I will answer one day….

 

And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!  It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.  Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”  Luke 17:1-4 (ESV) Those who choose to sin choose to live outside the way it was meant to be. The real choices we have will also have real consequences for us, those we love, and our acquaintances. If my actions cause another person to sin, I will be held accountable to God. My choices are real. My consequences, both good and evil, will be real. I would be wise to see my decisions in the light of how it affects others knowing that I will answer for myself and how I affected them when I stand before God.

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Glimpse into our thinking

 

“And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house—  for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’  He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”  Luke 16:27-31 (ESV) We may think we know what those who have died before us would say to us if they had the chance. Here we see what the rich man would say and do if he had the opportunity to visit earth once again.  He would tell his family that God is real, that heaven and hell were real, and that ignoring God is foolish. This is a glimpse into how people think who had entered their eternal state before us by the only one who knew what that experience would be like. We would be wise to think about how we could enter eternity as Lazarus did rather than the rich man. For now, the choice is still ours.

There comes a time…

 

“The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.'"  Luke 16:22-24 (ESV) Those who ignore God, for any reason, will have many regrets. God is available to all who seek Him, and promises that those who honestly seek Him will find Him. The rich man found money, fame, fortune, and comfort. However, in finding all the good stuff in life, he had no time or desire to find God. There comes a time where it is too late, and for him, it was too late. If you are reading this, it is not too late for you. For now, the choice is yours.

Significance and security?

 There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.  And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.”  Luke 16:19-21(ESV)

There are rich and poor in this world. Both the rich and the poor have the same problems and opportunities. The rich and the poor long for significance and security. The rich often look for their significance and security in their money, homes, status, or health. The poor often envy the rich, thinking they would be significant and secure if they were in their position.

Yet, in reality, they both seek the same thing. The significance and security they both desire are equally available to all, regardless of their status. The rich often become distracted by the chase and fail in life's most important task.

Being rich, comfortable, and influential will never bring lasting significance and security. In this story, Lazarus was the one who found life, while the rich man ended in tragedy.

Where do you find your significance and security? 

One Master

 “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Luke 16:13 (ESV)

We were made to serve, not to be served, and we will serve someone or something.  Satan knows we are wired to serve, and he tries to distort our purpose by having us serve things that should not be served.

Many today serve money. Many chase comfort, fame, and independence. In essence, they serve themselves, as they work towards things and ways to gratify their flesh.

When we serve God alone, we fear no circumstance, embrace all opportunities, and seek God's purpose for us every moment of each day. When we serve a false god, we are anxious about circumstances, miss opportunities, and see no sense in what God is doing in our lives.

We were made to have one master, and life only works well in its designed context.

Make Your Bed!

 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?  And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?”  Luke 16:10-12 (ESV)

Sometimes, perhaps often, we fail to see the connection between small tasks and huge successes. Those who dismiss the little details for the more significant do not realize that the little details are the more significant issues of life.

All ideas and actions have consequences. If I can be trusted with the insignificant in life, I can be trusted with the significant.

Often college students are obsessed with the important decisions they need to make soon. They are anxious about meeting the right spouse, finding the right job, living in the right place, and transitioning from dependent to independent living.

I would suggest that they first make their bed, keep their room clean, show up to their classes on time, clean the shower daily, and do their dishes after eating.

Then, perhaps the important "stuff" will take care of itself.

Families are a gift from God!

 “And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’  But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.’”  Luke 15:26-29 (ESV)

Families can be rough places. The line between love and hate seems so thin, and sometimes the silliest things fuel jealousy, anger, and bitterness.

The wise see their lives as something that should be used to make others successful.  Children should often be reminded that all they have is a gift, and if they ever begin to focus on what they deserve, they might get it. If that happens, they again will cry for and appreciate mercy and grace.

Families are a great gift from God. Therefore, Satan focuses his attacks on the family because they are the cornerstone of society. We need to focus on the family because it is the cornerstone of society. 

Not Good Enough

 “‘I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.'  And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.’”   

Luke 15:19-22 (ESV)

Human sonship has nothing to do with performance, and it has everything to do with genetics. Spiritual sonship has nothing to do with performance, and it has everything to do with God's mercy, grace, and provision. The status of sonship, in both instances, has to do with the parents, not the son.

Anyone who tries to earn a position in a family will be frustrated. The positions in a family are to be enjoyed, cannot be earned, and should never be merely endured.

God loves us, recognizes our need, and meets it with the payment only He can make. We were never His children because we were good enough, and we cannot maintain our status because only God is capable of such a feat.  If you are not a child of God, then your fear is justified. If you are a child of God, enjoy Him today and the security that comes from resting in your position as a child of His.

Squander or Scatter

 

And he said, "There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.”  Luke 15:11-13 (ESV) This boy thought that the father's resources were there for him to live an indulgent lifestyle. He did not realize that his father invested rather than squandered his resources; hence, he had resources. The word squandered, which is used as a description of how the boy spent money, is translated as scattered. It is as if he just took his money and put some here and there and anywhere, and, in the end, saw no return on his spending. Money can be scattered, or it can be invested. It can be used to hide pain by buying temporary pleasures, or it can be used to endure pain and help others in their pain. Money can be loved instead of used, and thereby disappoints its possessor. When I squander or scatter the resources I am entrusted with, I destroy the hope I should have for the future. It is always wise to ask God what He intends for me to do with the resources He has entrusted to me. I am convinced that He did not give them to me to be irresponsible and self-absorbed.

Following the way….

 

"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."  Luke 15:8-10 (ESV) If coins had feelings, the ones that were not lost probably felt ignored. This woman spent all of her time searching for the lost coin. Her rejoicing was over the fact that the one that was lost was found. We often seem to neglect the people in life who do what is right, stimulating a sort of jealously of those who live contradictory to the way things were meant to be. It is a natural, yet odd kind of neglect of the "good" experience. Yet, if one is healthy, one is not seeking others' attention for themselves any more than a knee screams to be seen every time we take a step. If we care about people, we recognize that those who choose to live following the way it was meant to be will enjoy life now and hereafter, whereas those who ignore God will enjoy neither. It is right to rejoice over an avoided tragedy, and the healthy do so with great enthusiasm.

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Created To Be Loved

 

So he told them this parable: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”  Luke 15:3-7 (ESV) God loves to restore, not punish. Often, man seems to want to punish, not restore. When relationships break down, for any reason, the most precious activity anyone can be involved in is helping restore that relationship. Sin is devastating and always causes us to be separated from those we love, and all that was meant to be. We hate sin and love the sinner, as trite as this saying has become. We can help heal our nation by focusing on our personal reconciliation with God and each other. We can be patient people by praying for and fostering the process of reconciliation between our friends, neighbors, and national leaders. We were created to be loved, not to be punished. That is why it can never satisfy our heart’s longing.

Worthless Salt?

 

"Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."  Luke 14:34-35 (ESV) Salt without taste Is worthless. Those who know Christ are the salt of the world, yet if we who know Christ have no effect on the world, we are worthless. The harsh reality of such statements does not sit well. We would like to believe that our worth is something that is settled, and it is. Yet having value or worth but never using the "worth" we have makes the worth worthless. If we are salt yet never get applied to the meat (world) around us, we are worthless to the meat (world) around us. The persevering quality we could have had, and the flavor enhancement we could have been never happened. When others look at us, they see what could be, yet we never affect what could be on them or anyone. What good is having the answers to life and not using them or sharing them? The effects of knowing and loving God are real and impressive, yet they only remain a potential until applied.

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Knowing God

 

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.  Luke 14:27-33 (ESV). Christ's cross was His purpose. I, too, have a purpose that I need to pick up and carry daily. Following Christ is costly, and those who understand the cost and prepare for it will not be disillusioned. Those who become disappointed with God do not know Him, and they are dissatisfied with the God they have created. When this happens, it is impossible to reconcile with God, because the God you want to negotiate with does not exist. Knowing God is the first step to a fulfilled life, and the final step to a fulfilling life. Everything that is "good" in life is the fruit of this.

Simple Focus

 

Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.  Luke 14:25-26 (ESV) Crowds seem to gather crowds. There were times when many were following Jesus, but in reality, they were not following Him. To be a disciple, or follower of Jesus, one needed to do more than find Him entertaining. Jesus was helping those who thought they were followers define what following was all about. Those who were to follow Him needed to make the relationship with Him the most important focus of their lives. When a person loves and obeys God, they are appropriately positioned to love their family and friends. If we focus on our family and friends, we cannot love God properly. Life is systematic and orderly, and if we live the way we were meant to live, we will enjoy all the relationships we were meant to enjoy. When our priorities are out of order, our lives are out of order.

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Fluent at Excuses

 

“And at the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.'”  Luke 14:17-18 (ESV) We are often "busy" now and will get to what needs doing soon, yet soon seems never to happen. When I mentor young men, I usually stress the idea of making a plan for your "plan" so that you will implement that about which you have been talking. To tell a friend that you need to get together someday and not pick a day means that you will not get together. To speak with a friend about getting together real soon to have dinner means you will not get together for dinner unless you set a date. There is no reason to put off following God. There is no reason for us to wait until tomorrow to implement something we know needs implementation, because tomorrow is one thing of which we have no assurance. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to respond to God if He speaks to your heart. Today is the day to make the changes in your human relationships if you see they need changing, and today is the day to schedule those appointments with God and others. Those who fail are fluent at excuses.

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Reflectors

 "He said also to the man who had invited him, "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just." When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!"  Luke 14:12-15 (ESV)

We are often caught in the rip current of self-promotion. We habitually help others because, somehow, it helps us. We put on elaborate dinners, banquets, and parties so that others think well of us. We give, so that others think of us as generous.

The deception is subtle and powerful, and easily fueled by the endless opportunities to prove to our neighbors that we are who we claim to be.

The healthy help and regularly include those who cannot pay them back, who may not appreciate them. Their motive is love, their vehicle is service, and their reward is from God.

Those who genuinely care for others reflect God, which is the greatest privilege man can afford.

One day God will declare our status,

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this person,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  Luke 14:7-11 (ESV)

When playing sports in college, I realized that I did not need to tell our coach how good I was. Somehow he knew how I played, and because of that, he was relatively uninterested in me informing him of my value to the team.

It is normal for us to make ourselves the most valuable player, and it is hard to realize that life would go on just fine without me if I disappeared today.

One day God will declare our status, and He will not lie. It is that day we focus on while living today.

Jesus ignored them.

 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, "Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?" And they could not reply to these things.  Luke 14:1-6 (ESV)

Those who seek the truth do not set traps. The Pharisees were observing Jesus for a reason. They wanted to catch Him breaking their religious law. It is people who changed the principle of the Sabbath to a measurable method because they ran from the principle. They constantly found situations that needed clarification and ended up with lists of rules that probably equaled our tax code and were equally complex.

It would be like playing a table game in my home in which I would continually change the "house rules" to ensure that I win. (Wild example, I know....) This, however, is a game that nobody but the Pharisees could win.

Jesus ignored them, as He should have, and as all should have, and lived out the principle of the Sabbath.

Principles are sacred. Methods are not. The wise know the difference.

Faith Rest

“Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"  Luke 13:33-35 (ESV) Those who speak the truth are never welcome in places where truth is not welcome. Man constantly struggles with the idea of hating the person who carries a message they do not like, rather than just disagreeing with the statement. Perhaps this is because truthful messages do not have opinions attached to them and are often presented in a way that forces a person to either repent or run. If we repent, we need to admit our mistake. If we run, we can ignore our mistakes until we can run no more. Those who continually run are continually tired, for there is no rest for the wicked, as true rest comes only in the Lord. The faith-rest life is indeed a byproduct of those who have faith in God and rest in Him. For now, the choice is ours....Rest or run.

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Hate: Without Cause

 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." And he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.  Luke 13:31-32 (ESV)

Jesus came to seek and save those who were lost. He healed the sick, gave hope to the hopeless, died for the sins of all, and conquered death by rising from the dead three days after He gave up His life on the cross.

Yet today, as then, some people hate Him or despise Him. One must wonder why?

He was a threat to those who consciously or subconsciously wanted to be God themselves. He was upsetting to those who thought they were in control, destroyed a man-centered religious system, and allowed "nobody" to be "somebody."

He exposed the sin in man's heart, defeated the prince of this world's power, fed the multitudes, raised the dead, calmed the storms, and even produced the needed tax money from the mouth of a fish.

Those who hated Jesus did so without cause. One day, they and all who rejected Him will wish they had not. That day is coming quickly. Perhaps, for now, there is still time to make the right choices.

Rewards for the faithful

 

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.  Luke 13:28-30 (ESV) God rewards those who listen to Him. Those who chose to ignore Him, for any reason, at any time in their lives, will regret that decision. Every person has a choice. We can choose to know Christ and make Him known, or we can choose to ignore God and make ourselves known. Those who live for momentary glory have received their recognition. Many think that those who experience the weeping and gnashing of teeth will be the unbelievers, yet these people, who miss out, seem to be in a place where they can watch the celebration from afar. Christ secures our position; our rewards are dependent upon our faithfulness. Rewards for children of God will differ, and it will matter. This is a challenging idea to grasp for those who want to believe that their faithfulness to God is inconsequential, and for years have somehow come to think that all things will be equal in eternity. If there are rewards for the faithful, then there will be a lack of rewards for the unfaithful. This is a simple premise that now we might not completely understand, but will be evident when the time comes. We need to choose to live now so that then we will have no regrets.

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