Give up and gain

Give up and gain

Mar 10:29-30 “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 30  But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”

In a society that encourages selfishness we may find the above reading hard to swallow because we don’t like giving anything up. We especially wouldn’t want to give up anything on this list: house, family, or possessions. But what if these things are a stumbling block in our lives? Would you be willing then, for the Lord’s sake and the gospel’s, to give it up? If you are willing to forsake everything in your life that keeps you from Christ, He is willing to bless you with more than you could ever imagine possible!

Let me give you one example. When I became a Christian my own family turned on me with fierce opposition. To make a long story short I was looked upon as the “black sheep” and “traitor” of the family, I was even called these things, and that hurt. It came to the point that I had to face the reality of the situation: they would rather I dishonor God in order to honor them. Forsaking my family will always be heartbreaking, but thankfully God is compassionate and He also makes good on His promises. When I became a Christian I gave up a handful of family members only to gain countless family members in the Household of Faith that will encourage me to serve God, teach me from their lives, take me in as family at their homes, give me of their own resources, weep with me, and rejoice with me. It’s such a wonderful blessing to be loved and encouraged by God’s family. This is just one example of the way God can work in our lives.

Laying aside the things that keep us from living Godly lives as taught in Heb 12:1 can be a very difficult process, that is why many people have trouble just letting go of those things. Paul put it this way in Php 3:8 “ Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ”. Nothing matters but God and we should have this same willingness to sacrifice all things in order to win Christ! I’m not going to pretend it’s easy and God doesn’t either, but if we sacrifice those things which hinder us (no matter how difficult) in order to live for God, the reward far outweighs the sacrifice as we learn in Rom 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us”.  Is there someone or something in your path holding you back from obeying God? Give it up and embrace God’s blessings. Yes, it will be difficult. Yes, it may be emotionally taxing. Yes, you can do it.

The Bible teaches us in Isa 64:8 “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” and the principles presented here are yet another way that the Potter molds the clay.

Ben Soto

“The Secret of Success”

Matt 11:28-30

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to know the future? You would know what stocks to pick and when to sell. Wow, wouldn’t you have liked to known how successful Apple or Google or Microsoft was going to be so you could have “bought in” when it was cheap. On the ground floor – how cool that would have been.  Well we see in this little snapshot the formula for a successful service in God’s kingdom. Herein is contained all you need to know about the steps to take to end up with a guaranteed end result. Now often in this life do you get that kind of guarantee? Mathematically speaking, the formula has three addends and a sum.

1. “Come”

He calls us today by the gospel. But we must respond to his invitation. So our first step on the road to success is to “come” rather to go to Jesus. And, interestly, He refuses none – John 6:37b “and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” We could speak about the leper, the Canaanite woman, the woman with an issue of blood, and so many more. So just come, bring what you have and prepare for the second step.

2. “Take”

Okay, this step is a little bit more difficult, because we must accept that there is a yoke, a burden if you will. But, by comparison to what the deceiver burdens us with, Jesus’ “yoke is easy and his burden is light”

3. “Learn…”

“…of me.” In John 14:8-9a we find an interesting exchange, “Philip said unto him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us.’ Jesus said unto him, ‘Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?’” In order to learn of Jesus we must spend time, in particular the Gospels, learning about him. We know that Paul tells Timothy, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”(II Tim 2:15)

So therein we know the importance of being studious, like the Bereans.

4. “Find” – which is the sum

So there it is: come + take + learn = find. Could it be any simpler? Not in concept, but perhaps in application – not due to the formula which is perfect, but due to our own weakness. So often we “come” but for whatever reason it is the taking and learning we seem to resist. And, because we resist, we continue to struggle. I dare say that the level of our faithfulness is in direct proportion to the level of taking and learning. The more we take and learn, the more we find.

God is on the edge of his seat, ready for you to give Him a faithful opportunity to bless you. His hand is not shortened that it cannot save – Isaiah 59:1. Remember the feeding of 5000? Where in John 6:6 the bible said, “And this Jesus said to prove Philip: for Jesus knew what he would do.”

• You may not know:

o how to get across the Red Sea, but God does.

o how you will defeat the giants of the land, but God does.

o how to get through the wilderness to the Promised Land, but God does.

o how you will rekindle lost love, but God does.

o how to deal with your sin problems, but God does.

o how you will repair relationships, but God does.

You may not know the how, and you may not know the when, and you may not even understand the why – but you serve the Almighty God who does. He knows tomorrow better than you know yesterday. Listen to Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

The opportunity for us is that the solution to success is mapped by a faithful Father and is, in concept, simply stated by Jesus. So the challenge for us is trusting the Master; that if we come, take, and learn – we will find. So, what will we find … ultimately rest. And, rest is the product of peace that we receive by grace and mercy. So take comfort my friends for, His yoke is easy and his burden is light and as we learn more about Him, we can become more like him …

JerryLowry