Keep Your Feet

In the movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo is quoted as saying, "It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road and if you don't keep your feet...there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."  Life is like just that way, it is easy to be swept away by the moods of a moment.

There are always destinations in life that are more necessary or more exciting.  There are place we would rather be.  It is easy to get distracted, and find yourself a thousand miles from where you intended to be.

The trick isn't staying in doors.  The trick is keeping your feet.  Determine where you are headed, and what needs to be done to get there.  You can't let wonderlust, boredom, or a sense of urgency, sweep you off the road you have determined to travel.

Sometimes, we miss a greater adventure, because we aren't engaged in the one we're on, we're dreaming about the one we're not.  Life presents a multitude of opportunities to grow and learn.  Experiences abound on every side.  It is just up to us to seize the moment, and enjoy where we are.

The next time you are tempted to veer off course, give thought to your feet.  Why are you on the path you are on?  Why do you want to change it?  Stay your course and move forward in the Lord.  Take your journey, don't let it take you.

Hear and Turn

"He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing" (Prov. 29:1).

Stubbornness in the face of reproof is dangerous business.  When someone is "reproving" us, that means they are pointing out the error of our ways.  They are flashing the warning signal so that we will slow down (and hopefully change directions).

A person who has been warned, but "stiffens his neck" is like a man who sees a "bridge out" sign and keeps speeding forward.  Danger is lurking up ahead, and he is barreling toward it.

God has warned us that his people must depart from wickedness.  Do we rush ahead, and do as we please? Or do we see the caution light, and turn?  If we fail to listen, we will be broken.

Leave Them with Regret

"And he departed with no one's regret" (2 Chr. 21:20b).

These are chilling words.  How bad does a person have to be if no one regrets their death?  I realize that not regretting someone's death and rejoicing at their death are two different things, but I doubt that they are that different.

Jehoram, king of Judah, executed his brothers (and probably some of his cousins) when he ascended his throne (2 Chr. 21:4).  He followed "the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done" (2 Chr. 21:6).  He extended pagan worship throughout the kingdom of Judah, angering the Lord.

Because of Jehoram's great wickedness, God sent a plague on the people, he stirred up the anger of the Philistines against Judah, and struck Jehoram with an incurable disease of the bowels.  His death was slow and painful.  His power and wealth were diminished. In spite of all his pain and suffering, no one cared.

I can't imagine being such a horrible human being that no one grieved my passing.  I would like to believe that my death would be mourned by several (for one because they deemed it untimely, and two because they thought I was a descent fellow).  Of course, I don't really want find out who all would come to my funeral.

As I am thinking about this passage, it occurs to me that wisdom dictates that we choose the best course in which to walk.  Jehoram was very foolish. There was no reason for him to execute his brothers, to extend false worship, etc.  It also teaches me that a life devoted to ignoring God will not be remembered in the long run.

If you want to be remembered, don't devote yourself to self-veneration.  Labor for the glory of God and the good of your neighbor.  People always remember kind people. Live in such a way that you leave people with regret over your loss.

Food for Thought

Seen on a church sign:

Not everything that counts can be counted, 

and not everything that can be counted counts.

Can you think of anything that counts, but can't be counted?  How about something that can be counted, but does count? Are you pursing the things that count?

FAQs Monday: How Do the Ten Commandments Begin?

Last week, we answered the question: "Where can we find a summary of the moral law?".  This week, we will begin an in-depth look at that summary, the Ten Commandments.  We'll start by looking at the preface.

What is the preface to the Ten Commandments?

The preface to the Ten Commandments is, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Exod. 20:2).

 What does the preface of the Ten Commandments teach us?

 The preface of the Ten Commandments teaches us because God is the LORD, and our gracious Redeemer, his commands are for our good and he does not will for us to depend on ourselves in keeping them, but to trust his grace and power.  It is written,

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? . . .  Circumcise therefore the foreskin of you heart, and be no longer stubborn" (Deut. 10:12-13, 16).

Deuteronomy 30:6 states, "And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."

Summary

The preface of the Ten Commandments reminds us that the Lord our God has delivered us from bondage.  By his grace he delivers his people from bondage, both physical and spiritual.  These commandments are not meant to enslave his people, but to liberate them to live in a way that pleases him.  Next week, we will answer the question: "What is the first commandment?".

Sunday Recap 7-25-10

Morning:  The message entitled, "For Between Here and Happily Ever After," explored Ephesians 6:21-24.  In this passage, Paul offers some words of encouragement. He expresses his desires for the congregation he loves. Paul sent them Tychius so that they might be encouraged.  He prayed for them to have peace, love with faith, and grace.  These are the things that enable us to make between here and happily ever after.

Evening: Proverb 26:11.  We looked at four reasons fools return to their folly.

1. They haven't developed a taste for better things.
2. They have a faulty view of God.
3. They love their sin.
4. They are enslaved to sin.


Love, prayer, and patience are the best resources

Life Lessons Learned from Baseball

We are headed to a baseball game this evening with the church.  It is faith and family night at the Bowling Green Hot Rods stadium.  It will be a fun filled night with peanuts, crackerjacks, and baseball.  In honor of the baseball game tonight, I thought I would list a few things we can learn from baseball.

Sometimes, you need to just "Play ball!"  Every human being needs a little bit of play in their life.  You work most of it out when you're little, but there is usually some play left in the corners or closets of your soul.  Get it out, shake the dust of it, and learn to enjoy life.  Go to a ball game, dance in the kitchen, sit around the table playing boardgames with the family, or take a child to the park.  Don't allow the process of growing older make you inert.  At least once a year, laugh so hard that you cry or pee your pants.  Remember, what it was like to be a child, and a have a great time. 

It's just a game.  I know there are a lot of religious nuts who worship at the altar of baseball. Baseball isn't life, it's a pass time.  It is one tool among many that offers a pleasant distraction from the cares of life.  We have to keep our priorities in proper order.  Enjoy it, but don't devote yourself to it.

Keep your eye on the ball.  This is, of course, a figurative statement, not a literal one.  I had the great misfortune of having a softball hit me in the eye during a game once.  Apparently, my hand-eye coordination isn't very spectacular.  In life, like baseball, you have to stay focused and alert.

Never swing at the first pitch.  I'm not sure where I heard this the first time, but I have heard it a lot.  Good things come to those who wait.  Watch. Learn. Swing.

If you're gonna go down, go down swinging.  Don't let fear paralyze you at the plate, because you think you might strike out.  Chances are you will strikeout, but if you don't swing you remove all chances of getting a hit.  Most players strikeout more than they get a hit.  But they still keep swinging.  Who bats a 1000?  After you let that first pitch go, start swinging for the fences.  Who knows, you might tear the cover right off the ball.  Everyone will think that's cool.  Or you might strike out, and everyone will think your normal.  Don't let life pass you by without taking a swing or three.  It's better to have tried and struck out, than to be struck out without having swung the bat.

There's no "I" in team.  I don't just mean that I didn't get picked to play during my school days.  Great plays have the ability to change the momentum of a game, but unless the team is functioning as a whole it doesn't always change the outcome.  There are many teams, of which we are a part, in life.  We need to strive to excel individually, as well as, develop the ability to work with others toward common goals.

It is never too late to get back in the game.  Unless, of course, the last team at bat has the lead, the bases are loaded, and their power hitter is at bat against your weakest pitcher.  Then, it's pretty much over, so learn to lose gracefully (it's called sportsmanship).  But in every other scenario, hustle matters.  Play hard.  If you realize you've "not really been in the game," work harder.  Give it all you got.  That way, if you fail you'll know at least two things: you gave it your best shot and you need more practice.

Everyone loves a winner--but even losers need love.  When the home team wins everyones happy (except the fans of the losing team).  If one side of sportsmanship is losing gracefully, the other side is winning gracefully.  If you gloat over your victories, you're not really a winner.


When your watching the game, cheer with the same enthusiasm you would want to hear if you were next at bat.  Sometimes in life, it's somebody else's turn to play.  Encourage them.  Maybe you're not up to bat or out fielding the ball, but you can motivate those who are.

Peanuts taste better at the ballpark.  But if you're allergic to them, they're still lethal, so skip the peanuts.

If you leave the game early, you run the risk of missing a major play.  If you checkout too soon, you might miss one of the most exciting and memorable events in baseball history--the kind of play people talk about for decades.   If you have to go, you have to go, but realize what you're risking. You might only miss the last few minutes of the sad end to a poorly played game, or you might miss the comeback of the century.

What lessons do you think we can learn from baseball?  When was the last time you watched a game? Hopefully, I'll see some of you at the game tonight.  And No, I won't be wearing the old uniform.