We're All Terminal

This post may seem at first as though I am talking out both sides of my mouth. I believe if you read all the way through you will get the point and maybe it will make you do some thinking about your life. 

People from all walks of life tend to act like if you do certain things, or live in a certain way or exercise enough or eat all the right foods and avoid the wrong then you will live forever. I'm here to tell you that's just not the case. None of us are escaping death on this earth short of living until the Rapture of Christians. It is not out of the realm of possibility for anyone of us to be alive at the Rapture and the trumpet call of Jesus to call us to the sky with him but outside of that, we will most likely go into eternity with one final breath. The old saying goes "nothing is certain except death and taxes". 

Because so many believe what I just said in the above paragraph, they live life with the attitude "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die" or "I'm living for the here and now". I confess that there have been moments in my life where I have had this attitude. I do my best to keep it in check as much as possible because I know where it leads. I am a firm believer in the phrase "you are free to choose but you are NOT free from the consequences of those choices"! People do things. They participate in things that are potentially harmful because it feels good or is enjoyable now. They never give a thought to the underlying harm they are causing to their health when they consume harmful foods, drinks, pharmaceuticals, or the wrong fad supplements. They also never consider the harm from lack of exercise. Not just routine, cardio exercise but most people are actually stationary. They sit...at a desk, on the couch, in the recliner, in the car, on the bus, etc. and rarely move, with the exception of bending the arm to bring snacks and drinks to the mouth or push a button on the remote, phone or gaming system. 

Hang with me people... I'm heading somewhere. 

I am living proof that you'd be surprised what you can live through. I'm pretty sure many of those walking the earth are living proof because so many are ill for years and have no idea. Did you know that you can have an autoimmune disease for years before ever having anything show up in lab work?!  You may have mysterious symptoms that you can't figure out why they started or that confuse doctors but it can take years before labs point the way to the problem. 

Just because you are existing doesn't mean you are truly living. Jesus said that he came for us to have life and have it more abundantly. Yet many don't live it more abundantly because they truly can't. They are miserable in their symptoms. It is a chore to make it through the day for some folks. Many of these folks are unwilling to make any changes to help the situation. For some people they don't live an abundant life because of being bogged down mentally. They feel stuck in their current situation. Some live in the negative. Some live in anger and resentment. They get no joy in life because they are too focused on the bad to enjoy the good around them. Life is full of choices. 

We all have to decide for ourselves if we want to have the attitude of "we live and eventually die so I'll do what I want today regardless of consequences tomorrow". If that is your choice it's perfectly fine. It's your life! However, please stop griping when you have to face the consequences. 

We can also decide that I have already proven that "you'd be surprised what you can live through" and I don't want to do that anymore until I die. I want to have a good existence until the last breath and not have to deal with negative consequences of my choices. 

It's up to each one of us!  

Satan's Goals

Have you ever thought about Satan's power? I had a thought the other day about how Satan hates God and anyone who follows God. Interesting that there are so many in the world today that also hate God and those who follow Him, but that is another post for another day. One thought lead to another while I considered what Satan's ultimate goals are. 

The first goal of Satan is to keep people from getting saved. He doesn't want people to accept Jesus as their Savior. So, he uses his many tricks to keep as many people from salvation from hell as he can. He blinds people to the truth. He uses false doctrines. He uses worldly desires and selfishness to keep people from even inquiring about God and what God would want. He even keeps Christians occupied so that they stop witnessing. Yeah, Satan's ultimate goal is to keep people from turning to God. 

When Satan loses a battle for a soul to Jesus and their eternity is forever sealed, he moves on to his secondary goal. This goal is to render as many Christians as possible ineffective. He uses many tricks for this, too. Some of them overlap with the ones he uses on people before salvation. Distraction and preoccupation are two of the biggest tricks Satan uses on Christians. He takes focus off church, Bible reading, serving God and keeps minds and yes, hearts, busy with the cares of the world. He removes contentment with what is already and brings desires that cause bigger bills which leads to working more hours to pay for those bills. He also keeps parents so busy making sure their kids have more opportunities, more things,and more activities than the parents had so that little by little the things of God are squeezed out. Church services and activities begin to be missed for sports, dance recitals, school activities, and/or extra hours worked to pay for the aforementioned and then once you begin missing, it becomes easier to miss. And as I have blogged about before, sometimes when you begin the move away from God, it's farther back than you think!!! It will take more work to get back on track than it would have if the effort was just made to start with to keep God first. I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying it's harder. Just like it's taking much, much more effort to get this 52 year old broken down body back into good health and shape!! 

Barren busyness is one of Satan's best tricks to keep Christians from being effective for God. All the chores, errands, day to day living with the occasional trials fill up the time each day and pretty soon it's bed time and all of a sudden you realize that maybe you didn't read your bible or pray today or maybe you did  but never took time to tell anyone about Jesus or show forth His love by helping or caring for another person along the way. It happens to the best of us. The pressures of daily living are very consuming and at times downright overwhelming. We can pray for forgiveness and help to do better. That is the wonderful thing about a loving God who remembers we are dust and prone to backsliding but always allows u-turns back to His loving arms! 

When the trials or distractions become too much just tell Satan "Not today, Satan. You  can't have me or my family." 

Why Do You Go To Church?

This is a fair question to ask. As I observe the happenings in my own church and talk with pastors and pastor's wives and missionaries from around the world, I hear the same conclusion. That is that many sitting in churches are present only in body. Minds are mostly elsewhere. Only a fraction of those at church actually care about and are listening to the preaching and teaching going on around the room. This conclusion leads me to ask, "Why do you go to church?" 

I believe many go to church because they feel they are supposed to go. For many, it is a drudgery and an obligation that they must fill. These same people feel they are "Super Christian" because they have filled this obligation. They do not get involved in serving in the church. Many only show up when there is nothing more pressing or important going on in their life. Their heart is not truly in or for the church. It is just where they have always gone, possibly since childhood, and where they go when they choose to attend. They may even refer to the church as their church but they are not excited to be there. They do not invite others to join them. They are content to show up, sing a song or two from the hymnal, endure the preaching service and go home to get on with the rest of the day's obligations. They have no intention of allowing the preaching of God's Word to penetrate their heart or make changes in their life based on what the Bible says. It appears to just be show up, endure and go home so that they have fulfilled their duty. 

I say if this is you, why bother? If you don't see any point in church attendance besides fulfilling a duty to God and maybe even your pastor and you cannot get excited about going to your church to fellowship with others and learn and grow in God's Word; then it may be time to find a new church where you CAN get excited. Church should not be a drudgery. You should come as a willing vessel to learn and grow. Jesus said He would fill those who come thirsty. 

Let's look at what the Bible says the church was for (in no particular order)...
1. Fellowship with other believers Acts 2:42
2. Prayer Acts 2:42, Acts 12:5, 2 Cor. 1:11, James 5:15-16
3. Edification 1 Cor. 14:26, Eph. 4:11-12
4. Partaking of Lord's Supper 1 Cor. 11:20-34
5. Sending Missionaries Acts 15:3, Rom. 10:14-15, Phil. 4:15-18
6. Settling disputes Matt. 18:15-17, 1 Cor. 5:1-5

All of these things are good reasons to attend church, To get involved in the church. As I have stated before in other posts, the church is not for the lost but for the saved. It is for the Christian. Hebrews 10:23-25 is still in the Bible! The fellowship is for provoking each other to love and to good works. It is to share our burdens with each other (Gal. 6:1-2) It is to pray for one another. It is to help one another. 

Some folks come to church either right as church starts or even a few minutes late (this I will never understand why people show up consistently late - set the alarm a few minutes earlier and be on time!) and they leave as soon as the service is over and don't stop to speak to anyone. For them, there is no fellowship at all, sweet or otherwise. They carry all their burdens alone. They have fulfilled their duty but for them church isn't sweet. It isn't enjoyed. They gained nothing and because of that cannot give out anything to others. 

So, why do you go to church? This is a good question to ponder and check your own motives. Just because you show up from time to time, and give money in the offering to support the church bills and the missions fund, does not mean you are a great Christian. Church should be something you enjoy. It should be somewhere you want to come and learn and grow in your walk with the Lord. It should be a place where you desire to be involved and to serve Christ. If it is not any of these things, I strongly suggest you either find a church where you can participate fully or get your heart right and serve where you are.