It Doesn’t Make Any Sense

A flow of information floods our lives like water pouring from a firehose! Pundits tell us about public policy. Doctors inform us about the latest health trend. Podcasts bring us ideas about every conceivable subject. Conversations with dozens of people each week require more thought and evaluation.

We absorb information about the economy, wars around the world, the corruption in our government, the failure of higher education … and a thousand other things. Much of it is presented in terms that demand changes unless I want to witness the end of life as I know it.

My question is - how do we evaluate all this information?
How do we make the best choices with such an array of options before us?

If left to human wisdom alone – be it my own or that borrowed from others - I realize that I am in real peril because the so-called ‘experts’ have failed me too many times. The 'wise' have turned out to be fools; the 'righteous' revealed as frauds; last year's 'truth' was replaced by this year's discoveries.

The late Dr. David Wells wrote that when we turn from a God-centered life to a man-centered one, "everything drifts apart. It begins to resemble confetti - a myriad of experiences, none of which is related to the others.... and which can mean anything. The human being becomes 'homeless' adrift in a world that is beyond comprehension."

Solomon tried making sense of life with various philosophies. In Ecclesiastes we read his cynical conclusions. "Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless. ...I decided to cheer myself with wine. ... In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world. I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. . .. I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. .... I had everything a man could desire!

So, I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. ... But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. . . . This is all so meaningless!" (Ecclesiastes 2:1-15, NLT)

How easily we can slip into that kind of cynicism. When we attempt to make sense of life without an anchor in the truth of the Living God, the Creator and Source of life itself we will inevitably be cast adrift in a sea of contradictions. With age and experience we can lose touch with good, with beauty, with the joy of a life that rests on a solid foundation. 

Are you attempting to make sense of your life with pleasure, money, technology, control and/or organization, education, or something else in this present world? Those things will, in the short term, give us some bright days and social benefits, but they will certainly fail to provide a life with meaning and hope as our days come to an end.

Perhaps you have taken yet a different path attempting to live ‘above it all’ retreating from engagement with the wider world as much as you can. Maybe you have made this your philosophy - "I don't ask the questions! I just retreat into my little world and forget the rest."  

Even that choice ultimately fails because eventually the world we have tried to ignore will invade our little circle and we will know the consequences of choices made on our behalf by others.

Here is the best choice, one recommended by Solomon, near the end of his life. Solomon, after all his efforts to satisfy his inner longings, to understand life as meaningful, comes to this conclusion:  "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, NIV)

My friend is the True Center of your life the Lord Jesus Christ? Jesus promises that He will be with us 'even to the end of the age.'   He gave us the gift of the Spirit of God Whom He said would not just be with us, but Who would live in us, when we choose to submit ourselves to Him in faith. He said – “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.”  (John 14:15)

 Of Himself, Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come, the Almighty One.” (Revelation 1:8, NLT)

This is not a simplistic answer to the complexity of life. In Him, in His wisdom, and by the Spirit we find an anchor, a point of reference, and access to a way of living that supersedes all the things of this temporal world. As He guides us, our lives become meaningful; even the pain we suffer useful in the hand of God for His eternal purposes.

The word from the Word today reflects the certainty found in our trust and faith. May these words grant us peace in these tumultuous times. “Overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8)

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55

The END of us?

 

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Last week some bright guys warned the world with alarming language about the potential demise of the
human race, killed off by Artificial Intelligence. Were they just being sensational, trying to create a sense of urgency or is there a real threat? What I know about AI would not even fill a page so I will not comment on the accuracy of their claims.

I am watching this news with interest and some concern, wondering what it will mean for my children’s future, for employment millions of people, and the effect on weapons of war, the lethality of which we humans seem to love to ‘improve’ with all means, including AI.

But this I know for certain. It is critically important to be reminded of the source of our TRUE hope and our REAL security. Followers of Jesus Christ need not allow be overtaken with panicky emotions.

·       We need not be sleepless through the night!

·       We need not fear the future.

·       We can settle ourselves on the Rock of our Salvation, remaining focused on the fact that our God is eternal, as Scripture says, “the Alpha and Omega,” encompassing all things from beginning to end. This surety keeps us steady when the world around shakes.

I love the security that David sings about Psalm 57. He wrote this song at a time of many troubles. The king of Israel was mentally unstable and came to believe that young David was a threat, so he mobilized his special forces to try to kill him. David had no refuge, living the life of fugitive in caves in the desert, constantly on the move. His circumstances were fertile soil in which hopelessness might grow, but did he let that happen?
Look at this song.

"They spread a net for my feet— I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path— but they have fallen into it themselves. (Selah)

While his enemies plotted his destruction, he made his heart quiet. “Steady as she goes,” he whispered and then, looking to God who reigns, he broke into song!

“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth." (Psalm 57:6-11, NIV)

When he writes about a ‘steadfast’ heart, he is speaking of an active choice to settle himself. He has chosen to look beyond the circumstances of the moment to the Lord’s promises. IF we would know peace, we must make the same choice. “My heart is steadfast, O God!”

We cannot allow our emotions to drag us into despair. We must not let the doubts take control. Instead, we choose to be steady. One of my favorite authors, Eugene Peterson, penned a meditation on the Psalms which he titled – A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. He makes the point that our Christian faith is a series of choices, made each day. We will not sustain hope based on an experience of the Spirit that is a decade old!

·       We open the Scripture for a Word for this day.

·       We quiet ourselves in contemplative prayer today refusing to let the hurriedness of life to rob us of that renewal found in the Spirit.

·       We deal with the challenges of the day, not letting them pile up into apparently insurmountable mountains.

Yes, we go “Steady on!” 

Isaiah, God’s preacher to Judah in a time of spiritual apathy and pending judgment, could have thrown up his hands in disgust, and retreated from his calling. He did not. He points to the secret of being faithful.
"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal." (Isaiah 26:3-4, NIV) 

Is the sky falling? Are tough times ahead? I do not know but I will choose God's peace. I will choose to live in faith, and I will store my treasure in Heaven. And I will pray for my faith in Jesus to grow stronger, replacing my natural desire to find security in some safe place of my making. How about you?

Here is a familiar word from the Word. May the Lord make our ‘truth for the day.’
"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace,
who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,
after you have suffered a little while,
will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen." (1 Peter 5:8-11, NIV)

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55

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Dreamin’ with my eyes wide open

Sometimes I find myself daydreaming! Yes, with my eyes wide open and complete awareness of what is going on around me, I begin to think “What could change? How can I make it better? What would create happiness in this situation?" I am told by those who study such things that our brain does better at solving problems when we give ourselves permission to dream about possibilities, not simply what we are told is the ‘reality’ with which we must cope.

Too many people surrender to their critics, giving in to the struggles and just choosing to exist!  IF we give up on life disappointment and disillusionment will replace hope. We will begin to let the days slip by- on Monday aiming for Friday, in the morning already thinking about losing ourselves in meaningless TV for the entire evening. IF we lose sight of ‘why’ we are alive, if we refuse to dream because we are told we should not, we will live a defeated existence and drift through day after day.

I am NOT suggesting that we avoid reality and choose to live in fantasies. That, too, is a waste of our days and does not fulfill the high and holy calling that God desires for each one of us.

God does not desire that we become successful people by the common measures of fame, wealth, or celebrity, BUT He does want you and me to be  people of significance.

The best life is not a destiny, but a path shaped by a God-sized dream. We can pray – “Lord God, form in me a dream worthy of You. Show me how to best use the opportunities in my life, to overcome the broken places in myself, and to understand who I am in Your purposes.”   As strange as it sounds, the best life emerges from surrender to His will; not giving up, not becoming numb to the world, but pursuing His purpose over self- promotion. Believe me, there is real joy in that choice.

John Ortberg (pastor and author) writes that "surrender is not passivity nor abdication. It is saying yes to God and life each day. It is accepting the gifts He has given to me - my body, my mind, my biorhythms, my energy. It is letting go of my envy or desire for what He has given to someone else. It is letting go of outcomes... Surrender is accepting reality ... the ultimate reality: I am a ceaseless being with an eternal destiny in God's great universe."  {When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back Into the Box, 2007, Zondervan} The deepest surrender, Ortberg says, grows out of the profound realization that I am not master of the game, the God of life IS!

Real vision forms when we surrender to the Spirit. Jesus says "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it." (Mark 8:34-35, NLT) To paraphrase His words- “If you live selfishly, you will lose everything in the end. If you live as God desires, you will gain an unshakeable hope and the gift of an eternal reward.”

I am convinced that when we are surrendered to Him in our attitudes, God is able to shape our dreams and create opportunities for us to become His partners in changing the world.

Sound too lofty? Is that grandiose? Not at all. It is our privileged place as children of the Heavenly Father. Can you imagine a life more significant than that?  

·       What would life look like if instead of working to impress others or building a network of power to defend our rights, we chose humble service without needing thanks or applause?

·       What if we measured “success” as being content to be useful to God with no expectation other than to find the joy of obedience?  

I want, by the grace of God and the help of the Spirit, to dream big - so that I will not remain where I was yesterday, nor will I lose myself in fantasies about tomorrow. Instead, I will follow Christ’s plan that I become like Him today, with but one desire – that He shines through me in a way that is unique to my gifts and circumstances.

Make this declaration-
“For the glory of God, I want to be the best __________________________
(fill the blank) that is possible!

Here’s a word from the Word. I love the truth declared here.  
"Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21, NLT)

Let’s dare to dream a godly dream and live the life prepared in His wisdom for us.

Amen.

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55