Friday Focus #17

It Won't Last Forever

When I was a kid I had heroes and role models. Most of them (if not all of them) were athletes. Nothing wrong with being an athlete, but there are people who define themselves and hang on to their job or social status. That becomes the most important thing to them. How they are viewed by others or how they see themselves becomes far more important than having a life that is Christ centered. Eventually that earthly glory fades. If you don't believe me then look at the careers of Kobe Bryant, Jerry Rice, Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. It won't last. No matter what you have done, it does not define you. There is something far more important than earthly glory which is the sacrifice that Jesus made for you.

In the story of the young rich man (Matthew 19:16-22) we learn that a young rich man asks Jesus what Good deed he must do in order to have eternal life. Jesus questions the man's view of good and then tells him that you must keep the commandments and he gets specific into which ones. Then the man replies and says he has kept them all and he needed to know what else he needed to do in order to have eternal life. Jesus tells him to sell all his possessions and give to the poor. The young man heard that and turned away from Jesus sadly because he had a great number of possessions.

This begs the question, what is holding you back from following Christ wholeheartedly? Is it that you are more dependent upon earthly things than submitting to God's will in your life? What is getting in the way of a full dedication to following Christ? Is it it pride? Is it thinking that you are "good enough" for Heaven? There is no good enough when it comes to us. There is either walking with Christ or not. It is your decision, not one that people make for you. Don't be like the young rich man who would rather have what is earthly than that which is godly (Psalm 40:8).

On the next Wednesday Wake Up we will go through Matthew 19:23-30.


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John 14: Keep the Commandments Out of Love

Keep the Commandments Out of Love

We can think of following Christ out of obligation. Or maybe you were raised that way and your parents made you go to church when you were a kid. I have even heard people claim to be certain walks of faith based on pleasing their parents. But, what about your relationship with Jesus? I mean, we don't date or marry people (typically) if the purpose is to make your parents happy. So, why would we pretend to follow Jesus with no to low commitment?

Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." That is not "if you wanna make other people happy, then pretend to follow me." How can we overlook the love Jesus had for with the intent to unite us with God if we follow Jesus and just treat it like Jesus' sacrifice doesn't matter? It DOES matter. The life of Jesus is what caused the split between BC and AD. His life mattered. His death and resurrection mattered as well.

Keeping his commandments takes action. Even inaction is an action. It is an action of defiance. But our actions should be focused on keeping the commands of Jesus. That doesn't mean that if we just do what Jesus said that we are saved. Look at it like this, if you love Jesus and you understand what his purpose was for you and me, then why wouldn't you follow his commands? If you are in a relationship or married then it is safe to say that you love (or at least are loving) the person you are with. In that, aren't there things that you would do to show that love to that person? Make their favorite food, watch their favorite movie with them, tell them you love them and spend time with them. Granted, we can't take Jesus out to eat, but we can spend time with him and read the word in order to understand what he wants from us. He wants our pride wiped away and our humility and selfless love for him and others, especially those that are less fortunate. Do as Jesus did for the sake of love for him.

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John 2:16- A House of Trade

A House of Trade

How often in the bible to do you see Jesus getting angry? The Pharisees tried to back him into corners, but never could. He was scoffed at and mocked. The ONLY time we ever read of Jesus's anger in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) at the church toward those who turned the temple into a "den of thieves" or a house of trade as in John 2:16. That incident alone should be an example of righteous anger (breaking God's commandments) versus human anger over things like misunderstandings.
 

Jesus was not mad that the temple was selling a book or a Biblical aid or something. Jesus was upset that the focus was completely turned away from God. People who visited the temple during the Passover had to pay a temple tax (like paying to go to church) and money changers served as the one who could convert Roman coins into "acceptable" currency for the temple offerings and the temple tax. 

This is not the same as a tithe or offering. Even in today's times, if I use a foreign bill or coin as an offering or tithe, there shouldn't be anyone there who is working at the church as a foreign cash exchange. That business should be done at the appropriate time and place like at a bank, not during the time of worship to God. When we go to church, we are going to worship God. He is the focus, not the person we find attractive, not the person you want to rub elbows with for political or  personal gain. God's word and teaching is the focus.

References- Got Questions and Study Light- Dave Guzik (Section B:1a-d)

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Wednesday Wake Up #4

Is Being A Good Person Good Enough?

I have heard that far too many people who refer to themselves as Christians think that in order to get to Heaven they just need to be a "good person." That thinking makes me question what a good person really is. I know "good people"  but there are times that they have done bad things. Then again, I have known "bad" people who have done good things.

Is a good person someone who always volunteers at shelters for the homeless and visits sick people in hospitals? Are bad people only the ones who break major laws? What about people who lie; are they bad? What about white lies? Aren't those okay?

There are so many questions and ways to try to figure out who is good and who is bad, but God is not concerned with who is good or bad, He wants you to put Him first in all things (see Matthew 6:33). Everything? Yes! Everything!

If we go back to the 10 Commandments, we see that the first commands are all about God and us honoring Him by having no other gods before Him, have no false idols (worship nothing other than God), do not take the Lord's name in vain and last, we are to keep the Sabbath (take a day off from working as God did when making the universe). Those are not the last four commandments, but the first four. God told Moses to relay that message and keep his commands about our relationship to Him FIRST. The second set are all about our relationships with people.

Jesus had an encounter with a young rich man in Matthew 19:16-26. The young rich man wanted to know how to get to Heaven. He thought that since he kept all the commandments then he would be able to spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven. Jesus in the end told the man to sell all of his possessions. The man couldn't do it and went away sad because he had great possessions. We learn from this, that no matter how great of a person you have been in your own eyes, God knows more. God wants you to dedicate yourself to Him and His will. When confronted with that many of us will just walk away.

More on that on Friday....


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Matthew 19:16- The Rich and the Kingdom of God

Matthew 19:16 "Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, 'Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?'” commentary- This man wants to know what to do to get into Heaven. He recognizes Jesus as the authority which is why he calls him teacher. Jesus replies and tells him only "One who is good." The "o" in one was capitalized to show that only God was good (God is the One Jesus referred to). Jesus told the man if he wanted to enter life then he should keep the commandments. The man wanted to know how to enter Heaven but Jesus gave him the examples of how to enter life to show the difference between earthly existence and the kingdom of Heaven. The man asked which of the commandments to keep and Jesus points out six of the commandments that have nothing to do with relation to God being number one. The man says he has kept all these commandments and Jesus then tells him to sell his belongings and follow him. The man went away sad because since he had great wealth, he did not want to sell his "things." His things were far too important to remove in order to follow Christ.

Jesus goes on to explain that a rich man entering the kingdom of God is harder than getting a camel through the eye of a needle. But with God all things are possible. So Jesus is not saying that you have to be broke in order to get into the kingdom of Heaven, but if you are rich and are afraid to or refuse to give up what prevents you from following Christ, then the kingdom of Heaven is not attainable for you. He wants our obedience whether we are poor or rich.