Don Guthrie

More or less?

Re: Verse reading – Deuteronomy 8:10-18; Matthew 25:14-30 (day six)
“For to everyone who has, more shall be given. . .but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.” (Matthew 25:29)
New Testament scholars call it “the law of spiritual capital”. If we have a job (and do it), we will be offered more jobs. If we have a gift (and use it), more opportunities will come. It is no conspiracy that 80% of the work is always done by 20% of the people. Jesus says that this is just the way things work! The reverse is true for those who do not have jobs (almost certainly because they have ignored or refused the obvious opportunities. . .”I am busy”, “I don’t feel qualified”) or if we do not do the job already ours then, eventually, the opportunities will stop coming. God-given gifts atrophy when unused. God does not waste grace. Which will it be for you? More or less?

Talented people

Re: Verse reading–Deuteronomy 8:10-18; Matthew 25:14-30 (day one)
“A man going on a journey. . .called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent.” (Matthew 25:14-15) Our English word actually comes from this story. In the time of Christ, a talent was a coin or weight of measure. As the gospel spread through the world (and we praise God for it’s gradual, powerful influence) talent came to mean a God-given ability or skill. There are no untalented people! That is what Jesus would say. Some receive many gifts. Others few. All some. “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7) The important point is that we all owe the Giver effective use of His gifts. Money, time, family, freedom, health, opportunities, skill, education, creativity, mentors. . .What has God given you? What will you employ in His kingdom service?

Shelter and shadow

Re: Verse reading–Mark 10:35-45; John 13:12-17; James 2:14-17 (day seven)
“He who dwells in the SHELTER of the Most High will abide in the SHADOW of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)
“If you know these things, you will be BLESSED if you do them.” (John 13:17)
Jesus calls us to a life of blessing. What He commands of us is difficult, no argument, but very beneficial. His formula for abundant life. In the ancient world a shadow was a good thing, a cool, protected place to stand in the desert heat. Jesus promises this cool blessing to all who surrender to His life and example. It is not enough to know what He teaches. We must do what He teaches. We must deny self and ego and begin to serve others. Those who do so begin to experience the results that are promised to the children of God. Do you desire to live in the shelter and shadow of the Almighty? Believe and begin today!

Footwashing followers

RE Verse reading–Mark 10:35-45; John 13:12-17; James 2:14-17 (day six) “If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14) Washing feet was stinky business. Unpleasant and thankless. The work of slaves. A symbol for all ego-insulting and necessary tasks. When the King of Glory knelt to do this work, He created a crisis in the heart of every follower. Do I deny MYSELF ( my protests and desires for recognition and pleasure) or do I deny MY MASTER? Both in example and instruction Jesus commanded the path of humility and service–make the apology, accept the assignment, deny yourself, meet the need even at the cost of great discomfort. Jesus warned us not to attempt a life of higher privilege and ego-safety than He allowed Himself. He even promised a blessing to those who follow Him example. What prevents our obedience? What hard thing will you do today because you are a follower of Jesus?

The cup of Christ

Re: Verse reading–Mark 10:35-45; John 13:12-17; James 2:14-17 (day one)
“You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?. . .The cup that I drink you shall drink. . .but to sit at my right hand is not mine to give.” (Mark 10:38-40) When Jesus spoke of suffering, He often used the metaphor of a cup. Contemplating the cross, He said, “Father, if you are willing, remove this CUP from me.” (Luke 22:42) Same picture when James and John come asking for places of honor and fame. True greatness is not found in avoidance of pain, a privileged life above the ordinary stresses of the common man. The true measure of a great person is to bear suffering for the good of others. Those who follow Christ must expect difficult assignments, hard-to-drink cups. Good to know that the Lord drank His cup before asking the same courage of us. It was (is) the door to greatness.

Repentance and Forgiveness

Re: Verse reading–Psalm 24:1-6; Ephesians 5:1-16 (day seven)
Preparing for worship today, I came across Luke 24:46-47. “Thus it written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead. . .and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations.” The words of the Lord speak to my heart, remind me of His unchanging message. Forgiveness is predicated on repentance! For sexual sin or any other kind, repentance is the condition of God’s offered mercy. “What strange kind of salvation do they desire who care not for holiness. . .They would be saved by Christ and yet be out of Christ in a fleshly state. . .They would have their sins forgiven, not that they may walk with God in love, in time to come, but they may practice their enmity against Him without any fear of punishment”–Walter Marshall. I am praying for the Spirit of God to help us this morning as we seek Him together.

Protecting the Brand

Re: Verse reading–Psalm 24:1-6; Ephesians 5:1-16 (day six)
“Do not let immorality or any impurity or greed be NAMED among you.” (Ephesians 5:3) Does Paul seem concerned with the reputation of the Ephesian church? Do Christians have some responsibility to manage how we are perceived? When the subject is sin, the answer is yes. Immorality and impurity and greed (three words describing the same subject) in the lives of individual believers it is a bad thing. The hurtful rumor in the community that the church is tolerant of it or afraid to confront it is worse. All of us have been baptized “in the NAME of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” When His Name is at stake, we must act with intelligence and courage. “But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who . . .leads people astray, so that they commit acts of immorality.” (Revelation 2:20) Lord, make us tender with sinners but fierce defenders of your Name.

Purity – The road less traveled

Re: Verse reading – Psalm 24:1-6; Ephesians 5:1-16 (day one)
“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”–Jesus (Matthew 7:14)

In Ephesians 4 and 5, the Bible gives moral instructions. Spiritual requirements. These two chapters (with other portions of God’s word) point to a path of purity from sin and issue a call for every believer to walk this path in obedience and blessing. Many subjects are addressed. Honesty–v 25. Anger–v 26. Stealing–v 28. Hurtful language–v 29. Sexual immorality–5:3ff. All component parts of the “new life” that God gives us in Christ by the Spirit, and all difficult to teach in an age of moral ambiguity. Many in this generation resist this teaching as “legalistic” or “rule-focused”. I imagine the same was true in Paul’s day. More to say as the week comes. “Two roads diverged in a narrow wood, and I–I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”–Robert Frost

A glorious death

RE Verse reading–Luke 11:1-13; Luke 18:1-8 (day seven)
“Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who CRY to him day and night?” (18:7) “And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down on the ground.” (Luke 22:44) Prayer, for Jesus, was a kind of death. Painful. Physically exhausting. It will be the same for us, I believe. A death to impatience as we wait on God, a death to pride as we depend on His power, a death to dishonesty as we openly confess our sins. I labor, sometimes, under the false expectation that the spiritual life should be convenient and easy, accessible even to the most casually interested applicant. It was not so for Jesus and unlikely to be so for those of us who love Him and want to share His Spirit. Easy? No. Powerful? Yes. “It is in dying that we are born to eternal life”–St. Francis

Acceptance and assertion

RE Verse reading–Luke 11:1-13; Luke 18:1-8 (day six)
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they always pray and not give up.” (18:1) It is not an easy balance to find. When do I ACCEPT God’s will, resign myself to things I cannot control, and when do I ASSERT my needs, persevere and not give up? The answer lies in the ability of the Father to communicate with my spirit. As Jesus prayed in the garden He gradually “knew” that the cross was the Father’s will. With the story of the widow, however, Jesus made clear that sometimes persistence is required and that the believer will hear the Spirit whispering, “do not give up, keep going.” Neither posture is correct in every situation. Sometimes I accept an answer I do not want, and other times I continue to press with the confidence that an answer will eventually come. Only God can help me know which path is right.