Jesus Paid the Price
When Jesus went to the cross He paid the ultimate price for the sin of all men, He went of His own will as we know all to well. He had one primary purpose, to pay the debt that was required for the transgressions of men. However one point we tend to overlook is that He paid the price for guilt and shame, He took it all away! In Hebrews 9:11-15 the writer reminds us that if the blood of bulls and goats can take away sin, then how much more can the blood of Christ “cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God”(verse 15). You will notice that he emphasizes the word “conscience” in other words to remove the guilt and shame from your mind! You see Jesus does not need to be reminded that we are sinners and we have need of Him, He is all to aware that He is our mediator, it is we who need reminding. The guilt and shame that comes upon us at the moment of realization of our failures can all to often be more than we can bare. This realization of failure can cause men to run form God, sever relationships with friends and loved ones, and more. Truly the only entity that prospers in this environment is the enemy of our souls. Could it be that when Jesus was having communion with His disciples this was exactly the result He was attempting to avoid. Jesus told His disciples, “do this often in remembrance of Me” why? Was Jesus seeking to cause men to walk around in misery and anguish remembering how unworthy and inadequate they are for what He did? Was He seeking to have us remember how much pain and suffering He endured in His innocence, i truly doubt it. As I study the word I come more and more to the understanding that this is not at all who Jesus is or what He was attempting to accomplish. The reality is Jesus was and is wanting us to walk in the freedom not of sin but of redemption through His blood. Redemption without condition, redemption that creates a freedom from the guilt and shame that we refuse to leave at the foot of the cross where it belongs. In freedom we maintain fellowship with God, we walk in love with our fellow man, and we live with the joy of knowing that perfection while not something we can attain on our own is a free gift of God! We become gracious because of the grace we have received, we extend mercy because of His mercy toward us. We avoid judging others because we recognize that we ourselves have been judged, found guilty, and been pardoned. We no longer return to the pile of rubbish that Jesus bought and paid for only to steal it back, we leave it to be extiguished by its rightful owner! Our goal becomes one that is focused upon wholeness and completeness with God and the same for those we know and love,and yes even for those we struggle with. God does not want us to have a guilty conscience, no He desires for us to be whole and to walk in the salvation that He has provided.
In Exodus chapter twelve the Lord institutes the very first passover, the first example of God seeing the blood of the sacrifice as payment in full. Exodus 12:23 “For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and the door posts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.” You will notice that the Lord did not open the door to see who was inside, He wasn’t seeking those worthy nor those who had remorse, He was looking only for the blood of the sacrifice. When the Lord looks at you does He desire to see your imperfections, is He wondering if you are remorseful for your failings, is His goal to remind you of all you have done and been forgiven of, the answer of course is no. He,” seeing the blood of the sacrifice will pass over you”. The Lord sees only what He is looking for, and that is the blood of Jesus Christ, and that my friends is payment in full for your failings and misgivings!
You see Jesus truly did pay the price, He paid it in full, there are no more installments, the debt has been satisfied, forever! Jesus paid the price, not just for you but for all who believe!
Gene Burroughs
Pastor Shasta Lake Church
Friday, April 29, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
A Dead End Road
A Dead end Road is no place to be
Yesterday was Good Friday, a day in which we remember Christ's crucifixion, and His willingness to be the ultimate sacrifice. I for one will remember this Good Friday like none before and not for the greatest of reasons. You see my family and I (all but the two youngest daughters) were on our way to our service at the Church in Shasta Lake, it had been a rather enjoyable morning and we were looking forward to an enjoyable day. As I began to prepare to exit the freeway and made a lane change there was a motorcyclist in my blind spot and fortunately after only moving a few feet we saw him and avoided a collision. He of course was offended I made an apologetic gesture and he returned with a not so polite gesture, however I was the one in offense so I laughed it off and continued on, or at least attempted to. This young man wanted more, he wanted to terrorize my family and I. Therefore he proceeded to race around our car attempting to scare us and act like a fool. At one point I rolled down the window and apologized verbally but again this was not acceptable, little did he know that there was no fear in me at this point but rather now a man who was set on protecting his family. You see I had apologized, I wasn’t trying to harm him I simply made a mistake, but no that wasn’t good enough he had to keep making an issue of it, he wanted more. As we exited the freeway my goal was to find a sheriff before arriving at Church, because I knew once we parked I would be in protection mode and that would not bode well for anyone; however that was not meant to be. As I looked in the rear view mirror I saw the young man (who had only for a moment vanished) coming up quickly upon our car and as he passed (in a single lane) he swung at the car and knocked out the drivers side mirror, again more antagonism. Then off he rode, avenged in his mind leaving behind destruction in his wake.
This incident is now in the hands of the authorities and maybe they will find him and maybe they won’t, either way the Lord has used this incident to show me many things, some of which I feel led to share. For our Good Friday service the Lord had led me to John Chapter 17 where Jesus is praying for His disciples and those who would later believe. In this passage He speaks of His desire for God to protect us form the world that hates us, for us to be in unity with Him, and in unity with each other through love for Him. This passage while I love it, hurts me deeply, this passage brings to mind many painful memories and some ongoing hurts, things that just won’t go away. I was reminded as we read of the incidents of the day, how apologies were not enough how the world wants more, the world wants revenge, and retribution, how the worlds lust for power and control is never satisfied, much like my biker friend. Yet that truly is not what pains me most, what pains me are those who claim to be a part of the body who have purposed in their hearts to act the same way as the world. Those who profess that their actions no matter how contrary to the word they are, are justified, how they thank God for His supposed blessing as they do things completely contrary to His word. Can I just say this, God does not bless sin, and sin is missing the mark, when your actions are contrary to the word you have sinned, and repentance is your only hope for complete restoration. Anger, retribution, gossip, striking back, striking out, these are not the actions that vilify or exemplify the behavior that Jesus prayed and commanded for us to have toward one another. The world is out to destroy us, and if the enemy can get a few of us to turn on one another then the enemy can win a battle, and yes he has won far too many! There is no way that the young man on the motorcycle can justify his actions, yet the story will be twisted and he will no doubt brag to his friends about his heroic and justified deeds. He will no doubt brag of how he antagonized and innocent family, how great a man he was for his actions and yes he will in his own mind justify them, the key words being “in his own mind”. However in truth he was not justified, in truth he was vicious, foolish, and angry, in truth he appeared to be a fool, hell bent on self destruction. I too in my earlier days have found myself all to often on this road, this road of self righteous indignation, this road with a dead end, and I headed for a crash. And unfortunately today I see too many of my brothers and sisters remaining on this road this dead end road of death, this road littered with the bodies of believers wounded by other believers in the name of justice. The highway of Christianity is a bloody place, a place where tongues have lashed, and words have cut, a place paved with innocent blood, isn’t it time to quit? Please my friends I implore you, if you are on this road, get off before it is too late, take the exit of humility, or the one of grace, or the one marked mercy, take the road of repentance that leads to healing and unity in the body of Christ. I implore you, don’t confuse the grace with which God forgives your sins as justification for actions contrary to His word, of yes He forever loves you, but He does not love all you do. Please I ask of you stop feeding in the failings of your brothers and sisters in Christ, stop judging others when the facts you do not know, stop assuming wrong and start pursuing right. You see the world wants us to turn on each other, the world desires to scar us, hurt us, and separate us, but the Lord wants nine of these things and if what we do, say, or feel causes these things then no matter how we justify it we are simply wrong, for the word is never wrong, truth will again always be truth!
Pastor Gene Burroughs
Yesterday was Good Friday, a day in which we remember Christ's crucifixion, and His willingness to be the ultimate sacrifice. I for one will remember this Good Friday like none before and not for the greatest of reasons. You see my family and I (all but the two youngest daughters) were on our way to our service at the Church in Shasta Lake, it had been a rather enjoyable morning and we were looking forward to an enjoyable day. As I began to prepare to exit the freeway and made a lane change there was a motorcyclist in my blind spot and fortunately after only moving a few feet we saw him and avoided a collision. He of course was offended I made an apologetic gesture and he returned with a not so polite gesture, however I was the one in offense so I laughed it off and continued on, or at least attempted to. This young man wanted more, he wanted to terrorize my family and I. Therefore he proceeded to race around our car attempting to scare us and act like a fool. At one point I rolled down the window and apologized verbally but again this was not acceptable, little did he know that there was no fear in me at this point but rather now a man who was set on protecting his family. You see I had apologized, I wasn’t trying to harm him I simply made a mistake, but no that wasn’t good enough he had to keep making an issue of it, he wanted more. As we exited the freeway my goal was to find a sheriff before arriving at Church, because I knew once we parked I would be in protection mode and that would not bode well for anyone; however that was not meant to be. As I looked in the rear view mirror I saw the young man (who had only for a moment vanished) coming up quickly upon our car and as he passed (in a single lane) he swung at the car and knocked out the drivers side mirror, again more antagonism. Then off he rode, avenged in his mind leaving behind destruction in his wake.
This incident is now in the hands of the authorities and maybe they will find him and maybe they won’t, either way the Lord has used this incident to show me many things, some of which I feel led to share. For our Good Friday service the Lord had led me to John Chapter 17 where Jesus is praying for His disciples and those who would later believe. In this passage He speaks of His desire for God to protect us form the world that hates us, for us to be in unity with Him, and in unity with each other through love for Him. This passage while I love it, hurts me deeply, this passage brings to mind many painful memories and some ongoing hurts, things that just won’t go away. I was reminded as we read of the incidents of the day, how apologies were not enough how the world wants more, the world wants revenge, and retribution, how the worlds lust for power and control is never satisfied, much like my biker friend. Yet that truly is not what pains me most, what pains me are those who claim to be a part of the body who have purposed in their hearts to act the same way as the world. Those who profess that their actions no matter how contrary to the word they are, are justified, how they thank God for His supposed blessing as they do things completely contrary to His word. Can I just say this, God does not bless sin, and sin is missing the mark, when your actions are contrary to the word you have sinned, and repentance is your only hope for complete restoration. Anger, retribution, gossip, striking back, striking out, these are not the actions that vilify or exemplify the behavior that Jesus prayed and commanded for us to have toward one another. The world is out to destroy us, and if the enemy can get a few of us to turn on one another then the enemy can win a battle, and yes he has won far too many! There is no way that the young man on the motorcycle can justify his actions, yet the story will be twisted and he will no doubt brag to his friends about his heroic and justified deeds. He will no doubt brag of how he antagonized and innocent family, how great a man he was for his actions and yes he will in his own mind justify them, the key words being “in his own mind”. However in truth he was not justified, in truth he was vicious, foolish, and angry, in truth he appeared to be a fool, hell bent on self destruction. I too in my earlier days have found myself all to often on this road, this road of self righteous indignation, this road with a dead end, and I headed for a crash. And unfortunately today I see too many of my brothers and sisters remaining on this road this dead end road of death, this road littered with the bodies of believers wounded by other believers in the name of justice. The highway of Christianity is a bloody place, a place where tongues have lashed, and words have cut, a place paved with innocent blood, isn’t it time to quit? Please my friends I implore you, if you are on this road, get off before it is too late, take the exit of humility, or the one of grace, or the one marked mercy, take the road of repentance that leads to healing and unity in the body of Christ. I implore you, don’t confuse the grace with which God forgives your sins as justification for actions contrary to His word, of yes He forever loves you, but He does not love all you do. Please I ask of you stop feeding in the failings of your brothers and sisters in Christ, stop judging others when the facts you do not know, stop assuming wrong and start pursuing right. You see the world wants us to turn on each other, the world desires to scar us, hurt us, and separate us, but the Lord wants nine of these things and if what we do, say, or feel causes these things then no matter how we justify it we are simply wrong, for the word is never wrong, truth will again always be truth!
Pastor Gene Burroughs
Friday, April 15, 2011
Finding the Favor of the King
Finding the Favor of the King
Last week we started studying the book of Daniel, and like every book we are studying it has quickly become my favorite, at least for now. As we study chapter one and understand the dynamics of being held in captivity, and being forced to change literally every aspect of your life or face death, Daniel's conviction of his faith truly humbles me. From the very beginning of his captivity he makes it known that he is a child of the most high God, the God of his fathers, our God, and that he will not compromise. You notice that he does not do so with arrogance but rather very diplomatically, in a way that makes his actions mutually beneficial to all. He is able to do so because he first has found favor with his King, the God of heaven and earth. You see Daniel had the favor of God upon him, and because he found God’s favor he was able to have the favor of man, and eventually as e will see the favor of the king of this world.
This chapter challenges me, it causes me to refocus and examine many aspects of my life, it causes me to ask the question; “do I have the favor of my King, my Lord, and my Savior?”If not then how does one acquire the favor of the King? Yes these are very interesting questions for us to ask of ourselves,after all shouldn’t all believers ultimately desire to have God’s favor upon them? As I search the scriptures I find that truly having the favor of the Lord is something attainable to each and every man, woman, and child upon the earth, after all we are born with His favor. No truly we are, we are born with the opportunity to be redeemed from death by the innocent blood of Jesus that was given as payment for all it?I believe the true challenge for those of us who have chosen to believe, and accept this wonderful gift,is maintaining the Kings favor,(particularly in our minds). How do we become living lights that shine as a reflection of His glory? You see that is true favor, when you begin to shine as Jesus shined because you reflect who He is, truly then we have found favor, have we not? Or is it when we are persecuted for His names sake, or maybe when our world is turned upside down by some cataclysmic event in your life and you yet you continue to remain faithful, maybe then you have found HIs favor? As I have pondered these question sand more and continued to pray I find myself desiring all the more in love with the concept of finding God’s favor, I find myself more intrigued by the pursuit of it, and yes I have come to some conclusions through His word. As I seek for ways to find His favor I have found more ways in which to loose it,. Maybe the true key is to favor is discovering these pitfall's and purposing with my actions to avoid them. In searching things that would displease God I found the following: Proverbs 6:16-19 “These six things the Lord hates, Yes seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift at running to evil, a false witness that speaks lies, and one who sows discord among the brethren.” Ouch! Surely these are pitfall's i must purpose to avoid. A Second place I found things the Lord is displeased with was Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,idolatry, sorcery, contentions, jealousy, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissent ions, heresies,envy, murders, drunkenness,revelries, and the like:of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in times past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” Now before we go on it is crucial to point out that the writer says “those who practice such things” not those who do these things once, or without understanding. We must never get so caught up on law that we forget the grace and mercy that Jesus has provided us through His death and resurrection, to do so would surely render all men hopeless. No the reality is if we desire to find the favor f the King these are the things we are to avoid. One last place I will mention in the word where we are given direction (there are many, many, more) is in Hebrews 11:6 where we are told the following: “without faith it is impossible to please God.” Therefore if we desire the Kings favor maybe we should practice faith, what is faith you ask? Hebrews 11:1 says this: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” If you believe in Jesus you are practicing faith, is there more, is there farther one can go in search of faith? Yes of course, but the most important is the belief in Jesus, for without it you have not even begun the adventure, you truly have no hope.
We have seen the things the Lord is not happy with, now let us look at the things He calls us to in order to find favor. In Matthew 22 from verse 36-39 Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself, truly following the greatest commandment will bring favor of the King will it not? And then there is Jeremiah 9:23-24 that tells us what the Lord wants us to delight in : “But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight, says the Lord”. Surely if the Lord delights in a man understanding Him then one truly should do so in order to find the favor of the King, could this be the answer?
As I ponder these passages and more I truly have found for myself the way in which I will pursue the favor of my King: I will practice the greatest commandment of all, I will pursue love, I will practice 1 Corinthians 13 to the very best of my ability, for if I love those He loves with the same manner in which He loves them, surely I cannot fail to find His favor. Today this the journey for me continues, how about you, will you seek the favor of the King, I must warn you, it is not as easy as it may seem, but the rewards far outweigh the cost.
Pastor Gene Burroughs
Shasta Lake Church
“A place of New Beginnings”
Last week we started studying the book of Daniel, and like every book we are studying it has quickly become my favorite, at least for now. As we study chapter one and understand the dynamics of being held in captivity, and being forced to change literally every aspect of your life or face death, Daniel's conviction of his faith truly humbles me. From the very beginning of his captivity he makes it known that he is a child of the most high God, the God of his fathers, our God, and that he will not compromise. You notice that he does not do so with arrogance but rather very diplomatically, in a way that makes his actions mutually beneficial to all. He is able to do so because he first has found favor with his King, the God of heaven and earth. You see Daniel had the favor of God upon him, and because he found God’s favor he was able to have the favor of man, and eventually as e will see the favor of the king of this world.
This chapter challenges me, it causes me to refocus and examine many aspects of my life, it causes me to ask the question; “do I have the favor of my King, my Lord, and my Savior?”If not then how does one acquire the favor of the King? Yes these are very interesting questions for us to ask of ourselves,after all shouldn’t all believers ultimately desire to have God’s favor upon them? As I search the scriptures I find that truly having the favor of the Lord is something attainable to each and every man, woman, and child upon the earth, after all we are born with His favor. No truly we are, we are born with the opportunity to be redeemed from death by the innocent blood of Jesus that was given as payment for all it?I believe the true challenge for those of us who have chosen to believe, and accept this wonderful gift,is maintaining the Kings favor,(particularly in our minds). How do we become living lights that shine as a reflection of His glory? You see that is true favor, when you begin to shine as Jesus shined because you reflect who He is, truly then we have found favor, have we not? Or is it when we are persecuted for His names sake, or maybe when our world is turned upside down by some cataclysmic event in your life and you yet you continue to remain faithful, maybe then you have found HIs favor? As I have pondered these question sand more and continued to pray I find myself desiring all the more in love with the concept of finding God’s favor, I find myself more intrigued by the pursuit of it, and yes I have come to some conclusions through His word. As I seek for ways to find His favor I have found more ways in which to loose it,. Maybe the true key is to favor is discovering these pitfall's and purposing with my actions to avoid them. In searching things that would displease God I found the following: Proverbs 6:16-19 “These six things the Lord hates, Yes seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift at running to evil, a false witness that speaks lies, and one who sows discord among the brethren.” Ouch! Surely these are pitfall's i must purpose to avoid. A Second place I found things the Lord is displeased with was Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,idolatry, sorcery, contentions, jealousy, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissent ions, heresies,envy, murders, drunkenness,revelries, and the like:of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in times past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” Now before we go on it is crucial to point out that the writer says “those who practice such things” not those who do these things once, or without understanding. We must never get so caught up on law that we forget the grace and mercy that Jesus has provided us through His death and resurrection, to do so would surely render all men hopeless. No the reality is if we desire to find the favor f the King these are the things we are to avoid. One last place I will mention in the word where we are given direction (there are many, many, more) is in Hebrews 11:6 where we are told the following: “without faith it is impossible to please God.” Therefore if we desire the Kings favor maybe we should practice faith, what is faith you ask? Hebrews 11:1 says this: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” If you believe in Jesus you are practicing faith, is there more, is there farther one can go in search of faith? Yes of course, but the most important is the belief in Jesus, for without it you have not even begun the adventure, you truly have no hope.
We have seen the things the Lord is not happy with, now let us look at the things He calls us to in order to find favor. In Matthew 22 from verse 36-39 Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself, truly following the greatest commandment will bring favor of the King will it not? And then there is Jeremiah 9:23-24 that tells us what the Lord wants us to delight in : “But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight, says the Lord”. Surely if the Lord delights in a man understanding Him then one truly should do so in order to find the favor of the King, could this be the answer?
As I ponder these passages and more I truly have found for myself the way in which I will pursue the favor of my King: I will practice the greatest commandment of all, I will pursue love, I will practice 1 Corinthians 13 to the very best of my ability, for if I love those He loves with the same manner in which He loves them, surely I cannot fail to find His favor. Today this the journey for me continues, how about you, will you seek the favor of the King, I must warn you, it is not as easy as it may seem, but the rewards far outweigh the cost.
Pastor Gene Burroughs
Shasta Lake Church
“A place of New Beginnings”
Friday, April 8, 2011
The Value of Time
The Value of Time
Day after day I find myself as well and many of those around me spending countless minutes, and even hours tending to a plethora of seemingly meaningless distractions. As a man who serves God on a full time basis I have a dedication and sense of urgency to share with all who will listen or observe the saving grace knowledge of Jesus Christ. Sometimes it is with the pen, other times with the sword, and often than not on my knees seeking His will. The greatest challenge I face in this quest is oddly enough not the obvious forms of attack by the enemy, but rather the far less obvious, sometimes they are so obscure to the untrained eye that they would not be considered attacks at all, but rather simply normal goings on. However when one views attacks as anything that takes you away from the true work of the ministry your view does change, you begin to notice things once left ignored. You find yourself in a rather lonely place, a place many would rather ignore. You see time is the one commodity we all have, the one thing we cannot waste, purchase, trade for, hope for, or acquire with any amount of wealth or effort. When we are born onto this earth each of our days is numbered, and none of us know how many days, minutes, or even seconds we have been allotted. Therefore each second, minute, hour, day, and more should be cherished like nothing else we posses. When you adopt this understanding and attitude you find yourself guarding time, making better use of it, cherishing it.
So what are the time wasters of which I speak? Well for each of us they truly are unique, after all each of us must determine on our own what our time should be spent doing. For example my oldest daughter has two beautiful daughters and surely each moment she spends nurturing them is time well spent. I have a friend who is a paramedic and every moment he spends caring for someone who is fighting for their lives is yes time well spent. When my children desire to share with me the challenges of their day and question the meaning of life, or just want a hug, yes that too is time well spent.
It is not these that are the wasters of time but rather those things that keep us busy keeping busy and accomplishing little. For some they are the moments spent satisfying curiosities, squelching rumors, comforting hurt feelings, listening to excuses, those moments spent listening to people attempting to justify their actions even though their actions were contrary to the will of God. I wonder truly how many people have their time wasted by others who have made poor choices and now are desiring to be bailed out rather than facing the consequences on their own actions. How many innocent lives have been lost in the process of saving the lives of those who have chosen to throw their own away. How many people have gone hungry because people have chosen to purchase drugs rather than food. How many children have been neglected as the result of people choosing to neglect themselves. How many babies have died or been sacrificed because young women have sought the attention they deserved from people who didn’t deserve theirs. How many of Gods children have not heard the gospel because those who have are not spending their time following the greatest commandment of all? “Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” The reality is that far too many who claim to believe in Christ spend their time, justifying behavior, attempting to feel worthy of salvation, or even criticizing their fellow believers, an activity never sanctioned by the word, and yes they waste the time of all who choose to listen. The reality is no matter what the time wasters are in your life cutting a few of them out may not be a bad idea, the question for you is what has God called me to do? You see what I may view as a waste of time may be exactly what God has called and gifted others to attend to, therefore we must each by His leading determine our roles, and walk in them.
Maybe my words seem harsh to some, and yes I know I am not politically correct, but neither was my savior, the one whose steps I am not worthy to walk in. I can however do all I can to stop or slow the waste of time by those closest to me. It is never my intention to point fingers or direct my thoughts at particular individuals, hey we all fall short of the glory of God but choosing too, well that is just a waste of time now isn’t it?
Pastor Gene Burroughs
Shasta Lake Church
Day after day I find myself as well and many of those around me spending countless minutes, and even hours tending to a plethora of seemingly meaningless distractions. As a man who serves God on a full time basis I have a dedication and sense of urgency to share with all who will listen or observe the saving grace knowledge of Jesus Christ. Sometimes it is with the pen, other times with the sword, and often than not on my knees seeking His will. The greatest challenge I face in this quest is oddly enough not the obvious forms of attack by the enemy, but rather the far less obvious, sometimes they are so obscure to the untrained eye that they would not be considered attacks at all, but rather simply normal goings on. However when one views attacks as anything that takes you away from the true work of the ministry your view does change, you begin to notice things once left ignored. You find yourself in a rather lonely place, a place many would rather ignore. You see time is the one commodity we all have, the one thing we cannot waste, purchase, trade for, hope for, or acquire with any amount of wealth or effort. When we are born onto this earth each of our days is numbered, and none of us know how many days, minutes, or even seconds we have been allotted. Therefore each second, minute, hour, day, and more should be cherished like nothing else we posses. When you adopt this understanding and attitude you find yourself guarding time, making better use of it, cherishing it.
So what are the time wasters of which I speak? Well for each of us they truly are unique, after all each of us must determine on our own what our time should be spent doing. For example my oldest daughter has two beautiful daughters and surely each moment she spends nurturing them is time well spent. I have a friend who is a paramedic and every moment he spends caring for someone who is fighting for their lives is yes time well spent. When my children desire to share with me the challenges of their day and question the meaning of life, or just want a hug, yes that too is time well spent.
It is not these that are the wasters of time but rather those things that keep us busy keeping busy and accomplishing little. For some they are the moments spent satisfying curiosities, squelching rumors, comforting hurt feelings, listening to excuses, those moments spent listening to people attempting to justify their actions even though their actions were contrary to the will of God. I wonder truly how many people have their time wasted by others who have made poor choices and now are desiring to be bailed out rather than facing the consequences on their own actions. How many innocent lives have been lost in the process of saving the lives of those who have chosen to throw their own away. How many people have gone hungry because people have chosen to purchase drugs rather than food. How many children have been neglected as the result of people choosing to neglect themselves. How many babies have died or been sacrificed because young women have sought the attention they deserved from people who didn’t deserve theirs. How many of Gods children have not heard the gospel because those who have are not spending their time following the greatest commandment of all? “Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.” The reality is that far too many who claim to believe in Christ spend their time, justifying behavior, attempting to feel worthy of salvation, or even criticizing their fellow believers, an activity never sanctioned by the word, and yes they waste the time of all who choose to listen. The reality is no matter what the time wasters are in your life cutting a few of them out may not be a bad idea, the question for you is what has God called me to do? You see what I may view as a waste of time may be exactly what God has called and gifted others to attend to, therefore we must each by His leading determine our roles, and walk in them.
Maybe my words seem harsh to some, and yes I know I am not politically correct, but neither was my savior, the one whose steps I am not worthy to walk in. I can however do all I can to stop or slow the waste of time by those closest to me. It is never my intention to point fingers or direct my thoughts at particular individuals, hey we all fall short of the glory of God but choosing too, well that is just a waste of time now isn’t it?
Pastor Gene Burroughs
Shasta Lake Church
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