True Greatness

Matthew 18:1–5 (NKJV)
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

Again, here we have the twelve arguing about who is the greatest, so they ask Jesus. Jesus brings a child to them and walks them through what greatness really is. You see, the world and God have two different measures for greatness. When God measures the greatness of an individual, He puts the tape measure around the heart not the head.

Our flesh desires greatness, the world screams to worship greatness, and often there is a small voice that agrees. Now, we should do all things with a high standard, for as Colossians 3:17 says, “Whatever we do we should do in the name of the Lord.” So work hard, and do everything you do for the glory of God; but don’t use the world’s measures for greatness.

Some of the measures of true greatness include: humility, a servant’s heart, holy living, evangelistic focus, love for people, honesty, and forgiveness.  This is not an inclusive list, but it is several things I see repeated in the scriptures and chapter 18 of Matthew.

The foundation of true greatness is based on humility, It’s Pride—thinking of ourselves as more important than we really are. True humility means knowing yourself, accepting yourself, and being yourself—your best self—to the glory of God.

Serving is an attitude that finds its beginnings in humility. Jesus came as a servant. What kind of greatness do you seek; we are not greater than our master. Be content serving in the little things, for if you are too big to do the little things you will be too small for the big things. True humility thinks of others, not of self. A true servant thinks of others, not of self.

If you are giving your life in humble service, desiring holiness, living a holy life so you do not stumble, and others are not stumbled by you, continue on. We are called to be evangelists (which simply means telling people about Jesus). Love people like Jesus did, and live your life in a way so that others may have life. Bring people, tell people, and point people to Jesus.

Lastly forgiveness, the world’s worst prison is the prison of an unforgiving heart. It is not enough to receive God’s forgiveness or even the forgiveness of others. We must experience that forgiveness in our hearts so that it humbles us and makes us gentle and forgiving toward others. The servant in the parable in Mathew 18 did not have a deep experience of forgiveness and humility. He was just off the hook, he did not experience forgiveness; this is why he did not have the graceful mind to extend forgiveness to his fellow servant.

You have been forgiven a debt that you could never repay, Jesus died for your sins a debt you could not repay. A good memory is a decent thing, but the ability to forget and forgive is the true token of greatness. Desire true greatness as outlined in the scriptures. Do not let the world define your greatness, desire true greatness.

Live A Glorious Life

A glorious life is a life that brings glory to God. Often the question is not whether a person desires to bring glory to their creator, the question is how or can I. The answer is yes and the how is simple, shine bright. Jesus says in Matthew 5:16 (NKJV) “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”.

The first thing we need to do is to “let the light shine”. Many times we put a dimmer switch on our Christian walk. This self imposed dimmer is moved up and down by our environment. The brightness is turned down in places like school and work so we don't face persecution or isolation. The brightness is turned up at church so we can seem spiritual, but so to much that we are asked to help out, then at home the switch is often turned off. Jesus says let your light shine; on or off are your choices.

Here are some practical ways shine bright for the one who gave it all, Jesus.

·      Living a glorious life often either requires, or will involve suffering, so don't be surprised. 1 Peter 4:15-16

·      Living a glorious life means you have to deny yourself. Matthew 16:24–25

·      Living a glorious life requires doing the will of the Father and being on His time table. Luke 2:49

·      Living a glorious life is one that is transformed. Romans 12:1–2

·      Living a glorious life knows what to say and when to say it. Proverbs 25:11–12

·      Living a glorious life does not draw attention to its self. Matthew 6:3–4

·      Live a glorious life without offense. 2 Corinthians 6:3

·      Living a glorious life, love like Jesus loved. John 13:35

·      A life that brings glory to God is one that brings people to Christ. Daniel 12:3

C.S. Lewis said “The glory of God, and, as our only means to glorifying Him, is the salvation of human souls, this is the real business of life.”

Turn on the light and let it shine bright, tell people about Jesus and live a life that brings glory to God, live a glorious life.

The Good Shepherd

John 10:11 (NKJV)

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the

sheep.”

Looking at this passage Jesus is very specific who He is, He says “I am the good shepherd.” So why did Jesus refer to himself as a shepherd? The key to knowing this is to know some characteristics of sheep. A few key characteristics of sheep are;

• Skittish fearful creatures. 
• Near-sighted, not able to see far off.
• If left on their own, will totally destroy their pasture.
• Prone to wandering. 

So knowing that we are the sheep in the biblical illustration lets look at a passage where David, a shepherd himself, speaks on how our Good Shepherd Jesus cares for His flock. 

Psalm 23:1–6 (NKJV) 

  A Psalm of David.  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

In this one passage we see how our True and Good Shepherd leads us. Since we are fearful, He is with us to comfort us. We can have a peace knowing that He is with us, and will never leave us. As with the sheep, we can only see the present; we are not able to see far off, but we have a Shepherd who leads us through the tough times and knows the path because He is the beginning and the end. Since sheep will over graze and eventually destroy their pasture, our good Shepherd  does this for us, He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He takes us to the green pastures and the still waters he wants us to know and grow in the word, so he sometimes moves his sheep to new places to mature. Lastly, as with sheep we are prone to wander, the Lord has a staff that protects us but also can gently correct us. Its up to us to listen and heed the correction, its for our own good, trust Him. 

The best part of our Shepherd Jesus is He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies; He anoints our heads with oil; our cup runs over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives; and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He laid down His life so you can have life, eternal life. 

Trust Jesus with your life, trust him as your Good Shepherd. 

What are you focusing on?

Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

We have a choice of what to focus on, so often we are faced with challenges whether it be an event or a person that can cause us to very easily turn our eyes to the negative. I want to challenge you to hear Paul and his plea to the church in Philipi, meditate on the true things, the pure things, the things of good report. Don't let a moment in time rip you off from the joy you have in the Lord. Just like training for a new skill over time you gain more and more proficiencies in the task as you exercise and make more attempts at your new skill. The same will be true as you focus more on the good things, the less you will on the bad. The quicker you will catch yourself and take the negative thoughts captive and correct yourself. But the key is you have to start and you have to focus...

Well what shall I focus on you ask? How will I fill my day with these true things, the pure things, the things of good report. Well I'm glad you asked...The psalmist states;

Psalm 145:5 (NLT)

I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.

If you focus on just these three things - God's majesty, His glorious splendor, and all His wonderful miracles you will have a lifetime of things to focus on.

Jesus loves you, have a great week.

Be overwhelmed

“Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah” (Psalm 61:1–4, NKJV)

I love this Psalm by David, it is one of those Psalms that mirrors our prayers when we are in the middle of the battle or in the middle of a trouble. Like the Psalm says, when we are overwhelmed we we cry out for the promises of the Lord to be a refuge for us. We rejoice in this and it is a blessing to have a God that cares about us, and that we can run to.

What about the times when things are good and we are not on the battlefield, are we crying out to the Lord. You see our God should be sought out with the same fervency all the time. Be overwhelmed with thankfulness and cry out to the Lord with gratitude. Be overwhelmed by His love for you, and cry out with worship to the one living God. Be overwhelmed and rejoice that the God of creation cares about the most intimate details in your life.

You see, in whatever state you are in, you can cry out to the Lord and He will listen. There are many reasons we can be overwhelmed with our God, so respond in prayer, respond in praise, respond in gratitude.

Pray your anger away

““Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26–27, NKJV)

In my opinion anger is more prevalent in our society than ever, and I believe its on the rise. I believe this is the case because we have more information than ever, and we can be influenced and derailed with things that are being pushed to us through our televisions, computers and now our smart phones. There is also is something interesting, what makes someone angry and how small the thing may be that makes one angry.

If we were to ask people candidly “What makes you angry?”, we would hear many things like traffic jams, a car that cut me off, rude people, poor customer service, a certain political party, my family... and the list would go on. The question we then have to ask would be, is this something we should be angry over. In general and in almost all cases the answer is no. If we look at Jesus’ life, there was much for Him to be angry about compared to today’s standards, but we do not see this pattern in His life. We know that the righteous indignation Jesus had for the money changers did not reach the level of sin, because He is sinless. Jesus treated people with love, and even at the peak of pain and sorrow on the cross, He still looked at them and asked God to forgive them for they know not what they do.

So, how do we deal with the day to day frustrations without getting mad, angry, or perturbed at those around us? We pray; its that simple because when you are praying for someone its hard to be angry at them. When you pray for someone who wrongs you, you give no place for bitterness to build a short fuse in your heart that could become an anger pattern in your life. Pray, pray, pray my friends. There are many things vying to distract you and to cause you to stumble, follow that pattern of Jesus and pray.

Who Am I?

“Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

2 Samuel 7:18(NLT)

After all David had gone through, the triumphs of battles, standing before giants, and being a king, he had the humility to say “who am I”. I love this statement; during the tough times when you think you’re wronged or are feeling slighted, don't try to justify yourself or defend yourself, but instead say “who am I Lord “. How about when you want to do something or you have your own plans but you get a clear “no” from God. Can you sit back and say “who am I God?”

You see, David says this after finding out that he would not be the one building the temple. This is something that was on his heart to do. He was looking at his cedar palace and thought that the Lord needed to have something better than a tent for the tabernacle. But he gets a no, you will not to be the one to build My house.

You see, "Who am I" is a healthy question; David knew his position in the kingdom. Unhealthy questions can derail you and stumble you. God is sovereign and allows things to happen, nothing happens outside His will. There was another man in the scriptures that questioned God, declared his innocence, and questioned why the wicked prospered. His name was Job, after some struggles with his friends, God comes down in whirlwind and starts questioning Job. Here are a few questions God Asks Job

“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?”

“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?” Who are we to question God’s wisdom...

Basically, who am I to question God’s sovereignty, who am I to question God’s plan, and who am I to be dissatisfied with God. I know its tough sometimes but when the unhealthy questions come up, you may not have an answer, but you can have a peace with the statement “who am I.”

Servanthood

Luke 22:26–27 (NLT)

But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.

Jesus, in the final hours before being taken away to face the cross, shares one of His final lessons while here on earth. You see, this lesson comes on the heels of the disciples arguing over who is the greatest. All the time they spent with Jesus and in the final hours they were arguing; these things are all too common among us today. We really see this with kids early in childhood; as children want to be first, and shove and push to be first in line. You see, we try to excuse this behavior by saying we are very competitive, a go getter, or an over achiever. But Jesus was trying to tell us about servanthood.

Servanthood is becoming lost, as many seek to be served rather than to serve. Jesus gave us an example in His life of serving others. This daily exercise tired Him as people thronged to be near to Him, yet He still prayed early in the morning to seek the will of the Father and went on with that day’s work, finishing in prayer. Jesus served until the end. For us, serving doesn't come natural; it is something we need to be conscience of so we can do the will of the Father in our life. For some it may be as simple as serving in our home to our spouse or children. For others, the calling may be expanded to include a ministry, or to serve those in your workplace, maybe even to serve those who despise you.

Jesus tells us earlier, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve”, we are not here to be served. While there are seasons where we are served, we are not to be sidelined watching. We are to serve and take up the example that Jesus gives us, and serve. I encourage you to explore servanthood in your life, take Jesus as your example and minister to others as you are led by the Holy Spirit...