Take Up Your Cross

Jesus said to be his follower you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow him. This means you begin to see life from God’s point of view, not a human point of view. Until you do that, you impede God’s work in yourself and others. 

Matthew 16:23-24 (TLB) 23 Jesus turned on Peter and said, “Get away from me, you Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are thinking merely from a human point of view, and not from God’s.” 24 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

1/26/2020

Paying the Laborers

How is it fair to pay the same wages for one hour of work as 8?  Parables are all about the Kingdom of Heaven, not earthly fairness. This shows God’s generosity. Jesus said the instant you ask to enter the Kingdom of God, you receive all the blessings associated with it.

Matthew 20:1-16 (TLB) 20: 1 Here is another illustration of the Kingdom of Heaven. “The owner of an estate went out early one morning to hire workers for his harvest field. 2 He agreed to pay them $20 a day, literally, “a denarius,” the payment for a day’s labor; equivalent to $20 in modern times, or £7. and sent them out to work. 3 “A couple of hours later he was passing a hiring hall and saw some men standing around waiting for jobs, 4 so he sent them also into his fields, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 At noon and again around three o’clock in the afternoon he did the same thing. 6 “At five o’clock that evening he was in town again and saw some more men standing around and asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’ 7 “‘Because no one hired us,’ they replied. “‘Then go on out and join the others in my fields,’ he told them. 8 “That evening he told the paymaster to call the men in and pay them, beginning with the last men first. 9 When the men hired at five o’clock were paid, each received $20. 10 So when the men hired earlier came to get theirs, they assumed they would receive much more. But they, too, were paid $20. 11-12 “They protested, ‘Those fellows worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as those of us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’ 13 “‘Friend,’ he answered one of them, ‘I did you no wrong! Didn’t you agree to work all day for $20? 14 Take it and go. It is my desire to pay all the same; 15 is it against the law to give away my money if I want to? Should you be angry because I am kind?’ 16 And so it is that the last shall be first, and the first, last.”

1/22/2020

Right Use of Mind

God and humans love and respect the creative use of the mind to overcome adversity. Lore, movies and books abound with it, but living by your wits wears you down.  God’s real blessings are given when you use your mind for what is right so that you will live, really live….

Luke 16: 8-9 (MSG) 8-9 “Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.”

1/15/2020

My Yoke is Easy

Unbelievers are told of the peace of Christ. Common responses are that the Christian life is not relevant to them or that Christians are the worst hypocrites of any faith. Jesus gives a different view: Learn from me... I will give you rest...my yoke is easy...my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

1/12/2020

Governing and Political Entities

Prayer for governing entities is necessary but God alone knows specific outcomes. Ask God to guide you in political matters, but more importantly let the Holy Spirit work in you so the freedom of the Lord - the greatest freedom of all - is extended to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1: 6-8 (TLB) 6 And another time when he appeared to them, they asked him, “Lord, are you going to free Israel from Rome now and restore us as an independent nation?” 7 “The Father sets those dates,” he replied, “and they are not for you to know. 8 But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power to testify about me with great effect, to the people in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, about my death and resurrection.”

1/5/2020