Monday, May 2, 2011

What's Your Excuse?

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

-- Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

We are a people full of excuses. We’ve got an excuse for everything. Especially when we might have to do something we’ve never done before. We might have to get dirty, make a few financial sacrifices, get a little less sleep. We might have to care for someone who isn’t exactly someone we would choose as a friend. We would have to make an effort for someone who has nothing to offer us in return.

We couldn’t possibly go on a mission trip to Indonesia, Africa or Haiti. We know we couldn’t. We aren’t wealthy and we can’t give a million dollars to help anyone. The little bit we can afford wouldn’t matter anyway. Or so we tell ourselves. We simply don’t have time to volunteer, what with the kids and the spouse and the job and all those activities. No time for someone we don’t even know. Besides, there are people to do that. People who get paid to do it. People who are called to do it. People who enjoy doing it. Not us. Never us.

Of course, we can’t forget those people who think those who suffer brought it on themselves. People should get a job, they’re quick to say. If they don’t have anything, it’s because of their own bad choices. These people are content to live in their own self-righteous world and let those around them suffer. They go to church on Sunday. They place some money in the offering plate. In their minds, they’re doing their part to be good Christians. They really don’t have a clue.

Max Lucado tells us that 1 billion people are hungry in the world today. There is more than enough food to feed them. Except the haves just aren’t willing to share with the have nots. I know. Logistics are a nightmare. But we tend to think that God has given us a world without enough for everyone. That isn’t true. There is enough food. We just don’t have enough Jesus in our hearts.

Or rooms in the inn. Again, Lucado tells us there are 145 million orphans in the world.  Nearly 236 million Americans call themselves Christians. So American Christians could -- by themselves -- provide a home for all the orphans in the world. How many of you have an extra bedroom in your home? Yeah. There are lots of extra bedrooms in this world but even if we could work out all the international relations stuff, the owners aren’t willing to share them with a stranger, even if that stranger is a child.

We look in the mirror and think that the person we see could never change the world or even some small part of it. We assume we’re not smart enough, educated enough, connected enough or religious enough to make a difference.

We forget that the disciples weren’t either. Think about it. They were fishermen. A tax collector. Just regular folks who were neither well-educated nor well-traveled. But they loved Jesus and they believed in Him. They had the fire of the Holy Spirit within them. They understood that while they could do nothing alone, they could do anything with God leading the way. And they did.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Start Today

"And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again." -- Romans 11:23

Max Lucado once wrote a book titled In the Grip of Grace. He reminded readers that if cannibal and mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer did accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and repented before he died, then God welcomed him into heaven. With Jesus, redemption is available to anyone -- no matter what they've done.

Or what we've done. It's never too late for what Beth Moore terms a do-over. We can always start anew, so long as we start with Jesus. That's what Paul was trying to tell the Jews. They'd rejected the Christ but it wasn't too late. They could be grafted in to the family of believers.

Do you ever feel like you've veered off the path God set out for you? Do you look back and wonder how you managed to mess it all up? Do you wish you could take a different road, maybe give a little more and take a lot less? Maybe instead of just getting by, you could make a difference. Maybe you could even be someone easily identified as a Christian by how you live your life.

It's never too late to change your attitude and your actions. You could start right now, this moment, and ask Jesus to come into your heart and direct your life. You can live today the way God has called you to live. No matter what you've done or where you've been. Today you are grafted in to the family of God.