What are you working toward?

Reading this morning I came across Luke 18:29-30:

"I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."

The thought came to me "What am I working towards?" This thought came to me because my focus has been on me.  I want to build my savings so I can do certain things, I want to work my schedule so I have time to exercise and practice my sport, I want a beautiful wife by me so I can act on my lusts.  I have put aside those things that mean something to the kingdom because I will need to give up a pursuit of mine and make time for them. Right now I am focused on me and my needs.  I think about moving, will I be happier?  Maybe I just need to go on a big trip and then I will be happier?  These are all my thoughts.  None for the kingdom and what I can do for it.  You ever experience this?  You ever feel or felt to be in the same boat as I am?  What did you do? Did you recognize it and get out?  Have you stayed in it and wondered why the pursuit of your happiness seems endless?  Or shallow?  What are you working toward?  Eternity? Or.....?

Beautiful Feet!

This scripture has been stuck in my mind:

Romans 10:15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

This scripture is quoted from Isaiah 52:7 which says:

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

 

After reading these two scriptures in my study bible I looked to see if there might be any commentary on it.  Sure enough there is and here is what it said:

 

"God says that the feet of those who bring good news are 'beautiful'.  It is a wonderful privilege to be able to share God's Good News with others, his news of redemption, salvation, and peace.  To whom do you need to give the Good news?"

 

The word privilege stood out....

 

The question "To whom do you need to give the good news?", also stood out...

God's Discipline

Job 5:17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty."

Proverbs 3:11,12
My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

According to this scripture we understand God disciplines us, but what does that look like? Is any hardship in life we face discipline? Is any diagnosis of an illness discipline? Is any type of friction in our life considered as discipline?

Hebrews 12:7 states "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?"

So does this mean any hardship?

I don't think it could possibly mean any hardship because Jesus seemed to have faced, what we would consider, many hardships in his life. I mean he did not have the best accommodations, he felt hunger, thirst, and being tired. Not to mention he was betrayed, beaten, and crucified upon a cross. This wasn't discipline, because Jesus was perfect, but rather God's will... So how do we know when we are being disciplined and when what we are going through is not a result of something we did, but rather God's will?

I appreciate your insightful feedback.... Thank you.

Can I get a WITNESS!

I was reading John 1 and the bible commentary called "Believer's Bible Commentary" and came across the following that I thought was interesting so I thought I would share.  It basically concerns witnessing.

 

John 1:41:  "The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ)."

 

Commentary excerpt of John 1:41:  "This teaches us that we do not have to be great preachers or clever speakers.  We need only to tell men about the Lord Jesus in simple words, and God will take care of the rest."

 

John 1:42:  "And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter)."

 

Commentary excerpt of John 1:42:  "Andrew brought his brother to the right place and to the right person.  He did not bring him to the church, the creed, or the clergyman. He brought him to Jesus"

 

John 1:45:  "Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”"

 

Commentary excerpt of John 1:45:  "His message was simple and to the point..." 

 

"It never was Christ's way to demand a full-fledged faith for a beginning. It never was his way to hold men back from discipleship on the ground of an incomplete creed.  And quite certainly that is not his way today. He puts himself alongside his brethren.  He bids them attach themselves to him at any point they can.  He takes them with the faith that they can offer him.  He is content with that as a beginning; and from that he leads his friends on, as he led the first group on , step by step, to the inmost secret of who He is and to the full glory of discipleship."

 

John 1:46:  "“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip."

 

Commentary excerpt from John 1:46:  "Philip did not argue.  He felt that the best way to meet objections was to introduce men directly to the Lord Jesus - a valuable lesson for all who are seeking to win others to Christ.  Don't argue. Don't engage in prolonged discussion. Just bid men to come and see."

 

 

Hope you all can glean something from this as I know I did.  Better yet I hope to put it into practice. :)

Proof...

"The question that lingers from the fall of Satan and the fall of man remains: Will anyone trust the great heart of the Father, or will we shrink back in faithless fear?

     "As we grow into the love of God and the freedom of our own hearts, we grow in out ability to cast our vote on behalf of God. Our acts of love and sacrifice, the little decisions to leave our false loves behind and the great struggles of our heart reveal to the world our true identity: We really are the sons and daughters of God." (The Sacred Romance p155)

When I think about what is quoted above I think about 1) dying to self and 2) John 3:30 "He must become greater; I must become less."

The quote "Our acts of love and sacrifice, the little decisions to leave our false loves behind" is what made me think about dying to self.  How many decisions have I made based on my feelings and my schedule?  How many of these decisions were made because of how the decision may or may not benefit me?  What are my false loves? Popularity, fitting-in, comforts, money, time?

When we leave our false loves (worldly things), and focus on eternal things we "reveal to the world our true identity: We really are the sons and daughters of God."  When we serve and die to self the Lord is glorified!  How much greater a witness than this?

Much, much more on this but gotta go to work...:)

Where do you dwell...?

I was listening to a pastor on the radio this morning and we was talking about running this race with perseverance (Heb.12:1). In speaking of "how" we do this he referred to our thoughts and what we were dwelling on. This was a revelation for me because my thoughts have been on myself. They have been about sex, fun, comfort, happiness and etc. I do have thoughts of others and wanting them to be happy, safe, to have their prayers answered and sicknesses cured, however, my main driving thought is me. In listening to the pastor speak of the "how" he said to focus your thoughts heaven, let your mind dwell on every aspect and detail of heaven, rewards, the rapture, being glorified and etc - have an eternal perspective. If our thoughts are focused on heaven then our actions will follow. I had a friend many years ago print and laminate a saying and hand it out to our bible study, is said:

"Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, the become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny."

This reminds of the story of the hungry wolves in your mind. One is a good wolf and the other is bad. The one you feed is the one that will grow strong and survive, the other will become weak and fragile until it is eventually taken over and consumed by the other. What wolf (thoughts) have I been feeding? They have not been eternal thoughts, rather, the lustful and selfish thoughts.

Focusing on eternity and the things of heaven was a revelation for me. My prayer, and please join in prayer for and with me, that my thoughts will be heavenly focused. That I will dwell on eternity and the things of God. I pray these thoughts will become my words, these words will become my actions, these actions will become habits, the habits will become my character, which will become my destiny. I thank the Lord for his revelations and none of this is possible without Jesus Christ having taken away all my sins through his death on the cross and providing his counselor (the Holy Spirit) to come dwell in me, to guide me, counsel me and watch over me.

Show the World Jesus

How will we do this? Sometimes I try so hard to show people Jesus by my actions. Wherever I am I try to be the nice guy. I don't drink because it may ruin my witness. I don't partake in sex/lust talk because it may ruin my witness. I try to look happy, smile, have an encouraging word, not speak down about others, to not act jealous, or envious, or impatient, or untrusting in God's perfect timing. Yet I fail miserably. I am not one to run up to a stranger asking them about heaven and hell and if they know where they are going. Typically my style of witnessing depends on building a relationship with someone and trying to get in nuggets about the Lord and His saving grace. But what about my actions. As I mentioned before, I try to do good. I try to keep my tongue from evil. Yet, as the verse in James 3:7 states, "The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." So....yeah, my speech does not always justify my means of trying to be a good witness. Just the other day I got a surprised compliment from an unbeliever about the colorful vocabulary I used. They thought it funny and impressive the words I could use. It felt like a slap in the face as that is not who I want to be, that is not how I want people to perceive me, and most importantly, I do not want to ruin my witness for Christ. This weekend our Pastor left us with John 13:34-35(NLT), "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other." And what stood out to me the most "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." Wow...this was profound for me. It is by our "love" that the world will know we are his disciples. My words fail me, my actions fail me, everything I try to do to reflect Jesus fails me. That is everything with the exception of showing love! Read 1Corinthians 13 concerning love and its power "love never fails". "Never" is a very powerful word. It is a 100% guarantee that when you use it, it will never fail. It will never wear out. It will never tire. It will never fall short. It will never ever be anything but perfect and right. My actions were good for a short period of time, then my flesh reared its head. My tongue was even good for a short period of time - I stress short. But when I act out of love it NEVER fails! NEVER!!! Thinking and reflecting on John 13:35 "Your love for one another will prove to the world you are my disciples" I think about Acts 2:42-47, "The Fellowship of the Believers" (sounds like a JR Tolkien novel). I think how I want my unsaved friends, and all people for that matter, to be part of Gods eternal kingdom through Jesus Christ. I try to do this by all the ways I mentioned earlier and how I fall short. I try to go out and join them, and meet them where they are. Yet, I read in Acts 2:42-47 how God added to the number of believers. Basically put, the believers were all hanging out and helping each other, as the body, the people saw this, wanted this, and God added to the believers numbers daily. Wow (again).... the church was simply showing love to each other and God was saving and adding people to them DAILY....hmmmm.