Both Hands

I'm guessing motorcycle riders don't have too many texting and driving accidents...

I was behind a motorcycle the other day and it just struck me that they can't really hold a phone in one hand and hold the handlebars. They need to be fully committed to the one thing.

In the same way, we cannot serve both God and Mammon. No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. Remember Lot's wife!

(Matthew 6:24, Luke 9:62, Luke 17:32)

The other question I wonder about is- "What do motorcycle drivers do when it's raining and that's their only transportation? " Of course, the answer is simply that they get wet.
That's part of the commitment. What happens when things get rough in following Christ, with persecutions and sufferings and fatigue? We hold on and endure. (Matthew 10:22)
Thankfully, we don't have to do this in our own strength- Jesus is holding us as we rest in Him. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) And He helps us hold on to the end of the ride. And just as Isaiah 66 talks about, we hold to the hope of the new Heaven and Earth God will make (see verses 22-23) and, because we no longer kick the pricks (Acts 9:5 KJV) but instead get oil for our wicks (Matthew 25), we look forward to one day forever get our kicks in book 66. (Revelation 21-22)

Look On Up

         I just had an observation today. It's not meant as an indictment against anyone who enjoys watching television and movies, etc. (particularly since this is coming from someone who LOVES watching a ton of [albeit usually older ;-)] television shows and movies). It just is funny to me how branded properties become verbs over time- as in the way that one can now apparently "Google" something (and/or "Wikipedia" something- though one does not seem to too often "Yahoo" or "Bing" something, much less "Encyclopedia Brittanica" something or "various reputable print book, magazine and professional journal sources" something). [1 Thessalonians 5:21-22....but that's a separate post in itself.] And particularly the way that one apparently can now "Netflix" something. This reference works if one actually has Netflix access and/or is aware of how it works.
        Since I currently do not have television access whatsoever, I can definitely say that I haven't missed it. Yes, there are a very select few things I might like to watch- but nothing I can't do without. I was wondering though, why Netflix releases an entire season's worth of shows on one day. I suppose there is some convenience to that and it doesn't necessarily follow that one will or should or must watch them all in one day. (Though some may enjoy such marathons- again, I understand that and I've done some limited television marathons myself.) I guess I'm just saying that I find it a bit disturbing when people speak of terms like "binge watching". It seems there are very few things we should binge on- if anything, why not binge on God's Word and His creation?
Let me reiterate that I say all this as one who struggles with this myself- I'm not perfect or always good at this either. There is a certain pleasure and comfort in getting lost in such bouts of entertainment. But I want to make sure that I'm not so tied to the things of the world that I lose sight of the things of God.
"The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the Giver of all good things."- Rich Mullins in "If I Stand".
          May my heart always be attuned to the only Giver of all good things' heart- and seek Him above anything else. A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions- or in the abundance of his time watching televisions. (Luke 12:13-21) Let's be rich toward God always first- before laying up any treasure for ourselves on earth....some treasure is okay- but as I like to misquote .38 Special- "Hold on loosely to earthly gold- if you cling too tightly- you're gonna lose your soul. First, baby- seek kingdom of Jesus- and all that you need will be given." :-)
Teach me to count the days aright, Lord, so that I may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalms 90:12)
Before I get lost again in the impermanence of the finite, let me remember the infinite and work for that imperishable crown....May my tongue stick like peanut butter to the roof of my mouth if I forget Jerusalem and don't make her my highest joy....The joy of The Lord is my strength. I as your spiritual Gomer to Your spiritual Hosea- keep drawing me back from my whoredoms and let me feast once more on your flesh and blood, as a spiritual cannibal vampire might (even though I know that's a contradiction in terms ;-)). Thank You for Your love and sacrifice and New Life that grants me real life and life more abundant.
Help me and us all to keep looking to You above all- make You our highest joy- and Look on Up. :-)

Relient K | Look On Up (Official Audio Stream)

"Look On Up" from Relient K Get it today: https://rk.lnk.to/look…

YOUTUBE.COM

Satisfaction

        "Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief." (Proverbs 14:13) Sometimes we mask our need for God with so many things- and we can even seem happy and joyous, but the ache for more in our hearts is always there. I see this sometimes especially as a fan of books and comics...it's fine to enjoy a hobby, but I never want to be so sucked into fantasy for escape that I forget the true life which is only in Christ. Lord Jesus, forgive me for ever trying to find satisfaction in anything but You. It's all such a futile effort. "I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind." (Ecclesiastes 1:14)
         I feel so saddened and sorry for those who look to fill a void that can only be filled with The Divine and try to fit anything else in there. God has placed "eternity in our hearts" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We were made for eternity. The perishable must put on the imperishable. (1 Corinthians 15:49-58) We're like Marty McFly trapped in 1955 and needing God to send a bolt of lightning to help get us back to our real life in 1985. "For as lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:27) That day will come in God's time. Until then and until the day we die (whichever comes first), we have the offer of real life from Jesus. He's come to give us life abundant. (John 10:10) He paid for all our sins in the supreme act of love. 
        Just as we cheer brave soldiers who die for their countries so that others might live, how much more should we cheer and praise God, Who has died for His creation so that we might live? I owed a debt I couldn't pay and He paid a debt He didn't owe. I owe Him a life debt infinitely more than Chewbacca owes Han Solo. Christ died not for the righteous, but wretched sinners like me and everyone else. And He rose again. (Romans 5:8) And because of my faith in Him, I know I will rise with Him too. 
         "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4) Holy Spirit, guide me to do just that. Better is one day in Your courts than thousands elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. (Psalms 84:10) May my tongue stick like peanut butter to the roof of my mouth if I don't make New Jerusalem and its Lord my highest joy! (Psalms 137:6) Father God, please make this true in my life and use me to show others the Way to the Highest Joy- You alone. Let us not chase after the wind, but after the One who moves like the wind. May we always remember our Creator and fear Him and keep His commandments- which can only be done through relationship with Jesus. (Ecclesiastes 12:1 and 11-14) As Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, neither are the eyes of man. (Proverbs 27:20) We never rest satisfied until we rest in You. (Proverbs 19:23)

Recipe for Gravel Bread

     The Bible doesn't say what kind of fruit it was that Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and brought sin into the world, but tradition says that it was an apple. (See Genesis 1-3). If that's true, I think it must have been a sour apple. It may have tasted good at first, but in the end it turned sour just as its taste turns stomachs. 
       Satan still packages sin the same way- it always looks good wrapped in pretty paper with a sweet smell, but in the end it rots in your stomach. "Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel." (Proverbs 20:17) In contrast, Scripture calls us to feast on Jesus and His death and Resurrection that has brought us salvation from sin instead. (See John 6:25-59). "Oh, taste and see that The Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!" (Psalms 34:8) Chew on that for a while. :-)

By Faith Trust and Obey

         The point of doing God's will is not understanding. There are some things we will never understand until Heaven- and some we just may never understand period. And it doesn't matter. The point of doing God's will is obedience. Read through Hebrews 11, the chapter often called the "Hall of Faith", and you will see numerous people in The Bible who didn't totally understand (or at all) what God was telling them to do- but they were faithful to obey.
        By faith, Noah built an ark to save his family and two of every kind of animal from the flood. By faith, Abraham led his family out to a place that God would tell him about. By faith, Jeremiah faithfully preached the destruction of Jerusalem throughout his years of ministry, knowing the people would never listen to him. (God specifically told him this.) By faith, Isaiah went around naked for 3 years as an object lesson. (check Isaiah 20). By faith, Hosea married a prostitute- and took her back after she cheated on him. By faith, Jesus' disciples and the apostles boldly preached the Gospel of Christ to people- and many of them were martyred for it.
       There are numerous other examples that could be listed...None of these received the promise, since God had provided something better for us. They went through suffering just like we do as followers of Jesus. But they were looking forward to the coming glory of eternal life in Heaven with The Lord- and not just to this fleeting life. Jesus did the will of His Father and He certainly endured suffering just like we do. "Although He was a son, He learned obedience through what He suffered." (Hebrews 5:8) (see also Philippians 2).
       "But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, 'Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls." (Hebrews 10:32-39)

Something for Nothing

As the saying goes, the world owes us nothing and this is true. And we owe the world nothing. Of course, God owes us nothing too, but God gives us everything through Christ Jesus. He had no obligation to save us at all. He would have been totally justified in destroying all of humanity and everything He had made in Genesis 3. But because of His great mercies, we are not consumed! (Lamentations 3:22-23) God is always faithful- we are the ones who have been unfaithful. We are the ones who went a-whoring after the false gods of self, hedony, idols, money, power, etc.- in spite of all this, God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) And He not only died for us, but He also rose again, in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
        We owe God everything but we can never repay Him and we can never earn His love- and we never have to. God knew we can't so He did it for us. What we can and should do is thank Him ad infinitum forever and ever to infinity and beyond! (And those who put faith in Christ for salvation and follow Him will do just that in Heaven!) Jesus, be forever praised! We will all bow and declare You The Lord of all one day. (Philippians 2:10-11) Do it now willingly and lovingly before you are forced to do it kicking and screaming one day or in a desperate attempt at a bargain plea too late. God has loved us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3) but there is a time limit on God's free offer of love and forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:27-28) That's why today is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)
         It's the devil who seeks to destroy lives. Jesus said clearly that the thief comes only to kill, steal and destroy, but He came to give us life and life more abundant! (John 10:10) As Jesus told James and John in Luke 9:55 [read the little note in your Bible about the part that some ancient manuscripts include]- The Son of Man didn't come to destroy people's lives but to save them! Amen. Thank You, Lord, for Thy salvation! Though we are nothing without You and we can see nothing in ourselves that You should think of us, You choose to love us anyway. (Psalms 8 and John 15). Thank You for Your love. May Your eternal Love flow through me in all I say and do. Make me all the more thankful and grateful for Your sacrifice and give me opportunities and the boldness to proclaim Your love, judgment, grace and mercy to everyone.

A Prayer for the National Day of Prayer

      We have undertaken this voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia (and westward, ho!) for the honour of our King and Country- (and ultimately) for the Advancement of the Christian Faith and for the Glory of God. In the Presence of God and one another, we solemnly and mutually convenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick- for our better Ordering and Preservation and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience. (In other words, we pledge to do unto others as we would have others do unto us, as Jesus told us in Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31. And since He is The One we look to order and preserve us and further those ends we mentioned earlier, we look to obey Him and love Him with all we've got and love our neighbors as ourselves, like He said in Matthew 22:34-40). Signed November 11, 1620 Anno Domini (in The Year of our Lord). IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN.
(Adapted from The Mayflower Compact; agreement between the settlers at New Plymouth)
      Even our earliest historical documents from the founding of America have been, essentially, prayers to God and a resolution to, by His Grace and Strength (Philippians 4:13, Ephesians 2:8-10) follow and obey Him in the establishment of our country and government. William Bradford recorded this for us; I think he would join in that same prayer today.

        Most Gracious and Just Lord Jesus, we beseech You today on this National Day of Prayer to forgive us of our sins, cleanse us anew, restore the joy of Thy salvation and renew a right spirit within us. May Your Love and Truth be evident to all by the presence of Thy Holy Spirit in our lives and thus, may we see You bring many sons to glory through Your working in and through us as You choose. Thank You that You still hold the whole world in Thy hands today and the leaders of the world will ultimately bow to Your will. Even as they plot and scheme, You The Lord Who sits in Heaven laugh- You alone know what is to come. Even as Nebuchadnezzar came to learn, may all our leaders know that You alone are God- no plan of Yours can be thwarted. I give You honor and praise, The Most High God who is glorified forever- Your dominion is eternal and Your Kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. You do as You please with the powers of Heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back Your hand or say to You, 'What have You done?' Everything You do is right- all Your ways are just.
        I put my hand over my mouth for the times when I have spoken of things too great for me to understand- You are God in Heaven and I am just man on earth, whom You made a little lower than the angels- what am I that You think of me? Yet even when we despised and rejected Thy Son, You loved us anyway with an amazing ferocity that leaves us astounded and astonished. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us and rose again. You have proven Your love for us so wonderfully in the salvation You have provided. Thank You for Your justice that punishes evil and Your Love and Grace that forgives us of all our sins when we come in repentance. Sanctify us and set us apart, Lord- may Your Holy Consuming Fire be rekindled within us. Move in us and let us know Your love and presence. 
       I praise You for Your goodness and all Your promises that You surely keep. I believe; help Thou my unbelief. Help me to walk confidently in faith knowing that You never leave me or forsake me. Thank You for always being faithful even when I'm faithless. I know that there is no good in me on my own; my only Good is You. May I continue to become less as You become greater. Shape me to look more like You each day. I trust You. Lord Jesus, I know You will keep me from stumbling and present me perfect in Your glorious presence by Your virtue on that day. Even when I feel distraught and down on myself and worries and fears of past sins and my own foibles and failings come to haunt me, I will fear no evil for Thou art with me- Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. You are always with me. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the House of The Lord forever. I would rather be a doorkeeper in Your House, Lord, than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. 
      With the faith of a child, I believe You and Your Word and thank You for Your blood shed for me and Your broken body that took my punishment. By Thine stripes I am healed. I praise You that You are no longer dead but You are alive forevermore- and because You live, I will live also. Hallowed be Thy Name, Our Father in Heaven. Thy Kingdom come- Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.Give me this day my daily bread and forgive me of my trespasses as I forgive those who trespass against me.And lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. For Thine is The Kingdom and The Power and The Glory, forever and ever-In the precious Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

(Read The Mayflower Compact here- http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/mayflower.asp
And read The Bible here- http://www.Biblegateway.com )

:-))