Building Bridges

There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12


As we've been driving cross country lately (we left Maine last Monday and are currently in Texas headed for New Mexico), I've been noticing a lot of road construction. That in itself is not unusual - annoying, but not unusual. What IS interesting is that in almost every state, much of the road construction has centered around building bridges - or rather, RE-building bridges.

In just the little bit of news I've managed to keep up with over the past few years, I remember specifically two major incidents involving highway bridges collapsing, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries. So I thought that might explain the attention to the bridges I've observed of late. I don't know if the repairs were legislated or voluntary, but I think it's a great idea - and not just because I cross so many of them on a regular basis. A faulty bridge is dangerous. It is closely akin to walking on thin ice. By the time you realize there is a problem, it is generally too late to avoid serious consequences.

In our world today, many are travelling on faulty bridges that they think will lead to life. The problem is, unless someone who sees they are in danger warns them, only death awaits. Whether it is fame, power, achievement, money, good works, religion, or some other "bridge", all of these methods are shaky in the beginning, and ultimately all will collapse.

There is only one way to heaven, only one bridge that will not collapse: saving faith in Jesus Christ based on His sacrifice on the cross. Only genuine repentance - that not only acknowledges "I'm on the wrong bridge," but that also turns around, gets off the wrong path and on the right one - produces genuine faith. And only genuine faith leads to salvation.

Is the bridge you're on safe? Don't take chances. Your life depends on it - forever!

Just a thought...

(graphic from http://www.heartlight.org/ )

The Desires of Your Heart

Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

I commented a couple of days ago on how the Lord often chooses to use us while we are doing things we may not necessarily “like” on our own. That is not to say the God wants to make us miserable, or that His plan for us is going to be something that we will be unhappy doing. Quite the opposite is true.

What often happens is that God chooses to move us out of our comfort zone into a place where we must rely more fully on Him. As Christians, we are fond of talking about the faith that we have, and we sing about how we are “desperate for Him” and “lost without Him”. But the actual working of faith in our lives is often very different from the faith that we profess.

It is “out of our comfort zone” where we come to understand that God is far less concerned with our comfort than with our holiness. It is in those uncomfortable places that we discover if we are going to follow Him only when it’s convenient and when He’s letting us do things our own way, or if we really do trust Him with our lives.

But, you say, “Doesn’t the Bible say that God will give us the desires of our hearts?”

Absolutely. I think, though, that when we look at that promise as a sort of “blank check” from God, we completely misinterpret what He is saying. If God actually gave me everything my heart desires, it would go against the very nature of God. He is GOOD. And what I have found, and what Scripture confirms, is that my heart is deceitful – it will mislead me.

So what I find in this promise of God to give me the desires of my heart is not that He is offering me a blank check of self-indulgence. Rather, what happens is He gives me the desires of my heart – in other words, when I am walking closely with Him, I desire what He desires.

In real life, what that means is that I can do things I never thought I would be able to do. I can enjoy things that I could never even attempt in my own strength. I can even ‘like’ things that would otherwise strike great fear and trembling in my heart. (And truthfully, sometimes there is still a little fear and trembling – that’s just the enemy trying to rob me of a blessing. Fortunately, the love of God casts out fear, so trusting in Him moves me past the fear.)

So rest assured that God’s plan for you is not to make you miserable and to force you to do something that you don’t want to do. He may just want to broaden your horizons and introduce you to opportunities you never thought possible!

Just a thought…

The Irony of It All...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

It's ironic that in all my years of newsletters, I am not sure if I've ever written a "thought" on Jeremiah 29:11.

Also ironic is the very nature of what I do...

I was thinking today how very much out of my comfort zone most of my life is these days. And I was also struck by the fact that most of the people who know me now wouldn't really see the irony in what I do.

The joke within my family is that we do what we do - full-time, very public ministry - and I don't like people! Now, that statement is not entirely true, but it does bring home the point that left to myself, I could happily live on a deserted island. I would gladly take the back seat in life, stay out of the limelight, and file cards in a library somewhere.

By nature, I am NOT a social person. Even now, though I speak to groups of students and children on a regular basis, put me in a room where I have to relate to people on a more personal level, and I panic! Not noticeably, I hope, but definitely, inside, I just would like to go hide in a back corner somewhere and sneak out after everybody else is gone.

I don't do that - usually - because in spite of the joke that I don't like people, the truth is that I have this LOVE for people that compels me to step out of what is comfortable. And really, more than a love for people is a love for the Savior who stepped far out of His comfort zone for me.

Not too long ago, I was at a church that did what they called a "spiritual gift inventory". I was very disappointed in the process because basically all that was accomplished is that people took a little test that confirmed what they LIKE to do. And while I certainly think that if you can do something for the Lord that you like, you should by all means do it, I don't think that the Lord necessarily chooses to use us most effectively while we are doing the things we like. I think that His purposes more often involve stretching us beyond what we can do comfortably on our own.

I am reminded of the apostle Peter who encountered Jesus one day while he was well within his comfort zone : the fisherman was in the boat (see Matthew 14). It didn't really take a lot of faith for Peter to stay in the boat- that's something he had experience at. But stepping out of the boat - now that's a different story! The scary thing about walking on water, Peter discovered, was that you can't do it on your own. The ONLY way to do it is by keeping your eyes on Jesus, walking literally by faith and not by sight.

So when God said through Jeremiah "I know the plans I have...", He was referring to plans that would be different from our own - plans that might be uncomfortable or scary or completely out of character. That was the case with the captives to whom this verse was written, and that will be the case with you and I as well.

So before you go getting too comfortable with your plans, better see what the Lord has in mind. It probably won't be easy, and it may not be anything you ever pictured yourself doing, but hold on tight - it will be an amazing journey!

Just a thought...