VALUES
What is a good way to measure how much I value Jesus?
God's Promise:
I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin - a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ had done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Philippians 3:5-8
Our Takeaway:
After Paul had considered everything he had accomplished in his life, he said that it was all "worthless" when compared with the "infinite value" of knowing Christ. This is a profound statement about values: A person's relationship with Christ is more important than everything else.
Knowing Christ should be your ultimate goal. Consider your values. Do you place anything above your relationship with Christ? If your priorities are wrong, what steps will you take to reorder them?
God's Challenge:
When You discipline us for our sins, You consume like a moth what is precious to us. Each of us is but a breath.... Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire you more than anything on earth.
Psalms 39:11; 73:25
Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I love the transparent illustration and example Paul has blessed us with above, he says: " I consider all these things as rubbish"... Paul lays down his pride, his good but fleshly works, his very heritage and everything he has ever held close to his heart. He shows his willingness to humble himself and count it all as dung in order to have a healthy and intimate relationship with His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - to walk by the Spirit verses walking in his own flesh.
Philippians 3:4-8
I think the greatest way to measure how much we each value Jesus is to not measure at all, because we will always fall short. But I guess if we have to measure the best way would not be in some simple one line answer and we could start by asking ourselves the greatest question of all: "Do I love the Lord my God with ALL my heart, with ALL my soul, with ALL my mind and with ALL my strength?
Okay, this is why I didn't want to measure, it's like being called out on the carpet or opening that can of worms. So now that we have, let's ask ourselves:
- How do I spend the majority of my time?
- Where do I spend the majority of my money?
- What do I value above all things?
- What are my greatest desires in each day and in life?
How do I spend the majority of my time? It only took me 46 years (I know, it doesn't take me long), to figure this one out, but I finally realized that Jesus loves to spend time with us! So that's why we go to church on Sunday, right? Wrong! This isn't Gods idea of time... He wants our best... Our first fruits... Of course He enjoys our time on Sunday, but He's also asks for our time and praises on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday - He wants all of us all the time!
Full-time employees yield a full-time returns of investment, part-time employees are only capable of yielding a part-time return. Jesus is only interested in full-timers, Kingdom Builders that are yielding a 100% ROI; there is no place for part-timers in Gods Kingdom!
Where do I spend the majority of my money? Again, I was a quick study, it only took me about 47 years to figure out, that money and time typically walk hand and hand with each other... Where we spend our money is more times than not, where we invest our time. A couple thoughts here. First, Jesus doesn't have any interest in your money and contrary to popular belief neither do Gods churches... Secondly, there is no "my money", it is all "His money", He owns it all, every last penny!
You may disagree like I first did, and say Nope! "I earned that money with my own hard work, my own hands and the sweat off of my brow." The truth is, you only were able to earned the money because the Holy Spirit blessed you with one of more Spiritual gifts and God put plenty of opportunity in your path... Besides all this, 1 Corinthians 6:20 tells us that "we were bought with a price to glorify God"
So if we were bought with a price, and we were... and if God is our creator, and He is... He owns it all, the money, the house, the cars, the boat, the toys, the wife, the kids, you name it he owns it, all of it... yep, every single thing! He owns the cattle on a Thousand hillsides and He has entrusted us with every single thing we have. He loves us and doesn't mind us having nice things, but again He wants our best... Our first fruits... Our hearts, our mind and our souls...
We measure how much we value Jesus by spending time with him; by lingering in his presence and talking with him; by studying and seeking Him in His Word; by practicing His presence everywhere we go, listening and waiting on His answer in all thing...
The value comes with being intentional about Jesus and putting Him first, making Him your highest priority above and beyond all things in life. Allowing Him to be who He is in and through each one of us independently and uniquely. To be a representative for Christ, the ambassador that He created in each one of us when He breathed out our DNA; as He knitted us in our mothers womb and as he counted each hair on our heads.
Measure how much you value our loving Savior Jesus Christ by tracking:
- How you're spending your TIME...
- Where you're investing your TREASURES...
- For whom do you use you're TALENTS...
- How do you share you're TOUCH...
