I’m Not Usually a Rainbow Kind of Guy

    I’m like everyone else. I like to see a real rainbow. It’s a wonderful symbol from the Great Flood in Genesis chapter nine that speaks of God’s promise to protect and preserve His people.
    While I love a real rainbow, you won’t see any painted unicorns galloping through a multi colored arch in my office or at my house. As far as decorations go, it’s not for me. And that would probably be the case even if the symbol had not been hijacked by those promoting an unbiblical lifestyle.
    But when it comes to God’s rainbows, I love them. The other day, I saw the most unique one I had ever seen. And if you saw it and told me about it, I’d probably wonder if that is really what you saw. But look at the picture for yourself and you’ll see, I’m not making it up.

    My wife and I flew on Wednesday to visit my brothers for a couple of days in Nevada. While waiting in the plane, my thoughts began to be filled with church and family related plans and concerns. Along with great responsibility comes great concern, and my mind can sometimes get overwhelmed. We took off and as I always do, I watched out the window (have never lost the thrill of flying). As we broke through the heavy cloud cover and into the sunlight, I looked down to the clouds below and I couldn’t believe what I saw: a perfectly round circular rainbow. It was something I had never seen before, but that’s not all. Right in the middle of the inside of this rainbow circle was the shadow of our plane reflecting on the cloud below. I sat there staring at it, and it stayed in view, just as the picture shows, for several minutes.
    It seemed as though God was reminding me that I am surrounded by His promises. The concerns that were flooding my mind would never flood my world! “Let it go! Trust me. I’m here and I’ll always be here, and if you honor me, I’ll take care of you!”
    And that’s exactly what Jesus promised in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
    I didn’t need to see a rainbow to remember that. But it sure helped!

A New You

    Several years ago, Linda and I had were partners in a commercial property investment. Our part was the management of the property, which Linda took care of. But we came across an opportunity to sell at quite an increase for what the partnership purchased it for. The prospective buyer was a gas station/convenience store located next door. We had rented to a competitor and the buyer wanted to get the property to both expand and eliminate their competition. Because of that, they were willing to pay over market value.
    At one point, I had to show the property to a rep for the company interested in purchasing from us. As I took him around, I began to inform him of tenant issues and problems with the building, mechanicals, etc. He interrupted me and said something like, “I really don’t care about any of that. We’re going to build a new facility here. These tenants won’t be here long and the building will be torn down. It’s the property we are interested in. We want it to be ours.”
    I couldn’t help but think back to my conversion. I kept telling God about all my faults and failures. No doubt, I needed to repent and God wanted to hear my confession. But he wasn’t looking at reforming me. He wasn’t just going to do a “fix-up” job. He gave me a redesign and a rebuild from the ground up. But I needed to give him ownership. Once I belonged to Him, he took over.
    Sure you’ve got faults and failures. And all of us have a past. But Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  I like the way the New Living Translation puts this verse, “Those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!”
    It’s almost as if God said, “You are not the same person anymore. I demolished the “old you” on that property and created the “new you” in its place. You are a new creation! And you are mine!”
    I’m not saying, “Just forget about your sins, it doesn’t matter.” It does. Sin matters. I am saying that God wants to do so much more than just fix you up a little, only to break another day. God doesn’t want to reform you. He wants to transform you! But that won’t happen until He owns the property.
    Isn’t it time to turn it over to Him? There’s a new you waiting!
    “Behold, I am making all things new!”  –Jesus (Revelation 21:5)

Review Next Year Now

    You’ve probably seen the specials on television news programs on the highlights of 2010 in national and international news. There was the Hatian earthquake and the terrible loss of 250,000 lives, the eruption of Mount Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland which sent 330,000,000 cubic yards of volcanic ash into the atmsosphere and grounding over 100,000 flights in Europe. Who will forget the BP offshore oil rig explosion and the ensuing spill that continued to flow for three months? Then there were the 33 Chillian miners who were rescued on live TV after having been trapped 2,300 feet underground for nine weeks. In America, there was the health care bill fiasco, the tea party express and then the huge congressional overhaul midterm election (probably a result of the previous two).
    What stands out for you in 2010? Maybe its a highlight: a new baby, a wedding or engagement or a new job. Maybe its a challenge or series of challenges: the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, onset of health struggles or failure of a relationship. In our family, we experienced both the highlights and the struggles.
    As I have heard from a number of you at The Bridge, many came to know Christ in a personal way this year, and a number of you found The Bridge in 2010. I hope you have all grown closer to Christ this past year, and closer to your church family.
    As a new year begins, we tend to get nostalgic in looking back over the events of the past year. Some are glad to see 2010 go. But for all of us, I hope we can learn from both positives and negatives. Nothing happens to us by chance and it is all part of God’s design for His glory and our good, if we are committed to pleasing Him with our lives. So then, what lessons can you take from this past year? What mistakes did you make that you do not want to repeat? What victories did you enjoy that you can thank God for in a special way? What new initiatives began in your life that you will want to continue through the rest of your days?
    But I think it’s even better to review next year, now, then this year. That is, plan out 2011 as though you are at its end and looking back at what you would like to have done this year. You know there will be the same mix of blessings and difficulties, many of them unforeseen. How will you respond to both? What goals do you have for this next year and what are you doing to reach those goals? When 2011 comes to an end, what will you be looking back on then? And will you be able to say that you grew this year in your relationship with Christ?
    You have a precious gift handed to you. The gift of a new year….more time to fulfill your purpose. Make the most of it! Honor God! Please Him! Love people! Serve others! If you do that, 2011 may be your best year yet!