Monday Thought -- April 30, 2012

Good Morning Friends,

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.  Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.  The servant fell on his knees before him.  ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’  The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.  But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.  He grabbed him and began to choke him.  ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.  His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’  But he refused.  Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.  Then the master called the servant in.  ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’  In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.  This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:23-35)

Our forgiveness of others flows out of the realization of how much God has forgiven us.  At least, it should.  But grudge-holding has grown to epidemic proportions, even among those who have been forgiven by God.

We humans seem to enjoy holding on to past hurts.  Perhaps it assuages our own guilt.  To continue to hold someone else responsible for his sins may make our own sins seem less horrible.  I don’t know all the reasons we hold on to grudges, but I know it’s true of me and true of many others with whom I have contact.

Today, consider how great your debt of sin was toward God.  Consider how great His gift to you of forgiveness has been.  Then, turn to those around you, and forgive them!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought -- April 27, 2012

Good Morning Friends,

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:19-20)

Does God seem to be far away from you?  He isn’t, and it doesn’t have to seem that way, either.  In promise after promise from the Bible, God offers to be near to us.

Paul made the following declaration when he preached to the people of Athens, “God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:27)  God is not far away from any of us, not even from those who do not yet know Him!  In fact, He is standing at the door knocking. (Revelation 3:20)

The promise of God is that if we will take a very small step toward Him, He’ll be there for us!  “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (James 4:8)  He will not come uninvited, but He is waiting patiently and longingly for the invitation!

And then there is the promise of Jesus in Matthew 18.  There is a special presence of God when two or more of His followers are together, in agreement, gathered in the name of Jesus.  I know I’ve found that true in my own walk with God.  The times I’ve sensed His presence most clearly have been times when I have been with other believers, worshiping with them in one heart and mind.

None of us have to feel far away from God.  He’s right there, reach out to Him.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Thursday Thought -- April 26, 2012

Good Morning Friends,

“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.  If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.  But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.  I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:15-18)

The primary focus of this passage is not really about church discipline.  The primary focus is the importance of relationships and a commitment to help other people -- even when you have to do hard things in order to help them.

Jesus is challenging us not to let problems between fellow Christians go on, but to do all that can be done to repair the breech in the relationship.  The first step is a loving and gentle confrontation.  If that doesn’t resolve the relational problem, then bring in a couple of other mature Christians to help.  The next step is to involve the church -- probably referring to its leadership.  Those are serious steps to take and they show how important relationships between people are to the Lord.

I’m probably more confrontational than most people.  It’s something I’ve had to learn over the years.  But even though I’m more confrontational than many, I still know that I’m more likely to just let things go and do nothing than I am to confront.  If something goes wrong in a relationship it’s hard to take the initiative to do something to try to repair it.  But, it’s worth it!  The way we relate with other people is one of only two things on earth that will last into eternity (the other is our relationship with God and His Word).

The challenge of Jesus is to take our relationships with others seriously and do all that we can to keep them right.  Paul told the Romans, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:18)

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought -- April 25, 2012

Good Morning Friends,

“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones.  For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.  What do you think?  If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?  And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.  In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” (Matthew 18:10-14)

Jesus looked out over the city of Jerusalem and cried out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34)

But when Jesus looked at Jerusalem, He did not see a crowd of nameless, faceless people.  He saw the city as individuals, loved one by one.

That is the picture that Jesus drew in the passage from Matthew above.  It is a picture of God who looks at the world and does not see the crowds as a great mass, but as individual people, each of whom He loves deeply and longs to see in His kingdom.

Peter declared that God does not want “anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)  The key words are “anyone” and “everyone.”  They refer to individuals, whom God knows by name and loves each one.

When we look at our cities with their masses of people, many of whom are not saved, remember that they are not just nameless, faceless people.  Instead, they are each known and each loved and each valued and each sought after by God, just like we are!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Tuesday Thought -- April 24, 2012

Good Morning Friends,

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’  He called a little child and had him stand among them.  And he said:  ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.  But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’” (Matthew 18:1-6)

The key to greatness is not in seeking after it, in seeking to gain acclaim for ourselves.  The key to true greatness is in laying aside any claim to personal acclaim and seeking instead to give our lives for God and for others.

The world honors those who take care of themselves.  It honors those who make sure what they do is noticed and reported.  But God does not honor such tactics.  Jesus said, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12)  If we seek acclaim for ourselves we will never receive it from God.  If we lay aside any desire for personal acclaim to serve God and others, that God will honor.

God is looking for men and women who have a heart to serve Him and to serve others.  God is looking for men and women whose aim is not for personal comfort, personal honor, personal achievement, or personal happiness.  God is looking for men and women who will put aside themselves and their desires and long for Him and long to help His world.

Will we be such men and women?

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought -- April 23, 2012

Good Morning Friend,

“When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.  ‘Lord, have mercy on my son,’ he said.  ‘He has seizures and is suffering greatly.  He often falls into the fire or into the water.  I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.’  ‘O unbelieving and perverse generation,’ Jesus replied, ‘how long shall I stay with you?  How long shall I put up with you?  Bring the boy here to me.’  Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.  Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’  He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith.  I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.’” (Matthew 17:14-20)

One of the things that God desires most from us is faith.  The Hebrew writer declared, “And without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6)  Faith is simple trust that God cares and that He can and will move in our behalf and at our request.

The demon would not leave the boy when the disciples tried, because they did not believe God would really do it.  They went through the motions to drive the demon out, but their hearts didn’t believe it would really happen.

How many times have we been guilty of the same thing?  How many blessings from God have we missed because, though we asked, we did not really believe He could or would move in our behalf?

It seems to me that those through whom God has worked the most, even in our own day, are those who believe He can and step forward as a result of that belief.  They are the ones who have faith and who exercise it!

I admit that I am not there a lot of times, but that is where I want to be.  In a parallel passage in Luke, the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5)  Will you pray that prayer with me?  “Lord, increase my faith.”

God loves you and He can and will do amazing things in response to your faith.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought -- April 20, 2012

Good Morning Friends!

“After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, ‘Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?’  ‘Yes, he does,’ he replied.  When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak.  ‘What do you think, Simon?’ he asked.  ‘From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes -- from their own sons or from others?’  ‘From others,’ Peter answered.  ‘Then the sons are exempt,’ Jesus said to him.  ‘But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line.  Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin.  Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.’” (Matthew 17:24-27)

There are times to take a stand even if it means offending people.  Jesus did when He went into the Temple and drove the money changers from it.

There are also times to give up your own rights in order to keep from offending people.  That’s what Jesus did in the passage above.  He had a right to claim exemption from the temple tax, but to keep from offending those responsible for it, He paid it anyway.

I know I have a hard time deciding when it is time to stand and when it is time to give in.  I do think there is a clue in the life of Jesus.  Jesus gave in when it was His own rights that He had to set aside to keep from offending.  Jesus stood firm when it was the rights of others or the principles of God that were being challenged.

But for me, my rights are usually the hardest to give up!  Lord, help me to overcome my own selfishness in order to think more highly of others than myself.  Help me not to cling to my rights no matter what, but to willingly lay them aside for the sake of others, especially those who do not understand!

Remember, He gave up His rights for you!

His, by Grace,

Steve