What Ever Happened to That Country?
6/29/2009

WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT COUNTRY?




One of my friends sent me an online geography test the other day. The countries of the world were outlined and you clicked on the name of the country to place it in the proper place. It took me a long time to get it right. I travel overseas frequently and thought this would be easy. I had never heard of some of the countries listed. I was looking for names that were no longer used. I knew I had been out of school for some time, but I thought I kept up with world events. There were countries that divided into smaller countries, and countries that changed names. Boundaries were different than they used to be. My world had changed more than I knew.

Of course, if you find a map just a few hundred years old, the country where I live will not be listed. The state where I live used to be a country. Before that, it was part of a different country. For a short time, it was part of a country that seceded from the country it is now part of again. How can you keep up? What will the world map look like when my grandchildren’s grandchildren study it?

Then there are those parts of the world that have clearly defined boundaries, but the tribes and cultures cross those lines. So they have practical boundaries that differ from the formal ones. There are people who have citizenship in one country but live in yet another. Every time the Olympics are held, there are athletes who change allegiances in order to compete for different countries. Some athletes have competed for different counties in successive Olympics.

So how do you claim allegiance to a country that no longer exists? Can you have national pride in a country that is no longer a country? Some nations were quite powerful at one time. Some were empires that ruled much of the world. And now they are gone. Countries just do not last. They never have… and evidently they never will.

So what I really want is to be part of a country – a kingdom – that would last. It would be a kingdom more powerful than any country or empire. It would never be defeated. It would never be conquered. It would not be constrained by any geographic boundaries. It would be a kingdom that my children, my grandchildren, and my descendants through the ages could be part of. It would be a kingdom that would never end. It would be a kingdom that anyone could join. That is the kingdom to which I could give total allegiance.

And I am a citizen of a kingdom just like that. You can be too.

It is the kingdom of God.

Steve

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System Maintenance
6/22/2009

My computer has a folder of Temporary Items. It's full of data that was once needed, but isn't currently necessary. I don't intentionally create those files; they seem to appear out of thin air, occupying space on my computer. Those who know about computers say that these files need to be deleted now and again, or they will slow down my computer's operating system. One rule of thumb says that if the date on those files isn't today's date, they can be safely erased.

I've got a similar folder inside my head. Unfortunately, the contents of this folder aren't as harmless as what's inside the Temporary Items on my computer. This folder contains a complete archive of bad things that have happened in the past, both things that I've done and things that have been done to me. I've got video, audio, and text, a whole multimedia display of negativity. When I least want them too, these things worm their way out of my past into my present.

I remember the times I embarrassed myself. I remember the times that I hurt other people. I remember my failures. I remember my sin.

I remember the times I was mistreated. I remember the ways that people hurt me, the things they said, the things they did. I remember those times that other people let me down.

None of that does me any good. Those things from the past only serve to slow things down, to spoil today with yesterday's hurts. Like those temporary files on my computer, what I really need to do is get rid of them.

The apostle Paul wrote: "One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14) We have to put our past in the past and set our eyes on what lies ahead. We have a God who is willing to forgive anything and everything that we've done, if we'll only let him. And he'll teach us to do the same with other people.

If your mind is cluttered with yesterday's hurts, let God help you clean it out. Let him teach you to look forward, not backward. Let him show you the prize that's waiting and help you to focus on it.

Grace and peace,
Tim Archer

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Red Lights, Green LIghts
6/15/2009

The town where I live is about to put cameras at all traffic lights to catch those who run red lights. It got me thinking about how many people I see who take the yellow light as a signal to go faster. I also do not understand those people who do not pay attention and thus sit still after the light turns green. But that is not dangerous like the people that do not notice the light is red. I really wonder about the purpose of traffic lights some days.

Yet… the alternative is even more frightening. Imagine letting people make their own decisions at crowded intersections. Do the biggest cars get to go first? Who decides who is next to go? So I guess I do like the idea of a system to govern our traffic, and I do my best to follow the traffic signals: when to go, when to be cautious, and when to stop..

It helps me realize that God has done much the same for me in terms of how to live my life in this world. He has given so many green lights for my life: live in community, listen to Him, talk to Him, help others, live with joy and purpose. He has even given me some red lights so that I do not wreck my life: do not covet, watch my temper, control my lust. He even has some yellow caution lights: watch how much I drink, watch my ego, be smart with the company I keep.

And every one of these is so my life will be better.

Steve

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When Life Tumbles In
6/8/2009

Dr. Arthur John Gossip was a minister who had preached many sermons, but none like this one. The day before, his wife had collapsed and died suddenly. Now he stood in the pulpit of the Beechgrove Church in Aberdeen, Scotland, speaking on the subject “But When Life Tumbles In, What Then?” In the midst of his pain, he spoke words of hope to his congregation.

In reflecting on his loss Gossip said, “I do not understand this life of ours. But still less can I comprehend how people in trouble and loss and bereavement can fling away peevishly from the Christian faith. In God’s name, fling to what? Have we not lost enough without losing that too?” Later he explained, “You people,” says Gossip, “in the sunshine may believe the faith, but we in the shadow must believe it. We have nothing else.”

It’s never easy for one who stands in the sunshine, as Gossip put it, to speak to those in the shadow. Any words that are spoken ring hollow and empty. If you are walking in the shadow of loss or illness or financial strain, you may find it hard to listen to those who would speak to you of hope. You need to hear from those who know life’s dark side. One place to do that is here on HopeforLife.org. On this website, you will find the stories of people like Arthur John Gossip who found themselves in the shadow but now walk in the sunshine. People who faced life’s most extreme moments and came out with faith in God.

Gossip ended his sermon with these words:

“I don't think you need to be afraid of life. Our hearts are very frail, and there are places where the road is very steep and very lonely, but we have a wonderful God. And, as Paul puts it, ‘What can separate us from his love? Not death,’ he writes immediately. No, not death, for standing in the roaring of the Jordan, cold with its dreadful chill and very conscious of it terror, of its rushing, I, too, like Hopeful in Pilgrim's Progress, can call back to you who one day in your turn will have to cross it, ‘Be of good cheer, my brother, for I feel the bottom and it is sound.’”

Explore HopeForLife.org and hear the voices of others who echo Gossip’s words: “I feel the bottom and it is sound.”

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It's Personal
6/1/2009

Maybe it’s a symptom of age. Maybe the experiences of accumulated years have magnified sensitivity. Maybe as the forces of nature rub and buffet, erosion of will and determination has taken its toll.

Regardless of how or why, I find myself much more aware of what it means. I understand the incredible super-human effort it must have taken to stay there. I contemplate the morbidity of enduring until death for the cause. What I cannot understand is why was it done for me? Why, before the world was created, did God Almighty formulate a plan where His Son would die and by doing so, make me worthy to live with the Father forever?

I don’t comprehend, but I thankfully accept and it’s personal:

“For God so loved Bill Brant that He gave His only begotten Son,
so that Bill would believe on Him and have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 personalized)

With that too, comes realization. It ambushes me at unsuspected moments like when at my fellowship the lyrics from a song float through the auditorium:

Behold the man upon the cross
My guilt upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there

………………

I can’t explain the tears. I’m old school and old schoolers don’t cry. But it’s personal now.

People talk theology. Jesus lived His life and then gave it up to each of us. He didn’t talk. He did. He died so you could be with Him and God forever. It’s personal for Him and for you.

What is holding you back from accepting this gift? Do you think you’ve done too many bad things that you can’t be forgiven of? Too much, too often, in too deep? Talk with me:

Bill Brant

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Am I Lucky or What....
5/26/2009

“Boy, you are one lucky fella.” That’s what the policeman told me when he was evaluating the wreck. I had been stopped at a red light when a car ran into the back of my pickup. There was no sound of brakes and no skid marks. She hit hard enough to cave in the front of her car and deploy the airbag. It was such a violent collision that my spare tire was knocked from underneath the truck. The frame was even bent from the force of the collision. And I was not hurt. I was not even sore. I had absolutely no discomfort from the accident. The medics and police kept asking me if I was sure I was not hurt. Everyone kept talking about how lucky I was.

But my truck was totaled. I was going to have to find a new one. I worked out what I thought I could pay – how much per month and for how long. Then I began to shop around. The dealer I usually work with had a demo they were ready to sell. And in this economic climate there were a couple of other discounts available. So I figured out what I would have to receive for my totaled vehicle for the deal to work. The salesman did not think I would get what I needed. But I did. Most people would call that “dumb luck”.

I would agree with both of these assessments except for one thing: I am a Christian. I often pray for God to protect me on my travels. When I began shopping for another truck, I prayed that God would help me find the right vehicle that would be reliable but keep my fiscally responsible. I believed my truck had belonged to God and I promised Him the next one would also.

Everyone operates with a world view that enables them to “make sense’ of what happens in this world. Some believe in dumb luck; others call it blind fate. I believe in God. I believe God is active in this world for His people. He wants you to be one of those people. He wants you so much that He sent his Son Jesus to this earth to provide a way for you to get to Him.

So how did God work in my situation? I do not know that I completely understand. If I did, I would be God… and I am not. But it makes more sense to me that God was at work rather than attribute all that to luck.

Steve Ridgell

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Did I Get Everything Right?
5/18/2009

I don't like paying taxes. I especially don't like the whole process of filing taxes here in the United States. It's amazing how complicated our tax code has gotten. In 1913, the tax code was just over 400 pages long. The instructions for filing consisted of two pages. In 2008, the code had grown to over 67,000 pages; the instructions for filling out the basic form, the 1040, had grown to 155 pages. The complexity of accurately filing taxes fuels an entire tax-preparation industry. Because of that, most of us feel a bit of anxiety when filing taxes: Did I get everything right?

Some people feel a similar anxiety when they think about God. Did I get everything right? Have I made amends for all the bad things I've done? Have I done enough good things? Did I say the right words, go to the right places, think the right thoughts? Even though the Bible isn't as long as the U.S. tax code, the consequences of being wrong can fill anyone's heart with fear.

If you feel nervous when you think about standing before God on the Day of Judgment, you might be surprised at something the apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Peace? Peace with God? How can we have peace with God when we have to constantly worry about getting everything right in order to please him? The answer to that question is, we can't. If our being right with God depends on us and what we've done, we'll never be at peace. But look at the first part of what Paul says: "Since we have been justified through faith." We can have peace with God because our future doesn't depend on us doing everything right. Writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul wrote, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). It's not about what we've done; it's about being saved through faith in the gift that God has to offer us.

God expects us to respond to him in faith, committing ourselves to change our lives, washing away our sins in baptism. But none of that is done as a work, none of that is done to earn salvation. Salvation is a free gift from God, and we can rest assured that God wants to give it to us. We might worry when we mail in our taxes, but when it comes to being right with God, peace should be all we feel.

Grace and peace,
Tim Archer

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Another Epidemic
5/12/2009

It happens periodically in our world. There is an outbreak of some disease that threatens to become an epidemic. People get nervous, then worried, and some even panic. I do not. It is not because I think I am immune to any disease. But I do not worry.

This time it is Swine Flu. Athletic contests have been canceled, travel has been restricted, and the medical community is on alert. I have no idea what will happen this time. This may become a full fledged epidemic endangering thousands and resulting in hundreds of deaths. Or it may subside and become a footnote in the annals of medical care. But as I write this, even the medical experts seem unsure of what will happen. There is incredible uncertainty.

So where do you turn to secure your future? You could look to the knowledge of our medical community but they seem unable to assure us that they can offer adequate protection. They are not sure if it will become an epidemic, or how to control it if it does. I have heard of swine flu for years but this has caught everyone off guard. All of the science and all of the knowledge in our society may not be enough to protect us.

Maybe money is the answer. If someone can accumulate enough money, surely they can buy some sort of protection. But this strain of flu strikes without regard to economic status. And no matter how much money you scrape together, you cannot buy protection from this illness. So maybe the answer is just to trust in luck. Or fate. Or karma. Of course, there are no guarantees with any of these. The future still remains just as uncertain.

So why am I not worried? It is because my future is guaranteed. I trust God more than science, money, or luck. He has the power to spare me if He so chooses. And if I get swine flu and die, I go to heaven and live forever. It is popular in our culture to dismiss the security Christians claim in Jesus. But in times like these, it seems to me to be the most secure future of all.

Steve Ridgell

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Giving What Can't Be Kept
5/4/2009

Jim Eliot had decided to go to Ecuador, seeking to take God's good news to indigenous tribes who had never heard of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately he lost his life in the effort, being murdered by the very Indians he sought to teach. Later, however, Jim's widow Elisabeth was able to go to those same aboriginal people and teach them about Jesus.

Years before going to Ecuador, Jim had written in his diary some intriguing words. He wrote, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." That's a powerful statement. It is not foolish to give up this life (which can't be kept) to gain a life that can't be lost (eternal life). Whatever we have to do in this life to obtain eternal life is certainly worth it.

Jesus stated it in even stronger terms. Not only is it not foolish to give up this life to obtain eternal life, it's necessary. Listen to how the writer Luke reports it: "Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" (Luke 9:23-25) Jesus said that the only way to save our life is to lose it. That is, the only way to obtain eternal life is to let go of this life. We have to be willing to turn our back on all this world offers.

The apostle Paul wrote: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) In another letter, he wrote, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (2 Corinthians 4:17) What he is saying is that any suffering that we go through in this life is nothing compared to an eternity in the presence of God. Think about it. What if we could draw a line that stretched for all eternity? (That's obviously impossible, but use your imagination). In that timeline that has no end, how much space would we dedicate to our life here on earth? If we drew the tiniest dot, a mere point on that line, it would be far too large. This life is nothing compared to the one to come.

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Don't spend so much time focused on a life that can't be kept that you miss out on the life that can't be lost.

Grace and peace,
Tim Archer

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Just Watch The Ball
4/28/2009

I love sports. I enjoy playing them and watching them. I especially enjoy watching three and four year olds play ball. I remember teaching my children to play ball when they were young, and now I am watching my grandchildren start to play ball. After watching preschool teams for thirty years, I am convinced nothing is as cute, or as frustrating, as teaching them how to play soccer or baseball.

An airplane passing overhead can bring the whole game to a stop. Flowers are somehow much more interesting than what is going on in the game. Friends must be waved at, parents must be located, and outfits adjusted. Sometimes I wonder if they even realize there is such a thing as a ball ... much less what its function might be. I have watched soccer players run up and down the field for an entire game without once knowing where the ball was. If the other kids ran, so did they. I cannot count the times a slowly hit ball has rolled past three fielders and not a one of them even noticed. I have witnessed powerful swings of the bat that did not come within two feet of the ball -- and the ball was sitting on a tee. Of course, the batter had his eyes tightly shut.

So here is my coaching advice for preschool soccer and baseball: just focus on one thing. Do not try to explain strategy, or even all the rules. Just teach them to watch the ball. They will learn the rest later. If they do not get this basic principle down, they will never learn to play well. It works in soccer. If they learn to watch the ball, they will kick it more often. It works in baseball also. Watch the ball and you will hit it. Watch the ball and you will catch it. It is the basic principle in sports. Just watch the ball. Interestingly enough, that basic principle never changes in sports no matter how old you get.

The same principle works for learning about Jesus. If you do not know much about Jesus and his followers, it sure looks confusing. What is all the activity about, what are all the rules, and is there a strategy I need to know? Let me encourage you to focus on the one thing that really matters: Jesus. He died for the things we have done that were wrong, he was buried, and God raised him from the dead. Focus on that and the rest will begin to make sense. And if you miss that, nothing else will ever make sense.

That is still good advice for those of us who have been following Jesus for a long time. Focus on the one important thing. Jesus.


Steve Ridgell

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