surface very clean, over time very small scratches can eventually weaken the surface and make it prone to cracking. I’m not sure if that’s exactly what happened in our situation or not. But the crack still came.

Stress has a way of making an impact in our lives sooner or later. Like the glass top on a stove we may endure scratches – maybe even many of them – that come and go. When we come under high pressure in life’s situations or high heat from life’s tribulations we may endure for a while. But unless we have relief of some kind we will likely “crack” in some way – losing our temper, having a nervous breakdown, lashing out, or experiencing severe exhaustions to name just a few. People who go, go, go without a break cannot last. In our pride we may try to convince ourselves “it” won’t happen to us, but stress will catch up with us. We need rest, renewal, and rejuvenation. We need a different pace doing nothing or doing things that help us to “de-stress”.

How true this is spiritually. Jesus is often depicted in the Gospels as getting away to pray and to spend time with the Father. He was busy – doing good and teaching – on a daily basis. In His humanity He was subject to the limitations of a body. Physically and spiritually He needed to rest and to reconnect with the Father. If Jesus had these needs, it would seem that we also would have them, and that our need would certainly be no less than His. While we can often tolerate the small “scratches” of life for a while, if we do not get away to be with the Lord they will lead to major breakage in our fellowship with Him, and possibly even physical and mental harm.

Jesus invites us into the yoke that He bears for us. God is a sustaining God in times of stress. He is also the God of peace who welcomes us into His presence and out of the world’s stresses. Let us fly to Him in time of need, and especially anytime “the pressure’s on”.

Psalm 55:22 (NASB)  Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) ²⁸  "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Exodus 20:8-11 (NIV) ⁸  "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. ¹¹  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Matthew 6:6 (NIV)  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV) ²⁵  "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸  "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹  So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

PRAYER:  Father, be the strength of my life, and protect me from trusting in the adequacy of my own resources. I am weak, and I need you. It’s as simple as that. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott