A Hopeful Heart

I met Maurice my first day on the job.  The fact that he bought me lunch that day isn’t the reason we became friends (although it didn’t hurt), but the many common values we share have brought us close over the last three years. 

In 2004, he was blessed with quadruple by pass surgery.  I say blessed, because he did.  Only weeks after his surgery, he stood before his church congregation and spoke on “A Hopeful Heart”.  His comments included:

“Through a recent experience, I truly believe God can, and does, use difficult situations to strengthen us:  knowing this can bring hope.  This hope is the assured outcome of God’s saving purpose for us.” He went on “I truly believe this unexpected event in my life was a blessing from God.  The circumstances around how it all developed have led me to believe the Good Lord was watching out for me and has given me a new lease on life.”  

Don’t wait for God to bless you with what society might see as a curse to believe in Him and His care.  Have faith, as Maurice does, that God has a saving purpose for each of us. 

Forsaking all, I trust Him!

My wife Tracy once taught me an acronym for Faith:

F –       Forsaking

A –      All

I –        I

T –       Trust

H –      Him

Galatians 3:6-18 quotes from Genesis 15:6 where Abraham believed and God made him righteous because of his faith.  This is where God promised Abraham a son and that he would have more descendents than there are stars in the sky.  

As hard as that might have been for Abraham to believe, it was later that he truly demonstrated his faith to me.  Genesis 22 records the story of God sending Abraham out to sacrifice Isaac, his only son as a burnt offering.  At this point, I am ashamed to say I would have probably moved my church letter to the local temple of Baal.  But not Abraham. He was willing to forsake all that he had ever hoped for and trust God.  His faith proved to be valid and greatly rewarded!

I pray that we all continue to grow and learn to trust God as much as we think we do. 

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

That proverb has proven true many times in my life.  A car with a REALLY low price is probably going to have something wrong with it (blue smoke means a new motor, not an oxygen sensor).  Does, “Dad, I got ALL my homework done at school” sound familiar? 

However, there is one huge exception to that I have bet my eternity on. 

In Romans 10:9, Paul states “if you confess with you mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  Salvation is through Christ only: we can’t earn it, buy it, or steal it.  God’s mercy and grace are the only way, and all we have to do is accept His gift. 

It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not.  Have we thanked Him lately for the faith He gives us to accept that gift?

Jesus Embodies Lordship

Paul says in Philippians 2: 9 that “God elevated (Jesus) to the place of highest honor”.  We can have no better mentor!

The Friday before the Forth of July holiday (yesterday as I write this), I was out early on my motorcycle.  I’d had breakfast with three Christian brothers at 6:00 and was now headed west on roads I’d never ridden before.  I usually ride to get my mind off work, but I found my mind replaying a conversation about our company mentorship program.  I suddenly realized a huge limitation.  A mentor can only take you where they have been – they can only teach you how to get to where they are – a Manager can’t show someone how to be a CEO.  

A Sunday School teacher or Deacon can’t show us how to be the best possible witness either.  Even a Pastor can’t show us how to be the perfect Christian.  We all must continually develop our own relationship with Jesus and let Him mentor us directly – He dwells in God’s highest places and is uniquely equipped to show us how to be more like Him. 

I ask myself - am I trying to learn as much as I can from Jesus every day?  Am I showing others by the way I live my life what I have learned so that others see Jesus living in me?  How would you answer these questions?