The Present vs. The Future

“Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes.”

II Samuel 14:22

When it comes to having a right perspective on life, some things are not simply one way or the other. Newspapers almost annually carry reports of incredibly poor people, living in squalid conditions on the most meager of resources, who at their death are found to be multi-millionaires with vast resources. For those people, the balance between living responsibly with the future in mind and enjoying the present place they found themselves in could never be found. The fear of the future crippled them for the joys of the present life.

Before I sell the future short, we have to make sure that we arrive in the future ready and prepared for what God has planned. The musician practicing faithfully on a daily basis is investing in their future, taking the necessary steps to growth and mastery. The pastor studying for an upcoming message is preparing to deliver thoughts and insights that come from the heart of God and, hopefully, will have a life changing impact on his listeners. The policeman undergoing advanced firearm training, the firefighter attending a seminar on the latest firefighting tools available, the CPR refresher course for a first responder and a nurse attending a hospital in service on the latest medicines available for patient care are all right where they should be in preparing for the future. We could make the same arguments when it comes to handling our finances with the future in mind and about being cognizant of the future health implications of decisions we make today and of the diet we choose to adopt.

But researchers have clearly shown that anticipation of the future, and living only based on the expectation of tomorrow, can be the great enemy of present day happiness. We’ve been given today as a gift from God, a day to make the most of, and a time to stop and smell the roses, an opportunity to spend time with family and friends, and a day to learn and grow in some way. We hear so much about not dwelling on the past, and on our past failures and mistakes, and that is all one hundred percent correct. But, in some ways, we can make the same mistake by dwelling on the future and all that we are expecting from it. 

As the saying goes, we’ve only been promised today. Step outside and smell the fresh air. Contact a friend or loved one and get caught up. Start that project that you’ve been putting off. Do the things you resolved to do this year when New Year’s resolutions were so popular. Live in the present, not in the unknown future, and wring every last spark of life, every single bit of joy and purpose out of your today!

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

The School of Life

“These things happened to them as examples….”

I Corinthians 10:11

When it comes to learning the lessons of life, like many other things, there are the easy ways to learn and the hard ways to learn. Every lesson doesn’t have to be learned through suffering, heartache and failure. And contrary to the popular notion, experience is not always the best teacher. No doubt, life has many lessons to teach all of us, lessons about people and our interactions with them, lessons about the moral choices we face and the accompanying consequences, and lessons about our serving a God whose ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours that faith and trust are essential ingredients to success. But where will we learn them?

Learning in the classroom is far and away the best option; it is the educational equivalent to pain free dentistry, if such a thing really exists. Sitting in my office typing this note, I’m looking at several hundred books in front of me, the products of much research and study, of life experiences recorded in book form that we might benefit from the wisdom they contain. On my desk is my Bible, an inexhaustible source of wisdom and understanding meant to guide us throughout our lives. In it, we can read of those who’ve gone before us; we can learn about a God who is faithful to His promises and whose Word is a sure foundation to guide our lives.

But the classroom environment is not our only source of learning. We can learn from the lives of those around us, as long as we are honest in looking at the end of the matter and not viewing temporary success through rose colored glasses. Ruined lives, lives filled with sadness and disappointment, through choices that can only be classified as “they should have known better,” are invaluable opportunities for us to learn without experiencing the weight of failure in our own lives. And learning from others includes seeing those who have placed their fate in the hands of a loving God and earned the reward of their trust.

The last ways we learn has been mentioned already; we learn through our mistakes and through the pain we experience in life. No doubt about it, we learn lessons through suffering that no classroom is able to teach but those lessons should be the exception, not the norm. Our first order of business is to spend time in God’s Word, the most incredible self-contained classroom ever imagined. Read about the men and women who’ve gone before us and learn from them. And with that as a foundation, we can read books and read people’s lives and be someone who, no matter how old we are, never stops learning in the classroom of life.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church

One Another

“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

I John 4:11

Excuse me if I find myself battling a case of jealousy this morning but after another night of insomnia, I was hoping for a little sympathy from the Lord, maybe in the form of some reassuring scripture like, “Because you have not slept, I will bless you!” But no such luck. In fact, all God seems to care about these days is some person named One Another. To be honest, I don’t know if it’s Mr. or Mrs. One Anther, or maybe Ms or Miss One Another, not to mention whether they are young or old, Caucasian, Hispanic, African American or Asian. The only thing I know is that God is always talking about One Another and how important they are.

Again, I’m sorry for my frustration but God said that people can judge my Christianity by how I treat this One Another person, saying in John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love One Another.” After just coming back from a missions trip, going to church two days in a row including an optional Saturday morning prayer meeting, giving an offering and the litmus test of my Christianity is how I treat One Another? That I can do all that for God and He says that everyone has the right to judge me based on my love for this One Another person – this must be one pretty important person to God!

But is gets worse! I’m not only supposed to find this One Another man or woman but I’m supposed to purposefully encourage them, as Paul wrote, “Therefore encourage One Another and build One Another up.” And I’m to do it every day! Hebrews 3:13 says “But encourage One Another daily as long as it is called today.” And later in the book, “And let us consider how we may spur One Another on toward love and good deeds …. and encourage One Another.”

I’d like to tell you that’s all there is but it goes on and on. I have to open my home to One Another after hearing God say “Be hospitable to One Another without grumbling.” (I Peter 4:9) Not to mention the fact that I have to pray for One Another (James 5:16), greet One Another with a kiss of love (now that’s going too far!) (I Peter 5:14) forgive One Another when they hurt me in any way, and according to Galatians 6:2, “Carry One Another’s burdens.”

Well, if this One Another guy or girl matters that much to God, I guess they should matter that much to me. Let’s just hope, as I go about my day, that I can find them and begin to love them as the Lord loves me, showing this One Another person the fervent love that God asks me to.

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church