Considering the lilies: Choosing freedom from fear, worry, selfishness

"Consider the lilies, how they grow... And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.                                       (Luke 12:27, 29-32 NASB)

The lily series continues, mainly because I've enjoyed learning about the lilies.  I hate to leave it. We began this series by considering the lily bulb. In case you missed any part of the series, you can click on the links to catch up. We've also considered lily propagation,  lily's disposition, true lilies and the importance of the name, the importance of planting the lily bulb deep in the ground, the different varieties of lilies, and  living the lily life. Yesterday, we examined seeking the kingdom. 

Today, we look at the "DO NOT's". The world often thinks of religion in terms of "thou shalt not's". To the unbeliever, Christianity seems more like a list of don'ts than do's, a divine dictatorship rather than a relationship. If they only knew... 

The "don't's" of faith are for our protection and generally come with a "do" alternative. (Maybe not in the same verse, but if you look for it, you can find it.)

There are three "don't's" in this passage and they aren't what most people think of when they hear "thou shalt not". 

1. Do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink. 

 The word translated as "seek" is not a casual hide and seek game. We might think of it as  a demanding search, determined to have what we want. Jesus is warning us against demanding a certain kind of consumption. 

The implication is for us to be content with simple fare. We may want caviar and lobster, but that doesn't mean we should have it. Let's give up our selfishness and our sense of entitlement.

The most commonly eaten food in the world is rice. The diet in many countries is composed largely of rice. Not caviar. Not filet mignon. We would likely improve our health if we did not "seek" (demand) a certain diet, but were satisfied with a simple diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Okay, lean meats, too for the omnivores among us. (My physician side is shouting this morning.) 

2. Do not keep worrying.

Jesus knows us, doesn't He? We don't just worry for a moment. We keep on worrying. Agonizing, soul-wrenching worry. We fill our lives with what if's and miss the here and now. It's not the way we were intended to live. 

Jesus told us not to keep worrying because there is no need to worry. Our Heavenly Father has the world in His capable hands. He can handle our lives. So take every thought captive. Make a choice to obey. Stop worrying. Stop it. 

Here's a motivator for those of us who have trouble with worry. Jesus told us not to keep worrying. When I refuse to obey Jesus by continuing to worry, it is sin.

How do we stop worrying? Take our thoughts captive. Stop rehearsing our worry. Speak truth. Quote Scripture aloud. Pray. 

3. Do not be afraid.

I love this particular admonition. "Do not be afraid, little flock." The Good Shepherd is speaking here to His lambs and reminds me of Psalm 23. "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." As our Shepherd, He has accepted the responsibility of providing for our needs. We are not to allow fear to drive our actions. Momentary fear should drive us to Christ. In His presence, fear flees. 

Will we stop doing what Jesus says not to do? We must, so that we can live free of selfishness, entitlement, demanding, worry, and fear. 

Choose to live as free men and women. It's the way Christ intended us to live.

~~~~~~~

Our Father, Our Shepherd and our Lord, forgive me for my selfish demanding, my worry, my fear. Help me to trust you and to follow you. Help me to live free, for You bought that freedom with Your blood. In Jesus name, Amen.

Deserving a Cupcake: Diabetic retinopathy (spiritual and physical)

"No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays." (Luke 11:33-36 NASB)

We are currently taking a detour through a few eye diseases to help us understand the concept of "clear eye" and to make spiritual applications. We have previously considered Macular Degeneration, Glaucoma, Detached Retina, Cataracts, and Diabetic Retinopathy. You can click on the links to see those. Today, we are taking a little side trip from Diabetic Retinopathy. (You'll be able to find a thread from diabetic retinopathy leading to today's topic.)

An odd thing happened yesterday, and I'm going to confess it. I'm helping in Bible School this week. (That's not the confession part). I'm working with some of my very favorite people. The children are all beautiful and smart, sweet and loving. It was a wonderful day. It was also an incredibly hard and stressful day. After the last precious child left, I, who haven't taken a nap in years, seriously wanted to go home, climb in bed, and take a nap. 

As I was driving home, the thought came to me, "After a day like this, I deserve a cupcake." Yeah, right. If we talked about what I actually deserve, we would not be talking about cupcakes. My bent toward sin should result in death and eternal damnation. I don't deserve a cupcake. I deserve a cup of wrath. It is only because of the mercy and grace of God that I can look forward to an eternity in heaven. Praise God, He doesn't give me what I deserve.

I had hoped to be rid of my sense of entitlement, that attitude of "I deserve". I'm obviously not there yet, and I'm not the only one. The cupcake considerations have left me wondering about this sense of entitlement that has become so pervasive. Why is it that we think we deserve anything at all, that we are entitled to anything at all? 

I reviewed the U.S. Bill of Rights, just in case it has caused this sense of entitlement, but there are no cupcakes in the Bill of Rights. It guarantees our "rights" to certain freedoms like religion, speech, assembly, a free press, keeping and bearing arms, unreasonable search and seizure, among others. It doesn't guarantee a right to the latest cell phone, a big house, central air conditioning, or tasty and nutritious food. It doesn't guarantee housing or transportation. It doesn't guarantee medical care or medication.

As believers, God certainly doesn't guarantee us many of the comforts to which we have become "entitled". It is clear from Scripture that the closest followers of Christ faced trials, peril, persecution, and a martyr's death. The reward was in their relationship with God and the blessings found in eternity. 

Why does a sense of entitlement matter? Entitlement robs us of gratitude. It destroys a sacrifice of thanksgiving. We cannot give thanks in all things if we believe we deserve only the best. When we "deserve" all the best things, nothing is a gift. We accept that which comes our way as our just due rather than as a gift from a gracious and loving God. That sense of deserving the best is a form of pride, and God takes a dim view of such foolishness.

I've repented of my pride and sense of entitlement. Again. I'm counting my blessings and thanking God for His generosity to me. What about you? Has that sense of entitlement slowly crept into your heart, as well? If so, then join me in repenting of our pride and embracing the generosity of God.

"for by grace you have been saved through faith; 

and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 

not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Ephesians 2:8,9 NASB

Teach us to pray, part 29: The Kingdom of God in us

And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 'Give us each day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" (Luke 11:2-4 NASB)

Scripture refers to the Kingdom of God in three ways. First, there is the Kingdom of God in heaven, where Almighty God lives and reigns. This is the eternal kingdom in which we will live forever after our death. Second, there is the Kingdom of God on earth, in us, begun by Christ and coming to completion when He returns. This is the Kingdom in our hearts and lives. Finally, there is the Messianic Kingdom of God that will be established on earth when Christ returns.  

To begin the discussion of the Kingdom of God, let's refresh our understanding of kingdoms. The word translated as "kingdom" is basileia and it comes from a root word meaning commander or king. Basileia, then, is the territory over which a commander or king rules and has complete authority. In a kingdom, only the king is in charge. In fact, in all the kingdoms of God, only He is in charge. 

I have to remind myself of this fairly often. There is a God, and I am not it. He is in charge, and I am not. It's not that I want to rule the entire world, but sometimes I would like to decide what happens in my little part of it. In fact, it is entirely too easy for me to think, "I want what I want, and I should have it." I shudder to think of how often I have entertained that idea, for it is blasphemy. 

Blasphemy! Shocking idea, isn't it? When I believe something that directly contradicts scripture, it is blasphemy. (by definition) Even if I only think it, but would never dare to voice it, those false beliefs are blasphemy, and they are extremely dangerous if I want to please God. Our Lord said that He is the way, the truth, and the life. He will never embrace falsehoods, nor should I. Blasphemy will never please Him.

We live in a society of entitlement, where we think we "deserve" better than we have, that we are "entitled" to more than we have obtained. If I am to serve the King of Kings, to dwell in His Kingdom, I must relinquish this nonsense of entitlement. If the Son of God had nowhere to rest His head, I should not consider myself entitled to a bigger house, a more stylish interior, gourmet food, or extravagant travel. 

This is terrible, but I'm going to say it anyway. My next book is set in the Bahamas. I'd really like to return to the Bahamas to do a little research. I would also like to spend a nice stretch of time on the beach, in the sand, walking in the surf. It's a want. It's not a need. It's not something I deserve for working so hard. It is not something to which I am entitled. Certainly, God may provide for me to travel to the beach in the Bahamas, and I may have a wonderful time there, but it will be a gift of God, not something I deserve. 

In a Kingdom, then, there is a King and He is completely in charge over all His subjects. I have a choice. Will I be one of His subjects or not? If I am one of God's subjects, and I want to dwell in God's Kingdom, I must go by His rules. The wonderful truth is that, because of Jesus, God has adopted me as His child. I are more than a "subject". The example of Christ, who obeyed even to the cross, however, shows me that, regardless of my adoption, I still have to obey. 

When I pray "thy Kingdom come", I am praying that God's rule will be evident in my life. What makes that evident? My obedience. My humility. My servant heart. As we approach Holy Week, let's join together to invite the Kingdom of God into our own hearts, our own lives and demonstrate it to the world by our obedience. 

Come Lord Jesus, and reign in us. 

Sending the Seventy, part 21:

"And the seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.' And He said to them, 'I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.'" 
                                                                                                                              Luke 10: 17-20 NASB

Jesus had sent the seventy out with quite a job. They were to go to every town and village where He was headed, telling the good news of Jesus and healing in His name. From the beginning, He told them that He was sending them out as lambs among wolves. That comment alone might have been enough to turn back the most adventuresome among us, but not the seventy.  They plowed ahead. 

They could take nothing at all with them. They had the clothes on their backs but no bag, money, change of garments, or bedroll.  They were to go to a town and look for a man of peace. They were to offer a blessing of peace to those in a house and, if it was received, they could stay there while they ministered in the town. If not, they would move on to the next town. They were to accept whatever hospitality was given without moving around, looking for better accommodations. Some entire towns would reject them. When that happened, and it would, they were to leave and go to the next town. 

This was not a fun vacation on which they embarked. This was a physically exhausting, emotionally trying, spiritually draining trip. It was nothing they had ever done before and likely nothing they had imagined. Still, they went. The sent ones did exactly what Jesus said, in exactly the way He said it, and they made it through.

When they returned, not one of them talked about how meager the accommodations or how insubstantial the food. Not one of them whined to Jesus about how difficult the task or the towns that had rejected them.  When they reported to Jesus, they returned with joy! Imagine that! They loved the trip. They considered it a fun journey. They would likely volunteer to do it again. 

They returned with joy!

Is that how we see obedience? Do we count it as joy, no matter the circumstances? Do we rejoice when we serve God in hard or unpleasant circumstances? 

A few weeks ago, I attended a conference that was nothing at all like I expected. The accommodations were less than optimal and I quickly found out about my own sense of entitlement. It took more time than it should have to find my way to acceptance of the circumstances in which God had thrust me, but, once accomplished, something amazing happened. Through Christ, I was able to rise to the occasion. With His help, none of the circumstances mattered one bit. What mattered was that He was at work all around me and I was allowed to see Him, experience Him in new ways. At the end of the week, I, too, reported back to Jesus with joy, and now find that the experience changed me in some difficult to define, but very important, way. 

The sent-ones served and sacrificed for the Lord they loved, and it was worth it. We, too, will find that sacrifice and service, linked hand-in-hand, are not only worth it, they bring great joy. Jesus took those seventy sent-ones completely out of their comfort zones and made them completely dependent upon Him. He wants to do the same with us. You and me. He wants to use us in ways we cannot imagine, giving us joy in the journey more profound than we can comprehend. He will do it, too, if we allow it. 

What is it to which Christ is calling you? What adventure does He offer? Like the seventy sent-ones, why not step out in faith, accept the challenge, and follow the One who has already made a way? The circumstances may not be to your liking, but by the end of your journey, you, too, will be reporting back with great joy over all you have seen God do.