The LORD Cares for Us

It is known that the LORD cares for His people. And we know that care comes in all aspects. But to what extent do we think that the LORD will remove those who do not hold the same direction and care for us that He does. To what extent do we think that the LORD will provide new leadership when the time comes.

“³My anger is hot against the shepherds,

and I will punish the leaders;

for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,

and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.

⁴From him shall come the cornerstone,

from him the tent peg,

from him the battle bow,

from him every ruler—all of them together.

⁵They shall be like mighty men in battle,

trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;

they shall fight because the LORD is with them,

and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.”

— Zechariah 10:3-5 (ESV)

I was brought to a passage that I am not sure I have read through or studied before. I see the care of the LORD in the verses above, to both remove or deal with the current leadership of His people and to rise them up through leaders with His end in mind.

Starting with the removal of “bad” leaders. We are aware that the LORD will protect His people in the event that they are in need of that protection. He will deal with leaders of the opposition to Him and His people. But what about those in authority of His people. Are they just left to run rough shod over the people. I say NO as noted here in verse three above. But also later in Jesus’ time. Recall the Sadducee and Pharisee leaders that took advantage of the people, Jesus dealt with them as well. God demonstrates His authority by dealing with all who are against His people.

And then there is the rising up of His people. When needed, the LORD provides the strength and guidance for His people (us) to rise up and take the lead. As we look at verses four and five above, we see the confidence in us that God has to bring us to the leadership role. We are the foundation of His Church and the tip of the spear against evil. We will rule together as we follow His command to bring glory and the Gospel to the world. We will be majestic where needed and we will be meek where needed. But make no mistake, it is not us, it is the LORD in us that rises us up.

The LORD cares for us and He demonstrates that in many ways. This morning I was reminded that He will remove those that are not on the same plan as He and he will rise up those who are.

What is your view of the care the LORD has for us? Are you of the view that He only protects us from the outside dangers? What if we see that in His care for us the LORD will remove the authority within that does not align with Him and will rise up those within who do?

The LORD Consoles the Worry

I have a number of worries in my heart right now. I am having a hard time with some things and I need all the help I can get to deal with them and get through them.

“¹⁹When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.”

— Psalm 94:19 (ESV)

But, even as I have those worries, I know that the LORD will help me through them. The thing is that I am not aware of when His “consolations will cheer my soul”. God does not let us in on the timeline to His work. Only He knows all of that. I have only to trust that He will take care of things.

It is hard knowing that relief is in the cards, yet not knowing when that relief will come. I can only continue to follow Christ and do that which He has for me in this world. I have to put those “cares” aside to ensure that I am moving forward with the work of the LORD. I am not called to understand all, I am called to go and do and then the LORD will take care of the results that are to be in His plan for things.

When we are working for the LORD, our cares are put aside, being dealt with by the LORD on our behalf. As I sit here this morning studying and writing, I am not thinking of those worries. The LORD is working to guard me against them and keep me focused on Him. The “cares” are still there, they are just minimized in the moment and the longer I stick with the work of God, longer they stay at bay to the point that their hold on my slips away.

And there it is. God’s consolation comes in time as we place ourselves in His hands, doing His work. When I am focused on Him, all else goes away and the relief comes.

What is your approach when worry gets hold of you? Are you paralyzed by the worry and allow it to take you over? What if you were to dig into the work of the LORD and allow Him to console your soul over time by showing you that the worry is just not worth the time and effort you are spending?

God Sent Jesus to Demonstrate His Care

It is known that God cares for man. He made us in His image and gave us dominion over all the earth. He made us in that we were just below the angels in the grand scheme of things. We know this as it is written in His Word that is truth. Yet, the LORD found it important to do more for us. He sent Jesus to demonstrate to us that He cares for us.

“⁹But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” – Hebrews 2:9 (ESV)

I am glad to be reminded of the care God has for man. He sent Jesus, His only son, to die for me that I might not have to experience death for the sins I have committed. God did that for me. Jesus, where He came to live in this world with me, His brother, He came specifically to die for me. God demonstrated the ultimate caring for me in that Jesus came to die so that I would not have to.

I know what you might be thinking, but I am going to die, everyone dies. And yes, you are correct in that we all die physically in this world. The LORD sent Jesus that we might not die spiritually. My body will no longer be needed at some point and when that time comes, the LORD will take me to be with my brother, Jesus, in heaven where I will experience glory like I can only imagine. The LORD did that for me and for you, if we would only accept it and live it out.

“¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” – John 3:16-17 (ESV)

God demonstrates His love and care for you and me through is sending of Jesus for our sake. Jesus died so we would not have to.

What is your belief in the care of the LORD for you? Do you look at Him and wonder how He demonstrates His care for you? What if you looked at His sending Jesus to die for you as the ultimate demonstration of care for you?

God’s Care for Man

I am amazed that God cares for me. Grateful yes, but still amazed. Why you ask. Well, I am so small in the grand scheme of things.

“³When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

⁴what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?”

— Psalm 8:3-4 (ESV)

Look at these verses and see the grandness of what God has created. And go to Genesis and read all that God created. And see how small we are. We are just sand when it comes to creation. In fact we were created from sand and yet we are God’s greatest creation.

“³¹And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” – Genesis 1:31 (ESV)

We hold such a special place in the heart of God that once He had finished work on the sixth day He declared that it was “very good”. We were the last creation of God and once complete He was proud of all that He had done.

“⁵Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

⁶You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet,”

— Psalm 3:5-6 (ESV)

God cares for man. He loves us and will do all to protect and comfort us. We are His children and just as I care for my sons, He cares for us, only greater still. As you continue in Psalm 8, we are just lower than the heavenly beings and we have been crowned with glory and honor. We have dominion over all things in this world and that is all due to the grace of the LORD.

God cares for me. He loves my with all His heart. So much so that He dwells in my heart and sent Jesus to die for me and sent the Holy Spirit to be with me always and guide me through this world. He cares for you as His finest and greatest creation.

What is your view of how God sees you? Do you feel as though you are just another creation that he put together? What if you were to review and know that the LORD cares for you as His greatest creation?

Disciples and Christians

This morning I was surprised by my reading a bit. I am sure that I knew this as I have been in the passage at least a couple of times, but I had not put it together until now.

“²⁵So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” – Acts 11:25-26 (ESV)

It was here in Antioch as a result of the teaching of Christ by Saul and Barnabas that those followers, or disciples of Christ were first labeled as “Christians”. I guess I had not really considered that these disciples were the first Christians on record.

How and what does this mean to me? Well, I see this as a telling example of what actions I should have as a follower of Christ. I determine myself to be a Christian thanks to my following of Christ, and as such I should be a disciple of Christ as well. I have to be more vested in my relationship with Christ than just labeling myself as a Christian.

You see, the disciples of Christ in Antioch did not call themselves Christians, they were called Christians by others. “The unbelieving public in Antioch” gave them the label as they “were beginning to have an identity of their own apart from other Jews” as noted in the commentary of my ESV bible for verse 26. Their actions spoke volumes as to who they followed and it was obvious to those around them that they were in fact different.

So we should be visibly different in our work for the Father. We should be disciples of Him to the extent that the people will label us Christians and not that we label ourselves. It is not what I think of myself and how I label myself that matters. It is how the LORD sees and labels me. Yes, I am a child of God and a brother of Jesus, yet it is my being a disciple that is where I should be striving to be with Christ. Remember our commission:

“¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teahing them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)

We are to be disciples first for the LORD and teach others to be disciples of the Father. We are not labeling folks as converts or Christians or any other name. We are working for Christ to teach so they will “go” and teach others. If the outside world would label us as Christians, then so be it. We are disciples of Christ and Christians as seen by others.

What is your identity with Christ? Are you looking to have a label according to the world? What if you focused on being a disciple of Christ and allowed others to see you and not be concerned with the label they place on you?

Present your Discipleship

We are to be the example of Christ in this world today. That means, not just living out what He commands of us, but also presenting ourselves as He presented Himself to those around Him and the world.

“³⁴A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ³⁵By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:34-35 (ESV)

I have studied this passage a few times before. This morning the LORD provided a similar lesson as in the other times. Here is one of the notes I have written in my Bible; “Presentation of God’s Love through your action is our declaration of who we follow.” This is such a true statement of the lesson God has presented for me this morning. I have been blessed to have the LORD in my life and I am doing what I can to emulate Him to those around me and the world. I have to remember that my actions are those of love and not just of action.

Jesus loved through His actions each and every day of His time on earth as man. We tend, I believe, to forget that Jesus spent 33 years in this world and yet only really look at the last 3 years as He was active in His ministry and teaching. We forget that at about the age of 12 He was teaching in the temple. We forget that He had friends He ran with as a child and youth. We forget that He demonstrated love to everyone every day of His life as the example for us to follow in our lives.

Jesus presented the Love of God through His actions declaring His following of the Father. We are to take that example and present the Love of God through our actions to declare that we are disciples of Christ. This is not just a one time thing or something for the short period of life. As Jesus did we are to present God’s Love every step of the way for our entire existence in this world.

How do others know who you follow? Are you reliant on telling them and hoping that they remember? What if you were to present your discipleship through your actions of loving as Jesus loved in His time in this world?

To Be a Disciple, Abide in the Word

Disciple: one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another: such as – b: a convinced adherent of a school or individual – Merriam-Webster Online

Again with the definition of “disciple”. The title of my writing this morning alludes to what it takes to be a disciple. Let me go a little deeper. Becoming a follower of Christ is easy in the actions needed, admit that you are a sinner and need saving and then accept Christ as the savior of your life. Easy by all accounts to do those two things. And then there is what it takes to become a disciple of Christ as you see in the definition.

“³¹So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,^’” – John 8:31 (ESV)

Abide: to accept without exception: to continue in a place – Merriam-Webster Online

There are other definitions of the word “abide” yet these fit what I believe John is referring to in the verse above. As we have become a follower of Christ, we will then begin our study of His word. In that study, we are to accept His word and continue in it to learn and grow in Him.

Whereas the becoming a follower of Christ is easy with the two actions I described above, the disciple part is much more challenging a there is a long commitment that requires daily attention. We are to follow yes, but as a disciple we are to accept without exception and continue the study and understanding of His word as we move through this world.

I myself have been a follower of Christ since I was about 14 yrs old. But I believe that I have been a disciple of Christ for only about the last 20 yrs of my 54. So there were about 20 yrs I went through life as a follower of Christ having only really taken the first two easy actions.

Being a disciple is not as difficult as we think. It is about dedication, devotion, and commitment. We are to be in the Word of God on a daily/regular basis. Learning all that we can to carry out that which He has for us to carry out. Being a follower of Christ is the easy part, it takes our abiding in Him and His Word to become a disciple of Christ.

What would you count yourself in your relationship with Christ? Are you a follower who has taken the first two steps? What if you were to abide in the LORD and His Word to become a disciple of Christ?

Go

“¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)

We start with the word “go” and everything else is from there. We have to take action. Our commission in the name of the LORD is to make disciples of those around us, and the first thing that Jesus says to us related to the commission is to “GO”. We are to be out there doing and not just sitting around waiting.

I know that I have said a number of times that I am not the most outgoing person. I am comfortable on my own and do not “need” to be in the presence of others. But that is not the commission that I signed up for with the LORD. I am to be out there engaging with others and bringing the Gospel to them to guide them in there growth and learning of the LORD and all that He has for them and us.

This “going” is where it gets a bit tricky. Are we to go far from where we are to bring the Gospel to those who would not otherwise receive it, or are we to go where we are and focus on those in our immediate proximity. The answer is “YES”. We are to go to both. We are to start near and in our immediate proximity and gradually go out from there.

Think through the verses above. We are to “go” and make disciples. We are disciples and we are to go and make more. And they will go and make disciples, and they will go, and they will go. The idea is that as we make disciples we are continuing to add more and more and more to the followers of Christ.

We have to remember that the process of making disciples is not a quick one. Take for instance the discipleship group I was in last year and the one I am in this year (see that it is on the year). The guide we use is set to take 25 weeks of study. That is at minimum, a half of a year. This is no short term process. The time investment is substantial and that in itself does not lend to being too far from home. So it does stand to reason to “go” where you are first and make disciples and then they go and in some cases they may have the capacity to devote the time further to all nations, but it does all start where we are. Even when the apostles were sent out by Jesus, they went to the towns in the area bringing the Gospel. It was not until later that they ventured out a lot further.

We have been commissioned by Jesus to “GO” and make disciples and that is the call to action and not just that we are to sit and wait.

What does your discipling look like? Are you sitting and waiting for the LORD to do something great in your life so that you can go far out to make disciples? What if you did just “go” where you are and allowed God to work as you make disciples where you are to begin?

Christ is the Number One Priority

I am surprised that it appears that I have not studied this passage before as I do not have any notes in my Bible. But as is the case with the LORD, He leads me where I need to be when I need to be there.

Everything is important and deserves our attention, but if that is true, then nothing is important. Where is our priority, and what do we do first? On our list, everything and everyone cannot be in the top spot.

“²⁶If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. ²⁷Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” “³³So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” – Luke 14:26-27 & 33 (ESV)

Jesus is to be in the top spot and everyone and everything comes after. The title of the passage I am studying this morning in my ESV Bible is “The Cost of Discipleship”. This title and the passage itself re-enforce our full devotion to Jesus Christ as we embark on discipleship with Him. It is not for the fickle and is not something that is we can do on the weekends. Following Christ as His disciple is costly, it requires a great deal from us.

Disciple: one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another: such as – b: a convinced adherent of a school or individual – Merriam-Webster Online

I looked up the definition of the word “disciple” this morning and where there was reference to it related to being a disciple of Christ, it was the other reference as you see above that applied to my thoughts this morning. A disciple is one who is fully invested in another’s teaching, and will go to great lengths to spread those teachings to the world around them. A disciple is completely devoted to the one and in this case, to the LORD.

Our devotion to the LORD is costly. We move others down the list of priority in our lives to place Christ at the top spot. Where other things may have importance and are worth spending time and energy on, it is the LORD who gets our time and energy first of all. All other things fall to the side and become less important in the wake of Christ.

“²¹Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ ²²When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” – Matthew 19:21-22 (ESV)

The above verses describe the cost the cost. Where in the passage the man is asking what is needed to have eternal life, it applies to our following of Christ in the context of cost. We are to place the value of everything and everyone below the value of Christ. We are to “sell” out for Jesus. This man was not willing to do that and walked away as the cost was too high for him.

The cost is extremely high. The LORD is asking us to place Him in the top spot on our priorities and everything and everyone else are to moved down. To follow Christ means He is our number one priority.

What is important to you? Are you placing those things in the top spot and missing out? What if you were to ensure that Jesus is in the number one spot on your priority list and all else comes after?

You First

“³⁷Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; ³⁸give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” – Luke 6:37-38 (ESV)

A pretty common couple of verses. As I continue my study of the word “disciple” the LORD led me to this passage in Luke’s gospel titled “Judging Others” in my ESV Bible. The verse I was led to I have looked through in another writing, but as usual, God leads me where He needs me to be.

The above verses speak of not judging others to keep from being judged ourselves and what great wisdom that is. This passage is filled with wisdom from the LORD related to judgment of others and we will likely recognize the below verses that bring that wisdom home.

“⁴¹Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” – Luke 6:41-42 (ESV)

Who am I to judge others when I have many things in my life that I need to get right. I have to think of my walk with Christ before I can talk to others about their walk. I have to allow the Holy Spirit to lead me from my heart before using my mind to lead others.

“⁴⁰A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” – Luke 6:40 (ESV)

As a disciple of Christ I have to remember that I can only work to be like Christ and not be Him. Where Jesus was perfect with no “log” in His eye, I am without those logs. I will never have all of the logs out of my eye and there for I have concern myself with my own faults and growth as opposed to others. I have to be first in the order of getting things right. I have to work to remove the log from my eye as it is certainly in the way of clarity when it comes to “knowing” what is “right” for others. If I am not right how can I know what is right for you.

My walk with Christ is ongoing and will lead to many realizations. I have to concern myself with getting right and guiding others to Christ so they can be led by Him to get right. I am not the one to “know”, I can only guide you to the one who does, JESUS. I am a disciple or student of Christ, not the teacher and certainly not Him. I have my own struggle and opportunities and that is where my focus should be. I gotta get right before I judge anyone on where they are.

How are you viewing others? Are you telling them what is what? What if you were to concern yourself with you first and allow the judgment of other to our teacher, Jesus Christ?