Putting It Off

If a genie popped out of a bottle right now, right in front of me, and offered me one wish, I’d be tempted to ask for an end to Winter and for Spring to begin here in Australia.

I’m not a fan of the cold. I prefer my skies blue to grey, my winds to be warming not biting, and for the maximum hours of daylight possible.

I look at my garden, becoming increasingly unkempt, and find myself saying, “I’ll get to that when the weather warms up a bit.” I look at the mess in my garage, and think “I’ll clean all that up when the weather’s a bit warmer.” I see the forlorn look on my dog’s face, and say to him, “I’ll take you for a walk when the days get a bit longer, and a bit warmer.”

I have a lot of things being put off, waiting for a change in the weather.

We do this a lot in life also, don’t we? Put things off until circumstances change. Until the season of life changes perhaps.

“When such and such happens, then I will…”

“Once so and so does this, then I will….”

“I’ll be happy when …”

“One day I’m going to…”

When Jesus lived on earth, he invited various people to follow him. Some, like the disciples Simon, Andrew, James and John, left what they were doing immediately and followed. Yet others put it off, agreeing to follow Jesus but only after they had attended to a family situation or a personal issue.

Jesus got a bit annoyed with them, and told one would-be follower, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s Kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.” (Luke 9:62 – The Message)

The aspects of life such as love, forgiveness, reconciliation, meeting the needs of others are things that shouldn’t be put off until tomorrow. Doing the things that God requires and values shouldn’t be determined by your present circumstances or season. Maybe the gardening can wait, or cleaning up a messy garage can be put off, but when it comes to people and relationships, and the things of God, we need to seize the day.

Every day is a gift from God to be used for His glory. Every day contains opportunities waiting to be grasped. So begin each day with a prayer of thanks to God for the chance to make a difference in the lives of others. Whether it be Winter, Spring, Summer or Autumn, sunshine or rain, don’t put off the people stuff, the stuff of God’s Kingdom. Instead, seize the day.

www.salvationarmy.org.au/mornington

Bargains

Every day the inbox of my email account fills with people wanting to give me a ‘special offer’, ‘great bargains’, ‘never-to-be-repeated opportunities’. All attempts to sell me something, to get me to part with my hard-earned money. Not because I need something, but because they have managed to make me think that by not buying, I’m missing out. At least most of these are genuine.

 

I still get the occasional scam email from someone on the other side of the world. The free money email, you know the one where you just have to give your bank account details and they will put $7 million in there.

I am saddened when I hear of people losing all their life savings having trusted in someone to invest money on their behalf into what sounded like a wonderful scheme. Something that offered a better-than average return that would increase their wealth like nothing else, only to find their trust has been betrayed, and the money has gone.

We need to be wary of fantastic offers. My dad always said, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!

There is one offer however that I have discovered that is fantastic. And it’s true. And it’s free. And it’s guaranteed.

It’s the offer God gives to us, called ‘salvation’. All it takes is a belief, a belief that Jesus was the Son of God who came to earth and lived among us, and that when Jesus died on the cross he opened the way for us to be reconciled to God. That we can now be forgiven for anything we’ve ever done that has hurt someone else or hurt God. It cost God hugely, but costs us nothing.

And the return on this investment? Amazing.

Hope, freedom, peace, joy, a new life here on earth – and eternal life!!

It’s the real deal, the best deal, the 100% genuine special offer. The bargain of all time.

You can’t lose. So get on it!

www.salvationarmy.org.au/mornington

Dodgem Cars

One of our family’s favourite rides at the carnival, fair or show is the Dodgem Cars. My three sons and I get on those cars, and we are determined to cause as much mayhem for each other as possible. We aim to bump into each other, to put each other off course, make them stop altogether is good, and we race ahead laughing at their misfortune. Unfortunately, other innocent people tend to get caught up in our crashes and bumps as well. But hey, that’s the feature of the ride – you know when you buckle up that seatbelt that you’re going to get hit, so no sympathy.

Regrettably, this is the way some people live life.

Their focus is on getting ahead, no matter who they crash into along the way. And if someone ‘bumps’ them, they floor the accelerator and chase after them, hoping to bump into the culprit harder than what they had done to them.

It’s called revenge. Paying people back. Getting even. This hunger for vengeance seems to be have been part of human nature forever.

The funny thing with dodgem cars is that there is no finish line. No one actually wins. You just go round and round in an endless quest to cause each other grief.

Same when it comes to revenge.

It costs time, physical and emotional energy. And most often, the avengers don’t feel any more satisfied. It keeps the wound open, prolonging the pain of the original offense. It keeps the feud boiling away, and often begins a cycle of retribution that spirals downward, at times leading even to death. And it doesn’t seem to ever dissipate the anger.

Jesus spoke a lot about revenge and forgiveness, and much of it sounds crazy. When one of his disciples asked what the limit was on the number of times you should forgive someone, and suggested it was perhaps seven, Jesus answered “seventy times seven”.

He told his followers to turn the other cheek if struck, and not to hate our enemies but to love them.

Sound crazy? Unfair? Why this need to forgive?

Jesus explained that because God is prepared to forgive us for all the things we have done wrong, we need to be prepared to forgive those who have wronged us. If we don’t think we should be expected to forgive people who’ve hurt us, how then can we turn around and expect God to forgive us?

When we harbour resentment and bitterness and anger, it hurts and damages us. Seeking revenge does little or nothing to alleviate it. Only forgiveness can.

If someone ‘bumps’ you in life, follow the advice of Jesus - forget revenge and forgive instead. And as you do, be thankful that there is a God who is prepared to forgive us for our wrongs.

www.salvationarmy.org.au/mornington