Unsettling the Settled

To be totally honest I loved it when our pastor was "unfocused." He spent some time in the desert earlier this year and his messages, while still good, were not the unsettling, challenging, thought provoking messages I had come to expect. I should have known that a man of God will recognize something is amiss and correct it. He has. Last Sunday the message came from Matthew 20: 1-13 and I was all set with my good old western understanding of scripture to hear a standard sermon. Wrong! The parable must address us not we bringing our understanding to the parable. The justice seekers (fairness people), of which I tend to be one, don't like this parable so we try to explain it away. I had to face the fact that I don't like it if someone does less and gets the same. I didn't like it if someone made a death-bed conversion to escape the fiery furnace. That wasn't fair. Those who worked all day should receive more, those who came later should receive less. It's a very simple concept, why does God have to mess it up? I am afraid I had always held the idea that my relationship with God was about my goodness and not His grace. Is God fair? Nope, if He were fair, where would I be? I don't deserve anything, no one does. If not for His unmerited favor none of us would have the hope of eternal life. In Matthew 19, Peter asks about who would be saved? The answer is about the endless possibilities of who will be saved. Am I doing my part? Saying no to this world is the part I must start with. I primarily live to serve myself. May that change in the days, weeks, and years ahead.

Citizens of the King

In the fifth chapter of Matthew the disciples came to Christ and "He began to teach them." He reminded them to be "gentle" (v. 5), to "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (v. 6), to be "merciful" (v. 7), to be "pure in heart" (v. 8), and to be a "peacemaker" (v. 9). If I am bound to Christ these are characteristics that must describe my life in the world. Why? Verse thirteen answers that, "you are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again?" We have become "tasteless" and need to be made salty. In this election season we must remember that it is not who is the next president because our reasons for who we want to be the next president are probably wrong. One group wants a particular person because they think their economic policies will make them wealthy through a more open market. Woe to you who are investments because you usually are not upright and honest. One group wants a particular person because they believe they will take money from the wealthy and hand it out to those who don't have as much. Woe to you who make mankind dependent upon hand-outs. Where is the candidate who is saying the truth, we have no money, we are not going to continue to borrow at the rate we have been borrowing, we are holding the line here? Why will no candidate speak the hard truth? Of course, they would not be elected. Believers must remember that we are called to serve a Ruler not of this world, we are called to be different and bring a different message. Our message must be one of hope, our lives be lives that are different. My challenge to every believer..........in one area..........housing...........build no house larger than 2100 square feet of living space.........I'll even exclude the basement. Donate the difference between what you were going to build to your local church, for example, you were going to build a 3,000 sq. ft. house, take 900 sq. ft. x cost per sq. ft. = amount to donate to your local church.