I've become a big fan Matt Chandler, one of the teaching pastors at a growing church (The Village Church) in Dallas, Texas. And, as I've listened to him labor through Luke (he started over a year ago and he's only in chapter 14--very solid teaching) there have been so many times when I've said, "the Church (Body of Christ) needs to hear this". And the message of this past week was another. The message was about Jesus teaching and, once again, admonishing the Pharisees for their self righteous attitudes as they tried to trap him into doing something "unbiblical" so they could find grounds to crush this "thorn in their side". But, usually, the message turns into not only revealing Jesus teaching principle to those he was addressing but the application to us. That's when it gets personal...that's where he reminds us that Jesus is "gettin' in our bizness".
The main point of this texts' teaching to the Pharisees was that they cared more about their standing than about people and more about following the rules than the Rule-Giver...God. He left me/us with these challenges:
- Where is your affection? Do you REALLY pursue God with your affection? I'm not talking about an overly emotional "I really really really really love you God". I am talking about a deep heart change where your obedience is due to your love...not where you think you are loved BECAUSE of your obedience. Are you open for real heart surgery?
- REALITY---> Your checkbook reveals your heart. So, what does your checkbook reveal about you?
- Do other people around you have souls or are they just on this earth to serve you and your needs, like a bit player in a movie all about you?
Those are real questions that a real God is asking us each day. I'll be thinking and praying about these over the next week. Then, asking God to mold me based on the revelation of my heart attitude. How about you?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment