Las Vegas Reflections

I read in a devotion from Nick Gumbel this morning about a response from Bishop B.F. Wescott when being asked if he was saved.  The bishop responded:

“I know that I have been saved. I believe I am being saved. I hope by the grace of God, that I shall be saved.”

His response addressed the time factor of the word, SAVED.  Gumbel expanded with:

• I KNOW I have been saved – from the PENALTY of sin.
• I BELIEVE I am being saved – from the POWER of sin.
• I HOPE, by the grace of God, I shall be saved – from the PRESENCE of sin.

As a believer, these thoughts are worth meditating on… these statements explain our motivation from the moment we are saved. They explain every decision we make, today and every day, through the rest of our lives on earth. 

I do not think there is a human alive today that wouldn’t relish life apart from the presence of sin.

I travel to Las Vegas for work and when I travel, I try to send a quick message to friends and family to let them know that I’m okay and all is good.  One of my children had yet to check-in and let me know that he was okay.   Don’t misunderstand me, I KNOW he’s okay.  But I send him reminders that it is right to let me know he’s okay; it’s an act of charity that tells me he ‘loves’ me because he knows that I ‘love’ him. 

It is a small, but necessary, practice to build the relationship of love, trust, comfort, and peace between us. It is a practice that strengthens us to step out in faith and spiritual growth so we can know… accept… and embrace the relationship that God extends to us.

The world wants us to feel STRONG and INDEPENDENT. God does not.

The world wants you to find PEACE and COMFORT alone and in your personal pursuits and interests.  God does not.

The world promises SECURITY in finding people just like you, even promoting hate and mistrust towards those who are different. God does not.

The spiritual growth that builds relationships with other people is the next step in man’s evolution, in becoming like Jesus, Sons of God – Man 2.0.  Man, in relationship to other men and in relation to God.  Jesus was the first. He shows us The Way. He is the head of this new creation and we are to fall into place – with each other – the place created just for us, to create a body that embraces differences, strengthens each other, and is capable together, to do what none of us could alone.

Yes, Jesus was first. He succeeded in every area that we find ourselves struggling. He experienced death, not for his sins, but for ours! This act extends the invitation for us to be SAVED – from the penalty of our sins. He was resurrected – overcoming death, showing us that we too can experience the freedom from the power of sin. And now, He sits at the right hand of the Holy God, away from the presence of sin.

We look to His Word, both the written Word and the living Word, to experience for ourselves the peace, the comfort, the strength, and the confidence that we, too, are being freed from the power of sin. And we know that His Spirit is within us, while Jesus is with the Father creating a Holy city for us, in which we will dwell forever, without the presence of sin.

This Spirit continues to guide us, comfort us, strengthen us and grow us, during our lives in this sinful world, so we may overcome the temptations that are presented to us to break away and turn from God. This Spirit is the advisor and counselor who speaks truth to our hearts as we make our daily decisions. To ignore this counsel is to put our growth into Man 2.0 at risk. We have free will. We are not robots. We are not clones. We do not have artificial intelligence.  We have individual talents and unique experiences that are meant to combine with others in such a way that, together, we discover and embrace the goodness that God has planned from the start!

In a day where we are distracted by modern technology – where there are new car models each year… new phones each year… new movie sequels… new computer and gaming applications… we are being trained to ignore that it is only by discipline and experience that we grow.  We are presented with the façade that these things – the cars, the phones, the entertainment – are all progress; but we neglect to consider what this ‘progress’ is leading us towards. We are beginning to expect immediate satisfaction. We fear the world moving ahead, while we are left behind.  We are impatient, we are selfish, and we are arrogant. We are angry that by the time we finish paying for these things, they are no longer new, and others now have the newer and latest models. We feel it is unfair. We value ourselves so much that we cannot tolerate, let alone celebrate, what others have, when we do not have the same.  We cannot even see what others are lacking, so long as we continue to have what they do not have.  After all, perhaps what we have won’t be enough.  We are losing our compassion.  We are forgetting that it is our Heavenly Father who has given us everything, including this very day, to remember Him and to have a heart of gratitude.

We are left here each day, either alone, or with the help of the Spirit, with deciding how we are to spend our limited time and resources.  We all know that our time and resources are, in fact, limited.  Only a fool neglects to keep those limitations in mindful consideration.  Christians must face each day, the reality that all that we have is given to us by God. This includes our free will to honor Him with our lives.

In gratitude for our freedom, now and forever – from sin’s punishment, sin’s power, and sin’s presence, we must choose to acknowledge that all we have, all that we are, and all that we can be, is sourced by His love and His goodness.

Heavenly Father, Thank You! 

You know my heart and You know the list in my head of the many people, experiences, and things for which I am grateful.  But, most of all, I thank you for the messages from my son, and Yours, sent to me while writing these thoughts. 💖 Your love continues to amaze me! 💖