What if I'm right???

  The question really is… if you haven’t made Jesus Lord of your life, what if you’re wrong? You really can’t imagine how critical and defining your decision is. Because, it still is a decision when you choose to not accept His gift. Though I believe it’s never a one and done offer – He keeps the offer available to you until it is too late. I define ‘too late’ as the judgment seat. 

  What’s stopping you from making the decision to accept Jesus as Lord? Pride? Indecision? Not ‘logical’ in your thinking? An unwillingness to change? Perhaps it’s none of those but you aren’t convinced? But… are you doing anything about proving you are right? This is not a decision to be left to chance. There is no reason strong enough to stop you from making your decision.

  I would contend that we are in the last days and the return of The Soon Coming King, Jesus, is at our door. I also believe the evidence loudly proclaims only one choice – acceptance of Jesus as the one and only path to salvation and eternal life. Even if we had unlimited time before Jesus’ return, because we don’t know when our time is over, the time is always – now - and at that point we need to make a conscious decision.  

  There really is a place called heaven and a place called hell and you really will end up in one or the other… for all eternity. The arguments that a loving God wouldn’t consign someone to hell are specious and totally inaccurate. He doesn’t choose your final destination, you do. There are few ‘musts’ that He requires from us to spend eternity with Him, but how we respond to Jesus’ offer is the paramount one.

  The critical question is – you! Where will you be, what will you be doing on Judgment Day? Hebrews 9:27 tells us that “…it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” There will be a final reckoning… what will you do?  NOW is the time of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2), the decision is yours – now. You are a spirit which means you won’t die. You will spend eternity in heaven or in hell. The ‘I’m a good person’ is not enough. What if I’m right??? 

… WHO will you choose to believe?

The third Person...

  We all understand who God is, and we all understand who Jesus is, acceptance in both cases is not the issue. But... the third person of the God Head, the Holy Spirit, is undoubtedly the least understood and the least appreciated. Yet His role in our lives is potentially unparalleled. Part of the problem may have been when His name was translated into English - initially He was referred to as the Holy Ghost. But in our world of definitions, 'ghost' takes on an eerie quality. I suspect that this incorrect translation has kept Him at arms length. 

  The Holy Spirit is as important as the Father and the Son, He is the third Person in the Trinity. And when you look at what He does, His role is so significant when we allow Him to do His work. How important is He? Listen to what Jesus said of Him and why we need Him. (Jesus speaking) "And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby) that He may remain with you forever..." John 14:16 AMP. As you can see, His role in our lives has 7 dimensions: comforter, counselor, helper, intercessor, advocate, strengthener, standby. It's not that He is there to do our work, but He is there with us in our lives.

  When Jesus' work on the earth was finished, until His second coming, it was necessary for us to have a continuous guide, and the Holy Spirit was the person in the God head who was sent to help us. Notice Jesus aligns Himself with the Holy Spirit when He says, He (God) will give you another... Just like the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit wants to be involved with all aspects in our lives, not just asked for help when we need Him.

  Obviously first, we need to establish a relationship with Him. Assuming that you have already accepted Jesus' gift of salvation and are now attempting to fulfill your part in the body of Christ, I believe that developing a relationship is as simple as asking for His help and then, though continuing to do what's at hand, being available to hear His response. The Holy Spirit was there from the beginning of Genesis and will be with us through the end of Revelations. Attempting to 'go it alone' and not develop a relationship with the One who is sent to assist us makes no sense.

...but, what do you believe?
  

What happens when the ashes cool?

  Another way of stating that question is... what do you do to rekindle your passion, your fire for the  Lord and His work when the cares of the world, or life's demands begin to intrude and distance you from your life in Him? What happens when the ashes start to cool? What do you do?! Obviously, there is no single answer but it needs addressing once it's emerged and you recognize it. You need to stop the cooling from going cold.

  Simply because the ashes may begin to cool doesn't mean that this condition has to be the final determination... it doesn't need to prevail. You have the decision and ability to be a phoenix. Bottom line is - what do you want? You can accept the cooling ashes and then spiral down because you will never stay in that suspended state. The cooling will grow cold if not rekindled. Or... You can accept the cooling ashes but begin to change your direction.

  The logical place to start (though not necessarily the one chosen) is to quiet oneself and pray. When you do this then you have a greater chance of more quickly beginning your return journey because your focus is back on the Lord. Though I can't say that everyone eventually returns to the point of turning from passion, but this seems to be my experience. Whatever deterred you in the first place does need to be examined so you don't become ensnared by it again. At some point we allow the intrusion to deter and redirect us. And it is never to our credit but to our harm.

  The critical concern is that we address the cooling ashes. It is a blah place to find yourself and it is numbing. It can 'feel' familiar and this means that it can also be a bit frightening. Which is why it is so critical to recognize the condition and then discover your way out. It may or may not be the same method as the last time you encountered it. The point is that you need to turn and look to the Lord. He is right there... waiting for you to seek the rekindling. In some respect, the return is also tied to an acknowledging and repentance from the sin that so easily ensnared you.

... but, what do you believe?

Hope

  I have to admit that I don't fully comprehend hope. It is my contention that hope is the least understood, least defined, yet one of the most important companions one can associate with as you travel through life. Oddly enough, it is a word that is consistently used in our daily speech. I know it isn't passive and must have great importance or it wouldn't be included as one of three in the oft quoted Bible passages: "Now abideth Faith, Hope, Love..."

  Hope touches everything we do, and a great deal of what we say. Simply look at how it impacts others when the word is spoken - there is anticipation, there often is excitement, there are 'possibilities'. Consider what would happen if the word didn't exist. Where would we be if there was no hope?! Still... I don't understand  or appreciate exactly what it is/does and without understanding do I know how to effectively 'employ' it? That it is an important component in our foundation is obvious, but the issue is what is hope and how should I integrate it.

  The place to begin in a study (whatever you are needing/wanting to know) is the word - how is  the word described and defined in scripture. In Romans we see that hope is the product from tribulation to perseverance to character (5:3). Romans 5:5 states that hope doesn't disappoint. In Romans 8, Paul says that, "... hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one still hope for what he sees." In another of Paul's writings (1 Thessalonians 4:13) not having hope is equated with sorrow - that those without Christ in their lives are described as without hope.

  I can site many other scriptural references about hope, but does this get me any closer to personalizing the word for myself? It does help in assisting me to appreciate the word and what it does but as in all things pertaining to a quality of understanding, it takes personalizing to make the word 'real'. However... in considering one particular scripture, I find a compelling picture - Hebrews 6:19 tells us that hope is the anchor of our soul. When you consider an anchor you see that it is strong, fixed, and keeps us safely tied to the source of our hope. For me, this means that hope is strong and able to sustain me in my times of trial.

... but, what do you believe?

Christian Punctuation

  I realize this title might be a bit off putting. It may seem quite inconsequential, even bordering on disrespectful. What I am attempting to do is to have you look at the 'type' of Christian you are.Which of these three conditions: ? or . or ! describes you? Let me define them and then you can see where you might fit.

  A ? Christian is one who acts expediently. A long time ago they accepted Jesus as Lord but they haven't allowed Him to be Lord. Quite honestly, if they were to admit it, they don't really want Him to dictate their lives, to be in the way. They really haven't personalized their experience of accepting Him as Lord and they certainly don't understand what kind of relationship is available to them. A ? Christian isn't committed or involved - they are 'social' Christians, if there is such a designation.

  A . Christian is one who has accepted Jesus as Lord, is basically a 'good'  person but rarely goes out of their comfort zone. They probably regularly attend church on Sunday but rarely attend any other times. They are more of a 'fringe' Christian, somewhat aware but uncomfortable. The idea of going on a mission's trip, while enticing, probably isn't something they'd do. Tithe? Possibly, at some level. Involved in those church activities that are low 'threat'.

  A ! Christian is one who is on fire for the Lord and attempts to follow not just the words but the actions of Jesus. They may be the 'in your face' evangelistic types or simply those who roll up their sleeves and work in those areas that help the church grow and thrive. They are involved in a number of church activities and are more likely to attend special events/speakers and go on mission's trips.

  Superficial designations? Possibly. But I bet you can identify people in your church in each of the 'classifications' and I bet you know where you stand. The important point is to decide, wherever you are, if this is the state you want to stay in or are you truly interested in growing. Obviously there is a preference in the way I've described each category, but fundamentally it really is what you want.
 
...but, what do you think? what do you believe?

There's so much more...

  I know I've written about what is available to us when we accept the Lord's invitation to believe on Him before but I believe it bears repeating, besides, it's totally impossible to cover the depth and breadth of the subjects I choose in only 4 paragraphs. In this particular case, I'm referencing salvation. First - we are nowhere without salvation - it is critical, it is the first step. But... there's so much more. I often used the analogy of being invited to a sumptuous feast and only partaking in the soup course. If you stop at salvation and do nothing more then this is precisely what you are doing. And this is not diminishing the importance of salvation!

  The life you enter into when you are saved is full, is exciting, is challenging. God takes what we give Him, us, and adds to it so that we are able to not just exist in this life but to 'live life abundantly'. There are many scriptures that repeat this condition to live abundantly - that's what's prepared. While this is not our final destination, while we are here we aren't suppose to just sit around and wait. An active life is prepared for us.

 In order to know and understand what has been prepared for us we need to look into scripture and see how Jesus was teaching and preparing His disciples. While it is a model we can emulate, the teachings also describe what has happened, what we need to do, and how we need to proceed. So much is given us when we are saved, and there is little doubt that salvation is the first step. But there are more steps or why the emphasis on our walk? Provision is made for every aspect of our lives, it's up to us to discover and walk in them.

  We weren't saved only for our own benefit. However I'm convinced that even if I/you were the only person alive, Jesus would still have done all that he did to save and redeem us. But there really is more... read again Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus is not providing a suggestion, He is giving us a directive - go, make disciples, teach. Before we can do what we have been directed to do, we have to study to show ourselves approved '... rightly dividing the word of truth.' (2Timothy 2:15) It's critical to know what we know in order to present it. Ultimately we are making disciple-makers of those we disciple.

...but, what do you think? 

... count it all joy!

  What?! James 1:3 says, "...count it all joy when you fall into various trials," He's got to be kidding, yes? Maybe he has a different definition of 'joy' than you and I do. But why would he say to count it joy when you are in various trials? Trials may be a method to learn, but there are less stressful ones, yes? Why emphasize trials... because, that's the beginning... look after the comma.

  The reason James is saying to count it joy is that, "...knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." And, with this as the context, trials do produce joy. Or, at least they can. James sees a progression: from trials to faith being tested to patience which produces perfection. And in perfection everything is there and available and there is no lack. Then again... it's our choice, our decision to use this mindset rather than a more emotional one.

  But how can we develop that mindset because trails rarely are met with joy? Trials are typically met with an emotional reaction - understandable. But they really need to be viewed spiritually and intellectually which can be difficult in the moment. But all this is preparation. Trials teach us, they provide information that we may not have had before or new ways of looking at activities or options - they teach, that's one of their purposes.

  ...knowing. This is one of the keys. We have to know that faith tested produces - from patience to complete. I believe that part of what James is trying to tell us is that we shouldn't fear trials, that trials will exact a good result. That when we are tested we should use this as a time to increase our understanding which will increase our knowing. While I may have a bit of problem with counting trails as 'joy', I know that each trial will increase my faith... and that IS joy. 

... but what do you think?