We saw yesterday how Jesus said one goal mattered more than even day to day concerns like food and clothing: his kingdom.  He said, “seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.”  What does that mean?

First of all, it doesn’t mean seek only God’s kingdom as some spiritual distant concept and ignore the realities of day to day life.  Jesus doesn’t meant we should never eat or sleep, or that those things are inherently bad.   He says quite clearly, when we seek first the kingdom, “then all these will be added to you.”  He knows we need them, and wants to be the one to give them to us, but in their proper perspective.

For example, consider food.  We need food to live, and good food is an enjoyable part of living.  But that good thing can be made into an ultimate thing, and when that happens, it becomes a very bad thing.  When we elevate food to become more than it was meant to be, and it becomes our source of comfort, emotional stability, we are in both physical and spiritual danger.

Instead, Jesus challenges us to seek kingdom of God.  God is the creator sustainer of the whole world, including its food sources.  He created, called it good, and wants us to enjoy the world’s sustenance so we can do our daily work and enjoy his provision.  When we find our true satisfaction in God, then we can enjoy good things for what they are…we don’t have to overdo it, and we don’t have to hate it.  This applies to food, and any number of other good things God created.

In the Christianity 101 course, we sometimes illustrate this with a wagon wheel.  The hub is special – it’s particularly strong, and has a unique shape to do its job.  The spokes are meant to be all connected with, and delivering power from the hub to the rim.

If we try to remove the hub and replace it with a spoke, you know what happens, it all falls apart.  It’s the same with our lives.  We were made to have God at the center of our lives, providing meaning and purpose to the whole.  Unfortunately the human race tried to remove God from the center long ago, and have been trying to shove spokes in ever since, whether it be money, career, sexuality, power, or any other good thing God created that can be abused.  This is a good definition of sin: When we take good things, try to make them our ultimate good, and that’s ultimately really bad for us.

Question: Make a list of good things in our world that can be abused.

Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community – so check out today’s reading here.

Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course in Pickering starting tonight. Register for you and a friend today!

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - March 5, 2014

Wednesday - Change It - Reset Family

Reset

Hi, welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host of the Daily Challenges. Today’s Wednesday, so it’s the day we try to let our thoughts be challenged and transformed by the words of the Bible that we saw yesterday. We’re exploring how following Jesus resets our views of family. We acknowledged that family is a mechanism for providing good things: shelter, food, care, etc. But when a life is reset by Jesus, family becomes much more, it becomes a place for others to learn to follow Jesus themselves. It’s here that family members learn, in a “lab” setting, what Jesus said was most critical: Love god and Love neighbour. At the baptism we had a few weeks ago for some Redeem the Commute members, I asked those who’d gathered to support an infant being baptized the following: Today we are trusting God for her growth in faith. Will you pray for her, draw her by your example into the community of faith and walk with her in the way of Christ? In baptism she begins her journey in faith...You speak for her today. Will you care for her, and help her to take her place within the life and worship of Christ's Church? That’s a good vision for any family who are trying to follow Jesus – the parent(s) and their community gather around the child(ren) in discipleship. In no particular order, here are some ways that might happen with various Christian values: Sacrifice: Involve in kids decisions around activities (compromise), spending, vacations, etc. Love: Children learn love from parents, learn father’s love for us. Uniqueness. Pray/Worship: Pray for your kids, teach them to pray. Grace. Bedtime. Then special needs won’t be the only prayer they ever hear. Practice Peace & Love – Teaching about hitting, lying, gossip, etc. Compassion: Bring them to hospital, downtown, etc. Talk about what you see, how you react, how and why you help others or not. Communion: Eat meals together when you can. Talk about your day, and pray in response. Stewardship of body: Exercise, eat healthy, etc. Stewardship of money and possessions: When money comes, teach them how you save & spend & give. Christian Community: Give kids as many heroes as possible. Our own church community will be meeting in person soon. Forgive: Can’t run away from family, ignore for very long. Hurts need to be dealt with through forgiveness or an unending cycle of vengeance. Teach them forgiveness. Question: Think of your current schedule and activities as a family. What do they communicate is most important in life?

From Series: "Reset"

When our computers get bogged down and unmanageable, we know to hit a reset button to simply start over. Wouldn't a reset button be great in life? We know it would be complicated, with all our responsibilities and routines to consider, but imagine the freedom and refreshment of a new start in life! What would you do differently? What would you pay more attention to, and what would you ignore? How would you avoid getting bogged down and broken again? The great news is, in coming to earth as Jesus Christ, God has begun to "reset" our universe, our world, and even us. We're invited to start over with him, in what he calls his kingdom. We're invited to start a new life with a clean slate. What gets wiped clean, and lived differently, when God resets our lives? We'll explore how God resets these key areas of our lives: Reset: Goals Reset: Time Reset: Money Reset: Work Reset: Body & Food Reset: Sex & Marriage Reset: Family Reset: Compassion Reset: Nature Reset: Society Reset: Death Join us for the next several weeks, and invite God to reset your life.

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