His faithfulness, not our methods.

 

John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”    Luke 9:49-50 (ESV) Methods vary; principles do not. Because something “works” does not mean that we should emulate the method. Often God works though hearts that are right, and the methods are just that, methods. I am sure there are people who have come to Christ due to various self-imposed crises in their lives. Yet, we would be foolish to promote self-imposed crises as an evangelistic method. Our actions will always be suspect to criticism, and, almost without exception, when we look backwards, we see that we could have, and maybe should have, done things differently. We will always operate with limited vision. We will never really know the future. We can never really know how individuals will respond to what is said or done. A method that worked today with one group of people may not work tomorrow with another. It is our heart that God looks at and blesses. We need to make sure our hearts are right and then move ahead with boldness. If success is found, we can rejoice in His faithfulness, not our methods.

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The only greatest...

 

An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”   Luke 9:46-48 (ESV) Why is it we concern ourselves with who is the greatest? Our body does not argue about what body part is the greatest. A healthy body functions without highlighting the individual parts. It is silly to begin to assign importance to various parts. Mature believers know that the body of Christ is operating best when Christ alone is magnified, and they will avoid all opportunities to point to themselves. When a person is praised, God’s role is diminished, and the door to idol worship is open. Healthy people live in context. They understand that they are the created ones, not the creator. They know that they are dependent upon God for sustaining them, and they are often reminded of the devastation of sin and the frailty of this life. Mercy and grace are important to the healthy because they know God’s mercy gives us entrance into His family, and His grace allows us to live abundant lives. The only greatest one is God, and those who try to take His place will be disgraced and humiliated. For now, the choice is ours.

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Focus on enjoying God

 

And all were astonished at the majesty of God. But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.    Luke 9:43-45 (ESV) It is difficult to change a mind that is made up. The text tells us that, for some reason, the truth here was concealed from them at this time. This shows that God is at work in our hearts and reveals things to us when we are ready for them. There will be times of confusion with us, but we must always remember that God is never confused, and as we wait upon Him, in His presence, He will sort out the blurry details. We also need to see that we have a tendency to believe what we already believe. It seems the disciples wanted Jesus to be an earthly Savior or King, yet, He was speaking of dying, raising then leaving. It seems that the common notion of who Jesus should be was being shattered, and therefore, the believers remained confused. When we do not understand what is happening, it is okay to ask God and to confess to Him that we are confused, knowing that He is not. He will answer us in a manner that will demand faith and be consistent with what we can actually handle. We need to focus on enjoying God, not understanding or controlling Him.

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Alive and Well

 

Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.    Luke 9:28-31 (ESV) Imagine having a conversation with Moses and Elijah. For those who are in the family of God, you might just do that one day. So often we are fixed on our lives today, and what is happening around us, that we lose sight of what is to come. We forget that people like Moses, Elijah, David, Daniel, Joseph, and more are alive and well and enjoying the blessings of eternity. They all have finished their work and are now enjoying eternity. It is fascinating that Jesus decided to talk with Moses and Elijah, as if they just needed to chat a bit. Today, all who have lived and died before us are very much alive somewhere doing something. Those who have been ignoring God all their lives will try to convince themselves and others that this life is all there is. They will live as if that is true. They will live a lie and one day be laughed at by the evil one as they suffer for eternity for their choice to ignore God. Those, like Moses and Elijah, who knew and followed God, will be enjoying eternity with God. Conversations with God will be normal, as they had been all their lives, and their demonstration of their love for each other will continue, face to face, for eternity. For now, the choice is ours.

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Ashamed?

 

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."   Luke 9:26 (ESV)  Why would we be ashamed of God and His words? Why is a child embarrassed by an involved parent? It seems we desire, even strive towards, independence. The words of God show that we are dependent upon Him. Often the words of our parents show our dependence upon them. In time, normally, the child who has been ashamed to be seen with his/her parent, is proud of them, and delighted to be his/her child. In time, as you spend time with God, you become delighted to be His child. The immature are self-focused or absorbed; the mature focus on others. Those who are ashamed of God’s Word and involvement in their lives do not know God. Those who do not know God do not know Him because they choose to not know Him. Are you ashamed to identify with God?

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Life comes from death.

 

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"   Luke 9:24-25 (ESV) “The gain is present. Self-love, love of the world, or the things of the world, as a primary and all-absorbing principle of the soul, is ruinous to the entire life—the soul. But the man who sets his affections on Christ and things above—such a man saves his soul and secures his interests for eternity. This consecration to Christ brings present gain. A man gives himself up to the service of God, and what follows? He keeps his life.”  (J. T. Higgins) We may learn why it is the happiness of Christians is so imperfect. They have only partially denied themselves; are only partially resigned to the love and service of their Maker. Hence they are still in part devoted to the world and fettered by it blot till the last link is sundered, and their souls entirely absorbed in Christ, can they attain to a perfect joy. Not till they are wholly dead can they wholly live. (R. D. Hitchcock, D. D.) This is one of the clearest principles in Scripture. Life comes from death. There are no exceptions. Learn More at Relate365.com

That Which Is

 

"For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"   Luke 9:24-25 (ESV) It seems easy to work at preserving something we cannot preserve. We try to gain life by focusing on life when life is only found in dying in this life. In fact, real life, eternal life, starts when this life ends. For the grieving, a phase of life has ended, and only the unknown lies ahead. For the parting, new and abundant life awaits them. I have often wondered what those who have gone before us would say to us if they had the chance. I cannot know for sure, but I would think it would have to do with the foolishness of all the time we spent trying to find life, in life. I think they would warn us about missing out on what will be certain for that which is and will always be uncertain.

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