July 11 - Im/possible

Matthew 19:23-30

But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26 ESV)

In life there are those moments when you arrive at a situation and it seems daunting. It seems impossible. You feel inadequate, underprepared, unqualified, and unable. The situation seems beyond you.

Sometimes we come up against those moments and are faced with an inadequacy borne of our own failures, fallen nature, or frailty. There are also occasions when life's many hardships back us into a corner and the climb out seems like something we are incapable of. Jesus knows that we need help. He is the help.

Following the story of the Rich Young Ruler the disciples were amazed at the standard for followship that Jesus had set. If someone like that young man, who seemed to have his life together, could not follow Christ, then who could?

Jesus cautioned against bringing, or keeping, things in your life that could distract or distance you from God. He knew that we can not possibly follow after him under our own power. The power to live for God is a power only found in Christ. For man alone walking the Christian walk is impossible.

July 10 - I Have Kept

Matthew 19:16-22

Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (Matthew 19:21 ESV)

I am pretty convinced that most of us have a fairly selfish streak that runs right through the middle of who we are. It affects our thoughts, behaviors, and attitudes. It often keeps us from stepping fully into the kind of richly selfless life that Jesus is calling us to live.

That was the experience that the man often called the Rich Young Ruler had with Christ. He was devout. He was dutiful. He was prosperous. But when Christ called him to enter into a new kind of selfless living and thinking, the young man balked at the prospect of losing all that he had. In his words he had kept all of the laws and rules of God, but in his failing to obediently give all that he had away he missed the point of following Jesus.

Today, just like during Jesus' days of public ministry, it is really easy to allow dogmatic religious observance to cloud authentic Christian caring. Jesus didn't want the young man to give all of his stuff away because he wanted the guy to be poor. He wanted the rich young guy to extravagantly give away his many possessions because they had become more important to him than obedience to God.

There are still days, even after all my years in ministry, when I need to take a good look at my self. I have to ask myself if I have done more than keep the moralistic rules that I know to follow. Yes, Jesus sets out a guideline for behavior through his teachings, but often it is all about giving it all away.

May 29- He Went Away

Read: Matthew 19:16-30

When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:22 ESV)

During the final stretch of Jesus' public ministry a young religious ruler secretly came to him to find out the truth about eternal life. Jesus shared with him several insights about living a devout Godly life. The young man met all of the criteria, he was on his way to experiencing eternity with God, until Jesus revealed the final piece of the young man's personal journey.

Some biblical translations call this man a rich young ruler, a name that adequately describes his place in life. At a young age this fellow had amassed great power and wealth. That was a problem. Not because either of those things are bad things, but because when Jesus asked him to leave it all behind he was unwilling. He went away sorrowful.

I am not rich and powerful. If God called me to lay aside my finances it would not be a monumental request. For this man it was. I believe that is exactly what Jesus asks of his followers sometimes. He sees into our hearts, and knowing the very things that would distract us from following him with the greatest sense of passion, he sometimes asks us to lay them aside in favor of a simpler life in pursuit of him.

In those moments we are presented with a choose similar to that of the rich young ruler. Either we will lay aside our idolatrous distraction and follow Jesus without reservation, or we will walk away sorrowful, unwilling to part ways with the gods of our own making. What will you choose?

May 9 - Adulterous Divorce

Read: Matthew 19:1-12 & Mark 10:1-12

And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." (Matthew 19:9 ESV)

Divorce is a tragic thing. Staggering statistics demonstrate its far reaching affects on our culture. And many who call themselves Christians have been tragically victimized by the saddening reality of divorce.

Jesus was very candid in his opinion concerning divorce. He didn't like it. He taught that the only reason why divorce was allowed was because the ancient Jews had been so stubborn that they demanded Moses to allow it. And apparently he did.

Jesus' thoughts on divorce would make some people very uncomfortable today. H said that it was only acceptable in cases that involved sexual immorality. That's a stern standard that raises the bar considerably, but he didn't stop there. He actually went on to declare that anyone who married a divorced person was committing adultery. Ouch. A tough standard indeed.