BREAKING NEWS: “Spiritually Obese Man Can’t Fit Through Narrow Gate” – Nov. 27th

“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” Luke 13:24

I know that many people struggle with their weight. There can be many factors that lead to obesity but the equation remains maddeningly simple. When we consume more calories than we burn, we get fat. The problem for me is that I often don’t even realize how many calories I consume. Usually, the only consequence is tighter pants.

Recently, there were dire consequences for a woman in Hungary. According to the NY Post, an obese woman, on vacation in Hungary, was not able to physically fit into an airplane and return to the US for kidney treatment. Tragically, she died in Hungary.  I wonder if she had known that her weight would prevent her from being able to enter that airplane if she would have gotten that weight off.  We will never know. She waited too long to get prepared for the trip.

There are consequences to being over-weight.  However, most folks never anticipate dire consequences due to their weight. That is why current polling shows that people are happily fat. We get content with being over-weight because it is harder to be fit.

I lost 35 lbs this last year.  It wasn’t because I started exercising. I had completed P90X and Insanity but had gained 3 lbs. It wasn’t until I started tracking my diet that I began losing weight. It is simply amazing how a handful of nuts here, a little sliver of dessert there, and a bit of extra serving on top can add up. I started to log everything that I consumed. That resulted in me being aware and limiting what I was shoving into my mouth. It was then that all of my exercising began to have the effect that I had been hoping for. The weight just came off.

This got me to wonder how many folks are spiritually over-weight. All you have to do is take a quick look through today’s churches to see a lot of spiritually out-of-shape Christians. I wonder how many of them are not even aware of the volume of worldly desires that they are daily consuming. We can follow very rigorous spiritual disciplines but we also have to limit the corrupting delicacies of this world that we consume.  There is a balance between spiritual exercise (doing) and diet (delighting) that every believer must find in order for them to experience spiritual fitness.

To be in shape, you have to strive for it. You have to be earnest for it. That is what Jesus is telling us here in Luke. We need to strive, to be earnest, about salvation. How much earnestness do you see out there? How much earnestness do you see in yourself?  I see a lot of luke-warmness (Rev. 3:15-17) and that scares me.

Many people believe that they have a ticket that allows them passage to heaven. We are warned that many of these people are going to show up at the narrow gate and find that they don’t fit. Just like the majority of Americans who are happily fat, there a many Christians who are happily fat spiritually. They don’t think that there are any consequences. They said a magic incantation and gone on consuming the sweet desires of this world. That is why we are told to examine ourselves. It is when we truly respond to the gospel that we are changed. The result of that new life will be a change in our palette.  We will desire the things of God. We will gain assurance in our own salvation by seeing the Spirit work in our lives; by seeing the fruit of the Spirit growing in us and making us something that we weren’t.  What scares me is that many will wait too long to get prepared (Matt. 25:1-12). The world is full of people who are on the wide and easy escalator that leads to destruction (Matt 7:13-14).  Many of those people think that they are holding a ticket to heaven.

It is time to get in spiritual shape.  Examine yourself (2 Cor. 13:5)– maybe it would be good to start by tracking just how much of this world that you are routinely consuming. What do you desire the most?  Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt 6:21).

PRAYER: Lord, You are the highest treaures there is. Forgive me for desiring lesser things of this world.  Lord, give me eyes to see clearly. Help me to examine myself to discover what in this world I am desiring more than you. Lord – fill me with your Spirit; make me fit in the fruit of your Spirit so that I am  prepared for your return.  Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen

ETERNITY CONFIDENCE INDICATOR – Nov. 23th

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Heb. 11:1

I am very content to be missing all of the excitement of Black Friday – endurance shopping and large crowds. That seems more like an enhanced interrogation technique that needs to be banned. However, I am interested in the results of Black Friday. I am anxiously awaiting the final tallies like they are the scoreboard of my favorite team. I am very concerned about the condition of the US economy and Black Friday is a good indicator of what is going on out there. The amount of cash that will be shelled out on this day is a good indicator of how consumers are doing.

I have not talked with anyone who is very “bullish” on the US economy. It is possible that I am in the middle of a bunch of eeyores. I tend to live on the cynical side of the fence, which is fine if the world really is falling apart. However, if it is not falling apart, I would like to inoculate myself (maybe it will work). The Black Friday turnout will be a good indicator as to whether we “eeyores” are in the minority.

I hope to be in the minority because our attitudes matter more than most of us are willing to admit. We all can accomplish great things and endure hardship if we have confidence in the future. This fact is why consumer confidence is tracked. The fundamentals of an economy can all be sound but if consumers are not confident in the future then it is bound to languish.

Confidence directly influences attitude and attitude matters. Atttiude matters because of its influence in every aspect of our lives, including our spiritual lives. The optimism that we feel in our spiritual lives is linked to our confidence in the future. Eternity confidence is called hope. Hope is such a big deal that it is mentioned over 120 times in the Bible. Every believer should aptly be called hopeful.  We are to be people of faith. Hope is in the definition of faith. Therefore, we are to be people of hope. Our confidence in eternity should overflow into every aspect of our daily lives.

Have you been languishing in your faith? Maybe you should try tracking your hope. The bars on this graph show the confidence of consumers in the US over last several years.

Your hope shouldn’t look like that. Our hope is not tied to our economy or anything else from this world.  If your eternal confidence is all over the place than your faith is probably languishing. Our hope should look like the line on this graph. It should be ever increasing as the assurance of our salvation grows through sanctification.

It is always good to periodically get back to the fundamentals.

• What are you hoping in?
• What are you day-dreaming about? Is God in it at all?
• Do you have conviction in God?
• Do you have conviction in the things of the Spirit that can’t be seen?
• Do feel your faith crumbling due to a lack of conviction?

Every follower of Christ needs to be reminded that our hope is not in this world. There is nothing in this world worth hoping for since it will all be gone one day. We aren’t taking it with us. What have you really achieved if you gain all that you’ve hoped for in this world and lose your soul?

Let’s get our confidence on what really matters and lasts, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the hope that will never disappoint. Set your mind and your hope on the Spirit and the things of the Spirit and you will be amazed at the growth in your confidence (your faith) and your eternal optimism.

PRAYER: Lord, Thank you for giving me a future that I have confidence in. Lord, you know that I have such a tendency to hope in all of the wrong things. You are surpassingly more valuable than anything this world has to offer me. Father, I set my hope in you this day; I place all of my confidence in you.  I know that I am a child of God and there is nothing that this world can to do me except disappoint if that is where my hope is.  My hope is in you and I know that you will never disappoint me. Praise be to your name.    Amen

SCARED BY GENGHIS KHAN – Nov. 18th

“This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Psalm 56:9b-11  

I have been listening to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast series, “Wrath of the Khans”. I cannot grasp the horror associated with the subjucation of so many great societies by those Eurasian nomads lead by Genghis Khan. I can only imagine the emotions of terror that would rise up in my mind out of concern for my family and friends if a Mongol like army were sweeping in from Montana to destroy my way of life. Yet, the inhumanity of man is nothing new. It is seen throughout history. It can be seen every day in the news. Strip the news of the inhumanity of war, terrorism, oppression, murder, rape, abuse, deception and thief and there will be little left. We are masters at doing bad things to each other. When the Pslamist asks, “What can man do to me?”, I answer with, “A lot – that is why I have a concealed weapons permit and guns”. The question is can they can do anything to us that matters eternally? Jesus tells us in Matt. 10:28, “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” We should not miss the point that man can do bad things to us, even kill us. God did not save us to make our physical life better. Sometimes he does, but that is not his purpose. He saved our souls for eternity. We get all messed up when we confuse our situation with our relationship with God. Faith draws upon the Spirit to bear witness that we are God’s children – a Father is always for His own child. When God is our Father, that can never be taken away. That would be something worth fearing but we don’t have to fear our Father losing his grasp on our souls. The gain or loss of lesser things, even our own life, is not crushing when we know that God our Father is for us and nothing can take that away. Our souls are secured when threats are challenged by crying out to an exalted God, who is our Father.

PRAYER: Father, you are great and greatly to be praise. There is no one like you. It is you who hold me in the palm of your hand. It is you who knows all about me, even the number of hairs on my head. You know me better than I know myself. You know all my needs. You know the secrets of my heart.  You are my Father, the keeper of my soul. It is in you who I trust. You are may all in all.  It is to you that I give all of my praise.  You are worthy of nothing less than my all.   Amen

TEST DRIVING GOD- Nov. 15th

“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather me scatters.” Luke 11:23    

I am going to purchase a used car and I am already dreading it. My car buying experiences have never been what I would describe as fun. There are an assortment of questions, a lack of answers, and never enough time. I hate the hard sell. What I want is a deal that includes a perpetual test drive. I want a risk-free deal. I want to drive a car until it finally falls apart. Then I will know its real worth  and can pay for what I have received. Shockingly, no one is offering that deal. God doesn’t even offer that deal.  However, there are a lot of folks who approach Him in exactly this manner. They are on a perpetual test drive with God. They are continually negotiating with God. They are hesitant to commit because their deal may necessitate them changing. Many don’t even realize that they have settled into this compromise position. They may have said a prayer but they have not gone all in. They are “associated” with God but not fully with God. The Church is full of folks on perpetual test drives. They are cruising along thinking all is well; they think they have done just enough to get their ticket to heaven punched without having to risk too much. Jesus tells us in Matt. 7:22-23, that there will be many “christians” shocked to find out that their test drive didn’t cut it.  “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” 2 Cor. 13:5

PRAYER: Lord, examine my heart; show me all of the areas of my life that I am holding back. Lord, I want to be all in; I am with you. Help me with those areas where I am not.  Amen