Why has the world gone mad

 

WHERE'S GOD

It's not God's fault that the world is in the horrible shape it's in. We have only ourselves to blame. The world God created for us was perfect (Genesis 1). It contained everything we could ever need. So then, what happened to that world? Simple. When the first humans sinned, that world was damaged. Think of it like a computer file that is corrupted, and no longer works as intended. Now, generations later, the world is experiencing the awful ramifications of sin where evil acts and death are daily facts of life. Some may wonder, "Why didn't God scrap that world and create another?" Probably, for the same reason you didn't scrap your PC for one corrupt file. Instead, you found a better way to save it. And so did God.

God in his mercy was not willing to let sin destroy his created world. So he sent out a rescue mission in the person of his son, Jesus Christ, to take the penalty for our sin. Jesus took on the punishment that we deserved. His death on the cross was the pardon (the fix) that fully paid for our sins. But a pardon is worthless unless you claim it (John 3:16).

When you accept God's pardon for your sins, you unleash the power of God upon your life. Think of it like setting a restore point on a PC. God's pardon gives you a restore point. With your past, present and future sins forgiven, you are reconciled with God, even as you enter a new phase of life in Christ.

Apart from Christ, this world will never solve all it's problems. The solution for the hatred, violence, murders, wars, sexual abuse, human trafficking, lying, stealing, adultery, cheating, racism and other sinful ways of humankind is for more people to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, and receive the new life that he freely offers (2 Corinthians 5:17). Now is the time for you to make that decision. If you're someone who's already made it, then share this message with someone else you know who needs it. A brighter day awaits.

A New Year's Resolution for a happier new you

Every year on December 31st at exactly 12 o'clock midnight fireworks light up the night sky, champagne corks pop, horns and whistles blow, hugs and kisses are exchanged and well wishes for a Happy New Year greet  people all over the world. Most people view this annual end of the year ritual as a chance to start the new year with a clean slate.

Habitually, some people make New Year's resolutions, but I wonder how many of  these  resolutions are actually holdovers from previous failed attempts? We tend to regurgitate the same resolutions year to year hoping for a different result. According to Clinical Psychologist John Norcross: 

New York, New York

Approximately 50 percent of the population makes resolutions each New Year. Among the top resolutions are weight loss, exercise, stopping smoking, better money management and debt reduction.

Berlin, Germany

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Sound familiar?  Millions of people are stuck in this perennial revolving door of making new year resolutions, only to break them days, weeks or months down the road; and revert to the same old way of doing things, to the same habits they promised to change. Let's be honest. Our  human efforts at self-improvement are at best superficial, external, and also destined to fail every time. Psychology professor Timothy Pychyl says that resolutions are nothing more than a form of cultural procrastination :

[In] an effort to reinvent oneself, people make resolutions as a way of motivating themselves. People [really] aren't ready to change their habits, particularly bad habits, and that accounts for the high failure rate.

Then, there are those who believe in willpower (how's that been working for you?). If willpower alone were all one needs most people would have succeeded with that first diet or the first time they tried to stop smoking, drinking, using drugs or whatever else they tried to will themselves to stop doing. Face it, a resolution by itself has no power, according to author S. Michael Houdmann: 

Resolving to start or stop doing a certain activity has no value unless you have the proper motivation for stopping or starting that activity. 

For a resolution to succeed, however, it will  take more than proper motivation. Once you decide you want to make a change— you might make a specific plan, take specific steps, get organized, carve out time, seek peer or professional support but unless you have spiritual resolve you will fail.

A changed life

Spiritual resolve acknowledges that we are creatures created by a loving God for a purpose. As such, we are ultimately accountable to our Creator. Spiritual resolve must undergird any desire we have for a changed life.  Without spiritual resolve and God's help, our human efforts are nothing more than  a house built on sand.  The Bible explains it this way:

When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 TLB

Trust in God alone for the power to change  by surrendering your old life in exchange for a new life in Christ. You don't have to go it alone trying to make life work. You have a helper to guide you. And you won't have to wait until next December 31 at 12  midnight to take advantage of God's offer. You can begin your new life right now with your sins forgiven and a chance to start your life over. Wishing you a Happy New Year, and an even happier new you!

 

A new year, a new life

At exactly 12:00 am every January 1, fireworks light up the night sky, champagne corks pop, horns and whistles blow, hugs and kisses are exchanged and well wishes for a Happy New Year are on the lips of  people all over the world. Behind this annual celebration is the hope that the new year will bring about a change of fortune, as well as, a chance to wipe the past year's slate clean and start over. But 364 days down the road, the unfortunate reality is that human will and human effort alone are not enough to transform our lives or make them any better.

Human efforts at self-improvement are only superficial and external at best. We believe change is just a matter of exercising our willpower. If we will ourselves to stop doing this or start doing that, it will produce the change we desire. But if willpower alone was all you needed, you would have succeeded with the first diet you tried or the first time you tried to stop smoking, drinking, using drugs or whatever else you may have tried to stop or start doing. Instead, it's the end of another year, and you find yourself back at the exact same place vowing to make many of the same changes you promised to make the year before.

And why is that? The answer lies in the simple fact that you were created by God. Therefore, you cannot recreate yourself---for that to happen, you need the Creator. In Psalm 51, King David recognizes his inability to change himself and prays: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10 KJV). King David acknowledges that without God's help his efforts to change himself are fruitless. Paul, an Apostle of Christ, explains the dilemma we all face as human beings: "I have discovered this principle of life---that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh what a miserable person I am. Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God. The answer is in Jesus Christ, our Lord!" (Romans 7:21-25 NLT)

The key to becoming a new you in this new year is surrendering your life to Christ. He alone has the power to change you. After all the Bible says that God created everything that exists and that  includes you. To the sinner, God promises that if you confess your sins, he will forgive your sins and set you on a new path --- the path of right living. To the Christian who has turned away from God to his own way, if you repent, he will forgive your sins and restore you to his family. No sin is so great that it cannot be forgiven if you come to God in a spirit of true repentance. You don't have to wait until the clock strikes midnight on January 1, you can begin your New Year with Christ right now. The Bible declares that "anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)  What a way to begin the New Year with your sins forgiven and a chance to start your life over. It doesn't get any better than that. Happy New You!

Dear God,

I turn my back on the past life I've lived. I am sorry for the sins I committed
 that have separated me from you. I believe Jesus died for my sins.

And I ask you, Jesus to come into my heart

and help me to live the rest of my life for you.

Did you pray this prayer and mean it? Congratulations, you have been born again into the family of God. Celebrate your new life. To help you understand and learn more about your new life in Christ, find a local Christ believing church in your area or contact Peace with God. 



2012: Put up or shut up

At the close of every year, I take some time to reflect on the preceding 12 months of my life with an eye toward making changes in the coming year. This annual ritual of introspection helps me determine my "life theme" for the new year. This year, I have chosen "Put up or shut up" as my life theme because of my tendency to procrastinate. No doubt you've heard this expression before, perhaps, even said it yourself. Put up or shut up is a no nonsense expression, which denotes that some action is needed to resolve the issue at hand. In essence, Put up or shut up means either do what you've been talking about or stop talking about it; either take steps to change a situation or stop complaining about it.  I like the intent behind Put up or shut up because it leaves no room for procrastination.

How many of us have fallen into the trap of procrastination? Procrastination is one of those temptations common to man and woman (1Cor10:13). It first starts as a tendency to put off everyday things like cleaning, paying off debts, making household repairs, exercising, or losing weight. But it doesn't stop there. At work or school, putting off becomes a habit resulting in missed deadlines, failure to complete projects on time and sub par performance. When fully ingrained, procrastination can attack the spiritual dimension causing a putting off or neglect of spiritual things like daily personal devotions, prayer, bible study, witnessing, and in the case of the unbeliever, even salvation (Heb 2:3). Procrastinators buy the lie that there will always be time to do it later ("I'll get back to it at SOME point."). But it never happens or when it does happen, it is often too late.

The Bible warns that procrastination in all forms has deadly consequences in eternity. It refers to procrastinators as "slothful and sluggards." A slothful person is "a loose, undisciplined person"; while a sluggard is just plain "lazy". Consider this illustration based on Eccl 10:18:

"A little slothfulness evolves into much slothfulness. It is habit-forming. When there is much slothfulness, things remain undone and the house itself starts to fall apart, decaying for lack of care while the sloth is out having fun or sleeping. If nobody steps forward to fix things in the moment, the house of the sloth decays. His responsibilities fall on everybody but him."

Like a decaying building, our spiritual house suffers decay when we put off and neglect those spiritual disciplines (i.e. personal devotions, prayer, bible study, witnessing) that are necessary in order to grow and to remain strong in the faith. I hear people say all the time, "I wish I knew the Bible better" or "I wish I could quote it" or "I wish I could pray like so and so" or "I've been thinking about joining a ministry but..." [What's stopping you?] Then there is the unsaved procrastinator who hears the gospel and says, "Sounds like me, but I'm not ready yet. Besides, I've got plenty of time." Sooner or later,  procrastinators run out of time. Someone once said, "Ain't nothing to it but to do it." So if this sounds like you, or is you, don't procrastinate. Confess it. With God's help make the choice to "Put up or shut up in 2012.

New Year, New You!

In just a few hours from now fireworks will light up the night sky, champagne corks will pop, horns and whistles will blow, hugs and kisses will be exchanged and well wishes for a Happy New Year will be on the lips of many the world over. Behind this annual celebration is the hope and expectation that the New Year will bring about a change of fortune, as well as, an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start afresh. Even advertisers and purveyors of self-improvement products and services get a piece of the action by promising to fulfill the wishes of customers who desire to transform themselves "from the old me into a new me." But 364 days down the road, the unfortunate reality is that human will and human effort alone is not enough to prevent us from falling short of our desired goal to transform our lives and to make them better.

Man's attempts at self-improvement are often rooted in the superficial and the external. We think change is a matter of our will. If we will ourselves to stop this or start that, we think that this is enough to produce the change we desire. But if that were the case, the first diet you tried would have worked or the first time you decided to stop smoking, drinking or the like would have been enough to produce sobriety in you. And yet, every new year, we find ourselves back at the same place, reciting the same vows, trying to make the same changes we promised to make a year ago.

What's wrong with us? The answer lies in the fact that the created cannot recreate itself---for that, we need the Creator. In Psalm 34, King David recognizes his inability to change his ways and so seeks the help of his Creator: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me (Ps 51:10 KJV)." David recognized that without God's help he would continue to be lost in his sins. Paul explains the dilemma we all face as human beings in this world: "I have discovered this principle of life---that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh what a miserable person I am. Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God. The answer is in Jesus Christ, our Lord! (Rom 7:21-25 NLT)"

The only way you can become a new you in this new year is by surrendering your life to Christ who alone has the power to make all things new. For the sinner, he will cleanse you and forgive you of all your sins. For the Christian who has strayed, he will forgive you of your sins and restore you to the family of God. You don't have to wait until the clock strikes 12 midnight for your new life to begin. It can begin right now with a simple prayer of confession. Happy New You!