Rich Relationship With God

Luke 12

13 Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” 15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Those of us privileged to live in the United States of America face terrible Spiritual Dangers every day. Those dangers revolve around our consumer mentality. We are addicted to “stuff.” Earthly wealth is abundant in our culture, with even the poorest in this nation counted among the top ten percent of the most wealthy people on the planet. And yes, our wealth gets in the way of our relationship with God. We face great danger of being excluded from the Kingdom of Christ when we worship our wealth instead of our Lord. Every day, I pray that God will help me use stuff to serve people, and not the other way around. Lord, I dedicate my stuff to You, and I desire to give away my wealth so that Your Kingdom can be strengthened.

Truthful Peace

Proverbs 12

19 Truthful words stand the test of time,
but lies are soon exposed.

20 Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil;
joy fills hearts that are planning peace!

May God’s Word of Truth dwell richly in me each day, as I study the Scriptures. May my life reflect my desire to live out the Truth contained in the Holy Word. May my heart be filled with joy and the peace that passes understanding as I live for Jesus and for Him alone every single day.

No Neutral Ground

Luke 11

23 “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”

Jesus lays it all out about as plainly as possible here. There is no neutral ground regarding Jesus. Either you are with Him or you are against Him. Half-hearted platitudes mean that you are against Him. Wanting Jesus to be a part of your life, but not wanting Him to be Lord of your life means that you are against Him. It is my prayer this day and every day, that my every thought, word and action will be FOR Jesus. How about you?

That One Thing

Luke 10

38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Sometimes it is so easy getting bogged down in the details of working for the Lord, that we forget to just spend some time at His feet soaking in His teaching. I know that I am guilty of this more often than I care to admit. Lord, help me to be more like Mary, and less like Martha every day. While the work is at hand, and I have my part to do, my first priority must always be to spend that time with You, drawing closer in my walk, and wiser in my ways because of Your Word.

Filled With Praise

Psalm 75

1 We thank you, O God!

We give thanks because you are near.

People everywhere tell of your wonderful deeds.

May my life be filled with praise for the Almighty God, Who is the giver of life, and the Author of my salvation. He has done, is doing, and will done great and mighty things in my life. God alone is worthy of all glory. May the Name of God be honored always. May anyone who comes along my way have no doubt as to my desire to give God the praise that He alone deserves.

Resolute

Luke 9

51 As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

Jesus was resolved to follow God’s plan for the redemption of mankind, even though He knew what lay ahead of Him. Jesus purposefully set out to accomplish the mission from God. Nothing would deter Him (like the Samaritan opposition, He would encounter along the way - vv 52-53), nothing with distract Him (like James and John wanting to call down fire on the Samaritan village - vv 54-55), and nothing would detail Him (like people who said that wanted to follow Him, but just needed to take care of “one more thing” before doing so vv- 56-62). Just as Jesus was on a mission from God, so are all of us who follow Christ. May we be focused like Jesus was, realizing that deterrence, distractions, and detaining have no place in our lives. We need to do what God has called us to do to lead others to salvation in Christ. Let nothing stand in our way.

Sleepyheads

Luke 9

28 About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. 31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

32 Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him.

I never noticed this before. When Jesus took his closest buds up on the Mount of Transfiguration, they fell asleep! Look at verse 32! I mean, Jesus brings them with Him to pray. We know that Jesus was a champion of prayer and that He could pray for very long periods of time, but this is almost a preview of what would happen regarding Jesus praying and his men sleeping in the Garden of Gethsemane. Lord, help me to watch and pray so that I do not fall into temptation, and help me to stay awake! I don’t want to sleep when You ask me to be vigilant. I don’t want to snooze through important stuff. I want to be the man Yo want me to be alert and ready for action.