Better yesterday? A great tomorrow? What about today?

In my experience with grief, I deal with two big temptations; living in the past or escaping into the future. For months following Bev’s death, almost every day I paged through old photos, remembering our life together.  Memory can be a gift but it unreliable.  I tend to make Bev a saint and to see my failures in a much darker shade!  When try to escape sorrow by looking far into the future, imagining what life might be, I am unproductive in the present, missing the opportunities of this day.  The wisdom of God urges me to take the grace He is providing right now!

Are you a captive of 'yesterday?'  
Are you letting regret to throw a chain of sadness or fear over you so that you will not walk confidently into what God has planned for today? Yesterday should be a teacher. Learning from the past is critical, but so is forgiveness.  We need to know the forgiveness of God as well as being willing to make the choice to forgive those who have offended us.  Jesus, knowing how important it was to let go of the past, taught to the disciples. "Pray like this, forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." (Matthew 6:12, KJV)  The Word promises that when we “confess our sin, He is faithful to forgive and cleanse.” (1 John 1:9)  Maybe it is not regret that has gripped you.  Are you trying to recapture some moment of joy, reclaim some achievement, relive some spiritual experience?  It is time to let go and to thank God for what was good.  Build on what was done with excellence, and face forward.

Are you dreaming about tomorrow?
When I am trying to live in the future, I can easily justify procrastination.  Certainly, I am not the only one who has excused apathy today thinking life will be easier when 'I have more time,' or 'more money,'  or 'when the kids are grown,' or 'if I get that new job.'  Hope is a wonderful thing. I am powerfully drawn along in my Christian life by the promise eternal life, but, even as I keep Heaven in my sights on the horizon of time, I choose to live in the present.

Read this passage from Hebrews 3 and take note of the word “today.” "So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He’s the centerpiece of everything we believe  … That’s why the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, please listen’ … watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it’s still God’s Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul. These words keep ringing in our ears: Today, please listen; don’t turn a deaf ear as in the bitter uprising." (Hebrews 3:1,7, 12-14, The Message)

The writer is referring to the Israelites who were called out of Egypt to the Promised Land.  In spite of many experiences of the faithfulness and power of God, they failed to walk with God because they looked back at yesterday  or they anticipated tomorrow, falling into fear.  The past and the future were excuses for their rejection of the plan of God ‘today.’   The rosy tint of memory caused them to forget the cruelty of their Egyptian task-masters! Their fear of unknown future caused them to discount God's power so that they refused His call to claim the Promised Land.  As a result, that generation died in the desert.

Make the most of today’s opportunities. Here is a word from the Word, one packed with promise.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39, NIV)

Take the blessings of the present and pray with me:

"Father, thank you for this day.

Thank you for opportunities to do good,

to experience Your grace, and to see Your provision for my needs today.

Forgive me of the sins of yesterday, Lord, and release me from the chains of regret and guilt.

Give me the greatness of heart to set others free from indebtedness as You have forgiven me in Christ Jesus.

Open my eyes to the possibilities that exist today.

Help me to look around and to see what You're doing now and to join You in making a difference in the world.

Holy Spirit, fill me powerfully with life and let me be a life-giver to the people that I will interact with today.

In the name of Jesus, my Redeemer and my Hope, I ask these things.

Amen."

A marked man!

A half-century has passed but that Sunday afternoon experience is still with me. Pastor McDaniel led us into a swimming pool at a Bible Camp and one by one we professed our faith in Jesus Christ and then he plunged us into the water.  What happened there made me a marked man – a declared disciple of Jesus Christ.

Baptism, like the celebration of Communion, is as old as our Christian faith, rooted in Jesus’ own direction to us. “Go, make disciples, and baptize!” In our fellowship, we celebrate baptisms. Yes, it is a holy occasion, but not one of solemnity. It is a joyful time when shouts are in order because baptism is the public statement of the newly converted to the world that says, “I’m a Believer!” It is statement of hope, one that anticipates a new way of life.

Does the water wash away our sins? No, that is not the purpose. We are washed by the work of the Spirit, made guiltless by the offering Jesus made at the Cross. Baptism identifies us a Christian. It is a reenactment, so to speak, of Jesus’ experience.  In Romans we read this - "Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection." (Romans 6:3-5, NIV)  The former life dominated by the sinful nature is left behind and we anticipate a new life in the Spirit.

That is why we immerse those who have made a profession of faith. Baptism without faith is an act without significance, changing nothing.  Baptism of the faith-filled is a doorway into a whole new way of life, a moment when the Spirit is invited to live in that person in His fullness.  Baptism calls us into a unity, not forced, but real, growing out of a shared identity and hope. "For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26-28, NLT)

Been baptized since you believed? If not, why not?

Take the step of obedience to Christ, with full faith.  Invite the Spirit to turn that act of obedience into a moment of empowerment, filling you with Resurrection Life as you leave the old land behind!

Here is a word from the Word. “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all." (Acts 2:36-41, NLT)

______________________

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart,
wean it from earth, through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness mighty as Thou art,
and make me love Thee as I ought to love.

Hast Thou not bid us love Thee, God and King?
All, all Thine own --soul, heart, and strength and mind.
I see Thy cross --there teach my heart to cling,
O let me seek Thee and O let me find.

Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh,
Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear ---
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh:
Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love,
Only holy passion filling all my frame.
The baptism of the heave'n descended Dove,
My heart an altar, and Thy love - the flame.

George Croly© Public Domain

Losing your faith?

On my deck are a couple of pots containing beautiful flowers. Throughout the Summer months I watered them and fertilized them. Keeping them alive, through 95 degree heat, in blazing sun, demanded consistent effort on my part. More than once, I forget to water them and they wilted.  To all appearances they were gone but when I ‘refreshed’ them, they revived.  

My life is built on faith in God. Believing that He cares for me, that He has a purpose for me, that His ways lead to joy now and life eternal, I live for Him. My faith has been battered at times. My late wife’s illness and death made some heavy demands on my faith in the Lord. I felt tempted to doubt His love, to question if He knew me or cared for me. At times I wondered if this life of submission to Christ was worth the effort required. Are you surprised? Do you think that ‘faith’ is somehow detached from everyday life, that a relationship with Christ is unaffected by the seasons of life? 

Faith is a gift of God, but it must be fed and cared for, too!  A vibrant, healthy life with God does not just happen nor will one remain spiritually strong without consistent soul care.  Paul wrote these instructions for us. "And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority." (Colossians 2:6-10, NLT)

When the Spirit draws us to Christ, we respond with a “yes.” Can you remember when you first trusted Jesus? Remember the joy you felt when the truth about forgiveness settled over you, when your guilt and shame fell away, replaced by a real sense of the love of God? The Word reminds us that we must ‘continue to follow Him!’  Each day we renew our response of trust, saying “Yes, Lord.” And faith grows! As we mature, He begins to ask us to work on character, to shift our values to spiritual things. Choices, sometimes difficult and costly, have to be made that either feed faith or starve it. If we let the Spirit take control, we find that the ‘roots’ of our life go deeper and as they do, faith becomes more robust.

We consistently and constantly go back to Christ Jesus.  While we live in this world, we will come against questions. Why? What? When?  The Word warns against letting philosophy replace Christ. Knowledge is a gift. Study is rewarding. God desires to reveal Himself and His truth to us, but we must never replace the foundation of faith in Jesus with “big words and intellectual double-talk” … or with “ideas based on the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings.”  

Feed your faith! 

Take in the Scripture on a regular basis, both in personal reading and through preaching. "For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips, so that your trust may be in the Lord; I have instructed you today, even you." (Proverbs 22:18-19, NKJV)  "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17, NKJV)

Stay connected to the Body (the church).  We need each other – to celebrate, to mourn, to lean on, to share our gifts mutually.  “God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.”  (Ephesians 4:12-13)

Deal with temptation now, not later.  James talks about the progression from temptation, to sin, to death.  We want to blame the Devil, life, or others, but he tells us that we must deal with ourselves.  “The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.”  (James 1:14-15)

Here is a word from the Word. Celebrate the joy of a mature faith. Keep feeding it, so that you will remain strong until the coming of the Lord or the day that you enter His Presence. "This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." (1 John 5:3-5, NIV)  

_______________

Overcomer

Staring at the stop sign,

Watching people drive by,

T-Mac on the radio.

Got so much on your mind,

Nothing's really going right,

Looking for a ray of hope.

Whatever it is you may be going through,

I know He's not gonna let it get the best of you.

You're an overcomer!

Stay in the fight 'til the final round.

You're not going under,

'Cause God is holding you right now.

You might be down for a moment,

Feeling like it's hopeless,

That's when He reminds You;

That you're an overcomer!

You're an overcomer!

Everybody's been down,

Hit the bottom, hit the ground;

Oh, you're not alone.

Just take a breath, don't forget,

Hang on to His promises.

He wants You to know,

You’re an overcomer!

The same Man, the Great I Am,

The One who overcame death.

He's living inside of You,

So just hold tight, fix your eyes,

On the One who holds your life.

There's nothing He can't do,

He's telling you-

You’re an overcomer!

 

Ben Glover | Chris Stevens | David Garcia

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