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Building A Dream Life

The Journey of Life Can be Hard

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It’s Nice When Somebody Goes with Us

During this time of Lent, we’ve been going through Christ’s journey to the cross. Two weeks ago, we talked about knowing where our treasure is and Mary’s anointing of Jesus with the expensive oil. She knew where her treasure was. Last week we discussed Jesus’ riding into Jerusalem and many of the people missed out on who Jesus was. They were expecting a different kind of king.

This week we’ve made it to the first Last Supper.

Jesus got up from supper, took a towel, poured water into a bowl, and began washing His disciples’ feet. He explained that this act of service was an example of how we should treat others. He even washed the feet of Judas who was going to betray Him.

This act of washing feet was done by the lowest of servants. Jesus told them that He—as their Lord and Teacher having done this—was an example of what we should do for others. There are a lot of ways that we can wash people’s feet.

Be willing to “wash people’s feet”.

At this last supper that Jesus shared with His disciples, he knew that one was going to betray him. At this point it wasn’t too late for Judas to turn back and ask for forgiveness … but he didn’t. If we’re still living we have the same opportunity. We can repent and ask for forgiveness.

Don’t wait too long to repent and ask for forgiveness.

This meal was a Passover meal. It commemorates death passing over the homes with lambs’ blood on the door posts in Egypt. Jesus held up the bread, representing His body broken for us. Then He held up the cup. Reminding us of His sacrifice He made for us. Without eating and drinking we will perish.

Accept the gift of His body and blood so you don’t perish.

We need to remember these acts and the promise that comes with them.

There are hundreds of words in the English language that use the prefix re-, which mean “back” or “again.” Some examples are reject, recede, reduce, reflect. returning, revert, rearrange, rejuvenate, regenerate, and recapitulate.

For instance, when you reject a plan, you throw it “back.” When a man’s hair recedes, his hairline continues to move “back” as he loses hair. When you reduce the amount of money you spend, you lead it “back” to a smaller amount. When light reflects off a surface, it bends “back.” When you are returning home from an outing, you are turning “back” home. And when a criminal reverts to being good again, he turns “back” to morally upright behavior.

Another primary meaning of the prefix re- is “again.” For instance, when you rearrange the furniture in a room, you arrange it “again” into a different configuration. A marathon runner can become rejuvenated or etymologically made young “again” by sleeping and eating after a long race. Some newts regenerate limbs once they’ve lost them; that is, they grow them “again.” When a teacher recapitulates something she’s just taught, she goes over it “again” by summarizing it.

If we remember the covenant that Jesus made, we become a member of His followers again.

Remember this covenant He made with us.

Another thing to remember is that He is with us on the journey of life. Even when it doesn’t feel like it.

Jeff gave an example of the importance of remembering in the children’s message. He shared a story of when he was in his mid-teens and his uncle, who was five years older and like a brother to him, died at twenty. In his loneliness and missing his uncle, Jeff asked God how He could let something like this happen. He did not hear any answers. In the silence, Jeff ran away from God for a few years.

Over time he figured some things out. One of those things was that…

The teacher is silent during the test.

Tests are a part of life, and we need to be willing to take them. Just because we can’t hear the teacher when we’re taking tests, doesn’t mean they’re not there looking over us.

In James 1:12 it says, “A man who endures trials is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”

There are some hard lessons in life. But if we use the things the Teacher has taught us and remember that even in His silence He is with us, we will pass the test.

Don’t Get Caught Up in the World

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There’s so Much More Out There

It makes sense that we get caught up in the world. It’s where we live and what we know. Every day we take part in it. If we’re not careful, it’s where our awareness stops. It becomes all we focus on.

I’m not saying we should abandon the world. What I am saying is that we need to balance the physical world we live in daily, and the Spiritual world of God and eternity.

This morning on Albert Mohler’s, The Briefing, he talked about how humans make decisions. Either by rational thinking or intuition and sometimes the answer isn’t as rational as you might think.

This podcast was focused on the Nobel Prize winning economist and author of the 2011 book, Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman’s assisted suicide. Mohler’s question was why would someone so intelligent make such a decision? He concluded that it was due to Kahneman’s belief that this world is all that there is, and he wanted control over his death.

This kind of thinking is worldly.

In Matthew 21:1-11, Jesus sends two of His disciples to a village to get a donkey. He tells them where they will find a donkey and her colt. If anyone asks, the disciples are to say, “The Lord needs him,” and they will be okay with it.

The disciples went and did as Jesus instructed them.

Jesus knew there would be a donkey and where it would be. He knew that anyone who asked would be okay with them taking the donkeys. He also knew that people would celebrate His arrival when He rode the donkey into Jerusalem.

They thought He was a king that was going to come in and take over. If they were His followers they would be rewarded in a worldly way.

The problem is that the people were looking at this from a worldly perspective.

They missed the point.

Too often, we do the same thing. We get focused on our daily routines and lives and neglect the eternal.

It shouldn’t be all one or the other. There should be a balance of both. In John 17:16-26, we are told to live in the world, not get caught up with it. The world shouldn’t be our focus. God and the eternal should be.

What’s Your Greatest Treasure?

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It’ll Be Best If It Isn’t Monetary

What is most important to you? Is it money, your job, family, social status, recognition from your peers? Not any of these things are bad or unimportant. We need to be clear on what our priorities are.

In the children’s message, Jim Miller shared a math problem that puts things into perspective. GOOD minus the letters G O D leaves a big fat zero.

Life without GOD leaves us with nothing.

In John 12:1-8, Mary got it. She poured a whole bottle of expensive oil on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. When she did this Judas was mad. He thought this was a waste. We’re talking about an amount equal to a year’s wages. In today’s dollars, this would have been a bottle of oil, worth almost $60,000.

This helps us see where Judas’ heart was and where Mary’s was.

Last week we talked about how the disciples were blind to how Jesus was going to rule. They were looking at things from a worldly perspective … not a Spiritual one.

The actions of Mary in today’s Scripture would have been scandalous then. A woman would not be out in public with her hair down, would not approach a man, let alone touch one. Mary did all these things.

Mary was focused on Jesus. She understood who Jesus is. This is the third time she was at His feet. She didn’t pour out a few drops of oil.

She poured out all that she had.

We need to pour out all that we have on Jesus. As we pour over Jesus, He will pour over us.

Mary gave her greatest treasure to the Greatest Treasure.

We need to do the same thing. We need to give all that we have and all that we are to God.

Perspective is Up to Us

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It’s Important to Have the Right One 

We can be blind even when things are staring us in the face. 

This is what happened with Jesus’ followers. Even those closest to Him. Those who knew Him better than anyone else on earth. They saw Him give sight to the blind, heal the lame, cast out demons, even bring people back to life. He had been teaching them and explaining what was going to happen. They still weren’t seeing things clearly. 

They were looking at things from a worldly perspective. 

A perspective is a particular way of looking at something. Too often when we have a perspective about something it is hard to change the way we see it.  

The Jews in the Old Testament were looking for relief from the Roman oppression and tyranny. They were convinced that Jesus was going to overthrow the persecution and oppression they had been experiencing and become their king. 

Even after Peter, James, and John shared in Jesus’ Transfiguration on the mountaintop … they still weren’t getting it.  

And we’re talking about a pretty amazing, out-of-this-world, experience.   

“He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” (Matthew 17:1-8) His face was as bright as the sun! This is bright—really bright!  

Yet even after this experience, the disciples still missed the magnitude of what they were witnessing. They were still looking at things from a worldly perspective. They were looking at what was in it for them. 

There was bickering amongst them. Jesus told them they lacked faith. Judas betrayed Jesus to the church authorities. They all ran away when Jesus was arrested. They watched Jesus be whipped and beaten. Peter even denied knowing Jesus. Then He was crucified on a cross. This is not what they had envisioned.  

It wasn’t until after Jesus came back to life that they finally began to understand. 

Just like Jesus died to the world … we need to die to the world. 

Like Jesus’, we can have life after death. We need to nail our worldly perspective to the cross. We need to ask ourselves: what do I need to nail to the cross and leave behind? 

Having the right perspective is up to us and it will make an eternal difference. 

Don’t Build Your Life on Sand

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Build on a Solid Foundation

The past several weeks we’ve been going through the Sermon on the Mount. We discussed the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12), being salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16), the importance of listening to God (Matthew 5:17-20), doing things for the right reason (Matthew 6:5-15), choosing the right treasures (Matthew 6:19-24), and focusing on the right thing first (Matthew 7:1-12).

This week’s message is about the difference between wise and foolish builders.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-29)

From a builder’s perspective, I can really connect with this week’s message. It’s important to know the benefits of building things well and the cost of building poorly. The Scripture above explains this well.

When things are built well they are damaged less in storms.

This doesn’t mean there won’t be storms. It doesn’t mean there won’t be any damage. It’s about coming through the storm with something to repair. In verse 25, it says, “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall…” It can be repaired.

Jesus is the foundation we should build our lives on. He is the solid rock. If we build our lives on Jesus, we can make it through whatever storms life throws at us.

Don’t be foolish and build your life on the sand. Be wise and build your life on the solid foundation of Jesus.

Focus on Your Plank First

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It’s More Important Than Someone Else’s Sawdust

In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus tells us that we will be judged the way we judge others. He says that we should focus on our own mistakes and shortcomings first, not others’.

When it comes right down to it, we have no control over what others do. We can only control ourselves. Pointing out other people’s mistakes and failures is often done as a way of taking our attention off our own weaknesses.

Our focus should be on our own planks.

This doesn’t mean that we should turn a blind eye to someone doing something wrong. It means we should be clear on what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how we do it.

To help us with this Jesus goes on in Matthew 7:7-12 to tell us what to do.

He says to, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

This is how we get our priorities in the right order. It’s about aligning our thoughts and desires with His. It’s about going to God first and asking for His guidance and direction.

We are to help others, not judge them. This can only happen when we are focused on God first.

Judgement is for God … not us.

We need to focus on God and our own planks, not other people’s sawdust.

What Do You Treasure?

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This is a Choice

What is treasure? Treasure is something that is valuable. This means different things to different people.

Treasure is often thought of as monetary. Like gold and jewels hidden by pirates or on their sunken ship. They can also be things that hold value that aren’t monetary. For example, it might be something from your childhood that triggers fond memories. Or a person that is loved and valued. Or maybe it’s a place that sparks feelings that you treasure.

A treasure can be any or all these things.

Your treasures are the things that are important and valuable to you.

In Matthew 6:19-24, Jesus tells us to be careful about what we chose our treasures to be. Treasures that are of this world are not eternal. They will only last for a limited time. If our focus is on worldly treasures, we forfeit the eternal ones.

He concludes this point by telling us we can’t serve two masters. We will hate one and love the other.

We need to be clear on what is the most important thing to us.

Jesus does not tell us that earthly treasures are bad. Or that our money and possessions are unimportant. We are called to be good stewards.

It’s about prioritizing and putting the most important thing at the top. In verse 24, we’re told that we can’t serve two masters. We need to align our priorities with God’s.

Last week we discussed doing things for the right reason and how the world turns things upside down. We can choose to make our treasures worldly or heavenly.

What is most important to you?

It can be hard to separate worldly from heavenly.  After Jesus concludes telling us what kinds of treasures to store up, He goes on in verse 25 and tells us not to worry.

This is the peace that comes with having our treasures prioritized the same as God’s.

Pick the right treasure and make the right choice.

Do Everything for the Right Reason

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This Includes When You Pray

We’re continuing through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This week we are learning how to pray (Matthew 6:1-15). One of the first things we’re told is how not to do it. We are not to pray for show. He tells us to pray for the right reasons.  He gives us an example of this in verses 9-13, also known as The Lord’s Prayer.

Prayer is something that can be seen as weak or needy. But when it comes right down to it … aren’t we all a little weak and needy? We don’t like to admit this. This is not what the world expects. The world has turned things upside down (verses 5-8).

This upside down was true when Jesus was teaching and is still true today.

Several years ago, Tim Tebow became a polarizing figure because of his praying openly. His act of kneeling on one knee in prayer with his head bowed and one arm resting on his other knee became known as “Tebowing”.

There was a lot of pushback from the media. Some people didn’t think this kind of open expression of communicating with God should be displayed.

Often good people of faith and followers of Christ can get sucked into worldly ways. Look at the Sadducees and Pharisees. They had gotten so focused on the law that was from God that they lost touch with God.

If this action was done as some form of exhibition to become popular, it would have been wrong. But Tim’s actions then and now are consistent with him doing this for the right reasons.

All of us need to battle losing sight of God and doing things for the wrong reasons.

Life can and will be hard at times. In the movie, Unsung Hero, we see a real-life example of this:

In 1991, the Smallbone family moved from Australia to Nashville, Tennessee, in pursuit of a new beginning. David and his wife, Helen, uproot their lives and six children seeking refuge in Nashville after the collapse of David’s music company in Australia following a $500,000 loss from one concert booking.

As the family settles into their new home they encounter numerous challenges, including financial struggles and the daunting task of starting over in a foreign country. Despite the uncertainty, Helen’s unwavering faith and David’s determination propel them forward, instilling hope and resilience in their children.

Three of the Smallbone siblings, Joel, Luke, and Rebecca, develop their musical talents and navigate the competitive music industry. Joel and Luke eventually form the duo For King & Country, while Rebecca (St. James) embarks on a successful career as a Christian recording artist.

In the movie, the father, David, becomes upset and distraught as he is trying to provide for his family. This struggle escalates to the point of losing his temper and saying some very hurtful things. Feeling like a failure, he then hides out in bed for a period of time.

Ultimately, he gains the courage to apologize to the family. In his apology he says,

“I lost sight of what it’s all about.”

This happens to all of us, but we can reduce the chance if we remember to do everything we do for the right reason.

You Have Heard It Said

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But Are You Really Listening?

The past several weeks has been excerpts of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus started speaking to this big crowd of people from the mountain side. He started with The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-11) and things to do if we want to be blessed. Last week was about being salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16) and how this makes the world better.

This week, Jesus tells us He is the fulfillment of the law (Matthew 5:17-20). He tells us that He has not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.

The group of people He was speaking to was big enough that He had to go up on the side of a mountain so that everyone could hear him. Of course, His twelve closest disciples were there, but there were many more than just these twelve. There would have been many followers in different places along their journey.  

There would have also been a variety of other people who weren’t followers. There would have been church leaders, sinners, zealots, tax collectors, and people who were curious about what this man, Jesus, was saying.

The problem was that each was hearing from their own perspective. They most likely had preconceived opinions and weren’t really listening.

This is often what we do. We hear without listening.

There is a difference between hearing and listening.

We often interchange the words “hearing” and “listening” and mistake them for the meaning the same thing. Although there are similarities, they are significantly different. One being more active, requiring effort, and the other being involuntary and natural.

Hearing is a passive, physical act that requires one sense and has to do with the perception of sound. It does not rely on concentration. Hearing is like collecting data; we hear sounds and words all day long, even if we are not paying attention to them.

Listening revolves around actively paying attention to the words and sounds that you hear to absorb their meaning and develop an emotional response. Merriam-Webster defines it as…

Listening is “to hear something with thoughtful attention.”

Listening is a mental, active process that requires multiple senses. Listening is a voluntary act, meaning that an individual can choose whether or not to listen. If you choose to listen, then it is an active process. You can hear sounds and words without having to listen or focus on what you are hearing. Hearing without listening is an example of the common phrase “in one ear and out the other”

Too many of the people hearing Jesus’ message were hearing but not listening. They came with preconceived ideas about who He was and what His message was.

They weren’t listening with their hearts.

We need to listen to Jesus and to others with an open heart.

Even when we listen to what others are saying, it doesn’t mean that it’s truth. We need to listen to things through a Biblical filter to determine if what we’re hearing is the truth.

Open your heart and listen to what you hear.

Are You Scared of the Dark?

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You Don’t Have to Be

This week’s Scripture is Matthew 5:13-16. This is a continuation of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Last week, we saw Jesus start with the Beatitudes. Now, He’s teaching us about salt and light.

We are to be salt and light in the world.

Were you scared of the dark when you were a kid?

We’re all familiar with being afraid of the dark. The dark can be a scary thing. We can’t see what monsters are out there hiding in the dark. Even the small glow of a night light is enough to keep them at bay.

Even as adults there are monsters out there. They may be different than when we were kids…but they’re out there.

Light makes things better.

Light helps in a lot of ways. It reveals things that we couldn’t see otherwise. It provides safety by helping us see where we’re going and what we’re doing. Light brightens the world around us and helps improve our and other’s moods. Light gives off warmth.

In verse 14, Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world. Light does no good when it’s hidden. We are to let our light shine.

Light is spoken of throughout the Bible. It is where everything began. In the beginning, “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1-4)

Salt makes things better.

Salt is a mineral made up mostly of sodium chloride. It has a lot of uses, such as making food taste better and preserving it so that it can be kept longer. Salt can also be used to relieve bug bites, disinfect, and relieve sore throats. Not to mention it makes things safer by helping to remove ice from roads and sidewalks.

By being salt in the world, we can help things be better. We can relieve other’s struggles and make things safer.

Isaiah saw what the world could be like if everyone was salt and light. In Isaiah 2: 1-5, he tells us to “walk in the light of the Lord.” Jesus is our night light.

Or think about Moses when he came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant in Exodus 34:29-35. His face was shining so bright that he put a veil over it. Moses was a night light for the people. He radiated God’s light.

We should be like Moses. We need to radiate God’s light. We should help others see better. We should be night lights.

We are called to be salt and light.