Monday, May 02, 2016

Study Hall

At this moment I am sitting in the coffee shop at Immanuel Baptist Church while Riley reads his daily dose of Great Expectations. We are waiting for Deana to get off work (she works here).

Riley needs his study time. He doesn't use it much but he needs it. Actually, he's doing pretty good but just a little extra effort can make a big difference. His school released news today that eight students qualified for a special scholarship that would pay up to $10,000 per year for four years. That would be nice to get! Very few baseball players get full scholarships so academics can play a big role in paying for college.

So we are in study hall.

Think about what just a little extra effort would do in your relationship with Jesus. I'm not talking about trying harder to earn your salvation; salvation is a gift that is free to you because Jesus paid the price for it by dying for your sins. I'm talking about the closeness that most Christians have experienced and would like to return to.

Remember when you had the closest walk with the Lord. You felt his presence and power all the time. You understood themes in the Bible and knew what God wanted you to do. You enjoyed going to church and couldn't wait to gather with others who believe. Then something happened and it's not that way anymore.

That "something" may be different for each one of us but at the core it's the same thing…sin. Anything that gets between you and Jesus is sin. Maybe you started a new relationship and you can't help but spend all your time with her. You think about every moment you're not with her. Or the stress at work ramped up and you are constantly thinking about that. Or the children have entered a new stage of life that has turned your home upside down. Or an addiction that hasn't been a problem has come back into your life. Or it could be a jillion other things.

Jesus told some Christians two thousand years ago that they had lost their first love. I think the first love is loving God as a first priority and loving God with great passion. Maybe the extra effort you need to exert is making God your priority and loving him with great passion. The Bible says, "You shall have no other gods before me" and "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength."

I've found that the harder I try to do this the harder it is to actually do it. I mean it's not about my effort except for me to give up control of my life and allowing God's Spirit to lead me. I've never actually seen this happen but think about a fighter pilot who is in a situation where he needs to eject from the cockpit. If he stays put he's in trouble. He has to get out. Something has to change. But all he can do is pull the lever or push the button. After that, the systems take over and he's safely ejected away from the danger.

There's not much you can do to draw closer to the Lord except give up the selfishness and the control and whatever other sins are between you and him. When the pilot hits the eject button he's still in the bad place but not for long. When you surrender control, stop the sin, and turn to the Lord, at that moment you are still in a bad place but it's about to get better.

Study hall isn't that easy. I wish it was. And I don't mean to make it sound like I think repentance (stopping the sin and turning to God) is easy, but there's nothing else to do. I use words like surrender or yield because it shows that I am giving up control and allowing God to take over.

Rather than working harder we actually need to work less. But that's hard work.

No comments: