The beach at Hilton Head begins from the surf with a large swath of hard sand....perfect for walking and bike riding. Directly behind this.....where the resort umbrellas begin....is the more traditional whitish soft granules that feel good in the hot sun....providing it's not too hot. This morning was perfect as the sun rose. I had my headphones on....listening to a J. C. Ryle sermon....and one long sentence caught my attention so that I came right back up in the room to add it to this post. The sermon was titled....Our Sins.....and here is that sentence from Ryle...."You have many sins.....I say this boldly and without the least hesitation....I know not who you are....or how the time past of your life has been spent.....but I know from the Word of God that every son and daughter of Adam is a great sinner in the sight of God....there is no exception....it is the common disease of the whole family of mankind in the world....from the king on his throne....to the begger on the roadside....from the landlord in his all....to the laborer in his cottage....from the fine lady in her drawing room....to the humblest maid-servant in the kitchen....from the clergyman in his pulpit.....to the little child in the Sunday School....we are all by nature....guilty....guilty....guilty....in the sight of God." This particular vacation....hopefully looked forward to throughout this pandemic....we choose Hilton Head Island....but also one of the more exclusive resorts. I feel a little out of place where every car on this property is more expensive than ours. There is a PGA tournament going on right now....a Pro-Am....so there are probably professional golfers here....and also celebrities who golf....so Ryle's comments on.....the king....and the fine lady....and....the laborer....(me).....particularly hit home.....as we are all in need of a savior....not a relationship....(a term that we like to throw around today)....but a savior....because we need.....saved! The following post is from October 4 of 2009. The recommendation following it is from when I republished the post a few years later.
Is This You?
So you are over 30 years old....a husband and father. You are established in your job and there is a regular crew of friends that you and your wife get together with on weekends. You have a church that you are members of and attend regularly. The kids have their Sunday School. You are living the American Dream, but there are a couple of problems that are nagging at you more and more. The first is that the American Dream may turn into a nightmare. You can handle this but it is your children that you are worried about. It gets worse. The second problem is that you are coming to believe that there is more to this God thing than you had always believed. Sure, you never considered denying God, that wasn't necessary. Nothing in your life was so compromising that you were forced to either become antagonistic towards religion or change your life.
There is a peace that comes over you when you consider Jesus as Savior and not just a name. There is something rock solid about that Bible you pick up when alone but that peace vanishes when you think of how you could be lumped with those weird born agains if you take this any further. There has to be a middle way. No, you know that there isn't for you have been living the middle way and there is no peace there, no Savior and no Word of God.
This problem has been going on for a while. You tried the conservative politics way where you openly deplore the anti-God people, thereby placing you in the God camp, but that only increases the guilt of keeping God at arms length. You blame the Christian that you work with for not being perfect and you blame your wife for not dragging you further towards this Christ, thereby making it a little bit easier on you, but like Jimmy Buffet's song, the excuses don't work and you know that it is your own fault.
Here is some advice to consider. You start by being honest. Ask forgiveness of your wife for not being the head of the family and insuring that God was the center of your family. At the very next family meal, you tell the children that as a family you are going to thank God for the food on the table for it is a blessing from Him. You tell them from this day forward you are going to try to acknowledge God in every area of your lives. They are going to see you studying your Bible every night and when you have learned enough, you are going to teach them.
At work your task is a little bit more difficult. You wait for the first time that a negative comment is made about born again Christians, it won't take long, and you simply say I'm moving towards these people. I have neglected God. I see myself in need of Him now and won't neglect Him anymore. As for church, this is the hardest problem of all. You know that you may eventually have to leave where you are but haven't the slightest idea where to go. In due time you will know enough to find a church with other Christians of like mind, most of whom have traveled the path you are about to take.
Are you worried about the embarrassment for you and your family should you fail? I don't blame you for you have seen others fail and it's not a pretty sight. The good news is that it is God's task to keep you from discouragement such that you would fail, and He Himself never, ever fails! You know what trust is, right? Your children trust you in how many things? In this case, you are the one that must trust. How do I know this? I've been there. The day will come when you will thank God every day, throughout every day, for His mercies and for the joy He has given you.
These steps that I mentioned are only personal advice, but what is not just advice is the trust. If you are having these feelings about God's goodness, the God whom you have neglected, then God is moving within you right now! If you could not trust God... then he would be no God. Do you have any plans on giving up on loving and protecting your family? Of course not, and you are but a mere mortal. Just one Scripture verse for you should you decide to set out for the Celestial City as Bunyan's Christian did in Pilgrim's Progress.... Romans 8:31 If God is for us, who can be against us?
Note: Zechariah 4:10 says...."For who hath despised the day of small things..." The second temple was being built....and it did not have the grandeur of Solomon's temple....and the people who remembered the first temple were saddened....but God was telling them that it was a beginning....and much greater things than Solomon's temple were ahead....pointing to Christ. So you might look at these 'small beginnings' with your family and be discouraged....but the joy will blossom in your heart quickly....so quickly that you may even have trouble containing it!
Also.....today....Wednesday April 7.....ligonier.org....the Daily Audio....is a short message by Steven Lawson that can be very helpful.....it's titled....Irresistible Call: A New Heart
