Focused Faith

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”  —Hebrews 12:2

Although I drive nearly 99% of the time, my wife never sleeps while I drive. She says that someone has to watch the road. Guilty as charged. I often look for wild game, natural beauty, and interesting people while I drive. My car must have some kind of telepathic steering feature because it turns whatever direction I look.

At a recent Unity Meal, Pastor Gary Tustin related a news story about a young teen that died in a car accident. Emergency personnel found a cell phone with a partial text message on it. Her cell phone and the text message became a “fatal distraction” to her. We must all beware of fatal distractions in ministry and in life. Gratefully, our Commonwealth has passed a law against texting while driving before I really caught on to that level of multi-tasking.

“How the mighty have fallen!” is the chorus that David sang as he mourned the death of King Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. 1:19). In recent history, we have watched many mighty ones: presidents, candidates, coaches, teachers, pastors, priests, bishops, husbands, and wives fall due to fatal distractions. How amazing and shocking. How frail and vulnerable we are. One minute, someone is celebrating their rise to the top, enjoying unbridled success, and the next moment, they crash and burn.

One way to avoid fatal distractions is by focusing our eyes and attention on the right thing. This past week, I heard a new definition of worship given by Dr. J. D. Walt of Asbury Seminary. Worship is “the Spirit empowered capacity to pay sustained attention to God.” Hebrews 12 exhorts us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” If are eyes are fixed on Jesus Christ, worldly distractions will be less attractive.

The technology age with all its benefits has definitely brought one dangerous by-product. Smart phones and ipads with tweets, texting, and updates have caused us to give continuous partial attention to everything. We give partial attention to the warm-blooded person right in front of us so we can check our most recent text, tweet, or facebook update. Continuous partial attention cuts against a Christian’s faith and a worshipping life.

The world with all its cares and allurements seeks to obscure our view of a Christ-centered life. In the Parable of the Sower, “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature” (Luke 8:14). Remember Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha? “Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he [Jesus] said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made” (Luke 10:39-40). Mary was focused while Martha was distracted.

What kind of faith do you have? Do you have a focused faith that pays sustained attention to the Lord? Or do you have a faith that is distracted by the cares and worries of this life? Life is full of possible fatal distractions, but Jesus is the only way to life in all its fullness. In the face of all the crises and demands of this life, Jesus invites us to come to Him and find rest and peace.

Re-Member

“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.”  — 1 Thessalonians 4:13

At a recent informational meeting for our new medical insurance plan, a pastor who serves on the Board of Pensions opened with a devotional on change. Everything changes. As the inspiring devotional continued (Really, it was inspirational—no sarcasm intended.) I began to daydream on how staying the same is much like being in a rut.

The idea of a rut made me remember a time, some thirty years ago, when I was hunting with my father-in-law on the farm. Pa, my affectionate name for him, was standing in the bed and leaning against the cab of my GMC 4-wheel drive pickup. We slowly churned along the muddy field road with all tires spinning. I didn’t even bother steering the truck for it churned straight ahead in the rutted path.

The spinning and the mud must have slowly turned the steering wheel, because all of a sudden, the truck jumped out of the rut and leapt forward and to the left, directly into a tree. The tree was large enough that it didn’t fall, and my solid steel pipe bumper didn’t budge. We stopped instantly. Pa was thrown forward a few inches against the truck cab. Nothing was broken: tree, truck, or Pa’s chest, but my ego was sorely bruised as were Pa’s ribs.

On his birthday last year, November 2, my father-in-law had a stroke. He survived in a reduced quality of life for nearly five months. In addition to being updated on our new insurance plan, the information meeting gave me the opportunity to remember Pa, his birthday, and some of the good times we shared together.

At this time of year, many people pause to remember loved ones who have passed on to the next life. Halloween actually got its name from the phrase, All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saints Day. Although many churches do not acknowledge All Saints Day, it does us good to take time and “re-member” our departed loved ones.

I once heard a minister teach that when we gather as the Church to receive Holy Communion we are “re-membering” as a Church. Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:24). We do not simply remember Jesus death, but we “re-member” ourselves to Christ and “re-member” ourselves with others of our church family. In the sacrament of Holy Communion, we recommit ourselves to the Lord and become a member again, re-member ourselves to the family of God.

As I reflected upon Pa’s absence from our lives, his memories became a present reality in my life once again. As we sing songs and hymns of praise this Sunday, we will be joining with him and all the heavenly hosts in worship. We grieve as Christians, but “not as those who have no hope” (1 Thes. 4:13). When we worship, we “re-member” ourselves with our departed loved ones and all the saints and angelic hosts in united praise of God.

Re-membering also looks ahead. When we worship and celebrate the sacraments, we “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). As we worship this Sunday and possibly remember those who have gone on before, let us re-member ourselves to the hope set before us. Someday, maybe soon, we will see the Lord and the glories of heaven firsthand.

Jesus is Coming

“This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” —Acts 1:11

Many of you have heard some version of the Chicken Little story. A small chick becomes fearfully obsessed that the sky is falling after an acorn falls on its head. Chicken Little sets out to tell the King that the world is about to end and gathers animal friends to join the journey. The story ends as a fox invites them to his home and eats them all. There are other versions with happier endings, but the moral of the story remains the same. Don’t be a chicken about everything or don’t believe everything you are told.

I lived my own version of Chicken Little, and it completely changed my life. In my faith journey at around age 17, I was seeking to find what it truly meant to live the Christian life. Previously, I thought believing God existed and trying to live a good life and going to church qualified as being a Christian. My girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife, described a Christian as someone who had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who had asked Jesus to come into their life and forgive their sins. To her (and Biblically I came to discover), a Christian lives everyday with God in their heart and life.

My Chicken Little story continued as I attended a service at her church where a preacher from Asbury College was sharing about the 1972 revival that had occurred at the college. He also talked about the Second Coming of Jesus. Having never heard about a “Second Coming,” I became very excited. As I left the church that night, I greeted the preacher, “My church doesn’t know that Jesus is coming back, but I’m going to tell them.” So, similar to Chicken Little, I headed off to tell the priest. After church the next Sunday, I went to my priest and tried to warn him about the second coming of Jesus. His response, although caring, honest, and probably truthful, did not meet my expectations. I never went back.

I went off to college that Fall knowing that Jesus loved me and wanted to have a personal relationship with me. I now knew that believing there was a God up there somewhere was not enough. I needed to walk and talk with Him everyday, but I was going off to college. I didn’t think this was a good time to make a religious commitment. So I postponed any decision on my part and ran from God my first three months at school. Running from God is never a peaceful journey (Ask Jonah). So after I returned to college the Sunday night following Thanksgiving break, I knelt at my dorm bed and asked for God’s forgiveness and prayed, “Lord, I’m done running. Come into my heart.” My life has never been the same since that day.

As I think about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I definitely don’t want to be a Chicken Little. I don’t want to be the guy who carries the sign, “The end is near.” But, as Christians, we believe that Jesus arose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and will return to judge the living and the dead. Jesus is coming back. There is a judgment day in everyone’s life when we will face God.

A challenge for Christians today is to be truthful without being judgmental. How would you or I respond to a young Chicken Little today? Would we share his/her enthusiasm about Jesus’ return? We must share the love of God and warn people of the coming judgment of God at the same time. Holiness and grace, love and justice go hand in hand. Jesus loves you. Invite Him into your life today as Savior and King. He is returning someday, maybe soon, as King and Judge.