Terry Storch

Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

Be a River

 

Back in Romans 12 today, yesterday, we planted ourselves in verses 1 & 2. God used those powerfully through the day, I had the opportunity to use them in a few talks with teams and ended up calling the “message” - Bring your leftovers. Meaning, give God your first and best, and work should get leftovers. I think this will turn into a Bible plan one day, and I will call it Offer Life Your Leftovers. Anyway, let us move on. 

Today we dive into verses 3-8. I switched to the TPT version, The Passion Translation. I use the compare feature in YouVersion all the time, I love seeing the different versions and the different word choices, and today the TPT drove home the meaning for me. 

God has given me grace to speak a warning about pride. I would ask each of you to be emptied of self-promotion and not create a false image of your importance. Instead, honestly assess your worth by using your God-given faith as the standard of measurement, and then you will see your true value with an appropriate self-esteem. (v3)

Paul comes right out of an encouraging verse 2 about discerning God’s will and living a beautiful life right into calling out pride. I loved how Paul opens this about God giving him the grace to speak on the topic. If anyone knew about pride and how to spot it and see it, it would have been Paul. Paul himself was puffed up with pride before his radical encounter with Jesus, and I believe this is why God has given him the grace to speak on the topic...he is a recovering Prideaholic. 

This is so culturally relevant today, a reason I picked the TPT, “emptied of self-promotion and not create a false image of importance.” Soak that in a moment, drop the self-promotion! This is so counter-cultural in today's society that tells us we all need a “brand”...Brand You! How social media drive so many to create this false reality of life and turn into a false image of importance. STOP! Instead, embrace self-awareness. I loved how the NIV put this:

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, (v3b)

This does not mean thinking less of yourself, you and I are a beautiful creation, a masterpiece set apart for something wonderful. But we must realize with sober judgment and have an accurate self-awareness of our flaws, issues, and struggles. We are not perfect or anywhere close. 

In the human body there are many parts and organs, each with a unique function. And so it is in the body of Christ. For though we are many, we’ve all been mingled into one body in Christ. This means that we are all vitally joined to one another, with each contributing to the others. (v4-5)

When we get off the pride ride and gain sober judgment of ourselves, we then can have the eyes to see others in the body of Christ as God designed them. Paul compares us to the human body, and human body parts don't fight each other or get envious or each other; they work together to produce life and a fully functioning system. Pride gets in the way of this harmony and unity, and we must see our real value with an appropriate God-shaped self-esteem. 

Then the glorious gifts. God gives us gifts that are uniquely ours. Dive into verses 6-8, and it is beautiful seeing these gifts in action. When you read carefully, you will see these gifts are not for us; they are given to us for others. Having these gifts, and limiting the extensive use of them is the same a Jesus talks about with burying our talents in Matthew 25. We are called to be wise stewards of all God has blessed us with, your skills and gifts are to be used to glorify Him by blessing others with them. 

As we wrap up, I am challenged to audit and understand my gifts and talents. Taking inventory, and then really self-analyzing how I am using those gifts to bless others. Let’s take one action today that uses our gifts to bless one other person. Be a river, not a reservoir. Start now! 

other writing
John 20 - The Gospel

John 20 - The Gospel

The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.

Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;

“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus goes on to say;

John 15 - Constant Growth

John 15 - Constant Growth

We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.

One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.

A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;

“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”

I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.

Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.

 
thoughtsTerry Storch