Encouraged
“Encouraged”
1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11
“Are we there yet?”
“How much longer now?”
“Can I now?”
These questions all rotate around the concept of time. For a small child who does not understand time fully, waiting is a very hard thing to do. Whether it’s sitting in a car on a long drive, waiting for a special treat, or a movie to come on, the difference between a couple of minutes or hours can be a painful experience for parents. In the meantime, there’s trying to fill the time with something to do while waiting.
Now imagine for a moment you are a disciple, and Jesus says, “I’ll be coming back, don’t worry.” And then up he goes to heaven. What would you do? I imagine I’d be looking at my watch and trying to figure out how to fill my time till he gets back.
After all, he just left, so he’s probably going to be a few hours at least. Right? Maybe a couple days? He was dead for 3 days, maybe he needs a week this time. A month? Surely no more than a month! Right? read more…
Help!
Reading today from Psalm 70
Please, God, rescue me! Come quickly, Lord, and help me. (Psalm 70:1)
So many of us have offered this prayer in some way haven’t we? We’re afraid, we’re hurting, we’re lost, we’re sick…
Whether we mean it or not, whether we really expect God to come to our aid, it is a cry for help. It could be we’ve brought this on ourselves, or maybe it’s an accidental situation we’re in, and we’re crying out to the God of our understanding to help us through it.
God responds to those who seek Him out. God responded to the whole world crying out for help by sending us His Son, Jesus to show us how to get through the tough times. How to act. How to live. How to love.
But Jesus also came to show us so much more. He came to show us God’s immense love for us. He came to suffer for us on the cross so that we may see the full extent of God’s love for His children.
And when we seek this love… when we find this love…
Well… I hope you’ve experienced it for yourself. It can’t be described in our simple language. But “joy” is a pretty good start.
Weakness
Reading from Philippians 3:12-4:23
He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. (Philippians 3:21)
Paul just warned his readers that there are people who worship other gods, mainly their own greed and selfishness. And for this they will perish. But not so for those who follow Jesus, for they are citizens of heaven.
We are weak. We cannot do this alone. Our bodies are broken, our hearts yearn, and we make mistake after mistake. As Paul says, we press on. We keep our eyes focused on the heavenly prize to which Jesus Christ is calling us. With his strength, with his love, and especially because of his grace and mercy, we are renewed, remade and we may be there too.
What Benefit?
Today’s reading is from Mark 8:31-38
“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:34-36)
Jesus makes a strong argument for why we should follow him.
Our lives are at stake. Not our earthly lives (which may also be the case), but our eternal lives. If we try and hold onto our selfish ways, we will lose. If we give up our selfish ways for the sake of the Good News of Jesus Christ and for those we are called to love and serve, we receive God’s greatest gift, eternal life with our Father in heaven. A gift offered to all people, yet not everyone chooses to receive.
So if we continue to seek to “gain the whole world” at the cost of eternal life, is it worth it?
God’s gift is far greater than any earthly treasure. Receive the gift so freely and graciously offered.
Consumer vs Mission
Today I saw this simple image on Facebook from Journey Church.
I think it’s a pretty good graphic helping identify why our churches may be struggling.
What kind of church do you go to?
What kind of church do you want to go to?
How can we get there?