Going with the flow?

Every now and then I am reminded of how much we as people tend to go with the flow. I'm convinced that this is one of the main reasons for transfer growth between churches. As a people we think the grass is greener on the other side. We begin to listen to the comments that people make that line up with what we want to do and then before you know it we find ourselves going with the flow. The interesting thing about a God focused life is that your attention is not on the grass on the other side of the fence. You don't care about what other people are doing or where they are going. What matters is that Christ is exulted and glorified where you are. This is primary. It supersedes going with the flow. Your attention is so firmly on Jesus that what others are doing fades into the background. You do what you do for an audience of One and no other opinion matters (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Meeting anticipation

We had relatives come for a visit today. They had not yet had a chance to meet our twin girls that joined us about 5 and 1/2 weeks ago. While we anticipated their visit and looked forward to it I was struck by the joy and obvious anticipation they had in meeting our new additions. As I reflected on this I realized that this type of anticipation is the same as what we will experience as we cross into eternity and have the chance to finally meet our Lord Jesus and our Heavenly Father. Only the anticipation and joy in meeting Him should exceed anything that we long for here. Why? Because it is only in Him that all things that we experience even exist. It is only in Jesus that we have any hope of eternity at all. It is only in Jesus that we will be made sons and daughters of God. It is a grand and glorious desire. To see Him and to be able to know Him is truly more magnificent than we can comprehend. It exceeds our wildest dreams or expectations. It is the grandest hope of all hopes. If your heart does not burn with a longing for Him, then seek Him. Ask Him to instill in your heart a greater desire. We are in a battle against the flesh (Romans 8:13). It is truly a battle to set our hearts and minds on God (Romans 13:14). So take on the battle. Become engaged in the fray. Turn your heart and mind to a focus on our Lord Jesus. It is only in Him that we will gain an anticipation and longing that will drive us toward eternal life and health and peace.

Money Matters?

I have been preparing to speak to a church men's group this Saturday. They have been going through a book by Timothy Keller called Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters. I have the chapter on money. This has been incredibly relevant for me. I have been without work since the end of December. God in His grace has been supplying our needs, as I pick up side jobs and continue to look for work. It is easy in a situation like this or any situation where money is tight to begin to become fixated on money. But the real question at the end of the day is, "Who is it that supplies our needs?" is it us or is it God. If we believe that it is us then we have cause for feelings of desperation and fear. Not only that but we begin to watch every little penny. I don't think that is why God put us on this earth. Our battle should not be for financial security our battle should be to keep finances from drawing our hearts and our focus away from God. Paul talks at length about God's provision in Philippians 4:10-20. Most people quote Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” usually they mean that God will allow them to be successful and an overcomer, but that is out of context. Paul talks in verses 11-12 about how he has learned “...in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” What Paul is saying here as he wraps it up in verses 19-20 is that God is the one that supplies his needs. So no matter what comes our way we must remember that it is God who brings us our work. It is God who grants us favor and sees to it that we receive a raise. It is God who provides the good deal on a house or a car that you bought. Truly in our lives we have seen God supply time and again. Even though I have seen it often it is good to be reminded that our flesh will long for the securities of this world and we must fight to put our hope and trust in God. We need to see Jesus as our greatest hope and treasure. We must never allow our hearts to be distracted from living a God focused life.

Tax Day-Render to Ceasar...

I can't help but reflect on Jesus response to the Pharisees who were trying to trap Him. Matthew 22:20-22 says, “And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.” The fact that they marveled always strikes me. It reminds me that at a certain level we too should be abandoning ourselves to God first and foremost. Money should not be something we hang onto and grasp for but rather it is a tool to advance God's kingdom. We too should marvel at the one who truly supplies all we need. When tax day comes and we owe do we give it up grudgingly? Or do we recognize that God has ordained the current system we have. The money that is rendered to the government is certainly part of God's ordained economy. I am not saying don't vote or try to effect a change. But there is a sense in which it demands that we trust God. We must look beyond the government and realize that it is truly God that supplies our needs. Use tax day and any money that you might owe as an opportunity to refocus your life on the one who truly supplies your needs. To realize that our greatest treasure is truly found in our Lord Jesus.

On cleaning cups

One of my favorite illustrations that Jesus used with the Pharisees is the cleaning of the cup. The story I am thinking about takes place in Luke 11:37-39. A Pharisee invites Jesus to come and eat with him. Then the Pharisee is surprised to see that Jesus did not wash his hands before he ate. (My kids would like that.) Apparently the Pharisee is being judgmental of Jesus. It seems like this is the straw that breaks the camel's back. Jesus tells the Pharisee that they are so careful about these ceremonial things and doing all the things that are right on the outside but inside they are full of greed and wickedness. How does this happen? Someone does all these good things but they are corrupt. Jesus' metaphor of cleaning the outside of the cup is great. You can hold a cup upside down under a stream of water and clean the outside without touching the inside. The cup might look good but it is as filthy in the end as it was before it got the outside shine. If you take that cup and try to clean the inside first you will find it quite difficult to have a filthy outside. Why? Because your hands get wet and the outside starts coming clean while you clean the inside. This is like us. You see if we have a horizontal focus (i.e. our eyes are on men). We will have a tendency to begin to measure our own righteousness by comparison to others. There is nothing driving us to rightness on the inside. Everything becomes about appearances. Judgmentalism begins to set in. We work harder at the look and things get worse on the inside. The best thing we can do if we struggle in this area is to really begin to focus on Jesus. If we look to Him our heart's wickedness will be revealed in the light of His mercy and grace. It is in His light of acceptance that we will find cleansing. As Jesus brings about cleansing on the inside the outside will naturally follow. Luke 6:45 says, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” If we focus on living a God focused life our hearts will have an abundance of good treasure.