DON’T BE WEARY, LOOK TO JESUS

THEREFORE THEN, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God Hebrews 12:1-2 (AMP)

Are you tired and weary? Are you struggling with habitual sin? Have you lost hope with growing spiritually and becoming mature? Today I offer you a simple solution that has served you powerfully before. Only now, you may have now ceased to meditate on it. That is to look to the person and substitutionary work of JESUS. You may have heard the Gospel since you were young. But are you living a life that reflects what you believe? Now to answer some questions you may have:

1)    What does it mean to look to JESUS?

To look to JESUS, means to trust, treasure, delight and hope only in Jesus for everything in your life (Prov 3:5). When you look to JESUS, as the passage above shows, you need to look away from other things that would attempt to make themselves ‘gods’ in your life.  Matt 5:21 tells us that “where your heart is there your treasure will be”. Therefore one must look and see where their heart is. Is your heart enamoured, in awe of the beauty, magnificence and glory of CHRIST or do you invest your time, money, energy to working for another kingdom besides that of the King of Kings. Ultimately we must get our joy from being GOD’s children and not anything we do.

2)    Why look at JESUS?

The truth as Psalm 16:11 puts it is we can only find true joy in the presence of GOD. We must continually look to JESUS for our joy as only HE can provide us with perfect joy. Eternal joy that is not influenced by our actions but by what JESUS did on the cross. HE made it possible for us to have forgiveness of sins and to stand before GOD with a clear conscience and to be able to have an intimate relationship with HIM.

You might ask then what the point of all I’ve said is. Simply this: We often use JESUS as means to an end that would glorify us and then wonder why we are continually joyless and tired. Conversely, GOD wants us to treasure JESUS. He wants us to savour and worship HIM above all else. ‘GOD is most glorified when we are most satisfied in HIM’ – John Piper.

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. ‘We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.’ – C.S Lewis

Yours in the Lord

Khaya Nkumbesi

LA DOLCÉ VITA/THE GOOD LIFE

King Solomon is perhaps one man whom you can say has, ‘been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, lost it, found it, burnt it.’ He had it all. He not only had wisdom, but exceedingly great understanding (1 Kings 4:29a). He was a very compassionate man (1 Kings 4:29b). He ruled an extremely large kingdom (1 Kings 4:21 & 24). He never had to go to war and lived in peace all his life (1 Kings 4:25). He was famous and respected (1 Kings 4:34). People from all over his kingdom paid very high taxes (1 Kings 4:22-23) making him the richest guy to have ever lived. All cups and plates in his crib were made of pure gold (1 Kings 10:21) and the silver in his kingdom is equated to the amount of stones outside (1 Kings 10:27). He had more than his fair share of ‘female companions’ (1 Kings 11:3). Some would say, ‘this is la dolcé vita (the good life)’.

Solomon did not see it that way. He was really depressed. He took a look at all he had and studied life in his kingdom. He studied work (Ecc 1:3-11), human achievement (Ecc 1:12-17), pleasure (Ecc 2:1-17), human wisdom (Ecc 6:10-11:6) and the like. Everything people considered ‘good’. He then compiled his studies in a book in the Bible titled Ecclesiastes. He concluded that every thing he had and all that people lived for is perishable; does not have eternal gain; does not provide permanent profit. He did not say it was not enjoyable. After all, God made everything to be enjoyed in its appropriate time (Ecc 3:11). He said nothing lasted and therefore was not worth building a life around. He did not consider his life as ‘the good life’.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all (Ecc 12:13).

To fear God is not akin to fearing heights, small spaces or clowns. It is reverently acknowledging Him and living under His rule without compromise. God is a loving father. All children with a good dad know what it is to fear dad. Fear Him in that sense, never wanting to do anything outside His will. To fear God is to hate evil (Pro 8:13). It is the beginning of all wisdom (Ps 111:10); a treasure (Isa 33:6); a fountain of life (Pro 14:27); and a source of strong confidence (Pro 14:26).

To keep God’s commandments is fundamentally to love God and Love people (Matt 22:37-40). But, let us not only love in word and tongue but in deed (1 John 3:18). Do not live in judgement of non-Christians. Just love them; actively. Do not live in judgement of other Christians (it happens). Love them even if they do things differently. You can have all that King Solomon had; be the best at what you do; the brightest spark in the flame; the most talented musician in the band; and blessed with every spiritual gift possible but without love, it amounts to nothing (1 Cor 13:1-7 paraphrased). This is a good place to start when you want to follow all God commands.

Live a life in fear of God and live a life of love. If we live in this way, we can enjoy everything that God has put on earth for us according to His design. Even if we have all that Solomon had, we can enjoy it knowing that our relationship with God is an eternal one. This is la dolcé vita. This is not a problem free life, but a relationship with an Overcomer (John 16:33b). Not just the good life, but the God life. We cannot fully be satisfied with the creation, without the council of the Creator (Mark Driscoll).

Feel free to follow my blog and to leave your comments. And always remember LOL (Love God; Obey Him; Love People).

With Love

Yunam