01 The Bible - Basic Doctrine Series

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The Commands of Jesus: Have Faith in God

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The Commands of Jesus: Do Not Judge

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Tacos, Christmas and Jesus

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Christmas: Excited About Your Gift?

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The Commands of Jesus: Bless Those Who Cannot Repay

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In 1922, American author Emily Post wrote her best selling book “Etiquette” and in so doing became the definitive voice in American manners.

What should you do when invited to a party? Emily writes,

“Your most important obligation as a guest is to respond to the invitation immediately, especially if you are unable to attend. At the very least, it allows your host and hostess enough time to give an accurate count to the caterer.”

             Good advice!

How should you behave at a wedding?
             “Be on time, wear appropriate clothing and be respectful during the marriage ceremony. Pay your respects to the hosts, the wedding party and other guests at the reception.”

Hey, this Emily knows her stuff! I guess they didn’t call her the “Mistress of Manners” for nothing.

But Mrs. Post is not the only one with excellent advice on proper party etiquette.

In Luke chapter 14, Jesus said this,

“When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.” (Luke 14:12-14)

Having a party? Better check you guest list.
Make sure that you are not inviting the “who’s who” but the “who’s that?”

Going out to lunch, heading out to the big game, catching the latest movie?
Invite those who cannot pay you back because when you do… God has got your back.

As followers of Christ we must resist our natural tendency to socialize only with those who are socially accepted, and instead we must deliberately fraternize with the socially rejected.

I’m not sure what Emily Post would think of such etiquette and advice.

But Jesus demands it.

The Commands of Jesus: Pray and Keep Praying

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I recently stumbled upon an article by a guy named Charles Shahar.
Mr. Shahar has degree in clinical psychology from York University in Toronto and the article I read was

entitled, Social Vampirism: The Needy Personality - it is one of twelve articles in his Neurosis Handbook.

Yes, being excessively needy is considered by many to be a neurosis. And yes, if you know a truly needy person, you understand what Mr. Shahar meant when he used the term “social vampirism” - because an excessively needy person can suck the life right out of you.

The problem with needy people is well, they’re so darn needy – and therefore most folks are loath to be with them, and do all they can to avoid them.

Most folks - But not God.
God loves needy people. Really, He just adores them.

Listen to Jesus’ encouragement toward neediness in His Sermon on the Mount,

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matt 7:7-8

What is Jesus talking about here? I think you know.
He’s encouraging chronic, obsessive neediness. In other words…
He is describing someone with a healthy prayer life!

Oh yeah. To “pray” literally means to ask. And, according to Jesus…
             You don’t just ask once – you keep on asking.

Jesus is instructing us to live in a constant state of neediness and dependency on God – through prayer.

Because if we are not frequently, consistently praying - then we are, in effect, saying, “I don’t really need you God.” And, uh, we do not want to say that.

So embrace the neurosis. Constantly require God’s attention, affection, or affirmation.
Be desperate for any type of support God can give you. Pray and keep on praying.

And don’t worry about Heaven labeling you a Social Vampire.
You cannot suck the life out of God – He has already freely given us His life in the person of Jesus.

 

Share Your Cookies

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You’re playing in the backyard with five of your friends.
Mom steps out the back door and hands you a plate of twelve cookies. What do you do?
Keep seven for you and give one for each of your buddies?
Twelve for you and none for them?
You have some options. But what do you think mom expects when she handed you twelve cookies in a yard with six kids?

Perhaps mommy expects us to be familiar with the words of the Apostle Paul where, in talking to rich people, he writes about the importance of sharing with others.
“Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.” (1 Tim 6:18)

Whether we realize it or not, we’ve have been given a lot of cookies.
It’s very safe to say that, because you are viewing this video on a computer or smart-phone, you, my friend, are in the top 10% of the wealthiest people on the planet. No joke.

So what are you doing with the cookies you’ve been handed?
You’re not making excuses are you?

             “Well, their really not very good. No one else would want them.” Or…
             “I really don’t have that many.” Or…
             “Lot’s of people have way more cookies than I do”

Come on. Don’t be that guy.

One day soon we will all stand before the great Baker in the Sky and give an account for what we did with the goodies He gave us. So…be smart, be generous, share your cookies.

 

Thankfulness and the Will of God

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Have you ever wondered what God wants you to do with your life?

I hope you have. That is one of the signs of a healthy believer.

But discerning God’s specific will for our tomorrow is not always an easy thing to do today.

So here’s what I like to tell people about determining God’s will for their future…

Do what you know and you’ll know what to do. That’s right.
Do what you know and you’ll know what to do.

So, what do you know today, that God wants you to do today?

Here’s something, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

Well, there you go. God’s will for us today (in addition, of course, to loving Him and loving others) is that we be grateful. There is always something, somewhere, in every circumstance for which we can and should give thanks and it is God’s will today that we do exactly that.

Why is it so important to God that we be people of gratitude? - because thankfulness breeds satisfaction, peace and joy. And God wants those things for us also.

So if you want to know what God wants to do with your life,
focus on what God wants you to do today.

Be thankful.
Do what you know – then you’ll know what to do.

 

The Commands of Jesus: Do Not Worry

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I can honestly say that I have not spent one minute of my life worrying
about the plight of the common sparrow.

I’ve never seen one begging.
I’ve never found one featherless, shivering in the cold.
Apparently, God takes good care of sparrows.

And that’s why Jesus said,

“…Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? …But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matt 6:25,26 and 33)

Because God cares so much about His creation (even little birds matter to Him) Jesus therefore says that we should not worry at all about God’s ability to care for us.

And that makes beautiful sense.
So why is it so hard not worry?

Maybe it’s because while you and I do not know any hungry, homeless sparrows…

We have seen humans begging for food. And we have met people under-clothed and shivering in the cold.
And, If those things happened to them – why shouldn’t we worry about those things happing to us?

Dear Christian, here’s why…

Because, as followers of Christ, nothing comes into our lives that does not first pass through the hand of God. And, in the Cross of Christ, God has proven that He is for us and seeks only what is best for us. We need not worry about God’s desire or ability to provide for our ultimate needs – because all things work together for good to those who love God. Our Father always has our best interests in mind and no one, and no thing, can snatch us out of His hand.

So don’t worry about food, or clothing or anything.
Seek first the kingdom of God and let Him worry about you.

 

The Commands of Jesus: Store Your Treasures in Heaven

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I keep my kids in car seats and seat belts when driving.
However, even the addition of airbags and helmets
can not keep them perfectly, completely, safe while we’re on the road.

I carry my laptop in a high-quality protective backpack.
But the durable canvas and thick padding that guard my machine from dings and dents
will not protect it from the sticky-fingers of a determined thief.

It’s true…

A wise man keeps his valuables in a safe place.
A prudent woman protects and guards the things she treasures.

But is anywhere really safe?
Can anyone or any institution guarantee the 100% protection and safety of the things we hold dear?

Nope.

And that’s why Jesus said this,

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6:19-21)

Yup. The only truly safe place for anyone or anything is in the infinitely mighty hands of God.

Therefore we must make sure that the things we value in this life are things that have will have value in the next.

TVs, smart-phones, houses, cars and even gold bars are all vulnerable to one form of loss or another.

No sense in investing ourselves in those things. One nuclear bomb can ruin their whole day.

But the things we do for Jesus, the investment we make in His kingdom and the age to come, can never be lost, destroyed or stolen.

So - wear your seat belt, lock your doors, protect your laptop, but - store your real treasures in heaven.

 

The Commands of Jesus: Do Good for Right Reason

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The Commands of Jesus: Forgive

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This is #8 in my series on "The Commands of Jesus"

In His Great Commission, Jesus instructed His followers to go into all the world and make disciples, "Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded." 
So… what did Jesus command? 
That's what we are finding out.

The Commands of Jesus: Be Willing to Be Wronged

#7 in my series: The Commands of Jesus

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The Commands of Jesus: Keep Your Word

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The Commands of Jesus: Be Reconciled

Don't Be A "But" Head

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You know that it’s wrong. You just do. You can try to “justify” and explain away your actions but in your heart you know it’s not right.

Welcome to the Land of Conscience.
Call it your inner-voice, call it your moral compass, call it what you want- just don’t call for it to be quiet.

Here is 1 Timothy 1:19 “Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.”

If you tell someone enough times to “Be quiet” they eventually will. If you ignore someone long enough they will ultimately go away.

And that’s what so dangerous about this type of mental conversation:

I know I shouldn’t watch this but…
I know I shouldn’t say this but…
I probably shouldn’t do this but…

Listen, don’t be a “but” head. Quit thinking like that. Quit justifying your actions with your smart sounding spiritual explanations and reasoning. Quit trying to convince yourself that what you know is wrong is actually not that bad. Listen to your conscience while you still have one. Because the more you tell it to be quiet, the more likely it is to do just that.

Toaster, Luxury Cruise or Better?

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It’s your birthday. You open your fist gift. It’s a toaster. How nice. You’re thankful.

You open your second gift. It’s a travel itinerary documenting an all expenses paid cruise for two to the Bahamas! You’re thankful. Very thankful. No actually you are blown away with gratitude.

Two gifts, causing two very different reactions. Why? The recipient’s level of gratitude is directly proportional to the perceived value of the gift.

And that is precisely why the Apostle Paul spent such a significant portion of his life being beaten, rejected and imprisoned as he told people about Jesus. Paul was thankful. Very thankful. No actually he was blown away with gratitude. Paul knew how much he had been forgiven.

1 Tim 1:15b “ ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ —and I am the worst of them all.”

Because a recipient’s level of gratitude is directly proportional to the perceived value of a gift, Paul, who saw himself as a vile reprobate, was stupendously appreciative toward Jesus.

Some people hear that Jesus died for them, and because they see them selves as a basically good person, react as if they were just given a toaster, “How nice”.

Some people hear that Christ died to give them life and, because they view themselves as a moderate to heavy sinner, they react like they’ve received cruise to the Bahamas.

But some people, like Paul, recognize how intensely they have sinned against God. And because they so completely understand the darkness of their wicked hearts, they spend the rest of their lives serving the King of Glory in meekness and overwhelming gratitude. Paul was this kind of guy. How about you?

How we react to Christ’s gift of life will show how much value we perceive in the cross. The person who knows they have been forgiven much, in return, loves very much. And folks who are merely church goers will simply make toast.