Layaway vs. credit

Back when I was a kid there was a program that most department stores offered called lay a way. If you are under 25 years of age you may not know how it works. These stores would set the desired item aside and allow you to purchase the item by making partial payments. When you made the final payment the item was all yours.  The good news was “no interest “, just pay the asking price. Then, in the 1970’s this wonderful idea that allowed you take possession of the item first and make payments over time was becoming all the rage. Yes, the credit card (although the first all purpose credit card est. in 1966) I didn’t see credit cards in use very much until the mid 1970’s. Humans do not enjoy delayed gratification. We seem to subscribe to the “gotta have it now” concept, and are willing to pay a very hefty price for the luxury.  In fact, there are 609 million credit cards in the US with an aver debt of $ 14,750.00 per family, paying 13.67% interest.  

I was thinking that many people tend to look at God in one of these two ways:

 Lay a way- I can’t have God now, because I need to make the payments first. I am trying to become a better person and one day I’ll have paid in enough good deeds to buy my way to God.

                                                                                                OR

Credit- I have received Christ and now I need to work like crazy to keep in His good graces. It’s a tough battle because the heavenly interest is pretty steep. I can barely make the payments. Sometimes it seems like I’ve made payments for years but I haven’t even made a dent in the principle.

So the question is which view is correct?

Neither….

I quote the words of Led Zepplin “There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold and she’s buying the stairway to heaven. “ As much as I enjoy Robert Plant …. The lady is not going to buy her way into heaven, not even Bill Gates with all his riches could pay the price. There is not enough money or good deeds. I will agree that nothing is free; there is a huge price to pay for you to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The thing is ….. It’s already been paid!     Jesus paid it all!     He is the only one who could.

Neither Lay a way nor credit. The way to be united with Christ is to accept the FREE GIFT of salvation. As soon as we attempt to pay for it ourselves, we begin to nullify what Jesus did, as if to say “Christ didn’t do enough”.

Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death, but the FREE GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our lord”

Eph 2:8-9 “It is by Grace we are saved through faith, and that not of ourselves. It is the Gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast”

authen family 5/1/11 

7 degrees of Kevin Bacon

The idea behind 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon is that people are all connected. If you connect the dots in a sequence of 7 or less moves everyone is connected to Kevin Bacon. I’m not sure if it’s true, however I do believe it’s a smaller world then it may appear.

I got to thinking ….. People often say” When I get to Heaven I’m going to ask Jesus this one question.” I can think of a few things I’d like clarified. One thing I’m curious about is, “How do all of these seemingly meaningless assignments, all work together”? Like when the LORD prompts you to help a person, give a little (money or time), or say something to a stranger. The Bible says” ALL things work together for good”. In 1 Cor 3:6-9 the Bible states “Paul planted, Apollos watered, but GOD makes the increase, we are God’s fellow workers”.  I believe it’s so very important to keep close to Jesus, meditate on the LORD day and night. He wants to whisper those “Divine appointments” in our ears; those little tasks we are all called to every day.

 One day, God may reveal how all of those dots are connected, how even the smallest tasks of obedience have been used to spread the wonderful LOVE of our Heavenly Father. Be available to the Holy Spirit. Make this declaration with me now “HERE I AM, LORD SEND ME”

1 Corinthians 3:6-9 “⁶ I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. ⁹ For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

authen family (2) 4/17/11

Covert Living

Covert Living

Covert –a covering that serves to conceal or shelter something



           I have this favorite tee shirt. The shirt is black and on the front of it is a giant guitar pick, and in the middle of the pick in bold letters it says "PICK JESUS"
The shirt has special meaning to me because, I love Jesus, I play the guitar and lead worship at our church in Northern Colo. I know… so very cleaver.

Our family took a trip last summer and we flew from Denver, CO to Portland, OR. If you don’t know our family, you wouldn’t know that we can be quite a “sight” rolling through the airport. My wife and I have 5 kids’ ages 4, 6,10,11,15. On this trip we checked several bags and still managed to run 17 bags through the TSA scanners as carry-on. You get the idea. We tend to draw attention from onlookers at the airport. I was wearing the above mentioned tee shirt during this visit to DIA. The shirt was gaining more attention then I figured, and several people made quick comments or gave thumbs up indicating they liked the message of the shirt. We made our way past the ticket line, through security, and rode the train to our designated concourse. Eventually we arrived at what seemed to be the furthest gate from the terminal. Along the way, my patience meter continued to climb with every whine of “how much further” and “I can’t carry my bag”. But wait, there’s more. Our flight had been delayed by 1 ½ hours. So, the kids are crabby and hungry, and my wife and I are veering on the edge of sanity. Then I hear the first fight between our 6 10 and 11 yr old sons, the 4 yr old took off skipping and dancing down the terminal and through the crowds, and our 15 yr old, with headphones in the ears, has officially tuned us out. DING!!! That is the sound announcing that I AM DONE. As I began to tear off after our 4 yr old daughter, my plan is: Grab the run away, break up the fight, and get the attention of this family. They “WILL” behave like civilized humans. In other words make a big public scene. I also noticed several others in the area had begun to notice the commotion.

Then it hits me, I am wearing this stupid shirt. I’m a walking billboard advertising” look at me, I’m a shining example of the love and patience of Christ”. I’m thinking…. “you kids are so lucky. If I hadn’t branded myself Super Christian, you’d be getting a piece of my mind.” Instead, calmly my wife and I rounded up the kids, diffused the argument, bought everyone a snack, and got on the plane to Oregon.

The fact is, people are often watching. It’s not like as Christians we don’t have the right to get stressed out and snap at our kids or spouse. If I had gone through with my tirade, I would have embarrassed myself and my family. God would still love me. My salvation is still secure. The thing is…if you claim to be a representative of the King of Kings you ARE judged by the world. Anyone associated with Jesus Christ has a target on their back. Is it fair? Maybe not. The scripture does say (Matthew 5:11) “Blessed are you when men persecute for my name sake”. Kind of like the super star athlete that says” I don’t mind the millions of dollars, and the fame, but could people leave me alone and respect my privacy”. It goes with the territory.

It seems like everyone else is not held to any type of standard. All of those judging seem to be afforded a bad day or a stressful moment.

I have a couple of choices:

     I could leave my “PICK JESUS” shirt in the closet, and say to hell with those who throw stones, they don’t know I’m a Christian and I am covered by the grace of Jesus Christ.

Or

     I could step out as an ambassador of Christ. 2 Cor 5:20. Understand that we are called to live for HIM, Rain or shine, whether people are watching or not. I march through life with an audience of ONE watching. Every moment, every day, I am called to give my best to represent the Love of God, always.

Side Note:

     I have been around a few people in my life who conduct themselves in such a way that no one around them can deny that something is different. They don’t need to wear a flashing JESUS sign. The love of Christ shines through them.

    

                Authenticfamily (1) 4/12/11