Category Archives: Follower

A Mother’s Effective Prayer

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You Don’t Have To Be Superman

Why is it our human tendency to think that good Christians must not have any problems? Maybe it’s because we come to church and see all the smiling faces, and we assume they must have it all together. Or maybe we’ve heard too many sermons on the abundant Christian life, and we assume there’s some secret formula we have yet to discover. If we can just find it, then the Christian life will become effortless, and temptations will bounce off us like bullets off Superman!

What About Pain & Suffering?

I have a well-intentioned Christian friend who called me several times over the three-year period when I dealt with cancer, surgeries, and chemo. He told me it wasn’t God’s will that I had cancer because I was a pastor and a “good man.” And yet, I told him, “I have cancer.” None of us are immune to pain, suffering, sickness, heartache, or loss. Job is the poster child for pain and suffering, and yet Scripture’s testimony of Job was that, “…He was a man of perfect integrity, who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1, 8). He was a righteous man who endured some of the worst pain and suffering in the history of mankind. Job’s commentary on pain and suffering was that, “…mankind is born for trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). And so, it ought not to surprise us that trouble afflicts the righteous as well as the ungodly.

Look It Up In Your Bible

If you have doubts about that, check it out for yourself. Research the Bible, starting at the very beginning, and see how many of God’s faithful followers endured significant pain and loss in this life. Eventually, you’ll come to Hannah’s story in 1 Samuel 1. Her story is intertwined with that of her husband and his second wife: “There was a man from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah… He had two wives, the first named Hannah and the second Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless” (1 Samuel 1:1–2).So, there was the rub—she was childless. But to make matters worse, her husband’s other wife had children and taunted her because of it. The next few verses point out her pain—she wept, she wouldn’t eat, she was deeply hurt.

Don’t Try To Counsel God

Look at this: “…the Lord had kept her from conceiving. Her rival would taunt her severely just to provoke her, because the Lord had kept Hannah from conceiving. Whenever she went up to the Lord’s house, her rival taunted her in this way every year.” So Hannah wept. The text says: “…and she would not eat… deeply hurt… Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears. Making a vow, she pleaded, ‘Lord of Hosts, if You will take notice of Your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give Your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life…’” (1 Samuel 1:5–11). Notice—she didn’t take matters into her own hands. She prayed. We all have more in common with Hannah’s childlessness than we may think. And we need to respond, like Hannah, by taking all our pain to the only One who can fix it.
 

Praying About Temptations

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How Did Jesus Teach Us To Pray?

Let me challenge you to take a good, long look at your prayers! Are your prayers consumed with requests? Little more than sending God a grocery list of items you want Him to do for you! If so, you need to spend some time meditating on Jesus’ response to His disciples when they approached Him: “Lord, teach us to pray!” (Matthew 6:5-13) They found a deficiency in their prayer life; so, they sought Jesus’ counsel to improve it! One of the last things He teaches them to pray about is “temptation”— “And do not bring us into temptation.”

A Warning About Being In The World

Up until this point, in Jesus’ counsel about prayer, His focus had been on praying over our relationships with God and the people around us. Now, He teaches us to pray about going out into the world, where He’s called us to make disciples; but, there’s a bit of a warning! We need to pray— “Lord, as we go into the world to advance Your kingdom, we need Your strength to help us be IN the world and not OF it!” We will face some spiritual warfare as we advance against Satan’s kingdom! There is an evil one who wants to take us down! We need to pray for the Spirit’s strength to withstand him; so, we pray for the Father’s guidance.

A Prime Motivation For Prayer

Overcoming sin and evil should be a prime motivation in our prayers! Are your prayers motivated by a desire to walk deliberately with your God? To love Him with a desire to keep His commandments? Test yourself! Are your prayers centered on the STUFF you want, or on Holy Spirit help to beat sin? Finally, Jesus adds these words, in His counsel to His disciples, about prayer: “…deliver us from the evil one…” (v.13) Earlier, in His ministry, Jesus had taught them that “…the evil one comes only to steal and to kill…” (John 10:10). He wants to steal your joy in the Lord and your love for God and others! He wants to kill your effectiveness as a disciple! And we don’t have the strength in ourselves to stand against him! We’re no match for Satan. So, Jesus is teaching us— as His disciples— to humble ourselves by praying for the Father’s protection from evil! To pray that He would deliver us from Satan! And, from falling back into sin! To stand firm and finish strong despite persecution, if we should face that kind of resistance.

Don’t Try To Counsel God

As I bring this series of posts on Jesus’ “model” prayer to a close, let me remind you never to pray like you’re trying to be God’s counselor! Never pray like you’re trying to convince God that YOU know the best way to run His kingdom! Clearly, Jesus leaves no room in His counsel on prayer for us to make prayer about what we think God should do. He’s far too wise! We’re far too ignorant of the details of His work in the world. He is an omniscient God—in other words, He knows EVERYTHING! That means He’s already considered anything you might try to convince Him to do! He may answer in the affirmative! Or, He may answer negatively! And if He does, it’s because He knows the “end from the beginning” and has the best reasons to make the wisest decision! Let us learn to pray with humility, trusting God’s answers always!
 

What Do Your Prayers Look Like?

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Are You Willing To Be Honest?

Are you willing to take a good, hard look at your prayer life? What do your prayers consist of? Are they consumed with requests? Are they filled with pleas for God to change your circumstances—make your life easier, help you earn more money at your job, or provide a new job altogether? What if none of that is God’s will for your life? Have you ever considered that? Have you ever considered that, for reasons beyond your ability to comprehend, it might not be God’s will to heal the person you’re praying for? Have you considered that, in God’s eternal plans for His glory and your good, it might not be His will for you to get the job you’ve always wanted?

The Proper Motive For Prayer

The only proper motive for prayer is God’s will. In Jesus’ model prayer, He taught His disciples to pray, “…your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Perhaps the implication is that, rather than praying for God to change our circumstances, we ought to pray that God would use the circumstances to change us. Not until after Jesus taught the disciples to pray for God’s will does He turn His attention to praying for their individual needs. Only after submitting to God’s will in prayer does He teach them to pray, “…give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). There is so much we could say about the simplicity of that prayer request: just give us what we need today. That’s it. Don’t borrow tomorrow’s trouble. Just ask for the Father’s provision today—and leave it there.

God Already Knows What We Need

Earlier in the same text, Jesus said, “When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7). Don’t babble lengthy prayers about your needs, Jesus said, because the Father already knows. Then Jesus turns His attention to praying for others. Again, this is a model prayer. “When you pray, pray like this,” He said. “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). In other words, pray that God would forgive you in the same way that you forgive others. Be so thankful for the Father’s forgiveness that you forgive others in the same way He forgave you—totally, completely.

God’s Absolute Forgiveness

There is nothing anyone has ever done to you that could compare to the quantity and level of depravity with which you’ve sinned against God. And yet, He forgave you. It’s not until we are truly thankful for His absolute forgiveness that we are truly able to forgive others. After He finished teaching the disciples how to pray, He shared these sobering words with them: “For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing” (Matthew 6:14–15). In essence, He’s telling them to take a hard look at themselves. If they’re unable to forgive others, it’s evidence that they may never have been forgiven themselves.
 

Prayer Is Not Counseling God

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We Don’t Know What’s Best

I’m afraid that many people treat prayer as their opportunity to counsel God on certain matters. We ought never to pray like we’re trying to convince God that we know what’s best—as if the eternal, all-wise God, who knows the end from the beginning and everything in between, needs our advice for anything! His eternal plans for creation were already laid out before the world began. The writer of Acts reminds us: “The God who made the world and everything in it—He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.” —Acts 17:24–27

God Doesn’t Need Our Counsel

When it comes to prayer, let’s get one thing straight: GOD DOESN’T NEED ANYTHING… INCLUDING OUR COUNSEL! He didn’t create us because of some deficiency, hoping that we could fix Him. There’s a clear, underlying message in Jesus’ response to His disciples’ question: “Lord, teach us to pray.” God doesn’t need us—we need Him! According to Jesus’ response in Matthew 6, prayer is to be GOD-CENTERED. “Pray like this,” He says, and He begins with the “Father,” not with us. By the way, He didn’t tell them to memorize it and repeat it mindlessly—“Our Father, who art in heaven…blah, blah, blah.” He said, “…pray like this.” This is how we’re supposed to pray—it’s Jesus’ model prayer.

Don’t Try Twisting God’s Arm

Rather than making prayer our attempt to twist God’s arm over something we want Him to do, prayer should begin with a focus on God the Father. Start your conversation with the Creator of the universe by honoring Him for His character. Praise Him for who He is! Don’t rush into His presence like your schedule is what matters—“Here’s my grocery list of needs, God! Will You go shopping for me?” Show Him reverence when you pray. You’re entering the throne room of Heaven! God transcends far above anything on your agenda. There’s an order here: Your kingdom first, Father! Our greatest desire should be that God’s name is hallowed, admired, and cherished. And He’s “our” Father too, Jesus says. Never get over that great doctrine of adoption—that God has birthed us into His family!

We Become His Children

Though we were born children of wrath because of our sin, He adopts us into His family in Christ. We’re FAMILY! Depend on Him like He’s family—because He is! We’re brothers, sisters, and joint-heirs with Jesus Himself. Then Jesus models prayer by moving from the Father’s character to His KINGDOM: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” —Matthew 6:10 So, pray like this, Jesus says—pray for the Father’s KINGDOM and for His WILL. If we’re praying like Jesus taught us to pray, our primary concern will be for the Father’s glory and the advancement of His kingdom. Our prayers will be GOD-CENTERED. Take note of the things you pray for. Are your prayers motivated by your dreams and goals, or by God’s eternal kingdom, His will, and His plans? Mature believers pray for God’s will above their own.

Lord, Teach Us To Pray

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Bad Prayer Habits Abound

I want to begin this series of posts on the subject of prayer by sharing with you the results of a survey titled “Top Ten Bad Prayer Habits.” Here they are: #10 — “My prayers are just a grocery list!” #9 — “I make my grocery list during my prayer time!” #8 — “I only pray by myself!” #7 — “I see prayer only as my personal wish list!” #6 — “I always pray the same thing and get bored!” #5 — “I only pray when I’m in a crisis!” #4 — “I do all the talking while I pray!” #3 — “I can’t stay focused while I pray!” #2 — “I’m just too busy to start my day with prayer!” #1 — “I don’t pray at all!” Can you identify with any of that? I can! I’m guessing we’ve all had—or still do have—some bad prayer habits. Now, if you claim to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, you can see how that would be a bit problematic if you don’t pray at all, right?

Praying Like Jesus

There’s an amazing New Testament text about prayer in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus was praying, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray!” Now, let me share my take on that scenario. I see it kind of like one of our typical church prayer meetings. Jesus and His disciples are all gathered in a circle praying, and the disciples have their little prayer lists: “God, keep us safe from the Romans… Help Zebedee catch lots of fish today… Help us not to get leprosy! That’s been going around… Oh, and bless the missionaries!” And when they finish, they look up—and Jesus is still praying! Minutes pass by. Maybe an hour. We don’t know. The text doesn’t tell us. But I get the idea that things begin to feel a bit awkward as the inadequacy of their own prayer lives becomes evident. Maybe they start whispering among themselves, as they often did:  “Hey, ask Him how to pray!” “I’m not gonna ask Him—that would be embarrassing! It’d be like admitting I don’t know how to pray!” However it actually worked out, one of them wrenches up the courage to ask Him: “Lord, teach us how to pray!” Not “me,” but “us”! So Jesus tells them how to pray. We need to pay attention here, church! To summarize, He tells them never to pray like they’re counseling God.

When You Pray

He told them: “…you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one…” —Matthew 6:9–13 If you were to underline or highlight any of Jesus’ words here, I’d go back to: v.5: “…whenever you pray…” v.6: “…when you pray…” v.7: “…when you pray…” v.9: “…pray like this…” Over the next couple of posts, we’ll dig deeper into Jesus’ instruction about prayer. And—spoiler alert—Jesus makes it clear that God doesn’t need us to tell Him what to do. That’s not prayer! Don’t hang out a shingle and try to be “God’s counselor.” Jesus tells them that prayer is how we align ourselves with God’s sovereign plans.
 

A Distinctly Christ-Centered Home (Part I)

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It Starts With Communication

I’m quite sure that everyone would agree that communication plays a huge part in family relationships! I heard of a man and wife who had only a dog that they loved like a child. One day, the wife headed out on a business trip, and when she got to her destination, she called home to check in with her husband. “How are things going?” she asked. His reply was shocking: “The dog’s dead.” “What?” she asked. “Why would you just come right out and say it like that? That’s devastating! Couldn’t you have told me that news a little differently? I’m miles from home, and you just blurt it out there—‘the dog’s dead.’” “Well, I don’t know how else to say it,” he responded. “I mean, he’s dead!” “Well,” she said, “you could have broken the news to me in stages.” “Like, what do you mean?” he asked. “Well, when I first called, you could have told me the dog fell off the roof. Then, when I checked in later, you might have said you had to take the dog to the animal hospital and he wasn’t doing well. The next day, you might have told me to sit down and brace myself—our darling dog has passed away! You could have done it like that so I could have handled it better.” “Okay, I get it,” he said. “I’m sorry! I’ll try to do better next time.” “Okay, thanks, honey,” she said. “I just needed to clear that up. So, how is my mother?” There was a pause. “She’s on the roof!” While that story may or may not have a whole lot to do with a distinctly Christ-centered home, I thought it was worth the chuckle it might generate.

A Uniquely Distinct Home

So let me begin this series of posts with the following statement—the life of a Christian husband and wife will be uniquely distinct from the marriages of the world! If you intend to follow Jesus, you need to settle that in your heart! The world will think us crazy, but that’s the world’s wisdom. Always remember: “The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:25). As long as we live by “the Book,” our worldview will never be accepted by the unbelieving crowd. We need to be okay with that! Don’t be abrasive about it. Always be kind and respectful when sharing your position. Just know that your view will be rejected.

Your Life As A Christian Wife

According to the Holy Spirit of God, who inspired Peter to write these words, your life as a Christian wife will be marked by submission to your own husband: “In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the Christian message, they may be won over without a message by the way their wives live” (1 Peter 3:1). Ladies, you’ll make no friends with the “Women’s Movement” if submission marks your relationship with your husband—but you will be a friend of God! That word “submit”—in the original Greek language—means to submit voluntarily to your husband’s lead. And notice how significant that could be in an unbelieving husband’s life. If your husband is disobedient to God, God may use your obedience to win your husband over to the Lord! (PART II Next Week)

Honoring Jesus With Our Gender

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The Culture Doesn’t Get It

We honor Jesus in our hearts when we obey Him with our lifestyles. And by our obedient lifestyle, we create curiosity. The answer the culture is giving about our sexual identity isn’t working—and it never will. But when we live sexually in obedience to God’s Word, we earn the right to share it when the world gets curious—to share with them the Gospel and God’s purpose for gender. This is difficult subject matter! It’s layered with lots of abuse and painful injuries dating all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and it’s just not easy to jump into without laying a foundation of understanding, empathy, and love.

Say It With Empathy & Love

And that is what the world needs from us: understanding, empathy, and love. It’s simply not helpful when, instead, we offer them self-righteous judgment and vindictiveness. So, let me try to unpack some of the main points from the first two chapters of Genesis—especially as it relates to gender and sexual identity. We need to take note of some of the implications it has for our homes, our families, and how it plays into our child-rearing. Keep in mind, from an interpretive standpoint of the text, that Genesis chapter 1 presents the “big picture” of God’s creative act, and chapter 2 fills in the details. Chapter 1 is like the Super Bowl headlines the day after—“Patriots Win the Most Boring Super Bowl Ever”—and chapter 2 is like the story that fills in the details of how the Patriots pummeled the Rams into submission.

What Shapes Our Opinions?

Let’s also remember the most important detail as followers of Jesus Christ: when determining our roles as men and women, God’s Word must shape our opinions—not the culture! And perhaps the most significant point of the text is that God created humanity to reflect His image: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth’” (Genesis 1:26). God created humanity to function as His living image over the creation. And I believe it’s correct to interpret “man” here as “mankind,” including both man and woman. I believe the next verse bears that out—God created humanity to bear His image as male and female.

God Created Maleness & Femaleness

The text says:  “So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female” (Genesis 1:27).  Our “maleness” and our “femaleness” are essential parts of being God’s image-bearers. Somehow—and I don’t want to get weird here—but somehow it seems that God is saying it was in the complementing or the completing of the man with the creation of woman that humanity was created in the image of God. That image wasn’t clear or evident until woman complemented God’s creation of man. So here’s my plea: Men and women—we need each other to correctly image God in His creation! When we grasp the significance of that, we’ll begin to glory in both manhood and womanhood. Together, we are God’s intentional design of human diversity!
 

Determining Gender Roles

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The Culture Is Broken

Our culture is broken! Have you noticed that? It’s broken because it’s made up of broken people who are born into this world totally depraved and separated from God because of their sin! Only the Gospel of Christ can adequately and accurately direct us to solutions that restore our homes and our communities! Our broken culture can’t help us! When determining our roles as men and women, God’s Word must shape our opinions, not the culture!

The Original Design

God’s original design, at Creation, can be found in Genesis, the book of beginnings! After creating Adam, “…the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.’” (Genesis 2:18) So, God designed the woman to “complement” the man— not “compliment” (as in, “Why, Adam, what a handsome, rugged man you are”)—but to “complement” or “complete” him. Yes! That means that the man was NOT complete by himself! Eve was his “completer”; and, by implication, she was also made complete by Adam! Adam and Eve, man and woman, were created and designed by God to “complement” and “complete” one another… NOT to compete!

Happiness & Fulfillment Realized

The way that men and women find genuine happiness and fulfillment is in owning the identity given to them by God, their designer! The culture is WRONG! Ladies: You will not find meaning in your life by becoming more manly and aggressive! And, men: You will not find meaning in your life by becoming more passive, effeminate, and unsure of yourself! And, for the same reason we needed to shed the ethnic jokes, we need to quit making fun of those who’ve become so twisted in their logic that they think the answer is in self-mutilation—removing the sexual organs they were created with and adding sexual prosthetic organs.

Anger With Their Creator

How sad! Their gripe is ultimately with their Creator! They’ve fallen into the same trap as Adam and Eve in the garden, when the tempter convinced them that life would be so much better if they could be their own god! Somehow, he convinced them that an all-wise God didn’t know what He was doing when He created them! So, how’s that working out? Not very well for the human race! We’ve never been more confused!

God, Help Us Love The Broken

The Apostle Paul asks, “But who are you, a mere man, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” (Romans 9:20) And yet, that’s exactly what we do when we fight God on the way He designed us! If you’re a follower of Jesus, let me challenge you to love the broken world of people we’re surrounded by! Jesus wept over people! He saw them as sheep without a Shepherd! We won’t win the culture wars by arguing and shouting down those who disagree with us on this issue! We won’t win with our rants on Facebook or Twitter or the blogosphere! When we’re quoting 1 Peter 3:15, “…always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” don’t forget the rest of it: “…however, do so with gentleness and respect…”
 

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Worship God Rightly

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An Example of Biblical Worship

It’s been my experience that many, who claim to be followers of Jesus, do not worship God rightly. I’ve found many who claim to be worshipers, but their worship fails to resemble what God commands worship to look like in Scripture. A great example of biblical worship can be found in King David’s Holy Spirit-inspired message to Israel about proper worship. Just open your Bibles to 1 Chronicles 16 and you’ll see what I mean. Among other things, David commands the congregation to worship God with their offerings: “…ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name; bring an offering and come before Him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness” (v.29). Don’t come to worship God empty-handed!

Stewards! Not Owners!

Remember that we are stewards and managers of God’s stuff, not OWNERS! God owns all of our stuff! We’ve been given the responsibility to manage a portion of God’s estate. God is the owner of it all! And worship has always included an offering! David also led Israel to worship God for His creation— “…the world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord is King!’ Let the sea and everything in it resound; let the fields and all that is in them exult. Then the trees of the forest will shout for joy before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth” (vv. 30-33). All of creation— the heavens, the earth, the sea and everything in it; the fields and all that is in them; the trees of the forest— all worship Yahweh, David says!

The Very Rocks Would Cry Out

At Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when the Pharisees told Him to rebuke His disciples for giving Him honor as Messiah, Jesus told them that “…if they kept silent, the very rocks would cry out…” We are called to worship God for the wonder of His creation and for the wonder that all creation worships Him! And then, David instructs Israel to worship God now because they’ll be worshiping God for all eternity— “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever. And say: ‘Save us, God of our salvation; gather us and rescue us from the nations so that we may give thanks to Your holy name and rejoice in Your praise. May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised from everlasting to everlasting” (v.34). We don’t know a lot about heaven, but worship will be part of it!

Worship Beyond Imagination

It’s a clear sign that a believer hasn’t spent a lot of time in prayer and the Word— seeking after God— when they express fear that an eternity in heaven may get boring! After a billion years, we’ll still not know our God completely! But I’m certain I will find Him more fascinating than all the Super Bowls and Star Trek reruns I’ve ever watched! As David finished his sermon, the text says that all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord” (v.36).  And there was great joy as God dwelt with His people. The disciples also had great joy as God, the Messiah, dwelt with them during his three-and-a-half-year ministry leading up to the cross. In heaven, Revelation reveals that “God will dwell among us”; forever we’ll worship Him!

Avoiding An Insignificant Life

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A Desire For More Stuff

Let me share something with you that you may not know about the average 5-year-old in America— the average 5-year-old in America has 250 toys! Yes, I said 250 toys! Now, let’s apply some math to that. A 5-year-old has only lived on planet Earth for roughly 250 weeks. So, that 5-year-old has grown up getting 1 new toy every week—on average—for their entire life! That’s just the AVERAGE! Some have 500 toys! Others have 1000! And why are we surprised that they are rarely satisfied? That they are always wanting more? We’ve trained them to be “consumers,” haven’t we? We’re a culture that’s consumed by a desire for more stuff!

The Stuff We Don’t Have

We’re constantly exposed to commercials that advertise all the stuff we don’t have and tell us that we need it! “Our friends went to Best Buy on Black Friday and got a new 70” Smart TV, and our puny 55” TV just doesn’t cut it anymore”— that’s the general mindset of the average American! You take a ride in your friend’s new car and you love that new car smell! You get back in your old car and it smells like french fries and damp, moldy soccer cleats! You walk through SAMS, Target, or COSTCO and you see all this new stuff that you NEED! You didn’t know you needed it until you got there and saw what you were missing! Now, I may be exaggerating a bit, but not by much!

Stewards of God’s Estate

If we’re followers of Jesus, we can’t tolerate that selfish consumerism controlling our lives! We must see ourselves— as Scripture tells us— as faithful “stewards” of God’s resources! We “manage” a portion of God’s “estate” that He’s entrusted to our care! How are we doing with that? If you live your life like you think you “own” your stuff, you’ll waste it all on building your own “little kingdom”— you’ll live an insignificant life! For the one claiming to follow Jesus, we should not fear failure as much as we should fear success at something that really doesn’t matter in light of eternity! We need a constant reminder from God’s Holy Spirit that NOTHING we have is truly our own! It all belongs to God! And whatever He’s given us, He’s trusting us to manage it well for Him or to leverage it in a way that builds His “big kingdom”! That’s how we avoid an insignificant life!

How To Beat Consumerism

In the Apostle Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he instructed him to: “Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good reserve for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real” (1 Timothy 6:17-19). Here’s how I would paraphrase Paul’s challenge: You beat consumerism by denying your flesh and by chasing a new passion! It’s not just enough to deny your flesh; you need to live for a new passion! To the rich, he says, don’t be arrogant (v.17). So, a key to avoiding the insignificant life is to renounce the financial pride that can overtake us! Remember, it’s not ours!