A Few Brilliant Ideas...: serious

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Devotions

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you uturn and vbecome like children, you wwill never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 xWhoever humbles himself like this child is the wgreatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 y“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 butzwhoever causes one of these alittle ones who believe in me to sin,1 it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

Today is Matthew 18. I fell asleep last night promising myself I would read my devotions when I awoke. Unfortunately I woke up at 4 PM, so here I am. This evening I was struck by the audacity of the disciples. They openly ask Jesus who is the greatest in God's kingdom for the obvious purpose, I first thought of becoming the greatest. I mean that's why I would ask. However, as I thought over the question again, it occurred to me that the disciples might be asking Jesus something much more serious. Was it possible the disciples were asking if God was the greatest in heaven? This claim was equally audacious, however, as I ponder it further, I realize this can't be the case. The context of Jesus's reply implies that the disciples question was indeed geared at the former. Besides, at this point in the scriptures the disciples would have had to be blind to realize that Jesus was not synonymous with God, what with the dove descending upon him, His commands for the winds and seas to stop, and most recently the transfiguration where he tabernacled with God, Elijah, and Moses. The disciples knew for certain that Jesus was God. Peter we know for sure as he confesses it back in Matthew 16:16 "Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”" It would be silly for the disciples to ask this question for any other reason than to find out how they could obtain greater position in God's kingdom. However, they also asserted Jesus as God, once again, for only God knows the nature of heaven.

I've often pondered what I'd ask Jesus if I ever got to meet Him on this earth. "Jesus, why did you make mosquitoes?" But honestly, this is one of the better of the disciples' questions. All over the Bible we see the questions regarding how to defeat our sin, and the answer is always to become like Christ. Since Christ, God, is the greatest in Heaven, by reason we must become more like Him. This makes Jesus's answer interesting, as it tells us a piece of the nature of God. Jesus says that only those who are like children will enter the kingdom of Heaven, however, the greatest is he who "humbles himself like this child." God is the greatest of all, because he is the one who has most greatly humbled himself. If you think the magnitude of God's glory, and how much greatly above us He is in his attributes: perfect, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient. God is infinitely more glorious than we are, and yet he humbled Himself as a child, in the form of Jesus. Not only has He humbled himself into human form, but into the form of a babe in swaddling clothes, born in a stinking stable. The other day I was thinking about how different the Bible story would be if Jesus was a prince rather than a poor child. I came to the conclusion, He would no longer be God, at least not the God I know. God is the greatest because He has most greatly humbled himself. We should therefore make ourselves more like Christ, humbling ourselves to be like Him. At the Resolved retreat I just got back from, the preacher talked about Jesus washing the disciples' feet. We need to be willing to wash one another's feet, perhaps not literally, but doing equally undesirable tasks in order to humble ourselves.
God connects himself with children here, or perhaps more accurately all the virtuous traits a child has, is similar to the nature of God. God is not limited by social boundaries. He is innocent. He loves to make things. He is enthusiastic. God is childlike in nature. We should become more like Him.
The last point of the passage is God's overwhelming love for children. You can see in the passage Jesus's severe warning for someone who harms children. God has a blazing, fire-filled, passionate love for children. This is true for those who are very young, who do not belong to Him, but it is also true for those that He has adopted into His family. The church. The body of Christ. The next time you face a challenge, remember this, God has not only chosen each one of us as one of His children, not only ransomed us from sin. God loves you passionately, with an undying love. His wrath against those who assault those who believe in Him is great. He will take care of us. None of us needs to fear.
So live encouraged, children of God. When you feel small, God is big. He is with us in the valleys and the peaks. Give praise to Abba, our heavenly father.
Sincerely,

Thoughts of a Wayfaring Child

Family, friends, and all those that dwell on this fallen earth. I tell you these things because I care for you.

Gospel. You've probably heard that word before, it means "good news." You probably knew that too. If you didn't, welcome to Christianity. It's a weird world we live in filled with muddled, confused people unsure and unable to differentiate the truth of the Word of God from the traditions passed down from the past generations of equally confused believers.

There are a lot of "Christians" who think they have it right because they attend church once a week, or twice a week, or even every day. That's not what makes a Christian. There's a lot of "Christians" who think they have it right because they open that sixty-six love letter every night called the Bible and give air to empty phrases filled with the hollow tones of a man standing before a courtroom, bound to tell the truth on a book he doesn't really care to open up. That's not what Christianity is, and if that's all they think it is, it's honor-bound, Hell-bound duty. I relish in the fact that I get to burst your little bubble by informing good people don't go to heaven. Not in the sense that you think anyway. Why does this give me so deep a pleasure? Simply because it's the beginning of illumination. Just because you worked and slaved doesn't guarantee you anything. Karma isn't any realer, than the synthetic carbohydrates you see on the shelves in the stores.

So what are these Christians? These people that you see walking down the street with the tracks in their hands trying to convince you that this Jesus guy died thousands of years ago and came back to life. After all, last time you checked your great-great-grandma was still in the grave. Why should Jesus be so special? The truth is some of them are fakers, not truly knowing Christ, but proclaiming him anyway. There are others though, people who are genuine believers, with genuine spirit-breathed faith. Where did that come from?

You've probably heard the story of that little baby born in Bethlehem, the city of David. Born, grown, living the perfect life and imparting us with wisdom not our own. Then dying a death he did not deserve on a cross that was his to have from the dawn of time. Why? Why did Jesus die? I hope you're insisting. Here's where things get tricky, it's why the "good news" tends to be a little too "good" to swallow. According to the Bible and its revelations, the reason Jesus died is because you, frankly, suck. Just to be clear, it isn't just you but every single person, with Christians included. The Lord Jesus spoke and told us that if we committed but one sin, that guilt was enough to condemn us of them all. It's not that Christians have some type of diplomatic immunity from the wrath of God because they wear nice clothes every Sunday and sing songs that rhyme quite nicely. No. They've accepted that they can't save themselves, that Jesus died for them and living a perfect life took on all of their sin. They've asked him to work in their hearts, to remove their sin and abide within them. It's not that they're perfect, because heaven knows there are plenty of genuine Christians that make mistakes. But, if you're a Christian, you're being reformed to the image of God. This is the Gospel.

I don't expect you find it easy to accept all of this. If you do, then you're not truly looking yourself in the eyes. Every day I get up, walk into the bathroom, look in the mirror, and see a guy that I think looks pretty good. That's sin at work though, and it's not natural for me to see that I fall short of God's glory. I want to believe that I'm perfect. I earnestly do. It's only by God's grace that He makes me take a second look in the mirror. This time, with Gospel powered lenses, I see my full despicable self: a rotting corpse covered with sin. It's only as God's grace washes over me that I am made clean... Clean in the image of the one who saved me, Jesus of Nazareth.

People confuse the Gospel. It happens. It's the critical struggle of the church throughout the ages, not baptism or communion. You'll meet a lot of people on this side of eternity that say they're Christians. Some of them will be, others won't be. If you're a Christian, keep in mind the truth of God's word. Look for it. Cling to it. Do not let it be confused with rite and ritual, a man made religion. If you don't know God, run to Him, and when you do, run to the truth, run to the Gospel, because when you realize the full weight of your sin and your inability to be flawless, the Bible becomes not only a book, but marvelous, glorious, good news.

Wednesday, was just like any other day. Happy, delightful, filled with Scholarly activity and preparation for watching the Psych premier. On the way to Scholars, I had a stray thought that I verbalized to my mother. "I wonder when my first accident will be." She reprimanded me for wishing for bad things to happen, which I quickly amended, "Not that I want to be in one."

Well... It didn't really matter whether I wanted to be in one I guess. That's life for ya.

Friday was a wonderful day... Well, everything except the car accident Two. Blocks. From. My. House.

I am depicted here, preparing for the drive.

Fiiiine. I'm not Chuck Norris, neither do I own a cobra. (sigh) >.<

I jumped in my old Honda and my mother climbed in then we shot off around the cul-de-sac. I made my way up the hill perpendicular to my street to this four way intersection at the top. Traffic was pretty busy, so I waited until I saw an opening, as someone was turning the opposite way, allowing me to get out into the intersection. So, I pulled into the right lane, then my mother said in a commanding tone, "Stop!" so... I stopped. When my mother tells you things, it's generally a good idea to listen, whether it's advice about: God, school, girls, food, or even music. Don't listen to her if she tries to tell you something about technology, it's a bad idea. You're liable end up like this fellow.

Anyway, she yelled, "Stop!" so I stopped. Good thing I did too. The car opposite me decided it was going to pull out and turn left. I stopped my car completely, but the guy driving somehow completely missed seeing me. In other words, he turned into my bumper and then proceeded to grind along the far front left edge without VEERING AWAY. Yeah. I was really confused by that. Apparently the loud GRINDING NOISE didn't alert him to my presence either.

"GGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRINDIAHNDIUWHDIJOJWQEFO."

... "Squirrels these days."

After he had driven down the road a little ways, he finally seemed to realize that he had just had an accident and stopped. The dude that got out was Short and I mean shorter-than-Chamberlain short. Short. He probably couldn't see me because his seat wasn't high enough up. Boooosttteerr seaaaat. He admitted that it was all his fault to us and apologized. The dude was dressed well, and he had the unmistakable, overpowering sent of Axe. I just spent twenty minutes trying to find an actor that looks similar to him, but I give up. Someday... Someday I'll figure it out.

Anyway, the dude was pretty chill about it, so we exchanged info and then we went our separate ways. Thinking back, that guy could have killed us if my mother hadn't told me to stop, if I hadn't listened, if I pressed the break a second too late. It truly is God's protection that we are still alive. It reminds me, my life is a gift, day by day, and it is time for me to die, I must go with joy and happiness, ready to meet my savior. Lately, life has become too precious to me. I care too much about my time, my goals, my mine me myself. This leaves me with only one option as a response.

Thank you for waking me up God. He him his.

Sometimes, life seems like it would be so much easier if I could just spill out whatever I'm thinking.

It feels like life would be simpler without a filter...

But it wouldn't, not really anyway.

There's a reason we keep that filter between our thoughts and our mouths. It's called wisdom.

"Psalm 37:30

The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just."

You can open your mouth and utter wisdom, or you can utter folly (which is not to say there isn't sometimes an in between.) I've been called, as have we all, to speak with wisdom rather than folly. This means inspecting my speech before it comes out of my mouth instead of afterward. This is not an excuse to develop crafty statements that are created to deviate people from the truth. It is an opportunity to serve the people around you by giving them insight rather than nonsense (<-something I spew all too often.)

Psalm 19:14

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Sometimes, it feels like blurting out what we're thinking or feeling would be better... But it's against the council of God. In order to prioritize God as our words and meditation, there has to be a filter. This filter is something that we develop by not only focusing on our speech though. Our speech is just a reflection of our thought life, the meditations of our hearts.

Proverbs 11:12-13
A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue. A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.

The ability to keep a secret is something worth valuing, and though sometimes it seems like it would be so much easier if you just told people whatever that thing is. But a man (or woman) of understanding holds his (her) tongue. God makes a big deal out of our speech, so shouldn't we do the same?

Proverbs 21:23
He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.

This is a vital piece of discernment. Sometimes things are better off left unsaid because they would harm a friendship or a situation more than it would help. Evaluate the long term effects and the short term effects. Do you think about the way your speech affects other people? Do you speak with discernment?

Here's a good indicator, look at your interactions with friends. Do they trust you enough to tell you things? Can they trust you to build them up when they need it? Are you a good friend?

Here's a clarification of "good friend." We all find the phrase about a real friend would be in jail with you saying "that was fun!" Newsflash, no they wouldn't. Your real friends were telling you not to do it and are bailing you out afterwards. They are the people that are trustworthy, those that are wise, and those that would help you when things are looking darkest. None of this, "help you get into trouble" crud.

But more than this... A true friend, or even a kind Christian builds other people up with their speech.

Proverbs 16:24

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

And when the Bible is right, which it always is, the Bible is really right. You have an immense ability to encourage other people, to build them up and to make their day a whole lot better. Small details about the way they've changed, made positive movements toward God. It doesn't even have to be about God, it could be about their painting, or their photography, or even their clothes. You have the ability to change people, whether they want to admit it or not. By encouraging others, you give them a reason to continue what they're doing, to excel and go above and beyond. When I get encouragements from other people on my piano playing, my desire to practice, to excel, to drive myself to do a better job is ridiculous...

But speech is powerful.

You've been given a voice for a reason.

Use it well.

(Vote on the layout to the right->)
Today was Sanctity of Life Sunday. This is the day that people dedicate the raising of their children to God. The message was about abortion, a serious issue in today's culture.

People often argue that this is better a "political issue," rather than a religious one. However, the pastor made the point that "it was a theological issue long before it was a political issue."

God tells us in the Bible that each and every one of us is created in God's image.

Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

If we are made in God's image, not only is it murder, but it is destroying God's own image to kill another human being. Argue over whether the child is actually alive, it's still killing human life when you abort an unborn child. This is sin, this offends a holy and righteous God... Of course there is forgiveness for sin, and that is the good news of the Gospel.

However, while the message was being taught I thought of other areas that relate to sanctity of human life. Suicide is wrong for the very same reasons. We are made in God's images, we are called to be stewards of our lives to serve God's purpose and to glorify him. While listening to the message the song "How to Save a Life" by the Fray was playing in my head, which relates more specifically to suicide. However, I liked how it could be applied to both.

"And I would have stayed up with you all night, Had I known how to save a life." Well, there is something we can do to save human life. We can take a stand against abortion, taking every opportunity to discourage it. This isn't a woman's choice. You are making the woman God by saying that she should be able to choose who lives and who dies. Our constitution realized it and outlawed murder. And yet, "60% of African American woman in New York abort their unborn children." That's SHOCKING! We need to find ways to stand against abortion and against the destruction of human life.

So, without further adieu, my cover of How to Save a Life.