DEAL OR NO DEAL ??



Look at those shoes! I have happy-dancing-feet that I was able to find a bunch of shoes that are really cheap, really-really cute, and really-really-really comfortable. I got a great deal, and I consider this exercising good stewardship over the finances the Lord has provided. I’m pretty sure my hubs likes the fact that the money I spent on my little shoe-tribe would have bought only one or two pairs in stores and/or magazines.

Isn’t it fun to feal like a deal maker, to be able to manage and control an “agreement” to get what you want? What a power surge! In some circles, that’s called “haggling.” I don’t attend garage sales, but many people do, and haggling is often part of the process. My 95-year-old father has spent a lifetime haggling. He’s made some really great deals, from buying unusual antiques to wheedling freebie replacement boxes of waffles from the company that made the grevious error of producing broken and/or smashed waffles in his beloved breakfast stash.

Yes, definitely, the more I think about it, making a deal is a control issue. It’s usually harmless fun. But now I’m thinking of the flip side, the harmful side, i.e., the phrase “make a deal with the devil.” Many people, usually unbelievers, unknowingly are making daily “deals” with Satan by allowing him to influence their minds and hearts to the “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life” (1 John 2:16). I’m thinking Satan is always really pleased with the deals he’s making, and that includes making people think they’re the ones in control of these deals. People are haggling with Satan, ignoring the Lord, trying to get the most stuff out of life, and forfeiting their souls in the process. Satan loves haggling.

On the other hand, I’m pretty sure that the Lord God does not love haggling. He has never once considered allowing anyone to “make a deal” with Him regarding salvation. He will never accept our offers, our deals, of our own good works or our own righteousness in exchange for heaven. That’s because He has accepted ONLY the work of His Son on the Cross, through His own blood, obtaining eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12), purchasing eternity for us, a one-time offering for sins (Hebrews 9:28). Now that’s a power surge!

My Jesus, my Lord, my lips stumble to speak words that express my heart’s gratitude that You allow no deal-making. Otherwise, You would not be my sovereign Lord, You would be like me, and clearly, You are not (Psalm 50:21; Isaiah 55:8). I know that You have forgiven me for my pre-salvation sin of trying to trick You into letting me into Your heaven. I thank You for daily reminders in Your word that I’m to trust You, not to haggle with You to get things I want. At the end of this life, all the shoe-bargains will be meaningless. Thank You for keeping my perspective properly aligned. With my first breath in heaven, all that will matter is being with You and seeing Your glory (John 17:24). Come, Lord Jesus.

ARE WE COMFY?

Back in my youthful days, I used to wear size 7-1/2 shoes.  Over time, something sinister, like gravity, has taken hold, and now my average shoe is a whopping size 9.  Since “comfort” is now my middle name, no 6-inch pointy-toed pinching instruments of torture for me.  No sirree, gimme shoes with stretchy fabric and marshmallowy insoles.

Yes, being comfortable seems to become more important the older I get.  I want things to be easy, not hard, I want to feel good, not bad.  I had a friend once say, “what is life, if not to be comfortable?”  I remember cringing at that remark … yet, here I am, craving comfort in my shoes, my pillows, and my car.

But thankfully, the Lord loves me so much that He’s spent the last 3 decades teaching me that life is more than squooshy comfort.  As I’m learning to know Him, I’ve found that sometimes His Word is not comfortable at ALL.  In fact, more often than not, it “pinches” my heart. And the crazy thing is, this is one area where I actually WANT to be somewhat uncomfortable.

So I need to check myself, as I do my daily reading.  Am I looking only for the “comfortable” verses?  Or do I want to experience growing pains from His words?  If I’m opening myself to Him as I read, and ask to be taught and convicted of sin, I know that He will do it.  He certainly wants me to be comfortable and secure in His love, promises, and salvation.  But beyond that, He also desires that I grow up in Christ (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18; Ephesians 4:15).  That means being willing to accept conviction and discipline.  I am blessed when He chastens me (Psalm 94:2).  He reproves me because He loves me, as His child (Proverb 3:11, 12).  Therefore, I accept the pinching of my soul and not reject it.

My compassionate, loving, and reproving Father, how I thank You that You have planted me into a church that doesn’t offer pinch-free sermons so that I can feel good about my sins (and no comfy spiritual shoes to walk through that very wide door to hell).  You have given me brothers and sisters in Christ who are able and willing to be the “Nathans” in my life (2 Samuel 12).  You didn’t save me just so I could have a comfortable life on this earth.  You saved me to glorify You, to grow in Christ, to do Your work which You have prepared for me to do (Ephesians 2:10), and ultimately, to be like You, and with You, for all eternity.  I praise You, that you have “opened my lips that my mouth may declare Your praise” (Psalm 51:15).