Doubled Up

Has anyone ever heard the same message twice and said to themselves, "Ugh, not this again. What is the deal with the Pastor, doesnt he realize he just taught this 6 months ago?!" Has anyone ever wanted to say something, but then thought to themselves, "What's the point? It's all been said before, they don't need to hear it again." Has anyone ever heard the same message twice and said to themselves, "Wow, I don't think I could ever get tired of that message! God is so good!"

Personally, I've fallen into all three categories, so I'll let you in on a little secret: The first two happen when we're not giving our all to God! For whatever reason and with whatever excuse we have decided that something or someone else takes priority in our lives, and 'magically' that translates into a lack of excitement or even hostility toward the teaching of God's truth. It's actually quite simple; we are just too blinded by our sin to realize it. If we feel like God is boring or repetetive or far away, it's because we are actively doing something wrong (i.e. we are sinning, and God isn't pleased with it). In my life, the most common two things that I miss are Bible reading and prayer. The importance of these two activities has probably been stressed to me thousands of times, yet here I am, stressing it again to myself and to my readers.

It's amazing how quickly such joyful activities can become a burden, or get excused away due to other religious activities. I am a member at quite a few Bible studies, so it's easy for me to say to myself, "Dude, Evan, you are so spiritual. God is pleased with you. I mean, you get into the Word prolly twice as much as 99% of the world, so reading it every day is not that big of a deal. Just take a break tomorrow and worship him by doing what you love; go take a break and have some fun!" Wait what!? Red Flag! Sounds more like my sinfulness and complacency than Christ talking; wouldn't you agree?

The Bible takes no such stance with meditation on Scripture. Psalm 119 is a great psalm for the importance of the Word and way of God. Psalm 119:10-11 says

"With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments.
Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You."

I need to seek God with my whole heart, not half way. So diligently should I seek it and meditate on it and read it continually that it is hidden in my heart. Memorizing something takes time and effort and repetition. I'm sure making that transition from knowledge to application (head to heart) doesnt require any less effort. Besides, if God is the principle thing, the one thing we want in life and our only hope, then we will already be devouring His words like there's no tomorrow. I know a few people like that - they absolutely love the Lord and are a continually an encouragement to me to keep focusing on Him.

Once we get this down, the same message over and over again doesn't get boring. Instead it is encouraging! I hope this message was encouraging to you. But if it's same old same old "God is important, read the Bible, blah blah..." I'd do some soul searching. I know I had to before I wrote this one. I didn't know what to write, because I'd heard it all before. Hah. No more.

"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." - Hebrews 3:13

Treasures of Wickedness

I'll be honest. I get so caught up sometimes in what is going to benefit me on earth, and base moral decisions with that as the most weighty factor. I recently wrestled at a wrestling tournament in which I had to forfeit first round to a girl, because the computer randomly paired her up with me, and we aren't allowed to wrestle girls at King's. This is based on the moral principle that men should treat women with gentleness, respect, and modesty. To be blunt, wrestling involves some sketchy situations that would certainly not be consider gentle, respectful, or modest if a girl was involved. So, I forfeited. I got about 4 positive responses and all other negative responses. So basically I did not win favor in the sight of man, nor the pleasure of placing higher than I did.

But who cares? Maybe a few wrestlers I half-know, or one of the assistant coaches. What does it gain me in the long run, though? I seriously hope I'm not looking back on that day for the next 50 years saying, "Man, if only I wrestled that girl..." It seems so important at the time, but when its all over, winning a few more matches doesn't matter one iota. How I lived my life is what will matter. People are more likely to look back and see a righteous pattern and use one of these incidents as an example than to praise me for getting 4th place in a small tournament rather than 7th. Proverbs says, "Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death" (10:2). Funny how God hits it right on the head every time...

Perhaps you've heard someone say before that "The man with the most toys in the end wins." That has to be the most ridiculously hollow philosophy to ever form on the face of the earth. Wins what? What toys? Who cares? Everyone's dead in "the end"! The only thing that's left, as Bobby has been stressing to us in High Point recently, is our relationship with Christ. We are either his friend or his enemy, and only that is truly eternal. "Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death" (Prov. 11:4).

So let us not waste our time any longer storing up earthly wealth or treasures of wickedness, because ultimately a life focused on doing that will only lead to disappointment, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matt. 6:33). The Lord will take care of our earthly needs if we make our focus living a righteous life pleasing to him.

"The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked will perish" (Prov. 10:28).