February 24, 2013

^"Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Mark 9:35

 

Today marks the unofficial start of Spring - the 2013 NASCAR season!

 

43 cars will roll out onto world-renown Daytona International Speedway for the prestigious Daytona 500 race. 42 of those cars will line up on the starting grid behind a girl for the first time in history. Danica Patrick will sit on the pole when the green flag drops.

 

Starting in first place is very important and impressive. But if you were to ask each of the 43 drivers where they want to finish at the end of the race they would say, "First place!"

 

Race car drivers race for one purpose - to win! Second place is just the first loser!

 

I think Jesus was being a little facetious when He made the statement, "IF anyone anyone wants to be first". EVERYONE wants to be first! Jesus knew that everyone of us is wired for self-promotion. We want the best for ourselves and we want to be at the head of the line.

 

So, the disciples were arguing over which of them was the greatest among them. I am going to venture a wild guess and say that they weren't nominating each other for greatness. When Jesus got wind of their jostling for position He called then together and then He "sat down".         

In the Hebrew culture, when a Rabbi sat down, something significant was about to happen! What happened was they got confronted about their selfish ambitions. Wanting to be first would require them to be willing to settle for last.

So the question arises, "How do I get from wanting to be first to being willing to be last?"

Let me share four ways that are inferred in His "sitting down" speech:

First: Wake Up

Recognize and repudiate your self-centered ambitions.

Wake up calls often come in the form of broken or strained relationships with a significant person in your life.

Second: Become Interested In Others

Here is an acrostic that might help: 

Take an interest in another

Hear their hearts and words

Empathize with their concerns

Meet their needs as able

Third: Become A Servant

 

You can take an interest in people BUT still not truly be a servant.

 

How is that PB?

 

When we take an interest in others – WE ARE STILL IN CHARGE and WE DECIDE how our help is appreciated or effective. BUT when we choose to be a servant, we give up the right to be in charge. We make ourselves vulnerable. We do small things behind the scenes with nothing to gain for ourselves.

Four: Lift Other's Burdens

 

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” MT. 16:24

 

There is no time when we are more like the Trinity than when we carry each other’s burdens and enter their lives. We absorb their flaws and failures and still stand with them. We stand in the gap for each other, we pray for each other’s kids like they were our own, and we lose sleep over other’s needs as we would our own.

 

THE JOURNEY FROM “ME TO WE” IS HARD!

 

IT HAPPENS IN STAGES AND EACH STAGE IS HARD!

 

“ME TO WE” GOES AGAINST OUR NATURE. IT IS SWIMMING AGAINST THE CURRENT. IT IS LIKE FINGERNAILS ON A CHALK BOARD. IT IS A SOULSHIFT!

What are you going to do about it?

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 23, 2013

^"They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were,  because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” Mark 9:30-33

 

Jesus and His disciples were headed to Jerusalem together. For Jesus this would be a one way trip. They thought He was going to establish His reign He knew He was going to die.

They were on the road together but they were in different worlds. They were not "minded" like Him. Nor were they "souled" like Him.

 

While you are shaking your head over the obvious disparity between how Jesus was wired and how His chosen followers were wired.

 

As you wonder how they could have followed Him so closely for two years and still be so far away, let me ask you, "How is it with your soul?"

 

"How can I know?" you ask.

 

Honestly consider these soul-searching questions:

 

What do I do when no one is looking?

 

What do I think about when I am stopped at a red light?

 

Why am I thinking about that?

 

What should I be thinking about?

 

How do I treat the people I live with?

 

How do I treat people who can do nothing for me?

 

What do I fear most - and why?

 

What do I protect most fiercely in my life?

 

Why do I do that?

 

After you have given prayerful consideration to those questions, and once you have opened some windows into your soul and after you are satisfied with your answers then you can go back and criticize the disciples.

 

 

 

 





February 22, 2013

“He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”  Mark 9:31

 

Have you ever taken a risk to make yourself very vulnerable to someone only to have them respond in a very inappropriate insensitive way?

 

That is what happened here!

 

As Jesus was trying (for the second time) to tell the disciples about the selfless suffering He was soon to endure they were arguing over who would be the greatest.

 

How selfish is that?

 

About as selfish as you and I are capable of being and sometimes are!

 

But it gets worse!

 

^“They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise. ”Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”  MARK 10:32-37

 

Come on, guys! Get a clue!

Consider this – Peter, James and John had been with Jesus for the Transfiguration! They even made THAT about themselves.

 

JUST AS PETER PROVED IT IS POSSIBLE TO FOLLOW JESUS CLOSELY FOR TWO YEARS AND BE “MINDED” LIKE HIM - NOW THE DISCIPLES SHOW THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE ON THE SAME ROAD WITH JESUS BUT IN A DIFFERENT WORLD!

 

Here's why, Martin Luther said that man is born “cor incurvitas ad se”, meaning that his heart is curved inward upon itself. If you have or ever have known a small child you know we are born with a self-centered nature.

 

See if you recognize any of these symptoms:

 

 - A critical spirit – You think your ideas are much better simply because they are yours.

- Looking out for no. 1 – Look at a group photo that you are in and who do you look for first? Why?

- Arrogance – Thinking too highly of yourself and your opinions OR covering up for feelings of inferiority.

- Inability to forgive self – Even though God has forgiven us, we hold on to our opinion of self.

- Overly competitive – Need to win in order to prove self to others. Losing is too hard on insecure self-image.

 

- Talk about self too much - When you aren't talking about yourself you are getting ready to.

 

- Holding grudges – Can’t get over things done to us or against us.

Jesus is not like that – AT ALL!

 

He is 180 degrees different! He is curved outward and everything He does is focused on others. Everything He thinks is for the interest of others and everything He does is to benefit and enrich others.

 

February 21, 2013

^"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" Mark 8:36

Imagine you had a car with an engine that, with mininal maintenance would run forever. In fact, with that routine amount of attention you know your engine will outlast the body of your automobile. Would you neglect that engine and devote all your energy to making the exterior of the vehicle look good?

 

I doubt it! That would be foolish!

 

You may not have an eternal motor, not even a Toyota lasts forever, but you do have an eternal soul! That soul is the core of your being and it is what keeps your body up and running. Your soul is eternal because it was placed within you by an eternal God.

 

So, how is your soul?

 

How is your maintenance record?

 

Are you devoting more time, money and energy on your exterior or on your soul?

 

In your natural vain flawed judgment you will focus on the temporary and neglect the eternal. Even one as spiritual as the Prophet Samuel needed to be reminded, "But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." I Samuel 16:7

 

Many of the religious leaders of Jesus' day were caught up in this foolish priority of looking good while neglecting their eternal souls and Jesus had a graphic description for them, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean." Matthew 23:27

 

I think you get the point!

 

So, what are you going to do about it today? Will you spend AT LEAST as much time with God in His Word and in prayer as you do with your grooming?

 

Spend more time on the eternal today.

 

 

 

 

February 20, 2013

^"He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Luke 10:27

 

Selfishness is your default setting.

 

That is true because your operating system is S-I-N (Selfish Infected Nature) and you process everything from the code of "what's in it for me".

 

Your operating system is incompatible with the programs God desires to download to you. In fact, it has compatibilty problems with all other users and servers. It would much rather use than serve!

 

Every program that has been downloaded into your soul is contaminated with the viruses and malware that attach themselves to self-centered living. Your system has some fatal errors and is due for a crash.

 

So what are you to do?

Download new virus protection software?

Press "control", "alt", and "delete"?

Do an uninstall of some programs?

I am afraid it isn't a matter of programming or reprogramming or a system restore, it is the need for a whole new operarting system.

That new operating system can only be applied by God through His Holy Spirit. In fact, the new operating system IS the Holy Spirit! He can only be fully downloaded when you have rejected the old operating systen and He has scrubbed your harddrive with the blood of Jesus.

In Scriptural terms, you cannot love yourself or others in a healthy way until you love God with all your SOUL (heart, mind and spirit included).

Are you tired of your default setting?

Are you weary of your incompatibility with God and others?

Do you live in fear of a systems crash?

Would you like a new processor?

Maybe it's time for a new operating system.

Why not decide to put God in charge of your IT (Internal Transformation) needs?








 

 

 

 

 

 

February 19, 2013

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12

Approximately 1/3 of the world's population are Christians.

 

In Brazil 92% of its citizens profess to be Christians. Mexico boasts a 95% Christian population. 80% of Americans claim to be Christians.

 

So how is it then that one Christ was able to change the world but 2 billion Christians don't seem to be able to do so?

 

Was Jesus serious when He made this statement or was He just trying to be optimistic?

 

Does this suggest that Jesus REALLY expects His followers to have the same impact that He had?

 

Think about it for a moment. As wonderful and powerful as Jesus was when He was here on earth, He was limited by His physical body to being only at one place at one time. Where ever He was amazing things happened, but he could only be at one place.I can almost sense His excitement in this verse as He envisions a time when thousands of "Christ ones" would be spread all across the world living out His love and His holy power!

 

Jesus said His followers would be able to do these things that He did to a greater degree than He did them because He was "going to the Father". What is the significance of that?

 

When Jesus went to His Father the Father sent the Holy Spirit to take His place. And Holy Spirit was not limited in time or space. He can be in every believer every where at the same time with the same amount of power! Therefore, the Christians of 2013 should be changing lives and changing circumstances and developing disciples at a 2,000,000,000 higher rate than Jesus did!

 

I don't see that happening where I live. Maybe you see it where you reside.

Perhaps it is time for some "soul-searching".

Maybe it is time for some "soul-surrendering".

Could it be time for some Spirit-filled living?

How is it with your soul?

Billions of souls are hanging in the balance.
 

 

 

 

 

February 18, 2013

^"But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Mark 8:33
 

Jesus rebuked Peter.
 

It isn't fun be rebuked.

 

I think it would be less fun to be rebuked by Jesus, especially after Peter had just been praised by Jesus.

 

The rebuke of Jesus to Peter was strong and it was stern. This word used for "rebuke" is the same word that was used when Jesus rebuked the storm on the sea. And it is the word used when Jesus rebuked demons and disease.

 

But wait a moment! What happened each time Jesus rebuked those forces? Change is what happened! A storm calmed down! Demons fled!  Diseases where healed!

 

There is power in the rebukes of Jesus and it is positive power.

 

Although this  rebuke of Jesus did not immediately change Peter, we know that eventually there was a dramatic and fundamental in him. That is the primary reason we are even talking about Him!

 

If you want to be changed in your soul you must be willing to receive the rebukes of Jesus.

 

Are you willing allow Jesus to rebuke you so He can begin to rewire you?