Pastor’s Podium

There is a commercial theme that has began to show up with a variety of products ... Dr. Pepper, Grubhub, Eurosport, even NFL Now TV. I don’t remember where I first saw it, but I almost immediately said,“That is the embodiment of our world today.” I didn’t realize it was actually a spoof off of a song by a group called Queen,“I Want it All and I Want it Now.”

The Bible says in Matthew 6:33 NIV, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” The entire passage from verse 25 through verse 34 is an exhortation to not get caught up in the temporal things of this life, but to keep our eyes on Jesus and set our lives to follow Him. There are physical things that we need, and the Bible clearly teaches the responsibility of hard work and consistency.

But ... if we keep our focus upon Jesus; He will guide us, empower us, and watch over us ... if we don’t keep our focus upon Jesus, we will eventually end up in a mess. 1 John 2:17 NIV,“The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

This same principle applies to relationships. Our world is angry and violent, because our world has developed a very fatal case of “me-ism” ... “I want it all and I want it now.” This ugly monster has raised its head all throughout society … in the business world, in the school, and sadly even in the church and the home. We must stand against this monster … but how?

An old saying uses the cross to picture correct human relationships,“When we get the upright beam of the cross correct, the horizontal beam will be correct.” In other words, when our vertical relationship with Jesus is correct ... then our horizontal relationship with those around us will be correct.

We can struggle with all that we are capable of and try and try and try again … we can go through great counseling and even attend a great church; but until we get our personal relationship with Christ in proper vertical alignment, we will continue to experience failure, heartache, and frustration. After all, is not the definition of insanity, “Doing the same thing over and over the same way and expecting different results”?

Jesus loves you ... so much that He left heaven and all its glory to enter this earth as a baby human in order to grow as a man, fulfill all the righteousness of God, give His life as a sacrifice for our sins, be raised on the third day, and reassume His rightful place at the right hand of our Father in Heaven as the Savior and Eternal Judge of all mankind.

According to 1 Peter 1:20 and Revelation 17:8, this was God’s divine plan from the foundation of the earth ... He knew mankind would fail and need a Savior that only He could provide even before He created mankind.

Jesus has a wonderful plan for you far above anything you could ever imagine or dream. The secret ... surrendering our lives totally unto Him, seeking after Him with our whole heart and soul, and putting the cross hairs of our focus upon Him. Jesus plainly stated in John 6:35-37 NIV,“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”