"Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning ..." (Luke 12:35, ESV). Our Friday morning men's Bible study has been working our way through the gospel of Luke and we covered part of chapter twelve this morning.  In this section, Jesus is instructing his followers to live with right priorities ("do not worry about your life ... seek his kingdom").  It is possible to get so caught up in our pursuit of what is temporary that we lose sight of what is eternal. When this happens, we begin to think of ourselves as owners rather than stewards. I own my time. I own my stuff. I own my talents. This is the opposite of what Jesus teaches.  In fact, he puts it this way: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be…

Ira Yates and his wife, Ann, purchased land in West Texas in the 1920’s.  For years, they struggled to make a living as ranchers and even feared foreclosure.  At one point, the family survived on government subsidies and assistance. That all changed when a representative from the Transcontinental Oil Company asked permission to explore Yates’ land for oil.  At 1,000 feet below the ground, the drill struck a rich zone, producing a “gusher.” By 1929, the Yates Oil Field was producing over one million barrels of oil a year; since then, it has produced over one billion barrels of oil. Ira Yates had owned it the entire time and never knew it.  Here was a potential millionaire living in poverty, receiving government handouts. Just like Ira Yates, many Christ-followers live in spiritual poverty and don’t even know it. The Bible teaches us that God has put “his Spirit in our…

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.  -- Romans 12:3 In discussing the right manner in which to view oneself, Paul uses a word that is commonly associated with intoxication -- sober.  Robert Mounce, reflecting on this passage, coined an interesting phrase: egoholics.  An egoholic is someone who is addicted to ... themselves.  They think more highly of themselves than they ought to. This is a natural inclination.  Ever since birth, the world has revolved around self.  We see the world through our own eyes.  We process life through the lens of our own experiences.  Our way of processing things must be the way everyone processes things. "Sober judgment" is discernment that isn't colored…

Disclaimer: I am a pastor and most pastors practice the "preacher's count" on a regular basis.  That is to say, we round the worship attendance up to the nearest two hundred. That being said, gospel math is fairly simple.  It's a matter of addition and subtraction, with the possibility of multiplication thrown in, and trying your best to avoid division. When a person goes from non-believer to believer, they experience the joy of addition.  The triune God gets added to their life, purpose and joy and peace get added as well.  They get added to the Body, which is the church.  Their name gets added to the Lamb's Book of Life. Addition is a wonderful thing.  Preachers preach about the benefits that can be added to a person's life.  But gospel math also requires that we learn to practice subtraction.  God's sanctifying work in our life challenges us to replace…