Squirrely

My wife calls my daughter “squirrely girly”.  My daughter in a high squeaky voice replies. “No, you’re squirrely!”  I enjoy listening to their playful banter, but no longer can my wife proclaim our daughter to be the squirreliest member of the family.   As of this afternoon, we have added two baby squirrels to our collection of people, cats, fish, frog, and dog.  How this situation came about and how it relates to Christianity will be the focus of the next few paragraphs.

I am passionate about cutting down trees and chopping wood.  I enjoy smelling like chainsaw gas and walking around with wood chips in my beard.  Currently, I am in the process of clearing out some brush so I can pull an existing shed to a new location near my cabin.  The biggest concern to me loomed in the form of a large maple tree.  That maple tree leaned toward the cabin, but also twisted in other directions.  I fearfully envisioned falling the tree and watching it smash into the cabin roof.  Fortunately, this tale does not end that way.  Utilizing chainsaw and wedge, the tree fell away from the cabin.  All did not end so simply though.  While saving the cabin, I also snared the tree up in another tree.  No stress, by cutting the hung up tree in chunks, the trouble quickly dislodged.  After picking up a bit of brush, I noticed some blood all over the face of a log.  Immediately, I checked my own digits and legs.  No blood!  Whew.  So what was the source of the blood?  Unbeknownst to me, I cut a mother squirrel in half.   I found the part still alive and put her out of her distress.  Moments later some “chittering” came from the hollow of one of the cut up logs.  Surprise!  Instant adoption of motherless baby squirrels.

Take a moment and consider the whole plight from the view of the squirrels.  Happily they rested in their warm little tree hollow.  Then along with a piercing loud noise, their home began to tremble and shake.  Soon thereafter, their world literally came crashing down.  Oh, what a terrible fright the little squirrels must have had as closer and closer the saw worked toward them, chunking the tree bit by bit.  Mother squirrel cradling her young, worried about protecting them, just to have her life be the one taken.  Now the little squirrels rely completely upon me for survival.

At least four Christian concepts can be drawn from the day’s squirrely adventure.

First, death can come at any time.   The author James calls life a vapor and notes its brevity (James 4:4).  Woe to those such as the man who relies on great plans beyond today without getting their spiritual house in order (Luke 12:16-21).

Second, we will not always be there for our young.  Deuteronomy 6:4-9 pleads with Israel to teach their young all the commands of the Lord.  They must be encouraged to listen and obey.   Long after our death, the sound principles imparted to our children guide them safely through life (Ephesians 6:1-3).

Third, adoption exists for individuals in need.  Matthew 5:3 quotes Jesus saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.    Again in Matthew 11:28 he said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  Jesus calls men to him so that they may receive adoption from the Father.  Adoption of those in need (and all need God) comes from the plan of the Father because of His love for mankind (Ephesians 1:3-6, John 3:16).

Finally, life exists for those who accept the care offered them.  What happens to those who reject the spiritual nourishment and care of the Lord?  They will hunger, they will weaken, and they will die.  Jesus provides the words of life (John 6:68).  He desires man to live and their hunger to be filled (Matthew 5:6).  Hear his words: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! (Matthew 23:37) Unfortunately, many reject his blessings and he therefore rejects them (Matthew 10:33).  Men die, because they reject life.

Some folks conclude life is squirrely.  We do not know when it will end.  We do not know how long we will be here for our youth.  However, we can trust in God to be there for us who need Him.  He stands willing to be a Father to us.  He will care and nourish those who choose to allow Him.  What can be said of those who do not accept such blessing?  “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool; But whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.” (Proverbs 28:26) Translation: Only a squirrely individual won’t hear the Words of God.  What can be said of such an individual?  They must be “nuts”.

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The Good Life

The “good life” has many definitions; some people consider the acquisition of material wealth as the good life.  Other people consider the “good life” to consist in personal acclaim or prestige.  There are still other people who consider a combination of the two previous matters as the “good life” and yet there is still another lifestyle that is superior to all the three previously discussed.  The most important of all accomplishments is to attain the correct relationship with our Creator, this truly does constitute the “good life” — let us explore this idea further in this article.

Man is alienated from God, consider the following:

Romans 5:10 – “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”

2 Corinthians  5:17-19 – “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Colossians  1:20-21 – And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled   (KJV)

God has provided essential grace so that man might be reconciled to God, God providing an acceptable sacrifice (i.e., Christ):

Romans  3:23-26 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished- he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

Ephesians 1:6-7 – “ To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

1 Timothy 1:14-15 – “And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.   (KJV)

Obedience completes the reconciliation process:

Titus 2:11-14 –  “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.   (KJV)

 CONCLUSION:

From our study, it is apparent, the “good life” (i.e., the good relationship to God) is acquired as a result of God’s “un-merited favor” toward us first and foremost.  Without God’s initiative toward man in sending His Son, Jesus Christ to atone for our sin, reconciliation would have been impossible.

In addition to that which God has done for us that we could not do for ourselves (i.e., He provided grace), we too, are to participate in establishing that correct relationship with God, we are to obey His instructions (see point # 3 above).  To obey God’s instructions to acquire salvation from sin (i.e., the “good life”) we are to: Hear the gospel, Romans 10:17.  Believe the gospel, Mark 16:15, 16. Repent of sins, Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38. Be Baptized, Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:38.

CONSIDER THIS, TOO:

The “good life” is available to you and me as a result of God’s grace and our obedience, one cannot underestimate the importance of having that good relationship with God that can really be considered the “good life”.  If you are looking for a direction in your life, salvation from sin, or if you have a desire to live “the good life” please examine this option.  No one can make this decision for another person, everyone must personally choose to live the good life or reject it.

THE ULTIMATE DECISION IS INDIVIDUAL.

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And Time Goes On…

Each day that we live we will occupy our time doing something.  We would be ill advised to spend too much time observing media programming Each day that we live here in the world we are continually exposed to all that goes on in our world, The good, the bad, the disgusting, are shown to us via the electronic media.  Nothing happens in our world that we do not know about almost immediately.  For some strange reason the electronic media and the printed media present, for the most part,  the awful, evil, side of events that occur.  Perhaps these media moguls are convinced that sensationalism is the way to build ratings for their shows,  apparently, they believe horror, mayhem, sex, and violence sells anything.

As we consider these things let us always be aware of the potential danger that exposure to this type of media exposure may bring us.  It is not too great an exaggeration to suggest that whatever we allow ourselves to imbibe within our mind will eventually influence our character.

Read Matthew  15:17-20:

“Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.”

We are all products of whatever we allow to enter our heart (i.e., seat of intellect) through our eyes and through our hearing.  Because our character is established by whatever we see and hear,  we must be very careful of those things that we hear and see.that is designed for our viewing,  it will surely have an effect upon our character eventually.   There may be some programs that will not adversely effect our character — we need to find these programs and avoid the bad ones.

Time goes on!  That is a fact for all of us to deal with day after day.  Dealing with spare time may become a problem for those who have an abundance of it.  Remember this:  nothing is valuable if it is does not increase our faith in God, Christ, and spiritual things in general;

Ecclesiastes 10:18, “By slothfulness the roof sinketh in; and through idleness of the hands the house leaketh.” (ASV)

1 Timothy  4:13, “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”  

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What is Your Legacy?

From the very rich to the poorest of the poor, no one is able to deny how brief life is and it seems that the older we become, the faster it goes. So, what type of legacy will you leave behind? What will people think about you? Will we be able to make a difference to anyone?

There are many who are concerned about wealth, real estate, stocks, bonds and their overall securities. But, Jesus responded to these thoughts and asked, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul” (Matthew 16:26)? Sometimes, when people pass from the world, some families gather around to discuss what belongs to whom while others gather together to sum up the life of the one who is no longer among the physical life.

When considering what we will leave behind, our legacy, there are things that we may want to consider. For example, we may want to leave a good name. Solomon said, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches” (Proverbs 22:1a). A name that is built upon values, ethics, morals, and the principles of right and wrong are wonderful things to entrust to our family, friends and others. A good name should symbolize honesty, integrity and devotion. Some that I would consider having a good name are the “walking Bibles.” These individuals have been commonly called this because of their dedication to the Word of God memorizing much of the Old and New Testaments.

Of course, the one who has the greatest of all names, the true walking Bible, is Jesus Christ. Beginning in Genesis 3:15, he is prophesied to come to earth and almost 2,000 years a]er his death, his name continues to be heavily discussed. Jesus truly has a good name above all other names because of the actions that were behind his name. Let us all strive to have the legacy of a good name.

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Making Our Calling and Election Sure

In 2 Peter chapter one Peter, by inspiration, wrote unto us “who have obtained like precious faith.” The faith! The faith that saves us from our sins and gives us hope, peace and joy. Faith that is more than simple acknowledgment of a fact but an obedient belief in Christ, His church and the plan delivered unto us once and for all time (Jude 3). He tells us that the divine power of God has “given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” And that by this power we have received “exceeding great and precious promises” and have become “partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world…” (vs. 1-4)

But then notice that Peter says we are not done. As Paul would say we “have not yet
attained” (Phil. 3:12). No, this is just the beginning of our journey. We must begin to add tour lives daily the Christian Graces (faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and love). As Christians we must be fruit bearers (John 15:4-8) and these are the things we should be striving after in order to be neither barren nor unfruitful (vs. 5-9)

Yet notice the nine-pound hammer blow of verse ten. “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” The weight of this verse is felt when we, as was stated earlier in this chapter, come to an understanding of this truth.

He says first that we must “give diligence.” The Greek word here (spouda¿zw) means to be “quick” or “use speed” in endeavoring, laboring or studying. In other words the Christian should waste no time or effort in being the fruitful servant that God expects His disciples to be. We are quick to do many things in this life that we find important. What does it say when we then are not quick to be living for Him?

Secondly, we are to be quick and laborious in making our “calling and election sure.” The Greek word here (be÷baioß) means, “stable, firm, of force, stedfast.” God has called us to peace (1 Cor. 7:15). He has called us to holiness (1 Thess. 4:7). He has called us unto eternal glory (1 Pet. 5:10). In verse three of our text we read that He has called us to “glory and virtue.” In 2 Timothy 1:9 Paul says that God has called us “with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” He has made us His own chosen people and brethren we should be quick and eager to cement that blessed privilege!

Thirdly, this verse teaches that we can indeed fall away. The Calvinistic theology of “once saved, always saved” cannot hold up to the inspired apostolic truth. Peter clearly teaches that if we are quick to establish ourselves in the discipleship of the Lord we are creating within our lives a foundation for success. But if not, we will surely fall!

Lastly, consider one other principle that I believe we can draw forth from this text. It never ceases to amaze me when individuals claim they want to be right with God, His Son and the church, but are not willing to do the things necessary to make their calling and election sure. The heart of each of us should be the heart of Saul in Acts 9:6, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” What do you need to do this day to make your calling and election sure?

Be obedient and be faithful!

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