Who is your master?

This is a tough question posed in Luke 16. Who do I serve? Do I serve the stuff or do I serve only the Lord? Do I crave the things of the world or do I crave the things of God? 
I'd like to be able to answer both questions that I crave only what God wants for my life, but I think if I really want to be honest I think it can depend on what mood I'm in - which is honest but not good!
What if Jesus had said, well I don't really feel like dying so I'm not going to bother, then where would we be?
This is not just a tough question, it is a reality for many people. There are people that are so consumed by consumerism that they are in debt. We are a fast food generation that has to have it NOW! We can't wait and save for it, we have to have it because someone else has it and it looks good.
I can remember when I bought my i phone, I must admit I was really excited, and couldn't wait for the package to arrive. But is that really how God wants me to be? Does God want me to be driven by earthly things? The answer is NO!  
There's also another way to look at this too - how do we spend our money? Do we spend it wisely, do we save it or do we squander it as soon as we have it? God doesn't want money to be the centre of our lives, but likewise he doesn't expect us to be wasteful. He doesn't want us to be mean and he doesn't want us to be over indulgent. Our money isn't our money, our house isn't our house, our car isn't our car....etc...Everything we have belongs to God. We are only on this planet for a short while, so we are only borrowing things from God. Therefore if we are using his money to spend, spend, spend then we are not honouring God. 
Think about it today...Do you long for the next gadget? Do you long for your new car? Do you wake up at night dreaming about the next shopping spree? When was the last time you chose to give something away and bless another human being? What would Jesus do? Think about it - you never know what God will do through you! 

The lost is found!

Todays reading is in Luke 15. Jesus speaks about various items or people that are lost and the owners looks for them or in the case of lost people waits for them to return. 
I'm so glad that God waited for me. He saw me go my own way for many years but he still waited for that day when I would return to him and ask for his forgiveness.
How brilliant is that? The creator of the world would wait for me to be ready, and not force himself on me, but allow me to come to him.
God will never force himself on anyone. He wants everyone to know him, but he will never make anyone believe in him! He is not a dictator! 
I guess I just want to thank Jesus today for his patience with me. 
If you are reading this and you don't know Jesus as Lord of your life, then he's patient, he'll wait for you. BUT - don't leave it too late as one day Jesus won't be so patient as he will then judge the world for all the sin, and then its over! 

The cost...

Todays scripture is Luke chapter 14. Jesus talks about the cost of being a disciple. There are many people in this world that believe it will cost them to follow Jesus, it will cost them their freedom. I believe that by following Jesus I am freer than I have ever been.
Many people believe that being a Christian is restrictive, but I don't feel the same way. People believe that they will have to give stuff up, but in fact when you come to know the Lord you don't want to do the same things, you don't want to get drunk or be the same person you were before, in fact you just want to live your life pleasing God and trying to help others know him.
I guess there is a cost for being a disciple as people don't often like you and many non believers don't trust you, but for me being a Christian is the most amazing thing that I have ever done.
I couldn't and wouldn't want to go back to my old life without God. I can't imagine my life without God and wouldn't want to imagine my life without him.
If you are reading this and thinking the only thing stopping you believing is the restrictions, then don't worry as there is no restrictions just freedom in the cross of Jesus. When you accept him as Lord of your life you are a new creation; the old you is gone and you are now accepted into the family of God; there is nothing that you could've done that would stop Jesus from loving you or dying for you.  

Who do you judge?

Today's passage of scripture is in Luke chapter 14. Jesus is talking about being inclusive and not exclusive. He talks about inviting people into our homes that we wouldn't normally, he says, "invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind."
I must be honest I can't ever remember doing this and it has really challenged me. However, I have been thinking about this in a church sinario. How often do we invite new people into our lives? How often do we speak to people at church that are not in the same clique? I know that churches can be a cliquey place, and for some people not a friendly place! How sad is that?
Who are we to judge? Why wouldn't we talk to someone that has just come to know the Lord? Just because someone has a colourful past doesn't mean that we should ignore them! Just because someone has a different bank balance to us does that mean we shouldn't talk to them? NO! Jesus came to save the lost and so we need to get with the programme - we need to be inclusive and not so exclusive. We need to love people as Jesus loves us.
We need to stop judging people by their past, by their looks and start looking at people the way Jesus does. 
REMEMBER... 
"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" 

                             SO IF WE ARE JUDGING OTHERS THEN WE WILL BE 

JUDGED THE SAME BY GOD! 

 

First & Last

Today's reading is in Luke chapter 13. The part of the passage I want to think about is just one verse - "Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."
We all want to be the best at things, we all want to do well, but I believe that God wants us to be humble. I believe that Jesus tells us to be like servants and that in fact those are the people that will be first in Heaven. How amazing is that?  
To be great in the sight of God, we must become nothing in the eyes of the world. That's not to say that we don't try our best, but it does mean that we have to be humble and gracious and just serve the Lord for no other reason than we love him and want to see others love him too.
We should have no hidden agenda's, we should just be servant hearted, following Jesus example.
If it's good enough for the King of Kings then its good enough for us. Let's face it, Jesus left the splendour of heaven just to give us the opportunity to have Salvation. Without Jesus going to the cross, then we would be going to a lost eternity! He was humble for us, so we should be humble for him! 

Are you ready?

I've been continuing my readings in Luke, and its a difficult one today. In Luke 12 Jesus is talking about being ready for his return. That got me thinking, if Jesus returned tonight would I be ready? If Jesus returned tonight would you be ready? 
This is really serious, we need to keep a short account with him, we need to make sure that we are living as we should be, we need to make sure that when Jesus comes back to take his bride that we as his bride are clean and with lamps that are lit!
This is quite a difficult thing to think about.  The thought that at one point you are sat writing your blog and then bang - our Saviour has returned and its game over!
As Christians we need to make sure that we are ready, we need to tell others so that they too can get ready. I believe we are living in the last days and that the coming of our Lord is sooner than we think. The earth is 'groaning' under the weight of sin and there are so many things happening that Jesus himself warns of.
Lets make sure that we are ready and lets make sure that we take every opportunity to share the good news of the gospel, as lets face it, we may not have as long as we think! 

Don't Worry! Be Happy!

Todays scripture that I have been reading is Luke 12. Jesus tells us that God looks after all of us. He explains that if God can look after the birds in the sky and the flowers in the fields then why wouldn't he look after us. 
We have so many worries in life today. We worry about the things that are going on around the world, such as wars, poverty, earthquakes, terrorism and so on, not to forget whats going on in our own lives, such as family issues, money problems, job situations and I could go on and on with a list of worries that happen to many of us in todays climate. BUT no matter what...Jesus is Lord! 
I know that its not easy to put your trust in someone else sometimes. I know I can quite often be a person that will do it myself so I know its done instead of asking someone else to do it and then find out at the very last minute that I have to do it as they haven't. God is not like that. He loves us with an unending love, with a passion, so much that he died for us! He took our punishment! He wants us to trust in him and know that the things of this world are temporary and that he will provide for our needs - not wants - needs!
I know that I have a really busy schedule at the moment, and each day I get up with lots of things in my head of what I need to do next. I have lists attached to my desktop so that I don't forget things, but God will never let me down. Whenever I have been in situations like this before, God has always been there to guide me and to prompt me what to do. I know that I need to trust in God today to keep me on track. What about you? I know that I have to trust in God for many things including praying that he will use me to speak into the lives of the children I meet today, including answering my prayers for my family and friends that don't yet know him! Are you going to trust him for something today? Thats all he asks!