 Publicity
We are a society of exabitionists. What I mean is that we are people who are consistently putting our lives on display. We see this in the proliferation of “reality” TV shows that give us a glimpse into the lives of other people. This is also on display in the many social media platforms that allow anyone to publish their thoughts, views, and criticisms to the world. Even this blog post is somewhat an example of what I am referring to. Even the way people dress is a product of our exhibitionist culture. However, today’s post is not about modesty but rather the craving in our hearts around this kind of showmanship. I am not arguing that posting updates about your life and interacting with people through these public means is bad. But I do want to point out that some people get offended when they get exactly what they are requesting. It is somewhat ironic that while we are the most self promotional and connected people who have ever lived, we also desire to define the limits of our privacy. Privacy Privacy is an interesting concept because it is made necessary because we are communal beings. God made us to need one another. After all, it was not good for Adam to be alone (Genesis 2:18). God has also constructed His covenant relationships with us corporately, not just individually. Even in dealing with Abraham God was building and promising a people (Genesis 15:5-6). Since we are created to be social and to be in relationships, this means that boundaries for those relationships are also necessary. In the Epistle to the Romans, Paul reminds them that we live in symbiotic relationships with everyone else and in a completely dependent relationship with the Lord. Our need for privacy is a result of our fallen condition. Remember in the garden Adam and Eve were both naked and unashamed (Genesis 2:25). I think that we often read this as being because they were husband and wife, but the introduction of clothing did not come when other human beings were introduced to the equation but when sin came in and required a temporary covering (Genesis 3:21). Before the fall, mankind had nothing to hide either from one another or from God but after the fall, shame and guilt required a level of privacy. This ought to also cause us to consider the freedom that we have been given in Christ. Within the body of Christ we are free to confess our sin because Christ is faithful and just, He forgives our sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). This means that we need not hide our sin in shame and guilt, but rather expose it to the cleansing and purifying Light of the glory of God. So as we believers look forward to our eternal home, we will not be back in the nakedness of pre fall innocence nor will we be shrouded in the filthy garments of our wickedness and sin (Isaiah 64:6), but we will be clothed in the glorious righteousness of Christ (Revelation 22:14). When we reach that city and our faith has truly become sight and there is no more sin and no more need for the protections that privacy affords us, we will all be able to rest sweetly in the glorious freedom of the kingdom where only righteousness dwells both in us and in all of our brothers and sisters, who are our fellow citizens of this fair and happy land.
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 Burdens
In the book Pilgrim's Progress, the main character, Pilgrim, is suffering under a heavy load that represents his sin. This shouldn’t be a spoiler, because the book is hundreds of years old. It is not only true that our own sin can feel like a great burden, but also that the sin of our culture can be a great torment. It is also true that we can be weighed down by struggles and cares that are not sinful. The point is that stress and struggle can come from many places. These burdens can have many problematic effects on us. These effects extend to both the inner and outer life. In this post I would like to think about the causes and effects of these burdens and what we should do about them. Paralysis of Analysis The title of this little blurb is “Paralysis” because I was thinking about how often I am overwhelmed by many needs and tasks. In this state, where of course logically one should be engaging the mountain of troubles, I tend to find that I become less productive. This kind of procrastination is called paralysis of analysis. The sheer volume seems overwhelming and it becomes easier to escape into some busy task than the urgent and important work. There is more to the cause than just the size of this mountain. Many times the need not only seems to be beyond our abilities, but it actually is beyond our abilities (1 Corinthians 10:11-13). The problems are truly something we can’t solve. The brokenness is something we truly cannot fix. The transformation needed is truly something that we cannot produce, but God can! I believe that the Lord allows us to experience this weight so that we are reminded of our need for His strength and so that we can exercise our faith through pleading prayer and resilient rest. Pleading Prayer I am reminded of the story when Jesus along with Peter, James, and John return to the company of the other disciples after Jesus' glorious meeting with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-29). In this passage, the other disciples were trying to cast a mute spirit out of a young boy at the request of his weary and worn out father. The disciples could not cast it out, despite the power that Jesus had given them earlier. Jesus remarks about the lack of faith in the whole situation and the father of the boy both confesses his faith and admits his lack of faith. Jesus then honors the man’s desire to believe by casting out that dumb devil. It is interesting that Jesus calls the man out for doubting the power of God after the disciples failed to cast out the demon, but rewards his honest plea not only for his son’s healing but for greater faith. In dealing with the most overwhelming problems the first thing we must do is run Christ through pleading prayer. Resilient Rest It might seem strange to speak of rest as a way to deal with overwhelming problems that have produced procrastination and a lack of productivity. But these things are not the same as peaceful rest. Jesus bids believers to come to Him for relief in the midst of our stress and struggles. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus calls us to rest by taking up His yoke which is easy and His burden which is light. Jesus is telling us that our rest is found in our union and connection to Him. In Christ we can lay down our striving to earn righteousness through the law. This frees us to walk in obedience not as a legalistic burden but as a gracious blessing. Jesus bears the burden so that we can rest even in His service.  Heavy Laden
Do you ever feel like you are an old pack mule loaded down with a great burden? Maybe you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. What can be done about this cumbersome load? I’m sure that there are many strategies for dealing with chronic stress that can certainly be helpful for getting through difficult moments or seasons. But in this post I want to address some spiritual and biblical ways to unload our burden and enjoy rest and freedom in our Lord Jesus Christ! Promises It may sound like a cop out to say trust in the Lord, but that is what the Bible teaches (Proverbs 3:5). If we think that our burdens will be less heavy simply because we learn a coping technique, the problem is that we are still relying only on our own selves and not on the strength and power of God. Rather we need to remind ourselves about the many great precious promises of God in the Scripture. Then we must build our view of the world and reality based on the truth of those things that God has promised. God has promised us His presence. He has said that He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5) and that He will remain with us to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20). The Lord has promised to not lose us (John 6:37-39). God also promised that He would publish the good news of the gospel to the world (Acts 13:32-39). The Lord Jesus promised to return for His disciples (John 14:1-3). And He promised us eternal life (1 John 2:24-25). Of course, I cannot document every promise of God from scripture in this short blog, but I hope you can glean the point from this short list that the promises of God, if believed and relied upon, are sufficient for our seasons or struggle and hardship. Partnership Next, we must remember that we are not made for isolation. Humans are social creatures. We are made in the image of the triune God (Genesis 1:26-28). While God is able to enjoy perfect communion and love in His own being and essence, we are not! This means that we need other people. The Lord has made it so that we are born into families. Unfortunately, sin has damaged many families to the point that little fellowship or communion still exists. However, within the Christian faith the Lord has given us the precious gift of the local church. In the local church, we should find the kind of love and support that we need in our times of struggle. We are called to love one another in a way that requires deep investment but promises steadfast commitment and care (1 Peter 4:8-11). In Christ, we have been adopted into a family to which we now belong (Galatians 4:4-7). In Christ, we have received a household of faith with real responsibilities to our siblings (Galatians 6:10). In Christ, we have gained a connection with other believers through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us both (Galatians 5). Prayer One of the great ways that God has provided for us to be able to unload is to talk to Him. God let’s have access to His throne of grace and His heart of mercy and His ear of compassion (Hebrews 4:14-16). I know that all of us have benefitted from venting from time to time. God is ready to hear us not only come to ask for His intervention in our situations and circumstance but for us to come for the purpose of just emptying our soul out to Him (1 Peter 5:6-7). Therefore, as believers we must not see our great God as just our safety net or last resort, but as our true confidant that we can go to with our greatest needs and struggles. And we should go to Him often to unload our great burden for the Lord Himself has promised us that His load is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). Praise The Lord!  Help
Everyone needs help sometimes. I know there are those people who seem to have everything together to such a degree that they never need a hand. But in reality we all need help in one way or another. We were not created to operate as independent islands and entities but rather as a real community. But a real community must also include some real loyalty and tangible investment. Most if not all work is easier when everyone helps do a part of the job. This means that instead of looking for a reason not to lend a hand, we are eagerly looking for ways to serve one another (1 Peter 4:10-11). This can be seen in cultures, societies, and civilizations even outside of the influence of Christianity. But this is because it is a part of the basic nature of how we are created in the image of God. Even in Eden, God concluded that Adam needed a companion to accomplish the God glorifying tasks that He had been assigned (Genesis 2:20-25). Physical Often support means that there are tangible physical needs that can be met by other people. This can come in the form of financial support, such as the Macedonian churches taking up funds to help the starving Jerusalem church in the first century (2 Corinthians 8-9). Today there are always more ways to give than we have resources to use but generosity should be at the heart of our desire to help. However, even beyond finances we can be a physical blessing to other believers through manual labor. Whether the need is caused by a disability or even just a lack of time we can work to help other brothers and sisters to clear the chore list. We could even see this in a large group getting together to help a friend or brother accomplish a task that one or two people could never do. The point is that we should be looking for tangible ways to bless other people. Emotional The fast pace of our modern society and the burden of our information economy means that most people are carrying around some significant stress. There may be all kinds of ways to cope with stress but at some point we need emotional support. The proverbial shoulder to cry on might not be so proverbial. We need people in whom we can confide knowing that we can trust them and that they care for us. Just knowing that we are not alone can be critical in giving us the necessary strength to make it through the trails that we are facing. However, if we are not cultivating real deep relationships ahead of time, then even in the church we may find ourselves lonely and abandoned even while surrounded by friends. This is not because those around us do not want to support us but usually it is because our relationships lack the bonding and building to promote deeper connections and investment. Spiritual This is the support that the world knows nothing about. They will claim to understand it. Even boasting about their spiritual rituals and practices. But without the peace with the Father through the provision of the Son giving us the presence of the Holy Spirit, the reality is that the world does not know true spirituality (1 John 5:5-11). So the true spiritual support that we need comes from the Lord Himself and through His people praying for our spiritual progress (Hebrews 13:18-21). The greatest spiritual support that anyone can ever receive is to hear the glorious good news that even while we were sinners, meaning vile, disgusting and evil, Christ died for the ungodly and made reconciliation and peace for everyone who trusts in Him..meaning in His perfect life and resurrection (Romans 5:1-11).  Seasons
We have all heard the question, “Are you working hard or hardly working?” The reality is that our modern lives are always busy even when not much profitable work is being accomplished. But most of us probably do go through seasons with both our employment and our home lives where the load ebbs and flows. For you it may correspond with certain times of the year or a specific stage of life, but even if you find yourself in one of those time periods that is overwhelming and exhausting it is important to remember that this will pass soon enough. FOMO Do you ever deal with a fear of missing out? Well, let me encourage you not to miss the blessing of your hectic and busy schedule. Consider the blessings that are making it so busy. If you are busy because of a demanding load at a job that you enjoy and that provides for you and your family then be glad you have the opportunity not only to work but to do so as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). Of course, it is possible to sinfully put work in a priority that it doesn’t deserve but if we are simply working faithfully then we should be thankful for the strength and the work. If you are busy because of the needs of children, whether the needy hands of infants and toddlers or the energetic lives of teenagers, be glad for the blessing of God that those image bearers are. The Bible is replete with the reality of the blessing children are for their parents at every stage of life. Children are a blessing in our youth (Psalm 127:2-4) and even when we are old (Proverbs 17:6). If you are busy because of certain trails that God has allowed to enter your life through His loving and providential hands then I would urge you to recognize that He has a purpose. There are many purposes in this that you cannot now see, but that will ultimately be for your good and His glory (Romans 8:26-28). If you are busy because God is blessing your family or career or ministry with some success then praise God for this season of growth and success. We must remember with humility that the growth is from the Lord’s blessing and glory is the Lord’s glory. The labor of love in which we are engaged is not something we have to do but rather something that we get to do (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3)! Hard Things But what if your labors are the consequence of sin? First of all, it is possible that you are suffering some trials that are the natural and necessary consequences of your own sinful behavior, attitude, or lifestyle. If this is the case, even if you have repented you must remember that this trail is not punitive but redemptive. What I mean is that God is not punishing you for your sin. Jesus took all the punishment for believers' sins but He is disciplining you for your growth and maturity (Hebrews 12:3-14). It is also possible that you are bearing a burden because of how someone else has sinned against you. The reality is that there is no help in holding on to resentment or bitterness for this only makes the load harder to bear. Instead, we must cast these cares also on the Lord trusting His promise that He cares for us (1 Peter 5:6-11). So as we enter this labor day weekend let me encourage you to rest yourself in the Lord and enjoy the love, peace, and hope that only He can give (Hebrews 4:9-11)!  Memories
Familiar tunes can evoke a range of powerful emotions. These melodies can conjure long lost emotions harkening back to some deep memory. It is amazing the power that the Lord has put into music. I have seen people debilitated by dementia, but still being able to sing their favorite hymn or play their trusty instrument. I’m sure that scientists have studied and theorized some mechanism or material explanation. However, maybe the reason is because music reaches beyond the mere physical structure of our brain to our heart and soul. We really have very little understanding of the link between our physical body and our soul and spirit. Even in the pages of scripture, this is not explained in a detailed way. But certainly it could be that as God has formed us as both body and soul, He intended for certain things to be specially powerful in traversing the distinction between the two parts. Since we were created to be worshiping beings this seems like the kind of thing that we should expect to be true. Meaning While we often think of music in terms of entertainment, it certainly carries more meaning than that! The right song at the right moment can fill us with joy or help us to grieve or express sincere anger. So the truly great music is usually more than the notes on an instrument, it is a story being told both in rhythm and rhyme. The lyrics that drive the points of the artist home to the soul of the listener. This is possibly the explanation of the phenomenal success of the song, “Rich Men North of Richmond” that has blown up on the internet lately. Many people are resonating with the message of the lyrics. The song has garnered a lot of praise and some criticism. The criticism has come either because of political disagreements with the message of the song, or because of the presence of certain course terminology, or because of the hard and frustrated tone. Ironically, it is probably these very elements that have also been the reason that the song has earned so much attention and acceptance. It is not my purpose in this article to evaluate the song although I will say that there are many insightful and true points being made. But I want to focus on the power that music can have in driving public discussion and galvanizing people in the way they think. This is why jingles and slogans are so popular in advertising because they can gain a loyal following. Even throughout the history of the church, music has been used both in the promotion of true theology and out right heresy. Majesty Ultimately, the purpose of music is to praise and worship God. There can be no higher or better purpose for which an instrument or a voice could ever be used. David uses music to extol the attributes of God throughout the Psalms particularly His steadfast love and justice (Psalm 101:1). We are also instructed that singing is at the heart of our corporate worship when we meet together as the Lord’s people. Paul instructs both the Colossians and the Ephesians about the importance of them singing not only to God but to one another when they come together to learn, fellowship, and worship! Finally, when the Lord reveals to us a glimpse of the eternal activity of worship around His throne there is a song being sung! God is being glorified as the angels, the living creatures, the elders and the saints are crying out in a loud voice the glory and attributes of Almighty God (Revelation 7:9-12)!  Melting Pot
As the kids are beginning a new year of academic education I feel that it is important to remind us of a key distinction between believing and unbelieving thought. The secular world believes, or at least pretends to believe, that the distinction between sacred and secular means that it is possible for us to engage with one another on a neutral philosophical basis. They think that if believers will check their faith at the door, then we will on be on neutral territory. But in actuality, when we agree to step out of our worldview which is defined by the lordship of Jesus Christ we have given them home court advantage (1 Peter 3:14-16). Our public spaces are often considered a melting pot where various distinctions and disagreements are supposed to melt away. It is ironic that many people coming from a secular worldview have adopted a definition for tolerance that is not actually tolerant at all. Tolerance is when people with differing opinions and perspectives can tolerate each other's freedom to not only have that view, but to also express that view. Most secularists today define toleration as affirmation and acceptance. They will openly acknowledge that they do not need to be affirming or accepting of religious or Christian perspectives but that we should affirm their secular perspective. Software A couple of months ago I was engaged in a conversation with a young homosexual man who was wearing the slogan “All are Welcome,” but he quickly told me that my view was not welcome. This is the kind of hypocrisy that the secular tolerance view leads to. The reality is that there cannot be any real neutrality. This is because everyone has to operate with certain foundational assumptions. A computer cannot operate without an operating system. I am not a computer scientist, but as far as I can tell even with all the necessary hardware in place you must have the information in the software for actual computation to take place. It is the same way with us. We must function from a basic framework of reality. For the Christian, our God and Lord Jesus Christ is at the center of that reality and we cannot abandon this fundamental presupposition. Slogans The danger is that people can easily be taken in by a catchy slogan if they are not grounded in the basic principles of the truth. Paul warned the Colossian Christians to not be taken captive by philosophy, deception, tradition, or worldliness (Colossians 2:8). The point is that catchy and sugary words can be used to trap us into believing things that are not true. But this can only be the case if we are not established in the faith. The myth of neutrality is nothing but a trojan horse meant to catch us unarmed and off guard for the spiritual war that we are all involved in. Savior The truth is the person of Jesus Christ. Notice, I did not say the truth is in the person of Jesus Christ. He said that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Since Jesus is the truth, all our wisdom, knowledge, and understanding must be based on Him and His revelation in the Scriptures. Again, Paul told the Colossians that in Jesus Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). As Christians, we cannot abandon the solid ground of the Lordship of Jesus Christ for the shifting sand of secularism, false religion, or even so called tolerant neutrality!  Misplaced
Have you ever found yourself frantically searching for your keys or your wallet? You're late to work or to church and you just can’t find them. I’m sure that all of us have been in that situation before. In these cases we know that the item is simply misplaced and we must calm down and conduct a thorough search to retrieve our possession. But what happens when you have searched and yet you didn’t find it? In this case, at some point, we must face the reality that it is lost forever. We are not going to find it. Now, we must deal with replacing the lost item or for something irreplaceable or of sentimental value we must grieve our loss. In this case, we are thinking of loss in terms of something that we have failed to keep track of or adequately protect. Certainly this was accidental, but it is gone just the same and we must deal with the consequences. Discarded But there are also times when we lose things because we purposely let them go. I am speaking more philosophically at this point. We may come to realize that some dream or goal or relationship is simply not worth the effort and cost of us holding on to it. This should be especially true for us as Christians for we have found the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). The gospel is the message of a treasure that is infinitely more valuable than anything we have or could ever even want. This treasure is Jesus! Because Jesus is God. He is of infinitely more value and importance than everything in creation because He is the creator and not simply a created thing (Colossians 1:15-18). Once we understand this truth, then it should be clear that nothing is valuable enough, important enough, good enough, or glorious enough to keep us from abandoning it for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8). As the old song says, “nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling (Rock of Ages).” Unsaved But what if you are not the one who lost something, but rather the thing which is lost? In Luke 15, the Lord Jesus uses 3 parables about lost things to teach us to understand the heavenly joy produced by genuine repentance and conversion. In the first parable, Jesus tells us about a shepherd who leaves the flock of 99 sheep in safety and proceeds to search out and recover the one lost sheep followed by the great rejoicing because the lost sheep has been found (Luke 15:4-7). The second parable deals with a lost coin. Again the woman searches and finds the coin and calls her friends to rejoice with her that she has found her lost coin. In heaven there is great rejoicing over every one who is found (Luke 15:8-10). The final parable, while significantly more complex, is also about the great rejoicing in heaven when God’s people are found (Luke 15:11-32). So, there are two ways that this could apply to you. First, if you are not an actual believer in Jesus Christ then you must understand that you are lost. You are far from God and you desperately need to be found, rescued and reconciled to God. And the message of these parables is that God and His hosts are ready to rejoice over your salvation. The Bible is clear that every person who turns from their sin trusting in Jesus' vicious death and victorious resurrection and calling on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:9-13). The second application is for us who do believe. We need to rejoice at the conversion of lost souls and go out seeking to find more (Proverbs 11:30)!  Sweet
We often use this term about the flavor of food to refer to things that we find pleasing. It may be that some friend has done something gracious for us and we respond “sweet.” At this moment we are pointing out the kindness that has been done for us. All of us like to have people show us kindness. Kindness is especially appreciated in the moments when we recognize the greatness of our need. Another way to say this is that during vulnerable and humbling experiences we are more likely to notice the kind things done by other people. Whether these people are those closest to us or complete strangers, we enjoy the sweetness of their kind attention. Preemptive Love One way that we could understand kindness is that it is preemptive love. What I mean by preemptive love is that it runs ahead of the parameters of the relationship or the response of the recipient. When we show kindness or are shown kindness it is not as a reward for our accomplishments or behavior, for that would be honor not kindness. Honor should always be given to the one deserving it (Romans 13:7), but kindness is the reward of the undeserving. It is carrying implicit grace. In this way, kindness is the preemptive expression of love. You have probably had experiences where you were shown kindness by complete strangers. In these instances, you have experienced this concept of kindness going beyond the parameters of the relationship. The person treated you as fitting another image bearer of God even if the relationship was not yet established to earn such privileged treatment. Kindness is also particularly sweet when it comes from someone who is not seeking repayment or someone who, to some degree, could not be repaid. Here, kindness is not shown in anticipation of some future reward but only as the right treatment of another human being. God’s Kindness In both of these instances kindness is a preemptive act of love for the humbled recipient. This is also how God shows kindness to us. God comes to us with preemptive love. The Apostle John tells us that we love God because He FIRST loved us (1 John 4:19). The Apostle Paul also reminds us that while we were still enemies of God, Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:8). God clearly shows humanity abundant kindness before we have any relationship, reward, or response to offer. But Why? What is the purpose of God’s kindness? An exhaustive list of God’s purposes will only fully be known in the glory of eternity but I would like to consider two today. First, God shows us such abundant kindness because of the kind nature of who He is. God has revealed to us that He is full of loving kindness (Titus 3:4). This is a reference to His merciful nature that is an attribute of who God is. So God does not simply act kindly, but is Himself kind. The second aspect is that God’s kindness has an intention. Paul again tells us that God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4). God intends to bring us to the point of repentant saving faith, not through wrathful threats but by demonstrations of kindness toward sinners deserving His wrath and judgment. Be sure, God is wrathful and He warns us about the danger and destruction awaiting those who do not repent and trust Christ, but He also gives us an earnest reason to know that He will receive us with grace, mercy, and kindness. Paul goes on to call the believers to behold both the kindness and severity of God (Romans 11:22). So today, which will you have, the severity of God’s judgment made worse by your rejection of His kindness? Or would you enjoy His kindness forever as a ransomed, redeemed, and reconciled saint?!  Warning
So much of the wisdom literature in the Scripture, particularly in Proverbs, is concerned with warning the people of God to steer clear of foolish and sinful snares. Essentially, wisdom is knowing how to rightly apply knowledge and information to make the best decision possible. The warnings in Scripture are not meant to make believers timid people who will not ever take a risk, but rather courageous people who do the righteous thing regardless of the risk. The warnings in Scripture are to protect the person from the seductive lie that sin presents. Sin almost always presents itself as something we should desire. But that desire can turn into the foolish person’s undoing. The progression can even lead to the grave (James 1:14-15). Jesus also warned those who were spiritually blind and arrogant of the danger not only for this life but the next. The Lord particularly pointed out the danger of leading others into the same kind of error (Matthew 23). Warnings in Scripture are serious pleas for those who are in great danger of both temporal and eternal destruction. Wisdom A part of the problem is that it takes a level of humility and wisdom, not only to be able to give wise counsel, but also to accept it. It is truly a sad reality that many people do not have the advantage, and dare I say privilege, of people that will wisely, honestly, and lovingly give them good counsel. In many cases, it is because of a lack of truly wise people. In some cases, there are wise people who unfortunately do not have the courage or the love to confront the person with the advice they need. However, even more common is the person who does have access to this sage advice, but does not have the wisdom and humility to receive it. Oh, please do not misunderstand me, I am not saying that these individuals are not experienced or intelligent. It may actually be the case that their worldly experience and high intelligence is the barrier keeping them from taking such good instruction. The reason for this is because this advice usually comes from someone that these people would consider rather simple, unsophisticated, and not really aware of current trends. My point is that this kind of wise advice usually comes from grandma or grandpa and many fools can’t see the timelessness of the truths they are telling. The irony is that these foolish people are blinded by their sight. They can see so well the enticing glimmer of the trap. And they can hear so well the alluring serenade of the siren that they just can’t believe that there is a deadly catch in the deal. They have already grabbed hold of the promises before they even considered reading the fine print. Watchfulness Caution does not mean always taking the safe path or the better straighter road. But it does mean counting the cost and assessing the risk and rewards of the decisions we make in our lives. This does not only mean considering the wrong things, but also the good opportunities that come our way. The Lord Jesus taught that even in response to His preaching, people should count the cost of whether or not they should be His disciples. Just think about that! Often we say everyone should worship Christ because He is worthy of everyone’s worship, and this is true. We say everyone should trust in Christ because no one should want to go to a place of torment and suffering called hell, and that is true. We say everyone should look to Christ and receive the love, joy, and peace that we can have in Christ, and that is true. But Jesus said that everyone should consider the cost of following Him (Luke 14:25-33)! Much of modern day evangelism is built on a kind of salesmanship that focuses simply on getting the person to make a hasty and emotional decision. But Jesus doesn’t receive disciples that way! Jesus makes disciples who have come to the end of themselves and are His from the inside out. This only happens when we turn from our sin and surrender ourselves to Christ fully and completely. What has it cost you to follow Christ? |