“So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 14:33-35 NASB).
I often give newlyweds a book entitled “Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus.” I think it is helpful for couples to learn how differently men and women think, act and communicate. When we begin to understand one another, we begin to appreciate one another, and as a result may find true love. The two becoming one flesh is not, contrary to popular belief, the woman becoming the female version of the husband, but rather the two becoming more as one than they were as two (God's math).
I once had a the opportunity to view the stereotypical man-woman conversation in progress. The wife, in exasperation, told her husband, “You never listen to me!” He replied, “Of course I listen to you, I can repeat back every word you said!” Was the husband really listening? I think not! Ironically, perhaps even providentially, as I have lost much of my hearing, I have learned to become a better listener! But I must confess that I have been not unlike our stereotypical husband. Not only so in temporal life but also in the spiritual realm as well. I am part of the “Bride of Christ” yet I am sure that I have said to “the Most High,” “I hear you Lord, I can repeat back to you everything you say!” In doing so I was rebelliously and disobediently ignoring His words, “Take heed what ye hear” (Mark 4:24 KJV) . Instead I was hearing only the weeping of the Holy Spirit as He grieved over my sin, because I was forsaking not my sinful will for His most perfect and holy will! “Jesus help me follow.” And Grace answers:
“And now that I am away you must be even more careful to put into action God's saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:12b-13 NLT).
The words that proceed our quote from Luke speak of counting the cost of following Jesus Christ. I know you must have counted the cost before you gave up your freedom to join the list of the thousands of American warriors who have gone before you into the battle. When I was in the Navy and gave someone an order, I expected immediate action and if not observed an act of correction ensued. Yet when the King of Kings commands (“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” Matthew 28:19 NASB) we find new and clever ways to rationalize our “direct disobedience to a lawful order.” So it ought not to be a surprise when we are chastised by the Lord. He does not even have to raise a finger but allows us to fall prostrate upon the threshing room floor under the weight of our own sin.
“My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts” (Hebrews 12:5b-6 NRSV).
If we say we love Christ and yet live in disobedience to Him we are deceived! Then what we see today touted as Christianity begins to make sense. It is another gospel (Galatians 1:6), or living a “form of godliness but denying the power thereof from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:5 KJV). But if we belong to Jesus, He gives us the “desire to obey” and the “power to do what pleases Him.”
Men are from Mars...Women are from Venus
“So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 14:33-35 NASB).
I often give newlyweds a book entitled “Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus.” I think it is helpful for couples to learn how differently men and women think, act and communicate. When we begin to understand one another, we begin to appreciate one another, and as a result may find true love. The two becoming one flesh is not, contrary to popular belief, the woman becoming the female version of the husband, but rather the two becoming more as one than they were as two (God's math).
I once had a the opportunity to view the stereotypical man-woman conversation in progress. The wife, in exasperation, told her husband, “You never listen to me!” He replied, “Of course I listen to you, I can repeat back every word you said!” Was the husband really listening? I think not! Ironically, perhaps even providentially, as I have lost much of my hearing, I have learned to become a better listener! But I must confess that I have been not unlike our stereotypical husband. Not only so in temporal life but also in the spiritual realm as well. I am part of the “Bride of Christ” yet I am sure that I have said to “the Most High,” “I hear you Lord, I can repeat back to you everything you say!” In doing so I was rebelliously and disobediently ignoring His words, “Take heed what ye hear” (Mark 4:24 KJV) . Instead I was hearing only the weeping of the Holy Spirit as He grieved over my sin, because I was forsaking not my sinful will for His most perfect and holy will! “Jesus help me follow.” And Grace answers:
“And now that I am away you must be even more careful to put into action God's saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:12b-13 NLT).
The words that proceed our quote from Luke speak of counting the cost of following Jesus Christ. I know you must have counted the cost before you gave up your freedom to join the list of the thousands of American warriors who have gone before you into the battle. When I was in the Navy and gave someone an order, I expected immediate action and if not observed an act of correction ensued. Yet when the King of Kings commands (“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” Matthew 28:19 NASB) we find new and clever ways to rationalize our “direct disobedience to a lawful order.” So it ought not to be a surprise when we are chastised by the Lord. He does not even have to raise a finger but allows us to fall prostrate upon the threshing room floor under the weight of our own sin.
“My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts” (Hebrews 12:5b-6 NRSV).
If we say we love Christ and yet live in disobedience to Him we are deceived! Then what we see today touted as Christianity begins to make sense. It is another gospel (Galatians 1:6), or living a “form of godliness but denying the power thereof from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:5 KJV). But if we belong to Jesus, He gives us the “desire to obey” and the “power to do what pleases Him.”