Clean It Up

Matthew 23:25-26 (NIV) "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

Jesus was a very effective teacher because he did not beat around the bush and try to make everything all “warm and fuzzy”. Jesus called it like it was. Society today would greatly benefit from His teachings because we like to hide things, just like the Pharisees. We project on the outside this loving and warm attitude, but on the inside we could be eaten up with greed and envy.

Greed works on the inside and can destroy a person. No matter how much we try to project on the outside, if our heart and soul is filled with greed, it will soon project on the outside. We need to make sure that we do not get caught up in that cycle and help those who have gotten into the cycle to break free from those chains that bind them.

Prayer:
“God, thank you again for your unfailing love and redemption. I know there is nothing I could do to repay all you have provided me. Please help me to not become envious of others and greedy with the blessings you have bestowed up on me. Please help and guide me on my daily journey. Amen”

Judge Judy

Have you watched the take-offs from “The People’s Court” lately. Of course, the most famous was Judge Judy. She has been on air for years. She got there because she has always been an outspoken Judge – when she actual sat as a Family Court Judge. She has little patience for people meandering to get to the cause of an issue and get beyond it. We often mistake our attitudes towards people as being something where we want to get to the truth when we are really looking for evidence after we have already convicted someone in our mind. Our judgmentalism is not seeking justice, but rather excluding others from a relationship unfairly.

We have all had it done to us, have we not? Someone decides that we are the scourge of the earth because we did something that they did not do? We have done it to others as well. One of the greatest examples I have of that is how many have left churches because they felt the all-present stare of eyes and whispers that doubted their relationship with God – or disapproved of how they lived their lives. Many of those same people that have been excluded from those churches in turn buy into the greatest lie they will ever believe. They think that their own attitudes of hate, bigotry and being judgmental are OK because it was done to them first – or worse yet they are so dense that they do not realize that they are just a bunch of bitter hateful people that see themselves as superior to others.

Being judgmental does not affect just one area of a person’s life. If you are seeking reasons to find fault with someone you will be able to find enough reasons. Yet, when you are doing that you are intentionally excluding God from your life – and eventually most other people as well. Too often we do not see that he attitude that we have towards others and what we see is actually a reflection of the depravity that we have within our hearts and souls. We just pick on things that we think shows that they are weak and unworthy and act as though we are God’s fruit inspectors.

“Justice with an Attitude!” is the tagline for Judge Judy. She cuts through stuff in a gruff and often rough manner, but the intent is for people to own their own behaviors and move forward. It is in many ways a sense of tough love that bring people to a place where they can own their own lives.

Most people, however, dispense with any justice and just have an ATTITUDE. They have no intention of teaching, helping people better their lives or move beyond a conflict. They just want to sit up and appear to be superior to the people that they are looking down upon. They actively exclude people from their lives and areas because they have no willingness to find a way for a person to transform.

This week do you have an attitude, but have little justice, mercy or grace for others? If you are such then you may just be the problem yourself. Find a way to have grace and mercy so that you will not become an icon of hatefulness and bitterness this week.

Is It Really Worth It?

Proverbs 23:5 (NIV) Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
No one ever takes the time to sit back and relax anymore. When was the last time you actually stopped to smell the roses? We are all in a hurry to get somewhere. Either we have to spend more time at work to pay for the 3,000 sq. ft. house we just bought or we have to go to the gym to get that perfect body, or we have to make sure we get the right condo on the beach because we can’t let anyone else have a better view.

Wanting the best is fine, but when you spend your life obsessing over these things, you begin to lose sight of not only reality, but all the things around you. As this scripture says, you cast a glance, and then these things are gone.

Human nature is to want more and never be satisfied with what we have. We are here on earth for a very short time, and if we become envious and greedy we will miss out on the marvels of life.

Today, reflect on all that is around you and think about what is most important in your life. Is it the possessions or is it the relationships?

Prayer
“God, I look around and see all that you have created. I know I am on this earth but for a blink of an eye, please help me as I go from day to day to put my priorities in order and learn what my focus should be on. Amen”

Greed and Blessings

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NIV) whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless
This is very short, sweet, and to the point. The fact that one has money or wealth does not mean this person is greedy. God blesses us all in many different ways. But where does it turn from a blessing to greed?

Take something as simple and innocent as a child. American tradition is when a child losses his/her tooth the child is to put the tooth under the pillow and the “Tooth Fairy” will visit and leave money for the tooth. How many times has it been heard, “Let me put more teeth under there.”? The child was blessed with the money, yet did not realize it and wanted more.

In life many people adopt an “I deserve this” attitude and if it is something that is not up to their standard, they will throw it away. We go through life either knowing people like this or we are this person. Greed is very powerful and we can quickly go from being thankful for something to thinking we deserve something. We have to make sure that we have the humble attitude of Jesus and do not take any blessings for granted.

Prayer:
“God, thank you for all blessings you have bestowed upon me. I know there are times when my thankful attitude turns into an attitude of greed. Please help me be less greedy and more thankful for all you have blessed me with. Amen”

Consequences of Greed

Proverbs 28:25 (NIV) – “A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the Lord will prosper.”

Greed is powerful. It can transform even the most quiet and reserved person. We live in a society where we all have to “one up” someone. If our neighbor has a luxury car, we have to buy a luxury SUV. If our neighbor installs a pool, we have to have a pool and a hot tub. There is a mentality that we have to have certain things in life.

God tells us in this scripture that a greedy man causes dissension (also means discord), but those who trust in God will prosper.

When we become greedy and lust after things, we step away from the will of God.

Prayer:
“God, help me as I go through my daily life to be pure of heart and free of greed. Thank you for your ultimate sacrifice for me, and your constant forgiveness. I know without you I would be lost. Amen.”

Need-vs.-Greed

Monday, 2/25

1 Timothy 6: 6-10: But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.

How many times have we received something and were not satisfied with having just that? We were given a roof over our head, but we wanted something bigger? This scripture tells us that we come into this world with nothing, and can take nothing with us. What we do have is a blessing from God.

We fall into this trap of thinking that we need certain things in order to live. God provides us with shelter, food, and clothing but we think we have to live in a mansion, eat at the most expensive restaurants, and keep up with the latest clothing trends. God meets our needs daily, but we are not satisfied with that and we become greedy.

God wants us to be blessed and have a bountiful life, but we have to be faithful stewards with that He has given us before we can be blessed with more. If we cannot learn to be content with what we have, how will we ever be able to be satisfied with anything that is given to us?

Prayer:
“God, thank you for all the blessings you have bestowed upon me. Please help me to be thankful for all You have given me. Help me on my daily journey to stay grounded and not become greedy with things in my life. Amen”

Devotionals

Over the next 2 weeks, I will be posting daily devotionals. For the Easter seaon, we are doing daily devotionals The weeks of 2/25 and 3/3 (they are Monday-Saturday) are the weeks I wrote. I hope you enjoy them, would like some fedback on them.

Kevin

Wasteful or Faithful?

Have you looked at what you put in the garbage can lately? Have you looked at where all your money is going? Have you looked at how you are spending your time? Have you attempted to do an exhaustive moral and ethical inventory regarding work, relationships and things?

We get caught up in the “American Dream.” We seem to buy into the life that the 850+ Advertisements we see each day paint. That is over 310,000 Ads per year. That is more than a person 50 years ago saw in their ENTIRE LIFETIME. We have to eat at this restaurant, take this diet pill and buy that car to be happy. Have you ever wondered what this has done for you sense of what is NEEDED and what is GEEDED? It has created the most wasteful culture in the history of humanity. It has created a society that has based its values on the amount of toys we can amass instead of the actual worth that we have.

The negative saving rate (spending more money than we make) in the United States has created a debtor nation that will eventually be impoverished because we have been wasteful. We have allowed our GREEDS to become mixed up with what we NEED. In short, we have been wasteful of the blessings that God has given us and we will soon be removed from the place where we will be allowed to have it any longer.

Jesus began a parable with this context: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'”

The manager by his duties has a right to use some to care for his needs and even have some luxuries. Yet, what has happened is that he has been wasteful of what he has charge over and it has dwindled rather than grown appropriately. The implication of the story is that the wasteful manager is actually dishonest by he way he wastes the resources at his disposal. The direct result is that if you cannot be faithful over small amounts you will not be given the opportunity to be faithful – or wasteful – over large amounts. Being faithful does not mean that you live a bare existence all the time, but that you live with the balance of knowing what will build toward the future. It will do you no good to win the lottery if you cannot keep your priorities correctly ordered so that what you have grows instead of shrinks.

The implication of the story is also that if you cannot manage money well personally and in a way that God approves of you will be doomed to eventual failure. God has great plans for you – “’I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” We can all learn to be better stewards of the plans and prosperity God sends our way. We all waste at times – but now is the time to turn and ask God to help us become faithful in little so that we will have the opportunity to be faithful in much. May today be the day you begin that journey!

Blessings,
Pastor Greg

eEvangelism

As we begin to develop our evangelism plan, on-line, social networking is going to be a huge way we can all do our part to bring our friends, co-workers and even complete strangers to the place we love so much. Please comment as much as possible, share your healthy opinions and link as many as you can to our blog.

Expect eEvangelism training in the near future!

Love you all!
Brian Copeland
Evangelism Elder

Hee Haw Girls

"Now, we're not ones to go 'round spreadin' rumors,
Why, really we're just not the gossipy kind,
No, you'll never hear one of us repeating gossip,
So you'd better be sure and listen close the first time!"

That little ditty was sang by the Hee Haw Gossip Girls as one of the recurring skits that they did through the years. It was always light hearted and funny – and lots of people watched it for that reason. Few of us like to be the target of such discussions – even in jest and that is even if we do it a great deal.

I have had people tell me: “Gossiping is just part of who we are.” Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. If it was part of who we are then it would not bother us when someone gossiped about us. It would be just harmless banter that would never hurt our feelings and did not impact our reputation. Gossip is something that is a mix of truth. lies, motive divination and selective understanding. It is not harmless and in fact keeps us from experiencing the fullness of God’s grace.

To be sure, there are times sharing information regarding a person or situation is not Gossip. Those times should always be focused on drawing the person into a process of healing and restoration. It does take sharing information to do an appropriate intervention when someone is on a self-destructive path, or sharing wonderfully joyful news – yet that is far less of the sharing than it needs to be because we have not learned to edit and be helpful in our speech.

Gossip by its very nature causes people to look at others as if they just walked off the stage of a freak show. We wink as we say something indicating that there is more to the story than we actually say and letting minds that are polluted build images that destroy someone. We fail to check another’s words and implications because – “It is not my business, “ when in fact we are implying that we agree with what someone is saying and add fuel to the fire that destroys friendships, families and faith. There is no such thing as harmless gossip because we do it when the other person is not present. If it was harmless we could all laugh about it together or not have to worry when we are found out as saying something.

This week I invite you to give up Gossip. To let your words build lives rather than bring down people. I invite you to speak in ways that will not embarrass you if the person you speak of hears about it. I invite you to be a speaker of life by sharing words that are positive and uplifting. Let them be challenging, but being open and direct helps life become better and not hurtful.

Blessings,
Pastor Greg

Elder Brother Syndrome

This week I want to turn a story upside down for you. Look with new eyes and see yourself here. Most of us have heard of the story of the Prodigal Son that Jesus uses to teach with. None of us can identify with the Father in the story. Most of us want to identify with the youngest son in the story, but most likely we are more like the Elder Brother.

In the story the youngest son asks for his inheritance early so that he may go live on his own terms. According to tradition and the law this was not something that was proper to do. We know that he is disrespectful and not so bright when he does this. So he gets what he wants and goes away and since he has no accountability he falls into a big mess and wastes all his money then a disaster strikes. So he goes back home after coming to his senses and swallowing his pride. So that we have a common understanding here is the part of the story that matters today. From Luke 15: 25-32:

"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'

"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'

"'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"

Because the Elder Brother was focused on what his RIGHTS were he automatically precluded himself from the relationship with not only his brother, but his father and the rest of the family. He was more focused on being the RESPONSIBLE one in the family even though he was the one that had the least respect for the things that the family was to provide one another. Because he focused on things he could not see that his relationship with his father was as grounded in grace as was his younger brothers.

So often we sit to the side and determine who we will be around based on some self-righteous and sanctimonious view that we have. “I deserve more so why are you being nice to that person,” we say to ourselves. We seem to think that grace and mercy precludes our being rewarded for being faithful. Did you notice that HIS father reminds him that HE will get everything that he has since the younger has already gotten all he will get? Did you notice that the father is trying to remind him that the relationship is more important in building a life than what you have?

This week are you going to focus on your rights or your relationships? If you choose rights you loose grace. If you choose relationships you find not only grace, but rights within their appropriate context.

Blessings,
Pastor Greg