When the Game is Over

When the Game is Over

When a chess player is defeated by his opponent, and “Check-mate” has been declared, the game is over. There is no point in continuing. You have lost and you had better accept defeat and put the board away. At least, that is true of a game of chess.

With the game of life, however, that is not necessarily so.

It was “game over” for the thief crucified next to Jesus.

He had lived the life of a criminal and was finally paying the ultimate price for it – his life. There was one thing, however, that he could do, and he did it:

And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” ⁴³ And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:42-43 – NASB)

The game wasn’t over for him anymore.

It was “game over” for the woman caught in the act of adultery.

She was on the verge of being stoned to death according to the law. She couldn’t do anything about that; it was out of her hands. All she could do was kneel there in the dust  and wait  for the stones to end her life.

She waited…and waited… and waited….

And then…

                Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” (John 8:10-11 – NASB)

The game wasn’t over anymore.

Perhaps you have come to that place in your life where you are convinced there is no way out. Game over. Or you know someone else who has “lost the game.”

Is the game over for you?

Is the game over for them?

It need not be!

Jesus is the only one who can finally declare “game over,”

And he’s not going to do it if you call on him as the thief on the cross did.

The woman caught in adultery didn’t even ask for His help, but Jesus rescued her anyway.

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… (Romans 10:8-9 – NASB)

The game of life is never over till you have been to Jesus.

Game Over?

(© Wednesday 22^nd April 2025 – by Christopher Shennan

…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… (Romans 10:8-9 – NASB)

You think the game is over now,

For the likes of you and me;

You think the scoreboard is final,

And you are lost in misery.

Your life has just come to nothing,

And you are throwing in the towel;

You’ve expended all your effort,

And the umpire’s shouted “Fowl!”

The voice of reason still tells you

There is “no way out” forever;

And the enemy still whispers,

“You’ll find an answer? No! Never!”

I’ve got news for you, my friend:

The games not over, not at all –

As long as you lean on Jesus,

Nothing again will make you fall.

When this life at last is over,

A new game of life will begin –

And you’ll live with Him forever –

A life that is free from all sin.

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Checkmate by Alan Light. Copyright. Used under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; please note the Disclaimer at this link. Also used under the Commons GNU Free Documentation License. No changes were made to this photo.

He’s Not Heavy

Picture by Christopher Shennan

He’s Not Heavy

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2 – NASB)

What is “the law of Christ”?

It is found in the Gospel of John:

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. (John 15:12 – NASB)

How does one keep this commandment?

By bearing one another’s burdens.

The picture above was taken 33 years ago and made it into a poster with the caption “He’s not heavy, he’s my brother.” The girl and boy in the picture (all grown-up now) were having a wonderful time. The little girl does not appear to mind pushing the boy around. It was not a burden to her, but a delight.

This is how Jesus wants us to love one another – by taking responsibility to lighten the load a brother or sister in Christ. And while we lift the burden, the amazing thing is the burden does not feel like a burden. Love lightens the load.

It is a kind of a paradox.

I have found it true in my own experience that, after I have spent some time encouraging someone going through some trial, I have come away feeling lighter. My own burdens have seemed much easier to deal with than before.

I believe Jesus helps share our load when we are willing to share another’s load.

Someone said to me, “Won’t you suffer burn-out if you keep on carrying everyone else’s burdens”

My answer? “Not in the least. I simply do what we are told to do in Peter’s first letter:

…casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7 – NASB)

You can cast your own burdens upon Jesus, as well as any number of others you may pick up during the day. Jesus can carry them all.

My Brother’s Burden

(© Friday 28^th November – by Christopher Shennan)

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2 – NASB)

There was no way I could carry

The load that weighed my brother down,

Or even to make it lighter;

I carried enough of my own.

But my Lord said, “Lift his burden,

Just take it by faith and obey;

You’ll find your own grow lighter,

And you’ll walk with joy on your way.”

I lifted my brother’s burden,

As my Lord had told me to do;

I found that His yoke was easy –

And the words He had said were true.

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Joy in Times of Heaviness

(Picture credits at end of post)

Philippians 4:4-9

Christian joy is unlike any other joy. It rises to higher heights and is at home in the worst and the best of circumstances. Its secret is that it does not depend upon circumstances, but on God Himself and his matchless provisions.

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.  (1 Peter 1:6-9 – NASB)

Notice how “greatly rejoice” is uttered with the same breath as “in heaviness.” Can one greatly rejoice at the same time as being in great heaviness? Apparently so! That is the paradox and the glory of Christian experience. It is not confined to the normal spectrum of human emotions, because it is rooted in God Himself.

Is this the kind of joy you have? Can you be in heaviness, yet at the same time experience the joy of the Lord? Can you weep at some tragedy, yet know the sustained joy and confidence in a faithful God? If not, you should know it is available to you in Christ Jesus. It is part of your inheritance obtained through His death on the Cross.

This joy is based on a salvation already received, by faith in Jesus Christ. If this joy is not yours, either you have not truly come to Jesus, or you have allowed some cloud to come between you and the Saviour, be it the sin of unbelief, or something else that dims the light of Heaven in your soul.

A Bed of Roses

© Tuesday 7^th October 2014 – by Christopher Shennan

Even in a bed of roses

There will be many, many thorns;

In a life of pure devotion,

There will be times of deep forlorn.

A gardener accepts that roses,

With their beauty and their fair bloom,

Will produce some sharp surprises;

God gives sunshine, but also gloom.

When you walk with God and treasure

Those moments of peace and pure bliss,

There’ll also be times of sorrow,

And you must be prepared for this.

Roses and thorns grow together,

So also can joy and deep pain;

God gives the sunshine to warm us,

But He also gives clouds for rain.

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Heaviness (Depression) CC-PD-Mark Vincent van Gogh’s 1890 painting,Sorrowing old man (‘At Eternity’s Gate’)

Call the Doctor!

Call the Doctor!

(Picture Credits at end of post)

Reading: Mark 2:13-17

And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17 – NASB)

Religion can be a terrible thing; it has the ability to create hardness of heart and strangle compassion before it has a chance to take a breath. The Pharisees were not concerned for the healing of souls, only for the maintenance of their religious code.

I use the word `religion“ to describe those religious devotees who see Christianity as a kind of obstacle course in which some are good at it, some not so good, and some very bad.  Those who are good at it can then gloat upon those who struggle, or who come in last. That kind of religion is a terrible thing.

For one thing it is not good news, and the Gospel, if it is anything at all, is good news. If Christianity were an obstacle course, then most of us would not make it; indeed, I think none of us would make it, for God`s standards are so high only perfection is good enough. And perfection is so far from the human condition, to think we can reach it and so attain salvation is more like a cruel joke.

What`s more, religion places the responsibility upon the sinner to cleanse himself from his own sin, which is an impossible thing.

What has been largely lost in the church is the understanding of sin as a bondage.  Men and women bound with chains cannot free themselves; they have to be freed by Someone who Himself is not bound.  And since we are bound by chains of supernatural power, only the supernatural power of the risen Christ can free us.

We need to call the only Physician (doctor) who can heal our sinful condition.

The Great Physician

(© Monday 29^th September 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)

The Great Physician: He healed me

From the disease of sin and shame;

While religious folks despised me –

They had nothing for me, but blame.

Sure, I was a poor, lost sinner;

The wrack and ruin I caused was vast,

But my Lord, he came and rescued

Me, and wiped my guilty past.

Yet those who worship religion,

And not the sweet Giver of life,

Seek only to point their fingers

And stir up envy and strife.

No matter, the Great Physician,

Though knowing my sinful disease,

Chose rather to give me compassion,

And the weight of my sin to ease.

So take my advice and cling to

The Great Physician’s healing art;

Though religious folks may strike you,

He will heal your wounded heart.

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Doctor Consults with Patient” This image was released by the National Cancer Institute, an agency part of the National Institutes of Health, with the ID 2528. Photograph is in the public domain. No changes were made to this photograph. Find this photo at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Doctor_consults_with_patient_%287%29.jpg.

Withered Priorities

Withered Priorities

Reading: Mark 3:1-6

Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. (Mark 3:4 – NKJV)

The question Jesus asked was a masterful one, and could be applied to a variety of situations.

It was a question that cut to the root of the Pharisees’ disposition: “What are your priorities. They were so in love with the letter of the law, that they had forgotten the purpose of the law. The law of the Sabbath was given for the benefit of God’s people, not their enslavement.

The Pharisees used the law in a manner that brought death, whereas the purpose of God’s Word is to minister life. They wielded it as a weapon, whereas it was meant through the Spirit to bring healing and blessing to the soul.

Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. ⁵ Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, ⁶ who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3:4-6 – NASB)

I am afraid there are some preachers today who use God’s Word more like a weapon than a balm to the soul. It is true that there are some hard words that need to be spoken, but the hardness must come from the Word itself, and not from the hearts of those who administer it.

The question Jesus asked is as valid for us today as it was for the Pharisees then: “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”  The answer is obvious, “Whatever rules, or statutes, or laws we find in the Scriptures, are always meant for the good of those who hear.”

Be true to the Scriptures, but never use them as a whip, or a sword to get people in line; use them under the direction of the Holy Spirit to bring healing and life to their souls.

A Weapon or a Balm?

(© 4^th June, 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)

Teach me, O Lord, to use the Law,

And the Word that You have given

In a manner and in a way

That exalts true hearts to Heaven

 

May the Holy Spirit alter

Every Attitude of mine,

So that the reading of the Law

Gives all my hearers life – divine.

 

May I never use Truth, dear Lord.

As a weapon to strike and harm;

Let me use it with compassion

And apply it like healing balm.

 

The Word does have a cutting edge,

But it is not for me to wield;

God has called me to be faithful,

Till every sin-sick soul is healed.

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