Mark 10:21-22 Exodus 20:3 Acts 4:12 8/25/15

Mark 10:²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ²² At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

What a hard passage.  This rich young man had just assured Jesus that he had "kept all the commandments since his youth"...the first of which is "have no God before Me"Exodus 20:3

 This seems to be the commandment we all struggle with, and  just like this young man, we often don't see it until we are forced to choose.   The tragedy in this case is that when Christ's words revealed the idol, he was not willing to abandon it.

Jesus didn't tell him to sell everything in order to punish him... Jesus loved him, he was simply answering his question... "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"

The answer...worship Me alone...and that will always be the answer.
 It was the answer in the garden of Eden, and it will be the answer when Christ returns.
Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else... 

 "He went away sad, because he had great wealth."  What irony.  The young man walked away from Jesus, and unimaginable riches in Heaven, because he too greatly valued his temporary wealth on earth.

The question is what do you value?.... money?  reputation?  position?  ....when Christ's  words reveal your idols will you abandon them, or will you abandon Jesus?  Apparently those are our only two options. Jesus Loved him, but as he "went away sad"  there were no negotiations.

Tear down,  and destroy anything that compromises your allegiance to Christ, then hold on for the ride...because His next words are..."come follow Me" 

2 Cor 5:17 Gal 2:20 8/18/15

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

God didn't sacrifice His Son to only make you free from sin at your death.  He did it to also set you free in your life.  

The high price of our sins is a huge aspect of the Cross, and spending eternity with our Father is the ultimate crown.  But that eternity doesn't have to wait.  If you are in Christ, your eternity has already begun.  The verse doesn't say "will be a new creature", it says "IS a new creature".   

What a gift from our Heavenly Father - that the old filth and failures have passed away...they have nothing to do with us anymore.  We ARE clean,  and new, and free.

By the power of the Holy Spirit we can walk differently than the old creature.

If you have accepted  Christ, and you hear a voice talking about your past - you can be sure it is not God...God has taken care of your past - and His voice will always talk about your future. 

Mercy is an amazing thing, forgiveness is incredible.  But being made new...starting over...completely disassociated with the failures of the past.  THAT is amazing grace... and an act of loving holiness that we cannot yet fully comprehend. 

Galatians 2:20  I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me

The Holiness of Christ has been forwarded to your account....Don't waste another second in the past.  It is no longer your past.  The old creature has nothing to do with you. It has been eliminated and in  it's place is a new man, washed in the blood and free from the chains.  

James 1:14-15, Romans 6:18, 1 Cor 10:13 8/11/15

James 1: ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

  Sin is a process. 

 It's not a one time occurrence that we commit and leave behind.  If we entertain evil desires, and are dragged into sin,  it starts a process that unless interrupted ends in death.  Sin is never stagnant...you are either moving away from it- or moving towards it. When you allow it to take hold in your life it begins to grow and its ultimate goal is destruction.

There are no "pet" sins, or sins that you can control...ANY sin, when it finishes growing - will kill things in your life.   Either you destroy sin, or its destroys you.

I talk a lot about God's Grace, and if you know me, you know why... but God knows the destructive power of sin...and His Grace gives us freedom FROM sin, not freedom TO sin.

 Roman 6:18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Seize that freedom and never underestimate the destructive power of sin, or the price God paid to deliver you from its' grasp.

1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able

Take an honest look at your life, and make sure there are no areas where you are being "dragged" away and enticed.  If you are, do whatever  it takes to break free, stop the process, and live your life as a slave to righteousness...the only way to true freedom

Mathew 14:25-31 8/4/2015

Mathew 14: ²⁵ .... Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
²⁹ “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Many lessons in this passage:
-1.  You should be careful what you ask Jesus for.
- 2. Peter shouldn't worry about wind when he is walking on water.
- 3.  Peter sank when he looked at the problem instead of Jesus.
- 4. Jesus caught Peter before he went under.

All great lessons, worthy of their own devos
...but today let's talk about how Peter's faith allowed him to do something extraordinary...

Granted, he might have been embarrassed when he sank in front of his friends.
And It probably hurt to have Christ ask why he had doubted.
And when it was over there were 9 or 10 guys who were safe, dry, and warm in that boat.

But in all of history there is only one man other than Jesus who walked on water...Peter.

That's impossible to do when your sitting in the boat.
 
If you act on your faith you might sink. There may be embarrassment.  In the worlds eyes you may fail....but you also might walk on water.

So if you want to do something extraordinary, every morning challenge yourself to keep your eyes on Jesus, and get out of the boat.

Matthew 18: 21-35 7/21/15

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 

Earlier in this chapter Jesus talked about how to deal with those who sin against you. Most at that time, believed you should forgive someone 3 times.  So Peter doubled it, added one to get to the number of completeness and proposed the number 7 to Christ.   He and the other disciples were probably surprised by the answer.

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Christ was not telling us to count out 77 times and stop at 78...but instead, limitless forgiveness.
He then follows with a parable to illustrate how ridiculous  it is for us to withhold forgiveness from anyone. (Mathew 18:23-35)

We can take allot from these verses but the point this morning is that we must learn to TRULY forgive.  For those who offend you, and for yourself.   Un-forgiveness does far more  harm to the "un-forgiver" than the "un-forgiven". "Being bitter toward others is like eating rat poison and hoping the rats die".

As Christians we rely on grace that God has shown toward our sin against Him .  In light of this, our holding a grudge against someone else would be laughable, if it was not so damaging.

We should take the same caution as I  am sure his disciples did when Jesus ended the parable like this:

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. ³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

 We all have people who have hurt us...take this week to inventory that list and unload your burden of bitterness, make sure you have forgiven them from your heart.

Bernard Meltzer once said "When you forgive, you in no way change the past - but you sure do change the future."

 Because of  your past you owe forgiveness to others.....because of your future you owe it to yourself.

Mathew 7: 1, 3, 5, 14, 21, 23 7/14/15

Mathew 7: 1, 3, 5, 21, 23

1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 

If we point out another's  sin we often hear these verses in response.  But we seldom hear what Jesus says immediately after these comments. Here is the continuation of the discussion:

5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven......²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

All the above verses were spoken by Jesus in the same conversation

This is why it is so important to read scripture in context.

Many people toss Mathew 7:1 around  using "judge not" as a way to silence those who would condemn sin.  Many quote verse 3, about not pointing out your brothers sin,  as a way to reprimand those who do.

But they ignore the rest of the "sermon"

Verse 5  Actually instructs us to help our brother remove the speck (sin).

Verses 21-23 (some of the scariest verses in the bible)  point out that not everyone who calls Jesus Lord will be saved, and refers to  those who are not as "evil doers".  Jesus then lays out the requirement for salvation, which is a relationship with Him -  And apparently this relationship impacts who we are, and what we do.

Jesus' words recorded in Mathew 7, were never intended to say that we shouldn't call sin, sin.

Instead Christ says we must speak the truth about sin -  and live lives that legitimize our words.

When Jesus granted forgiveness he said -  "go your way and sin no more."

Tolerance of sinners is a good thing..... Tolerance of sin is intolerable.

We must be loving, we must be humble, we must remember that we have been saved by amazing grace..... But at the same time, in a dark world, we must shine light, even when the world prefers the dark.

Psalms 46:10 Philippians 4:8 7/7/15

Psalms 46:10  “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Back in the 80's personal computers arrived with the promise of giving us all more leisure time by making us more productive.  Of course that didn't happen, and then their evil spawn, the  "smart phone" was created and we acquired an electronic leash, and "down time" became a thing of the past.   Our stress level went through the roof, and we ended up with less leisure time than before.

According to God's word, we NEED to be still.  Not just slow down, but completely stop our activities, and be still. 

Like the computer there will be times when we need to reboot spiritually.  We need to power down, and clean out our memory, and re-calibrate.  Get a fresh start.  

Truly being Still is a lost art in our fast paced world.  How long has it been since you turned off all electronics, sat down by yourself somewhere quiet, and meditated on the fact that  HE. IS. GOD. 

 The days you don't have time to do that... are the days you NEED to do that. 

Philippians 4:8   Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Before you hit the door this morning take a few minutes, find a quiet place, sit down
and BE STILL, AND KNOW 

.....have a great week. 

John 14:27 Philippians 1:27-28 John 16:33 6/30/15

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

When the world around us seems to be in a  free fall - it is easy to become anxious. When a storm appears on the horizon it can cause us to have troubled hearts.  This produces fear, aggression, and anxiety, instead of peace.  

But Jesus says PEACE is the gift He gives.
HIS perfect peace - better than what the world offers.  

That doesn't mean there will never be trouble.  We live in a fallen world.  Evil happens and things get broken.  On top of that, we are commanded to speak the truth,  and many don't like the truth.  So there will be struggles.

But peace is not an absence of trouble,  it is the promise that we don't face trouble alone. Even when things seem to be falling apart, God is not pacing the floor. 
He is still on the thrown. He is still in control.  

So our marching orders haven't changed:
Philippians 1: 27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; ²⁸ in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. 

In a world full of hysteria, and knee-jerk reactions, there should be a quiet confidence in us that draws others to Christ. 

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

1 John 4:19-20 Matthew 23:37-39 6/23/15

1 John 4:  ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. 

Continuing the theme from last week of considering the amazing grace that allows us to have fellowship with our creator, we are confronted with the verses above.  How can we say we love God and yet hate His children?   God says, that person is a liar.

 Just as someone could not tell you they loved you,  but hate your children, we cannot claim to love God and hate those He loves, that are made in His image.

When they asked Jesus what  the greatest commandment of all was, he gave them two:

Matthew 23:  ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[c] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.

He gave them two commands because they cannot be separated.

 The truth is,  you will never meet anyone who is truly happy that isn't loving and serving others.
 It's what we were made to do.

Remember the amazing grace that saved you - and extend it to those that need it.

Luke 18:10-14 & Romans 5:8 6/16/15

Luke 18: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people— robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’  ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.

 I often hear people say things like,  "I'm not good enough to be a Christian".  But a heart in that condition is ready for salvation.  It is the heart that feels worthy that doesn't understand its condition and the Grace of God.  In these verses Jesus says the humble man who acknowledged his sin and asked for mercy is the one who went home justified.  

You don't clean up your life and come to God.  You come to God, and He will clean up your life.  

The hardest thing to grasp is that He actually loves you right where you are. 

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.