Celebrity Jesus

As I read through the beginning of Matthew 21 this morning, I couldn't help but laugh at the odd position that Jesus had found himself in. The obscure, homeless, Galilean peasant was now the center of attention in Jerusalem, the cultural hub of the day. The people are bowing at his feet and telling others "Jesus is here! Yes, THE Jesus!" In only a few years time Jesus has gone from marginalized to celebrity status. Everyone knows about who he is and what he's done.

Choosing the Cross

Continuing in Matthew 16 (first section here), finishing the chapter with verses 24-28. I found that it flows remarkably with the theme of the previous verses (13-23) that I discussed in my last post (here). Our last thoughts there left us with the question of what to do now. How do we remedy our misuse of authority?

After continuing on, I believe Jesus gives us the answer. We used our authority, which was given by God, to argue for our sinful desires. We choose to value our impurities over the thoughts of God. How do we overcome this? Only by laying down our own agenda and picking up a heavenly one. Many of us have heard this snippet from Scripture several times, but it came to life when I saw this connection to the rest of what Jesus says [Quick aside: Context Is Everything]. Denying ourselves shifts our purpose from our selfish desires to God's plans. Our thoughts are replaced by Kingdom thoughts.

Misplaced Authority

I was reading in Matthew 16:13-23 this afternoon and wanted to share. Verse 18, referring to Peter, says "... on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it."

Here Christ promises us, as the church, ultimate victory. Knowing the end should influence how we live now. I know I have heard countless sermons on this subject. Beyond that repetition, I studied eschatology this summer. Eschatology is the study of the end times. This is only relevant to us because it is meant to spur the church onward. To follow the commands of Christ and spread the Gospel to the world.

In the same breath, Jesus also promises the keys to the Kingdom to the church. The key symbolizes ultimate authority. Only with the key, can one open the gates. What does that mean for us?

Core Values

What are your core values?
Have you ever given that much thought?
Simply, what standard do you measure your life against. What do you want your life to look like? There are plenty of buzz words that I could throw out: service, passion, sacrifice, giving, grateful, adventure, God, others first, love, joy, etc...
If you've never considered core values, I would urge you to ponder it. It's nothing miraculous, simply something to measure the course of your life against what you would like to see in your story.
I use my values as a measuring stick. Right now I am sitting down and beginning to go through my summer to see how it lined up with my desires.

Think about it. Maybe you have three, maybe you have six. It doesn't really matter. As long as you are able to use them as a tool to steer your life in the direction you want to.

-matt

Overflow

After working for a youth ministry this summer, I have seen very clearly that all good ministry comes from an overflow. Dylan Lucas, the lead student pastor that I am working with has often mentioned this concept, and I find it to be true.

Let me unpack this concept a bit. The concept centers around the notion that as ministers, we are a cup waiting to pour out what we can to those we minister to (which in my case, was youth). What wisdom, truth, and spiritual insight we have to convey to students is merely what flows from us. We pour ourselves out for others in an effort to train them in righteousness and exhort them to lead holy lives. This necessitates that we have something to give. "Every good and perfect give comes from above" (James 1:17). With the presupposition that no part of us is good (cf. Romans 3:11-20), we must admit that we have nothing to give. Wisdom of men is "earthly, unspiritual, and demonic" (James 3:15).

Therefore,