A true servant

JESUS SPEAKING

                But Jesus called them to himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the gentile’s lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10: 42 – 45.)

 

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                Every society (from the fall of creation, until the present day) has been fueled by the pursuit of power and authority.  All social structures are shaped like a staircase that narrows near the top.  The climb begins in early childhood.  With age, those who secure positions of influence are treated with great respect.  Those who do not rise to the top, settle near the bottom; the strong rule, and the weak become servants.  Yet Jesus Christ, the King of Kings was not born in a palace; he was born on the dirty floor of a manger.  A life begun in humility, was lived in like manner; the prince of peace served the poor, and embraced the unworthy.  He turned an ‘upside down world’, ‘right side up.’  To pursue Christ is to forsake the pursuit of power and authority.  Those who desire to follow the Son of God must move down the social ladder in search of the lowest position.  A disciple is greatest when he is the least; he is the most alive when he is dead; he only rules when he truly serves.

                India (one of the largest nations in the world) is founded on the teachings of Hinduism.  Social order is a centralized feature of the Hindu Religion (as is the belief in reincarnation.)  They believe in a divine hierarchy; a caste system in which a person’s position is the result of their prior life.  When an individual dies they are immediately reborn; the deeds of their past life dictate their present social standing.  Those who were good are born in to one of the four respectable classes (the top class being comprised of kings, warriors, and rulers.)  However, those who were evil in a previous life are born in to a class known as the ‘untouchables.’  This group is poor, plagued with sickness, and most have historically only been able to hold menial jobs (such as the removal of dead bodies.)  [Note: Some recognize more than just five classes.]  This principle of Karma, is well known by every Hindu; bad Karma needs to be worked off; by suffering miserably in this life, one can pay for the sins of their past life; through anguish, every ‘untouchable’ can hope for a better life when they die.  Therefore, in India, helping the needy and the poor is often seen as interfering with their karma (to help relieve suffering, can actually prolong it.)  Therefore there is a permanent underclass; a group of people the world has forsaken.  Although most of mankind has forgotten about these people, God has not.  In the 1950’s, a Catholic Nun named Mother Theresa was led by the Lord to begin caring for lepers in India; she established a colony, and made a place for them to call home.  She also reached out to the abandoned orphans, the disabled, and the sick.  From that time until her death in 1997, she served the poorest, weakest, and most insignificant people, the world around.  When she received the Nobel Peace prize, she said, “I am grateful to receive (the Nobel) in the name of the hungry, the naked, the homeless…the crippled… the blind…the lepers, (and) all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared-for throughout society; people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.”

                Mother Theresa followed Christ, and it led her in to the slums of Calcutta.  Jesus has asked nothing less of every believer.  Service is a requirement.  Whether at work, school, the coffee shop, the grocery store, or even at home, disciples are servants.  A true servant seeks opportunities to help others.  The way up is down.  Humble yourself, and allow God to use you; lowliness leads to honor, and humility is the path to everlasting life.  Those who serve others, serve the true and living God.  Deny yourself; give to the needy; embrace the outcast; love those who have been abandoned; prefer others, and God will one day raise you up to a place of eternal honor.

                “Lord Heavenly Father we desperately desire to be lowly.  Help us to serve others with zeal.  Please provide us with opportunities to give of our time, resources, and knowledge.  Grant us humility, that we may give to those in need; may we love those who feel unloved.  We aspire to be great servants; may we deny ourselves to honor and prefer others; and may our hearts be filled with joy as we serve You and our fellows.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, in Jesus Christ’s name.”  God bless all of you.

Heed the warning

JESUS SPEAKING

                And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, he began to say, “This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation […] The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed one greater than Jonah is here”  (Luke 11: 29 – 30, 32.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                The city of Nineveh was one of the largest cities in the ancient world (some say that it took three days to walk through.)  Nineveh was not only immense, it was completely evil.  As the center of the Assyrian empire, it’s cruelty and perversion were unrivaled.  [Warning:  The information you are about to hear is disturbing.]  The Assyrians rejected the one true God and practiced unspeakable acts of immorality.  They impaled their victims, and cut off their hands, noses, and ears.  They poked out the eyes of their enemies; and tore out their tongues.  Many who were conquered were flayed alive (they had their skin cut off); the skins were hung from the walls of their cities.  Thousands of captured children were burned alive.  They dismembered bodies and fed them to the dogs and pigs.  They forced many enemies to grind up the bones of their dead ancestors.  They severed the heads of whole populations and fixed them to the ends of poles.  They constructed giant towers made out of human heads; often after a conquest, the rulers would bring back the heads of their victims and hang them on the trees around the city as decoration.  Uncovered ruins reveal that Assyrian rulers proudly displayed scenes of torture on their palace walls; for them, inflicting pain was delightful.  When they weren’t killing their captives, they were humiliating them; the Assyrians often ran hooks and chains through the lips of their captives and treated them like dogs.  Corruption was a foundation of their society; their religious practices included prostitution and child sacrifice.  Robbery and theft in Nineveh were commonplace.  The city had become so wicked that God decided to destroy it.  Yet God in His mercy sent them a prophet named Jonah; his message was ‘repent or be destroyed.’  (Jonah desired to see Nineveh decimated; so he refused to follow God’s command.  However, after suffering hardship, he made his way to the Assyrian city as God had directed him.)  As Jonah angrily marched in to the city, he showed no signs or wonders; nor did he perform any miracles; he simply said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed.”  The evil and wicked people of Nineveh repented (they began to weep and mourn.)  The citizens (including the king and his household) started to fast and pray for forgiveness; because of their response, the Ninevites avoided destruction.  Jesus, like Jonah, came to an evil world and preached an eternal message of repentance and salvation.  The Ninevites had listened to Jonah the prophet; yet Jesus Christ (God in the flesh) was rejected by most Jews and gentiles who heard him speak.  Instead of hearing him, they demanded a sign.  Christ’s message has echoed through every generation.  On the final Day of Judgment, those who have heeded the warning and repented will be forgiven.  Those who have denied Christ will be destroyed.

                The ruins of the ancient city of Nineveh lay within the borders of modern day Iraq.  From 1979 until 2003, the Iraqi people were ruled over by a brutal dictator named Saddam Hussein.  Like the leaders of the ancient Assyrian Empire, Saddam’s cruelty was excessive.  Shortly after taking power, he convened an assembly of leaders and proceeded to read off a list of 68 names; people he believed were disloyal; they were arrested and led away; 22 were executed by other council members.  From 1986-1988, Mr. Hussein attacked 3.5 million Kurdish residents living in Northern Iraq.  Using the Koran and the teachings of Mohammed, he justified the destruction of tens of thousands of homes; entire villages were destroyed.  He massacred an upwards of 2 million people; another 17,000 Kurds went missing; the attacking troops were informed that it was legal to claim property from the deceased (which included the widows who were left behind.)  In another incident Saddam used chemical weapons to kill and injure nearly 10,000 people living in an area populated by civilians (men, women, and children lay dead in the streets.)  He launched a war against Iran that claimed the lives of nearly a million people.  His methods of interrogation and torture were infamous (he even tortured one of his own sons.)  Throughout his time as dictator he continually attempted to develop nuclear weapons.  The United Nations, fearing he would accomplish his goal, demanded he allow U.N. weapons inspectors to enter his country.  However, in 1998, he kicked the inspectors out.  The U.N. warned him that if he did not allow the inspectors to return “serious consequences” would result.  Saddam defied numerous international resolutions (warnings); his refusal to heed these warnings led to a full scale invasion of Iraq in 2003.  During the campaign Saddam Hussein was captured and imprisoned.  In 2006, after being found guilty of war crimes, he was executed.  Before being hung, it’s feasible to assume that he regretted not complying with the U.N.’s demands.

                God has given mankind numerous warnings.  The gospel has gone out to every nation; compliance is necessary to avoid destruction.  Jesus has delivered a wonderful message to an evil world. Although most have never tortured, murdered, or beheaded anyone, everyone is a sinner; and every sinner, no matter how evil, can repent and be completely forgiven.  Those who heed the warnings and turn away from sin (adultery, idolatry, fornication, etc.) and embrace Jesus Christ will inherit eternal life.  Those who hear God’s message and refuse to comply will experience everlasting destruction.  His words are all that are needed; no sign or miracle can ever produce true faith.  Listen to the Lord; hear him; trust him; follow him, and you will be blessed.  He will lead you in to eternal peace; he will provide you with unending love; and you will experience the gift of everlasting life.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You and ask that You help us to heed Your warning.  May we turn away from our sins, and turn toward You.  May our faith be rooted in Your words.  We desire to be fully committed to You Father; strengthen us by the power of Your Holy Spirit, and deliver us from evil.  We thank You for Your forgiveness; may Your mercy be with us forever.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.

Giving away your wealth

JESUS SPEAKING

                “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12: 32-34.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

                Jesus commanded his followers to sell their earthly possessions and use the profits to help those in need.  For each sacrifice, he promised a future reward held for them in God’s eternal kingdom.  Although many amass great amounts of excess wealth, all possessions are impermanent; nothing tangible is of any eternal value.  Banks fail, thieves steal, and death is inevitable.  No living person can carry possessions from this life to the next; everything is left behind. Yet, for those who have heeded the command of Christ, far greater treasures await; no compassionate contribution, selfless act, or sacrificial donation is ever lost.  The Lord will credit those who have made charity ‘the backbone’ of their existence.  Death cannot take from the unselfish, what remains within the living God.  He is a divine vault that contains an eternal treasure.  In Him, every believer who has sacrificed their belongings will inherit the true riches of eternal life [Note:  Some things are necessary for living; if you own a home, God is not necessarily asking you to sell it.  If you own two homes, the second one is more than you need; perhaps you can sell it and use the money to help others (needs vary based on culture and circumstance.)]

                When Solomon succeeded his Father David as king, the Nation of Israel was at its Zenith.  King Solomon was one of the wealthiest men who has ever lived.  Over the span of 40 years as king he earned nearly 40 billion dollars worth of Gold (based on one estimate.)  He also acquired 700 wives and three hundred concubines.  He sat on a large mechanical throne covered in gold figures; which was allegedly carried around with him wherever he went.  His monumental building projects astonished onlookers for generations.  He constructed the temple in Jerusalem (one of the largest buildings ever created in the ancient world.)  His palace took 13 years to build and all of his drinking vessels were made of pure gold.  He owned many exotic animals and bread thousands of horses.  He owned 1,400 chariots and employed 12,000 horsemen.  Foreign rulers, the world over, traveled to his Kingdom to marvel at its prosperity.  The bible records that Solomon “made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones.”  With so much wealth and power, did Solomon live a satisfying life?  The answer can be found in the book of Ecclesiastes.  He wrote this book near the end of his life; as he looked back upon his actions and accomplishments, he expressed extreme regret.  He concluded that the large buildings, the Gold and silver, the women, the exotic food, the fine clothes, and the abundant possessions were all meaningless.  He wrote “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, by increase […] there is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: riches kept for their owner to his hurt […] as he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; and he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand […] just exactly as he came, so shall he go.”  As death approached, King Solomon had finally discovered the true value of wealth; homes are unimportant, bank accounts are trivial, and fine clothes are insignificant; but generosity lasts forever. 

                Jesus Christ continually reminds the world of the truth that Solomon discovered so many years ago; wealth is only valuable when it is used to bless others.  Those who have utilized their excesses to help the poor are in fact wealthier than the richest man who has ever lived.  For when death arrives, the wealthy man will have nothing, but the faithful believer will inherit true riches; everlasting possessions that cannot be taken away.  Your wealth serves no purpose, unless it serves His purpose.  The things you have that are not being used, can be used to glorify God and to help others.  Search your closets; search your bank accounts; search your hearts; and give your wealth away.  Do this, and you will one day acquire riches far greater than you could have ever imagined.

                “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You and ask that You give us the strength and the courage to use our wealth for Your purposes.  May our excesses be given over to help those in need.  Give us opportunities to be instruments of kindness; may we abandon ourselves to You.  May our lives be lived in sacrifice, and self-denial; and may we one day inherit the true riches of Your Glorious Kingdom.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.