Independence Is An Illusion

The great dream of a lot of people is to be their own boss. Starting from childhood we strive to be independent, capable of looking after ourselves. As teens we dreamed of the day we would be out on our own, making our own rules. As adults we looked for some way of creating our own business so we would not have a boss to whom to answer. But it is all just a great illusion.

There is no real independence because there is always some kind of authority over us. We have the laws of society. We have the government and all their regulations. If we own a house we are subject to the municipal by-laws. If we are renting we are subject to the landlord. If we buy a car and finance it we are subject to the bank. The same with a house. If we are married we are governed by our responsibilities of relationship with our spouse. If we are parents we are governed by our responsibilities to our children. Even as pet owners we subject ourselves to the governance of responsibility. Independence is an illusion.

Christians should clearly understand that if this is true for a physical world it is even more so for the spiritual. No one is free and independent. Everyone is subject to their sinful nature. Those who have been freed from this bondage have become subject to Jesus' righteousness. Paul, the apostle, told us we have a basic choice: We can be slaves to our sinful nature or we can be slaves to Yahweh's righteousness. Whatever our choice, we are slaves to whatever we serve.

When Satan tried to tempt Jesus by offering him a short-cut to ruling over the earth, avoiding the cross, Jesus quickly put him in his place by reminding him of the order of things:

“Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” (Luke 4:8)

Jesus had not illusion of independence. Here is the Word of God incarnate, the Son of God, who set aside the divine to come as one of us, to die in our place, all at the will of Father. Jesus could not do this unless he kept his place and attitude as a servant. No short cuts. No easy fixes. No subjecting everything to the approval of his own will. He came to serve. In fact. we find these same words when Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from the cross. If you remember, Peter had just confessed Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. When Jesus started explaining how things were going to play out, Peter got after Jesus and told him that this was not the way. He wanted Jesus to avoid the cross. Jesus turned to Peter and said:

“Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23)

Seeking individuality, independence, our own glory, is a sign of spiritual immaturity and a lack of understanding concerning our relationship with Father. We are his children but we are children who serve the Father. Our concern should not be for ourselves but for the will of the One we serve. We should not be trying to achieve greater independence but instead we should be striving to learn greater dependency on the Spirit, learning to do the will of the Father. We need to begin to say to many things and people in our lives "Get behind me, Satan" as we worship the Lord our God, and him only serve.

Does Your Skill Set Need To Be Suitable To Your Calling?

What is your worth? When I had the responsibility for educating a good number of students I was constantly battling against their apathy. There was no vision, no understanding of the importance of education. We know that when a person is involved in something that they have not grasped the importance of, there is a lack of interest and energy put into the activity. I figured if I could not inspire them with the joy of learning I could at least help them grasp the value of it.

I told them that they needed to see themselves as a commodity. In their future, when they would approach a potential employee, that person, representing the company, was going to size up their potential value to the company. If they had the correct skills to fit in with their company they would be hired; if they are missing skills, they would be overlooked. Their responsibility, as a commodity, was to add value to themselves. Finishing High School would add value to them and would make them eligible to apply for basic jobs. If they knew which companies they were interested in working for then they could discover what skills they needed to add to themselves, to gain value. Of course this did not just include education so they needed to understand which direction to go in and what steps they had to take to increase their value. However, sometimes Christians make the mistake of applying this principle to the Kingdom of Jesus.

The Kingdom of Jesus works on difference principles. First, the greatest value that you have is that Yahweh loves you. It is opposite to the principles of the world. What skills and knowledge you have do not play into the relationship we have with Jesus. Yahweh made the decision to love us, with all the cost that comes with loving us, and that gives us value beyond our imagining. Of course there is more to us than just being the object of Father's affection. He has also left us here with purpose. We are his workers, warriors, servants and our great desire is to live each day in his will. But his will for us is not limited to our skills and abilities. Remember, our value is not what we have gained from knowledge but is found in relationship. In this relationship we desire his will and his will is obedience in what he instructs and the direction he sends. The clear fact is, Jesus equips us for that which he calls us.

Let's look at the simple example of Daniel. We could chose any example. We could look at Peter, Paul, John but I like using Daniel. He and his friends were in captivity but the ruling king liked to take the best educated of each conquered land, train them in his society and surround himself with their knowledge and wisdom. Yahweh wanted to take advantage of this so he could influence the king and protect his people so he needed to equip these four men to be the best, to have the greatest influence.

Now people consider Daniel and his friends and figure that they were simply men of knowledge who Yahweh moved into place but that is not what scripture says. It says that Yahweh took these four and he gave them the skills he needed them to have in this place in which they found themselves:

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. (Daniel 1:17)

Too often we dismiss Yahweh's will and calling for us because we measure ourselves against our past abilities and skills, but it doesn't work that way. We are not a set of tools that are designed for one purpose. We are a lump of clay that Yahweh fashions with his will for his purpose. We may be in that purpose for a life time or he may change our purpose from time to time, according to what he needs. We can never limit Jesus to our inabilities or lack of skills. We can never say no to the vision he gives us. We cannot shut the door on his purpose and calling because we think we are not qualified. Jesus qualifies and equips us.

When Jesus calls us he does not do it according to some aptitude test he gives us. He doesn't do a skills survey. He doesn't do it according to our intelligence or temperament. According to this world our temperament makes us better suitable to some things than to others. The Kingdom does not work this way. The only things Jesus is looking for is willingness, availability and obedience. He chooses who he wants for what he wants and we have no right to limit his choices by our limitations. He chooses. He qualifies. He equips. So think on that for a little bit before saying no to Jesus.

Following The Money Trail

Good morning my friends,

It has been an adventurous couple of weeks for me filled with great moments and many frustrations. The frustrations usually center around technology; it's great when it works but when it doesn't .... Anyway, I apologize for the number of days I have missed with the devotions. I prepared them but was unable to upload them.

This morning we continue our journey through Numbers, specifically looking at Balaam in numbers 23 and 24. This was a case of religion for hire. It is subtle so most people miss the whole point here but it was basically Balaam went where the money was. It can sometimes be the case today as well. Often churches will get involved in community projects and will receive money from the government for it. But when the money is gone the church drops the program. Sometimes it is not about faith and service but instead its all about money.

In this passion week we also find Jesus chasing out the merchants from the temple. A sacred place of prayer had turned into a money making opportunity. Jesus unleashed an anger that had not been shown against anyone else. It is hard for people to reconcile this image in their mind. Yet, God has told us that he is a jealous God. These people had set up a barrier to prevent people from enter into the temple if they could not pay, all for the opportunity to make money.

Most church programs and community programs start off with the best of intentions and there is little doubt they often have a great impact. However, when money is involved our motivation can be tainted. Many churches are desperate for money and will do most anything to survive. We begin to lose sight of God's will and the need for faith. God decides which things will continue and which will not. Yet, we mess around with that will because we are an intelligent people and we can always find a way to survive. We find it hard to let go but this does not bring honour and glory to God.

This is getting harder and harder for us to understand because we are back in the days of Babel and everything seems like a good idea. It seemed like a good idea to build the tower. It seemed like a good idea for Balaam to listen to the king. It seemed like a good idea to provide the animals for sacrifice for those who had to travel a distance. It always seems like a good idea but just because it seems like a good idea does not mean it is God's will.

For too long we have allowed the god of mammon to control our lives, the church and our actions. What we do should never depend on the amount of money we have. What we do should always depend on the Father's will. Perhaps it will not make any sense; it doesn't matter. Do what the Father wants and it will always turn out well.

May the Lord prove to be all you need for today.