Would you see better? In Matthew 5-7 Jesus gives a sermon which can easily be monotonous to read through. He talks about people who are blessed, being salt and light, divorce, the law, prayer, fasting, rewards, and more. In the middle of this sermon, He begins to warn the people of how easy it is to live with anxiety. “Do not worry,” He says. If God can take care of the flowers in the field, He will take care of you. That makes sense. It is logical and acceptable that God would take care of us. Jesus then uses His all too famous, comforting words “Oh ye of little faith.”What?! I mean, it is perfectly normal for people to be worried about what they will eat or where. At first glance, it seems that Jesus is talking about a faith problem, but I think it is deeper. Man’s faith in God is always a response to God’s revelation of Himself. If we are having a faith problem, it means that we are actually having a vision problem. When Jesus tells his followers that they have little faith, He is actually telling them that they have little or incorrect vision. Just a few chapters earlier (Matthew 3), Jesus utters His first words recorded in Matthew’s gospel. What are those words? Repent. Repentance is simply defined as a changing of mind or thought. It leads to a changing of living. So this sermon that Jesus is teaching is really a call for man to change what they think. Change what they think about how they are living. Change what they think about who they are. Really, change what they think about Who God is. Now, let us hear Jesus’ words again. He paints this beautiful picture of how God takes care of the little things, like feeding the birds and clothing the flowers. Do not worry. There is no need. If we think we have a reason to worry, we just need to see better. Our faith is too small. Our vision of God is too small. Would you see God bigger? Would you see God for Who He is? If we can see that God cares for that, we should see that God cares for us. Can you hear Jesus calling out to His followers, “Would you see better”? Have better sight. Have bigger vision. See a bigger God. I am challenged to have my vision of God challenged each day. Where do I see God incorrectly do I need to repent? Where do I need to change my thinking? Is God too small? Can I see better? What if I was seeing God wrong in some ways, but could change and live better? Do I have anything to lose? Let us see God more clearly and respond to Him more faithfully.

Would you see better?

In Matthew 5-7 Jesus gives a sermon which can easily be monotonous to read through. He talks about people who are blessed, being salt and light, divorce, the law, prayer, fasting, rewards, and more. In the middle of this sermon, He begins to warn the people of how easy it is to live with anxiety. “Do not worry,” He says. If God can take care of the flowers in the field, He will take care of you. That makes sense. It is logical and acceptable that God would take care of us.

Jesus then uses His all too famous, comforting words “Oh ye of little faith.”What?! I mean, it is perfectly normal for people to be worried about what they will eat or where.

At first glance, it seems that Jesus is talking about a faith problem, but I think it is deeper. Man’s faith in God is always a response to God’s revelation of Himself. If we are having a faith problem, it means that we are actually having a vision problem. When Jesus tells his followers that they have little faith, He is actually telling them that they have little or incorrect vision.

Just a few chapters earlier (Matthew 3), Jesus utters His first words recorded in Matthew’s gospel. What are those words? Repent. Repentance is simply defined as a changing of mind or thought. It leads to a changing of living. So this sermon that Jesus is teaching is really a call for man to change what they think. Change what they think about how they are living. Change what they think about who they are. Really, change what they think about Who God is.

Now, let us hear Jesus’ words again. He paints this beautiful picture of how God takes care of the little things, like feeding the birds and clothing the flowers. Do not worry. There is no need. If we think we have a reason to worry, we just need to see better. Our faith is too small. Our vision of God is too small. Would you see God bigger? Would you see God for Who He is?

If we can see that God cares for that, we should see that God cares for us. Can you hear Jesus calling out to His followers, “Would you see better”? Have better sight. Have bigger vision. See a bigger God.

I am challenged to have my vision of God challenged each day. Where do I see God incorrectly do I need to repent? Where do I need to change my thinking? Is God too small? Can I see better? What if I was seeing God wrong in some ways, but could change and live better? Do I have anything to lose?

Let us see God more clearly and respond to Him more faithfully.

23.05.13
#faith #love #jesus #change #christianity

Believing The Gospel

I find myself to be what I call, an “unnecessary analytical.” If you are like me, you fall asleep at night thinking about different obscene things that really don’t matter. Last night I was thinking about the gospel. What does it mean to believe the gospel? Asking this question led me down the bunny trail of defining words.

Gospel is typically defined as good news. With this definition of gospel, it made me wonder “is there a difference between believing the gospel and believing in Jesus?”. In some ways I think there is.

I think that everyone wants to believe the gospel, in that everyone wants to believe in good news. We all want good news. But believing that there is good news is not what saves. Too many people believe in the news that there is salvation, but they do not actually put their faith in the Savior.

It is easy to celebrate good news. We will build our lives around the fact that there is good news. We will live happy because there is good news. We want the good news. We accept the good news. We tell others about the good news, but it is not enough to accept that there is news.

Isn’t that what the religious leaders of Jesus’ day did? They spoke of salvation. They waited for salvation. They prayed for salvation. They had scriptures about salvation. They knew God would bring them salvation, but they ignored the Savior.

Here is my point, religion will call us to believe in and move our focus on the fact that there is good news. Religion will call us to celebrate that there is a gospel, but we must actually interact with the person of salvation- Jesus Christ. Just focusing on the fact that there is good news, would be like me texting all of my friends saying “you will never believe what happened to me.” And when they ask “what,” I only respond with “something good.” I only shared that there is news but I never shared what the news is.

Yes, I know this is a lot of circular reasoning and getting hung up on words, but there is a distinction in my mind. We do not build our lives on the fact that there is good news; we build our lives on what the good news actually is.

Our hope is not that we believe there is a gospel; the gospel is that we have hope in Jesus Christ. The good news is not that there is good news. The good news is that there is a saving, loving, personal God- Jesus Christ.

20.05.13
So I am standing as a groomsman in my friends, Jared and Kaitlyn, wedding this weekend. As most pastors do, the pastor, Phil, began to sermonize about the significance of marriage. He talked about how marriage is selfless. It demands the giving up of one self to the other. As Phil continued to speak, God spoke into my heart and reminded me that this is what He does for me. From the moment they said “I do” Jared belongs to Kaitlyn and Kaitlyn belongs to Jared. That is the covenant they made. They wanted to be together so much and so desperately, that they were willing to give their own lives up to each other. This is the gift of marriage, it is signing one’s life away to another. This is the same covenant that God has made with us. Jesus Christ, God Himself, has given His life up for His bride- the Church. I had heard this before but I had never seen nor understood it so profoundly until this day. God has given Himself to the Church, and in the same way we, the Church, have given ourselves to God. When the Apostle Paul says that our life is no longer our own, he is not being metaphorical. The believer has walked into a loving commitment with God in which our life no longer belongs to us. What we do with ourselves or to ourselves is not our decision or luxury anymore. You are not your own. You were bought with a price. Not a ring, but with a life. You were bought with the life of the God Who created You. You are His, and He is yours.

So I am standing as a groomsman in my friends, Jared and Kaitlyn, wedding this weekend. As most pastors do, the pastor, Phil, began to sermonize about the significance of marriage. He talked about how marriage is selfless. It demands the giving up of one self to the other. As Phil continued to speak, God spoke into my heart and reminded me that this is what He does for me.

From the moment they said “I do” Jared belongs to Kaitlyn and Kaitlyn belongs to Jared. That is the covenant they made. They wanted to be together so much and so desperately, that they were willing to give their own lives up to each other. This is the gift of marriage, it is signing one’s life away to another. This is the same covenant that God has made with us.

Jesus Christ, God Himself, has given His life up for His bride- the Church.

I had heard this before but I had never seen nor understood it so profoundly until this day. God has given Himself to the Church, and in the same way we, the Church, have given ourselves to God. When the Apostle Paul says that our life is no longer our own, he is not being metaphorical. The believer has walked into a loving commitment with God in which our life no longer belongs to us. What we do with ourselves or to ourselves is not our decision or luxury anymore.

You are not your own. You were bought with a price. Not a ring, but with a life. You were bought with the life of the God Who created You. You are His, and He is yours.

20.05.13
1
#Jesus #love #marriage #christianity #ring

Love and Sin

Been dealing with questions about sin recently. So many times we feel like Paul, knowing better but unable to act. Even when we know better, we can’t help but do what is wrong, and then we can’t seem to ever do what we know is right. We feel helpeless to sin.

One of sin’s greatest strengths is self. Sin is self absorbed. Sin is self focused. Sin is self pleasing. It desires, attempts, yet fails to satisfy self.

Now we need to be satisfied. We need to be taken care of. By no means do I think that we should live in some unhealthy, over spiritualized self denial. I think we must learn to deny self the way Christ called is to. We deny ourselves and carry our cross so that we can follow Him. Self denial is for the greater purpose of true satisfaction- being in Christ.

The problem is not that the Christian does not want freedom, peace, joy, or satisfaction, it is that we want it on our own terms. We want freedom from sin our way. But there is self again. In our seeking freedom we still seek to do it our self. With this in mind, I find that a lot of times, sin is a battle of submission and obedience.

Here’s my conclusion. If you’re struggling with sin, as I unashamedly and consistently do, try love. While that may sound pretty condescending, it is true. While sin is self absorbed, love is selfless.

Love is God’s great command. It calls us to serve, promote, validate, and meet the needs of others. In God’s command for us to love, He calls us to be loved. He calls us to be satisfied no longer by the misleadings of self but by the Sustainer of all- Jesus the Christ.

Where sin will leave you trying to help yourself, God will love you and in that satisfy your soul. Love does not seek its own. Love conquerors all. Love conquers sin. Love never fails. God is love.

15.05.13
1
#Christianity #love #sin #self denial #hope #freedom #Jesus
Yield: to surrender oneself to authority or will of another. Lord, help me to yield to You.

Yield: to surrender oneself to authority or will of another. Lord, help me to yield to You.

08.05.13