Birthday musings
Today, November 5th, is my birthday. I have now made it 48 trips around the sun, and it has been a rather incredible ride so far. This upcoming spring will also mark 40 years since I first believed in Jesus. It feels a little weird to say that I’ve been walking this “Christian life” for nearly four decades now…but it has me thinking…
If 25 years represents a season of life, then I’m in late summer right now. Through the investment of His Word and the people of His Family, God has grown me through my Spring and matured me through my Summer. My Autumn will begin soon. In nature, Autumn has a two-fold aim: it is the season which transitions all life to Winter and it is also the time when the environment intentionally gives from its current life to foster new life in the coming spring. I expect nothing different for my upcoming Autumn season.
With that in mind, I thought I would share a few of my favorite verses. Some of these have shaped me since my spring-time youth, some have been significantly impactful as recently as this year.
John 3:16-17
For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
This is where it all begins. When we believe in Jesus as our Savior – the one who gives us the free gift of eternal life – we are saved from the punishment we deserve because of what God calls “sin”: our failures, our selfishness, our self-centeredness, and the wrongs we do to each other.
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You.
This verse reminds me that I don’t have to control my circumstances to feel peace. Instead, I can choose to rest the torrent of my mind on God. As I make that choice, I find something better than “my peace”; instead, I find God’s perfect peace. Sometimes in glimpses, sometimes in full seasons – but I need this reminder to be a “trusting son”.
2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Everyone who has believed in Jesus and received His free gift of eternal life is permanently in God’s family. If that is not true, then “eternal life” is poorly named and it is not truly “eternal”! However, even as members of God’s family, we are still going to be held accountable for how well we represented Our Father and His family values. The judgment in this verse isn’t a determination of “Heaven vs. Hell”; instead, God will assess our lives for how much we partnered with Him now – and then He will give or withhold eternal rewards based on His evaluation. This is a sobering thought. I don’t want to stand before God full of regret for time I’ve wasted in this life.
1 Peter 4:10
Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.
Each believer has been given a gift – a talent or ability – by God to be used in service of others. I believe mine is along the lines of the ancient teachers of the law, the Levites:
Nehemiah 8:8
They read out of the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read.
I see my role as a Bible teacher, someone to help you understand God’s meaning so that you can go out into the world, confidently applying God’s truth. As you use your gifts to serve others, you earn eternal rewards. Knowing Scripture will remind you to keep your mind dependent upon God, relying on His peace despite your struggles and the world’s darkness. Ultimately, your life is what points others to the God who loved them enough to send Jesus to rescue us.
It is an honor and a privilege to serve you in this way. God willing, I have many more trips around the sun to continue doing so.
Keep Pressing,
Ken