The Search for Significance

“Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all the wonderful things in them. The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.” Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. Serve only him!’” Deuteronomy 6:13”
Matthew 4:8-10 ERV

The third temptation of Jesus may be our biggest temptation that we face. The search for significance. The longing to be noticed. The hunger for power in the world around us, however small our world is. 

Again, Satan puts some truth to this to make it almost believable. He is offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. That may confuse you. How can Satan offer all the kingdoms of the world? We need to understand that for a time, Satan is the ruler of this world. Jesus said,

“Now is the time for the world to be judged. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out.”
John 12:31 ERV

That is the slice of truth in Satan's offer. If Jesus bows down, Satan can give him the cheap power that the world offers. Satan has the power to do that and he will do that...offer the empty things that seems wonderful. We are faced with this decision a daily basis. We long to dominate and control, if not others, at least the circumstances that we face. I teasingly stand in front of the document camera's light in my classroom and say, "I am the star of the show, not you." 

At an early age, we are drawn to the spotlight. We put a post on Facebook or Instagram and we check our "likes." The more talented or attractive or athletic we are, the greater the temptation to crave that attention. But be sure that you realizing what you are gaining...a cheap imitation for significance. 

Jesus points us to the true source of self worth. He says, " I will only worship the One who is worthy of worship." He submitted himself to the Father and did not seek the power and attention for himself. He did not seek to serve himself. In doing so, not only did he defeat his foe, he paid for our eternal significance. Until we get this right, we will spend our life trying to figure out why the world keeps disappointing us. Satan only offers the imitation. Jesus offers the real thing.

Do Not Put God to the Test

"He said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, jump off, because the Scriptures say, ‘God will command his angels to help you, and their hands will catch you, so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.’” Psalm 91:11-12 Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’””
Matthew 4:6-7 ERV

The second temptation of Jesus is a familiar one that we all face. Satan spoke the truth about God's promise to rescue. God has the power, the desire and the reason to save Jesus from harm. When  God rescues us from a trial he receives glory. Win-win situation. So why is this the temptation that Satan chose? 

When we are facing a trail, we all are tempted to "put God to the test." We put him on trial. We place our self imposed demands on God. We say, "God, because you CAN save me, you MUST save me." We are misquoting truth about a promise that we think we read somewhere in the Bible. 

Notice the way Satan made this a test for Jesus. "Jump off and let God save you." Jesus was totally submitted to his Father. He defined the word submission! He said things like,

"You will know that whatever I do is not by my own authority. You will know that I say only what the Father has taught me.”
John 8:28 ERV

Wow! Even the Son of God did not tell his Father how to save him. On the night before his greatest trial, he says,

“He fell to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, don’t make me drink from this cup. But do what you want, not what I want.””
Matthew 26:39

But Satan cleverly suggested that Jesus tell God what to do. Gracious, how many times do we fall guilty of that? We suggest ways to rescue us and the timetable that he should take to save us. We put God to the test. Worse yet, when he fails to do OUR will, we get mad and bitter and decide that he wasn't all that powerful. 

Next time when things don't go as you planned and life throws you a curveball, use the Word of God and speak the same truth that Jesus spoke. Declare that you will not put "God to the test." He is not the one being tested. You are.

What Really Matters

You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out, “Why did I place so much importance on things that were so temporary? What was I thinking? ~Rick Warren 

Today make a list of all the material things that you will NOT take with you when you die. Houses, cars, retirement portfolio, clothes, furniture, etc. Continue to make a list of things that make you very happy but nonetheless, you will NOT take them with you. This list may include jobs, travel opportunities, favorite tv shows, FaceTime and Instagram, hobbies, maybe even favorite foods that you can not give up for some reason. 

Lastly make a list of people that you love more than anything else on this earth. Tricky part here is that you must decide if you will see them in heaven or not. Parents, spouses, kids, family members and friends would be on this list. 

Realize that the material things and the earthly things that bring us happiness simply will not be there. Our retiremnt savings will disappear....in a second. The amazing house that you spend a lifetime decorating. The car that we maybe spent too much on and we are straddled with a monthly payment is not there. We have a better transportation in heaven:).

Facetime or Instagram will not be anywhere but for some reason we check it once an hour and determine our selfworth with how many 'likes" we got. Food...oh, glorious favorite foods. The food that we simply cannot give up even if we know that it has a death grip on us, will not be needed in heaven. That piece of cheesecake will not be there and we will wonder why the fascination with it existed In the first place. The older I get, the more I want to eat to exist and not exist to eat. 

Let's get to the people part. When we walk into the gates of heaven, there will be no more chances to cry out and pray for the salvation of that loved one that we wanted to spend eternity with. On the other hand, when we see our loved ones that preceded us, it will seem like it was only a second snice we last saw them on earth. Then we will understand that when God took them a little too early, they were at the greatest place and we should have been so excited for them. God maybe wondered why we got so angry at Him because He knew we were going to see them "tomorrow." 

Casts a a new light on things like suffering or disappointment or losing a loved one. Makes me want to rejoice that "God is making me new" when I am disciplined for my good. Makes me want to have clearer vision and not cloudy vision. And understand that "things we see are here today and gone tomorrow." 

“So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 MSG

Changing Churches

One of our closest friends, who happens to be a minster, asked Mark and I why we have stayed at the same church for 23 years. I was puzzled. I could not give him an answer at the time. I had never considered leaving our church. But the more I thought about it, the more I have come to realize that this is a most vital question that needs an answer.

"Our bodies have many parts, but the many parts make up only one body when they are all put together. So it is with the “body” of Christ." 1 Corinthians 12:12

Mark and I are part of the body. The church that we attend is not a piecemeal of preschool ministry, children's ministry, youth ministry, single's ministry and so on. We are all many parts, but put together we are the church. Mark and I have been a part of the youth ministry, college ministry, career ministry and young marrieds ministry. We also volunteer in the preschool ministry when they are shorthanded. 

As a deacon and wife, we help prepare The Lord Supper when it is our turn. Once a quarter, we counsel after the church service. Once a quarter, Mark visits church members that are in the hospital. On Thursday morning, Mark and I pray for several specific ministers during our prayer time. 

For Mark and I to change churches seems unthinkable. Part of the body would be ripped out. Not that our one little part is a big thing, but a hundred little parts are all put together to make our church part of the "body of Christ."

We have never looked at our church and considered whether we have chosen the best children's ministry when our kids were younger. It never occurred to us to "shop around" and see who had the best youth ministry when our sons were in high school. Because we prayed for our pastor on a weekly basis, it seemed odd to compare him to other pastors in town and see if he was the best speaker.

Mark and I have told our college and career class members a thousand times, "If you don't feel like you are a part, just come until you do."  God has never failed to answer a prayer when we cry out and ask. No matter what church you are attending and the reason that you feel it is not "serving" you, God is powerful enough to move in your church and in your situation. 

I think things we have to ask ourselves if we are considering changing churches. Do I expect the pastor to feed me or am I in the Word every single day? Do I have a heart of worship all day everyday or I am expecting a worship team on Sunday morning to motivate me to worship for ten minutes per week? Is there an area in your present church that God has called you to serve? Are you serving the body or are you expecting the body to serve you?

Maybe the only reason that I can think of to change churches is when you move. We moved 6 hours from home 23 years ago and it seemed like the best time to change churches:).  I had to follow every single piece of advice that I have given here, trust me. It took a long time to fit in. But I can't imagine being anywhere else. 

Biking Riding Thoughts

“You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit that you received from God and that lives in you. You don’t own yourselves. God paid a very high price to make you his. So honor God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ERV

What a sweet reminder that we do not own ourselves! I am so excited that this was the verse that I was reading this morning and I had already decided that I was going to write about bike riding!

Yesterday was the first day back this year to ride my bike...extremely late in the season. First, school was way too busy. Then it rained all the time. Then three weekends in a row with out of town company. The excuses piled up. I wondered if I should just sell that bike. But yesterday I could offer up no excuses.

Let me me say from the beginning that riding bikes for me is not easy. I did not grow up riding bikes. My mom did not let us ride our bikes out of the driveway because she was so afraid her four daughters would get hurt. I decided that bike riding was a dangerous activity and I should avoid it. Four years ago, Mark came in one day and said "I bought bikes for us to ride." I thought he has lost his mind! I had no idea that bike riding would teach me about myself and walking with the Lord.

When I first started riding, it was so unfamilar to me. But as I improved I began to enjoy the time of riding. After two years, Mark came home and announced that we would be getting "better" bikes. Better bikes meant bikes that have these weird handle bars. They help you go faster, according to Mark. I thought "I don't want to go faster. i want the slow, steady and no risk pace that I have."

Oh, the lessons I have learned come riding these new bikes. First of all, you have to keep your balance.

“But I almost slipped and lost my balance. I almost fell into sin.”
Psalms 73:2 ERV

About a month after I started riding, I got a little cocky. I took my eyes off the road in front, took one hand off the handle and looked to the right and attempted to pick a bug off of Mark's shirt. That crash sent me to the emergency room with a fractured arm. Just as in the Christian life, if I get prideful and think that I can take my eyes off Jesus for one second and "turn to the left or right" I am in for a painful crash. Keeping my balance and focus is imperative!

Another thing that I have learned is riding bikes is that it is not a joyful, pain free activity. It always requires grit for me. It starts off carefree for about 60 seconds and then I remember that I have to keep making my legs move and move and move. Happens every single time. The first minute is glorious and then I realize that I have to exert the energy to ride 15 more miles to finish. So much like my walk with Christ. It is awesome to declare that I love following the Lord. But to wake up early every morning and spend time with him requires effort on my part. It will catch you off guard when you realize that wanting to follow the Lord requires that you have to "deny yourself and take up your cross and follow him anywhere."

The place where I usually ride is a 7.5 mile path that ends in a circular spot and then you turn around and ride 7.5 miles back to your car. I usually try to work harder after the turn around. I purposefully try to go much faster and it kills me. I am uncomfortable. I divide it up into the mile markers to pace myself. I see the mile marker that says, "5 miles" and I tell myself that I have to make it until I see "4 miles." This always makes me think of times in my life when I step out of my comfort zone and be willing to be uncomfortable to live in obedience to Christ. Writing this blog is a good example of this for me. I want to write down my thoughts and keep them to myself. I feel foolish most days for letting others read these. But I tell myself, "Jesus is saying just trust me today. Don't worry about whether you have anything to write about tomorrow. We can talk about that one on the next mile marker."

I saved an obvious lesson for the end. " Honor God with your body." Even though God may not call you to begin riding bikes, today may be a good time to ask if there are any changes you need to make with how you treat this body that God owns. I can guarantee that God can use the exercise to teach you about Himself.

Be On Guard

““But be on your guard. Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping. Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you suddenly like a trap, for it’s going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once. So, whatever you do, don’t go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man.””
Luke 21:34-36 MSG

i love reading through the gospels and soaking in all the words of Jesus. I think about this one a lot. "But be on guard!" Jesus is saying that to us because he loves us and cares for us. He is clearly warning us that we will be caught off guard if we get swept away by things of this world. We don't like to hear this. I know most Christians close their eyes and ears and go to other topics like love, grace and sweet thoughts. .

I enjoy things of this world as much as anybody...eating, shopping, decorating(the house that will burn up), etc. But I want to maintain "a sharp edge of expectation." I want my thoughts to be laced with eternal things. If I warn my sons of something, I hope they have the good sense to listen. Jesus has put out a warning. I hope I have the good sense to listen.

Do not look right or left

“Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts. Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip. Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you. Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust.”
Proverbs 4:23-27 MSG

The longer I live and the busier life gets, I must watch over my heart. I feel like I am the person that these verses are describing sometimes. I do talk out of both sides of my mouth. I have an incredible amount of careless banter!!! I struggle to not gossip, but sometimes I just gossip. I hate to tell a white lie but I know that I do!

The answer lies in this verse...keep my eyes straight ahead and watching my step. As women we all know about looking right or left. I will be walking along in life with my eyes fixed on Jesus and out of the corner of my eye, I see something that looks a lot more exciting and I veer to the right. Maybe a longing for another girl's life that looks a lot more relaxing or more fulfilling or just simpler. So I travel that way and let jealously simmer in my heart.

For just today, let's keep out eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Let's don't turn left or right. Protect our heart against useless wandering off the path. Protect our heart with all the energy that we have. And then that is where the joy of the Lord will seep in.

Do you want to be isolated from God?

“Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.”
1 John 2:15-17 MSG

These things:
1) wanting my own way.
2) wanting everything for myself.
3) wanting to appear important.

Isolates me from God.

Relax and Refuel With Your Friends

On arrival, they got the church together and reported on their trip, telling in detail how God had used them to throw the door of faith wide open so people of all nations could come streaming in. Then they settled down for a long, leisurely visit with the disciples.”
Acts 14:27-28 MSG

I haven't noticed that verse before but I really like the truth that it speaks. Paul and Barnabas had been on a long missionary journey. Paul was beaten up and left for dead. He helped a lame man to stand up and walk. One community threw a parade for him and wrongly called him a god. He had preached day in and day out. Many had come to know Jesus.

I think the part that I had overlooked is the end of the trip. He got back with the fellowship of believers. He bragged on what God had done. It implies that he relaxed. Sometimes we give and serve until we are at the point of exhaustion. Every now and then we need to sit around with our BFF's and brag about what God did and relax and refuel.