Tie down the load

I was driving home from grocery shopping one afternoon when I noticed that the road was blocked in the round-about ahead.  Not having any other options I slowly drove ahead to see what was halting traffic.  As I arrived at the round-about I realized that we were not stopped by some construction project or some city maintenance vehicle.  We were all made to wait because some guy had not tied down the load that he had just picked up at the home improvement warehouse.  Apparently he had stacked up some twenty or thirty sheets of plywood and the lateral inertia from making the turn was more than enough to send half the load flying off the side of his work trailer.

So there we all sat as he and his friend loaded the sheets one by one.  But what surprised me was the fact that they just took off again without doing anything more than just putting the plywood back how it was when it fell off in the first place.  Also, as I navigated through the intersection I could see the truck and trailer speeding away with the same hurry that probably caused the original mishap but not the slightest adjustment was made to prevent a repeat incident.

And this reminds me of our spriritual life.  We are all sinners and experience our falls on a regular basis.  We ask forgiveness of the Lord for what we have done but have we thought about what needs to happen in order for the incident not to repeat itself?  Do we, like the driver of the truck, just put things back in place like before without asking, "Maybe we ought to tie this down."  Maybe you and I, along with our petitions for pardon, need to ask the Lord to help us and show us what needs to be different.  Because if Christianity is only about forgiveness but doesn't include life change then it's a pretty useless religion we have constructed for ourselves.  The problem is we are sinners and we need forgiveness but we also need healing.

I John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" but it also goes on to tell us, "and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Today God wants to forgive us our sins, but He is also calling us to seek Him so that He can change our lives and tie down all those little things that get away from us.

A half empty plate and the meaning of grace

The story is told of a boy who was in the habit of returning home late for dinner. Every night they would wait for him to return from playing outside with the food usually getting cold.  Repeatedly his parents warned him that that there would be consequences if he did not change his ways. Finally one day he came home particularly late and found his parents sitting down to eat. Thinking he had narrowly escaped punishment again he smiled and sat down quickly. But as he looked down at his plate he realized his punishment was in fact already waiting for him. There looking back at him was an unappealing piece of broken bread and sitting next to it a cup of ordinary tap water.  So they said the blessing, though I am sure the boy was not very thankful for the food he had.  Then when they were just about to eat the boy's father did something that would mark the child forever.  He leaned over picked up the boy's plate and put his own in it's place.  Then he placed the boy's food in front of himself and began to eat the bread.  From that day forward the boy would never forget his father's love and the true meaning of grace.

Friends, grace is getting what we don't deserve.  Just like the boy you and I get what we don't deserve when we choose the life Jesus gives.  And like the father Jesus got what he didn't deserve, the punishment of someone else.  Ephesians 2:8,9 tells us, "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast."  Truly we don't deserve eternal life but God makes it available to us through His grace.  I invite you to accept it today.

New Years Resolutions

So how are those new years resolutions going?  If you are anything like the typical American you lost the battle already.  Exercise every day... by day 3 your were done.  Loose weight... bad time for that.  Read your bible every day... I won't ask.

Well, if will power is not your thing join the club.  It's called humanity.  Thankfully there is help.  Philippians 1:6 tells us that "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."  God is going to help you reach your spiritual goals if you put your trust in Him.  He wants it more than you do and He's willing to help you make it a reality.

So here's my advice.  Give up.  That's right. Give up on the idea of making resolutions based on sheer will power.  Give your life to Jesus Christ and let Him do His work in you, "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." Philippians 2:13