Tag: Luke

Stuffing T-Shirts

Earlier this week I carried some clean t-shirts to my chest of drawers and stuffed them into the drawer grunting as I struggled to close the drawer, and thinking to myself, how can it be that I have no room for the shirts that I wear? Whats in this drawer?

It had been a few days before that I had been stumbling around Matthew and I read this exchange between Jesus and potential follower. Its sort of goes like this.

⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Luke 9:57-59 (New International Version)

I have been thinking a lot about this exchange, and my t-shirts and the whole idea that Jesus calls us to live a radical crazy life that is different from the frustrations of this world. Yesterday, I mentioned that my mind is trying to work out a few thoughts, and I think that they will come out over the next few days.
So with all of that in mind, Monday night, I stumbled on this BBC article about a guy who has created a Cult of Less. Essentially, this guy has sold almost everything except a bare amount of clothing and his electronics and lives with his “digital possessions”. The sub title of the article is “living out of a hard drive”. He is not the first person to try this of course, but what I think is interesting is how he describes the freedom he has with minimal material things.
hm, this sounds awful familiar. Almost like some bible stories I have heard since I was an infant. Things like

²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:20-22 (New International Version)

and this

³³Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:33-35 (New International Version)

I don’t know this guys motivation, nor will I question it. But I do know that as a follower of the Christ, I have been provided with a motivation, or maybe a command, er, non optional requirement, er strong suggestion?

So today, I am not completely suggesting that you sell everything and live out of a hard drive. I think there is some certain amount of reasonableness that needs to be checked. However, this is the beginning of at least a personal challenge to take a look at my view on material things. Why do I have them? why do I need them? What things should I be letting go? And what real attachment should I even have to any of it? And that might just be the key. Not the having, but the have to have or the attachment. Comments?

Use your stuff today as a tool to express where your treasure really is.

Tags BBC, Cult of Less, examples, Luke, Matthrew, stuff, things, transformation

Daily Post

More on Risktaking

I have been continuing to think about taking risks and I thought I would share one more thought about this before I jump in my jumpy way to some other topics. I am sure I will return back to this, as it seems there is something risky about the life of a follower of Christ – although we have made it a place of safety. ( not saying there is not a lot of safety and peace in that life as well).

I was talking about risks with one of my friend Jolly Don, and the thing he mentioned about taking a risk was very simplistic. He was like – “how about talking with your neighbor”. Funny isn’t it. We think risks may be packing up and moving to China for a year, which is an incredible thing to do, and very important. But maybe the riskiest place for us is next door, or in the next cube or the person at the market? I dunno, I am sure I could be debated about this, but it seems to be the place to start. And when our Savior was asked “what do I need to do to inherit eternal life?”. He responded indirectly with two things in Luke 10:

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27 ESV

Maybe this first risk to take is to love God with everything you have, don’t hold back, and love those you meet as you would love yourself. Simple or tall order? Either way there’s no better day then today to give it a try.

“Do this and you will live” – Jesus Luke 10:28

Tags Jolly Don, Luke, risks, safety

Daily Post

Go World

Post author By Jason
Post date June 11, 2010
No Comments on Go World

The Soccer World Cup starts today! Isn’t the awesome! I always think it is so amazing when the whole world gets together around one thing, even it is it sport. Its good to see the people although they have their favorite team, still can realize that we are all people!

Its also interesting to think about this event taking place in South Africa. A few weeks ago, I took advantage of pay per view to watch Invictus, the story of the South Africa rugby, but really a story about the power of forgiveness. Its worth the watch, and its a really powerful story of the way people can work together to make things happen, but really it all started with forgiveness.

So as the world comes together today, putting aside their differences today to play futbol, how about taking a look around you and see how forgiveness can change the world around you.

³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.³⁷“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:36-38 (New International Version)

Oh, and for all you Englanders out there, watch out, the Yanks are coming!

Tags forgiveness, Luke, soccer, World Cup

Daily Post

Salt Life

Post author By Jason
Post date April 28, 2010
No Comments on Salt Life

I Love the beach. I am so looking forward to my time there again this summer ( hopefully, not covering in tar and oil from that sunken rig). Anyway, as a lot of you do, I really enjoy my time at the ocean on the beach – the sand, the smell, the warmth, the sun, the salt. The Salt. As much as it’s a little trendy, I like these Salt Life stickers people have on their vehicles.

I like them because they are a reminder to me – a reminder of the ocean and a reminder of a message for life. This week I have continually been thinking about Luke 14 and the message there about living the Salt Life.

³⁴“Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing. “Are you listening to this? Really listening?” The Message

Flat salt is good for nothing. Some other translations say its not even good for the manure pile!

³⁴“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? ³⁵It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” New International Version (NIV)

I don’t think I want to have a life that is not even good enough for the manure pile!

I am trying to be salty. I am trying to live the salt life and to impact people – by expressing love and concern for them. By being the spice that makes things better. This is so important that the Christ even asks “Hey – do you hear this? – BE SALTY” .

So today slap that Salt Life tag on your vehicle, on your surfboard, on your keyboard, on your whiteboard, or in the board room. Dream of the ocean and lazy days in the surf, but also, impact others by being the salt of life.

Tags beach, Luke, salt, Salt Life, transformation

Daily Post

He’s Alive! He’s Alive!

I am still pumped. Yes, it didn’t happen for the Mountaineers, and that, well, that really stinks. But there is another reason to be even more stoked today then a basketball game – even if the outcome had been different. I am stoked, even overjoyed because —

He’s Alive He’s Alive! Christ is Risen from the Dead!

⁶He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸Then they remembered his words. Luke 24:6-8 NIV

(see that here from Worship House Media!)

So, Its still a great day to be a Mountaineer, because Mountaineers are always free, and will always be free thanks to the events of this day!

Remember those Words?

He’s Alive He’s Alive!

(see that here from Worship House Media!)

¹What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ²By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. ⁶For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. ¹⁴For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. Romans 6:1-14 (New International Version)

Thats Real! That’s life changing and that pumps me up!

Tags Easter, examples, free, freedom, Jesus, Luke, Mountaineers, Romans