Well What About ...?

In Luke 20:20 we find the Pharisees trying to catch Jesus in a quandary, by asking him questions where they can get him to say something that would be out of biblical bounds. In verse 21 they try to set him up by complimenting him so as to take down his guard as if He ever needed one. Then in verse 22 they hit Him with the big million dollar question "Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Ceasar or not?". Jesus slaps them with "Why do you test me?", and He then closes them out with the genius line of "Render to Ceasar what is Ceasar's , and to God the things that are God's." Boom!!! The Pharisees marveled at Him and kept silent.

Here is what I believe is an application for our lives. 1st of all is don't try to play games with God, it's not productive to try to negotiate with Him. God isn't some dictator who we can barter and make trades and compromise with, He wants all of us not some piece. When we try to negotiate it only points out our rebellious nature and the fact that we refuse to completely surrender our lives because we worship control. This is acted out in my life when I knowingly sin and lean on the fact that God is forgiving and merciful. That action and process will just lead me into more sin and walk me farther off the protected path to where the enemy can distract and kill me.

The 2nd application ties in with the first and its to keep things simple. Have you ever heard the question, "Can God make a rock big enough that He can't lift it?" This is a ridiculous question, if there was a definitive answer to this question what good would it do? Nothing... this question just points back to our rebellion and how we are constantly trying to find easy street to live and operate on. The Christian faith isn't easy, matter of fact it's a grind at times and if it was easy our world wouldn't be so broken. so back to the point, we need to keep things simple and get back to basics to continue to sharpen the foundation of our walks. It's not productive to get into philosophical debates with nonbelievers who are obviously stuck in their rebellion. I'm not saying never to do it but I am saying we need to guard ourselves and our faith because the enemy will use their words to try to lead us astray.

In closing, keep pressing in, praying, reading our bible's, fellowshipping, reading the posts here, and staying in conversation with Jesus throughout the day.