Be Ready. Now.

 A few days ago a friend of ours passed away suddenly and unexpectedly.  He sat down in his chair, and he died.  No doubt when he sat down he fully expected he'd be getting back up again, but he didn't.  I thank God he had a close relationship with Him and was ready, in the only really important way there is.  No doubt he left things undone, but not the one thing with vitally important eternal consequences.

Are you ready?  Do you have a saving relationship with your Savior?  This is nothing to put off for another day.  Stop thinking about it and do something about it.  Right now.

The Rock

One thing that never changes is that things will change. Sometimes it's a sudden change.  Sometimes it's slow rolling changes.  If you look back at your life 20 years ago, all of the cumulative changes, large and small, add up.

No - wait a minute - there's something else that never changes... something vastly more important.  That is God.  

If He changes, how can we count on Him?  We can't.  But He is "the same yesterday and today, and forever" [Hebrews 13:8].  Our Lord is a solid rock, an ever-present help in times of trouble [Psalm 46:1].  If God continually changed, how could we count on any of His promises?  We couldn't.  If God can change, so can His promises, and so can His reliability.  But Thank God, He doesn't change.

He has given us unchanging truths to live by in the Bible.  His love for us doesn't change.  His promises don't change. His definition of sin does not change. His patience and forgiveness don't change.  The Great Commission doesn't change. He is the rock.

How wonderful it is to have this solid rock when things around us are changing faster than we can take it all in.  We have a reliable, unchanging anchor.

Today’s Random Thought: When It Doesn’t Go Like You Want, Is God Still Good?

We all see prayer requests on Facebook and other social media. And when things turn out well, there are invariably comments such as, “God is Good!”  It heavily implies that God is only good when He averts the disaster.  Is He less good when He does not avert the disaster?  When things do not go as hoped for, I’d love to see someone acknowledge that God is still good… and He’s especially good when the bottom falls out of life.  He upholds, He comforts, He provides.  You have a much better idea of just how good God is when things don’t go well.

Why?

 "Why is this happening to me?"  That's a horrible question to have to ask.  I've asked it a lot.  I've also asked why terrible things were happening to other people, and spent a fair amount of time trying to make sense of it.  

If you believe in an almighty, all-powerful God, then you have to know He could change this if He wanted to.  If you believe in a God who knows everything past, present and future, you have to believe there's a really, really good reason He is allowing this to happen.  If you believe in a God who loves you with a love like no other, you have to believe He will provide for you while you endure your situation, and will never leave your side, and will bring you to the other side of your situation when the time is right. 

You may not know what God is up to, but He's not a random God.  He's got something planned and it's ultimately for your good.  You might not see it or feel it now, or might wonder how your situation could ever be used for anything even remotely good.  But you might possibly see it after this is over.  You might not see it until you join Him in heaven.  But trusting in the Lord with all your heart means remembering these things and making the conscious decision to put your faith in Him, even when your feelings don't follow suit.  Sometimes you just have to go with what you know and not what you feel.  Romans 8:28-29: He's working all things together for our good and to conform us to the likeness of Christ.  He won't leave you to go through your pain by yourself.

A Model of Faith in Crisis

2 Chronicles 20 

King Jehoshaphat was faced with a major crisis.  A huge conglomeration of three armies was quickly descending upon his kingdom.  Time was of the essence – so Jehoshaphat got busy.  Did he assemble soldiers and weapons?  No.  He got busy praying.  He called upon his whole kingdom to fast and pray along with him.  They gathered together at the Temple and prayed for guidance from the Lord.  He said, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”   And God gave them direction.

What timeless wisdom for handing life when we, too, are facing challenges.  

Today's Random Thought - How Do We Prepare for Tomorrow's Challenges?

 Today’s Random Thought:

It’s hard to be prepared for the difficult things in life that are going to happen.  We work hard and save our money in case of a job loss or unexpected expense. We take care of our bodies to avoid disease.  But really, no matter what it is that has gone bad – if it’s loss of a job, a beloved family member with a tough diagnosis, or situations that try our patience – the only way to deal with any of it is to keep our eyes on Jesus.  He will guide.  He will use it to accomplish His purposes.  He will bless us on the other side of it.  He will calm our souls if we trust Him and know that He not only knows what’s happening, but how He plans to resolve it, and is involved every step of the way.  He knows.  He sees.  He cares.

Who is my Brother?

A matter came up at our Bible study regarding Matthew 18:15-17, dealing with people who have wronged us.  "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.  If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.  But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector."

The key word I'm stuck on is "brother."  Some felt strongly that this referred to the world as a whole, others that it referred only to fellow believers.  I was in a similar situation many years ago, and sought the help of my pastor after following the first two steps.  The person who wronged me did not believe as we did.  My pastor said that person was not my "brother" and I was "done" attempting to resolve this according to these biblical instruction.

So, then, who is my brother?

I checked many other versions of the Bible looking for clarification.  Most use "brother" but a few use "fellow believer," "another believer," or "another one of my followers." 

In Matthew 12:48-50, Jesus says, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

My conclusion is that we are called to use kindness and truth and integrity in dealing with everyone, but our relationships to other believers are special and set apart, and the instructions in the Bible referring to our "brothers" is not wholly applicable to everyone.  The relationship between believers is crucial, treasured, and holy.