REV. BRIAN PICARD Do reality checks to help stay focused

Is it time for you to have a reality check?
It seems that no matter what form of media we read, listen to or watch, our present economic situation, our nation's moral decline and the state of world affairs are the topic.
I don't know about you, but there are times when I find it easy to let these topics become my major preoccupation, even to the point that if I'm not careful I can make myself and those around me a nervous wreck. Will the war against terrorism be over soon so I can live a normal life? Will I ever be safe?
What helps
In times like these, the things that help me are reality checks. Reality checks help me keep my focus on those things that really count in life. Reality checks not only have helped me find my faith, but to strengthen it as well.
My first significant reality check was when I was 14 and it dealt with my relationship with God.
Like most people, I believed Jesus was a historical figure and I even used his name in my daily language, but that's as far as it went. I didn't know that I was supposed to have a personal relationship with him.
It was not until my brother, who was every school administrator's nightmare, had a personal encounter with the realities of who Jesus Christ was, that I saw the transformation in his life and understood that there was more to life than the life that I had been pursuing.
Since my conversion, I've a number of reality checks that have helped me to keep my belief in the Holy Bible and Jesus Christ.
Solution, not problem
There are those who say that the Bible is corrupt and Jesus Christ is just one of many prophets. But when you put their reasoning into proper perspective, the problem is not with the Bible or Jesus Christ -- they are the solution.
The problem is the rebellious heart of mankind. There are those who just don't want the Bible to be true. If the Bible was true, that would mean that they would have to make a decision to submit to it. As long as they can maintain that the Bible is distorted, there is no need of submission or accountability.
The same goes for Jesus Christ. To argue whether he was God or whether he died or he rose from the dead is a smokescreen to the real problem. The savior is not the problem; the problem once again is the heart of mankind.
On whose terms?
If people were to admit their need of a savior, then they would have to admit their need to be rescued. There are those who don't want to submit to God on his terms but, rather they do want God to submit to them on their terms.
As I give myself another reality check, I am reminded of Mark 8:36 (KJV) which says, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
How about you? Do you need a reality check?
X The Rev. Brian Picard is the pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Liberty.