Seek God, not more Stuff

Luke 12:1-34

As always God’s timing is spot on.  My wife and I were recently talking about our financial situation.  We like many are feeling the pinch of our current day economy.  Taxes go up, and health care costs go up, and the end result is the pay check goes down.  Don’t even get me started on the cost of college which is just three years down the road for our oldest.  So after fretting about such things God gives me the parable of the rich fool, and the passage about not being anxious. 

I have often thought the parable of the rich fool could be renamed “The Parable of the American Way.”  We tend to have a hard time living within our means.  Rather than scale back and adopt a more minimalist lifestyle we just build bigger barns and acquire more stuff.  We sign on to mortgages that are too big, we lease cars that we could never afford to buy, and in general we spend more than we make.  We also should not make the mistake of reading this parable and think all that “building bigger barns to hold our stuff” talk is just for the “rich” people.  For starters, with very few exceptions we are all rich in this country as compared to the rest of the world.  And you don’t have to be rich by our standards anyway to acquire too much stuff.  There are plenty of yard sale enthusiasts who need to hear this message just as much as the person shopping at Copley Plaza (or whatever the swanky shopping center is in your area). 

Scaling back and living within your means is a very biblical concept.  So why aren’t more Christians doing it?  We all tend to get caught up in our consumer driven society.  One thing’s for sure; the less we do get caught up in it, the less anxious we will be.  Always remember verse 34 from our reading.  Where your treasure is, there will your heart also be.  Store up your treasures on the things of God and not the things of this world, and be anxious no more.

Prayer

Lord I thank you for how You care for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, and that you care even more for me. Help me not to be anxious or in want for anything.  Grant me true contentment and peace that can only come from You.  Amen.

4 Square and Freedom in Christ

Luke 11:29-53

I love the game of 4 Square.  Just ask any of my former youth groupers.  It can be fast paced and extremely competitive for those of us who really get into it.  For those who don’t know how it works, there are 4 squares and one person is in each square.  You hit a playground ball into an opponent’s square and they in turn have to hit it into another person’s square.  If your hit doesn’t land in a square, or you can’t play the ball hit into your square then you’re out.  The object is to get to the 4^th square (having started at the 1 square) at which point you get to serve the ball.  It’s probably not that popular among current day gym teachers because it could damage a child’s self-esteem having to get out.  For the rest of us living in the real world it’s a blast. 

Occasionally though there have been times when I haven’t liked the game.  That’s when kids start using school yard rules.  As in the 4 square server gets to make up rules for as long as he’s in the 4 square.  There are all kinds of crazy added rules.  Spikes, double taps, triple taps, cherry bombs, bus stops, spins, and body shots to name a few.  What’s really happening when the server in the 4 square calls out any of these rules is he’s simply saying, these are the ways we will be allowed to cheat when I’m in the 4 square.  And the server would have a distinct advantage being the one who gets to be the first one to cheat, and in so doing probably get someone out.  It’s a way to artificially prolong your time in the 4 square.  When this would happen in the games I would be involved in, I would get to the 4 square and call out “pure old fashioned 4 square.”  In other words I was saying, there will be none of those silly rules that help anyone cheat.

By now I’m sure you’re wondering what all this talk about 4 square has to do with today’s reading.  Well I’m glad you asked.  When I think of the Pharisees and the lawyers (scribes or experts in the law) in verses 37 to 53, I think of the kids in the 4 square who liked to add on their school yard rules.  The Pharisees and the lawyers were notorious for taking an existing biblical law and adding new laws on top of it to try and keep people as far away from breaking that law as possible.  In the long run it would become more burdensome than helpful.  Jesus is well known for calling these people hypocrites and white washed tombs because they didn’t always follow the rules they made themselves.  And their concern was often much more about being seen as prestigious and having power than it ever was about helping people get closer to God.  It’s almost like they wanted to see people mess up their rules just so they could call them “out.”  I’m thankful for a Savior in Jesus Christ who isn’t about rule following.  He’s just about following; as in following Him.  And when we do it’s not burdensome at all.  Actually it’s freeing and liberating.  It was Jesus who said “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  This doesn’t mean everything will always be perfect.  We will still have times of trial, but it’s good to know we have a God who is with us, who sustains us, and who gives us wisdom, strength, and endurance to get through those times, and who in the end works out all things for good for those who love Him.  Having an intense good old fashioned game of 4 Square can be a lot of fun.  Living in the freedom of following Christ and not a bunch of rules, is even better.

Prayer

Lord Jesus I know rote religious practices are not what you want from me.  You just want all of me.  Lord Jesus help me to give my whole life to you, and in turn enjoy the freedom that comes with living for You.  Amen.

Ask, Seek, and Knock

Luke 11:1-28

Today I’m focusing on verses 5 through 12 and what it means to ask, seek, and knock.  I love the illustration Jesus uses about a friend.  Think for a moment about your closest friend.  For some that may actually be a brother or a sister, or for others it’s just your bff (can’t believe I just used that expression).  Anyway, it’s nice to have someone you can count on; someone who you know has your back.  That’s what friends do.  In a pinch they’ll watch your kids, or give you a ride somewhere, or be with you through a difficult time.  And they know you would do the exact same thing.  Jesus asks the question how much more does the Heavenly Father give to those who ask Him.  I love that!  This is one of those verses that some have confused with what is sometimes called the “health and wealth” gospel, which kind of teaches the more you follow after God the more He will bless you with good things.  This viewpoint represents a very poor interpretation of scripture.  In today’s text God giving the Holy Spirit is what’s specifically referred to.  So what we receive is all the wonderful things that come from having the Holy Spirit in our lives; things like wisdom, and guidance, and spiritual gifts.  So stop praying for that new Beamer, a nice house, or to win the lottery.  That’s not how it works.  Maybe God has called you to be a missionary to a third world country, or a school teacher for a small private Christian school.  Not a whole lot of health and wealth in those vocations, but if that’s where God has called, than that’s where His fulfillment will be for you.  So go ahead, ask, seek, and knock, but don’t do it in anticipation of what you want, do it in anticipation of what God knows you need.

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father I thank you that you love me, and you have lavished your gifts on me.  Gifts like your steadfast love, amazing grace, and peace that passes all understanding.  I thank you that you know exactly what I need.  Help me to always find my contentment in You. 

Are you a Mary or a Martha?

Luke 10

Between Mary and Martha and the parable of the Good Samaritan we have a couple of very familiar texts today.  I’m going to focus on Mary and Martha.  So which one are you?  I tend to be more of a Martha.  I like to do.  I like to organize.  As a pastor I feel very fulfilled when we get a new ministry up and running.  I’m not always the best at sitting around and philosophizing about why we do what we do, and coming up with mission statements and vision statements and that sort of thing.  I already know the title of my first book should I ever get around to writing it.  I’m going to call it “Shut-up and Serve!”  Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh, but you get the idea. 

There’s nothing all that wrong with how I’m wired, but it does come with its drawbacks.  A trendy phrase I hear lately is “being present” with people.  I’m not always the best at that.  I get easily distracted, and I end up not giving someone my full attention.  It’s probably because I’m thinking about something I need to get to or do.  In our story today I can totally see myself in Martha’s shoes.  In my many years as a Youth Pastor I think I spent too much time focusing on running a program, setting up before hand, cleaning up afterwards, and making sure everything is running smoothly, and I would forget what was most important; just simply being with the kids and connecting with them.  I would often have to tell myself “Pete, you need to leave that mess for one of your volunteers, and go check in with that kid.”

By the way, there are some pitfalls for the “Mary” personality in this passage as well.  They just are not addressed in this particular account.  But when it comes to keeping our focus on Jesus Christ we definitely want to be more like Mary.  In this story, she was the one who has her spiritual priorities straight.  Our Lord Jesus is the good portion who won’t be taken away when we give our lives to Him.  Unfortunately we sometimes take ourselves away.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for being my good portion whom I can partake of daily through Your Word and prayer.  Help me not to be so distracted by the business of life, that I somehow end up taking myself away from You.  Let me say with the Psalmist, “taste and see that the Lord is good.”  Amen. 

Alaska Ho!

Luke 9:37-62

When I read the section about the cost of following Jesus today (vs. 57-62), I couldn’t help but think of an old youth group friend of mine by the name of Ken Howell.  Kenny (as we called him back in the day) was always an adventurer.  He used to run road races in his military gear and boots, and he would hide a long log a mile before the finish line the night before so he and his friend could finish the race carrying it on their shoulders.  He also used to try and convince me to have fake fights in public places; anything for a little adrenaline rush and to get a rise out of other people.  A little immature I realize, but hey we were young. 

I guess it’s that same kind of free spirit mentality that caused him to decide with his wife one day that it was time to up and move to Alaska.  With no jobs waiting for them they took the plunge and moved. You might hear that and think he’s a little crazy (okay maybe he was in some ways), but Kenny always seemed to have a clear sense of God’s call on his life.  He was never one to worry about the cost of following Jesus.  I think for a while they were without a place to lay their head in the traditional sense of having a home; kind of like Jesus.  It wasn’t that big of a deal for an outdoorsy wilderness enthusiast like Kenny though.  He was just as at home in a tent in the mountains as he was with a roof over his head in suburbia. 

Jesus has some pretty tough words for those who were asking about following Him.  It’s not that you can’t have love and commitment for your family, but His point is that He has to take first priority.  For some of you that may mean doing exactly what you’re doing now; working your job, living where you live, and serving God right where you’re at.  But if you’re truly following Jesus than you need to be open to the possibility that God has something different in store for you.  Maybe even something radically different.  I have plenty of friends in the mission field who get what I’m talking about.  I have no doubt that Kenny is exactly where God has called Him.  He’s a Godly husband and father serving the Lord and His church.  I love having his wife as a Facebook friend (not surprisingly Kenny has yet to join the social media craze) because I get to hear about hunting bear and Caribou, and trapping, and camping in the middle of the mountains, etc. etc. etc.  It’s a refreshing change from all the drivel we carry on about in the lower 48.  So what’s your “Alaska?”  The key to finding out is making sure you keep following Jesus as your first priority.  So put your hand to the plow, don’t look back, and keep living for God and His Kingdom.

Prayer

Dear Lord, help to me always count the cost of following You.  I thank you that in the end there is nothing more worthwhile.  Lord, remove my fear and doubts and allow me to plow ahead for Your Kingdom.  Amen.       

Repent or Perish

Luke 13:1-9

What if you picked up your local newspaper this morning and read a headline like the following.  “Eighteen die in construction sight tragedy downtown.”  Something like that would rock our world wouldn’t it.  Our communities and schools would be affected, because there would no doubt wives who lost husbands and children who lost fathers.  And even if you didn’t know any of those 18 individuals personally, pretty much everyone would know someone who knew at least one of them.  It would take a while for any community to recover from such a tragedy. 

Or imagine if you read this headline.  “Worshippers at local Church put to death for failing to offer proper worship.”  If it’s possible that could even be a worse tragedy than the construction accident.  At least the accident was just that; an accident.  But this is more like state approved murder; and in a church of all places.  One of the few places left in our communities where we have a sense of safety for us and for our kids.  We would be reeling for weeks, months, and perhaps even years.

These “what if” tragedies I’ve referred to are thankfully only made up and not a reality for us, but they should sound familiar, because I’m trying to bring home the brutality of the tragedies spoken of in our text today.  In these tragedies Jesus has an important lesson for us when it comes to the issue of sin and suffering and death.  He asks them a question.  He asks if they thought those who were put to death were somehow worse sinners than they were.  He asks this because the going belief was to connect ones sin with suffering and even death.  A good religious person would be familiar with passages like the second half of Deuteronomy where a long list of curses are mentioned for those who are disobedient to God’s decrees.  I won’t get into it too much now, but it’s pretty thorough.  It starts by saying you’re cursed in the city and cursed in the country, and you’re cursed when you come and cursed when you go.  And then it gives all kinds of fun specific curses as well.  It’s not exactly what you would call a feel good passage.  It’s not going to show up in many devotionals for “higher Christian living.”  But notice how Jesus responded to that sort of mindset.  He says “I tell you no.”  He’s saying these Galileans who were killed in the temple were no worse sinners than the rest, so they should stop thinking they somehow had it coming.  Because it’s not up to us to decide who deserves what for one’s sins. Not only that, but the last I checked Romans 3:23 still says “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  

The bigger issue is what we do with our sin.  What does Jesus tell us to do?  Does he say “be really self-righteous, and pretend that you have no sin, or if you have to admit to it, at least make sure you accentuate the fact that your sin is not as bad a lot of those other more disgusting sins?”  No, He just says one thing.  Repent.  Repent, or you’re going to end up just like the rest of them.  He ends up turning these tragedies into a bit of a warning.  You see as Romans 6:23 tells us, the wages of sin is death… period.  It doesn’t matter what sin or whose sin you might think is worse.  Spiritually speaking, if you don’t repent, you die.  We all will die a physical death, but if you don’t repent than you die spiritually too.  That means we are eternally separated from God. I'm not a real "turn or burn" king of preacher, but sometimes like Jesus has done in our text, you just have to lay things on the line. I even struggled with using today's title, but you should know I took it directly out of our Bible reading.  Thankfully Romans 6:23 goes on to say, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”  And we receive that gift through repentance.  It’s “metanoia” in the original language, which means a complete turning away from former beliefs and actions in faithful acceptance of the proclamation of God’s kingdom in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  Whatever you do in this life, don’t make the mistake of thinking your sin is somehow okay because you’re “better than most.”  Just repent and live your life for Jesus Christ.  It’s the most important thing you can ever do.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I turn away from all of my beliefs and actions that have been contrary to your will for my life, and I turn to You.  Please come into my life.  You are my Savior, and I will make You my Lord.

If you’ve prayed that prayer for the first time, and you want to know a little more about what it means don’t hesitate to contact me. pete@sandwichcovenantchurch.org.

Are you Listening?

Luke 9:1-36

The transfiguration is a fun account to try and imagine in my mind’s eye.  What must it have been like to see Jesus in all His glory?  It’s really hard to put into words.  Radiance, magnificence, gloriousness, grandeur, and holiness are a few words that come to mind, but I’m afraid we’re all a little limited when it comes to grasping what it must have been like.  It wasn’t exactly Peter, James and John’s finest moment; especially Peter.  For starters it seems they all took a nap when they were supposed to be up on the mountain praying.  That’s not the last time they will do that.  And then Peter wanted to preserve the moment forever.  He wanted to commemorate having Jesus Moses and Elijah all up there at the same time.  I guess once he came to, this became a mountain top experience that Peter didn’t want to end.  But here’s the deal with mountain top experiences, they always end. 

As Christians we can sometimes be like Peter.  We can look back on times of great worship and times when we felt really close to God, and we can romanticize them and want to hang on to them.  And while it’s good that we have these times, I really believe it’s not when we are the most effective for God.  We primarily serve God in the valleys of life.  Sometimes it’s even in the trenches.  I think that’s exactly where He wants us.  Jesus said in vs. 23 to 26, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?  There are a lot of sacrificial sounding words in there.  It doesn’t sound very mountain toppy.  But that’s where God wants us, taking up our cross, denying ourselves, and following Him.  Sometimes we will follow Him to the mountain tops, but a lot of it will be in the valleys, but that’s okay because He is with us all the way.  He’s the Good Shepherd that comforts us even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death as the 23^rd Psalm tells us. 

We’ve got some strong words today from Jesus about taking up our cross and following Him.  Now I’ll leave you with the words of the Heavenly Father at the transfiguration; “Listen to Him!”

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father help us to listen to Your son Jesus and deny ourselves and follow Him in all things.  Help us not to become sleepy and complacent in our faith, and may You restore our souls with the joy of Your salvation.  Amen.