This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.
Is Jesus Worth It?
With regard to all the pleasures and sciences and interests of this life, push this simple consideration, “Is this the kind of thing the Son of God is doing in the world, or is it what the prince of this world is doing?” Not, “Is it right?” but “Is it the kind of thing the Son of God would be doing in the world?” If it is not, then don’t touch it.
If you only give up wrong things for Jesus Christ, don’t talk any more about being in love with Him. If you want to do a thing all the time, it is no virtue not to do it! Jesus Christ takes the “want to” out of us and enables us to do in this world the things He would be doing if He were here.
We say, “Why shouldn’t I? It isn’t wrong!” What a sordid thing to say! When we love a person, do we only give up what is wrong for him? Love is not measured by what it gets, but by what it costs, and our relationship to Jesus Christ can never be on the line of, “Why shouldn’t I do this?” Our Lord simply says, “If any man will be My disciple, those are the conditions” (see Luke 14:26-27 and 33). Is He worth it?
Jesus told His followers that their ministry assignment was to take His message of salvation throughout the entire world. One requirement to do this, is to be able to communicate with lots of people. Actually to be able to communicate with everyone.
Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:17-18)
Really? Everybody and everyone?!
Yes!
Jesus said our Helper would be the Holy Spirit. He would come to empower us to be witnesses to everyone, everybody, everywhere (Acts 1:8).
So if you are a Doer, and you’re trying to share the Good News about Jesus with a Planner, you can probably see a potential problem. The Doer is speaking in bullet points, but the Planner is wanting a lot more facts and figures.
This is where the Holy Spirit can help us. He has the insight that we don’t, and He can direct our words, just as He directed Christ’s words (see John 12:49-50).
Here’s how to talk their talk when you’re sharing the Good News:
(1) Doer—
Keep it brief
Share more facts than stories
Stress now/today
Rely on the Gospel of Mark (action oriented)
(2) Planner—
Tell them the who, what, where, when, why, and how
Be ready for lots of questions
Give them time to process your information
Rely on the Gospel of Matthew (lots of background, lots of Old Testament references to answer the who, what, where, when, why and how)
(3) People—
Develop a friendship first
Share more stories than facts
Don’t tell them, show them your personal life
Rely on the Gospel of Luke (lots of personal stories about changed lives)
(4) Vision—
Share both the facts and the stories
Encourage them to “Imagine what would happen …”
Give them time to ask questions
Rely on the Gospel of John (very poetic and image-rich)
You can connect with everyone, everybody, everywhere and share the Gospel with them in an effective way. Allow the Holy Spirit to give you the insight you need.
Check out how I describe this in more detail here…
Here’s a shocking statement—Difficult people are difficult to get along with. I know, I probably just blew your mind with that one, but sometimes it’s important to state the obvious.
Christians should be the best at getting along with others. First of all, because they have the Holy Spirit to help them, and, second, because the world is watching to see if having a relationship with Jesus really does make a difference.
We’ve already learned that in order to change our behavior toward difficult people, we can’t change our behavior (check out my post on that topic here). Instead, we need to change our thoughts first. One thought to change is about ourselves, and another thought to change is the fact that Jesus promised rewards for those who loved difficult people—
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (Luke 6:32-35)
One way to love others is by learning to “speak their language.” Most of us communicate with four different accents: Doer, People, Planner, Vision.
You can watch the video where I explain these styles in more detail, but you can learn their accent by listening for…
(1) How they handle stressful situations:
Doer—get hyper-focused
Planner—withdraw to plan
People—call a meeting
Vision—take time to daydream
(2) How they listen to others:
Doer—take short bullet points and then quick action
Planner—take detailed notes, and ask lots of detailed questions
People—make good eye contact, take very little notes, and then reiterate what was said
Vision—doodle, and express “ping pong ball” thoughts
(3) How they speak about folks with other “accents”:
Doer—this is taking too long; nothing ever gets done; they’re daydreamers
Planner—they jump the gun; they’re swayed by emotions; they’re unpredictable
People—why don’t they want to meet; they’re too aggressive; they’re too robotic
Vision—they don’t see the big picture; they’re too rigid; they’re too emotional
You CAN get along better with everyone. Romans 12:18 tells us that peaceful living with others depends on you and me. Let’s do this well so that Jesus is glorified!
To be honest, if someone hasn’t heard the biblical account of the life of Jesus Christ before, it can sound quite fantastic! Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles no one had seen before, died a horrific martyr’s death, was raised back to life three days later, and then ascended back into heaven until He returns to Earth again.
But as fantastic as this sounds, there is still enough evidence to reasonably believe it’s all true. An unreasonable faith believes in something in spite of the evidence; a blind faith believes in something without any evidence; and reasonable faith believes in something because of the evidence.
The Bible gives us eyewitness testimony about the life of Jesus which we can matter-of-factly evaluate.
In a modern-day court of law, eyewitness testimony is evaluated on…
…the determination that the witnesses were actually present.
…the ability to corroborate their testimony.
…the consistency of their testimony over time.
…any biases they have that would cause them to exaggerate or misrepresent their testimony.
Let’s consider the testimony of the four Gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
(1) Were The Eyewitnesses Present?
Luke is considered a credible historian, even by modern standards. He wrote the book of Acts following the ascension of Jesus into Heaven. Because he did not mention three major events in Jewish history (the Jewish uprising, the Roman siege of Jerusalem in response to that uprising, and the Roman destruction of the temple), we can determine that Acts was written before 61 AD.
Luke wrote the Gospel that bears his name before he wrote Acts. The Apostle Paul referenced portions of Luke’s Gospel in letters we can date by Paul’s Roman imprisonment, which means Luke was written prior to 53-57 AD.
Luke uses the Gospel of Mark as one of his references, which means Mark was probably written in 45-50 AD, just 10-15 years after the events of Christ’s life.
Mark was closely associated with the Apostle Peter, who was most assuredly Mark’s “source” in writing his Gospel, and Peter was one of the original twelve apostles called by Jesus.
Matthew and John were both apostles of Jesus, living and working closely with Jesus for over three years.
(2) Is Their Testimony Corroborated?
Archeological finds continually demonstrate the accuracy of the people, titles, places and details the Gospel writers mention.
Outside—or extra-biblical—sources like Josephus (a Jewish historian who wanted to preserve the purity of Judaism), Tacitus (a Roman historian), and Mara Bar-Serapion (a Syrian historian)—all who wrote between 40-70 AD—affirm things like where Jesus lived, the miracles He performed, the manner of His death, His resurrection, and the changed lives of people who believed in Jesus Christ.
In addition, Paul wrote of the “five hundred of the brothers” who were also eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).
(3) Has Their Testimony Remain Unchanged Over Time?
The history and accuracy of the scribes had already been demonstrated in the preservation and transmission of the Old Testament over a period of 1400 years.
These same scribal techniques were not only used in the transmission of the New Testament, but in subsequent years the Masoretic scribes became even more meticulous in the techniques they used.
The “chain of custody” of evidence can be absolutely traced from the Gospel authors, to their students, and to the writings of the Church Fathers.
In fact into the third-century AD, the writings of the Church Fathers contain so many direct quotations from the New Testament, that we can almost completely reconstruct the New Testament from their writings.
(4) Is Their Testimony Unbiased?
These eyewitnesses didn’t gain anything financially by their testimony. In fact, many of them lost or gave up all their possessions to tell others about Jesus.
They didn’t gain political power or influence that could save their own lives. All of the original apostles (except John) died a gruesome martyrs’ death.
In short, they had nothing to gain by making up and reporting a false story about Jesus.
All of these points make it reasonable to believe the evidence presented in the Bible about Jesus Christ is true. Check out this video where I elaborate a little more on each of these points—
If you live in the Cedar Springs area and don’t have a home church, I would love for you to visit with us Easter Sunday morning at 10:30am. We’ll be examining the evidence for Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Click here to get more details.
There are two Greek words in the New Testament that have to do with trying to figure things out. One of them leads to less knowledge, and one opens the way for greater learning. Not surprisingly, Jesus never used the first way, but He confronts people who try to.
The first Greek word is defined as learning through self-calculation. In other words, I try to get at the right answer by either teaching myself, or by talking with people who don’t know any more than I do. This way leaves me in the dark.
For example, notice the phrase “discussed among themselves” in Matthew 16:7 and Mark 11:31. These are people who wanted to try to get answers without going to someone who could teach them. So that leads to four terrible ways to study your Bible—
Approach your Bible with a know-it-all attitude.
Try to figure out what the Bible is saying all on your own.
Try to be your own Bible teacher.
Grade your own tests as to your answers being right or wrong.
These are not only terrible ways to learn, but they are the exact opposite of what God desires. God says things like, “Come, let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18), and “Call to Me and I will tell youthings you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).
There is another Greek word which means to learn by having a conversation with someone more knowledgable than myself. So that means four great ways to study your Bible are—
Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate Scripture to you (John 16:13).
Study the Bible in a daily systematic way (Acts 19:9).
Don’t take anyone else’s word for what the Word says (Acts 17:11).
If you’re confused, ask God to make it clear to you (Jeremiah 33:3).
Luke records an important story for us that took place on the day Jesus was raised from the dead. Two men were walking along “discussing these things with each other,” but not consulting the Scriptures. The result: they were sad and confused. Jesus join them on their journey (although they didn’t recognize Him at first), and took them to the Scriptures that showed them the answers for which they were yearning. They even said, “When He talked to us from the Scriptures, that’s when our hearts burned within us!” (see Luke 24:13-32).
You can try to figure life out on your own, and you will probably end up stymied like the religious leaders in Mark 11, or downcast like the disciples in Luke 24. Or you can ask the Holy Spirit to show you truths from the Scriptures, and have your eyes opened, like the two disciples after Jesus met with them. I think the choice is obvious!
You probably hear Christians say quite frequently, “You should read your Bible.” But one thing you may not hear as often is why you should read your Bible. There are probably many more reasons, but here are four reasons why I believe reading your Bible should be a daily part of your life.
(1) To help spot errors.
When the devil tempted Jesus, it is noteworthy that Jesus didn’t try to use logic, or persuasion, or even willpower. Every temptation was blocked by Jesus saying, “It is written” as He quoted Scripture.
In the second temptation, the devil tried the same tactic. He, too, quoted a couple of verses from the Psalms, but he took them out of their context. So notice Christ’s reply, “It is also written” (Matthew 4:7). The best way to spot error is to know the full counsel of God’s Word. This tactic the devil tried with Jesus wasn’t something new, but it was something he used on the very first humans: “Did God really say…” (Genesis 3:1), and he will try it again on you!
(2) To clarify your emotions.
Most of us allow our emotions to control our actions. Or sometimes we wrestle with, “My heart says one thing, but my head says something else!” In this tug-of-war, we allow our emotions to determine our beliefs, and then our beliefs determine our actions. This is not only dangerous, but it is contrary to what the Bible teaches.
The healthy way to respond is by fully knowing what we believe, and then acting according to our beliefs. Our proper emotional response will then follow those actions.
Look at the example of Jesus in John 2:13-16. He was ticked off at how people were misusing His Father’s house, and He did some serious house cleaning! Just reading those four verses, you may get the idea that Christ’s emotions carried Him away. But check out verse 17, in which we see He was acting in accordance to His beliefs, which were fully grounded in Scripture.
(3) To know prophesy.
All of the Scriptures point to Jesus, so all of the Scriptures are illuminated by Christ (Luke 24:27, 45). If you want to know what is happening in our world, turn to the pages of Scripture and see how Jesus is revealed. This will help you put even current events into perspective.
(4) To give sound answers.
When people need help, I want to be able to give them real answers. Not my opinion, but truth that they can apply. The Apostle Peter told us to always be prepared to give people an answer that is based on our knowledge of Jesus (1 Peter 3:15).
“Beware of saying, ‘I haven’t time to read the Bible, or to pray’; say rather, ‘I haven’t disciplined myself to do these things.’” —Oswald Chambers
Can I challenge you to do something I challenged my whole church to do … Make a commitment to read the Bible every day for the next seven days. See what happens as God meets with you, and reveals Himself and His wisdom to you, every day.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
A little habit started for me as a kid. I’d put things on the bottom steps of the stairway, so I’d be sure to see them and grab them as I went upstairs to my bedroom. After a while, everyone in our family had his or her own “step.” I called these asyougos: as you go upstairs, please take these with you. The principle was pretty simple, as I would naturally see these things going about my regular route.
Jesus had a similar idea for His followers: Go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation (Mark 16:15). The verb tense and definition of the word go literally means that Jesus said, “Asyougo into all the world, preach the Good News.”
In fact, this is exactly how Jesus lived His life. As He went about His normal life, His life intersected with people who needed Good News (check out Mark 10:17, 46; Luke 8:4, 42; 17:11; and John 9:1 as examples).
Peter summed up all of Christ’s life like this: God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him (Acts 10:38).
Jesus lived an asyougolifestyle, He called us to do the same, and He empowered us to live our asyougo lifestyle with the same power He had (Matthew 28:18-19; Acts 1:8).
Here’s the big idea—We don’t need to go anywhere special to find people who need Good News…
…asyougo to school, you will attend class with them
…asyougo to work, you will work alongside them
…asyougo to the grocery store, you will interact with them
…asyougo to do yard work, you will talk over the backyard fence with them
…asyougo out to eat, you will sit next to them
People who need the life-changing, disease-healing, sin-forgiving power of Jesus are all around you. ASYOUGO share the Good News of Jesus Christ with them!
I have shared several strategies about prayer throughout this series (you can read them here, here, here, and here). One danger in putting these steps into practice in our life is what I would call one-and-done. We do it once and think we’ve done all we need to do.
Scientists tell us at a minimum it takes 21 days in a row to make a habit. Jesus went even farther than that in talking about prayer in Matthew 7:7. When we look at the three aspects of the verbs ask, seek, and knock in this verse, it would be better stated like this—
You need to keep on asking, and keep on seeking, and keep on knocking. This is not good advice or a helpful suggestion, but it is vital for your spiritual life. So after you have asked, sought, and knocked, then do it again, and again, and AGAIN.
Matthew Henry said it this way: “Here is a precept in three words to the same purport, Ask, Seek, Knock; that is, in one word, ‘Pray; pray often; pray with sincerity and seriousness; pray, and pray again; make conscience of prayer, and be constant in it; make a business of prayer, and be earnest in it.’”
In the English language the dictionary has a word for this: importunity. This means being urgent and persistent, sometimes annoyingly so!
I believe importunity requires these four characteristics:
Trust. Remember Jesus taught us to begin our prayer with, “Our Father.” We have to come to Him again and again and again trusting that He loves us, that He alone is the Source of our help, and that He wants to help us. We also have to trust that our Father wants to give us the very best (Matthew 6:8, 7:7-11).
Perseverance. I love the story of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-5. This determined lady kept coming back again and again. Henry Ward Beecher said, “The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is, that one often comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.”
Creativity. One of my favorite New Testament stories is about a mother who is not only as persistent as the widow in Luke 18, but she is creative in her prayer as well (Mark 7:24-30). This lady bantered with Jesus in a way that I believe caused Christ to throw back His head and laugh! This is not bargaining with God, as Oswald Chambers wrote, “Repetition in intercessory importunity is not bargaining, but the joyous insistence of prayer.”
Action. Paul was looking for an open door to preach the Gospel, but he didn’t sit still while he waited for God to say “yes” (Acts 16:6-10).
Keep these in mind as you make importunity a key part of your prayer life. And check out the full video of my message on importunity in prayer.
You see, I love my day to be highly organized. I like to get to all my meetings on time, and then have them run smoothly and efficiently. I like to setup my To Do list, and then methodically check off each item as I go through my day. I like to be in charge of my day.
I am an atheist.
I’m the one calling the shots. I set my agenda. I determine my day. I decide who to see and what project to accept.
There was a guy that Jesus talked about who did the exact same thing. This guy thought to himself and talked to himself all about his plans. Seriously, in just three verses he says me/I/my a dozen times (Luke 12:17-19)!
But God said, “You fool!” The word for fool means without mind. He didn’t mind his mind.He thought the thoughts he wanted to think, without ever consulting anyone else. Not even God.
Jesus made prayer a priority every day (Mark 1:35). What do you think He prayed? Do you think He said, “Here’s what I’m going to do today, and I want You to bless it, Father”? No way!
When Jesus taught us to pray He said, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done” (Matthew 6:9-13). Not only did Jesus pray this way, He lived this way too. He didn’t do a single thing unless His Father directed Him to do it (John 6:38), and He didn’t say a single word unless His Father directed Him to say it (John 12:49).
The problem is not going into my prayer closet to meet with God in the morning, the problem is thinking I can leave God in the closet as I go about my day! That is atheism!
The Apostle James gave us this sound counsel: Instead of making my plans all on my own, I should say, “If the Lord wills, this is what I will do today” (James 4:13-17). And wise King Solomon said I shouldn’t lean on my own thoughts when planning my days, but lean onto God, and then watch to see how He will direct my life in the right way (Proverbs 3:5-6).
I’ve begun writing I.T.L.W.on the top of my daily calendar. It’s my reminder to say, “If The Lord Wills” this is what I will do today. And if something else comes up, I quickly acknowledge that God is directing my path where He needs me to go.
Your Kingdom come means my kingdom has to go. Your will be done means my agenda takes a distant second.
If you’re feeling stressed about your schedule, that should be your reminder to pray: “God, what do you want to have done here.” Silence the atheistic thoughts that sound like, “Ihave to get my list done.” Stop and pray right there on the spot.
Here’s the full video of my message on this topic—
We will be continuing our series called Practical Prayer this Sunday. If you don’t have a home church in Cedar Springs, please come be our guest. Or you can tune into our live broadcast via Periscope.
This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.
Craig T. Owens 