03/26/2024
Using Your Blessings to Bless Others
Sunday I talked about this passage from Luke 19:28-40:
Jesus sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village opposite, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat; untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this, ‘The Lord has need of it.’”
So those who were sent went away and found it as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their garments on the colt they set Jesus upon it.
I made the point that ultimately Jesus doesn’t want our most precious possessions. Jesus wants us—our bad as well as our good. Jesus wants to free us from our brokenness and guilt but in order to do that we need to be able to untie those things from our lives and turn over the reins to him.
But it’s important that you don’t get me wrong. When I said that’s not what Jesus wants from you, I didn’t mean that Jesus doesn’t want your car, home, pans, phone, and TV. He still has need of those things, it’s just that he is waiting for you to offer them up in his name and out of the incredible grace he’s shown to you. Nothing would please him more than to see you pass that grace onto others.
You can use your car when the Lord has need of it. There are always folks who would love a ride to worship Sunday mornings. There are always friends who need to be picked up from doctor appointments, driven to the airport, or who are looking for a pick up truck.
You can always offer your home as an act of hospitality for a small group, to get to know those who are new to the church, to invite neighbors in for dessert and to welcome them to the neighborhood.
You can use those pans and that induction stove to create meals to be brought in for the recently hospitalized or for new parents or for single friends who might enjoy a serving of whatever great menu you’ve got planned for next weekend.
You can use that fancy iPhone to make calls for the church, to check in on those who’ve lost a loved one or who need to hear a friendly voice.
Oh yes, the Lord does have need of it too. Our generous God would not have given you those gifts in abundance if God didn’t expect them to become pass through gifts in your grateful and appreciative hands.
May you hold onto what you’ve been given with a looseness that allows you to be God’s blessing to others.
Archived Posts
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In working on Sunday’s sermon I asked my computer’s AI if she/he could come up with a few suggestions in answer to the above: "You Might be thinking it’s all about you, if…."
Prayer Changes Things
Here is a transcript of the prayer I prayed at the end of yesterday’s sermon.
Optimism, Faith, and Hope:
Practical Steps For Increasing All Three
Here are some practical, spiritual, and relational ways to grow faith, hope and optimism:
Listening Heart
It’s kind of crazy when you think about it. Wisdom in the Bible is all about listening. Of course it makes sense that wisdom would start with listening to God, to God’s law and commandments, as well as the promptings and leadings of the Holy Spirit.
Here are some quotes that
didn’t make it into Sunday’s sermon.
(But it doesn’t mean that they don’t offer real insight into the power of risk over the fear of failure...)
Such A Rich Passage (Luke 19:1-10)
I reflected a lot on the passage about Zacchaeus because it has been written off as “been there, read that, little guy in a tree.” But it is so rich in getting to the heart of what it means to be saved by grace through faith—to live our lives out of gratitude rather than obligation.
The Power of Presence
This last Sunday I had so much more to share than time to share it. The last Emotional Management Technique was to stay present in the process. Just as Jesus stayed with the woman who was judged and found guilty by the angry crowd, we stay by our children and our friends, especially when they need us the most. Here a couple of examples...