Matthew 7:22-24 “Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
Start now to think of some of the things that Jesus said and taught. Remember the words above are the actual ending of the sermon on the mount, but don't limit what he said and taught to that portion of scripture alone. Go through your red letter bible and only read the words that Jesus said. I find that the easiest way to focus only on the thoughts of Jesus.
He is the rock on which to build a life worth living, and his words hold the life together. Notice in his words that the rain fell and the floods came on both those who built their house on rock and on sand. The world will bring rain in a world where people pursue selfish desires and greedy values. Life will not be easy for any of us but on the rock we will find a life worth living even in the midst of the flood. Jesus advice, listen or, in other words, heed his words and teaching
I would be amiss to not point out loudly and clearly again that it is not just hearing and reading his words and teaching that makes your life one built on rock. He then adds the phrase "and does them". That changes the situation completely doesn't it? Professing without doing is just a form of hypocrisy. I read the words of Jesus not for knowledge but for instructions. I can't read them and ignore the poverty around me and around the world. I can't read them and hate those who are different than me. I can't read them and covet what belongs to another nor be silent if I think they are accumulating what should be shared with another. I might fail in my efforts to follow the instructions, but they are not just words they are a call to action.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Need All Three
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say tome, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.’
Most of seem to think that if we profess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord we are in. Others think we must profess he is Lord with our mouths and act in His Name. Jesus surprises us perhaps with this clear admonition that not all who profess his name and even not all who act in his name will enter the kingdom of heaven. The passage just before this speaks of bearing good fruit. I guess what Jesus is getting at is that I can have correct theology and be a hateful person bearing none of the good fruit that comes with redemption.
I have more than one friend who were alcoholics. I'm thinking of some whose sobriety has lasted more than two decades. I can see one in particular who is sober but has never dealt with the personality issues which oppress him. You might call him what some call a dry drunk. Others show the positive effects of real life change that their higher power has helped them to achieve. They bear good fruit.
It scares me that I could accept the theology of Jesus redemption and yet not mature in faith to produce good fruit. I constantly seek to allow God to change me. I want the fruit of the spirit to hang abundantly from me and available to be picked and nourish all those around me. Yes I want to act in Jesus Name, and yes I want to hold sound theology, but I dare not be a barren tree or one that bears bad fruit.
Most of seem to think that if we profess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord we are in. Others think we must profess he is Lord with our mouths and act in His Name. Jesus surprises us perhaps with this clear admonition that not all who profess his name and even not all who act in his name will enter the kingdom of heaven. The passage just before this speaks of bearing good fruit. I guess what Jesus is getting at is that I can have correct theology and be a hateful person bearing none of the good fruit that comes with redemption.
I have more than one friend who were alcoholics. I'm thinking of some whose sobriety has lasted more than two decades. I can see one in particular who is sober but has never dealt with the personality issues which oppress him. You might call him what some call a dry drunk. Others show the positive effects of real life change that their higher power has helped them to achieve. They bear good fruit.
It scares me that I could accept the theology of Jesus redemption and yet not mature in faith to produce good fruit. I constantly seek to allow God to change me. I want the fruit of the spirit to hang abundantly from me and available to be picked and nourish all those around me. Yes I want to act in Jesus Name, and yes I want to hold sound theology, but I dare not be a barren tree or one that bears bad fruit.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Toil
Luke 5:4-8 Jesus said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
Marsha and I toiled many times in our lives. When we got married we had nothing to speak of, and depended on our parents for awhile. We decided Marsha was going to finish college, even pregnant, and even if we didn't have the money. I worked 60 or more hours a week and some of that time it was split shift opening in the morning and closing at night. I could go through years of our toil on our own to make it. We had dreams and plans and we worked hard to achieve them, I would say we were both strong people with a good work ethic, and we reached most of our goals. House, children, jobs, vacations, and yet we continued to toil. The toil was that although all of those things were good and wonderful, they didn't add up to anything.
Learning to listen to Jesus and obey was really what diminished our toil. It was not instantaneous this learning to listen. For my part I would let God into some areas of my life and not others. I would hear his voice in places of ministry, but for some time excluded him from my relationship with Marsha. Gradually his voice infiltrated all the areas of life and for the most part toil was over. We still faced hard choices and hard work. Life isn't without difficulties. We found and I continue to find that life is not toil when we've really learned to hear and obey. Hard sometimes, yes. Tiring sometimes, yes. But toil, for me no.
Some of you know about my exhausting experience in the absolute wilderness of Maine trying to change a tire this summer. I wasn't sure my body could do what needed to be done, or that my brain was capable of figuring out what needed to be done. I was being eaten alive by deer flies and they drive me crazy. I wasn't sure I would ever get out of the woods that day, but inside in my spirit was a serene pool of calm assurance. Even then it was not what I call toil because God was with me and reassuring me. I do like to recount the story though. He let me know he was helping that day. Did you ever see a jack lift a car higher when slanted sideways? I did and I couldn't believe it. I swear it was beyond 45 degrees slant.
For me life on my own is toil. I'm not saying it is bad or uneventful or always unhappy without this connection with God. I didn't know that life would be so much better until I had the experience of his grace. I thought my life was just what life was meant to be. Like Simon when I experienced that absolute power of his grace I knew I was a sinful man, and unworthy of all his love, and yet I knew and continue to know the grace that takes away toil with overwhelming grace. I'm so happy that after working so hard and not getting the real catch, I learned to cast my net on the right side.
Marsha and I toiled many times in our lives. When we got married we had nothing to speak of, and depended on our parents for awhile. We decided Marsha was going to finish college, even pregnant, and even if we didn't have the money. I worked 60 or more hours a week and some of that time it was split shift opening in the morning and closing at night. I could go through years of our toil on our own to make it. We had dreams and plans and we worked hard to achieve them, I would say we were both strong people with a good work ethic, and we reached most of our goals. House, children, jobs, vacations, and yet we continued to toil. The toil was that although all of those things were good and wonderful, they didn't add up to anything.
Learning to listen to Jesus and obey was really what diminished our toil. It was not instantaneous this learning to listen. For my part I would let God into some areas of my life and not others. I would hear his voice in places of ministry, but for some time excluded him from my relationship with Marsha. Gradually his voice infiltrated all the areas of life and for the most part toil was over. We still faced hard choices and hard work. Life isn't without difficulties. We found and I continue to find that life is not toil when we've really learned to hear and obey. Hard sometimes, yes. Tiring sometimes, yes. But toil, for me no.
Some of you know about my exhausting experience in the absolute wilderness of Maine trying to change a tire this summer. I wasn't sure my body could do what needed to be done, or that my brain was capable of figuring out what needed to be done. I was being eaten alive by deer flies and they drive me crazy. I wasn't sure I would ever get out of the woods that day, but inside in my spirit was a serene pool of calm assurance. Even then it was not what I call toil because God was with me and reassuring me. I do like to recount the story though. He let me know he was helping that day. Did you ever see a jack lift a car higher when slanted sideways? I did and I couldn't believe it. I swear it was beyond 45 degrees slant.
For me life on my own is toil. I'm not saying it is bad or uneventful or always unhappy without this connection with God. I didn't know that life would be so much better until I had the experience of his grace. I thought my life was just what life was meant to be. Like Simon when I experienced that absolute power of his grace I knew I was a sinful man, and unworthy of all his love, and yet I knew and continue to know the grace that takes away toil with overwhelming grace. I'm so happy that after working so hard and not getting the real catch, I learned to cast my net on the right side.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Rusty Treasure?
Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
I watch in these economically challenging days as people are consumed by what has happened to their monetary worth. Obviously, in those terms, I'm not thinking about the poor because they have no net worth to worry about. People often say they have worked hard for their money and I'm sure to some degree that is true, but have you ever really talked to a homeless person about what it takes to live their life? Or talk to the minimum wage father who quit school to help support his family at 16 and now works three jobs to support his own family. I had a friend who was a welfare mother. She was deserted by her husband in Boston with three children and with three babies work was impossible. She was on welfare for a few years as the kids grew. She used to tell the story about birthdays. She could afford to bake a cake but could not afford the frosting. Once when invited to a birthday party she was embarrassed when her son loudly asked what the stuff was that was all over the cake. Her life was difficult every day. The physical work may not have been as great as some of those hard working successful families, but the emotional work to keep it all together for her kids was torturous work, and all the while the world just kept working to make her feel ashamed.
Why do we who have so much think that because of the luck of our genetics or life circumstances we deserve so much more than others? Do you think God looks at it that way? Do you really think that the mental illness of many of those homeless people should subject them to that kind of life? Is that what God wants?
I've pondered this passage of scripture many times wondering where I find myself. I even question my motivation at times. I do give away some of my treasure and I do it to Godly causes, but am I doing it out of love and compassion (that would really store up heavenly treasure) or do I do it because I feel guilty for all the treasure I have stored up on earth, and fear not having enough heavenly treasure? I never come up with a crystal clear answer, but I think God likes that I'm not too comfortable with his teaching.
I watch in these economically challenging days as people are consumed by what has happened to their monetary worth. Obviously, in those terms, I'm not thinking about the poor because they have no net worth to worry about. People often say they have worked hard for their money and I'm sure to some degree that is true, but have you ever really talked to a homeless person about what it takes to live their life? Or talk to the minimum wage father who quit school to help support his family at 16 and now works three jobs to support his own family. I had a friend who was a welfare mother. She was deserted by her husband in Boston with three children and with three babies work was impossible. She was on welfare for a few years as the kids grew. She used to tell the story about birthdays. She could afford to bake a cake but could not afford the frosting. Once when invited to a birthday party she was embarrassed when her son loudly asked what the stuff was that was all over the cake. Her life was difficult every day. The physical work may not have been as great as some of those hard working successful families, but the emotional work to keep it all together for her kids was torturous work, and all the while the world just kept working to make her feel ashamed.
Why do we who have so much think that because of the luck of our genetics or life circumstances we deserve so much more than others? Do you think God looks at it that way? Do you really think that the mental illness of many of those homeless people should subject them to that kind of life? Is that what God wants?
I've pondered this passage of scripture many times wondering where I find myself. I even question my motivation at times. I do give away some of my treasure and I do it to Godly causes, but am I doing it out of love and compassion (that would really store up heavenly treasure) or do I do it because I feel guilty for all the treasure I have stored up on earth, and fear not having enough heavenly treasure? I never come up with a crystal clear answer, but I think God likes that I'm not too comfortable with his teaching.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Impossible? Really!
Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Jesus has a point. Why should we deserve credit for treating those we love well? Everyone should find it easy to be good to those who are good to us. The triumph is to treat people right who treat you wrong. That would be a true testimony to the power of God or the teaching of God. Often I find myself patting myself on the back in some abstract psychological way when all I done is what should be simple. I catch myself because I do know what it feels like to rely on God's Spirit to act appropriately when some thing is going wrong.
Jesus is not about helping us feel proud of our own abiities. He knows that if that was enough we would not have needed the incarnation or crucifixion. At some point we need to learn how to rely on God and trust Him. I know that is not easy for the modern mind wrapped as it is in this false notion that we can make it on our own. Look around at the hostility and violence in our world. You may not have to leave your town or city to find examples, and we know that much of the violence is hidden as family secrets.
On Sunday once again the focus pulled our attention to the reality that we want to get away with just being sorry for our mistakes without any serious desire to change our behavior. In moments of desperation we turn to God, but not for change in our lives just a quick fix to the momentary situation and we wonder why God doesn't seem to help. We want to keep on going along doing the easy things on our own rather than rely on the real power to become a much a better person. I don't know about you but I relish doing the impossible.
Jesus has a point. Why should we deserve credit for treating those we love well? Everyone should find it easy to be good to those who are good to us. The triumph is to treat people right who treat you wrong. That would be a true testimony to the power of God or the teaching of God. Often I find myself patting myself on the back in some abstract psychological way when all I done is what should be simple. I catch myself because I do know what it feels like to rely on God's Spirit to act appropriately when some thing is going wrong.
Jesus is not about helping us feel proud of our own abiities. He knows that if that was enough we would not have needed the incarnation or crucifixion. At some point we need to learn how to rely on God and trust Him. I know that is not easy for the modern mind wrapped as it is in this false notion that we can make it on our own. Look around at the hostility and violence in our world. You may not have to leave your town or city to find examples, and we know that much of the violence is hidden as family secrets.
On Sunday once again the focus pulled our attention to the reality that we want to get away with just being sorry for our mistakes without any serious desire to change our behavior. In moments of desperation we turn to God, but not for change in our lives just a quick fix to the momentary situation and we wonder why God doesn't seem to help. We want to keep on going along doing the easy things on our own rather than rely on the real power to become a much a better person. I don't know about you but I relish doing the impossible.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Standards
Matthew 5:27-29 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
Jesus takes matters of morality extremely seriously. He not only leaves the Jewish law in place when it comes to morality he makes the jewish law even more stringent. On the other hand Jesus dismantled all the barriers that men set up to discriminate against others. he touched lepers and others who were unclean, he accepted women and foreigners, and he always spoke of the need to care for the poor. He separated himself from those in power when it came to justice, but insisted on even higher standards when it came to morality. As I look at our society I see the opposite of what i see in the teaching of Jesus. We seem to erase all those moral standards that Jesus upheld, while today any support for the poor or other social justice issues are often ridiculed.
One thing is clear to me however, Jesus strongly pointed out that there are significant consequences for breaking the law. Today the mood of the public is that we just need to be a little good,whatever that means, and we will be rewarded with heaven. Many don't even believe that hell exists and mort certainly it will be ever so easy to avoid. I can't find that in the teaching of Jesus. Over and over he speaks of those who will spend eternity in hell. Whose standards do you think really matter, Jesus or our human society?
Jesus takes matters of morality extremely seriously. He not only leaves the Jewish law in place when it comes to morality he makes the jewish law even more stringent. On the other hand Jesus dismantled all the barriers that men set up to discriminate against others. he touched lepers and others who were unclean, he accepted women and foreigners, and he always spoke of the need to care for the poor. He separated himself from those in power when it came to justice, but insisted on even higher standards when it came to morality. As I look at our society I see the opposite of what i see in the teaching of Jesus. We seem to erase all those moral standards that Jesus upheld, while today any support for the poor or other social justice issues are often ridiculed.
One thing is clear to me however, Jesus strongly pointed out that there are significant consequences for breaking the law. Today the mood of the public is that we just need to be a little good,whatever that means, and we will be rewarded with heaven. Many don't even believe that hell exists and mort certainly it will be ever so easy to avoid. I can't find that in the teaching of Jesus. Over and over he speaks of those who will spend eternity in hell. Whose standards do you think really matter, Jesus or our human society?
Monday, September 19, 2011
You Fool
Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.
Boy does this one hit home. I hope I'm right when I say that I have improved through the power of the Holy Spirit. My family knew me as argumentative and some others might have experienced it as well. My personality is easily convinced that we are right because our goal is to know it all, and that leads to being a know it all. I have been known in a moment of passion to call someone a fool. I don't think that is the unforgivable sin, but this passage does put me in my place. My harsh judgmental language of the past fits into the sermon on Sunday and a couple of my own important theological principles. Change requires repentance which includes acknowledging that something is wrong and, more than being sorry. to turn and seek God's help to change. I have not lowered myself to angry words or name calling behavior in some years now. I'm not sure God has cured me, but I am convinced that God has helped. I might still think I'm right because that is just who I am, but I don't judge people who have different ideas.
The penalty for calling someone else a fool seems rather harsh. We live in a country now where that seems to be a way of life. This past summer and continuing even now we have a government in gridlock because the order of the day is name calling and demonizing people with different ideas rather than finding a way forward that would work for all of us. Jesus knew the cost of anger and judgement. He knew it was among the greatest threats to our common good.
Boy does this one hit home. I hope I'm right when I say that I have improved through the power of the Holy Spirit. My family knew me as argumentative and some others might have experienced it as well. My personality is easily convinced that we are right because our goal is to know it all, and that leads to being a know it all. I have been known in a moment of passion to call someone a fool. I don't think that is the unforgivable sin, but this passage does put me in my place. My harsh judgmental language of the past fits into the sermon on Sunday and a couple of my own important theological principles. Change requires repentance which includes acknowledging that something is wrong and, more than being sorry. to turn and seek God's help to change. I have not lowered myself to angry words or name calling behavior in some years now. I'm not sure God has cured me, but I am convinced that God has helped. I might still think I'm right because that is just who I am, but I don't judge people who have different ideas.
The penalty for calling someone else a fool seems rather harsh. We live in a country now where that seems to be a way of life. This past summer and continuing even now we have a government in gridlock because the order of the day is name calling and demonizing people with different ideas rather than finding a way forward that would work for all of us. Jesus knew the cost of anger and judgement. He knew it was among the greatest threats to our common good.
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