THE TRUE MEANING OF GREATNESS

“Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be the first must be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28

Wanted : Male or female to be model of success for the world. 

Qualifications : Must be attractive, charming, bright, and physically fit.  Only the wealthy need apply; money can be either earned or inherited but not stolen.  May be required to show evidence of greatness, such as how many persons are serving you.  Good dose of luck helpful but not essential.  Fame definitely an asset.  Send resume’, full-length picture, medical records, and list of important friends.

Wanted : Male of female to be model of success for Christians.

Qualifications : Must be kind, patient, and generous.  Good dose of humility essential.  Selfish applicants need not apply.  May be required to show evidence of greatness, such as how many persons you are serving and how you have been persecuted for your Christian lifestyle.  Only servants will be considered.  Send resume; no picture or medical records or list of influential friends necessary.  It doesn’t matter you look like or how healthy you are or who you know.

If anyone had a right to be served, it was Jesus.  Yet He didn’t come to be served.  He came to serve.  If we are looking for a genuine model of success, we will find it in Jesus.  If we want to have the success Jesus had, we will have to live like He did, as a servant.  Who are we serving right now?

STRONG IN GRACE

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
-  2 Timothy 2:1

God looks at us and sees what he wants to see.  He’s not blind to our sin, but He chooses to focus on what we could be.  He looks beyond our faults and sees our potential.  He know we don’t deserve to be treated with mercy, but He shows us mercy nonetheless.  If it weren’t for God’s grace, we would all suffer the enormous consequences of our own rebellion.

The lie that millions have believed through the centuries is that God withholds His love until we prove we deserve it.  People labor their entire lives to earn a place in God’s heart, never certain they have achieved their goal.  They’ve been either unaware or unwilling to accept that God wants to give them His grace.  God knows that no one could ever be good enough to deserve what He has to offer, so He gives it freely.  Trying to earn God’s favor is exhausting.  Accepting the grace He offers is life changing.

Paul urged Timothy to “be strong” in God’s grace so it would fill every area of Timothy’s life.  Like Timothy, we ought to trust in God’s grace for every part of our life.  Grace changes our character.  We are weak and unable to do God’s will, but God has given us the power to do whatever He asks.  If He wants us to love someone who is unlovable, His grace will enable us to do it.  If He wants us to forgive when our hearts has been broken, His grace will give us the strength to do it.  If He asks us to share His gospel with others, He will graciously provide the courage we need to do it.  Be strong in God’s grace so you can share His grace with those around you. 

Have a blessed day in His grace.

LOOKING AT OURSELVES FIRST

Search me, O God, and know my heart. – Psalm 139:23

Many of us know we should examine ourselves first in the face of conflict.  But very few of us do that.  When we find ourselves entangled in a conflict, we should first ask ourselves, Am I at fault here?

This is hard for us, especially because in most conflicts, we feel strongly that we are right. And we figure that we should also be obvious to everyone else.

But in conflict, as wise people know, the fault is rarely completely one-sided.

So, if today you find yourself thinking angry, condemning thoughts about someone who has done something to you, you may need to take firm steps to deal with that person.  But take care also to look honestly at your own behavior and feelings.  Before you act, ask yourself, What if I’m not seeing the whole picture? What if, in fact, something in me is also at fault here?

The good news is that God knows us far better than we know ourselves.  God knows “all [our] ways.”  Nothing is hidden from God’s eyes.

Even better news is that God, by His Spirit, is actually able to show us what he sees, to peel away our layers of self-deception, and to give us 20/20 vision into our heart of hearts.  Would it not be wise, first, to humbly ask God to show us ourselves accurately, lest we end up, too late, profoundly at fault as well?

ULTIMATE PEACE

God was pleased to…[make] peace through [Jesus’] blood, shed on the cross.

– Colossians 1:19

“Why can’t people just get along with each other?” We’ve heard this sad lament, and many of us have uttered it.

The brokenness strewn everywhere around is so weighty. Marriages unravel. Homes disintegrate. Children run away. Negotiations break down. Churches split.  Employees walk out or get booted out. Courts clog. Mediation specialists try to untie the tangled knots we tie. Wars and terrorism are painful reminders that conflict seems never to cease.

But God has determined that wars of every kind will cease – “to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 46:9). And God has been “pleased” to do that, says Paul. Operation Reconciliation is under way, every, even today. And someday perfect friendship will reign every where. The sound and rumors of war will cease forever.

How? By bringing one antagonist after another to the foot of the cross. It’s hard to hate, looking up at such love. It’s hard to hold a grudge, surrounded by such forgiveness. It’s hard to demand that others be punished, watching Jesus’ blood flow for our own punishment. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

In our Lord’s love for all of us lies the hope that surely love, not hate, and peace, not war will have the last word…..forever.

HANGING ON TO HOPE

There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. – Proverbs 23:18

Maybe you wonder sometimes, “What’s the use? Why try? What difference does my obedience make?

It’s important that we consider our proverb for today along with the one that comes just before it: “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord” (Proverbs 23:17).

Doesn’t it often seem that people who live without God in the world live best? And why is it that many who have no conscience sleep better at night?

Even if that seems true in the present, God’s Word assures us that the only sure of blessing in the future is with God.  And that means not just tomorrow or next week or next year, but forever. Our reading from Proverbs today reminds us that running after pleasures today will ruin us, but with God we have the future, no one but GOD can guarantee it.  To have a future hope is a gift to the wise, those who revere, love and serve God.

Our hope is that we live for God and with God forever, through Christ, our Lord. As the writer to the Hebrews put it, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised it is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23). Hope in God for the future is the only thing that can make the present secure.   

YES, YOUR HONOR

It is quick to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. – Proverbs 20:3

It’s easy to quarrel, isn’t it? Someone says something to you or about you that you find intolerable, and a quarrel ensues. Someone says something and you take it the wrong way, and soon the two of you may be quarreling.

A “fool is quick to quarrel.” The emphasis here is on the word “quick.” A fool is a person whose first impulse is to quarrel. It is a fool whose fists clinch before his or her heart opens wider.

And what is a “fool”? The answer has nothing to do with intelligence. It has to do with faith. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1). But such a fool may not be a blatant atheist. Such a fool simply acts as if God doesn’t matter to him or her. The fool reasons that if God doesn’t get involved with us, we must take care of ourselves. Such a person is “quick to quarrel” because he or she sees no one else to lean on or depend on for support.

But it is your “honor to avoid strife.” Yes, it’s “your honor.” The truly honorable thing to do is to make peace, to offer forgiveness, to repay evil with good. The truly honorable thing to do is make peace, to offer forgiveness, to repay evil with good. The truly honorable thing is “to avoid strife” and so treat others as God, in Christ, has treated you. “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” (Romans 12:10).