Get A Life
People like to ask, “How is life treating you?” I used to answer this question by saying, “Life treats me awful, but Jesus treats me real good!” These days, however, I reply, “ Life is good! I love life!” And I really do. Not that everything in my life is always peaches and cream, for I have my problems too. But God shows Himself real even in the midst of my trials and sufferings. Now I like to sing to people my testimony song:
“THE BLESSINGS OF THE LORD ARE OVERTAKING ME, OVERTAKING ME, OVERTAKING ME. REDEEMED FROM SIN, AND SICKNESS, AND POVERTY. O THE BLESSINGS OF THE LORD ARE OVERTAKING ME.”
I am so grateful for all the ways God has blessed me: For a wonderful wife. For family and friends that love and support me. For the opportunity to be Christ’s Ambassador, and to help others who are less fortunate. For the faithfulness of God who supplies all my needs. Whose mercies are new every morning. For His gifts of righteousness, and peace, and joy. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.
I haven’t always been so blessed. The first half of my life actually was pretty miserable. These days, I am prompted to reflect on what causes some to have God’s blessings, while others feel as though they have been left out.
Actually we all start out pretty even. Most of us at one point in our lives felt very positive about life, and were looking forward with high expectations as to all life had to offer. We had high hopes of enjoying the pleasures of life. What happened?
Well I don’t know what happened in your life, but as for me, I took off running and forgot to ask God to come along. I suppose I suspected He wouldn’t have wanted to be with me in some of the things in which I was involved. Since I found God, or rather should I say, since God found me, seeing as I was the one who was lost, not God, I have come to appreciate certain Scripture verses that shed light on this mystery. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” When I was in the world, partying and doing my thing, it certainly seemed like the right thing to do. But as I look back on it now, I see how it was causing suffering for my family, and destroying the love my wife had for me. Back then I wouldn’t be caught dead inside a church or reading a Bible. That just didn’t seem to be the way a person should go. I now know it was because I had a hard heart towards God. The Bible talks about this. It says; “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it.” (Jeremiah 17:9) One would think that God would look upon those of us who had hardened our hearts against Him, and just write us off. But then we don’t understand how merciful God is. His Word says; “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my way higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9) If you really want to see where God is coming from in His dealings with sinful man, you should meditate on that 55th chapter of Isaiah.
Let’s consider the words of Jesus who said; “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jesus said and taught many things as recorded in the Scriptures and we could and should meditate on all He said and did, but if we just meditate on this one statement we would get a tremendous revelation on the Father heart of God. You see God made a way when there was no way. There was no way that I a sinful man could be made worthy to come into the presence of a Holy God, except God had prepared for Himself a sacrifice that He had deemed would satisfy His wrath against sin; even His own Son, Jesus! I find it interesting that the early believers, those, who would later be called Christians, were called “Followers of the Way.” Jesus taught that the way to be found acceptable in the Father’s sight was to believe on the One He sent. That word believe is an interesting word. Webster’s Dictionary says the word means: To have faith in, to trust!
Well can we put our faith and trust in Jesus? We can if we believe He is “The Truth and The Life.” Jesus said He was the truth. He was not saying that He had truth, or that He was teaching truth, But that He was truth. He is the embodiment of truth. Even as the Bible says that it is impossible for God to lie (Titus 1:2, & Hebrews 6:18), Jesus being God, could easily make the statement that He was truth. There is a very simple test to see if Jesus was truth and truly God. The most truthful person ever born, will in his human nature make a mistake by saying or doing something that is not true. Will you agree? Now check out the life and teachings of Jesus. Of all that is recorded of what He said and did: can you find even one thing that has not been proven to be true? Many have tried! Many have failed! He is the way, He is the truth, and He is the life.
God became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the Lifegiver. When I was dead in sin, there was no way I could be restored to life. Then I came to believe in this man Jesus, and that which was dead in me (my spirit) sprang to life. I’ll never forget that day, in 1966 when in desperation I cried out to God. I had just learned that my wife, whom I loved dearly, had cancer, and was given only a short time to live. I left the hospital where I had been given that news and drove to the church my wife and I had been attending. Entering this empty church, I fell to my knees. This tough guy who never cried, bawled like a baby. When I couldn’t cry another tear, I cried out to God, with my fist clenched; “Why me God? Why my wife? I’m a Christian!” I wasn’t expecting what happened next. God answered me! I can’t tell you if it was an audible or an inner voice, but He said, “No, you’re not!” Then it was as though I was watching a movie. In mini seconds I saw my life flashing before me. I saw my partying. My drunkenness. My filthy language, and dirty jokes. Then God spoke again. “It is written in My Word, “Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” At this point in my life I was a religious person. I attended church every week. I thought I was a good person and was heaven bound. But now I knew if I was to die right then that I wasn’t going to heaven. I would have gone straight to hell, for I was a very lustful person. I cried out again: Only this time it wasn’t with a clenched fist, it was with a broken heart. “God, I’m sorry! If you’ll forgive me, and if you’ll spare my wife’s life, I’ll serve you the rest of my life.” I no sooner had those words out of my mouth, and a peace came over me that was indescribable. It was awesome!
I was “born again” that day. As I write this, more than thirty years have gone by, but I still have God’s peace with me. It has sustained me through many of life’s trials. I have come to know the faithfulness of God. He is faithful to answer our prayers, once our sins are forgiven and He has adopted us into His family. My wife lived for another 13 years. We celebrated 25 years together before God took her home. I had made her life miserable the first 12 years, but I got to make it up to her, the second half of our marriage. Besides my salvation, I will always be grateful that God made a man out of me. He made me a husband to my wife, and a father to my children. I want you to know, “it takes a man to really be a husband and father.”
A lot has happened since that initial encounter with God. After my wife died, I was a bachelor for four years, until the Lord brought another lady into my life. Maggie and I have been married now since 1983 and have been serving the Lord together in ministries to the recovering addict and to those in prison, and those just released. When you are involved in these types of ministries, you get to know just how real God is, and how faithful He is to meet every one of your needs.
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Before I was born again by the Spirit of God, I didn’t know there was any other type of life other than the kind I was living. Although I was miserable much of the time, I didn’t think there was anything different to be experienced. Of course I didn’t know! Even if someone would have told me, I wouldn’t have believed them. You see, the life I am now living is a spirit filled life. That is to say, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, now dwells in me (has united Himself with my own spirit), and has made my spirit come alive to God and the kingdom of God. Now I am experiencing what the Scriptures mean when they say, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” If you have never given your heart to God and had His Spirit invade your spirit you cannot begin to understand how wonderful it is to experience God’s righteousness, God’s peace, and God’s joy. But, God wants you to have this experience. He wants you to know Him in the beauty of His holiness. That is why he admonishes us over and over again to seek Him.
“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest.” (Jer. 29:11-13).
One of the pitfalls we encounter is when we think we have found God, and we quit seeking. I had done that. I sought God by going to church and doing what I thought was expected of me. I didn’t diligently seek Him, or search the Scriptures for revelation of God. Consequently I got religion, but I didn’t get God. Now I tell everyone who truly wants to know God, “When you experience His Righteousness, His Peace, and His Joy on a consistent basis you will know that you have found life.”