I just returned from a brisk but beautiful and beneficial bike ride.  Because just like a healthy brain needs the Bible on a regular basis, so also the body needs regular exercise so I’m always thankful (a) when I have an extra amount of time for an even more rigorous workout and (b) when I don’t get hit by one of the smartphone-crazed/can’t-go-two-minutes-without-texting-or-at-least-checking-my-phone drivers populating the roads these days.  (I’m not thrilled about the close calls, either, like the one on today’s ride, but I file those under the “no harm, no foul” category.)

Anyway, the weather has turned quite a bit cooler recently with winter wagging its warmness-zapping finger in advance of its full arrival, so I wasn’t able to ride or even walk outside for the past three days due to a distinct drop in the temperature.

Interestingly, when I first headed out for today’s timely trek, it struck me (probably not a good idiom to use when discussing bicycles 🙂 ) how HARD it was to pedal up the first hill in that direction.  It’s usually a piece of cake (ah, much better idiom!) but not this time, not today.  So I had to get off of my bike and WALK it up that medium-sized hill.  And rode without incident for the next several minutes of (wonderful, beautiful) FLAT (i.e., non-hilly) road.

But then I came to the second hill in that direction, this one MUCH LARGER than the first, and you know what?  I was able to RIDE up and over it with ease!  BECAUSE MY BODY WAS NOW “BACK IN THE SWING” OF EXERCISING, after those first fifteen minutes after that three-day layoff.

And the rest of the ride was, as they say, a breeze.  Easy-peasy.

Until the very end.  Seemingly suddenly, it got VERY HARD to pedal once again, like three hours before.  So hard that I actually had to pull over and sit down for a few minutes and guess what, I was able to pedal with ease.  BECAUSE WHEN THE BODY GETS WEARY OR TIRED ALL IT NEEDS IS A LITTLE REST.

And that’s exactly  how it is with the Christian life:  sometimes we need to rest — and sometimes we just need to get off of our backsides and START PEDALING.
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As you know from previous posts, in order to finish building this website I sold my only car and ever since have been hoofing or biking it when I need to get around town.  But I remember the time I went shopping for my very first car.

I of course received lots (and lots and lots, no pun intended =) of advice from my family and friends and fellow church members, some of whom were actually in the car business, true professionals loaded with so much expert knowledge it was coming out of their ears (but thankfully only metaphorically).

I remember one in particular.  I had found a used BMW that fell within my meager budget (barely!) and at the time, in the common folly of youth, my main motivation was to make a statement.  I wouldn’t trade my upbringing for the world but we never had much money the entire time I was growing up, but we had a ton of love and closeness and fun and laughter and great memories and vacations (the one thing my parents were dead-set on saving up for) and most of all a ubiquitous focus on the Bible and church and fellowship – what more could a kid ask for?

A little money to buy a decent car, perhaps. =)  But I digress.  The point is that we and I almost always “went without” so I did feel some sort of subtle need to compensate since I was a teenager with my own job – I was ready to splurge for once in my young life.

And that’s where that car-biz friend from church comes into the story.  It was then and there that he gave me one of the greatest pieces of advice in my entire life – not just up to then but ever since.  He said this:

“Don’t just think about the purchase price but also THINK ABOUT THE MAINTENANCE COSTS.”

While it’s very understandable that a teenager – and especially one whose upbringing rarely involved discussing much less possessing material things of any kind much less cars – wouldn’t have known about that, the fellow from my church did since he was in the business and had seen countless proud BMW or Porsche or Mercedes owners have to sell them after a repair bill or two.

Thankfully I heeded his wise counsel, but it got me thinking that this is exactly how it is with the Christian life.

I think every believer will agree that not even the excitement of one’s first car can come close to comparing with the utter joy when one’s eyes are first opened to the truth of the gospel of Christ.  Not even close.  But there’s a similar risk:  that one will forget to consider the “maintenance costs” of that decision.  You see, just as the Lord promised that an eternity in heaven awaits for all who put their faith in Him and Him alone for salvation from our sins, He also promises a few other things.

Like this:  “in the world you have tribulation” (John 16:33)

And this:  “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of Me.  He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39; 16:24-26)

And this:  “And indeed, ALL who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus WILL BE PERSECUTED.” (2 Timothy 3:12)

In other words, the “maintenance costs”.

So He says this:  “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and CALCULATE THE COST, to see if he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.'” (Luke 14:28-30)

But thankfully also this:

• “But the one who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)
• “No temptation [or tribulation or trial or adversity] has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
• “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, and perseverance proven character, and proven character hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)
• “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
• “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10)
• “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pain of childbirth together until now.  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:22 then verse 18)

Thankfully I took that man’s wise advice, calculated the cost, and decided not to buy that used BMW.

Thankfully I took that Man’s wise advice, calculated the cost, and decided to follow Him.  To lose my life, my “self”, my pleasure, my desires, and follow His later example in a certain garden as He stood at death’s door but declared decisively and dramatically His choice in the matter, when to the Father said the Son, “Not MY will but THINE be done.” (Luke 22:42)

This means that instead of focusing on doing what WE want (or more accurately, what we think we want… which often turns out to be two different things), we subjugate that and focus on doing what GOD wants.  Not on OUR will but rather on HIS will… not on the basis of mere assumption or subtly skewed self-interest but rather as set forth in the Bible:  God’s will and God’s Word are absolutely and eternally inextricable.  Always “on the same page” (no pun intended), NEVER in contradiction, not even a little bit, none, nada, zero, zip.  It’s NOT about ignoring our will, it’s about submitting our will to His.  It’s about making OUR will secondary and HIS will primary in our life.

And you know what the funny, ironic thing is?  When we “go against” our “self” and for God, that’s when life really gets fun.  That’s when the floodgates of joy really burst beautifully in our life.

Amazing but true.

And well worth the cost.  Worth.  Every.  Penny.

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The airwaves are filled with the breaking news of another senseless school shooting, this one in Santa Clarita, CA.

All of them in recent years have been downright heartbreaking – just to imagine the fear and angst and pain those affected, children and parents and teachers alike, must have experienced and some will continue to for the rest of their lives – but this one hits even much closer to home since as a teen I actually attended some football games at Saugus High School, which was the very location of this morning’s shooting.  And it’s unthinkable that such a horrific event would occur there, perennially appearing on the “Safest Cities” and “Best Places in America to Raise Kids” lists.

On the other hand, from a spiritual  perspective, it’s not unthinkable at all, because murder and hatred (the former is merely the ultimate expression of the latter, and indeed directly tied together by the Lord Jesus Himself in Matthew 5:21-22 and echoed later in 1 John 3:15 – “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer“) are part and parcel of fallen flesh, the default setting for human nature, for every single person ever born of a human father and mother (i.e., everyone in human history except Adam, Eve, and Jesus).  That “default” (or should I say, deFAULTY =) setting can be changed later in life, post-birth, but even we believers started out as depraved creatures, filled with murderous hate, as clearly stated in Titus 3:3 – “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures [depraved!], spending our life in malice and envy, HATEFUL, HATING ONE ANOTHER.”

So while unthinkable on a human  level, it’s just the opposite on the spiritual  level, totally expected and in fact I’m amazed that, while increasing in frequency in recent years (as clearly and fully predicted in 2 Timothy 3:13), there haven’t been even more  of these mass shootings.  But still heartbreaking every time.

I think that EVERYONE – liberals  and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans and Independents, believers and unbelievers – can and does agree that with few exceptions, CHILDREN should NOT have access to guns (the rare exceptions would be, for example, those in rural areas who help their parents farm their land and need to be able to protect themselves from predators, to protect their far-from-the-nearest-neighbors homes, etc., but generally speaking it seems wise to keep guns out of the hands of children; like driver’s licenses) – but AS MUCH ACCESS as possible to the BIBLE!  I am convinced that this would prevent 95+% of these shootings, impossible to prove  but very sure about this; it wouldn’t prevent 100% but the more lives saved, the more senseless deaths prevented, the BETTER.  And the best – and probably only – way to truly accomplish that is the Bible.  Because it’s the ONLY thing that can truly transform the human mind.  From blindness to sight. From hate to love.  From sin to sanctification.

I shan’t hold my breath that a majority of our political leaders will put that into action any time soon, in light of the abundance of resistance and dearth of moral courage these days by-and-large, but given how other albeit well-intended approaches have failed and failed miserably, and given how precious the lives of all people are but in a way most of all  that of children (since they have longer to live than we adults do on average if nothing else), isn’t that reason enough to give the BIBLE a try again, like this nation did years ago with great success for centuries?

While my heart breaks today for those affected – this time in my former home of Santa Clarita, CA – as it has every time tragedies like this have occurred in the past, it’s also comforted  by the fact and knowledge that there IS an answer, that as great as it is to KEEP AWAY guns from children, it’s even far better to GIVE them a Bible!  As great as it is to take away guns from their hands, it’s even far better to put the Bible into their minds.

Lord, please comfort those affected by this latest tragic school shooting.  Thank you for Your grace that such are still fairly uncommon, but those to whom it did happen today surely need an extra dose of your love so please comfort them and may they experience that in a very tangible way, and bring healing, Lord, to them and to our nation and beyond.  And most of all, I pray that the 16-year-old girl who died is now with you in heaven, that she placed her faith in You before it was too late, or that she gained entrance by way of not having yet reached the point of accountability which only You know for sure.  And may the rest of us be certain  to do so before our time comes, before “our number is called”.  And comfort her family most of all, since they no doubt are suffering the most from today’s shooting.  Amen.
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I’m sure we’re all very familiar with an adage I used to love as a kid and ever since:  “Plan ahead.  It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark!”

So true.  And indeed something that garnered him entrance into the “hall of faith” in Hebrews 11.

But in this post I’d like to look at a New Testament example and discuss two aspects or applications of this time-tested truth.  (There’s a reason an adage, well, becomes an adage.)

First, the New Testament example of this general application.

I love the Apostle Paul.  Other than the Lord Jesus Himself – with whom none  can even begin  to compare – Paul has always been at the top of my list of biblical heroes.  (Along with David, Daniel, Joseph, Abraham, Job, and Samuel and Ruth and Rahab, and pre-decline Solomon [Proverbs Solomon, not Ecclesiastes Solomon], among others.)  I love everything about him.  His utter tenacity in fulfilling what he believed to be right.  (His view was of course diametrically opposite of God’s before a certain meeting on the road to Damascus, but even then nobody can say he wasn’t tenacious and dedicated.  Misguided, yes, but totally tenacious and dedicated.)  His love for others — sometimes, when called for, tough love (e.g., 2 Corinthians and especially Galatians) – which surpasses anyone I’ve ever seen or heard of other than the Lord Jesus Himself, when in Romans 9:3 he says that he loved his fellow Jews so much that, if it were an option, he’d give up his own salvation in exchange for theirs.  That he’d put himself under the eternal curse of hell if it meant they would go to heaven.  Ladies and gentlemen, that is a level of love I can’t even imagine much less say I possess.  I’m a very loving person — always have been in a human, social sense but even exponentially more so since I started memorizing the Bible on a regular, systematic basis — but I’m quite sure I’ll never reach the point where I’d be willing to give up my salvation for anyone else’s.  But that’s exactly the level of love which the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22) had sewn in Paul’s transformed heart and life.  Amazing.  Stunning.  And so admirable.

But one aspect of the Apostle Paul I’ve come to appreciate especially in recent years is his sense of practicality and attention to details.  Wanna see what I’m talking about?  Just read what he wrote near the end of his life:  “Only Luke is with me.  Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.  But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.  When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.” (2 Timothy 4:11-13)

At first glance there might not seem to be much in these three short verses.  But upon closer inspection we can learn a LOT about Paul.  His personality and nature.  Social, connected, great leader shepherding his fellow workers like a great army general would on the battlefield.  Delegating various tasks to various people, as best suited.  More concerned about the churches he had planted and people he had led to Christ (in this case, at Ephesus) than his own emotional comfort, i.e., I think it’s safe to say that the vast majority of people nearing the very end of their life (verses 6-7) would seek to surround themselves with as many of their loved ones as possible.  But not Paul!  No sir, no ma’am, he kept just one by his side at that time (Luke) so the others could continue on in ministry and spreading the Gospel and watering the growth of new believers and churches.  What selflessness!  He clearly had internalized what the Holy Spirit had led him to write in Philippians 2:3-4.  Always thinking about the interest of others, not his own, under the umbrella of always thinking about the interests and desires and will of God.

His sense of practicality is also demonstrated in this passage and downright palpable.  He saw that Mark could be useful to him in ministry and didn’t hesitate to put those wheels into motion.

His love for the Bible is also demonstrated in that “the books” and “parchments” likely refer to the Old Testament.  We’ll have to wait until heaven to find out for sure but I’m 99.99% certain that Paul also internalized what the Holy Spirit had led him to write in Colossians 3:16, that he had memorized and regularly recited huge portions of the Bible at the time, the Old Testament.  (I also often wonder and can hardly wait to find out from him personally if he knew or at least had a sense, had any inkling that many of his penned letters to churches and individuals would comprise a huge part of the Bible’s New Testament.  I.e., it’s possible that under the miraculous umbrella of “dual” authorship – human and divine – the human author was referring to the Old Testament when he wrote 2 Timothy 3:16 while the divine Author was of course, we know now, referring prophetically to the entire Bible, the whole of Scripture.)  But what’s 100% known is that he loved the Bible, the Word of God, EVERY word of God, with all his heart and mind and soul.  [I wish there were far more ways in which my life imitated Paul’s but praise the Lord this is definitely one of them, a deep and abiding love and respect for His Word, which is why I’ve dedicated literally the rest of my life to memorizing the entire Bible, every word of the Word, so I can recite His own words in that greatest (and longest =) of all love letters BACK TO HIM as a unique and indeed historic love/thank-You gift for all He has done for me and us, all He does, all He intends to yet do, and just for who and how He is!]

But wait, there’s more!  Another thing demonstrated in this passage, in these three short verses, is that Paul – like Noah – planned ahead.  Did you catch that phrase “bring the cloak”?  A cloak was a piece of garment which doubled as a coat and blanket.  He makes clear in verse 21 that “winter” was coming, and he wanted Timothy to come before winter and bring Paul’s coat/blanket so he’d be fully prepared.  Planning ahead!  (On a side note, that was TWO THOUSAND years ago yet isn’t it interesting that in many ways he and the people of that time weren’t much different from us.  Don’t we shop for or unpack our winter clothes in advance of its expected arrival?  Indeed we do.  Paul was doing the very same thing, but was tied up at the moment so asked Timothy to do so for him.  Thinking ahead, planning ahead.)

But my other favorite example of this is also near the end of one of his penned-letters-turned-New-Testament-book:  Romans 15:22-25.  It’s clear from the people and places mentioned in Chapter 16 that he wrote the letter from Corinth.

Here’s where the “planning ahead” comes in.

You see, if you were to look at a map of those times, you’d see Corinth then to the left/west you’d see Rome and then further to the left/west of that you’d see Spain.

Do you know what that means?  Not only that Paul was planning (ahead) his trip to Spain in advance, but also made the necessary arrangements, like sending this letter via Phoebe (16:1-2), far enough in advance that they’d have time to make the necessary preparations for his “in passing on his way to Spain” visit “for a while” (verse 24), and also enough time to “help him out” financially on that journey.  He left nothing to chance.  Very detailed.  Very organized (probably the most EVER).  Always planning ahead!

And that brings me to the second aspect or application of that wise practice I’d like to discuss here.

It’s very important and beneficial to PLAN AHEAD in life.  But you know what’s infinitely more important?  To plan ahead for the NEXT LIFE, the life to come, ETERNITY.

For one reason, unlike winter, our physical death often doesn’t give ANY WARNING or ADVANCE NOTICE – so it’s absolutely imperative to do all of our planning for such NOW, while we still can.

One sad but perfect example is 9/11.  Those tragic terrorist attacks against our country in 2001.  I think about that throughout the year but inescapably at the end of every summer, with each passing anniversary of that horrific day.  And you want to know one of my main takeaways from it?  The fact that around THREE THOUSAND people simply went to their office or hopped on a plane as they no doubt had countless times before.  It was just a regular, normal, average day.  UNTIL IT WASN’T.

Those killed on that somber day had years and years and years to get their eternal destiny in order.  To plan ahead.  Before it was too late.  Because just like when that door on Noah’s Ark closed as the rains fell and flooding of historic proportions commenced, and it was too late for those people to change their mind and board that boat – i.e., to be saved – so also when a person dies and departs this physical world, it will be too late to reserve one’s place in heaven.  No my friends, that’s a reservation which can only be made in this life, while one is still alive, before the rains and flood of death occurs.  And I just want to urge each and every one of you to “be all the more diligent to MAKE CERTAIN” (2 Peter 1:10; also 2 Corinthians 13:5, per that recent post) that you’re saved and have a room waiting for you in heaven long before that day comes and this life ends.

But HOW, you might ask?  Simple.  Literally.  Simple faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone:

• in His perfect, sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22)
• in His substitutionary death on our behalf, for our sins (Romans 3:23; 6:23; 1 John 2:2)
• in His subsequent burial and resurrection from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-28)

That’s it, nothing else. (John 3:16)  By the pure grace of God through faith in His appointed mediator, Jesus Christ. (1 Timothy 2:4-6)

You don’t have to go to church (though you’ll want to – John 2:17; Hebrews 10:24-25).  You don’t even have to do good works (though you will – Ephesians 2:10).  We need simply to acknowledge that we’re sinners and therefore unable to be let into heaven, into the physical presence of the infinitely holy and righteous God, and then to put our faith in the fact that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins so we CAN and WILL spend eternity in heaven.  The substitutionary, propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus and subsequent resurrection totally resolves that otherwise conundrum!  God can let sinners into heaven, into His holy presence, because those sins have been replaced with the righteousness of Jesus Christ! (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Unlike Paul, I would never trade my salvation and willingly spend eternity in hell so someone else could spend it in heaven instead.  (Sorry, I’m very loving but not that  loving. =)  But I would  trade my physical  life so someone else could go to heaven, if that were possible.  Gladly.  But it’s not.  Why?  Because if I sacrificed my life so you could go to heaven, it wouldn’t do any good – because I’d merely be paying the price for my OWN sins (Romans 6:23; also 5:6-10).  But that’s where Christ is different than ANY OTHER person.  While Adam’s sin has been passed down to everyone else since creation and the fall of man in the garden of Eden (Romans 5:12), Christ avoided that since He was conceived not by a man (Joseph or any other) but rather by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18).  So He WAS able to offer His own body as payment for the sins of others, of everyone, of “the whole world” as 1 John 2:2 puts it.  He literally traded places with us (2 Corinthians 5:21 – more on this in a future post, incredible, the great “switcharoo”, the ultimate “no-brainer slam-dunk”!) and went to hell in our stead (Ephesians 4:9-10; 1 Peter 3:18-22) so we don’t have to, so we can go to heaven!  So when you and I leave this world and stand at the gates of heaven and are asked why we should be let in, there’s only one right, acceptable, accepted answer:  because of what JESUS did FOR US and that ALONE.

And praise the Lord that if indeed this is what ANY person is wholly, fully, and solely relying and depending on, I’m telling you right now on the full authority of the Bible and thus God Himself (it’s HIS Word, not mine) that you can KNOW with ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY that your reservation for a room in heaven has indeed been arranged beforehand.

May we be wise – like Noah, like Paul – to PLAN AHEAD.  Not just for matters of this life but also and far more importantly for the life to come.
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“A sated [satiated, satisfied, full-stomached] man loathes honey, but to a famished  man any BITTER thing is SWEET.” (Proverbs 27:7)

What an amazing verse and truth.  One man, who’s full, deems even honey to be undesirable, but a man who’s starving deems even a BITTER thing to be sweet, to be desirable.

It reminds me of a drawing that I saw on the internet years ago.  It has two scenes.  Or more accurately, one scene from two, opposite perspectives/angles.

The first image is of a man who has been stranded on an island who finally sees a boat approaching and thinks he’s about to be saved from his dire situation.

The second is of a man who has been stranded at sea who finally sees land and thinks he’s about to be saved from his dire situation.

So the next time you catch yourself feeling a bit ungrateful or taking your blessings for granted (I’m sorry to say that this happens far too often with me and is probably my biggest, most frequent sin), just remember that there are (literally) billions of people who would (literally) give their right arm (or both) to be in your shoes.  So no matter how bad or dire your situation may seem from time to time, just keep in mind (a) that NONE of us DESERVES ANYTHING good, that it’s “all gravy” and could be much worse (1 Peter 5:8), (b) that there are people suffering far more severely than you (1 Peter 5:9), and (c) that such times in our life serve a very distinct and marvelous purpose far more grand and joyful than the circumstance itself and, by the way, are ONLY TEMPORARY and won’t last forever (1 Peter 5:10) (but the benefit they produce will!).

Ah, yes, perspective is everything.

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