Should I rent more storage space?

A man in the crowd spoke up and asked Jesus to tell his brother to divide the family inheritance with him. Jesus refused. He asked the man who had appointed Him (Jesus)in the role of judge or arbitrator over him? Then Jesus got down to brass tacks. He told the crowd (and the man) to be on guard against every form of greed because:

"not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."

Our life is not made up of the things we own - not our wealth, not our homes, cars, furniture, clothes. These things do not constitute a good life. They are not the indicators of a meaningful existence.

He then told a parable to teach the importance of being rich toward God and the danger of focusing only on earthly treasures. The parable told of a wealthy man who had so much he decided to build more storage space. His wealth made him feel secure and set for life, with no worries. His philosophy at that time was "take your ease, eat, drink and be merry." Translation? "Relax! Go on a vacation and throw some parties." But God said to the man in the parable, "You fool! This very night your soul is required of you, and now who will own what you have prepared?" (verses 12-20)

What's the lesson for me?

While on earth, the wise person prepares his soul for eternity. If I only focus on gathering earthly comforts, I am being foolish. I cannot take my earthly possessions with me into eternity - and owning alot does nothing to prepare my soul. The way to prepare my soul is to care about what God cares about. What does God care about? For starters, He cares about the suffering of people. Are they starving? Are they without clothes to protect their bodies? Are they depressed and broken? And the biggie is this: do they have eternal life? Do I care about these same things? If not, I am not rich toward God (I am not valuing what God values).

This is a good thing to remember and ponder, especially at this time of the year when we will be on the receiving end of many wonderful earthly possessions. Jesus, help me hold my earthly possessions with a relaxed grip - always willing to give them up if the need arises.

Luke 12:13-21

Are you pumped?

What's another way of saying someone is rejoicing greatly? What? Can you hear us today saying, "I feel like rejoicing greatly right now." or "Honey, you make me rejoice greatly, you know?" How about: "My children rejoice greatly on Christmas morning, don't yours?" Come on! This phrase is a bit archaic for 2008, don't you think? Instead, we might say: He was hyped, or was beside himself. Possibly we'd say, she could barely contain herself. Maybe this: he was pumped!

Think about what a person would look like if they were hyped, or pumped, or beside themselves. What do you picture? I see someone standing up and pacing the floor. Their face is animated, with eyes wide open and bright. There would be a smile on their face and their arms and hands would be moving up and down. They wouldn't be able to sit down.

Now transfer that picture over to a day in the life of Jesus. He had been talking with 70 men who had gone on a little trip into the countryside, visiting villages where Jesus was due to come speak. Jesus had given them authority and boy did they have authority! When they came back, they were so excited because demons had been afraid of them! This was new territory. But it isn't their joy I want you to think about. Because during this conversation with Jesus about their success with evil spirits, Jesus got really excited. In old fashion language my Bible says "He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit." You can pass right by that without blinking an eye. Do you realize what this is saying? He "rejoiced greatly." He was pumped! He was hyped! He couldn't sit down because of the adrenaline running through His veins! Do you know what He was excited about? Two things. He was excited that we can kick the devil in the pants. And, the other is that our names are recorded in heaven - we're saved! Isn't that cool? Think about Him reacting in such an demonstrative way. We need to get past thinking He spoke in a monotone voice, dispensing heavenly wisdom as if he were giving a speech on medieval culinary practices or how to do new math. This was no boring guy. And look at what excited Him. Our salvation, and our ability to deal with an enemy that's out for blood. He is excited because He knows we've won the war, and have tools to fight the battles.
I'm pumped, aren't you! (From Luke 10)

Been in Any Castles Lately?

Since we live in a democracy and therefore have a president, we don't think much about kings and kingdoms. The closest we come to a king is Queen Elizabeth of England. But she really doesn't have a kingdom, not the real kind anyway. Her kingdom is her land and wealth and the honor of the people. That's pretty much it. She is not a good example for us of a king and a kingdom.

What I know about kings is due to the stories I read as a child: fairy tales and the like. You could get a good king or you could get a bad king. Whatever kind of person they were, that's whom you served and obeyed.

Have you thought about how often Jesus talked about a kingdom when He was walking on earth? He spoke about the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, His own Kingdom and even there was talk about a black kingdom called the kingdom of darkness. What's the deal with kingdoms?

I think we believers may have lost something over the years of the significance of these phrases. If you do a study on all that Jesus said about the kingdom, you will discover some interesting and important things. For one, His kingdom must be entered. You can't stay outside and still receive the benefits of His kingship. I'm not going to go into all He says about the kingdom at this time, but I want to toss around one particular episode He had with three different men and how the discussion really boiled down to the Kingdom of God and us as followers of its King.

Three men spoke to Jesus about following Him. One broached the subject first, asking for permission to be one of His followers. Jesus warned him to count the cost because the road would be difficult, i.e. "foxes have holes, birds have nests, but I have no where to lay My head."

The second man was approached by Jesus. He was reluctant to follow because of his desire to take care of a family matter. Jesus told him to leave that matter behind and focus instead on proclaiming the Kingdom of God everywhere. In other words, Jesus was telling him to prioritize. There will always be earthly matters around us to distract us from the really important things, eternal things. We need to keep our focus on what is truly important: people coming to faith and entering the kingdom.

Man number three was also asked by Jesus to come after Him, but this man wanted to delay the decision. He was reluctant to say goodbye to his family. It was a real pull for him. Jesus told him that a person isn't really fit for the kingdom if after they start out , they decide to turn back. Of course we know from all of scripture that Jesus wants us to love our families. He is the one who thought up the idea! So the issue is not one of pretending we don't care about our loved ones. The issue seems to be, and tell me if you disagree, that this man felt torn between following Jesus or staying the same; at home where everything was familiar. Following Jesus means choosing Him above all else, even family. He wants to be supreme in our life, our Lord.

A kingdom has a king. Am I following the king? If not, it speaks of confusion on my part about my salvation. When Jesus the king allowed us to enter the castle gates of His kingdom, it was because there was an enemy outside who was threatening our very life. He opened the door and we found safety there. The expected response from us should be one of gratitude and a desire to serve the king. We can either be faithful servants or we can be ungrateful, passive occupiers living under His good graces but not really knowing Him or having the joy of pleasing Him.

We can believe in Jesus like demons do. They believe "and shudder." Or we can follow Jesus like rescued people who are grateful to the King. Following Jesus is more than acknowledging His existence. There is a cost (possible suffering), we have a job to do (proclaiming His kingdom), and following Him means we will give up anything to do so.

Day by day, these are the choices I must make. Some days I follow; some days I'm more like a subject in rebellion. Only by His grace can I follow.

Weak or Great?

I was reading of the time when the disciples got into an argument with each other. You ask, why were they arguing? Well, they thought they needed to decide who among them was the greatest. Didn't they have better things to do? They apparently thought this was something that needed to be agreed upon. So what did their conversation sound like? Did they say things like, "well you know, Peter walked on water. How can you beat that?". Or maybe they said, "I've been with Him since the beginning - - we go back a long way!" and holding up two intertwined fingers, adds, "we're tight." Someone else might have said, "listen, I left everything to follow Him -- and I had a lot to leave behind." We can imagine what it sounded like because we've all done this sort of thing.

So Jesus hears them, and hears their hearts: what they don't say, but is churning inside. He pulls a nearby child close to Him and says to them all: "do you see this child? If you accept her (in all her simplicity) in My name, you are accepting Me. And if you accept Me, it means you really are accepting My Father." Then he adds, "whoever is least among all of you, that person is great."

Someone who's like a child, or would be thought of as the least important in the crowd, is really quite valued by God! Hmmph. That goes against all we instinctively think, doesn't it? Does it mean God likes the weak person? I think so. Know why? It's the one who is weak, and knows they are weak, whom God can most use. The weak person is totally dependent on God. The person who is pretty self-satisfied about their own talents and abilities doesn't feel the need to lean on God. They can do pretty well by themselves, thank you. This is an error Jesus does not want us to make. And oh, how easy it is to make it.

The Cost of Discipleship

I was reading in Luke this morning where Jesus directs us to come after Him by denying ourselves, daily taking up our cross, and following. He adds a person must lose his life for Christ's sake. Our focus is NOT to be on ourselves, on preserving our lusts, desires, or our own self-direction. Being self-absorbed and self-directed, pursuing those things that only benefit ourselves: our physical body, pleasures, comforts, our social standing (respect of others, service of others, etc.) is a losing direction. Being consumed with ourselves will end up leaving us nothing. Jesus forewarns us that this kind of life causes a person to lose their life. Their life becomes nothing -- meaningless, empty, dead.
Instead, if our goal in life is to serve Christ and further His kingdom, we will be truly alive -- that will be true living, true fulfillment, true actualization.
Jesus took up His cross to die for us. Now we are asked to take up our cross and die for Him. Life will be the outcome.
Consequences/Characteristics of saving one's life:

• will lose their life
• might gain the whole world
• will lose or forfeit themselves
• are ashamed of Christ
• are ashamed of Christ's words
• Jesus will be ashamed of this person when He comes in His glory, the glory of His Father, and the glory of the holy angels

Consequences/Characteristics of losing one's life:

• will save their life
• will follow Christ
• is a daily choice
• entails taking up their own personal cross

What is a person's cross? Whatever they must give up in order to follow Christ, that is their cross.
Here's the thing for me: I used to try to imagine what it would be like to die for Christ. Would I do it? If a knife was held at my neck, would I die for Him? I would tell myself, "yes, Christ will give me grace to do that if He calls me to it." I still believe that, but there is a better question to ask myself that is more relevant and to the point: "will I die to my pride and self-protection today by not being ashamed of Christ?" If I am too afraid or ashamed to be a witness for Christ today, isn't that running away from dying for Him? I am given the chance to die for Christ daily, not just a one-time death in the distant future. Will I be faithful to Him right now?