A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

2 CHRONICLES 31:21

Charles Lamb said "New Year's Day is every man's birthday." We're just a couple of weeks away from changing the calendar, so we've all got a birthday coming up. We'll all have a chance to reflect a little bit on the past 365 days and, hopefully, focus a lot on the next 365 days. If we choose, we can wipe slate clean from the past and begin a new day. There's nothing special about January 1, of course, but there is something special about the decision to break away from old habits and develop new ones. It can be done any day -- January 1 is as good a day as any. The important thing is to devote oneself to doing better and trying harder.

It was said of Hezekiah: "In everything he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered." (2 Chronicles 31:21)

My resolutions for 2009 are centered in this verse. I want to seek God more and to serve him better.

ONE WEEK TO LIVE

JOHN 13:1

What would you do if you knew you had only week to live? Would you go away? Would you go home? Would you do some last minute sinning, or some last minute repenting? Would you be sad? Angry? Hopeful? Afraid? How would you spend those final hours?

Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. (John 13:1)

When Jesus had one week to live, he chose to wash his disciples' feet. He did the work of a common slave, ministering to those who were closest to him. He washed their feet (John 13), he comforted them (John 14), he encouraged them (John 15-16), prayed for them (John 17), and then he died for them. He spent the last week of his life fulfilling his purpose; he spent the last week of his life being a servant.

...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)

You and me, we have a week to live: this week — and most probably hundreds more. I want to spend this week fulfilling my purpose, doing that which is most important in terms of eternity: serving Christ by serving others.

AN UNLIKELY AMBITION

1 CORINTHIANS 1:18

I came across this story and I am going to be using it in an upcoming sermon but I could not wait to share it.

It's the story of Ronald Mallet, a man who lost his father to a smoking related illness 53 years ago. When his father died, his lifelong quest began: to build a time machine that would enable him to travel into the past, see his father again, and warn him to change his lifestyle.

It sounds crazy, I know. If Ronald Mallet was a wild-eyed Emmet Brown type (that was Christopher Lloyd in the Back to the Future trilogy), it would be easy to laugh him off as a nutcase.

But he's nothing like Emmet Brown. He is a tenured theoretical physicist at the University of Connecticut, only the 79th African American to earn a doctorate in physics. Why did he choose physics? Because of his crazy dream: he wanted to find a way to travel through time, because he desperately wanted to see his father once again.

He hid his obsession hidden for decades, knowing that if the secret got out, he would become a laughingstock. So he worked at home each night in solitude, and along the way made some amazing discoveries -- discoveries that the academic community is beginning to pay attention to.

Read his story if you have time; it's fascinating. It also illustrates how there are many things that drive us to choose the career we choose -- and if the motive is strong enough, it can drive us to do the seemingly impossible.

I can't imagine devoting my life to something as crazy as time travel. Instead, I've devoted my life (we've devoted our lives) to something that many find crazier -- the foolishness of preaching.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Our calling is not to rewrite the past but to rewrite the future. Our words can change a destiny; our work makes a difference for all eternity. So let's devote ourselves with the focus and determination to this foolish task.

POSITION YOURSELF

ISAIAH 6:8

My soccer career was less than impressive. I don't think I ever actually started a game, but I did learn a secret about getting to play. The coach will sometimes send in the guy standing closest to him. It happens, for example, when someone has just been dragged off the field and he needs someone -- anyone -- to fill a spot. I learned that if I was close enough at that moment, he just might choose me. It worked sometimes -- certainly more often than sulking on the bench would have. This is why, during the course of my single season of play, I entered the game as an right-wing, a halfback or a defensive fullback even though I never practiced in these positions. I usually didn't know exactly what I was expected to do, but at least I was on the field.

There's a principle here to remember: As Dwight L. Moody once said, "God always uses the man closest to him." Unlike my high school soccer coach, God isn't easily distracted and he doesn't send us anywhere unprepared. But he does use those who are eager to get into the game. That's why I want to make a habit of "getting in God's way" so to speak, so that when he's ready to use someone, he sees me first. I want always to be in a position where God can do something with my life.

Isaiah heard the voice of God saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And Isaiah responded, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8)

God is asking the same question today. He's looking for those who are to ready to be used in a great way. When he's searching the sidelines for someone to take the field, I want to be standing close to him.

ABOUT CHANGE

MATTHEW 18:3

It's been said that the seven last words of the church are: "We never done it that way before." We tend to resist change — and I've noticed that "contemporary" churches are just as reluctant to change as "traditional" churches. That's not necessarily a bad thing; change for the sake of change rarely leads to success.

Too often we keep changing the things that working and ignore what really needs to be fixed. I've seen churches that are constantly changing their music ministry or the structure of their service when what they really need to change is the friendliness of their people to guests.

The approach to any kind of change in our personal lives or ministry should be handled with thoughtfulness and prayerful consideration. Here are some notable quotes on the topic.

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"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)

"If you want to truly understand something, try to change it." — Kurt Lewin

"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things." — Nicolo Machiavelli

"Don't take the fence down until you know the reason it was put up." — G.K. Chesterton

"Not all change is improvement, but without change there can be no improvement." — John Maxwell, Developing the Leader within You

"In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are." — Max Depree, Leadership is an Art

YOUR TIME WILL COME

YOUR TIME WILL COME
PROVERBS 22:29

Satchel Paige threw his first major league pitch at the age of 42. Actually, he was good enough to play in the majors at the age of 18, but he couldn't: Satchel Paige was black. Seven years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, Paige, an undisputed superstar everywhere but in the major leagues, finally got his chance.

Cleveland owner Bill Veek was criticized for adding such an old man to his roster; some sportswriters and critics called it a publicity stunt. Others said Paige was finally getting the break he had deserved for years, though most doubted his ability to compete effectively at his age.

Paige silenced the critics when he won his first three games as a pro, shutting out Chicago twice in the process.

All along he knew he was good enough to pitch in the major leagues, and when he finally got his chance, he proved it. He went on to win 28 games during his pro career, and even made a brief comeback at the age of 59, pitching three innings for the Kansas City A's.

He approached his major league pitching debut no differently than he approached any of the 2,500 games he pitched during his career. "It was just another game," he said. "And home plate was where it always was."

Though Paige had the ability to make throwing a baseball look effortless, he spent his life perfecting the art. And, eventually, he got his chance to show the world he was capable of competing with the best.

King Solomon said, "Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men." (Proverbs 22:29)

Solomon is emphasizing that commitment to quality is more important than self-promotion. Do your job well, he says, and you'll get your chance to serve before the best.

In the work that you do, you may have to wait years before you get your chance to play in the big leagues. And the fact is, the chance may never come in the way you would like. But you can be sure your time will come. Believers can work with the assurance that our jobs -- even the most menial tasks -- are performed before our King. Our efforts do not go unnoticed. All the more reason to pursue excellence in all we do.

Your time will come; never give up on the dream of being the best.

The Difference Between Faith and Hope

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FAITH AND HOPE

When the prayer made in faith is not answered, and the healing for which many have sought does not come, we are not to look for someone to accuse of failure in faith. Rather we are to remember that besides faith there is hope. Hope has to do with God's promises that are still future and hidden, just as faith has to do with God's promises that are here and now. To the person who has believed for today but has not seen the answer come today, there comes the call to hope. Hope says, "Tomorrow also is God's. Enough has happened already to assure you that the rest is on the way."

--Thomas Smail

QUOTES ON FAITH

Real works are the natural products of faith taking its next step. -- Paul Goodman

Men with faith can face martyrdom while men without it feel stricken when they are not invited to dinner. -- Walter Lippman

Faith is not being sure where you're going, but going anyway. -- Frederick Buechner

I am one of those who would rather sink with faith than swim without it. --Stanley Baldwin

He does not believe that does not live according to his belief. --Thomas Fuller

Little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul. —Anonymous.

Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. —C.S. Lewis

Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe. —St. Augustine

Don't get the idea that if you can only muster up faith, you will be effective in prayer. Faith is not some mysterious commodity to be sought after. You do not need more faith; you need to learn how to appropriate the faith you already have. —John Bisagno

Faith is to believe what we do not see. The reward of faith is to see what we believe. —St. Augustine

I am totally dependent on God for help in everything I do. Otherwise I honestly believe I would start to fall apart in months. —Wallace Johnson, founder of Holiday Inn.

LITTLE SHARKS, BIG JELLY FISH
MATTHEW 25:21

I remember as a child going various swimming holes and the beaches of North Carolina with my dad. My dad, a retired special forces sergeant major, had a strange hobby of finding "buried treasure" with his metal detector. So while my dad went up and down the beaches, banks, and riverbeds of North Carolina, I would always play in the water.

Every time I would go swimming in the ocean, someone inevitably would warn me: Watch out for sharks! Of course, I always do, but I've never did see one. I've never even heard the "bom-bom-bom-bom" music that plays in the background when sharks come near. And it's a good thing, because once you hear the music, it's probably too late.

I've been warned to watch out for sharks, but no one has ever said to me, "Watch out for the jelly fish." So what happens one day while I am training to become the next world champion boogie boarder. I am stung by a jelly fish--on both of my legs, just below my knees. As a seven year old boy, I had never experienced so much pain and agony in my life. What was worse was the two hour ride back home from the ocean.

However,The fact is, jelly fish are far more dangerous. Each year they kill more people than sharks do.

Today, as a grown man with children of my own I take a walk each day outside, and even though I am highly allergic to bee stings no one has ever said to me, "Watch out for the bees." Yet, bees kill more people each year than sharks and jelly fish combined.

We tend to spend our lives worrying about the sharks (whether we ever go near the water or not), because sharks are big and scary. And we tend to ignore real threats because, by themselves, they're not all that intimidating.

Don't let the little things in life fool you. You ignore them at your own peril.

Every good marriage...every good employee...every good business succeeds because they've learned to pay attention to the little things.

Jesus told a story about a servant who was given some money to manage, and because he managed it well, he was rewarded by his master. The master said...

You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. (Matthew 25:21)

Our greatest wins and losses in life result from our ability to master the seemingly minor details of life.

• Reading a few verses of scripture and spending some time in prayer each day may not seem significant to some, but its long-term effect is revolutionary.

• Making the effort to bite your tongue may not seem that important, but in the long run it could save a relationship.

• Giving a customer a little extra attention might not seem like such a big deal, but it could pave the way to your next promotion.

Don't give the sharks more attention than they deserve--especially at the cost of ignoring the jelly fish. It's the little things that hold us back, and the little things that move us forward. They're our greatest danger and our most powerful weapon.

BUYING YOUR WAY INTO HEAVEN
1 CORINTHIANS 6:12

This is from Reuters News service:

A rich 80-year-old Indian widow has spent thousands of dollars on a feast for 100,000 people in the hope it would please the gods and open the doors of heaven for her, local officials said.

People from surrounding villages and towns were fed lunch over two consecutive days by Phuljharia Kunwar, who lives in the eastern state of Bihar and has no family or relatives.

Kunwar spent $37,500 on the feast. Local officials said she spent lavishly on the meal because she had no one to bequeath her property.

"She told us she could now begin her final journey and her soul could rest in peace in heaven," Ajay Kumar Bulganin, a local lawmaker who attended the feast, held over Wednesday and Thursday, said.

"She was worried that no one would care about throwing a feast after her death." (Here's a link to the story.)

She didn't know, maybe because no one told her, that the price has already been paid for her: "For you have been bought with a price..."(1 Corinthians 6:12)