A Thousand Deaths

 Galatians 2:20 is a challenging verse. It refers to living the crucified life. It is a verse about dying to self so the Lord Jesus Christ can live through us. To live this kind of life means dying a thousand deaths. It means saying no when you would rather say yes to sin. It means dying to plans and agendas that may not align with God. 

Dying a thousand deaths will come in little things and big things. I have a deep conviction about watching movies with foul language. I get that conviction from Exodus 20:7 where we are commanded to not take the name of God in vain. Before going to see any movie at the theater my family knows I want to know if there is any offensive and profane words in it. There have been times I had to walk out of a movie theater. Recently, I had to walk out of a play several people from our church went to see together. Very early on in the play profanity was used I could not sit through. That is dying a thousand deaths. It would be easy to sit through it. To go along with everyone else. God would not let me do that. So, Brenda and I got up and left. 

Dying a thousand deaths might require staying up late or getting up early to pray. It might mean serving when you would prefer to be the one getting served. It might mean giving away prized possessions or much needed money. It could include doing what God wants you to do on a day off rather than getting to do what you want to do. It might include fasting when you prefer to feast. The crucified life is not one grandiose act of dying to self. It is the act of dying a little more every day. 

This is not popular Christian theology. This is about surrender, sacrifice, submission and maybe even suffering at times. It is about the continual act of denying self. It is about dying to our will and submitting to His will. Dying a thousand deaths it not easy. It is difficult when the selfish part of us resists and rebels. A truly effective life for God is a yielded life. The crucified life. It is painful to keep dying to self a little more and a little more. Until the day comes when you are so caught up in living for and pleasing God that it gets easier to die to self each day. To deny yourself the pleasure of a purchase in order to give your money away to someone else in need. The crucified life means that you are constantly available to God as a vessel. The crucified life means that you deny yourself the instant gratification of sin for the greater joy  found in seeking and serving God. May we all learn to die a thousand deaths. 

Did You Finish It

 God put us on this earth for a unique purpose. Yours is different than mine. He intentionally designed us  for His assignments. Many neglect those assignments and go out on their own doing what they want to do. They never take God's plan into consideration. Some just flounder through life. When you discover your purpose and live in it, I call that living in your sweet spot. What is your sweet spot? Mine is preaching and writing. I am most alive and contented when I get to do those two things. 

I don't know what your assignment is. Here is the focal point. One day God will hold accountable His followers, "Did you finish it?" Whatever it is for each of us. For stay at home moms, did you finish the task of raising your kids to love and honor God? For the business owner, did you lead your company with integrity and treat people your employees right? Were you a faithful steward of the money you made? For the coach, did you develop character in your players turning them from boys to young men? Did you coach for the higher goal of glorifying God rather than just wins and losses? For the doctor, did you treat your patients with kindness and compassion? For the factory worker, did you give good effort on the job and were you a team player? To the pastor, did you shepherd your flock faithfully? Did you finish the job or jobs God gave you to do in your lifetime?

Some people never even consider this. They hop from job to job. They get frustrated because they are in jobs God did not design them to do. It is never too late to discover your God ordained purpose. I talked with a man this weekend who did not get called to preach until he was 42. He had a successful job in the corporate world. He walked away from that to follow His purpose. He has only served one church as pastor and he is still there after 17 years. He is finishing the work God gave him to do. That does not mean that everyone will have a long tenure in one place they work. The point is are you finishing the work God gave you to do?

One day I will be gone. Should Jesus tarry, this church will have to find a new pastor. I'm closer to the end of life than the beginning. Part of finishing the work for me is to keep writing these articles. They will live long past my death. They are accessible around the world. One day I will write my last one. Who knows when that will be. When I put the last period on the last sentence I will have finished it. One day I will preach my last sermon. I don't know when and where that will be. When I complete the task of preaching it and my time comes, I would like to be able to say to the Lord, "I finished the assignment you gave me. I tried my best."