Life This Side of Heaven

Most of us are familiar with the Emergency number 911. Not everyone is familiar with the "Call-Before-You-Dig" number 811. But how about 1271?

Children are cute and adorable. They’re also loud and unpredictable. However, as they say, "The only quiet church is an empty one."  It may surprise you to know how much kids get out of church.

Were you ever embarrassed to have someone know that you had a sibling? Do you feel that way today? Jesus wasn’t ashamed to take on human flesh and become one of us in order to rescue us. Both the Savior and those being saved share this incredible bond in common. You and I are blessed with a Savior whose not ashamed to call us His brothers.

In 1881, Mark Twain’s classic, The Prince and the Pauper , was published. The story of role reversals is so popular that it’s become a staple of stories and movies for generations. Imagine exchanging rags for riches. Actually, you and I don't have to imagine it at all. Here's what God has done for us in His Son.

Having sinned, and now staring at each other, Adam and Eve could see something horrifying and dangerous that wasn’t there before – guilt and shame. As a result, they hid from God. They were truly "naked and afraid." However, as Scripture reminds us, apart from what our Savior has done this would also have been a good description of us.

It’s become common in recent years to strike out against God’s Word, and specifically the account of creation in Genesis and this term "helper," as the source for a culture which demeans women, casts them as inferior, and relegates them to secondary status. Sadly, that reflects the superficial understanding of Scripture that exists today. When you and I scrape away the misunderstanding that has be...

Instead of being sculpted in bronze and perched on a pedestal in some park, God is alive and enthroned in heaven. In Psalm 135, instead of marveling over a statue commemorating a dead hero, David rejoices in our living God. You and I, and who trust in the salvation that God has given to us in His Son, are the living monuments to our Savior’s love.

Here in Mark, Jesus talks about being... salty. In love, Jesus pointed out the necessity of ongoing repentance and self-discipline. It’s like having salt rubbed into an open sore. It stings – like iodine. But it fights the spiritual infection that can come with our own self-satisfaction that might also hurt or hinder the faith of others.

Have you had someone discourage, or even deter, you from doing something? Here in Mark’s Gospel, the disciples wanted to pour a some cold water on something they thought needed to stop. However, Jesus Himself Jesus threw cold water on that idea.

It may raise our eyebrows to hear James, and Peter, encouraging us to "cover over a multitude of sins.”  But, doesn’t that sound like simply hiding the problem?  Is James really saying that by doing this you and I can mask a multitude of transgressions and pretend they’re not there – lurking underneath?

When James describes the prayer of a righteous person, this righteousness isn’t some goodness and wholesomeness of our own that we may like to imagine. If that was the case no prayer would even be heard, let alone powerful.

“Same old, same old.” Have you ever heard that phrase? In Numbers, Moses describes for us a case of “same old, same old” among the complaining people of Israel. In love, God showed them that it's good some things remain the "same old, same old." Thankfully, and remarkably, He does the same thing for you and me today.

Do you remember your first time on the monkey bars when you were a kid?  Monkey bars consist of a frame with evenly placed steel rungs on which kids can swing from one bar to the next – much the way a monkey swings from branch to branch in the jungle. As a small child, did you ever find yourself getting stuck half-way? David describes "fretting" in much the same way, but he does give the solution.

Do you aspire to be …a GOAT? Apparently, this was an ongoing debate among the disciples. And when our pride kicks in, chances are we my find ourselves caught up in this debate from time-to-time. In love, Jesus tells us that we've got it backwards and points to something much better!

When Jesus told the disciples about His coming suffering and crucifixion, it would have be hard not to understand what He said. If they had any questions they knew they were free to ask Him about it just as they had on other occasions in the past. However, this time, as Mark points out, “They were afraid to ask Him about it.” A closer look at the context reveals why. It's the same temptation that...

In James, he tells believers to be mindful of their surroundings and what lurks in their midst. It’s easy to settle into the way the sinful world lives and lose sight of its dangers. But then he points us to our protection, our salvation and safety in Christ.

Wisdom is often one of those things you wished you had earlier in life. That’s because it’s often accumulated over time. But the great thing about God’s wisdom is that He gifts it to us in His Word.

At the time of Jeremiah the truth was being trampled by the false prophets who sought to take his life. When the prophet brought his complaint to God, the Lord braced him and said, “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?” At first that may sound silly. How can a man compete with a horse?

In Psalm 31, David's phrase describing God's ‘shining face’ may sound more like a happy parent cradling their newborn in their arms, or a parent beaming with pride at their child’s piano recital. And while the word certainly does include this element of joy, it’s much more than a happy glance in your direction from God. In fact, it’s used in Scripture in much fuller way that may have imagined.

What do you do when things seem to get worse, not better? Where do you go when the situation you’re facing looks bleaker, not brighter? At times like, while it's tempting to focus on the weakness of our wobbling faith, God's Word directs us to the strength of our Savior.

It may sound like hyperbole at first when James says, “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.” But consider how true that is. Today, with the arrival of social media, it only takes a few short sentences, a mocking meme, or the click of a mouse to forward on angry words to inflame thousands more.

James uses this nautical example to illustrate how something as small as our tongue, like a boat’s rudder, can change the direction of our conversation.  It can make all the difference in our relationships with those around us – from either ‘smooth sailing’ to crashing hard upon the rocks.

Did you know that when Jesus arms were being stretched out onto the cross, and as the nails were being driven in His hands, He considered all of this worth it – worth it to save you, to redeem you, to restore you to right relationship with God and rescue you for eternity.  That’s how deep and unwavering Jesus’ love is for you. How can you know this?

“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times…”  Have you ever heard that phrase?  If you did, you were probably in trouble, right?  You just know the whatever came next wasn’t going to be good. But what if it was not only good, but very good?

If things in our lives are not going the way we hope, does that mean that God has turned a deaf ear toward us? Or even worse, if God doesn’t seem to be answering our prayers in the way we think He should, does this mean He’s working against us?