December 6, 2012- What Plank??

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Luke 6:41-42    

     There’s so much meat in this chapter that I couldn’t choose just one verse. I feel like the bulk of what Jesus stood for and what he was about is very well illustrated through his reactions to the persecution he suffered from the Pharisees in this chapter as well as through all of the teaching he did with the Apostles in Luke 6. The illustration I like best is about the “plank of wood.” Unlike some of the other verses I’ve written about the past few days, I know this verse very well. I’ve completed and taught Bible studies based on this verse and “judging ourselves first.”  I can’t think of a better way to describe what we do as humans than the speck of sawdust and the plank of wood. If you think about it, every time we gossip or talk about another person when they are not present, whether it is a frustration with a co-worker or employee or even complaining about a spouse or a slight we felt when we ran into an old acquaintance or former close friend, we are judging them.  When we talk about them, we are pronouncing our judgment over them by pointing out the speck of sawdust in their lives.  How often do we stop in the middle of these conversations and consider whether or not we have our own speck or even worse, a plank?  Do we see the planks in our own lives?   I try to, and sometimes if I am honest with myself and with God, I see them and decide to ignore them.  Hey, I’m not perfect and never claimed to be, but I don’t want to ignore the faults in my life forever, although I usually have to take them and work on them one at a time.  What I have learned is that if I ignore the planks too long, I will become blind and unable to understand and resolve things in my life that require me to look back at myself and see where I was at fault.  It’s important to stop now and again and analyze life from that perspective. When there are underlying frustrations between you and a spouse, friend, or family member, if you can look at yourself first, asking questions, such as “why does this upset me so much?” and “how can I respond differently to this problem?” or “what could I do differently and how have I contributed to this problem?” As you answer these questions, you will begin to see the problem from the other side. You can begin to see how the other person must feel and where they are coming from. Then, all of a sudden, you may feel a pang of regret… “why did I judge that person so harshly? I shouldn’t have done that. I should have taken the time to consider why they reacted as they did or what might be going on within them to cause them to behave in such a way.” I believe that guilt or regret is often why we ignore those planks in our eyes because it’s painful for us when we look at ourselves in the mirror and attempt to remove them.  But, I believe it is a very necessary and important part of our growth as human beings and of our journey to becoming more like Jesus.  Love your enemies, pray for those who mistreat you, do not judge…these are not easy things to do, but Jesus never said life would be easy. He did say that his plans for us are good, to bring us hope and a future, but first we must be willing to listen and able to not just read the words and understand them, but to put them into practice. Do you have any planks in your eyes that need to be removed today? I know I do…time to get to work, but before I go, let me leave you with one of my favorite verses in the Bible, the one that gives me hope when I am unsure of the future, when I wonder what’s the point of working so hard as I will never be perfect, so why even try?  This is why… “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29: 11-13 J If God can care that much about me and want that much for me, shouldn’t I at least give him all I’ve got in the time he’s given me on this earth? I think so…

December 5, 2012 Hanging out with the tax collectors and sinners…

Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5: 31

     I don’t know why, but I have always loved this story about Jesus and how he had a place in His heart and time for everyone, even the “tax collectors and sinners.”  I suppose it’s because I figure I’d be one of those types of people (if Jesus walked the earth today) who great religious teachers and leaders of this world might question Jesus about and say, “Why are you hanging out with her? You have more important things to do than love and teach her.”  I love how Jesus always had a ready answer for those who questioned him and what he was doing, and the answer above is one of my favorites.  He didn’t come to help religious people who already knew and believed in God, but He can to bring peace and knowledge of the God who loves them to those who didn’t know or who had turned away from Him.  He came for all of us, and he will come again for all of us, especially the “tax collectors and sinners.”  That’s how much he loves us….doesn’t matter what we’ve done or who we’ve been, all that matters is that he has enough grace to cover all of it, if we will only allow him into our hearts and believe. Thank you, God, for being our Shepard, Healer, Savior, and Friend.  

December 4, 2012 It is written…

     “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” Psalm 119: 11-16

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’ “ Luke 4: 4

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ “ Luke 4: 8

Jesus answered, “It says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ “ Luke 4:12

     Wow, God’s word is so powerful!! Three times in Luke 4, when Jesus is tempted by the devil during his 40 days in the desert, he refers right back to the book of Deuteronomy, chapters 6 and 8, aptly subtitled in my Bible as “Love the Lord Your God” and “Do Not Forget the Lord.”  These are the 2 things that Jesus reveals in his answers to the devil, how much he loves his Father and that he has not forgotten him.  After the first 2 answers, the devil even tries to use and quote the Bible back to Jesus, but he again answers a verse with a verse and stands strong against Satan. I was just writing about how difficult it is to make the time each day to accomplish everything I want to accomplish, one of those things being the study of God’s Word, but these passages in Luke show me how important it is to know it. If I study it and keep it in my heart, as Mary kept her son in her heart, God's words will be there for me when I need them.  In the advent devotional I am working through with my sons this month, we are reading about Saint Nicholas and his devotion to God at an early, early age.  By the time he was grown, he had memorized all the scriptures. What an accomplishment! I am always amazed at how God will bring His word to mind when He needs me to remember something important. For example, when I began thinking about this blog entry, the verse at the top came to mind.  For me, I only remembered the part about hiding His word in my heart that I might not sin against God, but it is enough to “google it” and take me back to it where I can be blessed even more by the verses surrounding it.  Imagine if I had the whole Bible memorized like St. Nick.  It truly is like putting on the armor of God as it says in Ephesians, chapter 6 “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand…Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (which is another verse that just “popped” into my head as I am writing-see how that works?!?!) God’s Word equips us for life, to handle the difficult people and situations we will run into, to bring us up out of the dumps when we need it, to guide us when we don’t know what to do, and to simply comfort and encourage us when we need to know that someone out there understands us and loves us more than anyone in this world He created ever could.  

December 3, 2012-Treasuring up all these things in our hearts…

     “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2: 17-19

“Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.” Luke 2:51      

     Yesterday, our pastor encouraged everyone in the congregation to spend this month reading one chapter a day in the book of Luke, learning about the life of Jesus, and I have decided to take him up on that suggestion.  There are 24 chapters and 24 days before we observe the day of Christ’s first coming, and today I read chapters 1-3, and the verses above are the ones I’d like to write about. I never noticed these before…buried within the story of Jesus’s birth and life as a young boy, it is noted not just once, but twice, that Mary, the mother of Jesus, treasured up all the things about her son and pondered them in her heart.  Mary is considered blessed by the religious world today, even held up as a saint for some. It notes in Luke chapter one verse 48 , which is part of Mary’s song to the Lord, “…for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant, From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One had done great things for me-holy is his name.”  Mary was blessed to be the mother of Jesus, there’s no doubt about that, but this verse reveals to me the simple humanness of Mary. She was first and foremost a wife and a mother, doesn’t matter whether he was the Savior of the world or not, he was still her son, and she was still his mother.  And she treasured him; she treasured his accomplishments; she felt pride when he was obedient and humbled when he was prophesied about at his birth. She loved him, not only because he was a special blessing from God, as all children are, but because he was her baby.  It’s hard to imagine, right? Jesus being a baby who would grow up to die on the cross for all our sins, but that’s what makes his sacrifice so poignant.  He was just like us…grew up just like us…was scolded by his parents when he stayed behind at the church, and they thought they had lost him….was obedient and made his parents proud. He was a boy who became a miraculous Savior. We all have the potential to be like Jesus. We are all capable of miraculous things if we only believe and allow God to work.  As I think about my own sons, I want for them to reach their potential, to strive to be more like Jesus, but along the way, I don’t want to miss out on the treasures.  You never know how long God has scripted your life to play out…you never know how much time you will have with each of your loved ones or they with you, so I think it is important to consider what Mary did with her memories of Jesus and apply them to our own lives and families. Treasure those moments that are rare and special, treasure the times with your children, close friends, and family, ponder the uniqueness of their lives and what God has in store for them, pray for them, and encourage them along the way. If we do t his, I think we’ll all find we have moved one step closer to being like Jesus.   

November 24-December 2, 2012 Not enough time…

     “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. “  Psalm 119:105

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Psalm 1: 1-3

     Since I last wrote, I have thought every day about blogging, but each time I was either too tired, too busy, or too unmotivated to do so. Even though I didn’t sit down and write, the same two verses above kept coming to mind.  The part about meditating on his law day and night particularly struck me. I would love to meditate on the word of God day and night, but it seems there is never enough time. As crazy as it sounds, 24 hours in a day is simply not enough time to accomplish everything I’d like to accomplish.  Between working 8 hours a day and sleeping 8 hours a night, that’s 16 hours gone already, which leaves me 8 hours left to eat, exercise (which is something else I struggle with fitting in every day), write, pray and have a devotional time, help take care of my family’s needs and attend all their extracurricular activities.  Yes, I probably volunteer and taken on more than I really need to, but it’s all for my babies.  I love being a part of their lives, teaching Sunday School, being a den leader for the scouts, and helping with the Parent-Teacher organization, but I just need an extra 2 hours a day to spend with God and take better care of myself. How can I carve this time out of my busy schedule?  I suppose I could get out of bed an hour earlier and spend one less hour in front of the TV or just lounging around when I come home after a long day at work, but I know this is much easier “written” than actually done.  I am struggling with my new blog challenge already, and the New Year hasn’t even begun. J  No matter how many days of 2013 I am able to read God’s Word, I believe each and every one of them will be a blessing. So this is the year for God to show me how true the verses above really are, how they will guide me with their warm glow of insight and keep my feet from stumbling when the cracks in life’s sidewalks open up and deepen. It’s the year for my God to reveal how fruitful His word is and how His children prosper when they delight in it.