Choices

I like to have lots of choices. I love places with big menus, or buffet meals, where I can take time choosing my favorite thing to eat. I enjoy carrying a wide variety of music or movies on my iPod, so I can indulge my momentary whim when I have some time to watch or listen to something.  


On the other side of the issue, I strongly dislike times when I have only one choice. I do not like to be told there is only one option in a given situation. In my heart, I tend to rebel against that option simply because it's the only one offered to me - while I secretly try to look for some other option I might take.


That's my nature. And I suspect it's really true of all of us as human beings. Don't you do it too? We have only one choice of weather at this moment - how often do you or I complain about it? How often do our kids complain about the dinner food made available to them? How often do we gripe when we are called into a "mandatory" meeting at work? How often do we complain about a decision that another person has made which now affects our own lives? How often do we bristle when we are told we MUST do this or that?


I wonder if this is why so many people have trouble with the biblical concept that Jesus is the only way to get to God. We read about Jesus's being the only way, like John 14:6 ("I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.") and Acts 4:12 ("And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."). Still we might secretly think, "Maybe there is another way. Surely God wouldn't be so exclusive as to give us only one choice."  


Dear reader, God made the world, and God has given us only one way to have a relationship with Him. The only choice we really have is to choose His way or not choose His way. We can bristle all we want; we can look for other options; we can rebel against such an exclusive arrangement. But this doesn't change the central fact: there is only one way provided for salvation. To be honest, it is an act of amazing grace that God would give any way of salvation at all, so I have personally chosen to embrace that offer. I choose to follow Jesus Christ.


What's your choice?

The Willing Sacrifice

This is the devotional I shared as part of the Good Friday service at Highland Community Church:


In John 10:17-18 we read these words of Jesus: "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father."


Jesus was not a victim. He was not a helpless sacrifice. He was not a martyr to a worthy cause. From the beginning of the world, even before the first sin, Jesus was chosen as the way of salvation. He came to earth willingly, graciously, and humbly - so that we might be brought into relationship with God through Him. This was the great plan of God from the very beginning. The price was high, and we who have surrendered our lives to Christ are recipients of unfathomable grace.


Jesus was a willing participant in the work of redemption. The Old Testament gave many prophecies about this great plan. The angel announced that Jesus was the One. John the Baptist testified to Jesus as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. Jesus knew why He had come, and He willingly participated in the plan.


Jesus laid down his life for you and me. Think about that. Jesus laid down His life for you and me. He wasn't forced, but He did it willingly.


In Romans 5:6&8 we read more about this sacrifice: "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ...God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."


Before we even knew we needed Jesus, He died for us. Before we had one thought of love for Him, He poured out all of His love for us. Wow!


On the cross, Jesus was taunted by the crowd. Among the insults, the onlookers laughingly invited Jesus to come down from the cross, as we read in Matthew 27:40&42: "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross," and "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him."


Those mockers did not realize that Jesus could have done that very thing. And if Jesus had rescued Himself from the cross, I suspect many doubters that day might have believed in His power. But that wasn't the goal of the day. His physical death was necessary to pay the penalty of your sin and my sin, so He persevered in the plan even though He could have turned aside. In His love, He willingly laid down His life for you and for me.


I'm so thankful He did!

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

On the cross, Jesus cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (See Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34.) To be sure, Jesus was feeling the weight of our sin thrust upon Him, and the resulting break in relationship with God the Father. But there is another dimension to this cry: this is a quote of the first line of Psalm 22.  


Before I explore this further, I want to ask you a question: have you ever had times when someone quoted a lyric from a song and your mind suddenly filled with the whole song? That happens to me frequently - for songs I love as well as songs I'd rather forget.


To the Jews who heard Jesus' cry from the cross, they would have thought of the lyrics to a well-known Davidic Psalm, Psalm 22. If we read the words of the Psalm, we will soon realize it is filled with Messianic prophecy. Consider these other verses:
* Verses 7-9 - All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"
* Verses 16-18 - For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet - I can count all my bones - they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.


Many of those who heard Jesus' cry of "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" would have immediately begun singing this Psalm in their heads, and would have realized that even from the cross, Jesus was proving to them that He was and is the Messiah, and that His crucifixion was the fulfillment of prophecy from centuries earlier.  


Thank you, Lord Jesus, for Who You are and for all You have done!

Why I Stopped Brushing My Teeth

About three years ago I stopped brushing my teeth. It wasn't a conscious decision; it just happened slowly over time. I kind of lost interest. It's a lot of work. I'm really busy. I don't really see how brushing helps me in any way.

I stopped going to the dentist, too. He just made me feel bad. He reminded me that he thought it was important for me to brush my teeth at least twice a day, preferably more. I guess it works for him, but it's just not for me. I'm doing fine without it.

I'm pretty sure my friends don't notice. After all, how can my own decision hurt anyone else, especially if it's not hurting me?

If you ask me one-on-one, I will admit to you that I sort-of think tooth brushing is important. I own a couple of toothbrushes, stored conveniently in my bathroom. I know how to brush; I just don't want to. It's not that important to my own life.

I do make my kids brush their teeth. When I talk about it with them, they think I brush my teeth all the time. I'm sure they can't tell that I don't.

Yes, this line of thinking sounds ludicrous. But have we used similar excuses about reading the Bible?

(P.S. - I brush my teeth regularly, AND I read my Bible regularly.  Both are vital in my life!)

Are We Listening?

In 2 Chronicles 36 we read about the result of Israel's long-term, nation-wide disobedience to the Lord.  Verses 15-16 contain a summary statement:


"The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.  But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy."


At this point the nation was conquered and the survivors were taken into captivity in Babylon for 70 years.  


I shiver as I read this pronouncement, and I find myself asking, "How well do I listen to the LORD?"  Today we don't have prophets - we have God's Word, the Bible, a permanent written record of God's messages to His people.  Am I listening to Him through daily reading His Word and being sensitive to the leading of His Holy Spirit?  Am I paying attention to the wise counsel of God-honoring teachers and leaders?  Even more than listening - am I putting it into practice?


Or am I basically "mocking the messengers and scoffing at the prophets"?  *Shiver*


As for me and my house, we will listen to and follow God's Holy Word.  We will build our lives around what He has told us to do, obeying Him to the best of our ability, and asking for His forgiveness when we fail.  We will listen to those who faithfully teach His Word, and consider carefully the wise counsel of others who likewise seek to follow the Lord faithfully.


Will you do the same?