Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “We must obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Sometimes your life should be out of balance.”

 

Not everything is equally important and therefore not everything deserves equal time and attention. Proper balance involves allotting the appropriate amount of time and attention to people and things based upon their relative importance in your life at this time. And, those priorities can change from time-to-time depending on what’s going on.

 

Sometimes our lives will necessarily have to be out of balance – for a time and for a good reason. Sometimes a situation is going on which is so important that for a while it will need more time, attention, resources, and emotional energy than anything else that is going on. At such times we will be out of balance in favor of whatever that particular thing is.

 

For instance, in recent days I’ve made the case that our relationship with Jesus is the most important thing in life. Since that’s true we must be resolved to live life from a biblical worldview, adhering to Biblical principles. But doing that can sometimes cause our lives to get out of balance in a big hurry and in big ways.

 

I’m thinking of the Christian baker in Colorado who refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay wedding. He is now facing criminal charges, lawsuits, possibly financial ruin, and maybe even time in jail. I’m sure that at this moment his life probably does not feel balanced to him. He is living in the middle of a storm of controversy and troubles. But, he is standing on principle. He made up his mind that he would not compromise his values. Instead he has chosen to stand on Biblical principle as stated in Acts 5:29. He decided to do what is right and he resolved to face whatever trial or storm such a stand brought into his life.

 

Today we live in a society which demands that we go along in order to get along. Sadly, too many Christians are willing to do just that. Many Christians today just go with the cultural flow because doing so is easier than standing firm for Biblical principles and it requires less risk. In such cases their lives might seem happy and balanced and easy since they’re avoiding the conflict, but their stand is not right and it does not honor the Lord.

 

That’s just one example of a way in which resolving to do the right thing can result in our lives becoming temporarily unbalanced. The fact is that sometimes we will be faced with choices that cause imbalance and even turmoil. There are things that are important enough to deserve a disproportionate amount of our time and attention for a while.

 

Striving for and maintaining a healthy balance in life is usually the good and right thing to do, but not always. Sometimes you will be faced with difficult situations which will require an inordinate amount of your time, attention, and effort, and, which might be costly to you.  The right way to deal with such times is to resolve that you will honor God in how you handle it, and then trust the outcome to Him.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.” John 15:5 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Jesus is the root who produces the fruit.”

 

John 14:31 ends with Jesus leading His little band of followers out of the Upper Room, having just concluded The Last Supper. As near as we can tell, the account we read about in John 15:5 occurred as they were then walking on the outskirts of Jerusalem towards the Garden of Gethsemane.

 

If so, then imagine the scene: it is night, it is dark, the air is cool and the moon is full. On their left are the walls of Jerusalem. On the right are vineyards. To teach an important spiritual truth, Jesus uses the example of a grapevine. He draws their attention to the branches which grow off of the vine and to the fruit that comes from the branches. He tells them, “Spiritually I am the vine and you are the branches. Just as the life of this vine flows in the branches and produces its fruit through the branches, so too My life will flow through you and My fruit will be produced through your life. However, just as this branch must stay attached to the vine in order to bear its fruit, so too you must stay attached to Me in order for My life to flow through you, and for My fruit to be produced in your life.”

 

This parable helps us to understand that the single most important thing we can do to make sure we have a healthy, fruitful, and balanced life is to nurture our relationship with Jesus. Nothing you can do will produce better fruit in your life. Working longer and harder at your job won’t do it. Earning more money, buying a bigger house, driving a newer car, wearing nicer clothes, getting a different hair do, none of that will do it.
There is nothing a person can do that will have a more positive impact on life than to be in a healthy relationship with Jesus. Richard Foster once wrote,

 

“The person who concentrates on the root system of his life is going to bear fruit upward, but if he concentrates on the eye-appealing foliage he many end up a rootless failure.”

 

As we near the end of our study on the theme of balance, I encourage you to focus on the health of your relationship with the Lord. Get that right and everything else will be okay.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “For his whole life will be given over to the Lord.” 1 Samuel 1:28 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Following God wholeheartedly puts the rest of life in proper perspective.”

 

In recent days I’ve been making the case that our relationship with Christ must be at the center of our life and everything else in life must be aligned to Christ. I’ve asked you to visualize Jesus sitting on a throne in the center of your heart with everything else in your life in proper alignment around the throne. Another illustration I suggested was to imagine the influence of Christ flowing out from His position on the throne in your heart and infusing every aspect of your life. When this happens, all the elements of your life will be in their proper places and yours will be a well balanced and healthy life.

 

The Old Testament prophet Samuel was a man who had this right. As we read from the words of his mother in 1 Samuel 1:28, even before he was born his life was dedicated for service to the Lord. Samuel was then raised in the home of the priest Eli and from his earliest years he was trained in the ways of the Lord. He grew up to be a great man of God who served the Lord well all the years of his life.

 

One of the features of the “Every Man’s Study Bible” is that the editors have selected key Bible figures to serve as models of inspiration for the readers. They then present short character studies to illustrate how that man in the Bible lived in a way that modern men should emulate. One of those men is Samuel. In his case, the editors note that Samuel became a man who was committed, passionate, bold, and fearless. He served the Lord, taught the people, provided great leadership, confronted kings, opposed foreign enemies, and inspired the people all throughout his long life.

 

The secret to Samuel’s strength of character, fortitude, conviction, and boldness was his wholehearted commitment to follow God and be obedient to Him. His relationship with God was at the center of his life and everything else in life flowed from that.

 

In all likelihood you were not raised in a temple under the tutelage of an Old Testament priest, consecrated before birth for a life of service in ministry. But still, there’s a lot to learn from the example of Samuel. His total and uncompromising commitment to the Lord, and his careful nurture of his relationship with Him was the key to his successful life. The same can and should be true of us. Get the relationship with the Lord right and all the other pieces of life will fall into their proper places. Following God wholeheartedly puts the rest of life in proper perspective.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Lord, reveal to me the end of my life and the number of my days. Let me know how transitory I am.” Psalm 39:4 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Don’t be a practical atheist.”

 

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “If you read history you will find that Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most about the next. It is because Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one.”

 

Many of us live like practical atheists. An atheist is a person who does not believe in God or an afterlife. However the term “practical atheist” refers to a person who does believe in God, and who does believe in eternal life, but who, in the actual practice of daily life, acts as if this life is all there is. This is what C.S. Lewis was referring to.

 

To be fair, rather than being true practical atheists, more often we do give a passing nod to God and to the practice of our faith – but that’s all. For many Christians, even on their best days, their faith plays only a small part in daily life. Instead we are focused on jobs, family matters, paying bills, playing at our hobbies, engaging in recreational activities, and all the other things that fill our lives every day, pretty much from the moment we wake up until the moment we fall exhausted into bed at night.

 

But God is real and this life is not all there is. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 39:4-7 that compared to eternity, the span of our life is essentially a puff of smoke, a blip on the radar screen of eternity. It is here for a moment and then gone. And all the things we filled our days with, the stress and anxiety of work, the worries about finances, the wasted hours in front of the television, in the end it will all have counted for little or nothing.

 

That doesn’t mean that we don’t have to pay attention to the things of life. We do. The Bible is clear (especially in the Proverbs of Solomon and in the letters of Paul) that we are to be conscientious and diligent as we pay attention to the things that are our responsibilities. We are to be a good spouse, a good parent, a good employee, and a good friend. We do have to give time and attention to the important realities of daily life. But we must never lose sight of the truth that this short life is leading us to an eternal destiny.

 

As has been discussed in previous days, our faith must be the core of our being, the unifying factor which draws all the rest of life towards the center where Christ sits on the throne of our heart and rules and reigns over our life.

 

You know that this life is not all there is. You also know that when your days are done and your last breath has been drawn that you will pass into eternity. So don’t be a practical atheist. Live today like someone who is on their way to a great eternal destiny.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Seek spiritual formation.”

 

Yesterday I introduced you to Joel Warne’s great little book “The Intimate Journey: God in the daily adventure”. I met Joel in 2004 at a conference in Los Angeles sponsored by the Renovere Institute for Spiritual Formation. As I mentioned in a previous devotional this month, a primary theme at that conference was the concept of “Christian Wholeness”, or becoming a person who is healthy and balanced in all the important ways.

 

But the primary mission of the Renovere Institute is the promotion of the practice of spiritual formation. The Holy Spirit is always in the process of “forming” us spiritually. That’s what Paul wrote about in 2 Corinthians 4:16 – inwardly we are being renewed and transformed day by day. That’s spiritual formation taking place and it’s the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives which brings about that spiritual formation in us.

 

As spiritual formation takes place our faith becomes stronger and it becomes the dominate influence in our lives. As I noted yesterday, ideally, as we grow in our relationship with Christ rather than our relationship with Him just being a piece of our lives that is in competition with the other pieces, it becomes the thread that is woven all throughout our lives and which draws all the other pieces together. Our faith in Christ becomes the integrating factor that permeates every aspect of our life, it draws all the pieces of life together into a unified whole, and creates a life which is ruled over by Christ.

 

That’s what spiritual formation achieves and that is the subject of Joel’s book. He writes, “What if faith meant a transforming relationship with Someone who consistently breathed life and meaning into everything He touched? What if faith was a heart to Heart relationship with Someone who knew me deeply, accepted me totally, and had the power to increasingly restore my fragmented soul?… Such a permeating intimacy with God is the goal of spiritual formation.”

 

I want to stress again this morning that a healthy balance in life does not mean that our faith, and the practice of it, is one of the pieces that we need to find room for among all the other pieces of life. Instead our lives will be properly balanced when our faith in Christ becomes the unifying factor that permeates all of life, and which draws all the other elements of life into proper alignment around the throne of our heart where Christ sits and reigns.

 

I encourage you to be committed to the process of spiritual formation. Do the things everyday which place you in a position before God whereby He can bring about that inward transformation in you. Nothing you do will have a more positive impact on your life.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Keep Jesus on the throne in your heart.”

 

It dawned on me this morning that I need to offer a word of clarification regarding the issue of balance in life. In a previous devotional I noted that the four components which make-up our being as a person are the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. I then stated that we need to pay proper attention to all four of those components in order to have a healthy and balanced life.

 

That’s true with respect to structuring our lives and allotting our time. We need to be sure we’re making the time to take care of ourselves in each of those four key areas. However, I did not mean to suggest that all four components are equally important. They are not. The physical, mental, and emotional don’t even begin to compare in significance and importance to the spiritual. They are all interconnected, and each does impact the other, but the other three not equal in importance to the spiritual. Jesus has to be on the throne of our heart; our relationship with Him must be the foundation upon which everything else is built; He must be the center around which everything else revolves.

 

In his book “The Intimate Journey” author Joel Warne explained this truth beautifully when he wrote, “I don’t need another separate piece called ‘religion’ to try to balance among them. Instead, I need an integrating faith, one that infuses all the individual pieces of my life with a unifying spirit, tone, and direction; a faith that is the focus and springboard of my life. I need an experience of God that speaks to my fractured soul, like Jesus spoke to the ill woman, ‘your faith has headed you. Go in peace.’ A permeating relationship like that is certainly what God has in mind.”

 

Yes. Our relationship with Jesus must be at the center of our being and everything else in life must be influenced by it. And beyond that, as Joel noted above, our strong faith in Christ must permeate and infuse all the rest of life. More than just being a piece of life that is balanced against the other pieces, our relationship with Christ infuses, impacts, and influences all other parts of life.

 

When it comes to structuring our lives and carving out sufficient time for all the most important things, it’s true that the practice of our faith must necessarily take a place along with sleep and school and work and family activities etc. That’s just the reality of life in the physical world. Unless you’re a monk in a monastery who does nothing all day except pray, read the Bible, and chant in the cathedral, there has to be room for many other things too. But that doesn’t mean those other things are equal to the spiritual, or as important as your relationship with Christ. They are not.

 

As Paul so succinctly stated in Romans 11:36, Christ is the center. Everything else in life comes from Him and must be in subjection to Him.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me, will find it.” Matthew 10:39 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Find your true self in Jesus.”

 

On the face of it Jesus’ statement in Matthew 10:39 seems paradoxical and confusing. If you find your life you will lose it, but if you lose your life for Him then you will find it. What could He mean? And what could that have to do with our theme of “balance”?

 

Through my ministry to people struggling with substance abuse issues I came across a study Bible that I like a lot and which I use often, both in my ministry to addicts and in my own personal study. It’s called “The Life Recovery Bible”. In addition to providing an accurate translation of the entire Bible in contemporary and therefore easy to understand language, this study Bible also includes plenty of editorial comments and sidebars that provide additional insight which is helpful to those who are trying to break free from addiction. Here’s the editorial comment that helps explain Jesus’ meaning in Matthew 10:39:

 

“The only way to find life (and get control of it) is to submit to God through Jesus Christ. Living for self, we become a slave to material success, work, alcohol, illicit sex, or any number of other destructive behaviors. We have lost control of our life and are in trouble. By turning to Jesus, we allow him to cleanse us of our addiction and show us the way to real life – a life free of any destructive dependency. As we obey God, we will find meaning in our present life and eternal peace with God.”

 

So there we go – basing our life in the things of this world results in losing it. Finding ourselves in Jesus, and making Him the foundation and the center of our life, enables us to discover our true self and to become the man or women that He intends for us to be.

 

Many years ago I came across a great little book by David Brenner entitled “The Gift of Being Yourself”. I love the title because it so accurately describes what Jesus does for us – He gives us the gift of simply being ourselves. You don’t need to stress and strive trying to be something you’re not in order to please others. That’s not success and it certainly is not what the Lord is calling you too. Instead He calls you to find your identity and your sense of worth in your relationship with Him. It’s when we settle down, focus on Jesus, and lose ourselves in our relationship with Him, that we discover our true selves. Jesus brings that out in us.

 

By losing yourself in God you discover your true identity. That’s what Jesus meant and that’s what He is calling you to. Focus on your relationship with Him and all the other pieces of life will fall into place.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:27 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Balance requires discipline.”

 

Discipline is a word we don’t like much. It suggests punishment, as in punishing a child for inappropriate behavior. At least, that’s usually the first meaning of discipline that comes to the minds of most people when they hear the word.

 

But actually, “punishment intended to correct inappropriate behavior” is only the fourth meaning of the word listed in the dictionary. “Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior” is the first one. “Controlled behavior resulting from such training” is the second. Third comes, “A state of order based on submission to rules and authority.”

 

Discipline, as a voluntary form of behavior modification intended to produce new character traits or improved patterns of living, is actually a good thing and should not be thought of in negative terms. This is the way Paul was using the term in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:

 

“Do you not know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly, or box like one who beats the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

 

Those who succeed at anything in life do so because they have disciplined themselves to do the things necessary to succeed in that area. That’s true whether we’re talking about an athlete, a student, a musician, or a car mechanic.

 

So what does this have to do with our theme of “balance”? Just that achieving a good balance in all the important areas of our lives is going to take discipline. Almost always it requires behavior modification. It will take a change in behavioral patterns, and that takes time and effort. But that’s okay. Anything worthwhile always takes time and effort – and discipline – to achieve.

 

As you continue working to achieve and maintain a healthy balance in the important areas of your life, I encourage you to stick with it. It will take time, and it will take effort, but stay focused and disciplined. In time you will develop new patterns of behavior and that will become the new normal for you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” Psalm 23:2 (NIV)

 

Our thought for today: “Take time for a retreat.”

 

On the table next to my recliner I have a book of the speeches of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Every once in a while I open it and read one of the speeches. Justice Scalia is fondly remembered as having been a staunch defender of the Constitution and a reliable conservative voice on the Supreme Court. But there was much more to his life than just his legal career. He was frequently invited to give speeches to many different groups on a wide variety of topics including law and justice, virtue and the public good, living and learning, life in America, heroes and friends, and on matters of faith.

 

Scalia was a good natured, jovial Italian who loved music, hunting, sports, and people. He had a terrific sense of humor and he loved to tell jokes and witty stories. He was also a man of strong Christian faith who committed much time and effort to the practice of his faith. And, he encouraged others to be strong in their faith as well. After graduating from High School, Scalia gave serious thought to enrolling in a Catholic seminary and spending his life as a Jesuit Priest. Eventually he decided against that because, “I realized I had other talents that needed to be utilized, not the least of which was my ability to procreate.” (Priests must take a lifelong vow of celibacy but Scalia concluded that was not for him. Instead he got married and had nine children).

 

When it came to the practice of his faith, Justice Scalia was convinced of the value of taking a periodic spiritual retreat. In 1998 he was invited to speak to a group of Christian students at his alma mater, Georgetown University, and he used the opportunity to describe his habit of taking an annual spiritual retreat. He encouraged the students to do so as well. At one point in his speech he told the students:

 

“Any person who believes in the transcendental has to go on a retreat periodically, because the world believes in the pragmatic rather than the transcendental, and you will lose your soul (that is to say, forget what and who you are) if you do not get away from the noise now and then to think about First Things. In the Gospels, of course, Jesus is constantly going off by himself; and he doubtless needed it less than we do.”

 

I agree with Scalia about the importance of a spiritual retreat to contemplate “First Things”, so we don’t lose our souls (forget who and what we are and what should really be most important in our lives.) A spiritual retreat can be as elaborate as a week or more in a remote Christian camp, or as simple as a day or two alone somewhere. A Sunday morning worship service can also serve as a form of retreat, in that it helps us to step away from the rest of life for at least an hour or two and to focus instead on what Scalia referred to as “First Things” and what you and I would probably term the things of God and heaven.

 

I encourage you to schedule a spiritual retreat for yourself in 2018. In the meantime, I hope to see you at church this Sunday.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Balance”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Control your thoughts and emotions.”

 

Dr. Gary Habermas is a Christian and he is the Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at Liberty University. In a research paper on the importance of exercising positive control over our thoughts and emotions Dr. Habermas wrote:

 

“The most painful things in life are not generally what occurs to us but what we think and articulate to ourselves about those occurrences. Thus, it is not so much the events in our lives but rather how we download and respond to them that determine whether we are able to adjust and live peacefully, with minimal pain and stress.”

 

He was writing about the old truism “You may not have control over everything that happens to you, but you do have control over how you respond to what happens to you.” In other words, how we allow ourselves to think about things, and what our emotional response to them is, determines what we will say and do with respect to that occurrence, as well as how we will remember it and how we will continue to think about it.

 

We are responsible for our thoughts and emotions and we can control them. This is critical because if your thoughts are wrong and if your emotions are unstable, your response to people and situations will be flawed. It also will not be helpful and it will not be in your own best interest. You will say things you shouldn’t say, you will make decisions you will regret, and you will take actions that produce consequences you really didn’t want. If you allow yourself to respond based upon emotion rather than reason, you are headed for trouble. And if that is your normal way of thinking and responding, yours will be a life of continual conflict, heartache, and disappointments.

 

Paul’s point in Philippians 4:8 (confirmed by the research of Dr. Habermas and many others) is that we can learn to control our thoughts and our emotions – and we must.

A balanced person is mentally rational and emotionally stable.

 

I encourage you to ask God to help you to honestly assess yourself in this area of thoughts, perceptions, and emotions, and then invite Him to bring about any needed changes in your mental and emotional life.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim