A Heart That Is Ready For The Master

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food, in due season? ... Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servants says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mt 24:45-51)

We don't know the "when" of Jesus' second coming. Like all things of God, there is a purpose for that because if men knew when to "be good" and "have a come to Jesus moment", they would live selfishly until that very moment. It would be part of our sin nature to say, "I know exactly when the Lord will come back (or when I'll die) and so I don't have to care about how the Lord asked me to act until the very moment of his return."

God knows that our sin natures and ability to fall for rational lies are so strong that we are prone to do the minimum - just enough to scoot by. Take premartial sex - it is only human nature, especially when it comes to something with such a strong allure, to want to try and find where "the line" is and not cross it. That's how Christians get into trouble however because they are trying to follow a rule that gets revised to a worse and worse level until all lines are crossed.

Yes, the Bible has rules and commandments. However, it isn't done for the sake of the rules. It is a lifestyle of abiding in the Lord that is the real emphasis. To have a relationship with Him and to walk alongside the Lord in what He wants to do in and through each and every one of us.

Why? Because that is Heaven - that is the original plan. For us to be with God and living in a manner which is optimum for us - according to the instruction manual that was written by our Creator.

I think this Word is a great reminder for me. In a fast food world, soundbites such as one commandment here or there are easy to digest, but they don't provide a whole picture. Jesus doesn't want us to be rule followers, prone to failing time and time again in our quest to be good while having sin-filled minds. Instead He wants to abide with us and transform us completely from the inside-out. Our thinking, our natures and then down to our actions.

Such a person will stand during times of temptation because they will not be focused on their own struggles, but instead will have the strength of the Holy Spirit within them - a strength that trusts in the Lord through tribulation and desires to follow rather than to simply "get by".

Lord Jesus, I desire to be that kind of believer. One that abides with You and leans on the strength of the Holy Spirit to direct me. If I simply follow You and step where You step, I will not misstep. My deepest desire is to be faithful to You. Sometimes that desire gets covered up by the emotions, problems, fears, and wants of the moment. But as I spend time with You, those extraneous things are brushed off and my heart becomes true. Thank You for allowing me to walk with You. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

The Flesh Profits Nothing

"And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. he who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)

"Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die." (John 6:49-50)

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing." (John 6:63)

We have many great men in this world. They are well-known and are powerful. The decisions they make affect a great many things, a ripple into the lives of others. At the end of their lives, I believe that their goal is to have affected as many people as possible. To have power and to have weld it, for good or bad, is what makes them important in this world.

For our children today as well, they are taught to "make a difference". By default this means affecting the lives of other people. That in itself is not a bad thing at all. If they can make a positive contribution to society, more power to them.

But as much as we are to go through life "making a difference", the source of our actions makes the real difference. Jesus teaches that He is the source of life - there is no other. Therefore, as Christians, we must source all of our actions in Him alone. The Word is our sole authority and we must read and interpret it with honesty and clarity, not taking little snippets which help support our personal fleshly desires.

For even the most powerful people on the earth, their lives will probably have some good and some bad mixed in. However, without the Lord, what will have been their profit? When standing in front of God steeping the sins we all have, yet not having the blood of Jesus as a propitiating sacrifice, what will they say in their final accounting? They can only say that they lived for their own fleshly desires, and disregarded any of God's leading. No matter what they did in their lives, having never known God, they will not enter the Lord's house.

For myself, this is a call to reorient once again to the Lord. It is so easy, living in the world to get focused on stuff - moving up in the world and obtaining more status symbols. These days, on Friday and Saturday nights, I even see the youths driving souped up used 3 series and Infiniti G coupes. Wow, nice cars for the young guys! We are so rich and brand conscious in the US that even our kids, who probably haven't worked much in their lives desire and are given expensive brand name status symbols to drive.

But no matter what house we live in, or what car we drive, that stuff isn't life. For the most part, within 5 years, all the possessions we have will no longer be hip, cool or fashionable. They are literally fading and rotting before our eyes.

We too have precious little time on the earth. Our lifetimes are fading second by second and minute by minute.

However, the Lord created us with a purpose and a plan. He knew what our lives would mean, and it is when we get close to our Creator that we live the way we were meant to. I need to spend more deliberate time with the Lord. I need to make time to get away and to pray. To ask the Lord about my actions and plans, to get His counsel and to stay on the path that He desires for my life.

Lord Jesus, I know that today's process was roundabout, but I don't want to fall into the cycle of the world and the ways of the flesh. In the end, there will be no profit in that in the final accounting. Instead, I know that there is a specific plan and process that You are leading me through. Help me to come back to the simplicity of a daily walk with You. Let me never be drawn off by the busyness and whims of the world. You will lead me and guide me in all things, and I will rest in You. In the life-giving name of Jesus, Amen.

Recalibration

"It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me..." (Gal 2:20)

It has been great to return to work, even on a temporary basis, but it has brought its own challenges as well. No longer am I able to devote some of my best waking hours to contemplating and studying the things of God, but instead I find that even a bit of prayer time is difficult to carve out (especially when my non-work hours are focused on family).

What that meant for my first week or so is that I already feel the ugliness of my flesh rearing its head and invading my thoughts. Anger when I'm driving and stress creeps up and it's hard to control. I know that if I don't allow myself proper time to spend with God, I will revert back to my old self, where I am a Christian with a slipping relationship with the Lord. What that would mean, is that I would have wasted all the time that the Lord has been working on my soul over the past few months.

Again, I have to remind myself. Why do I live? Yes, I care about providing for my family, but my first allegiance is to the Lord. It sounds wrong to the world to put God even before our family, but the story of Abraham's intended sacrifice of Isaac is our guide. Abraham obeyed the command of the Lord without question. And because the Lord knew Abraham's heart was to obey and that nothing in this world could tempt Abraham to lose his faith, God rewarded Abraham and stopped him from sacrificing Isaac.

Nothing in this world can become an idol which precludes my faith in God. Not my family, not my friends, not my job, nor status, or possessions. All that must be laid aside before the throne for the Lord to pick and choose what will come and what will be my life.

So in terms of the future, it's all unimportant. All that is important is today's obedience. How did I do on that score? Have I followed Him faithfully and truly? Over the past week, I have to say - not exactly. If I am not spending time with God, I certainly cannot hear His counsel or be refined by Him. So this week, my faith experienced a bit of atrophy. That isn't good and my commitment has to be toward improvement this week.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your conviction today for me to seek You first above all else. Please help me to stay true to this course. In Jesus' name, Amen.