What Is That to You? You Follow Me

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I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire.  (Luke 24:32)

The Bible says, “Thou shalt not covet.”

You can usually tell if you’re doing it because it bites into your gut.

Someone else is doing better, or has something better, than you, and the teeth of covetousness sink in.

It happens to Christians.  I’ve heard pastors talk about feeling extremely jealous of other ministries with more people, more followers, bigger buildings and budgets.

Have you ever heard a pastor say, “Here’s my hot wife”?  Okaaaaay.  Weird.  But what happens when the next pastor walks in with an even hotter wife?

It’s the comparison trap, and it’s poison.

Like young George Bailey said in It’s a Wonderful Life, “It’s poison, I tell ya.  It’s poison!”

There’s a powerful story of comparison in the Bible between Peter and John.  There must have been some kind of rivalry between Peter and John because it shows up a few times.

In John chapter 21, Jesus appears to His disciples by the sea after He was raised from the dead.  Peter had betrayed Jesus, but Jesus restores Peter as they stand by the sea.  Then Jesus proceeds to tell Peter how Peter will die, and it’s not good.

I’m sure this leaves Peter shaken, and then he looks over and sees John, apparently getting off scot-free, with no terrible death prediction.

So in John 21 verse 21, Peter, probably waving his hand toward John, says to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”

And Jesus gives this profound answer.

And this is the answer for all of us, in all kinds of covetous situations.

If you’ve ever had the teeth of covetousness or jealousy or envy sink deep into your gut, listen closely to what Jesus said to Peter.

Actually, Jesus doesn’t respond to Peter’s question about John.

And Jesus probably won’t respond to our cries about what the other guy has and we don’t.

Jesus talks to Peter, about Peter, not about John.

In John 21 verse 22 Jesus said to Peter, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?  You follow Me.”

When we cry out to God about what others have and we don’t, I think this is what He is probably saying to us as well.  “What is that to you?  You follow Me.”

It says, “Thou shalt not covet” for a reason.  It’s time we stop looking around and comparing and stoking the flames of covetousness.

It’s time we make eye contact with Jesus as He waves off all of our petty concerns and says to us, “What is that to you?  You follow Me.”

May God bless you today.

I’m Doug Apple.

Fully Involved

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I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire.  (Luke 24:32)

This is a great and terrible phrase: “fully involved.”

It’s terrible when you’re talking about a fire.  When a fire is fully involved, it means the entire structure is on fire, flames are visible in all areas.  No one is going in.  No one is getting rescued.  All they can do is try to put out the fire and see what’s left.

But it’s a great phrase when you’re talking about someone’s level of commitment.  If you are dating someone and heading for marriage, you want them to be fully involved.

When you hire someone, you want them to be fully involved in the success of the company.

When your team spends millions of dollars for a new player or coach, you want them to be fully involved in making your team a winner.

And when it comes to my walk with God, this is how I want to be:  fully involved.

Like a fully involved fire has completely engulfed the structure, I want my fire for God to completely engulf my life.

A fully involved fire has spread to every room; every space is on fire.

A fully involved fire is obvious to outsiders because they can see the flames through every window and door and even through the roof.

In Mark 12:30 Jesus said, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

That’s fully involved.

Romans 12:11 tells us to be “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”

Jeremiah 29:13 talks about seeking God with all of our heart.

In Revelation 3 Jesus warns against being lukewarm, or in other words, not fully involved.

Hebrews 12:29 says, “Our God is a consuming fire.”

In Matthew 3:11 John the Baptist said that Jesus would baptize people “with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

When the Holy Spirit came in Acts chapter two, there was a fire that separated and rested on each of the disciples in the upper room.

Revelation 4:5 describes a scene with seven lamps of fire which are the seven Spirits of God.

I don’t want to contain this fire.  First Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Do not quench the Spirit.”

I want the consuming fire of God to be fully involved.

I want outsiders to see the evidence of the Spirit’s fire in every space of my life.  Not just one day a week.  Not just when I’m doing something religious, but all the time, in every space…the fire of God is involved.

FULLY involved.

May God bless you today.

I’m Doug Apple.