Isn’t it amazing how rapidly things change? Of course things can go from bad to worse in a heartbeat. However, they can also move the other direction just as quickly.

How long did it take Jesus to turn dirty hand-washing water into premium wine? It was instantaneous.

How long did it take five loaves and two fishes to feed 5000 men and their families? The story seems to imply it was immediate.

With that in mind, consider this second statement of Jesus from Calvary’s cross found in Luke 23:43.

“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Jesus made this statement to one of His co-sufferers. We do not know much about the two men crucified with Jesus.  From what we can gather, however, they were quite a pair. They responded differently to their demise, however.

One of the men hardened and cursed his very life until the bitter end. Conversely, the other softened and actually opened his heart to Jesus. Can you imagine what hope the message brought to a man suffering a slow, agonizing death? “Assuredly . . . today . . . paradise.”  Paradise TODAY.

This word from the cross affirms Jesus’ mission and His ability to carry it out even at creation’s darkest hour. He came to seek and save the lost. His death on the cross was the substitute that would forever pay for the sins of all mankind. It was – especially on that day – salvation for a man hanging with Him.

How Do We Experience Paradise Today

To those of us who have experienced His grace this word encourages us in three tenses – past, present, and future.

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Christians love boycotts. Somehow we have come to equate moral superiority with boycotting.  Let an individual, institution, or industry oppose something important to us, and, immediately we call for boycotts.

Maybe it’s time to rethink our penchant for boycotts.  Could it be that we might win a battle with a boycott but lose the greater eternal, spiritual war? Maybe the time has come to boycott boycotts.

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Four Reasons We Should Rethink Boycotts

1.   Jesus’  example.

I cannot remember a time in the New Testament when Jesus boycotted.  In fact I remember reading about a few times He went places boycotted by the religious superstars of His day. 

He dined in the homes of at least two tax agents for the loathsome Roman Emperor. Matthew and vertically-challenged Zacchaeus both felt the scorn of the religious folks in Jesus’ day.

Jesus hung out with prostitutes and adulteresses.  He befriended the ceremonially unclean, socially outcast, and spiritually broken.  He didn’t condone their sinful behavior, but He didn’t boycott them either.

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2.    Culture’s need.

We usually feel the temptation to boycott those people and places who stand in contrast to what we believe.  How will they ever believe, though, if we withdraw from them.  They have a clearer path to redemption with our loving investment in their lives.

The humanist in Starbuck’s needs to hear about Jesus from us.  We can’t share Jesus if we boycott. 

The employees of Target need to see the love of Jesus.  They can’t see Him in us if we aren’t there. 

The cashier at the store that sells beer and lottery tickets will need answers when her life falls apart.  We can’t point her to the answer in Jesus if we refuse to go in the store.

Jesus didn’t come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.  If we refuse to lovingly interact those who need Him, how can we share Jesus with them?

3.   Our testimony.

Do you refuse to allow people who work at the places you boycott to come to your church?  Of course not.  You not only allow them to come, you invite and encourage them to come.  At least, I hope you do.

“I want you to come to my place, but I would not dare come in your place” is stark hypocrisy.  I am afraid our culture identifies us more by what oppose than by Who we represent.  They know us more as people against them than people who love them and want to introduce them to Jesus.

Why should they listen to our message about Jesus if we want nothing to do with them at their level?

4.   Unintended consequences.

Sometimes, actions we intend for noble purposes yield counter-productive results.  In the process of making our point, could we possibly cause greater harm in another area?

The economic impact of a boycott may cause innocent people to lose jobs that provide for their family.  That innocent person may even attend our church.  If they don’t, our boycott will ensure they never will.

The reputation of a boycotting church may hinder that church’s evangelistic efforts.  Sometimes we unnecessarily close doors through which we can share Jesus.

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A Greater Good

I understand that sometimes we have to “draw a line in the sand” against the moral decay of our time.  But that line must always be drawn over issues and not individuals.  We cannot sacrifice an opportunity to share the Gospel on the altar of boycotting.

Please understand, I am not saying we should compromise Biblical teaching or heartfelt convictions.  We cannot cave into to sin and be salt of the earth.  However, we can state our case for right without voluntarily cutting off ourselves  from those who need Jesus.

Paul made it his aim to be all things to all men so that by all means he might win some.  Instead of limiting our interaction with those outside of our faith, let us look for ways to make ourselves more accessible.

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God has a way of using man’s evil intentions for His good and glory.

Jesus spoke a word of forgiveness to those mean souls who meant to destroy Him and annihilate Him. They wanted Him gone, and thought that now they had finally accomplished that feat. Surely His death would be the end of Him and His “trouble-making” revolutionary ways and teachings.

But Jesus understood that what they were doing was all a part of God’s plan. He HAD to die. He HAD to be the substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. While his persecutors and enemies thought they were doing themselves a favor.  However, they  were the unwitting agents of God accomplishing their own undoing. They meant it for evil, but in their act of crucifixion, God was working the ultimate act of good. He was providing for our salvation.

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. – Luke 23:34

Why You Can Forgive Your Enemies

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Of all the words in the Bible, the first five may be the most important: “In the beginning God created.”  Since the beginning of time, hell has unleashed a savage attack on the concept of divine creation.  Today the attack rages at a fever pitch regarding the issues of gender identification and sexual orientation.

Those who are confused about their gender and sexual orientation often make the claim “God made me this way.”  They either blame God for their behavior or they try to justify it in His name.   Even many well meaning but unfortunately misguided Jesus followers have taken this bait and swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.

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Let’s take a moment and consider some very important truth about God’s creation and man’s rebellion.

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When it comes to running, let’s just say I am built for comfort and not for speed. 

With that stated, I have great appreciate for sprinters; appreciation borne out of jealousy.  I enjoy watching track events, especially relay races.  With great concentration, these runners also have the dexterity to pass a baton between them while both run full speed.  The winner is the relay team whose runner passes the finish line first with possession of the baton.  A team may have the fastest runners, but if they cannot hand off the baton, they lose the race.  Passing the baton is the most crucial moment of the relay race.

Psalm 71:18 – So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.

Unless the Lord plans to allow me to live to be 105 or older, I have lived over half my life.  God has gradually placed a burden on my heart to invest in younger people.  I don’t know how many years I have left , but I am in the “changeover box,” as they call it.  I have identified three “runners” to whom I want to hand a baton.

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Have you ever met someone who “just didn’t get it”? You know the type. They live oblivious to how off track their life is. They never seem to learn from their mistakes, in fact, they are a mess but think that everything is O.K.

Sometimes that hot mess may be YOU.

Take heart. Jesus surrounded himself with such as these. His twelve disciples often seemed to demonstrate a phenomenal ability to miss the obvious lessons Jesus taught.

You can read a perfect example of this in Mark 8:9-21.

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Super Bowl 51 concluded with one of the most epic sports meltdowns in history.  As a fan of the Atlanta Falcons, naturally I felt disappointed.  The game was a reminder that in sports, and in life, it’s not the start but the finish that really matters. To win, the team must finish well. At halftime, the Falcons looked invincible and the Patriots appeared demoralized.  After the next 34 minutes of game time, things would look quite different. 

When Life is Like the Super Bowl

You may find yourself at a place where your life more closely resembles the Patriots at halftime of Super Bowl 51.  Little you do succeeds and the odds seem stacked against you. You’ve experienced failure, disappointment, and defeat.  You just don’t have the gumption to finish well.

I know how you feel.  Life can overwhelm us at times, leaving us feeling hopeless and trapped.  Somedays, we want to just “run out the clock” and get on to the next thing.

Conversely, you may find yourself in a place where you life closely resembles the Falcons at halftime.  Your life has been awesome, God has been good to you, and you are reaping the joy of bountiful blessings.  You have few complaints and as a general rule you find yourself pleased and satisfied.

Believe it or not, the second scenario is the more dangerous of the two.

When things are going well, we need to beware of the temptations of complacency and over confidence.  It is easy to think that things will continue along the same path, so we let down our guard,  We fail to maintain a good level of diligence and self-discipline.  We forget that even a wave of success will eventually break along a shore line. 

However, feeling hopelessly behind and defeated also has its temptations.  When nothing is going right, we discover the urge to give up and stop trying.   We face the lie that our past failure makes victory impossible.  If we give in to this attitude, we will never turn our rough start into a positive finish.

3 Questions to Help You Finish Well

1.  Where Am I?

Whether in success or defeat, we need to be honest with ourselves.  Successes tend to make us delirious, and defeat often leads us to blaming and excusing.  Finishing well requires us to constantly and honestly self-evaluate.  We cannot be sure of the right direction if we are not sure of where we stand at the moment.

2.  How Did I Get Here?

Successes often cause us to over-estimate the role we play in them.  On the other hand, defeat causes us to either under-valuate ourselves or more dangerously, erroneously blame others.  We need to take healthy ownership of where we are in life.  We must acknowledge the positive role others play in our successes and own up to our culpability in defeat.  If we get overconfident in our victories, the wave of success is soon to crash.  If we blame others or make excuses for our defeats, they will forever imprison us. 

3.  What Do I Need to Do to Move Forward?

In success we cannot complacently stand pat and in defeat we cannot remain paralyzed in our pain.  Overconfidence and complacency in success will lead us to stagnation.  Blame and excuses in bog us further in the deep mire of our hopelessness. 

To those who feel they have a hopeless second half, let me encourage you with one truth. Sometimes getting from where you are to where you need to be can seem an insurmountable task.  Don’t let the enormity of the task keep you from getting started.

Chinese philosopher famously wrote, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  Each day, think of at least one thing you can do to move yourself forward from where you are.

Which of the three questions do you most need to ask yourself today?  What one thing will you do today to help you finish well?

Help from the Bible

Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:12-14 (HCSB)

We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. – 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (HCSB)

See also, Renaming Your Reality

What if someone offered to give you $864.00 each day every day of your life?  Would you take it?  What you would you do with it?  Generally speaking, you really only have 2 choices.

I think of all the things I could buy; things that my family really needs.  I can think of plenty of frivolous items on which I could spend my per diem as well. I could save the money for several days amassing a large enough sum to warrant a “big ticket” purchase.

In all of these cases I am choosing to spend the daily money. 

But…

What if each day, I used the $864 to generate additional money?  Let’s say I found a way to turn my daily $864 into $950 (10%).  I might not have the items I could buy with the money, but I would have more money stored up.  In this case I am choosing to invest the daily money.

With the first scenario, at the end of a week I have “stuff” but no money.  In the second scenario, I may not have any stuff at the end of the week but, I have over $8800.  This is previously accrued money plus each day’s money plus10%.  Each passing day I can continue to grow my investment as long as I live.

With that kind of investment I am in a position to both continue to invest and spend a little on the things I need and want.

[Tweet “Time is our most precious currency; we must choose whether to spend it or invest it.”]

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I remember in my early teens (a long, long time ago) watching a movie titled “The Gumball Rally.”  In the movie, teams raced across the country over the course of several days.  The winner was the first team to arrive at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.

Once scene that stuck with me involved the Italian driver as he climbed into his Ferrari to begin the race.  He tore the rearview mirror from its place and exclaimed, “First rule of Italian racing: what’s behind you doesn’t matter.”

That’s a pretty good rule for everyday living: keeping the past in proper perspective.  I wouldn’t say the past doesn’t matter. Both good and bad past experiences have shaped us and brought us to the place we now find ourselves.  However, all too often we give it too much power in our present and future.

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You can learn from your past, but too many people live in their past.  You should be thankful for your past but we not indebted to your past.  We let the bad experiences of the past become excuses for bad choices in the present.  We let the good experiences of the past keep us from expecting new and greater things from God.

It is not a bad thing to remember the past fondly and to celebrate God’s goodness in days gone by.  The book of Psalms often recounts the past deeds of God as a reason to give Him praise and offer worship. 

How Living In Your Past Can Hinder You

The danger comes when we give focus to the past and long for those days to return. Consider these two ways living in the past can hinder what God wants to do in our present and future.

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