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 the common tendency to rely on 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.

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 remember to put our trust in you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There is an account in 2 Kings 5 about the leader of the army of Aram named Naaman who had leprosy. The king of Aram heard there was a prophet, Elijah, in Israel who could heal diseases. The king thought so highly of his commander that he sent 750 lbs of silver and 150 lbs of gold, worth $5+ million in today’s dollars to the king of Israel asking him to heal his commander.

This very important man came to Elijah’s house with his entire entourage, and expected to see Elijah, but Elijah sent a messenger to meet him instead. The messenger relayed Elijah’s simple instructions for Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan River to be healed of his leprosy.

This would be like a celebrity entertainer or famous business executive with a incurable disease showing up for an appointment at the Mayo Clinic or John’s Hopkins University and being met by a clerk with message to pick up some over the counter medication at the pharmacy. Obviously Naaman was surprised and offended by the response and was about to leave when one of his men said, in 2 Kings 5:13,14, ” “Sir,if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’” So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed!”

Just like Naaman, we need to trust God’s power first. Though He may work through means of science and medicine, as Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”

Dear Lord it is so often difficult for us to simply trust that you will take care of us. We agonize over exactly what to pray for and how we want you to answer. Help us just give our concerns over to you and trust in your power. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I do not speak much French, (almost none) however, I ran across this expression and think it is a wonderful concept and description. Joie de Vivre (pronounced; zhwä-də-ˈvēvr) is defined as “a delight in being alive”

I think Psalm 36:7-9 conveys a similar idea, and attributes the cause of this joy for living to a relationship with God.

It says “How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights. For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.”

God is the source of of our Joie de Vivre. When we put our faith and trust in him, we can have a lighter heart and the Peace and Joy God offers.

Dear Lord, thank you for the Peace and Joy you give when we release our burdens to you and live in your “fountain of life.” In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

It is not uncommon for some Christians to be entirely focused on the writings in the New Testament. This makes some sense, because that is where the stories of Jesus and the early Christian church are written. However, there is knowledge and wisdom for us in the Old Testament as well.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”

The prophets include those more familiar, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, but also the less familiar, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obediah, Jonah, Micah, and others. Most of the prophets were giving the people of that time messages from God, trying to get them back on course after having strayed from God’s will. There are messages in there for us today also. One of the additional benefits for us is the historical evidence for the Bible. Many of the prophecies have been the fulfilled, and modern archeology has confirmed these Bible prophecies including the first destruction of Jerusalem and Babylonian captivity of the Jews, the return of the Jews, and rebuilding of the temple.

Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:19-21, “… we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.”

Dear Lord, We thank you for the confirming evidence of the Bible available as a result of the prophecies. Help us read them with introspection into our own lives and how we may be off the track you desire for us, and bring us back in line. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

How often we limit ourselves by believing that we cannot do something because we don’t have enough influence, enough education, enough money, enough time, etc. We don’t pursue the dreams in our hearts, or make the contributions in our communities or churches, because we think we need more of something before we can start.

I think one of the lessons of the story of Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5,000 is the process he took to do something tremendous starting with the limited resources he had. John’s account of the story in John 6:11,12 goes, “Then Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks to God, passed them out to the people. Afterwards he did the same with the fish. And everyone ate until full! “Now gather the scraps,” Jesus told his disciples, “so that nothing is wasted.” And twelve baskets were filled with the leftovers.”

The simple steps are 1) Believe 2) Start with what you have 3) Thank God for what you have and what he will do 4) Get started.

Dear Lord Help us remember these simple steps you taught us to follow. Help us remember there is no limit to your power, and therefore no limit to what you can do through us. We thank you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.