Here’s a phrase which many of you who follow politics have no doubt already begun to hear quite a bit and of which the rest of the citizenry is about to get a big, double-dog-dare-ya-to-disregard dose during this election year:  “binary choice”.

“Not enthused with either presidential (or congressional or local) candidate and therefore don’t plan to vote for Trump?  Then you’re in essence voting for Biden!”  Or, “Not going to vote for Biden?  Then you’re in effect voting for Trump!”

In other words, because we (U.S.) only have two major political parties, it ends up being a binary choice virtually every time.

Regardless of how good or bad either or both candidates on the ballot might be… if you don’t vote for the one, then in practical terms you’re helping elect the other, and vice versa.

But far, far, far more important and weighty than any political battle is the fact that this concept also holds true on the spiritual  battlefield.

The Bible comes to a crystal clear conclusion:  each person faces several binary choices in life which will largely determine how they fare not just emotionally or relationally or physically but also spiritually… here are four of them.

Pray – or be  prey.

• “Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation … Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour [i.e., to PREY upon] … Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil … With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit…” (Matthew 26:41a; 1 Peter 5:8b; Ephesians 6:11,18a)

Be humble – or be humbled.

• “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12)
• “And He [Jesus] began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table; saying to them, When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, and he who invited you both shall come and say to you, “Give [that/your] place to this man,” and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last [i.e., worst, lowliest] place.  But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you.  For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.'” (Luke 14:7-11)

Be forgiving – or be unforgiven.

• “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you entreated me.  Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, even as I had mercy on you?’  And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.  o shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not FORGIVE his brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:32-35)
• “For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13)
• “The merciful man does HIMSELF good, but the cruel man does himself harm.” (Proverbs 11:17)

Meditation – or medication.

• “For they [the “my words” of verse 20, i.e., God’s words and Word, the Bible] are life to those who find them, and health to all their whole body.” (Proverbs 4:22)
• “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” (Psalm 119:11)
• “O how I love Thy law!” [i.e., the Bible]  It is my meditation all the day.(Psalm 119:97)
• “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.  And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” (Psalm 1:2-3)
• “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” (Joshua 1:8)

If we want to fulfill the following verse and “finish strong” and receive a waiting reward, a literal crown…

• “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

… then it’s absolutely crucial that we choose correctly when it comes to binary choices, in which inaction is tantamount to losing.

In other words, we will wisely want to “finish the course” – all  18 holes, as it were – and thus put in a GREAT FINISH in this life, in light of the one (and the One) to come.

We don’t  want to be like this year’s (yesterday’s) Masters pro golf tournament which looked certain  to be headed for a fantastic finish when, with around just nine holes left to play, not one, not two, not even three but an unheard-of FOUR players were all tied for the lead (at -6).

“Four  co-leaders with just the BACK NINE to play?  It’s going to be one whale of a finish!”

Then three of them watched their golf game fall apart.  Despite how excellent it had been for each of them the previous 3.5 rounds.

And, sadly, that’s exactly how it is for far too many Christians:  strong (and, often, very  strong) start, weak finish.

To paraphrase the verse above, “No good.”

Not good enough.

Not good at all.

Because, you see, it’s not how one starts that really counts, it’s how one finishes.

The silver lining yesterday was that, while three of the four down-the-stretch co-leaders fell apart, the other one – a brother in Christ no less, named Scottie Scheffler, the #1-ranked golfer in the world even before yesterday’s major win – “finished strong” after making great choice (wood or iron?) after great choice (go for the pin or lay up?) after great choice (wedge or putter from just off the green?).

May we too heed the advice of a fictional yet fully factual phrase from a (very) old knight and “choose wisely” when it comes to the binary choices we face week in and week out.

Yes, exactly!  We must  choose.  May we choose wisely.  Per the precious passages cited above, so that we will “finish strong” in this life in light of  the one to come and thus receive the crown of righteousness.

(That’s even far greater than golf’s “green jacket”!)

 

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Per plenty of published projections predicting a pretty plump path, people from Maine to Texas (local cloud cover-contingent) are set to see quite a sight:  just two hours from now, day will literally become night.  In a tad over “the blink of an eye” (but close!) daylight will turn to darkness.

For a few fast minutes anyway.

That’s right, it’s Solar Eclipse Day as mass media outlets have been breathlessly blaring with tremendous anticipation all weekend in particular; the event is about to arrive with full scientific force but here’s what’s filling my mind this monumental moment:

• how in the world can any rational, brain-possessing person actually believe that there is no God, that nature – on any  day but perhaps particularly and most poignantly an eye-popping planetary event like the imminent Solar Eclipse – is a product of mere coincidence!  Preposterous.  Impossible.
• the utter, sheer, peerless power of Omnipotent God.
• just as a solar eclipse can block our planet from the Sun, so also sin can block our life from the Son.
• I view this as just the latest (and so far “greatest”?) “small mercy” being given by God to humanity, worldwide, as planetary, astronomical events like this tend to turn the attention and focus of the masses upward, to the skies, literally to heaven and thus the throne therein and the Lord who sits thereon.  I view the terror attacks of 9/11 in 2001 and the (very unexpected, “totally unlikely”) massive box office success of The Passion of the Christ  in 2004 and of course the Covid pandemic in 2020 in particular in a similar way, i.e., God’s gracious attempts to “smack humanity in the face” not to punish or discipline but to wake it out of its decades-long spiritual slumber.  To “shake” it out of its spiritual stupor as if to say, “I’m coming soon!  Behold, I’m standing at the doorstep, knocking, giving anyone and everyone the opportunity to freely let me into the home of their heart, to single-handedly helm your soul and spirit from this moment for all eternity.”

Which nicely brings us to the meat, the main point of this post:  may we use this stellar solar event with worldwide watching to “examine ourselves” to see if we are indeed redeemed, to pinpoint where we stand on the spiritual spectrum – such a solemn subject and by far the most important of this entire life – or at least come quite close to confirming which kind of person we are of the four types among mankind, as follows, and to act accordingly:

• He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool, shun him.
• He who knows not and knows that he knows not is a child, teach him.
• He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep, awaken him.
• He who knows and knows that he knows is a wise man, follow him.

… in other words, to heed the Holy Spirit’s and Paul’s pointed words of warning to wisely…

• “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!” (2 Corinthians 13:5a)

Paul uses an exclamation point.

God uses solar eclipses and other such events to get our attention, to “shake us and wake us” to a few fine facts…

How small and puny people are in the grand scheme of things, how truly little our lives are by comparison.

How helpless we are without Him, especially spiritually.

How much we need Him in every aspect and facet of life – this one and the (much, much, much, much, much longer) one to come.

How mighty and matchless and masterful and all-powerful He is.

Or as countless singers (like the Statler Brothers) have sung to the Lord for 75 years now:  How great Thou art, Lord!  How. Great. Thou. Art.

 

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A few of my previously-published posts have mentioned that this area has several different routes for my many-mile mega-walks and that my by-far favorites are the ones which involve the National Mall.

The particular path upon which I trod today took me from the Jefferson Memorial, past the Washington Monument, across the pedestrian bridge by the Tidal Basin to the Lincoln Memorial then across the Memorial Bridge to – and around – the hallowed ground of Arlington National Cemetery, past the Netherlands Carillon, culminating at the famous Iwo Jima (Marines) Memorial and then back to where I started, and repeating that path as many as ten times but usually three to five, depending on the amount of time allotted for exercising on a given day.

This morning there were four main thoughts which walloped my mind while I was walking, in this (chronological) order.

I had chosen this same route (of the several different spectacular ones available in this area) just last week and the trees were how they normally are eleven months a year but today was a very different story as they all started sprouting bright, white (cherry) blossoms in the past few days, which reminded me of a post I penned a whole year  ago so the first main thought that struck me this morning was how quickly  time passes… I simply c-a-n-n-o-t  believe that it has been an entire year!

• “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.  You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14) [i.e., like an exhaled breath on a cold morning]

The second thought that hit me during this morning’s walk was, when seeing said cherry blossoms, to take inventory of my spiritual status to see if it was in “full bloom” like DC’s trees these next few weeks, or if there were any areas which needed to be “pruned” as only the Lord and Holy Spirit and Bible can do, can correct, can cause:

• “like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow [i.e., bloom!] in respect to salvation [i.e., spiritually]” (1 Peter 2:2)
• “But his delight is in the law of the Lord [i.e., the Bible], and in His law he meditates day and night.  And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf [i.e., blossom!] does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” (Psalm 1:2-3)

The third thought occurred immediately thereafter:  for the first time since last fall, the National Park Service opened the pedal-powered “paddle” boats (blue like the sky-reflecting water on this particular day anyway) and that (of course!) brought a Bible verse to mind:

• “Behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder, wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.” (James 3:4)

But the Bible doesn’t stop there!  No, it immediately wields wise words of warning, noting that just as the path of a great ship is determined, indeed, “directed” by one of its “small” parts among many, so also the path of a person’s life is determined and directed by one of its  ”small” parts among many, the tongue:

• “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.  Behold, how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!” (James 3:5)

Much more about that topic in a forthcoming one but for the purposes of this  post, after proceeding along the path picked for today’s walk and coming to Arlington National Cemetery, my eyes were drawn to and literally couldn’t move away from those rows and rows and rows of gravestones, and that reminded me of how our focus, our gaze, our eyes should be drawn to – and remain  fixed (and fixated) on – the Lord Jesus:

• “fixing our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2a)

Just as I (quite literally) couldn’t take my eyes off of those rows and rows of gravestones, so also – and times a trillion – I shouldn’t be able to take my eyes off of the Person and wisdom and will and work and Word and words of our loving Lord.

To be sure, it’s impossible for the finite, Fall-flawed human mind to muster maximum, continual focus on Him, due to the presence and potential of sin on this side of eternity (which is why verse 1 tells us to “lay aside” not just “sin which so easily entangles us” but even “every encumbrance” – more about this too in a future post) but that should absolutely be our daily, increasingly-neared goal.

May we wisely be aware of just how short, how brief our life actually is, and maintain a proper sense of spiritual urgency accordingly.

May we wisely “test” and “examine” ourselves spiritually – rigorously (“be all the more diligent”) and regularly (verb tense) – to take inventory, to see if our walk with the Lord is indeed “blooming”.

• “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!” (2 Corinthians 13:5a)
• “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” (2 Peter 1:10-11, with “these things” referring back to the preceding verses 5-7 – which, interestingly and importantly, similarly contain the phrase “applying all diligence” – namely, “faith”, “moral excellence”, “knowledge”, “self-control”, “perseverance”, “godliness”, “brotherly kindness” and “love”.)

May we wisely be aware of just how powerful and potent and potentially poisonous and self-destructive our words, our speech, our tongue can be, to never forget that though it’s small in size compared to other major parts of our body, it’s outsized  in determining the direction and destiny of our lives, since it literally “directs” such, just like the “very small rudder” of a ship.

And fourthly and lastly but definitely not least – in fact, most importantly since if we get this one right, the first three will fall into place nicely – may we wisely maintain, keep, “fix our eyes”, our focus, on the Lord Jesus, since He was and is and forevermore shall be the very personification of perfection and power and purity and every good thing – to Him and Him alone be the glory, God-blessed forever.  Amen.

[NOTE:  I never include nearly  this many songs/videos in a post but am doing so this time because each and every one is (a) spot-on to what I wrote above and (b) unique and different  from the others below (hard to believe but I actually nixed  ten other versions, because those ones weren’t  unique enough) and in my humble view all will be a big blessing to you and are thus worthy of your time except the very last one for those who don’t like their music/hymns to be “rocky” in nature, otherwise I think you’ll enjoy all of these.  Sincerely, DJ Bible]

 

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Tonight is the big “State of the Union” presidential address to a joint-session of Congress and – thanks to TV cameras, radio, and the internet – the entire country or at least those who take time to tune in, tens of millions of whom definitely do.

But instead of focusing on (perpetually pervasive) politics, I encourage everyone to focus on the “state of our union” with the Lord!

On how we’re doing spiritually.

On how we view and treat our fellow man and especially fellow Christians.

On how much time and depth and focus and attention we give to the Lord and His Holy Word, the Bible – each day, each week, each month.

On what things fill our mind and heart.

For a little while at least, let’s leave it to others to opine and plead and pontificate about politics on this “State of the Union” night, while we wisely take inventory of how we’re doing spiritually.

• “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you…” (2 Peter 1:10a)
• “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!” (2 Corinthians 13:5a)

 

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As I’m sure you’ve noticed, there are a lot of things that seem to be getting more and more scarce, downright rare, in current-day society.

Truth, for sure.

And love.

And joy.  (Contrary to the perception most social media posts try to paint.)

And peace.  (Nuff said.)

And patience.  (Next time you’re driving, simply observe how humans honk their horns anymore and you’ll see what I mean.)

But despite how gloomy the outlook might be for society right now, don’t let it get you glum…

… because I have good news:  there’s still hope!

That’s right, we humans have hope but ONLY ONE, and that’s the Lord Jesus Christ and specifically His Spirit-spawned, blessed birth and spotless life and salvation-sealing death, burial, and resurrection.

And hand-in-hand with the Incarnate Word, our only hope is the written Word, the God-breathed Bible.  For the latter leads and lassos and lovingly links our little lives to Him, our very big God.

Per my prayed petitions for many years now, I remain confident and convinced that at least one more mass spiritual revival is in store… but ONLY IF we hop head-first into, then hold both-handedly onto, our ONLY hope… ONLY IF we turn away from our sin and to His Word, the magnificent, beneficent Bible.

May we wisely do so in our own life first, then let it spread to others via demonstrated love and joy and peace and patience and humility.

It’s our only hope.

 

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