God Sets the Standard
by Pastor Dan
Back at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, I wrote some articles about some verses in Proverbs. I thought it might be interesting to look at some more verses from Proverbs.
I recently was talking with a group of people, and the conversation turned to things that happened to us while in high school. Some stories were serious, and some were funny, but it led us to a discussion of principles we learned from our parents and grandparents. After those conversations, I walked away and began to think and be thankful for those principles. Some of those principles I did not receive well as a young boy, but as I matured, they have turned into a passion in my life. Just to be clear, the person who turned them into a passion was Jesus Christ and His love for me.
When passion from God settles in your heart and renews the mind, it changes our perspective of things and events in the world around us. The writer of Proverbs says: “Every man's way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.” (Proverbs 21:2)
Jesus Christ weighs my heart? What does that mean? This word means to balance or to estimate; however, the picture here is larger than just a scale, and it’s something we may not understand or care to look at sometimes. There is a picture where there is a standard set, and then our thoughts and actions are compared to that standard. When we pull up to the gas pump, we hope that the regulations that are in place will meter us an exact gallon of gas that we are paying for. Now, if I could be so bold to ask another question: Why do we fuel up our vehicles without questioning the portion of gas for our money and yet not trust God to properly weigh our thoughts and motives against His standard?
So if I want to make sure I understand the standards that God is weighing my thoughts and actions on, then I must seek to find out what God’s intention is towards me.
The Apostle Paul wrote the Church at Ephesus telling them and us of God’s intention towards us through Jesus Christ. Paul writes that in love, God sent Jesus to give His life for my sin so that I could know, through Jesus, God’s intention for me. Then he says that the riches of God’s grace gives me insight and wisdom from Jesus and that this was a kind intention of God for me. There is a standard of Jesus giving His life for me to know God my creator. If Jesus put me first before Himself, then that is a high standard to hold to, but one that I can have a passion for to fulfill in life through Jesus Christ.
Now back to the principles I have learned even at a young age. It is what I do with my time, talent, and treasure. All three of those I have been given a choice of how I want to steward them. None of them I can get back. Each fleeting moment in life does not return to me for a do-over. I cannot turn back time, and I cannot change my thoughts and actions once they have been acted on. My talent is in front of me all day, every day. Those abilities that God has created me with are set in me to be lived out to their fullest intention and ability. I can seek to do my very best, or I can waste that talent by doing nothing or doing something partway. Even my treasure is something that I need to steward: What do I spend and what do I spend it on?
One of the things I realize the older I get is that when God puts a passion in your heart, it involves all three of these areas in your life. As a Pastor and Director of a non-profit called Currituck Resource Center, it is my desire, through coaching, mentoring, and counseling, to help people find out these principles that have guided me. To my knowledge and understanding there is only one return on time, talent, and treasure. When we allow God to weigh our thoughts and actions next to His standard and through Jesus Christ, that standard is meant it will be kept for eternity. The Bible calls them crowns, and when we get to heaven and meet Jesus, not only will we see where we have met that standard, but we will also recognize that the only way we met that standard was by the power that Jesus gave us. I am sure that when we recognize that, we will give all of the crowns back to Jesus in thanks for what He did for me.
Blessings to you,
Pastor Dan
Back at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, I wrote some articles about some verses in Proverbs. I thought it might be interesting to look at some more verses from Proverbs.
I recently was talking with a group of people, and the conversation turned to things that happened to us while in high school. Some stories were serious, and some were funny, but it led us to a discussion of principles we learned from our parents and grandparents. After those conversations, I walked away and began to think and be thankful for those principles. Some of those principles I did not receive well as a young boy, but as I matured, they have turned into a passion in my life. Just to be clear, the person who turned them into a passion was Jesus Christ and His love for me.
When passion from God settles in your heart and renews the mind, it changes our perspective of things and events in the world around us. The writer of Proverbs says: “Every man's way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.” (Proverbs 21:2)
Jesus Christ weighs my heart? What does that mean? This word means to balance or to estimate; however, the picture here is larger than just a scale, and it’s something we may not understand or care to look at sometimes. There is a picture where there is a standard set, and then our thoughts and actions are compared to that standard. When we pull up to the gas pump, we hope that the regulations that are in place will meter us an exact gallon of gas that we are paying for. Now, if I could be so bold to ask another question: Why do we fuel up our vehicles without questioning the portion of gas for our money and yet not trust God to properly weigh our thoughts and motives against His standard?
So if I want to make sure I understand the standards that God is weighing my thoughts and actions on, then I must seek to find out what God’s intention is towards me.
The Apostle Paul wrote the Church at Ephesus telling them and us of God’s intention towards us through Jesus Christ. Paul writes that in love, God sent Jesus to give His life for my sin so that I could know, through Jesus, God’s intention for me. Then he says that the riches of God’s grace gives me insight and wisdom from Jesus and that this was a kind intention of God for me. There is a standard of Jesus giving His life for me to know God my creator. If Jesus put me first before Himself, then that is a high standard to hold to, but one that I can have a passion for to fulfill in life through Jesus Christ.
Now back to the principles I have learned even at a young age. It is what I do with my time, talent, and treasure. All three of those I have been given a choice of how I want to steward them. None of them I can get back. Each fleeting moment in life does not return to me for a do-over. I cannot turn back time, and I cannot change my thoughts and actions once they have been acted on. My talent is in front of me all day, every day. Those abilities that God has created me with are set in me to be lived out to their fullest intention and ability. I can seek to do my very best, or I can waste that talent by doing nothing or doing something partway. Even my treasure is something that I need to steward: What do I spend and what do I spend it on?
One of the things I realize the older I get is that when God puts a passion in your heart, it involves all three of these areas in your life. As a Pastor and Director of a non-profit called Currituck Resource Center, it is my desire, through coaching, mentoring, and counseling, to help people find out these principles that have guided me. To my knowledge and understanding there is only one return on time, talent, and treasure. When we allow God to weigh our thoughts and actions next to His standard and through Jesus Christ, that standard is meant it will be kept for eternity. The Bible calls them crowns, and when we get to heaven and meet Jesus, not only will we see where we have met that standard, but we will also recognize that the only way we met that standard was by the power that Jesus gave us. I am sure that when we recognize that, we will give all of the crowns back to Jesus in thanks for what He did for me.
Blessings to you,
Pastor Dan
Recent
Archive
2024
January
May
June
2023
January
February
March
July
August
September
October
November
December
2022
February
March
July
August
September
October
November
December
2021