Month: December 2017

One Thank You

Luke 17

Luke 17 17 edit

A simple, but important rule in my sixth-grade classroom is students must say “thank you” anytime they receive something from me.  It doesn’t matter if that something is homework, a reward, a present, or even a consequence, the expectation is always that I am thanked.  Why?  There are a few reasons.  First, when you thank someone you acknowledge you are receiving something.  Second, when you thank someone you acknowledge they are the giver of that something.  Finally, when you thank someone you are showing that you have considered and accepted that something.  Conversely, if I am not thanked, I must assume my students do not value the item, the giver, or its intention.  Now, I am not naive enough to believe every eleven-year-old that says “thank you” has gone through this thought process.  They may simply be well-mannered (or well-rehearsed).  Maybe they know it is a rule and do it to avoid a negative consequence (which they would have to say “thank you” for anyways).  They simply may do it because everyone else is doing it.

It can be hard to tell the authenticity of a thank you, but one pattern I have noticed is when someone is truly thankful, they will seek you out to tell you.  Such was the case of a student of mine who delivered a letter to me on Teacher Appreciation Week last year.  While the standard fare is a box of chocolates, a coffee mug, or a cleverly-punned present, she crafted an honest-to-goodness thank you card.  There were no generic references to how awesome I was, how my class was the best, or how funny I am (which all are true), but she acknowledged specific words I had written in her yearbook at the close of the prior school year. She stated those simple words had changed her attitude, and she wanted to let me know that she greatly appreciated the time I took to consider them, write them, and live them.  Favorite “appreciation” received to date.

In today’s reading, Luke 17, Jesus amid traveling from Galilee to Samaria is met by a lot of lepers.  They each want the same thing: to be healed.  Jesus obliges, and without much reference to how he did it, he simply states in verse 14, “Go and show yourself to the priest,” meaning they would now be known as the men who formerly had leprosy.  They were cleansed, restored, no more peril or pain. They could now enter the city gate, walk the street, and be with all those they had left behind.  In their excitement, nine men rush to show everyone how they had been healed.  A single soul stops; he turns to praise God and give thanks to Jesus for this wonderful blessing beyond measure.  Jesus is curious about the other nine, but tells the lone returner he was “healed because of his faith.”

So many times I have read this story and am left wondering, “Why did Jesus say this man was healed ‘because of his faith’? Were they not all healed?” The more I read over this passage, place it preceding Jesus’ next topic, the Kingdom of God, it begins to resonate what Jesus may be alluding to.  While this thankful leper was cured in the very same way as the other nine, he alone received the lasting healing and life that comes through the acknowledgement of Jesus Christ.  This thankful man’s healing was not physical transformation but an allegoric alignment of his spiritual salvation.

So where does this leave us?  Often, we are the nine.  We joyously jog back to the place we came – complacency or repetitive sin — because we know we are restored, we can enter the city gate, we can walk the streets, and we can be with those we have loved because Jesus has already paid the price for us to do so.  We may thank him because we are well-rehearsed to do so in prayer.  We may thank him because we fear what might happen if we don’t.  We may thank him because that is what everyone else is doing; however, the minute everyone else turns and runs, we are there following them instead of running to our Lord and Savior.  Take a moment to stop. STOP!  Turn around.  Run to Jesus (repent).  Praise God (for your blessing)!  Tell him what he has given to you, what He means to you, and how that is changing your life, not because that is something you do, but because that is something YOU do!  When we offer thanks to him in this way, we will know the eternal healing that comes through a thankful faith.

-Aaron Winner

The Master and Manager

Luke 16

Luke 16 13

God and money?  Can a Christian have both? No. Yes. No? Yes? Hmm.

I am to sell all my worldly possession (Luke 18:22), but I am responsible for making sure the physical needs of widows and orphans are met (James 1:27).  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle enter the Kingdom of God (Matt 19:24), but God richly blesses men with wealth who follow him (Prov. 10:22).  I am to store up my treasure in heaven (Matt 6:19), but I am told the wise man saves his riches for a rainy day (1 Cor. 16:12. Prov. 21:20).  On the surface of this topic, it would seem we have contradiction, but thankfully today’s reading might help us come to a clearer conclusion when we consider two powerful, but unequal masters: God and money.

In Luke 16 we are presented with a peculiar parable that shows the strength of the almighty dollar.  As the story opens, we are introduced to a dishonest manager who is in charge of accounting (a running theme) of debts for his master. He learns that his master soon will dismiss him, so as each debtor approaches the manager with their contracted commitment, he forgives a portion of their debt.  Being shrewd, he knows he will be the receiver of their thanks, although it was neither his debt to forgive nor his portion to take.  Jesus makes no misgiving that he was speaking specific directly to the Pharisees, who were fundamentally dealing in the same way.  These “managers” of God put literal prices on forgiveness and offerings, ensuring their comfort, but cheating God of glory, praise, adoration, honor, or extending grace himself.  They, like the shrewd manager, traded their merciful Master for passing provision.

In Dale Carnegie’s famous work, How to Win Friends and Influence People, he states “It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.” This is a challenging thought that calls us to contentment, but also in context of this specific parable, helps us increase our focus.  Are you the master or the manager of your wealth? time? health? will? Are they yours to divide, take, or utilize as you please? Who receives honor, praise, and recognition when you offer these things freely to others?  Sometimes we are as shrewd as the Pharisees, thinking a possession, a place, or a position is the source of a joyful life.  They make us feel momentarily like the master, but really, they take us away from our true purpose.

Jesus concludes this parable by saying if we cannot be trusted with the small things, why would God ever give us the BIG things. If we cannot rely upon him for our own daily bread why would he ever ensure we are the steward for the needs of others?  If we are faithful to Him, we are entrusted with more of His bidding, not in direct correlation, but determined by the master (See: “Parable of the Talents”).  Yes, this can include money.  Yes, this can include more time on earth.  BUT GLORY, HALLELUJAH, YES, he is talking about the KINGDOM.

So, can you have God and money? Yes. Can you serve two masters? No.  Will God give you more if you are faithful? Yes.  Is it money? Not necessarily, but IT IS the Master’s wealth beyond measure for His faithful managers.

-Aaron Winner

The Parable of the Lost Ring

Luke 15

Luke 15_10

It was the beginning of a Louisiana winter when I lost my wedding ring just a couple years into my marriage.  It was a beautiful white gold ring with an inscription of our anniversary on the inside of the band.  It was a perfect reminder of my covenant in every way; however, its faults were it was a little loose when my hands were cold, and of course, it had me for an owner.  My friends and I were readying to play a football game on a Sunday afternoon and I was warming up by tossing the ball with a friend.  In a bit of foreshadowing for the events of the day, my ring slipped off as I caught the ball.  I picked it up off the ground, remarked how cold it was that afternoon, thought about placing my ring inside my pocket but thought it might fall out if it was there.  I put the ring back on my finger, only to lose it at some point in the next couple of hours of our pick-up game.

As we finished playing, my heart immediately sank when I realized it was gone.  I felt a cold sweat build on my forehead, my gut churned, and I held back tears, disappointed that I had lost something so precious.  My friends helped me look for almost an hour without success.  In the muddy, mushy, marshy Louisiana ground, I could see the imprints of our shoes and feet, I could see heaps of crawdad holes, but none of us saw the silvery reflection of my ring buried within the mire and muck.

In Luke Chapter 15, Jesus tells a series of three parables with a similar subject of a possession that has gone missing. In “The Parable of the Lost Sheep”, the master realizes that one of his flock is missing, and leaves behind 99 others to search for the lost one.  In the “Parable of the Lost Coin”, a woman takes account (to tie to our theme from yesterday) to realize she has misplaced a day’s earnings and does the equivalent of turning up couch cushion, investigating under the bed, and sweeping every nook and cranny to uncover it.  In “The Parable of the Lost Son” a father turns his son loose with an inheritance, but is actively looking for his return.  In addition to the same topic, each story ends in a similar resolution: what has been lost has become found and there is great rejoicing.

For me, there are two great takeaways as I ponder the collective meaning of these parables.  The first: to be lost, you have already belonged.  It is true that we each must find the Master in order to be saved, but He is the one who never stops searching.  Our Lord desires that not even a single sheep goes astray and is left without the safety of the shepherd (2 Peter 3:9).  Additionally, my thoughts turn to the Book of Life.  In Revelation 3, we are presented an image that our names are not written into the Book at the transition from “lost” to “saved”, but have already received a place there and are blotted out at the end of a life that is not found in Christ.  We are always His, but like the lost son, we make the decision to be found.

The second takeaway is the wonderful rejoicing that occurs when we turn our lives over and are indeed found.  There is a literal fiesta in the firmament to celebrate our Savior’s joy that we are alive again. No longer do we share the fleeting moments of a mortal life with our Father, but have the hope of an eternity of His presence, living with Him in His kingdom, our intended inheritance instead of passing pleasures. We, too, should echo the heavens and revel in each return.

Unfortunately, the resolution to my own parable of the ring isn’t as joyous as our Jesus’.  I searched for the ring for weeks, beseeched friends I know with metal detectors, offered rewards, but none of these measures ensured the retrieval of my wedding band.  I resigned my search, and my ring is forever lost in the loose Louisiana earth.  Maybe, as I like to imagine, it is the crowning jewel at the bottom at some crawdad family’s hole. With this being said, I can’t help but be thankful that my God has called me his treasure and that he never stops searching for me.  He finds me in my wandering, revealing and moving His will and His way through His words, waiting for my silhouette to again darken the horizon when I have gone astray – a Father who never fails finding those who desire to be found in Him.

-Aaron Winner

Counting the Cost

Luke 14

luke 14 27

As an elementary-aged child I remember having a very heightened appreciation for money.  Countless times I would pull the “M” encyclopedia just to look at all the pictures of the bills greater than $10 (which I rarely saw as a child), historical coins, or currency from around the world.  I may not exactly have known the value of a dollar, but I did know that there were few and far between opportunities to have cash on hand to call my own and spend on whatever I would like. I relished each one of these experiences.

On one occasion, I remember walking down the aisles of Walmart with my newly acquired birthday money secured in my blue Mickey Mouse velcro wallet.  There was no need to check inside to see how much I had.  I had counted the money at least a dozen times in the preceding days.  I was so remarkably aware of money at this age, I not only knew that I would be paying the advertised price, but a tax on top of it, which I knew needed to be included  in the cost.  In my care, I made sure that I calculated all the money I needed for checkout, so I would never have to disappointedly walk an item back to its place on the shelf because I couldn’t afford it.

At the end of Luke 14, Jesus asks the large crowd to consider the cost of being a disciple.  A faithful following was created by his miracles and teachings, but not all of them grasped the significance of what he was truly saying.  Undoubtedly to the surprise of many standing there, Jesus makes the most radical declaration in verse 26 when he states, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”  I’m sure these words were followed by disapproval, murmurs, and shock.

Excuse me – HATE?  HATE my father and mother who I am to honor by God’s command? HATE my wife, who is to be called “blessed” and is my flesh? HATE my children who are my wealth and fortune? HATE my brothers and sisters with whom I share the same faith? HATE my very own body which should be treated as a temple?

It is alluded to us a few verses later that Jesus is not literally saying that we should hate the aforementioned family. Also, I don’t think that he is even saying that we should abhor them by comparison of love we have for him and His Father (this conclusion I come to by considering how God loves me as His own – I love others as children of God – the child of God = Jesus).  What Jesus is acknowledging is we must count the cost of following him.  We must be ready to account for every treasure, relationship, and ambition, and when it comes times to pick up our cross and drag it an uncomfortable direction, we are ready to abandon, sacrifice, drop, or pay up anything that isn’t the pursuit of him.  We open up our metaphorical velcro wallets, know the price – tax included – and hand over what has become so precious to us.  If we don’t – our fate will be much like the rich young ruler (Luke 18).  We look at the price, and not having glanced into our wallet for a time, simply think we have what it takes to afford our desire; however, we realize there is just a bit more that is taxed of us, so we walk away disappointed, knowing we can no longer afford our great treasure because we did not take it all into account.

So how much does the Kingdom of God cost?  Everything.  How much is it worth?  So much more.  Don’t be turned away in disappointment, but take stock and be ready by counting the cost.

-Aaron Winner

The Kingdom of God is Like

Luke 13

Then he told this parable

During this time of year, you can simply feel it in the air — people buzzing like bees, quickly moving from place to place, passing off presents, sternly shaking hands, embracing each other, even some merry kissing under the mistletoe.  All humanity grows a bit closer in this glorious time of the year – flu season.  That is right – the flu — the microscopic menace spreading like wildfire, which we can only hope to contain.  Yet the flu is like the Kingdom of God.  Wait. What?

To see the comparison, we started with the question Jesus poses in Luke Chapter 13, “What is the Kingdom of God like?  What should I compare it to?”  He points to two tiny, but curious, examples from nature that illustrate the uncontainable and incurable makeup of the message of the Kingdom of God: the mustard seed and yeast.  Two of the smallest items that can be seen with naked eye can easily work their way into their host with seemingly no offense.  Once mustard seeds are sown, it would be an impossible task to remove them from their soil.  Additionally, if you were to knead yeast into a dough, it would be equally difficult to eradicate.  In just a small matter of time each grow (for lack of better biological terms), changing the landscape around them.

I am by no means a scientist or theologian when I make the claim that the Kingdom of God is like a virus, but I see it as an alike analogy to the yeast and seed, present in today’s known world.  When we become infected by a single strand of a seemingly insignificant substance it almost immediately multiples.  Our body’s biology begins to react by reprioritizing processes and protocols.  Even the most cautious of host cannot help but spread the contagion to others.  Similarly, the hope we have in the Kingdom of God starts merely as a few words that come in through our eyes or ears, terribly trivial when placed within the context of the hundreds of millions we will experience in our lifetime, yet they knowingly or unknowingly work on our hearts differently.  As these words begin to work in us, our priorities shift, our behaviors change, and our effort increases.  The virus begs to be shared in every encounter inside and outside the body – passing of presents, sternly shaking hands, embracing each other, or even in merry kissing under the mistletoe.  It becomes the definition of our existence.

You will undoubtedly be sharing space with the suffering in the coming weeks. As you hear the coughs, sniffles, or maybe even some of the more unsavory sounds of the infected this season, remember that you too, suffer in a similar way.  The eternal infection – the Kingdom of God – is the longing placed into the hearts of all men by God who made them incomplete without it, but this virus is the cure for the condition of humanity, not the sickness. Work it into the dough, sow the seed, and spread the disease, to help others to know what the Kingdom of God is like.

-Aaron Winner

Shaken Out of Complacency

Weekly Summary – Luke 7-12

Luke 12_8

These chapters in Luke show us some of the core parts of Jesus’ ministry on earth and are overflowing with good lessons and teachings for us today.  The Israelites of Jesus’ time had grown complacent and worldly.  Their leaders used the Mosaic laws and rules they had invented to serve their own pride and greed and had therefore prevented many others from learning the truth of God’s will.  Jesus had the monumental task of taking a group of people who were rooted in worldliness and shaking them out of their complacency and sin, showing them the path to salvation, and then preparing them for long term life as the Church with the Holy Spirit to guide them.  This is the most recent and greatest act of God to reconcile the world to himself in order to save us from our sins.  Each step in God’s plan has prepared the way for the next, and just as John the Baptist prepared the people for Jesus’ ministry, so too the Holy Spirit is working today to prepare us for Jesus’ second coming.  Today we have many of the same societal issues that Jesus dealt with in his first coming.  Our culture today idolizes the greedy and prideful while openly encouraging blatantly sinful lifestyles.  There are a lot of lessons in these chapters that will help us see the world as God sees it so that we can turn from our worldly ways and live a changed life for Christ.  It takes a lot of hard work, and the world will not reward you for it, but that is why we have the Church, to help us through.

 

I have enjoyed going through these chapters this week, and I hope some of my thoughts made sense and have helped you.

 

“I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.”   Luke 12:8

-Chris Mattison

Live a Changed Life

Luke 12

Be PreparedforHis Return

In the Old Testament God set up the Jewish religious system through Moses as a way to set them apart.  By the time of Jesus the Israelites had turned away from God so many times it gets hard to count, and they had turned the law into something unrecognizable from its original intent and had given into greed, hypocrisy and selfishness.  Jesus spent much of his time on earth battling and rebuking the Pharisees who epitomized all of the flaws with the Jewish religious system of the time.  Knowing that the church will have a strong Jewish culture with these traditions and tendencies and that they will be persecuted after he is gone, Jesus gives the advice found in Luke 12.

First in Luke 12:1-3  he warns them against hypocrisy because that is the quickest way to errode the witness and testimony of the church.  Similarly for us today, if we want to reach those around us for Christ, then we have to be consistent in our actions and words.  If you are a different person on Sunday than the rest of the week, or if your friends outside of church are genuinely surprised that you are a Christian because they cannot tell by your actions, then you need to evaluate your heart.

 

Then in Luke 12:4-12 he warns them to fear God more than the world and the government and people who are persecuting them.  We are also given a promise that when we boldly stand up for Jesus despite the physical consequences he will stand up for us before God.  As believers in Jesus we cannot stand idly on the sidelines.  Now that we have the knowledge of our sin, and the fact that Jesus died for our sins and requires us to live a life set apart we have to make a choice and stand up for it every day.

 

In Luke 12:13-34 Jesus warns his disciples against greed, and being bad stewards of the things that God has given us.  Of those who are given much, much will be required.  This is true for riches as well and talents and abilities.  If we knowingly put ourselves before the Kingdom and spend all our time and talents on ourselves and buying worldly items and position and popularity then we will be held accountable for those actions.  If we are living a truly changed life for the gospel then we should be using our money and talents to further the gospel in any way we can.  If we put God first in this then he will take care of our physical needs as well.

 

Finally in the rest of the chapter he tells them to be watchful for his return, and to not grow complacent.  The entire Old Testament led up to the ministry of Jesus and everybody in Israel knew the scriptures and should have known that Jesus was the Messiah, but they did not interpret the events correctly, and their hearts were not ready.  Similarly we have been given a promise of the return of Jesus in the future and need to be always ready for his return.  We cannot grow complacent in our Christianity.  We cannot let sin creep back into our lives and we cannot allow our passion and fire for the gospel to dwindle.   We should also be familiar with the prophecies of his return so that when they start to be fulfilled we can be prepared for his return.  We do not want to miss out like many of the Israelites of Jesus’ time did.

-Chris Mattison

The Lord’s Prayer

Luke 11

Luke 11 2

In Luke 11 the disciples ask Jesus how to pray and he gives them the Lord’s prayer, which you probably heard before.

 

1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins,   for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

There are several parts of this prayer that are important and that I think we sometimes miss.  First he praises God and asks for the kingdom to come.  I think it is important to start our prayers by focusing on God, because he deserves the respect and it helps to remind us that he is more important and greater than our problems.  Then it is important to remind ourselves that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and that we need to forgive others as well.  Also, when praying for ourselves we need to keep it simple, by only asking for the basics of our physical needs and for God to guide us spiritually.

Then later he goes on.

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

 

God is very good at giving gifts, and he is not looking to hide himself from us.  If you need something then ask for it.  If you need more wisdom or patience to deal with an issue in your life, then ask God for it, and keep on asking God for it. Just make sure to check your motives as it says in James 4:3.  If you are asking for your own selfish reasons then you may need to rethink your request.  But if you are asking for something for the reason of helping to further the kingdom and the gospel then God is excited to give to his children.

-Chris Mattison

Living Simply

Luke 10

luke 10 2

In Luke 10 Jesus is appointing 72 of his followers to go out ahead of him and to spread the message and to see which towns will be open to his message.  Now I think that his instructions to this group of believers is unique to their purpose in aiding Jesus’ earthly ministry, but there are also some useful instructions for us today.  In verses 2 and 3 he tells them to pray that God will send his missionaries into the world, and then tells them that they are the ones that are being sent, but that it will be dangerous.  At that point in Jesus’ ministry I think that some of the disciples had been living in a bit of a bubble and hadn’t yet realized the kind of persecution that they would undergo in their lifetimes, and Jesus was preparing them for what was to come.  I think that similarly Christians in America, and especially those who have grown up in the church have been living in a bubble.  We have been a predominantly Christian nation for several generations, but our nation is quickly moving away from God and I personally believe that within my lifetime we will start to see a lot more persecution of the church.  So those of us that plan to be bold with our beliefs and plan on spreading them to those around us need to be ready and understand that there are dangers associated with being a Christian and being different from the world.

 

In verses 4-8 Jesus describes how they should move about and how they should act while they are staying in these towns they are visiting.  The summary of these instructions is that they need to move with haste and purpose and while they are staying as a guest in these towns they need to live simply and humbly.  They were to take whatever was given to them gladly and not complain about any food or accommodations.  I think that for us today we need to remember to live with a purpose and to not let ourselves be distracted by fancy living or money or other things of this world.  Our lives are relatively short and there is a great deal of work to be done for the Kingdom.  I’m not saying that we should go around without a wallet or purse or shoes like these disciples were instructed, but that we should lead simple lives so that we have more time for God.

 

At the end of Luke 10 in verses 38-42 we have the story of Mary and Martha, sisters who hosted Jesus while he was traveling and teaching.  Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to all that he said while Martha ran about getting food and things ready for all of the visitors.  Finally Martha had enough and told Jesus to tell Mary to help her with the housework.  Jesus replied.

 

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 

Again a lesson to live simply and to put spiritual matters ahead of physical issues in our lives.

-Chris Mattison

God’s Worldview

Luke 9

luke 9 26

So I want to start today’s devotion with a short story.  The past two weeks or so I was in China on a business trip.  While there my local guide/coworker asked me if I was a Christian and went to church.  Now I don’t know about you, but whenever I have heard about persecution of the church I think about the countries in the 10/40 window, including China, where Christians have been very persecuted.  This always leaves me with a bit of anxiety in the back of my mind while I am in China. When my guide/coworker asked me this I paused for a split second and was reminded of a passage from Luke 9:23-26.

“23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

 

So I unashamedly told him about my church and explained some very basic parts of church to him.  He then told me about the government’s attempted control of churches in China and the persecution that he knew of.  It wasn’t much, but I tried to bring up church with him a few other times during my trip.  I hope that I helped to plant a seed as we looked at yesterday in Luke 8, we’ll see.  I encourage you to never be ashamed of Christ and to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1 Peter 3:15.

 

The other part I want to look at is a passage that I find funny, but it also can hit close to home.  It is Luke 9:51-55.  As Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to die for the sins of the world he tried to stop in a village, but the locals did not welcome him, so the disciples asked Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven just like in the good old days, and he rebukes them and they move on.  The disciples asking Jesus to nuke a town of people that he is ready to lay down his life for is so jarring and odd that I find it funny at first.  I’m sure the disciples looked back on this moment in later years and shook their head, and laughed at themselves.  I remember praying for silly things when I was less mature, and then wondering why the things I prayed for didn’t happen.  If you ever feel like you are a little out of sync with God, that is OK, even the disciples missed the mark sometimes.  But I encourage you to work hard at figuring out where your worldview differs from God’s, by reading the scriptures, praying, and asking for advice from more mature Christians.  Maturity and wisdom take time and perseverance to develop.

-Chris Mattison