Hope or Chaos?

 

Then you will begin to say, ’We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’  But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’    Luke 13:26-27 (ESV) When the truth is revealed, there will be many who will be shocked. There are many who think that they can do something that would make them worthy of God’s love. There are many who are trying to impress both God and man by their religious fervor. There are many who are focused on what they can do, and they begin to believe that it is their efforts that please God. Instead of placing their trust in Christ’s finished work, they have placed their trust in their incomplete works. They may have admitted that they are the problem, but now, they are acting like the solution as well. One cannot be both the problem and the solution. It cannot work that way. In the end, those who have trusted Christ are secure in Him. Those who have played the game under their own “house rules” need to hope the rules to their game have been acceptable to God. In the end, they will find that the house rules they have applied to their game are not the real rules. In Christ we have hope. In man we have chaos. For now, the choice is mine.

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Helpful Questions

 

And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” Luke 13:23-24 (ESV) “So the text teaches us. It does not say, “a few may be misled,” but many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. That many professors are deceived is clear enough from the language of Christ Himself, both here and in other places.” (C. H. Spurgeon.) The academic world seems to enjoy posing questions that leave people dangling for answers. The educational elite often portray their thought process as extraordinary, even infallible as they implore students to discuss the problem of whether or not a tree that falls in a forest makes a sound if no one hears a sound. There are discussions and questions that can be helpful in discovering truth, but the motivation for those questions needs to be the discovery of truth. If the motivation is something other than truth, then we are set up to be deluded. Charles Spurgeon said of this verse “...this delusion may last through life, and be sustained by many specious arguments, but IT MUST ALL BE DISPELLED.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)

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Discovering or Convincing?

 

And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”  Luke 13:23-24 (ESV) “The question is put in very general, and seemingly inoffensive, terms; yet probably a great deal of Jewish pride and uncharitableness couched under it. This busy man’s inquiry proceeded from an ill-natured hope of being confirmed in the national persuasion, that God was not the God of the Gentiles; but had reserved future happiness for the Israelites alone. But supposing there was no ground for imputation either of ill-will or vanity; still all such questions—for this is a leading one to many others—are useless and irreverent. Since, then, God is just, He will make none miserable farther than they deserve; since He is good, He will both pardon and reward in such degree as is fit; and since He is wise, what appears disorder and confusion to our short sight will appear in the end perfect regularity and proportion. But why was our nature formed so liable to fall short of it, in the sad degree that we often do?” (T. Secker ) We have often heard people say there are no dumb questions. Yet, in reality, there are some dumb questions. Christian scholars have often been asked questions that either have no answer, or were just asked to justify one’s viewpoint, or to catch the other off-guard. Questions such as “Can God make a rock bigger than He can lift?” may sound intelligent, but really are nothing more than arrogant banter. It is far better to spend time discovering God rather than time trying to convince ourselves and others that we can outthink God.

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One Way

 

And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”  Luke 13:23-24 (ESV) “The man that asked this question has long been dead, but the character lives, and it is not among the rarest exhibitions that we see. We carry to the Bible, if not the very same question he put to the Savior, yet questions as unpractical and irrelevant, or if not in every sense irrelevant, yet premature and of minor importance; and so it is when you have the opportunity of conversing with clergymen and others, for whose theological knowledge and science in the Scriptures you have some respect. Your questions are such as these, “What is likely to be the future condition of such as die in infancy?” Cannot you trust them in the hands of God? Are you afraid that He will do them injustice? “What is the probability of the salvation of the heathen?” And why do you wish to estimate that! Is not this one thing clear, that their condition for the present life, and their prospects for the life to come, would both be far better, provided they had the gospel?”  (W. Nevins) There is one way to God, and those who seek it, find it. We need not complicate it anymore.

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Compartmentalize

 

And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”   Luke 13:20-21 (ESV) Both the Kingdom of God and sin are compared to leaven. Leaven permeates and affects the whole loaf of bread. Leaven cannot be isolated to sectors, and it changes the shape and function of whatever it is a part. When we deliberately allow sin in our lives, we need to realize that that sin will permeate every area of our lives. When we allow God to “permeate” our lives, that will affect every area of our lives. That is why, when we think correctly and align our lives with the truth, we see the fruits of the Spirit. When we live in sin, the fruits of the spirit are forced, if they are there, and we live an exhausting meaningless life. God makes it clear that walking with God and living in sin will affect everything about our lives. We need to make certain we do not compartmentalize our lives, for those who do so will never truly live in the context of the way we were meant to be.

Environmental Adjustment

 

He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?  It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”  Luke 13:18 (ESV) We come to Christ rather simply by understanding that we are sinful, that our sin separates us from God, and our sin must be paid for by trusting Jesus to be our Savior. On that day, our focus is simple, the Gospel is simple, and our small world is changed forever. As we continue to spend time with God, enjoying and obeying Him, what started out as a simple relationship becomes an ever-present influence in every area of our life and the lives we touch. What starts out small, in time, gets to be all-encompassing. There is always a growth process that comes after birth, and the wise enjoy the process and relish any opportunity they have to be involved in the process. New or immature believers will act like immature believers. The tragedy is when those who claim to be in the faith for years have not grown, and they continue to act as immature believers. For them, a radical adjustment in their environment would be a wise decision, for we were meant to grow, and cannot enjoy life until we do.

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Religiosity

 

But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?  And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.  Luke 13:14-17 (ESV) It seems logical that this woman would go to the synagogue on the sabbath. She had no hope, and if there was even a shred of hope, it would come from a miracle that only God could do. Yet it looked like the religious leaders were not interested in giving hope on the sabbath. Often our religiosity gets in the way of our relationships and our purposes. Obviously, that is not the way it was meant to be.

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Our problem cannot be solved by us

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. Luke 13:10-13 (ESV) I imagine this woman tried to be free from this disability for 18 years. Perhaps she went to every doctor, witch doctor, natural medicine guru, and more.  After 18 years, she was probably exhausted, and those who loved her, and lived with her, were probably also exhausted. The pain, the hopelessness, and the bleak future must have crowded out any hope for a better tomorrow. All the human intervention, care, and desires could not free her, for that was something only Jesus could do. This bent over woman was in the crowd, even though she was probably not positioned well in the crowd. Somehow, she made the effort to be there. That day, Jesus reached out, and did what only He could do, and 18 years of confusion and pain turned into joyful celebration. Our problems cannot be solved by us, for it is us in our sinful condition that cause the problem. However, a word from Jesus makes all the difference.

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Watch Your Environment

 

And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”  Luke 13:6-9 (ESV) The purpose of a fig tree is to produce figs. The purpose of a human life is to produce fruit. Those who are living right display the fruits of the spirit. They do not need to pretend these characteristics exist. They just flow from them because they believe and obey God. If a fig tree does not produce fruit, we need to adjust its environment, for it is the environment that allows the tree to produce. Likewise, if I do not produce the fruits of the Spirit in my life, I need to adjust my environment to make sure I am absorbing the things that would actually produce fruit. Evangelicals often label those who adjust environment as legalistic, when in reality, those who do so are the wise ones among us.

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Forgiven

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”   Luke 13:1-5 (ESV) All disobedience is sin. All who sin are sinners. All sinners need to repent or face consequences. God’s mercy and grace is available to all who recognize their sin and their need for a Savior. “Christians” who are not awed by the mercy and grace of God have never really come to grips with the evil that lurks in their own souls, and they will never be able to worship God as they should until they align their thoughts with reality. Those who have never been alarmed by their own sin and the effects of that sin are not believers, for they have not seen a need for a Savior.  Christians are those who have been forgiven, not those who have been perfected, and as they live in this forgiveness, they are being perfected.

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“God bless America”?

 

He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.' And so it happens.  And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens.  You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time.  Luke 12:54-56 (ESV) With evidence of what is happening so clear, how can we not see what is happening? Those who love truth, who love God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, can see the danger the world is in. It is not right that each person does what is right in his/her own eyes. It is not right to redefine terms that God has already defined to make the unacceptable acceptable. It is not right to make the deviant normal and those who oppose deviant behavior the new deviant. A nation that accepts all gods is an evil nation, where tolerance has become the new god and truth has become the new evil. About whom are our political leaders talking about when they say, “God bless America”?

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Peacemakers

 

“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!  I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!  Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.  For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”  Luke 12:49-53 (ESV) Truth does stir up that to which it is opposed. Truth cannot coexist with lies. Those who lie, must resort to anger, manipulation, and even politics to suppress the truth that would destroy their lie. Those who live in the truth can be patient and give a soft answer, for in time, their way will prevail. Jesus is not saying that He is thrilled that His coming causes division. Rather, He is stating a fact, that truth and evil cannot peacefully coexist. Since He is truth, He cannot peacefully coexist with those who lie.  Real peacemakers seek the truth, not human consensus, for unity can only be found when everyone aligns with the truth.

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Is all disobedience the same?

 

And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. Luke 12:47-48 (ESV) We like to think that all disobedience is the same, yet God has never stated such. All disobedience is equally wrong, and all sin is sin, however, the evil involved in sinning has various degrees. There are those who know God, and they know His will, and they intentionally choose to ignore, disobey, or disregard what He has said. They would be intentionally evil and will be held accountable to the highest degree. Those who are ignorant, who do not know what God has said, will also be held accountable for their sin, yet to a different degree that only God can administer. For now, I need to choose to obey what I know, and all will be well.

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Security

 

"Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.” Luke 12:35-37 (ESV) Our enemy always tries to employ the element of surprise. Surprise gives you an advantage over your opponent in that they cannot prepare for your attack. Surprise allows an inferior opponent to have an advantage. Satan is inferior to God. He cannot win against God’s children if God’s children will listen to Him. Satan’s main tactic is surprise, even though God has given us His Word, His Spirit, and everything we need to live in reality and be prepared for any and all attacks. Destruction often seems swift even though the preparation for destruction may have taken a long time of preparation. When someone thinks they are secure for any reason other than God, they are primed to be destroyed. For now, the choice is mine.

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Our Treasures

 

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 12:32-34 (ESV) What is a treasure that does not grow old? What is a treasure that would be with us in the heavens and will never fail? What is the treasure that thieves cannot steal, and time will not corrode? This unique treasure is not money; it is people. Those who treasure relationships see their resources as something to enhance relationships. They understand that the only “thing” they will take with them into eternity will be other people, and all the resources they have amassed will remain here on earth, in the care of someone who did not earn them and may not use them well. For what are we using our earthly treasures?

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Daily Adjustments

 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 

Luke 12:29-31 (ESV)

Contextually, we understand that those who will not work do not eat. However, the purpose of life is not eating and drinking.  The purpose of life is the enjoyment or glorification of God. My efforts should be focused on knowing Christ and making Him known.

It is easy to focus on the provision rather than the provider and lose the purpose of the provision. A cup of water given in God’s name is wonderful because it points to the provider of the water.

Those who forget the source of their provision, and focus instead on the provision, will experience the futility of life in full measure.

I need to readjust daily to make sure I am seeking Him and not seeking what He provides.

There is only confusion apart from God.

 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.

Luke 12:27-29 (ESV)

God is not only good at details, but He also invented details. There is no life apart from God. There is no beauty apart from God. There is no kindness, mercy, or grace apart from God. There is no logic apart from God. There is no purpose, power, or hope apart from God.

There is only confusion apart from God.

Why would anyone want to live apart from Him?

Focus Problems?

 

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Luke 12:25-26 (ESV) Anxiousness changes nothing for the better. It will not solve a problem, it will not give us the strength to go through a problem, and it will cause all sorts of adverse effects. Those who truly know God rest in Him. Those who do not know Him cannot focus on Him, and instead, focus on the issues in life they cannot control. I cannot control the future, and, in most cases, cannot even predict the future. Therefore, I cannot know what I need to do to prepare for what is to come. Yet God knows. Circumstances never limit our ability to be a light in a dark world.  My anxiousness indicates that I have a focus problem and that it is time to refocus on God’s mercy, grace, love, and ability to provide for those He loves.

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I am a created being.

 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 

Luke 12:24 (ESV)

God is older than us, smarter than us, and loves us. We can trust Him. He is also much bigger and capable than our imagination could ever comprehend. Every seed that grows, every bird that flies, and every fish that swims are all dependent upon God. Every living thing was created and is sustained by Him.

We often dismiss this thought as something that we cannot comprehend, yet, God, in every area is incomprehensible. When I get to the end of my logic, I see God. If God needed to fit within my logic, then God and I would be on equal settings.

I am a created being. God is the uncreated one who is incomprehensibly creative. I need to enjoy that rather than dissect it.

God offers us a purposeful life

 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.  

Luke 12:22-23

If we live for food and clothes, we are not living. Life was meant to be about something, and Satan would love to get us messed up by getting us to miss what it is to be about.

One worries about things they will lose. If we have already died to ourselves, we will never “lose” ourselves. If we have made this life about God, then we are not concerned when this life is not about us. When we see our resources as something we are to manage for God instead of indulging for ourselves, we are not afraid of losing them.

Many in our nation needlessly suffer from anxiety.

God offers us a purposeful life of hope in which we can rest. He is the creator and sustainer of all life. He loves us. We can trust Him.

Using or Loving?

 

And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’”  And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.’”  Luke 12:16-21 When God calls someone a fool, that person is a fool. The person in this parable is a fool. This man is not a fool because he is rich, because wealth by itself has no power to do anything. He is a fool because of what he thought the wealth would deliver. To get to the point where this man was, one would have needed to work long and hard and make wise investments. Someone who works hard and long and makes wise investments has a goal for riches they have accumulated, and this man’s goal was to be free from all, and, in a sense, be his own god. He, in some ways, expresses the American Dream quite well. I wonder how many Americans God would call a fool. If He considers us a fool, we are indeed fools. Healthy people know that money is to be used, not loved. If we want God to bless America, we need to populate America with those who have a proper focus.

The Fruits Of Despair

 

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”  And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  Luke 12:13-15 (ESV) If I am focusing on what others have, I am usually miserable because I have focused on how I have missed out and the injustice of the “less deserving” who are enjoying “stuff” more than I am. When I focus on what other have, I feel cheated, unimportant, and insignificant. I do not seem to focus on others who have a terminal disease, were born in a third world country and who barely have enough food for the day, or those who are left to scavenge the garbage dumps to feed their families. My focus determines much about how I feel about this life, and I get to choose on that which I focus. If I would look at God’s mercy and grace, which is abundantly available to all, I will be fine. If I focus on the temporal, I will be a mess. The fruits of despair, anger, and jealousy are not fruit of the Spirit, so when they are present in our lives, we need to repent and realign our thinking. For now, the choice is mine.

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