Just When You Least Expect It

The Good Take the Long Road

Opportunities for taking shortcuts abound in this life. We can choose, multiple times every day, either to take the easy route out of expediency, or the longer one to do what's right; to cave in to evil, or to struggle through for good. I wonder, when was the last time you cut corners; when you caved to something less than good? In the first century BC, amidst the chaos of the late Roman Republic, political alliances shifted like sand. Many senators backed whoever promised them wealth or survival, but Marcus Tullius Cicero sought instead to judge matters through the lens of justice and the common good. During the Catiline Conspiracy, when Lucius Sergius Catilina plotted to overthrow the government, some urged a swift execution of all suspected conspirators—no trial, no evidence weighed. But Cicero resisted the mob's rush to judgment, pressing for clear proof before condemning anyone. His measured approach exposed the true leaders of the plot while sparing the innocent, demonstrating that wisdom discerns not just between right and wrong, but between what merely seems expedient and what is truly just. Hebrews 5:13-14 Anyone who lives on milk is still a baby and is not able to understand much about living right. But solid food is for people who have grown up. From their experience they have learned to see the difference between good and evil. True wisdom, godly wisdom, refuses the shortcut of expedience, choosing instead the harder road of goodness, justice and kindness based on God's truth. The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil. Be prepared to take the longer road. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Stop Making Excuses

Our capacity for denial of the obvious is amazing. We can be presented with irrefutable evidence that something exists and yet, based on our experience, our particular worldview, our version of the truth, still deny that which is as plain as day. I recently met a man who, with every fibre of his being, believes that the world is flat. I mean, he was absolutely genuine. Wow! But did you know that there are also people who … wait for this … don't believe in the existence of God? I know, now you think I'm the crazy one. Because, in point of fact, the vast majority of the human race doesn't believe in God. No, the universe wasn't 'created', it just happened, and life simply … evolved. Former American President Ronald Reagan once said, "I have long been unable to understand the atheist in this world of so much beauty. And I've had an unholy desire to invite some atheists to dinner and serve the most fabulous gourmet meal that's ever been concocted and, after dinner, ask them if they believe there's a cook." The Apostle Paul put it like this: Romans 1:20 There are things about God that people cannot see—his eternal power and all that makes him God. But since the beginning of the world, those things have been easy for people to understand. They are made clear in what God has made. So people have no excuse for the evil they do. Look around. From the bee sitting on the flower in your garden to the peak of Mount Everest, it's obvious. So we have no excuse for the evil we do. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Heaven's Delight

The word "pleasure" can have both positive and negative connotations depending on the sort of pleasure we're talking about. But have you ever wondered whether God takes pleasure in anything, and if so, in what? There's a verse that, each time I read it, completely blows my mind. Here it is: Psalm 149:4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation. (ESV) How do you unpack that? How do you make sense of the fact that the God who created the whole universe takes pleasure in His people – fallible human beings like you and me who've made so many mistakes in our lives; who've dishonoured Him, turned our backs on Him … so many times in our lives. Imagine a guy gets fired—it's his own fault, too many no-shows. Weeks later, his old boss calls. "We're short-staffed. Want your job back?" No lecture, no probation—just a fresh start. He hangs up, stunned, grinning like a kid. That, to me, is this verse in real life: God delighting in the humble, lifting them when they least deserve it. And let me tell you, that expression, "takes pleasure in", is a really strong one in the Hebrew language in which that was originally written. It speaks of deep pleasure, acceptance and favour, not reluctant tolerance. God's love for you and me is active and joyful. And it's not in our human strength, or status or self-reliance, but in those who walk humbly with Him. So when you're perhaps feeling a bit down on yourself, know this: that heaven's applause is already yours, and He adorns you with His salvation. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Fire Can't Touch Forever

To a lesser or greater degree, those who profess a faith in Jesus Christ will invariably suffer. For some, that may merely involve scorn or ridicule. But for countless others down through the centuries, it's cost them their lives. In the 16th Century, Anne Askew, a young English poet and Protestant reformer, was arrested and tortured for rejecting Catholicism. Offered freedom if she recanted she refused, answering her interrogators with clarity and even wit. Despite the brutal treatment, she spoke of her joy in Christ and her certainty of a heavenly reward. As she was burned at the stake, eyewitnesses recorded her praying aloud and quoting Scripture until her voice was silenced by the flames. She lived—and died—with the unshakable assurance that God's promise outweighed any earthly suffering. Said Jesus to His followers: Luke 6:22-23 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. (NRSV) Over the last few days, we've chatted about fearless faith and bold belief. Too many of Christ's followers today have become all too shy about their faith, hiding their light under a bushel for fear of recrimination. Why, when Jesus, in the face of persecution, called us blessed? When the world turns up the heat, remember—no fire on earth can burn away the reward that awaits you, so rejoice in that day, leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Bold Belief

At the core of your being, let me ask you, what do you believe? Do you believe in the power of the Good News of Jesus to save you from your sin? Or is that a difficult, even impossible thing for you to believe? What … do you … believe? If all that feels a tad "in your face", I get it. And yet, I make no apology for it. Because sometimes I feel the need to be direct in cutting through the clutter, in slicing through the opaque veil of worldly self-interest that casts itself so readily over the human heart. Sometimes we need to be jolted out of our complacency, shocked into action. Life puddles along. The concerns of life fill our minds. And we forget, all too easily, that there's a powerful truth set before each one of us by God Himself - that He sent Jesus to save us from our sin; that by faith in Him and Him alone, we can be saved; that if we reject the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, we will spend eternity separated from God in that place we call hell. For that reason, like the Apostle Paul back in the 1st Century AD … Romans 1:16-17 … I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous will live by faith." (NRSV) Your faith in Christ alone is what can save you, what will save you. With all my heart, I urge you today to believe. Believe in Jesus. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.