Getting Rid of the Excuses Part One

Luke 9:62 - Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

In my last post, I wrote on laziness. God can do very little with a lazy person when it comes to building his kingdom. However, one who is just as useless is the one who continually makes excuses to God. In the next few posts, we are going to look at why we make excuses when it comes to serving the Lord.

In Luke 9:57-62, Jesus is call disciples to follow him. Their responses are, "I will follow you, but let me first...." One man was concerned with his provision, and one man was concerned with his familial duty. In essence, they saw something else as more important at that time than proclaiming the kingdom of God. While Jesus' words seen harsh in verse 62, if you imagine the word picture, it makes sense.

If a farmer is plowing a field, it is necessary that he plows straight rows. That way, the crops have enough room to grow and will not get intertwined with each other. In order to plow a field, one must hold the plow straight and look straight ahead. Otherwise, he will get off course. Knowing from experience (sorry little garden), when you look back while your hand is on the plow you begin to plow in the direction where your head is turned. The result is a messy garden and unfruitful labor. Applied spiritually though, we cannot follow Christ with our hands or our actions while our head and our hearts are still hung up on something that belongs to the world. If we do, we will simply be making excuses to either delay obedience or worse.

Jesus says that you cannot serve two masters. You will either love the one and hate the other or you will despise the one and love the other. If you have been making excuses lately about serving Christ to the fullest, I would like to ask you to examine the reason why. Could one of the reasons be that there is something else that has priority in your life? If so, ask God to begin to change your heart and help you prioritize your life around Him.

Dealing with Laziness

Proverbs 6:9-11 How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

As winter settles in, it suddenly becomes harder to rise out of bed. Suddenly, the warmth of the covers seem to entice you to hit the snooze button more times than you ought. And we often think to ourselves, "what is the harm in giving ourselves ten more minutes?" However, Proverbs 6:9-11 holds a great deal of wisdom on the subject of laziness. The essence of these verses is that with laziness comes a slippery slope leading to disaster. We often do not realize the effect laziness has had on us until it is too late. For instance, the lazy student does not realize his transgression until he reaches his test and has no knowledge of the material.

We all like to take breaks and enjoy times of rest. However, when we allow these "rests" to become more than just a season of refreshment, we settle into a realm of complacency and sloth. The result is an unproductive life. We begin to have the mindset of ,"just a little more sleep, just a little more rest, just another hour of television or facebook." When we have this mindset, not only will we be physically impoverished, but we will do a disservice to the kingdom of God. We are called to be active agents of the kingdom of God. When we allow ourselves to become lazy, not only do we hurt ourselves, but we miss out on having an impact on the world.

In what ways have you been lazy lately?

How can you overcome your laziness?

What can God do through you if you actively seek Him?

Pursuing Righteousness

The last two days, I have focused on Matthew 6:33 which says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Yesterday, I discussed what it meant to seek the kingdom. Today I want to focus on how we can seek righteousness. As I have mentioned before, the because the Greek verb "to seek" is in the present active imperative, the writer is stating that the pursuit of righteousness should be continual and active. This is not a one time occurrence that happens at salvation. Pursued righteousness should be a focal point of the believer. It is not simply right living that we should seek, rather we should desire to live the way in which God lives. We should devote our behavior to his standards.

I have heard much debate as to whether it is actually possible or not to achieve complete righteousness on earth. That is not what this blog is about. Rather, it is about how we can pursue righteousness. God tells the people of Israel in Isaiah 1:16-17, "“Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil. Learn to do what is good. Seek justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause.” Here in these verses we see that righteousness includes the omission of evil, the addition of good, the accountability of others, and the defense of the needy. James writes it more concisely in James 1:27: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

When it comes to righteousness, a pictoral image is an unstained garment. There is no residue of sinful behavior, selfish ambition, and ignorance of others. Rather, it is pure and clean due to living justly and seeking justice for others.

So how is this pursued on a daily basis? The first way is to know the character of God through his Word. If you do not know his character, it is hard to emulate. The second way is to start evaluating not only your actions, but your motives. The third way to pursue righteousness in your life is to begin to have a consciousness for the needs of others.

A righteous young man might not make it to the top of his company, but he will know that he never harmed anyone or took unfair deals to advance himself. A righteous young woman might not be seen as the most desirable by the world's standard, but she kept herself pure and modest in order to honor her God.

What is your current standard of righteousness? Is it everyone else, or is it God?

How can you increase your standard of righteousness this year?

Starting out with a heavenward mindset

Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Yesterday, I posted about how we are supposed to seek first the kingdom for God. As a New Year begins, it is easy for us to make commitments and have good intentions, but they are much hard to place into practice. So how do we hold to our commitment to continue to seek God's kingdom first?

The first answer is to understand the importance of God's kingdom and our participation in it. The kingdom of God (heaven) began at the beginning of Jesus' ministry of earth. It can be defined as God's reign being applied on earth. Where sin and death had victory over the earth, through the death and resurrection of Christ, they have been overcome. However, the kingdom of God has not reached it's fullness, but will occur at the second coming.

The importance of the kingdom to us is that, as believers, we are now a part of his kingdom. We are citizens of the kingdom of heaven (Ephesians 2:19; Philippians 3:20). With citizenship comes both opportunity as well as responsibility.

So, here is no question about the importance of the kingdom. The question now becomes, how do we continue to seek the kingdom of God? The Greek word "to seek" refers here to a continual strive to make the kingdom the center of one's existence. The way in which we do this is to place our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2). When we wake up, we think first about how we can help God's kingdom expand and be glorified, whether it be in the way in which we act towards others or the words we say. We are not to strive to build our own "kingdoms" of power, wealth, fame, or friends. As believers, we are to have a kingdom focus.

The process of maintaining a kingdom focus is a discipline. It is not simply relying on our emotions to carry us through the day. Rather we are to continually set our minds on the kingdom rather than the earth. Being a faithful disciples requires training (1 Corinthians 9:25; 1 Timothy 4:7).

The Challenge for today is to brainstorm ways in which you can develop disciplines that will help you stay focused on the kingdom of God.

A New Perspective on Resolutions

As I started thinking about what I wanted to accomplish for the upcoming year, ultimately I began to think about the things that I had let slide in 2011 (ironically, one of those being this blog). Regardless of which of my "resolutions" of 2011 were not banners of success, the reason was all the same, I had made a sincere declaration, had started off with fervor, but because I had not developed a discipline for each goal, no matter how high of a priority, when demands came, my goals shifted a little in order to accommodate the need of the moment.

In Jesus' discourse about being anxious, he tells the people to "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33). In essence, he is saying that believers should actively be seeking God's eschatological kingdom. This is not some aimless treasure hunt, but rather it is a focused pursuit of our desire. We should continuously be striving heavenward. This focus paired with the second should be the priority of our lives. The second command is to seek his righteousness, meaning the righteousness of God. We are to continually strive to live upright. If we fall, we are to continue the journey.

So what does this passage have to do with my New Year's resolution and goals? Well, initially, I wanted to sit down and make a list of all these thing that I wanted to accomplish: write on my blog every day, get published, contribute financially to the family, help Daniel learn to read, etc., etc., etc. But God's message to me was much more straight forward. This year, I am to seek first the things of heaven and pursue God's righteousness. God is big enough and sovereign enough to add whatever else he feel that I need. This is not a passive resolution or a cop out to where I can sit home all day. Rather, it is a decision that I am actively going to pursue ways to grow and glorify God's kingdom. My desire is to be a vessel in whatever way God allows. Yet, even in this quest, it takes disciple, because in the rush of life, the temptation to turn our eyes to the world and make hasty decisions rather than seeking God's benefit first is hard to do.

My question to you: will you join me on this journey? I would love to hear your stories, as it will encourage me. Let's make 2012 a year of difference.

Cortney

Who are you living for?

Galatians 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

If you turn on the television and spend five minutes watching a show or commercials, you will notice one general theme: we are expected to cater to ourselves. Society thrives on humanism. Commercials solicit our wants and desires. Situation comedies revolve around a character's pursuit of career, love, or money. Even Christian authors are writing books on how to "Become a Better You" and "Live in Abundance." However, the central message of the cross is anti-humanism. It is a call to deny yourself and to be crucified with Christ.

In Galatians 2:20, Paul writes that we have been crucified with Christ. He uses the perfect tense, indicating that, though the event was completed in the past, it has a lasting effect. As believers, we share in both Christ's death and resurrection. The life we now live is not a result of anything that we have done on our own, but rather it is a result of the workings of Christ. Since we are now united with Christ, there is no more "I" in the sense that we are an individualistic, self-centered person. Christ's selfless sacrifice united us to him and calls us to do the same: to die to our selfish nature and live in fellowship with him. Therefore, we should no longer live according to our own desires, but we should allow Christ to live in and through us. We should do this because he was faithful in showing his love for us through his sacrifice. As a result, we ought to do the same.

Instead of focusing on ourselves, and what feeds our selfish desires, we should instead, focus on how we might serve the kingdom of God. Will this build our wealth, popularity, or status? Probably not. But it will build our character and obedience. If we do not of focus on how we might increase our own status, but place our minds on how we might display God's glory, we will show the world that we are different.

Tomorrow, we will look more in depth as to what this principle looks like practically. For today, I pose the question: who are you living for and who does the world see when they look at you?

The Words We Speak

Ephesians 4:29 - Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

The cliche "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all," might hold true in social settings. However, as believers in Christ, we are called to do even more. We are to be intentional with our words. In Ephesians 4:29, Paul first gives the mandate that no corrupt speech come forth from the believers mouths. The adjective for corrupt is a Greek term that is also used of fish that had been left out in the market too long (cf. Matthew 12:33-34; BDAG). Therefore,if ingested by others, our words can have the same damaging affect as stinky, rotten, fish. Paul makes no room for concession as to which words are included in the mandate. No word coming from the mouth should have any ill characteristic whether it is vulgar language or slanderous talk. Often times, we think that if we telling something in jest or speaking sarcastically, our words are exempt. However, this verse states otherwise.

After giving the command of how the Ephesians are to guard their speech, Paul directs them in the way in which they should exhort one another. Their speech should be wholesome and beneficial in order to build up or strengthen the Christian community. Not only are believers to be beneficial in what we say, but we are to be intentional in how, when, and to whom to say it. Paul instructs the Ephesians to speak that which is beneficial of the need, therefore showing a prudence to the words spoken. Often times we can speak wholesome words, but if they are to the wrong person, in the wrong situation, or at the wrong time, they fall on deaf ears. The purpose for our good speech is so that we might give grace to those who hear our words. As image-bearers of God and followers of Christ, we are to be administrators of grace. One way in which to do that is through our words.

If we actually begin to think intentionally about being administrators of grace before we begin our conversation with both believers and non-believers, think about the impact our words would have on society. It would be much easier to hold back the words that have rude meaning and speak words of truth, love, and encouragement.

The challenge in this verse is to think before you speak. Not only should we think about WHAT we say, but think about WHY we are saying it. When we do, we will make a greater impact for the kingdom of God.