The Early Bird Gets the Worm!

“The early bird gets the worm.” We have all heard this proverb at one point in our lives. Maybe we heard it as a child as our parents woke us up for an early start to a new day! But what is the true meaning behind this proverb? It is trying to tell us that the one who is eager enough to get somewhere or something done first and not drag their feet, will be successful. How many times have we put off important problems in our lives, as if ignoring them will make them go away? I know I have! They don’t go away though. In fact, they get much worse. But what is the big deal? Well we live in a society that would look at this proverb scoff and say “the early bird may get the worm, but the late bird gets to sleep in.” We have become a lazy and dysfunctional bunch of people because of this mentality. We must not lazily push our problems aside, dragging our feet, but instead fix them as soon as possible.

 When thinking about this idea of not procrastinating but getting important things done immediately, I can’t help but think of a situation that takes place in the book of Joshua. In Joshua 7:5ff, we read that Joshua and the nation of Israel are being subdued by their enemies. After the realization that his people are being defeated by the Amorites, Joshua wants to know why God is not leading them into victory. God responds that Israel will no longer win battles because of an individual that disobeyed His covenant. He goes on to explain that He will no longer be with them until the problem is fixed (Ch.7:12). So after hearing the bad news, what does Joshua do? We are told that he “arose early in the morning” to fix the problem immediately.

 We must follow the example of Joshua and confront our problems head on, not pushing them aside. Imagine if Joshua would have waited any longer to deal with his problems. The consequences of that would have fell upon not just him, but the whole nation of Israel. When we push aside important problems in our lives, who/what is effected by those bad choices? Ourselves? Our family? Our soul? Let us strive to have the “get it done” mentality that Joshua had.

Gideon: The Once Doubtful Judge Becomes "The Valiant Warrior"

            In the Old Testament we read about a Judge named Gideon in Judges Ch. 6-8. The scene in which we are introduced to Gideon is in 6:11. The Angel of the Lord appears to him saying “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.” The Angel goes on to tell him to deliver Israel from their current enemies, the Midianites. Gideon responds “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel?” and goes on to name excuses why he can’t do it.  To which the Lord responded “ Surely I’ll be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.” Gideon doubtful at first finally trusted the Lord. He put his trust in God and was the tool in which God used to crush the Midianites. We see the end result, to this Judge’s obedience and faith in the God above taking place in Ch. 8:28. It states that “Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel.” What an awesome declaration of God’s power. It just proves we must let go of our doubt and trust that we can accomplish that which God has commanded us to do.

Can the same thing not be said of us today though? When we take a look at Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus is speaking to His disciples and tells them “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We see here that the Lord has given us commands to “Go” just as He did to Gideon, and we must obey them. Gideon was fighting the current enemy of the Israelites, but we’re fighting a spiritual battle against Satan. Some may say.. “O Lord, how will we ever win this spiritual fight?” But the Lord gives us the answer in Matthew 28:20, where He says “Observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  What more comforting and encouraging words could a Christian ask for? Just as Gideon would’ve lost his battle without obeying the Lord’s commands, we too shall lose this battle if we deny His commandments and doubt His judgment.

(YOLO) You Only Live Once!

“YOLO!!!” We surely have all seen this acronym blasted across the wide variety of websites that are on the internet today or proudly proclaimed from the lips of a high school or college student. But what exactly does it mean? Well these four letters stand for: You Only Live Once. Unfortunately this is usually something that is said on a more negative note and is almost always followed by actions that involve reckless or careless behavior by the person stating it. The idea here is that we must all “party hard” because life is short and has no true meaning, so our time here should be spent living it up! But is this the truth? In 1 Corinthians 15 the Apostle Paul is talking to the church in Corinth and is reassuring them of Jesus’ resurrection and that, as saints, they should be fully convinced that they too will be resurrected at the appointed time. Paul then states that “if the dead are not raised let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”, 1 Cor. 15:32. What exactly is he saying here? Paul is basically saying that if the dead are not raised then our actions don’t matter and we should all look at life with today’s attitude of “YOLO!” Paul says this because of what he had just previously stated in verse 13-14 where he said “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.” So we can easily see that this mentality of “living it up” for the short time we are on this earth is one which humans have been feeling for a long time now. Though, as Christians we have this hope that keeps us from living with a mindset focused just on self, because we know Christ was resurrected and we know we will be also! Our actions matter while living in this place and the time we are given is the time that the Father in Heaven has lent to us to do His will. We cannot go through this life living worldly lives by the phrase “You only live once”, ignoring our call to serve the Lord, but instead may I suggest that we look at this world and deny ourselves of the temptation it offers and loudly proclaim that “You only live once for the Lord.” So knowing this, what then shall we choose to do with our time here? Will we live for ourselves, or for God? I love you all.