Never say “DIE”

Last month, I learned that my pancreatic cancer had returned. My oncologist’s first words were, “you must start treatment immediately.” Considering how quickly the cancer had advanced since my last treatments, I said 'no.' But more to the point, I have God's perfect peace about “going home,” an event some refer to as death.

But John says we “in” Christ have already “passed from death to life” (1 John 3:14), and will never die. As Jesus’ death is in the “past,” ours too. And as He lives, we too.

“Passed” (not “past”) means to move beyond. As long as we are on earth, there are things in the “past” we cannot seem to get “passed”—things that still affect us, even if only indirectly. In light of this, think again of Paul’s declaration, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new person. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). Admittedly, this proclamation is somewhat elusive while we are bound by time and space. But after we “pass” out of time into eternity, our newness will be profoundly palpable.

New Year—New You!

I am sure we are all wondering what changes lie ahead this year, hoping they are “good” (as defined by us). Change equals growth—physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Still, even though we know we this, we are quite change resistant, unless the changes are under our control, and happen to coincide with our own plans.

But, God’s predestined plan is clear: to renew our inner man day by day (1 Cor. 4:16); to conform us to the image of Jesus (Rom. 8:28); and bring about our transformation (Rom. 12:2). The words ‘renew,’ ‘transform,’ and ‘conform’ all denote “change.” In particular, the word ‘renew’ means to become newer (a word for which we have no English equivalent), God's way of producing Christ-likeness in us, one day at a time.

None of us knows what changes God has pre-planned for us in this new year. But this truth should sustain us: If any person is in Christ, He is “new” (2 Cor. 5:17), and yet, becoming “newer” every day. Walk in this “newness” (Rom. 6:4), and by the end of 2014, you will have become a new, i.e., “newer,” you.

Plow Monday

This is a heads-up to any one who doesn't know that a week from today is “Plow Monday,” the start of the English agricultural year. Of course, no good farmer needs to be told this. He knows the time to plow, or plant. Just imagine if he didn’t.

Not being much of a farmer, I thought 2013 was my season for planting. Altha and I had moved to a new home, new state, ready for ‘new’ things. But then, God began plowing. Familiar with Hosea’s words “It is time to break up your fallow [unplowed] ground” (Hosea 10:12), I figured I had some hard soil that needed breaking up before I could be fully productive! Little did I know how much!

But, God is the archetypal agronomist—who “instructs the farmer and teaches him the right way to plow” (Is 28:24). While I do not fully understand everything, I know He cares enough not to leave me fallow. When David was in turmoil, he said, “I have calmed (meaning to "level or make smooth") my soul” (Ps. 131:2). When the plowing starts, will you take calm in your Heavenly Father's horticultural wisdom?

The New Normal

In our culture of constant change, it can be difficult to figure out what “normal” is!  The dictionary definition is “that which conforms to an accepted standard.” Given that standards shift like the wind, “normal” is subject to change—so there will always be a “new normal.”

Last week at the Democratic Convention, a young man spoke about 'new' family values—he was raised by two mothers, lesbians. He was there to thank the Democratic Party for ‘normalizing’ gay families. Then the next day, coincidentally, I read about a new Fall TV sitcom, called “The New Normal,” that will feature two gay men raising a child they have by a surrogate.

In my lifetime I have seen a lot of “new normal’s.” I remember when black and white TVs and bow ties were normal. I remember when it was normal for grocery stores to be closed on Sundays. And more soberly, I remember when out-of-wedlock pregnancy was not normal and abortion was illegal.

Obviously, what used to be “normal” changed.  But if “normal” is so subjective, why are so many believers trying to be “normal”?  Rather than being defined by the world's shifting standards, shouldn't we be conforming to God's?  Who knows? Our lives just might appear refreshingly and delightfully abnormal to all the normal people around us.  Our standards could even become the "new normal!"

The “First Time”

After Gingrich won the election in South Carolina, the media reported this is the “first time” since the modern primary system began that there have been 3 different winners in each of the first 3 contests.  Following a year of unprecedented events (weather and politics), "first times" are becoming normal.

“First times” have different connotations, i.e., the “first kiss,” the “first job,” the “first day of school.”  Each evokes its own “first” feelings. Most “first times” produce anxiety, a fear of the unfamiliar, i.e.,the “first time” you gave a public speech, or your "first time" driving on the freeway, or the “first time” you sky-dived. Generally we don’t like those feelings, and are quite glad to have them behind us.  The second time is so much easier!

It occurs to me that life is full of “first times” when you are young, and when you are older they are fewer, either by circumstance or choice. What I mean is as people get older they reduce the number of unfamiliar things—they cling to the familiar. But if we are “new” in Christ and things are continually being made “new” and we are walking in the “newness” of life, then it seems to me the “first times” never end—with one exception. The “first time” you die will be your “last.” And then there will be an eternity of “first times” (but without any fear!). "Behold, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5).

Have a “New” Year!

With each passing year, I am more grateful for the “newness of life” in Christ (Rom. 6:4). Though natural men may call me a senior citizen, as a spiritual man, I am actually getting newer, “being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).  The world says I am the sum total of everything I have ever done, including my failures (ugh!) But the Bible says "all things are new" (2 Cor. 5:17).  And it is the new that defines me, not the old.  My life is now being “summed up in Christ” (Eph. 1:10).

When God created the world He separated each day with the curtain of night. Yesterday is behind the curtain.  Regardless of yesterday's failure, today is a new start.  “His mercies are new every morning” (Lam. 3:23). That doesn’t mean I can’t learn from the past; it just means I am not going to live in the past and let it hold me back.  

Paul said, “One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Phil. 3:13-14).  How can you make this a “new” year? Leave yesterday behind; after all, you can’t change it. All of God's today’s are brand new.  Don't waste another day in bondage to the past. When Christ was buried, so was your past!  Enjoy your freedom.  Walk in the newness of life!

If only we could turn back time as easily as we can turn back the clock!

Everyone (in the U.S.) will turn back their clocks one hour today. And I am afraid that some (or many) will wish they could turn back yesterday, or last year. They wish they could go back and turn back a decision that set them back.

But such is backward thinking. Your past is not fatal; your mistakes are not final; and your failures are not the end. God’s deposit in you is non-refundable, and His call is irrevocable. He does not change His mind, and He does not second-guess His decision. Jesus said no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom (Luke 9:62). And our Father in heaven refuses to bring back to His mind any of your past sins, declaring emphatically, "I will never think of them again.” (Is. 43:25)

God will never turn His back on you. So as you turn your clock back today, it's a good time to stop looking back, and start coming back to the new thing awaiting you. He who sits on the throne says, "Behold, I am making all things new." (Rev. 2:15)

What do PCs, Typewriters, and Dinosaurs have in Common?

Things are moving too fast. Every year newer, faster digital devices replace the old ones. Sitting at Starbucks, with my 3-year old laptop, next to young people with I-Pads and Tablets makes me feel self-conscious. I imagine they must be thinking, “He’s just an old man; what do you expect?”

The first personal computer I ever bought sits on the book shelf in my library. I just can’t bring myself to throw it out—after all, it's an antique—an original Apple Macintosh (circa, 1984). It’s now a dinosaur, of course. But undoubtedly, the laptop from which I am writing at this very moment will also be a dinosaur in twenty-seven years. It’s only a matter of time before the PC goes the way of typewriters, cassette recorders, and 8-tracks, as the sale of  hand-held mobile devices already outpaces them.  And you can bet the PC's days are numbered by the invention of “gizmos” that Steve Jobs and the like haven’t even dreamed up yet!

So what is my point? Everything in the world is passing away (John 2:17). Everything has a limited existence on this Earth. Nothing lasts forever. Our life on earth is a temporary assignment. “Our days are numbered… we are here on earth for just a little while” (Psalm 39:4; 119:19). Let us, then, “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18).

The God of Second Chances!

On the editorial page of Friday’s USA Today, a U.S. Army chaplain, Major James Key, wrote a surprisingly insightful article about Ted Williams, the homeless man who gained celebrity by way of his viral video interview on YouTube. Since then it has been learned that Ted Williams not only served time in jail for theft, but moreover, ruined his marriage and career through drug & alcohol abuse. But as Major Key points out, people are rooting for Ted because they believe everyone deserves a ‘second chance.’

Key uses this incident to talk about the God of ‘second chances,' citing the account of John Mark, whom you may recall was the young man who accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, but for reasons unknown dropped out and returned home. Sometime later, Barnabas wanted to give John Mark a second chance. But Paul did not. They disagreed so vehemently, they parted ways. But years later, we read in 2 Timothy how John Mark had became a useful & loyal companion to Paul when he was imprisoned in Rome. Obviously, Paul had given him a second chance.

John Mark or Jonah, Moses or Miriam, Peter or Paul, Ted Williams or Ted Bundy—it is an indisputable fact that human beings have an infinite capacity to mess things up. What a relief that we worship the God of second chances (and third, fourth, fifth…) “The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction; Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day” (Lam. 3:22-23).

Are You a Survivor?

“Recovery Group” programs put people in two categories: ‘victims’ or ‘survivors.’ In recovery group vernacular, a victim is someone who is still trying to cope with the problem. And a survivor is someone who has come to terms with it, and learning to take one day at a time.

Not bad—But neither term is an appropriate self-identification for a believer. Born again believers in Jesus are neither victims nor survivors. They are ‘over-comers.’ Jesus said “I have overcome the world.” He didn’t say “I have survived this world.” (And He certainly did not say “I am a victim.”)

Paul had a revelation of this truth—writing in his letter to the Romans: “We are more than over-comers” (8:37). The Greek word for the phrase “more than over-comer” is simply the word “over-comer” with the prefix “hyper,” meaning 'extra active!' We might say super instead of hyper. Now here's a mystery: Jesus says “I have overcame” the world, but Paul says we have “super-overcome” the world? How can it be?

When Jesus went to the grave taking the sin of the world He overcome death. But when Jesus rose from the dead he was more than an over-comer of death—His resurrection brought about a whole new creation. And the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead has raised us too. We have not only overcome death, but more than that—we have overcome the power of sin. No longer victims of sin and Satan; no longer just surviving in a fallen world—we are super-over-comers.