MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

        Have you ever wondered if it’s possible for you to help make the world a better place? Paula J. Fox has written a clever little 125 page book entitled, The Second Mile, published by Inspired Faith. In chapter 5 (p.103) she gives 5 helpful suggestions for Christians to do this. Her words are based on “BTIW” which stands for “Better Than It Was.” Paula writes:

        1.  I will always strive for excellence in everything I do, and remember that I may not be able to make it perfect, but I can make it BTIW – “Better Than It Was.”

        2.  When I touch another person’s life in any way, in person, on the phone, in written correspondence, I will try to add value to them and make their day BTIW – “Better Than It Was.”

        3.  Every time I enter and leave a room, a car or any other space, I will leave the place and everyone in it, BTIW – “Better Than It Was.”

        4.  When I clean something, reorganize something or change something, I will do my best to make it BTIW – “Better Than It Was.”

        5.  As I respond to problems, needs and circumstances, I will try to make a positive difference and make my world, BTIW – “Better Than It Was.”

        Remembering BTIW would benefit everyone, especially fellow believers in Christ, as we live each day. Only the Good Lord knows what is in store for us, but we His servants can strive make life better in our daily tasks. 

        So long as we remain faithful to God’s Word to the best of our human ability, we can help make the world a better place, no matter how large or small our part may be. We know our good works won’t gain us more favor with God, because Jesus has already done that for us. Thankful living, though, can help others.

        Psalm 116 asks an important question: “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits to me? I will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call on the name of the Lord. I will take the cup of salvation and will call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people, in the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.” (vs.12-13, 17-19)

Lord, help us leave each day, BTIW – “Better Than It Was.”

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

PUTTING WORRY TO WORK

(From my “Daily Word From Jesus” devotional for February 22)

        Matthew 6:27 records our Lord Jesus as saying, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Someone has said the only thing worry is guaranteed to do is shorten our life. We might argue the opposite, that some worry might lead us to take better care of ourselves or to be more healthy in our life. 

        Jesus’ Word for us today begins with the notion that a sick person can somehow worry himself into better health. Or that enough worry can somehow make us live longer. Jesus’ point in Matthew 6 is that worry is largely a waste of time. Longer life or better health will not come merely by worrying. We must do something about it as well. 

        Worry or anxiety perhaps can move us to make needed changes for better health, but most of the time they just lead to more worry. I’ve found that reading a few chapters from the Bible helps greatly, whether from New or Old Testament, especially if I follow it with prayer. Taking a nap after prayer helps, too.

        If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently? What would you change? Is there some activity you can stop now that would help? Are there some small but needed things you can do? Life isn’t always comprised of the big decisions we make, but a combination of the small ones. Rather than asking, “How can I live longer?” we’d do better to ask, “How can I live better?” Reading the Bible can help with that.

        Trusting in God every day is a better way to live. He helps us see the road of our life more clearly. He helps us navigate the potholes and carry our burdens more easily, and He can make them seem lighter. He also gives us mind to discover a better way.

        Jesus may not lighten your load, but He can and will give you a stronger back if you ask Him. He may also give you someone to help carry your load. A shared load in life is always lighter.

Lord, if I can't have a lighter load, give me strength to carry this one better. Amen

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

BUT WHO'S PERFECT?

        I saw this posted on New Year’s Day: “There is no perfect life, no perfect job, no perfect childhood, no perfect marriage and no perfect of people who will always do what we expect them to do. What we have is a perfect God who is able to lead us through this imperfect life with unfailing strength, incomparable wisdom and infinite love.”

        Great thoughts, these are, especially since our brand new 2020 is already sadly imperfect. The wrong teams lost on Wild Card Weekend, the wrong people prevail in Washington DC, and our President does the wrong thing, no matter what it was. So if we want a perfect world, I guess we’ll have to wait until next year! 

           But we do have something perfect: “God who is able to lead us through this imperfect life with unfailing strength, incomparable wisdom and infinite love.” Great words, for there really is perfection. The One who creates and directs the Universe does know what He’s doing.

        Now, before you point at all you think God has done wrong so far, consider what He has to deal with: sinful people, a broken world and Satan, who wants to break the world even more. Since that brand new pair of people turned their backs on the Creator, all their imperfect descendants have been fumbling around outside the Garden, convinced they can make it perfect again. And all this because a slimy snake said, “You will become like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5)

        The snake was right. We’re always trying to be like God, trying to know what’s “good” (to our advantage) and “evil” (to our disadvantage). Satan’s promise wasn’t a kindly concept about what’s good for us all, but a selfish idea that benefits sinful us. Our pride says we can make things all better again, we can’t! Only God can do that, and that’s the real truth. 

         That’s why He sent His Son. Jesus was perfection the self-less One. His sinless life, excellent teaching and self-sacrifice was for us. He did what we cannot do for ourselves. All who believe they can make this world good again - teachers, philosophers and assorted do-gooders (even preachers) - will suffer constant indigestion till Judgment Day. 

       Some may read this and say, “Aw come on! Who’s perfect?” The Good News is that Jesus is! Jesus the Son of God Jesus the Crucified, Jesus our Forgiver. He is the Perfect One, all year, year after new year.

Thanks be to God for Jesus!

Rev. Bob Tasler (www.bobtasler.com)

MAKING THE BEST OF OUR TIME

        Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for very activity under the heavens.” The end of the year is a time to list past things we have seen and things some think we might see in the future. Harvey Mackay, Minnesota businessman who produces a weekly inspirational advice column in 100 newspapers, wrote some thirty years ago, “Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.” 

        Only the foolish person thinks time will never end for him or her. Yet time is a taskmaster, ever marching us onward until the day Almighty God brings us to Himself in judgment. The author of Ecclesiastes wrote his famous list 3,000 years ago: “A time to be born, and a time to die… etc.” But one thing he never lists is a time to waste. Wastefulness is one of the things that show our human sin in this fallen world.

        Time is a gift, one we will eventually lose on earth, but then gain for eternity.  Apostle Paul tells us, “In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might we adopted as children of God.” (Galatians 4:4-5) We have just now observed the joy of recalling that event.

        I have always tried to use my time in a useful or helpful way, and I am grateful God forgives us for the time we waste. Today time marches us every closer to the year 2020. May God give us His grace and mercy in the days before us, and may all who read this receiving the eternal blessing of being adopted as His children.

A blessed and Happy New Year of 2020!

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

OUR GREATEST CHRISTMAS GIFT

        Christmas is a time for receiving amazing gifts. A man had two sons, Davie, age seven, and Joey, age four. On Christmas Day one year his two rosie-cheeked boys came into the house looking very serious. Davie stood in front of his father and said, "Daddy, I need to talk to you." "Okay, Davie,” said the father, putting down his book. “What's on your mind?" 

        Davie said, "I'm a big boy now, right, Daddy?” "You sure are.” said his father. “Is Everything okay?” The boy said nervously, "Daddy, I’m a big boy and I don't want you to call me Davie anymore. I want you to call me Dave. And I don't want to call you Daddy any more, just Dad. It’s what big boys do.“ Having said this, Davie relaxed.

        The father smiled and said, "That will be fine. I would like to call you Dave, or maybe even David sometimes. And I look forward to your calling me Dad. Just don't call me 'the old man.’ Okay?" Dave smiled and said, "You bet, Dad, and thanks!” And he ran outside.

        But little Joey came closer and said, “Daddy, I still want to call you Daddy, okay?“ “You bet, Joey,” Daddy said, watching the little fellow run outside. Hearing the boys squealing in the yard, the father smiled at his wife and said, “I think we just got another big Christmas present, Dear.” 

        For the next days and weeks, every time David had anything to say, he would begin it with "Dad”. Even with simple things like, “Dad, what are we having for supper?” Or,  “Dad, can you help me?” And Dad and Mom would often smile at each other or even whisper, “Christmas present”!

        The boys grew up well and married, having families of their own. But their father had health problems, and in his eightieth year, he had a severe heart attack. On the last night David saw him alive, he started for the door, but then he turned and kissed his father and said, "I love you Daddy.” His father weakly smiled. "I love you too, Davie.” Those were their last words to each other.

        My parents taught me my first prayer which I later taught my two sons. “Abba, Father, amen,” they helped me pray. “Abba” is an Aramaic word for “Daddy”, a tender word that even Jesus used in prayer to His Father. 

        The night before He died on the cross, Jesus asked for release from His coming suffering: “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You… Yet not my will but Yours be done.” Apostle Paul also prayed, “Abba Father” in his letters (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6) 

         We are God’s children, no matter what our age. So we, too, can pray, this Christmas, “Abba, Father, amen.” 

It could be one of our best gifts to God this Christmas.

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

EVERYTHING CAN CHANGE IN AN INSTANT

        “Hug your loved ones – everything can change in an instant.” Those were the closing words of an email that told of a longtime friend who had entered eternity. Rev. Theodore E. Allwardt was nearly a decade older than I, but we became friends after realizing we’d both served as pastor at two North Dakota churches. 

        Pastor Allwardt was a tall, quiet bible scholar who graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and did advanced studies at the German University of Tuebingen. He faithfully served parishes in North Dakota, New Mexico and Oregon, and wrote two fine daily devotionals, Rattlesnakes and Rainbows, and More Rainbows than Rattlesnakes, the imagery coming from many hikes during his ministry years, especially in New Mexico. He wrote and preached well, and was a good husband and father. If I would choose one word to describe him, it would be “gentleman.” 

        His son Tim wrote, “Hug your loved ones – everything can change in an instant.” That surely is true. One instant they are small, cuddly and fascinated by life, the next they are older, prouder, even cynical. One instant they are there, alive, smiling, listening, and the next they are gone forever. We believe our souls will rest with the Lord until resurrection, but how quickly the human life goes away on this earth. 

        Moses wrote in Psalm 90, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty, yet their span is but toil and trouble. They are soon gone, and we fly away… So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” 

        These days it’s so easy to spend our time with the meaningless: toys, sports, getting and spending, seeking we aren’t sure what. Life crowds out the realization that Jesus has all that we need. His mercy covers all our sins. His grace protects us from eternal dangers and provides us all our daily needs. 

        If you can’t hug your loved ones, reach out to them or speak with them, because…

Everything can change in an instant.

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

ARE YOU READY?

        I hope you had a fine Thanksgiving Day last week and that you took time to give God thanks for His blessings. We spent the day with loved ones, enjoying a delicious meal carefully prepared by our hosts. It took them much time to be prepared, purchasing, baking and planning food items ahead of time. Carol and I made sure we were there on time with the items we were bringing.
        Our Lord Jesus once said, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:13) I had a parishioner who often said, “I don’t have time for that right now!” If I asked him to be an usher or to volunteer for a task, he usually said, “Maybe later. I just don’t have time for that right now.” After I left that congregation, I heard he had died suddenly from a heart attack. I wonder if he ever had taken enough time to do any of the things he passed up.
        In Matthew 24, Jesus warns His Disciples - and us - to be ready at all times for His coming, because we don’t know the hour of our passing, or the time of any number of calamities, including Judgment Day, that could befall us at any moment. 
        “Semper Paratus” (“Always Prepared”) is a slogan of the U. S. Coast Guard. That slogan would also be good for all Christians. We do not know the day nor the hour when our life on earth will end. If we strive to be prepared and faithful to Jesus, with regular worship, prayer and service, we will be ready when He calls us home.
        It is tempting to follow after things that take us away from God. Earlier in Matthew, Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. But the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to eternal life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
        Attendance was slim at our Thanksgiving worship service. Churches are rarely filled to capacity, except on some holidays. A majority of the world’s people do not believe in Jesus, and those who do don’t always take time to honor Him by worship and service. The way of faith leading to life with Jesus is a narrow way, but the way of the world is wide, and it leads away from Him.
        Are you prepared for the Lord right now, or are you too busy? What kind of preparation do you think God would require from you? What steps might you take to  be ready and to enter by the narrow gate? What wide and attractive gates are you tempted to pass through today?

Dear Jesus, help us always be prepared to meet You, because it could be any time. Amen

Rev. Bob Tasler
(All my books can be seen at www.bobtasler.com)