Wasting Energy=Worshipping God

8:30-9:30 p.m., March, 27, 2010. Pagan Hour.

Pagan Hour

If it’s already 9:30 p.m. for you, it’s too late.  Sorry.  For the rest of you, turn your lights ON between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. TONIGHT.  Why on?  Because you love God and are jealous for his glory and worship.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  (Genesis 1:1)

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:28)

Maybe I won’t explain myself well enough, but I’m going to make a defense for reckless waste during this one hour of the year.

When God created the earth and man, he gave man responsibility for it and we, therefore, are to be stewards of the whole world.  For this reason, I conserve my resources everyday of my life.  God has given to me bountifully and as his steward, I strive to keep good care of his gifts.  I try to save money and resources all the time because all my money and resources are not really mine–they’re on loan from God.

The World (and it’s ideologies) wants me to make a statement tonight that I’m concerned about the earth and the crisis we are in globally.  Are we in a global climate crisis?  The Word tells me that God is in control and that He is the one that will destroy it someday.  For it to be here for Him to destroy, it will have to stick around until He’s ready to do that.  Also, the World tells me that I should surrender the responsibility God has given me and do what my “Mother Earth” wants.  If I do that, I’m rebelling against God.  If I cave in to the pagan idea of “gaia,” I’m joining the heathen in their worship of the earth.  I want to stand in STARK contrast with pagan-heathenism. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

So I’m turning every light on I can think of:  and to revel in the bountiful goodness that God has created the earth with, and allowed me to steward, I’m also turning on every electric device I can think of, and leaving plugged in every appliance I can think of, and if I think of anything else, I’m turning that on too.

Tonight at 8:30 p.m. is NOT the time any Christian should be “off the grid.”  Consume all the energy you can to the glory of God!  (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Introduction (Colossians 1:1-2)

Sunday School Lesson

Key Verse: Colossians 1:18

Occasion & Purpose: Warning against Jewish law and Greek philosophy (theosophy)

• The Colossian Heresy
  • Attacked the total adequacy and unique supremacy of Christ – no greater claims ever made for Christ
  • Paul stresses Christ’s part in creation (1:16-17)
  • Paul stresses Christ’s humanity (1:22; 2:9)
  • Astrological element (rudiments, 2:8, 20)
    • Elemental spirits of world – stars and planets
    • Everyone consulted the stars
    • Needed something more than Christ to rid men of this power
  • Made much of demonic powers
    • Principalities and powers (1:16; 2:10, 15)
    • Everything and place had a spirit
    • Needed something more than Christ to defeat these powers
  • Philosophical element (2:8)
  • Tendency to insist on ritual practices and days (2:16)
  • An ascetic element (2:16, 21)
  • An antinomian streak – anti-law (3:5-8)
  • Worship of angels (2:18)
  • Spiritual and intellectual snobbery (1:28)
• Gnostic Heresy – Colossian errors related to early forms of this (spirit=good, matter=flawed and evil; also, matter is eternal)
  • Effects doctrine of creation
    • This world then created by an emanation so distant from God that he was hostile to God
  • Effects doctrine of Christ’s person
    • Jesus could not have had a flesh and blood body
  • Effects ethics
    • Our bodies are evil
      • Practice rigid asceticism, starve and deny the body, or…
      • Disregard the body. Do whatever it desires, only the spirit matters
  • Effects the simplicity of the gospel
    • Series’ of emanations
    • Higher reaches of religion only open to the “initiated”
    • They were keepers of the mysteries
  • Jewish element – many were sympathetic to Gnostic ideas

Theme: Christ is pre-eminent

• Over all things – 1:15-20
• In salvation – 1:21-29 (21-22)
• In our knowledge – 2:1-9 (3, 9)
• Over the law – 2:10-23 (14-15)
• In our desires – 3:1-11 (4, 11)
• In our practices – 3:12-4:6 (13, 17, 23)

From:

• Paul
  • Apostle (office=authority and occupation=one sent)
    • Of Jesus Christ (fully qualified to address matters)
    • By will of God – what is God’s will for you?
      • Divine authority
      • Independence of human teaching
      • Disclaimer of personal power
• and Timothy
  • Not a co-author (look at subsequent we’s – through vs. 9, afterwards singular)
  • Brother (Acts 9:17 – rich meaning for Paul)

To:

• Saints (relationship to God)
  • “set-apart ones” – all believers were called saints, not just a group within the church
  • One who belongs to God
  • Should reflect God’s character
  • Soldier must act the part, so a saint should act the part
• Faithful brethren (relationship to others)
  • Brethren
  • At Colossae, in Christ (always two spheres/dimensions for the Christian) – John 16:33
    • Considered the least important city Paul wrote to – one of most important letters
    • Possibly Philemon’s house (4:9)
  • “faithful” – not all believers are faithful
    • No hint of moral sin even with immorality all around
    • Confidence that they will listen to his teaching

Salutation:

• Grace (Greek greeting) – first, since without there is no peace
  • God giving us what we do not deserve
    • Breath, we lived in rebellion against Him
    • Hope, a hope—our home in heaven
    • Holy Spirit
  • Mercy – God not giving us what we do deserve
    • Combines with God’s love to give us unmerited blessing
• Peace (Hebrew greeting)
  • Full integration of the believers personality in fellowship with God
  • Spiritual prosperity (well-being)
  • It passes all understanding – Philippians 4:7
  • w/God through the Lord Jesus Christ – no longer at enmity with God
  • Which rules in our hearts and lives – Colossians 3:15

Television Poem

by Roald Dahl

The most important thing we’ve learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set –
Or better still, just don’t install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we’ve been,
We’ve watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone’s place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they’re hypnotised by it,
Until they’re absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don’t climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink –
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK — HE ONLY SEES!
‘All right!’ you’ll cry. ‘All right!’ you’ll say,
‘But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!’
We’ll answer this by asking you,
‘What used the darling ones to do?
‘How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?’
Have you forgotten? Don’t you know?
We’ll say it very loud and slow:
THEY … USED … TO … READ! They’d READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching ’round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it’s Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There’s Mr. Rate and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They’ll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start — oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They’ll grow so keen
They’ll wonder what they’d ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.

I read this first over at Ryan Boomershine’s blog:  To Be a Pilgrim

Proverbs 29:16

When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.

How Do You Do That? (Colossians 1:10)

Have you ever seen someone perform some feat that, to you, would be impossible?  Yet, they did it easily.  You may have gone to them and asked, “How do you do that?”  Or, you’ve just established your own home and want to make your grandmother’s famous cake, so you call and ask her, “How do you make that cake we all love?”  She replies, “My, I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it. I’ve been doing it so long that I don’t even give it a thought. Let me think…., What do I put in there? How much? How….It’s, you know…., I just do it.” And you think, “Oh!, that’s a big help!”

Sometimes it can be that way in our Christian walk.  Some Christians have been walking so long it’s hard for them to comprehend why anyone would have a hard time doing the simple things in the Christian life.  But we should all remember how hard it was for us when we first started walking.  Of course, we probably can’t remember that, but we can remember how hard it was for our children or nephews and nieces to start walking.  We even remember that we didn’t expect them to walk the very day they came home from the hospital–it would have been too hard.  We patiently waited until they were strong enough to walk before we coaxed and encouraged and even tricked them into walking.  Now, if you would ask them, “How do you walk?” they would laugh because, “Everyone knows how to walk.  It’s second nature.”

New Christians need careful, meticulous training and help to learn how to do the simple walking in the Christian life.  Those simple things should grow to be “second nature” for every half-mature Christian.  And those of us who’ve been walking for awhile should remember it’s not all that simple if you’ve just come home from being born in the hospital.

What Brings Real Joy

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.  (3 John 1:4)

Knowledge that Walks (Colossians 1:9-12)

Have you ever looked at someone and thought, “My, he just doesn’t fit the part.  It just didn’t seem like he deserves that position.”?  We’ve all known people like that.

Truthfully, every Christian is in that condition.  None of us deserve to be called by Christ’s name, but by God’s grace and mercy, he makes us His child and calls us by his name.  We all need help walking worthy of the new name we have.  Some think we all should just go out and do what we’re supposed to do.  Paul wanted the Colossians to do what was right, but he prayed first that they would be filled with knowledge.

To some people knowledge is a bad thing–knowledge puffeth up.  But to Paul, it was the first thing.  He prayed that these believers would be FILLED with knowledge so that they could walk worthy of the name by which they had been called.  Are you a Christian?  You need to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will to be able to walk like a Christian.  The internal (knowledge) comes before the external (walking).

Just so we don’t get puffed up with our knowledge, let’s remember that this knowledge walks.  It doesn’t just congratulate itself.  Or brag about it’s vast extent and never do anything.  The knowledge of God’s will is given SO THAT we may walk worthy of the Lord.  What, then is a worthy walk?  It is…

1. Being fruitful in every good work
2. Increasing in knowledge (walk in the knowledge you have to gain more knowledge of God)
3. Strengthened by his power
4. and Giving thanks

What does your walk look like?  Are there many activities but not much of that?  Pray that you would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will and be made able to walk worthy of the name of Christ.

Guacamole

I made guacamole once a few years back and adapted this recipe the following ways.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lg. or 2 sm. avocado (California or Florida is better, the smooth skin ones, but they must be ripe)

1 T. minced onion or shallot (I used a small yellow onion in the food processor)

1/4 t. minced garlic (fresh or from a jar, of course, fresh is always better)

1 t. stemmed, seeded and minced jalapeno or other fresh chili, or 1 t. chili powder, or to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 T. freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice, or to taste (once, I used 1 t. lemon juice from concentrate)

Minced cilantro leaves for garnish (of course, a little in the mix tastes good also)

1/2 c. peeled, cored, seeded, diced ripe tomato (I dice finely, but do not peel, core, or seed)

Directions:

Cut avocados in half (remove pits), peel and mash pulp with potato masher with everything else except cilantro and tomato.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, or lime, even garlic salt if necessary.  Add tomatoes and a little cilantro; stir around with a spoon.  Garnish with more cilantro.

Christmas Concert 2009

Christmas Joy and Glory

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

I am truly happy to see all of you here and I extend a warm welcome to each of you. Tonight is our seventh annual Christmas concert, titled “The Glory of Christmas.”

In 1855, William Cummings combined a melody from Mendelssohn’s tribute to Gutenberg, the man who was the first to print the Bible, with the text of a hymn Charles Wesley wrote and George Whitefield had published. This new setting for Hark! The Herald Angels Sing has since become one of the most recognized Christmas carols in the world. Each verse of the song end with the refrain reminding us of what the angels proclaimed the night Jesus was born, “Glory to the newborn King.”

Christmas truly is a glorious season. There are many reasons this time of the year is so special – we gather with friends and loved ones, we share our blessings with the less fortunate and there are many other family traditions that warm our hearts. But the most important reason is remembering the sacrificial gift that an almighty God bestowed on a spiritually destitute world. When the eternal God became flesh on Christmas night, His everlasting love began to effect the redemption of all mankind. The angels came and announced that Christ the Lord had come as a babe and proclaimed peace and good will to men and glory to God. As we celebrate the Savior’s birth, let us give God the glory of Christmas. All of the selections you’ll hear tonight have been prepared for our worship services throughout the month of December. So it seems a little out of place to be clapping after each group finishes. Please join with us now as we express our joy and thankfulness to God, and attempt to glorify the greatest Giver of Christmas.

Angels are a significant part of our Christmas traditions. Their beauty and majesty contribute to the wonder of the season. And yet, while they could sing creation’s story, and gladly proclaim the Savior’s birth, they can’t experience the joy and freedom His coming gave to mankind. Christ’s coming makes possible the true peace and joy for everyone on earth. Christmas is not just about sentimental feelings; it’s about remembering when God became flesh, grew up and lived among mankind, and then died to pay the penalty for man’s sin. After His death he arose as a conquering king over sin and death. That’s why the song invites us to “Come and worship, come and worship, Worship Christ, the newborn King.”

You’ll notice on the back of your program the words to “Angels From the Realms of Glory.” We are going to sing this together as we give the orchestra a chance to find seats in the auditorium. This would also be a good time to make sure you don’t have any potentially embarrassing disturbances on your person – like cell phones, watch alarms, cameras, or crying children – that may go off in the next hour or so. Let’s stand together and sing the carol “Angels From the Realms of Glory.”

Angels From the Realms of Glory

The night of Christ’s birth has been the subject of many Christmas carols. This matchless night was made holy by the coming of the Messiah. “O Holy Night” is one of the most popular of all Christmas songs. Even though a poet who was not a regular churchgoer wrote the words, and a Jew who did not believe in Christ as the Son of God wrote the music, its message in text and music is so powerful that it has overcome opposition from organized religion. Because of its background, the Catholic Church in France banned its use in its services, but people recognized its value and still sang the song. It was also the first song ever to be heard over the airwaves of radio. On Christmas Eve, in 1906, as radio operators were expecting to hear dots and dashes, they heard the voice of Reginald Fessenden, a former chemist for Thomas Edison, reciting the Christmas story from Luke chapter two. When he finished, he picked up his violin and played the song “O Holy Night” – the first music to be heard over the radio. We’ll hear this song in the next selection of specials.

In the Bleak Midwinter

Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

Away in a Manger

Gesu Bambino and O Holy Night

In the next group of selections is one of the most familiar of carols. It invites us to come, worship and adore the Savior, Christ the Lord. The keyboards will play “O Come All Ye Faithful” for us and then our mixed ensemble will sing it.

Beethoven’s ninth symphony ends with a much longer version of the song we will hear between those numbers – Joyful, Joyful. This song has been performed in many places and for many occasions. While not particularly a Christmas carol, the joy we feel during this season lends itself toward singing the “Ode to Joy” of Beethoven’s. And when we begin to realize what Christ’s birth meant to the world, to mankind, and even to us today, we can’t help but be thankful and joyful.

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

O Come, All Ye Faithful

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

We imagine a calm, quiet town outside Jerusalem on a winter night. But Bethlehem must have been quite busy, for all of King David’s descendants were there at this time. The emperor of Rome declared that all the world should be taxed, and all of David’s lineage were to appear and be accounted for in Bethlehem. Now it was lambing time in Bethlehem so the shepherds were out in the fields round about the town, and it’s a good thing, because if they weren’t out there, there probably wouldn’t even have been room in the stable below the inn where a poor couple who’d come to be taxed from Nazareth had to stay since there was no room upstairs.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. (Luke 2:8)

The flocks of Bethlehem were not just any sheep. The shepherds of Bethlehem were employed especially to supply lambs for the temple sacrifices in Jerusalem. God had taught His people to picture the covering of sin by shedding the blood of a young, innocent lamb and offering it as an atonement for individual sins. And so, the precious, innocent lambs born in Bethlehem would very soon be slaughtered to temporarily appease the wrath of God on a man’s sin.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)

It wasn’t just any couple that had to stay in that stable. The poor couple was recently married and the woman was expecting her firstborn, but it wasn’t just any child she was expecting. An angel had appeared to her and declared that she would bring forth a Son and call His name Jesus, because He would be a Savior. She would conceive this child without knowing a man; the Holy Ghost would overshadow her and this Son would be called the Son of God.

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

When this special child was finally introduced to the world, His spokesman did not call Him the Son of God. Rather, he called Him the Lamb of God. This reminds us that the precious Babe of Bethlehem, born with the temple lambs, and laid in a manger would also be sacrificed. But since He is the Son of God, His sacrifice would not temporarily, but would eternally cover the sins of every man who would place their trust in Him.

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

Joy to the World

Go Tell It/He Is Born

O Holy Night

Hopefully, you have enjoyed the selections so far, and in a few moments our church choir and orchestra will come and finish the night out for us. While we enjoy music and praising God in this way, there are many other things our church does to help the community around us. Many of you may see our buses going through the neighborhoods each Sunday morning. We provide transportation to church for hundreds of people weekly. Many of the children we bring to church will be participating in our annual children’s Christmas program on the 20th, Christmas Sunday morning. Every Thursday evening our church hosts a chapter of Reformers Unanimous. This is a local church based program to help people break the strongholds of addictions in their lives. On a weekly basis, we invite seniors to what we call “Jolly 60’s,” where anyone who’s retired can interact with other people and participate in various enrichment programs. Also on Thursdays, while teens and adults are learning in classes programmed for them, our Master Clubs program is available for the children to be involved in. During the summer, Camp Fairhaven provides daytime activities, crafts, sports, and swimming to hundreds of children. Along with other activities we also hold church services in nine area nursing homes. Fairhaven is a wonderful place to serve the Lord who came to us as a babe at Christmastime.

On your program you’ll see the words to “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Let’s stand while we sing this carol and the choir and orchestra take their places.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

The author of “Good Christian Men Rejoice” was one who also believed the message of the gospel was for all men, not just an elite few. Heinrich Suso was exiled from his homeland Germany for writing books for the common man, conveying Christ’s desire that all men should come to Him. However, persecution did not hinder him. Each verse of this song reminds all Christian men to rejoice with our heart, soul, and voice. The individual verses tell us of Christ’s birth, and then of His purpose, and the last verse declares, “He hath ope’d the heavenly door / and man is blessed for evermore / Now ye need not fear the grave / Jesus Christ was born to save! / Calls you one and calls you all, / To gain His everlasting hall / Christ was born to save.” This message stands today; Christ still calls all men to salvation. The choir will now sing Carol of the Bell and then Good Christian Men, Rejoice.

Carol of the Bell

Good Christian Men, Rejoice

We have a tradition of playing some selections from the “Messiah,” by George Frideric Handel, each year. “Messiah” is an oratorio that is performed many times during the Christmas season. It was written to tell of the life of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and its text is taken entirely from Scripture. It is divided into three parts. The most familiar part is the first one, which tells of the prophecy of the Messiah’s coming and the fulfillment of that prophecy when He came at Christmas. The second part tells of Christ’s passion on the cross and his eventual triumph over all the earth. The last part tells of Christ’s work throughout eternity. The “Messiah” is appropriately sung anytime of the year including Easter when it was first performed and, of course, Christmas.

Tonight the choir will sing “For Unto Us a Child is Born” from Isaiah 9:6 and the chorus, “Hallelujah.” The “Hallelujah Chorus” tells of Christ’s work throughout eternity when He will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords over heaven and earth forever and ever! When the oratorio was first performed, King George II, suddenly stood up at the beginning of the Hallelujah Chorus. Whatever the king did, everyone else would follow, so everyone stood. There is much conjecture as to why the king stood; some think he was just stretching his legs; he was hard of hearing, so some believe he thought he heard his national anthem; others like to think he stood out of respect for the message of the music; nevertheless, many still stand out of respect for the King of kings and Lord of lords today whenever this Chorus is sung.

Before the “Messiah” selections the Pianist and Organist will play a song entitled, “Gloria.”

Gloria

For Unto Us a Child is Born

Hallelujah Chorus

Our final selection, titled Canticle of Joy, or song of joy blends the song “How Great Our Joy” with the popular Christmas song “Joy to the World.” Isaac Watts wrote Joy to the World with the meaning for the text taken from Psalm 98:4-9. About 100 years later Lowell Mason took his text and put it to music he had written which was inspired by songs from Handel’s Messiah. The new tune breathed the Christmas spirit. And even though the text does not come from any of the gospel accounts of Christ’s birth, the truth, that the Lord is come, has inspired many for many years. And truly, there can be no joy in the world unless Christ, the Lord is recognized as our King who has come to give us peace with God and men.

Canticle of Joy

I would like to invite you to fellowship in the foyer of our recreation building where we have coffee, ice cream and other refreshments for sale in our snack shop.

Again, I want to thank you for coming, and I trust you were uplifted by the truths of the season around us. I invite you to worship with us every Sunday, but in particular this Sunday, when we’ll have a special Christmas service at 10:30 a.m. which will include a children’s Christmas program. Good night and May we all have a Merry Christmas!

Canticle for Instruments

In Memory of Marlin Estrada

We are here to memorialize the life of Marlin Estrada. It seems like we often wait until a person’s life is over before we recognize the value of that person. Even with my limited acquaintance with Marlin, I know that he had a tremendous impact on many people’s lives and of course, on your own lives. His wife will miss his stability. His children will miss his influence. And his friends will miss his helpfulness. Because we will miss him so, we know his life was not purposeless. There was a reason he was here and was a part of our lives. And in a sense, though his life has left his body, we know he will continue to influence us in some ways. And when we recognize that, we admit that there is more to life than just the present. He’s gone, and yet his influence is still around.

Marlin knew there was more to life than the here and now. About six months ago he and I talked for quite awhile, and we discussed some of these things. Tonight, I would like to share with you some of that conversation. I’d like to try to answer the question, “What is our life about?” Or, “What is your life about?”

To answer that, we must first understand what life is. What is life? Life–is a gift. In the one of the Psalms, after recognizing the greatness and glory of God, the Creator, the writer asks, “What is man, that thou visitest him?” He continues and shows how God made us and gave us life and gave us a place in his creation. He gave us a job to accomplish over all his creation. And then we read in Romans that eternal life is a gift of God that can only be received through the Lord Jesus Christ. The eternal life that we all know exists can only be enjoyed by those who have received Jesus Christ–the Creator, Master and Savior. So, life here is a gift of the creator. Life there, is given through Jesus Christ.

But, What is OUR life? — The Bible tells us in the book of James that our life is a vapor. It’s like the mist that comes out of our mouth on a cold winter day. It’s there for a moment and then vanishes away. Even if we live a long time, when it’s time to be over, we think of it as a short time. The years of our lives, long or short, are just a moment when compared to history and eternity. It is important then, to us to use this short time to its fullest potential. While influencing friends and family is important and unavoidable really, because life there (after this time) is so important, it is imperative that we prepare for there while we are here. And there’s not much time to do that. Our life, long or short, is a vapor–a mist, a puff of smoke that is soon gone. And as Marlin’s life teaches us, no one is guaranteed to live until a certain time, or for a certain number more years, months, weeks, or even days. None of us KNOWS that we won’t be gone from here ourselves tomorrow, or even tonight. So…

What is our life ABOUT? — The Bible tells us that each person’s purpose for being is to give pleasure to our Creator. And God is glorified when we turn to Him for our every need. He is shown to be holy, righteous, just, merciful, gracious, and loving when we see ourselves as helpless and needy and trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ His Son to save us and give us eternal life. When he gives us that life we are born again into His family. And when we leave our families here on this earth, we’ll join our heavenly family over there. Truly, the most important thing you can do with your life now is to make it ready for the time after now. And the only way to do that is through trusting Jesus Christ to save you. Acts 4:12 says that there is no salvation in anyone other than Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said that He was the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no one would get to the Father (in heaven) except through Him.

What is your life about? It is about getting ready for the next life. And then it’s about influencing family, friends, and acquaintances to themselves also be ready for the next life. As we finish, let Marlin’s life and let me ask you… “What is your life about?” Are you ready to live the rest of this life and the next?