Thursday, August 27, 2009, 10:36 p.m. – I was in bed for the night trying to fall asleep, but I just couldn’t get comfortable. This song kept going through my mind:
"Don't Save It All For Christmas Day" / Artist: CELINE DION
Don't get so busy that you miss
Giving just a little kiss
To the ones you love
Don't even wait a little while
To give them a little smile
A little is enough
How many people are crying
People are dying...
How many people are asking for love
How could you wait another minute
A hug is warmer when you're in it
And Baby that's a fact
And saying "I love you's" always better
Seasons, reasons, they don't matter
So don't hold back
How many people in this world
So needful in this world
How many people are praying for love
Let all the children know
Everywhere that they go
Their whole life long
Let them know love
Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find a way
To give a little love everyday
Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find your way
Cause holidays have come and gone
But love lives on
If you give on
Love...
Love...
Then, an image of Ted Kennedy flashed through my mind. I thought about how he had just died. I made the connection in my mind between his death and this song, which is that we don’t know if we have tomorrow, so we should treat every day as though it could be our last and we should be sensitive to those opportunities to show love to the people in our lives. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.
Ezekiel 3:16-27:
My Understanding: Time is short. There are many people who don’t know Jesus. There are many who claim to know Christ but who are living in rebellion and idolatry and spiritual adultery. They need to be warned to turn from their sin and to turn to the Lord. They need to have the gospel of Jesus Christ shared with them. Obviously we can’t tell everyone in the world or even everyone we see, but we need to listen to God’s voice and we need to obey him when he does say to speak to someone.
The song focuses mainly on kisses, hugs, smiles, and I love you’s as the way in which we need to show people that we love them. These are wonderful expressions of love and affection which I enjoy both giving and receiving, yet when we think about people dying without Christ, a hug, a smile or a kiss, though these are wonderful expressions of affection, are not necessarily going to communicate to people that they are in need of a Savior, that they need to repent of their sin, and that they need to turn from their sin and turn to God in faith and obedience.
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus is God, so God so loved us so much that he gave himself up for us so that we might be free from sin – both the penalty of sin and the bondage to and control of sin in our lives. The Bible says, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). It is easy to show love via a hug or a smile, but it is much harder to show love via telling someone something they don’t want to hear but you know they need to hear and God’s love compels you to tell them.
The Bible states that false teachers tell the people what their tickling ears want to hear. They tell them nice things; pleasant things. They fill them with false hopes. They don’t turn them from their sin. They put band-aids over serious wounds, treating the wounds as though they are not serious. They want to be liked more than they want people to be in right relationship with Jesus Christ. So, they water down the gospel message. They make the road to heaven broad instead of narrow. They entertain the people. They try to fit into the culture of today. As a result, there is not much at all that separates the church from the world today. The church has embraced the world and its methods as a means of reaching people, but the question is to what are they reaching them?
True friends don’t let their friends drive drunk, right? If you saw someone drowning, you would do everything you could to save them, right? If you saw someone in the middle of the highway and a semi-truck was barreling down the road, you would at least holler to the person to run to the other side of the road and you may even run out to grab the person and pull him or her to safety. If we knew people were in a burning building, we would run in to save them or we would at least run for help or call for help to someone who could save them. So, why are we so afraid to tell people that they are dying without Christ?
If you just got engaged, wouldn’t you tell all your friends? If your favorite sports team just won a major victory, wouldn’t you want to tell everyone you know? If you had a new baby or bought a new car or a new video game or TV, wouldn’t you want to show people? Why is it so easy to talk about everything and everyone except for the one who we are supposed to love the most, namely Jesus Christ? Are we more concerned about what people think about us than what Christ thinks about us? Are we more concerned with whether or not people like us than whether or not they are going to heaven or whether or not they get victory over sin in their lives?
The best way we can show people love is to introduce them to Jesus Christ who is Love, to let them know that Jesus came to set them free and that he is calling them to turn from their sin and to turn to God in faith and obedience. We may have lots of friends on this earth because we are kind and loving people and do nice things for people which is all wonderful and is Biblical, but we also need to tell them about Jesus. We need to have a faith in action. We need to have religion that is not worthless by caring for the widows and the orphans. We need to reach out a hand to the needy and we need to offer words of kindness and comfort and healing. Yet, if this is all we ever offer, and we don’t tell people about our Savior, then we could be loving people all the way to hell.
There is a balance to everything in life. Paul states in I Corinthians 13 that if he speaks in the tongues of men and of angels and if he has all these wonderful spiritual gifts but he doesn’t show love, that his words are just like a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. Love is kind, does not envy, is not proud, rude, etc. Yet, we also learn that love does not let friends drive drunk. Love does not rejoice in evil but rejoices with the truth, so love is speaking the truth in love to our friends and family members. Love turns a sinner from the error of his ways. Jesus spoke the truth in love. He didn’t water down the gospel message. He confronted sin in sinful man. Yet, he also gave a promise of hope and healing and victory and of eternal life for those who put their hope and faith and trust in Him.
So, don’t save it all. None of us knows if we have tomorrow. Many people are dying without true faith in Jesus Christ. Many people are drowning in their sin. Will we answer the call to go and tell them about our Savior?
"Don't Save It All For Christmas Day" / Artist: CELINE DION
Don't get so busy that you miss
Giving just a little kiss
To the ones you love
Don't even wait a little while
To give them a little smile
A little is enough
How many people are crying
People are dying...
How many people are asking for love
How could you wait another minute
A hug is warmer when you're in it
And Baby that's a fact
And saying "I love you's" always better
Seasons, reasons, they don't matter
So don't hold back
How many people in this world
So needful in this world
How many people are praying for love
Let all the children know
Everywhere that they go
Their whole life long
Let them know love
Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find a way
To give a little love everyday
Don't save it all for Christmas Day
Find your way
Cause holidays have come and gone
But love lives on
If you give on
Love...
Love...
Then, an image of Ted Kennedy flashed through my mind. I thought about how he had just died. I made the connection in my mind between his death and this song, which is that we don’t know if we have tomorrow, so we should treat every day as though it could be our last and we should be sensitive to those opportunities to show love to the people in our lives. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.
Ezekiel 3:16-27:
My Understanding: Time is short. There are many people who don’t know Jesus. There are many who claim to know Christ but who are living in rebellion and idolatry and spiritual adultery. They need to be warned to turn from their sin and to turn to the Lord. They need to have the gospel of Jesus Christ shared with them. Obviously we can’t tell everyone in the world or even everyone we see, but we need to listen to God’s voice and we need to obey him when he does say to speak to someone.
The song focuses mainly on kisses, hugs, smiles, and I love you’s as the way in which we need to show people that we love them. These are wonderful expressions of love and affection which I enjoy both giving and receiving, yet when we think about people dying without Christ, a hug, a smile or a kiss, though these are wonderful expressions of affection, are not necessarily going to communicate to people that they are in need of a Savior, that they need to repent of their sin, and that they need to turn from their sin and turn to God in faith and obedience.
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus is God, so God so loved us so much that he gave himself up for us so that we might be free from sin – both the penalty of sin and the bondage to and control of sin in our lives. The Bible says, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). It is easy to show love via a hug or a smile, but it is much harder to show love via telling someone something they don’t want to hear but you know they need to hear and God’s love compels you to tell them.
The Bible states that false teachers tell the people what their tickling ears want to hear. They tell them nice things; pleasant things. They fill them with false hopes. They don’t turn them from their sin. They put band-aids over serious wounds, treating the wounds as though they are not serious. They want to be liked more than they want people to be in right relationship with Jesus Christ. So, they water down the gospel message. They make the road to heaven broad instead of narrow. They entertain the people. They try to fit into the culture of today. As a result, there is not much at all that separates the church from the world today. The church has embraced the world and its methods as a means of reaching people, but the question is to what are they reaching them?
True friends don’t let their friends drive drunk, right? If you saw someone drowning, you would do everything you could to save them, right? If you saw someone in the middle of the highway and a semi-truck was barreling down the road, you would at least holler to the person to run to the other side of the road and you may even run out to grab the person and pull him or her to safety. If we knew people were in a burning building, we would run in to save them or we would at least run for help or call for help to someone who could save them. So, why are we so afraid to tell people that they are dying without Christ?
If you just got engaged, wouldn’t you tell all your friends? If your favorite sports team just won a major victory, wouldn’t you want to tell everyone you know? If you had a new baby or bought a new car or a new video game or TV, wouldn’t you want to show people? Why is it so easy to talk about everything and everyone except for the one who we are supposed to love the most, namely Jesus Christ? Are we more concerned about what people think about us than what Christ thinks about us? Are we more concerned with whether or not people like us than whether or not they are going to heaven or whether or not they get victory over sin in their lives?
The best way we can show people love is to introduce them to Jesus Christ who is Love, to let them know that Jesus came to set them free and that he is calling them to turn from their sin and to turn to God in faith and obedience. We may have lots of friends on this earth because we are kind and loving people and do nice things for people which is all wonderful and is Biblical, but we also need to tell them about Jesus. We need to have a faith in action. We need to have religion that is not worthless by caring for the widows and the orphans. We need to reach out a hand to the needy and we need to offer words of kindness and comfort and healing. Yet, if this is all we ever offer, and we don’t tell people about our Savior, then we could be loving people all the way to hell.
There is a balance to everything in life. Paul states in I Corinthians 13 that if he speaks in the tongues of men and of angels and if he has all these wonderful spiritual gifts but he doesn’t show love, that his words are just like a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. Love is kind, does not envy, is not proud, rude, etc. Yet, we also learn that love does not let friends drive drunk. Love does not rejoice in evil but rejoices with the truth, so love is speaking the truth in love to our friends and family members. Love turns a sinner from the error of his ways. Jesus spoke the truth in love. He didn’t water down the gospel message. He confronted sin in sinful man. Yet, he also gave a promise of hope and healing and victory and of eternal life for those who put their hope and faith and trust in Him.
So, don’t save it all. None of us knows if we have tomorrow. Many people are dying without true faith in Jesus Christ. Many people are drowning in their sin. Will we answer the call to go and tell them about our Savior?
