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Published: 02 March 2014

Missing cat? Missing dog? Fugitive on the run? We see signs for rewards in the post office, on utility poles and in grocery stores. Have you given much thought to the rewards Jesus talked about? If we are going to teach everything that Jesus taught in obedience to the Great Commission, it is something we should think about. In the chapters of Matthew that we like to call “the core content of Jesus’ teaching” (Sermon on the Mount), Jesus taught that serving with the thought of reward is not wrong. However, if our chief desire is the reward of man, we are missing the better reward. Serving for man’s reward becomes a snare. It can lead us to pragmatic approaches that often actually displease the One we say we serve. I am not entirely sure what the rewards of God are. Here is what I am sure about…God is the first reward and anything after that doesn’t seem to matter too much. If we have Him, we have everything we need and long for. Having His presence, His smile, His approval and knowing that He is for us is “food indeed.” But there are other aspects of His rewards that are hinted in the Scripture as well. I love this verse in Hebrews 6, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” God is a good Father and as the hymn stated so well, “It will be worth it all when we see Christ.” So if you are serving the Lord in obscurity at home, in a job that nobody sees or in church and you are feeling unappreciated; know this, the Father sees, He knows and He remembers. In fact, as we will see in the conclusion of Matthew 10, even a cup of water given in obscure locations to insignificant people (by the world standard) is rewarded by the all seeing, all knowing, all loving God. “Your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

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Published: 21 February 2014

One of the privileges of preparing sermons each week is all the little snacks I glean from material that never makes it into a sermon or lesson. I’ll probably mention this again on Sunday but in case I don’t, here is a great line from scholar Ed Glasscock, “This saying is either that of the Messiah or of a maniac.” He is commenting on Matthew 10:35-37 where Jesus warns His disciples that following Him may cause division among families. Any time someone makes a statement requiring absolute loyalty we may be inclined to ask, “Who do you think you are?” It’s a good question to ask, especially if someone is asking us to disregard the teachings of Jesus! I often told our sons, “A choice to do one thing is a choice to not do something else.” A corollary to that would be, “A choice to listen to one person’s advice is a choice to disregard someone else’s advice.” There are many people, organizations and causes calling for our loyalty and we simply cannot be loyal to them all. Complicating matters even further is the desires and ideas we have about life and how to live. There can be so many voices that it becomes nearly impossible to hear the Voice of Truth. Because Jesus wants us to have abundant life He offers a simple way to cut through all the noise. Listen to Him. Simple. When there are competing voices seeking our attention and loyalty, dispense with the debate and choose the teaching of Jesus. He is God. He is smart. He knows life. The loudest (and often most dangerous) voice we hear is our own. Jesus said that if we choose to live based on our own desires in opposition to His we will waste/lose our lives. He will not force us to His ways but He is delighted to help us walk in them if we choose to do so. Cooperation with Him is the path to the abundant life. So, the next time you catch yourself being tempted to choose your own way over His way, go look in the mirror and say, “Who do you think you are?”