July 11, 2014 – Matthew 21

Click here to read Matthew 21 on BibleGateway.com

sodacansHabits are hard to break. For example, at one point, a certain individual (who shall remain unnamed to protect the innocent and chubby) was polishing off a six-pack of Mt Dew every day of the week that ended in Y. That’s not the kind of thing you just walk away from. The soothing caress of a caffeine withdrawal migraine is not even the worst part; the longing for that sweet sugar rush, the cool metallic feel of the can in your hand, the satisfying crushing of the can after the last drop of nectar is gone. It’s like saying goodbye to a little piece of heaven. I mean, that’s what I’ve heard.

But, even with that level of soda-love, you can still walk away. You can stop buying that deliciousness; you can choose to go to the sink for water instead of the fridge. You can start your day with the calcium fortified goodness of bovine udder discharge. Except in rare circumstances, no one is holding a firearm to your head, demanding that you consume 72 fluid ounces of awesomeness every day. You can make a change. You just have to want to, and do it.

TALE OF TWO

Changing behavior may be hard, but as it turns out, the Bible actually says that on occasion it can be a good thing. There are many people who start out life a little behind ye ole 8-ball. Maybe your parents never gave you the support and care you needed. Maybe your first real dating relationship was abusive. Maybe you lost loved ones at an early-age (or late-age) despite all your prayers. And now you find yourself miles away from God.

The good news is that distance means almost nothing to God. You can change your mind right now, and start serving God, and be closer to Him immediately. In our passage today, we have two sons. One says he will obey his pop, and then changes his mind. One says he won’t obey, then changes his mind. Which one is pleasing the dad? Even if you have purposely walked away from God in the past (or just drifted), you can change this very moment. And you will be pleasing you father.

Here’s the rub; it works the other way too. Maybe you started as the captain of your bible quiz team. Maybe you were the kid at Bible camp giving testimonies that brought every one to tears. Maybe you had the whole New Testament memorized by the age of 9. If you are not serving God today, that all means very little. And you are certainly not pleasing to our Father.

CHOOSE YE THIS MOMENT

You may feel like you are farther from God than at any point in your life. You can make the decision right now to start serving God again. It will take effort, for sure. Spiritual inertia is a difficult thing to overcome, but you can do it; just start now. The next step will be easier, the one after that easier still, and so on. Telling that guy you can’t date him anymore, telling that friend you can’t go out partying tonite, confessing those “little” thefts to your boss and making amend; it can be very difficult. But once you start getting closer to God, you can keep getting closer and closer.

You can make that choice right now.

Author: admin

1 thought on “July 11, 2014 – Matthew 21

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *