Tag: faith

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Live Confidently in Your Power

Mighty God,
Move me to take to heart your reminder that you have not equipped me with a spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). While your power and might are readily on display throughout the pages of Scripture, I forget that, by faith, I am privy to that very power. Because I know my shortcomings and am well aware of my own disappointments, any confidence I have easily dwindles. I am reluctant to speak up or take action when the opportunities arise. I let my fear of past failures prevent me from moving forward.

Direct me to look to you for strength and power – a strength and power that I could never match on my own! Where my own power would buckle and collapse, your power is strong enough to move mountains. Since you are the providing this power, I don’t have to look within myself for these qualities, but to you. Where my self-doubt has crippled me, let me act simply on faith, certain that you will provide me with the words and actions to move forward with confidence. Grant me a fearless faith that is powerfully spurred on not by who I am, but by whose I am.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Bless the Celebration of the Reformation

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Worship in many Lutheran churches this morning is special because of the celebration of the Reformation. Thank you, Lord, for how you guided the efforts of so many through the Reformation to restore the good news of the gospel to its rightful place of prominence within the Church. For those who were willing to make such sacrifices for the sake of the gospel, we thank you. For restoring the clear truth that our salvation is by grace, through faith, and not by good works, we thank you. Through the Reformation you allow us to see how serious you are about your promise that your Word will endure forever. Keep our generation steadfast in standing on Scripture, and let it always be central to our worship and life.  

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Worship with Intention

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. As your Word is spoken and sung this morning, give me ears to listen to whatever message your Spirit knows I need to hear. I ask this for my own personal growth and sanctification. At the same time, keep me open-minded and perceptive enough to also consider what truths I might be able to pass along to others. Let me be especially attentive so that I may focus on both potential blessings. That way, I can be stretched and strengthened in my own faith, and I may also have a word of encouragement or edification to share with others. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

What We’re Given Guides Our Giving

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(1 Chronicles 29:1-2, 10-18)

It could have gone differently. We know it because we see it repeatedly in rulers and kings throughout history. We know it because we see it repeatedly in rulers and kings in Scripture. Nebuchadnezzar fell into the trap of thinking his kingdom was his own doing. “As the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, ‘Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:29-30). Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t the only one. About a century later, in Esther 1, we read that “For a full 180 days [King Xerxes] displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty” (v.4).

So it isn’t uncommon in history that, anytime a ruler is showered with exorbitant riches and wealth, he falls into the trap of thinking that it’s a reflection of his own magnitude and achievements. And, he wants to let others know. Why? To show off their wealth. To display their success. To prominently display all they had achieved to ascend to such greatness.

But David, who was not a man of meager means by anyone’s estimation, strikes a different tone. Oh, the opulence is there, the wealth and riches were definitely a part of the picture. “With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities” (v.2). He spared no expense! 

But David wasn’t self-aggrandizing. He was God-adorning. David explained to the assembly gathered on the occasion, “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God” (v.1). None of this was “for man but for the Lord God.” This wasn’t about David. This was about David magnifying God. In all of these words, David directs the attention to God, not himself. The praise belongs to God, not himself.  

What accounts for the difference? Why is it so common for kings and those in power to make their wealth about them, while David rightly makes his wealth about God? Because David recognized and acknowledged this about his wealth: it was all God’s. “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand” (v.14). “Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you” (v.16). It’s all God’s! David clearly acknowledges that there is no discussion about his giving or contribution toward the temple apart from an awareness of what he had already been given. 

This is not a natural concept for us to grasp on our own in this fallen world. We think that what we have is ours and we deserve credit for all it took to acquire it. A person looks at his own situation and wants to claim responsibility for his successes. He can probably detail for someone else all the hard work and steps it took to get to where he is and to have what he has. We don’t hesitate to claim credit for anything we’ve achieved or accumulated. 

And this isn’t just a nonbeliever thing; believers struggle with it, too.

For some believers, this is a new concept to consider, that it’s all God’s. If we’re newer to the faith or not used to talking about how to manage our finances and belongings, we may have always thought of our stuff as our stuff. But the Bible has pretty clear reminders that everything is God’s, and he simply entrusts it to us to manage and care for. So nothing is really ours.

For others, perhaps those who have been life-long believers, or who are more familiar with the Bible’s topic of stewardship – a word that simply refers to the management God’s blessings – this isn’t a new concept at all. We have been taught and understand that everything is God’s, and we gratefully manage it to the best of our ability.

But… if we stick with this thought for a little while and assess our relationship with our belongings, isn’t it true that there are maybe a few things that, while we pay lip service to everything being God’s, we kind of think of as more of our own? In other words, this thing or that thing which we aren’t quite so willing to part with? Don’t touch my phone or laptop. That’s your car and this is mine – drive your own. Don’t eat my __________ in the pantry or fridge – those are my thing. This gift of money or gift card was given to me to use, so I don’t have to share. So yes, we know it’s all God’s, but when it comes to managing the use of it, we can be quick to claim full ownership of certain things.

Now some of you are reading this and thinking about someone else right now that you think is too stingy because they won’t share with you. This is not an invitation for you to argue that “since it’s all God’s, you have to let me use your thing.” No – there may be a very good reason someone has not let you use their thing – because you yourself haven’t managed it well in the past! You’ve lost it, broke it, or damaged it, which leads others to think twice about letting you borrow anything. In that respect, you’re guilty of the same wrong – caring poorly for something as if it were yours to mistreat instead of God’s possession that he entrusted to you through someone else letting you borrow or use it.

All of these challenges to managing God’s blessings to us make David’s relationship with his wealth stand out all the more. He did not only pay lip service to the truth that all that he had was God’s, but he also to reflected it in how he actually lived. To help us see things the way David did when he stated, “we have given you only what comes from your hand” (v.14b), maybe the following imagery helps.

Picture it like this. God has two open hands extended to David. His left hand is empty. His right hand is filled with all of the wealth and possessions he was entrusting to David. What did David do? He simply took some of what was in God’s right hand, and he placed it over into his empty hand. So then, what did David actually give to God? Nothing that wasn’t already his! He simply moved it from one hand to the other, but it was all God’s the whole time.

Do we view giving that way, that we are doing nothing more than giving God what was already his in the first place? That shift of perspective on giving has to happen if we are ever to “let go” of what we mistakenly consider ours in the first place. We need to start with the understanding and hold to the truth that everything is God’s. And, in order for us to follow in David’s footsteps with the level of generous giving that he demonstrated, we always start with looking first at what we’ve been given.

Isn’t it so much easier to zero in on what we don’t have instead, as we compare ourselves to those around us? Someone always has more, has better, has newer. And we convince ourselves we’re struggling, we’re just not well-off, we’re maybe even victims or definitely got a raw deal.

But, if we took the time to compare our situation with the vast majority of the rest of the world’s population, we’d have a better grasp of and appreciation for how good we have it and how generous God has been to us! Guess what percentage of the world’s storage units are in the U.S? 90%! And did you know that it’s been figured that we have enough storage unit to place the entire U.S. population inside of one. Only in America would we understand and laugh at George Carlin’s joke about a house just being a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff. We have such a high standard of living that we easily take it for granted and overlook how generous God is to us.

Now we could certainly keep going down this path, but we haven’t even hit the real treasure yet, have we? Think of what we have in Jesus. Really think about it.

From the moment you wake up until you hit the pillow at night, you could have the absolute worst day. Everything imaginable could go wrong. Yet all day long, you are able to remind yourself that no matter what, you are loved by God. When overwhelmed by all of the distressing local, national, or international news stories, you can find peace in Jesus’ promise that he has overcome the world. If you don’t fit in, struggle to make friends, or worry about the opinion others have of you, you know that Jesus’ perfection on your behalf means that God always cares about you and is always delighted in you. When you don’t have the answers or feel like you’re in control, you can relax knowing that God does and is. When you are stuck on that sin that you thought or said or did that made a royal mess of things, you can reassure yourself as often as necessary that you are fully and freely forgiven in Jesus. How can we possibly put a price tag on this treasury of rich promises from God? 

Of course there was a price. But you and I didn’t have to pay it. Jesus did. And as a result of his willingness to serve as both our Substitute and Sacrifice, we have treasure that is real, genuine, and eternal. 

David didn’t just know from first-hand experience how generous God was in providing him with an abundance of wealth. Remember that David had experienced something far greater, a gift that was lovingly wrapped up and delivered by the prophet Nathan long before the events recorded for us this morning. That gift was a story that served as a call to repentance for David. When that gift did its work, David’s crushed spirit confessed his sin – his scandalous sexual encounter with Bathsheba, his murderous cover-up, and all of the fall-out that followed. At that point, through Nathan’s promise of God’s forgiveness, David’s crushed spirit received the approval and acceptance from God that will always surpass any amount of wealth or possessions that a person could ever accumulate. 

We have to understand that about God. Even when he chooses to lavish a person with worldly wealth, it is never just the wealth – the stuff – that leads a person to stand in awe of God’s goodness. Rather, it is always the incomprehensible, mind-blowing reality of grace and forgiveness which opens my eyes and my heart to how good God is, and then appreciates God’s temporal blessings, too. Take it from David, who penned these words of Psalm 32: 

1 Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

2 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.

7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.

11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Everything David expressed in this psalm is true for you and me, too. Brothers and sisters in Christ, look at what we’ve been given. And let that always guide your giving. 

Warning From the Other Side

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(Luke 16:19-31)

Ignore the Bible. Don’t listen to it. Don’t read it. Don’t study it. Don’t waste your time with it. And whatever you do, don’t believe it.

I don’t even care what your reasons are, just make sure you avoid it at all costs. You don’t have enough time in the day to read it. You already know some of the things it says don’t sit well with you, so stay away from it. You don’t have any need for an old book written by old men that only suppresses women and pollutes minds by promoting patriarchy. No one actually believes all the foolish fables and fairy tales anyway, right? If you don’t already have your own reason, find one – whatever it takes – to make sure you ignore the Bible. 

The rich man found his reason. He rather enjoyed the best of what the world had to offer. He “dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day” (v.19). Purple, linens, luxury – this was the stuff of the upper class, the top tier of society. This man was not financially struggling to keep his head above water or just barely getting by; he was living the high life. Indeed, there has always been a lot to enjoy and appreciate in life, no matter when a person has lived throughout history. There have always been the “haves” and the “have-nots.” The rich man had it – whatever he wanted. Money was no object. Even his meals were so extravagant that the miserable beggar at his gate would have been delighted just to have a taste of the post meal scraps scraped off his plates. 

So, what do you think of this man? What is your opinion of him? We don’t have much of a biography about him. Honestly, we don’t even know if he actually existed or if he is just part of a story Jesus is telling. He was rich. It doesn’t seem that he was that interested in using his wealth to help others in need, otherwise we might expect the story of the beggar outside his gate to be a rags-to-riches story of some sort. He came from a good-sized family, having five brothers. In the second part of the story, it does appear that he is at least concerned about his brothers, which says something about him. So, what do you think of this man, this man that Jesus doesn’t even bother to mention by name?

Perhaps more important than what we think of the man is what the man thinks of his situation after he departed this earth. Did he miss the purple, the linens, and the luxury? Did he miss his lavish lifestyle and the ability to experience or purchase whatever he wanted? We might draw some assumptions, but we aren’t provided with that information, as it is overshadowed by the unyielding agony he was suffering. “The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire’” (v.22-24).

In place of any concern about riches is his preoccupation with relief. The degree of his suffering is amplified by the fact that he asks for so little in relief! He does not request a cold shower or a cool drink, but merely the tiny tip of a finger dipped in water to touch his tongue and offer such a minuscule measure of relief. Even that would have been welcome!

Have you ever experienced anything like that? I can tell you you haven’t, because no matter what pain or suffering you have experienced, we’ve all enjoyed the same benefit: it eventually passed. The pain went away. The broken bone mended. The gash or cut scabbed over and healed. New skin eventually replaced the blisters from the burn. We have pain reliever and medicine for headaches. Every pain that we can imagine experiencing, no matter how excruciating, eventually heals and goes away.

But not for the rich man. When Scripture describes hell, after the matter of being cut off from God eternally, one of the most terrifying elements of hell is trying to imagine no end in sight, no relief, ever, from the torment and pain.

In addition to the rich man’s pleas for relief, his sudden concern for others – his brothers – also highlights his agony.

“‘I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment’” (v.27-28). While we don’t know about his relationship with his brothers while he was living, he certainly cares enough about them now to see that they never have to experience what he was experiencing. Were they as wealthy as he was? We don’t know. What we do know is that he knew that if something didn’t change in their lives, they were destined to head to where he was. So in addition to pleading for relief, the rich man is begging on behalf of his brothers, asking for extreme measures. 

Listen again to the rest of the exchange, beginning with Abraham’s initial response. “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’  ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’  “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead’”  (v.29-31). “Get their attention! Send someone back from the dead to warn them to avoid hell at all costs! The agony is unbelievably unbearable!”

Abraham’s response better grab our attention, because it is the key to this whole account. When he pointed out to the rich man that his brothers had “Moses and the Prophets,” he was simply saying, “They have the Bible. The Word of God is enough. And if that doesn’t keep them from following in your footsteps and avoiding the same outcome, nothing else will – not even someone rising from the dead to warn them.” 

Ignore the Bible. Don’t listen to it. Don’t read it. Don’t study it. Don’t waste your time with it. And whatever you do, don’t believe it. 

Follow that advice, and you’ll be well on your way to personally experiencing how accurate the rich man’s take on hell really was.

Thankfully, the story Jesus is telling here doesn’t just involve one man. There was the beggar, the one positioned so close to a life of luxury and means, yet so far away. The beggar Jesus happens to mention by name is Lazarus. His experience in life couldn’t have been more polar opposite than that of the rich man.

“At [the rich man’s] gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores” (v.20-21). He had nothing to his name, and his desire for relief was met not by the rich man of means, but by his compassionate four-legged companions. But when his life was over, his fate was noticeably different.

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side” (v.22). Where exactly did Lazarus end up? Not at all in the same place the rich man did, but rather in heaven, depicted by the presence of angels and Abraham.

Abraham is actually an excellent choice to serve as a representative of heaven. Why? Because the Bible makes it very clear how he got there. One of the New Testament writers, Paul, quotes a verse from the Old Testament to clarify how a person ends up saved and in heaven. He wrote, “What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness’” (Romans 4:3).Abraham was in heaven because he believed, and that faith alone is what allowed God to welcome him into heaven. The same writer explained in another of his letters, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Belief. Faith. These are the “must-haves” for heaven.

Verses like these are necessary to help us to fill in the missing blanks in Jesus’ story, because Jesus didn’t doesn’t tell us about any of the religious beliefs or activities of either the rich man or poor Lazarus. So, without any other knowledge of Scripture, a person might end up concluding that rich people are bad and go to hell and that poor people are good and go to heaven. But that take doesn’t find a shred of support in Scripture. Instead, we must conclude that Lazarus was a believer and the rich man was not.

Well then, how does one become a believer? Again we hear Paul: “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word about Christ” (Romans 10:17). The Word is everything, and the rich man had no time for it as he gave his attention to his lavish lifestyle. So he traded temporary comfort for eternal torment. As Abraham explained to the rich man in the story, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony” (v.25). And that final outcome couldn’t be tampered with. His choices in this temporary life directly impacted his eternal life. 

As do ours. To be clear, it isn’t merely the act or frequency of reading the Bible that assures one of salvation, but believing it. Nevertheless, no one can ever believe it if they do not know what it says, for it is the only means by which the Holy Spirit convinces anyone that Jesus has provided both the necessary holiness required for heaven by his perfect life, as well as the payment for every sin by his innocent death. We only find the details of this good news, which we call the gospel, in the Bible. Only there are we introduced to Jesus Christ.

Your faith in Jesus Christ is the only thing that has everything to do with your salvation. It hinges on it. Which is to say, it hinges on the Word of God, where we come to know, love, and place our trust in our forgiving, gracious, compassionate, peace-bearing, always-with-us, patient Savior. And we have for ourselves not just Moses and the Prophets, as the rich man did; we have the whole Bible! All of it points us to the certainty of salvation that can only be found in the greatest Friend of sinners, the One who forgives all sinners, Jesus Christ. And there is plenty of room right next to him, along with Abraham, poor Lazarus, and all of the saints who believed the Word of God. 

So, friends, don’t ignore the Bible. Listen to it. Read it. Study it. Spend time with it. And whatever you do, believe it.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Let My Worries Prompt My Prayers

Loving Savior,
It’s not always easy to know what I ought to pray for. Your Word is the best source to guide and inform our prayers. Since in your Word, you invite us to bring everything to you in prayer, help me view the things that cause me concern as opportunities for prayer. When I worry, lead me to pivot my worry into prayer. In that way, you address both my worry and my struggles of what to pray for.

My worries can – and should! – be brought to you in prayer at all times. When I take my worries to you, redirect my thoughts to you and your gracious promises. Finally, assure me that you hear my prayer and will answer my anxieties in the best way possible.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Prioritize My Salvation

Lord of Salvation,
Nothing should concern us more than the matter of our salvation. Scripture paints such a terrifying picture of hell that we must conclude that Satan and sin are nothing to be trifled with. Yet the same Scripture points to the clear certainty of salvation solely through the work of our Savior. It leaves no doubt for anyone seeking the answer to the question of what happens to us after this life. 

Keep us from allowing other concerns and distractions in our lives to crowd out the matter of our salvation. Although Jesus took care of it entirely for us, Satan tries relentlessly to take it away from us. While he cannot undo the work of salvation carried out by Jesus, Satan can convince us that our busy schedules don’t permit the time it takes to keep us close to Jesus. Since he cannot take salvation away from us, he tries to take us away from our salvation. He does this by trying to cut us off from Word and Sacrament. Help us fight that battle daily and remain tethered to you by faith, so that our salvation is never in jeopardy. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Build Relationships With My Church Family

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Worship is the highlight of the week in the life of a believer. Through the proclamation of your Word as it is sung and spoken, you speak to our hearts and nourish our souls. In the Sacrament you feed our faith with forgiveness and fuel us for Christian living.

Yet, while your Spirit works on each of us and nurtures us individually, you never intended for our personal growth to remain private. So when we gather for worship, help us to be mindful of how we help each other grow as a community. While we may not all be extroverted, lead worshipers to be intentional about trying to connect with others and build relationships within their congregations. As these friendships are established and strengthened, let them be a means by which believers experience love, care, and support. Use these relationships to meet one another’s needs, to put faith into practice, and to experience the joys of ministry as you bear fruit in their midst. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Counting the Cost of Carrying the Cross

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(Luke 14:25-35)

Ask anyone looking for employment right now and you’ll find that getting hired is not as easy as one may think. There are many factors involved in the process that employers have to consider, as hiring someone new isn’t cheap. The cost of hiring involves much more than just determining the wages. Is health insurance offered or required? Is there any sort of retirement? Is the employee required to be in the office or can she work from home, or some sort of hybrid arrangement? Can AI carry out the work that some employees used to be responsible for? The hiring process is a lot more involved than it used to be.

Jesus’ teaching in Luke 14 almost sounds as if he’s sitting down one-on-one with potential hires, interviewing them to determine their qualifications and whether or not they’re well-suited to for the job. Honestly, if that were the case, his words would be much easier for us to handle – if only! If it was just a potential job, we would have the option of saying no to his ridiculously lofty expectations and continuing our job search elsewhere. 

But Jesus is actually addressing a matter of far greater importance than simply getting hired for a job. He’s forcing us to wrestle with a much more serious question: how much is your salvation worth to you? This is a hugely important matter for us to consider! Because when you don’t value something, you don’t take care of it. When something isn’t worth much to you, you don’t really care what happens to it. So when Jesus invites us to count the cost of carrying the cross, what he’s asking is this: how much does your salvation really matter to you? How much do I really matter to you?

What hits home about Jesus’ teaching is that he’s refusing to let us off the hook by just paying him lip service. We can fool an awful lot of people with what we say, including ourselves. But we can’t fool Jesus. We can tell others how much he matters to us. We can say all the right things. But then when the sacrifices surface – and they will always show up for the Christian, because Jesus promised the crosses would come – is Jesus worth it or not?

Jesus’ pictures about a builder planning to construct a tower or a king planning for battle emphasize the point he’s making: think before you proceed. Did you do that before you signed up for this thing called Christianity? Do you still do it on a daily basis? As helpful as Jesus’ examples are, sometimes we’re so dull and slow that I think we need even more concrete examples of counting the cost of carrying the cross.

For practical purposes, let’s take that a step further and consider it in light of membership in a Christian congregation. When you became a Christian/member of a congregation, did you give much thought to what types of crosses you’d have to bear or what it might cost you? People will typically ask what sort of class or requirements are necessary to become a member, but Jesus pushes us to give much more thought to the matter than that.

For starters, did you know that you’d be expected to actually be involved in carrying out your church’s mission (ours is “Seeking the Lost, Serving the Found”)? Did you consider that disciples should actually read the Bible and study it? Did you know what you signed up for when you married an unbeliever? Were you aware how heavy that cross would be at times? When you took at job that you knew would involve working on Sundays, did you anticipate how heavy that cross would be over time without regular worship? When you racked up a mountain of debt and hear the words of Scripture calling God’s people to grow in the grace of giving, did you factor in the cross of how debilitating that debt would be? The cross of permitting kids’ schedules to put church activities on the back burner – did you count that cost? Friends choosing alternative lifestyles or just rejecting your beliefs in general – did you count that cost? 

Our answers to those questions, and so many others like them, take on huge significance when we look back at the conclusion Jesus drew in his illustrations. What did he finally say about being the builder who blundered on the cost of his tower or the king who carried out a war without considering how the size of his army compares to the enemy’s? He said, “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples” (v.33). Jesus didn’t say it would be tough or an uphill battle or the chances are slim; he said you cannot be my disciple! As in, it is not even possible! You cannot be unwilling to give up everything and call yourself a disciple at the same time. It doesn’t work.

And, if you didn’t notice, when it comes to counting the cost of carrying the cross, those examples weren’t the only ones Jesus used. Look at the whole list of disqualifications that Jesus provides to vet potential disciples. Look at the requirements. Don’t hate family? Can’t be his disciple. Don’t hate your own life? Can’t be his disciple. Don’t want to carry your cross? Can’t be his disciple. Not willing to give up everything you have? Can’t be his disciple. At this rate, it’s a wonder Jesus has any disciples! 

Actually, something just like that happened during Jesus’ ministry. Luke introduced this section of his Gospel by pointing out that “[l]arge crowds were traveling with Jesus” (v.25). That was also the case in John 6, where Jesus gave what has become known as his “Bread of Life” discourse. Jesus had just fed the 5,000. Then he turned the concept of physical feeding into a spiritual teaching that essentially told the crowds if they didn’t fill up on Jesus and his Word, they would be lost.

Guess what happened once Jesus used his physical miracle as an introduction to a deeper spiritual truth? “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66). The crowds dwindled. The followers said farewell. It would have been a noticeable difference, too, going from a crush of crowds to just a trickle of disciples.

But it isn’t as noticeable today, is it? Because today it’s much easier for us to fake it without making any real sacrifice. Today we know how to look the part well enough for others, and the more we focus on looking the part instead of genuinely carrying the cross, we actually start to deceive ourselves as well. So who is worse off – the crowds who visibly demonstrated their decision to no longer follow Jesus by turning away, or those today who are good at giving the external appearance of following, but are unwilling to make any real sacrifice (and only end up fooling themselves)?

We can pop in at church occasionally, which of course looks the churchgoing part. Or, we can be sure to let others know our “thoughts and prayers” are with them, which sounds spiritual enough. We can slap a few Bible passages and spiritual-sounding stuff on our social media here and there. We make sure to sign up or participate in stuff at church once in a blue moon, just enough to add to the appearance of being active and engaged. We do these things and “Voila!” – we look just like Jesus’ disciples. 

But all of that misses the point of Jesus’ vetting process: his disciples make sacrifices. Where, in the examples just mentioned, is there any real sacrifice? 

Let’s consider a pretty impressive record of someone who counted the cost of carrying the cross. “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked” (2 Cor. 11:23-27). You know those words as the words of the apostle Paul. Paul didn’t just pay lip service to being a disciple of Jesus; he displayed it sacrificially with his whole life. 

Let’s be honest – there are a lot of Dollar Tree Disciples today, aren’t there? Now that’s not a knock on Dollar Tree as much as it is a harsh reality we need to own up to. You know why anyone shops at the Dollar Tree. They want something for almost nothing. They want a certain item or product, but it’s obviously not something they’re willing to spend a lot on, so they shop at the Dollar Tree to get it.

Isn’t it possible that a lot more of us are Dollar Tree Disciples than we think? We want something for almost nothing. We want all the good Jesus stuff, the forgiveness and grace stuff, the salvation stuff – we want all of that, but we don’t really want to have to give up much to get it. That’s the mindset of a Dollar Tree Disciple.

And you know what makes that mindset so dangerous? It’s actually on the right track.

We want something for nothing, and that’s exactly what we have through Jesus. What Jesus came to bring couldn’t be bought or purchased by you or me. There was no price tag that would ever make salvation affordable for us. There was no option for bartering or working out a deal with him.

No, what Jesus came to bring is entirely free to us. It is a gift. We can’t buy it or earn it – it can only be given. It cost us nothing. So if we want something for nothing, we’ve come to the right place. Forgiveness and salvation doesn’t cost us a dime!

But all of it came at a price. A hefty price. And the price tag is so out of reach for us that only God himself could pay it. And Jesus did. You think Paul had an impressive list of crosses that he bore as Jesus’ disciple? None will ever compare to the literal cross Jesus bore. Consider that the whole reason we even use that term – bearing our cross – is but a poor reflection of the unbearable cross that Jesus bore in our place. Talk about sacrifice – literally! How much did Jesus have to give up? Everything. So he alone has the right to demand the same of us – “those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples” (Luke 14:33). 

But unlike Paul, Jesus was not just an example to imitate. Jesus didn’t come to show us how to be good disciples and then plan to seek out those who met his impossible standards, because he wouldn’t have found any – not a one!

No, Jesus came so that only through and in him, we could be perfect disciples. Here’s how Paul described it taking place. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8). Jesus came to make us what we could never be on our own: perfect disciples. He sought out everyone, including Dollar Tree Disciples, and by grace he made us his own devoted and dedicated disciples. 

Do you see yourself that way? He does. Because of Christ, God sees his church filled with devoted and dedicated disciples. And you know what devoted and dedicated disciples do? They count the cost of carrying the cross. They think differently about priorities. They make sacrifices that others wouldn’t fathom making in a million years. Counting the cost, they embrace the cross in this life because they know they are guaranteed the crown of life at the end of their race, through faith in Christ Jesus.

Those Lacking Humility Will Be Humiliated

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(Luke 14:1, 7-14)

Most of us generally don’t go around tooting our own horns. There are a few exceptions, of course, but even if we do tend to think pretty highly of ourselves, we know better than to openly express it in conversations with others. We know how that comes off and it isn’t a good look in social situations. 

In the parable Jesus told in Luke 14, what is our takeaway? Does the parable serve simply to validate for us that letting others know how highly we think of ourselves in social situations is taboo, and not worth the risk of back-firing? Jesus painted a mortifying picture of what could happen to the party guest who jumps right to the place of honor. “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place” (v.8-9).

Imagine being called out like that in a room full of people! We would want to crawl under a rock and die! So what is the real reason we’d avoid doing such a thing? Let’s be honest. Would it be our own genuine humility prompting us to avoid taking the best seat in the house, or would it more likely be prompted by our fear of being publicly humiliated?

While we’re pretty good at hiding our lack of humility before others, a little more detective work on ourselves ends up showing our true colors. Here’s what I mean. In the parable Jesus told, very few of us would actually take the place of honor, because in that context, doing so would put us under the microscope. When you show up at a wedding reception, for example, you don’t go grab a seat at the head table with the rest of the bridal party. Rather, you find your assigned seat. That kind of a situation is a no-brainer.

But what do we do in any other situation without assigned seating, when we’re anonymous, or when others aren’t paying attention? We look for the best seat. We want the best view possible. We want to be closest to our kid. We got there first. We…we… we. Me… me… me…

So we might think ourselves pretty good at hiding our lack of genuine humility in some social settings where our actions are under scrutiny. However, whenever it’s a free-for-all, we don’t even bat an eye at going for the best spot (and, we even have our own mental list of justifications for doing so!). My point is not that it’s wrong or sinful to want or pursue the best or ideal spot at times; rather, it just shows our default mode of who we’re really putting first in our lives: me… me… me. 

Odd, isn’t it, that we don’t arrive at our kids’ game, identify the best seat, and then immediately look for a lesser seat so that someone else can have the good one we just found? When we pull into a crowded parking lot and manage to score a spot close to the entrance, we don’t keep on driving right past it and make our way to the far side of the lot so that we can keep those prime spots open for other more deserving drivers (Costco, anyone?). 

Why don’t we naturally do those things? Because even though we may be pretty good at masking our outward actions to hide our lack of humility in situations when others might notice, our natural innate efforts at looking to be first or for the best spot reveal much more about what we really think of ourselves in our own hearts. 

Why does this matter of humility rub us the wrong way so much? Because it opposes our natural senses. Success, advancement, promotion – all of these things in every area of life come as a result of hard work. Achievement. Effort. We are used to getting ahead and moving forward on the basis of our own merit. We recognize and value progress and productivity.

And, on the other hand, we don’t celebrate mediocrity, stagnation, or the status quo – and we certainly don’t celebrate decline or regression. The habitually late and mistake-prone worker isn’t going to be nominated for employee of the month. They don’t give Golden Globes or Grammys for shows no one watches or albums no one listens to. Those who fail to perform fail to get noticed. 

We might think we know better as Christians, right? We know we aren’t saved by our performance, but by grace. Faith in Jesus – not, “job well done” – is the basis of our confidence.

But why then does a Christian struggle so much when surrounded by other Christians who “aren’t very Christian?” Why do we so often seek to make ourselves feel better about our Christian walk not by personal confession and absolution, but by comparing ourselves to other “underperforming” Christians? Because I need others to know that I’m something, I’m someone. Because deep down inside I think I’m something, I’m someone.

What we fail to realize is that even our own identification or classification of  “underperforming” Christians isn’t just a judgment or assessment of them, but also an assessment of ourselves as the standard of measurement. Whenever we spot an “underperforming” Christian, we are making that judgment in comparison to how we are performing.

While we may not think about it that way, when is the last time you disapproved of someone you considered to be a “better” Christian than you? When did you look down on a Christian you considered to be more sanctified than you? It doesn’t happen, does it? So the struggle with the lack of humility is every bit as challenging for Christians as it is anyone else.

That’s really what Jesus was showing in his first parable. As he stated, “all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (v.11). Anyone who lacks humility – even Christians – will eventually be humiliated one way or another. So Jesus wants us to know something that is so important about humility that we can never really deal with it unless we are aware: the problem with a lack of humility is always a heart problem. 

While that may not be as clear in his first parable, it is more evident in the second teaching he provided to the host of the gathering he was attending. “Then Jesus said to his host, ‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid’” (v.12). Jesus was not telling his host he could never have his friends, family, or even the wealthy over for dinner. That was not his point. Rather, he was speaking to the motivation for inviting such guests. If you have ulterior motives for inviting such guests over, thinking that it may pay dividends for you in the future, is that motivated by humility or pride? 

On the other hand, consider the alternative guest list that Jesus encouraged. “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.” (v.13-14a). To include this category of guests is to get much closer to humility, because inviting the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind is to not see them as poor, crippled, lame, or blind, but simply to see them as guests. Pride would have nothing to do with such a guest list, because it wouldn’t waste time with those it viewed as inferior or insignificant. Humility, however, is honored to have any guests to host and to humbly serve.

That’s what makes humility such a struggle. It isn’t a code we can crack. It isn’t something we can figure out. It isn’t a five-step process. It’s much simpler than that, and much harder at the same time. Jesus’ call for our humility shows us that we aren’t. We aren’t humble by nature. We can’t achieve humility by just putting in more effort.

That’s because what we are by nature is prideful. And when that’s what we are, then we need more than just a self-help program to turn things around. We need more than a few healthy habits or quick hacks to achieve humility. To make sure the only humiliation we ever experience is here and now, and not the eternal humiliation when God permanently turns away the proud, pride needs to be put to death. It needs to be killed. 

And that is exactly what happened on the cross. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). “With its passions and desires” includes the pride that is so passionate about self. That, too, was crucified along with Christ. And what does it mean to be crucified? It means death. Killed. Dead. Christ, who alone qualified as perfectly humble, assumed our pride, took it on himself, and was nailed to the cross with it in our place. What Jesus did – the greatest achievement ever – was not for his own recognition, but for our salvation. The sin of pride has been paid for. That part of us has died.

Why allow it to be resurrected then in our hearts again? It’s dead. Let it stay dead. How? Not by trying harder and harder to be more humble, but by relying more and more on God. See then, humility isn’t a matter of trying to be more humble, but rather relying more on God. Reliance on God results in humility, but not because I’m thinking more of my own humility; rather, because I’m focused more on my good and gracious Savior and his righteousness that is mine only by faith. Humility is simply reliance on God. 

Relying on God comes more naturally when I consider what I know about my future. I don’t have to worry about being recognized or exalted, because I already know what God has in store for me one day. Oh, I may never experience that during this lifetime, but the reward is all ready and waiting for me when I get home to heaven. That’s what Jesus had in mind when he said, “you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:14). We aren’t waiting to be repaid by others for our actions here – that payment is waiting for us in heaven. 

Relying on God also comes more naturally when I consider what I know about the present, when I remember what he has for me right now. James reminds us, “he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’ Submit yourselves, then, to God” (4:6-7). So many bristle at the idea of humbling themselves before God and submitting to him, but how how they are missing out! Look what he has in store for those who humbly submit to him: grace.

The heart over-inflated with pride has no need of more room for grace, or so it thinks. But the heart deflated in humility will be filled up with grace upon grace. So the key to humility is not trying to get rid of our pride, and it isn’t making the effort to be more humble. The key to humility is grace. And it comes in endless amounts to those who know they need it, and rely on it alone for this life and eternal life. Want to be more humble? Fill up on more grace.