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RE Verse reading–Mark 10:17-31 “When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving” (vs 22)  “He didn’t run” may be the highest compliment.  One of my tasks as a leader, and human, is to see problems, seek the Lord and then be willing to pay the price of a solution.  Courage x 3.  Hard to do.  Even Jesus said so.  (see vs 23)  To see the situation, to call it by it’s right name requires courage.  To seek the Lord, to wait for wisdom does as well.   To follow the Spirit, to “not turning left or right” is the hardest step of all.  Given these realities, I am especially challenged by this story.  The RYR had courage to admit the problem.  He knew his heart was restless and empty of assurance.  He was intrepid enough to ask for help from Christ.  What he lacked, however, was the courage to act. God forbid that we should fall short in the same way.

RE Verse reading–Mark 10:17-31 (day five)  “Good Teacher, what must I DO to inherit eternal life?”  (vs 17)  It is fairly common to hear the RYR criticized for his question.  To some it indicates his spiritual confusion.  Didn’t he know that we are not saved by works of righteousness but by faith?  (see Ephesians 2:9)  The Lord does not feel the need to challenge or correct him on this point.  Neither does Paul in Acts 16 when the jailer poses a similar question, “what must I DO to be saved?”  We must be careful to let the scripture speak its own story.  We are NOT saved by works.  Clearly. There is no merit to our salvation. We are, however, told to ACT in faith.  Go!  Sell!  Give!  Come!  Follow!  These are all expressions of faith and doors into eternal life.  Simple faith, saving faith does what is commanded by the Lord.  Obedience, in this moment, is equivalent to faith and leads to life.

RE Verse reading–Mark 10:17-31 (day four)  “Jesus looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing’ ” (vs 21)  Really good news.  When we are selfish and blind to the fact that we are selfish, the Lord is generous.  When we do not love as we should, the Lord still loves us.  The RYR has just demonstrated that he was clueless. The discussion of the 10 Commandments had not pierced his conscience.  So far as he is concerned, he has made no mistakes, done everything right.  Rather than reject this proud donkey, the Lord loved him.  Rather than challenge his pride, the Savior invited him to become a disciple and learn the eternal life he hungered for.  “But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us”  (Romans 5: 8)  This is the good news.  When we are unworthy, Christ sees value. Even when we do not love, He loves and calls us.

RE Verse reading–Mark 10:17-31 (day three)  “Why do you call me good?  No one is good by God alone”  (vs 18)  The Lord is not brushing aside a compliment.  He is not quibbling over choice of words.  He is pursuing this man, pressing him forward to a deeper understanding of God and himself. He is forcing this man to think!  Interesting!  God is not satisfied with some of my heart or part of my mind.  Like a jealous lover ( read jealous LOVER) God knows that all  of Him in all of me is the way of LIFE.  If He is pressing us forward (right now, all of us)  shouldn’t we join Him?  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness” (Matthew 5:6) “Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”  (Philippians 3:13-14)  Forward.  It is the direction of His love!

RE Verse reading–Mark 10:17-31 (day two)  “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me”  (vs 21)  It will be SOMETHING for everyone.  One thing that I hope I can hold onto and still have Christ.  One concession that I hope the Lord will make to my humanity.  He won’t!  The Rich Young Ruler illustrates a principle that operates in every life.  Christ will ask us to surrender the one thing we hold onto, the one thing that we value above Him, the one thing that competes for first place in our affections.  Until surrender is made no further progress is possible.  For the man in Mark 10 it was money.  For us it may be something else.  None of us, however, can follow Christ unless/until we “deny self” (Luke 9:23)  We can have life as we want it or life as He wills it.  Not both.

RE Verse reading–Mark 10:17-31 (day one) “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (vs 21)  The rich young ruler (our name for this man) did not understand.  Perhaps we would have been similarly confused.  To sell and give were only preparatory steps.  The real command (and the real offer of grace) was to come, follow!  What an honor!  This man was being invited to become a disciple, a friend of Christ. God’s call always involves sacrifice.  Jesus had given up the privileges of Heaven to come to earth. (Philippians 2) He asked nothing from this man that He had not already been willing to give.  By prioritizing things and protecting his possessions this man lost the opportunity to walk with Christ and to become like Him. So with us.  The true and lasing treasure is a friendship with Christ and a life like His.

RE Verse reading–Luke 12:13-21, 16:19-31, James 5:1-6 (day seven)  As we near the end of our summer series on generosity, our task is to learn the lessons the Lord has for us in these terrible, poignant stories.  No one in this present generation can listen to Christ (His words re. money and its use) without some concern that we, ourselves, have fallen into the very trap He warned us away from.  The rich man (Luke 16) is not in hell because he starved Lazarus to death. However, his insensitivity to the needs of those around him, his selfish and habitual indulgence, and his laziness toward the scripture and its instruction should have been sufficient warning that his heart was not right toward God.  He had many compelling indicators.  Ignoring what the Spirit was telling him, this man stood, eventually, without excuse before the God who gave him life.  May the Lord help us all to escape the same fate.  We have been warned.

RE Verse reading–Luke 12:13-21, 16:19-31, James 5:1-6 (day six)  “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. . . with people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God”  (Mark 10:25-27)  People are sometimes shocked by the attitude of Christ toward money.  He is cautious, at best.  No absolute bias in scripture.  Abraham was wealthhy–and this by the blessing of God.  Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea . . .there are some who manage wealth in a way that pleases God and benefits the soul.  It is not the norm, however. Reading Luke 12, 16 and James 5 should be a warning.  The temptation to live in excess, to use wealth for self rather than service is very real.  We are all wealthy by the standards of the world and history. To avoid the Jesus-predicted pitfalls requires the help of God.  It is a miracle we all need.

RE Verse reading–Luke 12:13-21, 16:19-31, James 5:1-6  (day five)  “So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God”  (12:21)  Taken together, the parables of Luke 12 and 16 give a sobering list of mistakes possible for people as blessed as we are.  Remember that fool translates moros –“a person who reaches inacurrate conclusions re. spiritual or moral truth”.  Just a beginning. . .It is foolish to always want more (12:15)  It is foolish to miss the blessing of God and the obligation it brings (12:17)  It is foolish to think that peace comes from possessions (12:18)  It is foolish to be unprepared for eternity (16-whole story)  It is foolish to spend wealth for self and not service (16–whole story) Blindness to these issues is, for Christ,  a moral category.  He believed that we could all see these things clearly if we were willing and that we are, therefore, accountable to God if we fail to.  What a foolish move that is!

RE Verse reading–Luke 12:13-21, 16:19-31, James 5:1-6 (day four)  “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed”  (12:15)  It is a path to avoid.  Greed.  Some temptations must be faced head on.  This one should be avoided at the start.  Without diligence we all fall victim.  The “desire for more” (pleonektes) creeps into our souls with it’s damning logic.  “If you had more_____ (fill in the blank ) you would be happier.” “You need more!”  It isn’t true.  The most successful man, and the happiest, who ever lived had few  things we usually covet.  Life for Christ  was not dependent on money, fame, or dependable friends.  His strength and peace came from a deeper place.  It allowed Him, and would allow us, to be content.  “Godliness with contentment is great gain”  (1 Timothy 6:6)  Amazing!  Even godliness fails unless conbined with contentment.  To do so, we will need to guard our hearts against greed–all forms. The true treasure is not something, it is Someone.