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Just recently, I heard a preacher say, “Busyness, Boredom and Blessings will all try to lead you away from Jesus.” He made an excellent point.

BUSYNESS

How often have you been so busy that you have told yourself, “I don’t have time to go to Worship and Bible Class.” I know lots of folks think they can’t fit devotions into their busy schedule. And Satan is smiling. He loves when your BUSYNESS keeps you from spending time listening to God’s Word and speaking to Him in prayer. Think how different our usual attitude is than that of Martin Luther. Someone once asked Luther his plans for the day and he replied, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in Prayer.” That may sound counterintuitive, but if you want God’s blessing on your day, shouldn’t you stay in close contact with Him?

BOREDOM

Sometimes you just don’t feel like doing anything. I get it. After eight funerals in a ten week period, and lots of rainy days as well, I did not have much motivation to get up and get going. But that is the perfect time to spend with Jesus. He waiting for you. Go to Him in prayer. Listen to Him speak to you through His Word. Make the most of your “down time.”

BLESSINGS

As crazy as it might sound, blessings sometimes shove God aside. It is beyond ironic that the very one who has given you the gifts and things you enjoy gets pushed to the side once you have them. You start to convince yourself you deserve all the things you have because of how hard you have worked.

Put yourself in God’s position for a moment. What if you gave the perfect gift to someone, the very thing that person had been wanting and waiting for. You saw the joy on his or her face when the gift was received, and then they walked away, never to speak to you again.

I would imagine when you saw the word “blessings” many of you thought of material things first. But let’s consider the greatest blessing any of us have ever received, the thing we could never earn and certainly don’t deserve: forgiveness. It was something beyond the realm of possibility if we were left to our own resources. That is why it is such a tremendous blessing, something God alone could do and something He willingly did.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

When you count your blessings – which are many – keep Jesus at the top of the list. Don’t let your blessings lead you away from Him.

A few years back one of our daughter’s and her family stayed with us for a couple of months while her husband was searching for a new job. They had been full time RVers, and he had a “work from home sales job,” but they were ready to come off of the road. God blessed him with a new job in Colorado, so they started preparing to move up there.

As all of this was happening, their older model Jeep Patriot, which they owned free and clear, started having problems. He had made a trip up to Colorado and was driving back to our place when the car started shaking. It got so bad he had to pull over. The clutch was shot. And the shaking caused a tie rod to bend. He paid for the repairs and came back to Texas to get ready for the move. He had to add a “tow package” to his car so they could pull a trailer up to Colorado with their possessions, which meant more money spent on that vehicle.

The day arrived for the move. We had loaded up the rented trailer and they headed out. About 15 minutes later, I got a phone call that their car was dead on the side of the road. Now the transmission was shot. Having put $4000 into that car already, they traded it in for a new vehicle and got less than half of that amount for the trade in.

Things wear out. They don’t last. That is the way of this world. So much of what we have and use is considered disposable. In fact “planned obsolescence” has become part of our vocabulary. And a common phrase we have all heard and said it “nothing lasts forever.”

Well, almost nothing. As far as this world is concerned, in its fallen, sinful state, things will not last forever. However, there is something permanent, unchanging and lasting that we can count on.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8.

God’s Word is something you can count on. It is what tells us about His plan of salvation. It is what points us to Jesus, the one who is called the Word made flesh. It tells us that in spite of our sin, which should keep us out of heaven, Jesus paid our penalty to allow us to be forgiven by our God.

Isaiah 51:6 reminds us: the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. Our fallen, sinful world and the things in it have no lasting value. They will wear out and be discarded. But in God’s Word we have promises that last, assurances that endure: forgiveness, life and salvation because of what Jesus did for us.

In 2016 I had surgery on my right eye six times due to a detached retina. Needless to say, there were some complications. The end result was that my vision in that eye was salvaged, but scar tissue keeps me from being able to see things clearly with that eye.  I cannot read with my right eye unless it is extremely large print, and even then it is with difficulty.

However, thanks be to God, I have good vision in my left eye. It had a torn retina at the same time I was dealing with the detached retina in my right eye, but laser surgery successfully repaired that damage. The vision in the one eye that is operating properly allows me to function normally. Were it not for the good vision in that eye, I would not be able to read at all or even drive!

Good vision is something many of us take for granted. I know I did. I did not need any corrective lenses until I was 30, and even then, it was only minor. While the prescriptions changed to stronger powers over the years, including the addition of bifocal lenses, I was able to see well with my glasses. In fact, I didn’t need to wear my glasses at all while working at my desk – my left eye was still that good! That changed when I had cataract surgery on my left eye. I went from being nearsighted to being farsighted. I no longer need corrective lenses to drive, but now I have to use “readers” to see my phone or computer or to read.

I wonder how many things I have not seen over the years because I have taken my vision for granted? I started thinking about some of the sights I have seen for which I am truly grateful.

I am truly grateful that I have seen my children grow to adulthood.

I have seen my children’s children.

I have witnessed the beauty of God’s creation around the globe.

I have seen the face of my lovely bride by my side for 45 years.

I have witnessed the power of God at work in the lives of people through His Word, through Baptism, and through the Lord’s Supper.

I have been able to read about God’s promises for myself in modern translations of Scripture as well as in the original languages.

I have seen dear friends and loved ones die, but they did so with confidence in Jesus as their Lord, which means I will see them again.

I have seen the expression on people’s faces when they have come to know and believe the Jesus died for them.

Oh, what these eyes have seen! Should my sight be taken from me this side of heaven, I pray God would give me the grace to realize that I still have the eyes of faith to see Jesus my Lord. And I know my vision would be restored when I stand in the presence of my Savior. And what will I see there?

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him…” 1 Corinthians 2:9

Recently one son-in-law of mine was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. He got a bi-pap machine and it was instant relief for him. I was a bit envious. I was diagnosed with the same thing over twenty years ago. I have tried different machines over the years without success.

For those of  you who don’t know, if a person stops breathing, that is known as “APNEA.” If a person has periods during sleep when he or she stops breathing, it is known as Sleep Apnea. The body is deprived of oxygen, so you wake up repeatedly during the night. The end result is that you don’t feel rested.

After I received my original diagnosis, I saw a television show that described a test to determine whether a person on life-support was living or not. They called it an APNEA test. If the person took a breath within a certain amount of time after the life support was disconnected, they were considered alive. If not, they were considered legally dead. I find it just a little bit disconcerting that they use the same word to describe a condition I have – APNEA – that they use to determine whether or not a person is dead!

That word APNEA sounds funny. That’s because it comes from Greek. Pneuma is the Greek word for breath, wind or spirit. We get other words in English from it, like pneumatics. In English, the “P” is silent; in Greek you pronounce it. If you add an “alpha” or “a” on the front of a word in Greek, it negates it, like “non” or “un” would in English. So this word APNEA, based on its Greek origins, literally means “Without breath, without wind” or even “without spirit.”

To be without breath is not a good thing. Even worse is to be without the Spirit. On the first Christian Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples so that they were able to understand everything Jesus had told them and done. They could then share Jesus with others. The Spirit worked through them and their message to bring about 3000 others to an understanding of who Jesus is and what He had done. They repented, believed and received God’s gift of baptism. It was cause for rejoicing (Acts 2).

Yet something we should realize is that there were more than 3000 people in Jerusalem that day. There were many in that crowd who had APNEA. I say that because that Greek word “pneuma” also means “spirit,” and a form of that word is used for the Holy Spirit. Those who did not believe had “a-pnuema” –APNEA. That word can describe those without faith, who do not believe in Jesus, who do not have the Holy Spirit in their life.

Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3) 

If you have faith in Jesus, it is because you have the Holy Spirit in your life. He led you to that faith. If you do not have faith in Jesus, you do not have the Holy Spirit. You have APNEA.

There are a lot of people in our world today with APNEA, people without the Spirit of God in their lives. What is really discouraging is that they don’t even know they have it.

Many people don’t know they have Sleep Apnea, but there are hints that clue you in: multiple wake ups in the night, feeling tired when you get out of bed, severe sleepiness in the middle of the day. Those who have the other kind of APNEA, living without the Spirit, will also have signs that make that known.

Take a moment to read Galatians 5:16-25. You will find two lists there. The first is the behavior of those who do not have the Holy Spirit in their lives. I mentioned earlier an APNEA test to determine whether or not someone is alive. If you have the kind of APNEA I’ve been describing, life without the Holy Spirit, you will be dead, spiritually dead. And that can result in eternal death if the situation is not changed.

On the other hand, living with the Spirit who brings you to faith in Christ Jesus results in eternal life. You will understand and believe that Jesus lived a life without sin for you, offered that life on the cross to pay for all sins, and gives His payment to you to assure you of forgiveness and life everlasting. Those who have this faith are led by the Spirit, and that should make a difference in the way you live.

That second list in Galatians 5 is called the “Fruit of the Spirit.” Those who have been led to know and believe that Jesus is their Savior will exhibit that fruit in their lives. When you put your faith in Jesus, you do not have APNEA. You live by the Spirit and are led by the Spirit. And if you have the Spirit, don’t live in such a way that you could be accused of APNEA. The Holy Spirit points you to Jesus and the forgiveness and life He gives to you. Live in that knowledge and joy and certainty. Live by the Spirit.

A doctor named Schindler once claimed that half the people going to doctors suffer from the same disease: psychoneurosis. The cause of this disease? Acute anxiety. Worry is also one of the top causes of heart trouble. “Worried sick” is a reality.

This is nothing new. Gypsies said a sad man is a sick man and that sickness is the result of worry. The Greeks used to describe worry as opposing forces at work to tear man apart. The Saxons compared worry to a vicious animal clutching at a man’s throat. Our word “worry” comes from the anglo-Saxon verb “wyrgan” which means to choke or strangle. And of course, the Bible tells us that worry is sinful. Worry is a lack of faith in God’s promise to care for you.

The solution? Don’t worry! Someone estimated that 40% of all worries are about things that never happen and 30% of anxieties are about things in the past that cannot be changed. People spend most of their time worrying about things that they can’t change or that won’t happen! Don’t worry!

Robert Frost said “The reason worry kills more people than work is because more people worry than work.”  If we would put the energy we use to worry into productive activities, that would go a long way toward overcoming the problem of anxiety in our lives.

It is also beneficial to concentrate on today. This is not to say that you should neglect to plan for the future, but that should not become the all-consuming obsession of your life.  If you spend all of your time thinking and worrying about the future, you waste the present. God gives you each day as a gift, time to be used to serve Him. An implication of concentrating on the present is that you won’t spend time worrying about the past. You cannot change what has happened, no matter how much you worry. Much better to simply learn from your mistakes and go on.

One thing from the past you should be thinking about is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Knowing what God has done for you through this act of redemption should remind you that worry is something you can and should live without.

Another suggestion for overcoming worry in your life: Focus your thoughts on God instead of your problems. The prophet Isaiah offers this advice:

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. 

If you think about God’s care and preservation that He graciously and freely provides for you, worry becomes insignificant. Focusing your thoughts on God reminds you that He has provided for all your needs, the foremost of which is the need to be forgiven. By looking at the cross and the empty tomb, you are constantly reminded that God does care for you and gives you what we need. Surely a God such as this will continue to care for you. You have the message of salvation! You know the way to eternal life. Simply trust in Jesus Christ, who has provided these things as a free gift!

And don’t worry.

While I am aware of what is going on in the national political scene, it is not something I follow closely. I know that those in the same party who vilify one another during the primaries often times end up being on the same ticket for the election in November. I would guess that I am like of lot of people in that I don’t think either candidate from the two main political parties is a good choice. People have differing opinions about these matters, and sometimes the disagreements become heated and even violent. We end up treating each other as enemies, forgetting that we are all citizens of the same country.

That carries over into the spiritual realm as well. Often times followers of Jesus Christ from different “tribes” or “denominations” treat each other with contempt and ridicule, forgetting that we all put our faith in the same Savior. I know that disagreements will abound because of sin in this world, but disagreeing with someone does not justify hurtful words or malicious behavior. After all, by virtue of our faith in Jesus, we are all part of the same family. John 17 records the prayer Jesus offered before He was betrayed and tried and crucified. In that prayer, he asked repeatedly that His followers be united, like we read in v.11: Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.

Unity in the body of Christ is what we need here on earth. As we face political posturing and proclamations that continue to attack our beliefs and values as followers of Jesus, we need to remember this: Our Lord and Savior has already defeated sin, death and the power of the devil through His death and resurrection, and He is still in control no matter what is going on in this world.

For many years I have heard peoplwe bemoan the fact that we are no longer a “Christian nation.” I would maintain that being a Christian nation has nothing to do with the person sitting in the White House and everything to do with the people who are followers of Jesus living out their Christian faith and beliefs and values. That pertains to the way we treat one another (John 13:35) and the way we treat those who are outside the body of Christ (Colossians 4:5-6).

John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Colossians 4:5–6 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

As this Easter season draws to a close, we should not forget that the one whose resurrection we celebrate is still alive and still in control.

…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15

Acts 4:8-12   Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!  If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is “`the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Do you know why you have the name that you have? Parents sometimes pick names because they like the way they sound, or someone else in the family has the same name, or in some cases it is because of the meaning of the name.

My name is Michael, which was the name of an angel, but I’ve been called a lot of different things. Sometimes people call me “Pastor” but that was my job and not really my name. When I was a little boy, my dad always called me “cowboy.” My mom called me Mikie. My wife calls me “Mike” with a deep west Texas accent that still makes my heart go pitter patter. I have three daughters who call me “Daddy” and the most recent name I was given is “Papa” which is one of the sweetest ones to hear.

In Biblical times, names were chosen for their meaning. Abraham means “exalted father.” Israel means “struggle with God.” Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew “Yeshua” which means “Savior.” There was a significance to the names given. Names today may not even have a meaning.

But even if we do not know what a person’s name means, just the thought of some names can evoke strong emotions. What do you think of when you hear Adolph Hitler or Charles Manson? What about Martin Luther, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Mother Theresa? What about Taylor Swift of Kanye West? How about Donald Trump or Joe Biden? Those names make you think certain things. A name is more than an arbitrary title or a series of letters and sounds. A name stands for the one who bears it.

The most significant name in all Scripture is that of Jesus, the only Savior of the World. In the Old Testament, God promised to make His name dwell in Jerusalem (Dt. 12:5), where the temple was built for His name (I Kings 18:16-20). But now and forever the name of God is bound to the person of Jesus Christ, the one He sent to bring us salvation. There is no other way to the Father, no alternate route, no other option. Those who will not use the name of Jesus will not be saved. But those who call on His name and trust in the person it signifies will receive God’s gift of forgiveness. Jesus is the most important of all names. It is our task to proclaim that saving name because:  salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

That name has been attached to you as a believer in a very special way: Baptism. God’s name was place on you, and as a believer you bear the name of Jesus Christ. Just as you are concerned about your own reputation, you should be concerned with what others will think of Christ because of your actions. Since you have the name of Jesus in your possession, bear it proudly and try to help others come to know Him as well.