Seek the Kingdom

Usually about an hour after I eat dinner, I’m back in the kitchen looking for something sweet. I look in the fridge, in the pantry and on the countertop, narrowing down the choices for my sweet tooth. But I’m looking because there something I don’t have. If I was satisfied, I wouldn’t be in the kitchen.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom and live righteously and God will give you everything you need.” Notice he didn’t say everything you want. Jesus is calling us to seek the kingdom or look for kingdom living because he knows we don’t yet have it. We are missing something. We aren’t satisfied and we end up trying all kinds of things that aren’t good for us. Jesus knows exactly what we need to be satisfied: His Kingdom.

So, Paul calls us to imitate Jesus in life and character in Philippians 2:2-3. He calls us as followers to have the posture of Jesus. As followers and believers, we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, the Chosen One, the Messiah, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Yet, Jesus left all that to be killed for you and me so we could be reunited with our Heavenly Father. See, Jesus posture preceded his position. And we are called to that kind of living as well. Seeking the right posture yields righteousness, not because of anything I’ve done but because of all that Jesus has done and is doing.

So if we are going to be formed into imitators of Jesus, there are some things we can do in our lives to be better molded to look like Jesus. There are four things to know that will help build a Jesus’ posture in your life.

Be a part of community. Robin and I have been married 33 years. I’m grateful for what we have. But since the first week of our marriage, people who are believers have pulled us in and walked with us on our journey. Randy and Robin in Minnesota, Larry and Cindy in Ponca City, John and Sharron who known us since the mid-90s. Being in community or part of a church faith group is paramount. That family of believers gathers around you and helps shape you into someone who looks more like Jesus. You can’t have Jesus without the church.

Secondly, giving your resources helps build a Jesus’ posture. When we talk about money and possessions, we tend to get uncomfortable…nervous. But 15% of Jesus’ preaching was about this subject. It’s clear we are to manage our resources and not them manage us. There is a principle Robin and I use called tithing; giving 10% of our income back to Jesus/the church. We want to do what we can so that other’s can hear the message of freedom…the message of Jesus. When you decide to give back, you’re saying, “God, I think you can do more with my 90% than I can with my 100%.” It’s trusting God will provide and I share the blessings I have recieved.

Jesus said he had come to serve not be served. That’s our third shaping characteristic. When we serve others, we look like Jesus. There are so many ways to serve in the context of a spiritual family but also ways to serve our country, city, and schools. The principle of Jesus in this vein is that others are more important than you, which is a breath of fresh air in our culture. Americanism claims you are number one and you are all that’s important. In Jesus’ upside down kingdom, putting others ahead of yourself is looking like Jesus.

Finally, living an authentic life is how we are called in Jesus. The biggest knock against the church is that we say one thing and do another. That’s called hypocrisy. David Kinnaman, president of Barna, wrote two informative books using data his company collected that measured culture and church. The world doesn’t want any part of the church because we tend to be hypocritical. Three of the six things Barna discovered where the church is judgmental, hypocritical, too political, and too sheltered. There were more findings but these would remind us of the need to be authentic: making our voices and lives mirror Jesus.

As believers, we want a life and story that match our declaration that Jesus is Lord and King. To call for us as believers as that we’d count the cost of following Jesus and sign up. That we would be the kind of people who have a life that looks like Jesus full of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, sacrifice, unconditional love. To help mold us better into that person make sure you are part of a community of believers, that you give freely of your resources, that you serve those around you and live an authentically real Jesus life. Blessings on the journey.

Drop the Mask.

I preach grace and mercy. I talk about being patient. We should be long-suffering with those around us. However, I’ve not always practiced what I preach. That’s called spiritual hypocrisy. And Jesus admonishes us to live in a consistent way so that his Name is glorified in all we do.

Brennan Manning said, “The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

See, hypocrisy is not the disparity between what we do and what we wish we did. Hypocrisy is the gap between what we show and who we are. It’s the difference between public persona and private character. Jesus didn’t want the show, he wants real discipleship.

In Greek culture, a hypocrite was a stage actor…someone who wore a mask. So both Jesus and Paul remind us we are not to be “actors” when it comes to following Jesus but real, live disciples who are fully committed to pursuing the life Christ has called us to live.

Social media is the perfect breeding ground to create this kind of life. We post on our social media accounts everything we want the world to see and nothing we wish to hide. So we post amazing quotes about marriage but sleep in different bedrooms. We talk about how awesome our life is when in reality, we are suffering from isolation, loneliness, hurt, and depression.

Did you know we actually hold the key to our freedom? Jesus gave it to us. The writer in Proverbs 28:13 says, “People who conceal their sins will not prosper but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.” Confession is the key. If we are real and authentic, we unlock ourselves from the prison.

So if hypocrisy is the gap between what we show and who we are, how do we close the gap? Well, we don’t close it with perfectionism. We’ll never be good enough to be perfect. So, we close the gap with Jesus. He is our perfection. He is our savior and our healing.

So let Jesus do the healing. Let him be our redemption. Let his heart forgive us. Allow him to be the source of power in our lives. Blessings on the journey.

Trying to Live the Flawless Life?

I’m wound tight. My personality likes to look like I’ve got it all together…that I’m “perfect”. When I fail, I’m really hard on myself and I certainly want to hid my short comings. Our social media world only worsens that kind of personality. Every picture posted on any of my social media sites screams, “Wouldn’t you want to be like me?” And Scripture doesn’t help either.

Jesus says on the Sermon on the Mount, “Be perfect just like my Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Wow! How do I live up to that? I end up putting unrealistic goals on myself. I perceive unrealistic goals from those around me. I perceive what God wants me to do in my life and I fall short.

Trying to look flawless though is just a cover. You see, there is a spiritual side to this seemingly psychologically-bound personality. The real issue is, I’m simply trying to cover my deepest insecurities, my deepest fears and my own sinfulness.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 3:20 that no one can ever be “made right” with God by trying to be perfect. So how do we move forward in our life? Paul continues in verse 22 by saying, “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.”

When I trust in Jesus to be my Savior, my perfection, I can let go of me trying to be perfect. Because of Jesus we can walk in freedom, embrace his grace, and live unburdened. With Jesus, the pressure to perform has been removed. So, because of Jesus…

We get to choose people over our perfection. It’s all about relationship rather than “getting it right”. Equally because of Jesus, we get to choose love over a perfect performance. Remember that trying to look perfect is simply a cover for our deepest fears.

But didn’t we start out be saying Jesus called us to be perfect in Matthew 5? In the context of that verse, Jesus is talking about love. Jesus is calling us to love everyone completely and maturely. We don’t just love people we think deserve our love. We are all-inclusive of our love, just like our Heavenly Father. We love on those who love us but also those who speak poorly about us, mistreat us, are mean to us and disrespect us.

You and I will never be perfect. My assignment as a disciple of Jesus is not to convince people how good I am. My assignment is to tell the world how awesome our God is!! It is all about Jesus!! So let go of faking how perfect you are and let your life scream how perfect our Heavenly Father has been to you. Blessings on the journey.