That's Enough

                                                                       Revelation 22:18-21

I remember when I was a kid in Sunday School we used to sing, "The B-I-B-L-E
now that's the book for me
I stand alone on the Word of God
the B-I-B-L-E!" 

As I finish reading through the Bible and begin the journey again I am reminded of the how much truth that little chorus has. Because even though there is a pretty stern warning in the end of Revelation, there is a truth we sometimes miss and that is that God's Word is enough. All the truth we need is in the Bible. What we need to understand about ourselves, how we are to interact with God, others and even the world we live in is taught us in His word. God's going to win, Christ is coming back to set everything in order. 

There is a humility we should have when approaching the Bible. I shake me head in wonder when I hear or read about someone who thinks they can judge whether or not God is worthy by their standard they set up. God alone is Most High, the Almighty. He can take care of his word. He can take care of us. Everything we need for life and godliness is there in his word. He even tells us how this part of the story ends. That's enough.

Know the Truth, He Never Lies

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 1 John 2:20 (NIV)

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  John 14:6 (NIV)

The truth can be hard to come by. Think about it. How many times have you thought someone was telling you the truth only to find out they were lying. When someone tries to represent themselves as something they are not, we call that living a lie. Of course you have heard the joke, "Do you know how to tell when a politician is lying? Their lips are moving."

Knowing Christ is knowing the truth. God can not lie. What we learn from Christ, from the Bible, we can depend on as truth. I know that some people view the Bible as an antiquated piece of literature full of myths and fables. But, that is not what it is at all. One hundred plus years ago dictionaries defined Hittites as a mythological  group of people referred to in the Bible. Later, they discovered evidence of the existence of the Hittites. Admittedly, many people have misunderstood, misinterpreted and misrepresented the Bible. But, it has proven itself true again and again. 

Yet, truth is more than just an opinion of what one perceives to be true. Truth is about knowing who Christ is and knowing him as the truth. When you know Christ as Lord you know that the universe was made through him (Hebrews 1:2). Christ is the truth. Science may discover things but it does create the laws that govern the universe. Albert Einstein said, "I want to think God's thoughts, the rest are details." 

We can choose to live by faith in the truth or not. If you know Jesus, you know the truth. 

Father, thank you that Jesus is the truth and we may know him. Praise be to you in us today!

Hang On, His Love Is Unfailing

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed,
   yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
Isaiah 54:10 (NIV)

The word of The Lord is good. The truth of his love for us is assurance in moments of doubt. Whatever you may be going through, God's love for you never waivers. 

Father, open our eyes to see your unfailing love in our lives. Praise be to you in us today!

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO?

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22

I believe A.W. Tozer said, "Self deception is the worst kind of deception." If I just go to church and change nothing in my life, if I do nothing any differently than before, what's the difference? 

Let's just get it straight. Going to church does not make you a Christian. It's a good thing, it just doesn't mean anything if you don't act accordingly. Putting on a Laker uniform doesn't make me a professional basketball player. It's doesn't even mean I know how to dribble a basketball. 

This is where it gets real. I have been walking with Christ since I was in high school in the 70's. There has been times when I honestly looked at myself and realized that I wasn't acting on what I knew was true. My decisions, my choices, and my actions were not of faith. I was not doing what the Word of God says. I was in sin. 

I'm married. We are going on our eighteenth year. I have a lot of friends who are married and a few that are divorced. If you don't do what the Bible says; love, respect, and forgive each other, I don't know how you can stay married. Honestly, it's usually more about inflexibility than infidelity. The Bible tells us to love as Christ first loved us, which is when we didn't want it and didn't deserve his love. What usually holds a marriage together is when you love your spouse when they are unloveable. 

What do you need to do?

Father, help us to do what your word says to do. Praise be to you in us today! 

GOD BRINGS THE VICTORY/ Psalm 44:6-8

"I do not trust my bow,
     my sword does not give me victory;
 but you give us victory over our enemies,
     you put our adversaries to shame.
 In God we make our boast all day long,
     and we will praise your name forever." 
Psalm 44:6-8

Lord, you know the battles in our lives. You know the battles in our hearts, our marriages, our families, finances and friendships. Reign in us! We look to you to bring us victory over our adversaries. In you we make our boast. If you do not fight for us, we will surely fail. Praise be to you in us today! 

SET ME IN A FAMILY/ Psalm 68:4-6

"Sing to God, sing praise to his name,
     extol him who rides on the clouds - 
 his name is the LORD -
     and rejoice before him.
 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
     is God in his holy dwelling.
 God sets the lonely in families,
     he lead forth the prisoners with singing;
 but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land."
 Psalm 68:4-6

I am been blessed with a wonderful godly wife and four children who all know God's Name. 

When I first became a Christian I knew I was not called to be single. I thought God would provide a wife pretty quickly because it just wouldn't be good to be single (for me). Well, God had other plans and I ended up not getting married until I was thirty six. Yes, that was a long time. I didn't like being single and when I did meet my wife, everyone wanted to know what kind of women could deal with me. 

One of the things that I found attractive about her was that her two boys were good boys. So, at thirtysix, I married into a family. The boys were and are to this day great young men. I sort of felt like Rip Van Winkle and I had somehow slept through this huge portion of my life. I woke up, was married and had two sons! 

The point here on Father's Day is that I thank God for setting me in a family. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you for being my Father and giving me such a great wife and children. Praise be to you, my Father. Praise be to you in us today!

FOUND TO BE SOUND: Titus 2:2

"Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance." Titus 2:2

I have been blessed that I have been in church ever since I can remember. Good, solid churches that believed in the Bible as the inerrant, inspired Word of God. Every now and then I will hear someone say something about God or the Bible and it just won't "sound" right. Sometimes I will have to check myself and make sure I am acting according to the truth found in the Bible. I attend a men's study (actually, I will go this morning). I need all the help I can get. It isn't just that I try to read my Bible on a daily basis, I try to do what it says. I am far from perfect, but, I must constantly realign myself with God. 

I am married and I have four children. I grew up in a family where no one ever felt the need to not tell you were wrong. I know that I am a sinner. My soundness as a Christian is wrapped in my faith in Christ. My soundness, your soundness is found in his grace, mercy and faithfulness.

Father, help us to be sound in our faith. Thank you for your grace, mercy and faithfulness. Praise be to you in us today!

HELP IN THE FOG: PSALM 43:3-4

"Send forth your light and your truth,
     let them guide me;
 let them bring me to your holy mountain,
     to the place where you dwell.
 Then will I go to the altar of God,
     to God, my joy and my delight.
 I will praise you with the harp,
     O God, my God."
 Psalm 43:3-4

Have you ever driven in the fog? It doesn't matter what time of day  it is, if the fog is bad, you can lose sight of the lines on the road and next thing you know you are off the road. If you are driving in unfamiliar territory, then the problem is amplified! 

That's kind of what our Christian walk can be like sometimes, isn't it? We  sometimes find ourselves in a bit of a fog and we not only are we unsure of where we are going,  we are a little unsure of where we are even on the road at the present time. That is where our faith becomes real. 

I grew up in the mountains and we had a lot of fog. I knew the roads pretty well. One time a friend from college was driving and I was sitting shotgun going up the mountain. It was pretty foggy. I was telling him the whole way up, "left, right, big left...hard right". He was If I stopped telling him, he would slow down to nearly stopped. He would say, "Keep telling me what's coming up!" I knew the roads. It isn't just the Christ knows the roads of our lives, he sees the dangers and problems too. That is why we look to him to light our way and tell us the truth about life, abundant life. 

Look to Christ and his word. He will lead you and guide you on your way. His truth will protect you. When you can't see the end from your vantage point,or maybe even the road just ahead, trust in Christ, he does!

Father, send forth your light and your truth. Help us to trust in you! Praise be to you in us today!

KNOW SCRIPTURE, BECOME WISE: II Timothy 3:14-15

"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." II Timothy 3:14-15

I few years ago I was greeting people as they entered the church and there was one man who was in bad shape. His clothes were worn and dirty. His face was unshaven. He looked like someone living on the street. I began to see him attending regularly and he committed his life to Christ. He began to change. He is now on staff at that church! He wasn't a street person but his life was a wreck and knowing Christ changed him into a productive person. He has a great wife and family. Living his life by faith in Christ Jesus has given him the wisdom to live a godly life.

Sometimes we forget that wisdom comes from following the truth taught us in Scripture. I am blessed that my mother and grandmother always made sure we went to church. I can not remember a time when going to church was not a part of my life. I can not remember a time when acting like Christ and obeying the Scriptures was not part of the conversation concerning how I lived my life. Really, if there is any success to my life it is when I have tried to live my life in a godly manner by faith in Christ Jesus. 

I encourage and exhort you to continue to seek Christ and live by faith in him. We know he tells us in the Bible to love as he has loved us. So, how will you do that today?

Father, help us to live through faith in Christ Jesus today! Praise be to you in us today!

NOT A CHAINSAW OR BUTTER KNIFE: II Timothy 2:15

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." II Timothy 2:15

Hebrews 4:12 tells us that "the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword". The problem is that most of the time we use the Bible more like a chainsaw or a butter knife! Either we try to force our way by saying, "The Bible say! The Bible says!" Or we pick a quote with little or no reference to what the issue really is. 

If I see something in someone and just quote a verse and tell them to get it together or else they are in sin I could be shredding their faith. What happens if they are sincerely struggling with something, seeking God, but just having trouble? What if what they really need is someone to walk alongside them a while and instead I just condemn them? That's what I Corinthians 13 is all about, love. Think about Christ. Although he never condoned sin he was always kind to sinners (like me) when offering them a way of repentance. The only people Jesus was harsh with was with the so-called spiritual elitists, those who thought they were already righteous. 

So, apply the word of God with love and wisdom, correctly handle the word of God.

Father, help us to correctly handle your word and to dispense it with wisdom and love. Praise be to you in us today!

LET TRUTH HOLD YOU: I Timothy 3:9

The writers of the Declaration of Independence wrote, "We hold these truths to be self-evident..." and then they listed the them and led a revolution that changed the course of history. Those core beliefs have guided the United States of America ever since. The Apostle Paul reminded young Timothy that church leaders should be people who hold the truths of the faith. Holding on the the deep truths of the faith, as a husband and a father, is good practice.

"They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience." I Timothy 3:9 

When my oldest son was in middle school he attended a "Christian" school. One of his teachers questioned the validity and authenticity of the Bible in front of the students. I was, to say the least, a bit upset. I wrote him a "note" to the effect that we did not send our son to a Christian school to learn how to doubt God. We  could do that for free by sending him to a public school. Also, I told him that if he had any questions regarding the reliability of the Bible or the existence of God I would be glad to "discuss" them with him and maybe encourage him in his faith.

My youngest son is like a sponge when it comes to information. So, after watching some programs that spoke dogmatically about evolution as if it were unquestionable truth, we had some discussions about the cartoon religion called evolution verses the Creator of all things and the truth of the Bible. It is my responsibility as his father to teach him that God is the Sovereign Lord and Creator of all things and that God has spoken to us through Christ and his Word, the Bible. 

Having a clear conscience does not mean we are perfect. Having a clear conscience means we keep our relationship with God clear. This is why the daily disciplines of prayer and reading the Bible are so important. But, the truth is, they remind us that God loves us and he longs to daily commune with us. That is what we teach our children.

Father, help us to hold fast to the deep truths of the faith and keep our consciences clear. Praise be to you in us today!

BEING SELF-CONTROLLED IN AN OUT OF CONTROLLED WORLD: I Thessalonians 5:8

I'm a Laker fan so I of course love Kobe Bryant as a player. Kobe like Michael Jordan before him and many other great players has an ability to focus their energy and play within the moment. John Wooden, the later great UCLA basketball coach would tell his players to be quick but never in a hurry. Be self-controlled. As Christians we are told to be self-controlled.  

"But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." I Thessalonians 5:8

I think it is instructive to notice that because we belong to the day - belong to God in Christ - we are to be self-controlled. Paul is reminding the Thessalonians that living as a Christian is not some hyper-spiritual state of being where you are carried away by the Spirit and you no longer think and choose. The world we live in deceptively tells people that they have no choice emotionally about their passions. Think about it. How you ever heard someone say, "Men are dogs"? Men are led to believe (and I have heard this from church pulpits my whole life, not just the world) that they will lust and that is just part of being a male. Evolution has placed in men a desire to procreate and it is uncontrollable. Is this Biblical? NO! The Bible tells men to choose, to run, from the immoral woman (see Proverbs). Men are not animals. We are created in the image of God. 

Do you get my point? My point is that here in Thessalonians the Apostle Paul is telling us to be self-controlled. Faith in God and the love of Christ, for us and in us, along with the hope of salvation are the guideposts of our choices. My wife has a note on the refrigerator  called "The Three Sieves Test". Before saying something you are supposed to ask, "Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?" What is your sieve test for choosing? Is it by faith? Is it in love? Does it bring the hope of salvation? 

The bottom line is that as Christians we have a very different guide post than the world. For the world it is simply what I feel will make me feel good. Which, never works out. As Christians we act by faith that God is Sovereign and his love will work all things for our good. We act in love because he first loved us, though we don't deserve his love. We look for salvation and to bring the redemptive reconciling work of the Spirit of God into all of our lives. This always works out. 

Father, help us to be self-controlled, choosing to live by faith, act in love and share your salvation. Praise be to you in us today!