Welcome to the Daily Disciple podcast, where we seek daily to be with and to become like Jesus, our teacher. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the podcast. My name is Kelvin, I'm your host.
I hope you're all having a wonderful morning, afternoon, evening, whenever you're listening. I hope you're all having a wonderful day and it's such a pleasure to be with you all today. And I'd like to welcome anyone who's listening for the first time, as well as our regular listeners. We'd love to have you.
And it's such a pleasure to be with you all today. We're discussing Jesus and that's what we do. And we're discussing how Jesus affects our life, how he interacts with us, how he dwells with us, how he teaches us, and how he just desires for us to grow and to be more like Him. And we do that by doing what we do every day, by reading his word, by prayer, journaling, and then walking with him throughout the day.
Taking Jesus with you wherever you go. And I think that's probably one of the most important things about the Christian walk, about the Christian life, is that wherever we go, especially in today's society that we live in, that we bring Jesus with us. And I think we all understand how crucial that is, and we're all growing to understand even more and more how crucial that is in our lives. Alright, so let's get started.
Let's grab your cup of coffee, tea, water, your journal, your Bible, your quiet place, wherever that may be, and let's get started. And the recipe or. Sorry, I almost said what the title was. The title for this podcast today is Recipe for Life.
I guess the question that I have for you today is what is your favorite food? I mean, I have a few. I love a lot of food out there. What is your favorite food?
I mean, I can imagine somebody might be thinking or saying, oh, I just love a great steak. Other people might be thinking, oh, I just love a great filet of salmon or a wonderful lasagna or a wonderful soup, or there's so many things out there, desserts and fruits and what's your favorite food, what's your favorite dish? And I want you to think on that and think on that dish. And it might be someone close to you that makes that dish.
So you understand that it's the time and the effort and the preparation. They got to do everything that they need to do to make that meal be what it always is for you. It's the exact same experience. So they got to make sure that the recipe is always down pat.
It might be a restaurant that you enjoy going to, but you trust that restaurant because they are making it exactly how they do every single time to perfection. Now, when we think of our favorite foods, our favorite recipes, whoever prepares them, we understand that there's a process involved. And there might be some things that you like to make on your own. Doesn't have to be food.
And then there's things that I know that I like to make or I like to dabble in. I don't make a whole lot of things, but I enjoy making food. And there's some things that as men and women, as we grow up, we end up having to tackle as chores or certain situations that we encounter, Whether it be at home or at work. You might have to repair something, you might have to build something, you might need something for your home.
And there's steps involved. And whether it's in the mixing process of baking a great dish or dessert, or getting the calculations right, when you're in carpentry and you're woodworking, you need to get those two joint corners to meet perfectly. It's a process just like a blacksmith. Sometimes he's whacking at his material so hard, and then other times it's a much more delicate refining process that he's using.
And just as God has instilled in us all of these abilities and talents to create and make and use all of the things that we have as our assets, there's instructions that he's also given us for our lives as well. Kind of like a recipe, so to speak. And when we were kids, we started to develop these talents. We were taught some of these talents by our parents, by our grandparents, teachers, in hopes that one day we could eventually master these skills, Whether it be conversation skills, listening skills, all of the different attributes that we need or expect one another to have.
As we go out in society, when someone's behind the wheel, we expect them to know how to drive already. When we see people who are playing sports, we expect them to have a certain ability already there prepared for it. So in our lives, God is trying to give us these talents, these little bits that create a recipe for us. And he's given many things in our lives and other ways to express how we feel, especially to each other.
Some of our most important interactions are not with places or things, but people. The things we do, the things we like, being kind and compassionate to one another, sharing with your kids, even when they grow to be adults, maintaining those relationships, the things that God has placed in us to do like. Our talents and our gifts are a way of showing God's love through us to others by the use of our talents and our gifts. But what about when it's someone who's our enemy?
What about when it's someone who has done us harm or done a family member or a friend harm? We think of doing good things. We think of using our talents and our gifts for so many things. But have you ever considered that Jesus actually wants us to use some of our most powerful talents and our gifts in situations in which we would never desire to?
He desires us to embrace our enemies. He desires us to love our enemies. And it seems almost impossible. I don't know if you can think of a person or a place or a thing, something that gives you angst or an enemy.
It's unfortunate, but it's a reality. Do you have someone that does you harm? Do you have someone that always has negative intentions towards you? Can you think of someone right off the bat who you know is an enemy of yours?
How do you deal with the situations? I know in my life, I've often dealt with them in a fleshly way. Just meaning I've dealt with them in however I choose. And in some cases I might try to do the good thing, but still, it might be a little bit of an arrogant way.
And I'm sure it's not the way Jesus has taught us. But let's see, because he's given us these instructions, a recipe or a recipe, so to speak, for life, and how we're to deal with people, particularly our enemies. So we're going to be in the Gospel of Luke today, and we're going to be in chapter six, from verse 37 to 38, and it says, do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Do not judge, do not condemn. Forgive and give. When I saw that, it just struck me like it was a recipe. I do like to do some cooking.
So I saw that there were steps involved into this because that's how it goes. We judge, and after we've judged, we've condemned, and then we move on. But Jesus is telling us to do more. He's telling us not to judge, not to condemn.
And if we have to forgive and then give, it seems like it's too simple. To work. Even though we know how difficult in reality that could be, when we're in conflict with people, we know how difficult it actually can be. We don't want to forgive.
Jesus is trying to teach us that there's more to life than just being a good person or feeling like you're a good person to those who are good to you. And when we adapt that way of thinking and turn it into a way of life, then we get to experience the kingdom of God in our midst. Or I should say, when we choose to live in a positive manner. But when we don't, darkness reigns and we don't get to experience the power of God in our lives.
How often have you been in a situation with somebody that you didn't particularly like, and they may have done something to you, rightfully so you have the reason to feel the way you do, and yet there's something there. You have a compulsion that something's just telling you, forgive, let's just move on. I want this to be over, but in a positive way. And then on the other hand, it's almost like a ticking time bond, something just waiting for the person to say the wrong or the right thing to start an even greater conflict.
When we choose not to judge the things that people do and we choose not to condemn them for what they do, it actually frees us from the things that we have done wrong. So we won't be judged, nor will we be condemned. Now, there might be some people who we see eye to eye who might not like the situation, but Jesus, Jesus, he sees it all, and he sees our hearts as well. So when we're able to be illuminated by the power of the Holy Spirit and get to express the kingdom of God to one another, when things happen, it may hurt us, it may cause our feelings to be struck, but we don't have to judge, we don't have to condemn.
We can forgive. And then this is the best part. When we choose to forgive and when we choose to give, we have an opportunity that Jesus is telling us to experience the love of God and the kingdom of God. Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and it will be given back to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap. Now, for anybody who does anything in terms of cooking, baking, or even if you're selling things that have to do with weighing it down and people getting the proper amount, we all know a good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over, these are all the elements that are used to fill up a bag or fill up a container as much as possible it can be, and yet it's running over. That's what Jesus wants to give back to us.
What a sight it would be if we could all be walking in the light that Jesus provides for us to walk in the strength and power of being able to forgive and to not judge in any situation. Furthermore, to be able to help one another in every situation as much as we can with our whole hearts. I know some of us have probably experienced that in the past, in their life, doing things. Some people might have never experienced it.
It might have been so long ago that, oh, now it just seems like a distant memory and you want to get that feeling back again. So what do we do? Let's go back to the recipe. Sometimes if we try to recreate a recipe that we love, our favorite food, we get it wrong.
And we usually don't give up. We usually keep on trying. So my prayer for all of us today, just like that favorite steak, that favorite meal, that favor dish, we know that there's preparation involved. So let's walk into our life with the same preparation each day.
Let's allow Jesus to. Let's encounter Jesus and let's allow him to breathe peace on us so that we will have the ability to not judge and let God be the judge and to not condemn, but to forgive. Because we understand that we're all sinners and to give anyone and whoever we can help. Because we serve a God who says if we give out to others, he's going to give us back even more if we do it with a whole heart.
Let's take this seriously. But let's try to do something good. Let's try to be better. Take care.
Have a great day, friends. Thanks for listening to the Daily Disciple Podcast. We truly hope that you were encouraged by it today. If you'd like to support or if you had any questions about the Daily Disciple Podcast, feel free to contact us through our Inland Vineyard Church app.
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