Virtual Devotions

January 25, 2007

“Now, all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter; fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man.” – Ecclesiastes 12:13

Dear Friends,

I remember in the movie “City Slickers”, Billy Crystal’s character went on a cattle drive hoping to realize the meaning of his life.  Near the end of the movie, the rugged, old cowboy who led the cattle drive told him the meaning of life was just one thing.  When asked what that one thing was, he replied, “That’s for you to figure out.”

Probably for as long as people have walked the earth, mankind has wondered what is the purpose of life.  And we search in many places, things and experiences.  Ironically, Solomon wrote down the answer for us nearly 3,000 years ago in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Solomon is famed for having been the wisest and richest man to have ever lived.  In addition to being credited with the authorship of much of the Book of Proverbs and the Song of Songs, he also wrote Ecclesiastes, a book of great wisdom, which I fear, we all too often overlook.

Being free to do whatever he pleased and having the wisdom and riches to do it all, Solomon embarked on a journey of discovery for the meaning of life.  He explored many things and each time he found the same result:

Wisdom?                     Meaningless.

Pleasures?                   Meaningless.

Folly?                          Meaningless.

Toil?                           Meaningless.

Envy?                          Meaningless.

Advancement?             Meaningless.

Riches?                       Meaningless.

Everything?                 Meaningless, Meaningless!

It seems sort of depressing.  Here was a man with untold riches and wisdom.  He had it all and did it all and in the end his assessment was it was all meaningless.  Why?  Because there is no meaning to life, no purpose that we can hold on to if we do not first have a right relationship with God. 

How do we have a right relationship with God? The Bible tells us simply.  Believe in the One He has sent, Jesus Christ. Without the hope of eternal life through faith in Christ, everything else is meaningless. 

In Christ,

David

January 18, 2007

“Therefore my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” – 1 Corinthians 10:14

Dear Friends,

This will probably not be a popular opinion, but I’m going to say it anyway.  I don’t like “American Idol”.

If you are familiar with the show, you’ll recognize what I say is true.  It starts by humiliating those who can’t sing with the ultimate goal of elevating someone who can sing to the status of an idol.

Now, don’t roll your eyes and say it’s not that kind of idol.  True, idol worship in the Old Testament is easy to recognize.  Someone makes a statue out of clay, wood or metal, calls it their god and worships it.  But idol worship today is much harder to recognize because it isn’t always something tangible and I am confident it is something we all are guilty of.

The dictionary’s definition of idol says it well, “Anything of excessive admiration or devotion”.   That is the sin of idolatry.   We put our admiration and devotion of whatever it is before our admiration and devotion to God.

The idolatry of American Idol is not so much about the person who wins; it’s how the people who watch it are so obsessed with the show itself.  It’s all they talk about, they rearrange their schedules to watch it, put up pictures of their favorite idol and run out to buy the CD as soon as it hits the shelf.  They are totally devoted to this show.  Does this sound familiar to you?

In my life, I have had many idols and if I search my conscience today, I’m confident I will quickly recognize others.   I recall once praying about an idol in my life and God imparted to me this understanding, “Just put Me first.”

And that is where we need to be – with God first in our lives.   I know a lot of Christians think American Idol is a great show.  I’ll leave that to their conscience for now.  But I will encourage all of you to ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart to reveal whatever idol you may have.  I’m not going to tell you to give it up, but I am going to tell you to ask yourself each time you pull that idol out if you are putting it first or are you putting God first.

In Christ,

David

January 11, 2007

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” - Acts 17:11

Dear Friends,

If you are looking for Biblical verses that you can and should use in your everyday life, Acts 17:11 is a perfect verse to begin with.

When Paul came to Berea, he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Having been well trained in the Jewish Scriptures and a seasoned evangelist, I’m confident that Paul gave a very persuasive presentation to the Jews in the synagogue there.  And we are told that the Jews received the message with great eagerness, an attribute I’m sure more pastors wished their congregations shared.

And after the Bereans heard this wonderful, well-presented message from Paul, what do you think they did?  Did they just go home and say, “Gee honey, that was an interesting sermon”?  Or did they immediately grab onto what Paul said and embraced it as truth?  No, they did what you and I and every prudent believer should do.  They examined the Scripture to see if what he said was true.

Your pastor may be a good and upright man, the woman who leads your Bible study may have a degree from a renowned institution and the devotions you read on my website may seem to be valid.  So, should you take what they say as truth?  No.  It is your responsibility as a believer in Christ to test everything against the one truth we can be sure of – God’s Word, The Holy Bible.

In a later message, I’ll talk about why we can trust the Bible, but speaking Christian to Christian, I’ll begin with the presumption that you have at least a general trust of the Bible as a basis of your faith.  And if I can start with that premise, then I hope you are reading the Scriptures every day.  As Peter said, like newborn babies we should crave spiritual milk.  What better substance to fill our tummies and grow up on than the Holy Scripture?

But you may not be a regular reader of the Bible.  Well, it’s a new year and a new opportunity.  For many, the question is where to start.  Let me offer this suggestion.  Each Sunday, write down the verse or verses that your priest or pastor preaches on.  Then, go home and read those verses and the verses before and after them so that you can get an understanding of the context.  Then ask yourself if you agree with the preacher’s sermon.  If you do, then be assured that what was said complies with Scripture.  If not, either go to him and ask him to explain why he believes what he said, or if your pastor intimidates you, and unfortunately that is often the case, ask an elder or someone you believe has a good understanding of the Bible about it.  Either way, if you do these things, you will not only develop a noble character as the Bereans, but you will come to a better understanding of you faith in Jesus Christ.

And it is by His name we pray,

David

January 4, 2007

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” – 2 Corinthians 4:17

Dear Friends,

Just a couple of days ago, I had an exasperated colleague on the phone asking me when 2007 would be over.  To better understand her pessimism, you need to know that I work in the health insurance industry and on January 1 thousands of new members officially came onto our plan.  For the customer, there can be frustrations if the health plan doesn’t work to their expectation.  For us on the inside, the frustration is magnified a thousand times as we try to resolve unforeseen issues.

A second colleague called not long afterward.  She expressed an annoyance at my positive attitude saying that she couldn’t understand optimistic people.  I told her we could have a conversation about faith, which is the basis of my optimism, but she declined. 

It was during this conversation that I recalled the words of the apostle Paul.  Paul was a man who was imprisoned, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, bit by a poisonous snake, the list goes on, you name it and pretty much it happened to Paul.  Yet he kept a view that so few people today possess.  Paul had an eternal view of his existence.

When our life today is compared with our eternity with Christ, all that afflicts us loses its control over us.    We can come to see our troubles as “light and momentary” rather than heavy, prolonged burdens.

Jesus Christ invited those who were overburdened and weary to come to Him and take up His yoke that is easy and light.  If you are a Christian, rest in His assurance that when you are with Him, all that seemed so dreadful now will seem as nothing.  If you are not a Christian, Jesus invites you to repent of your sins and turn to Him in faith.  I won’t say that you won’t have troubles, but I will say that He will help you put them in perspective.

In Christ,

David