Scripture Reading: Please! Open the beloved pages of Scripture and read Luke 16.14-18

Today's inspiration: God knows your hearts. Luke 16.15

Good Morning.

Again, we must picture the scene here--Jesus has been teaching in parables, concluding with the story about the shrewd, dishonest manager--saying, "You cannot serve both God and Money." The Pharisees, (the self-proclaimed most pious sect of the Jews), do not like that Jesus is talking about money, because as Luke informs us, they loved money! 'You may make things look good before people--tithing, giving to the poor even, but God knows your hearts; further more, what you hold in such high esteem--wealth, position, even education means nothing in God's economy.'

Is that good news for you, or troubling for you--that God knows your heart? Maybe both. I had a meaningful discussion yesterday with two friends in which one had come to the realization that he no longer wanted to 'look successful in the Orange County way.' (for those of you who do not live in California, Orange County is a rather affluent county in So. California, where many people let looks, position, wealth, earthly trappings in general, define them--therefore there are many shallow/or is it hollow? people struggling to gain and then keep these things--rather sad, really) He said that in realizing that he just desires to live God's way, it has taken so much pressure off of him. . . interesting. Surrendering ourselves to God frees us to be humble, frees us to let Jesus 'take the wheel' as the blonde songster croons. . . after all, if Jesus wasn't puffed up with himself, how can we be? Just in case you've missed Jesus' humility, let me take you to Philippians 2. This is one of my favorite Scripture passages, so I love turning to it. vs. 5-8: (NIV) but read vs. 1-18--invaluable.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled himself and became obedient to death--

even death on a cross!

Good news or bad news that God knows your heart? Well, when we clothe ourselves in humility, it surely must be good news, because we esteem others as highly as ourselves, we don't presume to always be 'right', we subject our wills to that of God's. Let me add another element to that--there are some times when we experience what St. John of the Cross calls a 'dark night of the soul'--where we are following hard after God, but He seems to be silent, or maybe even a time when the enemy seems hard after us. . . it is a time to let "God be your justifier, and rest your case with Him. . . to hold in your heart a deep, inner, listening silence and there be still until the work of solitude is done."** Or, as the writer of Ecclesiastes comments, it is prudent to 'let our words be few'. So we are free to rest in God without a lot of explanation. Sometimes, we are personally convicted to take a given action that might seem unreasonable to others; we can let God be our justifier, rather than running around explaining ourselves to this one and that one. Humility. . . .freedom? Yes. And another thing--in humility, we are reminded just who it is that calls our cadence.

This final portion seems to be an aside, where Jesus is responding to some probing questions about divorce during His day, particularly the abuses of it. He states that the Law and the Prophets were taught up until John-the-Baptist came on the scene; after John, the kingdom of God was taught. Jesus did not abolish the Law; He fulfilled it. Apparently, on the matter of divorce, the popular school of Pharisaical thought was taught by Rabbi Hillel, who interpreted the law of divorce quite liberally, allowing men to 'put away their wives' with little provocation, (kinda like now; people need only say they are incompatible, and they are granted a divorce)--Jesus firmly squashes this by calling that behavior adultery. Strong words, difficult words, true words. Divorce is the sin that keeps on giving--particularly to our children. God forgives the repentant heart, to be sure, but the consequences do not evaporate. Believe me, I know. While Luke does not mention any exceptions to divorce being adultery, Matthew allows for sexual immorality being a justifiable cause. Paul allows for divorce in the case of desertion by an unbelieving partner, (1 Corinthians 7.15).

God knows your heart, my friends, so why not get your heart right with Him? Surrender your will to His; you will not be sorry. I've found that surrender needs to be a daily, conscious act for me because I have a tendency to 'take the wheel' back often.

So that we may grow in 09,

Christine

**from Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline; you should absolutely have this treasure on your shelf~