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Category: Accountability (Page 6 of 6)

“Knockoffs” Phil. 1:18

February 19, 2017 /

“What then [does it matter]? So long as in every way, whether in pretense [for self-promotion] or in all honesty [to spread the truth], Christ is being preached; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice [later as well]” (Phil.1:18).

 My sister in Christ said she felt that the next title, or words she’d heard in her spirit was, “Knockoffs.” Immediately I thought of handbags in a foreign night market in Thailand. It was in such a place that I’d once browsed, looking at those very things…

Here on Oahu I can drive to downtown Chinatown and purchase a decent looking replica of most any name brand purse or wallet.

But why would I betray the originals of the fashion industry to buy a counterfeit?

I guess that all depends…

Motives.

I used to believe that I had to go to the Bon Marche or Nordstrom to buy only the “real stuff”. And not because of the function, no. I wanted it for it’s label, its beauty, and prestige. I wanted to be that gal with that trendy purse.

You see, that made me “feel” successful…

I’ve traveled in circles of women who would tear another woman down for buying a knock-off and then try passing it off as authentic—when clearly it wasn’t. And, I’ve been around those women who would only buy knockoffs made at the same factory as their original counterparts. Yet these women didn’t mind if others knew that they’d purchased a knockoff.

Why? Because they had only paid half the price of the original item…

Original vs Knockoff. Does it matter what you carry?

While writing to the Church in Philippi, Paul acknowledged that he both understood and had heard about the knockoff preachers that were stirring up confusion and ministering with pretentious motives. These counterfeit men he referred to were perhaps in competition with him. He stated as much in verse seventeen. “… but the former preach Christ [insincerely] out of selfish ambition [just self-promotion], thinking that they are causing me distress in my imprisonment.”

He knew that they were preaching the gospel from a place of selfish ambitions, with counterfeit motives. Not for Christ but for their own agendas and to cause more trouble for him. Yet he did not loose heart nor sight of what burned in his heart. To preach the authentic, pure Word of God.

Have you ever suspected someone of being a knockoff preacher or counterfeit Christian? Can you envision the scene that took place in Phillipi unfolding in today’s church? What do you think people today would say about such knockoff preachers?

Might I suggested that rather than guessing what the world might have to say about the subject we listen instead to how the Apostle Paul suggested we, as Christians, respond to them: “What then [does it matter]? So long as in every way, whether in pretense [for self-promotion] or in all honesty [to spread the truth], Christ is being preached; and in this I rejoice.Yes, and I will rejoice [later as well]” (Phil. 1:18).

It matters little if you feel that a knockoff preacher shouldn’t (in your opinion) be preaching. It matters little if someone you’ve encountered looks to you like a counterfeit Christian; the essential point that Paul was making is this: Christ was being preached. And,that God knowing the heart would judge those who mishandled His Word.

We must always trust that God will place in the path of those hearing such watered down or distorted Truths, a Paul who will bring correction. Christ can and does, however, work through—use, a seemingly counterfeit Christian’s life…

Epoch Times quoted Coco Chanel in an online article titled, “The Reality of a Fake”. In it, the quote stated, Fashion should slip out of your hands. The very idea of protecting the seasonal arts is childish. One should not bother to protect that which dies the minute it is born. Two additional quotes from the designer are: In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different. And: To be original one must be ready to be copied.

Not only does Coco see her copies as advertisement, she recognizes that if people love her designs that chances are they’ll be copied…

That being said however, there is a world—literally, of distance between knockoff fashions and the Authentic, Living, Genuine Word of God. God and His Word are not knockoffs! They’re original. Jesus, is an original, the Holy Spirit, is original.

Yet, there will be those knockoffs who will come along trying to copy The One True God. We however, must remain steadfast. Leaning not on our own understanding but relying on God’s Will and Word to correct and expose…

His standards, not ours…

Being a genuine follower of Jesus is not only about keeping His laws; a set of rules we must follow, more, it’s about having a  loving, committed, authentic relationship with Him.

Let’s read…“Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the Law. For the Law merely brings awareness of sin. But now, apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets. And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction,…” (Rom. 3:21).

Knockoff preachers as well as knockoff Christians, you may find both in the Church.

There was a time when I too was as blind as they. Blinded by rules. Precepts—my own that is. Rules that falsely led me to believe that if I did x, y, and z, I was a “good Christian.” An original, no knockoff here!

“He [Jesus] went on, “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean’. For from within, out of a man’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, adultery, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’ (Mark 7:21-23).

Ever feel that way in your walk with God? Do you feel that way now? Take heart!

Thankfully, eventually, God spoke to me about such things. And He’ll do the same for you…

A knockoffs value is determined solely within the heart of the person who assesses it…

In Mark 7 Jesus was with his disciples eating and some teachers of the law (Pharisees) saw that some of his disciples were sitting and eating with hands that weren’t washed, so they questioned Jesus.  “He [Jesus] replied, “Isaiah was right he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written; “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men” (Mark 7:6-7).

Jesus searches the heart—the seat of our motives. Looking past our outer man, our label—past our actions, whether we’re acting real or like a counterfeit version of ourselves. He sees all our inside stuff. And one day those who are knockoffs must—will answer, not to us, but to the Lord himself.

Matthew 7:21-23 says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Paul knew that the knockoff preachers had ill intentions. And, that they were maliciously trying to create more problems for him. But, ultimately, he knew it wasn’t his place to worry, fixate, on their intentions nor try tirelessly to expose those counterfeits…

He was an original who was about His Father’s business. And He trusted God to both expose and deal with the knockoffs out preaching the gospel for their own gain….

So, take heart, when your skin crawls and/or when your Spirit is disturbed by the fact that there are many apparent knockoffs in this world…

Trust God. Hold tight to The One who is Unchanging—Original, and True.

And, remember to always strive to live out His greatest commandment…

“…Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Love God. Love Your neighbor as yourself. And yes, that includes the knockoffs as well.

 

“What Will You Choose?” Luke 10:38-42

February 5, 2017 /

“Now while they were on their way, Jesus entered a village [called Bethany], and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.  She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was continually listening to His teaching. But Martha was very busy and distracted with all of her serving responsibilities; and she approached Him and said, “Lord, is it of no concern to You that my sister has left me to do the serving alone? Tell her to help me and do her part.”  But the Lord replied to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered and anxious about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part [that which is to her advantage], which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).

 

If you’re a Christian, there are very clear lines in the sand you mustn’t cross. The world around you will always tell you otherwise, that’s its job…“Did God really say” (Gen 3:1 NIV)?

Please, don’t take my word for this. Just listen to what the world itself has to say. Read the newspapers. Listen in on the conversations people are having. People of every walk of life are talking about how chaotic the world has become. For that matter, drive on any metropolitan highway. Talk about chaos! One wrong turn and you end up in places that your GPS doesn’t recognize!

Pay attention, also, to the billboard advertisements lining those freeways. To their not-so subliminal messages aimed at shanghaiing your choices and directing them towards what some ad company wants you to view as important, needed, crucial, to your happiness…

Within our scripture passage today we’ll witness, in part, the blessings missed when we make unwise or harried choices. Those precious moments with Jesus that we allow to be snatched from our hands daily, when we permit ourselves to get so caught-up in work that we get sidetracked from seeking God’s presence. And, how that often leads us into making the wrong choices at crucial moments.(James 1:13-16 NASB).

“When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.” -William James

Statistics tell us the average adult makes approximately 35,000 decisions a day. Now multiply that times two. Remember, we had to choose between two options to reach our one decision…

So, about 70,000 choices are contending for our attention on any given day. Ranging from the mundane: what we will eat, drink, wear? To what brand of toothpaste will we purchase? Then on to the more complex choices. Spend or save, rent or own, marry or remain single. And we haven’t touched on the sundry issues of the heart. Or, deeper still, our most important of choices…

Where will we be spending eternity?

Let’s enter the home of Martha and Mary. It’s okay, we’ve been invited in along with Jesus and His disciples. Let’s take our place at the dinner table. Pay attention to Martha. How busy she is bustling about. Remember, this is her home and she’s our hostess tonight. Mary, her sister, has been right beside her throughout the day seeing to it that everything is just-so for each of their guests. From the dinner choice and preparation, right down to the flower selection. Martha has insisted everything be picture-perfect!

After all, Jesus, their Rabbi, and friend, will be in attendance…

Often, our choices may seem to be the right-thing to do. They’re certainly done made with the best of intentions. With a good-heart, and from a desire to please. Undoubtedly, we want to do our best and give our best to those we love. And how much more when that someone is Jesus?

It’s within this tension of choices that our two sisters diverge in their definitions of what the better portion is…

Everyone’s seated and Jesus begins to speak. And with that, Mary pulls up a stool and sits at the His feet to listen to Him. Oh, how she loves to hear her Rabbi speak. His simplest words are like honey to her ears! (Luke.10:39).

Yet while Mary sits listening to Jesus, Martha returns to the kitchen clearly irked! Mary unawares, is in her glory! There is nothing more, in this life, that she enjoys than time spent with Jesus. She could sit for hours and simply drink in every word that flows from the Masters mouth…

Martha also, but not now, not tonight.

Tonight, Martha has chosen to make work—her service to the Lord. Her priority. After all, she has worked on this meal and its presentation all day. There will be time to sit with the Master another day. Now there is still much to do. The bread, I must put out the bread. Where is that sister of mine? I must speak to Jesus about her. Surely, HE will make her get up and help me…

And with that Martha, in the midst of her distraction, knocks the basket laden with the warm bread to the floor. She is now beside herself and burst into the dining room in a huff to demand that Jesus help…

Just listen to her rant!

“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”  Now pay attention to how lovingly, tenderly, yet plainly, Jesus answers His frazzled friend… “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke. 10:42-43 NIV).

“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Pr. 4:23 NASB).

Martha had just been taught a very valuable lesson about her choices. The question is, was she listening to the Lord as He spoke to her? Are we? Or are we doing nothing more than walking about distracted? Praying for answers but half listening when the answers are given to us?

I’m reminded of the words of the prophet Micah concerning what it is God truly requires of us, “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness] (Micah 6:8 AMP).

Martha was not an enemy of the Lord, she was His friend, and more, she loved Him and was a true believer. A follower of The Way. Scripture made that clear within the context of the conversation she and Jesus had. It had taken place when He came to her and her sister Mary after the death of their brother Lazarus. Jesus told Martha that Lazarus would live again. He asked her if she believed this. Let’s listen to her reply…

“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (Luke 11:27 NLT).

Even the most fervent of us, those who hunger and thirst after Jesus, who crave time alone with Him, get caught-up, on occasion, in service to Him. We forget to come away from all the work of our hands. We forget to simply be still in front of Him (Ps. 46:10 NKJV).

Like Mary, our first duty to the Lord is to Love HIM above all else. To seek Him out—to purposefully set aside time to sit at His feet so that we might build a deeper relationship with Him. To know Him, love Him, to spend time and converse with Him.

And, like Mary, desire to drink in His every Word (Duet.8:3 NIV).

We would each do well to follow her in her desire to be in communion with Jesus. In her desire to saté herself in Him alone demonstrates that she had in fact chosen the better portion. Walking away joy-filled and refreshed.

Neither woman was wrong in their choice of how they’d worshiped the Lord. Though each demonstrated their adoration quite differently…

I believe the deeper issue Jesus was communicating concerning Marth was one of the leaning of her heart.

What is the leaning of your heart? Work or worshiping at His feet? Deeper, what is your motivation for each…?

The take-away, Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt.22:37 NLT).

Let me leave you to ponder an excerpt from, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary of our text. I believe you’ll find it to be not only eloquent, but more, enlightening, thought-provoking and biblically sound…

Here with respect to our Lord Jesus and right care of her household affairs (speaking of Martha). But there was something to be blamed. She was for much serving; plenty, variety, and exactness. Worldly business is a snare to us, when it hinders us from serving God, and getting good to our souls. What needless time is wasted, and expense often laid out, even in entertaining professors of the gospel! Though Martha was on this occasion faulty, yet she was a true believer, and in her general conduct did not neglect the one thing needful. The favour of God is needful to our happiness; the salvation of Christ is needful to our safety. Where this is attended to, all other things will be rightly pursued. Christ declared, Mary hath chosen the good part. For one thing is needful, this one thing that she has done, to give up herself to the guidance of Christ. The things of this life will be taken away from us, at the furthest, when we shall be taken away from them; but nothing shall separate from the love of Christ, and a part in that love. Men and devils cannot take it away from us, and God and Christ will not. Let us mind the one thing truly needful more diligently than all else.

“Your Accountable.” Lk. 19:26

November 27, 2016 /

boy-854401_960_720 Our Chapter begins with correction—a setting straight of the record…

The people are gathered around Jesus slacked jawed. He’s in the house of that sinner Zacchaeus! Worse than a sinner—he’s a tax collector! You see Jesus was passing through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem. About 17 more miles and they would end up at His last Passover celebration with His beloved friends. Golgotha was calling. But before His Bloody ascent up that final hill—He still had things of great importance to teach those He would soon be leaving behind—momentarily.

They thought—mistakenly, that Jesus was about to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, right there and right then. They were thinking short-term and Jesus needed them to see the bigger picture. So, He adjusts their misguided expectations—gently, with yet another parable. An oblique method of teaching He often used—somethings can’t be taken in by all.

Jesus says it this way: “In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them’(Matt.13:114-15).

There was nothing wrong with their expecting the Kingdom of God to come. It is, after all, the hope, the promise—the anchor to which Christians should affix their lives. The problem rests not in expectation—but rather, complacency.

We need only turn to today’s parable for confirmation. Of the servants referenced—only two, not only used their talents, but more, multiplied them. Proving to the King that they could be trusted with what He had given them. That from His one gift they would labor to bring Him an increase. And this pleased the King—after all, it’s why the talents were given them in the first place! From the one, many…

They were forward thinking. Reverent. Obedient. So unlike the servant who buried what was given him in fear that he could never satisfy this King. They, instead, looked forward to the day the King would return and they could give Him a pleasing report—a profit on His investment in them.

In addition to a right heart, integrity, etc, the act of serving should include using what you’ve been given wisely. Whether money, gifting’s, or your time—after all, you’re accountable to the King! That’s what Jesus was trying to get those gathered to understand… Don’t sit around making excuses waiting on a  Kingdom that will come. Serve where you are until it appears…increase! Take what has been given to you and use it up right up until the day the King returns for an accounting.

Let’s pause here for a moment to take in the wonder of God’s loving kindness. Notice, however, that though these servants were equally gifted, each receiving one mina, their return was not proportionate. Even so, the King was equally pleased with each because they had whole-heartedly, invested what was given them. Each gained the praise and reward of their King, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!” It was all about their using what they had been given obediently and to the best of their ability.

This particular parable is found in only two of the four Gospels, Luke, and Matthew. Matthew references talents, Luke, minas. Money each—about three month’s wages. This was no small investment on the part of the soon to be King!

Throughout the parable—this allegory, we see Jesus as that King whom the people rejected. Yet, to their vexation, He was made King nonetheless. And, this money the King handed out to be invested by his servants is, some say, representational of the spiritual gifts God bestows on His children. And to the gifts a command is attached: “Put this money to work, He said, until I get back” (vs.13)!

Be obedient. Invest wisely what I give you (Matt.13:1-9).

And as it was with these servants, so it is with us today—not all are equally gifted. Yet, we are each equally commanded to labor until the King arrives…God loves His children equally—nevertheless, some have been set apart for works that not all are called to do. “In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use” (2 Tim.2:20, also, Eph. 4:11-12). Whether we possess a single gift or many, we are accountable to God to use our talent wisely—exponentially.

As commanded…

That is made copiously clear in this parable as we witness Jesus’ derision of the one who laid away his mina in a cloth—he didn’t take the King’s command seriously…Since he did nothing, he was judged according to his own heart—and its by-product—his words. Listen to the Kings rebuke: “He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’  And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas’ (Lk. 19:22-24).

Was this servant standing in judgement of this King? Was he truly fearful of Him? Did he, like the citizens, just not want to bother with this King and so gave a poor excuse to explain away his rebellion? What made him think he would not be accountable? It appears He suffered from the dangers of short-term thinking. The Word of God tells us: “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Lk. 6:45).

The Kingdom will soon be here, I’ll just wait for the King…

At the beginning of this parable, Luke told us that Jesus was trying to get those gathered to stop looking for the kingdom to come immediately. A “short-term” mindset discourages “long-term” vision.

There is a very real tension in Christian living. We must hold two truths concurrently as we seek to apply them. On the one hand, we live in the light of Christ’s imminent return. He may come at any moment, and we should both be ready and watching for His return. But we must also live wisely, making good investments for His kingdom, knowing that His return may not be as soon as we think or hope. We have been command by the Lord to use wisely—invest smartly, what we have been freely given, His good and gracious gifts. The choice has been presented to us all.

Are you being accountable? If not, it’s not too late. Ask the King where He will have you invest your minas…

Obedience.

The Lord requires this above all else. Why? We find that answer in 1 Samuel, listen:“And Samuel said,“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.For rebellion is as the sin of divination and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry…”( 1 Sam. 15:22-23). Emphasis added.

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