It is not difficult to do enough to get to Heaven,
It is impossible.

This is a bit of a play on words, but it is clear that we don’t “do” anything to be saved. God is the doer, he saves us by his grace through our faith in Jesus Christ, we cannot save ourselves.

I am reemphasizing this truth because I have what may be a slightly different perspective on the story of the rich man that is recorded in Matthew 19, Mark 10, and Luke 18. In the story, a rich man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. The man said he had obeyed all the commandments since he was a child. Jesus tells him, “go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Jesus then tells his disciples that it is harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.

What I see in this story is that Jesus told the rich man, and is telling us, to follow him as our first priority, and put everything else below. The reason it is more difficult for a rich person is that they often rely on their riches as their “god.” Their riches are what they rely on to solve their problems, make them happy, and give them peace and security. It is also what they often spend their time and energy thinking about. It doesn’t take a lot of riches to fall into this trap.

In many card games there is a point where the player has such a good hand that he or she will go “all in,” betting everything he or she has on the strength of his or her hand of cards. This is what Jesus is asking of the rich man, and is asking us. He wants us “all in,” betting on Him for our life on earth and in heaven. The more we have, the more difficult Jesus’ requirement can be.

Dear Lord, it is not only difficult for the rich man, but also for us to rely on you more than ourselves and our money. We often believe intellectually that you are there with unlimited power to save and support us, but we don’t always put this belief into practice. Help us go “all in” trusting you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Do you ever feel like there is something in your life that you know you should not do, but you don’t know if you will have the discipline to keep yourself from giving in to the temptation? It could be something like sticking to a diet, or quitting smoking, or something more serious like avoiding stealing, or being faithful to a spouse. There are times where we may not trust our own discipline, but we know we can trust God.

The New Testament book of Jude says in verse 24, “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy”

There are some things we cannot do on our own, we need God’s strength to keep us from “stumbling” and bring us through the temptation. Like holding the hand rail when walking down snow or ice covered stairs; We hold on to something strong and stable to keep us from falling.

Paul describes this situation in 2 Corinthians 12, speaking about a temptation that he faces, but doesn’t identify particularly. He calls it his “thorn in the flesh.” He says in verses 8-9 “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”

When we don’t think we have the strength to overcome, God’s strength is at it’s best.

Dear Lord, what peace it brings to those who know that your strength is always there for us to draw from and rely on. When we feel like giving up our resistance, and giving in to temptation to do the wrong thing, help us remember to turn to you and trust in your strength to overcome. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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In biblical times, the concept of giving someone a blessing was a big deal. When it was God doing the blessing, it was God showing his special favor. When it was one person, like Abraham blessing Isaac, or Isaac blessing Jacob, it was that person calling down God’s favor on the one he was blessing.

In Genesis 4:22-27 God tells Moses how Aaron is to bless his people and why. The Living Bible translates it like this “Now the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons that they are to give this special blessing to the people of Israel: ‘May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.’ This is how Aaron and his sons shall call down my blessings upon the people of Israel; and I myself will personally bless them.”

There are many different translations of this passage, and all get the message across, that God wants to protect us and show us his favor. He wants to be happy with us, and he wants us to have the peace that comes from trusting him.

In modern times the pastor in our Church will say this blessing, just like Aaron, calling down God’s blessings on us. It is always a comforting part of a service. When we tell someone “God Bless,” we are doing the same, asking for God to show them his favor and peace.

Dear Lord, We thank you for your blessing and for the guidance you gave us through this story of Moses and Aaron. Bless those we love, and help us make a point of asking for your blessing on them when we see them. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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I have a friend who, when things seemed to unexpectedly work out in his favor, would jokingly say it was due to his “clean living and high moral fiber.” This would always get a chuckle from those around.

Psalm 27:11 actually says something similar. “Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.”

In Romans 1:17 Paul reminds us that we are “made righteous by faith.”

So when things go well for us, we can say, “God’s light and joy are on us due to our faith in him.”

Dear Lord, how wonderful it is when your light shines on us and we can know the joy of being right with you. Thank you for this blessing. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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One challenge we all face when trying to accomplish anything good is the will-power or discipline to stick with it. Whether it be, sticking to a diet, exercise, cutting bad language out of our vocabulary, quitting smoking, drugs, or alcohol, changing our habits and building better habits is difficult, but not impossible.

2 Peter 1:3,4 says, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

We can turn away from bad behaviors and live a godly life, if we so choose. When we say we “can’t” do something, what we are really saying is either, we won’t try, or we don’t really want to. In all comes down to a decision. We-make the decision and ask God to help us follow through.

I heard it said, “Our job is to do the natural, then God will do the super-natural.” This is how we overcome our wrong desires, and build a better self.

Dear Lord, Thank you for giving us everything we need to live the life you desire for us. Help us decide to strive for that “godly” life, and take our step forward then let you carry us further. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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