Joint Custody

April 11 2016
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:4 (ESV)

Joint Custody

"For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does."

Being married now for over a year and a half, I begin to understand the meaning of this verse. I never thought my patterns of life would need to change once I got married. Yet, my bacheloristic lifestyle was far from the perfect way a family should live. So what if I fling my socks across the room after a long day, or fold my laundry a certain way I like, or play a video game to relax my mind?  

The truth is, I didn't really know how selfish I could be until I had to share my bathroom, my free time, and my bed etc. But even so, I don't consider any of this a loss, because by the power of Christ, I love my wife more than I love myself. Though I had to change and give up some things along the way, I would gladly surrender my rights for her, because my love for her conquers my selfishness for me. 

From the moment I said, "I Do", I no longer possess full custody over Luke Wilson. As a loving husband, I must learn to live by the principle that I am not my own. This doesn't mean that I must never have things to myself, like hobbies, goals, or dreams, for God made me an individual person apart from my wife. But what this does mean is that I must be willing to put myself and my agenda down on the line for the love of my marriage. When she needs me, I must not deny her physically, or deny her my service, or deny her my attention, or my affection. Likewise she does the same for me because true love conquers selfishness. 

"Lord Jesus, thank You for blessing me with an amazing godly wife. I pray that I will continually become less selfish as I love her the rest of my life. Let me be reminded that I am not my own, but Yours and her's. Help me to always be ready to show my love to her when she needs me, even when I don't feel like it. Amen."

Don't Let Caesar Seize Your Soul

April 4th 2016

Scripture: Luke 20:25 (ESV)

Don't Let Caesar Seize Your Soul

"Then He said to them, 'Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.'"

The religious leaders sent spies to Jesus, attempting to catch Him saying something against the Roman government so they could arrest Him as a rebel. They asked if it was lawful to give taxes to Caesar. It would be equivalent today as asking, "Do I have to pay taxes to the President and the government, since we are part of God's kingdom?" Jesus ingeniously asks for a coin, saying to those around Him, "Who's face is on the side? Caesar's? Then if they made it, give them what's theirs, and God, what belongs to God. The truth is God really doesn't care much for little green pieces of paper. He would much rather have your soul than your salary. If taxes got extremely high and you had to pay the government to the point you couldn't give God more than your last two pennies, would He value those any less than the ten percent most churches expect now?

As long as it doesn't require us to break our allegiance to God, we must live in the world and its systems and rules, but not of it's passions and desires. Now there are times when the world will try to demand our worship, loyalty, and heart, to other things apart from God. There are many stories in The Bible when God's people had to stand up against culture and give God what belonged to Him. Just ask Danial, or Esther, or Moses. I must ask myself, "Am I giving the right things to the right owners?" I need not complain about my government, but rather pray for them. 

"Lord Jesus, thank You that I have freedom to give You my heart and soul. Help those in authority of this country to fear and respect You. As I live in this world help me to reserve all that is Yours, while I am still subject to the worldly authorities. I pledge my allegiance to You. Amen."

Feast On This

March 14 2016
Scripture: Luke 14:13-14 (ESV)

Feast On This!

"But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the Resurrection of the Just."

Jesus was invited to a party where we find him 'changing the rules of the game' once again. He states that when you give a feast don't invite your friends, relatives, or rich neighbors, for they may pay you back by inviting you in return. This no longer is a generous giving, but borrowing, because the expectation is "if I do something nice to you, you should do something nice to me to return the favor". 

But true giving is not expecting even a penny back in this life; for the eternal repayment is found in the Father's pleasure at the End of the Age. So Jesus is saying to be generous in this way, it would be easier to invite those who couldn't repay you even if they wanted to. Then you will be blessed because you followed the heart of Jesus' instruction when He said, "as you did to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did to Me" (Mat 25:40). 

If I want to know the true joys of giving, I must decide for myself to give, expecting nothing, not even a "thank you". It will not be for my gain, but for theirs. If Jesus was willing to give everything, even His life, what would I be willing to give to those He died for? My resources? My time? My "youth pastor shuddle services"? I must give to those that cannot give back, for Jesus did the exact same thing on the cross by giving Himself when there was no other way for us to repay our debts. 

"Lord Jesus, thank You for throwing Your "heavenly party" and inviting me to join in, when there was no way I could repay You for what You paid to make it happen. Help me to model my giving after You and to find the joy and blessing of serving the least, the poor, the blind, the lame, and crippled. Let me not seek any earthly reward but cling to the eternal reward that You will give during the Resurrection of the Just. Take me and use all I have for Your glory. Amen."

Who Is My Neighbor

March 12 2016
Scripture: Luke 10:28-29 (ESV)

Who Is My Neighbor?

"And He (Jesus) said to him, 'You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.' But he desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'

This lawyer intended to test Jesus, but in reality it was Jesus testing him. He knew the heart of the Old Testament law was to love God and your neighbor as yourself. But he must have not been living it out, for he felt the need for a clarifying question: " Who is my neighbor?" He wanted to know what little he could get by with and still make it to Heaven. How many times do we know what we ought to do and choose to ignore it. I believe the Holy Spirit will teach us and bring to remembrance the things we heard Jesus say (John 14:26). The struggle is between knowing and doing. Jesus knew that to truly love you need to let what you know and believe determine what you do. 

Does this mean I should be like the Good Samaritan and pick up every person I see and pay for their hotel rooms? Maybe if the Holy Spirit leads you to in that certain situation. But what I see is that I must have compassion for all people, even those I do not know yet. I must ask myself, "Is there an obvious need in that person's life I could possibly fill? If it were me, what would bless my heart?" Ask the Spirit. Take what you know, do it, and you will surely live. Now look and see, "who is your neighbor?"

" Lord Jesus, I know sometimes I try to squeeze by with the smallest amount possible, and I am sorry. Help me to see that to truly live, I must go and do likewise. Thank you for your word, which shows me what I need to know, so I can go and do it in my world. Amen"