Tuesday, October
17, 2017
Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and
learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often
before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose
conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about
shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord
Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly
waiting for him to return as our Savior.
He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies
like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under
his control. Philippians 3:17-21(NLT)
It
is an unusual thing for a pastor to miss church. It’s like an athlete watching his team play
the game on TV; it’s just not the same when you’re not there. I’ve written and preached enough about that
over the years so this seems like familiar ground, but when a believer/follower
of Christ is absent from worship there is a sense of having missed doing that
for which you’ve been created…worship!
I
felt that Sunday. Saturday night’s
earache, brought on by a sizeable middle ear infection, robbed me of any
possibility of sleep. By the flickering
pre-dawn light of the wee hours I was hunting for a worship service on TV that
would somehow keep my mind focused on the Lord’s Day. Flipping through the channels I saw it again
– the filled stadium in Texas, and the familiar pop culture pop star peddling
his best-life, you-deserve-more,
and you-can-have-it-if-you-smile-as-big-as-I-do theology.
(I’m
not sure why I’m drawn to watch that drivel, except that it’s common to our
human nature to want more of everything, and this guy finds a way to tap into
that desire.)
This
time I only watched for about thirty seconds before the waves of nausea
hit. No, the ear infection did not make
me want to lose it; I felt a rising sense of compassion for the people in that
stadium who were being deceived by a false message which dwells on all hope being in this life only.
That
is a message worlds-apart from the true Christian message the Apostle Paul gave
us about being content, not letting your belly’s appetite, or this world’s
wealth rule your mind and actions.
Paul
said we should be citizens of Heaven, eagerly looking for the return of
Christ. To be a citizen of Heaven means
we lift our aim a little higher than having financial gain, or the trappings of
earth’s successes. Paul said to the
church at Corinth that fixing your mind on earthly wealth, even though some
Houston preacher of prosperity with a TV audience makes it sound like a
spiritual quest, is empty – a sham of godliness:
And if our
hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in
the world. 1 Corinthians 15:19(NLT)
For You
Today
Financial
gain, worldly acclaim, and the power to control your life may hold a certain allure
for those who don’t have those things.
But the overwhelming evidence is that we were created for worship, not
wealth.
If
you are a citizen of Heaven
the choice isn’t that hard.
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