Good morning and happy Saturday. I hope that you had a good week and that you are planning to gather with other believers and worship the Lord tomorrow. We will be doing our second message in the series from the book of Colossians. We will also be observing the Lord’s Supper together. I hope that you can join us.
The other day I was taking a trip down memory lane and listening to what they now refer to as “oldies.” I am not sure why that is because I listened to them when I was young and that wasn’t too many years ago (compared to eternity for instance). As I listened, one of my faves from back in the day came on. It was a deeply edifying masterpiece called, “Life’s Been Good” by Joe Walsh. In the song, he talks about how life has been good to him. He mentions fortune and fame, having a mansion, a Maserati that does 185, gold records, fans that think he is great, and of course, partying. If you think about it, the things he describes are what most people are seeking to have so that they can claim the good life for themselves. In reality, mankind has been pursuing these types of things since the very beginning. The Bible has much to say about that. Most of it as a warning. Jesus clearly said you can’t love God and money. He could have said material things, possessions, etc., for that is what mankind acquires with their money. I personally believe this is one area that we try to prove Jesus wrong in. We seek to pursue both God and money. It is like we are racing down parallel tracks. But what happens when we get to a fork in the road? I have a wall hanging above my coffee maker that says, “All I need today is a little bit of coffee and a whole lotta Jesus.” I will be honest with you, there are some mornings when I get up at 3:15 or so that my primary concern is not Jesus. Instead, I am standing there all bleary-eyed wondering why it takes the K-cup brewer more than 30 seconds to produce me a cup of java to get me motivated. The sad reality is, there are a lot of things that can begin taking precedence over Jesus in our lives. In fact, if we are not careful, we can begin living for them and not so much for Jesus.
In the midst of his timeless masterpiece, reflecting upon the good life he has obtained, Walsh sings, “I can’t complain but sometimes I still do.” That, my friends, is where we often find ourselves, and it is a definite red flag. Most of you reading this are Christians. That means you have been forgiven of your sins and been given eternal life. You are no longer subject to the wrath of God nor the prospect of spending forever in hell. You have received the Holy Spirit of God to dwell within you and to guide your life. You have a personal relationship with the God who has created all things and who loves you. There is a recognition that this is not our home and that we will leave this place one day and spend forever in the presence of God. If all of that is true, and it is, that brings up some questions. Why is it that we spend so much time and energy trying to make this our home? Why do we care so much about material and temporal things that we will leave behind? Why do we spend so much time on things that won’t make a difference in eternity? Knowing all that we have received in Christ Jesus, why do we still complain?
12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do notconsider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenlycall in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. 16 In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. 17 Join in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame; and they are focused on earthly things. 20 Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself. (Philippians 3:12-21)
From our neighborhoods to the nations,
Pastor Larry
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