My Soul Needs An Antacid

coppernelms — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:56:09 +0000

O.K. So last time we talked about the idea that everything is on loan to us. By everything I mean everything, especially the intangible stuff. For instance, your passion. Your passion has been loaned to you for a specific reason. As odd as that sounds it has been lent to you for you to use. If you want to catch up read a couple of post back…

Now Jesus knew more about this than anyone else. Which is kind of silly thing to say, because he was Jesus. Of course he knew more about life than anyone else. Anyways, He gives a parable to demonstrate this idea of everything being on loan. Its the parable of the talents. Now before we look at the parable, there is something we all have to understand.
This is about That.
Which is to say
This story Jesus is telling is about something totally different. Before this story ever gets told Jesus was walking around the temple and saying things like, “I will destroy the temple and in three days build it back up.” This was strange to those hearing it, especially the disciples. Jesus was a rabbi, and a rabbi’s existence was centered around the temple. Why would Jesus destroy his form of income? So his disciples start asking Him questions about this. He looks at them and proceeds to tell them about the Kingdom of God or Heaven.

THIS story is in the middle of a bunch of stories that is about
THAT, that being the Kingdom of God. So when reading it we must remember that THIS STORY IS ABOUT THAT KINGDOM OF GOD.

The story goes like this, if you want to read it for yourself its in Matthew 25:14-30. A business man was going away for a long time. In an effort to keep his business from getting stagnant, he gave three of his trusted servants an amount of money. To one he gave 10K, another 5K, and another 1K. He told his servants to go and invest it. After a very long time, the master came back. When he came back, the servant with 10K had made and additional 10K. The same goes for the servant who had 5K, but then came the servant who he gave 1K. The master asked the servant what he had done with the money lent. The servant said, “I knew you to be a difficult man, stealing from others, and so I buried it. Here is exactly everything you lent me.” Then the master agrees and says he is a thief, and because of his laziness the servant loses his job.

Now this story has a ton of implications, but I only want to talk about one today, and it only applies to those of us who call ourselves servants of the Most High. Here is the take away….

We are accountable for the talents and passions we have been given.

God has placed with in each of us particular gifts, abilities, and passions and they don’t belong to us. We are responsible to use them wisely. What’s funny about this parable is, it isn’t about the money.

Its about try.
It’s about initiative.
It’s about a person’s heart

The Master is angry with his servant because he didn’t even try.

What if the Father specifically gave us exactly what we need to complete His will for our lives? What if He has enough foresight to know exactly what we require help those around us? What if he cared that much?

The Jewish word for soul is Neshamah. In the thought of the Jews, God is our third parent who gives us all of our intangable aspects, character, passion, etc… What if when the Almighty gave us
this Neshamah,
this breathe,
this soul,

What if it was more than simple life… What if it was who you are…
What if it was your personality… What if it was your abilities… What if it was your passion…

Think of it like this… Have you ever seen the antacid tablets that dissolve in water. Imagine for a minute the physical parts of you is the glass of water. You are a glass of water in your mothers belly. Then God drops your unique Neshamah into your glass of water. It begins to react with everything around it. Producing something truly remarkable, YOU.

You see, God has deposited your specific Neshamah, your soul, and He just wants you to use it. He just wants His precious gift to not be waisted.

What does that look like for you…

Copper
Grace and Peace

Whose is that…

coppernelms — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:48:09 +0000

I have been reading through Jeremiah recently. And the first few verses spoke to me in a way I never thought they would. It reads, “2 (Jeremiah) to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.” Something very foundational can be learned from this simple history of Jeremiah. God’s words came to Jeremiah at a specific time, for a specific length of time. Which means Jeremiah’s purpose was for then only. Jeremiah would not have been affective in the Middle Ages. He wouldn’t have worked in the ancient Egyptian culture. Jeremiah was particularly designed for that period of kings in the nation of Israel. In fact, the verses after this, God tells Jeremiah that in the womb He was giving him everything he needed for him to affect the world in his time. Notice what the verses of Jeremiah’s history say, “The words of the Lord came…until. The words of God left when Jeremiah’s time was up. Jeremiah’s passion and gifts were on loan to him. They weren’t his…EVER. Everything his was, was loaned to him. He didn’t earn it, although I’m sure he worked very hard. But his gifts, talents, and passions were borrowed. I think this same principle applies to you and I, everything we are given is on LOAN. It is borrowed. It’s not ours. It’s Gods. Everything we are has been given to us for a specific time and reason. There is a reason we are like we are. There is a reason we can do, the weird odd things we can do. There is a reason you know the people you know. There is a reason YOU are YOU. And the trippy part is, everything about you doesn’t belong to you. Think about it this way. What is your passion in life? What is the thing you value the most? What is your greatest drive in life? These things, these passions where loaned to you. They aren’t yours. Passion is the fuel of life, and you were loaned your passion. What are you going to do with it?
Copper
Grace and Peace

Deus Ex Nuntius

My Soul Needs An Antacid

Whose is that…