Contrasts provide clarity

Tunnel vision is a real thing, especially when we get wrapped up in the stress of our present circumstances.  Often times, we need a contrast to help us see clearly.  Noticing the difference between two places, two things, or two people helps us better understand both sides of the issue at hand. 

As we’ve walked through Psalm 62, we read about the attacks that David was under – threats, lies, and curses from two-faced people.  Instead of being consumed with thoughts about his attackers, David turned his attention toward God:

Psalm 62:5-8
Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I will not be shaken.
My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock.
My refuge is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts before Him.
God is our refuge.
                                           Selah

After looking to God and recognizing everything that He means to him…when David looks back at his attackers, he has a different perspective:

Psalm 62:9
Common people are only a vapor; important people, an illusion.
Together on a scale, they weigh less than a vapor.

David’s first contrast is a strong one: Compared to the rock-solid refuge he finds in God, David sees common people as a simple vapor.

The Hebrew word for vapor is also the word translated in Ecclesiastes as “meaningless”.  The word hebel indicates something with no substance, something that is either empty or futile.  A physical example to demonstrate this term is a vapor or a soap bubble – hebel things are without value and unstable.

David’s contrast points out that the common, regular people we meet (and allow to have influence in our lives) are hebel – and clearly not as reliable as the “rock” or the “refuge” that God has been described as.  Hebel people are only around for a short time, and they are neither powerful nor reliable.  Within this illustration, we recognize that a vapor is also subject to the circumstances around it.  A puff of air is enough to disrupt a vapor and change its shape.  Similarly, people are too easily disrupted by circumstances and selfishness for David to expect them to provide shelter or rescue.

David’s second contrast continues the theme: Important people = an illusion

How do we recognize an “important” person?  Those that have power or money or fame or lots of followers?  However, when life gets tough, we often find that what we considered to be “important” was not actually what we should have valued the most.  As David looks at the important people around him, he realizes something about their importance: It’s not real.  “Important” is a misnomer at best because no one can claim to be important when we are comparing any of us to God himself.

Since a vapor has no meaningful stability and an illusion has no physical substance, together they don’t amount to much.  If they were weighed on a scale or balance, they would have no value…what we find is that the current social-status of a person has no true eternal worth.

This line of thinking brings to light some very real questions that we all must deal with:

What/Who are you relying on? 
What/Who defines you? 

If it is God, then your foundation is strong and secure.  David’s contrast shows us that if it is something/someone else, you cannot find the rest, peace, or security we all seek. 

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite - How to be rich and live richly

Now that we know we’re rich…what are we to do with our wealth?

How to be rich and live richly

Originally posted on April 06, 2017

We discovered last time that we’re rich.  Richly rich.  That if we make over $32,400 per year ($15.59/hour)…we’re in the top 1% of the world.  But we also found out that no matter what our income amounts to, we shouldn’t feel guilty that we have wealth, because God richly provides us with all things to enjoy. 

God gives good gifts, and gifts are given for the enjoyment of the one receiving it.  Maybe someone got a better gift than you, and it doesn’t seem fair…however, our jealousy tends to evaporate once we expand our comparison circle to include the rest of the world.

So now that we know we’re rich, what do we do?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught:

Matthew 6:19-21
Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.  But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

A few observations:
·        Jesus gave no indication that being wealthy in this life (or the next) is wrong.
·        What is considered valuable now is not going to be what is considered valuable in the next life.
·        How we obtain wealth in this life is not how we store up treasures for the next life.

During his ministry, Jesus met many rich folks who didn’t handle their wealth very well in light of eternity.  A few examples include the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22), also the Pharisees and their scribes (Luke 5:29-31).  The rich were also featured in Jesus’ parables as bad examples of how to live life in the present age (Luke 12:13-21, Luke 16:19-31, and Luke 18:9-14).

So, what should us rich 1%ers do?  What does God consider the right way to handle the wealth He’s given us?

Paul addressed that topic in his instructions to Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:17-19
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. 

Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real.

Being rich in the age to come means being other-focused in the present age.  Whether we make $15,000 a year or $1,500,000 a year – what we do with what God has given us will determine the foundation of our lives in the next life.

That thought just blows me away, so dwell on it for just a moment with me.  Everything in this life is building *only* the foundation for our lives in eternity.  What we build, the work we do, the experiences we will have in the next life…are going to be based upon the choices we make in the present age.

My mentor, Joe, would tell me often “This life is just boot camp for the next.”  C.S. Lewis wrote that our present lives are simply the cover and the title page…when we enter Eternity future, we will begin Chapter 1 of the Great Story that never ends, where each chapter is better than the one before.

Partnering with God now affects how we can partner with God in Eternity.  We should absolutely enjoy the gifts God has given us, but don’t enjoy them selfishly.  Do good.  Be rich in good works.  Be generous.  Be willing to share.

Lay a good foundation for the age to come.  Find and take hold of life that is real.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Olympic-sized choices

Every two years, we are treated to a spectacle of human effort, strength, and determination.  Both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games have an incredible ability to draw us in.  We see athletes who have put in years – even decades – of effort into their skills and honing their craft.  We are introduced to these country representatives through interviews, old family videos, and personal stories.  Invariably, we hear about their dedication, toughness, and desire.  These individuals have mastered their bodies and minds to achieve peak human condition in order to compete at the highest level with others who have done the same.

The Olympic Games remind us that physical competition is not a modern society invention, as we humans have a strong desire to be the best at something.  Humans have always gone to great lengths to prove our prowess in a given competition or setting.  

The Apostle Paul noted the efforts and dedication of ancient athletes in his letter to the church in Corinth:

1 Corinthians 9:24-25
Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize?  Run in such a way to win the prize.  Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything.  They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown.

Invariably, you’ll find a preacher who, on a Sunday during the modern 17-day Olympic event, points to this Scripture and says, “See?  As incredible as their athletic achievements are, in the end, useless. Their crowns are perishable.  They won’t last.  These people have wasted their time on temporal success.”

This kind of interpretation assumes that the athletes are not believers, and they are strictly driven by self-centered goals.  However, when reading the passage as a whole, in the context of the entire letter, it’s difficult to claim that in these four sentences, Paul’s aim was to put the athletes down for their efforts.

In the previous verses, Paul discussed the importance of winning for him.  His said that his aim was to meet people where they were, regardless of their background or societal standing, in order to share the gospel message – that Jesus gives eternal life to all who believe in Him for it.

1 Corinthians 9:22-23
I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.  Now I do all this because of the gospel, so that I may share in the blessings.

Right after this, Paul uses the runners-striving-to-win-the-race comparison we looked at already.  Instead of putting down these athletes, Paul says we should imitate their tenacity and dedication as we strive to receive an imperishable crown.

And don’t let anyone tell you that this imperishable crown is going to heaven when you die.  This crown is clearly earned, and Paul says he makes his effort so that I may share in the blessings.  Crowns in the ancient games gave the one who earned them status, rewards, and special access to both events and royalty.  If that’s what a perishable crown is worth…how much more valuable would an imperishable crown be?

Continuing the athletic metaphor, Paul then reveals his training regimen:

1 Corinthians 9:26-27
So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air.  Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

No athlete, after putting so much time and effort into their training, wants to be disqualified from the contest.  A “DQ” means they miss the opportunity to earn the victor’s crown and, as a result, cannot receive the benefits that crown would have given them access to.

Since Paul wants to share in the blessings of an imperishable crown, he makes intentional choices about how he spends his time, where his focus lies, and how he treats his physical body.  Paul is giving the Corinthian believers (and us!) an example to follow in order to run in such a way to win the prize.

So…how’s your training going?

To be honest with you, mine’s not going so well…and I didn’t even realize it.  I really like strategy/puzzle games.  Recently, I found a new game to play on my phone.  I was doing just fine, playing the levels at my own pace.  And then they started an open contest, to see who could complete a certain task the most number of times within a time limit.  So I jumped right in and started playing away.  Surprising myself, I came in first.  On the next contest, I came in first again.  And I did it again – three wins in a row.  I don’t personally know any of the people I was competing against, but I won, and by sizeable margins. 

However, I received a real shock this last Sunday.  My phone keeps track of how much time I spend on each app and then gives me a weekly report.  Guess how much time I spent on the game this past week?  It was over 15 hours.  Sure, I won – a lot.  What did I win?  More boosters so I could continue to play the game.  Nothing tangible.  Nothing sharable.  Certainly nothing of eternal value.

App games are fine, but do I really need to spend 15 hours on them in one week?  Doing the math – that’s 32.5 DAYS per year.  If I continue on my current pace, I will spend an entire month of this year playing a game on my phone. 

What good could I do with half that time? 

We become good at whatever we spend most of our time doing.  Want to be a better athlete?  Spend time training.  Want to be promoted in your job?  Spend time doing your current job well and work to get the additional skills or education you need to move up.  The more TV we watch, the more proficient we become at it. 

Want to be more like Jesus?  Get out and love on people, especially people you don’t routinely hang around. 

Want to earn eternal rewards?  Make disciplined choices with your time, your focus, and your priorities.  Meet people where they are and tell them about Jesus’ free gift of eternal life. 

And don’t become disqualified because you were distracted.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Pause and recognize value

We humans have a love/hate relationship with principles.  We love the way they wrap a direction into a little nugget of truth, but we struggle to agree on how to actually apply the principle…because you may apply it differently than I would.  Honestly, a lot of our arguments come down to a disagreement on how to live within our society’s principles. 

So, what do we do to cope with this conflict?  Usually…we end up making a ton of rules.  For example: Companies and organizations can boil their mission statement down to two or three sentences, while at the same time, their employee handbook has to be split into separate volumes as they explain the rules and guidelines which are rooted in the mission statement.

Ancient Israel was no different.  God gave them the 10 Commandments, and while they are pretty cut-and-dry (e.g. – Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not lie), there were questions to be asked about some commandments, like – What, exactly, is coveting and at what specific point am I guilty of it?  How do I honor my parents and when does my responsibility to God affect that relationship?

The Sabbath question was especially tricky for them.  Here is the commandment, in its entirety:

Exodus 20:8-11
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  You must not do any work – you, your son or daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the resident alien who is within your city gates.  For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.

The biggest question the Israelites had about this commandment was – I understand why we don’t work on the Sabbath, but what, specifically, constitutes “work” so I don’t violate this commandment?

This “What is work?” question was debated and argued all throughout the Old Testament times.  Various rabbis, scribes, and religious sects all had their own interpretation, and instead of replacing the previous teaching, any new rule/guidance was added on top of existing tradition and teaching.  By the time Jesus began His ministry, the non-work rules included directions around farming: no sowing, reaping, threshing, grinding, or baking.  There were rules against sewing, writing, starting a fire, carrying items, and even limiting how far you walked (no more than about 1/2 of a mile).

And if you didn’t adhere to these rules, you were considered by the religious/political leaders to be a Sabbath-breaker, a sinner, and someone who was inviting the wrath of God into your life.

A continuous point of contention between Jesus and the Pharisees (religious leaders) was Jesus’ refusal to follow their man-made rules.  One Sabbath, Jesus and His disciples were passing through some grainfields.  A few of the disciples were hungry and picked off some grain heads, rubbed them in their hands to remove the chaff, and then ate the grain.  The Pharisees saw this and accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath.  You can read the full account and Jesus’ rebuke to the Pharisees in Matthew 12:1-8.  We’re picking up the scene with what happened a little later on that same Sabbath day:

Matthew 12:9-10
Moving on from there, [Jesus] entered their [the Pharisees] synagogue.  There He saw a man who had a shriveled hand, and in order to accuse Him they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

Rabbinic teaching of the time only allowed medical assistance on the Sabbath in extreme cases of life and death.  Obviously, the man with a shriveled hand wasn’t in danger of dying and probably had his condition for some time.  In the Pharisees’ minds, if Jesus were to heal the man properly and not work on the Sabbath, then He should wait until the next day.  However, Jesus didn’t answer their question with a “yes” or a “no”…instead, He called out their hypocrisy.

Matthew 12:11-12
He replied to them, “Who among you, if he had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out?  A person is worth far more than a sheep; so it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.”

Let’s pause right here.  If the Pharisees were willing to help out an animal on the Sabbath, why would they consider helping a person to be an act of sin?  The original point of the fourth commandment was to set aside the Sabbath day to God, imitating His example of resting from His creation labor.  Only through twisted logic and flawed tradition do we end up with a situation where it is considered more holy to leave a person in their suffering than it is to do something that will help them.

Jesus’ point looks at the correlation between value and effort.  The things we value, we make an effort to rescue.  Sheep were an important part of Jewish society, they had both income value and religious sacrificial value.  It’s no surprise that the Pharisees would want to rescue a sheep that fell into a pit, because if they don’t, the sheep would likely panic and die.  The tragedy was that they did not apply this same level of value to other people – so they used their religious piety to avoid putting in the effort.  But, as Jesus pointed out, is it really honoring to God to avoid doing good for others?

After pointing out their duplicity, Jesus shows them the right thing to do:

Matthew 12:13
Then He told the man, “Stretch out your hand.”  So he stretched it out, and it was restored, as good as the other.

It’s easy to look at this situation and comfortably chuckle at how Jesus was able to “stick it” to those stuffy religious leaders.  I’m sure we could all think of some people that need to be “put in their place” regarding the contradiction between their religious words and their heartless actions.  But we need to be careful here…lest we fall into the same trap.

If our car breaks down and we’re on the side of the road, we do everything we can to fix the situation.  We change our plans.  We call for help.  We pay the money we need to in order to have the car restored to working order as soon as possible.  We might gripe about it, but the car has too much transportation value for us to be without it for any length of time.  Suddenly being down a vehicle can cause a pretty big change in your family’s plans, dynamics, or ability to generate income. 

There are a lot of broken down people out there.  There is a need for us to step in and do what is good, even if that person doesn’t fit in with our man-made traditions that have become “Christian society” norms.  People can be restored when we give up our religious hypocrisy and see others as Jesus saw them.

Are people not worth more than our cars?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite - Resolutions about maturity

We don’t know what 2022 is going to be like, but we know Who will walk with us. God will mature and grow us as we navigate the next year together.

Resolutions about maturity
originally posted on December 28, 2017

It’s that time of year again…time to make resolutions to be better at something.  We know the big ones – get in shape, eat better, learn a new skill – and we know that we should do these things and they have lasting, positive benefits to our lives.  But why is it, that by sometime in February, we’ve given up on working towards them? 

When we’re honest – we recognize that we give up on these resolutions because we don’t value the end product highly enough.  We aren’t diligent in pursuing it, and we become lazy.  This doesn’t mean that we do not understand or fully trust the benefits of exercise, a good diet, or learning something new…it just shows that we value them less than other competing priorities in our lives.

Did you know that the same thing happens to us spiritually?  Other things crowd into our lives and we sometimes don’t value our growth as a Christ-follower or our relationship with God like we should.  We can become spiritually lazy.  It’s not a new problem for Christians, either.

After starting a discussion of Christ’s superiority as our high priest and reviewing some of the great benefits available to a believer who partners with Jesus, the author pauses to say:

Hebrews 5:11-14
We have a great deal to say about this, and it’s difficult to explain, since you have become slow to understand.  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of God’s revelation.  You need milk, not solid food.  Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature – for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.

Looking at this passage, it is clear that this letter was written to people who have already accepted Christ as the substitutionary payment for their sins.  The solid food is the teaching that deals with righteousness, or right-living, before God.  Because these “big babies” haven’t progressed to solid food, they cannot grasp the implications of the Greater Message of future partnership with the Greater Messenger.

Hebrews 6:1
Therefore, leaving the elementary message about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity

If you could travel into a mother’s womb and speak with the prenatal child, I’m sure he would be very confused as to why he was growing arms and legs and a mouth.  He has no real, tangible need for them so long as he remains in the womb.  However, we would desperately explain that while he sees little use for them in his present stage in life, they will become vitally important for the way he interacts with the world of his next stage of life.

The entire New Testament, except for John’s Gospel, speaks to us like we are the child still in the womb.  The vast majority of the New Testament is written to believers and contains encouragement to put in the effort now to grow towards maturity…because the level of maturity we develop here and now will directly impact how we interact with the world of our next stage of life.

Hebrews 6:11-12
Now we want each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the final realization of your hope, so that you won’t become lazy, but imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.

Keep at it.  Keep going towards maturity.  Not everyone does, but those who trust Jesus’ offer of partnership and patiently wait for it, they will obtain it.

That’s a resolution worth keeping, one with results that echo into eternity.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

The MVP - the path

We’re looking into The parable of the sower.  It was this parable that Jesus referred to as the “key” to understanding all His parables (Mark 4:13), or as I’m calling it, The Most Valuable Parable – The MVP.  All three of the synoptic gospel writers included this parable.  It can be found in Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, and Luke 8:4-15.  Since we looked at the sower last time, we’re now ready to look at what happened to the seed that the sower spread to the various types of soils.

We’re going to evaluate the responses of the soils in the order that Jesus taught them.  First up, we’ll focus in on the seed that fell along the path:

Luke 8:4-15
As a large crowd was gathering, and people were coming to Jesus from every town, He said in a parable:
“A sower went out to sow his seed.  As he sowed, some seed fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky devoured it.  Other seed fell on the rock; when it grew up, it withered away, since it lacked moisture.  Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with it and choked it.  Still other seed fell on good ground; when it grew up, it produced fruit: a hundred times what was sown.  As He said this He called out, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”

Then His disciples asked Him, “What does this parable mean?”  So He said, “The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that

Looking they may not see,
and hearing they may not understand.

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.  The seed along the path are those who have heard and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 

The path was a hardened surface because it was well-traveled upon.  And as such, the seed was not accepted by ground; instead, the seed was trampled.  This kind of heart was a roadway for many thoughts/experiences…distracted by its own concerns, its own ideas, and its own ambitions, such a heart became a place where the word of God was trodden down, smothered, and crushed by all the preoccupations that had made the heart their highway.

Then…the seed was stolen by the birds – which Jesus says represents the devil coming and taking the seed away before it can germinate.  From this we see that Satan actively works to prevent people from hearing and believing the gospel.  The devil is skilled and purposeful in his work – he’s had thousands of years of practice and insight into manipulating mankind’s psychology.  He will do whatever he can to confuse/distract the one who hears the word…so they will not believe the simple message that if you believe in Jesus for eternal life, you will be saved and He will give you new life.

With the seed taken away, there is no new life – they cannot believe and be saved unless the seed is present to produce the new life.

When reading this parable, most believers tend to skim over this soil.  They figure that this situation no longer applies to them, so it’s not worth their time to consider.  Or maybe they think of someone they know who fits this description.  Either way, most believers do not stop and think about the path…but…

Perhaps a personal illustration will help us find an application.  For a number of years while I was growing up, my family took in foster care kids.  We did what was called “short-term” foster care, which means you could be called to take in a kid for an hour in the middle of the night or have them as part of your family for up to 6 months while the government and legal processes figured out what was best for everyone involved.  We found that the younger the kid was, the more likely they were to fall in line with our family’s rhythm – “This is what we do.”  The older the kid, the more they had built up hardened layers to shield them from the traumatic stuff they had had to deal with at such young ages.  By the time they were teens, they had been physically hurt, lied to, abused, or emotionally scarred so many times that it was nearly impossible to get them to fully trust our family, let alone open up…and their hearts were already beginning to harden.

When you volunteer in children’s ministries at your church, when you coach a youth sports team, or when you financially support operations like Chestnut Mountain Ranch in Morgantown, WV…your efforts are preventing these kids from becoming like the hardened path.  Your invested time, energy, and money slows down the process of building up that hard outer layer which makes it so difficult for God’s word to impact their lives.  Your presence and love makes them feel supported instead of feeling trampled on, run over, or alone.

So the application for believers isn’t directly for us…instead we need to be aware and willing to help others – especially children – from becoming a hardened, lonely path.  Truett Cathy nailed down this idea in his book, titled It’s Better to Build Boys than Mend Men.  We need to reach the next generation with God’s love – before the world forces them to build self-reliant defenses and emotional walls.  Who knows?  Maybe you’ll also get to be a sower in a child’s life.  Or maybe you’ll help them be ready for when another sower arrives.

When you step into a child’s life, don’t let the thoughts of your potential impact scare you, or make you feel too much pressure.  Instead, know just how eternally important you are in these kids’ lives. 

Keep Pressing,
Ken

God wants you to be a conqueror

Let’s be honest.  The Christian life is hard, and sometimes we wonder if following God is really worth it.  How much does it matter that we abide by God’s principles as we navigate our days, months, and years?  There’s got to be a larger reason for choosing to follow God, something more than just being “a good little Christian girl” or “a good little Christian boy”, right?

As we take a look at the last chapters of God’s final book of the Bible, we’re finding out that God DOES INDEED have more – much more – in store for those who follow Him.

Revelation 21:6-7
…I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life.  The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son.

Inheritance is conditional – it is based upon the choices a person makes in the life they live after they have accepted Christ’s free gift of eternal life.  Knowing this, the next question we need to answer is this:

Since a conqueror is the one who inherits, who are the Christians that God refers to as “the one who conquers”?

The Greek word for conquer is nikao.  In ancient Greece, it was a verb that meant to overcome or overpower; to conquer or triumph.  In legal terms, it meant “to win one’s case”.  The verb was used to describe winners of athletic contests.  It was also used in reference to the victorious ruling Caesars.  When used in its noun-form, the word nike means victory.  It was also the name of a Greek goddess, who was often represented in art as a symbol of personal superiority.  In our modern days, not only is “Nike” a clothing and shoe brand, but the company’s marketed identity purposely conveys an overcoming, victorious attitude.

So, to be a conqueror is to be victorious over any task, obstacle, or arena you are in…and thus have the right to claim the victor’s spoils.  This definition fits in perfectly with what we have learned about a believer’s potential inheritance in the New Jerusalem.  Since inheritance is conditional, those that obtain it are those who have lived a victorious life in Christ.

Paul used similar language as he encouraged the believers at Corinth.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25
Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize?  Run in such a way to win the prize.  Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything.  They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we [do it to receive] an imperishable crown.

Paul says we should be striving for a crown that lasts forever…and in Revelation 21:7, we are told what the prize is for the one who conquers – it is the right to inherit in the New Jerusalem.

Making wise choices now, living victoriously for Christ through whatever circumstances we face, overcoming the obstacles that are trying to pry us away from our relationship with God…these are the actions that will make us – by God’s definition – one who conquers.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

The Christian life, in 3 steps. Seriously. (part 2)

The author of Hebrews has boiled down the Christian life into three basic steps.  He wrote this to believers regarding the first step:

Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.

If we are going to live the way we were created to live, then we must know life’s author.  Drawing near, spending time one-on-one with God, is the only way to do that.

The second step can only happen after we take the first step.  But if we do draw near, then the next step will be both normal and natural.

Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since He who promised is faithful.

What is your anchor when life goes sideways?
What do you hold on to when an unwanted situation becomes the norm?

We’ll say that “God is my rock”, but we often rely on other tempting options to get away and regain our footing: the internet, TV, and our phones all offer mild escapes… before we get to the often condemned but equally tempting ones like alcohol, drugs, and inappropriate relationships. 

When life doesn’t go like we wanted it to, or we find it hard to follow Jesus, we need to hold on to the confession of our hope.  What that means is we anchor ourselves on the truth that we know.  We remind ourselves that He has promised what we do with His Greater Message in this life is the most important thing for us.  If God is faithful (and He is), then we can confidently expect that our choices now will have eternal significance – no matter what life throws at us.

God is faithful. 

Do we trust that statement?
Do our action show that we trust that statement? 

If Yes – then hold on, without wavering. 
If No – then go back to step 1 and draw near to God, so that you can know Him to the point you can trust His faithfulness.

Keep Pressing,
Ken
 

Resolutions about maturity

It’s that time of year again…time to make resolutions to be better at something.  We know the big ones – get in shape, eat better, learn a new skill – and we know that we should do these things and they have lasting, positive benefits to our lives.  But why is it, that by sometime in February, we’ve given up on working towards them? 

When we’re honest – we recognize that we give up on these resolutions because we don’t value the end product highly enough.  We aren’t diligent in pursuing it, and we become lazy.  This doesn’t mean that we do not understand or fully trust the benefits of exercise, a good diet, or learning something new…it just shows that we value them less than other competing priorities in our lives.

Did you know that the same thing happens to us spiritually?  Other things crowd into our lives and we sometimes don’t value our growth as a Christ-follower or our relationship with God like we should.  We can become spiritually lazy.  It’s not a new problem for Christians, either.

After starting a discussion of Christ’s superiority as our high priest and reviewing some of the great benefits available to a believer who partners with Jesus, the author pauses to say:

Hebrews 5:11-14
We have a great deal to say about this, and it’s difficult to explain, since you have become slow to understand.  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of God’s revelation.  You need milk, not solid food.  Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature – for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.

Looking at this passage, it is clear that this letter was written to people who have already accepted Christ as the substitutionary payment for their sins.  The solid food is the teaching that deals with righteousness, or right-living, before God.  Because these “big babies” haven’t progressed to solid food, they cannot grasp the implications of the Greater Message of future partnership with the Greater Messenger.

Hebrews 6:1
Therefore, leaving the elementary message about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity

If you could travel into a mother’s womb and speak with the prenatal child, I’m sure he would be very confused as to why he was growing arms and legs and a mouth.  He has no real, tangible need for them so long as he remains in the womb.  However, we would desperately explain that while he sees little use for them in his present stage in life, they will become vitally important for the way he interacts with the world of his next stage of life.

The entire New Testament, except for John’s Gospel, speaks to us like we are the child still in the womb.  The vast majority of the New Testament is written to believers and contains encouragement to put in the effort now to grow towards maturity…because the level of maturity we develop here and now will directly impact how we interact with the world of our next stage of life.

Hebrews 6:11-12
Now we want each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the final realization of your hope, so that you won’t become lazy, but imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance.

Keep at it.  Keep going towards maturity.  Not everyone does, but those who trust Jesus’ offer of partnership and patiently wait for it, they will obtain it.

That’s a resolution worth keeping, one with results that echo into eternity.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

How to be rich and live richly

We discovered last time that we’re rich.  Richly rich.  That if we make over $32,400 per year ($15.59/hour)…we’re in the top 1% of the world.  But we also found out that no matter what our income amounts to, we shouldn’t feel guilty that we have wealth, because God richly provides us with all things to enjoy. 

God gives good gifts, and gifts are given for the enjoyment of the one receiving it.  Maybe someone got a better gift than you, and it doesn’t seem fair…however, our jealousy tends to evaporate once we expand our comparison circle to include the rest of the world.

So now that we know we’re rich, what do we do?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught:

Matthew 6:19-21
Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.  But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

A few observations:
·        Jesus gave no indication that being wealthy in this life (or the next) is wrong.
·        What is considered valuable now is not going to be what is considered valuable in the next life.
·        How we obtain wealth in this life is not how we store up treasures for the next life.

During his ministry, Jesus met many rich folks who didn’t handle their wealth very well in light of eternity.  A few examples include the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22), also the Pharisees and their scribes (Luke 5:29-31).  The rich were also featured in Jesus’ parables as bad examples of how to live life in the present age (Luke 12:13-21, Luke 16:19-31, and Luke 18:9-14).

So, what should us rich 1%ers do?  What does God consider the right way to handle the wealth He’s given us?

Paul addressed that topic in his instructions to Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:17-19
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. 

Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real.

Being rich in the age to come means being other-focused in the present age.  Whether we make $15,000 a year or $1,500,000 a year – what we do with what God has given us will determine the foundation of our lives in the next life.

That thought just blows me away, so dwell on it for just a moment with me.  Everything in this life is building *only* the foundation for our lives in eternity.  What we build, the work we do, the experiences we will have in the next life…are going to be based upon the choices we make in the present age.

My mentor, Joe, would tell me often “This life is just boot camp for the next.”  C.S. Lewis wrote that our present lives are simply the cover and the title page…when we enter Eternity future, we will begin Chapter 1 of the Great Story that never ends, where each chapter is better than the one before.

Partnering with God now affects how we can partner with God in Eternity.  We should absolutely enjoy the gifts God has given us, but don’t enjoy them selfishly.  Do good.  Be rich in good works.  Be generous.  Be willing to share.

Lay a good foundation for the age to come.  Find and take hold of life that is real.

Keep Pressing,
Ken