Category: Scripture

Where does God put His Focus? You might be surprised.

Do you find yourself focusing on the bad things around you? Does your mind quickly go to all the things that are wrong? It’s not that you are a negative person, it’s just that there are things that must be fixed before everything can be perfect…right?

It is so easy to see the negative things in life and overlook the good…even in ourselves.

It’s easy to believe this lie:

If we just spent our time correcting the bad, everything will be good.

Let’s turn to Matthew 13. There are many simple truths in the parable of the “Wheat and Weeds” below.  And, since Jesus explains the parable after He tells it, it truly needs no further explaination. There is, however, one one statement I want us to look at.

Parable of Wheat & Weeds

24 Jesus told them another parable:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.  

27  “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’  

28  “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29  “ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30  Let both grow together until the harvest.

At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

Parable Explained

36b His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40  “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41  The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42  They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

One thing that stands out to me is this:

The man who sowed the good seed (the Son of Man) did not focus on the weeds.

His primary focus was for the wheat to be kept safe until harvest. 

In our lives, there is evil. And clearly it would be incorrect to imply that Jesus is saying we should do nothing about the evil in our day. In this specific instance, the man was assessing the risk. He knew it would be worse to endanger the wheat until the right time.

 

Sometimes it is better to manage the growth of the good than to spend time tearing down evil.

This week, I encourage you to spend time each day looking at the good around you.

God will deal with the evil. For now, He is focusing on you. Take some time to do the same.

Love and blessin’s,

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When will God answer?

The people of Israel went 400 years without a new message from God. During that time their entire culture became engulfed in the Roman world. They longed for God to do something. Doesn’t God see? Doesn’t God care? Why was God silent?
Continue reading “When will God answer?”

It is not too much for a King

Do you have children? How about teenagers? Have your children ever disobeyed? Have you? I know that I have.

My wife and I have three amazing kids. I look back over the 18 years of parenting and I can see things I wish I would have done differently. There are also a few things we did with all of our children that I would do again. Here is one of them, and it relates to God’s Kingdom. Continue reading “It is not too much for a King”

Thy Kingdom come!

“What do you think of when you hear the word ‘Kingdom’?” was a question at one of our recent family discussions. The  answers were intriguing.

Castles; King and Queen; Royalty; Army; Moat; Dragons; were a few of the answers. My favorite answer: “People”. I like this answer because it gets right to the heart of everything. The Kingdom is about people. What I love even more is that the Kingdom of God is available to ALL people.

Continue reading “Thy Kingdom come!”

The Kingdom is yours!

One of the most popular sections of the “Sermon on the Mount” is at the beginning, known as the beatitudes. This is where Jesus identifies different people who are blessed. Two of the beatitudes specifically identify people in seemingly undesirable situations and calls these people blessed because the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Continue reading “The Kingdom is yours!”

The cure for anxiety, stress and worry!

It always seems the holidays bring on a new level of stress and worry. Afterwards, many experience a different kind of stress as they decide if this year will be the year they finally make “the change”. Some go back to work and it seems everyone waited until after the holidays to bring the problems in. Either way, if you are human, you know some level of stress, worry, or anxiety.

The most famous sermon ever, the “Sermon on the Mount”, is captured in Matthew chapters 5-7. It takes about 15 minutes to read and is filled with simple and deep truths for all people. The Kingdom of God is mentioned eight times in this relatively short sermon. The famous book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “The Cost of Discipleship” (Nachfolge), is an excellent exposition of the Sermon on the Mount.

Continue reading “The cure for anxiety, stress and worry!”

2018 Focus – Seek First the Kingdom

In each of our 2017 family meetings we would read Psalm 27. The core of this Psalm is to have a singular focus on seeking God.

For 2018 we will continue our practice of turning to the Bible and seeking God during our family meetings. Our primary focus will be to “seek first the kingdom” from Matthew 6:33. Since this will be the focus for my home, my posts through 2018 will align with this as well. Continue reading “2018 Focus – Seek First the Kingdom”

The book I read every month!

This week I want to share a personal practice that I believe has helped keep my behavior in check, and my mind more focused on the most important things. I have not been perfect at doing this, and I have seen the opposite results at the times I have strayed.

Many years ago I was challenged to read one chapter from the book of Proverbs from the Bible each day. It doesn’t take long…usually less than 5 minutes. It was easy to determine the chapter to read because it was the “proverb of the day”.

See, the book of Proverbs has 31 chapters. This means there is basically a chapter of Proverbs for each day of the month. After a month you have read the book, and can simply start over.

After doing this off and on for several years, it has become a practice I really enjoy. Each time I read a chapter there seems to be a verse or principle I can apply to my life in a very practical way as a husband, father, son, employee, leader, friend or disciple. Somehow, at the right time there is a verse or passage that stands out for me. Sometimes it is right after a situation where I realize I should have handled something differently. Other times it is right before a situation and the verse provided the much needed preparation for the moment.

Here are a few “stand out” verses from yesterdays reading of Proverbs 15 (one of my personal favorite chapters):

  • Verse 1 – A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 
    • This resonates with every parent. And it is great advice for work, school, and even friendships.
    • A parent of a teenager may paraphrase this verse like: “A door closed gently is good for the relationship.”
  • Verse 22 – Plans are frustrated without consultation, but with many counselors they succeed.
    • For our family, this verse translates to time we spend each week to spend a little time to look at the calendar for the next few weeks to make sure we have everything calendared that we know about at the time.
    • At work I spend a lot of time planning, and then sharing my plans with others to see what they think. This has been very helpful for me to see areas where I totally missed an important step, or where I completely underestimated the amount of time something would take (I am good at this).
  • Verse 31 – the person who listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
    • This tells us that the wise people have a mentor, confidant, or friend who will lovingly listen and watch them and give “life-giving” correction and direction.
    • I appreciate these friends in my life who will challenge and encourage me to be a better husband or father, live a life worthy of my calling and purpose, or help me get those negative thoughts out of my head so I can focus on the truth.
    • Conversely, you will find much in Proverbs 15 that speaks about the foolish person who does not accept correction. Not only have I met those people, I have been that person. The good news is…I was able to change. Thank God!

While each passage has much to ponder, I tend to take one verse or so that stands out that day and focus on that for a while.

I encourage you to try this for one month and see how it helps you. Let me know how it goes!

God is not all you need

He was sipping his coffee, wrestling with loneliness. A kind hearted, growing Christian, who was finding support in God, and on the verge of giving up on humanity. He didn’t want to go to Church. They were all judgmental hypocrites, who didn’t care about him. His friends had pushed him aside. In his mind, all he had was God, and that was all he needed. He reflected on the old song, “You’re all I want. You’re all I ever needed” I encouraged him to continue growing closer to God in this time. And then, I told him another truth:

Friend, God is not all you need.

He looked at me as if I had blasphemed the Holy Spirit. His eyebrow went up. He must have felt that I didn’t understand. So, he began clarifying that God is all he needs. He needed to pray more, read his bible more. He didn’t need all the problems that come with having other people in his life. They just pull him down. I let him vent. I have been there myself. I get it. Then, I told him again.

Friend, God is not all you need.

Then, I brought him all the way back to the beginning. “Do you remember the first thing that was not good? It’s found in Genesis 2:18.”

Adam had God. For relationship, all Adam had was God. He knew God in ways we may never know in our lifetime. Adam had God. And God said “It is not good for man to be alone.”

My friend responds, “Alone? How was Adam alone. He had God?”

This is the very point God was trying to make.

Our relationship with God does not satisfy our need for relationship with others. We can have God and still be alone. And, that’s not good.

As I look at my journey as a Christian, I believe God has provided three very important things to help me along the way:

1) The Word of God, 2) The Spirit of God, 3) The People of God

Today, the focus is on the last point. Without other people in my life, I cannot imagine what it would be like. I’m not talking about going to Church on Sunday (although I do enjoy that time). I mean real relationships, with friends and family who speak into my life, provide Godly counsel, support me in my struggles, lift me up and encourage me to keep going. Sometimes, I even get to do that for them.

At my church, we say: Life happens in circles, not rows

Church services are great for motivation, encouragement and the wonderful reminder of God’s great love for us. But, they are not great for building life long, meaningful relationships with the people around us. That happens over lunch, dinner, coffee, or through a small home group. That’s where relationships happen.

Since the beginning, God has designed us for relationships.

This week, as you go about your planning, I encourage you to look at the people around you, and see them as a gift from God. Encourage them. Pray for them. Even for that one person you don’t like. Believe it or not, you need them. God knows, it is not good to be alone.

He made the stars also.

I love the clear sky on a dark night. From our home we can see Orion some of the year. My family can sometimes be found laying on the sidewalk in front of our home looking up at the stars. There is something that happens as I pause and look up at the big dipper, little dipper, north star, and even the planets. Somehow, the problems of this world seem to fade as my mind looks into the universe.

What does the universe have to do with planning our week? Let me give you one thought! Details. Continue reading “He made the stars also.”