Front

“They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.”  Romans 1:25

     Back when I was in elementary school, one of the most coveted positions in the classroom was line leader.  Everybody wanted it.  Few got the chance.  It was the coolest job there was.  As you walked, the class walked.  If you stopped at the water fountain, all 24 of your friends did too.  Being first had power.  Head of the line meant something.

Being first was important.  

It still is.  Only now, it isn’t walking in the front of the line... it’s putting the most important thing first in your mind and heart.  We don’t have to wait for a teacher to assign it... we get to pick it ourselves!  We get to decide what leads out in our lives everyday...

Number one matters.

True commitment requires sacrifice.   When it comes to what leads our lives, this couldn’t be more true.  In order for us to commit to making God first... to lead us... to guide us... to light the way...  something/someone that isn’t God needs to be moved from the number one spot and either made to be number 2 or 3... or lower. 

Maybe money’s been your idol for awhile... directing your thoughts and actions.  Perhaps it’s ego... or family... or power... or success... or maybe for you it’s that guilt you’ve started to focus all of your attention on.  Something has been in God’s place in your life and it needs to be given it’s proper position.  I believe that if we are going to change this world for Christ... to reach our God-Potential... to fully commit to God’s plan... we need to make and keep Him first. 

God’s opinion matters... Not the opinion of those who didn’t sacrifice themselves so that I could live eternally.

God’s words are true... Not the words of those who have ulterior motives or are trying to manipulate me

God’s values are perfect... Not the values of a world who couldn’t care less about my morality or thought life.

God’s place is first... Not behind something that fades, rusts, leaves, betrays, confuses, or abandons me.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once said, ““We always pay dearly for chasing after what is cheap.”  I agree with that... time to move the cheap stuff out of the way and replace it with some One priceless. 

Open

As much as I like football, during the Super Bowl, I love the commercials even more. During one of the big games, I remember FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like the bedraggled Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, package in hand. When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he survived five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in order to deliver it to her. She gives a simple, "Thank you." But he is curious about what is in the package that he has been protecting for years. He says, "If I may ask, what was in that package after all?" She opens it and shows him the contents, saying, "Oh, nothing really. Just a satellite telephone, a global positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some seeds."

He had everything he needed at his fingertips... He just never opened it up.

Life-changing tools sitting dormant...unused... ineffective.

Some of us find ourselves in the same position. We feel stranded...alone... hopeless... and desperately searching for rescue. We stare at the sky and wring our hands in worry. Days pass and we wonder if anyone will ever come to our aid. And at our fingertips... there sits a Bible. God’s love letter to us... unopened, unread, and underutilized.

The answer to every life challenge is contained within the covers of the Book... yet many never go to it. Instead we sit and just hope things work out... that rescue will just happen... that the problems we find ourselves in will just float away. We put our cares on a slip of paper, put them in a bottle, and throw them out to sea... hoping they will miraculously drift to where they need to go. God wants better for us. He gave us His Word for a reason.... to assure us that life isn’t built on random luck or on the possibility that the tides will change and everything will just fall into place. God is intentional... and the Bible was given to us for a specific purpose (as seen here in 2 Timothy 3).

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” 2 Timothy 3:16

We are to learn from God’s word... internalize the truths and wisdom contained inside it....and live out what God tells us to do on a daily basis. And when we do... when we choose to spend daily time reading it... we receive God’s blessing, priorities re-align, understanding grows, we get stronger, and life begins to have greater meaning.

We move from just surviving to thriving. From treading water to standing on solid rock.

All because we read and apply the most wonderful Book ever written.

If you find yourself struggling to get into the Word... I want to encourage you to start today. Carve out some time, choose a book (John, Romans, Acts, James... so many good starting places), and dig in. Read until God tells you something... Something that makes you stop and think. Meditate on that scripture. Memorize it. Write it down somewhere where you can see it.

And tomorrow morning when you wake up... repeat the process. Before long, you’ll have clarity and wisdom like you never thought you’d have... fewer questions about God’s heart... and a better appreciation for Christ’s love and sacrifice on our behalf.

Cleaning Up the Mess

One day a young boy was eating potato chips and had made a terrible mess on the floor.  His father entered the room, noticed the mess, and told his son that he would clean it up for him.  The boy quickly replied... “No dad, I’ll do it!”  The dad thought a second and said, “No, if I let you do it, you’re going to make a bigger mess.”  The boy protested... “No I won’t!”  So the father relented and let his son clean up the chips.

The result?  As expected, the boy made a bigger mess.   

When we hear this story, we can be too quick to dismiss it as something only a child would do.  But take a second and think about it... don’t we do the same thing with God?  Time after time in scripture He tells us that He will take care of things for us... revenge, provision, fulfillment, peace.. and so much more.   Yet, we tell God all the time... “I’ve got it!”  And the result, a bigger mess.  Proverbs 21:2 says “A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart”   God knows best... and when we try to help Him handle our lives, we typically just make things more complicated.  Make the commitment today to take God at His word... Let Him do what He says He wants to do for us... and praise Him when you experience the blessing of His loving care.