All or Nothing

It is no secret I struggled mightily with math from elementary school through college. When I finished my degree, I burned my math book on my husband’s grill. But a wise – and math-savvy – friend helped me to approach math a little differently. I said that one reason math frustrates me is that there is only one right answer, you can’t just get the principle like you can in say, theology, and you can’t “get close,” you are either right or you’re wrong. She told me that in life, there is only one right answer – and that answer is Jesus. You either get Jesus or you are lost. Oh, I still hate math, but that put it in a different perspective for me.
And it is the absolute truth. Jesus declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). Peter reiterated Jesus’ words when he proclaimed before the Sanhedrin, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). There is no other way to God and His mercy and grace but through His Son. It is Jesus or nothing.
But when you say “Yes” to Jesus – you get everything. Look back at His statement in John 14:6. With Jesus you get life because He is The Life. You get truth because He is The Truth. You get direction because He is The Way. But wait – there’s more! You get light because He is the light of the world and “the true Light that gives light to every man” (Jn 8:12; 1:9). You get nourishment for your soul because He is the Bread of Life and Living Water (Jn 6: 48; 4:14). You get everlasting life because He is The Resurrection (Jn 11:25). You get peace – His peace (Jn 14:27). You get Joy – His Joy (Jn 15:11). You get hope that serves as “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Heb 6:19). And best of all, you get great, lavish (1 Jn 3:1), perfect (4:18), unfailing, unshakable love (Is 54:10), because He is the conduit of God’s love to all the world (Jn 3:16).
So what will be? All or nothing? Beloved, with all my heart, I implore you to chose Jesus today. He is the only right answer.

J is for Joy

“The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with Joy” (Psalm 126:3).

What great things has God done for you?  Have you thought about His “showers of blessings” lately?  When my heart becomes a little bit sour or I am sad and weary, I sit down with paper and pencil and go through my ABCs. No, not the alphabet, but the ABCs of gratitude. It’s a great exercise for the mind and heart, although it does get challenging around Q and X and Z. Here’s a sample:

A – Air conditioning (I do live in the deep South and it is the dog days of summer). And Advent – that Jesus came and will come again.

B – The Bible – God’s Holy Word – my passion and calling. And The Baptist College of Florida where I’m blessed to work.

C – Coffee (do I hear an Amen?).  And Christ my Savior. The church – both the Universal Church and my Christian family at Rehobeth Baptist Church. And fresh clean sheets on the bed.

D – Donald, my sweet husband of 34 years. And deliverance from sin and death.

E – Eternal life. Endurance – especially now that I’m in grad school. And education. And elephants (Roll Tide!)

F – Family and Friends – the greatest treasures this side of heaven! And fried chicken. And the faithfulness of God. And Forgiveness.

G – God’s amazing grace. And my granddaughter, Joy. And the Gospel.

I won’t go through the whole alphabet, but I think you get my point.  One sure way to find Joy when you’re running low is to “count your many blessings,” because Joy and gratitude are two sides of the same coin. I don’t have to get all the way to the last letter to see God’s good hand in and over my life.

Maybe this year has been filled with heartache, grief, disappointment, or struggle. Mine has too.  These certainly make it difficult to be thankful and Joyful.  Still, I have no doubt that somewhere between A and Z there are blessings you can grab onto to restore Joy to your heart. If you woke up this morning, you already have at least one: L is for the gift of life.

The Bible continually calls us to remember and rejoice in God our Savior. Do you need to reflect on the great things that God has done for you? Beloved, maybe it’s time to go back to school and practice your ABCs.  J is for Joy.