Using the metaphor of building a house, Jesus contrasts two ways of approaching life:
1. Solid Foundation. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock" (Matt 7:24-25).
2. Shifting Foundation. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash" (vv 26-27).
One foundation, being the rock solid words of our Lord, withstands the storms of life and the tsunami of sin, death and judgment. The other foundation, being anything other than the Words of Life, which come only from Christ (cf. John 6:68), does not survive the withering storms of life and will be completely washed away in the tsunami of death.
Something worth noting in these two house is that there was nothing said about the layout or materials or effort put into their construction. As far as we can tell, the two houses were constructed identically apart from their foundations.
Reversing the metaphor, these two individuals may have grown up in the same neighborhood, went to the same school, attended the same church, etc. However, one entrusts his life in Jesus, following Hus words as a template to address life and as a cover to weather the storms therein. The other trusts in self or science or wealth or whatever other than Christ thing seems best to him in which to hang his hopes.
The one standing on the words of Jesus - it's promises and power and provisions - stands firm and survives everything thrown against him, all the same kinds of struggles and sorrows the man on the sand has to endure only the man on the sand doesn't endure to the end - he doesn't survive the storm.
The storms come - that is the bad news. There is a Rock Solid Foundation upon which to build - one that will never give way no matter how the storm rages in this life and remains Rock Solid even into death. As Jesus himself promises, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you" (Jn 14:18).
So, Rock Solid - Jesus Christ or really shifting - anything but Jesus. The choice is yours. Upon what shall you build your life. Jus' Ask'n.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Prayerful Concern
Corrie Ten Boom once penned, "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength." Her quote is a reflection of Jesus' warning in Matthew 6:34, "Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble if it's own."
The point is that we are not to live in what Corrie calls "day-tight compartments," not worrying about tomorrow as Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25 but to instead, "Seek first the kingdom of God [allowing for Him to cause] all these things [needs of life] to be added to you as well" (v. 33).
God is not commanding and Corrie was not encouraging us to never have a concern, living as if troubles and sorrows don't exist. Rather, the message is to turn to resist taking on the worries of our lives and the lives of our lived ones, trusting in God instead.
The point would be to resist worrying by taking our concerns prayerfully to God and leave the outcomes to Him, accepting His answer, trusting in His love for us and His power to answer prayer according to His goodness and righteousness.
Be concerned about the struggles you and your loved ones face. Be concerned about the state of our country and our world. But don't fall prey to Satan's worry-trap that saps your strength and weakens your spirit. Instead fall into God's arms as you pray, allowing Him to strengthen you and embolden your spirit: "Come unto me all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest" (Matt 11:28). Jus' Say'n.
The point is that we are not to live in what Corrie calls "day-tight compartments," not worrying about tomorrow as Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25 but to instead, "Seek first the kingdom of God [allowing for Him to cause] all these things [needs of life] to be added to you as well" (v. 33).
God is not commanding and Corrie was not encouraging us to never have a concern, living as if troubles and sorrows don't exist. Rather, the message is to turn to resist taking on the worries of our lives and the lives of our lived ones, trusting in God instead.
The point would be to resist worrying by taking our concerns prayerfully to God and leave the outcomes to Him, accepting His answer, trusting in His love for us and His power to answer prayer according to His goodness and righteousness.
Be concerned about the struggles you and your loved ones face. Be concerned about the state of our country and our world. But don't fall prey to Satan's worry-trap that saps your strength and weakens your spirit. Instead fall into God's arms as you pray, allowing Him to strengthen you and embolden your spirit: "Come unto me all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest" (Matt 11:28). Jus' Say'n.
Monday, January 9, 2017
The Quality of Mercy
I am not really a Shakespeare reading kind of guy. However, in my devotional reading this morning, I came across this line from "The Merchant of Venice" that reads: "The quality of mercy us not strained, It droppeth the gentle rain from heaven, Upon the place beneath: It is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."
When "Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive'” (Acts 20:35), he was contrasting relative value, not discounting the value of either. There is a value in both the giving and receiving. When one gives, the one to which he gives receives the direct value of the gift itself, while the one giving receives the indirect value found in the act of giving.
When you give your spouse or your child a gift, they get something of relative value while you receive the warmth of having blessed someone you love. When you give to someone down on their luck, the get something they were in need if, while you get the satisfaction of having met their need. Giving is a two-sided blessing.
So, why aren't we looking for opportunities to give? Why is it that people so often keep from making eye contact with the homeless and the one at the street corner begging for help? What prevents us from making that gift that may well make their and our day as well? The lie does - the lie that we need to keep God's blessings to ourselves, that we can't afford to be generous with what God has given us.
The truth is that we cannot afford to hold on to what God intends to channel through us to another. Just as Jesus sent out the apostles with the mandate, "Freely you have received; freely give"(Mat 10:18), so we are blessed with a responsibility to carry that blessing to others. God's blessings are meant to be a path to healing not a pathogen to hoarding.
So, if you're in need of a blessing, look for the person God has sent hour way to make it happen. But don't necessarily expect to be the one on the receiving end. Maybe your blessing will be found in the giving. Either way, God can bless you mightily. That is the true quality of mercy. Jus' Say'n.
When "Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive'” (Acts 20:35), he was contrasting relative value, not discounting the value of either. There is a value in both the giving and receiving. When one gives, the one to which he gives receives the direct value of the gift itself, while the one giving receives the indirect value found in the act of giving.
When you give your spouse or your child a gift, they get something of relative value while you receive the warmth of having blessed someone you love. When you give to someone down on their luck, the get something they were in need if, while you get the satisfaction of having met their need. Giving is a two-sided blessing.
So, why aren't we looking for opportunities to give? Why is it that people so often keep from making eye contact with the homeless and the one at the street corner begging for help? What prevents us from making that gift that may well make their and our day as well? The lie does - the lie that we need to keep God's blessings to ourselves, that we can't afford to be generous with what God has given us.
The truth is that we cannot afford to hold on to what God intends to channel through us to another. Just as Jesus sent out the apostles with the mandate, "Freely you have received; freely give"(Mat 10:18), so we are blessed with a responsibility to carry that blessing to others. God's blessings are meant to be a path to healing not a pathogen to hoarding.
So, if you're in need of a blessing, look for the person God has sent hour way to make it happen. But don't necessarily expect to be the one on the receiving end. Maybe your blessing will be found in the giving. Either way, God can bless you mightily. That is the true quality of mercy. Jus' Say'n.
Friday, January 6, 2017
Evidence
last night I watched an episode o the "Big Bang Theory" in which Sheldon rebuffs his mother's belief in "Noah's floating zoo" against the evidence of Darwinian Evolution. This morning I was reading the biblical account of God's call to Noah to build that boat. Which am I to accept, the evidence of science or the testimony of Scripture? Both!
Evidence does not mean proof. The fact that a man and a monkey have similar features and attributes can be seen as evidence that man came from apes but it is not proof that such an evolutionary path actually exists. When I was young, we had an outhouse. The house we lived in had similar features and attributes but the house did not evolve from the outhouse, they were simply designed similarly.
The evidence of the similarity of man and monkey is as much evidence of similar design as it is evolution. The proof of either is not in the evidence. There must be a leap of faith in either case to arrive at a conclusion. By the way - where is all the archeological evidence for all the intermediate forms from monkey to man? There are millions of monkeys and millions of men, so where are the millions of evolutionary forms in between? Yeah, they aren't there.
On the other hand, I see design and evidence of a common Designer everywhere I look. Why wouldn't there be similarities between species if the same Creator is responsible for them all. Would we expect God to use legs only once and then scrap them after that? Aren't lungs a pretty good idea for most land dwellers?
Noah's ark, by the way, isn't without evidence. There ish evidence for a world-wide lid such as aquatic fossils in mountains and a catastrophic shift allowed once temperate areas to become tundra. I've climbed on huge clay deposits in Kansas that have evidence of aquatic life forms embedded in them. Just how did they get there?
So no, Sheldon, evolution is not proven - far from it. You, like your mother will have to step out in faith based on the evidence of the world and universe around us. And I, for one, accept the biblical testimony that "...since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities---his eternal power and divine nature---have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..." (Rom 1:20). Jus' Say'n.
Evidence does not mean proof. The fact that a man and a monkey have similar features and attributes can be seen as evidence that man came from apes but it is not proof that such an evolutionary path actually exists. When I was young, we had an outhouse. The house we lived in had similar features and attributes but the house did not evolve from the outhouse, they were simply designed similarly.
The evidence of the similarity of man and monkey is as much evidence of similar design as it is evolution. The proof of either is not in the evidence. There must be a leap of faith in either case to arrive at a conclusion. By the way - where is all the archeological evidence for all the intermediate forms from monkey to man? There are millions of monkeys and millions of men, so where are the millions of evolutionary forms in between? Yeah, they aren't there.
On the other hand, I see design and evidence of a common Designer everywhere I look. Why wouldn't there be similarities between species if the same Creator is responsible for them all. Would we expect God to use legs only once and then scrap them after that? Aren't lungs a pretty good idea for most land dwellers?
Noah's ark, by the way, isn't without evidence. There ish evidence for a world-wide lid such as aquatic fossils in mountains and a catastrophic shift allowed once temperate areas to become tundra. I've climbed on huge clay deposits in Kansas that have evidence of aquatic life forms embedded in them. Just how did they get there?
So no, Sheldon, evolution is not proven - far from it. You, like your mother will have to step out in faith based on the evidence of the world and universe around us. And I, for one, accept the biblical testimony that "...since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities---his eternal power and divine nature---have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made..." (Rom 1:20). Jus' Say'n.
Thursday, January 5, 2017
The Pride Pit
"In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering---fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast" (Gen 4:3-5)
Cain was upset because his brother brought "fat portions" from his flock for an offering and pleased the Lord while he brought simply "some of his fruits" and did not receive that favor. His pride was hurt, not because of Cain's faithfulness but because of his own lack of it.
Cain's lack of favor was born out of his focus on self rather than God and the downward pull of his pride of self brought him to a place where killing his perceived rival and brother was considered preferable to changing his attitude and his offering to God.
Cain wasn't favored by God because he had more or superior offerings to present, he was favored because he chose to give the best of what he had: "For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have" (2 Cor 8:12).
The pit Cain found himself, which made deeper and darker by killing his brother, was being dug with the shovel of personal pride that continued to be concern only with self. The downward look of "navel-gazing" keeps one from looking up to God and release from the pit, for "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Pr16:18).
You don't have to be better or even as good as anyone else before God. His favor is not based on The outcome of competition but rather on the condition of one's heart. When we humbly approach God, presenting our best (not the best), he receives our offering raises us up in his presence "For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (Matt 23:12).
Don't live in the pride pit, humble yourself before God, elevate others instead of seeking the spotlight on self, let God lift you up and walk in the light of his love. Jus' Say'n.
Cain was upset because his brother brought "fat portions" from his flock for an offering and pleased the Lord while he brought simply "some of his fruits" and did not receive that favor. His pride was hurt, not because of Cain's faithfulness but because of his own lack of it.
Cain's lack of favor was born out of his focus on self rather than God and the downward pull of his pride of self brought him to a place where killing his perceived rival and brother was considered preferable to changing his attitude and his offering to God.
Cain wasn't favored by God because he had more or superior offerings to present, he was favored because he chose to give the best of what he had: "For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have" (2 Cor 8:12).
The pit Cain found himself, which made deeper and darker by killing his brother, was being dug with the shovel of personal pride that continued to be concern only with self. The downward look of "navel-gazing" keeps one from looking up to God and release from the pit, for "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Pr16:18).
You don't have to be better or even as good as anyone else before God. His favor is not based on The outcome of competition but rather on the condition of one's heart. When we humbly approach God, presenting our best (not the best), he receives our offering raises us up in his presence "For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (Matt 23:12).
Don't live in the pride pit, humble yourself before God, elevate others instead of seeking the spotlight on self, let God lift you up and walk in the light of his love. Jus' Say'n.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Don't Fear, Do!
Some years ago, I came across a quote that is not anonymous but I just can't remember the author: "The fearful majority become experts in eloquently explaining why you can't accomplish extraordinary results with your ordinary faith."
The thing is, however, what we can or cannot do is not up to a consensus of the majority or determined by the limited thinking of man. It is rather God who created each of us with individual talent and abilities, and a measure of faith that allows for individual accomplishments not tethered to the degree or lack of another's faith: "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you" (Rom 12:3).
We do have limits and as the old Clint Eastwood character, Dirty Harry, would say, "A man's got to know his limitations." But those limits are set by God not group think. We are created by God and called by the same to be no more or less than ourselves with a custom measure of faith that allows us to serve and do according to the template of our individual creation.
Let the sheeple of society follow others with herd mentality that holds them back, discouraging or even disallowing individual faith walks. Instead, choose for yourself to step out in your own God-given faith utilizing the skills, abilities and opportunities afforded by the Lord not limited by the small and fearful thinking of others.
God has made you who you are and placed you where you stand. Start there and fearlessly begin your own journey. Let the fearful limit themselves. As for you - Don't fear, do! Jus' Say'n.
The thing is, however, what we can or cannot do is not up to a consensus of the majority or determined by the limited thinking of man. It is rather God who created each of us with individual talent and abilities, and a measure of faith that allows for individual accomplishments not tethered to the degree or lack of another's faith: "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you" (Rom 12:3).
We do have limits and as the old Clint Eastwood character, Dirty Harry, would say, "A man's got to know his limitations." But those limits are set by God not group think. We are created by God and called by the same to be no more or less than ourselves with a custom measure of faith that allows us to serve and do according to the template of our individual creation.
Let the sheeple of society follow others with herd mentality that holds them back, discouraging or even disallowing individual faith walks. Instead, choose for yourself to step out in your own God-given faith utilizing the skills, abilities and opportunities afforded by the Lord not limited by the small and fearful thinking of others.
God has made you who you are and placed you where you stand. Start there and fearlessly begin your own journey. Let the fearful limit themselves. As for you - Don't fear, do! Jus' Say'n.
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Replacing Resolutions
Those New Year's resolutions are a few days old and some have already been broken while others are beginning to be in doubt of keeping. A few will actually keep them up but many will stack them up on the pile of unmet good intentions. The trouble with resolutions is that you have to be resolute, unwavering in your commitment and we tend to waiver a bit if not a bunch.
So what are we to do, forget about dropping our bad habits and replacing them with good ones? No, I'm not suggesting that, I would propose that we pass on making pronouncements of change and instead just work on making progress. What I am suggesting is replacing resolutions of what you are going to do with a goal of what you will be working toward.
A resolution can be broken with one failed day of keeping it while a goal can still be before you even when you have failed on a particular day. You simply refocus and keep pressing toward it regardless of weak or failed attempts. Any movement toward a goal is progress.
For instance, instead of resolving to read the Bible from cover to cover this year, how about making it a goal to become one "whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night" (Ps 1:2)? With that as your goal, you begin to increase your time in the word and allow it's transforming power to begin working on you.
With the goal of becoming one who lights in God's Word, you can begin reading it, listening to audio renderings while you exercise or drive to work, talking more about it - making it a more integral part of your day rather than setting yourself up to fail in an attempt to just get through it this year, which, by the way, may push you away in frustration instead of drawing you nearer.
Rather than try to insert a change into our lives, I challenge us to work toward change having set a goal of becoming rather than doing. In particular, setting a goal of becoming one who delights in the Lord's Word will have the effect of drawing you closer to Him and The Lord drawing closer to you: "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (Js 4:8).
Don't fall into a resolution trap that relies on your ability to insist upon and force change,,Set a goal before you of drawing and being drawn closer to God in which the Lord p's power to transform is the power upon which you rest. Jus' Say'n.
So what are we to do, forget about dropping our bad habits and replacing them with good ones? No, I'm not suggesting that, I would propose that we pass on making pronouncements of change and instead just work on making progress. What I am suggesting is replacing resolutions of what you are going to do with a goal of what you will be working toward.
A resolution can be broken with one failed day of keeping it while a goal can still be before you even when you have failed on a particular day. You simply refocus and keep pressing toward it regardless of weak or failed attempts. Any movement toward a goal is progress.
For instance, instead of resolving to read the Bible from cover to cover this year, how about making it a goal to become one "whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night" (Ps 1:2)? With that as your goal, you begin to increase your time in the word and allow it's transforming power to begin working on you.
With the goal of becoming one who lights in God's Word, you can begin reading it, listening to audio renderings while you exercise or drive to work, talking more about it - making it a more integral part of your day rather than setting yourself up to fail in an attempt to just get through it this year, which, by the way, may push you away in frustration instead of drawing you nearer.
Rather than try to insert a change into our lives, I challenge us to work toward change having set a goal of becoming rather than doing. In particular, setting a goal of becoming one who delights in the Lord's Word will have the effect of drawing you closer to Him and The Lord drawing closer to you: "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (Js 4:8).
Don't fall into a resolution trap that relies on your ability to insist upon and force change,,Set a goal before you of drawing and being drawn closer to God in which the Lord p's power to transform is the power upon which you rest. Jus' Say'n.
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