Drastic Measures

Jesus said:

 “If your right eye causes you to sin,               “If your hand or foot causes you to sin,

pluck it out and cast it from you; for                  cut it off and cast it from you. It is better

it is more profitable for you that one                  for you to enter into life lame or maimed,

of your members perish, than for your              rather than having two hands or two feet,

whole body to be cast into hell. And                  to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if

if your right hand causes you to sin,                  your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out

cut it off and cast it from you; for it                    and cast it from you. It is better for you to

is more profitable for you that one                     enter into life with one eye, rather than

of your members perish, than for your              having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.”

whole body to be cast into hell.”                            Matthew 18:8-9 (NKJV)

     Matthew 5:29-30 (NKJV)

 Sin has serious consequences and Jesus uses hyperbole in these passages to warn of it. We aren’t literally to pluck out our eyes or cut off our hands or feet.  But Jesus seems to be exhorting us to take drastic measures to deal with whatever in our lives causes us to sin.  

First of all, we should not excuse or minimize or ignore our sin, but call it what it is and take action against it.  We may need to remove ourselves from certain situations or cut ourselves off from things that tempt us away from godly living. We may need to stem the ungodly influences of social media, culture, entertainment, the internet that bombard us daily. We need to flee from what lures and distracts us,  put limitations in place to protect our hearts and keep our lives on the right course.

Even trying to do godly things can become a source of sin. For example, I’ve found that pride and envy can beset me in writing these devotions. It’s embarrassing to admit, but true.  So I’ve had to take steps to guard against the temptation to take credit and pat myself on the back; and I must regularly fight against looking for the praise of men and feeling puffed up as a result.  

I pray that we will take these warnings seriously, confront sin in our lives honestly and take whatever measures are needed to appropriately deal with it. 

Thursday Devotional - Chasing After the Wind of Greener Pasture

You’ve heard the phrase, “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” I’m guessing many of you have seen a cow stretch her head through a fence to eat the grass on the other side. I have! The grass was just as green on her side, but she thought differently.

People do the same thing. They chase after greener pastures, whether it’s a “greener” job, house, spouse, car, yard, body, hobby, etc.

Ecclesiastes 6:7 and 9  Everyone’s toil is for their mouth,
    yet their appetite is never satisfied...
⁹ Better what the eye sees
    than the roving of the appetite.
This too is meaningless,
    a chasing after the wind.

It’s one thing to work hard for God’s glory to take care of and improve the things we already have. It’s another thing to never be satisfied. As we talked last week, finding contentment and joy in the positions, possessions and people God has given to us is a satisfying gift of God.

James and Sarah have very different personalities. One is naturally more content than the other. The other one is quick to want the toy the other sibling has. I keep praying for wisdom to help them learn godly contentment instead of often looking for “greener pastures” elsewhere! 😊

What about you and me? Are we looking for greener pastures elsewhere, instead of enjoying the green pasture God’s already given? Would others say  we have a roving appetite or a satisfied heart?

Let’s regularly enjoy and be thankful to God for what we have been given!

Alice

Being Childish

About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.  So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."  Matthew 18:1-4

Sometimes, God gives you such clarity that writing seems almost too easy.  The other day I was just hanging out with friends and family.  As I sat around, I noticed there were two distinct groups forming.  I do not know if they noticed it, but it was very similar to many situations we see today.  Men and women.  Progressive and Conservative.  Young and old.  Black and white.  We always gravitate to those who we are most comfortable with, and this was certainly the case here.  This dynamic continued until one young mother brought a little baby into the equation.  Suddenly, everyone gravitated to that baby from both sides.  They grinned at this beautiful bundle of joy, and for that moment, everyone was together.  There were no longer separate groups.  All were one.

It brought me to the idea of these verses on the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.  God knows more than we do.  However, we often focus on the words, and we are not as clear on the application.  As I saw what unfolded before my eyes, it gave me a whole new insight to these verses.  Yes, God’s word is always true.  However, we always gain greater wisdom in seeing it in action.

The mentality of a child truly leads to greatness in the eyes of God.  Jesus talked about turning away from sin and becoming like children.  My first instinct was to say, “But children sin all the time.”  They will not always tell the truth.  They can be emotional and self-centered.  They do not always understand right from wrong.  However, that is why Jesus was incredibly wise in separating sin from the children.  We should be smart enough to know that we must turn away from sin.  This allows for the second part of these verses.  If sin is removed, what are we left with in a child?  Innocence, love, and joy are the initial responses that we would come up with.  It explains why a little baby is such a unifying force in any situation like the one I encountered.  We all are drawn to these things.  To be blameless, loved, and happy are things we all strive for.  The one thing that is not as clear is the word ‘dependent.’  A child is dependent on the care-taker.  It cannot survive without them.  Thus, a hidden gem in these verses is that the greatest in Heaven understands that they cannot achieve much of anything without Christ.  This is further underlined by Paul in his letter to the Philippians saying, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)  We could even add things such as growing and thirsting for knowledge like the Samaritan woman as Jesus said to her, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.  But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

Then finally, there is humility.  A child is incredibly powerful as I’ve just outlined, and yet, knows nothing of that power.  That’s Moses when he looks to God after He commanded him to lead the Israelites from Egypt and asks, “Who am I?” (Exodus 3:11)  It’s Paul when he breaks down sharing his own struggle with sin saying, “I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” (Romans 7:19) Humility simply is about knowing you are a child of God while understanding you are not Him.

Jesus is such an amazing teacher.  In today’s verses, He showed how one so little can be so strong.  The other day, God was able to reveal to me how one so little can be indeed as powerful.  Let us go today and beyond learning how having child like characteristics can be both life changing and empowering.  What inspiration can you draw from your childhood?  What child like characteristic can help you to get closer to God?  My prayer is that as adults we find strength in being ‘childish.’  Amen.

Wealth

Continuing with our instructions for living:

Proverbs 3:9-10

Honor the Lord with your wealth,
    with the firstfruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
    and your vats will brim over with new wine.

These next couple of verses tell us how we are to handle our wealth.  We are to take the firstfruits of all of our crops, or the first of your earnings if you are not a farmer and honor the Lord with them.  This does not specifically say you have to take only your money and give it to the Lord.  It says to ‘Honor the Lord with your wealth’. 

Are you wealthy in other areas of life?  What about physically?  Have you been given physical wealth where you could lend a hand to someone else?  What about mental wealth?  Are you able to help someone else through a problem mentally?  What about being joyfully wealthy?  Have you shared that joy with another?

While we are certainly told to tithe as well, I think we often forget that we are to honor the Lord with the firstfruits of all of our crops.  When we pour of ourselves into others, we are filled to overflowing in return.

What part of the wealth God has given you do you need to share today?