April 3 2019

Where your Treasure is

Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. “Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:32-34

Of late there are more and more books and shows and advice columns talking about the art of tidying, decluttering and simplicity.  
This concept is all the rage right now, but it is not new.  
The Bible had it figured out a long time ago.  
Less is more.  
When we accumulate stuff our focus changes from what we need to what we want.  
When we focus on what we want, we tend to be less grateful for what we already have.  
On top of that, as we accumulate more stuff it clutters not only our spaces but our mind and our life. This impacts our ability to give ourselves fully and honestly to those around us. 
To sum it all up: 
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  
When we focus on building treasures on earth (stuff) we forgot to build treasures in heaven (relationships and impact).  
Luke recommends reducing our stuff, giving to those who are in need, and thinking about building for the next life.  
The next life will be built on how true we have been to ourselves and to our God, and that we were good stewards of our giftings so that we had impact in the earth.
Question for Discussion:
Where are you building your treasure?  Is that where your heart is?

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April 2 2019

Worry

And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? Luke 12:25

Worry doesn’t accomplish much.  
It keeps us busy and in that it sometimes makes us feel like we are doing something.  
But in reality, we are wasting our precious time.  
Luke tells us that worrying can’t “add one cubit to (your) stature” so why bother.  
Worrying also can’t fix the problem, brainstorm the problem or come up with solutions to the problem.  
It is an active “inactivity”. 
Several things to ask yourself when you are worrying:
1) Have I taken this to the One who I claim directs my life? (Jesus);
                    If I haven’t it is the perfect place to start
2) What direction has He given me that I am or am not following? 
                    Is my worry because my beliefs are not lining up with my actions?  I say I trust Jesus                            and take my direction from Him, so why am I worrying if He has given me direction                            that  haven’t yet tried?
3) How much of this do I actually have control over?
                    Is this is situation I can influence?  If so, how much influence do it have?  If I have little                      to no influence, is it helpful to worry about it?
 4) What have I done to remedy the pieces I do have control over? 
                    Have I actually taken some action? If not, this is the place to do something
5) What is the real reason I’m worrying about this?
                    Am I worried about this situation or my lack of control over the situation?
What are you worrying about today?  Ask yourself the questions and take some real action!

Question for Discussion

Are you a worrier?  What helps when you are worrying? Do you think applying these questions to the situation would be beneficial for you?
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April 1 2019

Doing and Being

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

We are a society that is often more focused on doing rather than being.  
We define our worth by what we do rather than who we are.  
Therefore, we spent much of our time making lists and plans and organizing our lives to accommodate all the things we “need” to get done. 
Martha was busy doing.  
She was upset that Mary was “just” being; and so she complained to Jesus.  
She didn’t expect Jesus’ response.  
Jesus was not prepared to chastise Mary for not helping.  
Mary had “chosen that good part”.  
Mary was “being”.  
She was sitting at the feet of Jesus and allowing Him to speak into her life.  
She was being true to who she was and the relationship she was trying to build.  
Martha was “doing”.  
She was busy trying to build a relationship with Jesus by “doing” for Him, when really He was there to spend time with her and speak life into her. 
Where is your relationship with Jesus right now?  
Are you “doing” or “being”?  
Jesus does not want us to find our worth in what we do.  
He wants us to understand that our inherent worth comes from Him.  
Furthermore He is not a hard taskmaster that hands out “to do and not-to-do lists”.  
He is far more interested in building relationship with us. 
There are times when we need to do, and times when we need to be, but overall, we should be aiming for a “being” lifestyle.  
Let Jesus speak life into you today!
Question for Discussion:
Thinking about your lifestyle (not individual situations) are you “doing” or “being”?
If you are “doing”, how will you move to “being”?

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