Where ambition leads

Friends,

We see them everyday. We work with some. We marvel at their accomplishments and at the energy they devote to achieving their goals. They throw everything they have into everything they do. Why? Because they are driven to be at the top.

We don't often consider the price that the world's top performers, athletes, and politicians have paid to get to and stay where they are. We hear stories of how they devoted hours every afternoon to perfecting that jump shot, but we don't equate that to a lost childhood. We see politicians working hard, day and night, to get elected; but we don't connect that with the strains on their family or with the lost relationships that once meant so much. And then, when they have seemingly reached that pinnacle, they find that every mistake is magnified and every stumble is put on display for all the world to see and mock.

And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.
Mark 10:44, NKJV

This is - admittedly - taken out of context. But bear with me a moment, for we would be wise to consider the true consequences of our ambitions. Our obsession with the accumulation of stuff - aided and abetted by the horrendous "Prosperity" them voiced by too many preachers - only leads to our enslavement. We no longer own our stuff ... it owns us. The same is true for positions of power and prestige.

To lay them aside is to experience true freedom. And by unburdening ourselves of these entrapments, we can fully enter in to a place of great intimacy in Christ Jesus.

Be encouraged, Jose

No barriers

Friends,

What are the kinds of things that come between and your beloved, especially when there is an opportunity for intimacy? What is distracting you when they want to be the focus of your attention? Is it the list of chores? Is it the stress of work? Is it the pursuit of your ambitions and goals?

Don't you know that these same things that get in the way of being truly intimate with Christ.

Mark 10:23
Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” - NKJV

Entering the Kingdom is an act of deep and lasting intimacy. We enter into the Kingdom in order to enter into His presence. And in His presence, nothing else can exist. Nothing of this world is worthy of the holiness that He deserves. Not our achievements, our credentials, our possessions, our sadness, our lack of forgiveness, nor our altruistic works.

Be prepared to leave all of that behind. It's worthless in eternity anyway. Why cling to it? Let it go, and instead take hold of the gift of simply being in the presence of the One True God.

Be encouraged, Jose

Leaving it behind

Friends,

Over the past several years, people have been forced to reconsider the emphasis they place on material comforts and possessions. They see friends and countrymen survive the loss of jobs and homes. They may have lied awake at night, contemplating how they would deal with such circumstances, should they arise.

It is at times such as those that a man is forced to come to terms with his dependence on the stuff he has accumulated. Has he formed a bond with those things? Has he placed his trust on his job, his title, his accomplishments, his prestige, or his credentials? Has he become so reliant upon them that he might be unwilling to give them up should the Lord call upon him to do so?

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”
Mark 10:23, NKJV

The word riches can be interpreted to mean many things. Of course, we recognize that it means wealth and possessions. But it can also mean the gifts that the Lord has lent us for this time on earth.

Would you give up a ministry if God called you to lay it down? Will you leave the church band to focus on your preaching, even though you are a fine musician? Will you forgo the mission fields of a far-off land so that He can speak through you at a local shelter? Will you stop leading a Bible study, even if you don't have any idea why He commands it?

These, too, are riches, dear brothers and sisters. And we must be willing to lay them down ... along with everything else ... to walk the narrow way that leads to deeper intimacy with Christ.

Be encouraged, Jose

Treasure place

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Mathew 6:19-20 (NKJV)

Its simply human to cherish and secure our most priced possessions. The above scripture used that simple truth to advise us to lay up our treasures in the heavenly places. A place that is void of a cycling economy, unpredictable stock market, slumping house market, Equity (one that disappears from ones investments overnight), 401Ks, IRAs, etc. This place is also immune against the elements of the world that can corrode, rust, melt or even steal away our assets.

It is a smart idea to lay up our treasures in a place void of 'up today, disappear tomorrow'. Where are you laying your treasures?

Be encouraged,

Afolabi