Today it is very hot. We are in the heat of the summer. So, now we think how great it would be to experience a cool, fall day or be in the dead of winter with snow blowing and bitter cold. Then we think how we enjoyed those summer days.
It seems to me that we are never satisfied with what we have now. It is either too hot or too cold; we are either to young or too old; we are either too early or too late; but life goes on. Maybe this is why God gave us the 10th Commandment. “Thou shall not covet.” Yet Paul learned to be content in whatever circumstance he was in. Maybe we should learn that too.
We know in Pennsylvania that both hot and cold weather will come. That is the climate and culture of our land. The seasons bring change and change brings opportunities. Those who realize this, prepare and life goes on as planned. Others are never prepared. When winter comes they wait till it is here to get out warm clothes or gather wood. Maybe the home is not winterized or the automobile is not ready for winter. When summer comes and there is grass to cut, the mower is not ready or the air conditioner is broken from last year. So, the result is that too many people live one season behind not ahead.
This weather illustration is also a good picture of too many whose lives are run the same way. You heard the saying “a day late and a dollar short.” There is more truth to that than fiction. Undisciplined people are always late, job hopping around, moving often, and always behind in everything. They seem to be one
season behind and it’s never their fault. It’s always someone else who messed them up.
We live in a time in history where discipline is demanded in order to survive. Undisciplined people get hurt or killed on the highways. Undisciplined people have trouble obeying the laws of the land. Undisciplined people do harm to their bodies and shorten their lives. Undisciplined
people are not responsible nor can they be counted on to keep their word.
I have never met a successful person who was undisciplined, whether in Christianity, business, marriage, law enforcement, or truck driving. I could go on and on. Successful people know that discipline is required to succeed. Their discipline drives them on when others would give up. Their discipline prepares them for the unknown and impossible.
Another thing that discipline does for a person is, it brings confidence and courage. A well disciplined person will be a risk taker and a natural leader. Even if they become a victim they are able to overcome and not surrender to being a victim. Disciplined people know they have what it takes to overcome. They are always one season ahead not one season behind.
Now, here is the best part. Christianity is the best kind of discipline available to mankind. The principles and teachings of the Bible are never outdated or without meaning. Disciple through Christianity is God’s plan for man. It not only shows us how to be saved but how to live above the moral corruption of the world. Remember “With God, all things are possible.”
Chaplain Bud
Christian Church at Cogan Station
Why is failure so threatening to so many Christians?
Please understand that failure in not final, unless you give up. Failure is a great teacher and preparer for success.
Christians usually don’t fail for the lack of opportunities or information, but they fail because they give up. They stop trying and become discouraged. They look to the wrong sources for help or strength. The Biblical term is that they “become entangled in the world,” then, bad things happen.
We, in America, have too many choices. We are overwhelmed with choices. We drown in choices. We are out of control in our desires for more, more, more. We are obsessed with bigger, better, quicker, faster, and more. Our hunger for technology is driving us crazy with greed and selfish ambition. Our hunger for more is like a bottomless pit, and the sad part is that we know it.
Things and stuff will not make us happy anymore than success will build our character. When God saves us, and brings us into the Kingdom, we have trouble letting go of the world and its ways. God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt but could not get Egypt out of them. We have the same problem. Instead of trusting God and living to please Him. Christians trust the world more, then we fail.
The fruit of these failures show up in children, our family and marriage, business dealings, church life, our stewardship and financial dealings, relations with other people and our commitment. Careers become more important than spirituality.
Success becomes more important than commitment to God. Money is more important than relationships. Now, I ask you, is this not failure in God’s eyes?
The greatest test while we are on this earth is not how much money we make, or the house we live in, but who we are in God’s eyes. The test is whether we can put God before the flesh. Whether we can walk upright in a sin-sick society. Whether our faith is stronger than the temptations of this world. Too many professing Christians fail this test, but in the world’s eyes are very successful.
Joshua, in the Old Testament, had it right. He knew the Hebrews would be tested in Canaan, and he warned them. He also said, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” And he did all his life. But look in the book of Judges. What happened to most of the people? They failed the test and served other gods.
Here are two questions for you to think about:
Will the church of the future, in our liberal society, be committed to seeking the Lord’s Will and the members committed to living lives that morally and spiritually meet God’s Biblical standards?
Will the church remain loyal to the Lord at any cost?
If the answer is yes, then how will we prepare the next generation? What will the focus and teachings be? Who will lead the fight against those who would destroy Christ’s church? Think on these things. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.
See ya in church,
Bud
What kind of a world would it be without God? A world ruled by power not by what is moral and good. A world where only the crooks and the strongest survive.
Yet, is this not what is happening in our world today? God in government or education is a thing of the past. A world where prayer before football or baseball games is forbidden in our schools. However, auto racing still has prayer to begin the big races. There is something wrong with this picture. Has our intelligence made us better or worse spiritually?
If the current trend in America continues, we will soon be a Godless nation, but still religious. We tolerate all kinds of cults and false religions but not the true religion of the true God. Our founding fathers based our democracy on the Bible truths and principles. To abandon these truths and principles, allows our America, as we know it, to disappear. Our future then as a nation is as predictable as was the Roman Empire or any other nation that forsook God.
“The fool says in his heart, there is no God, they are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Everyone has turned away, they have together became corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Will the evil doers never learn, those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on God? There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread. God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them.” Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.” (Psalm 53)
When God restores the fortunes of His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.” (Psalm 53) Oh that God would restore the salvation of America and deliver us from the hands of wicked, corrupt politicians and leaders.
God would do this if the American people would repent and be fully committed to God. It will take a national revival. Idols must be broken down, and false religions no longer tolerated. We are being consumed by greed and selfish ambition. We are being deceived by thinking, as a nation, that we can ignore God and survive. Each generation is becoming more and more wicked and pagan.
The purpose of this article is not to point out how bad the world is, but to see the need for commitment and truth from the Christians. We are the salt and light, the only hope for a dark and dying world.
God has, in the past, delivered nations that were for from Him, when they repented and called on His name, and He would again. But as a nation, we need to repent.
So what can we do? Pray, preach, teach, disciple, and win as many people
as possible to God’s Kingdom. Don’t give up hope or neglect your salvation.
See ya in church,
Bud