How Far Are We Willing To Go?

And after this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at the table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. - Luke 5:27-32 ESV

We find something absolutely amazing in Jesus' calling of Levi to be one of His disciples.  Jesus was willing to go where He was most needed.  Jesus saw the value of a soul, no matter what walk of life that soul came from.  This leads us to a very important question that we must ask ourselves.  How far are we willing to go to share Jesus with someone else?

Levi was a tax collector, and they were considered the scum of the earth by the Jewish people.  Those that were religious would have definitely looked down on them.  However, when Jesus saw Levi, He didn't see scum, but rather He saw a soul.  When you and I pass by those that our society looks down on, what do we see?  Do we see inconveniences?  Do we see problems?  We should see people that Jesus loves just as much as he loves us.  We should see that people in our culture are hurting and desperately wanting someone to love them unconditionally.

Unfortunately, too many in our churches today are not willing to go very far to share Jesus with those in their community.  We have our Christian friends, our Christian music, our Christian outings, and a host of other things that keep us isolated from the very people we are supposed to be sharing Jesus with.  How many friendships do you have with those that are non-believers?  How much time to do you spend around other Christians versus the amount of time that you spend with those that are non-believers?  I can't help but wonder how Jesus would be received, if at all, by many of our churches today because of the company that He kept.

I truly believe that our community, and our entire culture, is starving for the Body of Christ to rise up and show them the unconditional love of Jesus.  God as really dealt with my heart that I want to go as far as necessary to share the love of Jesus with others in our community.  What about you?  How far are you willing to go?

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. - 1 John 4:11 ESV

Questioning God

"Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.  Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?  But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." - Psalm 115:1-3



Colossians 1:16 says "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him."  However, we live as though God is created for us, to do our bidding, to bless us, and take care of those we love.

Psalm 115:3 says "...our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he pleased."  Even in light of that, we constantly are questioning God.  "Why did you make me this way?"  "Why did You allow this to happen?"  "Why are there so many starving children in the world?"  "Why is my family so messed up?"  The answer to all of these questions is simply: because He is God.  Have you ever stopped to consider that God should be asking us why so many people are starving?  Our culture has the attitude that God owes us, His creation, an explanation for why He does what He does.  However, we are in no place to demand that God gives an account of Himself to us.  What is so sad about this is that this attitude has crept into the Body of Christ.  We are constantly questioning God as to why He does this or that.

Look at what the Bible says in Daniel 4:35, "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?"  Wow!  That is a pretty sobering statement!

Listen to what Francis Chan says concerning this: "Can you worship a God who isn't obligated to explain His actions to you?  Could it be your arrogance that makes you think God owes you an explanation?"  Ouch!!!  This is so true though, it is only our arrogance that causes us to think God owes us anything!

I want to challenge you today not to question why God is or isn't doing something in your life, but rather to simply trust Him and obey Him.  You and I should worship Jesus Christ simply because of Who He is, not because of what He can do for us or even what we want Him to do for us.  When David's baby, he had with Bathsheba, died because of David's sin, he did not question God why, he simply worshiped.

Prayer For Today:

Heavenly Father, help me not to question You or to demand that You do things the way I think they should be done.  Help me to trust You, obey, You, and simply worship You because of Who You are.  You are worthy of my obedience and my worship no matter what!  In Jesus name, Amen!