First Love

A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'"

"All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Luke 18:18-25, NIV

I hate stuff.  I think stuff is anti-Christianity.  Usually, if I voice any opinion that even remotely suggests this opinion, I am assured that stuff is okay, as long as that stuff doesn't come first in your life.  If Jesus is your "first love," they say, all this other stuff is okay, too.

Are you sure?

I think it is worth mentioning that Jesus does not want some casual, half-effort relationship with you.  He died for you.  He wants that kind of commitment from you.  We are not talking about a once-a-month-guys-night-out friendship here.  We are talking about a singularly-focused, every-moment-is-about-you relationship.

Is it okay with Jesus if you love your stuff, so long as you love him, too?  If Jesus is first, can you have whatever stuff you want?  Is your wife okay with your mistress, so long as your wife is still your "first" love?

Oh.

How Can I Know I Am Saved?

We have tried to make this question the crux of Christianity: how can I know I will go to heaven?  The more appropriate question would be: how can I know I am saved? 

Either way, if you ask you are likely to get something along the lines of, "Have you ever prayed and accepted Jesus as your Savior?"  Maybe a little more or less theological-sounding, but that's essentially what people are looking for.  They are trying to remind you of that time when you were six years old and you repeated some prayer after some preacher and declared yourself "saved."

"Saved" isn't quite what it's cut out to be. 

Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'" (Matthew 7:21-22, NIV). 

In Hebrew literature, repetition indicates significance and sincerity.  When these folks say, "Lord, Lord," it indicates that they have known about and professed Jesus for a long time.  It isn't like the kid who is caught climbing on the kitchen counter reaching into the cookie jar when his mom walks into the room and he says, "Hi, Mommy!" as if he isn't doing something wrong.  This is the kid who cuts the curtains apart and tries to sew the parts into a dress, and runs out to meet his mom when she gets home from work: "Mommy, Mommy, look what I made for you!"  Well, sorta.  These folks have been prophesying in Jesus name.  They have been driving out demons.  They performed miracles.  They are certain of their eternal security.

The problem is, their eternity isn't secure at all.  Jesus concludes, "Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (verse 23).  Oh, crud.  What went wrong here?  What about the prophesy and miracles and whatnot?  None of that stuff matters to Jesus.  He's not impressed. 

Well, if none of that stuff matters, what is Jesus looking for?

First, Jesus precedes this bit of information by drawing an analogy between people and fruit trees.  "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them" (verses 18-20).  A Christian can be recognized by his or her behavior.

Jesus concludes his reply to those who said, "Lord, Lord..." by saying, "Away from me, you evildoers!"  EVILDOERS.  If you are still doing evil, you are not following Christ...and probably not going to heaven, either.

Jesus Junkie

If you are interested in becoming a Jesus Junkie, you should try this new reading program starting today (4/11/10).  It's nothing original of mine, it's a plan created by Grant Horner, and I've put the PDF explaining the whole thing on my web site here for your review.  Basically, it divides the Bible into ten (completely unequal) sections, and you read one chapter from each section per day.

The ten sections are:

1. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
2. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
3. Romans; I & II Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; Colossians; Hebrews
4. I & II Thessalonians; I & II Timothy; Titus; Philemon; James; I & II Peter; I, II, & III John, Jude, Revelation
5. Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
6. Psalms
7. Proverbs
8. Joshua; Judges; Ruth; I & II Samuel; I & II Kings; I & II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
9. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habukkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
10. Acts

The PDF has bookmarks you can print and cut and put in your Bible, and that'll probably help keep it straight.  If you're not only a Jesus Junkie, but also a computer junkie, you can sign up online to help you keep up with the reading plan.  Simply create an account and enroll in the Prof. Horner's Bible Reading System.  Add me as a buddy; my user name is themikelyonsshow.

What's the Point?

If I asked you, "What's the point of your life?" you might give me any number of answers.  You might tell me about what you hope for your children, what you are doing in your hobbies, or your career. 

Now, what if I asked you, "What is the point of a business?"  I don't care what your business is, what it sells or what service it provides.  Regardless of market share, return on investment, or anything else, a business exists for one purpose: to make money.  No business exists for any purpose except to serve its creator by producing money. 

A hobby exists to serve you by bringing you pleasure.  A garden exists to serve you by producing food.


When you create something, whether it is a business, a hobby, a garden, or just about anything else, you create it to serve you.  God created you for a purpose.  What do you suppose that purpose is?

Selective Listening

I titled this entry "Selective Listening" and now I am going to talk about reading, not listening.  You can deal with it.  To start, here are a couple of Bible passages that I think most Christians are fairly familiar with.

¹⁰ This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
Jeremiah 29:10-14

¹⁶Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
 ¹⁷"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
 ¹⁸"Which ones?" the man inquired.
   Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, ¹⁹honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'"
 ²⁰"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
 ²¹Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
 ²²When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
 ²³Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Matthew 19:16-24

What I want to know is, why is it that when we read Jeremiah 29:11, we cling to it as a personal promise, but when we read Matthew 19:21, we say "Oh, that was a specific command for someone else" or "Jesus didn't really mean that" or whatever. 

Bull crap.

The Jeremiah verse also says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  We don't exactly have a line-item veto here.  You can't sit there and tell God, "I want the part about prospering and hope and a future, but I can do without this seeking you stuff."  Most of us aren't even thinking about asking, "What do I still lack?" because we aren't even sure we have to honor our parents and do all that.  We're in negotiations or something.

As Christians, we are supposed to try to become like Christ.  Christ didn't have any earthly possessions besides the clothes on his back.  All of the apostles gave up everything they had to follow him.  Who are we to think that we can follow Christ and not give up anything? 

It's Valentine's Day

It's Valentine's Day.  The question for today, then, is are you focusing your energies on loving someone who will never love you back in the way that you deserve, or are you loving the one who has always loved you in a way you could never deserve?

If you are looking to love someone that will never love you back
I don't know.  I really feel like there should be a Tiger Woods joke here, or maybe some commentary regarding narcissism.  Regardless, hopefully I'm not talking about your boyfriend.

If you are looking to love someone that has always loved you
Jesus is still alright with me.

Correct but Stupid

Maybe you've heard this or something like it.  It usually is a Christian talking to a non-Christian (usually an atheist), and the Christian will say something like:

"Suppose you're right.  Suppose there is no god.  We go through life, and that's it.  There's no heaven, no afterlife, nothing.  So, you were right and I was wrong--it doesn't even matter.  But suppose I'm right.  Suppose Jesus is the Son of God.  We go through life, and then we face judgment.  I was right, and you were wrong--and it makes all the difference!"

I suppose the logic is sound, but that doesn't stop it from being one of the dumbest arguments ever made for Christianity.

First, why would you say, even for the sake of argument, that there is no god?  If you are a Christian and you have a personal experience with God, why would you even entertain the idea that there isn't?  Think about it.  You wouldn't say, "Suppose there's no such thing as snow..."  I know there is snow.  I keep having to shovel it off the sidewalk and brush it off my car.  People who live in warmer climates may not have ever seen snow, and they might find the idea difficult to wrap their brains around it, but that doesn't change the fact that snow is real and undeniable.  You can't make a valid point based on a completely asinine premise. 

Second, you're making the wrong argument altogether.  Christianity isn't about--or it shouldn't be about--escaping the eternal flames of hell.  There's plenty to look forward to in the afterlife, but this life is pretty good, too.  The angel announcing Jesus' birth says, "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."  It's kind of a big deal!  Having Jesus in your life gives you joy that you can't get anywhere else.  To the atheist, your joy should be obvious and completely unreasonable.

If you don't know for a fact that God exists, you're missing out on the life that God has planned for you.  You're missing out on completely ridiculous joy that should be yours.  And if you aren't missing out, you should be making better arguments.