Am I Relevant Today?

Here I sit, in a hotel in New York City. I've had a coffee too late in the day and I just finished watching the Yankees drop game 5 of the ALDS, yet my thoughts are more directed towards a conversation from earlier in the evening. During our short stay here in NYC my traveling companion and I took a portion of the afternoon and rode the subway from Grand Central Station downtown to Bowling Green station. We saw sites such as Lady Liberty and Ground Zero. As well we stopped in to view several very old, and very cool church buildings. The architecture is amazing, as well as the wood work, carvings and statues.

It was too much to take in, in a single afternoon! But provided a terrific setting for discussion. We talked about the magnificent structures beautifully displayed in this awesome city. We read information about how these churches were of service on the days of 9-11. All this information is quite remarkable. Then came our discussion over dinner. The conversation at one point turned to what I now reflect as being about relevance.I heard a story that displayed a sense of disillusionment with the organized church. It must pain Jesus to hear these conversations about how the church has let people down. As I thought about that, I pondered a picture I'd taken in Big Valley, Alberta of an old church.



I've thought about different titles for this image, names like 'reflections', 'a view of the past', or 'hindsight'. One thing it makes me consider is the church's place in today's society.

Is it still relevant?
Does the church still have a place in our current society?
What value can the church bring to our society?

I believe many people in my generation have asked these same questions. Tonight it occurred to me, in reflection of the diner conversation, that relevance isn't about the church. I shouldn't be asking if the church is relevant, but rather am I relevant to today's society. Christians will refer to passages like 'salt and light' and then talk about how we are to live; apart from this world. Immediately we begin down the path of drinking, smoking, etc. and how the believer should refrain from all these things. We pass judgement on those around us for external things, yet in that moment committing the more dastardly crime of judging and criticism. Judgement and criticism is very prevalent in our society, so where is the 'salt and light' in that? Now before you get all worked up thinking that I'm condoning drinking and smoking, that's not where I'm going. What I am saying is that is that we are focussed on the wrong things, if you read through the gospel accounts of Jesus time on earth you will see that the actions of people where of secondary concern to him. His first concern? Reconciliation of the person with God. Our focus shouldn't be on what people are doing, but rather on delivering to them the message of Jesus Christ! Our heavenly Father cares more that we get right with him than anything else. His Holy Spirit can take care of helping the new believer with changes in their life later, but it's irrelevant prior to a person putting their trust in Christ.

As you consider this for yourself look at some simple passages like the ten commandments, Jesus's answer to which was the greatest of them, and our first glimpses of the early church in Acts. In all of these the focus is wrapped around Jesus' answer to the greatest commandments, not cleaning up society. Why? Because if we individually and corporately seek to: Love God and Love others, much of the clean up work will take care of itself - with God's spirit leading the way.

Are you relevant in your current circle of life?
Why or why not?
How can you I prove your relevance?

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Location:NYC

Man Up!

Two weeks ago I was in Las Vegas for a conference. It was a trip that I'd been dreading, after all the city has the nickname "Sin City" and I had been hearing stories of what it was like to walk up and down 'the strip'; the sights and sounds associated with that walk. Men handing out cards of naked women, business cards for the sexual immorality for sale in Vegas. The gambling and the excessive drinking. I just didn't want to go. You've likely heard the saying "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" or the newer more popular "what happens in Vegas stays on Facebook". As it came closer I began to prepare mentally, trying to determine how I was going to handle certain situations. God began to show me that this was going to be an opportunity to display to my traveling companions, in deep contrast, what my life was all about. You see, God has been shaping me in a remarkable way the last few years. He began quietly, I didn't even know He was doing frankly. But as it became more clear, it became truly desirable. I now look forward to His changes, seeking to make myself available to them. Here is a quick before and after picture for you:

Before	After
a quiet person	a vocal person
self conscious	more confident
timid	bold

If I were to try and describe how these changes regularly display themselves it would be LEADERSHIP.

In my regular reading of the Bible I came across this passage, and four words jumped out at me. Let's take a read, and then we'll discuss the passage briefly.

When David's time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, "I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the LORD may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.'
1 Kings 2:2-4

The four words that jumped out at me were, "show yourself a man". In light of these words, I've been considering their meaning from God's perspective compared to man's perspective. You see, Las Vegas would tell you that a man would engage in all of it's available activities:

sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these
Galatians 5:19-21

You might recognize that list, it comes from Galatians. God's standard is so much higher for us than that.

In this passage we are going to see are three main parts:

• a command
• a how to
• a promise

First let's explore the landscape here for a moment. The speaker is King David who is closing in on the end of his days. A short time earlier one of his sons, Adonijah, attempted to set himself up as king even though it was David's intent to have Solomon reign after him. In response David quickly got things organized and had Solomon anointed and installed as King over Israel. We're not certain how much time has passed to this point, but we are made aware that David is very near the end. These words are his fatherly advice to his son.

The command is simple and to the point, and actually reflects the message that David is wanting to get across:

• be strong
• show yourself a man
• keep the charge of the LORD

These all work together, and are the initial steps Solomon is to take as he establishes himself as King. David encourages him to display authority and leadership. Further to our list from Galatians, the tv sitcoms tell us that men are incompetent and wouldn't survive if it went for the women in their lives. This is actually true in many homes, but it was never God's design. You will recall in Genesis that the serpent tempted Eve, who in turn offered to Adam and they both sinned. Yet God created Adam first, and set him to work the garden and take care of it. Eve was then provided as a suitable helper. In that moment of initial sin Adam failed to display leadership through self control and resisting sin, and further more to admonish his wife in speaking truth to her about the command of God. We desperately require leadership in our homes, our work, our churches and society as a whole. The charge is to "Man Up!", and David gives us instruction on how to do this.

The how to is this: walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies. Jesus provided this to us very simply

And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
Matthew 22:37-40

Part 1 - Love God. That means you put Him first in your life which is active, not passive. Pursue understanding God, pursue righteousness, pursue the fruits of the spirit.
Part 2 - Love others. Again this is active, lovingly lead those around you, share the gospel, speak truth into their lives, not in condemnation but in love. God chooses to display grace and mercy, so should we.

The result of all this is that we will prosper. If our focus is on loving God and others this prosperity will display itself through intangible ways. Your ability to influence those around you will prosper, lives will be changed positively, people will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, things that truly matter.

Boys

• pursue a biblical definition of manliness
• pursue manliness
• take ownership of your faith in Jesus Christ, make it your own
• seek out godly men to be in your life, including but not limited to your father

Young men

• pursue a biblical definition of manliness
• pursue manliness
• take ownership of your faith in Jesus Christ, make it your own
• seek out godly men to be in your life, including but not limited to your father
• seek out your peers and boys with the intention of being a godly influence in their lives

Fathers

• pursue a biblical definition of manliness
• pursue manliness
• take ownership of your faith in Jesus Christ, make it your own
• seek out godly men to be in your life, including but not limited to your father
• seek out your peers, younger men and boys (especially your sons) with the intention of being a godly influence in their lives

Grand Fathers

• pursue a biblical definition of manliness
• pursue manliness
• take ownership of your faith in Jesus Christ, make it your own
• seek out godly men to be in your life
• seek out your peers, younger men (especially your sons) and boys (especially your grandsons) with the intention of being a godly influence in their lives

Older men

• pursue a biblical definition of manliness
• pursue manliness
• take ownership of your faith in Jesus Christ, make it your own
• seek out godly men to be in your life
• seek out your peers, younger men and boys with the intention of being a godly influence in their lives

Earlier we read in Galatians what the world views the definition of a man to be, in closing let's see what God's definition looks like.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22,23

God created us men to lead, actively and by example. Let's go do it!


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True love pays a price

2 Samuel 24:18-25

And Gad came that day to David and said to him, "Go up, raise an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." So David went up at Gad's word, as the LORD commanded. And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground. And Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" David said, "To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be averted from the people." Then Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king." And Araunah said to the king, "May the LORD your God accept you." But the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.

To get the full picture of this story about King David and the Israelites it's a good idea to go read the whole of chapter 24. I will summarize it quick for you though. The Lord was frustrated with his people and so incited David against them, and he [David] took a census. Without getting deep into how taking a census was sinful, it seems to me that pride is the ultimate concern here, as it usually is. As soon as Joab returns and gives King David some numbers, the king realizes what he has done and seeks forgiveness. Ultimately he is to offer a sacrifice in this particular location, on the threading floor of Araunah. This the king does and the punishment ceases.

What caught my attention in this passage was verse 24.

But the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

There are those that would argue that if God was a loving God he wouldn't punish those he calls his children, referring to the banishment of the unbeliever being sentence to hell. Some will even take the argument all the way, and suggest that eventually God will grant all his created people access to heaven with him eternally. Here is the problem with this determination, it only encompasses a single characteristic of God: God is love. The facts are that God has many characteristics and another of those is: God is just. You can not separate these two characteristics. So then how do we reconcile these things? Our selected verse gives us an answer. David stated that he would not offer a sacrifice that "cost me nothing". Therefore he paid a price in order to make the necessary sacrifice. God has done the same thing to make it possible for us to join him for eternity. Let me explain it in a couple of short steps...

1) we are all sinners, we simply don't meet the standard of holiness set by God.

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)

2) make no doubt about it, there is a pending judgement coming and a way out of that judgement.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

3) that to be released from that judgement is a free gift from God - but it cost him dearly.

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

John shared very clearly what that price was, God's son Jesus Christ.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."(John 3:16)

4) your part in this process is to receive the gift and say thank you. Be sure this is no light matter, God himself paid the price of punishment for you.

"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

If this is news to you, and you have decided to accept that gift it is important that you tell someone ("if you confess with your mouth"). Sharing this decision begins to solidify it's effects on your life, because the freedom from judgement begins now in freeing you from the effects and draw of sin. Contact a local Christian church, a Christian friend, or myself. You can get post a message to this blog, or email me at corlan94@gmail.com.

An unbelievable truth about worship

Joshua 7:1-26
But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the LORD burned against the people of Israel. Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, "Go up and spy out the land." And the men went up and spied out Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few." So about 3,000 men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water.

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. And Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord GOD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?"

The LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. Get up! Consecrate the people and say, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the LORD, God of Israel, "There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you." In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the LORD takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the LORD takes shall come near by households. And the household that the LORD takes shall come near man by man. And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.'"

So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me." And Achan answered Joshua, "Truly I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath."

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the LORD. And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, "Why did you bring trouble on us? The LORD brings trouble on you today." And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.
__________
I always thought it was difficult to pull out a lesson from the Old Testament stories, but I've found them to be equally inspired and useful for teaching! This passage is one such example. I first read it and taught in it in February, and thought I'd share my observations here.

First of all, we see right at the beginning that a sin was committed, look at how this passage opens up. "But the people of Israel broke faith...". As we continue to read we find out that it in fact it was Achan who sinned, yet the statement is that Israel broke faith. Lesson 1 - the sin of one can affect the whole community.

The next observation is Joshua's reaction to the battle loss. He tears his clothes and cries out to God, "Alas, O Lord GOD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan!..." Doesn't that sound a little, or maybe a lot, like the Israelites whining to Moses when they left Egypt. It is amazing that even one who gets to be in the presence of God and experience his miracles first hand can lose hope so quickly. While Joshua panics quickly, God is just a fast to point out the failure was due to sin. We then watch as there is a long drawn out process to identify the individual responsible for the sin, and the failure of the entire community. Lesson 2 - the Holy Spirit knows the sin in our lives, and can expose it when necessary.

The most fabulous observation is in Joshua's words to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me." Do you see it...give glory and praise to the LORD - tell me what you've done. This is spectacular! The confession of sin is worship. That is what glory and praise are. What do we usually think of when we speak of worship? Music, hymns, choruses, reading scripture, raised hands...but never confession of sin. We are taught here, that if we come clean with God he is pleased, and accepts it to be worship. Wow, what freedom there is in that!!

Take some time to think on that truth... allow the Holy Spirit to show you the sin in your life, and offer up your confession as worship to God the Father! Through His son Jesus Christ he want to forgive you and give your freedom!

Love: Getting Back to the Basics

This entry doesn't follow my normal format for this blog. It was the devotion presented at a recent meeting of the members of our church. It is a good solid message for the Christian, so I felt compelled to share it here.
_______
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:34-40

I am a huge sports fan, especially hockey. I watch it, play it and even at one point coached it. One thing I have learned is that when things aren't going well for a team there is one tried and true practice to turn things around. Getting back to the basics.

As believers in God, followers of Jesus Christ, Christians named after him, getting back to the basics means seeing what Jesus thought was important and focusing on that. These two commands are the basics.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.
Love your neighbor as yourself.

The commandments in the law total 613, and discussion was often held considering the importance and order of these laws. A reckless answer by Jesus might suggest he supported an annulment of certain laws, of which the Jewish leaders believed all must be obeyed to the letter. These two particular commandment are buried deep in Jewish culture. They are the beginning of the Shema, a liturgical prayer used twice daily by devout Jews. So this question was intended to be a potential trap. The first command was introduced back in Deut 6:5, and repeated many more times by Moses. Joshua also replayed it a couple of times, stressing the importance of the command. The second command is introduced in Leviticus 19:18, in a passage providing various laws stating how the Israelites should treat one another.

There are several keywords in these commands. The first is LOVE. Love is a verb, the action of the command. We are to love. While I'm not educated in Greek or Hebrew, I do have a keyword Bible that assists me in learning more about particular words from the original language. Love is translated from the greek word Agapao which in english can be translated to: love, esteem, cherish, favor, honor, respect, accept, prize, relish, to be devoted to. These words paint quite the picture for us.

The second keyword gives us an indication or measure of the effort we are to put into enacting the command to love. God's word tells us to love with ALL our heart, soul and mind. There is a triple emphasis here. The word ALL is a measurement of completeness. Love with everything you've got. Leave nothing in the tank as it were. Also, if you look at how the statement is made, "with all your heart" "with all your soul" "with all your mind". There is no question if any portion can be left behind. The answer is no. But it still goes further than that. R.T. France in his commentary on Matthew published by Tyndale states

"Heart, soul and mind are not different 'parts' of a man, but different ways of thinking of the whole man in his relation to God; no clear distinction can be drawn between them."

The triple emphasis is that we are to give ALL of our ALL. 

Finally, the subject or recipient of our love is God himself, and our neighbor. Our neighbor in fact is any person in our vicinity. We get a deeper understanding if we look in the book of Luke (chapter 10:25-37) where there is another similar interaction. There is enough evidence to suggest they are in fact separate events. I suspect the Luke account was the second, because it appears this next lawyer thought he was quite brilliant and would succeed where the first failed. It seems he was prepared for the answer, and had planned out his response. When Jesus answers as he expected the lawyer essentially gives him a gold star and then tries to esteem himself. "who is my neighbor" he asks all proud and pompous. Jesus proceeds with the parable we know as the Good Samaritan. This teaches us that everyone and anyone is our neighbor. Therefore we are to love God and everyone else who comes our way.

3. Application

As Pastor Bill would ask "So What?" I haven't really spoken anything new to you. So what can you take from this talk in the way of application.

In Matthew 5:17 Jesus said 

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Matthew 5:17

The law was fulfilled in that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, taking our place of punishment that by grace and mercy we could be saved. Why, because God (and Jesus) love us. If we are to be like Jesus, then we ought to seek fulfillment of the law also.

Paul wrote in Romans 13:8 

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8

again in Galatians  5:14 he wrote

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:14

James in 2:8 of his letter says

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. James 2:8

John warns us in his first letter that

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8

I'll ask it again now "So What?" The application is simple, it is now time to complete a personal review. We are afforded this opportunity each month at communion where we read 1 Corinthians 11:28-32 which tells us to examine ourselves. But I question how seriously we take that opportunity. I admit that I have glossed over it at times, and so I expect many of you have also.

This is the standard to which we should each examine ourselves.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Not one of us should leave here tonight without doing the work of reconciliation with God. We need to confess and ask his forgiveness for our failure to love. Failure to love Him fully. Failure to love one another fully.

I also believe that there are some here tonight that the Holy Spirit is speaking to that need to complete the work of reconciliation on a human level. If that is you, and the individual you must approach is here tonight - get it done. Don't leave it for tomorrow, because tomorrow will be filled with distractions and it will simply not get done.

I am going to pause for a few moments to provide you with an opportunity to speak with God and allow the Holy Spirit to instruct each of us in what he would have us do this evening. And then I will close.

SILENCE

Father, as we are quiet before you we ask that you would aid us in the examination of ourselves. Bring to mind the reconciliation that needs to take place. Give us the desire, strength and love to act on that prompting and thereby restore the relationships around us.

2 Thes 3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Where is your focus?

Matthew 14:22-32
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

I use a reading plan to determine what portion of the Word I read for the day, it sets up a schedule that would have you finish the Bible in a year. Within that reading the Holy Spirit will point out a specific passage, something that catches my eye and teaches me. Today, outside of my reading plan, the Lord put this story into my mind to remind, encourage and teach me.

This account of Peter reminds me of how human our vision can be spiritually. It's a simple story that we've heard so many times, Peter joins Jesus walking on the water, takes his focus off of Jesus and begins to sink. This passage is generally used to remind Christians that they shouldn't focus on the world, rather Jesus. But I want to remind you that there are other 'Christian' things that can take our attention away from Jesus also. They can be the things we are called to do, however they become or focal point instead of a temporal or occasional duty. 

Examples: 
We are called to watchfully protect the church from false doctrine - but have we become so captivated by fear that our focus is on the unsound and not on Jesus?

We are called to be unified - but are we so consumed with getting along that we refuse to lovingly correct and rebuke in order to achieve true unity as Jesus teaches us?

We are called to live holy lives - but are we so consumed rules that become legalistic?

It seems to me that God calls us to having a balanced life, one of contentment as Paul teaches. That balance begins with keeping our focus on Jesus. We want to continue learning who He is, praying and working and being worked on so that our character becomes like his character (sanctification). Don't be distracted by the things around, whether good or bad. Keep your focus on Jesus.

Prune the Pie Hole!

"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
Matthew 12:36-37

As I think back on the last week or so I have witnessed and unfortunately committed the offense of careless words. This short sentence, neatly tucked inside teaching on good and bad fruit reminds us forcefully that we must mind our 'pie hole'. Life isn't like the tv based court room scene, where after one lawyer makes a purposeful and brutal statement, the judge tells the jury to ignore the statement and amazingly somehow they are able to do so. No, in real life there is no undo button or esc key when it comes to our comments.

If you look back to verse 34 in Matthew 12  are reminded why the judgement is so harsh. Jesus states that "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Simply, what comes out reflects what is inside.

Have you been guilty of speaking words that condemn you. Take heart, because Jesus came to present you with grace and will forgive your confession! In fact that same mouth that condemns you can be responsible for reversing the situation. In Romans Paul wrote:

"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." Romans 10:9-10

Ask for forgiveness of your sinful statements, and receive God's tremendous grace.

Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for the gift of grace that completely washes out the condition of my heart, and the ways in which is manifests itself. Forgive me for the manner in which I have used my words and forgive me for any hurt I may have caused another.
Amen