Choices

Matthew 25: 14 "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.”

Everyone is responsible. Everyone has a purpose. Everyone is involved. Everyone is given something. The issue at hand is what are you going to do with what has been given to you?

I think that more times than not this passage of scripture has been used to guilt people into action. Pastors always point to the last servant who did nothing with his talent with the admonition that you and I don’t want to end up in the same place as he did. Truly this is part of the teaching from Jesus on this subject. Wasted talent is sad to see. Wasted opportunities are never regained; wrong choices are filled with consequences that plague us for a long time. But on the other hand, very little is made mention of the faithful servant.

I have often wondered what made him special? What set him apart from the others? The truth is this. The only thing that made him different was that he made a choice to be faithful. He did not have more ability or talent in proportion to the others; what he had was the right choice. Because he chose rightly, he was blessed. Right choices lead to fulfilled dreams.

I doubt that you and I are any different from the characters in this teaching. Each of us has ability unique into ourselves. That’s the way God made us. We are gifted in certain ways to fulfill tasks that are suited to the call of God in our lives. I don’t think that I am a car mechanic; I have tried and not been too useful. Yes, I can change oil and spark plugs…they still use spark plugs? But, I don’t do major repair. I make the right choice. I trust those who have the ability to do the work well.

This Christ journey that we have been called to walk is filled with opportunities to use the abilities that have been entrusted to us. The only thing that matters now is the choice we will make. I read a good book a few years ago with this title, “You Can Get Better or Bitter.” The author was stressing the power of choice. I think that is true in our lives more than we want to admit. The power of choice is ours. Sometimes choice is for good; sometimes it is for worse.

So what do we do with this choice? I would direct your thinking to the choice of the first servant. It says that he went at once and used his talent--not because he was special but because he decided to go. The choice was his to make; the choice is yours to make.

Choose well.

Blessings, Rip

Simple Gospel

Matthew 22:37-40 “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’"

A good friend of mine who died a few years ago had a profound way of looking at this passage of scripture. He would say, “The gospel is really quite simple; it’s all about loving God and loving your brother and sisters.” I think that not only did he speak these words, but he lived them as well. There is something unique about the person who figures out how simple being a Christ’ follower really is.

Simple gospel is God’s way of providing for us the basics for living life to the fullest extent. I am always somewhat amused by the type of person who makes more requirements for living as a follower of Christ than Christ did Himself. Legalisms have a way of robbing us of the joy of faith and produce very little in return. In fact, Jesus Himself says that, “I have come to bring you life and that life will be abundant and free.” What is it about free that we don’t get?

In reality, when you put everything into perspective concerning the gospel, it really is all about loving God and loving each other. Perhaps that is why for some people it is difficult. Loving God and loving others is the result of being able to fully love ourselves. Therein is the problem; un-forgiven people do not understand the freedom that results when they are fully forgiven through the love of God in Christ Jesus. Let me say that again. The ability to love others results because of the power of God’s love demonstrated to us through Jesus Christ.

That’s not simple, my friends; that is profound. When we realize that God created us as receptors of His love in order to fully love and be fully loved. The mystery of the gospel is that God loved us even when we were unlovely and living in sin.

Now the opposite becomes attainable. We can love God fully and at the same time enjoy the opportunity of loving others as He Himself loves. In fact, this is not an option but a command for the living of life, because according to scripture, everything--the law and the prophets--hinges upon this love relationship with God and with others.

So here is the practice for our living life. Begin today to tell God you love Him; He knows it but you need to reinforce it. Tell others you love them. But watch out for the unexpected.

The simple gospel--not really so simple is it?

Blessings, Rip

Maria

Matthew 19:13-15 “Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’ And he laid his hands on them and went away.”

I often visit orphanages while I travel around Nicaragua. Children are everywhere with almost half the population under the age of 15. (42% was the last report from the W.H.O.). These are precious children--many hungry, unclothed and in need of care and security. I will never forget the impact one girl had on my life as I visited with her the first time. She came from a family that lived in the city dump of Managua, La Chureca. This dump is home to several hundred people, mostly women and children trying to survive day to day. “For to such belongs the kingdom of God...”

The first time I saw Maria she was a wild-haired and scary-eyed girl of age 8. Life had not been good to her I would soon find out, having been abused and beaten by her aunt and facing the certain sexual trafficking most young girls in the dump will face. I recall how she would not even look at any male adult and would cling to the house parent at the orphanage. “For to such belongs the kingdom of God…”

It was several months later before I returned to the orphanage where Maria lived. She had been in my mind from time to time thinking of her life and how she was rescued just in time to save her from a life filled with despair. I wondered how she was now…but God has a way of changing people. The moment I got out of my car and began to approach the home for girls this wild-haired and scary-eyed girl came and jumped into my arms. She did not know that I was helping support her or that I had been praying for her. What she had discovered was that someone cared and her heart was being changed. “For to such belongs the kingdom of God…”

I have returned to the orphanage many times over the past few years to share with this young girl in her life, studies and playtimes. I rejoiced this past summer when word came that Maria had accepted Jesus as her Savior. “For to such belongs the kingdom of God…”

Maria, like countless others, is a precious child of God, and God cares for each one-- just as He cares for each one of us regardless of our age. You see, we are all His children, and He is seeking us wherever we are.

Blessings, Rip

Mountaintops

Matthew: 17 1-2 “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.”

Mountaintops are an important part of life. We use these times to remind us of the grandeur and superiority of the life to which we have been called, especially when so much of life is lived in the brokenness of this world. It’s not hard to become discouraged when faced with the reality of what is happening in our world--people hurting, hungry, jobless, and alone. It doesn’t take long to form the impression that things are not well in our world, and often times in our lives we get bogged down over situations that leave us struggling.

But that is exactly the times that God interrupts the scene. It is in the midst of these times that Jesus beckons us to remember that the journey we are called to follow leads to something better.

As a Christ follower, we have a unique perspective on life. It goes like this…This present reality is not the end of the journey; it is only the path that we must traverse, but we take this path for a purpose. I have discovered over my many years that the path often is filled with bumps and detours, which bring adversity into life. In the midst of these bumps and detours, it is difficult to see the end result. SO what keeps me moving forward instead of folding up shop and calling it quits?

I believe it is the recollection of MOUNTAINTOPS that help me focus on the really important stuff. It was no accident that in this passage of scripture Jesus took with Him these three close followers: Peter, James and John. Each one will eventually play a vital role in the building and establishment of the Church. I can’t help but think that in the midst of the struggles that these three wanted to give up. However, they were reminded at those times of the glory which was shown to them on the mountaintop, and they continued forward.

What is it for you? What keeps you moving forward when the world is screaming STOP? It’s the knowledge that God is in this with us. His glory has been revealed and for just a brief moment we are allowed to see into the majesty of Him who has called us to follow.

One of my mountaintop moments happened at a church in Managua--God speaking to me and calling me to serve these people. It has changed my life. This calling is not always easy but is always present in my thoughts and prayers. What’s your mountaintop moment? I would love to hear it.

Blessings, Rip

Interlude

Matthew 1-2 “That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.”

I find it interesting that it has been one month since I have written in the JesusWalk Blog. I started this past journey with the intent of taking some time to discover what Jesus did when He got alone--to practice some of that discipline and to take some time to discover things about myself. Sometimes self-discovery is not a pretty thing. There are dark areas of life that I don’t like to visit, and often it is in the midst of taking time away from our regular routine that we come face to face with stuff that needs to be dealt with.

Depression, sorrow, anger, fear and a host of other issues need to be confronted from time to time so that we can discover what really is important in life and then choose a better course of action. I think that is what Jesus did when He got alone…by himself, to discover the better course of action. Life is difficult, and many times things don’t work out the way we think they should. Therefore, each junction of the journey we are faced with the questions about, “What Now?” What now is part of the process. However, you can’t stay there. Inaction breeds more of the same negative emotions, which lead to the very issues we must stand against.

If you notice in this reading, Jesus did not stay at the shore of the sea for long. The ministry to which He was called to fulfill was upon Him, the crowds gathered and He did what He always does. He was their teacher, healer and leader. Life is like that. We are called to do what it is we do, yet in the midst of the doing we need the interludes--the time in-between to gather ourselves. We need to define our course and to focus our emotions for the task which lies ahead.

It’s not wrong to have these times. Jesus teaches us throughout scripture that He got alone. He needed it; we need it, plain and simple. Not to take time to be alone leads down paths of darkness which will rob us of the love and joy which God the Father wants to fill us with through His spirit. Sometimes we want to stay there, but ministry calls and there is work to do, people to love and hungry to feed. The Good News is ours to share.

Interludes--a time in-between the times of ministry to sit by the sea, to think, to pray, and yes, sometimes even to cry because of the pain. But that is all it is, a time in-between. It is not the journey but the oasis for the refreshing of our souls.

So it is time to get back to work, for a season until the next time that the seashore calls to confront us, to cause us to sit in silence, and listen for the voice of God in the midst of all the worlds’ voices. The journey is ours to take. As a good friend of mine is fond to say, “Have faith; it all comes right.” Thanks Pastor Mike Sanders.

Walk on my friends, Rip