Skip to main content

Warped into Obsession

Luke 12:15
“And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
What fuels my life? Is it the things which I possess or is it living a life that is satisfying to Jesus Christ? In this parable, Jesus warns the people in Corinth by sharing about a man who focused his efforts on his wealth instead of on the things of the Lord. If I am being completely honest, I am not much different from this man who is consumed with self. When blessings come, the first person I think of is myself. It is not in my nature to think first of how I can benefit someone else with what has been bestowed so graciously upon me. My mind becomes warped into obsession over my blessings that I become forgetful in the mere fact that it is only by the Lord that I have been provided for with what I have. It is only when I surrender myself completely to the Lord that He is able to create in me a clean heart, His heart, a heart for others. He never ceases to show me that it truly is more of a blessing to give than to receive even if in the moment, it does not seem that way. Still, each time that I have been faithful to place others before myself, the Lord has blessed me immensely, but yet, each time the opportunity to give arises, I am still hesitant. Why? Because dying to self is a constant choice. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Left to my own demise, I am the rich fool every time, planting a path of wickedness and walking away from the Father’s loving arms. Of course, His grace is sufficient for a sinner such as me, but if I do not pick up my cross daily and walk, then my flesh will continue to have victory. 

Application
This week while the youth from church are at the farm, I will spend a portion of my time getting to know each one of them.  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Off Balance

1 Corinthians 12:14-15 “ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.” Simply spoken, even when we feel as though we do not belong, that does not mean we are allowed to quit. Each one of us has a vitally important role in the body of Christ, just as the foot plays a vitally important role to the body. Without the foot, the body would be off balance and we would not be able to walk. Without the ability to walk, how would the will of God be fulfilled? It wouldn’t. Similarly, we must be willing to submit to the calling the Lord has placed on our lives without being quick to reject it. His plan is perfect, and even if it is something we are not accustomed to, if it is in His will, it will pan out for our good and His glory. I despised the majority of my time as a nurses aide, and looking back, I realize now that I was relying on stre...

The Remedy

1 Timothy 4:8 “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” To be disciplined in exercising our physical bodies, we must push ourselves everyday to do more, to be better. We must endure the pain that follows if we want to remain fit but after a while, it becomes routine and though the pain might still be evident, it is no longer bothersome. It becomes so routine that it feels odd when we do not do it, as if we are breaking a law that we ourselves have put in place. In the same way, we must exercise our faith in the Lord on a daily basis to remain in His will for our lives. Our Father strives to have that personal relationship with us, but like any earthly relationship, it takes effort; it takes prayer, reading, and listening to what the Father is conveying to us. Though exercising our physical bodies may give us relief for a short while, spending quality time with the Lord is...

Vertical Identity

Psalms 139:13-14 “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” It is so easy to get caught up in the lies of the enemy who whispers in my ear that I am not good enough. It is so easy to look to the left and to the right at my sisters in Christ and compare myself to their seeming flawlessness, forgetting that Jesus died for their sins, too. Sure, I am louder and more outspoken than most, but this by no means indicates that the Lord loves me any less because He created me to be that way. It is only when I come to accept these aspects about myself that I consider to be so detrimental that the Lord can use them for His glory and my good. Does this mean that I will assume perfection? Absolutely not, but it does mean that I no longer have to be a slave to self-hatred. It means that I no longer have to rely on horizontal approval when my identity...