Dealing with Offense part 1
How important is respect? When I asked this question in youth last night, nearly everyone in the room gave it a 4 or 5, on a scale of 1 to 5. As I was mulling over last nights activities, I thought of a few other examples of what we talked about, but rather than dragging this series on for another 3 weeks I figured that I could just say what I need to in a couple blogs. But before I get to the topic, here are a couple quotes on respect:
If you're breathing, respect is probably a big deal for you. Last night in youth we talked about the how hurtful offense is, and how it gives the enemy a foothold in our lives. I'm convinced that this is one of the number one ways that he attacks us, because it makes us ineffective in the Kingdom of God. Ephesians 4 says this:
My uncle's dying wish was to have me sitting on his lap. He was in the electric chair.
I tell ya when I was a kid, all I knew was rejection. My yo-yo, it never came back!
My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met.
When I played in the sandbox the cat kept covering me up.
26"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold.When we allow ourselves to harbor bitterness, we give the devil a chance to attack us without even realizing. The problem with offense is that often times we have the "right" to be angry. If someone hurts us, we feel justified talking about them behind their back. But that's not what God wants for us.
I'll explore this more in later posts, but this one is getting too long.
-Jeff-
Matthew 17: 14-20
14When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15"Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."
17"O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." 18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
19Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
20He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."Once upon a time, we see Jesus talking with his disciples about their "lack of faith." We're told that with the right amount of faith we can do anything, even move a mountain. When talking with a man whose son was possessed by a demon, Jesus told him to just believe. With faith we can do anything, and yet we see very little getting done. Why!?!
I like to compare faith to a receipt that you get when you pray. It's our assurance that the thing that we bought with our prayers will be coming to us. And really, with a receipt, it doesn't matter at all what size it is. The Bible talks in Galatians 6 about how we should not despise small beginnings, and that's what Jesus is saying here. If you have faith, it doesn't matter the size, because Jesus will help you with the rest.
More faith isn't better than less faith, it just means it's been exercised more. Think about it like a muscle, if you work it out (through using it) and nourish it (through prayer and Bible study) it will grow. If you don't it won't.
What will you use your faith to do today?
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Luke 18: 1-8
1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'
4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "
6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
Have you ever been to the grocery store and seen a toddler with their parents? Having two kids myself (Soon to be three!) I can tell you that there may be nothing more annoying than when you're kids won't stop asking for things at the store. Usually after the second or third time asking, my jaw starts to clench, and my blood pressure goes up, and I set myself up against them getting anything at all! So when I read this I can feel what the judge is going through (if you don't have kids, try to imagine when your little brother or sister won't stop harassing you). Imagine that you are that judge, and that this person won't stop bothering you. Ever. Until they get what they want. No matter how strong you are, you will finally end up giving in to them, just to make them go away.
In the same way, Jesus says, we need to go after God like that in prayer. And then He calls that faith. If you want mercy, or anything else, go to God with persistence and passion. Drag your heels and stomp your feet if you have to, like a toddler who wants a new toy. And in the end, God says that He will bring about justice for you.
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Luke 16: 1-8
1Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'
3"The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg— 4I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'
5"So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'
6" 'Eight hundred gallonsa]">[a] of olive oil,' he replied.
"The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.'
7"Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?'
" 'A thousand bushelsb]">[b] of wheat,' he replied.
"He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'
8"The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.
I'm totally gonna rip this off from a sermon that I heard Andy Stanley preach one time, but it's so good that I just have to.
One of the things I love about reading the parables of Jesus is his ability to take something common (like someone about to be fired from their job) and find a spiritual application to it.
This money manager one day gets a wake up call from his boss, he's told to wrap up any orders he may have, 'cause he's out of here. Many of us would have just walked away from the job, left things a mess and made the owner pick up the pieces. He may have wanted to do just that, but as he was thinking, he realized that he didn't want to work with his hands, and he was too proud to beg, so what was he going to do?
At this point, this man had a little bit of time, and a little bit of resources. So he put these things to use in the best way he could. He used his little time and little resources and was able to gain favors from different people, so that when he was fired, he had a few people who owed him. His boss was obviously the same way, because he just laughed at the guy.
It's the same thing with us, we have a little time here on Earth, and a few resources (money, friends, the Bible) to work with. Are we using them for the best possible purpose? Or are we wasting them away? Do something with your time and resources today.
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Matthew 12: 46-50
46While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."
48He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
At first glance this seems a little harsh, doesn't it? Jesus was talking in church and his mom showed up to talk with him, but he didn't want anything to do with her (on second thought, we're all like that sometimes!). Jesus taught us to obey our parents, and to love our brothers and sisters, so I don't think this verse is meant to put them down, but rather to show that we're all part of God's family! God has called us to be, not his servant, but his child! He loves us and wants to be with us like a father teaching his son t-ball or how to ride a bike. And if you didn't have that experience with your Dad, don't worry, because God wants to be that kind of Dad to you!
Spend some time with Him today,
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Matthew 5: 25-26
25"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
When you're fighting with someone, don't wait for a third person to get into the mix. Instead, do what you can to make things right before it even gets that far, because if you don't you may discover that you are in the wrong and then you will have to pay for everything you've done.
Sometimes even when we're right, we can be wrong by the way we do things. And there are always two sides to any story. Here are a couple steps you might try next time you're in a fight with someone:
- Search your heart. Try and find something that you did that was wrong. Even if it was a misunderstanding, try and figure it out.
- Apologize. Say you're sorry for whatever you did wrong. I one time had a guy scream at me and stick his finger an inch from my face. I went back and said sorry for my bad attitude!
- Take the high road. Don't get involved in bashing that person behind their back. Once you've said sorry, you need to move on.
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Luke 12:16-21
Luke 12:16-21
16. And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man
produced a good crop. 17. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I
have no place to store my crops.'
18. "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and
build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19.
And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many
years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
20. "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?'
21. "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself
but is not rich toward God."
Not that I would know, but there is nothing wrong with being rich. Jesus
is not saying "Don't be rich" but is saying "Don't be greedy but be
rich toward God". You see this guy only wanted more stuff for himself
when he already Rich.
What does "Rich toward God" mean? It means looking at the needs of
others, supporting your local church, supporting missionaries, maybe
seeing your neighbor in need and helping them, taking on a God like
attitude and heart.
after all we have belongs to God anyway.
My suggestion to you is, no matter what you have... much or little, be
rich toward God and God will bless you.
Later,
DJ Jackson
The Parables of Jesus: Luke 12:21-25
Luke 12:21-25 Also Matthew 6:26
Do Not Worry
21. Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not
worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you
will wear. 23. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
24. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom
or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than
birds! 25. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
A University in Texas one time wanted to know how much it would cost to
feed the birds in the whole State of Texas....They found out it was to
big to measure! So they decided just doing the city of Dallas.....again
they found out the city of Dallas was still to big to measure! So they
decided again to see what the cost would be to feed the all bird at a
local City park in Dallas for a day.....you know what still to
big...they couldn't measure it.
One of names used for God in the Bible is "Jehovah-jireh" means
"God my Provider." I can't tell you how many times God has provided for
me! Jobs, food, clothing, etc. We serve an Awesome God who takes care
of us. So don't worry just trust in God!
Later,
DJ Jackson
The Parables of Jesus: Luke 11:5-9
Luke 11:5-9
5. Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes
to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6.
because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing
to set before him.'
7. "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already
locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you
anything.' 8. I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the
bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness, he
will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9. "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will
find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Some people think if they ask God for anything they are bugging
God, imposing on him, thinking God will be to busy, get mad, think God
won't think it's important enough, or he simply won't answer.
How many of you would go to your friend house...in the middle of
the night....lights are out....you know their in bed, sleeping and ask
them for some sandwiches, chips and some Mountain Dew? Not me! (well
maybe for a Mountain Dew!)
But Jesus is telling us in this parable to do just that. Go to
him with Boldness! I'm sure the guy in this parable didn't just knock
once. He rang the doorbell several times, Knocked loudly, after all they
were sleeping. then the guy in the house said "don't bother me" Most of
us would of walked away but the guy wanting the bread started shouting
to the guy inside the house. " I Want Bread Dude!" The outcome is....
he got what he wanted.
Sometimes in my life I've prayed for a few seconds walked away
and no answer, other times I've gone to the altar or gotten on my knees
and cried out to God until I heard him speak to me or felt the prayer
had been answered or the Holy Spirit gave me a peace. It was not a fast
food type of prayer but I really persisted and God came through for me.
Ask, Seek, Knock and God will answer!
Later,
DJ Jackson
Matthew 5:14-15 The Beatitudes
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Have you ever hidden under your covers at night to read a book? I know I'm weird, and I may be the only one, but I can distinctly remember trying to convince my parents that I was sleeping, all the while slipping under my blankets with a flashlight. I was hiding because I didn't want my parents to know that I wasn't sleeping. Why do we hide as Christians? God has placed His light inside of us! God has allowed us to shine His light, and yet we try to cover it up.
Peak your head out from your bed and let your light shine a little today.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:13 The Beatitudes
13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
In the French fry of life, are you the potato or the salt? I'm afraid that too many of us try too hard to fit in, and therefore lose all effectiveness. God has called us to stand out from the world, and to provide flavor for it. If you've ever had a french fry without salt you know exactly what I'm talking about! But there's another thing that I hate even more than a bland french fry, and that's when you go to McDonalds and get the cold fries from the bottom of the tray, when every employee has walked by and thrown salt on it! I can feel it in the back of my throat right now! Ugh.
We need to be different enough to provide flavor for the world, but not so different that we're just obnoxious!
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:10-12 The Beatitudes
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Recently I was driving around town and happened to see a guy dressed as the statue of liberty selling something, auto insurance I think. What possesses someone to do that? First off, why do companies think this is a good idea? I think the reasoning is that if they humiliate one of their employees long enough, people will take pity on that person and go buy something from their store. And let's be serious now, don't you feel a little bad for them? I mean, I spent so much time feeling bad that I can't even remember what he was selling!
Obviously this person is doing this because he lost a bet of some sort. Or maybe for a paycheck, but if that's true it better be a good one.
My point is, what does the reward need to be in order for you to humiliate yourself? If I gave you a million dollars, would you tell people about Jesus? What about $10,000? $1,000? What about if I gave you Heaven? Would that be enough to endure persecution? Something to think about.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:9 The Beatitudes
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
You want to be a child of God? Jesus said that everyone would know that we are His disciples because of our love for each other. James says that we can't even know God unless we love our brother. I can imagine that seeing Christians fight is a HUGE turnoff to non-believers. One of the ways we shine God's love is by loving others, even at the expense of ourselves. In order to be a peacemaker, we need to be willing to compromise and let others be right, that's what God has called us to do.
Let your light shine, find someone you've been fighting with and forgive them.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:8 The Beatitudes
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Oh man, I want to see Him. I think this is one of the greatest promises in the whole Bible, because I can't think of anything better than to be able to stand before God one day. It gives me hope that all of that time that I've spent taking my thoughts captive will eventually pay off. It encourages me that everytime I've turned off a movie or skipped through a sex scene is going to lead me a little closer to the day when I'll be able to look upon Him face to face. And how glorious will that day be!!!
Keep your eyes on the prize, and don't let yourself get distracted by the world.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:7 The Beatitudes
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
One of the sayings of Jesus day went like this: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." That meant that if someone did something bad to you, you had the right to get even. Interestingly, the reason that was put in place was to limit the amount of payback you could get. So if someone stole your cow, you couldn't go kill them, you just took a cow back. But that's not the point of this verse. Mercy is defined as compassionate treatment of those under your power. According to the law, you have the right to take revenge, you have the power over them. But according to mercy, you're going to give them a pass. If you do that, the Bible says that you will be shown mercy. And let's be honest, before God all of us have messed up waaaayyyyy more than we'd like to admit.
Find someone who's wronged you today, and give them a little of the mercy that you've received.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:6 The Beatitudes
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Taste and see. The next time you open a Snickers bar, take a good long look at it.
Really, what is there that's appealing about that right there? I mean, if you didn't know what chocolate tasted like, and you saw one of those laying on the ground... I mean, it's brown, it's long, it's bumpy... Do I really need to spell it out for you? And yet even now I'm trying to resist the urge to go buy one, because I've tasted Snickers and they are GOOD!The Bible says it's the same way with righteousness. If we hunger for it, we will be filled. But how can you hunger for something you've never tried? Righteousness is simply our right standing before God. So spend the rest of today trying to do what God wants you to do, and see how it feels. I bet you develop a taste for it.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:5 The Beatitudes
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
I think that we get this verse a little backwards sometimes. We assume that as Christians we need to be weak and allow people to step all over us. Meek does not equal weak! If we're going to inherit the Earth someday, we're going to need to know how to lead! Meekness is not the absence of power, in fact, to be truly meek, you need to have power and be willing to lay it down. If you have nothing, or are powerless and you let people push you around you've accomplished nothing. But if you're strong, and allow people to get there way anyway, then you are truly meek.
Allow someone else to be right today. Don't fight for your own way, but let them win. In doing that, we get a little closer to God.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:4 The Beatitudes
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Grief isn't a bad thing. Especially for us guys out there, we've been taught to cover up our emotions and act tough around people, because that's how men are! However, the Bible teaches us that we're blessed when we mourn. Why? Because God wants to comfort us! He wants us to pour out our hearts to Him, to experience His love and the way that only He can take care of us.
If you choose to bottle things up, eventually it's going to come out. But if you allow God to walk with you through your grief, you will come out stronger on the other side.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:3 The Beatitudes
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
It's important to know what you don't know. In working with students, you meet a lot of people who are pretty sure they have life figured out. Of course, I'm not talking about YOU!!! But your friends and classmates have this problem where they think they know it all, don't they? As I'm getting older, I'm realizing more and more that there are gaps in my knowledge, and I'm okay with that. When Jesus talks about being poor in spirit, He's not saying that you have to be emo and cut yourself, but he is saying that you need to recognize your shortcomings, and make yourself lower than the person next to you. Remember when He said that the first would be last, and that in order to be the greatest in the kingdom you have to be the least? Find a way to serve someone today. And I'll throw this out for free, you don't need to look any further than your parents.
-Jeff-
