It Takes Conscious Effort to Enter Heaven

The simplest life and the one often lived with the least conflict is one where you just drift along, make few decisions and just take life as it comes. The old fashioned hobo and the modern man living under the bridge have taken this course in their lives.

There is a striking parallel to this attitude today. It is found in our society among those who are more “successful” in the financial and physical side of their lives. They have simply adopted the “drifter’s attitude” in the spiritual side of life. An underlying reason for this is that it takes a conscious decision and much effort to live on a higher spiritual plateau than those around you.

There are so many illustrations of this truth. Is it easier to gossip or to refrain from it? Is it easier to respond harshly to others’ words or to let your lips be ruled by the law of kindness (Prov. 31:26)? Is it easier to use His holy name in a profane way or to let His name be hallowed, not just in prayer, but daily speech (Matt. 6:9)? Is it easier to use the “f-word” or the “s-word,” especially when angry, than to let your speech always be with “grace, seasoned with salt” (Col. 4:6)? Is it easier to curse those who curse you than it is to bless them (Matt. 5:44)?

Look at the contrast of the words and phrases found in these two lists: (1) “bitterness, wrath, anger, loud quarreling, evil speaking . . . malice. . .” and (2) “…kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another” (Eph. 4:31-32). The first list characterizes those who just follow the crowd and drift along. The second list manifests a life where one has consciously decided to live differently.

The two attitudes are found in the rearing of children—it is far easier to ignore wrong behavior than to have family rules. It is found in worshiping God—it takes conscious effort to stay focused in Bible study, singing, praying and having an experience that changes one’s heart than it does just to “go to church every Sunday.” It is found in talking to others with sins in their lives about the importance of putting Christ first. It is far easier to be liked by others and to be their “friend” than to “become their enemy by telling them the truth” (Gal. 4:16).

This transformation of attitude is called repentance. One does not just repent once and then is baptized. True repentance is to promise to give one’s life to the Lord.  Repentance is commanded, not just of sinners, but of Christians also. Have you forgotten the promises you made when you became His son? Do you need to repent today?

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If You Show Partiality, You Commit Sin

Maybe Jesus addressed it best when He said, “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?” (Matt. 5:46-47) It is so easy to have a right attitude toward those who are kind to us. It’s so easy to be forgiving to those who treat us in godly ways. It’s just hard to deal with others without being partial.

It’s not hard for God. Moses described God saying, “The LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality” (Deut. 10:17). Peter said, “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34). Our God is not partial in any way to any group of people, “For there is no partiality with God” (Rom. 2:11). Look at it again—NO partiality. NONE!

We struggle with it. We know how to treat some people—those who are kind to us; those who are close friends; those who are “important.” Yet, Jesus is equally concerned with the “least of His brethren” as He is with the more “important” ones. The judgment scene of Matthew 25 emphasized this when Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matt. 25:40). If some brethren are sick, need our help or need visiting, we readily assist them. They may be our friends or close associates. We may think we are really practicing Christianity when we attend to their needs, carry food to them, phone them to see how they are doing, go to viewings or funerals of their family members or visit them when they are in the hospital. However, Jesus would ask us, “Do not even the tax collectors do so . . .  What do you do more than others?”

The point I am trying to make is this. There are those “nice” Christians we really like and we treat them with tenderness. Then there are the others whom we tend to ignore. We struggle to phone them, to visit them, to assist them or spend time with them. It is true they may be obnoxious, lacking social skills, overbearing, negative or individuals with whom we have little in common. It is our reaction to these that is the measure of the depth of our spiritual growth.

Why not make a special effort to make a phone call, write a card, go out of your way at worship to talk to them or visit them? We must not be partial. Remember that Jesus is equally concerned about the least of His brethren!

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Approaching the Finish Line

When Paul penned his second letter to Timothy, he knew that the end was near. He told the younger preacher, “The time of my departure is at hand” (2 Tim. 4:6). The final words of the great apostle teach us so much about living and dying. The time of his departure was at hand. He viewed his life as a battle to be fought and a race to be run.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). Taking time to view our own lives as a race to be run provides eternal motivation for righteous living.

The Christian’s race must be run lawfully. Paul had already told Timothy, “If anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules” (2 Tim. 2:5). To have the crown, we must enter the race (become Christians) and abide by His laws of holiness.

The Christian’s race demands great sacrifice and training. We cannot run the race effectively unless we heed these words. “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1). It takes time and dedication to run and finish our race.

The Christian’s race demands we look forward, not backward. Far too many Christians think about past accomplishments rather than present opportunities. God is not nearly as concerned about what you used to be and how you used to serve Him as He is concerned about where you are today. Paul said it best, “One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14).

The Christian’s race demands we keep focused. The passage cited earlier from Hebrews also says, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” There is the finish line and Jesus stands awaiting our arrival.

How are you running the race? If you died today, could you honestly say the following: “I have run lawfully. I have laid aside every weight. I have sacrificed and trained for this race. I am running in the present and not trusting in past days of righteous living. I have kept my eyes on the finishing line. I have not given up”?

The race is not over yet. Are there changes you should make in the race you run as a Christian?

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The Reward Ahead is So Marvelous

The Bible is filled with instructions to Christians designed to alert them of the danger they face in remaining faithful to the Lord. These warnings are not found to discourage us, but to help us think soberly about the road we travel. I found the following list and it had a profound impact on me as I read it. I hope that it will have the same impact on you. Remember these are heaven’s words about our walk as Christians.

Strive to enter the strait gate (Luke 13:24).

Fight to lay hold on to eternal life (1 Tim. 6:12).

Run that you may obtain the crown (1 Cor. 9:24).

Hold fast to what you have heard (Rev. 3:3).

Press on to the goal for the prize (Phil. 4:14).

Pray that you enter not into temptation (Luke 22:40).

Look to yourselves to receive the full reward (2 John 8).

Take heed lest you fall (1  Cor. 10:12)

Watch that you enter not into temptation (Matt. 26:41).

Fear lest you come short of entering (Heb. 4:2)

Watch that you may be ready (Matt. 24:42-44).

Take heed lest you depart from the living God (Heb. 3:12).

Be diligent be found blameless (2 Pet. 3:14).

Take heed how you build on the foundation (1 Cor. 3: 10).

Trembling work out your own salvation (Phil. 2:12).

Take heed that you be not deceived (Luke 21:8).

Watch lest He find you sleeping (Mark 13:36-37).

Prove yourself lest you are disqualified (2 Cor. 13:5).

Take heed lest your heart be weighed down (Luke 21:34).

Looking diligently lest you fail  (Heb. 12:15).

Do not faint and you will reap (Gal. 6:9).

Be vigilant for Satan seeks to devour (1 Pet. 5:8).

The list of verses encouraging us to remain faithful is almost endless. Take time to read the list again and then think about the seriousness of the commitment we have made. It is time for sober reflections. We cannot afford to turn back, for the reward ahead is so marvelous.

Remember that the Lord is doing all He can to insure we win! He is faithful and will never allow us to be tempted beyond our limits. He always provides the way of escape. He does not look for sinless perfection, He only wants faithfulness. He stands beside us to lift us up and He stands before us awaiting our arrival at the finish line.

So let’s run the race together. Let’s encourage each other. Just remember to watch out for the potholes!

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Sometimes It’s OK to be Hard Headed

You’ve seen it haven’t you? Perhaps it was on TV you watched those pictures of antlered male animals vying for supremacy. Time after time their horns/antlers/heads pound against each other with reverberating sounds. Such battles seemingly go on for hours. Are you aware that there is a spiritual application of this?

It is found in the writings of Ezekiel. By the time he arrived on the scene, the history of Israel could be summed up in one word—rebellion. There were those few times when a godly king brought God’s chosen people to  Him, but those times were isolated incidents. They had no desire to listen to God’s messengers. In two powerful sentences Zechariah summed it up: “But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets” (Zech. 7:11-12). With hearts like flint they had rejoiced in persecuting and even killing God’s messengers. How fitting are the words of Jesus’ recorded in Luke 13:33 (as translated by Barclay), as He described their attitude toward God’s messengers: “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Killer of the prophets! Stoner of those who were sent to you!”

When God called Ezekiel, He knew that the nation was hard-hearted and hard-headed. In His call the Lord told His messenger, “The house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted” (Eze. 3:7). The very next verse graphically described how God expects His people to respond in this situation. “Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads.” The imagery is not of antlered animals confronting each other, but of hard-headed saints butting heads with hard-headed sinners. God’s message must be delivered even when we know ahead of time that it will not be received.

Our “politically correct” world seeks to avoid conflict over overt rebellion against God in the practice of abortion, homosexuality and other sinful practices. To oppose such is to be labeled as uncaring, bigoted and phobic. The hard-headed world seeks to silence us for it has no desire to hear from us.

So what do we do in such situations? Just remember that God makes our heads harder than theirs!

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