Learning What is Really Valuable

“Be more concerned about your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are”  —Dale Carnegie

Most of us were raised to guard our reputations as if our lives depended on it. We were even taught that our lives did depend on it for our reputations at best could protect, reward, employ us, or at worst could hinder, hurt, or even terminate us.

No wonder we find it so difficult to put our hard earned good reputations on the line when it comes to living for Jesus. When it comes to recognizing with Him we can think—‘What will they think of me if I share that Jesus guides my life?’ ‘How will they treat me when I tell them that we are all sinners and need to trust in Jesus as the only way to have a relationship with God the Father?’ But there is a key step that has to be taken to be able to give God our reputation and have our character be conformed to Jesus’ image. That step is presented by Paul in Philippians 3:7—11 where Paul tells us that he gave up his hard earned earthly reputation for an unearned eternal reward.

But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, so that somehow I also may be raised to life.

So, as you go through your day remember that you can either live life based on a hard earned earthly reputation, or an unearned eternal gift. I pray that you will choose the gift and that in so doing allow someone else to choose that gift as well. Share your faith with someone today.

You take care of your character and God will take care of your reputation.

Why People Never Really Live For God?

Last week we considered a key reason why many people never really live for God. Today let us consider a second key factor that limits our living for God. That factor is that we don’t see ourselves as God sees us and therefore we do not know or live to achieve our eternal purpose. Another way of saying that is that we are limited by having a today focus rather than a tomorrow (or eternal) focus.

Too many of us see ourselves from an earthly perspective so we limit our purpose to making money, obtaining personal success, raising good families, looking good, being thought of as important by others, and the list goes on and on. Yet that is not where God places His primary emphasis for us. Rather, He says that we have an eternal destiny that we are to be preparing for. Mark 8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” Clearly in Jesus’ outlook today should never cause us to lose sight of our tomorrow (or our eternal purpose).

        Here are 3 considerations to use as we examine if we are eternity focused and living for God:

1. Live for the legacy. Spend time on that which will last long after our lives (Matthew 6:19—21). What legacy do you want to leave in the work you do, through the relationships you maintain, in how you spend your time and energy?

2. Assess Your Valuables. Do an assessment on what you are investing in. If a soul is more valuable than gaining the whole world (Mark 8:36) then we should be investing in the lives of those around us. Where are we investing—in people or things?

3. Connect to the Life Source. Jesus said that He was the ‘true vine’ (John 15:1—5) which refers to the fact that He is the source of energy and the lifeline by which nutrients are provided to produce God’s fruit in us. Where are we gaining our strength for living life?

My prayer for you today is that you will see your great value and role in bringing God’s kingdom desires to be on earth as they are in heaven. Remember that you have a heavenly calling on your life that gives you an eternal purpose. Now live it out!

Importance Of Jesus Resurrection

In a time where the person of Jesus is being questioned please don’t allow the great meaning of His resurrection to be questioned in your life. Paul realized the pivotal importance of the resurrection and challenged us to focus on its central value:

For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. 1 Corinthians 15:16—19

Paul is clear that Jesus’ resurrection is the basis of God’s doing great things in our lives:

We can now make U-Turns in life—Regardless of our past we can change to walk with God.
We can now overlook our expiration date—Death is not the end of life but the start of a better life.
We can now shine in the rain—Our hope is not built on our experiences but on God’s promises.

Where does the power of the resurrection need to be applied in your life? Remember, He is risen, and so are we in Him!

Remembering the Dead

When we lose a dear friend, someone we have loved deeply, we are left with a grief that can paralyse us emotionally for a long time. People we love become part of us. Our thinking, feeling and acting are codetermined by them: Our fathers, our mothers, our husbands, our wives, our lovers, our children, our friends ... they are all living in our hearts. When they die a part of us has to die too. That is what grief is about: It is that slow and painful departure of someone who has become an intimate part of us. When Christmas, the new year, a birthday or anniversary comes, we feel deeply the absence of our beloved companion. We sometimes have to live at least a whole year before our hearts have fully said good-bye and the pain of our grief recedes. But as we let go of them they become part of our “members” and as we “re-member” them, they become our guides on our spiritual journey.  (From Henri J.M. Nouwen’s Bread For The Journey )

Being Ready to Die

Death often happens suddenly. A car accident, a plane crash, a fatal fight, a war, a flood, and so on. When we feel healthy and full of energy, we do not think much about our deaths. Still, death might come very unexpectedly.

How can we be prepared to die? By not having any unfinished relational business. The question is: Have I forgiven those who have hurt me and asked forgiveness from those I have hurt? When I feel at peace with all the people I live with, my death might cause great grief, but it will not cause guilt or anger.

When we are ready to die at any moment, we also are ready to live at any moment.  (From Henri J.M. Nouwen’s Bread For The Journey )

The Quality Of Life

In light of the events of last week I wanted to share with you this devotional a member shared with me that she felt beautifully went in line with our sermon from Sunday.

It is very hard to accept an early death. When friends die who are seventy, eighty, or ninety years old, we may be in deep grief and miss them very much, but we are grateful that they had long lives. But when a teenager, a young adult, or a person at the height of his or her career dies, we feel a protest rising from our hearts: “Why? Why so soon? Why so young? It is unfair.”

But far more important than our quantity of years is the quality of our lives. Jesus died young. St. Francis died young. St. Thérèse of Lisieux died young, Martin Luther King, Jr., died young. We do not know how long we will live, but this not knowing calls us to live every day, every week, every year of our lives to its fullest potential (The Henri Nouwen Society’s ‘Daily Meditation’).