No Asterisk

Those of you who are sports fans have already heard the news. The 2017 Houston Astros cheated. Their only World Series title was gained by dishonest means. The commissioner of baseball has decided not to void the Astros’ win, but there will always be an asterisk by their name in the list of champions (at least in people’s minds). The Astros did not earn it fairly by their own skill. They are allowed to keep their World Series rings, but deep down they all know that they do not deserve them.

What a shame.

My name is in the book of life. I do not deserve to have it there; but it is there. There is no asterisk by my name, just a cross.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Ephesians 2:13 (ESV) “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Colossians 2:11-14 (ESV) “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

To the Lord Belongs Aram

“For to the LORD belongs the capital of Aram, as do all the tribes of Israel” (Zech. 9:1 NRSV).

I am not a Hebrew scholar, so I cannot say with certainty which translation of Zechariah 9:1 is most literally correct; but I get the impression that the translation given above does a good job of getting the intended point across. Every nation belongs to the LORD. Everyone matters to God. Everyone answers to God. Just as Israel belongs to the LORD, so do the Arameans of Damascus. I hope that you believe that. It is the teaching of scripture (see also Acts 10:34-35 & Rom 3:29-30).

This fact should bring us comfort. The kings of Damascus did not see themselves as being under the LORD’s authority. They were doing their own will; but the LORD so worked things out that they ended up accomplishing the LORD’s will in the end. So it is today. We do not have good political leadership in this nation, or anywhere that I know of on earth. But the capital of America (Canada, Britain …) belongs to the LORD just much as the tribes of Israel do. He can accomplish his will through them. I do not know how he does it; I do not know when he does it; but know that he has done it and will do it again.

This fact should also motivate us to our task. We have a commission to fulfill (Mt 28:19-20). That commission is not to get a certain leader elected, but to get a particular message proclaimed, and we are to proclaim it to all. The Arameans, the Africans, the Asians all belong to the Lord just as much as the Americans. J.M. McCaleb was right when he penned the words, “Of one the Lord has made the race, through one has come the fall. Where sin has gone must go his grace, the gospel is for all.”

This fact should also sober us regarding our responsibilities. We are all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). It does not matter if we are rich or poor, male or female, black or white, Asian, African, or American. Someday we will answer to him. Are we ready for that day?

Age is not the Issue

David was a youth when he defeated Goliath (1 Sam 17:33). Jeremiah was a youth when he was called to be a prophet (Jer 1:6). Timothy was a youth when Paul left him to care for the church at Ephesus (1 Tim 4:12). We are never too young to serve the Lord.

Moses was 80 and Aaron 82 when they were called to lead the people out of Egypt (Ex 7:7). Caleb was 85 when he conquered Hebron (Jos 14:10). Anna was at least 84 when she told everyone about the birth of Jesus (Lk 2:36ff). We are never too old to serve the Lord.

August 3 of last year marked fifty years from the first time I led a song in public worship. Next year will mark fifty years since I preached my first sermon. It seems unlikely that I will still be able to sing or preach fifty years from now, but if I am able, I hope you know what I will be doing. Age is not the issue.

Health is sometimes an issue. Often, as we grow older, we just cannot do what we would love to do. But age is not the issue.

Last summer, the church lawn was mowed by a 90-year-old. At Cascade Christian, E.W. McMillian was still teaching Bible classes at the age of 90.

Lack of training can sometimes be an issue. I heard a really good lesson given by a teenager a few years ago, and a really terrible lesson given about the same time by a man in his fifties. The youth had taken advantage of opportunities to learn, the older man had not.

What is our issue? We might have a health issue; we might have a training issue; we might have an attitude issue, but we do not have an age issue. Our God is timeless. Age is never an issue with him. It is never too early and never too late to serve him.

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them” (Ecclesiastes 12:1, ESV).

So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come (Psalm 71:18, ESV).