Rich Towards God - Luke Chapter 12 - Do Not Worry

Praying With Your Father - Luke 11

This past week I watched as the Dallas Mavericks retired my favorite basketball player, Dirk Nowitzki's jersey! It is without question that Dirk is the greatest Maverick, but in time maybe Luka will takeover that role. Many like to discuss who is the greatest in Sports, but what about in everyday life? What makes you great? Popularity? Riches? Good Looks? Power? If you want to be great in the Kingdom of God, Jesus tell us you must become the least among others. Our God is so great because he was willing to leave the splendor of Heaven and become a servant to his very creation! Because he humbled himself to become a sacrifice for all mankind, we can find salvation from our sins! This week we discuss, what true greatness is, and how we should follow in Jesus' footsteps to become the least of these.

We live in a world where so often you are either in or out. We have a world that wants to pin folks against each other. You are Rich or Poor, Black or White, you’re a republican or a democrat, your pretty or ugly, your popular or a nobody, you’re a boomer or a millennial...unless you are Generation X the greatest of the generations :-) In many ways this is the world we live in, but that is not what our God wants, this was never what our God wanted, and it isn’t what the church should be. Our God wants us to be one thing…His Child! And he likes us in all varieties!

We picture the first Christmas as beautiful. We see the Nativity of Jesus as something great, and truly for what this meant for the world was magnificent. But it was also hard! It was messy! Jesus wasn't born in a first class hospital room, he was born in a barn. Sometimes life is difficult, but just like Mary, we need to trust in God even during the difficult times.

Are you prepared when the unexpected happens? When I was in High School I was driving down the "Feeder" road (that is what we call the access, or frontage road to the interstate highway in Houston), and I hit a big pothole. It caused the passenger door to open slightly. I looked over at the door, surprised it had opened, and took my eyes off the road.  All of the sudden the car in front of me hits their brakes. I ended up rear-ending that car.  Sometimes the unexpected can be a bad thing, while other times, it can be a wonderful surprise.  This week we discuss how our God works in ways we wouldn't expect, and how we can prepare ourselves for when we are asked the unexpected!

We can't have a lazy faith!

I spent several years in the past teaching defensive driving to law breaking citizens. Each session, the first thing I did was find out why they received the ticket that put them in my class.  One thing I discovered after teaching thousands of students, was that no one ever received a ticket unless they were speeding 7+ miles per hour over the limit. Based on that observation I almost always willingly broke the law and would drive 5 miles per hour over the posted limit.  How often do we choose to live lawless lives? How often do we choose to go against the very laws of our creator, to satisfy our own sinful desires?  This week we discuss the struggles of standing firm in a lawless world.

My son started driving a couple weeks ago. That is a scary new life step for a parent! Right after he started driving I happened to see a YouTube video of a court case between an 18 year old boy who was racing his car down the highway and killed a woman and her child. What a tragedy! The boy was sentenced to 24 years in prison! I then told my son don't be stupid behind the wheel of a car, it could cost you and/or others their life. It was interesting reading the comments on that video.  Was the judge too hard? Did the boy deserve what he got? Justice is difficult, but without it this world would be in utter chaos.  This week we talk about the justice of our God. We get to see both the love he offers us, and the tragedy we can receive if we so choose.

I had a great time at the A&M Football game this weekend. My team is currently on a roll, and when they are doing well, it makes me a pretty happy person.  It must be difficult to be a coach though.  Coaches rarely get to relish in a teams joy and happiness.  Once you get a victory, you get a night to celebrate and then you are focused on your next opponent.  If the next opponent gets the best of you, it can take away your happiness as well as your good record.  Our joy shouldn't have to fluctuate with our victories and failures in life.  If we are in Christ Jesus, our Joy comes from an Eternal God, and so it shouldn't ever leave us based on our circumstances.  This week we discuss how we should rejoice in the Lord...Always!