The Watcher

Luke 21:34 "But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.”

How easy it is to get caught. I used to love to play "Hide and Seek." I had some really awesome hiding places especially when we would play at church. There were some places that no one knew about except me. I could hide for hours and no one would find me. There was something about hiding that I liked to do. It was as if I knew everything going on, but no one knew about me. I was in my own world and safe.

How true of us is that today. I think one of my problems, and perhaps yours as well, is that we are still hiding. We don't want people to know who we are or what we have been doing, because if they found out they might not like us for who we are. A lot of life is spent in hiding and hoping that no one finds us. The problem with hiding is that at some point we need to be discovered. We need to be exposed to the faulty thinking and life practices we exhibit and make a change in us.

Jesu’ words today are challenging in that He calls us to "watch" ourselves when it comes to living life. It is easy to get caught doing and believing the wrong things in order to hide. We get caught in things that don't produce quality in life, in fact, the opposite happens. We fill our lives with things that weigh us down or fill us with unproductive thoughts, actions and attitudes.

Jesus reminds us that life is filled with consequences. The consequence of an undisciplined life is that we will not be ready when "that day" comes. "That day" has many meanings. First, it is talking about the last days when Christ returns. It also reminds us about those times in life when we were caught in other stuff and not prepared to go when called.

The solution is simple. We are to watch ourselves, i.e. we are to develop the practice of watching our lives so that these things that distract don’t catch us unprepared.

Asking Faith

Luke 17:5-6 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.”

I have always been convicted by this passage. I want to have faith, I want to believe, and then when I see that even faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mulberry tree I have to ask, "How small is my faith?” I have never been able to move a tree just with faith. I have, however, experienced the moving of a tree by experienced tree movers and the right equipment. I think if we look at this passage closely we will see some important lessons for us in learning faith.

The first lesson is the "ASK." The apostles had to come to a point in their lives where they were able to ask for an increase of faith. We come to this point in our lives in a variety of ways. Sometimes it is through problems we can't overcome. We cry out, “Lord help us!” Sometimes it is through conviction about sin in our lives, and we come asking for forgiveness. At other times it is just a need to draw close to God; therefore we ask God to increase our faith. Asking is difficult at times because of pride. Yet the power to receive is in the asking.

Another lesson is found in the application given to the apostles about faith. Jesus said, "If you had faith, you could say." These are strong words that challenge us to action. The application of faith is more difficult than the asking of faith. It is where we put into practice our faithfulness, which we receive through asking. Just asking alone is not enough; it is in the practice of faithfulness that we discover our ability to have faith.

So here is the deal. Putting faith into action begins at the point of our asking for faith and then continues in the application of what we asked for. I wonder how many times have I asked for something by faith believing that it would happen, and then never put into practice the thing I was asking for?

Father, increase my faith. Amen.

Salty

Luke 14:34-35 "Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

I am not one to use a lot of salt. Yes, there are a few foods that I desire that salty taste, but for the most part salt is not something I add to foods to enhance flavor. Most foods don’t need extra salt; they are OK just by themselves.

I find a lot of commonality in life with the use of salt. Sometimes people just add salt without tasting to see if it is needed. This kind of person goes through life needing to have things taste salty all the time. They are not looking for the taste of the food; they are craving the taste of salt. Following Jesus for them is always needing to have the next “BIG” thing happen to keep them connected or in tune with the spirit.

Some people don’t use salt at all. This is the type of person who is content with things just the way they are. No adventure or thrill of excitement, this person is content with status quo and living a life knowing that there are things in this world that would bring great reward if only they would use a little salt to spice them up.

A third type of person is the one who uses salt as it is needed. This person tastes and discovers that some things need extra help in reaching their full potential. Salt can be the enhancer to life and can make the difference between something that is just OK and something that can be great.

I hope you are following this logic. This passage comes after Jesus’ discussion on the cost of discipleship. So this is about following Jesus--not just about adding salt to life. It is about the person who sets his or her hand to the task to do something without counting the cost of total surrender of everything.

That is what salt does. It adds to the mix the necessary ingredients to make life work. Where is your salt today? Remember if the salt has lost it saltiness, it is not good for anything.