First the Kingdom - Cost of Discipleship pt 97

Bonhoeffer- 'Anxiety is characteristic of the Gentiles, for they rely on their own strength and work instead of relying on God. They do not know that the Father knows that we have need of all these things, and so they try to do for themselves what they do not expect from God. But the disciples know that the rule is "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." 

Anxiety for food and clothing is clearly not the same thing as anxiety for the kingdom of God, however much we should like to persuade ourselves that when we are working for our families and concerning ourselves with bread and houses we are thereby building the kingdom, as though the kingdom could be realized only through our worldly cares.

The kingdom of God and his righteousness are sharply distinguished from the gifts of the world which come our way.

That kingdom is none other than the righteousness of Matt. 5 and 6, the righteousness of the cross and of following Christ beneath that cross.

Fellowship with Jesus and obedience to his commandment come first, and all else follows.

Worldly cares are not a part of our discipleship, but distinct and subordinate concerns.  Before we start taking thought for our life, our food and clothing, our work and families, we must seek the righteousness of Christ. This is no more than an ultimate summing up of all that has been said before.

Again we have here either a crushing burden, which holds out no hope for the poor and wretched, or else it is the quintessence of the gospel, which brings the promise of freedom and perfect joy.

Jesus does not tell us what we ought to do but cannot; he tells us what God has given us and promises still to give. If Christ has been given us, if we are called to his discipleship we are given all things, literally all things. He will see to it that they are added unto us. If we follow Jesus and look only to his righteousness, we are in his hands and under the protection of him and his Father. And if we are in communion with the Father, nought can harm us. We shall always be assured that he can feed his children and will not suffer them to hunger. God will help us in the hour of need, and he knows our needs.

After he has been following Christ for a long time, the disciple of Jesus will be asked "Lacked ye anything?" and he will answer "Nothing, Lord." How could he when he knows that despite hunger and nakedness, persecution and danger, the Lord is always at his side?'

My thoughts-

'DESPITE hunger, nakedness, persecution and danger…   the LORD is always at his side.'

We confuse our temporal needs with our eternal needs. 

Which would you rather have met? Your temporal needs or eternal needs?

When you face difficulty shouldn't that be one of the first things we ask ourselves? Is this a temporal need I'm lacking, or is it an eternal need?

More often than not we'd have to admit the need, no matter how dire, is a temporal need. When we are in pain- physical, emotional, mental agony- we long for relief from that pain. Satan would have us focus on our pain and accuse our Heavenly Father of not caring about us enough to rid of us the pain. Satan would have us believe we have somehow failed in our discipleship if God is not providing for our needs, because Satan has us believing our needs are all important, our ease, our pain free existence is all that matters. If Satan has convinced us that our needs, our VERY temporal needs, are what matters then we will be very tempted to leave the love of our Creator, our Redeemer, when those temporal needs are not met.

We'll say God's word tells us that He feeds the birds, and how much more He'll feed me, so why am I starving? He's allowing me to starve because He's cruel, He doesn't love me- not really, He's not real. Those are the things that we will be tempted to believe all because we've focused on our temporal existence.

You'll get any number of people preaching about prosperity and God and how you can have it all with God. I'm not going to say you shouldn't prosper at all, but seriously when our Savior lived a life focused on the eternal and not the temporal, and He tells us plainly NOT to lay up treasures here on earth, why do we believe those people? Why do we allow ourselves to get caught up in earthly treasures, in temporal treasures?

The LORD is ALWAYS at our side- NO matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. We need to BEND to HIS will whatever it is. We don't have to comprehend, but we have to trust that our Savior will see us through to His kingdom.

Can we do this?

Is God THIS important to us?
Is ETERNAL LIFE THIS REAL to us?

Christ's righteousness truly is the greatest need we could ever have, and God will give this to us, He will NOT leave us wanting, He could not. Our Heavenly Father will give us ALL we need to be HIS. It's up to us to CHOOSE Him over ALL else, even ourselves.

Luk 12:23  The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

Do we believe this?

Luk 12:31  But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Luk 12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

First the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God- this should be our desire above all. Our Savior is the kingdom of God. It is through Him and His righteousness we find the kingdom and no where else.

In our world, people will hold very fancy parties and only those who receive an exclusive invitation can attend. If You don't KNOW that person hosting the party, you simply CANNOT ever expect to get an invitation, it's that simple. We comprehend that perfectly. We cannot gain the kingdom of God without Jesus Christ, without knowing Him and being known by Him, it's impossible.  Unlike worldly people of wealth and circumstance, who will more than likely never invite you to any of their exclusive parties, in fact they almost certainly do NOT want to know you-  Our Savior WANTS to know us! Our Savior extends His invitation to ALL.

Rev_3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Truth!

He provides - Cost of Discipleship Pt 96

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life



Bonhoeffer- '"Likewise it is man's bounden duty to work and do things, and yet withal to know that it is Another who nurtureth him: it is not his own work, but the bounteous blessing of God. It is true that the bird doth neither sow nor reap, yet would she die of hunger if she flew not in search of food. But that she findeth the same is not her work, but the goodness of God. For who put the food there, that she might find it? For where God hath put nought, none findeth, even though the whole world were to work itself to death in search thereof" (Luther)



But if the Creator thus sustains the birds and lilies, should he not much more as a Father nourish his own children, who daily pray to him? Should he not be able to grant them the necessities of life, when all earthly goods belong to him, and when he can distribute them according to his pleasure? '



My thoughts-



Do we believe the Bible?



This is a question that many answer quickly, saying, "Yes."



But then you look upon their lives and see them living in such a way that if they truly believe the Bible then you have to question whether or not they truly love God.



Do we love God?



We've grown so used to our idea of love it's easy for us to answer yes, we do. It's easy because we believe love is something that you abuse and treat any way you desire and it will still be love.  The concept of love and obedience has been altered. We don't like the 'obey' part of wedding vows because it makes us feel subservient to another. We pick and choose our obedience, don't we? We like to obey when it suits us.



Did love exist before sin existed?



Yes.



And because love existed before sin existed, love is everlasting while sin is not. Sin has tried to destroy love, perverting it so that it's become something elusive and undesirable. I'm not talking about the love we imagine love to be, but God's love, the true love. God is love. That love we imagine is here, there and everywhere, people claim to have and to give and to take it all the time- loving in one moment, and unloving the next as if that love were truly real- but it's only an illusion of love we manufacture.



God's love, is a belief so strong it doubts nothing at all.

God's love, is giving of ALL things good.



Think about God in Eden with the first couple before sin ever entered mankind. He created a world for them. He filled the world with wonderful, exquisite things beyond our imagination. He gave us everything we could ever desire and Adam and Eve were loved.  When a tempter entered the picture the weakness of mankind was exposed. Yet the love of mankind's Creator knew the possible weakness existed when He gave mankind the power to choose.  Creating mankind with a plan in mind should they choose to sin, God still would NOT force mankind to accept His plan. The plan included obedience. So many say it exclusively means accepting what Christ has done and nothing else, and guess what, they're right. That acceptance includes obedience. When we accept what Christ has done for us, we are accepting all that He's done and He obeyed God completely. He offers us the ability through the Holy Spirit to choose to obey. We ALL have that same freedom of choice that was given to us upon creation.  We all can choose to obey or disobey. 



So when we say we believe the Bible, that we love God, are we choosing to following in the example of our Savior and obey, are we loving, truly loving?



And if we love God, we believe, and if we believe we obey.



He wants us to trust Him, that He will provide. Do we trust Him?



Our anxiousness over the cares of this life - truly should not be focused on our temporal needs. If we believe in love, if we believe in God, we know He will take care of us.



We know God will provide, and we step out in FAITH knowing He will.



All through HIS LOVE, HIS AMAZING UNENDING LOVE!



May we LOVE.

Unquestioning acceptance of His gifts - Cost of Discipleship Pt 95

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Bonhoeffer- "Be not anxious for the morrow." This is not to be taken as a philosophy of life or a moral law: it is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and only so can it be understood. Only those who follow him and know him can receive this word as a promise of the love of his Father and as a deliverance from the thralldom of material things. It is not care that frees the disciples from care, but their faith in Jesus Christ. Only they know that we cannot be anxious (verse 27). The coming day, even the coming hour, are placed beyond our control. It is senseless to pretend that we can make provision because we cannot alter the circumstances of this world. Only God can take care, for it is he who rules the world. Since we cannot take care, since we are so completely powerless, we ought not to do it either. If we do, we are dethroning God and presuming to rule the world ourselves.

' But the Christian also knows that he not only cannot and dare not be anxious, but that there is also no need for him to be so. Neither anxiety nor work can secure his daily bread, for bread is the gift of the Father. The birds and lilies neither toil nor spin, yet both are fed and clothed and receive their daily portion without being anxious for them. They need earthly goods only for their daily sustenance, and they do not lay up a store for the future. This is the way they glorify their Creator, not by their industry, toil or care, but by a daily unquestioning acceptance of his gifts. Birds and lilies are an example for the followers of Christ. "Man-in-revolt" imagines that there is a relation of cause and effect between work and sustenance, but Jesus explodes that illusion. According to him, bread is not to be valued as the reward for work; he speaks instead of the carefree simplicity of the man who walks with him and accepts everything as it come form God.'

My thoughts-

The GOSPEL of Jesus Christ.

These are HIS words, HIS instructions for us in our lives. We ask for instructions, we say we want them and yet for some reason we don't particularly care too much for the instructions we are given. How can I say that? I say that because SO few among those who claim to be followers of Christ actually listen to His instructions and then follow them.  That's one of the keys there- FOLLOWING the instructions.  Many people listen to the Words of Christ, they listen and listen and do so all the time, constantly. They listen so often they can recite the words of our Savior.  Many mistake this for following Christ, but the truth is, the majority of those who know Christ's words enough to recite them over and over, are but human recorders pressing the repeat button over and over.  Their lives do not reflect the words of Christ coming out of their mouths. They do not LIVE Christ's words. They are not DOERS of Christ's word, but hearers only.

Jas_1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Doers of the word.

Christ Jesus tells us not to be anxious, do we obey?  We hear those words, we hear them but now we need to obey them.

Don't worry about tomorrow.
Don't worry about what you're going to eat.
Don't worry about what you're going to drink.
Don't worry about what you're going to wear.
Take no thought for tomorrow.

So… do we listen?

Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

We are told to SEEK first the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness- and all those things we worry about will be given to us.

The truth, we will be given all we need for salvation if we seek the kingdom of God- Our Savior.

And in seeking, we will find, and in finding we must hear, and when we hear we must obey.

Of course we could keep on worrying and trusting in ourselves if that's what we desire.  Or we can hear the Gospel of the Kingdom and not only listen, but live the Gospel of the Kingdom.

ALL by the GRACE of GOD! All through HIS POWER!

May the Holy Spirit work in all of us!

Thank you LORD Jesus, thank YOU!

Anxiety is always future focused - Cost of Discipleship Pt 94

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Bonhoeffer- 'The way to misuse our possessions is to use them as an insurance against the morrow. Anxiety is always directed to the morrow, whereas goods are in the strictest sense meant to be used only for to-day. By trying to ensure for the next day we are only creating uncertainty to-day. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. The only way to win assurance is by leaving to-morrow entirely in the hands of God and by receiving from him all we need for to-day. If instead of receiving God's gifts for to-day we worry about tomorrow, we find ourselves helpless victims of infinite anxiety. "Be not anxious for the morrow" : either that is cruel mockery for the poor and wretched, the very people Jesus is talking to who, humanly speaking, really will starve if they do not make provision to-day. Either it is an intolerable law, which men will reject with indignation: or it is the unique proclamation of the gospel of the glorious liberty of the children of God, who have a Father in heaven, a Father who has given his beloved Son. How shall not God with him also freely give us all things?'

Mat_6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (KJV)

Mat 6:34  Then do not be anxious for tomorrow. For the morrow will be anxious of itself. Sufficient to each day is its own trouble.  (LITV)

Rom_8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

My thoughts-

Do we use our possession as an insurance against tomorrow?  We do, don't we? We even go so far as to INSURE our possessions to they are being doubly used as an insurance against the future. We have *things* we possess which we can possible sell to give us necessary funds to provide for our own needs.

Telling a starving person not to worry about tomorrow is cruel isn't it? Shouldn't they be obsessed with worry about not starving?

I confess, I'm a worrier.

I've been riddled with anxiety since I was very young, and it's not something I seem to be able to rid myself of. Throughout my life I've been on several medications all geared to help control the anxiousness I've experienced.  Anxiety has become a sickness. Anxiety can paralyze.

When I was young, anxiety wasn't much thought about but by the time I was in my mid to late twenties, anxiety it was suddenly very common and they had several drugs people were using for people with anxiety.  I just found out this year at my fiftieth birthday party when my sister was reading a list of things that occurred in 1963, that valium was first used in 1963. So from the time I was born until twenty some years later anxiety as a very real problem became prevalent. The term panic attack/disorder didn't become officially recognized until 1980, I was 17 at the time, and I'd already lived intensely with anxiety  since I was 10. So my experience with being OVERLY anxious is going on 40 years now. To me it's a way of life that has limited me in many ways and defined me.  To tell me not to worry, to not be anxious is almost like telling me to stop breathing.

So, how do I as a Christ follower take these words about not be anxious about tomorrow? My first instinct is to say,  "That's easy to say, hard to do."

Mat 6:34  Then do not be anxious for tomorrow. For the morrow will be anxious of itself. Sufficient to each day is its own trouble.  (LITV)

Could we take this a step further and say we shouldn't be worried about today?

Almost all anxiety is truly future focused, focused on possibilities, focused on what may or may not happen whether it's tomorrow or five minutes from now.  Anxiety as a rule dissipates when the thing you are anxious over is gone, yet tomorrow is never gone.  How does one who is worried about tomorrow ever find relief from that anxiousness?

Truly this is truth- 'Sufficient to each day is its own trouble' or as the KJV says- 'Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. '

We do have enough worry in the here and now, don't we?  Each day has its own trouble, and worrying about tomorrows troubles will avail nothing.

In fact, worry avails nothing.

This is truth--

Mat 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Mat 6:26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Mat 6:27  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Mat 6:28  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

The ONLY way we can truly NOT worry is by believing that NOTHING matters but CHRIST JESUS our SAVIOR, and eternal life in Him.

If we TRULY believe only CHIRST matters then we have to believe that whatever our lot is, whatever we are called to endure no matter how awful, no matter how hard here and now, that it will somehow work to our good, even if that good is eternal life, and absolutely NO good here and now beyond that HOPE, that glorious HOPE found only in Christ Jesus.

Bonhoeffer is right though, we use our possessions as security and they are no security at all. It is only Christ who can be our security. If He allows us possessions we must possess them through HIM as He allows, and all things to HIS glory, none for our own. All things in the light of HIS CROSS!  Not some things, not a few things, but ALL THINGS.

Day by day, and all by the Grace of our LORD, will I learn to trust and not be anxious for tomorrow.

Earthly possessions delude us.... Cost of Discipleship Pt 93

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Bonhoeffer- 'Be not anxious! Earthly possessions dazzle our eyes and delude us into thinking that they can provide security and freedom from anxiety. Yet all the time they are the very source of all anxiety. If our hearts are set on them, our reward is an anxiety whose burden is intolerable. Anxiety creates its own treasures and in turn beget further care. When we seek for security in possessions we are trying to drive out care with care, and the net result is the precise opposite of our anticipations. The fetters which bind us to our possessions prove to be cares themselves.'

Mat 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Take no thought for your life.

That says is all doesn't it?

Truly when Bonhoeffer writes- 'Be not anxious! Earthly possessions dazzle our eyes and delude us into thinking that they can prove security and freedom from anxiety. Yet all the time THEY are the VERY SOURCE of ALL ANXIETY.', he speaks the truth!

Which of us doesn't believe that if we only had more money, if we only could win that high stake lottery that would guarantee us financial security for the rest of our lives, that everything would be so much BETTER.

Yet how many people find out more money brings more worries.

I know what you're thinking- the same thing I am- let me have those worries, just let me have more money. 

We've been raised to believe that money is the answer, that possessions are the answer. That somehow we've truly succeeded in life if we've managed to acquire things. That the homeless vagrant has failed in life. Isn't that what we believe?  Success and failure is based upon lifestyle, the better the lifestyle the better you've succeeded, and the happier you should be, the less worry you should have.

That's Satan's view of success, that's the WORLD'S view of success, NOT GOD'S!

The simpler our lives, the less cluttered with things, the less complicated our lives are, this is what success is, a simple life spent in CHRIST, following HIS ways, HIS commands, HIS truth. And His truth tells us the only REAL treasures we should possess are those we can put in in HEAVEN.

We obviously then should TREASURE one another, yes? Not idolize in the least way, but treasure each other knowing that each of us by the grace of God have the opportunity to be in heaven with Christ. 

The richest person alive is the one who has all their treasure in HEAVEN! This is Christ's truth! 

Is it any wonder so few will be Christ's? People are living for earthly treasures and they make the excuse that God would want them to have "things", worldly things. God wants them to have a house, a car, a television, a computer, a smart phone, a closet full of clothes, a fridge full of food, cupboards well stocked, a pantry overflowing, entertainment, relaxation, ease. God wants them to have all these things because He wants them to be content, to be happy, to be pleased. 

So tell me, does that mean that God doesn't want all those living in horrific poverty to have any of those things? Their lives are what? And it's not just a matter of working hard enough to get these things. This is a materialistic societies view and that view seeps out into the poverty stricken regions and poisons them into believing that the "American Dream", the "Super Power Countries Dreams", are what is desired more than anything else. Those living in poverty are taught that their possession-less lives are lives that are to be despised.

Truthfully they are living lives more like Christ's than the millions who have houses filled with "things".  They are living lives more like Christ's than those who have been raised to believe that hard work, blood, sweat, and tears are things to work your way out of until you are living in ease. 

This world is so incredibly twisted and disgusting! This world truly is something to be HATED, not embraced and loved.

1Jn_2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Love NOT the world!
Love NEITHER the things that are in the world!
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is NOT in him!

Satan has laid claim to this world.
When Satan offered Jesus the world-

Mat 4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Satan did that, Satan offered them all to Jesus because they belong to HIM! This world is Satan's and will be His until He is destroyed.

Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone…

The devil isn't in charge of some mysterious fiery hell where people are being tortured endlessly. The devil WILL be cast into the lake of FIRE and BRIMSTONE, he will be utterly DESTROYED!

Mal_4:1  For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Nothing left, no evil left!

2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2Pe 3:5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6  Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2Pe 3:14  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
2Pe 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you

We look for a NEW heavens and a NEW earth wherein dwells RIGHTEOUSNESS!

This sin sick, Satan poisoned world will be gone!

*******

Our anxiousness over life stems from desiring things, it stems from the CARES of THIS LIFE as if THIS LIFE is all there really is.

The next time we become anxious we truly do have to ask ourselves what world we are LIVING FOR.

Even if it means we are suffering some grave illness and can't afford treatment for it, and we want to justify our anxiousness because we believe this is something we must have and God would give it to us if He really cared and loved us. God's love is UNCEASING! Trusting in HIM to provide, even if it means our life here is far from what we've been taught is our right to possess. Trusting in HIM even if to all outside appearances God despises us. Trusting in HIM even unto our own deaths.

Php_1:20  According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

Php 4:6  Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and by petition with thanksgivings, let your requests be made known to God;
Php 4:7  and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   (LITV)

By His mercy and grace, His love and His righteousness always! In our Lord Jesus Christ our Savior!

Amen.

The world or God. Cost of Discipleship Pt 92

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Bonhoeffer- 'But Jesus knows that the heart of man hankers after a treasure, and so it is his will that he should have one. But this treasure is to be sought in heaven, not on earth. Earthly treasures soon fade, but a treasure in heaven lasts for ever.'

Bonhoeffer- 'Surely these treasures can be none other than the "extraordinary," the hidden character of the Christian life, none other than the fruits of the passion of Jesus Christ which sustains the lives of his followers.

My thoughts-

We truly do desire to have treasure and our treasures in heaven are REAL. 

Is this truth--Joh_14:2  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

There is a REAL place for us in heaven.  A REAL place and our SAVIOR is preparing it for us. He's not up in heaven idle. He is continuing His work, a work that will not be complete until death and sin are gone forever.

Read this--

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Rev 21:9  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Rev 21:11  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Rev 21:12  And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
Rev 21:13  On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
Rev 21:14  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Rev 21:15  And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
Rev 21:16  And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
Rev 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
Rev 21:18  And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
Rev 21:19  And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
Rev 21:20  The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
Rev 21:21  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
Rev 21:22  And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
Rev 21:23  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Rev 21:24  And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Rev 21:25  And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
Rev 21:26  And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22:2  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Rev 22:3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Rev 22:5  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev 22:6  And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

THESE are real expectations!  This isn't some make believe, science-fiction, fantasy, but TRUTH.  The treasures we will possess will be REAL and all of them will come from our SAVIOR. There will be no greed at all, no rivalry, nothing that corrupts. The treasures will be such that ALL will possess them and be completely content with all they have.  The treasures we seek here and now truly are ALL corruptible and subject to disappearing.

The GREAT TEMPLE, a magnificent structure that took forty six years to build, was destroyed-

The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in 66 CE. The siege ended with the sacking of the city and the destruction of its famous Second Temple. The destruction of both the first and second temples is still mourned annually as the Jewish fast Tisha B'Av.

Pasted from

From the greatest treasure that we might think is indestructible, to the least treasure we cannot imagine destroyed, every single one is subject to disappearing. Every treasure that is of the world, will one day be gone. 

The ONLY incorruptible treasure is in HEAVEN. 

So why, why do we seek to gain treasures here and now? Why do we place so much into the things we possess? Why does TEMPORARY pleasure means so much to us, so much so that we sacrifice eternal pleasure?

Bonhoeffer-'If our hearts are entirely given to God, it is clear that we cannot serve two masters; it is simply impossible-- at any rate all the time we are following Christ. It would of course be tempting to show how far we had advanced in the Christian life by endeavoring to serve two masters and giving each his due, both God and Mammon. Why should we not be happy children of the world just because we are the children of God? After all, do we not rejoice in his good gifts, and do we not receive our treasures as a blessing from him? No, God and the world. God and its goods are incompatible, because the world and its goods make a bid for our hearts, and only when they have won them do they become what they really are. That is how they thrive, and that is why they are incompatible with allegiance to God. Our hearts have room only for one all embracing devotion, and we can only cleave to one Lord. Every competitor to that devotion must be hated. As Jesus says, there is no alternative-- either we love God or we hate him. We are confronted by an "either-or" :either we love God or we love earthly goods. If we love God, we hate the world, and if we love the world, we hate God. It makes no difference whether that love be conscious and deliberate or not: in fact it is morally certain that it will be neither, and that our conscious and deliberate desire will be to serve two masters, to love God and the good things of life. We shall indignantly repudiate the suggestion that we hate God, and will be firmly convinced that we love him, whereas by trying to combine love for him with love for the world, we are turning our love for him into hatred. And then we have lost the single eye, and our heart is no longer in fellowship with Jesus. Our deliberate intentions make no difference to the inevitable result: Ye cannot serve two masters, if ye be followers of Jesus Christ.'

Mat 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Mat 6:26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Mat 6:27  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Mat 6:28  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Mat 6:31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

TRUTH!

Earthly goods to be used, not collected. - Cost of Discipleship pt 91

Chapter 17 - The Simplicity of the Carefree Life

Bonhoeffer- 'Jesus does not forbid the possession of property in itself. He was man, he ate and drank like his disciples, and thereby sanctified the good things of life. These necessities, which are consumed in use and which meet the legitimate requirements of the body, are to be used by the disciple with thankfulness.

Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected.

Hoarding is idolatry.

But where are we to draw the line between legitimate use and unlawful accumulation? Let us reverse the word of Jesus and our question is answered. "Where they heart is, there shall they treasure be also." Our treasure may of course be small and inconspicuous, but its size is immaterial; it all depends on the heart, on ourselves. And if we ask how we are to know where our hearts are, the answer is just as simple-- everything which hinders us from loving God above all things and acts as a barrier between ourselves and our obedience to Jesus is our treasure, and the place where our heart is.'

My thoughts--

I just love this sentence of Bonhoeffers- 

"Earthly goods are give to be USED, NOT to be collected."  

We are way too caught up in our possessions. We've been taught by our society itself that to be without possessions is an awful, and tragic thing. We even applaud the homeless street person who defends their shopping cart full of their treasure. Truly to go without anything at all is to be called destitute. And it is tragic when people lose all their possessions. The idea of not having possessions is something I find very hard to imagine. We call so many things NECESSARY.  And as soon as we call them NECESSARY we are saying they are something we cannot live without.

Bonhoeffer goes on to say that - "Hoarding is idolatry."  Do you believe it? It truly is, because when we hoard something we've place it in a position of power in our lives and it take away our worship of CHRIST. It does! The eye is NOT single if we are keeping it on our hoarded treasures.

Bonhoeffer- "EVERYTHING WHICH HINDERS US FROM LOVING GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS AND ACTS AS A BARRIER BETWEEN OURSELVES AND OUR OBEDIENCE TO JESUS IS OUR TREASURE, AND THE PLACE WHERE OUR HEART IS.'

If there is a single thing that keeps us from a full devotion to our Savior we truly are making that thing- no matter how big or how small- our hearts treasure!

We have to be willing to sacrifice ALL for CHRIST!

He has to be THAT important to us!

He CANNOT be an after thought in our lives!

We should do NOTHING without consulting Him first!

Yes, I said that, and meant that. We should consult our Father in Heaven through Jesus Christ our Savior in ALL we do!

When we wake in the morning we need to dedicate our entire day to Christ. We need to lay ALL our plans at the feet of our SAVIOR. We have to ask HIM to guide us in the way EVERLASTING, even if that way means that all the plans we've made for our day are thrown out the window in favor of something our God has planned for us.

Telling God that everything we plan to do is subject to HIS approval and meaning it, is truly having our GREATEST TREASURE IN HEAVEN- OUR SAVIOR, OUR KING, OUR CREATOR!  HE IS OUR TREASURE, the ONLY TREASURE WE REALLY, REALLY NEED!

By HIS grace may we have HIM as our ONLY TREASURE here through the SPIRIT, and in HEAVEN where HE MINISTERS for US!

Let NOTHING come between us and YOU, my LORD JESUS!