Not So With You

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:42-45 (NIV)

It was his last days before he was to face the cross head on. He was trying to share some last lessons with the disciples. Important lessons. Things they needed to remember. But, they were distracted.

What were they distracted with?  They were distracted with who was going to be most important in his kingdom. They were jockeying to see who would rule. I would scoff at this and say "Really?" but I can't. Because I look around our world and I look at myself in the mirror and my brain still goes to this same place. As much as I hate it, those thoughts still pop into my head. What was Jesus' response?

Not so with you.

No matter what the world is doing, no matter how important you think it is to be important, you need to be different.

Jesus, Savior of the World, came as a servant. That is our model. Feeling like we've done something important or great; that is not what matters. What matters is did we point to Jesus enough. Does what we are doing cause people to reflect on him alone.

Not so with you. I need to repeat this to myself over and over again. 

Jesus, make me different. Amen

You'd Think I'd Get It By Now

Wait patiently for the Lord.  Psalm 27:14 (NLT)

Last night I had a dream. I dreamt that I was supposed to stand up in front of people and say something about my experience with God. I prayed and prayed and asked God what he wanted me to say but the answer never came.

In my dream, I was stressed and worried. I kept trying to figure out what God wanted. Sounds like a nightmare doesn't it? The clock was slowly clicking down and pretty soon it was my turn. When I stood up, I knew exactly what to say. It was all there, clear as a bell.

When I woke up, today's text was in my head. It reminded me of two things. One, to wait on the Lord doesn't mean to stand around and do nothing. It means to continue to seek him and listen to what he has to say. Two, it also means not to stress about what you are waiting for. While you are seeking God, stop worrying.

God always shows up. He may do it in the last second before you need it but he always shows up. Maybe that's where the word patiently comes in. This seems to be the same lesson I have to learn over and over again. Wait and trust. Trust and wait. Somewhere along the way I forget and have to relearn it.

The amazing lesson I've learning in all this trusting and waiting? That when God does show up, his plan was better than mine. He works everything out according to his divine purpose and that nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Every day I feel like I make a bazillion decisions.  Some of them are good, productive and fun. Some of them not so much. Yesterday, someone asked a question that had me re-evaluating one of my decisions.  I don't know about you but I find this particularly annoying for a variety of reasons that have to do with workload, etc.

This morning, I woke up read an email about this and became annoyed again. (I probably shouldn't read work emails before my worship.) Anyway, I prayed because I knew the spirit in me wasn't God's spirit. I prayed for wisdom. And then, I sat down for my worship. 

In true God fashion, he revealed texts in his Bible that helped me understand what wisdom looks like. He helped me see that the place my heart and head were were not his space. I love how God uses his Word to convict us.

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:17-18 (NLT)

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 1 Peter 1:13-15 (NLT)

And my life verse:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.  Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

Today, as you and I go about our days and make a bazillion decisions, let's remember what making God-like decisions should look like. And let's have our first decision be to reflect Jesus in all we do.

Are You Helping Satan?

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters
    has been thrown down to earth—
the one who accuses them
    before our God day and night.  Revelation 12:10

It is not secret that Satan accuses us. As the Bible says, he prowls about as a roaring lion seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8). It is his desire to bring us down. In Revelation we are told that he accuses us before God day and night. Over and over again.

When I read this verse I wondered, Do I help him? Do I help Satan accuse my brothers and sisters by talking about them? Do I share stories that are not uplifting? Do I do it and stand behind a bunch of excuses that sound like there is a good reason for my sharing? I think sometimes we gossip or share things about others that we should not share and excuse ourselves with some trumped up guise that we think makes it alright.

The thought horrified me. The horrifying thought? That I am helping Satan in his battle against us by doing the same thing he is doing. Instead, I should be aligning myself with Christ and defending everyone against the lies that are being told.

There are three questions you can ask yourself before you repeat something about someone. The origins of these are disputed but the questions are excellent!

Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?

When I ask myself those questions before I speak, I've found that an awful lot is eliminated. It's a good reminder. I do not want to help Satan destroy any of God's kids.

The next verse in Revelation 12 says:

And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
    and by their testimony.
And they did not love their lives so much
    that they were afraid to die.  (v 11)

Satan will be defeated by the blood of the Lamb first and our testimony second.  What will be your testimony? Will the words you speak reflect the Christ you know?

Changing Color

Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)

As I look out the window this morning, I see a beautiful landscape of white. White covering the grass and the roads and white decorating the tree branches to paint a picture of breath-taking beauty.

Yesterday, that same view was a mud-covered landscape from the rain and sleet that fell. What a difference a day makes. I can't help but think of God's statement to us that even though we are covered with sin and look dirty and unclean, in just a blink of an eye, we are made perfect.

In less time than you can imagine, you are sparkling white, clean with no traces of any imperfections. That's his promise. He is calling you to glisten. Go, talk to him and he will make you white as snow.

Do You Hear That?

My child, listen to what I say,
    and treasure my commands.
Tune your ears to wisdom,
    and concentrate on understanding.
Cry out for insight,
    and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver;
    seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
    and you will gain knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2:1-5 (NLT)

We had the pleasure of having my father-in-law live with us for a while. And even though it was our pleasure, it was not without its challenges. One of those challenges was a few years down the road when he would get his time mixed up.  He would wake up in the middle of the night or early, early in the morning, get dressed and go downstairs expecting everyone to be up.

Now, I get up early so I can spend some uninterrupted time with God.  I need this to start my day on the right footing. And Baba needed to sleep. It was important for his health. The first time Baba showed up downstairs way too early, I was taken by surprise. But as this habit continued, I learned to listen for him.

I listened for every creek of the floor, every slipper drop or the door to his room opening. I did this as I went through my morning routine being acutely aware of what he was doing all the time.

Baba has since gone to be with Jesus but the other day it occurred to me that if I could get used to listening for Baba so closely, what was preventing me from listening for Jesus so closely?  Could it be that we hear what we get accustomed to hearing?  Take mothers for example, they can hear their child doing something from rooms away (or not hear them which is a sure indicator that something is amiss.)

Maybe when we say "I can't hear God" it is because we are not tuning our hearing to him. Could it be that we don't hear him because we aren't really listening for him and the other noises in our lives are getting it the way? What would happen if we were constantly listening for the Voice or the lack thereof? Wouldn't we get so used to hearing it that we knew the sound immediately? What a difference that would make in our world....

What To Do With "One Of Those Weeks"

There is a sure way for us to know that we belong to the truth. Even though our inner thoughts may condemn us with storms of guilt and constant reminders of our failures, we can know in our hearts that in His presence God Himself is greater than any accusation. He knows all things. 1 John 3:19-20 (VOICE)

This week was one of those weeks.  It seemed like every day something happened to make it harder and slow or stop progress.  Meetings that got moved, tasks not complete, technology issues (I particularly hate those), health issues, misunderstandings with co-workers, you name it, it happened.

As I lay my head on my pillow later than I intended last night, I told God what I thought of this week. In the process, I also blamed myself. It's super frustrating when you can't get things done that need to get done and it is super natural to beat yourself up more than you should.

Today's text (which I am sure God sent) reminds me that my inner thoughts do condemn me with guilt and reminders of failures but it also reminds me of who God is. God is not my accuser. God does not point fingers at me and say "You didn't get it right." God says, "I know. It's been a rough week. And I still love you."

That voice that is bringing you down?  That is not God.  That is the other insignificant player. Ignore him. He doesn't love you. He just wants you to fail. Listen to God's voice. The one that says "You are precious to me. This too shall pass. Just hold on. I am here."

Dear Jesus, Thank you for the reminder. Today, I give you my heart and my day. I love you. Amen

A Minute In It - Which Behavior Is Yours?

A minute in Gods' word will change your life.  Reach the passage below and answer the questions after the post.

Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
"Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
“No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:1-11 (NLT)

In this story, are you the one offering grace or the one holding the stones?