3,024,000 BEATS
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity."
I Timothy 4:12

I dabble with poetry a little, and a few years back I wrote a poem for someone I cared about. Allow me to share a portion with you as it will help to make my point for today.

The heart is beating, keeping time, the drummer of our lives,
from the moment we’re first conceived, till the day we close our eyes.
In just one small second, the heart of a hummingbird,
will beat twenty times, yet never will it be heard.
In one brief minute while we recite nursery rhymes,
a newborn’s heart beats a hundred and forty times.
An hour passes by and with twenty-four hundred beats,
the black stallion, tone and sleek, is adored by all he meets.
Over forty thousand pulses in one day of the year
for the massive elephant who slowly trudges near.
Three million, twenty-four thousand human beats of the heart,
the constant drumming in just one month is God’s work of art.

It is the last bit I want to focus on. What are we doing with our lives? The human heart beats 3,024,000 times in one month. What are we filling those beats with? Are we seeking God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength? Or are filling those beating moments with sinful pleasures?
Theologians say that Timothy assisted Paul on his second missionary journey and later was left in charge of the work in Ephesus when Paul was in jail. Maybe it was at this time when Timothy needed the encouragement to keep on going. Paul wrote in I Timothy 1:18 to "fight the good fight." But if Timothy was anything like you and I, he probably had those moments when he needed some encouragement. He needed someone to cheer him on. He needed someone to encourage him to not listen to the negative words, or complain when he didn't give into to the status quo. He needed someone to praise him for setting the standard. Perhaps Paul knew how many beats the heart pulsed in a month, maybe he didn't. But he knew that every one of the those beats should beat for God, and he encouraged Timothy to live the same.
We face the same challenge. Like Timothy, we may be ready to give in, tuck tail, call it quits, end the show. But also like Timothy, God brings a 'Paul' into our lives to encourage us to keep fighting, keep setting the standard, and keep living every heartbeat for Christ. I am sure you have a 'Paul' in your life, but then again you may not. I am confident of this one thing, though. When our love is for the things of God, and our dislike is in what God calls sin, then we are beating in unison with Him. I encourage you,as even now I challenge myself, to beat in unison with God's heart.

CHOOSE WISELY
"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live."
Deuteronomy 30:19

Just chapters away from Israel entering into the Promised Land, Moses delivers these words to the people. "Israelites, the time is close for you to enter the land we were promised by God. God has shown Himself faithful, by granting your freedom from bondage, drowning the Egyptians in the Red Sea, and providing food and water for you. He has given us His commands, and He has shown His power. All these miracles you have seen. So on the crest of entering your destiny, I call heaven and earth to hear these words from God. Life and death are before you in all you do. Choose life, and you will live. Choose death, and you will die. It is black and white; there is no gray. I beg of you, though, choose life."
We know the story that follows. Joshua takes the people into the Promised Land and Jericho is defeated. Achan takes the devoted things that God told them not to take after the destruction of Jericho, and as a result Ai becomes a bloody battle for Israel. But why? Wasn't God with them? Yes, He was. But God's instruction was clear not to take the devoted things (Joshua 6:18). Because of Achan's sin, innocent people died. But just chapters before, Moses told all of them, Achan present I'm sure, to choose life. Yet his choice was death, for both his family and the innocent soldiers.
We must realize that when we play with sin, we will not win. I thank God that Jesus was sent as a sacrifice for my messes, but that does not give me the right to sin. Sin is death; it's wages are death (Romans 6:23). That is too steep a price for me to pay for a few moments of fun, or a few devoted things. These words Moses spoke out are still truth today. If we choose God's way, we will live. But the man that chooses to disobey will find death. So now, life and death are set before you. Which will you choose?

PEACE! BE STILL!
"[Jesus] got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to His disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?' They were terrified and asked each other, 'Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!'"
Mark 4:39-41

Imagine with me for a moment being one of the twelve disciples. You are in your boat heading toward the region of the Gerasenes. On the horizon you see the makings of a storm. You've been through many storms as a fisherman, so at first this one doesn't scare you. But as it continues to draw closer, you have second thoughts. Soon enough this storm is festering like a raging bull. Your lack of concern in no time at all becomes panic and fear. You question waking up Jesus. After all, it has been a long day of teaching for Him, and the crowds pushed in for healing all day. But then again, you are afraid...paniced! So you stir Him, quickly point out the storm you're in the midst of, wondering how He managed to sleep through it anyway, and then panic some more. "Don't you even care if we die? Jesus, we're about to die!"
He looks at you and you see it in His eyes. Disappointment. His head drops slightly, His smile begins to fade, and the pep in His step is gone. He walks over to the edge of the boat, raises His arms out across the water and says with authority, "PEACE! BE STILL!" These words echo across the water louder than the waves that rise. You question power as you see the waves around the boat begin to cease in a rippling effect. Then, little by little, you realize that He is greater than you ever thought. With His head still low from disappointment, He gently speaks His rebuke. "Why are you so afraid? You've been with Me, seen Me do miracles, seen My heart for My people, and just today heard about a mustard seed of faith, and still you have no faith. Why do you act like cowards when I am here with you?"
His words cut deep even though they are spoken so gently. But He is right. As you ponder what Jesus has just said, and reflect back on the miracles you have already seen Him perform, the reverence of who He is invades your thoughts. "Who is this? Who is this man that even the wind and waves obey?"
How many times do we find ourselves in that same boat? We cry out, "Jesus, my mortgage is due! Jesus, my marriage is crumbling! Jesus, I just lost my job! Jesus, my family member is dieing! Jesus, Jesus, JESUS!" And He, who never lets us go, says, "PEACE! BE STILL! I already know and have it under control. Where is your faith in Me?" When He brings us through, we praise Him. But when we're in the middle of it, we panic and convince ourselves that He has forgotten us. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, "He will never leave you nor forsake you." Why are we so afraid that the God who loves us enough to send His Son to die for us will let us die in our struggles? When will we realize the power that He holds and rest in Him?

IN NEED OF DIRECTION
"After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people."
Exodus 13:20-22

Many of the traits I have come from my dad, such as the ability to plan ahead, a love for history, and a sense of navigation. He is the one who got me hooked on maps. I know it seems strange to some, but I can spend hours just looking at an atlas and plan the perfect trip that I may never take. I can tell you an estimate of how long it will take to drive somewhere, and what possible landmarks you may pass along the way. I owe this weird ability to my dad, who I would watch growing up just sitting with a map on the couch.
In a similar way, the people of Israel had the same opportunity. After Moses had brought the people out of Egypt and they began their journey to the promised land, God chose to make the way clear. The people followed Moses in the direction he took them, sometimes happily and sometimes grumbling, but nevertheless they did reach their destination. But God chose to give a sign that no one could mistake. He provided a cloud during the day and a fire at night. He provided for the Israelites and all those who watched them a clear sign of guidance.
I know in my own life that there are times when I wonder if I am on the right road. I make a decision and hope I have made the right one. A few years back I started grad school and after a few online sessions I stopped. I don't know if the right decision was to stop, or to go in the first place. But I do this...that in the whole process I had God's peace and I saw His provision. Maybe in some brief way that is what the Israelites felt also. They knew they were coming out of slavery, and they knew that God was leading them into THEIR land and they would have to take it by force, yet God was with them. The cloud and the fire were a representation that they were in His hands.
Maybe you're like me, and you like to read maps. Maybe you're not. It is not a right or wrong thing. But what really matters is are we allowing God to lead us to the final destination. Are we looking for His guiding hand, just like the Israelites looked for the cloud and the fire? The passage tells us that the cloud and fire never left their place in the front. If God is unchanging, then that must mean that God will never deny us His leading also. The challenge is are we looking backwards wondering where we are, or are we focused on what is ahead and watching the direction He leads us? God never let the Israelites down, and He won't let us down either.