“Jesus replied, ‘The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.’” v.29-31 (NLT)
Many times when people think of the word Christian they think of “Hypocrites” and “Thou Shalt Nots” ! However, if you look at the words of Jesus, Christians should be known for their love. Nothing speaks louder than showing love. For a Christian, our love for God should be seen in the way that we love others. It’s more than words, it’s more than actions, it’s a life long journey that requires constant grace, repentance, and surrender.
“Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.’” v.22-25 (NLT)
I don’t know how many times I have heard people say, “just pray about it.” Yes, I believe prayer is important, and also believe in the power of prayer! In fact, I have experienced the power of prayer, and I am a product of the power of prayer. But we have to remember that prayer is our way to talk with God directly. We must remember that the kind of prayer that moves mountains is prayer for the fruitfulness of God’s Kingdom. It would seem impossible to move a mountain into the sea, so Jesus used that illustration to show that God can do the impossible. God will answer your prayers but not as a result of your positive mental attitude. Other conditions must be met:
You must be a believer
You must not hold a grudge against another person
You must not pray with selfish motives
Your request must be for the good of God’s Kingdom.
To pray effectively, you need faith in God, not faith in the object of your request. If you focus only on the request, you will be left with nothing if your request is refused.
Today, have you taken time to pray? Are your prayers in line with the 4 things listed above? Thank God for the answered prayers in your life!
“When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 So Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” v. 41-45 (NLT)
It’s easy to want to be noticed as a great leader or one that others look up too. Business, organizations, and institutions measure greatness by personal achievement. In Christ’s Kingdom, however, service is the way to get ahead. The desire to be on top will hinder, not help. Rather than seeking to be on top and to have our needs met, let’s look for way we can serve and meet the needs of others. That’s where real Greatness is found!
Today, Who can you serve? Maybe the first place to start is at home?
“For everyone will be tested with fire. 50 Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.” v.49-50 (NLT)
Jesus used salt to illustrate three qualities that should be found in those that claim they are Christ Followers.
Christ Followers remember Gods Faithfulness. In the Old Testament salt was used in the grain offerings to remind people of Gods eternal covenant. Leviticus 2:13
Christ Followers should make a difference on the ‘flavor’ of the world in which they live. Salt changes the flavor of everything it comes in contact with. Therefore, we should have the same impact on the relationships we have with others.
Christ Followers should counteract the moral decay in society. Salt is used as a preservative and keeps food from decay and disease. The way we live should help others to see the Hope found in the Gospel.
Bottom Line: Salt is used for many applications. As Christ Followers we are called the Salt of the Earth. However, when we lose the desire to salt the Earth with the love of God and the Truth of the Gospel, we become like salt that has lost its flavor and ultimately can become useless.
Today, What are you doing to keep your flavor? How id God using you to salt the Earth? Are you doing that faithfully?
“Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’” v 34-38 (NLT)
The invitation that Jesus gave to the crowd still applies to us today. Sadly, probably just like the crowd of that day, we try to hang on to parts of our lives and add Jesus to other parts. However, being a follower of Jesus requires us to give up ALL of ourselves for ALL of Jesus. We do this by surrendering our hearts, minds, and actions to Christ. Many times this is easier said than done. When circumstances arise it causes us to respond to them in different ways. Many times its in the response to these circumstances where we find what we are really made of and what we really believe.
Today, how what will the responses to the circumstances you face today say about you? Will they reveal your commitment to and faith in Christ, or will they reveal the unsurrendered parts of your heart, mind, and actions?
“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.” v.6-7 (NLT)
Hypocrisy is pretending to be something you are not and have no intention of being. Sadly, this is the very thing that keep people from going to church and even trusting Christians. It happens when our words and actions don’t match. We may attend a church every week, pray the prayers, sing the songs, lift our hands, and give an amen every once in a while, but then leave and act a totally different way outside the church. This is a form of hypocrisy and it’s causing others to reject Christ because of our inconsistent living. Acting one way at Church or around Church Friends and then acting another way away form the Church and Church friends is not the way of Christ. In fact, it is the total opposite. Instead of drawing people to Christ thru your influence, you are pushing them away and allowing them to not see the need of Jesus in their life because the only difference they see, is that you go to church and they don’t!
Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites because they worshiped God for the wrong reasons. Their worship was not motivated by love but by a desire to attain profit, to appear holy, and to increase their status. We become hypocrites and like the Pharisees when we pay more attention to our reputation and status than our character. We carefully follow/mimic certain religious practices or activities or get caught in knowing what to say/knowing how to act to make ourselves look holier then we really are.
Bottom line is this, when we truly meet Jesus and surrender our lives to Him it changes us from the inside out. It changes how we act, how we talk, and how we live. Until this happens, we will pretend to be something we are not and mimic what we think we are supposed to be! This can be tiring and stressful. This is why Jesus says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Today, Will you continue to fake it, or will you allow yourself to be made complete in Christ, and live authentically?
“So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God. 13 And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil.” v.12-13 (NLT)
When was the last time you told someone about Jesus? Many times we use the excuse that we don’t know the Bible well enough to share about Jesus. We fear that the person we are talking to will ask a question we can’t answer. Reality Check: There will alway be people who ask you questions that you may not know the answer. It’s a reality of life. Anyways, when we look at the Disciples, we can see that lack of Biblical knowledge should not keep us from telling others about Jesus. Many of the Disciples were Fisherman, and it’s not long after following Jesus that they were sent out to tell others about Him.
Today, who will you take the time to share Jesus with? Are you more worried about what they my say, or where they may go?
“But Jesus overheardthem and said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.’” v. 36 (NLT)
Have you ever wanted to give up? Have you ever thought to yourself, “what the use?” Many times when our life gets flipped on an end and the unexpected happens, we pull out the prayer card and hope God is listening. God does hear our prayers, but we don’t have to experience a crisis in-order to pray. Just because we pray doesn’t mean God will give us anything and everything we want. But, praying can help us get through a tough situation because we have put our trust in Him and not ourselves. As you go through your day, who are you trusting to get you through? A Christ Follower can stand in the midst of the storm not because he or she is great, but because the one that they trust has said, do not be afraid, just have faith!
Dan Gould 