"Judge not, that you be not judged" - Jesus Christ, Matthew 7:1
It is a harsh reality of life that due to the pain of personal injury in the form of unjust judging sustained often, we become wary and gun-shy to engage too much with some people. It keeps us standing at a distance in relationships when God wants us to know and be known. It results in many people living in a relational desert rather than a lush landscape of friendships; a dead-end of isolation rather than a network of connectedness.
Being judged wrongly feels horrible doesn't it? You know the truth about yourself (or at least your view of it) and then someone comes along and knocks down your house of cards. Pain, anger, indignation, hot resentment, shock and tears and denial are all common responses. All human. All understandable.
Isn't it interesting that we can't remember how it feels to be judged wrongly when we inflict our judgment on others? Immune to the previous pain, we go forward with abandon, measuring out infinite verdicts unrestrained; spraying to all fields, we rush headlong into the error of our ways.
Why do we live with a double standard - allowing ourselves to judge freely but thinking it strange and out of place when it happens to us?
There is a truth that ought to keep us from ever judging anybody wrongly: the truth about ourselves; where we have come from, the grace and mercy we have received in Christ that covers all our sins. It works perfectly with God, but with us who don't see the whole picture, things are different. It's actually a good thing we aren't all-knowing. Basically, if you knew me like I truly am you would judge me more harshly than you already do. If I knew you the same way I would think worse of you too.
There is always back-story, stuff that only God knows that if we knew would give us the perspective necessary to be generous with acceptance and stingy with judgment. It would make us discerning, not condemning.
Mankind seems to be on a continuous quest to prove to himself that he is able, self-sufficient, self-reliant. Whether survival shows or cooking competitions, we want to prove that we can do it - all by our self. But the truth is that we are deficient, we are not adequate, we cannot be God. God alone is God and we need Him desperately. The human spirit is strong, yes, but it is a reflection of the glory and image of God, not something that we generate; merely a reflection of the God who made us.
If we could simply grasp the immensity of God's grace and the enormity of our sinfulness; that Jesus was judged for our sin and that we go free due to His condemnation, we could live with so much more grace towards others. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Rom. 8:1). May we live in that truth and show it to others.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Standing on the Promises
Ten Reasons Not to Be Anxious According to Jesus:
God is in control (6:26).
God gives and sustains life (6:27)
God cares for His own (6:28-30)
You are valuable to God (6:26)
It doesn’t accomplish anything (6:27).
It hinders you rather than helping you.
You are eternal (6:28-30)
Anxiety is fear based in unbelief (6:31-32)
God knows what you need (6:32)
God gives everything you need to do His will (6:33)
God doesn’t give you more than you can handle (6:34).
In the ESV Matthew 6:34 ends with the word "Trouble", Greek word is kakia, evil. Freedom from anxiety does not come from a guarantee of no trouble; but a guarantee that trouble will be used by God for good. God has promised to work all things together for good for those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).
Paul in Phil. 4:6 he says just like Jesus, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God." In 4:19 he gives a promise like Jesus, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Worry is a waste of time and effort. Redeem the time; resolve to trust God.
You can battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of God.
When you are anxious about a new venture, battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my Righteous right hand" (Is. 41:10).
When you are anxious about being weak battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).
When you are anxious about the future, battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Ps. 32:8). When anxious about opponents, battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Rom. 8:31).
When you are anxious about getting old, battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Is. 46:4).
When you are anxious about dying, battle unbelief with the promise "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Rom. 14:9–11).
God wants to be trusted one day at a time. He cares for you; enough to make the ultimate sacrifice for His glory and your eternal good. God the Son trusted God the Father. When Jesus went to the cross, substituting Himself in our place, He cried out to the Father before He died Luke 23:46 Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit. Another way to say trust. When you trust God you put your life in God’s hands, where it already is.
God is in control (6:26).
God gives and sustains life (6:27)
God cares for His own (6:28-30)
You are valuable to God (6:26)
It doesn’t accomplish anything (6:27).
It hinders you rather than helping you.
You are eternal (6:28-30)
Anxiety is fear based in unbelief (6:31-32)
God knows what you need (6:32)
God gives everything you need to do His will (6:33)
God doesn’t give you more than you can handle (6:34).
In the ESV Matthew 6:34 ends with the word "Trouble", Greek word is kakia, evil. Freedom from anxiety does not come from a guarantee of no trouble; but a guarantee that trouble will be used by God for good. God has promised to work all things together for good for those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).
Paul in Phil. 4:6 he says just like Jesus, "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God." In 4:19 he gives a promise like Jesus, "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Worry is a waste of time and effort. Redeem the time; resolve to trust God.
You can battle the unbelief of anxiety with the promises of God.
When you are anxious about a new venture, battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my Righteous right hand" (Is. 41:10).
When you are anxious about being weak battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).
When you are anxious about the future, battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Ps. 32:8). When anxious about opponents, battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Rom. 8:31).
When you are anxious about getting old, battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Is. 46:4).
When you are anxious about dying, battle unbelief with the promise "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Rom. 14:9–11).
God wants to be trusted one day at a time. He cares for you; enough to make the ultimate sacrifice for His glory and your eternal good. God the Son trusted God the Father. When Jesus went to the cross, substituting Himself in our place, He cried out to the Father before He died Luke 23:46 Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit. Another way to say trust. When you trust God you put your life in God’s hands, where it already is.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
We are Searchers
What we go after makes a difference. Either we’ll be wrapped up in accumulating things; trying to make ourselves famous; or we will be all wrapped up in making God famous. We will be concerned most for feeding, clothing, comforting, entertaining, and preserving our bodies or we will be totally concerned with God first. Jesus made us and cares for us. He doesn’t say earthly needs aren’t important – on the contrary He taught us to pray for our daily needs. But He is saying that if we become fixated on material comfort we are choosing a false god basically; unworthy of the bulk of our attention. We should plan ahead for the future, take sensible steps for our security and for our households, but we are not to be distracted by it to the point of being consumed with self-destructive anxiety & obsessive worry.
Seek is a search word. Jesus makes it clear that all humans are searchers. We all live for something; something to give us a reason to live; the thing we dedicate our life to. Our ambition, our desire, our goals, what drives us to achieve, what makes us tick; what motivates us. In contrast with what those who don’t follow God go after, strong desires are good if they are aimed in the right direction. If there is movement towards God, if it points you toward Him, they are good.
What do you want most? What are you trying to get? Jesus boils it down to 2 choices: the building of your own security, comfort and fame or the increase and victory of God’s rule and righteousness in the world. I am praying that you and I will both choose what is best today.
Seek is a search word. Jesus makes it clear that all humans are searchers. We all live for something; something to give us a reason to live; the thing we dedicate our life to. Our ambition, our desire, our goals, what drives us to achieve, what makes us tick; what motivates us. In contrast with what those who don’t follow God go after, strong desires are good if they are aimed in the right direction. If there is movement towards God, if it points you toward Him, they are good.
What do you want most? What are you trying to get? Jesus boils it down to 2 choices: the building of your own security, comfort and fame or the increase and victory of God’s rule and righteousness in the world. I am praying that you and I will both choose what is best today.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Christ is our Righteousness
If you are a Christian, then you desire, because of and by the grace of God, to be a counter culture for God’s glory and others good. While you do not always do it, you are aware of and focusing on future realities; trusting God for the future. God's righteousness touches the past, present and future. It is that for which we hunger 5:6 and for which we suffer 5:10. It is a conformity to God’s moral law, going further than the scribes and Pharisees 5:20. Our good works are not to earn anything but to obey our King.
Recipients of God's grace are identified by character and good works. Christian righteousness is not as man has warped it; thinking we are better than others or being prideful; it has nothing to do with that at all. It is not a teaching of salvation by works; the 1st beatitude made clear that those who inherit the kingdom will be the poor in spirit, who see themselves as bankrupt, having nothing, not even righteousness; as Paul said, he did not come with righteousness of his own derived from the law but the righteousness which is through faith in Christ for all who believe. Christian righteousness is much deeper, of the heart, through God’s Spirit indwelling His people; the new birth brings it.
Jesus is our righteousness (2 Cor 5:21). Faith in Christ gives us all the riches of Christ’s Righteousness. To have it you must be born again.
Recipients of God's grace are identified by character and good works. Christian righteousness is not as man has warped it; thinking we are better than others or being prideful; it has nothing to do with that at all. It is not a teaching of salvation by works; the 1st beatitude made clear that those who inherit the kingdom will be the poor in spirit, who see themselves as bankrupt, having nothing, not even righteousness; as Paul said, he did not come with righteousness of his own derived from the law but the righteousness which is through faith in Christ for all who believe. Christian righteousness is much deeper, of the heart, through God’s Spirit indwelling His people; the new birth brings it.
Jesus is our righteousness (2 Cor 5:21). Faith in Christ gives us all the riches of Christ’s Righteousness. To have it you must be born again.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Worry is a Waste of Time
Life is full of choices. We see the choice in Matthew 6:19-21 between 2 treasures (Treasure on earth or Treasure in heaven); in 6:22-23 between 2 states of being (Light or Darkness); in 6:24 between 2 masters (God or possessions); in 6:25-34 between 2 preoccupations (our bodies or God). Jesus says make a choice. We feel the pull of worldly ambition; materialism dulls our senses; spoils our appetite for spiritual things. Jesus want us to choose well. It’s like Jesus is putting the false and true up against each other; holding them up for us to see; inviting us to compare the 2 – to find out for ourselves which is better. He shows the foolishness of chasing earthly treasures and the wisdom of seeking the things of God. More than ever in these times in which we live – with exploding populations and harsh economic times, Christians are realizing that money and prestige isn’t where it’s all at; reevaluating our conspicuous consumerism; our out of balance consumption in light of the times and it is waking us up to Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount. It isn’t just for people back then, it makes tons of sense right now.
Jesus says the world’s ambition is imbalanced. Those who don;t follow Jesus seek 1st their own security; losing both it and their souls. Like the man who wanted to build himself bigger barns and said to his soul, relax, you have it made – when God said you fool! This very night your soul is required of you. You didn’t prepare your heart and what you did prepare someone else will enjoy.
His reign in your life and the world. God’s specific rule over His people. Starts when you humble yourself, repent, believe, yield to God, are born again. Seek 1st His K – to want most the spread and increase of the rule of Christ. God’s Kingdom exists only where Christ is acknowledged as Lord. It starts 1st in your life: your home life, marriage, family, how you take care of your business dealings, professional life, bank account, tax refunds; how you live, what kind of lifestyle, what kind of citizen you are. It also has to do with your relationships – your perspective towards unbelievers – whether or not you accept your evangelistic responsibility towards those who do not know Jesus – friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers and also having a global concern. [BTW - hunger is not a case of God not providing enough food but of people not sharing enough of what they have. God has given ample resources but people hoard and waste it and do not share.]
Why do we care if the gospel is spread? For the glory of God. To add to the worship. To desire that God’s name be praised and Christ be honored. And for the future – we await Christ’s return. Phil. 2 says that one day every knee will bow to Jesus, every tongue confess that He is Lord.
Jesus says the world’s ambition is imbalanced. Those who don;t follow Jesus seek 1st their own security; losing both it and their souls. Like the man who wanted to build himself bigger barns and said to his soul, relax, you have it made – when God said you fool! This very night your soul is required of you. You didn’t prepare your heart and what you did prepare someone else will enjoy.
His reign in your life and the world. God’s specific rule over His people. Starts when you humble yourself, repent, believe, yield to God, are born again. Seek 1st His K – to want most the spread and increase of the rule of Christ. God’s Kingdom exists only where Christ is acknowledged as Lord. It starts 1st in your life: your home life, marriage, family, how you take care of your business dealings, professional life, bank account, tax refunds; how you live, what kind of lifestyle, what kind of citizen you are. It also has to do with your relationships – your perspective towards unbelievers – whether or not you accept your evangelistic responsibility towards those who do not know Jesus – friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers and also having a global concern. [BTW - hunger is not a case of God not providing enough food but of people not sharing enough of what they have. God has given ample resources but people hoard and waste it and do not share.]
Why do we care if the gospel is spread? For the glory of God. To add to the worship. To desire that God’s name be praised and Christ be honored. And for the future – we await Christ’s return. Phil. 2 says that one day every knee will bow to Jesus, every tongue confess that He is Lord.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Worry Doubles Your Troubles!
In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus says "do not be anxious" several times. Common sense says worry doesn’t make any sense. Live today, relax about tomorrow. Worrying about tomorrow today is useless because you are wasting today worrying when God wants you to live your life. You don’t deal with what God wants you to deal with – the tasks and troubles of today – responsibilities, as well as issues.
Trouble (Greek kakia – evil) happens (Matthew 6:34). Our freedom from anxiety does not come from a guarantee of no trouble, but a guarantee that trouble will be used by God for good. God has promised that He will work all things together for good for those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (see Rom. 8:28).
Worry is a waste of time and effort. Live one day at a time. Plan for the future but don’t stress out about it. If you worry about something that never happens you worried for nothing. If you worry about something that does end up happening you worried twice! Worry doubles your troubles!
Trouble (Greek kakia – evil) happens (Matthew 6:34). Our freedom from anxiety does not come from a guarantee of no trouble, but a guarantee that trouble will be used by God for good. God has promised that He will work all things together for good for those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (see Rom. 8:28).
Worry is a waste of time and effort. Live one day at a time. Plan for the future but don’t stress out about it. If you worry about something that never happens you worried for nothing. If you worry about something that does end up happening you worried twice! Worry doubles your troubles!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Our Holy (and Humble) Ambition
This past Sunday we focused on trusting God with everything as we looked at part 1 of “Worry and Anxiety: A Question of Trust” in Matthew 6:25-34. It is so easy for us to trust anything and everything except God. But Jesus in His great love for us exposes our false securities and shows us why we are not to worry: because God is in control, He gives and sustains life; and He cares for His own.
Worry doesn’t fit with faith. It doesn’t do us any good, it actually harms us; and Jesus wants to rescue us from ourselves. He wants us to make the choice of contentment over anxiety. We pick up where we left off, seeing trust as the God-ordained loss or lack) of control. Where we “roll” everything to Him (Prov. 16:3 and elsewhere), entrusting to Him what we cannot and should not try to control. He knows everything, can do anything and is the One we look to make sense out of life. Basically, God’s grace brings contentment rather than anxiety.
Now, by way of contrast, we see in 6:31 The world’s ignorant (and misguided) ambition. Jesus says that the Gentiles eagerly seek the things that perish like food, drink and clothing. The Greek word for Gentiles is ta ethnes, or literally “the nations”; which commonly designates non-Jews or Gentiles; but the emphasis here is, as Michael Wilkins puts it, on “those who operate outside of God’s values”. They are all wrapped up in this pursuit because they do not have an internal spiritual compass as we do, the Holy Spirit, to guide and direct. They are left to their own devices and are at the mercy of their own vices. Misguided ambition leads to anxiety.
The reason we don’t need to live like that is because God knows our needs and meets them (Matt. 6:32). Jesus taught those who came to listen to Him, He felt compassion for the crowds, who came thronging but not fully yielding. Like before He fed the 5000 (Mark 6:30-44), when He says to His disciples, “you give them something to eat”. They could not; they didn't have the resources. I will Jesus says, watch Me. He did so to show them His glory and power; to teach them that they should look to Him and be satisfied. But most only saw a free lunch, and went on in ignorance.
Jesus does not condemn people for going after false "gods", they condemn themselves. He is full of mercy and compassion. Matt. 9:36 Jesus saw the crowds and felt compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Unbelievers have limited options. They seek earthly treasure which becomes their master, and an evil one at that. It plays the tyrant in their lives. They who have exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for that which is false can only do one thing: worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever (Rom. 1:21-23). With regard to Matthew 6:31 Jamieson, Faucett and Brown say, “knowing nothing definitely beyond this present life to kindle their aspirations and engage their supreme attention, the heathen naturally pursue present objects as their chief, their only good. To what an elevation above these does Jesus here lift His disciples!”
Jesus' response to the misguided should lead us to follow suit and look on them with compassion, pity, and mercy, not judgment. We ought to respond with humility, thankful that God has opened our eyes to greater realities; and wanting the same for them. But sometimes we imitate those who “operate outside of God’s values”. Although God has called us to be different, set apart to Him, in but not of the world, we sometimes live lives almost indistinguishable from the world. Sadder than those who don’t know better.
Matthew 6:33-34 is Jesus’ great summary statement, showing what ought to be the Church’s holy (and humble) ambition. By the “church” I mean the true church of Jesus Christ, comprised of all those who are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith in Christ alone. We have a different motivation, ambition and Master. We desire, because of and by the grace of God, to be a counter culture for God’s glory and others good. 1 Thess. 4:11-12 says "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you may behave properly towards outsiders and not be in any need". 2 Cor. 5:9 says "we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him". Jesus wants us to show the world true treasure in our words and life; show them another option – a good one with a good Master. Give them Jesus, give them heaven!
Why should we live like this? Because it leads to freedom, joy, peace; to God’s glory and our's and other's good. You can’t force, dictate or legislate morality or service or devotion or right motives. It comes from a heart wooed by the Love that will not let us go. Jesus said, as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up (John 3:14-15). If I be lifted up I will draw all men to Myself (John 12:32, see also 6:40, 44, 47). Eph. 2 tells us that we (the true church of Jesus Christ) were dead in our sins, unable to do anything of value spiritually. But God, being rich in mercy, with the great love with which He loved us, made us alive together with Christ and has seated us in the heavenly places in Christ. We live and move and have our being here on earth but there are greater spiritual realities in play, that no one can see, but God tells us are present. And we believe. By faith we walk in that knowledge. By faith we press on towards the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14).
(BTW, if you are reading these words and don’t yet know Jesus Christ in this way, you can, by simply acknowledging who He is and believing that He died, was buried, came back to life and is coming back someday for those who love Him – there is true and meaningful life in no one else - you can receive the love and forgiveness that has eluded you your whole life until this moment in time).
Worry doesn’t fit with faith. It doesn’t do us any good, it actually harms us; and Jesus wants to rescue us from ourselves. He wants us to make the choice of contentment over anxiety. We pick up where we left off, seeing trust as the God-ordained loss or lack) of control. Where we “roll” everything to Him (Prov. 16:3 and elsewhere), entrusting to Him what we cannot and should not try to control. He knows everything, can do anything and is the One we look to make sense out of life. Basically, God’s grace brings contentment rather than anxiety.
Now, by way of contrast, we see in 6:31 The world’s ignorant (and misguided) ambition. Jesus says that the Gentiles eagerly seek the things that perish like food, drink and clothing. The Greek word for Gentiles is ta ethnes, or literally “the nations”; which commonly designates non-Jews or Gentiles; but the emphasis here is, as Michael Wilkins puts it, on “those who operate outside of God’s values”. They are all wrapped up in this pursuit because they do not have an internal spiritual compass as we do, the Holy Spirit, to guide and direct. They are left to their own devices and are at the mercy of their own vices. Misguided ambition leads to anxiety.
The reason we don’t need to live like that is because God knows our needs and meets them (Matt. 6:32). Jesus taught those who came to listen to Him, He felt compassion for the crowds, who came thronging but not fully yielding. Like before He fed the 5000 (Mark 6:30-44), when He says to His disciples, “you give them something to eat”. They could not; they didn't have the resources. I will Jesus says, watch Me. He did so to show them His glory and power; to teach them that they should look to Him and be satisfied. But most only saw a free lunch, and went on in ignorance.
Jesus does not condemn people for going after false "gods", they condemn themselves. He is full of mercy and compassion. Matt. 9:36 Jesus saw the crowds and felt compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Unbelievers have limited options. They seek earthly treasure which becomes their master, and an evil one at that. It plays the tyrant in their lives. They who have exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for that which is false can only do one thing: worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever (Rom. 1:21-23). With regard to Matthew 6:31 Jamieson, Faucett and Brown say, “knowing nothing definitely beyond this present life to kindle their aspirations and engage their supreme attention, the heathen naturally pursue present objects as their chief, their only good. To what an elevation above these does Jesus here lift His disciples!”
Jesus' response to the misguided should lead us to follow suit and look on them with compassion, pity, and mercy, not judgment. We ought to respond with humility, thankful that God has opened our eyes to greater realities; and wanting the same for them. But sometimes we imitate those who “operate outside of God’s values”. Although God has called us to be different, set apart to Him, in but not of the world, we sometimes live lives almost indistinguishable from the world. Sadder than those who don’t know better.
Matthew 6:33-34 is Jesus’ great summary statement, showing what ought to be the Church’s holy (and humble) ambition. By the “church” I mean the true church of Jesus Christ, comprised of all those who are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith in Christ alone. We have a different motivation, ambition and Master. We desire, because of and by the grace of God, to be a counter culture for God’s glory and others good. 1 Thess. 4:11-12 says "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you may behave properly towards outsiders and not be in any need". 2 Cor. 5:9 says "we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him". Jesus wants us to show the world true treasure in our words and life; show them another option – a good one with a good Master. Give them Jesus, give them heaven!
Why should we live like this? Because it leads to freedom, joy, peace; to God’s glory and our's and other's good. You can’t force, dictate or legislate morality or service or devotion or right motives. It comes from a heart wooed by the Love that will not let us go. Jesus said, as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up (John 3:14-15). If I be lifted up I will draw all men to Myself (John 12:32, see also 6:40, 44, 47). Eph. 2 tells us that we (the true church of Jesus Christ) were dead in our sins, unable to do anything of value spiritually. But God, being rich in mercy, with the great love with which He loved us, made us alive together with Christ and has seated us in the heavenly places in Christ. We live and move and have our being here on earth but there are greater spiritual realities in play, that no one can see, but God tells us are present. And we believe. By faith we walk in that knowledge. By faith we press on towards the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14).
(BTW, if you are reading these words and don’t yet know Jesus Christ in this way, you can, by simply acknowledging who He is and believing that He died, was buried, came back to life and is coming back someday for those who love Him – there is true and meaningful life in no one else - you can receive the love and forgiveness that has eluded you your whole life until this moment in time).
Monday, October 19, 2009
Jesus is My Worry-Free Zone
Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord; therefore I will trust in Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I will, by the grace of God, abide in Him. I will, in God's strength, serve Him. I will, because He is in control, and cares for me, and gives me life and sustains me, not worry about anything, but pray about everything. That is my desire and my intention. It is my ambition; what I want. All because of Jesus, my treasure, my soul focus, my Master.
Jesus said three times in Matthew 6:25-34, "Do not be anxious". Why? Because He knows we get so anxious; He knows we struggle so much with it, and He is anxiety's cure. When I am trusting Jesus I am not worrying. When I am resting in Jesus I am not seeking harmful things. Jesus is my worry-free zone; the place of joy, the center of rest; my sufficiency. Phil. 4:5 says "The Lord is at hand" - Jesus is near, He is with me, and He is coming back soon. That is why I can be free from worry and anxiety. Jesus is why life makes sense.
Jesus said three times in Matthew 6:25-34, "Do not be anxious". Why? Because He knows we get so anxious; He knows we struggle so much with it, and He is anxiety's cure. When I am trusting Jesus I am not worrying. When I am resting in Jesus I am not seeking harmful things. Jesus is my worry-free zone; the place of joy, the center of rest; my sufficiency. Phil. 4:5 says "The Lord is at hand" - Jesus is near, He is with me, and He is coming back soon. That is why I can be free from worry and anxiety. Jesus is why life makes sense.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Worry is Blindness
Jesus, in Matthew 6:25-34, says that we have no reason ever to be anxious. This world is a perfectly safe place to be for the one who has God as their treasure and is trusting in him - specifically the finished work of Christ on their behalf. As the 23rd psalm says so poetically, at the beginning, "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want." and at the end, "surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever", the one who trusts in God can rest secure.
We have the option to trust in Jesus, to rely on Him. Therefore, He says, "do not be anxious about your life" (indicating that the one who lays up treasures in heaven, that has a good eye and serves God is not led as a slave into worry). He reminds us by pointing out living things here on earth like birds and flowers. They do not "lay up treasures on earth". Birds, some of the busiest creatures around, work hard, under God, to get the daily food He provides. Like the Israelites in the wilderness picking up manna each day, He gives, they gather. Shades of "Give us this day our daily bread". Children are also our teachers here, Jesus says we are to receive the kingdom like a child; who trusts that someone else is making provision for them. We should, like them, live simply in the present as far as necessities are concerned.
Willard says "some people would rather starve than look bad". Little flowers without effort display a beauty that the most powerful humans all fixed up cannot. He says "if you look at one of these little flowers and then at the strained ladies and floppy gentlemen who come out to opening nights and award dinners in our centers of power and culture, you can only feel sorry for the people. They can't even begin to compete". And who is it we are trying to be like? Maybe that is why Jesus calls us "little faiths".
I have made a discovery and it has come from experience. I know about what I am speaking of. I have done it far to often. Gone down the low road of worry to the detriment of my heart, soul and earthly existence. Worry makes us desperate; trust, content. Ever seen a bird or a flower straining to be something it is not? Worry leads to the fake; trust to the real. Worry generates the false; trust breeds the true. When I worry I cannot see clearly what God wants me to see. When I trust the fog lifts.
Worry doesn't accomplish anything good. What if all the time we spent worrying were spent praying? (See Phil. 4:6-7)
We have the option to trust in Jesus, to rely on Him. Therefore, He says, "do not be anxious about your life" (indicating that the one who lays up treasures in heaven, that has a good eye and serves God is not led as a slave into worry). He reminds us by pointing out living things here on earth like birds and flowers. They do not "lay up treasures on earth". Birds, some of the busiest creatures around, work hard, under God, to get the daily food He provides. Like the Israelites in the wilderness picking up manna each day, He gives, they gather. Shades of "Give us this day our daily bread". Children are also our teachers here, Jesus says we are to receive the kingdom like a child; who trusts that someone else is making provision for them. We should, like them, live simply in the present as far as necessities are concerned.
Willard says "some people would rather starve than look bad". Little flowers without effort display a beauty that the most powerful humans all fixed up cannot. He says "if you look at one of these little flowers and then at the strained ladies and floppy gentlemen who come out to opening nights and award dinners in our centers of power and culture, you can only feel sorry for the people. They can't even begin to compete". And who is it we are trying to be like? Maybe that is why Jesus calls us "little faiths".
I have made a discovery and it has come from experience. I know about what I am speaking of. I have done it far to often. Gone down the low road of worry to the detriment of my heart, soul and earthly existence. Worry makes us desperate; trust, content. Ever seen a bird or a flower straining to be something it is not? Worry leads to the fake; trust to the real. Worry generates the false; trust breeds the true. When I worry I cannot see clearly what God wants me to see. When I trust the fog lifts.
Worry doesn't accomplish anything good. What if all the time we spent worrying were spent praying? (See Phil. 4:6-7)
Saturday, October 17, 2009
A Sacred Trust
I have the privilege of standing in front of a wonderful group of people each Sunday morning because God called me to preach. Eph. 4:11-12 "And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." I am called to teach God's Word faithfully and accurately, trusting God with the results. I am called to shepherd, protect and feed the flock of God; to point them to Jesus not to my knowledge or my personality. It is a sacred trust. Some teachers wow you with their knowledge, skill and delivery. I want you to be wowed by Jesus' greatness and glory. I want to grow and improve as a preacher but I don't want to hear "he is so good"; I want to hear "God is so good!".
I am thankful that those I lead understand that man's opinions change but God's Word stands. They are hungry for God and His Word. They are under God's authority, eager to learn and grow. They are discerning, yet ready to receive from God each week. There is a depth of right thinking about God among us; not 100% of the time; but often enough to know that God is at work among us and He is doing a good work of grace in our hearts. Right thinking about God is necessary to living a godly life and it comes through the Holy Spirit using the Word of God in the lives of the people of God. John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." Right thinking about God leads to right relationships; which in turn encourage deeper trust in God. And the good cycle continues. But it has an enemy lurking in the shadows.
We live in a world where, even in some Christian circles, people are crying out for a manageable God. They want to harness Him, capture Him, and though they'd never come right out and say it - control Him. But God will not be controlled; He will not be reduced to a system. We feel the pull of that way of thinking and it should frighten us to the point that we run to God for cover! We need to find our answers in the Word of God. We need something today to apply today. But there are those who would just say - I don't care how you do it, just slice it, dice it and give me 3 ways to deal with my problems so I can get to next Sunday. But sometimes I think God wants us to rest content with not knowing. That is the essence of trust. Sometimes I wonder why we often almost demand that God make life make sense right away. Is it because we might think God exists just to meet our needs? We exist for His glory. Read Eph. 1:3-6. We are self-conscious but God wants our God-consciousness and therefore our God-confidence and God-dependence to increase. He wants us to say with John the Baptist, "He must increase, I must decrease".
God Almighty uses His Book (holy, inerrant, infallible, all-sufficient, powerful) and He applies it in your life (needy, dependent, gifted, seeking truth) and the two sometimes seem like they are on collision course. And the intersection isn't always clear, isn't always 3 easy steps, isn't always containable, harnessable, controllable. Some things are left unresolved - for the time being - and sometimes the only option you have is to trust God. Prov. 3:5-6.
Our lives are in His hands. That is a sacred trust.
I am thankful that those I lead understand that man's opinions change but God's Word stands. They are hungry for God and His Word. They are under God's authority, eager to learn and grow. They are discerning, yet ready to receive from God each week. There is a depth of right thinking about God among us; not 100% of the time; but often enough to know that God is at work among us and He is doing a good work of grace in our hearts. Right thinking about God is necessary to living a godly life and it comes through the Holy Spirit using the Word of God in the lives of the people of God. John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." Right thinking about God leads to right relationships; which in turn encourage deeper trust in God. And the good cycle continues. But it has an enemy lurking in the shadows.
We live in a world where, even in some Christian circles, people are crying out for a manageable God. They want to harness Him, capture Him, and though they'd never come right out and say it - control Him. But God will not be controlled; He will not be reduced to a system. We feel the pull of that way of thinking and it should frighten us to the point that we run to God for cover! We need to find our answers in the Word of God. We need something today to apply today. But there are those who would just say - I don't care how you do it, just slice it, dice it and give me 3 ways to deal with my problems so I can get to next Sunday. But sometimes I think God wants us to rest content with not knowing. That is the essence of trust. Sometimes I wonder why we often almost demand that God make life make sense right away. Is it because we might think God exists just to meet our needs? We exist for His glory. Read Eph. 1:3-6. We are self-conscious but God wants our God-consciousness and therefore our God-confidence and God-dependence to increase. He wants us to say with John the Baptist, "He must increase, I must decrease".
God Almighty uses His Book (holy, inerrant, infallible, all-sufficient, powerful) and He applies it in your life (needy, dependent, gifted, seeking truth) and the two sometimes seem like they are on collision course. And the intersection isn't always clear, isn't always 3 easy steps, isn't always containable, harnessable, controllable. Some things are left unresolved - for the time being - and sometimes the only option you have is to trust God. Prov. 3:5-6.
Our lives are in His hands. That is a sacred trust.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Jesus Wants You to Trust Him
What is it that you are most worried about? What is the thing you are most anxious about? What causes you sleepless nights? What fear has you flinching at every turn? What "what if" is playing the tyrant and running your life? Whatever it is, let Jesus have a shot at it.
Why do you think Jesus repeated Himself three times in the span of 10 verses in Matthew 6:25-34? "Do not be anxious". Anxiety is a spiritual battle, one that our enemy doesn't want us to gain the victory in. One that our loving heavenly Father already has provided everything we need to prevail. Satan wants us to run in panic; Jesus Christ wants us to rest in His loving care.
You don't know where your next meal will come from. You don't have the funds to cover the next rent check or mortgage payment. You wonder if there will be food on the table for your household. You wonder whether you will have a job tomorrow. You wonder if anyone will notice you, or reject you, or want to be your friend? You wonder whether you can fulfill your commitments and responsibilities? Welcome to the club.
Some people seem not to have a care in the world. How can they be so calm in the midst of a storm? How are they able to trust when it escapes you and me? Only God knows. And this I do know: God is in the business of taking care of those He has given life and eternal life; the gracious recipients of His undeserved gifts are also the beneficiaries of His amazing riches in heaven. Untold bounty for the one who trusts in Him. Eternal treasures just waiting.
Listen to me as I say to you what I need to remember every day of my life: God cares for you. He is in control. He is sovereign. He will provide; and the thing you are most anxious about is the very thing God wants you to turn over to Him and let Him handle. He wants to lift the burden from you. He wants to speak peace to your soul and provide for you what you cannot. Jesus wants you to trust Him. Will you?
Why do you think Jesus repeated Himself three times in the span of 10 verses in Matthew 6:25-34? "Do not be anxious". Anxiety is a spiritual battle, one that our enemy doesn't want us to gain the victory in. One that our loving heavenly Father already has provided everything we need to prevail. Satan wants us to run in panic; Jesus Christ wants us to rest in His loving care.
You don't know where your next meal will come from. You don't have the funds to cover the next rent check or mortgage payment. You wonder if there will be food on the table for your household. You wonder whether you will have a job tomorrow. You wonder if anyone will notice you, or reject you, or want to be your friend? You wonder whether you can fulfill your commitments and responsibilities? Welcome to the club.
Some people seem not to have a care in the world. How can they be so calm in the midst of a storm? How are they able to trust when it escapes you and me? Only God knows. And this I do know: God is in the business of taking care of those He has given life and eternal life; the gracious recipients of His undeserved gifts are also the beneficiaries of His amazing riches in heaven. Untold bounty for the one who trusts in Him. Eternal treasures just waiting.
Listen to me as I say to you what I need to remember every day of my life: God cares for you. He is in control. He is sovereign. He will provide; and the thing you are most anxious about is the very thing God wants you to turn over to Him and let Him handle. He wants to lift the burden from you. He wants to speak peace to your soul and provide for you what you cannot. Jesus wants you to trust Him. Will you?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Be a Worship Pleader!
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote "Our hearts have room for only one all-embracing devotion, and we can only cleave to one Lord". Matthew 6:24 ends with these words of Jesus Christ, "You can’t serve God and money". The word translated "money" is mamona, Aramaic for mammon. The history of the word is interesting. It was not a bad word, from a root meaning to "entrust"; it was anything a person entrusted to a banker or safe deposit of some kind. In time it came to mean not what is entrusted but what you trust in. Spelled with a capital M, it came to stand for anything other than the true God in which you put your trust. Jesus personified wealth or possessions of all kinds as a competing god, an object of worship, a rival to the true God. Service to both this false god and the true God is incompatible.
Jesus knows people. He knew then and now that people get mixed up in pursuing multiple objects of worship. Puts us in a destitute, bankrupt position; which is what Matthew 6:25-34 is all about, people who fixate and worry and are anxious about temporary things when they should be focused on eternal realities. Jesus is speaking of wholeheartedly following, serving, loving, obeying Him; seeking first His rulership and His righteousness.
Serving God alone leads to true worship. In one sense all believers are really "worship leaders"; showing people in their sphere of influence what it means to be devoted to either things or God. The other day I sent an email with a typo in it: I wrote "worship pleaders" instead of "worship leaders". Someone caught it and wrote back that it is actually true: We are pleading with God to do what we cannot. We are looking to Him to provide what we do not have. We are dependent on Him.
God wants "worship pleaders", those who worship Him "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24), with their whole hearts. Reminds me of Psalms 120-134, the "psalms of ascent" that pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to worship would would sing as they took the trip to the highest city in Palestine. Whoever traveled there spent much of their time ascending, going uphill. Spiritually the trip pictured a life lived towards God; developing in maturity; pressing on towards the goal of the upward call of God, Phil. 3:14. For us, it means going to God continually with everything that is on our hearts. Receiving what He gives us and developing deeper in life with Christ.
Psalm 130:1-2 says, "Out of the depths I cry to you , O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!" In whatever situation you find yourselves today, go to God - let it lead you to Him not away - and be a "worship pleader" - plead to Him on behalf of your life, your family, your co-workers, your friends, realtives and neighbors. Plead with Him for the church of Jesus Christ worldwide, for His people to love His Word and prayer; for the church to reach the communities in which they reside with love, compassion and the gospel. Plead to Him to do what only He can do, for His glory and our good.
Jesus knows people. He knew then and now that people get mixed up in pursuing multiple objects of worship. Puts us in a destitute, bankrupt position; which is what Matthew 6:25-34 is all about, people who fixate and worry and are anxious about temporary things when they should be focused on eternal realities. Jesus is speaking of wholeheartedly following, serving, loving, obeying Him; seeking first His rulership and His righteousness.
Serving God alone leads to true worship. In one sense all believers are really "worship leaders"; showing people in their sphere of influence what it means to be devoted to either things or God. The other day I sent an email with a typo in it: I wrote "worship pleaders" instead of "worship leaders". Someone caught it and wrote back that it is actually true: We are pleading with God to do what we cannot. We are looking to Him to provide what we do not have. We are dependent on Him.
God wants "worship pleaders", those who worship Him "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24), with their whole hearts. Reminds me of Psalms 120-134, the "psalms of ascent" that pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to worship would would sing as they took the trip to the highest city in Palestine. Whoever traveled there spent much of their time ascending, going uphill. Spiritually the trip pictured a life lived towards God; developing in maturity; pressing on towards the goal of the upward call of God, Phil. 3:14. For us, it means going to God continually with everything that is on our hearts. Receiving what He gives us and developing deeper in life with Christ.
Psalm 130:1-2 says, "Out of the depths I cry to you , O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!" In whatever situation you find yourselves today, go to God - let it lead you to Him not away - and be a "worship pleader" - plead to Him on behalf of your life, your family, your co-workers, your friends, realtives and neighbors. Plead with Him for the church of Jesus Christ worldwide, for His people to love His Word and prayer; for the church to reach the communities in which they reside with love, compassion and the gospel. Plead to Him to do what only He can do, for His glory and our good.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Discipleship is Daily Devotion
A well-known bumper sticker reads "He who dies with the most toys wins". It is a relatively harmless funny saying to many but actually living by that rule reflects a more serious issue: a worldview that says life and eternity have no real meaning, so you should just live it up now; eat and drink and be merry here on earth because there really isn’t anything beyond this life. Get all you can, can all you get, sit on the can. Find your worth in the materialism and pleasure of this world. It is a lie that many believe. In Matt. 6:24 Jesus zeroes in on this most fundamental question: Are you serving God or not?
We are such consumers we think of following Jesus as an option; a choice we make anywhere along the spectrum of total obedience and casual interest; whatever suits us and our lifestyle. As if we were the master and Jesus was at our mercy! Some people who say they love Jesus never make the transition to full commitment. You will make the choice between two masters. 1 leads to life, the other death. Who are you serving?
It is all or nothing with Jesus. Once we sign on with Jesus, discipleship is not an option in a Christian’s life. You will have a master (Greek, kurios = lord); when we say that Jesus is Lord it is not just a cool way of sounding spiritual; we are saying He has absolute ownership over our lives, or we don’t understand. It is not just an option for the super-spiritual; Jesus must be acknowledged for who He really is. Many think that you can come to know Jesus as Savior and maybe, when you get a bit more committed down the line, make Him Lord. We don’t make Him anything. He is Lord. If you know Him, at whatever level you can, you acknowledge His right to rule sovereignly in your life; you want Jesus to lead. Jesus asked say why do you call me Lord, Lord but do not do what I say. Following implies obedience. Like when we sing, Have thine own way Lord, have thine own way, hold over my being absolute sway.
A common reason we have trouble with the D-word (Discipleship) is because it is closely related to the L-word (Lord) & we get tangled up in the S-word (Sin) & it’s deceptive relative, the C-word (compromise). We lose our convictions. We get swallowed up in all the things our culture says will make us healthy, happy and wise. Discipleship is being different (a counterculture) and interacting with the culture (for the common good). Not serving possessions as a slave, but using what God has given for His work and the benefit of others.
We are such consumers we think of following Jesus as an option; a choice we make anywhere along the spectrum of total obedience and casual interest; whatever suits us and our lifestyle. As if we were the master and Jesus was at our mercy! Some people who say they love Jesus never make the transition to full commitment. You will make the choice between two masters. 1 leads to life, the other death. Who are you serving?
It is all or nothing with Jesus. Once we sign on with Jesus, discipleship is not an option in a Christian’s life. You will have a master (Greek, kurios = lord); when we say that Jesus is Lord it is not just a cool way of sounding spiritual; we are saying He has absolute ownership over our lives, or we don’t understand. It is not just an option for the super-spiritual; Jesus must be acknowledged for who He really is. Many think that you can come to know Jesus as Savior and maybe, when you get a bit more committed down the line, make Him Lord. We don’t make Him anything. He is Lord. If you know Him, at whatever level you can, you acknowledge His right to rule sovereignly in your life; you want Jesus to lead. Jesus asked say why do you call me Lord, Lord but do not do what I say. Following implies obedience. Like when we sing, Have thine own way Lord, have thine own way, hold over my being absolute sway.
A common reason we have trouble with the D-word (Discipleship) is because it is closely related to the L-word (Lord) & we get tangled up in the S-word (Sin) & it’s deceptive relative, the C-word (compromise). We lose our convictions. We get swallowed up in all the things our culture says will make us healthy, happy and wise. Discipleship is being different (a counterculture) and interacting with the culture (for the common good). Not serving possessions as a slave, but using what God has given for His work and the benefit of others.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Exclusive Service: A Question of Devotion
In Matthew 6:24 Jesus zeroes in on the most fundamental decision. His exhortation concerning treasures closes with a warning about loyalty. You can’t serve God and Mammon (which does not simply refer to money but possessions in any form). Jesus has made it clear in that we must choose between 2 treasures, 2 eyes, 2 masters, and 2 anxieties.
Jesus spoke in 6:19-21 of 2 treasures and the greater durability of treasures in heaven – and the resulting security which leads to the development of godly character.
He spoke in 6:22-23 of 2 eyes, 2 ways of seeing things and the greater benefit of a life fixed on Jesus – and the resulting perspective and action. If you look at the things of this world with a healthy spiritual perspective, your life will be useful. If you look at things with greed in mind your life will be wasted.
Now He highlights the even more basic choice between 2 masters. He says that divided loyalty (choosing material things over spiritual ones for example) will not be accepted and cannot fulfill the person who tries to hold onto both. Material things are not neutral if they are treasured, they will become a master to be served.
Are you fully devoted to God? or have you been enslaved to another master? Has God been dethroned in your life? or is He reigning supreme?
There is untold blessing in serving God Almighty. Sometimes the blessing of choosing wisely means trials and tribulation. The early Christian church chose God over Mammon and suffered as a result of their faithfulness. Paul and Barnabas "strengthened the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, we must enter the Kingdom of God through much tribulation" Acts 14:22. Our Father knows best. He knows what He is doing; knows what He has purposed. It is His desire to build into you the marvelous substance of spiritual depth and understanding. It is His good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
May you see clearly spiritually to choose the Greater Master – and engage in the inevitable service He will inspire - and have grace from God to keep walking that path - however difficult it becomes. Being fully devoted means being wholly His. It means trusting completely. Our soveriegn God knows the beginning and the end of the story and everything in between. He is working all things together for His glory and your good. .
Jesus spoke in 6:19-21 of 2 treasures and the greater durability of treasures in heaven – and the resulting security which leads to the development of godly character.
He spoke in 6:22-23 of 2 eyes, 2 ways of seeing things and the greater benefit of a life fixed on Jesus – and the resulting perspective and action. If you look at the things of this world with a healthy spiritual perspective, your life will be useful. If you look at things with greed in mind your life will be wasted.
Now He highlights the even more basic choice between 2 masters. He says that divided loyalty (choosing material things over spiritual ones for example) will not be accepted and cannot fulfill the person who tries to hold onto both. Material things are not neutral if they are treasured, they will become a master to be served.
Are you fully devoted to God? or have you been enslaved to another master? Has God been dethroned in your life? or is He reigning supreme?
There is untold blessing in serving God Almighty. Sometimes the blessing of choosing wisely means trials and tribulation. The early Christian church chose God over Mammon and suffered as a result of their faithfulness. Paul and Barnabas "strengthened the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, we must enter the Kingdom of God through much tribulation" Acts 14:22. Our Father knows best. He knows what He is doing; knows what He has purposed. It is His desire to build into you the marvelous substance of spiritual depth and understanding. It is His good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
May you see clearly spiritually to choose the Greater Master – and engage in the inevitable service He will inspire - and have grace from God to keep walking that path - however difficult it becomes. Being fully devoted means being wholly His. It means trusting completely. Our soveriegn God knows the beginning and the end of the story and everything in between. He is working all things together for His glory and your good. .
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Clean the Windows! Open the Blinds!
If you are angry @ the world you’ll be critical; if you harbor resentment you’ll lash out; if you nurse hard feelings you will say things you shouldn’t; if you are unwilling to forgive you will become bitter; if you think all people are dishonest you’ll become suspicious; if you always see the glass ½ full you’ll be optimistic; if you believe God is sovereign you will accept what He brings into your life; if you realize that everything you have comes from God you will be thankful. And if you are a true UCLA fan then any team that plays USC is your 2nd favorite team!
Call it what you will: your worldview, the grid through which you see everything, how you filter what comes your way; how you process info; how you respond to life is a direct result of how you understand it. [My worldview BTW – which I don’t always live but want to is this: God is sovereign – He is in control; Jesus is all-sufficient – He is Lord of all – all people need Him and are lost without Him; the Bible is completely true – it is sure and reliable; the Gospel is for all of life and is to be lived out and shared with all.] In the context of money, wealth & possessions – both gathering it and worrying about it, the simple truth is, the way we view & use money is an indicator of our spiritual health.
It is an issue of vision. It’s like when the windshield wipers on your car are worn out; and you haven’t washed your car in awhile; and it rains, and you turn the wipers on and it just makes a big mess, can’t see a thing! If our vision becomes clouded by materialism, we lose our sense of values, we can’t see where we are going. What the eye receives leads to action – what we let in our life affects our actions. If our hearts are weighed down with material concerns they become blind to God. Like a window that is dirty and won’t let light in. The way we look at money shows if we are spiritually healthy. Following Jesus, discipleship, includes economics.
Many today have had their perspective changed due to the changing economy; shifting fortunes have a way of rearranging priorities. Others have had their perspective strengthened because they never trusted in their riches to begin with. Others have lost what hope they had. Jesus’ words are so applicable. If eye stands for your spiritual understanding, your body is your whole life. Your spiritual understanding drives your entire life. Dallas Willard says "life organizes itself around our heart" & that "Jesus compares our ‘heartsight’ to our eyesight. The person who treasures what lies within the kingdom sees everything in its true worth and relationship. The person, who treasures what is “on earth” by contrast, sees everything from a perspective that distorts it and systematically misleads in practice. The relative importance of things is, in particular, misperceived."
Our perspective on life matters. If your focus (eye) is not clear on the matter of money and property your whole life will be out of whack. So clan the windows! Open the blinds! Let the light flood in.
Call it what you will: your worldview, the grid through which you see everything, how you filter what comes your way; how you process info; how you respond to life is a direct result of how you understand it. [My worldview BTW – which I don’t always live but want to is this: God is sovereign – He is in control; Jesus is all-sufficient – He is Lord of all – all people need Him and are lost without Him; the Bible is completely true – it is sure and reliable; the Gospel is for all of life and is to be lived out and shared with all.] In the context of money, wealth & possessions – both gathering it and worrying about it, the simple truth is, the way we view & use money is an indicator of our spiritual health.
It is an issue of vision. It’s like when the windshield wipers on your car are worn out; and you haven’t washed your car in awhile; and it rains, and you turn the wipers on and it just makes a big mess, can’t see a thing! If our vision becomes clouded by materialism, we lose our sense of values, we can’t see where we are going. What the eye receives leads to action – what we let in our life affects our actions. If our hearts are weighed down with material concerns they become blind to God. Like a window that is dirty and won’t let light in. The way we look at money shows if we are spiritually healthy. Following Jesus, discipleship, includes economics.
Many today have had their perspective changed due to the changing economy; shifting fortunes have a way of rearranging priorities. Others have had their perspective strengthened because they never trusted in their riches to begin with. Others have lost what hope they had. Jesus’ words are so applicable. If eye stands for your spiritual understanding, your body is your whole life. Your spiritual understanding drives your entire life. Dallas Willard says "life organizes itself around our heart" & that "Jesus compares our ‘heartsight’ to our eyesight. The person who treasures what lies within the kingdom sees everything in its true worth and relationship. The person, who treasures what is “on earth” by contrast, sees everything from a perspective that distorts it and systematically misleads in practice. The relative importance of things is, in particular, misperceived."
Our perspective on life matters. If your focus (eye) is not clear on the matter of money and property your whole life will be out of whack. So clan the windows! Open the blinds! Let the light flood in.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Perspective Matters
What you want you will try and get. Sometimes it’s not good for you. That’s why you need God and other godly people in your life to help you have a right perspective. That's the gist of Jesus' words in Matthew 6:22-23. Sandwiched between talk of collecting Treasures on Earth and Treasure in Heaven and the choice between 2 masters – Jesus says what we value most is what we want most. What we want most isn’t always best for us. That's why we need God’s wisdom. You can’t choose opposites – you must choose one. You can’t look at two things at the same time. Focus on God – not money and stuff.
Our perspective on life matters. It makes a difference in times of plenty and want, in daily living, in times of hardship and ease, all the time. You may say, hey, I have sick relatives, money is tight, my relationships are crashing, I don't enjoy my work, I have a multitude of issues to deal with. All the more reason to listen to Jesus’ words in Matt. 6 – trouble with happen either way – but would you rather deal with it alone or with Jesus? Do you think a worldly perspective is going to help you more or hinder you? Ask any believer and they will tell you: With Jesus in your life you have reason for hope not despair; reason to say as Job did "the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord". Reason to hold this worldview: He may bring me into a land flowing with mild and honey or I may walk through the valley of the shadow of death – either way I will praise Him because either way He is with me. I resolve to live in the light of His truth and walk in the awareness of His presence. That is a perspective that makes a difference.
Our perspective on life matters. It makes a difference in times of plenty and want, in daily living, in times of hardship and ease, all the time. You may say, hey, I have sick relatives, money is tight, my relationships are crashing, I don't enjoy my work, I have a multitude of issues to deal with. All the more reason to listen to Jesus’ words in Matt. 6 – trouble with happen either way – but would you rather deal with it alone or with Jesus? Do you think a worldly perspective is going to help you more or hinder you? Ask any believer and they will tell you: With Jesus in your life you have reason for hope not despair; reason to say as Job did "the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord". Reason to hold this worldview: He may bring me into a land flowing with mild and honey or I may walk through the valley of the shadow of death – either way I will praise Him because either way He is with me. I resolve to live in the light of His truth and walk in the awareness of His presence. That is a perspective that makes a difference.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Restoring Sight
Jesus is in the business of restoring Sight; helping people regain vision. You may feel somewhat lost in this world right now. You don’t know which way to turn. You or someone else has made a mess of things. You are not soaring, but sinking. You have lost your bearing. You may feel as if your spiritual vision is too clouded, the corrosion that has built up on your soul too thick, the fog too dense, the way back too hard to see let alone understand your present or look to the future. But God is a God of 2nd and 3rd and 50th chances. Jesus restores sight to the blind. If it is your desire to have greater spiritual perception, ask God and He will grant it. Jesus, I wish to see. Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things in Your Word. Pray that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened. Paul prayed that for you. You can be refocused. You can regain sight that has grown dim.
God will grant your request but the answer may not come in the way you envision it. You may think you are going to a land flowing with milk and honey when you are about to walk through the valley of the shadow of death – God may have reserved some severe testing for you to go through – all for His glory and your good – but nonetheless painful and hard and difficult. It may be something not of your choosing. But our Father knows best. He knows what He is doing. He knows what He has purposed. It is His good pleasure to give you the kingdom. It is His desire to build into you the marvelous substance of spiritual depth and understanding. Samuel Rutherford wrote years ago of believers wanting heaven coming to our bedside so that we may go to heaven in warm clothes, but that often what we find is sharp storms and wet feet and many enemies by the way. We don’t usually get depth through easiness, we get it through trial.
When Jesus restores our spiritual sight we are like the man in John 9 who had his physical sight restored. We wonder n amazement and thenlive in gratitude. As he said, "One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see" (John 9:25). May you see Jesus more clearly than you ever have before. May you look to Jesus, the Author and Perfector of faith.
God will grant your request but the answer may not come in the way you envision it. You may think you are going to a land flowing with milk and honey when you are about to walk through the valley of the shadow of death – God may have reserved some severe testing for you to go through – all for His glory and your good – but nonetheless painful and hard and difficult. It may be something not of your choosing. But our Father knows best. He knows what He is doing. He knows what He has purposed. It is His good pleasure to give you the kingdom. It is His desire to build into you the marvelous substance of spiritual depth and understanding. Samuel Rutherford wrote years ago of believers wanting heaven coming to our bedside so that we may go to heaven in warm clothes, but that often what we find is sharp storms and wet feet and many enemies by the way. We don’t usually get depth through easiness, we get it through trial.
When Jesus restores our spiritual sight we are like the man in John 9 who had his physical sight restored. We wonder n amazement and thenlive in gratitude. As he said, "One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see" (John 9:25). May you see Jesus more clearly than you ever have before. May you look to Jesus, the Author and Perfector of faith.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Seeing Clearly: A Question of Perspective
The other day as our family was reading Matthew 6:22-23, I was trying to explain what it meant and Sophia, our 6-year old said, “I don’t get it”. We laughed and I tried to explain again. This is a difficult passage to understand. It is puzzling. Its original meaning eludes most. You may also be wondering, as Sophia did, what does it mean? I don’t get it? Why is Jesus saying this? How does this apply to my life? So let me try to explain it as simply as I can.
It has to do, Jesus says, with how we view money and its place in our lives. Sandwiched between His exhortation not to lay up treasures on earth but rather treasures in heaven and a choice between two masters, these verses are an illustration of what it means to be focused on heavenly things and pleasing God; what it means to serve God and not to false god of money. Jesus is saying that how you view money will determine how healthy your spiritual life is. The part of you that knows right and wrong, that loves God and wants to please Him, will either be helped or hindered by whether you handle money in a healthy way or you are preoccupied with it. If all you every think about is how to get more for yourself you are in trouble. If you are concerned with wanting to do something good for others you are in a better place.
Jesus is concerned with our spiritual hand/eye coordination. How we view Him, the world and other relation to both and the resulting actions built upon that understanding. Perspective is built, developed over time; is recognized clearly for what it is; and it can change for better or worse. Depends on influences. Bad company corrupts good morals. The principle holds. If you are stingy in your heart you will be so in your hands as well. If you are generous, you will not be able to hide it. The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The hands move in unison with the eye. Many today have had their perspective changed due to the changing economy, shifting fortunes have a way of rearranging our priorities. Others have had their perspective strengthened because they never trusted in their riches to begin with. Others have lost all hope.
It makes Jesus’ words so much more pointed and applicable. He speaks in 6:19-21 of 2 treasures and the greater durability of treasures in heaven – and the resulting security which leads to the development of godly character. He speaks in 6:22-23 of 2eyes, 2 ways of seeing things and the greater benefit of a life fixed on Jesus – and resulting perspective and action, which leads to the blessing of generosity; with money, the gospel, everything. Next we see Him highlight the even more basic choice between 2 masters in Matthew 6:24. May we see clearly spiritually to choose the Greater Master – and engage in the inevitable service He will inspire.
It has to do, Jesus says, with how we view money and its place in our lives. Sandwiched between His exhortation not to lay up treasures on earth but rather treasures in heaven and a choice between two masters, these verses are an illustration of what it means to be focused on heavenly things and pleasing God; what it means to serve God and not to false god of money. Jesus is saying that how you view money will determine how healthy your spiritual life is. The part of you that knows right and wrong, that loves God and wants to please Him, will either be helped or hindered by whether you handle money in a healthy way or you are preoccupied with it. If all you every think about is how to get more for yourself you are in trouble. If you are concerned with wanting to do something good for others you are in a better place.
Jesus is concerned with our spiritual hand/eye coordination. How we view Him, the world and other relation to both and the resulting actions built upon that understanding. Perspective is built, developed over time; is recognized clearly for what it is; and it can change for better or worse. Depends on influences. Bad company corrupts good morals. The principle holds. If you are stingy in your heart you will be so in your hands as well. If you are generous, you will not be able to hide it. The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The hands move in unison with the eye. Many today have had their perspective changed due to the changing economy, shifting fortunes have a way of rearranging our priorities. Others have had their perspective strengthened because they never trusted in their riches to begin with. Others have lost all hope.
It makes Jesus’ words so much more pointed and applicable. He speaks in 6:19-21 of 2 treasures and the greater durability of treasures in heaven – and the resulting security which leads to the development of godly character. He speaks in 6:22-23 of 2eyes, 2 ways of seeing things and the greater benefit of a life fixed on Jesus – and resulting perspective and action, which leads to the blessing of generosity; with money, the gospel, everything. Next we see Him highlight the even more basic choice between 2 masters in Matthew 6:24. May we see clearly spiritually to choose the Greater Master – and engage in the inevitable service He will inspire.
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