Matthew 22:37-39-"Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."
Some things are just not very complicated. Living for Jesus can be boiled down to two principles: love God with everything I am and have, and love others and treat them as I would like to be treated. Not too hard to understand. I guess it's living it that is the challenge!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Light Unto Our Path
Psalm 119:105-"Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
We live in a world where the flip of a switch instantly lightens or darkens a room. The lamps in biblical times, on the other hand, burned brightly but required proper tending. If not cared for, they would become a dwindling flame. God's Word uses the metaphor of a lamp to teach us about guidance for our lives. And it provides the opportunity for some graphic applications of this teaching. Earnestly seeking the clear teaching of God's Word allows the lamp to burn brightly and us to stay on the path. The light dims when we stay away from God's Word and the fellowship of believers. It goes out when we serve another master. Sometimes we overlook the obvious: God's will is expressed by His Word. God's will is revealed to us in His Word. There is no substitute for being "diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). The Bible is a light to your path.
We live in a world where the flip of a switch instantly lightens or darkens a room. The lamps in biblical times, on the other hand, burned brightly but required proper tending. If not cared for, they would become a dwindling flame. God's Word uses the metaphor of a lamp to teach us about guidance for our lives. And it provides the opportunity for some graphic applications of this teaching. Earnestly seeking the clear teaching of God's Word allows the lamp to burn brightly and us to stay on the path. The light dims when we stay away from God's Word and the fellowship of believers. It goes out when we serve another master. Sometimes we overlook the obvious: God's will is expressed by His Word. God's will is revealed to us in His Word. There is no substitute for being "diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). The Bible is a light to your path.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Being God-Centered
Luke 9:1, 2-"He [Jesus] called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God, and to perform healing."
Notice how Jesus equipped His disciples for ministry. He knew that when they began preaching the kingdom of God and healing the sick, demonic powers would bring opposition. So He specifically gave them power and authority over demons. Later Jesus sent out 70 of His followers on a similar mission, and they "returned with joy, saying 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name'"(Luke 10:17). These missionaries were spiritually in tune enough to know that demons existed and that they were a force to be reckoned with in their ministry. Jesus' followers had been eyewitnesses as the evil spirits opposed the Master, and they probably anticipated the same treatment. Perhaps they even started out on their mission with pangs of fear and doubt about encountering demonic resistance. But they came back astonished at the victory they experienced over evil spirits. But Jesus quickly brought the issue of spiritual conflicts into perspective: "Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven" (Luke 10:20). Jesus sent out the 70 to preach the gospel and to heal, but all they could talk about when they came back was how they sent the demons running. "Don't be centered on demonic spirits," Jesus replied. "Be kingdom-centered, be ministry-centered, be God-centered." That's a good warning. As you learn to exercise authority over the kingdom of darkness in your life and in the lives of others, you may be tempted to see only the spiritual battle, looking for demons behind every door. But it's truth which sets you free, not the knowledge of error. You are not called to dispel the darkness; you are called to turn on the light. You would have no authority at all if it weren't for your identity as a child of God and your position in Christ.
Notice how Jesus equipped His disciples for ministry. He knew that when they began preaching the kingdom of God and healing the sick, demonic powers would bring opposition. So He specifically gave them power and authority over demons. Later Jesus sent out 70 of His followers on a similar mission, and they "returned with joy, saying 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name'"(Luke 10:17). These missionaries were spiritually in tune enough to know that demons existed and that they were a force to be reckoned with in their ministry. Jesus' followers had been eyewitnesses as the evil spirits opposed the Master, and they probably anticipated the same treatment. Perhaps they even started out on their mission with pangs of fear and doubt about encountering demonic resistance. But they came back astonished at the victory they experienced over evil spirits. But Jesus quickly brought the issue of spiritual conflicts into perspective: "Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven" (Luke 10:20). Jesus sent out the 70 to preach the gospel and to heal, but all they could talk about when they came back was how they sent the demons running. "Don't be centered on demonic spirits," Jesus replied. "Be kingdom-centered, be ministry-centered, be God-centered." That's a good warning. As you learn to exercise authority over the kingdom of darkness in your life and in the lives of others, you may be tempted to see only the spiritual battle, looking for demons behind every door. But it's truth which sets you free, not the knowledge of error. You are not called to dispel the darkness; you are called to turn on the light. You would have no authority at all if it weren't for your identity as a child of God and your position in Christ.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
What Is There To Fear?
1 John 4:18-"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. "
What is there to fear if God sent his Son to die to redeem us? What is there to fear if we cannot be separated from the love God has for us in Christ Jesus? What is there to fear except ourselves? As we love God and his children, we are reminded by his love for us, which is far better than our meager love for others. Rather than run from him in fear, we bow before him in thanks, knowing that he who hears our prayers is also he who loves us and stops our fears
What is there to fear if God sent his Son to die to redeem us? What is there to fear if we cannot be separated from the love God has for us in Christ Jesus? What is there to fear except ourselves? As we love God and his children, we are reminded by his love for us, which is far better than our meager love for others. Rather than run from him in fear, we bow before him in thanks, knowing that he who hears our prayers is also he who loves us and stops our fears
Friday, February 19, 2010
It Happens Every Spring
This week marked the beginning of the 2010 baseball season with the start of spring training. My beloved hometown team, the St. Louis Cardinals opened spring training in Jupiter, Florida this week and I am excited about the 2010 season. Manager Tony LaRussa and the Cardinals should do well this year and I am expecting great things from the Cardinals. They won the 2009 NL Central Division and I am looking forward to bigger things in 2010. GO REDBIRDS!!!!Keeping An Honest Account
1 John 1:8-"If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
We deceive ourselves when we say we have no sin. The Scripture doesn't say that we are sin; it says that it is possible for us to sin and for sin to reside in our mortal bodies (Romans 6:12). We are not sinless saints; we are saints who sin. It's important to keep honest account of our failures and pick up our cross daily. When we become aware of a discrepancy between our identity and our behavior, we must confess it and deal with it. The person who deceives himself by ignoring these sinful discrepancies and allowing them to build up is headed for a great fall. I spent the early years of my ministry in earthquake-prone Southern California and lived through several earthquakes. Like many people who lived there and those that still reside in California, we keep hearing about "the big one," which is thought by many to be inevitable along the San Andreas fault. Whenever Californians experience minor earthquakes (up to about 4.0 on the Richter scale), they may be frightened by them a bit, but they also see them as a good sign. These little tremors mean that the plates in the earth's crust beneath them are shifting. As long as the crust is adjusting this way, it's unlikely that "the big one" will hit. It's when they don't get any minor earthquakes for several months or years that the danger of a major, devastating quake increases. Similarly, living in the light, holding ourselves accountable to God, and confessing and dealing with sin on a daily basis prevents the major spiritual crises from building up in our lives. If we keep saying, "I don't have any sin," or if we fail to acknowledge our shortcomings and settle our differences with people as God convicts us of them, we're in for "the big one." We will eventually lose our health, our family, our job, or our friendships. Unacknowledged sin is like a cancer which will grow to consume us.
We deceive ourselves when we say we have no sin. The Scripture doesn't say that we are sin; it says that it is possible for us to sin and for sin to reside in our mortal bodies (Romans 6:12). We are not sinless saints; we are saints who sin. It's important to keep honest account of our failures and pick up our cross daily. When we become aware of a discrepancy between our identity and our behavior, we must confess it and deal with it. The person who deceives himself by ignoring these sinful discrepancies and allowing them to build up is headed for a great fall. I spent the early years of my ministry in earthquake-prone Southern California and lived through several earthquakes. Like many people who lived there and those that still reside in California, we keep hearing about "the big one," which is thought by many to be inevitable along the San Andreas fault. Whenever Californians experience minor earthquakes (up to about 4.0 on the Richter scale), they may be frightened by them a bit, but they also see them as a good sign. These little tremors mean that the plates in the earth's crust beneath them are shifting. As long as the crust is adjusting this way, it's unlikely that "the big one" will hit. It's when they don't get any minor earthquakes for several months or years that the danger of a major, devastating quake increases. Similarly, living in the light, holding ourselves accountable to God, and confessing and dealing with sin on a daily basis prevents the major spiritual crises from building up in our lives. If we keep saying, "I don't have any sin," or if we fail to acknowledge our shortcomings and settle our differences with people as God convicts us of them, we're in for "the big one." We will eventually lose our health, our family, our job, or our friendships. Unacknowledged sin is like a cancer which will grow to consume us.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Nothing Separates Us From God's Love
Romans 8:38-39-"I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future, nor powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Separation is something we fear whether it's from a child, a parent, a sibling, a spouse, a friend, or from God. Because Jesus bore the separation from God, becoming and going to the cross, we can know we won't have to ever be separated from God's love.
Separation is something we fear whether it's from a child, a parent, a sibling, a spouse, a friend, or from God. Because Jesus bore the separation from God, becoming and going to the cross, we can know we won't have to ever be separated from God's love.
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