Luke 12:13-21 Serving Junk!

Luke 12:13-21 NIV
Last Friday, my husband, grandchildren, and I went out to gather wild mushrooms. We found a few bags full; enough for a few meals. This was a rare occasion. We got to do something that I enjoy doing, together. I was surprised. The grandkids loved it. Of course, that may be because the mushrooms, this year, were in abundance and they were real easy picking.

Usually, family outings mean shopping. They all love to spend money. I have never enjoyed shopping; but, if I want to do something with them, I usually get out-voted on what to do. No one cares for hiking or kayaking or visiting waterfalls just to take a few photos. Shopping or nothing. Well, that's not exactly correct. I do hear that they would like to go on cruises or to expensive waterparks (not the inexpensive "cheap" ones).

When I think back to all the money that was spent on stuff that wasn't needed or even wanted, it makes me a bit sad. So many hours spent working for stuff that made no difference to us or anyone else. I can no longer remember all of the cars we've owned, or living room sets. I definitely cannot remember how many computers we've purchased in our lives or even ATV's! Sooner or later, everything ends up in the junk pile. A lifetime working and serving junk!

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:18-21 NIV)

Seek first the Kingdom of God....! (Matt 6:33)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 22 - Have Compassion And Do Justice

Have compassion and do justice... and, you will live. You will live in peace. 

 

Sadly, the King of Judah lacks compassion. He does not do justice. He is too busy building up himself a kingdom. He is busy amassing wealth for himself. Because of his self-serving life, the king has led the people in a wrong way. He has led them to destruction. They are about to be kicked out of the kingdom.

 

Sadly, we have many kings today. So many of us thing we should all be able to live like kings. We have built up for ourselves tiny castles which we must protect and build up no matter what it costs us or others. You have probably heard the saying a "man's home is his castle." Think about how much you have put into that home and why. Think about how much the labor that has gone into making it the envy of your neighbor's eye may have cost you in relationships with family and friends. Think about how it may be costing you your relationship with the LORD. Think about how the time spent in making that home your own little castle has directed you away from living and enjoying a more fuller life that God intends for you to have. You want you own kingdom and refrain from entering the Kingdom of God. I am not saying that we should not have nice, comfortable homes. I am simply saying, how much is it really costing you? (See Luke 14:28) In the end, the compulsive desire and attempts to acquire great luxury will lead us down the path of destruction.

 

In the end, on that final day, the house will be gone. All acquisitions will go to someone else or maybe to the dump. On that final day, we will stand at the gate of the Kingdom and we will either be welcomed or sent away. Will we follow in the path of Jesus, living lives according to God's will, and ultimately enter through that gate that He has opened for us?

 

The choice to do justice or injustice is ours. The choice to live life to its fullest or spend our lives envying others and striving to have all that they have and more is ours. Heaven is not something just for the afterlife. It can be lived and experienced now. Even as we pray, "Thy kingdom come," it has come. We can live in God's presence even now. As I have often asked before, why would you desire to live in God's kingdom after you pass through the gateway that is death, if living in His Kingdom, His presence, isn't good enough for you today?

 

Even as our Lord Jesus had compassion on us, may God help us to have compassion on others and do justice that we might live in His presence together.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Proverbs 27 - Planning And Boasting Not The Same Thing

Planning ahead has never been part of my husband's routine. He's finally come around to letting me know what is on his schedule for the next day so that I can plan my schedule so that we will have time together.  I have planned many vacations just to go on them alone or with our children or our grandchildren. He built an addition on our house a few years ago. It's a real nice addition. But, he had not planned anything in advance. There was no blueprint of any kind! At least none that he would share with me. We went to the hardware store and lumber yard as each step of the project advanced and he decided what he needed at the time. There was no estimating the cost in advance of the project. I don't think my husband had ever read or heard Luke 14:28-30 (NIV). “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?  For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’"

From childhood, he; however, had this first verse from Proverbs 27 engrained into his being. "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring." Somehow, for him, boasting and planning had become synonymous.

The verse says "do not boast." It does not say, do not plan ahead. Proverbs is a whole bunch of wisdom sayings put together, one after another. But, as with all of scripture, we read need to read them in the context of all scripture. When we take a look a the story from Luke it says we indeed should be planning ahead, and Proverbs would be reminding us not to boast of things not yet accomplished.

I'm a planner. I like things organized so I know what is coming up. I like things done quickly and efficiently. Planning helps me with this. After 40 years, I am finally getting use to not knowing what my husband is planning and he's finally coming around to wanting to have some kind of plan.

Planning with others what you will do tomorrow is not the same thing as boasting about what you will do tomorrow.

God's Peace - Pr. J.