(no subject)
This is rad.
Stolen from T. Pylus at The Jesus Lovin' Church of MySpace
So, you think you "know" Him?
Jesus makes it pretty clear in Scripture what it is to "know Him"...
There are three points that stick out to me:
1. Preaching an awesome sermon, doing miracles of healing, and even casting out demons do not equate to "knowing Him".
"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven... did we not prophesy in your name, drive out demons, and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you... away from me". Matthew 7:21-23
2. Knowing Him is not just acknowledging His presence or power (even satan and the demons do that), but rather putting His words into practice.
"What words", you ask?
In the immediate follow-up to the above passage from Matthew, He states simply that to know Him is to put all that He had just outlined in the Sermon on The Mount into practice (Matthew 5 - 7).
Specifically:
-being peacemakers (ever stir up trouble by gossiping?)
-showing mercy (have a habit of being harder on others' sin than your own?)
-allowing ourselves to be persecuted without retaliation (Iraq?)
-being a light to the world (what makes you different from the world?)
-forgiving and letting go of our anger (who are you holding a grudge against?)
-not lusting (look at any myspace profiles you shouldn't? GUYS?)
-not divorcing (yikes... I know that is a hard one, and I know a lot of rad believers who have been through a divorce... I don't have a good answer...that is what it says though..)
-being people of integrity in our dealings (do you report you cash tips or get paid "under the table"?)
-giving to the needy (what was the last "toy" you bought that you didn't need? how many bowls of food would that have bought for a starving toddler?)
-being people of prayer (of real conversations with Him... not just giving Him your wishlist... He is not Santa...)
-being people of fasting (Jesus said "WHEN you fast"... not "IF you fast")
-being people NOT obsessed by money or our own financial security (How do we justify saving for retirement thirty years from now, when there are people who need to be fed TODAY!)
-being people who trust in Him for our daily needs (do you live a life of work, sprinkled with God? Or a life before God, sprinkled with work?)
-people who do not criticize (are you criticizing this email yet? just kidding... sort of... ;)
"THEREFORE... (an immediate reference to the condemnation above, and the teachings just prior in the Sermon on the Mount)... anyone who hears THESE WORDS OF MINE, and puts them into practice is like the wise man..." Matthew 7:24
3. He further outlines that how we act in this world, towards those in need and hurting around us, is in reality to act upon Him. In other words how we act towards the down-trodden, is to demonstrate if we "know" Him or not.
We are to feed the hungry and thirsty, to welcome the stranger and loner, to clothe the needy, and be companions to the sick and imprisoned. In other words, we are to be people of presence and provision to the lonely and broken.
"I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for the least of these, YOU DID NOT DO FOR ME. Then they will go away to eternal punishment." - Matthew 25: 31-45.
Is that some hard stuff or what!?
"On hearing it, many of His disciples said, "This is a hard teaching, who can accept it?" - John 6:60
And a few verses later, "From this time, many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him" - John 6:66
(Isn't that weird that the primary verse about disciples turning away over His teachings is 6:66? Probably just a coincidence!)
My prayer:
"Jesus, your teachings are so hard sometimes! They run so against how I am wired! Do you really want these things from Jesus?! Please show me, and show me your mercy! I believe, help me in my unbelief! My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak! Help us to be people who hear and follow, without molding your words to suit our selfish desires! AMEN! "
Stolen from T. Pylus at The Jesus Lovin' Church of MySpace
So, you think you "know" Him?
Jesus makes it pretty clear in Scripture what it is to "know Him"...
There are three points that stick out to me:
1. Preaching an awesome sermon, doing miracles of healing, and even casting out demons do not equate to "knowing Him".
"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven... did we not prophesy in your name, drive out demons, and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you... away from me". Matthew 7:21-23
2. Knowing Him is not just acknowledging His presence or power (even satan and the demons do that), but rather putting His words into practice.
"What words", you ask?
In the immediate follow-up to the above passage from Matthew, He states simply that to know Him is to put all that He had just outlined in the Sermon on The Mount into practice (Matthew 5 - 7).
Specifically:
-being peacemakers (ever stir up trouble by gossiping?)
-showing mercy (have a habit of being harder on others' sin than your own?)
-allowing ourselves to be persecuted without retaliation (Iraq?)
-being a light to the world (what makes you different from the world?)
-forgiving and letting go of our anger (who are you holding a grudge against?)
-not lusting (look at any myspace profiles you shouldn't? GUYS?)
-not divorcing (yikes... I know that is a hard one, and I know a lot of rad believers who have been through a divorce... I don't have a good answer...that is what it says though..)
-being people of integrity in our dealings (do you report you cash tips or get paid "under the table"?)
-giving to the needy (what was the last "toy" you bought that you didn't need? how many bowls of food would that have bought for a starving toddler?)
-being people of prayer (of real conversations with Him... not just giving Him your wishlist... He is not Santa...)
-being people of fasting (Jesus said "WHEN you fast"... not "IF you fast")
-being people NOT obsessed by money or our own financial security (How do we justify saving for retirement thirty years from now, when there are people who need to be fed TODAY!)
-being people who trust in Him for our daily needs (do you live a life of work, sprinkled with God? Or a life before God, sprinkled with work?)
-people who do not criticize (are you criticizing this email yet? just kidding... sort of... ;)
"THEREFORE... (an immediate reference to the condemnation above, and the teachings just prior in the Sermon on the Mount)... anyone who hears THESE WORDS OF MINE, and puts them into practice is like the wise man..." Matthew 7:24
3. He further outlines that how we act in this world, towards those in need and hurting around us, is in reality to act upon Him. In other words how we act towards the down-trodden, is to demonstrate if we "know" Him or not.
We are to feed the hungry and thirsty, to welcome the stranger and loner, to clothe the needy, and be companions to the sick and imprisoned. In other words, we are to be people of presence and provision to the lonely and broken.
"I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for the least of these, YOU DID NOT DO FOR ME. Then they will go away to eternal punishment." - Matthew 25: 31-45.
Is that some hard stuff or what!?
"On hearing it, many of His disciples said, "This is a hard teaching, who can accept it?" - John 6:60
And a few verses later, "From this time, many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him" - John 6:66
(Isn't that weird that the primary verse about disciples turning away over His teachings is 6:66? Probably just a coincidence!)
My prayer:
"Jesus, your teachings are so hard sometimes! They run so against how I am wired! Do you really want these things from Jesus?! Please show me, and show me your mercy! I believe, help me in my unbelief! My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak! Help us to be people who hear and follow, without molding your words to suit our selfish desires! AMEN! "