What is a Priority?

Growing up, I seemed to butt heads with my dad. He was trying to be a father who was guiding me and I was playing the role of the stubborn son. I remember saying one day, “I want to make my own mistakes. Thanks for sharing your life experience but I am not you.” I ignored wisdom and paid the price.

There’s no doubt you’ve had similar experiences. Someone tried to warn you…tell you…explain to you how to be better in life but you had your own plan, your own agenda. But what I have discovered in life is that what you put first in your life will determine where you end up.

Many of you have seen or read Alice in Wonderland. There is a point in the story where she’s in the woods and at a crossroads. This is where she meets the Cheshire Cat. Alice asks, “Which way should I go?” The cat asks, “Where do you want to go?” Alice replies, “I don’t know.” To which the cat says, “Then one way is as good as another if you don’t know where you are headed.”

Jesus reminds us as Christ-followers what’s a priority and which way we should be headed. It’s during his famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 when Jesus says, “You can’t serve two. You’ll hate one and love the other. You cannot serve God and everything else.” You see our priorities will determine the path we take. And Jesus reveals a couple of things in Matthew 6:25-33 that are important as we better understand priorities.

First, he reminds you that God sees you. Not in a scary way but a comforting way. You have celebratory things and difficult things in your life everyday. You’re working in a career that doesn’t suit you anymore. You have a difficult marriage. Your parenting skills are being challenged. You have a gambit of emotions you work through with your friend group. But Jesus reminds us that worry doesn’t have to win. Jesus tells us when we choose worry, we are choosing the way of the world.

You see, God sees the birds and takes care of them. But God sees you too and aren’t you more valuable than birds? When we have faith in God to take care of us, we will be on the road of peace and not panic.

But equally, God cares about you too. Whatever brings tears to your eyes, know God sees that too. What Jesus tells us in this text in Matthew is that God is FOR YOU! We know this….Jesus changes everything!! The people who worry or have an anxious spirit are not living in Jesus. In fact, Jesus calls folks living like this pagans and unbelievers.

Right now is our chance to really shine for Jesus. We want to be different than the world recognizing God will provide all our needs. So, how ARE we different? Are you more focused on your new home rather than your new neighbors? Are you more concerned with the latest tech gear than being in God’s Word? Are you distracted by putting more stuff in your house and keeping up with the Joneses? Is your priority becoming Instagram famous? If Jesus is saying these things are not your purpose as a follower of him, then what is your purpose?

Jesus reveals that in Matthew 6:33. He says, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all things, live in such a way that it gives God glory, and everything else will be given to you.” Remember, God is our father and He knows what is the best wisdom for the best life we can live. Seek God’s will and desire first then live it out in your life and everything else will be given to you.

May you bring the kingdom to your home, your work place, your neighbors. May your light shine in traffic, at the grocery store and Wal-Mart. May you see your purpose in seeking Kingdom right where you are and living out how God has called you to live. Blessings on your journey.

"More than a Feeling..."

I am a child of the ‘80s. I love most everything about that decade…especially the music. A band out of Boston, Massachusetts started in 1975 and still is touring today. Of course, their name is Boston. They’ve had a great many hits. One of those songs is named “More than a Feeling.” Go ahead and sing the line…you know it!

However, the Apostle John reminds us that the love of God is more than a feeling, it’s a daily lifestyle. As a matter of fact, Paul the Apostle even says in Ephesians 5, “Imitate God (everyday)”. So how do I know how to imitate God?

Well, Jesus tells his disciples in John 14, “It you have seen me, then you’ve seen the Father. Me and the Father are one.” As a follower of Jesus, I simply need to look at the life of Jesus, found in any of the four gospels, and do what Jesus did…live like Jesus…love like Jesus.

You see, John tells us in his letter, 1 John, that love is how we know God. John says, “God IS love.” Most of us imagine him as a harsh referee, or a detached inventor, or a spoiling grandpa but none of these pictures are true. We realize that our God is a good, good Father. That imagine is used 245 times in the New Testament. So if God is a loving Father and we are called to imitate him, then we should also be loving in our life.

Love is also how we see God. In 1 John 4, John reminds us that God loved us before we ever loved him. We are called to this lifestyle of love if you claim to follow Jesus. God showed us his love by sending his only son while we were still sinners. Get your head wrapped around that! While you were rebelling against God, Jesus came for you anyway! What a wonderful God we serve!!

Some ways we might let others see this love of God in is right now could look like helping your older neighbor with the yard work or taking baked goods to those who are shut up in their houses. It might be just handing out cold water at a local event or march. Maybe you could write letters of encouragement to your city leaders letting them know you are praying with them over the city. Or sending a thank you card to the administrators at the school your child attends telling them you are praying for their wisdom and discernment during this difficult season of school.

Because love is how we follow God and we are indebted to him to do so. We ought to be loving on each other, not hating nor being mean-spirited. We follow Jesus and his life reflects a person who was inclusive, loving, forgiving, full of grace and mercy.

The word for “love” John uses every time is the Greek word “agape”. This word specifically means “unconditional love”. Love with no strings attached. As followers of Jesus, we do not say, “I’ll love you as long as you do what I want, say what I want you to say, live how I think you should live.” We love even our enemies unconditionally.

God reminds us of how much He loves us in John 3:16. He sent his son so no one would perish but all would have eternal life. And for those of us who follow God’s Son, we were adopted into his family. As children of God then, we follow or act like the Father.

So, be someone who transforms the world around you for good. Be someone who loves unconditionally. Be someone who shines the light of Jesus in everything you do. Blessings on your journey.

Squirrel!

If you’ve read my book, Beautiful Interference, then you’ve read the story about me and a friend hiking in Colorado. We wanted to hike Mount Beirstadt and Mount Evans the first week of June. We found our entry point, parked the SUV, and started down to the valley floor. These two Oklahoma boys were not ready for the thin air and the June weather.

We crossed the valley floor and began our accent up Beirstadt. We were exhausted and out of water by the time we summited so we decided to go back to the car. Only problem was, once on the valley floor, we could not find which gorge we came down and it had already started snowing.

With patience and a lot of lucky guess-work, our tired, oxygen-deprived bodies found our way back to the SUV.

Spiritually speaking, that’s what happens when we get off the path as we follow Jesus. We have these grand ideas of how things will go but the minute we step away from the safety of Jesus, everything goes chaotic. The Apostle John calls us to stay focused on Jesus, to stay on the path and don’t let anything distract you from leaving the safety of Jesus.

In 1 John, John tells followers there are three things that can pull you away from following Jesus closely. John writes in 1 John 2:16 that “pleasure, possessions, and pride” can lure you off the path that Jesus is on. He reminds us there is a epithumia or hyper-desire in all of us that we must keep in check. Our hyper-desire must be Jesus above all else.

Pleasure could be just about anything. Sexual pleasure is the one that comes to mind. We all as humans have a desire for instant gratification. Inappropriate relationships with people outside our marriage, dangerous late night excursions on our computers to sites that should be untouched by Jesus-followers, and lustful thoughts should be things we must guard against as we follow Jesus on the road.

Our possessions can get the best of us. Collecting things is the American way and if we are not careful, those shiny things will pull us away from our commitment to follow Jesus. There is nothing bad in and of itself about owning things but when we make that the center of our life and our focus, that’s when we know we’ve left the road of Jesus and are on the road the world offers.

Finally pride and ego will get the best of us. Our pride ends up being all about us. I get prideful of my race or skin color. Right now across America, ethnic pride is at an all time high and it creates resentment of other people who are also made in God’s image. Our socio-economic pride can cause us to look down our noses at folks who don’t have as big a bank account as we do. My achievements equally can make me puff out my chest in comparison. But all my degrees and awards mean nothing when falling the risen Savior.

May your shine like Jesus. May the “shiny” things the world offers pale in comparison to the Son of God. May your hyper-desire be for Jesus and him alone. Don’t get detracted by the world. It will all fade away. But God and his desire will live forever. May you find the courage to stay on the path and shine like Jesus! Blessings on your journey.