RICHES AND THE KINGDOM

SATURDAY, October 20
Mark 10: 29-31 (The Message)
"Jesus said, “Mark my words, no one who sacrifices house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, land—whatever—because of me and the Message will lose out. They’ll get it all back, but multiplied many times in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land—but also in troubles. And then the bonus of eternal life! This is once again the Great Reversal: Many who are first will end up last, and the last first.”

Blessings in abundance.
God-given gifts.
Ours to have and hold,
To enjoy and relish.
But only if the decision has been made.
The sacrifice fulfilled.
The control relinquished.
Then the Kingdom is truly ours,
The blessings overflowing.
Don't run to the head of the line.
Patiently serve to the end. 
The bonus is eternal. 

d365.org GO!  (John Woods)
Go now knowing just how much you are blessed.
Find creative ways to risk yourself for the world God loves.
Seek out ways to be extravagant with your gifts,
Making your life useful in God's service.

FRIDAY, October 19 "Let God"
Mark 10:26-27 (The Message)
"Then who has any chance at all?" they [the disciples] asked.  Jesus was blunt: "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself.  Every chance in the world if you let God do it."

    "Let God do it."  Let go and let God.  How many times have I heard this message given?  What are we letting go of?  Must we all sell all we have? Literally taken, yes; but I think Jesus is asking us to let go of something more.  We need to let go of selfishness, of tight-fisted holding on to more than we need.  We need to let go of trying to control our life; trying to be the one in charge.  We need to let go of worrying about tomorrow when today has enough worries of its own.  We need to let go of hurts and pains, frustrations and bitterness.  Then we can let God take over!  We can let God be in control!  We can let God bless us with 'enough' but not 'excess'.  We can let God guide us to his service.  Let go and let God.  It is a pretty good slogan for life.  

THURSDAY, October 18 "Camels & Needles"

Mark 10:23-25 (The Message)

"Looking at his disciples, Jesus said, 'Do you have any ideahow difficult it is for people who 'have it all' to enter God's kingdom?  The disciples couldn't believe what they were hearing, but Jesus kept on.  'You can't imagine how difficult.  I'd say it's easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for the rich to get into God's Kingdom."

Camels. 

Needles. 

What in the world is Jesus talking about?

A camel is huge:

Big humps, big feet. 

A needle is so small. 

It's hard to put thread through at times!

Impossible. 

Can't be done. 

But...what are you saying, Lord?

The camel is easier to thread

Than the rich,

Loaded down with cars and houses,

Money and wealth,

Overflowing closets,

And tightly clenched fists holding on to it all?

But the rich give money to the poor!

The rich care about the Kingdom of God!

Isn't that true?  Doesn't that matter?

Help me understand, God! 

WEDNESDAY, October 17 “Cookie Jar”

Mark 10:22 (The Message)

“The man’s face clouded over.  This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart.  He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.”

     As I read this passage, the image of the child caught with a hand in the cookie jar came to mind – the hand that couldn’t come OUT of the opening because it was holding on to too many cookies!  Are we holding on to too many riches and possessions and unable to let go and enjoy the goodness of the cookie?   

     Are we the man with the heavy heart because God has told us what to do, but we aren’t willing to take that final step of submission?  How many cookies are in my tightly clenched fist?   

My hand is caught in the cookie jar.

I have it wrapped around giant cookies of possessions,

Bad habits,

Misconceived ideas,

God.

Yes, I have my grip on that tasty cookie, too.

I don’t want to let go and lose my cookies.

I can’t pull them all from the jar.

Jesus says, “Let go of all the others.”

Jesus says there is only one cookie that matters.

A super great-tasting cookie,

That will sustain me for life.

Let go!

And my hand can bring out just one:

The God-Cookie. 

TUESDAY, October 16 “Yard Sale?”

Mark 10:19-21 (The Message)

“You know the commandments: Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, honor your father and mother.’  He said, ‘I have, Teacher – from my youth – kept them all!’ Jesus looked him hard in the eye – and loved him!  He said, ‘There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it all to the poor.  All your wealth will then become heavenly wealth.  And come follow me.”

    Jesus has listed all the commandments regarding our relationships with each other.  These are the ‘easy’ ones to keep; it’s how we define ourselves as a good ‘moral person’.  But then?  There’s more!  It’s almost like an infomercial – ‘But wait!  There’s more!’  There’s the matter of our relationship with God, the sacrifice and relinquishment of what we are and have to God’s control.  This is MUCH harder. 

     If I met an itinerant preacher on the streets of Baker City and he told me to sell my house and possessions, leave Rick, and follow him, would I do it?  Probably not!  Yet that is exactly what is happening for this well-intentioned man. 

     The key here to me is ‘Jesus looked him hard in the eye – and loved him!’  God knows us and loves us – much better than we do ourselves.  For THIS man, Jesus knew total sell-0off of his wealth was what it would take because the man was controlled by his possessions.  This is not the answer God gives to everyone.  But it begs each of us to ask ourselves, “Where do we place God in relationship to all we ‘own’?  (Who are we kidding, it’s all a gift from God anyway!)  Is God at the top?  More important than all the rest?  Or perhaps we have the need for a yard sale as well!  

Monday, October 15
Mark 10: 17-18 (The Message)

"As he went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”

Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God."

God of everything,

Riches and wealth,
Beauty and wisdom,I have a simple question:
How do I live?
How do I live with and in you?
What must I do?
I ask your Son. 
But, as usual, He turns it around,
And asks me another.  
It puts me on the defensive. 
I'm not sure how to answer. 
'No one is good,
Only God.'
Is this God speaking to me? 
Reminding me that ONLY through him will 
His Kingdom come.
His will be done?


Sunday, October 14
d365.org PAUSE!  (John Woods)
There is such a thing, you know, as having too much: too much money, too much power, too many possessions, even too much time – if we become bored with it.

It's hard to know, sometimes, when it becomes too much. A good clue is that we lose sight of when and where the reign of God is revealed.

In these next moments, ask God to clarify your view, clear out whatever clouds your vision, and help you to see where God is at work.

Job 23:1-4 (The Message)
“I’m not letting up—I’m standing my ground.
    My complaint is legitimate.
God has no right to treat me like this—
    it isn’t fair!
If I knew where on earth to find him,
    I’d go straight to him.
I’d lay my case before him face-to-face,
    give him all my arguments firsthand."

     I am sorry to be missing Rev. Katy's Sermons on Job!

     Job had riches and wealth.  Job was blessed.  All was stripped from him. Why? Job asks!  Why doesn't God answer?  Why can't Job seem to 'find God' to get his issue resolved? Perhaps God is still using Job in some way...God isn't absent, but at work! 

     How much is too much? Some accumulate wealth and put it in bank accounts to grow and grow....and never spend.  Or buy and buy and then shove it all into closets because it is blocking the hallway!  Some retirees have far more than ever before because they have saved and saved and never learned how to spend.  What is the opposite of poverty?  ENOUGH.  Rick and I used that as a guide for when to retire....not when we had bundles of money, but enough.  And....when God made clear that it was time to use our enough for his work. 

     We are leaving Las Cruces and our Habitat for Humanity work today to head northward...slowly making our way back home.  To our full closets and material riches.  May God continue to 'clarify our view, clear out whatever clouds our vision, and help us to see where God wants to put us to work'.