Why Call Me Lord?

Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?   - Luke 6:46


The term "Lord" that Jesus uses in his question carries the meaning of one who is a master or ruler.  His point is that it is inconsistent to recognize and assign someone this role and then to not obey them.  Jesus takes the point further than just simple obedience.  In John he says that if we love him we will obey him.

It is impossible for Jesus to be Lord of your life and for you to have a genuine love for him if you are not obedient to his will.  Many people claim a relationship with Jesus but it seems few truly understand what it means to live in that relationship.  I know for myself I am guilty of selectively following Jesus.  I follow him in the ways that it is most convenient for me and fits the pattern of the way I want to live my life.  That's not true obedience.  That's not love.

If you proclaim Jesus as Lord of your life, do you then live your life in a way that reflects his Lordship?  If not then what's the point.  He is Lord in practice or not Lord at all.

Take His Word For It

I have been attending Bible Classes, VBS, Camp, Devotionals, Small Groups, Youth Rally's, Lectureships, and Worship Services all of my life.  I have heard some of the Bible stories hundreds of times.  Yet, I can sit down to study for a lesson and find something new nearly every time.  I also occasionally stumble across something that doesn't match up to what I have been taught.

The older I get the more I discover that there are many things we have accepted as Biblical fact that in reality are based on little more than human conjecture and tradition.  Today I have been preparing for my class on Heroes of Faith that I am doing this Summer.  I was reviewing the story of Noah when I began to search for scriptures that supported a few "facts" that I had always heard.  I found that some of those so called facts really aren't facts.  While there is much about the life of Noah and the story of the flood that the Bible is specific about there are at least a few details that someone throughout history surmised to be the truth and others came to accept them and passed them on as truth.

In my research, I came across more than one online discussion forum on these specific topics.  I was amazed at the number of times different people would write that "the Bible says (fill in the blank)" when in fact the Bible does not.  They were just saying what they believed the Bible to say or perhaps had been told it says with obviously no first hand knowledge of the truth.  What was even more amazing is some gave scripture references to support their claim and the stated passage gave no such support.

I do think that we can read the Bible and make some logical conclusions.  God gave us that ability.  However, while these guesses may be accurate they may not.  We need to be careful in differentiating between conjecture and what the Bible specifically says.  Why? Because there are many people looking for excuses to discredit God's story.  We only serve their cause and create confusion for believers when we portray conjecture as fact.  We also show our own ignorance of the very truths we claim to be so sacred.

I would also point out that such details are not worth agonizing over or certainly arguing about.  If they were that important and God wanted and needed us to know, then I'm quite sure he would have told us.  Take confidence that the God who spoke the universe into existence is perfectly capable of delivering and protecting His message to you just as He wants it to be.

Remember

This weekend is of course a holiday weekend.  It's 2:30 on Friday and I'm sure many people have snuck out early to enjoy the long weekend.  It's great to have these breaks from the normal routine and to be able to spend some time relaxing with family and friends.

However, I found it ironic that many people forget the reason for this holiday.  A holiday created to help us remember the great sacrifices of so many men and women to secure and protect our way of life.  While I hope we all enjoy our break, don't forget to take time to remember.  I would encourage you to also thank God for the blessings we enjoy and for those who have and continue to sacrifice to maintain those blessings.

You're A Winner

My postings recently have been based on questions.  Today, however, I stumbled across an article I wrote a couple of year's ago and for some reason it struck me as one I needed to share again.  I don't know why, but maybe God does.

I was standing in line at the convenience store the other day where the man in line in front of me was redeeming some lottery tickets.  The clerk took the tickets and put them in the machine and the computer declared, “You’re a Winner!”  The man responded, “at least somebody thinks so.”  The clerk smiled and handed him $5.

When I first heard the man’s response, my reaction was to chuckle.  As he walked away, however, I began to think to myself how sad it was that so many people are reliant on things like gambling to be able to see themselves as a winner.  How sad to be dependant on chance to have any sense of self worth.

The truth of the matter is that we are very valuable.  We know how valuable we are because Jesus Christ the Son of God died for us and through that death we have a tremendous victory.  In Romans 8, Paul tells us that those who are in Christ are more than conquerors because nothing can separate us from God’s love. 

The most important victory one can attain is the victory over death and Jesus Christ has done that.  Paul writes in Romans 6 that those who are baptized are joined with Christ in that victory and will gain the reward when we rise to meet him in heaven some day.

The question is, “Are you really a winner today?”

Question of the Day: What are you Chasing?

If you have spent any time at all reading the Gospels then you know that Jesus asked a lot of questions.  In fact more often than not he would respond to questions with a question of his own.  He did this to get us thinking and to come to the answers on our own.  He knew that they mean more that way and we are more likely to both accept the answer and remember it.

The question I'm sharing with you today comes from Mark 8:36, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul?"  Come on admit it, it's a great question.  It is one that should quickly return us to a proper perspective on life.

So what are you chasing today?  What will you chase after tomorrow?  Where do you pour out your time, energy, talents, abilities, and strength?  Are you trying to gain the world or are you building treasures in heaven?  It really is a great question.