Foolish Endeavors

At what point will you stop pursuing the riches of this earth? Will it be when you retire? Will it be when you breathe your last breath? Or will you be making financial decisions right to the end? When will you decide to make God your top priority? When will following him be first?

Let’s not kid ourselves. We all need to work and make money to provide for ourselves and our families. It is the world we live in. God knows that. Yet, it is not the working to provide for our families that is the problem. It is the pursuit of worldly wealth. That draws us away from God.

Let’s also not fool ourselves into thinking that just because we do not have millions of dollars that we aren’t like those who have it. We can allow ourselves to get caught up in the worship of money. It may be striving to put as much as we possibly can into a retirement fund. It may be investing in the stock market. It may be hording stuff. It may be being stingy about giving to others. There are numerous ways for us to worship money or possessions.

Jesus tells the parable about the rich man who had and abundant crop and his desire to store it all up so he could relax and live the good life without working. But this man had evidently did not have a good relationship with God nor was he attempting to follow God’s commands. In the parable, God tells the rich man he is a fool and that his life was expiring that night. The man was in deep trouble, even though he was rich, because he put his faith in the riches of this world.

We can be just like this rich fool. When we put money and possessions ahead of our relationship with God and our desire to follow him, we fall into the same trap. We may say none of us are guaranteed tomorrow, but we don’t live that way when comes to our relationship with God. If we did, we would make prayer a priority. We would make reading his Word a priority. We would seek to know him with our entire heart and mind. We would treat everyone as Jesus did.

I pray we all make God our top priority. I pray we make praying to him and reading his Word a priority. I pray each one of us will seek God with our entire heart and follow his guidance for our lives. Make God your top priority. Spend time praying. Spend time reading God’s Word. Seek God with your whole heart.

Luke 12:20-21 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

This Ain’t Nothing

How important is money to you? How important is property to you? How much of your parents’ stuff do you want to grab hold of when they pass from this life? Have you made money and possessions your idol? Have they overtaken your desire to serve God?

It seems like everyone is seeking to make more money. I know that’s not quite true, but far too many in this world are chasing the almighty dollar. There have been family fights over the possessions of a lost loved one. Yet, all of this will fade away. We can’t hold onto it forever.

I was watching a music video by Craig Morgan entitled This Ain’t Nothing just yesterday and there is this amazing line in it. The song tells the story of a reporter going to interview an old man whose house had been destroyed by a tornado. He proceeds to tell the reporter about the loss of his dad, his brother, his wife, and his own left hand. At one point he says, “There’s things that matter, and there’s things that don’t.” Another line states, “And this ain’t nothing money can’t replace.” The point being that possessions don’t matter.

Jesus telling the person who came to Him in today’s passage the same thing. Let the world’s concerns about possessions be decided by the world. Rather than worry about that, spend time in praise, worship, and thankfulness to God. All that we have will eventually go away. Our eternal life spent with God will never go away. Rather than focusing on the temporary, focus on the eternal.

I know, that is easier said than done. But I have learned that we all can refocus our minds a little at a time. It was not until I went on a missionary trip to Romania in 2004 that this point hit me square between the eyes. Since then, I have slowly been able to loosen my grip on possessions. Still, I am on occasion caught up in it again. I must continually remind myself that possessions are not what matters. What matters is my relationship with Jesus. It’s a continual battle worthy of all our efforts.

I pray we all realize that money and possessions are not what’s really important. I pray we continually remind ourselves of that. I pray each one of us will focus our efforts on our relationship with Jesus. Stop focusing on possessions. Focus on Jesus. Build your relationship with Him.

Luke 12:13-14 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”  But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?”

Love Never Ends

What does love mean to you? Is it the emotional, affectionate love that brings couples together? Is it the love that you feel for a family member? Is it the camaraderie feeling you have with friends? Have you considered that love is more than these?

We talk of puppy love, love at first sight, and love for one another. Many of those are based on attraction, whether physical, emotional, or intellectual. We often do not consider love being any more than that. But should we?

When Jesus talks about love, He often uses the word that we define as unconditional love. He speaks of loving our enemies. He tells us that we are to love one another. We are to talk to one another with love. He does not speak of an emotional love but a love that is committed regardless of the circumstances.

The Apostle Paul writes to the church in Corinth about love in 1 Corinthians 13. He says that love is the greatest of faith, hope, and love. But he also says that love never ends. How are we to interpret that? First, God’s love for us never ends. It is his love for us that was the genesis of him sending his Son to be our Savior.

When Paul says love never ends, he is also encouraging us to have the same love for God and for one another that God has for us. That means that everything we do should be done with love. Our love is to be demonstrated in our speech, our behavior, and our actions. When it is, we show everyone around us the love of God.

I pray we all know that God always loves us. I pray we respond to God with the same kind of love. I pray each one of us loves one another with the love of Jesus Christ. God loves you. Love God with your whole heart. Love as Jesus loves. Love one another. Show your love with actions.

1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.

Eliminate Faults

What are your faults? What are things you do that you know you shouldn’t do? Have you identified them? Do you want to rid yourself of them? Have you worked on eliminating them? Have you been successful? Have you asked for help? Are you willing to ask for help?

Identifying our faults can be difficult. Often, we are told about them by someone else. Imagine a baseball player who is the best player on his high school team. When he gets to college, the coach identifies things he needs to work on. He is shocked. He was always the best player.

Just like the baseball player who cannot see their faults, we struggle to ours. When someone else points them out to us, we may be shocked and may even be defensive. Even if we identify our faults on our own, we may not want to or have the discipline to eliminate them without help. Yet, we often do not want to ask for help, which means we continue to struggle with them.

The Apostle Paul tells the church in Colossae to eliminate earthly desires, which are faults from a Godly perspective. We typically cannot eliminate them without help. The help we need is God’s. We need the Holy Spirit to change us. Yet, we must first decide that we want to rid ourselves of them. If we continue to enjoy indulging ourselves in those earthly pleasures, we will not give them up. So, we need to understand the pain they are causing us, desire to change, and ask for the Holy Spirit to change us.

I pray we identify our faults, even if we must ask someone else to do so. I pray we desire to eliminate our faults. I pray each one of us will ask the Holy Spirit to change us. Identify your faults. Identify your desires. Be willing to eliminate your faults. Ask the Holy Spirit to help.

Colossians 3:5-6 Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient.

Focus On Above

Is your mind set on a specific goal? Or does your mind jump from one thing to another? Is there an overarching focus that guides you each day? Or do you allow each day to dictate how you approach life? Is your focus on what is above? Or are you focused on what is below?

Successful people set long-term goals and intermediary steps to achieve those goals. They pursue their goals one step at a time and track their progress. Achieving those intermediary steps not only track progress but boosts their energy and focus toward achieving their goal.

But setting goals and intermediary steps is only the beginning. It requires discipline to achieve each step and the goal. It requires keeping in mind the end goal and using it to encourage us to continue to pursue it. There also needs to be a desire to achieve the goal. If we do not have a strong desire and the discipline to continue to pursue the goal, we will give up.

The Apostle Paul encourages the members of the church in Colossae to set their goal on God’s kingdom rather than on their earthly life. These people may have been persecuted for their faith. The persecution may have been as simple as being denied a job and as extreme as being arrested and tortured. Paul is reminding them that they have a reward far better than anything this life can offer.

Included in our focus on what is above is spending time in prayer. Rather than asking that God provide an easy life, we are to ask that God guide us on the path he wants us to walk. As we ask God to guide us, we must be willing to follow his lead. If we are unwilling, our focus is not on him but on what we want from this life. We must always remember that by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have committed our lives to Him.

I pray we all set our minds on the things of God. I pray we are willing to follow the path God leads us on. I pray each one of us know that we are in Christ and have committed our lives to Him. Set your mind on God. Be willing to follow God. You are in Christ. Christ is in you.

Colossians 3:2-3 Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Wandering

How far have you wandered? Are you wandering? Do you know you are wandering? Are you hungering for something but don’t know what? Are you thirsting and never satisfied? Would you like to be shown the way? Are you willing to follow the one who can show you?

We often wander without even realizing it. We stray off the righteous path and start wandering where we shouldn’t quickly. It doesn’t take much to draw our attention to something that appears better. Even if we know it’s not better, it is more appealing in the short term.

The Israelites were no different. They wandered off God’s path. It would them wandering through the desert, being hungry and thirsty, figuratively speaking for a lengthy period of time before they would turn back. We may follow that same trajectory. We wander through life aimlessly or with the wrong goals in mind. We chase after what the world tells us we should chase after. Then, one day, we wake up and see we are wandering and decide to return to the correct path.

Within the past couple weeks, I have heard several people say, since I’ve gotten older, I am now revisiting my life. They want to set themselves right in the eyes of the Lord. They are seeking a relief from the expectations of the world. They are more interested in doing what God has set before them than what man has set before them.

All of us should reevaluate our current standing in life. Are we following God as we should? Or are we continuing to chase after the world? The Israelites eventually opened their eyes and saw they were in trouble without God. We should do the same. For it is only when we are walking with God and following his ways that we can live the life he intended for us, which is a far better life than the one the world has us chasing after.

I pray we all reevaluate what we are pursuing in this life. I pray we open our eyes to recognize where we stand. I pray each one of us will pursue the life God intended for us and get on the correct path. Stop wandering. Seek God’s help. Open your eyes. Get on the correct path.

Psalm 107:4-7

Some wandered in desert wastes, 

finding no way to an inhabited town; 

hungry and thirsty, 

their soul fainted within them. 

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, 

and he delivered them from their distress; 

he led them by a straight way, 

until they reached an inhabited town.

Thankfully Redeemed

Are there things you need to make amends for? Is there something you need to pay off? Is there something you want to buy back? Do you need to recover something you lost? Do you feel as though you need to be restored? Have you accepted redemption?

We all have likely done something we felt we needed to make amends for. We have had to pay off a loan for a house, vehicle, credit card, or student loans. We may have needed to buy something back. We may have searched to recover something we have lost.

Each one of us need to be restored. This is where Jesus comes in. He has redeemed us. He made amends for us, paid off our debt, bought us back, recovered us, and restored us into a right relationship with God. Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Our sinful nature separated us from God. Jesus redeemed us, putting us in a right standing before God.

For what Jesus has done for us, we should thank Him. It is because of His goodness, His holiness, and His sacrifice that we can stand before God without the stains of sin. Our disobedience is erased. Our hard-headedness is cleared away. Our pursuit of our own will is wiped clean. The debt we owe for following our will has been paid.

Not only are we made right before God, but we are gathered into God’s open arms. He brings us to him and promises that we will live with him for eternity. God, through Jesus Christ, has made a way for us to be rewarded forever with a perfect life that we cannot achieve on our own. So, thank Jesus today for His love and sacrifice for us.

I pray we all know that we have been redeemed by Jesus. I pray we know we have been restored to God. I pray each one of us thank God and Jesus for doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. You have been redeemed. Jesus has restored you. Thank God for his plan. Thank Jesus for His sacrifice.

Psalm 107:1-3

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, 

for his steadfast love endures forever. 

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, 

those he redeemed from trouble 

and gathered in from the lands, 

from the east and from the west, 

from the north and from the south.

In Pursuit

What are you pursuing? Are you pursuing a better career? Are you pursuing a lifelong companion? Are you pursuing higher education? Are you pursuing retirement? Or are you merely getting by? Are you just hanging for one more day? Have you contemplated your situation?

We pursue a wide variety of things throughout our lifetimes. We pursue all those things listed above and many more. Some of them are extremely challenging to achieve. Others seem to fall into our laps with little effort. We all end up somewhere but may not end up where we want.

Jesus tells us to ask, search, and knock. He says that when we do, we will find what we are looking for. Too often this passage is applied incorrectly. Some view it the same as getting three wishes from a genie in a bottle. That is not the case nor the intent of Jesus’ message. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that we need to be seeking what God wants.

When we are seeking what God wants, we can ask and receive. We can search and find. We knock and the door will be opened. For when we are seeking what God wants, our will and his will are in sync. Therefore, what we are asking for, searching for, and knocking for is in accordance with God’s will. He will always grant what we ask for when we ask in his will.

Too many people will respond by saying they do not know God’s will. The simple answer is this: love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. When we love as Jesus loved, we are in God’s will. When we ask out of love for God and neighbor, we are in God’s will. We don’t need to make it any harder than that.

I pray we all ask in God’s will that we may receive. I pray we search in God’s will that we may find. I pray each one of us will knock in God’s will that the door may be opened. Love God. Love your neighbor. Ask in love. Search in love. Knock in love. Trust that God grant what you seek.

Luke 11:9-11 “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Righteous King

Most of us have no understanding of what it is like to live in a monarchy. We have not lived in a country where a king or queen is the dominating ruler. Even England is not the monarchy it once was. They have a parliament that passes laws.

We especially do not know what it is like to live under a dictator. There are a handful of countries today who have dictators. So, we may be able to get a glimpse of living under a dictator, but in no way can we fully understand it.

Yet, we will live under a monarchy one day. When Jesus returns and institutes His kingdom forever with a new heaven and new earth, we will know what it is like to live, not only under a monarchy, but a good King—a King of kings. It is in His kingdom that we will see the fullness of God’s justice.

Not only will He bring justice to its fullness, but He will also be our protector and provider. We will live without fear, worry, frustration, anxiety, anger, hatred, and any other form of evil. His kingdom will be full of love, joy, wholeness, peace, honor, glory, praise, and everything Godly. In the prophecy Isaiah speaks, he points to the Messianic kingdom to come. We must keep the kingdom of God at the forefront of our minds.

I pray we all know that Jesus will return to institute His kingdom. I pray we understand that He will be the good King, the King of kings. I pray each one of us remember each day that God has a plan, and the final implementation of his kingdom will come with Jesus reigning as the Righteous King. Jesus will return. Jesus is the good King. Jesus is the King of kings. Jesus is the Righteous King.

Isaiah 32:1

See, a king will reign in righteousness, 

and princes will rule with justice.

Model Prayer

Have you asked to be taught something you saw someone else being taught? Did you think that specific skill was worthy of learning? What were you willing to give up to learn it? Were you willing to give up your time? Were you willing to pay for it? Were you taught?

Learning new skills can be very good. They may create an opportunity for us to increase our wages. They may be the skill we need to start a new career. They may simply be a skill we want to learn for personal use. Whatever the reason, it can be good for us to learn new skills.

The disciples wanted Jesus to teach them to pray, just as John had taught his disciples to pray. Perhaps they thought there was a better way. Perhaps they thought there was a correct liturgical way to pray. Maybe they wanted to have a closer relationship with God, one similar to what they saw in Jesus and His relationship with the Father.

Jesus did teach them. We often recite what is recorded in Matthew 6 rather than in Luke 11. We call it the Lord’s Prayer. We often forget it is a model. The model includes three main pieces. First, praise God and his will. Second, request that your needs are fulfilled. Third, ask for protection from evil.

As we follow this model, we insert our real and perceived needs in the middle of it. Yet, if we are following this model, we always begin by praising God and seeking his will, while ending it with requesting that God shield us from evil attacks. Jesus presented the disciples and us with this model so that we pray in a way that is pleasing to God.

I pray we all spend time with God in prayer. I pray we seek to follow the model of prayer that Jesus taught. I pray each one of us puts the model in practice and witness God at work in our lives. Spend time in prayer. Follow Jesus’ model for prayer. Experience God at work in your life.

Luke 11:1 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”