Keys To The Kingdom (Part 4)

Keys To The Kingdom (Part 4)

Matthew 19:16 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Your time today is more priceless and fleeting than it feels. We keep putting everything that’s important to us off until tomorrow.  Then, before we know it, we find ourselves asking, “How did it get so late so soon?”  Or, we simply don’t have as much time as we expected.

Don’t let this be you! How long will you be bound by things of the past that steal the keys of the kingdom from you on a daily basis? 

Make today the beginning of your second chance at life:  
-Take time to figure yourself out.  

-Take time to realize what you want and need.  

Take time to take risks.  

-Take time to love, laugh, cry, learn, and work for what you need.  

Life is shorter than it often seems, so let this be your wake-up call to stop waiting. What you do today with the keys to the kingdom defines who you are in Jesus. Tomorrow’s progress is always compounded by today’s effort, no matter how small or insignificant it appears to be.

Many wonderful little things can be done in a day if you don’t always make that day tomorrow.  

-Take positive action and plant the right seeds in your life.  

The earth itself does not distinguish between what seeds it receives.  It grows whatever seeds are planted.  This is the way life works.  Be mindful of the seeds you plant today, as they will become the crop you harvest tomorrow.

-Someday there really won’t be a tomorrow! 

This is a hard reality that needs to be respected.  A friend of mine recently said, “Why didn’t I learn to accept and appreciate it all, and treat every day like it was the last time?  Honestly, my biggest regret is how often I believed in tomorrow.” 

Don't let the keys of the kingdom go unused. Tomorrow may never come, but today you have the advantage of being free if you will just use them!

Keys To The Kingdom (Part 3)

Keys To The Kingdom (Part 3)

Matthew 19:16 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Stepping back and allowing certain things to happen means these things will take care of themselves, and your needs will also be met. by God  You will have less stress and less to do, with more time and energy to work on the things that truly matter and the things you actually can control, because God will unlock the things that have bound your mind, body, and spirit.

This is not giving up your identity.  It’s about surrendering binding attachments to particular people, outcomes and situations.  It means showing up every day in your life with the intention to be your best self, and to do the best you know how, without expecting life to go a certain way.  It’s about focusing on what matters and let go of what does not. It's about holding the keys of the kingdom and losing the power of God in your life.

Someone aspiring to create something wonderful, teamed with this kind of surrender, is far more powerful and rewarding than someone determined to create outcomes with a desperate “must have” mentality.  Surrender to God's will, plan, and certainty brings inner peace and joy, and makes our outer lives a reflection of our inner state of being.

Some things in life are worth changing and controlling, but some things are not. You must be focused on the ability of changing your attitude about the things you can’t change or don’t need to change to unlock the potential in your life spiritually.

Instead of trying to tightly control everything about the past, unlock the cage, loosen up the bindings, and give God a chance to do what He naturally and spiritually can do.  Your needs will be met, your heart and mind will be mended, and Satan will be defeated before he has the opportunity to bind you up again.

Loose the chains and scatter the bindings-God is in control.

Keys To The Kingdom (Part 2)

Keys To The Kingdom (Part 2)

Matthew 19:16 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Most of the pain you feel today is self-created by the emotional attachments to your past. If you're working on yourself and changing for the better, it’s unnecessary to keep bringing up your past.  You can change and grow and you know this is true. But, have you given yourself a fair chance to change and grow, too? Have you consciously loosened your grip on everything that’s behind you, so you can step forward again with the grace of God?

You aren’t alone and many of us know exactly how you feel. We all fall victim to our attachments and things that once caged us and sometimes we don’t even realize we’re blocking our own present blessings by holding on to the past.  Again, the keys to the kingdom are available, but we must pick them up and us them to free ourselves.

Growth and change are painful, but in the end, nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere in the past. So remind yourself of a powerful lesson: You can have a heartbreaking story from the past that once had you bound, but don't let it rule your present and steal the keys to the kingdom.

We have all experienced some kind of pain, anger, sadness, frustration, disappointment, or regret. Notice this pain within yourself, watch it closely, and see that it’s caused by whatever story you have in your head about what happened in your recent past or in your distant past.  Your mind might insist that the pain you feel is caused by what happened, but what happened in the past is not happening right now.  It’s over. It has passed.  Yet, the pain is still happening right now because of the story you’ve been subconsciously telling yourself about that past incident. The more you rehearse within the more it binds you in a position where you forget the keys.

Your story doesn't have to be positive or negative, or any other kind of forceful judgment call.  It’s simply a process that’s happening inside your head, a memory that

-You are remembering something that happened.

-You subconsciously perceive yourself as a victim of this incident.

-Your memory of what happened causes a strong emotion in you.

We all have stories, just see yours for what it is and see that it’s causing you pain. Inner peace begins the moment you take the keys of the kingdom and choose not to allow the past to rule your present emotions. Have faith in the fact hat God was with you evenly when you didn't know it, and that He is with you now!

Keys To The Kingdom (Part 1)

Keys To The Kingdom

Matthew 19:16 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

We are all people just trying to find our way.  Every day we seek to better understand the meaning of our lives.  We pray to God to discover our gifts and release them into the world, and hope to find happiness, peace, and strength along the way thru His Spirit.  For some of us the keys to the kingdom ring loud and clear, declaring what we and how we do it from moment to moment, day to day thru our journey in life.  For others, these keys to the kingdom are buried below the noise of daily life, ego, fear, and the pressures that we face in society. Because of the locks put on them by these particular things those people rarely address the problems that keep them caged and in bondage and never use the keys.

As a pastor I’ve witnessed dozens of people discover their own keys to happiness and self-fulfillment, and I’ve noticed common themes emerge.  In all those cases, the happiness they discovered and developed internally was seeded by the realization of Jesus Christ in their lives. Once they realized these truths in their own way they became free intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. They were then able to find the happiness, peace, and strength they sought, and the keys to the kingdom were placed in their hands.

Yet, some folks I pastored always failed to possess the keys to the kingdom. I'm not the most intelligent person on the block, but I think I have figured out why. In over 40 years of pastoring I’ve found the root cause of most human stress is simply our stubborn propensity to hold on to things that keep us caged or bound.  I've been there myself so I can speak from experience. We hold on tight to the hope that things will go exactly as we imagine and plan and then we complicate our lives to no end when they don’t. I've seen many hold on to things they should have let go of years before, but they were caged by the thoughts of it and it haunted them daily.

So how do we unlock locked doors? By realizing if it's locked, and there is a key, it will do us no good unless we use it. Most of the things we lock on to as tangible fixtures in our lives aren’t really there.  If they are there in some form, they’re changing, impermanent, or simply imagined in our minds. Life gets a lot easier to deal with when we understand this.

One of the hardest lessons in life is letting go of things that have us bound, whether it’s guilt, anger, love, or loss.  Change is never easy because we fight to hold on and we fight to let go.  But letting go, according to God, is the healthiest and only path forward.  It clears out toxic attachments from the past and paves the way to make the most positive use of the present.

You’ve got to emotionally free yourself from some of the things that once kept you bound, so you can move beyond the past and the pain it brings you. The keys to the kingdom only work if you use them daily in your life.

The Next Moses (Part 6)

The Next Moses (Part 6)

Exodus 35:4-36:7

The wandering nation of people needed a designated space for worship. They were God’s people. They wanted to honor God with an appropriate setting for community worship. Something must be created that would reverence God, provide adequate sacred space, and yet still be portable for the unknown wanderings ahead. A worthy tabernacle would also be made of quality products: jewels and other precious stones, durable hardwoods, fine linens, and such. Where could such valuable materials be found? Moses decided to receive an offering.

The call went out for voluntary gifts. The people responded enthusiastically. Gifts came pouring in. The size and number of the gifts suddenly seemed to overwhelm the project managers. They went to Moses with a most unusual request. “Tell the people to stop, Moses. We have enough to do the job. We have more than enough. We are being inundated with offerings,” they seemed to say. Moses listened to the artisans’ story. Then he went to the people with this stunning proclamation: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” In effect, Moses said, “Stop bringing your offerings. We already have more than enough to do the job.”

What becomes important is the why of the story. Why did the people respond so completely and so generously? What was the amazing secret of this offering? We can learn from what happened in this desert offering more than three millennia ago!

-First, there seems to be a great love for the holy place. Translated into our time, this means a great love for the church. Whatever else may be in doubt, people seem to have an innate, God-given love for the holy place. A great love for the “church” thrived in the desert in the hearts of the Hebrew people. They found joy in giving, and they knew God had a serious claim on their lives. They knew an innate durability in the holy place. The ancient Hebrews gave abundantly, and generously, because they knew they were investing in something that would last.

-Second, the story suggests that the trust level was very high. Integrity was in place. Through a multitude of experiences, confidence had grown. The God of Moses was clearly among them. Integrity is very important to the church. Integrity was present in the desert. Thus, resources came in abundance.

-Third, the capacity to give was present. Who would have believed that wandering nomads in the desert could make such an offering? Perhaps they had plundered the Egyptians before leaving. Maybe they had collected some precious valuables along the way. The point is this: their capacity to give was greater than they knew, but Moses knew. 

We have cried “poor” for so long that we have talked ourselves into believing that we are poor. The capacity to give is present for most people. Very few congregations are overextended. A great teacher of stewardship once said, “Not one church in a hundred has any real notion of its power.” The offerings began to pour in.

-Fourth, this offering was a freewill offering. The writer makes this abundantly clear. Key phrases are used throughout these verses. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion.” His words form the foundation of what happens to us and to what happened in the desert long ago.

Authentic believer giving is not a tax or a tax deduction, nor is it dues or some legalism. Giving is not what I “owe” my church. Giving is not a safe passage to heaven. Giving is a freely offered response to the goodness of God in my life. Giving among the community of believers has a whole different standard from the world.

-Finally, this story proclaims this important truth: “There is enough to do what God wants us to do.” Notice that these words come from the craftsmen, the artisans. These are not the words of Moses. Moses was a learner in this situation. God does not always give us everything we want; but He does give us everything we need. Probably not a lot of cushion! Probably not a surplus, but God will supply an abundance of enough.

The Next Moses (Part 5)

The Next Moses (Part 5)

Exodus 16

Within several weeks after leaving Egypt, the people were murmuring and muttering against Moses on several counts. Some people love to murmur in the church. It is part of the liability of leadership that people murmur from time to time.

The people murmured against Moses. Moses must have had a difficult time with all of it. Surely it was not easy keeping this procession going in the wilderness. It felt very much like trying to keep a whole host of balls in the air at one time. Somebody told me that life is like a chicken trying to lay an egg on an escalator. Just as she settles in, the bottom drops out. Moses must have known that feeling. The first weeks in the desert were simply awful.

The providing nature of God permeates the biblical narratives. The Israelites complained against Moses when the Egyptians were chasing them. They complained when they were thirsty. And then they complained that they were hungry. Certainly this incident reflects the hard-heartedness on the part of the people. They simply would not trust Moses to be leading by God’s will in this matter. They had crossed the Red Sea on dry land, and seen the Egyptian army drown in the sea. Yet they did not understand.

Moses turned to God in prayer. He prayed, not in frustration with God, but in frustration with the people’s complaints. He might have prayed something like this: “O Lord, what shall I do? How do I handle this situation? I have run out of ideas so what do I do now?” God responded to Moses. God would act. but He said that action would come in a very special way. God would act so as to both feed the people and teach them something about the meaning of discipleship. 

So, we come to the story of the manna. What was this manna? It was a “fine flaky substance” and “the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” Moses told the people simply, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.” But there was a catch to this wondrous gift of God. This is what the Lord commanded: “Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons in your tents. Gather as much as you need for each person in your household!” That was the divine command. There was to be no greed, and no hoarding. If one person was stronger than another, he or she was not to collect more manna purely on the basis of extra strength. Each person was to collect an omer for each member of the family. An omer was about one and one-half quarts.

We are becoming painfully aware that unnecessary accumulation through power and/or greed clearly means serious deprivation for others. The earth supplies an abundance of enough for each of its inhabitants. But there is no overabundance for some without major life-threatening shortages for others.

The Israelites, of course, did not always comply with the restriction. Some of them took more than they needed, and tried to store it for the next day, but overnight the manna became foul and rotted. It did not last. The people were forced to learn to trust the providence of God. God, through Moses, was training them to trust day by day and morning by morning.

This story tells us that the only enduring value in life is faith and trust in God. For this reason of trust Jesus teaches us to pray in Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.” Some have tried to rework the phrasing to read, “Give us this day enough bread for tomorrow.” But I am convinced that such renderings destroy the original intent of the prayer. The disciple is to petition God each day for that day’s provisions. And tomorrow we petition God for tomorrow’s provisions.

The story concludes when the people create a symbol of God’s trustworthiness. “And Moses said to Aaron, ‘Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD, to be kept throughout your generations.’” Here a jar of manna was to be a symbol on the altar of the Lord for all the years to come. When the children of the Israelites asked, “What does that jar mean?” they were to be told the story of how God provides.

What symbol works today so that when our children ask, “What does that figure on the altar mean?” we may similarly respond, “It is a sign that God is faithful. God provides enough for all.” If we can conquer greed, and if we can learn to live more simply, and if we can learn to trust, there will be an abundance of enough for all God’s children, day by day, morning by morning, throughout the journey of our lives.

The Next Moses (Part 4)

The Next Moses (Part 4)

Exodus 14:1-15:21

The Red Sea crossing presents a story that is always exciting in the telling and retelling. It has a way of binding us in its spell.

Our twenty-first-century mentality seems to need to explain a miracle. In many ways, we need to explain away a miracle. We seemingly need reasons for the wonder. Ours is an age that seems to need explanations. We cannot merely accept that which defies rational interpretation. We attempt to master the sacred with our minds.

In this story, the writer is giving us a lot more than word pictures about winds blowing water around. In relating the story of crossing the Red Sea, the writer is preaching. What is his message? Once you put yourself in God’s hands, be ready for adventure! That is exactly what Moses did. Moses not only put himself, but a whole nation into the hands of God.

The writer in Exodus is looking back and he is saying, “To be God’s people is genuinely exciting.” To really be God’s people is authentically exciting. If you put your hand into the hand of God, be ready for things to happen! It is possible to miss the adventure, even when you are right in the middle of it. But the adventure is real; it is sure. In part, adventure is what caused the Bible to be written. The Bible is the written record of God’s active accompaniment of God’s people. This promise is sure: more adventure always lies ahead.

The writer also proclaims this particular event as a central act of God in history. Regardless of the specific details, this is a major decisive event in God’s overview of history. The story of the Red Sea crossing is to the Hebrew scriptures what the story of Easter is to the New Testament. The climactic Easter event gives rise to genuine mystery and abiding wonder. Easter is the definitive saving event of the New Testament story. The barrier of death is broken. All of the remainder of the gospel story now makes sense.

The Red Sea crossing is an event cloaked with mystery and abiding wonder. It is the story of the deliverance of a people out of bondage. The exodus is the singular saving event upon which the rest of the Hebrew Bible is built. We don’t know with objective accuracy all that actually happened at the Red Sea in the thirteenth century. We only know that an abiding covenant was the result. God promised to be faithful to a people for all time.

The writer also proclaims that we are held in God’s hand at all times. Life is not without pain or suffering or even dying. Life is not without setbacks or doubts or uncertainty. All of these things are part of living. They do not happen as a part of God’s plan, but they are a part of living on this planet. Yet the message is steadfast and consistent. When the enemy is chasing us and when the churning unknown lies before us like a vast ocean, God is still with us. God will be with us even when the enemy is in hot pursuit and when the future looks bleak. God will sustain us, uphold us, and then graciously receive us at the end of our journey.

The Next Moses (Part 3)

The Next Moses (Part 3)

Exodus 3:10-4:20

Have you argued with God about some issue or circumstance in your life? Moses’ first step in his journey of discipleship is to do exactly this. He argues with the God! He becomes defensive in this supernatural calling he has received. Moses is convinced he cannot respond. He plays the game of “Yes, but” with God. Any time we feel called or compelled to do something we would rather not do, we are tempted to say, “Yes, but”, to the person making the request. Moses plays the “Yes, but” game with God for the next segment of our story. He “Yes, buts” God at least five times.

-First, Moses asks a simple question in 3:11 : 

“But who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 

Moses was about eighty years old when the call of God came. This is hardly the time when we think of a whole new vocation in our lives! God simply says, “I will be with you, Moses.” God does not acknowledge Moses’ argument. Neither does God acknowledge Moses’ age or stage in life. God simply calls. 

-His second argument is he asks God for God’s name.

The name of God was closely intertwined with the nature of God in the ancient mind. Thus, the writer of Psalm 23 says, “He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.” Moses was actually asking how he could offer the definitive nature of their God to the Israelites. “If I go, and they ask me about you, what shall I say?” seems to be Moses’ question. The response of the voice from the bush is one of the most mysterious in all of scripture. God says, “I am who I am.” Therefore, Moses is to tell the people that “I am” has sent him. We are not able to probe the mystery of God’s nature. God preserves God’s mystery for all time.  Perhaps God is offering a “name” that is only finally completed in the person of Jesus. 

-Moses raises a third argument in 4:1:

 “But suppose they do not believe me or listen to me, but say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.’ ” 

Moses is saying, “What if I go to preach and nobody listens or even cares?” This is one fear of every preacher: “What if the people do not listen? What if they do not come? What if my words make no contact and no difference at all?” God replies convincingly: “Moses, I will create signs and wonders before you. I will make the fruits of your ministry happen. I will make things happen in your wake.” That’s quite a promise.

-Moses fourth “Yes, but” at God Moses trembles at the thought of what might be unavoidable. He says in Verse 10:

 "O my Lord, I have never been eloquent. . . . I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." 

Moses pleads a new tact: “I mumble a lot, Lord. I can’t think fast on my feet. And I don’t always use good grammar.” God’s response to Moses’ self-imposed ineptness is wonderful: “I will be with your mouth” in Verse 12. We remember the promises to the disciples of the New Testament where they are told by Jesus that they will receive the words to speak when they stand before power and before enemies.

-The fifth “Yes, but” tries the patience of God. Moses says, “O my Lord, please send someone else” in Verse 13. Here is a last desperate plea to avoid the interruption of a very pleasant existence. Verse 14 says, “Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses.”  

God is frustrated by all of Moses’ excuses and ours! In the end, God tells Moses that Aaron will be called to be alongside of Moses. Moses will give Aaron the words of God to speak, and God will be with both of their mouths. In essence God says, “No more objections, Moses. Now go!” Moses went in faith. Someone has said that faith is most simply “waiting for the rest of the story to unfold.”

You may be called. You may even have a theophany! God may interrupt your life either briefly, or for the long haul. You may “Yes, but” God a few times yourself. However, in the end, you will find yourself saying, “OK, Lord! Here I am. I have heard your call. I think I know your name and your nature. Here I am, Lord. Lead me to where the hurt is. Help me set your people free. And I will go.”