Deserves

What do you deserve?

Do you know someone that has what they don't deserve? Or someone that deserves more than what they have?

On what do you base these things?

If a person has much wealth and donates much of it to people not as well off as them, do they deserve good things to happen to them? Do they deserve to have no one close to them die because of what they do for others?

If a person is poor and living on the streets, but gives everything they have daily for the people that need, do they deserve to have a good income and own possessions?

Recently, as well as several times before, I have sat through a sermon at a church where the Pastor says something along the lines of "salvation, though we don't deserve it."

I have a problem with the word deserve.

The problem with deserve is twofold. First, it is rather subjective. What I feel someone does or does not deserve may be different than what you think. I see a rich man that owns boats, cars, houses, and businesses and say, "he doesn't deserve all that." However, you see the same man traveling 20 weeks a year on mission trips and giving much of his income to needy people and say, "he deserves for his business to prosper."

It is the same when we apply it to ourselves. Do you really think that EVERY person around you thinks that you deserve the same things YOU think you deserve? Your family? Your coworker? What about the 13 year old child in Africa that has not slept in a building or eaten a meal in days?

The second problem with deserve is much more important. Think of any time you have ever thought about what someone does or does not deserve. Think about what you base that opinion on every single time. What did that person do to make you think that?.............

There it is.........What did that person DO......

Deserve, for us, revolves around works and deeds.

In the movie, Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood's character, William Munny, does a lot of bad things throughout his life. He feels bad for those things, and years later, after his wife dies, he feels he didn't deserve the good life he was able to live with her.

Later, in retribution for the beating and killing of his friend, he holds a gun to the face of the man responsible. As Little Bill is lying on his back, scared and angry, he tells him, "I don"t deserve this. To die like this." Munny looks down the barrel at him and says,

"Deserves got nothin' to do with it."

If I gave you a list with a bunch of names on it, could you tell me who deserves to be happy; to be rich; to be poor; to be alone? You don't know whether the name represents a child, an adult, what kind of clothes they wear, where they live, what religion they are-you don't know anything about them. What do they deserve?

We are so stuck on worldly things.

God is not bound by our feeble boundaries. He gives GRACE freely. And GRACE outweighs DESERVES. He takes that same list of people and invites them to Him for eternity. And He knows EVERYTHING about them. Their thoughts, fears, indiscretions, doubts, and mistakes.

Does that mean God thinks we deserve Heaven? I can't/won't opine on what God "thinks." But, suppose He has a different idea of "deserves."

He tells us "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture." John 10:9


" Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35


He gives us His grace freely, Jesus died for ALL to be forgiven of their sins, He tells us that we need to accept Christ and we will be with him for all eternity.

There are no promises for a stress-free life, to be rich on Earth, to not be afflicted with disease or sickness; The only thing He promises is eternal life.

"Deserves got nothin' to do with it."

Good

Person 1: I lied
Person2: I stole
Person 3: I killed
Person 4: I cursed God


Come on now, tell the truth--as you were reading them, in your mind you were forming a little list of better to worse; of the strictest penalty to the most lenient;

Of what was good or not good.

The world is a funny place. I don't mean that in a 'ha ha" funny either.

Are you a sinner? I am. I don't ask that to make you feel self conscious..............well, yeah, in a way I do.

This whole weekend as we went through Good Friday and Easter, I churned over the idea of good. No one is good. Jesus knew that. That was the reason he had to do what he did. He died for our sins to be forgiven. He died because the only one whom is good, God, wanted to save us.

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good -- except God alone." Mark 10:18

I sometimes think that the world is made up of us and them. There is the good people and the .......well.......
As Christians, are we any better? Of course not.

We are the us. We are the them.

The entire life of Jesus tells us of all of the great things he did for people when he was on this Earth. Tax collectors, prostitutes, all of the people their own society deemed not "good." He came to bring us all his light, knowing we were sinners.

"On hearing this, Jesus said to them, " It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Mark 2:17

BUT WAIT! you say............what about the law, what about the commandments we were given by God? Are we not obligated to obey those?

Maybe, but how do you obey them? do you obey them out of a fear of the retribution of God? Do you obey them because you fear hell? Or do you obey them because you are grateful for Christ Jesus dying for our sins, and it is out of gratitude we "love our neighbor as our self?"

This is where I aim for self consciousness, I guess. Not to beat down yourself for mistakes you have made. That is not God. That is Satan telling you how worthless you are. That is the Devil coaxing you into that well of self-pity. That is evil encouraging you to wallow in self despair. The laws are there for us to:

remember we are sinners.

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." Romans 3:20

remember we are ALL sinners

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23

It baffles me how so many people stress the law and yet see nothing wrong with the way they judge those not in keeping with it. Especially, considering that not one person on Earth is without sin. Not one person is beyond reproach.

Jesus even gives us the standards we are to impose on others:

"Do not judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1-2

wow.........

I stand in awe of Jesus always. This Easter weekend has made it paramount in my mind though. I am grateful for what He has done for me. I am honored that he would love me so much to think that I was worth saving. I am glad that even a common thief hanging on a cross, someone not "good" was forgiven for his sins, as we all are, by believing in Jesus Christ.

Would it matter if I told you person 1 lied to save some one's life?
Would it matter if I told you person 2 stole to eat to save his child's life?
Would it matter if I told you person 3 killed as an infantry man at war?
Would it matter if I told you person 4 cursed God, not out loud, but inside, in a moment of weakness over the death of a spouse?

Why?

I am person 1 You are person 1
I am person 2 You are person 2
I am person 3 You are person 3
I am person 4 You are person 4
I am not good You are not good

Will you judge me?

Disputable matters

Do you remember what it was like in high school? Man, I do.

Back at that age, you had an entire community of people that were trying to find their identity. Trying to find out where they belong. Trying to stand out (or stay hidden) so that they had their own individuality.

There were the jocks.
There were the geeks.
There were burn-outs.
There were all kinds.

I had my turn at almost all of the categories. I didn't know where I fit in. I was able to hang with all of them. I was 6' 2" tall and 145 lbs.

Geek
I did alright in school, but not great by any measure. I knew the things I was supposed to, but I just didn't do the homework I was supposed to do. So, many folks asked me for help when they couldn't understand. I helped many people pass the classes they had.

Jock
I wrestled all 4 years. Yep, me! Even though I was a tall lanky kid, I wrestled. I did alright, but I was nothing notable. Pretty much average at best.

Burn-out
I've made my mistakes. But the funny thing is, even though I wasn't normally doing many of the things the others were doing, just because I went to many of their parties, I was accepted as one of them.

We all knew some from all of the categories.

Do you remember?

The funny thing about all of us is we eventually find where we belong. As we grow older and more mature, though, we realize that we don't fit in to just one label.

The groups we were in changed. The people we became comfortable with changed. We changed.

I find this happens more and more as I grow in faith as well.

There are eloquent prayers.
There are soulful singers.
There are compassionate listeners.
There are all kinds.

The difference is that in high school, you weren't expected to acquire one aspect of any outside group. No one pushed you to play a sport if you didn't know how. No one made you the go-to person for homework just because they needed one.

I think that as we grow in faith through our churches and prayer groups, we are expected to take on the other attributes of our peers. Not from those in the group, but from God.

What would you consider the greatest prayer group of all time?
For me, the first thing that comes to mind is the apostles.

Tax collector and fisherman?

Blue collar and white collar; the linebacker and the valedictorian; the janitor and the CEO; just loving each other. How cool is that.

Yet, they did not continue their work together. They split up. They divided.

Not because they could not stand to be with each other any more. Not because they wanted all of the glory. Not because they thought they could do a better job. They did it because they were called to do something by God. Some to plant the seed of faith, others to water it. They all knew Jesus and His message, they all witnessed to His miracles and teachings, they all believed that He was the Son of God, and they all were reaffirmed by His resurrection. Yet, they couldn't all get along all of the time.

Huh.............its as if they weren't perfect or something................

"Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing." Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark. with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus" Acts 15:36-39

Jesus's closest followers could not agree on the correct method for teaching the Word. Although they knew the message, because of their human imperfections they quarreled over trivial issues. Mark is there with Paul on his return to Antioch (Acts 12) and his first missionary journey (acts 13) then, nope, not this time.

Does this sound familiar to you? Have you ever heard of different groups of people fighting for the same thing yet with different methods? So much so, that to people outside of these groups, they seem to oppose each other? Some come to mind.............tip of my tongue...........right there in the back of my mind...............

Oh, yeah--Christians.

"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ" 1 Corinthians 3:10

The first Christians, the apostles, had trouble with this idea--and it was Paul writing this!

If you are like me, the first time you find out about this you start asking, "ooooh, I wonder what Mark did to tick off Paul" or "ooooh, I wonder why Mark couldn't stand to be around Paul and left them at Perga" or "I wonder who was at fault." If you are like me, you have to find out who is right.

I have grown in my faith, and now I say, "Who cares?"

Think about it. To find one or the other right, to blame one or the other for indiscretions, to hold one accountable for the other is pointless. If you believe that the Bible is the work of God through the Holy Spirit, you cannot assign blame. To assign blame would mean that now you are giving weight to one gospel over another. How can Gods word be more important than God's word? To me, it seems more likely that these things were included by God to point out the ridiculousness of our human selves. To point out that no matter who comes in to your life:

The eloquent prayer
The soulful singer
The compassionate listener
All kinds

None will be with you as consistently and with such love and desire for your salvation as God himself.

"Accept him whose faith is weak without passing judgement on disputable matters" Romans 14:1

We fight each other every day on "disputable matters." But with the Holy Spirit and God, we are made aware of our human frailties, and begin to forgive our brothers over time.

"My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him;if he comes to you welcome him.)" Colossians 4:10

"Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry." 2Timothy 4:11

We do not have to agree on the specifics, but need to be able to come together to teach the foundation which Christ has laid for us. How long will it take you to accept your brother and to realize that those things that the rest of the world sees from us Christians, the things that divide us, the things that the things we raise ourselves up to proclaim disputable,

Matter.

Snacks

I have become more at peace with many things that go wrong in my life. I have asked forgiveness from anyone that feels I have done them wrong. I have forgiven those I needed to forgive. I work hard at praising God more than ever. I pray often. I read and study the bible with a renewed fervor.

Guess what? Things still don't go the way I like.

I have started to think more often about what my goal is or was and how it is turning out or turned out. I see how often there is a goodness that comes from many of the things that have happened to me. Potential reasons for the way things may have resulted even though my prayer may have had different intentions. I see how God is still looking out for me even though He is achieving alternate results.

Don't get me wrong. I still get angry. I fume because I don't get what I want.

what I want............
That's the problem.

Our four year old will come up sometimes and ask for a snack. For whatever reason (supper will be ready soon, he just had a snack, etc...), he sometimes gets told no. He asks because he has been taught to and he does it to get the desired response. If he grabs a snack without asking for it, he knows it will be taken away and he will not get one.

He asks so he can get what he wants.

When he is told no, however, he grrrrs and stamps his foot. He will even remind us that he asked. He will remind us that he said please. (sometimes he will even remind us that he is starving to death) He doesn't get the answer he wants and he gets angry. He asks because he expects us to say yes.

He may not get the snack then, but he will at another time. He will get supper that night. He will get fed often the next day and in the days that follow. He will get his cup filled regularly with water or juice. He may even get dessert that night.

But he wanted THAT snack, THAT day, at THAT time. Everything else never crosses his mind.
So he gets angry.

We are perpetually four years old.

Let everyone that has breath praise the Lord.

No matter what your social class is, your health, your financial status, you are provided for. If you are alive, God has provided for you.

Think about it: If you are breathing, you have had enough food, shelter, and water to sustain that - no matter how little that may be. And God has given it.

"So do not worry, saying "what shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:31

We have already been given the most wonderful of feasts in Christ's body and blood. We are fed daily with a bountiful meal in God's grace. We drink ceaselessly in the beauty of God's love.

And we ask for a snack.

Simplicity

Do you remember being a child?

I don't mean a teenager or young adult. In those days, most of us thought we would never survive. We were always wondering what others thought about us or or ideas. We were always searching for where we belong. When I say we, I mean me of course.

What I mean is when you were much smaller. Many people can remember an enormous amount of their childhood. They can remember several details of when they were as young as 3. I am not one of those people. I have a hard time remembering if I glued my brain in this morning.

I get to remember things here and there through watching other kids.

I love children. I love to be around them and feel their energy even though, often, its more than my own. I love to see the trust that they shine in their eyes. I love the humility they have when they will hug you or kiss you no matter the gender with no more intention than to tell you that they love you.

To watch children means to remember the simplicity of how life used to be. Have you ever watched kids in a children's bible study? It is so cool. They answer questions so matter of fact about God's love. There is no doubt, no fear, no conditions. They just know God is there for them, that He loves them, and that He does not look down on them for their mistakes.

That sort of simplicity goes throughout them.

We were out at a diner the other day, with my girlfriend and her 3 year old son. A song came on the radio that had something to do with Christmas wishes. He stood up on the booth and told us it was about wishes. We half-hearted said that was nice and asked him what his wish was.

He raised his hands in the air and said, "this is it!!! This is what I always wanted!!!!"

He was telling us that going to lunch at a Coney Island was his biggest wish.

I try to remember the simple things and life and thank God for them. Something so simple as eating at a restaurant. Having clothes that need washing. Having a house that needs maintenance not requiring blocking the wind and rain from coming in.

We spend so much time asking God for things we want or think we need. Sometimes we even thank him for things such as health, friends, family, or other things. But, honestly, how many times do you do this absently? Do you really think about how important these things are and how lucky you are to have them?

Many of us, as adults, have to worry about the uncertainty of jobs(me included), whether we can buy that particular Christmas gift for the one we love, whether we can make it in a smaller or less appealing house.

We forget that we have been taken care of by God in that we have a job, no matter how meager, we have the one we love, no matter how far away or close they are, and we have that house, no matter how small or disheveled it may be.

Christmas can help us remember the simplicity of it all. Christ's birth is the simple truth of Christmas. All of the shopping, visiting, symbols, decorations, and carols - they all pale, even combined, to the simplicity of the idea that God sent us a savior to release us from our sins. God sent His only son for us..........

I pause here because it is the simplest of things. If only we could remember the awesomeness of this every minute of every day. If only we could remember that God takes care of us always just as any father would take care of their children. If only we could remember to be like children before God. If only we could always remember to allow God to guide us rather than to put our faith in ourselves which always seems to fail.

If only we could remember that Christ taught us God's will.....

....and He kept it simple.

Things

I make myself ill thinking about it sometimes.

Things

As the thanksgiving shopping weekend approaches, we see all of our American commercialism in its glory.

Things we want.
Things we want bigger.
Things we want bigger than the other guy.

I am as guilty as anyone.

My girlfriend and I each have a house. Between the 2, we average 6 TVs. And, because there is a deal, we consider buying a flat screen for Christmas this year.
Seriously!!

I am thankful for the things God has provided for me. Even though I have to remind myself once in a while, I know everything I have comes from God.

It occured to me the other day that I could give up half of my monetary worth and still be 5 times richer than many families less than 20 miles away - 500 times more than families watching American wealth burn brighter than the stars, in the form of lights, so close they could walk there in 10 minutes.

We, as Americans, are so caught up in things. We say we are a richer country.

I don't see us as richer unless we are remembering and being thankful to God always for the things we have every day.

I thank Him that I have an ability. I thank Him that I have a job for which to use this ability. I thank Him for being able to gain experiences. I thank Him for being able to go to school. I thank Him for my parents being able to get by with 5 boys. I thank Him that they had a decent job to use their talents and abilities.

I thank Him for being born into the life I was in this country.

For those born here, that is incredibly important to remember. Any time someone born here takes credit for their life and the "things" they have; any time they want the glory for their own accomplishments, remind them of the one thing that started it all that they couldn't have possibly had any control over - they were born in this country through God's will.

Just as if you are a builder, and you take credit for the whole house even though the foundation was already established and all of the supplies are provided - how can you take credit?

Even if you were not born here, God gave you all of the tools to build on his foundation.

You were born into a family that had means.
You were sent someone with means.
You were given a gift or talent.

God gave you THINGS.

Luke said, "real life is not measured by what we own"
Also, in Job, "You really know everything don't you? And when you die, wisdom will die with you!"

Please remember how rich you are in this Christmas season. Give thanks for the "things" you have. Give thanks for the THINGS God has given you.

Pray for those who have less "things" but also pray for those whom have been given God's THINGS and fail to recognize them.

Peace

I once had a friend in high school who had a severe skin condition. He had to apply lotion, by prescription, all of the time. If he had forgotten on some specific day, he would itch, constantly and feverishly. He used to avoid anything that may irritate his condition-wools, sun, even certain foods.
In general conversation one day around the holidays, I had asked him what he would like for Christmas.


He said, "one entire day of peace".


I am so often baffled by the way the word 'peace' is thrown around so much today. . All of these with the right intentions, can be a great and honorable thing. The question is, how many folks actually think about what they are saying? Do you say these things as matter of factly as hello? Is it politically motivated? What does peace actually mean to you?



"So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding" (Romans 14:19 NLT)



So many of us complain about how busy and occupied our lives have become. Maybe we have a job, kids, and other things that take much of our time. Maybe we have an addiction to drugs, alcohol, or other things that envelop our day and have little time for other things. Maybe we go to school and spend an enormous amount of time either in class or doing the homework it requires. And through it all we scream, "I need peace!!"

Many of us pick up causes. We stand against the war in Iraq. We speak out against the violence and conflict in Israel. We complain of the police actions in Juarez. And through it all we scream, "We need peace!!"


It seems to me that many people can't seem to discern between rest and peace. True peace comes from God. It is an inner calm and joy that comes from Him. You find it by knowing Christ. You find it by continuing to grow with Him. You find it when you share in His goodness and share it with others. You find it when you put everything before God and trust that He will guide you.

The danger in mistaking rest for peace is that it becomes subjective.

A man will say that with his busy business life, 3 kids, and his wife, with family pressures, maybe making dinners, maybe doing laundry - "I need peace!"

Ask the man in a retirement home who has lost all of his friends over the years, no longer has a job to occupy him, and sits lonely every day because any family that he does have can't find the time to visit him if this is his definition of peace.

Ask the families of underdeveloped areas of the world if this is their definition of peace.

I have seen men with families of 4-6 kids, a wife, a job, be involved in charities, visit with friends - the while gamut - and they are completely at peace. Their peace is in their faith and trust in God.

I have seen men in their golden years, ailing, alone, and seemingly nothing left to live for live their life so completely because they know God.

I have seen families of underdeveloped areas of the world hold on to each other so tight that no technological advances would be a worthy trade. They share in each other and in God so much that they glow with the peace of God.

Do you need peace or rest?
Are you looking in the right place to find your peace?
Do you ask for help from those whom have found the peace you seek?

I pray for peace.