"When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. Then the Lord said to him, 'Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside (the dish) to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.'" Luke 11:37-41

Lord, help me always be willing to give what is inside my dish to the poor... Help me to never focus so much of my energy on keeping the outside of my bowl shiny and beautiful for the world to see at the detriment to that which is within. Allow me to forfeit a bright, beautiful dish for a vessel which is being poured out and used and of great worth - not for its monetary value, but for its purpose and reason for existence.

GP
www.gphintz.com

The Death of Comfort

So I'm reading my Bible today and was reignited by a wonderful chapter of scripture - Luke 9. Now i've read Luke many times before, but today - as i was reading - i found myself saying, 'That is deep!' or 'That makes so much sense!' over and over again. I'd find one verse and say, 'i should blog on this' and then find another and say the same thing. It's definitely worth a glance if you've been wanting to read the Bible and unable to know where to start. Take a minute and read through chapter nine and see what you think. For me, today, i want to just take four verses and let them melt into my soul for a second. They are verses 23-26.

"Then he (Jesus) said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self ? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."

These four verses are filled with key slogans of the Christian faith like 'deny yourself' or 'take up your cross' or 'gain the world yet forfeit your soul', but what amazed me was how they were all wrapped up in this pretty little package of Jesus. They are there - one after another - in a discourse that is taking place immediately after Peter's declaration that Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus' declaration of what would happen in the days to come - His death and resurrection. Then, when all the cards have been laid on the table and there is no longer any question of the purpose or plan of Jesus or God, Jesus brings some sound advice and challenging words. These words are as true to us as believers today as they were for the first disciples who sat at Jesus' feet and listened to them. Let's break them down a little and look at these different thoughts.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me: This has been commentized to death, but is way too important to overlook. Jesus is saying, 'The choice is yours and if you choose to come after me there is a MUST that's gonna follow. This isn't a suggestion. This isn't a recommendation. This is a mandatory requirement. You must take us your cross every day and follow me.' Please understand that a cross was not a cute necklace or a chiseled penny to keep in your pocket - but a device used for torture and death. And honestly, in our culture, the sheer reality of denying yourself is in itself a form of torture. The reality of not getting what you WANT in order to give someone else what they NEED is torture. The idea that we are not our own world and that the entire cosmos does not rotate on our axis is torture. The concept that God would ever have us do something that would hurt - whether our flesh or our pocketbook - is torture. However, this is His call to his disciples and one which we must take seriously in our lives today.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it: You cannot read that verse without thinking about martyrdom, but i believe it is so much more than this. It ties in perfectly with the idea of denial and cross carrying. It is making the decision that life desperately needs to be about more than just you. It is coming to the realization that there is a world out there that is so much bigger than just 'us' and that God has a job for us to do in it. I heard a saying once than really spoke to my heart and it went like this, 'I'd rather be someplace very scary and dangerous, not having a guarantee of daily food or security over a safe home in a safe neighborhood with a safe job, if i knew that it was where God wanted me to be. I'll trade security for God's will any day of the week.' This willingness makes the difference. Will God call all of us to become actual martyrs? Maybe not in the death of our flesh, but always in the death of our comfort.

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose, or forfeit, his very self: The idea here runs in the opposite direction of the Western mandate. Aren't we called to gain the whole world? Aren't we called to harness ambition and allow it to make positive steps in our nation which not only help our pocketbooks, but the standard of living of all Americans? However, we can't forget that we were created by God with a purpose - a specific purpose - which may not always link up with what our thoughts on 'success' may be. Jesus is letting it be known, that there is a possibility that you could have everything this world (kosmos) has to offer and still miss it. And when we forfeit the perfect plan of God for the 'kosmos' which surrounds us, the Bible tells us that we are destroying or doing damage to our very selves. Tying in with the last point - the perfect place for us to be is in the perfect will of God. No matter how scary it seems. No matter how dangerous it looks. No matter how uncomfortable it is. There is a perfect place for you to be.

Now you have to ask yourself, 'Am I there now or have i deviated off the path because it was too difficult... too scary... too unsure?' If you know you're not there, it's not too late. I'm reminded of Jonah who spent some time in an unlikely place thinking about the uncomfortable place where he had to go. Let's turn back today and not wait for that 'big fish' experience. Hear the voice of God whispering to your soul today and respond...

Grace and Peace!

GP
www.gphintz.com

Loving Enemies - A Challenging Opportunity

I came across a wonderful scripture today. It's one of those scriptures that are extremely idealistic and seemingly impossible when you put a real life situation in its context. It's the kind that cause you to read faster and skim and overlook and justify. It's the sort that causes you to make excuses. It's one of those ones that make you think. And, when it is all said and done, and you are given the opportunity to live it out - it causes you to become a better person, a stronger believer and a greater Christian. The verse I'm referring to can be found in the book of Luke, chapter 6 and verse 35.

"Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don't be concerned that they might not repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked." NLT

I know what you're thinking. "Yeah! Thanks Jesus. You had to bring up the enemy thing again. I don't really have any enemies - just people i dislike... just those i don't trust or choose to spend my time with. That's all."

Looking deeper into this verse will help us understand it so much better. We find it beginning with Jesus giving three distinct commands.

1. Love Your Enemies - Now he is telling you to express 'agape' love to those who hate you and express hostility toward you. This statement falls in line with the true reality of 'agape' love - a love which is shown to both friend and enemy. The same love that is found in another popular Bible verse called John 3:16.

2. Do Good to Them - Here, Jesus is expressing what that agape love practically looks like. He's telling us to 'Do Good'. This whole statement is cooked down to one word in the Greek NT and that word is 'agathopoieo' which can be defined as 'to do good; to do something which will profit another, to be a good help to someone or to do someone a favor'. The amazing contradiction here isn't that Jesus is telling us to do good, but to whom we are to do this good - our enemies.

3. Lend to Them - Yes. That's right. 'Lend to them'. And, in this regard Jesus is not simply referring to your coat or an old dirty pair of socks, but money. That's right - Cash, Ben Franklins, C-notes and Pesos. Jesus understood that when you are willing to lend your money to someone, that you are on the right road of relationship that reflects that agape love.

Now, the Greek ties together these two separate sentences found in the NLT. 'Lend to them' and 'Don't expect them to return it'. So, originally the sentence read... "Lend expecting nothing in return".

This can be taken two different ways - 'Lend and don't expect even the principle back.' Our way of saying this would be 'Give' instead of lend. Or, instead of this, Jesus is telling them not to expect any interest at all, but to give, only expecting to receive the principle back one day. I am choosing not to debate either one of these thoughts, but to simply tell you that if you're willing to 'lend money' to an 'enemy', I'm happy with either one of these reactions. Lend to them not expecting anything or expecting your principle alone tells me that your heart is right. You're not lending to make a profit of your enemy. You're not trying to take advantage of a bad situation. You're not trying to hustle anyone. You're just operating with the 'agape' love God desires from His children.

Now, the best part of every tough command is the promise that goes along with it. And we find this promise in the same verse... 'Your reward from heaven will be very great'.

For me, i don't need to know what the reward is. Simply understanding that it comes from heaven and the very presence of God and angels and perfect peace is enough for me. Is it a monetary blessing and the opening up of doors that could only be opened by the hand of the Divine? Is it in inner peace which sustains me through the most difficult times? Is it a supernatural protection against forces that i am not even aware lie in my future to thwart me? Honestly, i don't know and i don't care. I only know that when God gives me something it's good and He knows what is best for me and those things that i need more than anything.

He also continues and gives the greatest compliment of all. He says that when we 'do this' - when we express 'agape' love to our enemies, that we will be acting as 'children of the Most High'. He tells us that we'll look like our daddy when we do that. He tells us that we'll be reflecting the family name. And for myself, there's nothing that could be better than being a good reflection of my family... a strong likeness of my daddy.

Through looking at this verse a little closer, i hope that you were challenged to truly look deep at your life. Don't just skim over this. Don't just put a checkmark down that you read this and move onto the next thing. No. Really ask yourself, "What does this mean to me? What is God trying to tell me right now and how am i going to walk this thing out?" By doing this, you're expressing your willingness and a strong desire to live out the words of Jesus.

Be Blessed!
GP
www.gphintz.com