Worthless influencers make me worthless

Even though church-age believers are not required to live by the Levitical Law, reading the Old Testament is a good habit for us to maintain.  Paul said that the Old Testament is full of examples for us church-age believers to follow (1 Corinthians 10:11).  One powerful lesson we can learn comes from the author of 2 Kings, as he describes why God punished His chosen people when he allowed the Assyrian Empire to subjugate and exile the Israelites:

2 Kings 17:21-23
When the Lord tore Israel from the house of David, Israel made Jeroboam son of Nebat king.  Then Jeroboam led Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit grave sin.  The Israelites persisted in all the sins that Jeroboam committed and did not turn away from them.  Finally, the Lord removed Israel from His presence just as He had declared through all His servants the prophets.  So Israel has been exiled to Assyria from their homeland to this very day.

The land God had promised to Israel could only be kept by following God’s commands.  From the founding of the nation, God had warned them not to fall under the influence of the surrounding nations and to not abandon their relationship with and worship of God.  If they took that path, God warned that they would be removed from the land and placed into exile.  It would be easy for us modern-day believers to wag our fingers and shake our heads at Israel’s situation.  They were warned, right?  How could they fall like that, if they knew how great the consequences would be?

A little earlier in this same chapter, the author of 2 Kings gave a more detailed synopsis of how it all went wrong throughout the 700 years since the nation of Israel made their covenant with God:

2 Kings 17:7-15
This disaster happened because the people of Israel sinned against the Lord their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt and because they worshiped other gods.  They lived according to the customs of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites and according to what the kings of Israel did. 

The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right.  They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city.  They set up for themselves sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.  They burned incense there on all the high places just like the nations that the Lord had driven out before them had done. 

They did evil things, angering the Lord.  They served idols, although the Lord had told them, “You must not do this.”  Still, the Lord warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commands and statutes according to the whole law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through My servants the prophets.”

But they would not listen.  Instead they became obstinate like their ancestors who did not believe the Lord their God.  They rejected His statutes and His covenant He had made with their ancestors and the warnings He had given them.  They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate.

Israel’s heart was divided.  Throughout the centuries, they picked up their cues from the culture around them, rather than solely trusting the guidance God had given them.  Eventually, they looked just like those God had warned them to not be like.  Everywhere they turned in society, there was another “god” for them to follow or worship.  The Old Testament is chock full of prophets telling the people to return to God, but despite numerous warnings, God eventually followed through on His promise to remove them from the Promised Land.

This is the phrase that struck me as I read this passage: they followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.  There’s something about that description that just stings.  Israel’s situation was completely self-inflicted.  They made the choice to follow worthless idols, to imitate the culture around them, and to live a lifestyle that was contrary to what God had called them to. 

They became what they worshiped.  They became what they imitated.  They became what they followed.

This example makes me stop and ask a few penetrating questions:

Who or what am I following?
How quickly does my hand reach for my phone in the morning?
What am I compulsively checking for in my email, text, or social media accounts?
How much of my time do I allow for social media each day?
Which news organizations, streaming channels, or podcasts influence my daily narrative and activities?
What apps/games do I immediately open if I have time to kill or I need to wait for something?

Are the answers to the above questions leading me toward better or leading me toward worse?
In comparison to God’s direction for living our life to the fullest…which answers to the above questions would He consider worthless?

These are hard questions.  These are difficult stare-at-yourself-in-the-mirror questions.  While God did not abandon the Israelites, He was willing to remove blessings in order to get their attention.  From their example, we see that God takes our value very, very seriously.  He does not want us to become worthless, and so it matters greatly who and what we allow to have influence in our lives.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Birthday musings

Today, November 5th, is my birthday.  I have now made it 48 trips around the sun, and it has been a rather incredible ride so far.  This upcoming spring will also mark 40 years since I first believed in Jesus.  It feels a little weird to say that I’ve been walking this “Christian life” for nearly four decades now…but it has me thinking…

If 25 years represents a season of life, then I’m in late summer right now.  Through the investment of His Word and the people of His Family, God has grown me through my Spring and matured me through my Summer.  My Autumn will begin soon.  In nature, Autumn has a two-fold aim: it is the season which transitions all life to Winter and it is also the time when the environment intentionally gives from its current life to foster new life in the coming spring.  I expect nothing different for my upcoming Autumn season.

With that in mind, I thought I would share a few of my favorite verses.  Some of these have shaped me since my spring-time youth, some have been significantly impactful as recently as this year. 

John 3:16-17
For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

This is where it all begins.  When we believe in Jesus as our Savior – the one who gives us the free gift of eternal life – we are saved from the punishment we deserve because of what God calls “sin”: our failures, our selfishness, our self-centeredness, and the wrongs we do to each other.

Isaiah 26:3
You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You.

This verse reminds me that I don’t have to control my circumstances to feel peace.  Instead, I can choose to rest the torrent of my mind on God.  As I make that choice, I find something better than “my peace”; instead, I find God’s perfect peace.  Sometimes in glimpses, sometimes in full seasons – but I need this reminder to be a “trusting son”.

2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Everyone who has believed in Jesus and received His free gift of eternal life is permanently in God’s family.  If that is not true, then “eternal life” is poorly named and it is not truly “eternal”!  However, even as members of God’s family, we are still going to be held accountable for how well we represented Our Father and His family values.  The judgment in this verse isn’t a determination of “Heaven vs. Hell”; instead, God will assess our lives for how much we partnered with Him now – and then He will give or withhold eternal rewards based on His evaluation.  This is a sobering thought.  I don’t want to stand before God full of regret for time I’ve wasted in this life.

1 Peter 4:10
Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.

Each believer has been given a gift – a talent or ability – by God to be used in service of others.  I believe mine is along the lines of the ancient teachers of the law, the Levites:

Nehemiah 8:8
They read out of the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read.

I see my role as a Bible teacher, someone to help you understand God’s meaning so that you can go out into the world, confidently applying God’s truth.  As you use your gifts to serve others, you earn eternal rewards.  Knowing Scripture will remind you to keep your mind dependent upon God, relying on His peace despite your struggles and the world’s darkness.  Ultimately, your life is what points others to the God who loved them enough to send Jesus to rescue us.

It is an honor and a privilege to serve you in this way.  God willing, I have many more trips around the sun to continue doing so.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

When we fall

In 2004, I moved my family to a new state, 1500 miles away from what we knew as home.  The job I was going to was one that I had done before, so I was completely confident that I could hit the ground running.  I was excited to use my skillset in a new environment and among new people.  Of course, before they turned me loose, I had a training program to complete.  What I thought was going to be no big deal ended up having a few bumps in the road.

Maybe it was the time off between jobs, maybe it was nervousness…but I found myself making little mistakes that either made it more difficult to complete the task at hand or it meant that the testing was invalid and had to be repeated.  Internally, I was getting really frustrated with myself.  Externally, I would make weak attempts at joking as I would blame the mistakes on me trying to “knock the rust off”.  But the mistakes kept happening at a pace that made me uncomfortable, and I knew people were watching.

I began to wonder if there was some “unofficial limit” as to how many mistakes I could make before they would just give up on me.  I was being brought in to not only perform testing and provide expertise, but I was also going to be leading my own team.  “How can a supposed leader make this many mistakes?” I worried.  We were new in town, without any family nearby.  What would happen to us if I continued to muck things up and my worst fear was realized?

After one particularly frustrating mistake, looked at my trainer and asked how many more of these was I allowed before they kicked me out.  She just laughed as she walked away and said, “Don’t worry, Ken.  We’re not going to throw you overboard.  We’ve invested too much money in you to do that.” 

Now to her, I’m sure it was just a minor comment.  Too me, it felt like the weight of the world had been lifted.  And then I realized…she was right.  This company had paid for our move and given us three months of short-term housing – they had invested a lot in me and expected to get a return.  They were willing to put up with a few do-overs, especially in training, as I learned the ropes and re-focused my skills.  Because of their patience, I was able to succeed in a variety of roles for the company, even ones that I couldn’t have foreseen at that initial time.

We have the same worries in our relationship with God, don’t we?  Even after we trust Jesus with our eternal destiny, we’re still going to struggle with sin.  That’s just part of life as a redeemed human being.  But we often wonder…What if I screw up too many times?  What if I really blow it in a big way, with one of those “big” sins?  Will God just toss me aside, because that’s what I would deserve.

I love that God is a realist.

We like to sugar-coat our flaws and exaggerate our strengths, but He sees us exactly as we are.  He’s not surprised when we sin.  He knows we’re not going to live out this new life with Him perfectly.  He loves us and trains us like a perfect parent – with patience, support, and guidance.

In the middle of Psalm 37, David recognizes this truth. 

Psalm 37:23-24
A man’s steps are established by the Lord,
and He takes pleasure in his way.
Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
because the Lord holds his hand.

An accurate translation of the third line could also read, When he falls, he will not be cast aside.  God knows the path He wants us to walk with Him.  He truly delights in making the journey with us.  And when we fall, He is there to catch us.

Truthfully, He’s invested too much in us to just walk away.  Jesus, the most valuable person in the universe, paid for us to move into God’s family.  The Lord is holding our hand as we walk through this life, learning the ropes and developing our skills.  We are being prepared for life in Eternity Future.  God’s not going to give up on us here.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

How you remember them matters

Have you ever reconnected with someone from your past after many years, only to discover that they are nothing like the person you last knew them as?

Maybe he was the most annoying kid in school, constantly irritating everyone with outbursts of immaturity.  Or she was one to run with the wrong crowd, rebelling against her parents and schoolteachers any chance she had.  Perhaps you remember them for their arrogance or massive ego. 

When describing them to others, we always qualify their name with whatever bad thing they did, saying things like “she was the one who…” or “he always treated others like…”.  We all have stories and memories like this.

The truth is, you and I are remembered like this in other people’s stories and memories.  There are plenty of acts and choices from my youth that I don’t want to be remembered for, because that’s not who I am anymore.  I don’t want to be forever-labeled by the times I messed up.

David brought these same concerns to God:

Psalm 25:4-7
Make Your ways known to me, Lord;
teach me Your paths.
Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
for You are the God of my salvation;
I wait for You all day long.

Remember, Lord, Your compassion and faithful love,
for they have existed from antiquity.
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my acts of rebellion;
in keeping with Your faithful love, remember me
because of Your goodness, Lord.

David knows that if God based their relationship on His remembering of David’s sins of his youth or acts of rebellion, then he has no chance of knowing God’s ways or walking God’s paths.  David can’t earn access to God or God’s truth or God’s teaching – because David has already disqualified himself from those good things, based upon how he acted before.

Notice that David doesn’t petition God with “Look how much better I am now!” or try to bargain with God, saying “I’ll pay you back with more sacrifices!”.  David doesn’t seek a relationship with God based upon his own merits or actions; instead, he wants God to remember him according to God’s faithful love and God’s goodness.

God’s compassion is what gives David, and us, access to God.  We can only approach Him because of the way He chooses to see us.  And we’re all grateful that when He thinks of us, His thoughts are based upon His character, not on our actions.

We can make the same choice with others.  Will we always remember people for the flaws and mistakes of their youth, or will we extend compassion to them?  If someone from your past approached you now, seeking forgiveness like David sought from God, how would you respond?

I know, that’s tough.  All the important things in life are hard.  But that doesn’t change how important our choices are. 

Jesus considered this relationship dynamic to be so important that He included it in His model prayer:

Matthew 6:12
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

They may have wronged you in the past, but you don’t have to remember them for their actions.  I encourage you to extend the same compassion and forgiveness that God remembers us by.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Dear Jesus, just do what I want.

Answered prayer can be a tricky situation.

On the one hand, we’ve prayed and asked God to intervene – perhaps with a physical healing, or a job opportunity, or a financial rescue – and the situation has changed in the way we prayed that God would resolve it.  “God came through” is what we often say.  And we should absolutely continue to bring our requests for help to God.  He invites us to do so (Philippians 4:6), and He’s happy to say yes to us (Matthew 7:7-11).

But what if He says “no”?

How do we respond to not getting the “good thing” we want?  What should we do when God doesn’t immediately bless our plans? 

Early on in Jesus’ ministry, there were those who had specific requests for Him, but Jesus didn’t go along with their plans.  While preaching and ministering in the town of Capernaum, which is in the northern region of Galilee, Jesus performed two healing miracles.  When word got out about the miracles, the whole town showed up for more:

Luke 4:40-42
When the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him.  As He laid His hands on each one of them, He healed them.  Also, demons were coming out of many, shouting and saying, “ You are the Son of God!”  But He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Messiah.

When it was day, He went out and made His way to a deserted place.  But the crowds were searching for Him.  They came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them.

Here’s what the people of Capernaum missed: The miracles weren’t performed just so they could have an easier life.  If that was all there was to Jesus’ ministry, then He could have set up shop in town, and everyone with a broken arm, demon affliction, or even a case of the sniffles could stop in for a quick healing.  He would have been immensely popular (and profitable for the town) had He done so. 

The crowds in Capernaum wanted to keep Jesus in town so they knew where He was and what He was doing at all times.  In case of an emergency, they knew exactly where to go.  They didn’t want to let Jesus go beyond how they have experienced Him to this point.  They wanted to keep Him stashed away for themselves and have Him do His work on their terms.

However, Jesus had a larger purpose for the miracles He was doing:

Luke 4:43-44
But He said to them, “It is necessary for Me to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.”  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Jesus’ miracles authenticated that His message was from God, but the miracles were not the focus of Jesus’ ministry…even if other people wanted them to be.  Jesus had no intention of being their “in-case-of-emergency-break-glass” healer.  Instead, His mission was much, much bigger.  The other towns needed to hear the message that the kingdom of God was at hand, that their Messiah had arrived, that their spiritual condition needed healing even more than their physical diseases did.

It’s easy to scoff at their near-sighted, selfish attempt to control Jesus…but the truth is, we’re just as guilty of doing the same thing.  We struggle when we don’t see God move in our lives like He did before.  We pine away for how close we felt to Jesus in the beginning or at a certain moment when He rescued us…and we’re confused as to why we don’t see Him like that now.  We ask Him…even beg Him…to bring healing to our physical body or our mental illness or our relationships…and we despise the silent “no” that comes in the moment.

We want Jesus to stay in one place and fix all our problems.  But, deep down, we want those things for selfish reasons…mainly that we want life to be easier.

There were lots of blind, broken, demon-possessed, hungry, and hurting people in Judea during Jesus’ time there.  Only a small fraction of them received any sort of healing.  Because healing wasn’t the mission.  Being the Messiah they needed was more important than being the Healer they wanted.

When Jesus firmly told the people of Capernaum that He was leaving, against their wishes, they were left with a choice: Would they shrink back from Jesus because they didn’t get what they wanted, or would they support Him in His larger, kingdom-sized purpose?

The same question hangs in the air for us, too.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Conditional goals

What is our goal as parents?  We spend 18ish years feeding, clothing, nursing, caring, teaching, testing, training, guiding, and living with our children.  While the “goal for today” may look different from last year’s “goal for today”, there is also a long-term target that we are trying to make sure they hit.

We don’t often verbalize what that “active-parenting-is-done-end-game” goal looks like.  Truthfully, the busyness of the moment makes it easy to forget that we’re aiming toward anything other than survival.  However, if we were to list out what we desire for our kids to be like when they finally become adults, it would probably look something like this:

I want them to be healthy, active members of society.  I want them to love God and others, and to be growing in both of those areas.  I hope they have a “good” career that uses their talents.  I really want them to be happy with their life/spouse/family/etc.

These are all good dreams for us to have for our children.  But it’s not very often that these ideas are forefront in our minds, especially as they get older.  I have to wonder, though, if we don’t think about this goal as much, not because of the busyness – but because we’re worried they may not be 100% ready when the time comes. 

No matter how well we parent, no matter how pure our love is, and no matter how spot-on our advice is – our kids’ lives could still be derailed by their own choices.  Lots of things in this world are ready to be distractions or disruptions: unhealthy relationships, various addictions, rejection of God, rejection of family, wasting of talents, etc.  But those are the reason WHY we parent them.  We give them guidance, love, direction, opportunities, and education so they CAN reach their full potential.

It’s no wonder we do these things – since God does the same with each of us.  Once we have been born again, we become part of God’s family, and He has a plan to mature each one of us.  He has an incredible end-goal in mind for what our full potential looks like.  Paul pointed this out in his letter to the believers at Colossae.  Look for God’s goal for them, but also be on the lookout for what will help them reach that goal:

Colossians 1:21-23
And you were once alienated and hostile in mind because of your evil actions.  But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him – if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith, and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard.

God the Father has reconciled you…to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him.  That goal is a HUGE change from where I’m currently at.  But looking back on my life, I can see that I’m closer now than I was when I became a Christian.  God’s been patiently working on me, and I trust that He will continue to do so, all the while aiming for His goal in my life.

But we both know that I’m susceptible to distractions and disruptions.  I can be my own worst enemy.  I could derail God’s plan to mature me if I rebel and disregard His leading and direction in my life.  That kind of behavior wouldn’t mean that I’m not part of the family – instead it would mean that God would have to address my rebellion before getting back to developing my maturity.

That’s why Paul says that God’s goal for believers – to be shown as holy, faultless, and blameless before Him – is conditional.  Some of us won’t make it to full maturity.  That’s why Paul prays that the believers may walk worthy of the Lord (1:10).  That’s why Paul says his goal is that we may present everyone mature in Christ (1:28).  These things may happen…they may not.  Throughout the rest of the letter, Paul warns the Colossians about other distractions and how to keep step with God and His aim for us.

However, Paul’s best advice comes in verse 23.  We will be able to reach full maturity if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith, and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard.

Our starting point is also our anchor.  The hope of the gospel – Jesus coming to earth to save us when we couldn’t save ourselves – is what grounds us.  Just as we trust God for salvation, we must also trust Him for our maturity.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

No more Flashback Favorites

About a year ago, I learned a hard truth.  It has rattled around in my brain, gone away, and then boomeranged back to the front of my thoughts at some rather interesting times since it was first presented to me:

Contempt is often a cover for shame.

But let me back up a little further…I first picked up this blog from Joe in 2013.  By 2017, after writing and posting at least once per week…I needed a break.  So I scheduled what I called a “Flashback Favorite” – using republished posts from previous years.  Doing so gave me two weeks off from the pressure of writing, and fulfilled my concern that I didn’t want to “go dark” and leave people hanging.

In the years since 2017, I have published various numbers of “Flashback Favorite” posts – whether it was time for a break or the other responsibilities of life had crowded out my ability to write for the week.  However, every time I posted one…I felt a twinge of guilt.  I felt like I was letting you down.  And labeling a post “Flashback Favorite” was my admittance of defeat.

I felt contempt toward myself – thoroughly convinced that if I had just worked hard enough, to get far enough ahead that I didn’t need to rely on “old stuff” to cover for me.  But the contempt really was a cover for shame…that I let you down, let myself down, and (most importantly) let God down.  That my efforts weren’t good enough.  Or that I had been too lazy or undisciplined.  Nobody would have said it out loud, and they wouldn’t have needed to…because I said it enough internally for the both of us.

Up until the last couple of weeks, I was really proud of myself for only having one Flashback Favorite this year – the week my wife was in a car accident (she’s ok now, thank you God!).  But much like 2017, for the past two weeks, I needed a break.  So, I reluctantly scheduled some previous posts to go out while I have worked on the next new series.

But God brought this passage to mind…and this one little verse has reshaped my thinking, dissipating my contempt and its shameful root:

Matthew 13:52
“Therefore,” He said to them, “every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom treasures new and old.”

Through several parables, Jesus had just taught His disciples about the Kingdom of God.  It was clear from these stories that Jesus was taking the old and familiar lessons from the law and expounding upon them with His new teachings.  The old wasn’t being tossed aside…instead, a disciple would be able to see how the old foreshadows the new, and how the new fulfills the intended purpose of the old.

The observation that stands out the most to me is that both the old and the new are treasures.  The owner of the house knows when it’s time to redecorate, but also when it’s time to look at the pictures of yester-year.  The new does not replace the old, but instead both have value.  Both have their time and place, and the wisdom of the house owner dictates when each should be brought to light.

That’s how it is, too, with our growth and maturity, right?  We don’t always learn something new from God.  There are times we have to relearn a lesson from before.  Sometimes, it’s applying the same learning in a new context.  Other times, it’s healthy for us to remember how far God has brought us.

So, going forward, I’m not going to label any posts as a “Flashback Favorite”.  If I need to bring back an “old” learning, then I will do so without shame or contempt.  There is value in the treasure which God has brought to me through writing this blog for the last 13+ years…and I don’t want to diminish that gift in any way.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: The Bible: Reading vs. Experiencing

The Bible: Reading vs. Experiencing
Originally posted on December 08, 2016

Sometimes, we forget.

We forget that the Bible wasn’t just written, it was lived.
We forget that the person we’re reading about didn’t know the next verse.
We forget the person had feelings/thoughts/worries/doubts in each moment.

The pages of Scripture describe the actions, thoughts, and desires of the individuals and groups who have uniquely interacted with our Creator, in order to demonstrate His love for us. 

But sometimes…we forget…and we just read on through the section, chapter, or book.

For example, we can open our Bibles and find:

1 Timothy 4:12-16
No one should despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.  Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching.  Do not neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.

Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all.  Be conscientious about yourself and your teaching; persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.

These are the words of an old man encouraging his protégé.  We have front row seats to a watershed moment in young Timothy’s life.  He has been raised and trained for this moment of service in God’s kingdom – and Paul wants Timothy to know the importance of the next steps he takes, ones without Paul’s direct supervision.  But it’s difficult to recognize the weight of Paul’s words, and their impact on Timothy, when we just read through a chapter.

However, when we are on the receiving end of a leader’s call to rise up, something deep inside resonates.  It could be a coach’s halftime speech, a father calling out to his son, or a leader inspiring a nation.  Those moments stir passions in us – even when we witness them in other’s lives, or in a movie.

So, I’m going to ask you to try a little exercise.  Follow the link below to a clip from the movie Miracle, and then read Paul’s words to Timothy again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwpTj_Z9v-c

1 Timothy 4:12-16
No one should despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.  Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching.  Do not neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders.

Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all.  Be conscientious about yourself and your teaching; persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Think about Timothy, before and after receiving Paul’s letter.

Why would Paul’s words resonate with Timothy?
Which words stand out?  Why?
How will these words impact Timothy’s motivation and focus?

If Paul said these words to you, how would they impact your motivation and focus?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: The greatest reward possible

When a new US President takes office, he gets to pick who will be in his cabinet and inner circle. Those opportunities aren’t afforded to just anyone. The person who voted for him is certainly on the “winning team”, but simply casting a vote would not qualify an individual to be a cabinet member. Those inner circle positions are only available to those the President knows the best and trusts the most - men and women who have worked with him and for him all along the campaign trail.

The same will be true when Jesus takes His rightful place in the Millennial Kingdom and Eternity Future. Those who have believed in Jesus for eternal life will be part of the Kingdom, but those who have followed Him now will have even greater opportunity to serve and have access to Jesus in the future.

The greatest reward possible
Originally posted on September 26, 2019

Assuming you had the necessary skills and the opportunity, what is the biggest earthly prize you would aspire to?

Maybe it’s directing the highest grossing movie of all time…or Quarterbacking your favorite team to a Super Bowl victory…or building a business up from your garage into a global empire…or perhaps you are content to win the lottery and retire to a private island.  What would be “the ultimate prize” for you?

How does thinking about this feel?  Scary?  Overwhelming?  Unrealistic?

As those who believe in Jesus for eternal life, we know this present life will continue on with Him into Eternity Future.  While there are big dreams and opportunities to be had here and now…we should also wonder if there are eternal opportunities that God has made available to us.  In God’s revelation to John, He reveals a big one:

Revelation 22:3-5
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will worship Him.  They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.  Night will be no more; people will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever.

They will reign.

Those words carry a weight to them, and they should.  To reign means that a person has obtained or has been given the authority to rule, to lead, and to preside over the lives of others.  While we fully expect Jesus to reign in Heaven and over all creation…John tells us that in addition to Jesus, His servants will reign.

Servant Kings.

Those words don’t seem to go together, but it is exactly what Christ taught to His disciples.

At one point, Peter struggled with comparing the life he left behind with his choice to follow Jesus as a disciple.  He could have believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, continued to work the family business as a fisherman, and still gone to Heaven.  What Peter struggled with was seeing the tangible benefits to accepting Christ’s invitation to intimately follow Him in Discipleship, to living his earthly life learning how to imitate Christ.  Let’s drop into their conversation:

Matthew 19:27-28
Then Peter responded to Him, “See, we have left everything and followed You.  So what will there be for us?”  Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Notice that Jesus does not rebuke Peter for asking this kind of “What’s the reward?” question.  Jesus replies that there is a reward – a reward of authority – to those who have followed him.  Jesus didn’t say that this magnitude of a reward was available to everyone who believes…rather those who will be great at the renewal of all things are those who, after believing, have spent their earthly lives learning how to imitate Christ.

Learning to imitate Christ, the greatest example of a Servant King, is what will qualify His servants to reign forever and ever.

You and I have the necessary skills and the opportunity to do the same.  Will we follow Christ now so that we, too, can become Servant Kings in eternity future?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: Good FOMO

As I continue to think about the eternal rewards available to us, I came across a previous post that covers another reward - two rewards, in fact! - that we are already familiar with. The rewards are being praised and receiving new opportunities. We enjoy receiving them now…can you imagine what it would be like to receive them from the God of the Universe?!?!

Good FOMO
Originally posted on May 25, 2023

The term FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out, was first coined in a 1996 economic research paper; however, the feelings associated with FOMO have been around much longer.  FOMO is an internal concern that your day-to-day life doesn’t match up with the external lives you see other people experiencing.  It is an insecurity that you are missing out on something – and because you are left out, it means that your value is less than whomever is having the experience you are not.

It's pretty apparent how FOMO can be intensified by social media.  The daily highlight reels of seeing other people’s fancy meals, vacations, kids’ achievements, perfect couple selfie poses, and witty comments can leave us thinking that others don’t have the stressors and issues that we experience and struggle with. 

A little self-analysis on this topic goes a long way.  So, let’s jump in:

The things we experience FOMO over reveal what we value the most – but more than just at the surface level.  When we see someone post about having a great meal, or a great experience, or a great relationship, we often respond with “Must be nice…”  All those things would be wonderful to have, but – and here’s where we have to be brutally honest with ourselves – don’t we also have a secret desire to have other people see us have that great thing, too?  At a very core level (one we don’t like to acknowledge)…it’s as if we want to induce FOMO in other people, as a way of propping ourselves up or establishing our own value.

We want the thing, but we also want other people to revere us for having the thing.

And that, my friends, is called pride.  It’s so sneaky, isn’t it? 

If you ate the gourmet meal, took the romantic trip, or got the promotion – and never posted on social media about it – would you still be satisfied with the experience?  Well Ken, of course I would!

Or do you find even more satisfaction with the event when sharing it on the socials, in the hopes that others will admire you for what you have?  Ok Ken, maybe I don’t want to answer that…

We like to achieve, and we like to impress our audience.  But it’s too easy to slip into a prideful mindset about achievements or good experiences, especially when we’re focused on how others will evaluate our life.  It would be easy to rant against pride here, but I think there’s a better way to deal with prideful FOMO: change our audience.

Jesus told His disciples about a man who left part of his fortune in the hands of his servants.  In today’s wages, he gave the first servant $5,000,000, the second servant $2,000,000, and the third servant $1,000,000.  After a long time, the man came back to settle accounts.  Both the first and second servants had doubled his money, but the third had done nothing.  Interestingly, the first and second servants received the exact same response:

Matthew 25:21 and 25:23
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!  You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Share your master’s joy.”

We would probably expect the one who earned another $5,000,000 to receive a higher praise or reward than the one who earned another $2,000,000 – but that’s not what happened.  The master congratulated and praised both equally.  He granted them new opportunity, both in responsibility and in a joyful relationship with him.  The one who did nothing with the master’s investment ended up giving back the money, but he also lost out on all that the others gained.

The first and second servant worked with what they had been given, with the goal of impressing their master.  They were looking forward to hearing him say ‘Well done!’.  I think it’s accurate to say that they feared missing out on their master’s approval, otherwise they wouldn’t have worked so hard or been so eager to show him what they had accomplished.

FOMO can be a good thing, but it depends on who it is that we’re trying to impress.  If we’re trying to impress other people, or even make them jealous, then we’re going to end up like the third servant and waste the talent God has given us.  We’ll also miss out on the rewards God has instore for believers who are intentionally working with and developing the gifts He’s given us.

So I encourage you to take what you have – your time, your talents, and your treasure – and invest it well.  Intentionally develop these gifts and invest them in other people, doing it so that you can point others to God.  That is what earns the ‘Well done!’ from God and leads to even greater opportunity and relationship in Eternity Future.  We certainly don’t want to miss out on that!

Keep Pressing,
Ken