Lesson #5: For mine or yours

Welcome,

Here we are continuing a series entitled, What I learned in Seminary. You can catch up with the links below.

As I reflect back on seminary I constantly find myself drawn to Jeremiah 9:23-24. This passage has forever been etched into my heart. It serves as a reminder to be that it is not about, "Mark Harris," it's about God. We have a tendency in our world and culture to draw attention to ourselves by laying claim to our human abilities. We are often drawn towards a lifestyle of "bragging" in order to get noticed and draw attention to ourselves. Read the words of the prophet Jeremiah to see what he wrote on this very subject:

This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his
wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast
of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he
understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises
kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these
I delight," declares the LORD.

The words speak for themselves, don't they? Let them sink in and penetrate your heart so as to help you identify areas in which you boast in. Is it your ability to make money, the gadgets you own, the car you drive, the job you have, the places you been, or the education you have that cause you to boast, drawing attention to yourself rather then God. Note, that if we are to brag and boast there is only one who we are to boast in, our Lord. Instead of boasting in the temporal human things of this world we are to boast in the heart of God. What is the heart of God? In this passage Jeremiah reveals three aspects of it: kindness, justice and righteousness. You see it's not about us and the things we boast in; it's about God and his heart for kindness, justice and righteousness. Let us be about his ways and his heart instead of our own selfish ways. After all, it's about Him not you.

Introduction
Lesson #1: Above all else
Lesson #2: The church as the body and family
Lesson #3: People or programs
Lesson #4: To consume or be consumed
Lesson #5: For mine or yours
Lesson #6: Peter Pan and leadership
Lesson #7: Rainbow vs. pot of gold