Not Endless, Only!

Deuteronomy 4:2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it,
but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you. 

     I hate it when playing a game and the rules change right when I am about to get ahead. I think this is a universal feeling. I know it is with my grandchildren. I hear them in the backyard as they play a game. When the rules change these words ring out: "That's not fair!" And an argument ensures.
     None of us like living and working in a situation where the rules seem to change all the time. It makes life intolerable. We all have the innate drive to succeed. But when the rules change, success becomes increasingly frustrating. (Unless of course you are the one who gets to change the rules!)
     Some people wonder what God wants from them, what His standards are. They flit and fly around from this to that in an effort to find some path that will lead to God but not require too much change on their part. They want comfortable rather than righteous. They want the broad road rather than the narrow road, to quote Jesus.
     So as Moses, the ancient leader of the people of Israel, is saying his final words to them before he dies, he tells them to keep it simple. He says: don't add, don't subtract, just obey.
     The LORD doesn't have an endless list of things for us to do in order to live the kind of life that pleases Him and best fits with our humanity and our purpose. The list is really pretty short.
     He might not have an endless list, but there is a list. There are things that cross time and culture that are always right and wrong. There are things that consistently show up on the list. The Ten Commandments is one such list. Notice it is ten, not eleven, not twenty five, not 10,000.
     So in your life today, what are the things you are supposed to be doing to demonstrate to the world that Jesus has made an eternal difference in your life?

Honoring Contentment

Often life is ruled by desires of what we think we want or should have but do not or can not have. Wrong desires accepted lead to life-taking attitudes and actions. Once we start seeking satisfaction somewhere other than in the LORD, our thirst will never be satisfied. Contentment has nothing to do with the size of your bank account. We can trust the LORD to take care of our needs. If we aren’t content with what we have, we are in danger of judgment.

http://hospchap.sermon.net/main/main/20689969

Honoring Wealth

God promises to care for his creatures. He made them physical beings and in the midst of their work promises to provide what they need. Stealing shows a lack of trust in God, and keeps people from trusting and being able to have trusting, healthy relationships with others.

http://hospchap.sermon.net/main/main/20682306

Honoring Sexuality

Here is a link to my sermon from this past week. I shared the role of sexuality in the Life God Gives series here at Keystone Church of the Nazarene here in Okinawa Japan.

Just in case the link above doesn't work, here it is ready to copy and paste into your browser.

http://ftp.keystonenazarene.org/audio/2016-5-15.mp3

And here are some others if you are so inclined.

https://hospchap.sermon.net/main/main/20677191

I’m Good Enough!

Mark 10:18-19

      How many times have I heard that response when asking people about heaven! There is the popular notion that heaven, or at least entrance to heaven, can be earned, or perhaps is even deserved, if we are just good enough. If we do the right things, certainly God would not lock us out on judgment day. Sometimes it gets worded in the negative. “I’ve haven’t murdered anyone?” “I’m not as bad as some people.”

      No matter how it is worded, some people feel they are getting in because of their own actions. They feel they have been ‘good enough’ here on earth. It is almost as if there were a big scale and all the good was placed on one side and all the bad on the other, and if the scale tipped, even if ever so slightly toward the good, then you get in. This results in a false sense of security.

      The real problem is the underestimation of the badness of bad. We think sin is just a little slipup, a little mistake, a temporary lapse in judgment. We think sin can easily be wiped away with a diaper wipe, and then we are all clean again. The problem with this view is that sin is pervasive in us. It isn’t simply on our outside. It penetrates every fabric of our being, affecting every thought and action from day one. It traces blacken ever water it touches.

      A man came to Jesus wondering what he could do to earn heaven. Jesus cuts him off at the pass. He does so in several steps. The first deals with his view of who Jesus is. This man puts Jesus on par with many other religious teachers. He is just one of the many who have come teaching about God’s ways.

      Jesus stops him in his tracks. He says, if you are going to call me good, and only God is good, then you are calling me God. Is that what you mean? Are you making that kind of statement? Or are you just throwing words around without considering their impact?

      But Jesus is also making a powerful statement about goodness. He says that only God is good. This man’s attempts to be good must necessarily fall short, since only God is good. So if he claims to be good, then he must be claiming to be God. But Jesus knows he isn’t claiming that. He just doesn’t realize how good you have to be in order to be in heaven.

      So Jesus gives this man the standard list of dos and don’ts, the Commandments. It is interesting that Jesus only quotes those commandments that deal with our relationships with other people. He leaves out those that deal with our relationship with God. Jesus’ focus with this man in on his relationship with people.

      How is your relationship with people? Do you get along with them? Do you honor them with your time, talent and attention?

      What is your list of dos and don’ts? Are you keeping score accurately? What is the prize you get when you have a perfect score?