Material Things

Mornings I have been reading the book of Luke, and was struck by the amount of emphasis Jesus put on material things during those few days between his triumphant entry into Jerusalem and his crucifixion…actually less than a week. 

Jesus called Zacchaeus the chief tax collector down from his perch in the tree and was a guest in his home where there was repentance from cheating. (Luke 19:5-10)  Jesus then told the story of the nobleman who entrusted funds to his servants when he was called away.  (Luke 19:11-27)  Upon finding the moneychangers in the temple, Jesus drove them out.  (Luke 19:45-48)  Jesus used collecting income from tenant farmers as a teaching moment.  (Luke 20:9-18)  Jesus dealt with paying taxes to Caesar.  (Luke 20:20-26)  Jesus also commented on the widow’s offering.  (Luke 21:1-4)  I found it to be quite amazing how much focus Jesus placed on materialism/money during those final few days before his crucifixion.  It seems that it is likely something we may fail to put enough focus upon in our daily lives.

Our office has been busy preparing for a class of around thirty new appointees that will be arriving this Saturday.  It is always an exciting time to interact with them, learning more about their experiences and their plans to serve the Lord in various areas of the world.  We have also been working as rapidly as possible with a major renovation project in our Welcome and Training Center to cause a minimum of interruption during the upcoming appointee meetings over the next three weeks.  All in all it has been a mighty busy time here.

I trust that you are all doing well and always love to get your emails, calls and notes.

Love,

Chuck