Good morning everyone,

Matthew 19:16,20-22
16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?…20-22
The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" 21 Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

I have had numerous conversations with Christians in talking about their issues, and many times I have heard them refer to the things they are doing for God. Whether in serving or even resisting sin, but still finding themselves bogged down with life and joyless. But what is your perspective of salvation, do you approach God in your mind as to what good deed you must do to receive from Him?

This mentality of keeping God’s commandments is good, but insufficient. But what is the reason you are keeping His commandments? Is it so that you can be blessed in what you really want? The rich young ruler’s mentality was to earn eternal life, like many of us? Believing that being good is enough, not only to get blessings from God, but believe He will bless us while trying to keep hold onto what we really treasure.

Jesus got right to the heart of this man’s particular issue that was holding him back from following Him. His particular treasure was money, what is yours? Because Jesus wants us to let go of what we depend on to give us "life"; people’s opinions, our own opinions, notoriety, financial security, mother/fatherhood, education, success, etc. Until we can give up what we really treasure we will not follow Jesus or eventually stop following Him. You cannot walk in the joy of the Lord and disobedience at the same time.

In His Love, Ld

On Tue, Sep 18, 2012 at 9:53 AM, eldoret gentry <eldorets> wrote:

Good morning everyone,

Matthew 17:1-2,9,16

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light……. vs9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead." …….vs 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him."

I can remember when working at my old job in Georgia as a counselor how stressful my days were. I was very grateful for the job and excited, but knew with such blessings came heavy burdens. I knew to even keep from flying off the handle I needed to be "prayed up" we would say and in God’s Word.

Since going into the ministry I’ve realized how that mentality of needing to see Jesus in His glory "on the mountain top" was preparing me for how to endure life, not just a high stress job. This is what I believe this sequence of events Jesus had with the disciples was preparing them for. For them to understand that they are to effect where they are sent.

I believe the reason we see jobs as just jobs and being home as just being home is because we don’t get on the moutain top with Jesus, come down, and bring healing to our families, jobs, friends, etc. Many Christians simply go into work and just try and fit in,which brings no weight of purpose that we make a difference, forgetting that we are actually in the business of changing lives through that gift. Most times that is simply by the way we work or how we raise our kids, provoking questions from others. Is Christ glory affecting you? It must before He can affect our environment.

In His Love, Ld

On Sep 13, 2012 12:15 PM, "eldoret gentry" <eldorets> wrote:

Good afternoon everyone,

Luke 15:16-And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

I try and recall moments when the people I love the most were there for me at times when no one was. My wife Ange in my adult life has been that staple, where I can look back on defining moments when I was real low and draw my appreciation for her lovingly being there for me.

Those moments are what help us come back to appreciating love we may take for granted, or people we have walked away from in strife, not wanting to remember anything good about them. Or even Someone as good as our Lord, who we may be angry with because He has allowed something "we won’t see through" for His purpose and our good (Romans 8 vs 28).

Like the prodigal son it sometimes takes us being real low and humbled before we come to appreciate the Lord. The rebellious son realized that "no man" would give him anything. But that is exactly what the Lord teaches us about recalling His love and appreciating Him. That He is the only One when life, pride, and disobedience brings us low, that can say "It wasn’t because of a lack of love that you left me, so come back!"

In His Love, Ld

On Sep 11, 2012 10:15 AM, "eldoret gentry" <eldorets> wrote: