Now You're Talking

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

-- Jeremiah 29:12

Imagine what would happen if someone famous from long ago (maybe George Washington?) reappeared in 21st century America. There’s no doubt that George would be amazed at how his nation had grown over the last 240 years. And of course, he would be impressed by our modern conveniences and technology, our superhighways — and maybe even our shopping malls.

But how would our first president react if we told him about modern communications? Could we blame him if he refused to believe that the air is filled with music,

sports events, news reports and talk shows? And how quickly would he become a believer if we took an iPhone from our pocket and called someone a continent away?

Many Christ-followers today are a lot like this modern George Washington. A recurring theme in the Bible is that God wants a relationship with us and attempts to communicate his love in many ways. But if we’re not able (or willing) to pick up his signals, all we get is static.

What should we be listening for? God speaks in many ways, both expected, surprising … and somewhere in between. First, it’s through the Bible, our user’s manual for living a fulfilled life in preparation for an eternity with him. But God can also communicate through our friends, a worship service or even a discussion in your Small Group. Your 5-year-old child might say something straight out of the blue. Even a stranger in the supermarket checkout line can convey the Lord’s message.

Yes, God wants a relationship with his creation. But it’s not much of a relationship if the communication comes from only one direction. The solution is that ongoing prayer — a constant conversation with God — must become a priority for every Christ-follower. And since we tend to be distracted by the static of life, we need to ask him to open our ears, heart and mind in faith. If we truly want a relationship with him, God will eventually speak and answer us in one form or another.

There’s no doubt that George Washington would be impressed with Email, Skype and the other modern ways we communicate with our loved ones. But history records that he was an expert practitioner of a much better kind of communication. It’s one that’s nearly as old as creation — and much more personal. It’s called prayer. And it lets us talk with God.

Try that with Facebook!

The Best Laid Plans

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

– James 4:13-15

The saying goes that when we fail to plan, we plan to fail. And that’s true in so many areas of life. For example, a student has a better chance for a passing grade if they get an early start on studying rather than cramming the night before the test. A young couple is more likely to become homeowners if they’re diligent about saving for a down payment. And taking full advantage of your employer’s 401(k) can help make a comfortable retirement a reality.

Our plans, however, are linked closely to our priorities. Some might live to travel

the globe and find adventure. Some might live for pleasure, family or friends. And still others might seek meaning by throwing themselves into their careers. Since we’re surrounded by no shortage of life-choices, what’s the best way to start making our plans?

“God helps those who help themselves” is a familiar phrase that seems to answer that question. What’s more, it sounds like a proverb in the Bible. But you won’t find it there. And while it’s smart to be actively engaged in those big decisions of life, this well-intentioned advice misses out on the significant ways God moves and works in our lives.

“You don’t get what you want because you don’t ask God for it,” we read in the Book of James. “And when you do ask he doesn’t give it to you, for you ask in quite the wrong spirit — you only want to satisfy your own desires.”

As Christ-followers, we first need to seek God’s guidance through prayer, Bible study and the counsel of fellow Believers when it’s time to plan for those big decisions. And what’s more, the resulting action should always be one that honors God.

Have you planned for what’s most important in your life? It turns out that our Creator has. But we first need to seek his will and see things from his perspective.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord in Jeremiah 29:11. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Like Clockwork

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 
– Matthew 6:34

During the 1950's and 1960's more than half the wristwatches sold in the United States were made by Timex. Officially known as U.S. Time, the company marketed its dependable timepieces in department stores and pharmacies from coast to coast. And it's no doubt that Timex's popular television commercials helped drive sales. Sometimes running live and in prime-time, the advertisements used extreme demonstrations to prove their product's toughness and reliability. Examples include a Timex watch strapped to a speedboat, abused by a wild gorilla, and run through a dishwasher.

"It takes a licking and keeps on ticking!" proclaimed long-time spokesman John Cameron Swayze. And sure enough, Timex watches usually did just that.

Those old commercials remind us that there are certain things we can trouble. What’s more, our troubles won't suddenly disappear the moment we start following Christ. And we can't expect our faith-journeys to be smooth drives down Easy Street. In fact, our daily struggles may actually intensify once we come to faith because the devil now sees us as a threat. We should always count on hitting bumps and potholes along the road of life:

count on in life: death, taxes, well-made wristwatches — and

"In this world you will have trouble," Jesus promises us. "But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Our Savior may have overcome the world, but there’s a popular notion among some of his followers that God won’t give us more than we can handle. The problem is, this assertion comes at the cost of us understanding our pain, suffering and even the consequences of our sins. And the tendency is for us to give up and turn away when the troubles of everyday life get too big. Instead of relying on the unlimited resources we could access as children of God, we wither from the heat of trials and circumstances. 

Do you keep on ticking after taking a licking? Like the Timex watches in those old school commercials, Christ-followers like you and me can demonstrate reliability and toughness amid adversity — but only when we depend on our Creator to pull us through.

Smoke and Mirrors

Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit.

– Proverbs 12:20

Slot machines and concerts may draw the big crowds in Las Vegas, but magic acts like David Copperfield, Criss Angel, and Penn and Teller are some of the hottest tickets in town. Their clever illusions and sleight of hand are designed to trick the eye — and all while deceiving the audience that it’s possible to make an elephant disappear into thin air. The crowd knows that there must be a trick, yet they still want to believe the incredible. Meanwhile, the magician never reveals the truth behind the smoke and mirrors.

A different kind of revelation is when our eyes are opened to a spiritual truth that changes everything. For Christ-followers, that can happen when God shows us that we're going down

the wrong path in some area of life. Then there's the ultimate eye-opener: when non-believers finally awaken to their need for Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That's not just life changing — it's eternal.

When God's light breaks through, the truth is revealed and we can finally see through the haze. Unfortunately, the world still prefers to remain deceived. What’s more, sometimes the deception is self-inflicted.

For example, following your heart is a favorite plot line found in novels, TV shows and romantic comedies. It’s here that the lead character spontaneously pulls up stakes and leaves their career, friends and home to live out their fantasies in some faraway, exotic location. A romantic love interest often fits into the equation — but logic never does.

Such dreamlike scenarios sell movie tickets and boost TV ratings. But in the real world, following your heart without thinking it through can lead to heartache.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower,” Jesus once asked the crowds that followed him from town to town. “Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?”

We find the explanation for our delusion in the Book of Jeremiah. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure,” declares the Old Testament prophet. “Who can understand it?”

This means to some extent, we all suffer from a spiritual heart condition. And although we fall far short of God’s high standards, the thoughts, words and deeds of true Christ-followers tend to reflect the inner workings of his power through the Holy Spirit. So when that day comes when we meet Jesus face-to-face, let’s hope that our encounter will be like that of Nathanael, one of Christ’s original disciples.

“Now here is a true man of Israel,” proclaimed Jesus when he first met his future follower. “There is no deceit in him!”

Nathanael was stunned by these words because he had never seen Jesus. But as God in human form, Jesus knew everything about Nathanael — just as intimately as he knows about our own thoughts and motives.

So here’s the question: Are we living in the truth — or are we following our heart? Let’s not be self-deceived.

Stormy Weather

Jesus said to his followers, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

-- Mark 4:40

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

It’s been about 2,000 years since Jesus’ first disciples heard these assuring words of truth and wisdom. Isn’t it remarkable that they’re just as relevant to modern-day Christ-followers like you and me? Turn on the TV and surf the Web, and try to avoid the endless stories about politics, crime and pollution. Likewise, who can escape the 24/7 coverage of natural disasters and global unrest?

The point is that in one form or another, storms are everywhere. And there’s

no way out — even after we’ve switched off the smartphone and logged off of Facebook. For some folks, the storm might be a job loss or bankruptcy. For others, it’s a chronic illness or the prospect of major surgery. Maybe your storm involves family or relationship issues like a divorce or the loss of a loved one. And this raises a logical question: Does God even care about our personal hurricanes and flash floods? After all, the waters of life are choppy, and the skies are dark and threatening.

Under such gloomy circumstances, let’s remember that we worship a God who’s much greater than any natural disaster, economic difficulty or international dispute. Ours is a God who literally spoke the universe into creation, formed great mountain ranges with his hands and parted the seas with a breath. With just a word, he calmed the stormy waters of Lake Galilee that had threatened to drown Christ’s small band of followers. And even more amazing is that he knows his creation (including you and me) by name.

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” asks the writer of Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

Let’s take God at his word when he tells us that through life’s turmoils, he works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose. We should also keep in mind that we’re not exempt from personal storms once we put our faith in Jesus and become his follower. But what does change is that we gain access to a Power who helps us endure any difficulty, great or small. What’s more, we become beneficiaries of an eternal inheritance that will make our current troubles fade into oblivion. The storms that seem so great today will become laughably insignificant tomorrow.

Yes, there will be times when the lightning flashes and thunder rumbles overhead. But we can rest assured that through faith in our great God, blue skies are on the horizon.