Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
John 21:22
It is important to know the context of this verse. This is at the end of the Book of John when it tells the story of Jesus asking Peter three times "do you love me?" A frustrated Peter asserted his love three times and then when Jesus said, "follow me" Peter responded like "what about him?" referring to John. That's when Jesus practically said to him, "mind your own business and worry about yourself, follow me."
It's a quite familiar scene with kids. The teacher tells a student to do something and the child says, "but why doesn't Mary have to do that?"
We know what we need to do, we know what God wants us to do, yet we are always looking for a way out. When we see someone take the easy route we wonder why we have to take the challenging path.
Think of how much trouble humanity gets into with this issue. Whether its keeping up with the Joneses or postponing action on account that someone else hasn't taken action, its all a recipe for bad things to come.
While we are called to help one another, we still have to mind our own business and make sure our actions in our paths are focused on following God and nobody else. He never plans for our destruction, his path for us is the optimal path to victory. Consider Psalm 119:105 which says "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." He will always light OUR path, let's follow it.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Joy v.s. Self-pity
Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.
Psalm 89:15
Our nature is not to be joyful. We humans love to complain and wallow in the pit of self-pity.
It's much like a blue bug light. Don't the bugs see that their friends got fried by the blue light? Even as they are flying towards the light and their friend just in front of them gets friend, they march on towards the light despite the fatal danger. Likewise, we march on towards the pit of self-pity despite the fact that we have NEVER seen self-pity work for anyone.
In contrast, how much better is life when you can tune your ear to hear God's synphony of grace? When you can walk in awareness of the pit of self-pity and keep your distance from it, you can experience joy!
So how do we tune our ears to Him rather than the sound of the blue light zapping our friends? We do this by fixing our eyes on Him, by praising God for what he has done for us despite ourselves.
Praising him yields joy whereas self-pity yields destruction.
They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.
Psalm 89:15
Our nature is not to be joyful. We humans love to complain and wallow in the pit of self-pity.
It's much like a blue bug light. Don't the bugs see that their friends got fried by the blue light? Even as they are flying towards the light and their friend just in front of them gets friend, they march on towards the light despite the fatal danger. Likewise, we march on towards the pit of self-pity despite the fact that we have NEVER seen self-pity work for anyone.
In contrast, how much better is life when you can tune your ear to hear God's synphony of grace? When you can walk in awareness of the pit of self-pity and keep your distance from it, you can experience joy!
So how do we tune our ears to Him rather than the sound of the blue light zapping our friends? We do this by fixing our eyes on Him, by praising God for what he has done for us despite ourselves.
Praising him yields joy whereas self-pity yields destruction.
Friday, February 11, 2011
A simple twist, startling consequence.
If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
James 1:5
I believe that this verse along with many in the Book of James can be misunderstood. For example, as you read the verse one could easily focus on the words "without finding fault".
You see, I think the devil could easily re-write this verse to sound the same but completely hinder you from it's blessing. Read what I think the devil's version would be: "If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God, who gives generously to all that are without fault, and it will be given to him."
See how a simple alteration changes the complete meaning of a graceful statement into a condemning statement? The devil would want you to think that this blessing is only available to you if you have no faults! Think of all the time we waste seeking perfection. So these types of lies become the beliefs that shape our lives and our actions.
So back to the verse... As I read it, my interpretation of it is that if I lack wisdom and I ask God, he will give it to me freely without holding my actions for ransom. In my opinion, this one of the keys to true Christian living. A life free of condemnation, free of religious requirements, a life of relationship with the God who treats you as if you had no fault because of your trust in what he does for you every day.
So as you can see, a simple twist of the word and you find yourself in startling consequences. Think about it, if salvation and grace was up to us, we would be finished!
James 1:5
I believe that this verse along with many in the Book of James can be misunderstood. For example, as you read the verse one could easily focus on the words "without finding fault".
You see, I think the devil could easily re-write this verse to sound the same but completely hinder you from it's blessing. Read what I think the devil's version would be: "If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God, who gives generously to all that are without fault, and it will be given to him."
See how a simple alteration changes the complete meaning of a graceful statement into a condemning statement? The devil would want you to think that this blessing is only available to you if you have no faults! Think of all the time we waste seeking perfection. So these types of lies become the beliefs that shape our lives and our actions.
So back to the verse... As I read it, my interpretation of it is that if I lack wisdom and I ask God, he will give it to me freely without holding my actions for ransom. In my opinion, this one of the keys to true Christian living. A life free of condemnation, free of religious requirements, a life of relationship with the God who treats you as if you had no fault because of your trust in what he does for you every day.
So as you can see, a simple twist of the word and you find yourself in startling consequences. Think about it, if salvation and grace was up to us, we would be finished!
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