Monthly Archives: March 2016

Countlesss Treasures

Mark 12:41-44 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”

I was reading the passage of Mark 12 this morning; you begin to see there are two common themes in this passage, the matters of our heart and our money. These are two topics deeply intertwined, revealing much about ourselves regardless of what we may say. The matters of the heart are many times truly secret, many times the spoken word is not the truth, but a facade that we seek to present. Many times our money is the truth that is presented no matter what is spoken. I have heard one of my pastors speak many times of peering into our checkbooks, and there would be the evidence of where our heart lies. Sadly, we say we love God, but we likely resemble the rich people in Jesus’ teaching above. It has been said, and it is a great truth, have you ever given till it hurts? Have you ever given back to God all that you had been entrusted with? Have you poured yourself into ministry financially, or yet even more challenging, with your whole heart emotionally?

In the middle of chapter twelve, is a scribe asking Jesus what the greatest commandment is. 29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” This particular scribe understood the passage in his heart, and Jesus commended him greatly. He truly understood what it means, as Jesus showed us, to love God above all else, yes, even money. There was no evidence of Jesus placing any value on money in his heart, only the testimony of him pointing out our hearts value of it. In this passage alone, Jesus eludes their trap of a question of taxes due to Caesar.

I am no different than you; I have chased money, dreams, material possessions for most of my life. By the grace of God, he has stripped me of mostly all my material gains, changed my view of them, and still is doing a great work in me by hammering out the pride of possessions that we all seek by worldly standards. I can humbly tell you that I have given back to God from great joy, and given when it hurts. I have placed my trust in kingdom finances, that a worldly economic systems ridicules. You cannot outgive God when you give with a pure heart. We do not know the outcome of the poor widow, but we know that the way Jesus spoke of her, she has countless treasures in heaven with him today.

Eyesight

Isaiah 42:18 “Hear, you deaf; And look, you blind, that you may see.

The Bible uses the word blinded many times; many times in an eternal sense of those that are headed to Hell, for their hearts and eyes have not been opened to the Gospel. The god of this world (Satan), has power over them, and he has their focus on all the world has to offer, many live their lives in prosperity by worldly means. Sadly, many of these also claim to be Christians, but will be denied the keys to heavens door when they are before Jesus, (Matthew 7:21-23), he clearly shows them that they never truly knew him in their hearts. They may have professed Him once in their lives, or even lived a life in ministry gaining great accolades for their accomplishments, but never truly understood it was never about them; the saint lives humbly, giving all glory to God.

I see the blind living before me daily; I see many close to me angry with life, I see lives in turmoil over stuff that doesn’t matter; I see a nation in turmoil with the worst leadership of my lifetime from the president down, and those coming on the heels seemingly worse. I see not only a nation, but a world racked in fear; terrorists attacking the innocent in the name of their god, but instilling fear among nations for the wolves among the sheep. I see God withdrawing his hand slightly, for Satan to wreak havoc on our world due to our sin; God is letting evil gain ground both as punishment and a clear calling for repentance, showing us all our need for a Savior. Throughout history God has done this, and he is doing it now. Now is the time to turn from sin, to repent of it, to believe in your need for a Savior, and live your life as his disciple from that moment on. God is raising up leaders, those who are bold, who are true disciples, those that will live and die for the sake of the One who did the same for them.

Are you struggling in life? Are you facing a trial of life, or a persecution, or something that you just don’t understand why it is happening? God has allowed it for many reasons. It may be for you to see your sin, to turn from sin, and to live for Him. It may be to use your life to draw glory to God as others see your faith in him. Your faith may strengthen those who have no faith. 2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. The greatest model of suffering in the Bible of a saint was Job; he had no idea his tumultuous life was God showing Satan how weak his power was, how great God’s power is, and how God rewards the endurance of the diligent eternally.

Are you blind; do you see the chaos of the world around you; do you recognize the sin in your life; do you feel your need for a Savior that will secure you eternal paradise with Him? This is the week that we celebrate Jesus conquering death; defeating the power of death for those who believe in his power to do that. Jesus will remove life’s struggles from you, for he places a security in the heart of his disciple that Satan cannot waiver. You will not fear death, for it has no power over you as a saint. 1 Corinthians 15:55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. If you are feeling the sting of sin, feeling the need to repent of it (even if you have before), confess and turn to Jesus with your whole heart. Live today with a liberty and power that only He can provide. He is wanting to use you for his work in this world for eternal reason. He is wanting to use you to call for repentance of nations, to point to the Salvation that only comes through him to all that he has prepared to hear. He is wanting to use your opened eyes to see the world as he does. He is wanting to use you to help the blind see.

Confusion & Peace

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

Paul is writing of keeping order
Of decency in church you see
Of understanding spiritual gifts
And how used they must be.

Of tongues and prophecy
Of interpretation or not
The usefulness of the gifts
That the blessed have begot.

When we want attention of us
To be the center of it you see
A chaos likely begins
Because we are not centered on Thee.

We want to be seen and heard
We want all to know
We have went astray
With gifts to help the church grow.

James wrote “ For where envy and self-seeking exist,
confusion and every evil thing are there.”
The power of Satan in our sin
Brings confusion everywhere.

The peace of God surpasses all understanding
The peace of God is assurance within
The peace of God is evident
The peace of God is free from sin.

The peace of God is in your heart
Sometimes for all to see
The peace of God is in your understanding
Sometimes for only you and Thee.

The decisions you struggle with
Those big ones that leave you confused
When you are clear of direction
The peace of God is used.

Prayer is the key to finding
The peace of God today
The constant pleas of the heart
Lord show me the way.

Just as Paul wrote of order
Paul sealed it with God’s peace
The confusion in your decisions
God’s calm will cause it to cease.

I don’t wanna be a Rock Star

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

I know only a few people who are living their lives in the center of God’s will and gift for their lives. They prayerfully seek his will each day, they seek to be used by him with a knowledge that they may be drawn to hard tasks, sometimes by worldly standards menial tasks, but they know that God has a plan for their lives. They are seeking to abide for the day, just for the day with him, and prayerfully being where he wants them. Sometimes when God begins to reveal himself in us, through us, our inner pride wants to elevation of ourselves. We may seek a little more attention, look for a leadership role, an accolade, just a pat on the back maybe for a job well done. We might in our pride distance ourselves from our gift that began in humility of the realization that God was using us. He will open our mind through our heart and remind us it is him, and not us doing any great work. It is him, and not us, that receives any glory for any good work. How many pastors began to look like gods to us? How many pastors likely start out in the center of God’s gift of teaching, and elevate themselves to rock stars only seeking to be worshipped under the false pretense of our Lord? They may unknowingly not realize the level of their pride, some many be totally drowning in it. We all can be drug away by Satan in it.

God has given you the greatest gift next to salvation by his Son, when he gives you a piece of himself to abide in you. You must at some point understand the gift of the Holy Spirit of God living inside of you; GOD living inside of you! GOD living inside of you! Jesus told his disciples that it was better for them if he were to leave them. John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. Can you image walking with Jesus every day, and him telling you life gets better for you when he leaves? Who is this helper that he is talking about? What could be better than Jesus in front of them? Jesus living inside of them. Jesus taking part in your inner being; your conscious, your thought life, your actions, decisions, your every day walk. Life takes on new meaning when you realize why you cannot hide anything from him; he is there all the time, even in your thought life.

As part of the gift of the Holy Spirit, comes a spiritual gift to each of us. There are all sorts of tools to help you discover what it is, but if you are wholeheartedly pursuing God, you already know what it is. You have likely seen evidence of it at work in your life. You have seen God work before you, others maybe unknowingly, but you know it was only God that did that. Take that spiritual gift and pursue it with vigor. Don’t seek any attention for yourself, just use it to draw glory to God. If he chooses to do great things through you, daily pray for a humble heart to not become a rock star. It is not about you, but all about him.

Drink & Drunk

1 Corinthians 8:4-6 Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

Do you really care what others think? That simple question’s answer carries immeasurable weight in our lives. You can worry so much about others opinions that we live our lives to please or impress others that truly don’t care for us. We can care so little about others opinions that we bulldoze our paths with a wake of destruction and pain behind us. There is a happy medium found biblically to those that seek to please God with their lives. We must understand that when we claim to be Christians, when those in our circle of influence view us as such, we are placed in a microscope of how we live. We are either pointing them to Jesus with our lives, or turning them away in our hypocrisy. We are all going to be judged by Jesus one day on how we lived the remainder of our lives after we claimed to know Him. God will ask us what we did with the knowledge of his Son.

Paul is writing to the brethren in Corinth, writing about how they are being viewed in their conduct, especially in their eating to idols. Paul understands how we are under the microscope as Christians. He makes it clear that the liberty that comes in Christ is not to be a stumbling block to those who do not have that knowledge of him; I love how he puts it that true love will make it clear, not pride. 1 Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. Those who truly understood what Jesus had accomplished, and the freedom that obtained in that faith, they knew food carried no condemnation. This however might really confuse someone watching them closely, eating something un-sacred, so why do it unless clearly explaining through love the freedom found in Christ! Look today at how clearly the Christian drinks and may get drunk with other believers or non-believers. One of today’s greatest hypocrisies just as 2000 years ago when Paul wrote this epistle. The Bible does not condemn drinking, but clearly condemns getting drunk. Ephesians 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. Your excuse to drink is between you and God, and yes you will answer for it before Him. He will know every time you drink, became drunk, and who in your circle of influence was effected eternally. I truly believe that someone who is abiding in Jesus Christ has no urge to drink whatsoever. The desire is gone completely, and that eliminates the need to decide the difference between drink and drunk biblically.

Repent….in love

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Do you love someone enough to tell them the truth? Do you love someone enough to call them out on their sin, even if you are accused on being judgmental or even condescending? Are you willing to sacrifice what others think of you, because God laid on your heart a ministry of repentance? Many times we might answer yes at first, until the deeper probing questions are asked. It may be easy for us to sit in judgement, but how will we be judged? The Bible tells us we are judged as we judge. Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” There is so much depth in those words of Jesus; so much to how we treat and view others; even as kids we are taught the parable of how we are to treat others as though we wish to be treated. These words of Jesus in Luke’s gospel are probing matters of the heart.

Our minds are so wrecked with sin, judgment seems to almost be an unconscious act on our part. We walk about in public forming opinions on those we see, seemingly casting judgment without even so much as many times speaking a word. We hide our judgment, hate, racism, lust, fear, any emotion that we judge in our thoughts, but we have cast judgment. I do not know at what point this level of sin, hidden sin, is cast aside by the love of God that indwells our hearts. In my humble “opinion,” it is a work of sanctification that God does for the remainder of our lives. I can only look within myself, and confess to my own struggles, but by God’s grace he has bestowed upon me a level of love for my fellow man I did not possess before. That doesn’t mean I still think the same thoughts as you do, have the same struggles as you, and consistently repent of all the same thoughts and sins as you do. James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

God may call you like me to an uncomfortable ministry, where repentance is foundational. I know he called me to those of us that proclaim Christianity, but are headed to hell from living a lie. He called me to challenge the Christian, to ask the tough questions that nobody wants to ask. How are you living as a result of proclaiming Christ? How will you answer that question at his feet, and what will be his judgment of your life? Repent, believe, and live your life with the evidence of your decision. Go therefore and make disciples, after you have become one yourself.