I am in Debt

I am sure you have had some experience with owing something to someone, having something commonly known as a debt...
If you are like me, then maybe you have had one of the following:
- Lent money from a Family Member
- Owed someone a favour after they did something for you
- Hire Purchase Agreement
- Mortgage on a Property

In lots of ways and in all sorts of circumstances, you and I will owe someone or have a debt to someone or something all through our lives.

And as you get older, those particular debts will most likely change.
When I was a teenager I owed someone some money I borrowed to help me purchase a car.
As an adult, I owed a bank a lot of money to help us buy our first home.
And even though those debts no longer exist, I find I am still in debt.
I now owe something to others. 

I read this yesterday while sitting at an airport waiting to board a flight home...

Give to everyone what you owe them:
If you owe taxes, pay taxes;
if revenue, then revenue;
if respect, then respect;
if honour, then honour.

Paul who wrote this, starts like I have today, about financial debt which we all understand to some level.
Then he takes it to a conclusion that is even more important, deep, and even Kingdom based.
As followers of Jesus we owe a lot and in all sorts of ways.
If I don't owe money, that doesn't mean I don't have a debt anymore. I just have a different debt that still needs servicing.

He even goes on to teach this...

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.

Paul's encouragement to us is that any debt should be paid.
And just as the world looks less than favourably on people who run away from their debts, it is the right thing for Jesus disciples to pay what they owe.
My life doesn't belong to me anymore. Paul said something similar as well.
I ultimately owe a debt to my Saviour that I more than willing to pay.

May the debt you face not just worry and concern you. The important thing with any debt is you make payment towards it, in whatever way you can and should.
May you be challenged like I have been, to tackle the rest of week motivated to love, to share and to honour.

Something to think about...

Not Everyone Likes Me

Not everyone likes me...
I know that is shocking, I mean I am so likeable (note - I am joking!)

In the last few weeks I have been attacked personally with some cutting words and opinions.
It happens to all of us many times during our lives.
And it always leaves you trying to process how much of what someone said was right or wrong? How you should or shouldn't respond? And what to do next...

Then I was reading today through some of the stuff Jeremiah, an old testament prophet went through and had to say. He had a hard job!
He was the guy who was tasked with telling a bunch of stroppy people that they had gotten it wrong lately, that God wasn't very happy about, and ultimately what God was going to do about it all.

One day a leader was so annoyed with a pot breaking demonstration and subsequent prophetic outburst that Jeremiah did, that they put him in stocks!
Not long after this experience Jeremiah records his feeling, his response to God.
It helped me process stuff better and maybe could help you?

I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!
Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends
are waiting for me to slip, saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevail over him
and take our revenge on him.”

But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;
their dishonor will never be forgotten.

Jeremiah 20:10-11 niv

This is the encouragement I take from this:

• I am not the first to be misunderstood, be criticised, or even to get things wrong
• I will not always be liked, and sometimes not liked by some people close to me
• While that is not the best - I have the best on my side - God himself!

If you and I stay humble, stay focused on Jesus, stay running our race with determination...we will win our prize. No matter what anyone else thinks or even says about us.
I chose God's opinion of me over anyone else's!
Can I encourage you to do the same?

Something to think about...

I Don't Have Time...

Some years a go now I arrived at my office and was called into a meeting.

My supervisor told me that management were concerned that I was not using my time wisely each day and maybe I was actually being lazy.

So over the next 3 weeks I was required to fill in a time sheet. This time sheet was so detailed and defined I had to note down everything for every few minutes of my working day.

So the time trial finished and I dutifully handed in all the data.

Days went by without any response from my supervisor.

Days turned into weeks...which turned into months. Nothing!

Over a year later when this person had left the business I asked management about the time trial thing I had completed, and they said that they knew nothing about it!
It seems the supervisor had been jealous of our different work loads and how I got my work done faster than she could. It all came down to this valuable thing we call 'time'.

These days I hear a common refrain...

"I don't have time..."

While lifestyles have undoubtedly changed we still have similar amounts of time.

You have the same 24 hours a day that everyone else gets.

What you do with those 24 hours says a lot about who you are or who you want to be.

While that supervisor did have some things wrong, their little test taught me something I still value to this day. By getting me to look at how I allocated my day I learnt how to value the time I do have. It inadvertently taught me how to manage time better.

So if you are a person who says...
"I don't have time..." 
"I don't have time to spend helping someone"
"I can't fit time with God into my day"
"There isn't time in each day to read any scripture"...
I would love to encourage you to log your days for a week or so...
Not because I am checking up on you. But because you may need to review how you are spending the time God has given you. Maybe you will find out some areas you could review and/or adjust to better make use of the time resource?

Your time is YOUR possession - not someone else's!
I think God would like us to make sure we use it the best we can.

Thinking to think about...and maybe look into?

Who Is He?

When you want to describe someone, you tell someone what they look like, what they do, what their personality is like...a whole bunch of things.
The better you know them, the more you can say or be able to refine how you say it. If you know someone real well you have some extra authority to what you say.
If you don't know them that well, most of us just share ideas and opinions based on all sorts of influences.

I think my wife Suze could probably tell anyone about me with authority.
We have known each other for over 20 years!
We got married in 1994, so she has nearly 2 decades of actually living with me most of those days that have followed.
She actually knows most of my thoughts. She knows all my motivations. She knows what I like to eat and what my favourite things to do are.
She can probably quote with a high level of accuracy my most important statements I have ever uttered.

I have heard of a guy called Barack Obama.
He is the President of a country. And all around the world many people have heard of his name. Most of the western world will see his image in the media most weeks of the year.
I think I know a little about him. He is married with 2 daughters. First african american president. That kind of thing...
But can I honestly say I really know him?
Can I truly say what he thinks and what he stands for?

You will have heard of someone called Jesus. And if you haven't I want you hear about Him.
One day Jesus asked the people who were closest to Him, who they thought He was. Here is an account of what they replied...
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Matthew 16:13-16 niv

Those closest to Him could only recognise who He really was because they were closest to Him.
It wasn't rocket science then. And it still isn't rocket science now.

In light of all that is happening in the world right now.
With all the wars, famines, moral issues and debates, bombings, abuse, greed - the list is endless!
I have lost track of the numbers of people saying all sorts of things about Jesus who don't actually know Him that well.
They say He does this or that, thinks this and that...based on opinions and sometimes even what they hope He is like.

My challenge to you and me is simple...
We need to know who Jesus is more than ever before!
While things happen around us and beliefs and lives are shaken, the only thing that will get you through is how well you know Him.
Christ is supposed to be the rock, the foundation of our existence.
Not a neighbour or an acquaintance. Not a star or a seasonal celebrity.

Get to know Him - and your world will change...

Something to think about...

Over Sell

I think it is safe to say I am not the only one...
That feeling of being disappointed, when someone over sells you on something. When the reality of what you get isn't matched by the pitch that got you there.

I have a laundry list of examples from my own life, but here are a few to get your brain juices flowing a bit:

Burgers
One the biggest gripes I have had in the last 10 years is fast food places and the difference between the picture and the actual product.
It looks awesome and sometimes even nutritious. But when you unwrap your burger, it never matches the picture. Not even close.
The amount of product is always less than advertised!

Movies
Has anyone ever told you about a certain movie was amazing, but when you saw it, it really wasn't that amazing to you...

Sins
Most naughty stuff I have ever done seemed good, if bad...and eventually left a bad taste in my mouth.
Getting drunk years a go was kind of fun, but then visiting the porcelain telephone for hours after isn't!
Friends sold me on the fun of it...the reality came back to haunt me.

Church
You are maybe wondering why I threw this one in here?
Well, some people have over sold Church.
They have told others how amazing and wonderful and perfect it is to get people to come or to stay.
The reality is that Church is people. And people by nature have issues. So it can never be perfect in that sense.
Now I am ok with that personally. Church is one of my favourite things in the whole world. Jesus even said it would be the hope of this world.
Over sell is a recipe for disappointment for all of us.
When you promote the created over the creator, you risk a whole lot of trouble...

So what an I getting too here?

You and I are the same. We hate over sell!
It stinks. It leaves you disappointed. It makes you feel ripped off.

I think you have to realign yourself to avoid the pitfalls of others and their over sell techniques and plans.
Here is the rub...
Jesus has never over sold anything!
He said what He was going to do and He did it.
In the Gospels you never see him promise something to His disciples and not deliver.
He never told them that life would 'super fun' following Him...he simple offered them the opportunity.

Therefore for me the antidote to all this over sell rubbish is simple...
It is for me simply Jesus.
I fix my eyes on Him and I am not disappointed.
I put my trust in Him and I am not let down.
I give my all for Him and to Him and I am not ripped off...in fact I gain even more.

I don't think you can over sell Jesus, but you can over sell the side show and opinions!
Please don't let what others have over sold you on rob you of what Jesus wants to offer you.

Something to think about...