How is the State of your Union? (And will you address it?)

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"praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every

spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. … "

The State of the Union is the address presented by the President of the United States to a Joint session of Congress and, typically delivered annually. As I listened to our President give this address   last night it occurred to me that all Christians could learn a lesson from this tradition by taking the time to truly evaluate the State of our Union with Christ. Unfortunately just as many Presidents do, we often tend to overestimate how well we are doing, and we don't paint an accurate portrait of what is really going on. Here are a few questions  to help us accurately  gauge how we are doing.

1) Is there evidence of Conversion in my life?- The Bible says that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. There are many who name Christ as savior, but never have evidence that He has actually saved them. If you are truly in Christ it will be evident in the fruit that your life produces. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control. When  you examine your life, are these apparent?

2) Do you have an actively consistent time with God? - In the book of Mark it says that very early in the morning, Jesus went to a solitary place where he prayed. There should be nothing that is more important or precious to the believer than spending time with God. As a matter of fact if we are too busy to spend time with God, then we are busier than God created us to be! Do you spend time with God?

3) Do  you have a Biblical spiritually defined purpose?- When God saves us, He also gives us spiritual gifts. The gifts are given to enable us to accomplish God's desired purpose for our lives. However most people have no clue what the spiritual gifts are, much less what their specific gift is. Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? Are you using them for His glory?

4) Do you actively look for opportunities to share your faith?- I honestly believe this is vital in our evaluation of our Union with Christ. The apostles devoted their lives to sharing about Christ. The very last words of Jesus in Acts were "You will be my witnesses".  Statistics tell us that most "Christians" will never share their faith with even one person. We will scream for our Football  team, declare our political allegiance, and rail against injustices, yet we can't share about the one who saved us from death and Hell? Do you share your faith?

This is not an exhaustive list, but its is a great start. So while you are mulling over the Presidents State of the Union Address, why not Address what state your "Union" is in.

Forever Fishing,
Chris Wells

"Winning" ???

 I have to tell you that I've heard the word "winning" more times in the last 3 days that I have in the last 3 years combined. This is in reference to the exploits of actor Charlie Sheen who has captivated the attention of the Media world. Sheen's antics on ABC's 20/20 has catapulted him into one of the most twitter followed people on the Planet, as well as headlining the discussion of every comedian actively doing comedy. Whether its Face book, Twitter, Saturday night Live, Cable TV, or just Charlie's web cam, this week he is the talk of America.  So I wanted to take a few minutes to examine Charlie's philosophy on winning, I think that we can learn something.

Charlie Sheen's lifestyle speaks for itself, so my intentions are not to personally bash him in any way. As a matter of fact, I think that CS is the epitome of what the American media says every man should aspire to. I mean Sheen has everything that the world tells us is important, and by the world's standards it's impressive. Check this out:

1) Fame- Charlie has got it! In addition to a string of hit movies, his " Two and a half men"  TV series has been rated among the top 20 programs every season since it aired. Yesterday over 1 Million people signed up to follow Sheen on Twitter.
2) Money- Sheen's estimated paycheck per episode is 1.3 million dollars. Per episode. His web cast 2 days ago advertised his favorite brand of Chocolate milk and a hot dog. The Milk company reported record sales and the hot dog was promptly named the "Charlie dog".
3) Women- Charlies exploits with women are extensive, and he has 2 girls nicknamed the "goddesses" that live with him. One is the Nanny and the other a "porn" star.
 4) Power- When asked if he was afraid to die. Charlie replied:"Dying is for Fools". " I have Tiger blood in me". The reporter for 20/20 went on to ask how he cleaned his life up. His reply: " I blinked my eyes, and I healed my mind" "The partying run I was on made Sinatra, Flynn, Jagger, Richards, all of them look like droopy eyed armless Children".

He has quite a life, a life that he describes as "Winning"! Most Americans would agree, that minus the antics, Charlie would seem to be doing pretty well. However is having Fame, Money, Women and Power really winning in life? The Bible has a different take.

In the Book of Daniel, the king in Babylon named Belshazzar comes to power. This king has everything that Charlie Sheen has and more. He has fame. When he walks the street everyone knows his name. He doesn't have to introduce himself to anyone, they bow and call him King. He has money. He evens drinks from Gold and Silver goblets. He wants for nothing. He has women. Wives and concubines are at his disposal. If he wants a girl, he doesn't have to court or woo her. He just says bring her to me. He also has power. He claps his hands and servants meet his every desire.

One day the King decides to throw a party, for a thousand Lords and his nobles. As the party is at full tilt he commands that everyone should drink from a gold or silver goblet. As people are drinking a sobering moment occurs. What looks like a hand appears and writes on the wall in a language that no one can understand. Daniel is brought in to interpret the words, and here is his translation.

*God has numbered the days of your rein, and He has brought it to an end.
* You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting
* Your kingdom is divided among the Medes and the Persians

That very night Belshazzar, King of the Babylonians was killed. All that he worked for was given to his enemy Darius the Mede.

There is a lesson for ALL of us here. Not just for Charlie. Life is not about Fame, Money, Women, and Power.  No matter how much effort we put into those things, they will never satisfy our lives. The reality is that we can't heal ourselves, and therefore we can't win on our own. Jesus said: "If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it."-NLT

Real "Winning" only comes by giving our lives to Jesus.