The Good News is about his son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. — Romans 1:1-17

With the final task completed, the end of the project had finally arrived.

After months of working and waiting, the sunroom was finally done.

With trim painted and furnishings in place, we no longer showed people the room with explanations that this part or that part still needed to be finished.

All that was needed to be done was done.

Now, we celebrate the finish by sharing it with all who come into our home.

Paul’s introduction in his letter to the church at Rome is full of these same themes from a spiritual perspective.

Jesus was shown to be the Son of God through the resurrection.

Jesus is to be shared to all people everywhere.

Jesus is to be celebrated by his people.

Paul was inspired by the testimony of their faith in Jesus.

His prayers for them were frequent and passionate as he saw in them fellow laborers for the Good News about Jesus.

Keeping the main thing “the main thing” is a frequent admonition in the Bible.

We are so easily distracted by things that won’t matter the moment we take our last breath on earth and our next one in heaven.

We have limited time, energy and resources.

Should they be consumed with things that have no staying power?

Paul was all about the Good News: Jesus died for our sins. He was raised on the third day.

Whoever believes in him is made right with God.

Compromised compartments

The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s commands. — I Kings 11:1-43

From the outside, my 1978 Pontiac Grand Prix didn’t look that bad.

It had some years on it, but it was kind of cool driving a car that still had metal bumpers and some chrome trim.

It’s what I didn’t take care of that finally led to the scrap heap. Rust. Specifically, rust on the front axle.

Thankfully, I was on a side road when the axle decided to break in two leaving my front wheel laying on its side.

King Solomon had a great start.

He followed God. He ruled with wisdom and genuine spiritual fervor.

His prayer at the dedication of the Temple is awe-inspiring.

In time, however, he began to drop the ball behind the scenes.

He married multiple foreign wives who worshiped idols and eventually turned his heart to other gods.

God’s discipline fell and his kingdom collapsed.

God invites us into an all-in relationship.

After all, he held nothing back in order to rescue us, not even his own son.

Too often, we buy into the lie that this little corner of our life is ours to do in whatever we want.

No harm, no foul. No big deal we reason.

Our hearts don’t work that way.

What begins as a foothold, soon becomes an avalanche we can’t escape.

Please take the time to attend to, with God’s help, every area of your life.

Tom Wiles is senior minister of Fall Creek Christian Church in Pendleton. He can be reached at 765-778-3166.