Matthew 25:40 "And the king will tell them, 'I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'"
One day I will give an account of my life. On that day I will be asked what did I do for Jesus. He makes it clear here in Matthew 25 that whatever I do for his brothers and sisters-people on earth, I did to and for him. It sounds a bit dramatic to say that I see Jesus in the face of everyone I meet each day, but it's kind of true. Each interaction and conversation I have with someone today matters. Am I caring for them? Do I listen? Do I act? Do I help? Today I want to be intentional with everyone I meet and love them well.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Monday, January 26, 2015
God and Neighbors
Matt 22 :37-40 "Jesus replied, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.'"
Everything for Jesus is summed up by loving God and loving our neighbors. These are the two most important activities we can participate in. And correspondingly they should be the two activities we spend most of our time on. But honestly, I spend very little of my time loving God or my neighbors. It's a good day if I talk to them-God and my neighbors! How can I love both better today?
Friday, January 23, 2015
Impossible
Matthew 19:26 "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible."
Jesus said some really radical things. He says if you look at a woman lustfully, you've committed adultery with her in your heart. He says if you hate a man, you've committed murder in your heart. He raises the stakes and raises the bar considerably. Why does he do this? Can a human really live sinless as described by Jesus? Probably not. If anything Jesus makes the standards even more unattainable than they were before. So why did he do that? What does it all mean? I think Jesus raises the bar on sin and obedience to show us that he is the only one who can meet the challenge. "Humanly" speaking he says, we can't get to heaven. On our own we can't do it. We can't be good enough by ourselves. We need him. With him it's possible. With him "everything is possible." Maybe that was the point? This doesn't mean we stop trying and give into sin. What it does mean, is that we reach out to him more. We follow him more closely. We trust more deeply. That's what it's all about.
Jesus said some really radical things. He says if you look at a woman lustfully, you've committed adultery with her in your heart. He says if you hate a man, you've committed murder in your heart. He raises the stakes and raises the bar considerably. Why does he do this? Can a human really live sinless as described by Jesus? Probably not. If anything Jesus makes the standards even more unattainable than they were before. So why did he do that? What does it all mean? I think Jesus raises the bar on sin and obedience to show us that he is the only one who can meet the challenge. "Humanly" speaking he says, we can't get to heaven. On our own we can't do it. We can't be good enough by ourselves. We need him. With him it's possible. With him "everything is possible." Maybe that was the point? This doesn't mean we stop trying and give into sin. What it does mean, is that we reach out to him more. We follow him more closely. We trust more deeply. That's what it's all about.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Outta Here
John 17: 15 "I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one."
Many Christians want to leave this world. They pray for the day when we will all "fly away." They scan the newspapers diligently looking for signs that the world is ending so we can finally get off this rock. That's not what this is all about-us getting out of here. That's not the goal. That wasn't why Jesus came. Our goal should not be to leave this world. We are here because we are meant to be here. We are here to bring heaven to earth. We are here to make down here a little more like up there. And one day, yes, Jesus will return and change all things. He will make all things new. Until then, let's stop worrying about when and how we can get out of here, but let's instead make here a better place.
Many Christians want to leave this world. They pray for the day when we will all "fly away." They scan the newspapers diligently looking for signs that the world is ending so we can finally get off this rock. That's not what this is all about-us getting out of here. That's not the goal. That wasn't why Jesus came. Our goal should not be to leave this world. We are here because we are meant to be here. We are here to bring heaven to earth. We are here to make down here a little more like up there. And one day, yes, Jesus will return and change all things. He will make all things new. Until then, let's stop worrying about when and how we can get out of here, but let's instead make here a better place.
Wednesday, January 07, 2015
A World Needing Unity
Galatians 3:26-28 "So you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. and all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like him. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians-you are one in Christ Jesus."
Paul paints a picture of beautiful Christian unity in Galatians 3. This is a unity that is so desperately needed by the world today. Today a gunmen shot and killed 12 people at a newspaper office in Paris. The initial reports tells us that the gunmen was upset about some anti-Muslim and anti-Allah comments and cartoons printed in their newspaper. Unfortunately it seems we are seeing more and more terrorism and violence everyday. From a shooting in Canada, to assassinations of New York police officers, to this shooting in Paris, and a man today who drove a mini bus loaded with explosives into a crowd killing 30 in Yemen, the world is full of violence. The world has scene violence before-ever since the days of Cain and Abel. Violence is nothing new to our world. Depending on who you ask, the world may actually be more peaceful now than at any other point in history. Maybe it's simply because we have instant access to news from all over the world it seems crazier? Whichever way you slice it, violence and hatred do still exist today. What our world needs is a little peace, love and unity. Our world needs Jesus. How can I bring this love, peace and unity to my world today?
Paul paints a picture of beautiful Christian unity in Galatians 3. This is a unity that is so desperately needed by the world today. Today a gunmen shot and killed 12 people at a newspaper office in Paris. The initial reports tells us that the gunmen was upset about some anti-Muslim and anti-Allah comments and cartoons printed in their newspaper. Unfortunately it seems we are seeing more and more terrorism and violence everyday. From a shooting in Canada, to assassinations of New York police officers, to this shooting in Paris, and a man today who drove a mini bus loaded with explosives into a crowd killing 30 in Yemen, the world is full of violence. The world has scene violence before-ever since the days of Cain and Abel. Violence is nothing new to our world. Depending on who you ask, the world may actually be more peaceful now than at any other point in history. Maybe it's simply because we have instant access to news from all over the world it seems crazier? Whichever way you slice it, violence and hatred do still exist today. What our world needs is a little peace, love and unity. Our world needs Jesus. How can I bring this love, peace and unity to my world today?
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