The Blessing of Giving

II Corinthians 9:6-7 (NLT)
6 Remember this – a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

Good morning and happy November to you all! October flew by and I feel like I haven’t talked to you all in quite a while. School and work are keeping me busy and I apologize for not posting more consistently. This blog has been a blessing to me and I enjoy it thoroughly and I miss the opportunity to post on a daily basis. The feedback I have received has not only been encouraging but it has also helped me in my walk of faith. I hope it has done the same for you. Now onto business!!

We have been looking at finances and tithing recently and a devotional I just read ties into our conversation perfectly so I thought I would pass on a few things that I read. Today we will look at the What we give and Why we give and at a later date we will look at What happens and How God responds.

I have always believed that as our faith increases and our love and trust in Jesus Christ grows that our life and actions should change. We should be different from the people around us that are unbelievers. We should look different. Our speech should be different. We should look out for others instead of always looking out for ourselves. We should be generous in our giving of not only our money but also of our time and any other resources that God has blessed us with. We should pray and use our spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ as well. As we grow in our faith, our desire to show God’s love to others should increase.

What we give:
II Corinthians 8:12 says that “Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly.”

Romans 12:6-8 talks about the different gifts that God has blessed us with. If He has given you a specific gift He expects you to use it and use it well.

James 5:6 says that prayer is a gift that we should use for each other. It is a powerful gift that can produce wondrous results. One should never say that “All I can do is pray, I can’t give anything else.” Prayer is something every child of God can do. You can never be too busy or too poor to get on your knees before the Creator and praise Him, thank Him, and bring your requests to Him.

Galatians 5:3-14 says it all; “Love your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus summed up the entire OT in two commands: 1) Love God and 2) Love others.

Why we give:
II Corinthians 8:3 speaks of giving not only what you can afford and give comfortably but give even more. This stretches our faith muscles and places our dependence exclusively on God.

I Peter 5:2-3 to watch over what God has given you willingly, not grudgingly. It says that we are to do this not for what we may gain but because of our love for God and our eagerness to serve Him.

II Corinthians 8:5 states that we are to give ourselves to the Lord and to others because we desire to follow the will of God.

So, obviously God wants us to be generous and as we extend ourselves toward others He will bless us for our actions. That blessing shouldn’t be our motivation for serving though. We should be motivated to serve by a sincere heart and a love for God.

Questions:
1) Think of the ways that you share things with others; your time, spiritual gifts, and resources. How could you give more in these areas?

2) As your walk of faith has grown and matured how has your giving increased or changed? Why? What is your motivation?

Think about these things and in our next post we will conclude our discussion on the blessing of being generous.

Have a good day and God bless.

Eternity

I believe God is eternal but I have a hard time grasping or picturing this concept with my finite mind. I have been reading a book on philosophy and read an extremely good explanation of this concept. Unfortunately the initial concept, while revealing, has opened up even more questions in the end!

Imagine your life is a movie. From the time the piracy warnings, copyright infringement notices, and studio logo appears all the way to the last roll of the credits and what record label the soundtrack can be found on: that is your life. Every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every year; every beat of your heart and every breath you take; every failure and every success; every relationship, every job, every friend and every enemy. All of this is contained in one giant biopic movie produced, directed, and edited by.........God.

We are earthly beings contained in time and space. If we were to sit down and watch this movie in our realm of existence we would watch this movie one frame at a time. Our viewing of this movie would be linear in nature. We can’t view minute number 89 until we have watched the previous 88 minutes. It makes sense right? Now imagine God viewing this movie. God exists outside of the constraints of space and time so when He watches our movie He sees every frame at the same time. From God’s eternal perspective every moment in time occurs at once.

Now here is a mind bender for you....

If God already knows if I am going to get up and go to church or not tomorrow, where does that leave my choice? Where does my free will and freedom of choice fit in all of this? If God knew that I was going to fail in certain areas of my walk with Him today than what would have happened if I made a different choice along the way? Could I have made a different choice? Where do our prayers and petitions fit in?

Is God orchestrating what we think and feel in our hearts and minds so that we make the right decisions and pray the right things in order to match up with the final cut of the movie? Does He even have to? As producer and director hasn’t He already made all of these decisions already? Hasn’t He worked all this out in pre-production, while filming, and again in postproduction and editing?

Herein lies my question(s):
Do my choices determine God’s knowledge of what I will do?
Does God’s knowledge of what I will do determine my choices?

OR......
Because God is eternal are my choices and His knowledge simultaneous??

OR.......
Maybe the future isn’t set. I believe the final outcome written in the Word of God is the truth. But maybe how we get there isn’t set but “always in motion” depending on the choices we make. (I don’t like this theory. It puts too much power on us and takes some away from God.)

Think about it. Get back to me with your thoughts.

Have a great day. God bless.

The Hall of Faith

Hebrews 11:1
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see

Hebrews chapter 11 is sometimes called the “Hall of Faith”. In verse 6 we are told that it is impossible to please God without faith.

In the remainder of chapter 11 we are given great examples of faith from men and women from the OT.
• Abel had faith that his offering was better than Cain’s
• Enoch had so much faith that God took him up to heaven without dying
• Noah certainly had faith....he built a boat in the middle of the desert for crying out loud!
• Abraham had faith to follow God consistently without seeing the results.
• Sarah had faith that she would conceive a child even in her old age.
• Isaac had faith in the promised blessings for his sons.
• Jacob had faith, Joseph had faith and Moses had faith.

We are told in verse 13 that some of these people died without seeing the benefits of their faith. They still believed however in what God had promised them. Can you or I say the same thing about our faith? I can truthfully say that I have seen God’s faithful promises come to fruition in my life and it bolsters my faith in Him. But what if I never heard a word or saw the providence of God in my life? How much more difficult would it be to have faith?

God has worked mightily through the faith of His children all throughout time. We see later in chapter 11 that even the author of Hebrews has to cut his argument short because it would take too long to tell us about each and every instance of faith that was shown. Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel as well as the prophets are mentioned. It says in verse 33 that by faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. By faith the mouths of lions were shut and flames of fire where quenched. By faith their weaknesses were turned into strengths.

BUT......others were tortured and died for their faith. Brothers and sisters throughout the world today are suffering and dying for their faith. Some go through less trying circumstances and are only mocked and made fun of but still others are excommunicated from their communities and shunned by their family for their faith in Jesus Christ.

A pastor once preached a message on this Hall of Faith and told the congregation that if we call upon the name of Jesus as the only One who saves than we too are in this Hall of Faith. Our level of faith might change depending on our circumstances but as long as we have it than we too are considered Hall worthy. Jesus said it takes the faith the size of a mustard seed to move mountains right?

How is your faith doing? Are you suffering for your faith? Do you know anyone that is? Who is in your “Hall of Faith”? What does their walk look like that enables them to be enshrined in this great Hall? Do you suppose you might be in somebody else’s Hall of Faith without knowing it?

My faith waxes and wanes according to whatever is going on in my life but I never lose it. I have always had my faith in Jesus Christ to hold on to even in the most difficult of circumstances. I think this is part of human nature and God expects that. God doesn’t shoo away our doubts or questions. He welcomes them. He loves us and loves lavishing His love on us. Go to Him in faith right now with whatever you are going through. He will answer you.

Remember verse 34 when it says, “Their weakness was turned to strength”. Go to God with your weakness and watch what He can do with it.

Have faith.

God bless.

ATTENTION: Jesus is coming back next Tuesday!!

DISCLAIMER: Just in case you cannot read the sarcasm in the title of today's post........I AM BEING SARCASTIC!!I am not a prophet and I am not saying when Jesus is coming back. I know Jesus tells us we can't predict this awesome event. Enough said.....let's move on.

In my last post I asked the question, "If you knew that Jesus was coming back today or tomorrow, how would your decisions and actions change?".

I also wrote, "We can only guess as to when Jesus is actually coming back but WHAT IF he was coming back today? WHAT IF you knew the exact date and time of His return? Jesus specifically tells us that we can’t predict the day or hour of His return in Matthew 24:36 and again in Acts 1:7. Only God knows and in His good time it will all come to pass."

I have been giving a lot of thought to this topic recently. I actually had to write a narrative essay on a topic of my choice for school and this is the topic I chose. As I told my narrative some of my thoughts began to change and become clearer. Initially I said that yes, my decisions and actions would change if I knew Jesus was coming back next Tuesday. The more I thought about it though and the more I argued my case, the more Jesus spoke to me.

I always wondered why Jesus doesn't just tell us when He is coming back. I always wondered why He speaks in a "still, small voice" instead of a loud clap of thunder. Why is He so vague sometimes? Why doesn't He just make Himself known in a way that is undeniable? It sure would make things a lot easier on me.

If I knew Jesus was coming back next Tuesday I might be more careful in how I spoke but would my actions change for the better? Would I bother with being faithful "in the little things" like paying my mortgage or cleaning up my back yard if I knew after next Tuesday it wouldn't matter? Would I show love or kindness to a stranger knowing that next Tuesday I would probably never see that person again? Would I mourn, would I be hungry or thirsty, would I be humble, would I show mercy, would I allow myself to persecuted?

Would I be the child of God that He wants me to be or would I be some pious, self-righteous know it all just looking for the validation that is to be mine next Tuesday? Would I worship Jesus or would I worship Tuesday the 13th of October?

There is a reason why Jesus is the way He is. Ours is not always to understand it but to accept it on faith and be obedient. Remember; trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.

Have a great day and God bless you.

Change in Seasons

Luke 12:40
“You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

I was reading a devotional this morning and was convicted to write about it. We will get back to the issue on finances later.

*Have you ever thought about the idea that we could be living in the last days? What kind of impact does this kind of thinking have on your daily routine?

*If you knew that Jesus was coming back today or tomorrow, how would your decisions and actions change?

We can only guess as to when Jesus is actually coming back but WHAT IF he was coming back today? WHAT IF you knew the exact date and time of His return? Jesus specifically tells us that we can’t predict the day or hour of His return in Matthew 24:36 and again in Acts 1:7. Only God knows and in His good time it will all come to pass.

Even though we don’t know the exact date and time of Jesus’ return, He does give us some things to watch for. All throughout the NT the various authors were given things to write about the last days and the Lord’s return through divine intervention. In II Peter 3 we are reminded about all the things that will happen before that great and wonderful day occurs. We may get impatient but Peter tells us in verses 8 and 9 that God’s timing is different than ours and He has a plan. Peter tells us that before the Lord’s return we should focus on meditating on God’s Word (vv. 1-2). He warns us that we will be mocked by scoffers that reject both creation and Jesus’ second coming (vv. 3-7). He also tells us plainly that even though there are numerous warnings found in Scripture concerning the end of days, it will come as a surprise (v. 10).

In II Timothy 3:1-5, Paul tells us that during the last days wickedness will be more common than good. Sin will run rampant and we will see it evident in behaviors like:
• love of self
• worship of money
• disobedience to parents
• ingratitude
• unforgiveness
• abusive attitude
• lack of self-control
• inclination for ones own pleasure rather than God

I write this not to in any way try to predict that we are in the last days. I write this because I am convicted of the things I see all around me and in my own life and walk with Christ. Praise God that He has been chipping away at these areas in my own life. He has thrown me into His refining fire and although it has been painful at times I am grateful that He loves me so much that He will not allow me to stay stuck in my junk. I have a long way to go with some of these topics (unforgiveness, lack of self-control) but God is faithful and I believe that He will finish the work He has begun in my life and my walk.

How about you? Do you see these things around you? Do you see these traits in the workplace or in your home? How about in your church? We have a lot of work to do my brother and sisters. Jesus commands us to:
• love God and others (Mark 12:28-31)
• share the Good News (Matthew 28:19-20)
• live by the Spirit’s power (Galatians 5:22-23)
• keep watch (Matthew 24:36-51)
• Be ready (Matthew 25:1-13)

I pray that we are all ready and prepared in the last days for the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!

God bless and have a great day.

Tithing = Joyful Giving

II Corinthians 8:1-5
Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in His kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

“Isn’t the concept of tithing 10% legalistic?”
“Where in the New Testament are Christians commanded to tithe 10%?”
“I am so sick of churches asking for money.”
“The church makes me feel guilty for not giving 10%.”
“If I am only giving 2% but giving joyously by faith, shouldn’t God be happy with that?”

Have you ever muttered one of these statements or asked one of these questions? I have. I have heard them all come from family members, friends, and Christians and non-Christians alike.

We have already looked at management God’s way and how He wants us to be faithful in every area of our life including finances. I gave the example of Abraham giving generously because he recognized the blessings of the Lord. I gave the verse in Deuteronomy 14:22 which is part of the Law of Moses which commanded that the people set aside a tenth of all they owned for the Lord. Now lets argue some of the points listed above.

In Acts chapter 2 (vv. 42-47) and 4 (vv. 32-37) we see the newly formed group of “believers” or “Christians” forming a community and helping and serving one another. They all shared everything that they had with one another. They shared their possessions with joy and generosity and God blessed them and their fellowship grew daily. You can argue that this may have been done out of necessity because of the environment and circumstances that they were in but I say to you- look at how God blessed them; they were filled with joy and new people joined their group daily. Wouldn’t you like your current church to be like that? Wouldn’t it be great if churches all over the world were bursting from the seems instead of being filled with empty pews? Wouldn’t it be great if every person in your congregation had a need that was met by the church-the body of Christ? Let me clear on this......the church is not a building or a group of administrators and some guy who preaches. The church is YOU!! It is US!! Jesus never said, “Now build this building and act like a Christian only while you are in it.” He wants us to be an Acts 2 church. That is why He placed it in the Bible. He wants us to give generously and joyfully. We have already said that God owns everything and He is letting us use it while we are here on earth. Why then do we hold on so tight to what isn’t really ours to begin with? God wants us to share what He has given us with others.

Since we are required to give than were do we start? Do we say that 1% is enough, or 2%, or maybe 5% is enough as long as we are “giving joyfully” and “out of faith”? If the amount that we should give is completely optional than I wonder how far anyone of us would truly stretch ourselves and live by faith. The average American Christian gives 2.5% of his income according to a 2002 Barna poll. Can we actually believe that God, who gave His only Son to die for us on the cross and has granted us a land of affluence, is happy with us giving one fourth of what He required of His people Israel? Why not start where God started with His people? Remember 10% is not the goal......it is the starting place!! If you think that 10% is being legalistic than why not start at 11% or 12%, maybe even 20% or 40%.

Do you really believe that if you stopped paying $5 for a cup of coffee or $20 a week going to the movies that you wouldn’t have enough to give back to God like He required of His people in the OT? I say this not with an accusatory tone. Believe me I struggle mightily with this just like most of us. These are issues that I have to look in the mirror with each day and come to grips with. Worse, these are issues I am going to have to stand before my Creator some day and answer for. Will He say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” or will He say, “What did you do with what I gave you? You could have done so much more.”

I know what I want to hear.

Have a great day and God bless.

Principles of Faithfulness

Our Possessions
Luke 16:1,2
Jesus told this story to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’”

When we are a poor manager like this guy in Jesus’ story than we can expect the same consequences. In the verses above it says that a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. As Christians you can bet that the world is looking at us to see if our actions match our words. Oh how the world system loves to mock us when we make a mistake and rightfully so. As Christians we have a great responsibility to live up to the surname that we take upon ourselves. When we publicly squander our possessions and fail to use them faithfully than God gets a black eye as well as us.

The other principle that we see here is that when we are wasteful with what we have been given we will be removed as a manager. I mentioned before that I was involved in several ministries that ultimately failed. I firmly believe that it was because I was not faithful in the little things like I explained on Thursday and because I was wasteful and squandered a great deal of the blessings that the Lord had bestowed upon me. There are other reasons why my opportunities were not successful but I believe that these were the two main reasons. The Lord removed me from the equation and I do not blame Him at all......as a matter of fact I praise Him for it. I thank Him that He loves me enough to let me fail and see both the reasons and the consequences of my failure.

Others Possessions
Luke 16:12
“And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?”
In addition to being careful with our own possessions, we must also be a good manager of what others have entrusted to us. Do you abuse your employers office supplies or misuse equipment where you work? Are you wasteful with the resources your employer allows you to use to complete the job? When you borrow something from a friend or neighbor do you return it in as good or better condition than when you borrowed it? These are all questions that as Christians we must be aware of because in the end...........Jesus is going to ask them to us and we will be judged.

On another note...
This may be my last post for a while. I am going back to school full time in addition to working full time and raising my beautiful little boy, so I don’t exactly know when I will have time to write. I will still try to post 1-2 times a week once I get in the groove with all the new adjustments to my schedule. This blog is for God’s glory and I am certain that if He likes what is going on with it then He will find a way for me to continue posting on a regular basis. Remember......with God all things are possible.

God bless.

J. Robert Cipriano

Be Faithful in Every Area

Malachi 3:10
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouses so there will be enough food in My Temple. If you do”, says the LORD of Heavens Armies, “I will open the windows of Heaven for you. I will pour out blessings so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put Me to the test!”

I believe the standard set for tithing starts in Deuteronomy 14:22 where it says, “Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.”

We actually see this principle in effect earlier though in Genesis 14:20 where Abraham gave a tenth of everything he owned to the high priest Melchizedek. Abraham was recognizing the blessing he received from Melchizedek as being from the Lord.

This standard is part of the OT covenant but we as Christians are still called to obey and as the opening verse implies, God wants us to test Him on this standard. However Jesus gives a clear example that it is not only the amount you give but also the attitude in which you give. In Luke 21:1-4 Jesus praises a widow who was only able to give a small offering. To Jesus a generous person is not one who gives conveniently or comfortably out of abundance but one who sacrifices cheerfully with risk and gives without demanding attention or expecting a reward. God wants us to turn everything over to Him and trust Him and part of that is giving Him the first 10% of our income.

Most Christians recognize this important principle of tithing and whether or not they give 10% is not for me to judge or criticize after all this is an area that I struggle with. That is an issue to take up with God while on our knees. The point is that we are taught by the church to give God a portion of our income but we aren’t taught all that well about what to do with the rest in a way that can continue to give God glory.

There are however ministries out there like “Crown Financial Ministries” that help us manage what God has allowed us to have in a way that bring glory to Him and peace to us. Ministries like that need to be supported and we need to do a better job of not allowing the body of Christ to manage the other 90% of their income from a worldly perspective. When we are ignorant of the financial principles found in God’s Word it can lead to an incorrect attitude towards our possessions which causes us to make flawed financial decisions which may lead to painful consequences and distance from God.

As we continue to look at this topic we will observe and study what God’s financial principles are as found in the Bible but remember.....it all starts with faithfulness. Tomorrow we will look at the principles of faithfulness.

May God bless you. Have a great day.

Management 101 - God's Way

I Corinthians 4:2
Now a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.

Yesterday we looked at the fact that God is in control over all things. Everything is His to do with as He sees fit. Although it is difficult to consistently recognize God’s ownership of everything it is a principle that must be prayerfully evaluated in our lives. If He owns everything and is in control of everything where do we fit in? We looked at Deuteronomy 11 yesterday which told us that if we are faithful in our love and obedience to God then He will bless us. The tough part for me in that last statement is the being faithful as a good steward or manager of what God has provided for me. Let’s look at what Jesus had to say about being a good manager of the things He has given to us.

In Matthew 25 Jesus tells a story of managing well what you have been given. In it a man went on vacation but before he did he entrusted his servants to managing his money while he was gone. Two of the three did the proper thing but one did not. Jesus tells us that the rich man scolded the third servant and said, “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.”

In Luke 16:9 Jesus says that we are to use our worldly possessions for the good of others. He goes on to say in verse 10 that if we are faithful with the little things than we will be faithful in the larger things as well. I read a quote recently that said, “How do you know if your son will take car of his first car? Look at how he took care of his first bicycle.” When interviewing a person for a leadership position in my kitchen I will first look to see if they were diligent in managing a small staff before I let them take over a large, full-scale operation.

We can see that Jesus expects us to be faithful and generous with what we have, no matter if it is a little or a lot. My life reflects this truth. Ever since becoming a born again Christian I have tried to do what I thought the Lord wanted me to do. I was involved in several ministries and was very active in my church. I did all these things though at the expense of the relationship with my wife. I was loving and caring while at church or involved in ministry work but I was harsh with my wife. I was busy “doing the Lord’s work” seven days a week but I was never home. I always jumped at the opportunity to volunteer when things needed to be done at church but I neglected my duties at home. I led people in Bible studies at church but I failed to be the spiritual leader of my own home. I didn’t manage well what I was given before looking to manage other opportunities.

Each ministry that I was involved in was unsuccessful and I didn’t know why. Didn’t I pray enough (not really.....I was too busy to pray) ? Wasn’t I committed enough? Didn’t I invest enough time and energy into the spiritual endeavors I thought the Lord wanted me to do?

The problem was I was trying to run before I could crawl! I needed to learn how to lead and manage the way God wants me to lead and manage.....starting in my own home. I needed to learn that before I could lead strangers in a study of the Word, I needed to lead my wife. Before I could show love and compassion on strangers I needed to show love and compassion towards my wife. Before I could manage large things I had to start with what I had already been entrusted with.

Well, the Lord finally got my attention but I have had to lose everything in the process. I now realize that I was not faithful in the little things. I wasn’t the husband or father or even the chef that Jesus wanted me to be. I was living a lie. I was on the throne instead of Jesus. I tried to live the Christian life and manage things in my own strength and I failed. Now I am trying to be led by the Holy Spirit to be faithful with what little I have left......and I don’t want this to sound like a pity party - I have been blessed. I have a great family, a wonderful son, an amazing career, and I am surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ who help me and pray for me along the way. I firmly believe in what God has to say to us in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”

My situation will work out for good. I may not see the results in my time here on earth but I am confident in the Lord and what He is capable of. Remember.....He is in control of all things.

Have a great day and God bless.

DETOUR!!

Finances
Psalm 24:1
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him.

As I struggle with finances during this season that I am in, I am increasingly turning to the Bible to see what God has to say about how I spend my money and how I can do a better job with what I have been given. You might be surprised to find out that God has a great deal to say about this issue. As a matter of fact, Jesus speaks more about this topic than almost any other. He knew that we would struggle in this area.

Our opening verse states that everything is God’s. I don’t do a good enough job recognizing God’s ownership. To do this consistently is very hard for me. The blessings of being obedient to God with everything we have been given and having a healthy fear and reverence for Him are clearly spoken of in Deuteronomy 11. It’s a really simple formula.
• (a) obey God +(b) love God = (c) blessings from God
Why do we make things more complicated than they need to be. Why are there bookstores filled with books on how to succeed when God has it all covered in 24 verses in Deuteronomy from verse 8-32?? Take the time to read these verses tell me what you think.
• Verse 8: be careful to obey every command I am giving you......so you may have strength..
• Verse 13: if you carefully obey all the commands....and if you love the LORD your God, and serve Him with all your heart and soul, then He will send the rains...
• Verses 18-21: commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine....tie them to your hands.....wear them on your forehead......teach them to our children.....talk about them.....write them on the doorposts of your home.....so that.....you and your children may flourish
I could go on and on. The important thing I want us to get out of this conversation is that if we acknowledge that God owns everything and we are to be faithful and obedient to what He has to say about our possessions, then every spending decision concerning them becomes a spiritual decision.

We will continue this topic for a while because it is a relevant one to me and I am pretty sure that most of us could use some good financial advice from our eternal CPA. You see most Christians are only taught what to do with the 10% of our income that we are told to tithe with. We manage the 10% in a godly manner but manage the other 90% in a worldly manner. Let us prayerfully consider what our Lord and Savior has to say about everything He has given us to manage for Him.

Have a great day and God bless.

Matthew 20:1-16

Last will be First; First will be Last
This story that Jesus tells speaks volumes about His grace and mercy. No matter how old or young we are, we receive the same amount of grace from our Lord.

When I was a boy I attended a Christian school and I am pretty sure I gave my life to Jesus. I went on retreats, I prayed, and I was generally interested in serving Him with my life. When I left that school however, I turned back to my old lifestyle and promptly forgot about Jesus for 20 years. It was in 2004 that I recommitted myself to Jesus and truly began to follow Him.

All those wasted years. My youth was spent chasing the wind instead of chasing Jesus. When I was full of vim and vigor I could have ran to the far corners of the world to speak the name of Jesus. I could have done so much for Him. Why did I wait until I was approaching the middle of my life on earth and was tied down by responsibilities and ill health before running after Jesus? Why did He wait as well?

Why do great men like Gandhi die and go to hell while serial killers make a decision to follow Christ on their deathbed and get eternal life?

None of that matters. What matters is that God in His mercy accepts all people who call on the name of Jesus for salvation. Period. But you must call upon the name of Jesus and believe in Him for your eternal salvation. No matter how early or late in life it is never to late to begin to follow Him.

Have a great day and God bless.

Matthew 19:16-30

The Rich Man
We finish off chapter 19 with a sad story of a man who thought he could buy his way into heaven. This man comes to Jesus thinking that righteousness can be earned and he asks Him exactly what he must do to inherit eternal life. Before Jesus answers Him he corrects the man on His view of “goodness”. Jesus has a much broader view and interpretation of the word “good” than the rich man. He says that only God is good and that all goodness derives from God. Even the ability to keep the commandments themselves is a good that comes only from God.

Jesus tells the young man to keep the commandments if he wants to enter eternal life. Jesus is not saying that you can earn your way into heaven. To keep the commandments is not to establish your goodness or value before God but it is to be an expression of your faith. Jesus clearly tells us that God’s grace is a gift that is not to be earned. Salvation is a gift that is received through faith and faith alone.

When Jesus listed the commandments for the young man to obey He left out the “Do not covet” command because He knew what the young man was struggling with. This was his main problem and Jesus addressed it by giving the commandment in a different format. He says to get to eternity he must sell all his possessions. The young man struggled with his level of commitment because his wealth was getting in the way. He didn’t want to lose all the material comforts that he had amassed. His material wealth had a higher priority in his life than God did.

Love for material possessions is an addiction or compulsion that makes it almost impossible to truly be humble and trust Jesus alone for salvation and sanctification. As long as we believe we can buy our way out of our problems we will never achieve a true walk of faith with Jesus. Thank God that Jesus says “with God all things are possible” in verse 26. Left on our own we would fail and fall deeper into dependence on our own “stuff” but with God’s help the inconceivable is possible. Only Jesus can turn our life around and bring hope where none existed. Only Jesus can bring emotional and spiritual health to what once was in despair.

Giving Jesus control of our life is the only way to regain independence from our addictions and compulsive behavior issues.

Have a great day.

God bless.

Matthew 19:13-15

Little Children
I have learned more about God in the three years since my son was born than in my whole life. I have a clear picture of my relationship with my Heavenly Father now that I am a father myself.

One day as my son was learning to walk I had a revelation. I was sitting in our living room on the couch and my son was stumbling and swaying back and forth throughout the room. He had a big grin on his face as he continued to gain more confidence in his abilities. He tentatively wandered into the dining room and out of my line of sight. I knew just where he was and that he was in no danger. All of a sudden he realized that he could no longer see me and he started to panic and cry. All I had to do was lean forward so he could see me and remind him that I was close by. His panic subsided, the crying stopped, and he continued on his way.

How many of us does this describe? We love being in the presence of our Father. We go to church on Sunday and worship Him. Then we start to go about our business and beginning on Monday morning we start to forget about Him. We may be gaining more confidence in our walking abilities and we may take our eyes off of where our Father is. Before we know it we have gotten ourselves lost or in over our head and we begin to cry for our Father. He leans down and reminds us of how close He is and everything is alright again.

Another time my son and I were working on the rules and regulations that are in place in my home (There are only 5 basic rules for those of you who think I am a militant father of a 2 year old). I could see that he understood them and we were making some real progress. All of a sudden he broke one of the rules and I had to correct him. I patiently and gently corrected him and made sure he understood what he did wrong and then WE MOVED ON.

Another time my son was playing in the bathtub when he fell down. I gently reached down and picked him up and placed him back on his feet. It was at this moment when I pictured God doing these same things for us all the time. We are His little children and I think that at times we must seem like little toddlers to Him; so full of potential but constantly testing our boundaries and falling down and making mistakes. He lovingly picks us up, reminds us who He is and where He is, He corrects us and then puts it behind Him.

I can glance at my son and my heart wells up with pride and love for him. I would do everything and anything for him to keep him safe and growing in the right direction. I love spending time with him each and every day. If my finite mind and human emotions can feel this way imagine how much more an infinite and supernatural God feels about His children.

Now imagine my son spending one day a week with me. Imagine he talks with me for 5 minutes a day just before he falls asleep. How in the world can our relationship grow? How can he begin to know what is important to me? What if he constantly ignores my household rules and does what he wants do to? What if at 2 years old he starts to get cocky and think he knows better than me? What if at 2 he thinks he can get behind the wheel of a car and drive (he does and he tries)? Would I let him?

Jesus says that the Kingdom belongs to those who, like little children, are prepared to receive the kingdom as a great gift that God has given. Can we be open and receptive like a child towards God? Can we receive what He has for us as something that can’t be achieved on our own doing? Jesus is saying that the Kingdom can be entered by those who know they are helpless and without anything to bring to the equation. Can we have total trust and dependence, frank openness, and complete sincerity with Jesus?

Have a great day and may God be with you.

Matthew 19:1-12

Jesus discusses Divorce & Marriage
As we begin chapter 19 we find large crowds following Jesus and this is really infuriating the Pharisees. Behind the scenes they are plotting to kill Jesus and in front of the crowds they are trying to set Him up with questions they think He will answer erroneously. So they pick a rather dicey subject and ask Him about divorce.

In the Pentateuch, divorce was permitted and regulated (Deuteronomy 24:1-4) and Jesus has already commented on it in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:31-32). It seems like there was two schools of opposing views on the original Law. One side interpreted the phrase “something indecent” as marital infidelity being the only grounds for divorce while another group focused more on the “becomes displeasing” statement and would allow a divorce for anything....even burning your dinner!!

Here though, Jesus points back to the original concept for marriage that He established at creation in Genesis 1:27 and 2:24. God’s intent was for a man was to leave the protective custody of his parents and establish a new family unit with his wife. The divine intention for a husband and wife was monogamy (otherwise God would have created male and several females in His image in 1:27). This divine pairing was to form an inseparable union and be bound together as “one flesh” as long as they were to live.

You see, the Pharisees and the people of Moses day (and present day) got it wrong. That is one of the reasons why Jesus came; to set the record straight. Instead of looking at the “one flesh” they were busy focusing on the “indecent” and “displeasing” things about the marital union. There hearts were hard and their commitment to one another was minimal. By Jesus coming and stating these things He is putting an extraordinary amount of emphasis on the amount of work it takes to stay committed to one another. His statement in verse 6 that man should not separate what God has joined together means that instead of taking the easy way out it is going to take some serious work to stay together.

We have seen Jesus spend a lot of time speaking and demonstrating mercy and forgiveness. Even though Jesus gives us an “escape hatch” for bailing on a spouse (infidelity) in verse 9 I believe He wants us to show love and forgiveness in all situations. Remember-even though divorce may end conflict between two people, it will not correct the attitudes or behaviors that brought about the conflict in the first place. Unless we lay down the root problems before the cross of Jesus Christ and surrender our will to Him we will still have the same conflicts in future relationships.

The disciples question Jesus that if it is so hard to stay committed in a marriage relationship isn’t it better to not get married at all? Jesus basically says that everyone is different and some people are meant for a celibate lifestyle and some aren’t.

This has probably been the hardest post for me to complete and those that know me personally know why. As I wrote yesterday, forgiveness doesn’t come easily for me. I need to practice it each and every day. For those of you that are reading this and going through marital difficulties I recommend that you watch the movie “Fireproof” and then pick up the book “The Love Dare” that goes along with it. Please put some effort into saving your relationship with your spouse.

I will be praying for you. Have a great day and God bless.

Matthew 18: 21-35

Forgiveness and Mercy
In these verses Jesus commands us to show mercy and forgiveness. Peter comes to Him and asks Him how many times he has to forgive someone and He tells Peter to forgive as many times as it takes. He then goes on to tell a story illustrating the fact that we were forgiven ourselves so we could pass that forgiveness on to others. “Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you” Jesus narrates in His story. He commands us to forgive from our heart. The story is simple to understand but one of the hardest (I find) to put into practice.

Lately I am struggling with a hardened heart towards someone who wronged me. I loved this person and I was hurt. I certainly had my share of blame in the whole circumstance but that doesn’t change the fact that I was hurt.

“Lord, how do I forgive this person?” I ask. I tell Him that I know what He commands but I just don’t know how to pull it off. I hurt too much inside. The wound is still raw. I ask Jesus, “How can I deal with the resentment I hold towards this person?” I want to move towards healing. When I look at all that Jesus has done for me and forgiven me of, it makes sense for me to choose to forgive those that hurt me. I know that by forgiving this person it will free me from the festering resentment that I feel. I am certainly willing to forgive but I just can’t write it off and let it go.

I plead with the Lord to take this thorn just like Paul did in II Corinthians 12:8-9. I know that God’s grace is all I need and that His power is made perfect in weakness. I can spout off several verses about this but I don’t experience them in my life. I have the head knowledge but not the heart transformation when it comes to forgiveness. “Why Lord, why?”

I know I don’t spend enough time on my knees before the Lord for this particular situation. It is almost like I enjoy my festering wound. It sounds silly I know but why else would I not let go of my hurt and forgive this person as Christ has forgiven me? It doesn’t help that I come from a family that doesn’t forgive. Grudges last for decades and feelings remain bitter and hurt well after some of these people leave the earth for their eternal resting place. I have a visual reference for how unforgiveness can destroy lives and make people miserable yet I cling to my anger and discord like it is a prized possession. Do I enjoy this false martyrdom that I have placed upon myself?

The NLT Life Recovery Bible has a section on forgiveness that says by hanging on to the pain we have suffered at the hands of others it will lead to emotional baggage that will hinder our walk with the Lord. It says that forgiving others is an important part of turning our will over to God. I have a hard time with this. For example I have tried to fast before with absolutely no success. I can’t even turn my desire for food over to God and do without for a short period of time. I talk myself out of it at the first hunger pang. Why do I struggle with turning my will over to God if this is something I truly want to do deep down inside of me?

The NLT Bible goes on to say that forgiving others is not excusing what they have done but we simply recognize that we have been hurt and we turn the matter over to God. This will help us to face the truth about our own pain and rid us of any excuse to continue our compulsive behavior because of what has been done to us.

Maybe it’s time to get rid of the excuses. Pray for me.

Have a great day. May God be with you.

Matthew 18:15-20

Church Discipline
I have been to three churches trying to find one that fits my place in my walk and one that allows me to minister to others using my God-given spiritual gifts. I have been at my present church for over 2 years now and I honestly feel like I have found my spiritual home. I am involved in a ministry that is close to my heart, I have met and become friends with some great brothers and sisters, I have been ministered to and supported, edified, and taught all manner of spiritual disciplines. It gives me great pleasure to worship God in my new spiritual home and I don’t see myself or my family ever having to leave Shiloh Community Church. It’s not that the other churches I went to didn’t provide me with any one or two of those things but this one has met my needs on every level of spiritual and emotional growth.

Along my path to find a church I have experienced the discipline that Jesus talks about in these verses. I have seen it approached and interpreted in different ways but this is not the forum to talk about that. Instead lets look at what Jesus is saying and why.

Jesus starts the conversation off by saying that if a believer wrongs you than you should go and talk with that person, just the two of you. Jesus wants us to do this first and foremost so that any slander and gossip can be prevented in the church. If you cannot sway that person that they in fact have sinned against you then and only then are you to take another couple of believers with you to confront the person. If they still refuse to listen then you are to take your grievance to the church.

It is interesting that the NIV Study Bible says that here and in Matthew 16:18 are the only places in the Gospels that use the word “church” which means “local congregation”.

In verse 17 Jesus establishes the basis for excommunication for those that refuse to accept church discipline. This goes to show the importance that Jesus puts on the church in the life and growth of one of His children. We have just seen in the previous story of the lost sheep that Jesus doesn’t want to lose any of His children but if a person is not going to be obedient to His will or the will of His church then one has to wonder if that person is truly saved or not. This is a hard message to write about and it is even harder to understand......especially the next few verses about “binding” and “loosing”.

I turned to the NLT translation which explains “binding” as locking or forbidding and to “loose” is to open or permit. This shows us the great authority that Jesus places on the church and its ability to soundly discipline its congregation. Jesus is saying that if the church forbids or allows something on earth and it is within the will of God than the same will be forbid or allowed in heaven. He continues by pointing out that if two or more come together in the context of church discipline outlined above than He will provide what is being asked.

Verse 20 is read at churches and Bible studies the world over because of its great impact. Jesus says that wherever two or three of His children get together to seek Him that He will be found there. So get together with a brother or sister in Christ. Gather a group and start seeking the Lord. Pray and open the Word and He will show up. It will be unmistakable when the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ is among you. Come and experience it!

Have a great day and may God be with you.

Matthew 18:12-14

Lost Sheep
Do you desire God? Do you delight in spending time with Him? Do you feel empty when you don’t? I can openly and honestly answer yes, yes, and yes to all three questions. When I get busy and give God my lukewarm leftovers I feel like I am missing something terribly important. I feel.....I don’t know...I just miss Him. I miss being in the presence of the Most Holy God. I love reading His Word and seeing what He has to tell me through it. I love talking about Him and learning what He is doing in the lives of others. I just can’t seem to get enough of Him lately.

Does that describe your feelings for Him? You know what....it describes His feelings for you!! As we see in this chapter, God has an incredible desire to be with us. It is His will that none of us perish, it says so right there in verse 14. Go ahead, read it again. Do you believe that? I do. I already gave you a cliff notes version of my testimony. Suffice it to say that I was one of the lost sheep and Jesus pursued me vigorously for 34 years. He never gave up until I was back home where I belonged. I am so grateful for that. Many times He could have just thrown up His hands and said, “You know what Cipriano, to hell with you!” But He didn’t. He doesn’t want anyone to go to hell. And many times in His word it says that when another person comes to join the family that Heaven rejoices!! When you and I became born again God and all the saints in Heaven and all the angels rejoiced!! Imagine being in Foxborough the other night when the Patriots scored the go-ahead touchdown. The place went nuts!! Fireworks, music, cheering, and yelling in pure ecstasy and joy as 70,000 people all cheered for the same reason. Well, in Heaven it is going to dwarf that by a million times whenever a person makes a decision to follow Jesus.

God loves us. He doesn’t want us to be away from Him. He loves us so much that He doesn’t want us to stay the same. He wants to change us from the inside-out. Sometimes that change hurts. Sometimes we have to give up something but what we get in return is far better.

Are you a lost sheep? Jesus is looking for you. He will rejoice when He finds you. Let Him find you.

God bless.

Matthew 18:1-10

The Greatest
After all that Jesus has taught the disciples the only question they can come up with is, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven”? After speaking to them about love and humility and forgiving one another this is how they respond? After telling them that He is going to die for the cause this is what they find important? Simply amazing. If God can use these 12 to build the church into what it is today than God can do anything!!

It is easy to criticize the mindset of the disciples but don’t we have the same prideful tendencies at times? Just today on the way home from work (I sometimes just talk to God on my way to and from work) I had to remind myself that this blog is not about me. It’s not about the possibility of being published or making this a career opportunity (scary huh?), it’s not about how clever or witty I can be in my banter; after all it really isn’t about me at all. This blog is to bring glory to God through my meditation of the Word, period. And truth be told the last few entries have been all about me not God. Lately I have felt pressured to write a daily entry and it has begun to feel like a chore. Yesterday I actually worked on my entry while watching football. Saturday I worked on it while being in an angry state of mind. That isn’t what God wants. That’s me saying, “God, who is the greatest....is it me....look at this blog I am writing.”

Jesus tells us that unless we change (He knows our tendencies) and become like little children then we will never enter Heaven. “Like little children”, what does that mean? It means that we need to come to the Lord trusting in Him and unpretentious. You see, we become great in God’s sight when we sincerely and humbly look away from “self” to revere, admire, respect, look up to, hold in the highest regard, be in awe of, and worship Him.

That’s it for today. I am going to slow things down a little bit and not try to cram a single chapter in one entry anymore. I am going to yield to God and humbly think about one topic at a time and see where He leads it.

Have a great day and God bless.

Matthew 17

The Transfiguration
We have seen that even before Jesus was born; throughout the birth dialogue, as wise men from the east made an incredible journey to witness the glory of young Jesus; as God the Father worked in the life of Jesus and His parents to ensure He met prophecy after prophecy, and through the baptism of Jesus and His temptation in the wilderness that He is the undeniable Son of God. We and the disciples have seem Him preach and teach with an authority that could only be of God. We have witnessed Him heal the sick and shoo away demons like a common housefly.

Peter, James, and John have not seen Jesus like this though. Jesus leads His inner circle up to a mountain to be alone. All of a sudden He is transformed; the Son becomes like the sun!
This transformation provides a glimpse of His future glory of when He will return to judge the earth and it probably served to encourage the disciples who might have been disheartened after hearing about the death and impending suffering of Jesus.

Then out of nowhere Elijah and Moses appear and begin talking with Jesus!! According to the NIV Study Bible, Moses appearance here is as a representative of the OT covenant and the promise of salvation and Elijah appears here as a reference to Malachi 4:5 “See I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.”

Now why and how Peter misses this is beyond me. If Peter was at all familiar with the Scriptures he would have recognized this wouldn’t he? Instead Peter is concerned with the physical comfort of the three and offers to build some shelters for everyone. God’s only recourse is to send a bright cloud signifying His presence. He speaks to them from this cloud and finally Peter and the disciples fall on their faces in reverence and fear. At hearing the voice of Jesus they look up and find that He is alone among them once again.

After this experience the three disciples would never again consider Jesus as anything less than the Son of God. Through God’s Holy Word and the testimony of other believers we too can see the glory of Jesus Christ. To deny His authority over our life is to assure failure in our walk of faith. Jesus is the only one who can transform our life and lead us to victory.

Casting Out Demons and Faith to Move Mountains
In this section we see that the disciples were unable to cast out a demon. This failure on their part and the explanation from Jesus afterwards teaches us the role of faith in our walk with Jesus. Jesus criticized the disciples lack of faith in God’s power. You see, we don’t need large amounts of faith to begin a transformation in our lives; we only need the “faith as small as a mustard seed” to effect change. Prayer and faith in Jesus are the tools necessary in our walk of faith and with these, Jesus says we can move mountains!! So pray and have faith and the mountain of addiction can be moved; the mountain of fear can be removed; the mountain of disbelief can be disproved; and the mountain of faith and forgiveness can grow and be nurtured.

The Real Reason Jesus Came
Jesus again prepares His disciples for His upcoming death and resurrection. This time He even proclaims that He will rise on the third day but the disciples are still filled with grief.

Obey Those in a Position of Authority
Later on in the NT Paul preaches heavily on our necessity to obey those in authority above us. Here Jesus preempts Paul’s message with one of His own. It is the same message though. Pay your taxes, obey the speed limit, and do what your boss requires of you. So often I am guilty of breaking the laws of society. So often I see cars with “Jesus fish” decals on them speeding and driving dangerously. We must remember the message of Jesus and not offend but do what is required of you by those in a position of authority above you.

Have a great day.

God bless.

Matthew 16

Just give me a sign!!
Up until this point we have seen that the Pharisees and religious leaders have all missed the boat concerning Jesus and His ministry. Even His disciples have misinterpreted some of His teachings and earned a rebuke from the Lord. Although later in this chapter Peter has a light bulb moment concerning Jesus, he still gets the overall arc of Jesus’ ministry wrong.

I read an interesting point in a commentary recently (http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/Matt/Jesus-Opponents-Seek-Sign) that said that the Pharisees and Sadducees very seldom came together to agree on anything except under times of great threat. To them the ministry of Jesus was one of those moments as we read in verse one.

So here we are and once again the religious leaders are asking for a sign. This time though they ask for “a sign from heaven”. Some interpret this as meaning “a sign from the heavens meaning that the religious leaders were basically asking Jesus to read them the daily horoscope. He rebukes them and their weathermen and calls them a wicked and adulterous generation. They have all the prophecy and insight from the Law and the Prophets (the OT) and they just can’t get it through their thick heads. They can’t see what’s in front of them. Sometimes I think we are like that as well. Jesus works in our life and changes our hearts and our circumstances; He provides for us and leads us and guides us; He gives us new life and sets us free and we still “throw out the fleece” like Gideon (Judges 6:36-40) and ask God to “just give us a sign”. We second-guess and doubt clear signs that Jesus provides for us instead of listening to our heart and seeing the ministry of Jesus in our lives for what it is. Thank God that He is patient!!

The Disciples get it wrong again!!
In chapter 13 Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast; it can permeate everything just like yeast does in bread. Here Jesus says that the false teaching of the religious leaders is also like yeast. He warns the disciples to be on their guard against the “yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees”. So do the disciples take this warning to heart?? No, they start bickering amongst themselves wondering if Jesus is angry with them for forgetting the bread!! I picture Jesus throwing His hands up in amazement as He puts them in their place. He asks them after all the miracles when He fed the thousands with a few crumbs, how they could misunderstand and think He was talking about bread? Finally they get it that Jesus was warning them about false teaching. I tend to be hard on the disciples because of their constant dim-wittedness but I must remember that I do the same thing. Only with the Holy Spirit in my corner, and my constant dependence on Him, can I truly understand the Word of God......and the disciples had yet to receive the counsel of the Spirit (Acts 2).

Peter
In this section we see Peter at his best and worst. First Jesus asks the 12 who they think He is and Peter boldly proclaims, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” YES!! Peter gets it!! The light switch was thrown on and a blinding light from heaven shines down upon him!! Jesus had given the disciples a whole list of choices of who He could be but Peter chose the only answer possible. The insight that Jesus is the promised Messiah and the Son of God comes from God Himself.

For a long time I misunderstood what Jesus says here. He says, “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.” Now this can mean that Jesus will actually build His church upon Peter himself. After all we do see in Acts 2 that Peter was the first one to stand up and preach the Gospel on the day of Pentecost, he had the Cornelius incident in Acts 10, and he had a general leadership position among the apostles. Ephesians 2:20 says that the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets”. This statement made by Jesus can also be seen to mean that the church is built on Christ Himself and/or Peter’s confession on who Jesus is as the Messiah. It can also be seen to mean that the church will be built on the teachings of Jesus. I personally think that the answer is.......all of the above. Jesus is the Messiah and the foundation, His teachings are to obeyed, and He will uses His disciples to carry out His work and teachings.

Jesus focuses on Eternity
When Jesus predicted His death Peter was aghast!! He went from being “The Rock” to being a stumbling block to Jesus. I can imagine that I probably would have felt the same as Peter did. Here is the leader, the Messiah, the One on who all hope hangs upon and He says He is going to be killed? I probably would have blurted out the same thing as Peter did, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” I can’t blame Peter for feeling the way he felt and yelling out what he did.

But Jesus did have an issue with what Peter said. Jesus was focused on eternity and His perspective was expanded much farther than Peter’s was. He tells us that if we want to follow Him we must give up our selfish ways, take up our cross (for some we take up our cross daily for Christ, for others it is a minute by minute experience), and follow Him. It is Jesus’ desire that we have a rewarding and fulfilled life. It will be easier to adjust to our new life with Jesus if we remember that denying ourselves immediate pleasure will bring a harvest of rich rewards in this life and also in our eternal home with Jesus.

So do you want to have a successful walk with Jesus? Do you want victory? Then do as Jesus did, focus on eternity. Focus on your final destination instead of your current place in the muck and the mire of this world. Focus on the goodness and promises of Jesus Christ and all that He has waiting for you at your final destination.

Have a great day.

God bless.

Matthew 15

Jesus teaches about Inner Purity
I love Jesus when He is like this! I can see Him pacing back and forth while speaking here in chapter 15! I imagine His face is flushed and His fists are clenched and He looks like a lion pacing back and forth in a cage, eager to be set free! Maybe that’s why they call Him the “Lion of Judah”!

The Pharisees come to Jesus with a petty squabble and Jesus puts them severely in their place! You see, after the Babylonian exile the religious masterminds started coming up with all these rules and interpretations on the Law and they called it their “tradition of the elders”. It detailed meticulous rules and regulations on how people where to live their daily lives (as if God’s Law wasn’t enough). They ask Jesus why He and His friends don’t wash their hands before they dip it into the hummus bowl.

I can see Jesus wrinkling His forehead up in disbelief when the religious leaders asked Him this....then He jumps all over them in Kung-Fu-Jesus mode!! He asks them point blank why they break God’s Law for the sake of their own man-made rules and regulations. He gives examples and then re-states that same question in verse 6; “You nullify the Word of God for the sake of your own tradition”. Then He goes to quote what I am beginning to think was His favorite book in the Bible, Isaiah. Isaiah 29:13 says “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” The NLT translation says, “Their worship is a farce”. I know the Pharisees didn’t have the NLT but how could they miss this!!

Jesus goes on to call the crowd to come and listen to what He has to say concerning purity: outward activities don’t correspond to inner righteousness-inner purity comes from the condition of the heart. Then the disciples ask Jesus if He realized that He offended the Pharisees....gotta love the Thick-headed Twelve!! Jesus even asks them, “Are you so dull?” in the same story in Mark chapter 7. He tells them to leave the “blind guides” alone. He warns that if you follow a blind man you may be pulled into the same ditch they fall into. This is a clear warning that Jesus gives us to make sure we know who we are following. Make sure your church or pastor is preaching the one true Word of God. No additions or subtractions to the Bible will be accepted; only the pure, unadulterated Word that God has given us.

Jesus closes out this section by telling us just how evil our hearts have a tendency to be. He fills us in that our hearts can bring forth evil thoughts, sexual immorality, and slander amongst other impure things. So washing our hands before dinner isn’t going to make us clean-surrendering our hearts to God so that He can change them will.

The Faith of an Outsider
This “Gentile” or “Canaanite” woman in this section was looked upon with disdain in Jesus’ time. She was a pagan and an outsider. Because of the racism of the time, it took a lot of courage for her to approach Jesus with her request for Him to heal her daughter. Now Jesus knew her heart and He also knew the heart of those around Him so He used this situation to teach them all a valuable lesson. He starts off by ignoring the woman even though she uses a distinct term recognizing Him as the Messiah (Son of David). The Thick-Headed Twelve urged Jesus to get rid of the woman because of her persistent begging.

Jesus told the woman that He came to help God’s people-the Israelites. I can see the 12 dimwits (I use this term endearingly) smiling at each other and nodding their heads in agreement. This woman however was driven to Jesus out of desperation for her family. She would not be deterred even though she was being ridiculed and despised by those around her. It even seemed like Jesus was pushing her away but in reality His point here was that the Gospel was to be given first but not exclusively to the Jews. The woman understood this and was willing to settle for “crumbs” that were leftover as long as He healed her daughter.

Jesus rewarded her for her great faith and healed her daughter. He also taught us all a great lesson. May we all have the same persistent belief in Jesus that this woman had. Even in the face of adversity she refused to be deterred in her faith. And we should remember that at one time we were all beggars. We have been given the gift of salvation but it is not ours to keep hidden. It is ours to share with all who would ask of it. We are not members of an exclusive club. God wants all to be saved and this section proves that. We should not look upon unbelievers with disdain like the disciples did.

Jesus the Caterer
Again we see Jesus feeding great crowds that had gathered around Him. As before Jesus shows His compassion for those in need. He took a meager offering (this time of 7 loaves and a few small fish) and turned it into enough to feed thousands. We can also take the lesson from this miracle that Jesus used His disciples to distribute the resources and a lot was left over at the end. Jesus also tailored His resources to meet different situations and a different number of people than the first feeding of the masses. He will do the same with us. He can and will meet any situation that requires His grace. He will use us to distribute His love upon others and in the end everyone will be far more blessed than we were before.

Have a great day.

God bless.

Matthew 14

The Death of JtB
Sexual sin can destroy lives and corrupt relationships. There, I said it. This is a message that is barely preached in the church and if it is it is in hushed tones. When Christian recovery groups meet we have people dealing with co-dependant or relationship issues, we have people dealing with substance abuse and we have “S.A.” groups. We don’t even use the words “sexual addiction” amongst each other. SSHHHH......that person has “S.A.” issues!! JUST SAY IT......COME ON NOW.....SEXUAL ADDICTION. Sexual sin is a subtle corruptor and destroyer of people and relationships that needs to be talked about openly and honestly.

Here in Matthew 14, JtB called out Herod and spoke clearly the message found in the Law concerning Herod’s lustful relationship with his own brother’s wife. Herod respected JtB enough and knew that any action taken against him may bring trouble to the region because of John’s status as a prophet. However because of his weakness and corruption due to this sexual sin he listened to his adulterous wife and had John arrested. Then after a lap dance from his step-daughter he made a promise to kill John even though he really didn’t want to. His sexual sin blinded him and weakened him and it led to the prophets beheading.

Be careful my brothers and sisters. Sexual sin slinks around behind closed doors. We may think it is not harming anyone but all throughout the Scriptures men and women who where weakened with this character flaw never lived up to their true potential. In time these sexual sins came back to haunt each individual and it ruined not only their lives but the lives of their friends and family as well (think Sampson and David). Paul spends a lot of time writing about the consequences of sexual sin all throughout the NT and we will spend much time deliberating over this in the weeks and months to come.

In Jesus’ Hands, Our Little Becomes a Lot
When Jesus found out about the death of John the Baptist He went to be alone. The scriptures don’t tell us why or what He was doing but we can guess that Jesus went of to pray and to grieve. Even the Maker knew enough to spend quiet time in reflection and meditation each day. We need to take note of this and follow Jesus’ example for dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression. Jesus didn’t go get some Prosac or lay on a counselors couch to talk through His issues. He went before God and prayed and read His Bible.

Even as Jesus tried to grieve the crowds pursued Him. He found Himself surrounded by 5000+ people and He knew they were getting hungry. He commanded the disciples to feed the masses. They were incredulous and replied that all they could dig up was 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Well, we know how the story ends. Jesus feeds all those people with the small measly contributions that the disciples offered up. A pastor of a church I used to go to once questioned his congregation one Sunday morning, “Isn’t it great that in Jesus’ hands our little becomes a lot?” Isn’t it great indeed!!

Walking on Water
Here again Jesus sneaks off to be alone to pray and recharge His spiritual batteries. Time alone to focus on our tasks and pray is necessary if we are to have any measure of success in this walk of ours. Even Jesus needed to recharge.

In this section the “step of faith” that Peter tries to make might seem silly to us, I know it has to me. I mean come on Pete, you have been with this guy for some time now and you know He is the Messiah, why are you frightened? Why do you scream like a little girl (No offense intended to little girls), “Save me, Lord!” ?

Peter did what we often do. He leaped without looking carefully at the situation. He jumped in with both feet filled with conviction and faith but when things looked harder that they really were his faith and conviction left him. Don’t we often do the same thing? I know I do. I start a project or a ministry or a relationship with the best intentions but when the rubber meets the road sometimes I am left reeling and my faith is shaken. I too cry out, “Save me, Lord!”

It’s easy to mock Peter in this and many of the instances in the Scriptures where he was too brash, to impulsive, and too dimwitted. Just remember that this is the man that Jesus used on the day of Pentecost to reach thousands of people.

If we wait for all our fears to recede before we take a step of faith, we will never make true progress in our walk with Jesus.

Have a great day.

God bless.

Matthew 13:44-58

Hidden Treasures & Pearls!!
Up until 5 years ago my whole life had been a search for “hidden treasure”. I was like the merchant in the second illustration that Jesus gives us here; always on the lookout for choice pearls. I was always searching for the one thing that would bring me happiness and security. When I thought I had found that elusive thing I was always disappointed and started looking for the next thing that would bring me peace and happiness. The more I tried to keep up with the worlds idea of peace and happiness the more miserable I got.

Then in 2004 I became like the other guy in this section; the fist guy that Jesus spoke about. This guy stumbled upon something great just like I did. He realized how amazing this treasure was and gave up everything to get it. My road was a little different. Let me explain.

My Testimony (Cliff Notes Version)
I grew up knowing God and I was always conscious of what Jesus did for me. Even though I was aware of God and His grace I never called myself a Christian. I never sought God and never worshipped Him. I went about my life totally ignorant of His amazing love and generosity and His amazing power that He wanted to extol upon me in my life. I ignored Him and did my own thing. Looking back I can clearly see the many times He tried to get my attention through friends or co-workers. Many of the more trying times in my life I can look back and see Him waiting for me with His arms open ready to comfort me and love me. I can only imagine how much I hurt Him with my refusal to acknowledge and love Him back.

Well, in 2004 I saw “The Passion of the Christ” and I knew I could no longer ignore Him. After seeing the visceral, raw images of Jesus suffering FOR ME I knew I couldn’t live my life the same as I had been. I stumbled upon something great just like the man in the field. My journey of giving up everything I have to “buy the field” is taking a little longer than I had anticipated but every day I try to get closer to “selling everything I own”. I know that my salvation was immediate it is just taking me longer than I thought to learn how to surrender my life to Jesus.....this is the process of sanctification that will not end until I am face to face with my Lord.

The salvation experience and relationship I am continuing to build with Jesus has been greater than I could have ever anticipated. Even through difficult times I have peace and joy knowing God is in control and that He will work everything out to the good of those that believe in Him (Romans 8:28). I no longer worry about “Keeping up with the Joneses” because the only one I want to keep up with now is Jesus. I know as long as I continue to seek His will that He will provide everything I need. By the way a relationship with Jesus has changed my perspective on “everything I need”. It should change yours as well.

The Fishing Net
Jesus has already told a similar tale about how at the appropriate time He will sift through this world and discard the “bad fish” and keep the good ones. My perspective on this is strong because I worked in a fish market when I was younger and I know the difference between good fish and bad fish. The biggest difference is that bad fish stink. There is no ignoring a bad fish when it is present. Do we know the bad fish in our sphere of influence?

Jesus Rejected
The people that grew up with Jesus had preconceived notions of who He was. They couldn’t possibly see Jesus as the Messiah when they remembered Him as a boy playing ball in the alley with his friends. How many of us carry around preconceived notions of others? People of other religions or from other cultures often are judged before we even get to know them. Young people with tattoos and piercings are judged unfairly sometimes as people who don’t have much to offer our society and senior citizens are often thought of as having nothing left to offer society. I see these viewpoints often......I don’t speak (or write) about things I know nothing of. As a teacher I clearly see false judgments each and every day (I also make my own false judgments quite frequently. That’s something Jesus and I are working on together). This even happens in church. Maybe yours is a more conservative church and you see someone who raises their hands or voices during worship time as strange. It is hard not to be judgmental of someone who is different from you. Don’t worry though. Jesus knows this. He experienced this first hand. He acknowledged this fact not by criticizing His hometown homeboys. He didn’t preach a fire and brimstone sermon at them either. He simply didn’t confront them a lot with something they wouldn’t understand. He knows what human nature is capable of and He knows well the heart of man.

The next time we see someone with a different hairstyle (or in my case...no hair) or wearing different clothes than we would, remember that Jesus knows our heart. He also knows how to fix it.

Have a great day. May God be with you.

Matthew 13:44-58

Weeds!!
I hate weeds!! In my “desert landscape” yard I am constantly battling the weeds. Because my yard is filled with rocks as soon as a weed pops up it is visible. At least if I had green grass they would blend in and not be so noticeable. I could leave them there for a while without getting a notification from my HOA. But no, as soon as one weed pops up I can be guaranteed to get a notice in my mailbox from my HOA stating my non-compliance.

Jesus tells us about these pesky flora in a story that has deep meaning in the struggle between good and evil. In Jesus’ tale we, believers in Christ, are wheat and unbelievers are the weeds. Jesus is the farmer who plants the wheat only to find that the enemy has planted weeds amongst His beautiful crop. Rather than pull up the weeds at the beginning of the season as this may damage some of the wheat, the farmer will wait until harvest time and then have His workers sift through the mess and throw the weeds into the fire.

You see, Jesus knows about the weeds that surround us and He has a plan concerning us and them. If He were to remove them from our presence during this “season” some of us may be damaged amongst them. He will remove them at the proper time, harvest time. His workers, the angels, will then toss the weeds into the fire (hell). We like to worry a lot and question God’s goodness concerning the weeds in our life. Just remember one thing, God has a plan and He is faithful to carry it out.

Back to my opening statement concerning weeds. Do the weeds in our life stick out or do they blend in with our surroundings? Will the farmer and His workers have a hard time distinguishing between us and the weeds amongst us? When a weed pops up in our life do we leave it there until we get a letter from our EHOA (Eternal-Home-Owners-Association) or do we remove it right away?

Mustard Seeds & Yeast (sounds yummy!)
I think Jesus is saying in these two tales that the Kingdom of Heaven is going to permeate everything. In God’s own time the Kingdom of Heaven will overcome everything. The Word of God is going to work it’s way through the World and change everything in God’s time.

He who has ears, let him hear.......in other words LISTEN!

Have a great day. May God be with you.

Matthew 13: 1-23 (Tuesday, September 8th 2009)

Story-time!!
The Tale of the Planter
• (more commonly known as the Parable of the Sower)
What kind of person are we?
• Do we hear the Word of God and not understand it and forget about it soon after?
• Do we hear and receive the Word of God only to have trials or tribulations cause us to forget the truths we once heard? Do we abandon God and His will at the first sign of trouble?
• Do we love the things of this world more than we love God? Do the worries of this world drown out the promises of God and leave our relationship with Jesus unfruitful? Do we put more faith in the things of this world than we do our Lord and Savior?
• Do we trust the LORD with all of our heart? Do we lean not on our own understanding but acknowledge God in everything we do?

Why did Jesus speak in cryptic stories? Why not just come out and say what He wanted to say? From some of His conversations with the Pharisees and teachers of the Law it sure seemed like Jesus didn’t have a problem with putting people in their place or telling it like it is. Why then the switch to these stories when speaking to His disciples and others?

Jesus points us to Isaiah 6:9-10 as to why He speaks in parables. “In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah”. Again Jesus is meeting one of the many expectations that the prophesied Messiah was to meet.

One of the reasons I think Jesus spoke in parables was because they had a meaning that the common folk of the day could understand. He didn’t try to wow the people with His grasp of “theology” or “doctrine”. He spoke to them in plain language with stories that they could relate to. Sometimes I think that when we speak to unbelievers we tend to over “Christian-ese” them with our fancy terms of repentance and relevance. We mention spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues or prophesying and we probably scare away half of the people in our sphere of influence. Let’s take a simple lesson from observing Jesus and speak plainly to our friends and co-workers in language that they can understand.

Have a great day.

God bless.

Matthew 12:33-50

A Tree & It’s Fruit/You & Your Mouth
Jesus tells us a familiar yet simple message that the people of His era could understand. You will be known by the fruit you bear, just like a tree. Be careful, Jesus warns, the words from your mouth reflect the condition of your heart and it is your heart that Jesus is going to look at on the day of judgment. We will be responsible for every word that comes out of our mouth and have to answer for them before the LORD.

The Sign of Jonah
When the Pharisees ask for a miraculous sign Jesus rebukes them. He gives them several examples of people who saw lesser signs and miracles and repented of their sins while this hard-hearted group was now witnessing God’s only Son and rejecting the signs and messages He had already given them. They wanted more miracles. How many of us do this to Jesus? “Just do ____X___ and I will believe.”; “Just heal ___X___ and I will follow you.”; “Just deliver me from ___X___ and I will never do that again.” We turn Jesus into a genie that is to grant us wish after wish instead of treating Him with the obedience and majesty He deserves as Creator of all things.

The close of this section is a weird illustration about demons leaving a person only to come back in even more numbers. It is my understanding that if a person is a believer in Jesus Christ that person is indwelt with the Holy Spirit and CAN NOT be possessed by demons or evil spirits. The Spirit of God will not be pushed around by lesser spirits so if you are a true follower of Christ do not fear this illustration that Jesus is giving. This story is a timeless message that we can not achieve spiritual righteousness on our own. We can try all sorts of 12 step programs and 7 day experiences, we can read all sorts of self-help books and listen to Oprah everyday on how to be a better person. Sometimes we may even achieve a measure of success for a time. But without the Spirit of God living inside you to direct and lead you it will result in failure. I will say it again for those of you in the cheap seats; WE CAN NOT ACHIEVE SPIRITUAL RIGHTEOUSNESS ON OUR OWN. We need the shed blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us and we need the guidance of His Spirit to lead us. This is what Jesus is trying to convey with this story of the demons who leave only to return.

Jesus’ Family
Jesus closes this chapter with a revelation that should comfort us. If we do the will of God we are members of His family. We are adopted children of the Most High God. It doesn’t get any better than that! No matter of you are young or old, a baby Christian or a more mature Christian; say it with me, “I am a child of God!”

We are children of God! We have been bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ and nothing can separate us from Him (more on that as we go through the NT)!!

Thank You God for Your un-ending mercy!! Praise You God for Your faithfulness!!

Have a great day!! May God be with you.

Matthew Chapter 12:1-32

The Sabbath
How fitting that I am writing this on Sunday, the day that modern Christians celebrate as their Sabbath.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbath) The term "Sabbath" comes from the Hebrew shabbat (שבת), which when translated means "to cease". It was first used in (Genesis 2:2-3) in the Biblical account of the seventh day of Creation. Observation and celebration of the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments. The Jewish Shabbat is a weekly day of rest, observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. In most Christian denominations, "Sabbath" is a synonym of "Lord's Day" (Sunday), which is kept in remembrance of the resurrection of Christ, and often celebrated with the Eucharist or the taking of communion. It is often the day of rest, and usually the day of communal worship.

Great definition, but just defining it or observing it based on a definition can lead to legalism. This is what Jesus was discussing in this chapter of Matthew. Once again the Pharisees tried to paint Jesus into a corner concerning the Law and once again Jesus looked at the issue as a matter of the heart, not the legalistic observation done for self-righteous reasons. Jesus points to Hosea 6:6 “I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know Me more than I want burnt offerings” (NLT). How could the religious leaders miss this?

After putting the Pharisees in their place Jesus takes it a step further and throws it in their faces by healing a deformed man on the Sabbath. The “religious” leaders then began their plot to kill Jesus. I love the boldness of our Lord here. He not only saw through the façade that the Pharisees had built up but He tore it down as well!! He wasn’t afraid to argue His point and He wasn’t afraid to show people what He was capable of. The same is true today. Jesus wants to teach us and show us what the true meaning of the Scriptures are. He isn’t afraid of or against arguing with us to prove His point either. I argue and wrestle with God on a great many topics and I always come away from it a little beat up and bruised but much better off than I was before. If only the Pharisees had listened!!

Jesus is the Chosen Servant
Once again Matthew is pointing to the OT and showing us just how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies written about the Messiah. In this case we are directed to the book of Isaiah 42. These verses show Jesus as tender and gentle even though we have seen instances where He has been firm and unyielding in His demands. We must know that Jesus is both. He is the loving Savior that gave up everything for us and He is the mighty God who placed the stars in the sky. I particularly love the last two sentences of these passages from Isaiah: “Finally He will cause justice to be victorious. And His name will be the hope of all the world.”

Amen!!

Jesus vs. Satan
Jesus casts out a demon and the crowds go wild!! They are starting to think that this kid from Nazareth might just be the One!! “Oh, no” say the Pharisees, “He gets his power from Satan!” These imbeciles will stop at nothing to discredit the works that Jesus is doing in their midst. Jesus goes on to tell the people that every kingdom, every city, and every household that is divided will fall. This is a truth we must all hold close to our hearts my brothers and sisters!! We must be equally yoked with one another to stand firm under the pressures that this world brings upon us!!

Jesus then proceeds to do a, I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I-I-double-dog-dare on the Pharisees. It’s basically Him asking, “Which one of us is really for the devil?” He says that if He casts out demons under the power of the evil ones what about members of their own party that do the same? Are they too under the influence of the evil one? Again, Jesus’ biting words and sarcasm towards the hard-hearted leaders of “religion” blow me away. They must have been fuming!!

Jesus then throws down the gauntlet with the statement, “He who is not with me is against me.” After that throw-down, He issues a clear warning. The only sin that will not be forgiven is the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. I always wondered what this meant specifically. The commentaries I have read say that Jesus was talking about the Pharisees and their incapability towards repentance and the hardness of their heart towards the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me be as clear as I can be in my understanding of this. The only unforgivable sin is a heart so hard that it is committed only to rejecting Christ; that is the sin that Jesus is talking about and that is the sin that was being committed by the Pharisees that day.

Enough heavy stuff for a Sunday. We will finish the chapter in tomorrow’s post. Go and enjoy your “day of rest”.

May God be with you.

Matthew Chapter 11

Jesus & JtB
Under great trials and in times of great uncertainty we may have the same response as John the Baptist. John was in prison, things looked bleak, and he questioned Jesus saying, “Are you the Messiah...... or should we keep looking for someone else?” This is the same guy who was ‘preparing the way’ back in chapter 3. This is the one that was shouting from the hilltops that Jesus was the Lamb of God. This is the one who baptized Jesus and witnessed the Spirit and heard the voice of the Father. This is the man who lived for God with a lifestyle that was radical to say the least. What happened?

Doubt. We all have it. It is an inescapable reality of those that live on planet earth. We doubt ourselves, we doubt others, and when times are tough we may even doubt God. It seems to be a natural response to trials and tribulation, after all even the great John the Baptist did it! I am going to tell you though that it does not have to be your natural response concerning your Creator and Savior!!

In what has been one of the darkest periods of my life I had these verses to hold on to. I had the response of Jesus to believe in. He told JtB to look at the evidence and then He challenged him. He said, “God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.” Then he turned to those that were around Him and praised JtB. You see, Jesus could handle the doubt in John’s heart and He can handle the doubts that creep into ours as well. When you doubt just look at the evidence that Jesus leaves in His wake wherever He goes. Look at the miracles in the changed lives. See the miracles of restored health and answered prayers in the ones who call Him Lord. In the darkness I never lost sight of God’s glory. When things seemed to be at there worst I never took my eyes off of Jesus. When things looked uncertain I held on to the certainty of my relationship with Jesus Christ. And you know what? He saw me through my dark valley just like He did for King David when he wrote Psalm 23. Verse 4 (NLT) says “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me.”

Judgment
In this section we see some of the annoyance and irritation that Jesus must have been feeling towards those that wouldn’t accept Him. He had healed the sick and raised the dead and yet the people in the surrounding towns would not repent and turn to God. Their hearts were hardened and they refused to believe that Jesus was the Christ. Jesus doesn’t want to see anyone perish, it is His will that all enter the Kingdom of Heaven (we will look at that premise as we continue to go through the NT). When evidence of Jesus’ divine nature is ignored or unheeded it must not only frustrate Him but we know from Scripture it also breaks His heart (the book of Hosea is a great example of this). As a holy and sovereign God He will judge those who don’t believe. Judgment day is coming (verse 24).

Jesus Prays
Jesus’ prayer must seem bizarre to some, it did to me at first. He is consistent though in His desires for us. He desires us to be childlike in our faith. This means that we are to approach Him with nothing to offer, after all what could we have to give to a God who already has the universe in the palm of His hand? The only thing we are to do is come to Him wide eyed and expectant, like a child. Come to Him with your belief and nothing else. My son believes that when I throw him up in the air (much to the chagrin of his mom) I will catch him. My son believes when I say I will make him dinner that food will be on the table. When I promise to buy him something my son can trust that I will live up to my promise. That is the faith and belief that we are to come to God with. When we think of ourselves as more clever and wiser than God we shut ourselves off from the revelation and blessing that He has for us.

Yoke Up!
Verses 28-30 are some of the most encouraging words from Jesus that we have seen so far. He tells those of us who are tired and burdened to come to Him and He will give us rest. Who of us couldn’t use some rest these days? With work and full-time school plus raising a two year old son I know my days are full. A lot of days there just doesn’t seem to be enough daylight for me to accomplish all I need to. “Don’t worry”, Jesus says. “Take my yoke upon you”, He declares. When I first read that and for years afterward I thought to myself, “Why would I want to take more upon myself?” I thought that there was no way I could take upon myself anything that Jesus could. A dear brother corrected me one Saturday morning.

When two animals are yoked together the burden is split between them so no one animal has to do all the work by itself. A yoke also keeps both animals going in the same direction. Jesus is saying to hitch up to Him and let Him help you carry the load. By yoking up to Jesus He will teach you how to handle your load. When you walk with Jesus He will keep you going in the right direction. The hard part for me is to give up control. I think of myself as clever and wise. I think that I can do it on my own. Whenever I think this way Jesus has a way of reminding me that I can’t......and it usually hurts. Yoke up to Him. He will lead you in the right direction and He will help you carry your burden. He has for me.

Have a great weekend.

God bless.