May newsletter

Welcome to May!

The rains have come and the grass is growing. I love this time of year as the cold is gone and

the heat is yet to come. What an amazing world we live in that has four seasons each year.

Imagine living where there is only cold or heat all year round. Imagine living on a planet where

there is no night with only the daylight sun at all times. God creates a perfect place for His

people to live.

We do expect that the summer heat is just around the corner. In fact, we have already

experienced some 100+ degree days. I love thinking about the future as some of you do. We

plan events and travel and work to do. What could go wrong? How does God view the plans

we have in our lives? This month’s Newsletter article focuses on the idea of procrastination.

We concluded that God wants us to use our skills and talents in His Kingdom today. How we do

that is a joint venture between us and God.

I mentioned the man in Luke 12:13-21 who was going to tear down his old barns and build

bigger ones. The problem is that he wasn’t going to live long enough to fulfill his dream of

eating, drinking, and being merry. (vs 19) Jesus tells us to focus on our relationship with God

more than worldly concerns. I view this as an issue of priorities. In the Sermon on the Mount,

Jesus also tells us that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” ( Matthew 6:21)

So should we plan ahead or not?

Making God our priority in life does not mean we do not plan for the future. All of us have

dreams and goals in life, even if they are modest. Some just want a stable family or home.

Others look forward to grandkids or visiting distant places. Can we look forward to the summer

heat and enjoying air conditioning as Christians? Surely, we are meant to enjoy the blessings of

life? The answer is “of course,” understanding that does not mean putting our desires ahead of

our relationship with God. Remember the folks in the Corinth church who were eating and

drinking in front of those who had little? They were chastised for not sharing with those in need.

My point is these affluent Christians were not using their wealth to the glory of God. They were

successful in the world, but needed to work on their relationship with God. (see 1 Corinthians

11)

Let’s close our thoughts about planning ahead today with guidance from James 4:13-17. Here,

James warns us about boasting about tomorrow because we are so fragile that he says our

lives are “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (vs 14) So what are we to do

without a guarantee of tomorrow? Plan or not? James tells us to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we

will live and do this or that.” (vs 15) So our solution is to include God in our plans. We

recognize that it is only by His grace that we have life and continue to live. James concludes his

thoughts by saying, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin

for them.” This fits nicely into what Jesus tells us about working on our relationship with God

first. We do good by doing His will in the world. We know His will for us by doing what Paul tells

us to do in Romans 12:2: “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you

think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”