Logo Here

Madetomatter

Donation

Please make checks payable to:
Desired Haven Ministries

and mail to...

Desired Haven Ministries
39 Dodge St. #145
North Beverly, MA 01915

or by credit card and Paypal (single gift)...
Our Weekly Devotional

Are you kidding me?!?

Thursday, March 12, 2009 • • Active faith
The past week's emails included two long-time readers who'd cancelled their subscriptions because they disagreed with one sentence in the 357th devotional I'd posted since they joined. Just that quickly, the relationship disappeared after eight years. Earlier, I'd listened to a pastor I deeply admire complain about mortgage bailouts. "Nobody helped me." he started; a hugely discouraging attitude to hear from any believer. Then I read the article in Smithsonian about Christians fighting over the Church of the Nativity, and about how secular Palestinians are trying to fix the problem for us.

So, keyboard in hand, I zinged 'em all.
 
 
I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!" Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"  Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?" -John 21:18-23

 

     "How would Jesus respond?" I wondered, after being assured by my wife that the tone of this week's writing "wouldn't work" and would need to be shelved.

 

     The past week's emails included two long-time readers who'd cancelled their subscriptions because they disagreed with one sentence in the 357th devotional I'd posted since they joined. Just that quickly, the relationship disappeared after eight years.  Earlier, I'd listened to a person I deeply admire complain about mortgage bailouts. "Nobody helped me." he started; a hugely discouraging attitude to hear from any believer. Then I read the article in Smithsonian about Christians fighting over the Church of the Nativity, and about how secular Palestinians are trying to fix the problem for us.

 

     So, keyboard in hand, I zinged 'em all.

 

     Swish! Three-pointer from the backcourt! "That'll teach 'em!" I thought triumphantly as I produced the document for my "accountability team" to peruse. Trust me, when I'm fired up, the words zip out in passionately readable prose that makes me feel better.at least for a moment. 

 

     But is that how Jesus would have responded to these factoids? Is it how He would have me respond? And isn't my zinging just another version of the same sin: Self-righteous indignation.

 

     The answer is an unreserved "yes", it is exactly the same sin, and it's enemy number one in the life of any of us who would do Christ's bidding.

 

     How many times do we have to read about the log in our own eye before we stop screaming about the speck in our neighbor's eye? How many times do we have to be told that faith is about us and God, not us and others and God; that faithful service is about finding out what God wants us to do and then doing it, instead of being preoccupied with what God has in mind for someone else.

 

     There's hope for us, though, because one of the heroes of the faith struggled with this too.  Simon Peter had just been forgiven by Jesus for denying Him three times, and yet he still couldn't keep his mind off of what Jesus was going to do with somebody else!

 

Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them.he asked, "Lord, what about him?"

 

     Are you kidding me Peter?!? Jesus has just given you forgiveness in one of the most dramatic dialogues in the Bible and you're already asking him "what about the other guy?!?"  
 
     And then I read my own words and realize I've fallen into the same trap: On the heels of the grace of Jesus Christ, I'm going to start firing volleys at somebody else when there's still so many beams in my eye? Are you kidding me Randy?!?
 
     I call myself a follower of Christ. Please God, help me live worthy of the Name.
 
--Randy Kilgore
Randy@madetomatter.org
www.madetomatter.org
 
 

Visitor Comments (0)

Be the first to post a comment.

Discuss On Facebook

Related Articles • More Articles

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 • • Active faith
We're an all-or-nothing culture at the worst possible moment in human history. Except for the psychopaths incapable of clear thought, even the hardest hearts among us hide this secret: We want heroes.

But every man has another level to this secret: Not only do we want heroes, we once wanted to be those heroes. It's why we cry at courage but not at loss; why we'll march to war but not in protests; why we hate war but love warriors.
Friday, February 6, 2009 • • Active faith
Over the past thirty days, American culture has turned a corner, shifting what was once an inexorable, uncomfortably rapid slide away from the God into a stampede. While it isn't fair to lay this shift on President Obama's shoulders, it is his election which has emboldened those who are responsible for the stampede.

America was clearly tired of how the country was being managed, and the shift from Republican to Democratic leadership was their way of telling their leaders they wanted change. But the change the American people demanded with their vote was not a repudiation of Christianity and it was not an invitation to throw out the principles which were used to build this country. In fact, it was a call to return to those principles.

Unfortunately, nobody is listening. (Click through on the title to read more.)

Copyright MadetoMatter, Inc. 2007-2023
Church Websites | Ministry Websites by NetMinistry.