When All Is Lost – It is often during moments of crisis that people turn to Jesus, and as they do so they need to answer the question “Who do you say that I am?”
Righteousness – “For man, righteousness is a measure of morality just as it is for God, but man has no part in defining what is right. Man is righteous only as much as his morality, expressed in desires, thoughts, and deeds, conforms to that of God’s. Where he differs with God, he is unrighteous.”
Who is Your Neighbor? Well, Who Are You? – “Stop asking, “Who is my neighbor?” There are deeper questions to ponder. As John Piper explains, “When we are done trying to establish, ‘Is this my neighbor?’ — the decisive issue of love remains: What kind of person am I?“”
Too Busy Not To Check Facebook – We can be so busy that we are unsure of what to do next, but we shouldn’t replace productivity with cheap, easy to obtain distractions.
Celebrating Alone – A poignant and beautiful post from R.C. Sproul, Jr. on the occasion of his twentieth wedding anniversary, missing his wife, but giving thanks for the blessing that she was to him and the eternity she enjoys.
Recently I was reminded of the old adage that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing right the first time. Correcting a project after the fact is often a lot more painful and time-consuming then if it had been done the right way to begin with. Take our shower door for instance. Whenever the person who installed it did so, they weren’t careful with the adhesive that holds the door in place. In short, they got it all over the place. Because the glue is regularly exposed to water, it creates a breeding ground for bacteria and other stuff that I prefer not be in my shower. If I want my shower to be clean (and I do), it means I must painstakingly remove the excess glue.
However, as you might imagine, the glue that holds the shower door in place is not easily removed. Because I also would like my shower door to remain affixed, I am glad for that. It is difficult to separate the adhesive from the wall where it doesn’t belong. I can only imagine the difficult of separating it from the door, where it does.
In the history of the kings of Israel, King Hezekiah is described as a man who “held fast to the Lord” (2 Kings 16:8). Much like the glue around my shower door strongly affixes to anything in which it comes into contact, King Hezekiah was affixed on the principles of God. Scripture says that he “did not depart from following” God, “but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses” (2 Kings 16:8). He was secured by the Word of God. He did what it said and remained faithful to the Lord and His commands.
One might think that this was to be expected for the the kings of Israel, yet historically this wasn’t the case. King Hezekiah was preceded and followed by kings who did not hold fast to the Lord. Instead, they were swayed by the norms of the culture, their own desires, and many other temptations that distracted them from keeping the Word of God. They were not anchored by the Truth of God’s Word and instead were tossed about by the momentary pleasures and troubles of their day.
The same temptations face us even today. As the Parable of the Sower indicates, many people will claim to follow Christ only to have their affection choked out by the cares and worries of this world. Those who will be faithful are those that will hold fast to Him and to His instructions. Just like a plant needs to be rooted in order to flourish, so we must be rooted in Scripture in order to grow in Christ.
As the glue in my shower illustrates, it is easy to be stuck to the wrong things. Removing our hold on the cares of this world can be a difficult process. King Hezekiah, however, learned the importance of holding fast to what was most important, and he therefore was able to lead Israel in a way that pleased the Lord. May we follow this example and may we remain affixed to God and His Word.
