10/25/2018
As a Christian it’s important to learn how God get’s your attention. The way He lets you know He’s trying to tell you something. This particular time He woke me up in the middle of the night. I’ve always been a sound sleeper. It’s not very often I wake up in the middle of the night. The times I do, it’s usually just to glance at the clock, thank God its 3AM, and I go back to sleep. I fall asleep about as fast as I wake up normally. One night that wasn’t the case. I woke up around midnight wide awake. There was a thought in my head I couldn’t let go of. “Life is too short, play hard.” It was very odd because not only could I not get this thought out of my head, but it really bothered me. I laid in bed for a couple hours that night turning this expression over and over in my head. I was trying to figure out why it bothered me so much, to the point of it keeping me awake. So many thoughts ran through my head, all centered around this expression.
Life is too short…
Life is too short…
Life is too short…live while you can…
Life is too short…I don’t have time for this marriage…
If someone has cancer…Life is too short…
Life is too short to make ourselves happy…
Life is too short…I don’t have time to make up for all that I’ve done…
Eventually I tired myself out thinking about so many different situations like those. I fell asleep again, but I wrote it down when I woke up the next morning. Life is too short…and it still bothered me.
I prayed to God about why this expression would bother me so much. Why I couldn’t go back to sleep that night. The expression life is too short was a lie. One of the lies the devil uses to keep us away from God. Life is not short. Life is eternal, and we have a choice to make. Do we choose heaven with God, or do we chose hell with Satan? Satan made his choice. He fought God and lost. Now its Satan’s time that is short, and he will do what ever he can to take you with him. When we believe our time in this world is short, we try to fill it with self indulgence. If there is no hope in our future, what difference does it make how we live our lives? When time is running out we start taking short cuts. When its the time fame on our lives we begin taking moral short cuts. Morality is the standard God has given us to protect and care for us. It guards our conscience and protects our sanity. We try to fill our hopelessness with our own desires. All the sex, drugs, power, control, and money in the world can’t fill that void. Our homes and lives can look so neat and in place on the outside, but inside anxiety and discontentment drive us onward. Trying to find comfort for our discontentment leaves us vulnerable to the lies of Satan. The more we take, the more we want, and the more weary we become, because we can’t ever have enough. The grass is greener on the other side because we don’t want enough, we want it all. Just like Satan did. Satan wanted it all, including God’s throne. Its temptation that drives us and its pride that blinds us to what we really need. As it was with the ruler Jesus met in Luke 18.
18A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 20You know the commandments, ‘DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,”‘ And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” 22When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! 25For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God” (Luke 18:18-27).
The pride of this man blinded him to the fact that the answer to his question was standing right in front of him. Not to mention Jesus asked him if he believed Jesus was the Messiah, God made flesh for the forgiveness of our sin, since the man called Him good. As is with many of us the pride of our heart blinds us to the truth. The ruler believed himself perfect, claiming to have held to the 10 commandments. That pride is what crushed the ruler. Jesus told him to go sell all his things, the things he valued above all else, the things he’d put so much time and effort into during his life. What Jesus was showing him was that he was not keeping the 10 commandments. He was doing what we all do before God, lying to to cover up the fact that we cannot live up to the moral standard of God. He was missing the point of the two most important ones.
35One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38This is the great and foremost commandment. 39The second is like it, “You SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:35-40).
We all have weaknesses. A broken part of us that desires what this world offers us. Satan uses that weakness to tempt the evil in our hearts. Jesus attests to the evil within us.
20And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man” (Mark 7:20-23). Our heart condition, our sinful nature, is why we need Jesus. He was free of sin, and He died on the cross in our place. We cannot earn our way to heaven. We can’t make up for the sin in our hearts by doing good deeds for people. To the same point, our unworthiness of God won’t keep us out of heaven either. “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This is exactly the point of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well.
The entire story is John 4:4-42. I’m not going to copy it all here, but rather stick to the verses God was teaching me with.
19The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to Him, “I know the Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” 26Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He” (John 4:19-26).
The Samaritan woman just like the ruler thought she could only be seen in the eyes of God if she did just the right things at just the right places. Unlike the ruler, she knew she could never accomplish these things. So for her there was no hope of her ever entering the presence of God. She told Jesus she could not worship God since Samaritans were not welcome in Jerusalem. She knew just like the Jews that the Messiah was coming, but she felt there was no way for her to receive the Messiah since she wasn’t allowed to worship in the temple. Jesus answered her in a very profound way, one that hit me like a bolt of lightning in my soul. He told her that salvation comes believing the truth and worshipping in the spirit.
One Truth: There is one truth, and that is the word of God. One Spirit: We’re given one life by God and it is eternal. One way: There is only one way to reconcile our sinful hearts to God, and that is through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
He told her it’s not something you earn. The politician tried to earn his salvation, and the truth ruined him. Action without love is selfish. We can give all we have to charity, but if its not for love, it’s empty. 1“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body [a]to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Our efforts cannot get us into heaven. That is why Jesus was sent to die for our sin. Jesus alone could fulfill the covenant of the 10 Commandments. This is what Jesus told the people when He said it’s impossible for man, but not for God. Jesus fulfilled the covenant given to Moses through His perfect obedience, to the point of dying on the cross. That allowed Jesus to become the perfect sacrifice for our own sin. Back in the old testament, God would only accept the best offering as a sacrifice for the Israelites’ sin offerings. God’s sacrifice to atone for all of mankind’s sin would have to be of a level of perfection mankind could never offer. Enter Jesus. His death on the cross struck a new covenant with God and mankind. All who would accept they are a sinner. All who know they can never be good enough to make up for their sin. All who believe Jesus is the only begotten son of God, whose perfect sacrifice, His death on the cross, was to cover our sin. All who believe because of Jesus’ perfect obedience, God raised Him from the dead to be seated at God’s right hand, where he will intercede to God for us until He comes again in judgement of all creation, will receive eternal life. The pride in the politician’s heart left him sad and disappointed when the truth was revealed. The humble heart of the Samaritan woman rejoiced in the truth. She believed in the truth, and then was able to worship God in spirit. Our lives, we give our lives to God in worship. 16 “Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). When she received the gift of salivation from Jesus, she could not help but tell the others in town about Him, and what He did for her. The very people that accused her of all her sinful ways. The very people who forced her to come to the well alone in the middle of the day to avoid their ridicule. She told them about the Messiah, so even her enemies might be saved. When we believe the truth that is Jesus the Messiah, and give our life to God in worship, we are then finally able to truly love our neighbors as ourselves. We can tell them the truth. I don’t’ want to spend eternity in hell, and I certainly wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.
I grew up in religion much like the ruler did. I was raised Catholic; we went to mass every Sunday. I was an altar boy growing up. I made all of my sacraments. I received my first communion and my confirmation. I even came back as a youth minister for the next group of confirmation students. Once I went to college I stopped going to church, but I would still have conversations with people at the bars about religion. I would claim to be a Christian. I would tell them about God and Jesus. I would tell them Jesus is real, and that God is real. I would enjoy the philosophical debates, but I never talked about salvation. How could I? I didn’t know what that was. I wasn’t saved. I didn’t know anything about it. Knowing God is out there, knowing that Jesus is real will not get you into heaven. God’s word tells us 19“You believe that [r]God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19). The daemons know full well God and Jesus are real, but without faith in Jesus as Lord you are lost. It wasn’t until Dec 2012 that I would understand what it means to be saved, to put my faith in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I was like the Jews leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. I think most people are. They have the knowledge of God and Jesus, but have not surrendered to Him in repentance and faith in Jesus’ work on the cross. We would use our knowledge of Jesus and God to belittle people, not to love them and share the truth of God’s word. Nothing would flash boil my temper faster than a friend of mine doing something wrong to someone. I would jump down their throat so fast, and in such a berating way, especially if I had been drinking. I held such high expectations for the people in my life there was no way they could live up to my “standards.” I would get so furious on the inside at people for letting me down. I was under the illusion that I would go out of my way to make sure people were taken care of, whether it was my business or not. It would burn me up if that wasn’t reciprocated. Looking back on it now, more often than not I was acting our of selfish reason to begin with. I always thought I would find a new girlfriend and new friends that would eventually meet my needs, and that the base issue wasn’t with me. I saw the issues so clearly in all the people around me. After another failed relationship, reality finally broke me. This time I realized the problems and issues I had came from me. I realized the brokenness I saw and hated in other people, it was because the same brokenness was in me. If I couldn’t trust in myself, and I couldn’t find anyone in my life to fill that gap…what could I put my hope in? In that moment hopelessness filled my heart. It literally brought me to my knees, and my view of my life fell to pieces. The pride in myself was broken. It left me on the floor of my room crying out in desperation for someone to help me, with uncontrollable tears. I was there for what felt like hours…just literally crying for someone to help me…but no one was there…I should say something was there. That night I crawled into bed to sleep, and something did come to help. It sat down on the corner of my bed. In the pitch black of my room, I felt it sit down on my bed. You know the feeling, when someone sits on the corner of the bed. The bulge from the corner pulled down by the weight and the rise it causes in the middle of the bed. The shutter is sends though the mattress. The thing that sat on my bed sent a cold up my spine that I’ll never forget. It was so painful that I curled myself up into the fetal position. All I could think to do was say Our Fathers until this thing finally left. The cold pain left with it, and I was able to fall asleep, completely exhausted. I’ve spoken to with many people since then about their testimonies, when they accepted Christ. Many of them talk about how when they were getting up for an altar call or to declare faith in Jesus as Lord and savior, they would feel a hand or something literally trying to keep them from getting out of their seats. I believe Satan makes every attempt to stop us from making the decision to follow Christ. He will exploit whatever weakness we have to ruin us. He’ll use sex, money, addiction, anxiety, and any other lie to keep us away from God. Satan wants you to believe your problems are too big for God and you’re not worthy like the Samaritan woman. That there is no way God would save you until you’ve got yourself cleaned up, until you mark off the correct to do list like the ruler thought. I believe that thing in my room was Satan’s trick to get me turn to him for help. One thing I’ve learned in my short walk as a Christian, the first thing that shows up, isn’t usually from God. Pro tip there. The next morning I woke up, still sad and heart broken over the ending of another relationship, but God showed me something. When I woke up, my life flashed through my mind. I remembered every bad situation I had gotten myself in, and saw that God was right there through all of them. The voice I wouldn’t listen to that would try to stop me from making a bad decision. He was there. That voice that would tell me go home, but I’d say no I’m having one more drink…it would tell me to go this way and I would say no way I’m going that way! Every time He was there, through every situation trying to keep me safe. It was just like the Foot Prints in The Sand Poem. I was trying so hard to find someone I could trust my life with, and He was there. God was the one, but I never saw Him until my pride was broken, until I was humbled. God was the one. The one to fill the empty spot, that hopeless pit, and that unending thirst. Jesus was the answer, and His living water refreshed my soul. I’ve found my rock, and now I can see people for who they are, not who I want them to be. The change in me was so deep that when I went to my parents for dinner that Sunday, my mom noticed it as soon as I walked in the door. She knew I was different. Ever since I’ve been doing my best to be obedient to God. I fail a lot, but His grace keeps me going. We’re called to be witnesses of God’s glorious ways, just like the Samaritan woman. This writing is my testimony to what God has done in my life through Jesus Christ. My testimony protects me from the accusation of Satan, just like the scripture from Revelations on my main page. “…he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony” (Rev 12:10-11). When Satan comes to knock me down, I lean of what Jesus did for me. I lean on the promises of God. I lean on my gift of salvation, by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Do you know Jesus Christ? The Gospel of Jesus Christ leads us to a cross road. We must make a decision to live our lives for God or for Satan. That decision can be made any time or anywhere. God is everywhere at all times. He is with you no matter how bad your situation. I pray you’ll put your trust in God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Jesus is our righteousness. His blood was shed on the cross to cover our sin. When God looks at the saved, He doesn’t see our sinful hearts, he sees Jesus’ righteousness. This prayer is written for everyone who is reading this. If you’re born again, I pray it will strengthen your faith as you walk and live out your life with God. For those who want to accept God’s gift of salvation I pray with you as well. I received my gift of salvation in my room. God will meet you where ever you are right now.
“…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9 NASB).
Heavenly Father, I trust You with my life. All glory and all hope is with You. You are always faithful and will never fail me. I thank you for Jesus, my savior. His death on the cross and His resurrection into heaven washed my sin away. He took my place, and His righteous protects me from the evil one. I will call on the name of the Lord all the days of my life.
Amen