Leaving It All Behind

Back in 2017, the statistics showed that the average home in the US contained about 300,000 things, while the average British 10 yr old had about 238 toys, but only played with 12 of them daily. As humans, we accumulate many things over the course of a lifetime and create attachments with them. Concepts like downsizing and a 'spending fast' (a forced break from spending) are seen as extreme exercises in our time, because as a whole, we just do not want to part with our stuff.

I do not know what the statistics were for a tax collector in Jesus’ time. However, I am sure that it would’ve been a great sacrifice for Levi (aka Matthew), to have dropped everything on the day that Jesus passed by and said, Follow Me.

Luke 5:27-28 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow Me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed Him.

Could you have immediately risked giving up all your hard work, accolades and possessions to ’pick up’ and follow the Man called Jesus? I’m not certain that my obedience would have been as immediate as Levi’s. I would've probably gone into an immediate audit and self counselling session, before I made the ultimate move to follow His calling. Of course, I am not proud of this confession. However, sharing my things is sometimes a bit of a struggle, so I could just imagine what it would be like to give them up, as I know too well the pain of losing the things I treasure.

However, wherever our brother Levi was in his life’s journey, he was either filled or emptied enough, to be ready to sacrifice it all for Jesus. In the following verses, we see that Levi went on to celebrate his decision to walk with Christ, by inviting those in his sphere of influence, (i.e. other tax collectors) to ’come meet a Man’.

Today, I’d like to pose some deep questions for our consideration:

What are the things that are weighing us down and hindering us from following Him?

• Whether to follow Him, is that first step towards salvation and a deeper relationship with God, or it’s towards following our PURPOSE and serving our gifts.

How can we use the things we’ve been blessed with in our lives to serve God?

• Levi used his position, influence and wealth to honour the Lord and bring others to Christ. What about us?

Who can we invite to meet Jesus and join in this divine feasting with us?

• There are people around us who are watching and some are even waiting for an invitation to come and feast on what we are enjoying.

Will we be bold enough to take the next step together and FOLLOW HIM?

• Luke 5:32 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Imagine being a disciple of Christ, living life in service to Him, actively participating in Kingdom activities and then you die. You are in Paradise with our Lord and Saviour, or at the very least, you are no longer subject to suffering, sin or any of the maladies, mortal man must continuously contend with. You feel an eternal sense of freedom and then...boom! You're back here.

I do not claim to know exactly what the afterlife is like for a believer, but I know it is much better than this life.

The Apostle Paul says this is in Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me."

The Apostle Paul was on to something here. His words give us some insight as to "Why Raise Dorcas?". Even though to be with Christ is "better by far", it was more necessary for Dorcas to remain and meet the needs of the community she served. As a result of her being with them again, many more came to believe and boast in Christ, on account of her ressurection. (Her ressurection also affirmed Peter as an Apostle)

As believers, both our life and death are unto the Lord. We are His and He does with us, as He pleases.

Psalm 135:6

The LORD does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.

The comforting thing about this truth is that whatever He does is good. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

I encourage us to see ourselves as servants and slaves to Christ. Whether we live or die, it is in service to Him and His great plan. Let us ask the Lord, to help us willingly walk in His purpose for our lives, as we continue to grow in Him.

Have a Blessed and Beautiful WAR Wednesday!

When the speaker asked, "Have you ever felt disqualified?" I knew instantly this was going to be one of those ‘ouch’ messages, that left you limping out of the church meeting and into a week of deep thought and repentance.

The short answer is yes, I do. I feel disqualified all the time. Most days I really feel like an impostor, both in what I’m paid to do and what I’m called to do. I struggle to feel good enough and Lord forgive me, sometimes equipped enough too.

Imposter Syndrome is generally defined as consistently doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud in the activities, which you are viewed to have some expertise in. This feeling mainly affects people, seen as high achieving or perfectionist, who experience difficulties accepting their accomplishments.

Well, I do not by any stretch of the imagination, consider myself to be a perfectionist, but I can identify with the rest of that definition. For about 5 years after I graduated from university, I had recurring nightmares. I dreamt that my alma mater would call to notify me that they were taking back ‘their’ degree, because a review of their records showed that, I either forgot to take a class or failed a class, that they previously missed. When those 5 years of bad dreams passed, I graduated to feeling consistently ill-equipped in my various jobs and ultimately, in my career. Now, as a writer and speaker in waiting, thoughts of being less than qualified taunts me often.

Imposter Syndrome is a constant thorn in my side, but praise the Lord that the Bible has an answer for everything, that distracts us from our PURPOSE.

I love what Paul says in Philippians 3:3-4 when he warns us about putting our confidence in our flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by His Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: Then he discredits all of his earthly accomplishments and goes on by saying, v9 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

Counting it all as loss is not what an ‘imposter en route to recovery’ wants to hear; but they are the words of freedom, for a qualified follower of Jesus Christ. This got me thinking deeper about where my focus laid and what my definition of success was. It also convicted me of holding onto something, that God has called me to release, so that I can receive more than that just the accomplishments of this world.

1 Corinthians 1:27-31 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Today I encourage you to put your focus securely on and your trust firmly in, the One who Called & Qualified you!