"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
Some translations use the word money for mammon. The Jewish concept of mammon was more than just money, though. It was more about a lifestyle of collecting material possessions. I call this earth stuff.
This verse follows on the heels of "where your treasure is, there your heart is." Jesus is reminding us that our priorities matter if we desire to be Kingdom people. We cannot be true servants of God if our top priority is accumulating material possessions and wealth and making ourselves comfortable here in this earthly kingdom. It cannot be done. These are two different paths.
The issue is not so much whether we have money or material possessions or even if we are comfortable; how tightly we hang on to such things, however, is a big issue.
Picture this in your mind. The path of serving earth stuff and the path of serving God have the same starting point, but the paths gradually separate. Although they start at the same place, they end up in entirely different places. At first, we can walk with one foot on each path without much problem. But as the paths separate, eventually we must make a choice. There is a point where we can no longer walk on both paths because they are headed in different directions. We cannot truly serve both God and mammon.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
"How Great The Darkness" Matthew 6:22-23
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"
Jesus is on a theme here that His Jewish listeners at the time may have grasped more quickly than modern Westerners. The last section talked about where are hearts are in relation to our treasures. This section talks about eyes and light and darkness, but in a sense, they are talking about the same concept.
The Jewish listener would have understood that this wasn't actually talking about eyes and literal darkness and light. This was a common metaphor. It is talking about spiritual vision and internal realities. Good correct clear spiritual vision brings light, and impaired or clouded vision leads to darkness.
There is a very real sense in which our spiritual vision, our understanding of God, our intimacy and relationship with Jesus, determines the outcome and direction of our lives. No matter what our head-knowledge of Bible stuff is, if our internal reality is spiritually confused, "How great the darkness!"
Jesus is on a theme here that His Jewish listeners at the time may have grasped more quickly than modern Westerners. The last section talked about where are hearts are in relation to our treasures. This section talks about eyes and light and darkness, but in a sense, they are talking about the same concept.
The Jewish listener would have understood that this wasn't actually talking about eyes and literal darkness and light. This was a common metaphor. It is talking about spiritual vision and internal realities. Good correct clear spiritual vision brings light, and impaired or clouded vision leads to darkness.
There is a very real sense in which our spiritual vision, our understanding of God, our intimacy and relationship with Jesus, determines the outcome and direction of our lives. No matter what our head-knowledge of Bible stuff is, if our internal reality is spiritually confused, "How great the darkness!"
Friday, April 23, 2010
"Treasures" Matthew 6:19-21
"Do not lay up...treasures on earth...but lay up...treasures in heaven.... For where your treasure is, there your heart is also."
The call of the Kingdom is worked out in real life, and there is a sense in which we are either in or out. In evangelical circles we often talk about the proper order of priorities: God, family, career (and other stuff). But, just saying that these are our priorities does not mean they are. It is actually not difficult to discern our true priorities. Our priorities (treasures) are clearly shown by what we think and dwell on, and what we spend our time and money on.
If we say that the Kingdom of God is our priority, yet we spend all of our energy, time and finances building our little kingdoms here (including careers, homes, financial security, etc.) we are deceived.
We make many choices every day concerning serving God or serving self, establishing our own agendas or following His. We may not like what Jesus is saying, but He definitely means what He is saying: where your treasure is, there you heart is.
The flip side of this difficult teaching is that if we are Kingdom people with Kingdom purposes, there are eternal rewards, and that these eternal rewards far outweigh the temporary indulgences that we tend to reward ourselves with here and now. It is worth our investment to be Kingdom people.
The call of the Kingdom is worked out in real life, and there is a sense in which we are either in or out. In evangelical circles we often talk about the proper order of priorities: God, family, career (and other stuff). But, just saying that these are our priorities does not mean they are. It is actually not difficult to discern our true priorities. Our priorities (treasures) are clearly shown by what we think and dwell on, and what we spend our time and money on.
If we say that the Kingdom of God is our priority, yet we spend all of our energy, time and finances building our little kingdoms here (including careers, homes, financial security, etc.) we are deceived.
We make many choices every day concerning serving God or serving self, establishing our own agendas or following His. We may not like what Jesus is saying, but He definitely means what He is saying: where your treasure is, there you heart is.
The flip side of this difficult teaching is that if we are Kingdom people with Kingdom purposes, there are eternal rewards, and that these eternal rewards far outweigh the temporary indulgences that we tend to reward ourselves with here and now. It is worth our investment to be Kingdom people.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
"Father Will Reward You" Matthew 6:16-18
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
I don't believe that Jesus is speaking here about fasting or not fasting. While fasting was an assumed discipline of devout Jewish worshipers, Jesus is not trying to make a case for fasting; rather, Jesus is again speaking of heart motives. Even in the personal spiritual disciplines -not just fasting, but also studying Scripture, praying, giving and even worshiping, and even preaching or teaching- there is a huge difference between true, authentic communion with Father and putting on a religious show so that others will recognize how spiritual we are.
This does not mean that we should never pray in public or worship in public or speak Scripture in public. And it doesn't mean that if anyone finds out about our spiritual habits of fasting or praying or studying that those things no longer have spiritual value. But in all spiritual pursuits, our heart motivations matter. Am I truly seeking God or am I simply seeking attention?
A reality worth understanding: we generally get what we seek. If we are seeking attention, we can usually draw attention to ourselves; but there is no spiritual value in it. If, on the other hand, we are seeking God, we are rewarded with a deeper, more intimate, more personal relationship with Father.
I don't believe that Jesus is speaking here about fasting or not fasting. While fasting was an assumed discipline of devout Jewish worshipers, Jesus is not trying to make a case for fasting; rather, Jesus is again speaking of heart motives. Even in the personal spiritual disciplines -not just fasting, but also studying Scripture, praying, giving and even worshiping, and even preaching or teaching- there is a huge difference between true, authentic communion with Father and putting on a religious show so that others will recognize how spiritual we are.
This does not mean that we should never pray in public or worship in public or speak Scripture in public. And it doesn't mean that if anyone finds out about our spiritual habits of fasting or praying or studying that those things no longer have spiritual value. But in all spiritual pursuits, our heart motivations matter. Am I truly seeking God or am I simply seeking attention?
A reality worth understanding: we generally get what we seek. If we are seeking attention, we can usually draw attention to ourselves; but there is no spiritual value in it. If, on the other hand, we are seeking God, we are rewarded with a deeper, more intimate, more personal relationship with Father.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
"If You Forgive" Matthew 6:14-15
"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
At the end of this prayer that Jesus modeled for us, He comes back to the forgiveness issue. This is a thread that runs through much of Jesus' teaching. It is worth digging into a bit and trying to understand.
First, let's back up and review who Christians believe Jesus is. What we believe about Jesus matters a whole lot. I don't just mean in terms of to whom we look for salvation -that part is obviously important and quite clear to those who are followers of Jesus. Rather, I mean that what we believe about Jesus matters a whole lot in terms of how we interact with and interpret Scripture.
Jesus lived here in our world, walking and talking and teaching. He lived among real people who wrote down what He did and said. What we believe about Him, must influence how we read and interpret not only what He did and said, but also how we interpret other writers of Scripture who came after Him, and even before.
So, according to Scriptures, we believe that Jesus is the Son part of the Three-In-One God. We (Christians) believe that He was with the Father in eternity. We believe that Jesus was and is the Creator, and that He willingly chose to lay His deity aside as He took on flesh and blood and came to His creation. He left eternity and stepped into time and space and lived among us. We believe He lived a perfect human life and died for our sins, clearing the way for us to have a right relationship with God. We believe Jesus rose again from the dead and returned to God the Father. I’m hoping that all of us are on the same page with this –this is basic Christianity.
Now, if Jesus came from the Father and returned to the Father and is, in fact, part of the Godhead -if He is, as Scriptures clearly teach, God –then I think it is safe to assume that what Jesus taught, and what He focused on, and what He modeled for us is incredibly important. If anybody in the history of the earth had His priorities straight and understood how things really are, it has to be Jesus. I know that the Old Testament is Scripture. And I know that the writings of Paul and Peter and John and the rest of the New Testament are Scripture. But if God became man and made His dwelling among us and explained to us how things really are, that has to become the lens through which we interpret the rest of Scripture.
Some people mistakenly insist that since all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), all Scripture is equal for all things. I believe that all Scripture is important, and useful for it's intended purpose. Some Scriptures are intended for encouragement, some for teaching, some for correcting, some for training. Some Scriptures lay the foundations of theology, and some give us historical framework. But, clearly, not all Scriptures are to be used equally for these different intended purposes. It is our job to discern which Scriptures are to be used for what. This includes discerning which Scriptures are theologically foundational Scriptures through which other Scripture is interpreted.
It seems obvious that for we who call ourselves followers of Jesus, the actual teachings of Jesus, who was and is God, must be the key to unlocking the rest of Scripture. We can’t do it the other way around. We can’t take the writings of Paul and interpret Jesus. We can’t take the prophets and interpret Jesus. We must use Jesus to interpret everything else –because Jesus is God.
The reason I am making such a big deal about this is because in today's passage from Matthew 6:14-15. Jesus is telling us that if we refuse to forgive others, the Father will not forgive us. This is serious, and either Jesus knows what He is talking about or He doesn't. Either Jesus is correct in saying that our forgiveness is related to our willingness to forgive, or He is mistaken. What we believe about Jesus is going to have a great deal of influence on how we interpret this. I choose to take it at face value and not try to explain it away for the simple reason that Jesus is God, and I am His follower.
What this means, at the least, is that for we who are followers of Jesus, forgiveness is not optional. We cannot actually be followers of Jesus and refuse to forgive others when they wrong us. We will talk more about the "how to" of forgiveness when we get to Matthew chapter 18 (read ahead if you want).
For today, though, let's commit to the desire. Because I love Jesus and I am His disciple, I choose to forgive -I am willing, with His help to forgive those who have harmed me.
At the end of this prayer that Jesus modeled for us, He comes back to the forgiveness issue. This is a thread that runs through much of Jesus' teaching. It is worth digging into a bit and trying to understand.
First, let's back up and review who Christians believe Jesus is. What we believe about Jesus matters a whole lot. I don't just mean in terms of to whom we look for salvation -that part is obviously important and quite clear to those who are followers of Jesus. Rather, I mean that what we believe about Jesus matters a whole lot in terms of how we interact with and interpret Scripture.
Jesus lived here in our world, walking and talking and teaching. He lived among real people who wrote down what He did and said. What we believe about Him, must influence how we read and interpret not only what He did and said, but also how we interpret other writers of Scripture who came after Him, and even before.
So, according to Scriptures, we believe that Jesus is the Son part of the Three-In-One God. We (Christians) believe that He was with the Father in eternity. We believe that Jesus was and is the Creator, and that He willingly chose to lay His deity aside as He took on flesh and blood and came to His creation. He left eternity and stepped into time and space and lived among us. We believe He lived a perfect human life and died for our sins, clearing the way for us to have a right relationship with God. We believe Jesus rose again from the dead and returned to God the Father. I’m hoping that all of us are on the same page with this –this is basic Christianity.
Now, if Jesus came from the Father and returned to the Father and is, in fact, part of the Godhead -if He is, as Scriptures clearly teach, God –then I think it is safe to assume that what Jesus taught, and what He focused on, and what He modeled for us is incredibly important. If anybody in the history of the earth had His priorities straight and understood how things really are, it has to be Jesus. I know that the Old Testament is Scripture. And I know that the writings of Paul and Peter and John and the rest of the New Testament are Scripture. But if God became man and made His dwelling among us and explained to us how things really are, that has to become the lens through which we interpret the rest of Scripture.
Some people mistakenly insist that since all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), all Scripture is equal for all things. I believe that all Scripture is important, and useful for it's intended purpose. Some Scriptures are intended for encouragement, some for teaching, some for correcting, some for training. Some Scriptures lay the foundations of theology, and some give us historical framework. But, clearly, not all Scriptures are to be used equally for these different intended purposes. It is our job to discern which Scriptures are to be used for what. This includes discerning which Scriptures are theologically foundational Scriptures through which other Scripture is interpreted.
It seems obvious that for we who call ourselves followers of Jesus, the actual teachings of Jesus, who was and is God, must be the key to unlocking the rest of Scripture. We can’t do it the other way around. We can’t take the writings of Paul and interpret Jesus. We can’t take the prophets and interpret Jesus. We must use Jesus to interpret everything else –because Jesus is God.
The reason I am making such a big deal about this is because in today's passage from Matthew 6:14-15. Jesus is telling us that if we refuse to forgive others, the Father will not forgive us. This is serious, and either Jesus knows what He is talking about or He doesn't. Either Jesus is correct in saying that our forgiveness is related to our willingness to forgive, or He is mistaken. What we believe about Jesus is going to have a great deal of influence on how we interpret this. I choose to take it at face value and not try to explain it away for the simple reason that Jesus is God, and I am His follower.
What this means, at the least, is that for we who are followers of Jesus, forgiveness is not optional. We cannot actually be followers of Jesus and refuse to forgive others when they wrong us. We will talk more about the "how to" of forgiveness when we get to Matthew chapter 18 (read ahead if you want).
For today, though, let's commit to the desire. Because I love Jesus and I am His disciple, I choose to forgive -I am willing, with His help to forgive those who have harmed me.
Monday, April 19, 2010
"Lead Us Not Into Temptation" Matthew 6:13
"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
In the book of James chapter 1, we are told bluntly that we should not believe that God tempts us with evil -temptation is, it tells us, a product of our own internal desires. I believe that this insight from James helps us to understand what Jesus is asking us to pray.
Jesus is not suggesting that God has plans to direct our paths into situations that we can't handle, where we will be overwhelmed by evil. I think He is suggesting something opposite. Jesus is saying that we need to submit and surrender our plans and thinking to God so that we won't be lured and tempted by our own wrong desires and then be overwhelmed by evil. We are asking God to directly intervene and mediate in those places where the devil would use our desires against us.
Lead me, Lord, away from my own best thinking which is susceptible to manipulation by the enemy, and set my heart, instead, on paths of righteousness. Amen.
In the book of James chapter 1, we are told bluntly that we should not believe that God tempts us with evil -temptation is, it tells us, a product of our own internal desires. I believe that this insight from James helps us to understand what Jesus is asking us to pray.
Jesus is not suggesting that God has plans to direct our paths into situations that we can't handle, where we will be overwhelmed by evil. I think He is suggesting something opposite. Jesus is saying that we need to submit and surrender our plans and thinking to God so that we won't be lured and tempted by our own wrong desires and then be overwhelmed by evil. We are asking God to directly intervene and mediate in those places where the devil would use our desires against us.
Lead me, Lord, away from my own best thinking which is susceptible to manipulation by the enemy, and set my heart, instead, on paths of righteousness. Amen.
Friday, April 16, 2010
"Forgive Us Our Debts" Matthew 6:12
"Forgive us our debts as we forgive (or have forgiven) our debtors."
I feel a sermon coming on. Actually, I'll try very hard not to be preachy, but this is a citical concept in Kingdom living. We need to grab this and understand it.
When Jesus uses the term debt here, He is clearly not talking about finances; He is talking about sin. Yet the language used in the Greek (original manuscripts) was accounting language -it is speaking of actual debts that are owed. Jesus is teaching us to pray, to ask our Father, to forgive the sin debt that we owe Him proportional or in accordance with our willingness to forgive the sin debt that others owe us. Immediately upon finishing this prayer, Jesus goes back to this phrase and expounds to make sure we get it right. We will talk about that part in a couple of days. For today let's look at the idea of sin being a debt that is owed.
I think we mostly understand our need to be forgiven. I believe we understand that our sin addicition is systemic and we can't break our bondage to sin without God's intervention. God's intervention, God's solution to our sin problem was to allow Jesus to take the guilt and shame of all of our sin and die for it -the debt of our sin has been paid. The law is satisfied. Forgiveness is given.
The part we don't always understand is that when people sin against us there is also a debt that is owed. Because we know that we are supposed to forgive others when they wrong us, we tend to minimalize the wrong that has been done. It is not OK with God that people sin against us. In equating sin as a debt that is owed, Jesus is telling us to take an account of what is owed. Don't minimalize, don't sweep it under the rug, and don't pretend everything is fine. Take a spiritual and emotional inventory and honestly assess the damage and hurt.
We can’t forgive a debt without taking an account of what is owed. The reason we feel bitterness or pain is because something is owed. There is a spiritual and emotional debt. We must take a full account of the debt before we can effectively release it.
Releasing the debt once an account has been taken is simply a matter of admitting to God that we don't really want to carry the hurt anymore, and literally asking Him to carry the debt for us. In a sense, we sign the debt over to Him. Now it is no longer ours, it is His. In forgiving, we are turning the people who hurt us over to God. Forgiveness is a big deal. This is critical to Kingdom living. We'll explore this more as we get to Jesus' further teaching on it.
In the mean time, "Father, forgive the debt I owe as I forgive others the debts they owe me." Amen.
I feel a sermon coming on. Actually, I'll try very hard not to be preachy, but this is a citical concept in Kingdom living. We need to grab this and understand it.
When Jesus uses the term debt here, He is clearly not talking about finances; He is talking about sin. Yet the language used in the Greek (original manuscripts) was accounting language -it is speaking of actual debts that are owed. Jesus is teaching us to pray, to ask our Father, to forgive the sin debt that we owe Him proportional or in accordance with our willingness to forgive the sin debt that others owe us. Immediately upon finishing this prayer, Jesus goes back to this phrase and expounds to make sure we get it right. We will talk about that part in a couple of days. For today let's look at the idea of sin being a debt that is owed.
I think we mostly understand our need to be forgiven. I believe we understand that our sin addicition is systemic and we can't break our bondage to sin without God's intervention. God's intervention, God's solution to our sin problem was to allow Jesus to take the guilt and shame of all of our sin and die for it -the debt of our sin has been paid. The law is satisfied. Forgiveness is given.
The part we don't always understand is that when people sin against us there is also a debt that is owed. Because we know that we are supposed to forgive others when they wrong us, we tend to minimalize the wrong that has been done. It is not OK with God that people sin against us. In equating sin as a debt that is owed, Jesus is telling us to take an account of what is owed. Don't minimalize, don't sweep it under the rug, and don't pretend everything is fine. Take a spiritual and emotional inventory and honestly assess the damage and hurt.
We can’t forgive a debt without taking an account of what is owed. The reason we feel bitterness or pain is because something is owed. There is a spiritual and emotional debt. We must take a full account of the debt before we can effectively release it.
Releasing the debt once an account has been taken is simply a matter of admitting to God that we don't really want to carry the hurt anymore, and literally asking Him to carry the debt for us. In a sense, we sign the debt over to Him. Now it is no longer ours, it is His. In forgiving, we are turning the people who hurt us over to God. Forgiveness is a big deal. This is critical to Kingdom living. We'll explore this more as we get to Jesus' further teaching on it.
In the mean time, "Father, forgive the debt I owe as I forgive others the debts they owe me." Amen.
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