I know in my mind that it is super easy to worry about a lot of things. I may worry daily about safety for my friends and family. I may worry about the future. I may worry about things I don't have any control, such as if/when the Cincinnati Bengals will win another playoff game.
In Luke 12:22-34, Jesus shares practical glimpses of having faith in God and not ourselves. He says to not worry about what food we will eat and what clothes we will wear. God clothes the grass that is here on earth for a short period and will definitely clothe us more than the grass.
Jesus goes on to more important things we should set our minds on: seeking first the kingdom of God. Jesus commands us to give to the poor our sold possessions and by doing so, we will build up a treasure in heaven. I love this verse because we can't take anything with us when we die; however, if we invest our earthly resources today in people that God cares about too (i.e. the poor), we are caring first about God's kingdom.
Jesus said these heavenly treasures are never bothered by thieves and moths never destroy them. How many times do you hear about a thief stealing the joy of an individual who has just made a commitment to follow Jesus Christ?
Verse 34 is also a great point by Jesus, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Treasure can come literally in two ways: our time and our money. How do we spend our time and how do we spend your money. This is probably a pretty good location of where our heart is.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Bigger barns
In the gospel of Luke 12:13-21, Jesus shares his thoughts on earthly possessions. Someone from the crowd says to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
Jesus responds by telling the man that he was not appointed a judge to make this decision. He also tells the crowd,"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
And as so many other times in the gospels, Jesus shares a parable with the crowd.
Jesus tells of a man who has an abundance of wealth, especially crops. The crops are overflowing and the man doesn't know what to do. So he decides to tear down his barns and build bigger barns.
This seems like a logical thing to do. What may seem logical to us may also be sinful and greedy. God wants us to use our resources for his kingdom, not ours.
In the story, God tells the man, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" Granted, the man in the parable may have a wife and a house full of kids, but the man won't get to enjoy any of the abundance. Plus, the man could have used the overflowing problem to help feed the poor.
This convicts me for sure. It is so easy for me to want to keep pouring into "my kingdom" by investing in stocks, IRA's, and saving my money. And for what? My life could end any day. Investing in itself isn't bad, it's just what I plan to do with the wealth that is gained.
Jesus wants us to be rich towards God. He wants us to work hard with the goal of furthering his kingdom by loving others and sharing the hope of Jesus Christ with them instead of furthering our own kingdom.
Jesus responds by telling the man that he was not appointed a judge to make this decision. He also tells the crowd,"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
And as so many other times in the gospels, Jesus shares a parable with the crowd.
Jesus tells of a man who has an abundance of wealth, especially crops. The crops are overflowing and the man doesn't know what to do. So he decides to tear down his barns and build bigger barns.
This seems like a logical thing to do. What may seem logical to us may also be sinful and greedy. God wants us to use our resources for his kingdom, not ours.
In the story, God tells the man, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" Granted, the man in the parable may have a wife and a house full of kids, but the man won't get to enjoy any of the abundance. Plus, the man could have used the overflowing problem to help feed the poor.
This convicts me for sure. It is so easy for me to want to keep pouring into "my kingdom" by investing in stocks, IRA's, and saving my money. And for what? My life could end any day. Investing in itself isn't bad, it's just what I plan to do with the wealth that is gained.
Jesus wants us to be rich towards God. He wants us to work hard with the goal of furthering his kingdom by loving others and sharing the hope of Jesus Christ with them instead of furthering our own kingdom.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
The disciples ask Jesus how to pray
In Luke 11:1-4, Jesus was praying and when he finished praying, one of the disciples asked Jesus how to pray. What an opportunity! I am glad that one of the disciples decided to ask Jesus about praying because as a Christian, this is one of the most important things we can do in our faith walk.
Jesus responded on how to pray with, "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation."
First, I think Jesus wanted the prayer to start out with reverence on who we address our prayers to. We are lifting up our thoughts, concerns, and love to the God of the universe. God's name has many names and Jesus recognizes this by offering hallows (or honor as holiness) to his name.
"Your kingdom come," is a phrase that is the first thing Jesus instructs the disciples to ask for. How often do we pray where we ask God first (and maybe only) for the things that we want and are concerned about? Jesus wants us to pray about the kingdom of God to come first in our prayers and thoughts before we think about what we think we need.
"Give us each day our daily bread," allows for us to ask God to provide for our needs. I fully believe that when we put our hope in the Lord, God will give us what we need to carry out his will. Daily bread can also be encouragement when your day doesn't go well, or when we experience hardships.
"Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us," is an important command from Jesus because this is not easy to do in stretch of a daily grind. We are wired to get frustrated, have angry thoughts or feelings, lose our patience, and not want to be around others at times. Jesus says that we need to ask God to first forgive us our sins. I think one reason is that we need to ask God to cleanse us of our sins before we can be ready to forgive others. These actions go hand in hand. God will give us the perspective to forgive others when we recognize our own fallings.
"And lead us not into temptation," is the last part that Luke mentioned that Jesus told the disciples. With our free will, I believe God allows for temptation to exist but it is up to us whether or not we succumb to our temptations and fall into sin.
Jesus responded on how to pray with, "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation."
First, I think Jesus wanted the prayer to start out with reverence on who we address our prayers to. We are lifting up our thoughts, concerns, and love to the God of the universe. God's name has many names and Jesus recognizes this by offering hallows (or honor as holiness) to his name.
"Your kingdom come," is a phrase that is the first thing Jesus instructs the disciples to ask for. How often do we pray where we ask God first (and maybe only) for the things that we want and are concerned about? Jesus wants us to pray about the kingdom of God to come first in our prayers and thoughts before we think about what we think we need.
"Give us each day our daily bread," allows for us to ask God to provide for our needs. I fully believe that when we put our hope in the Lord, God will give us what we need to carry out his will. Daily bread can also be encouragement when your day doesn't go well, or when we experience hardships.
"Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us," is an important command from Jesus because this is not easy to do in stretch of a daily grind. We are wired to get frustrated, have angry thoughts or feelings, lose our patience, and not want to be around others at times. Jesus says that we need to ask God to first forgive us our sins. I think one reason is that we need to ask God to cleanse us of our sins before we can be ready to forgive others. These actions go hand in hand. God will give us the perspective to forgive others when we recognize our own fallings.
"And lead us not into temptation," is the last part that Luke mentioned that Jesus told the disciples. With our free will, I believe God allows for temptation to exist but it is up to us whether or not we succumb to our temptations and fall into sin.
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