“One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Mark 10: 21, Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” I recently received an indoctrination concerning saving and financial responsibility. Well, amen, many have been stupid with their credit cards. Some have, in reality, stolen money through poor management. There is no question that they need to rein in their spending habits. However, reining in probably isn’t the root issue. More often than not I find that those with high debt are attempting to meet a need through the physical world. Some feel empowered with what they can purchase. Others have a false sense of control. Still others have been so hurt by relationships that they find more security in things. And there are those just meeting an obsession or compulsion. Having said that, when does the teaching of financial responsibility merely become a mask for carnal living? When does it cross the line and cause an obsession with money and security and even create unbelief? As I look at the books written on this topic, I generally find authors who are more obsessed with money than with Jesus; their security actually appears to be in money. I wonder what these authors would do if Jesus approached them and said, “One thing you lack; go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” The man talking to me had taken financial responsibility too far. It was time that the Master reined him in. At any point He may, in a like manner, rein us in.

“May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.”

I listened and thought to myself how true it is that the task can so easily become more important than the individual.

I Thess. 3:5, “May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.” A friend has made an interesting observation, saying recently he had been listening to several mission reports and support appeals in an attempt to find what was missing. He couldn’t put his finger on it but said there was something different from when he was a child. As he searched through the statistics and the financial and physical needs of missionaries and missions, the stories of conversion and the hardships, he finally noticed what was different. In none of the reports did he hear that the missionaries were compelled by the love of God or that they were madly in love with the people, and it was vexing to him. I listened and thought to myself how true it is that the task can so easily become more important than the individual. How easy it is to forget the greatest thing, love! That simple observation has driven me to my knees, not to generate love, but to bask in the presence of Love. For it is an appreciation of His love that drives me to love. The root of missions must be love.

“And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Gen 20:2

For those of you who are married, what are some of the words and concepts that stir in your mind when you hear the words “wife” or “husband”? When I say that I have a wife or call Betty “my wife,” many things come to mind, for there are myriad issues associated with the term “wife.” I think of the children, finances, the home, the emotional, physical, and mental aspects of our relationship, future and past events, good and bad, commitment, oneness, pains and joys, holidays, babies, ultimate goals, and more. After all, she is my wife.

There is much written on the relationship of husband and wife. However, I want to investigate an overlooked aspect of marriage, that of brother and sister in Christ. This is a greater relationship than marriage. In heaven there will be no marriage, for the earthly relationship of marriage will end on earth. “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” (Mark 12:25)

When I look at my wife and call her sister, everything changes. Just as the word “wife” brings with it a multitude of feelings, situations, and actions, so does the word “sister.” She is my sister in Christ; I am her brother in Christ. Those two words, “sister and brother,” move us to a different realm with completely different issues and goals. Once I call her “sister,” I acknowledge that she is not my own; she has a Father and is a member of a family. As my sister we have a goal that goes above and beyond that of a married couple. God is the goal and the desire of our hearts; we must encourage each other in Him. Who did what and said what is not of ultimate importance; He is. All of the little annoyances of the day don’t matter. Earthly mistakes are not the issue. Security is not in finances or who was wisest with the money. Together, He is our goal. When offended, we recognize that we deserve to be offended until we cannot be offended, for of what use will we be in the kingdom if we still get offended? I can’t judge my sister, for, ”Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Rom. 14:4)

There is something higher than marriage for a couple, there is another dimension, and there is a better place from which to relate. Sometime today, turn to your wife and call her “Sister,” or to your husband and say “Brother.” For too long we have only seen our mates as wife or husband, and there is more.

A church attendee wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.

“I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”

This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column,much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!”

When you are DOWN to nothing…. God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!

Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

“and they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.”

I suppose that all of us at one time or another have had to deal with a bully. What makes people bullies is their ability to set themselves above us and intimidate. There are a variety of bullies. Physical bullies use brute strength to create the fear of being hurt and therefore control us. Intellectual bullies point out our stupidity and inferiority. Materialistic bullies make successful acquisition of possessions the focus. Religious bullies draw attention to their righteousness, making it quite clear they are grateful for not being miserable sinners and failures like the rest of us. Verbal bullies delight in their ability to speak quickly and leave us speechless in our inadequacy. The political bully understands all the intricacies of the whole world and wonders at the absurdity of our opinions. Finally, outward-appearance bullies exalt themselves because of beauty or dress, insinuating we are ugly and therefore must take our place in the proper caste system.

When discussing bullies, we must understand two points. First, we yield to the bully the power that he has over us. We, like him, falsely believe that the greatness of a person rests in strength, beauty, intellect, material possessions, self-righteousness, or a quick mind. We allow the bully to stand over us authoritatively, for we throw flowers in the parade that the bully gives himself. The proof is in statements like this: “I feel like a wimp because I got scared and didn‰t stand up to the bully.” Who said we were wimps for not standing up to those walking in the flesh? I know who says so! The bully and those of us being intimidated, and I believe both are wrong. We must not let the bullies define what is weak, strong, intellectual, or religious. If we do, we will find ourselves with false definitions. Second, the spiritual man sets the standard! The spiritual person is judged by no one but judges all things. (1Cor. 2:15, “But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.”) The spiritual man refuses to measure up to the standard set by the carnal or to play the bullies‰ games that set themselves above to lord it over others. Rather, the spiritual man sets himself below all others, creating a contrast between himself and all bullies that puts incredible judgment on them. The spiritual operate from a definition of man that does not necessitate standing up to a bully, but rather loving and serving. To the intellectual we can say, “We are not wise in our own eyes.” To the materialistic bully, “We live as the sparrow and lilies”; to the verbal bully, “We bless”; to the quick in speech, “We boast in our weakness.” And to the religious bully, we can assert, “We trust not in our works, but in His.” By putting ourselves below the bully, rather than scraping and clamoring to reach his level, we conquer and overcome. Don‰t be intimidated by a bully, for in so doing you have fallen into his false concepts of life.