by Tim Hall

By now most of us have heard the story. A hiker out west was trapped by a boulder. His arm was caught, and he could in no way free himself. After days of waiting for the rescue team that never came, the man knew the situation was dire. With his pocketknife he amputated his own arm, thus freeing himself so he could walk to safety.

"I could never do such a thing!" many of us have thought upon hearing the story. Could we not? Very few of us have been in such life-threatening situations as this hiker. If it came down to the same choice he faced, we might just find it within ourselves to do such a drastic thing. It's impossible to say what we would do until we come face to face with life or death dilemmas.

I said in that last paragraph that very few of us face such decisions. Actually that's not true. According to Jesus, we are all faced with tough choices. The question becomes, How badly do we want to live?

"If your right eye causes you to sin," said Jesus in Matthew 5:29,30, "pluck it out and cast if from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell" (New King James Version). He went on to repeat the point. If our right hand causes us to sin, He advised, "cut it off".

The hiker surely must have considered the ramifications of cutting off his arm. Never again would he have the use of that limb. Life would be forever changed. He would need to learn new ways of doing the routine tasks of life, and some activities would have to be abandoned altogether.

But the choice was clear: Did he want to live or not? Keeping the arm would mean death in the wilderness. To live would require leaving the arm behind.

Do we want to live or not? Sometimes we have to make hard choices. Something that has been a part of us all our lives is keeping us from total devotion to God's will. Can we find it within ourselves to "cut it off"? Or will we die in the wilderness of sin with our imperfect self intact?

This is not to say that Jesus' words are to be interpreted literally. Actual removal of a physical limb or organ may not have been what the Lord had in mind. But severe pruning of our desires is absolutely the point!

Do we want to live? Then sooner or later we're going to have to decide - Am I willing to cut "it" off (whatever "it" may be)? "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:39)

by Barry Newton

They are real. They are so convincing. We cannot ignore them. They often influence how we respond to others. We express them with words such as: “I’m on top of the world,” “I just don’t see any solution,” “everything is just fine,” or “I’m stuck.” We call them feelings and they are extremely powerful in influencing how we perceive our lives and the world around us.

Have you ever tried to convince someone who was fearful or constantly worrying that she did not need to feel that way? It is not an easy task is it? To convince someone whose veins are pumping with elation, confidence, fear or worry that he or she ought to be feeling different is a formidable undertaking. This is predictable since what we believe creates how we feel. To challenge a person’s feelings is to confront what he or she regards as true.

In Luke 12, Jesus tackled this daunting task of challenging some faulty feelings by correcting their deceptive source: erroneous underlying beliefs. As Jesus systematically unveiled, to believe that our security lies in what we possess leads to either deceptive joy or unnecessary fear.

After warning against greed, Jesus told a story about a man who had acquired great financial success. Exhilarating thoughts raced through the mind of this newly wealthy man. “From now on, everything is going to be just fine. My life is going to be great! It’s time to enjoy myself!” Undoubtedly, like his modern day counterparts who win the lottery his emotions were jumping for joy. As far as he was concerned, the sun was shining and all was rosy.

Although his feelings were real and genuine, Jesus revealed that his unconquerable spirit and happiness had deceived him. After all, he was still “poor toward God” and because of his thoughts God had called him a fool since he would die that night. Feelings are driven by beliefs. Faulty beliefs lead to faulty feelings. Our security does not lie in what we have. Luke 12:16-21

Immediately, Jesus launched into destroying those thoughts responsible for creating unnecessary financially based fear and worry. Our powerful God is capable of providing. God cares even about tiny plants and birds. And then Jesus switched to the tender and sustaining language of familial relationship. “Your Father knows you need these things.” Jesus’ message was, don’t worry about your life. Seek God’s kingdom and God will provide for you. Luke 12:22-31

Feelings are driven by beliefs. Faulty beliefs lead to faulty fears. Our security does not lie in what we have, it rests upon us being rich toward God.

There are no good stories. Only the singer really matters, seldom the song. What a writer brings to any story is an attitude, an attitude usually defined by the wound stripes of life. --John Gregory Dunne

What matters in the telling of this Story is not the flourish, but faithfulness to its facts. Fiction, poetry, and "creative writing" (whatever that is) shrivel before the moving history, the divine insertion into human humility. Not the "wound stripes of life" borne by the singer, but the wound stripes of the Cross make this Story vibrate with reality, drama, and pathos. More, with hope, love, faith, and power.

It is not what we, as writers, speakers, humans, bring to the Story, but what the Story gives to us. And what we pass on from it to others.

The singer is nothing. The Song is everything. For He who started singing created the inviolable Masterpiece.

Variations on the Theme diminish, yeah, destroy, the Song. One Song, one sustained melody, one harmony, one chorus.

Come sing with us.

by Tim Hall

One of the first things many parents teach their children is their address and phone number. It's impressive to hear a toddler recite their street address and home town. But it's more than a game to impress others; it's a safety measure. In the unthinkable event of a young child becoming lost or abducted, it's helpful when the authorities can quickly reunite that child with the parents.

Christians need to drill the same type of information into their minds and hearts. Living in this evil and dangerous world, it's all too easy to take a wrong turn and suddenly realize we are lost. It happens commonly with Christians. But the crucial question is this: Will we remember where "home" is? Or will our confusion keep us wandering for the rest of our lives?

Before you respond with a "Duh!" to my question, I ask you to think about this statement in Hebrews 11:13: "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." (New King James Version) "These all" points to some great people of faith: People like Noah, Abraham, Sarah and others. One thing that set them apart from others of their day was that they did not consider the earth to be their home. They lived with the conviction that they were "strangers and pilgrims".

Not all Christians grasp this concept. It appears that some regard this world to be everything to them. All of their time, money and energy is poured into this life. Very little of their treasure is laid up in heaven. When it comes to requests for help and resources for spiritual matters -- "Sorry, I'm all tapped out!" Why are their resources depleted, completely unavailable for spiritual tasks? Because they are living for this life only.

No one could charge Demas with being lukewarm. He had given himself to the service of the Lord, and was a valuable co-worker with the apostle Paul (Colossians 4:14). But something happened to Demas; something changed the way he thought. Paul reflected on this once-fervent laborer: "For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed . . ." (2 Timothy 4:10). Demas forgot where "home" was.

Let us stop right where we are and look around. Are we where we should be at this moment in our lives? Or must we admit that we've taken some wrong turns and are now lost? It's not a hopeless situation. When we determine that "home" for us will be in heaven with God, He'll take us by the hand and help us find our way.

by Barry Newton

The Lord’s perspective

Long before financial advisors like Suze Orman were toting the virtues of living credit card debt free, the light from Jesus’ teachings was evaporating the reasons for going into debt.

• Why should you whip out your credit card to own the latest, the greatest or to keep up with others since your life is not measured by your possessions? Luke 12:15

• What motive do you have for going into debt over those things which the world pursues when God detests what is highly valued among people? Luke 16:15

• If God will provide for your daily needs if you seek His kingdom, what need is there to charge additional items for which you can not pay? Luke 12:22-31

• Since Jesus’ parable about ten men each receiving a mina reveals God expects you to be a good steward in serving kingdom purposes, how does credit card debit fit into accomplishing this goal? Luke 19:11-27

A common perspective among humanity

In contrast to our Lord’s perspective, Jimmy Stewart’s character in Shenandoah reflects a typical human attitude when he cried out, “Lord, we plowed the fields, planted the crops, cared for them and harvested them, and now we’re eating what we provided.” He was making the very claim which God had warned against in Deuteronomy 8:17. The attitude of “I earned this and so it is mine” reflects the underlying myopic spiritual anemia of viewing our possessions as our security and ourselves as the provider. If it is all about what you have and what you are capable of enjoying because you earned it, would not such an attitude encourage you to spend more than what you could afford?

Living with the Lord’s perspective

In reality, nothing belongs to any of us. The earth and everything within it belongs to the Lord. To live with the Lord’s perspective involves making God the source of our security instead of depending upon our possessions. In this way, our financial means are freed from being silos of security to become tools used in God’s service. We are simply stewards of the wonderful resources the Lord has made available to us.

If we can cast off being conformed to this world by maturing into recognizing that what we have is not truly ours and by believing that God will provide for our needs, the path will lie open before us to live first for his kingdom. God wants us to use our wealth not only to sustain ourselves but also to be a blessing toward others. 1 Timothy 6:17; Luke 12:32-34

What are some practical things you can do? How can you train your children to think maturely about finances?

• As a family, study what scripture has revealed about God providing, the role of our financial means, and stewardship accountability.

• Sit down as a family to create a budget and start with what is most important in order to model how to establish priorities and boundaries.

• Get each of your family members to make a commitment to live within your family's means in order that you will be able to fulfill your divinely given stewardship purposes.

• Involve your family in giving to the Lord and doing good to bless others.