Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” – Mark 10:43

On this day, we thank and honor all who have served this country in uniform. If you served, thank you for the sacrifices you made for the freedom we enjoy. May God help us all use that freedom well for His Kingdom and glory!

This particular day is rooted in the solemn remembrance of the end of World War I. The horrors of “The Great War” were believed to be so terrible there would never be another war. Unfortunately, there have been many since 1918 and millions more have answered the call and put on the uniform to serve. Today, war rages once more in Europe, tension is rising in Asia, and the world feels more dangerous than it has in decades. Let us pray earnestly for peace and seek God’s protection for all who are currently serving.

Jesus demonstrated that it’s better to serve than to be served. He taught us that genuine love looks like sacrificial service. He revealed that true greatness looks like humility. May we all learn these lessons well. Not all are called or able to serve in uniform, but all are called to serve. Serve the Lord. Serve His Kingdom. Serve your country and community. Serve your neighbors. Serve your brothers and sisters in Christ. Be a servant to all, just as your Savior was.

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” – Matthew 6:3-4

God always knows our thoughts and feelings. He always knows why we do things, even the things that look and sound the best in the opinion of the world. God understands our motives better than we do. What we think we’re doing for good and righteous reasons isn’t always as selfless and holy as we imagine. This is why Jesus repeatedly urges us to practice our good deeds and acts of righteousness privately, refusing to draw attention to ourselves.

God always knows what and why we do, so we don’t need to worry about Him missing anything we’ve done. By keeping our good deeds quiet, we protect ourselves from doing them for the wrong reasons. It’s very easy to start doing good things to earn applause, respect, a pat on the back, or a name on a plaque. Are we truly doing those things for others? For God’s glory? Or for our glory? It can be hard for us to judge but God always knows.

Cultivate a love of doing secret good deeds for God’s glory. Find joy in quiet gifts and sacrificial generosity to the poor and to the advancement of God’s Kingdom. Develop a love for quiet prayer in your home and car. Grow your love for helping people when nobody else knows or notices. Come to love spiritual disciplines you seldom mention to others. Find your satisfaction in good things that will never be known or spoken of. Teach yourself to do these good things solely for God’s pleasure and the joy of King Jesus.

“But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” – Matthew 5:39

Are you ready, willing, and able to do this? Seriously. Jesus does it toward you. Each of us figuratively slaps Jesus on the cheek every time we sin. Every time… Sin is always rebellion against Christ’s authority. It’s always defiance against His Lordship over our lives. It’s always a rejection of His right to rule despite being the Sustainer of the universe and its Redeemer.

Each of us has slapped Jesus countless times. And yet, He continues to offer us Himself, His grace, and His forgiveness. Because of your sin and the sin of every other person, Jesus submitted to the cross. But first, He was betrayed by a friend, arrested, slapped, spit on, mocked, condemned by a mob, struck on the head, crowned with thorns, and brutally whipped. Only then did He carry His heavy instrument of death to His place of execution. Then He was nailed to that cross He carried and lifted up to die a slow and agonizing death.

Make no mistake, Jesus has already turned His cheek for your sake over and over. He commands you to do the same. As a follower of Jesus, you’re called to not just like Him and worship Him on Sundays. You’re called to be like Him – in thoughts, words, and deeds. Seriously. Jesus is asking you to turn your cheek toward those who’ve struck you, insulted you, or persecuted you just as He does for you. He’s asking you to submit to persecution and injustice, just like He did. He’s commanding you to live in peace when every bit of your being cries out for violence. Will you follow Jesus today?

“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” – Matthew 5:22

Be careful what you think and say about other people made in God’s image! King Jesus doesn’t just care about your formal behavior. Jesus always, always, always cares about your heart, your mind, the internal conversations in your head, and the words that spill out of your mouth when you’re frustrated, angry, or impatient.

As people rescued from our sin by Christ’s sacrifice and made new creation in Him, that new creation must radically change how we think about and treat other people, even those who drive us crazy. Let the Holy Spirit work in your heart. Let Scripture work in your mind. Let Jesus work in your soul so that you begin to view and think of people in the same way He does.

Our sin nailed Jesus to the cross, yet He still loves us and reaches out to touch us gently with forgiveness. We fail Him over and over again, yet He never calls us “fool”, insults us, or becomes angry with us. We misrepresent Him regularly and disobey Him routinely, yet He holds onto us in love rather than rejecting us as we deserve.

Because Jesus treats us this way, He expects us to treat others the same way – with patience, humility, dignity, respect, and grace they don’t deserve. Train yourself not to condemn others when they cut you off in traffic, slow you down in the grocery store, or infuriate you on TV. Work to take “fool” out of your vocabulary. Love your neighbor as yourself!

“For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.”
– Psalm 11:7

God’s righteousness, our righteousness, the righteous things we do to delight in God and to delight God, these things are all wonderfully interconnected…

God is perfectly righteous. He does only right things and can do no wrong things. It’s simply His nature to be righteous. There is no shadow of darkness or hint of sin in God. Because He’s perfectly righteous, God loves when those made in His image do righteous deeds. He loves it when you do the right thing. He loves it when you concern yourself with intentionally doing what’s truly right, not simply what’s convenient, comfortable, cheap, easy, respectable, or enjoyable. God delights in your good deeds, they’re a source of pleasure to Him.

That doesn’t mean that your good deeds make you righteous. No amount of righteous deeds could ever make us righteous enough to match God’s perfect righteousness. No amount of good deeds could ever make you “upright” either. Thankfully, when you trust in Jesus, His perfect righteousness as the sinless Son of God is credited to your account. You’re declared upright by the Lord. You aren’t made upright by your righteous deeds, but Christ has made you upright by His work on the cross. Because you’re upright, you should be eager to do righteous deeds.

It’s the delight of those made righteous by God’s grace to do righteous deeds, not to earn His blessing, but simply to delight in delighting God and to glory in glorifying God. As a follower of Jesus, made upright in Him, the promise of this verse is that one day you’ll see the face of God. That’s a wonderful promise for you! One day, you’ll see the face of God and it will be a face of radiant with joy and delight because of the righteousness of Christ in you and the righteous deeds you’ve done in Christ’s name.