Crossing the Finish Line

Behold, I tell you a mystery, We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

I bet you did this to your kids, just like your parents did it to you.

You better do as I say before I count to three! One! Two! And hopefully, if you were like I was, your parents rarely had to say, Three! because we all know what sort of trouble came our way if we pushed our parents that far.

Did you know that God has a counting system just like this? Paul tells us about God's last trumpet call in our verses today, and when that last trumpet sounds, then that's it, time's up, your chance is over.

When Paul says, last trumpet, he is probably referring to a practice of the Roman army, who would sound one trumpet to instruct the army to prepare to move. Get packed up, roll up the cot, and fold up the tent. Then a second trumpet would sound, which told the army it was time to line up. Finally, a third trumpet would sound, the last trumpet, telling the army that it was time to march-leave base camp and follow the general.

God's trumpets go like this: The first one sounds to your heart, saying, Hey, if you're not prepared to leave, then you'd better get ready. It's time to stop living for here and now and start getting ready to go.

Then the second one sounds, telling you, It's time to fall in line, time to get right with God, time to be steadfast and immovable. Time is short and it's time to get your life straight. Finally, the last trumpet will sound, and if you have ignored the first two trumpets then it will be too late. You will be left behind as the army moves out without you. And when that time hits, you will not like your options for trying to catch up.

But the good news is that our Heavenly Father has not counted to three yet. There is still time. Turn now from living for the world and put your faith in Jesus. Then, when that final trumpet sounds, you will be caught up with the Lord to enjoy the blessings of Heaven.

Prayer Father God,

I hear you counting to three and I want to respond to Your voice. I choose now to listen to You and believe in Jesus. Please help me to live for You as I look to finish this life well!

Amen

Wrong Way Worship

Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27

Do you know what would hurt? It would hurt to have run a race and finished first, thinking that you have won, until a judge approaches you to say, You're disqualified. You violated the rules of the race, so you didn't win.

The rules of our race of life are pretty simple: God comes first, and we're supposed to look and act like Him because we're His kids. This means a lot of things, but you can boil it down to being this simple.

This whole God-first thing can be tricky sometimes. It means that our money doesn't belong to us, our family doesn't belong to us, our house doesn't belong to us, our car(s) don't belong to us, and our lives don't belong to us. In fact, nothing truly belongs to us. All of it is perishable, given to us for a time so that we have a chance to learn right stewardship and be entrusted with things of eternal value.

When we get this priority right-letting God guide us in all of these things that deceptively appear to be ours-that is true worship. In fact, only when we do these things have we truly made the Lord our God. If we are not following God in what He says concerning these things then we are only pretending that He is our God, while really we serve something else.

Serving God means that we don't tell Him, No. Our answer is always, Yes, Daddy. It means that we follow Him in our actions and not just in our words.

When we serve God only with our words, giving lip service to obedience, then we run the risk of being disqualified. We must serve Him with both our words and our actions, our heart and our hands.

Run with certainty. Fight the true fight. Discipline your body. Purpose yourself to this end so that you are not disqualified.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for Jesus' example as one who stayed focused till He finished the race! I know that I need help to follow the rules of putting You first and living like You. Please help me, giving me all that I need to finish my race and not be disqualified!

Amen

Slave 2 Saved

And Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.' Exodus 14:12-13

So, we just had Christmas. Did you get anything new?

New things are fun, at least for most people. The novelty of it hasn't worn off. It hasn't gotten any dings or scratches yet. It's new! It's fun! But there's one thing about new things-

you have to leave the old behind, and this is not always as easy or fun.

Consider a marriage-it's the start of something new, but it's also the ending of your single life. No more single life; you can't go back that way anymore. Or how about having a baby? That's amazing, but it is rarely easy, and not all of it is fun (labor pains and sleepless nights, anyone?). Or how about the death of a loved one? Boy, that always brings a new reality for us, but none of us have fun with that transition.

New things come at the cost of the old and we need look no further than Israel's exodus from Egypt to prove it. In an incredible story, Israel had just witnessed the ten plagues that God sent on Egypt-a raw demonstration of His power and the reality of His intent for them. Then the Lord Himself shows up to lead them out of the country, taking the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. In this appearance, He never left them, remaining as a continual, physical, right-before-their-eyes demonstration that He was with them and for them.

But when they came to the Red Sea and became trapped by Pharaoh's chariot army, they panicked, complained, and longed for their old life. Moses stood firm. He told them that they really had left the old, and that the new was bearing down upon them.

At God's direction, Moses raised his staff and the Red Sea parted. God Himself held back the Egyptians until Israel had finished crossing, and then released them to find their doom as the Sea came crashing back together. Israel crossed over the old into the new, forever leaving the old behind. Paul teaches us the same thing, saying that old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

This means that, if you believe in Jesus, the old is gone. Have you let go of your old life and truly received your new one in Christ? I'm telling you, this new life is the original and best Christmas gift ever.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for leading me into my new life! I choose today to leave my old life behind and fully embrace my new life in You, but I need Your help. Please show me what it means to live in the new life You have given me!

Amen

This Changes Everything

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. Luke 24:49

Who is doing the work in your life? As you go through each day, do you find that it takes all your strength to just get by?

We all know that life is not supposed to be lived this way, but we don't know the alternative. It's like we go through life like a child riding their broomstick horse. The farther they go, the more tired they get because they have to do all the galloping.

Our lives go through the cycle-we go to church, we go home, we go to work, we go home, we go to church again-and we say we believe, but how many of us are still doing all the galloping?

Jesus has a better way for us today, and that way is the Holy Spirit. He promised that He would send the Holy Spirit, and when the Promise came, He would clothe us with power from on high.

The word picture Jesus paints for us in this promise is incredible. He literally shows us that we will be clothed, wrapped in dynamite power from the ultimate of sources-Himselfwhere He is enthroned on high. This is top shelf power!

When we are clothed in this kind of power, everything changes. We are no longer forced to weary ourselves running our legs ragged trying to gallop our way through life. Instead, we ride on a mount who doesn't need to be guided, who never grows tired, but pushes on and rushes to His conclusion without ever missing His footing, never hesitating, threading His way with perfect skill through the challenges of life.

He wants you now to crawl up into His lap and enjoy the provisions that He has come to provide-the removal of fear, doubt, gloom, and loneliness-and just be with Him and enjoy all that He has accomplished for you.

We do not need to wear ourselves out in the old way of doing things anymore. God has given us something new, clothing us in power from on high.

Come to Jesus today and just ride and enjoy all that the He has accomplished for you.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for all You have done for me! I believe in Your promise that I have been clothed with power in the Holy Spirit and I ask You to help me live more fully in that power every day!

Amen

Welcome to Corinth

Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:6-8

Have you ever met that kind of person? You know, the kind who's just been gifted at something. Maybe it's money, or maybe relationships, or maybe school, but whatever it was, it always came easy.

Maybe you are that kind of person. Either way, I want you to know today that we, as a church, have not come up short in anything. We are not lacking. In fact, we are stacked with blessings. But as wonderful as God's blessings on us are and have been, we cannot for a moment begin to take it all for granted or somehow allow ourselves to use His blessings for the wrong purposes.

No, the question isn't whether we've come up short in some way. The question is whether we are using His blessings faithfully. And in this, we can learn from Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, because they had also been blessed beyond their needs, yet they had come completely off track because they were now using their blessings selfishly.

They had forgotten giving. They had forgotten serving. The only thing they were faithful to was their sin.

So if we are supposed to be faithful with the blessings we have been given, then what is our goal? I mean, what's our target, our aim, our purpose and destination so that we can be faithful on purpose?

Paul answers this question for us, too, naming our focus for faithfulness nine times in the first nine verses of 1 Corinthians. Do you know whom he names? Jesus Christ. He names our Lord, Jesus Christ.

He is our aim, our focus, our desire, and our measure of faithfulness. Are we using our blessings for Him, for His kingdom, according to His will? Or are we using our blessings for our desires, our flesh, or maybe even for the best charitable organization we think we can find?

The truth is that until we have made Jesus the focus not only of our faith, but of our entire lives, giving Him full say in what we do with ourselves and all that belongs to us, then our faithfulness is in danger of falling short.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

I know that one day You will hold me accountable for how faithful I have been with the blessings You have given me. Please teach me what it means to be faithful to You with all I am and all I have!

Amen

The Signs that Lead to Sin

And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.' Exodus 19:11-12

Have you ever really thought about how good we have it in this New Testament Age? If not, then you really need to consider our verses today.

These are verses that would stand out for us as an amazing contrast between the Old Cov-

enant and the New. The Old Covenant, the old way of life for the people of God, was pretty unapproachable when it came to actually being in the very Presence of God. In fact, it was only the high priest who could go in past that big curtain that separated the rest of the temple from the Holy of Holies. He could only go in on behalf of the people and only one time a year.

And so, here, God is saying that you're going to have to keep your distance and anybody that gets too close is dead on the spot, right? You're going to die. Don't let the people get too close.

What deal do we get in the New Covenant? Gang, listen, you've got to be praising the Lord for this. He says the opposite to you. He says, Draw near to me. Draw near to me! The access and availability for you to be in My Presence has now been paid for and atoned through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Run into my arms, Jesus says. Cry out, Abba, Daddy. You know, our God never changes. Even when He spoke to Israel, telling them to keep away, His heart was one of a Heavenly Father who desires fellowship in the raising of His kids, in developing us, in maturing us. But still in that relationship with Israel, they could only get so close. The rest they would have to live vicariously through someone such as Moses, on their behalf going up and meeting with God.

And yet for us, God welcomes us into His Presence. In fact, He even makes His Presence live in us through the Holy Spirit.

We have access to God that Israel couldn't even imagine having. The only question is, how often do we take advantage of it? How often do we really camp out and enjoy the Presence of the Lord?

Ask the Lord to make His Presence known to you today, and when He does, take the time to rest in it.

Prayer Lord God,

You are such an incredibly awesome and powerful God! Thank You for giving me access to Your Presence! Please meet me in Your Presence today and show me how to truly live in the fullness of this amazing gift that You give me!

Amen

His Presence

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Luke 2:9

Years ago, I invited a young kid up on stage during a sermon to open a present to help depict what happened with the angels and the shepherds. As this little guy ripped the present open, he was excited and surprised by what was inside: a horn. What in the world does a blow horn have to do with Christmas? I would say everything! It was a heavenly blow horn that hovered over those shepherds on that otherwise quiet first Christmas.

Our verse today says that the shepherds were greatly afraid. They weren't just greatly afraid, they were terrified! This is exactly what God's Presence is meant to represent for us. It's like a good wake-up call. That's exactly what the angels meant to do-to barge into their lives and say, Hey! Everything's different now. Everything that you've been waiting for has now arrived.

I love the shepherds' response. They say, Let us now go. Not, Well, let's think about it. Not, When we get around to it. Certainly not, Well, I don't know if I can get off work to do this.

They said, Let us now go. Just like they heard a starting horn-ready, get set, go! They were off to Bethlehem to find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. Those shepherds dropped everything, and everything became about one thing. Has that happened for you? Is Jesus everything you live for?

The horn of Heaven got the shepherds' attention. They listened carefully, and they were off. God wants us to listen up. There's a lot happening in the world right now. There are a lot of things coming down the pike, and if you are out of the earshot of God, it's time to get closer. It's time to wake up, catch up, and keep up. It's time to listen up, like the shepherds did. It's also time to look up.

Why should we look up? Because there is another horn that's about to blow. It's called the Rapture horn. Are you living to hear the sound of that horn? 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says, For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.

It's going to sound. I hope and pray that you are living your life to hear that horn, because it represents the gift of his Presence in your life.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You are coming again soon! I am waiting eagerly for Your coming and Your presence. Let my ears always be listening for Your call!

Amen