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| To be a Christian is to be a “little Christ.” In fact, the name Christian was originally a term of mockery given to us by our enemies.
But Jesus said that to be a Christian is to pick up our cross and die.
Die to sin, die to pride, die to comfort,
die to anything and everything that fails to glorify God alone as the object of our affection and the source of our joy.
With great insight, Walter Wink has said that killing Jesus was like trying to destroy a dandelion seed-head by blowing on it.
At the cross, what was intended as eradication was used by God for multiplication. Mark Driscoll, Vintage Jesus | | |
| Read Revelation 2:8-11
8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Those who are victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. (TNIV)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | The church at Smyrna was having a hard time of it. They had the usual pagan opposition to handle. And they also had some local Jewish people who were attacking them. Perhaps as a result of all that persecution, they were materially poor even though they were in a prosperous trading city.
Here they are reminded of their spiritual wealth. They might be up against it from one perspective, but they have God’s seal of approval. They might even die for their faith, but they need not fear the alienation from God after death (the second death).
Churches today need to beware of evaluating themselves according to worldly criteria. A brand new building, money in the bank, crowds of people on Sunday, the latest technology, a big staff team. None of those is a sure indicator of the health of a church. Rather we ask how Jesus is being formed in the people of the church. Rather we ask what difference those people are making in their own worlds. Rather we ask if God is being loved and adored by those people. Buildings, money, numbers or staff can’t guarantee any of that.
God wants our churches to succeed, but he measures success his own way. So should we.
Sourced: Hope 103.2 (Daily Devotions) 13/9/11 (we had an AGM last Sunday too..)
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| Read Matthew 6:34
34 Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. (THE MESSAGE)
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Many of the things we worry might happen in the future don’t actually happen. And even if they are to happen, our worrying about them won’t make it any better. Worry doesn’t work. And as Jesus reminds us, it is not only inefficient but it is harmful. Because when we focus anxiously on the future, we don’t discern what God is doing in the present. The possibilities of tomorrow rob us of the certainties of today.
Jesus wants us to live one day at a time. Of course we have to think and plan regarding the future. But not out of worry or anxiety. We resolve to love and serve God here and now and invite him to help us deal with whatever the future has in store for us. It is as if God gives us a quota of things to handle. When we load ourselves up with more than the quota, we lose his strength because we are taking on things that rightly belong to him.
God can’t actually support us when we become anxiously focussed on the future. The future doesn’t yet exist. The present does, and this is where we meet God and find his help. We cannot possibly bear all the burdens of all the things that may happen to us in the future. We instead bear what God has for us now and believe that he will enable us to bear it gladly. As the saying goes, “Today is the tomorrow you worried about in the past.”
Sourced: Hope 103.2 (Daily Devotions) 10/6/11 - this is my most referenced bible verse :)
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| Human relationships easily become possessive. Our hearts so much desire to be loved that we are inclined to cling to the person who offers us love, affection, friendship, care, or support. Once we have seen or felt a hint of love, we want more of it. That explains why lovers so often bicker with each other. Lovers’ quarrels are quarrels between people who want more of each other than they are able or willing to give.
It is very hard for love not to become possessive because our hearts look for perfect love and no human being is capable of that. Only God can offer perfect love. Therefore, the art of loving includes the art of giving one another space. When we invade one another’s space and do not allow the other to be his or her own free person, we cause great suffering in our relationships. But when we give another space to move and share our gifts, true intimacy becomes possible.
— Henri Nouwen | | |
| Philippians 1:21-26
21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
25 Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. 26 And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me. (NLT)
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It is common for people to think that any talk of death is morbid. To give some thought to your own death and the inevitable practical arrangements involved is somehow to indicate a dark view of life. It is no such thing. It is healthy to recognise the reality of death and to reflect on what it might mean.
It is unhealthy to ignore it. Deciding not to think about it doesn’t make it go away. It is unhealthy to be preoccupied with it. We are, after all, to celebrate the present moment rather than be obsessed with might happen in the future. It is unhealthy to fear death if we are followers of Jesus Christ. After all, it is death which finally allows us to attain our true destiny as perfected lovers of Jesus. Then again, it is unhealthy to desire death in such a way as to lose desire for what life has yet to offer us.
Paul seems to have the balance right. He knows death will be advantageous in that he will enjoy the presence of Jesus fully. Yet he knows he has work to do on earth which will bring blessing to others. He can see that good can come either way. Which is another way of saying that followers of Jesus can’t lose. Life can be lived for him now; death is actually life in him in any case. We celebrate the fact there is life after death; we celebrate the fact there is also life before death.
Sourced: Hope 103.2 (Daily Devotions) 17/1/11 - this is my favourite passage in the Bible :)
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