April 6 2019

Salt and Light

“Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Luke 14:34-35

Salt gives flavour.  
We are called to be salt (flavour) to the world.  
What flavour are we adding to the world around us?  
We are not called to be bitter, but to be sweet. We are not called to be self- absorbed, self -serving or self- focused, rather we are called to reach out, care for and draw into community those around us.  
It is time for us to consider the impact we are having on the lives we encounter. 
What flavour are we putting out there?
Question for Discussion:
What flavour are you putting out into the world today?

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April 5 2019

Places of Honour

So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; “and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. “But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:7-11

Because many of us are “doers” we look to places of honour as indicators that we are “doing” well.  Because of that, much of our motivation comes from working towards being placed in those “places of honour.”  
That motivator can backfire easily and often when we consider that being placed in “places of honour” often comes from an external and often a very subjective place.  
At the end of the day it may or may not be an accurate indicator of how we are really doing.  
A better indicator of how we are doing is to think about what we are trying to achieve, how well our inside matches our outside, and what impact we are having.  
Some of this is still subjective, but comes from ourselves, rather than being placed on us from someone else. 
When we use those things as indicators our motivation switches from seeking “places of honour” to seeking authentic living.  
When we are living from an authentic place, we will find ourselves in “places of honour” and those places will be more accurate indicators of where we are because we haven’t manufactured them.
Question for Discussion:
What area of your life are you striving to be placed, by someone else, in a “place of honour”?  How can you change your motivation in that area to live more authentically?

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April 4 2019

Woman thou are Loosed!


And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.  Luke 13:11-13

The text says that this woman “could in no way raise herself up”.  
That tells me no matter what she did, what she tried, who she got help from, etc., she was unable to fix the spirit of infirmity that she suffered with.  
But when Jesus laid His hands on her, she was “immediately” made straight.  
We are a self-sufficient society.  
We have the knowledge, the experience and the means, for the most part, to take care of ourselves. We often feel like Jesus has nothing to offer.  
We have it taken care of.  
I’m here to tell you today that no matter how self-sufficient we believe we are every one of us have some area in our lives in which we can “in no way raise ourselves up”.  
We need the touch of Jesus in that area of our life to bring a “straightening”.   
No matter who or what you have to “take care of things”, let me tell you today, there is nothing like the touch of Jesus on your life! 
There are whole new levels and dimensions to be had when we truly get into the presence of the Lord!  Self-sufficiency is not all that it is cracked up to be. 
Reach out today – He is waiting on you!
Question for Discussion:
Do you have an area of your life that you feel “self-sufficient” in?  How is that working for you?

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