A gracious ninety-year-old grandmother was struggling with the hectic pace of Christmas shopping and made a decision. She would no longer send presents. Instead, she would send Christmas cards and include a check with each one so that her friends and family could purchase their own presents.
She carefully prepared each card and wrote in each one, "Buy your own present," and then sent all the cards well before Christmas. Strangely, no one ever made any mention of having received a card. When some of her family visited her during Christmas, she asked them if they received her cards. They were polite but not enthusiastic. They acknowledged that they had received cards but barely even thanked her.
A year later, as she was preparing to send cards again, she made a grievous discovery. Underneath a pile of Christmas papers, she found all the checks. She had never included the checks in the cards. She had written "Buy your own present" inside each card--without a check!"
Monday, November 27, 2006
Monday, November 20, 2006
Digging for BINGO
In Matthew 13:44 we read: "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” NIV
There is this treasure in a field. Who put it there? No one knows. A man learns about the treasure. So he takes off into the field to begin digging for it. He did not discover the treasure in his first hole. He begins digging hole after hole after hole. He is diligently seeking. He is working hard. It was back breaking work to move shovel full after shovel full of dirt. How deep did he dig each hole? One foot deep? Three feet deep? Yet, hole after hole yields nothing. He is sweating and growing tired. He is getting dirty. Can you see his face smeared with dirt?
After hundreds and hundreds of shovels full of dirt, he strikes a box – Thump! In his excitement he shovels faster and deeper, ignoring the pain in his back, and the sweat dripping into his eyes and his exhaustion. He carefully shovels the dirt from around it. Gingerly he raises the box out of the hole, opens it and discovers a wonderful treasure. There is only one problem. The field doesn’t belong to him so the treasure doesn’t belong to him, yet. There is no “finder’s keepers” law.
He goes and looks up the owner. He inquires about the sale of the field. They banter back and forth. Each one is extolling the virtues or vices of the field. When the price is finally arrived at, the man realizes he must sell everything he has in order to purchase the field. In today’s language we would say that he sold his house, his boat, both of his cars, his cottage at the lake, all of his furniture and cashed in his IRA’s. The treasure he discovered was worth the price. This treasure cost him huge volumes of time, energy, pain, and money. He willingly gave up everything that he had in order to acquire that field.
Jesus compares this story to the Kingdom of God. Consider this: God has hidden a treasure for you. It contains the wealth of heaven and the depths of God’s wisdom. Yet, He will not just reach down and hand it to us. We are challenged to “dig” for it. It will cost us time, energy, pain and perhaps money. There is a cost to it. The acquiring of this treasure could very well cost us everything that we hold dear, everything we strive for, and everything of value to us.
Are you willing to dig, not knowing what each hole may yield? Are you willing to struggle and sweat searching for the treasure and see little if no visible results? In our microwave, fast food world we want everything in an instant. Our gratification must come early or we quickly give up and move on to somewhere else. If you are not willing to invest yourself, if you will not grow in the grace of patience and if you refuse to commit to the journey, then you might as well stop right here.
Digging holes is hard, strenuous labor. Moving shovel full after shovel full of dirt and seeing few visible results can get disheartening. Frustration can set in and we might just throw up our hands and cry, “Forget it Lord. It’s not worth it.”
Yet, the hole digger in the parable never quit. Perhaps he discovered that each day he grew less tired. He realized that he could dig more holes before exhaustion set. He muscles were growing stronger. His back was firmer. His stamina was greatly increasing. He was not discovering the treasure but he was developing himself in other areas. And he never questioned the knowledge that the treasure was there in the field. He just kept to the task and one day, BINGO! It was worth it all.
There is this treasure in a field. Who put it there? No one knows. A man learns about the treasure. So he takes off into the field to begin digging for it. He did not discover the treasure in his first hole. He begins digging hole after hole after hole. He is diligently seeking. He is working hard. It was back breaking work to move shovel full after shovel full of dirt. How deep did he dig each hole? One foot deep? Three feet deep? Yet, hole after hole yields nothing. He is sweating and growing tired. He is getting dirty. Can you see his face smeared with dirt?
After hundreds and hundreds of shovels full of dirt, he strikes a box – Thump! In his excitement he shovels faster and deeper, ignoring the pain in his back, and the sweat dripping into his eyes and his exhaustion. He carefully shovels the dirt from around it. Gingerly he raises the box out of the hole, opens it and discovers a wonderful treasure. There is only one problem. The field doesn’t belong to him so the treasure doesn’t belong to him, yet. There is no “finder’s keepers” law.
He goes and looks up the owner. He inquires about the sale of the field. They banter back and forth. Each one is extolling the virtues or vices of the field. When the price is finally arrived at, the man realizes he must sell everything he has in order to purchase the field. In today’s language we would say that he sold his house, his boat, both of his cars, his cottage at the lake, all of his furniture and cashed in his IRA’s. The treasure he discovered was worth the price. This treasure cost him huge volumes of time, energy, pain, and money. He willingly gave up everything that he had in order to acquire that field.
Jesus compares this story to the Kingdom of God. Consider this: God has hidden a treasure for you. It contains the wealth of heaven and the depths of God’s wisdom. Yet, He will not just reach down and hand it to us. We are challenged to “dig” for it. It will cost us time, energy, pain and perhaps money. There is a cost to it. The acquiring of this treasure could very well cost us everything that we hold dear, everything we strive for, and everything of value to us.
Are you willing to dig, not knowing what each hole may yield? Are you willing to struggle and sweat searching for the treasure and see little if no visible results? In our microwave, fast food world we want everything in an instant. Our gratification must come early or we quickly give up and move on to somewhere else. If you are not willing to invest yourself, if you will not grow in the grace of patience and if you refuse to commit to the journey, then you might as well stop right here.
Digging holes is hard, strenuous labor. Moving shovel full after shovel full of dirt and seeing few visible results can get disheartening. Frustration can set in and we might just throw up our hands and cry, “Forget it Lord. It’s not worth it.”
Yet, the hole digger in the parable never quit. Perhaps he discovered that each day he grew less tired. He realized that he could dig more holes before exhaustion set. He muscles were growing stronger. His back was firmer. His stamina was greatly increasing. He was not discovering the treasure but he was developing himself in other areas. And he never questioned the knowledge that the treasure was there in the field. He just kept to the task and one day, BINGO! It was worth it all.
Serving at a Snail's Pace
St. Teresa of Avila asks the following question: “Why do we serve God at a snail’s pace?”
Why is it that we want to just get by in our relationship with God doing as little as possible? We will only pray “just enough” or fast as little as necessary. We will go to church when we feel like it. We are treating our relationship with God like it is only worth about $2.50 instead of what it is really worth – a trillion, trillion dollars and more.
God wants us to give ourselves wholly to Him. This creates a starved hunger for God and His Kingdom. Jesus told his disciples: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” NIV He had discovered the fulfilling nourishment that comes from passionately following His Father.
Why are we so unwilling to invest ourselves completely to the Kingdom of God? Why do we only seek to do the minimum? Are we spiritually lazy? Are we losing out battle against the world, the flesh and the devil?
Satan will do all that he can to weaken us and reduce our spiritual hunger. He creates interruptions, false needs and endless distractions to try and defeat us.
Our Father honors his children when they resist Satan’s tactics and willingly sacrifice time, energy, effort and themselves to journey the road less traveled. It is on this road we uncover the valuable treasure of a deepening bond with God.
Why is it that we want to just get by in our relationship with God doing as little as possible? We will only pray “just enough” or fast as little as necessary. We will go to church when we feel like it. We are treating our relationship with God like it is only worth about $2.50 instead of what it is really worth – a trillion, trillion dollars and more.
God wants us to give ourselves wholly to Him. This creates a starved hunger for God and His Kingdom. Jesus told his disciples: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” NIV He had discovered the fulfilling nourishment that comes from passionately following His Father.
Why are we so unwilling to invest ourselves completely to the Kingdom of God? Why do we only seek to do the minimum? Are we spiritually lazy? Are we losing out battle against the world, the flesh and the devil?
Satan will do all that he can to weaken us and reduce our spiritual hunger. He creates interruptions, false needs and endless distractions to try and defeat us.
Our Father honors his children when they resist Satan’s tactics and willingly sacrifice time, energy, effort and themselves to journey the road less traveled. It is on this road we uncover the valuable treasure of a deepening bond with God.
Monday, November 13, 2006
It's Risky Business
“To live without risk is to risk not living.” Brennan Manning
I have noticed that many Christians begin their life with Jesus excited and anxious to know more. Over time this begins to diminish. The believers enter into a steady flow of life, get involved in a church, read their Bibles and pray some. Yet what begins to happen is that their lives are becoming stagnant. Jesus is a part of their lives. However, there are other concerns of living to that must be taken care of.
Growth in Jesus implies taking a risk. It is moving out of our comfort zones and stagnation into the flowing stream of Living Water. As Jesus stretches us and matures us in faith, we come to realize that following Him is more than the acceptance of a set of theologically correct beliefs. A Christian lives out of the heart of Jesus. This makes life risky.
Am I willing to risk loving the unlovable?
AM I willing to risk forgiving the one who hurt me?
Am I will to risk my reputation by stepping out and being seen witnessing to the outcast, poor and lonely?
Am I willing to risk some money by giving to those who have a deep need?
Am I will to risk the investment of time in a person who is ungrateful?
Am I will to step out in faith and follow in the footsteps of Jesus and take the Truth to the one living in lies?
Living this way makes our trust in Jesus more than just a Sunday morning religious duty. We are driven to spend more than just three minutes a day with God. This moves us into deeper Water and richer faith. The Christian life becomes an adventure with Jesus!
“We’d like to stay close enough to the fire to stay warm, but are reluctant to dive in. We know we will come out burnt, incandescently transformed. Life never will be the same again. Nonetheless, we are dissatisfied with the narrow dimensions of our partial commitment. Deep within there is a longing to throw caution to the wind.” Brennan Manning in the Signature of Jesus, page 186
I have noticed that many Christians begin their life with Jesus excited and anxious to know more. Over time this begins to diminish. The believers enter into a steady flow of life, get involved in a church, read their Bibles and pray some. Yet what begins to happen is that their lives are becoming stagnant. Jesus is a part of their lives. However, there are other concerns of living to that must be taken care of.
Growth in Jesus implies taking a risk. It is moving out of our comfort zones and stagnation into the flowing stream of Living Water. As Jesus stretches us and matures us in faith, we come to realize that following Him is more than the acceptance of a set of theologically correct beliefs. A Christian lives out of the heart of Jesus. This makes life risky.
Am I willing to risk loving the unlovable?
AM I willing to risk forgiving the one who hurt me?
Am I will to risk my reputation by stepping out and being seen witnessing to the outcast, poor and lonely?
Am I willing to risk some money by giving to those who have a deep need?
Am I will to risk the investment of time in a person who is ungrateful?
Am I will to step out in faith and follow in the footsteps of Jesus and take the Truth to the one living in lies?
Living this way makes our trust in Jesus more than just a Sunday morning religious duty. We are driven to spend more than just three minutes a day with God. This moves us into deeper Water and richer faith. The Christian life becomes an adventure with Jesus!
“We’d like to stay close enough to the fire to stay warm, but are reluctant to dive in. We know we will come out burnt, incandescently transformed. Life never will be the same again. Nonetheless, we are dissatisfied with the narrow dimensions of our partial commitment. Deep within there is a longing to throw caution to the wind.” Brennan Manning in the Signature of Jesus, page 186
The Heart of the Matter
“The Heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9
There are so many times that we struggle with our hearts. I care about this person or that thing. Or I despise that person and want nothing to do with that matter. What causes us to choose one over the other? Whatever is going on within our hearts decides our choices. Our hearts seem tossed about by each breath of wind or every wave that crosses our paths.
If I am a follower of Jesus, He lives within my heart. I must train myself to listen to Jesus’ heart that resides within me. Only His heart is steady and true.
As we learn to listen to his heart we discover that there are emotions and habits of my heart that can block out the voice of Jesus. There is so much “noise” within us. We can get so caught up in the drive to succeed, to provide, feel secure and significant. The should’s, could’s, and ought to’s cry out and drown out the still small voice of the One we claim to be following. We must discover how to tune out the “noise” that clutters our hearts so that we can tune into the Spirit of Jesus.
This summer I went out to Colorado. One day I went up on the side of a mountain seeking an answer to a prayer. As I sat there praying and seeking God, He came to me and said, “Listen!” So I tried to tune out the noise of struggle and confusion and listen.
I heard frogs, the rustle of leaves as a squirrel ran through them, the swish of the wind in the leaves, the snip, snip, snip of grasshopper wings, and the cascade of water down a mountain side. God whispered: “Worship me.”
I was drawn into the music of His creation. I lifted up my heart to him. The clutter of my heart fell away. There in the midst of Him, I discovered the power and the joy of a heart that fully opened to His love. The peace of His Spirit flowed over my heart. I no longer needed the answer to my prayer. My heart was being drawn into the One who died for it.
When we open our hearts to Him and allow Him to fill them, life has a way coming together in a new perspective. We discover that He was there all the time. We realize that we can wait upon Him and discover renewed strength.
Open my heart Lord, I want to “see” You!
There are so many times that we struggle with our hearts. I care about this person or that thing. Or I despise that person and want nothing to do with that matter. What causes us to choose one over the other? Whatever is going on within our hearts decides our choices. Our hearts seem tossed about by each breath of wind or every wave that crosses our paths.
If I am a follower of Jesus, He lives within my heart. I must train myself to listen to Jesus’ heart that resides within me. Only His heart is steady and true.
As we learn to listen to his heart we discover that there are emotions and habits of my heart that can block out the voice of Jesus. There is so much “noise” within us. We can get so caught up in the drive to succeed, to provide, feel secure and significant. The should’s, could’s, and ought to’s cry out and drown out the still small voice of the One we claim to be following. We must discover how to tune out the “noise” that clutters our hearts so that we can tune into the Spirit of Jesus.
This summer I went out to Colorado. One day I went up on the side of a mountain seeking an answer to a prayer. As I sat there praying and seeking God, He came to me and said, “Listen!” So I tried to tune out the noise of struggle and confusion and listen.
I heard frogs, the rustle of leaves as a squirrel ran through them, the swish of the wind in the leaves, the snip, snip, snip of grasshopper wings, and the cascade of water down a mountain side. God whispered: “Worship me.”
I was drawn into the music of His creation. I lifted up my heart to him. The clutter of my heart fell away. There in the midst of Him, I discovered the power and the joy of a heart that fully opened to His love. The peace of His Spirit flowed over my heart. I no longer needed the answer to my prayer. My heart was being drawn into the One who died for it.
When we open our hearts to Him and allow Him to fill them, life has a way coming together in a new perspective. We discover that He was there all the time. We realize that we can wait upon Him and discover renewed strength.
Open my heart Lord, I want to “see” You!
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