Settling for Less

1.14.2010

Luke 14:33 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. ESV

There are hard sayings in the New Testament and Jesus is responsible for more that a few; Luke 14.33 is a hard saying. He warms us up by saying, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (v.26 ESV) Hate is a hard and powerful word. But Jesus makes this demand.

What does it mean to renounce all we have and be His disciple? It means a total renewal of our mindset towards things of this life and the admission that unless there is a renouncing of all of earth, there will always be some resistance toward all of Heaven. Jesus is trying to protect us from committing to something wonderful and allowing it to erode by settling for less.

And Jesus lived His life on earth but not caught up by earth.

The Lord demands that I give Him every place in my heart along with my secret stashes of sin and desire as well. My life in Christ, is to be a life of total separation from earth while on earth so that I can be totally, effectively connected to Heaven. It is a total renewal of my mind, my values and my beliefs; it’s different than I’ve ever known and it’s the way of Heaven.

Father in Heaven,

You have offered men something eternally different than what they know or are used to; You’ve offered them eternal life. And who believe in You must forsake all that they’ve grown used to here on earth. Disciples are to be on earth, relate to the earth, but to live with their whole hearts in Heaven in order to be effective in living the life of Heaven. This is a hard saying but one I embrace and I ask You to help me live with my whole heart in order to be Christ’s disciple. Amen.

Purposes and Promises

1.13.2010

Genesis 32:12 12 But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ESV

Remembering what God said is key to strong faith. Jacob was terrified of meeting his brother Esau after all those years because Jacob knew what a putz he’d been to Esau all those many years ago; and Jacob left without even saying, “Dude, I’m sorry.” How long are grudges supposed to last anyway?

But God said to Jacob, “I will surely do you good and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.” That was a promise Jacob could take to the bank when he heard Esau was on his way with 400 heavily armed bikers on Harley camels.

There are at two lessons for me this morning:

1. There are incredibly painful and scary issues in life because of the damage I have caused.

2. God’s purposes and promises to me are irrevocable despite the damage left in my wake or the uninvited threats in my face.

To call God’s promises to my mind like Jacob did is to surrender control to Him over the situation no matter how desperate it looks or feels. Faith grows by leaps and bounds when I do that. And instead of wallowing in pity I find myself floating peacefully along in the gentle waters of joy! It takes courage to remind God what He’s said but it is courage for me to leave the outcome in His loving and merciful care. That’s what I’m gonna do…

Father God,

What You say is true and trustworthy. May I honor You by believing and keeping what You say no matter how many Hell’s Angels ride up in my life because of what I’ve done or because they want me to believe in You less. God help me, You said You would – in Jesus’ Name, amen.

Truth with a Preference

1.12.2010

Luke 12:1b “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." ESV

Jesus’ words in most of Luke 12 center on the issue of hypocrisy. I understand hypocrisy; it’s a lifestyle in which I am well versed. Hypocrisy is as common to mankind as dandelions are to our yards in the spring. We all work very hard every day to be and to act different than who we really are.

I realize to make such a broad statement may sound either stupid or unfair, but it is true nonetheless; we humans are all hypocrites. Our sense of value is all messed up, our limitations are way to obvious, and our inner-voice opinion of ourselves is mostly, me first! The Pharisees were world-class hypocrites and Jesus Christ, the Only non-hypocrite who ever lived, pointed that out.

Leaven makes baked bread fluffy. Leaven is yeast, and bread with yeast is more preferable to our pallets than bread without. Unleavened bread is bread with a choice; leavened bread is bread with a preference; what do we choose, what do we prefer?

Hypocrisy is truth with a preference: as long as you are accountable and I only have to appear accountable… that’s our preference. We prefer to be hypocrites because it is easier than self-discipline; it’s a corner to be cut. We prefer to be hypocrites because we can shrug our shoulders and say, ‘well, everyone else is!” We prefer hypocrisy because it excuses our inner struggle and is so natural to our nature.

But we all hate it when we’re left holding the bag of the effect of someone else’s hypocrisy. And when our leaders say, do as we say, not as we do then we howl. Jesus tells me and you to beware; and the implication is, don’t do it!

Father God,

Only through the Spotless one may I be spotless, and that is only because I belong to Him. Help me to beware of my own hypocrisy and in Him, and through Him, and by Him, to stand against it, I pray in His Name, amen.

Who They Say They Are

1.11.2010

Luke 11:44 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.” ESV

A while back I had a BFTFTD** which went: The best way to approach people is through God’s love; then you know how to deal with those whom you don’t know who you’re dealing with… What protects and presents the disciple of Christ is God’s love.

Jesus made a point that the Pharisees were not who people thought they were and most folks were totally unaware. As believers we are indeed to judge folks by their fruit – if they say they are one thing and yet continually do another, then we can safely assess that they are not who they say they are – at least by their actions. The difficulty is how to deal with them; especially when they pick at you over stupid things and insist that you become like them.

The answer is God’s love. And great patience. And understanding that not everyone is who they say they are.

I want God to know who I am; that means being more concerned about what He thinks of me than what others think, but being careful that I don’t come across as an unmarked grave – presenting myself as one thing while being another. So that means I must live according to God’s directives. And His love. I am to be a reservoir of God love as I am called to be a representative of His Kingdom and His gospel.

Father in Heaven,

Your love o Lord, reaches to the heavens; Your faithfulness stretches to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains and Your justice flows like the ocean’s tide. Father, I think about my big mouth and the big things I said with it yesterday and realize I presented myself one way but acted another. I am sorry. Help me to be the real deal and not to get caught up in the petty squabbles of life, but to humbly walk at Your side. I cannot pray out of one side of my mouth and gossip out of the other – please forgive Your servant. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

**Big Fat Thought for the Day

Help Wanted

1.10.2010

Luke 10:2 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." ESV

I have always wanted to chafe a little under Jesus’ words here; if God is the Lord of the Harvest then why doesn’t He just raise up more workers? Evangelism is something God has delegated to His followers – if they believe in it, they’ll tell others about it. You may not have, but I watched enough of the Wildcard playoff game last night that I will spend time today telling someone about it today…

The key is this verse are the two words, pray earnestly. To pray earnestly means to make it a priority. I confess, it has not been a priority for me. But this morning the words, make it a priority, showed up in my mind and the question now is will I obey?

Our world is evil and getting worse. Everything seems to be all messed up from what we value to issues of conscience, integrity, honor, and just plain old common sense. One casual viewing of the evening news is enough to show anyone that our world is hurtin' for certain. So what are my priorities in the face of all that? Do I whine and moan and groan about the economy and who is now the largest exporter in the world – or do I accept that the harvest Jesus spoke of is the real, true, and only priority with which I am to be concerned?

Today is the day to take Jesus at His word and pray earnestly to God for more help. More help means more converts and more converts means more help. I will quit dissing God’s priority and begin to pray earnestly for more help in the harvest.

Father in Heaven,

You are the Lord of the harvest and it is a priority to You so I will adopt it as my priority and begin to pray earnestly accordingly. Forgive me for not – I repent in Jesus’ Name, amen.

Worth Hanging Onto

1.9.2010

Luke 9:25 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? ESV

Do you work to live or live to work? That’s the question we ask when we want to know if someone is actively leading a productively fulfilled life, or if they’re just being led along paycheck to paycheck. What does it profit a man to put all of his life-energy into occupation and/or possessions never understanding the greater purposes in life like living a God-honoring life and serving the needs of others?

What’s at stake here is losing oneself. And what’s worth hanging onto at all cost is one’s relationship with God for in that is riches beyond measure and a life that is infinitely full and fulfilling.

What’s worth hanging on to for me is God. He’s the Sole Reason I am alive and that I live upon this earth. I can try to work hard to make money to have a nice house and many possessions but that seems to be counter to my relationship with God; and what’s at stake is my soul.

Father in Heaven,

You have blessed me with many things in this life but none as wonderful and valuable as my relationship with You. I don’t want to figure it all out, I simply want to do as You direct and life the fulfilled life that is a result of knowing You. Help me this day – I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.

Fearless and Fruitful

1.8.2010

Luke 8:13 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. ESV

What is a plant with no root, but flimsy and fruitless. The plants we’ll buy at the nursery this spring are for the most part untested plants that though they look great fresh from the greenhouses they haven’t been tempered by the elements and when the wind and the rain come they fall down out of weakness.

Testing is essential for the life of the child of God. The ocean of emotion present in a new or immature believer must never be mistaken for strength to endure – only through the pain of testing, disappointment, and failure, can there be the great gain of God’s blessing.

A great way to understand testing is to look at the varied and numerous difficulties of our lives and accept and embrace them as God-ordained to affect righteousness and strengthening within us so that we may be fearless and fruitful. Testing is what God does to get us to grow strong and healthy – temptation is the weakness of the flesh wanting to fall away.

O how many times I have whined and complained at how difficult and pointless my life is not realizing that my difficulties are my teachers to get me to think and respond in a manner that is pleasing to God.

Father God,

You desire for my life is that I become fearless and fruitful. You desire infinite and eternal success for me…but You don’t allow me to dictate or define what that success is because You know I would always settle for less. You know just what I need. Help me again today to accept the difficult people, places, and things in my life as my teachers that help me to grow up strong in grace, well-tested that I may gain Your desire – I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.