Basic Truths | Finding God in Everyday Life

  I grew up in New Jersey, not far from the beach (or the shore, as we call it up there). The ocean can be a little cool, even in the summer, and the waves can be rough, but that’s part of the fun of it. I’d start out in shallow water and then gradually work my way out to where I could catch the waves before they broke. Other people liked to stay at the water’s edge, just getting their feet wet except for when a big wave came in. They had fun but it didn’t seem to me that they were really immersed in the ocean experience.   Ezekiel was given a vision of a river coming out from underneath the temple and traveling all the way to the Dead Sea (Ezekiel 47:1-12). The water at first was only up to Ezekiel’s ankles. As it went on, it gradually got deeper, first knee-deep, then waist-high, until finally it was too deep to wade in but could only be swum in.   There are varying interpretations of Ezekiel’s vision. The river is often thought of as the grace of God, won by th...

  It’s college football season. On Saturday, I’ll usually watch a game on TV for awhile even if I’m not rooting for either team. I enjoy watching a team make a big comeback when it looks like all hope is lost. It’s amazing how, with a little belief and confidence in themselves, a team can turn everything around.   In my last post, I talked about Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. It presumes that we love ourselves. That’s true for most of us but some people live as though they don’t. They beat themselves up over what they’ve done in the past or continue to engage in self-destructive behavior. They don’t see any way that they can be loved, by themselves or anyone else, even God. They have lost hope. There are others who are doing fine except for a specific area in their lives where they feel defeated and hopeless.   God loves us and doesn’t want to see us lost in despair. He wants us to make a comeback, to be restored. We begin by recognizing tha...

  Going back to my last post --- An expert in the law asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment. Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” --- Jesus went on to say, “And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).   Jesus gave the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) to help us understand who is a neighbor to us and what it means for us to be a neighbor to them. We know nothing about the man in the parable who was attacked, whether he was holy or a great sinner, rich or poor, or what his beliefs were. He is not even specifically identified as a Jew although it can probably be assumed that Jesus’ hearers thought this to be the case. None of it mattered because he was in need of caring love from a “neighbor”. The Good Samaritan cared for the man who had been attac...

  We visited lots of family last week. My sister-in-law has a little dog who is a bundle of energy. She only knows one speed – full throttle, all systems go! She puts maximum effort into everything she does. When she is finished, she goes over to her doggie bed and lies down until the next round begins. We are called to have that same kind of enthusiastic, full-bore approach to life.   An expert in the law asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment. Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).   It seems to me that we don’t pay full attention to what Jesus said. We think, consciously or subconsciously, that we are living pretty good lives and that God ought to be satisfied with us. We ignore the commandment that we are supposed to give God 100% of us 100% of the time. Jesus reinforces this point, saying, “ So you also, when you have don...

  As I’ve mentioned before, I have a hard time finishing projects because I get distracted easily. I need a “To Do” list in front of me in order to get things done.   Paul wrote to the Philippian church that he established. He encouraged them, “ [I am] confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). God is faithful – He is always working to make us into the people we are called to be. God never leaves a project unfinished!   We may feel like our spiritual growth has stalled, that we aren’t making any progress. Sometimes it can just be hard to see, because we can’t step back and see how much we’ve changed. It’s like people who haven’t seen your kids for a year say how much they’ve grown while you may not have noticed much of a difference. If you can see an area that you’ve grown in, you’re making progress. If you’re unsure, ask God to show you the progress you’ve made and help you...

  “Near” is a relative term for me. When I’m coming back from an errand, near is when I turn into our neighborhood. When I’m coming from out of town, near means downtown Fort Worth, about 15 miles from home. If I’m flying back from overseas, near is about 300 miles, or an hour, away.   Jesus began His ministry saying, “The time has come…the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) (other translations read “at hand” instead of “near”). When Jesus was born, His Father’s plan of salvation began its earthly fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is present today in the hearts of believers who acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It will reach its fullness when Jesus returns to reign over all in the final days.   Today’s question is not how near the Kingdom of God is to you, it’s how near you are to the Kingdom of God. Is it near enough that it affects everything you say and do, or is it just a comfortable 300 miles away, not having...