Can Jesus Come to Your House?

“For today I must stay at your house.” Luke 19:5 

This may be the most ridiculous-sounding story in the Bible.  It’s one of those stories, however, that makes you know that the Bible is true because you can’t make this stuff up.  The reputation of Jesus was widespread and Zacchaeus, like many of the common folk, wanted to see him.  He may have been curious, or fascinated with the character of Jesus, or an adoring fan. Some people show up to see; others to be seen.  One thing was certain, Zack was not satisfied with hearing about Jesus.  Was He a blasphemer, a fraud, an opportunist, or a trouble-maker? But others said he was a healer.  The Centurion said he raised the dead.  Some said he multiplied loaves and fishes and fed five thousand people.  

God only knows what all people say about Pentecostals!  Exaggerated stories make their rounds about these “Spirit-filled” fanatics—they swing from the chandeliers, run on the backs of the pews, cast spells on people and force people to speak in tongues.  We have footprints on the walls and some people bring their sneakers to church so they can run faster than the others!  We keep little boxes of snakes under the pulpit for those who really have a lot of faith.  We’ve been accused of mass psychology, crowd manipulation, stretching the Bible out of shape, spiritual abuse and cultism.  Unbelievable. 

Zacchaeus had a problem.  He was a small man and could not see over the heads of people.  He could have dismissed the opportunity to see Jesus from the get-go.  “It’s not use.  I’ll never get to see him.  Forget it.”  Plus, his problem was permanent.  He wasn’t going to get any taller.  He was forever stuck in the vertically challenged world.  But, Zacchaeus was a resourceful man.  He anticipated the problem (he had run into it before) and so before the crowd could get there, he ran and climbed up a sycamore tree.  Zacchaeus had only come to check things out.  There was something, though, that Zacchaeus had not anticipated.  He came to see Jesus.  But the scripture deals us a curve ball.  “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him.”  This is the irony of it all.  The rich man became poor.  The adult became the child.  The seeker became the one sought after!  Zacchaeus came looking for Jesus.  What he discovered was that Jesus had come looking for Zacchaeus!  It was as though the only reason why Jesus came to Jericho was to look up into a sycamore tree to seek the seeker. 

The most amazing thing happened.  The host became the guest. Jesus invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ house, and Zacchaeus received Him joyfully.  Jesus wanted to do more than spy Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree, or exchange pleasant greetings with him.  Zacchaeus needed more than just a pat on the back or a thumbs-up.  Jesus sought out this man to rearrange his life forever.  He wanted to make a permanent impression on him.  The only way he could do that was to come to his dwelling place and abide with him.  Shaking hands with the Master wouldn’t have cost him much, but neither would it have impacted Zacchaeus much.  It was when Zacchaeus took Jesus home with him that he discovered what forgiveness was all about.  It was when he took Jesus home with him that he had the power to make right decisions in his life.  Had he seen Jesus in the crowd but returned to the same old mess at home, nothing would have changed. 

Have you really taken Jesus home with you?  The seeker may not be you, today.  The seeker may be Christ.  What great work, what significant change, what precious soul, what great revival, what all-absorbing call may the Lord Jesus Christ have in mind for you?  Can Jesus come to your house today?

Whole Life or Term?

“Present your bodies a living sacrifice.” Romans 12:1 

If you were going to buy life insurance tomorrow, two terms would be presented to you immediately: Whole Life or Term.  Whole life means that you buy coverage for your whole life at the same monthly premium.  It matures when you reach 100.  It’s not a good idea, from an insurance point of view, to own this type of policy.  Term life means that you buy coverage for a certain period, usually one year.  The cost is very low because all you are buying is insurance.  The younger you are, the cheaper it is to buy this kind of policy. 

Let’s not talk insurance.  There is a far greater question that must be answered. Are you truly making a sacrifice of your whole life to God? Or are you giving God a term policy—-a limited commitment? Your whole life consists of not just your time or money, but of your identity, your loves and affections, your values and judgments, your future and potential. It speaks to career, job, home and possessions.  It speaks to marriage, husband, wife, children and relationships.  It speaks to dreams, ambitions and plans. 

A term commitment means that you will do what you are doing for right now.  As long as it works for you, as long as it gives you pleasure, as long as it remains convenient, as long as nothing else seems more attractive, you will stay with it. Term commitment means that God is always up for sale…that you will always compare him and his word with competing forces…that you will first and foremost ask the question, “What’s in it for me?” But God demands nothing less than an entire forfeiture of your life to him for him to use, to spend, to consume as he wishes. 

The Old Testament system of sacrifices constituted the main way God dealt with the sins of the Israelites.  Sacrifice began in antiquity. Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God (Genesis 4:3-4).  Noah expressed his gratitude for deliverance from the flood by presenting burnt offerings unto the Lord (Genesis 8:20). The patriarchs built altars and offered sacrifices on them, calling upon God at the places where He had revealed Himself to them. “Indeed, to sacrifice seems as natural to man as to pray; the one indicates what he feels about himself, the other what he feels about God. The one means a felt need of propitiation, the other a felt sense of dependence” -Edersheim. 

Whole life or term refers to commitment levels.  But, whatever happened to unwavering faithfulness?  The most powerful churches got that way by leading people to wholly commit their lives to God.  Term contracts with God, or tentative, limited forms of discipleship, weakens the church’s integrity.  The church needs sold-out saints.  The first church grew through absolute discipleship.  So will today’s church.  “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.’” Daniel 3:16-18  

God is issuing a call for whole life commitment that never looks back! Commitment that never second guesses. Commitment that says, “I started out to go to heaven. I will climb every mountain. I will ford every stream. I will endure every hardship. I will survive every valley. I will walk on through loneliness and despair, success and defeat, pain and discouragement. I am going to make it because I give my whole life to God.”

Who Is Jesus?

“And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’” Acts 9:5 

God had a question for Adam.  “Where are you?” Saul of Tarsus had a question for God.  “Who are you?” The answers to both questions made the respondent vulnerable and open. When Adam revealed where he was, he gave God access to his existence. When Jesus revealed who he was, he gave Saul access to the essence of his life.  So, how did the Lord answer Saul?  “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” 

Jesus boldly declared the He was God. He said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).  He was of the same essence as the Father (deity). The Jews understood perfectly that Jesus was claiming to be the Father Himself. If Jesus was not declaring equality with the Father, He had many opportunities to explain Himself. Instead He continued to back up His claim (John10:34-38).  In addition to what he said, Jesus acted like he was God.  If Jesus was not God, indeed his statements would have been blasphemous. Jesus claimed authority with respect to the Law of God. (Luke 6:5). Jesus claimed to have the power of life. (John 11:25). What did the Jewish leaders think of Jesus? They wanted to kill Him.  “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because … [He] said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” John 5:18. 

What did the apostles think of Jesus? Peter’s bold declaration to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16, showed Peter’s belief in His deity.  What did Paul mean when He declared Jesus to be God’s image? Notice that Paul contrasted Jesus’ image to that of the invisible God. The point Paul was trying to get across was that Jesus is the visible representation of God to man. That is why Jesus could say, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9; also 12:45). 

Jesus is the “express image of his [God’s] person.” “Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Hebrews 1:3. The English phrase translated “express image” is from the Greek word character, or the English word, “character.” This is the only occurrence of the word in the New Testament. It means “to impress upon, or stamp.” It denotes an engravement from a tool that impresses an image into the item being engraved. This impression is a characteristic of the instrument used to produce it. The result corresponds precisely with the instrument. Jesus is the corresponding engravement of God in human form.  He is the adequate imprint of God. 

Jesus does not just represent God.  He is the very visible impression of God’s invisible substance and essence. He is God’s very nature expressed in humanity as the Son of God. He is the corresponding engravement of God in human form.  He is the adequate imprint of God. At Bethlehem, when Mary held up her baby, we could trace all the divine attributes of God through the transference of his image into the flesh of Jesus. Jesus is everything about God permanently settled in the body of Jesus. “For in him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Colossians 2:9. At Bethlehem, God unrolled a blank sheet of humanity over the invisible essence of divinity and mapped a visible image that we could see.  When Mary held up the baby, we could trace all the divine attributes of God through the transference of his image into the flesh of Jesus. 

Jesus is all anyone will ever see of God!  “And behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.” Revelation 4:2.

Who Do You Think You Are?

“What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?” Psalms 8:4 

Consider the insignificance of man in the context of outer space.  Compared to the vastness of the universe, man seems like a puny creature.  Galaxies are spiraling whirlpools of matter and energy—small oases in the universe. We live a galaxy, called the Milky Way. Our galaxy measures about 100,000 light years in diameter and about 1000 light years thick! It has up to 400 billion stars like our Sun. Astronomers estimate there are 100 billion such galaxies in the universe. At the center of every galaxy—including the Milky Way—there resides a massive black hole! Volumes of statistics, facts and figures about the enormity of space and the fascinating field of astronomy would bore you to tears.

But, when you read Psalm 8, it seems clear:  Despite enormity of the universe, God still considers man to be of supreme value. Scientists believe that man is everything, yet man is nothing.  Man is God, but man is beast.  Man is the absolute ultimate in the process of evolution, yet man is evil and must be destroyed.  Some believe that man die for the earth to survive.  Secular Humanists believe biology is closely tied to both their atheistic theology and their naturalist philosophy. If there is no supernatural, then life, including human life, must be the result of evolution. Julian Huxley, for example, insists that “man … his body, his mind and his soul were not supernaturally created but are all products of evolution.” Modern scientists agree.  Does man have value? They say “No.”  A machine, no matter how sophisticated and unique, is still impersonal. And even if one thinks of man as a great animal—the pinnacle of evolution—man is still just an animal. 

The value of human life presupposes an immortal human soul and a personal beginning (i.e., creation by an infinite, personal God). Therefore, secular humanism really has nothing to offer except extinction into the cosmic void. They ignore the inevitable by focusing on the immediate future instead of the distant, eternal future. If everyone who ever lived ceases to exist, then life is meaningless.

This helps us understand why children brought up under this worldview are willing to commit murder over a pair of tennis shoes or a gold chain. This is how Stalin could murder 20 million people with less feeling than one has when swatting a fly. Are you beginning to see how secular humanism leads to eugenics, abortion, euthanasia, labor camps and genocide?  Wrong!  God thinks more of you than your teacher or professor does.  The secular world would have applauded your abortion.  They believe in population reduction by any means necessary, including abortion, famine, war and disease.  To them, humanity is a liability to the planet.  They believe that non-human life is superior to mankind. 

The fact is that you are here on purpose!  You are here as a creation of God. You are an outgrowth of the relationship between you and your creator. It is time for you to reject the claims that contend you are here as a mathematical statistic, a random, biochemical reaction.  You are here to fulfill the purpose of God.  Don’t put yourself down. Quit listening to negative voices. A staggering number of people hate themselves, question the value and purpose of their existence, and entertain thoughts of self-destruction.  Many have no sense of their own significance.  

Respect who you are. Accept who God thinks you are! You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are uniquely gifted and equipped to make a difference in life. Your potential is infinite—not finite.  Potential resides in you to do far more than you ever imagined. 

Where Do You Go When You Can’t Go Anywhere?

“And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.’” Exodus 14:15-18. 

Israel was in a dilemma. They had just escaped the clutches of Pharaoh, but they were pursued by his army. The Red Sea in lay in front, the Great Sea to the north, and wilderness and mountains to the south. There was no place to go. Success looked a whole lot like failure!  Backing out of the dilemma seems to be the first answer.  Always, after the deliverance, comes the test. “You can’t do this. You’re a fish out of water. Living for God means too much pain.” But going backwards is not an option! “If anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But, we are not of those who draw back to perdition.” Hebrews 10:38-39.  

There is nothing to go back to! “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.  For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them …’A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’” 2 Peter 2:19-22.  Go back to what? The loneliness? The guilty conscience? Thinking you’re losing your mind? The suffocating emptiness? The waves of remorse? Why go back to that? 

Well, if you can’t go back, maybe you can go sideways. But, after you find the truth, there is nothing else! “Buy the truth and sell it not.” This is where many people lose their focus. Distractions. Spiritual boredom. Attitude problems. Don’t lose focus.  After famed pitcher Sandy Koufax retired, a reporter asked, “What was your favorite pitch when you had the bases full behind you?” Mr. Koufax answered with a perfectly straight face, “My boy, I don’t recall ever having to pitch with the bases full.” Focus on the positive aspects of the past and forget the bad. 

So—when you can’t go back, turn right or left, only one option remains – GO FORWARD!  “And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.  The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14:13-14.   Moses did not upbraid the church.  He knew that fear had gripped their hearts.  Stay in the church.  It is your only hope. Move forward, even though there seems to be no place to go. 

Israel had forgotten two things:  The FIRE and the CLOUD.  Now, look at what God was doing during their dilemma. “And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.” Exodus 14:19. The angel changed places.  First, he positioned himself between Israel and the army and hid Israel from their enemies.  Second, God was issuing new instructions to Israel: “I was in front of you to lead you out of Egypt. Now, step out by faith and I will back you up!” 

Finally, God looked at the enemy.  “Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians.  And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them.’” Exodus 14:24-25. 

Keep moving forward, even when you think you can’t.  You will discover that God’s blessings lie—not backwards or sideways—but in the unlikely place just ahead!

What to Do When God Lets You Down

“But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” Daniel 3:15 

Few people in the scriptures compare to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  They suffered kidnapping, slavery, a forced identity change, and physical mutilation.  The three exemplified love for God in every aspect of their lives.  Now, upon penalty of death by a raging, fiery furnace, they were commanded to bow down to the King’s golden image.  One simple act of obeisance would have spared them from this barbaric, Babylonian torture.  But, they wouldn’t bow, they wouldn’t bend.  What a display of moral courage! One would have thought a trumpet fanfare and the drum roll of heaven would have sounded as the mighty hand of God arced through the sky and snatched them from Nebuchadnezzar.  But nothing happened. Nothing! When they made their heroic stand, it was as if God completely ignored them.  There was no sign from heaven, no divine encouragement, no inkling that God even knew what was going on for His namesake in Babylon.  It seemed that God had let them down. 

Have you been there?  After your best spiritual performance, after you defeated the world, the flesh and the devil, nothing happened.  After you gave a sacrificial offering, thinking that God would bless you a little bit, nothing happened.  After you took a day off work to help someone in a desperate situation; or you sat with someone at the hospital all day, you got no special credit.  Things actually seemed to get worse in your life.  Have you cried, “Where is God when I need Him most?!”  I’m sure you have.  Following are three keys that these Hebrews used that guaranteed victory for them.  They didn’t speak all at once, so let’s assign a directive to each one.    

The Shadrach Key:  Serve God with reckless abandon.  “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.” Timid, weak, vacillating and spineless commitment to God never works.  God is never on the spot. God has nothing to prove. God is never trying to measure up. God wants you to let go of your hang-ups, security blankets, escape routes and “excuse me’s.” Let go—-and let go completely. 

The Meshach Key:           Never doubt that God is able. “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.”  GOD CAN! This must be your mantra.  God can heal any disease, defeat any enemy, deliver from any oppression, answer any prayer, withstand any attack and drive out any devil! He is both omniscient AND omnipotent!   

The Abednego Key:  Do the right thing, regardless of the outcome. “But if not, just know, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.”  Even if God denied their plea, don’t think they were going to jump to the other side. They acted on principle, not on the consequences of his decision.  If you fashion your doctrine or beliefs according to the world, friends, or family, then you subject righteousness to convenience.  The real question is never, will God let me down, but will I let God down?  

God didn’t not let Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego down.  Read it. (Daniel 3:24-30). Deliverance came—just not when and how they thought it would.  God’s plan was for them to be thrown into the furnace, so He could save them out of the fire!  God’s way always has a far greater effect!

What’s Wrong with You?

“Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble.” Hebrews 12:15 

Have you ever witnessed a noticeable change in someone and wondered what was wrong?  It always turns out that the worst question you can ask is “What’s wrong with you?” But, without asking the question, we proceed to supply answers anyway…and…WOW…what answers we come up with! You are: Sick, disappointed, hurt, stressed out, fatigued, anemic, worried, confused, depressed, bi-polar, anorexic, or dyslexic.  You suffer from ADD, ADHD, anxiety, hypertension, diabetes, hypoglycemia, fibromyalgia, change of life, dementia, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, neurosis, psychosis, etc. Sometimes, these problems are real and need to be treated. Many times, however, we self-diagnose and/or misdiagnose them. The church is not a clinic nor am I a physician or psychiatrist.  But the Bible does have answers for the soul, and our text may be the right place to start.  

Someone whom you trusted or had a close relationship; with, does something to hurt you. (Gossip, unfairness, etc.) Your initial reaction is shock. “How could you.” You find it awkward or demeaning to approach the person about it. You speculate about his or her reaction. Since you were the one wronged, the other person should initiate any attempt at reconciliation. The damage escalates into a major set-back in life. Your problem works its way into every conversation. The result is that your whole life becomes one big reaction to this problem. 

The Greek word for bitterness is “pikria,” pointed, or sharp. Its literal meaning is unpleasant taste. In Greek literature, “pikria” referred more often to matters of the soul, or spirit. “Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.” Colossians 3:19. Bitterness is intense animosity, cynicism, ill-will, similar to resentment. Bitterness is loss of confidence, extreme pessimism, withdrawn, caustic, sometimes accompanied by physical problems.  A bitter person is easily enraged or depressed—often over insignificant matters—vindictive, and often retaliates. 

The “root” of bitterness involves three things:  seed, soil and stem.  SEED:  Roots grow from seeds.  A seed of truth always goes before bitterness.  The seed is often used as justification for the bitterness. SOIL:  Roots draw strength from the soil.  The root of bitterness robs good roots from much needed nutrients. STEM:  Eventually, roots always spring up with a poisonous stem above the ground.  The unseen eventually becomes visible to all. The only difference between bitterness and murder is that one is hatred unfulfilled, while the other is hatred fulfilled. 

What can you do about bitterness in your spirit? Remember, you are responsible for your own spirit!  Do not blame others for your own spiritual condition. Bitterness is sin. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. “ I John. 4:18. Love and forgiveness is the essence of Christianity. Bitterness inevitably makes you smaller, meaner, more cynical, less Christ-like and will affect your entire life in many ways. 

Examine your own conscience.  What are your wishes for the other person?  Can you prayer for him or her?  Do you talk openly against this person? Confess your bitterness to God, and, if necessary, to a spiritual leader. (1 John 1:9.) Leave all judgment to God! “How much more shall the blood of Christ cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:14. Don’t let bitterness crush your soul!

Tell-tale Signs that You Need to Grow Up

1.      You are over 30 years old and still live with your parents. With the exceptions of caring for aging or sick family members or the sudden loss of a job, by your 30s, unless there is a physical or mental limitation, you should be self-sufficient enough to leave the nest.

2.      You have never had a job of any kind for more than six months. If you have never worked, you need a job. Any job will do. Just start somewhere. You need the experience. If you’ve had numerous jobs over the years and none of them have lasted very long, it may be a sign that you are lazy or easily bored or have a problem being told what to do by a boss.

3.      You are unable to pay your basic bills each month. Without assistance from family members or friends, you simply could not make it financially. This includes car insurance, rent, groceries, power bill and basic medical expenses. If you can’t pay your basic bills, you will cause a train wreck later on.

4.      As a general rule, you lack self-control in your life. Whether it’s your spending habits, how much you eat, the amount of time you spend watching TV or your constant obsession with being online (checking email, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube), these are signs of immaturity, and are a crucial red flag that points to an inability to control your desires.

5.      Your relationships look more like a roller coaster than a marathon. You are unable to develop long-term relationships with the opposite sex. You’ve never learned how to push through problems, boredom or conflict, and your default mechanism is to break it off and start a new one. Your past is filled with failure in the area of commitment.

6.      You always play the victim. You’re always secretly trying to uncover a conspiracy by your peers to exclude you from social outings, parties, get-togethers or group dates. It’s immature to think the cosmic forces of nature and love have combined their powers to hurt you. None of us are that important in the grand scheme of things.

7.      You tend to speak negatively of other people. Whether in one-on-one conversations or in large groups, your habit is to bash or attack someone who is not present to defend themselves. Immature people say things about people behind their backs (or online) that they would never dream of saying to their faces.

8.      You are plagued by jealousy. Little children get upset on the playground when they see their best friend playing with or talking to another child. Grown-ups get past this stage … at least they should. Are you consistently jealous of other people’s possessions, salaries, houses, cars, friends, physical appearance or family? Can you celebrate the blessings of God in others’ lives? Or does God’s goodness to others stir up envy inside your heart toward them?

9.      You have trouble finishing. My two sons are notorious for starting little projects around the house, getting bored and then abandoning them for us to dean up. They don’t know how to finish things yet because they’re not even 10 years old. Are you known for beginning things all gung-ho with great passion, but you consistently fizzle out and never see it through? Grown-ups finish what they start.

10.  You are crippled by debt. The most practical area of your life to examine is your finances. If you owe tens of thousands of dollars on credit cards, student loans, your car and so on, then your problem is not your debt. It’s immaturity. You haven’t yet learned how to live within your means.

11.  You can’t say no. If you are the guy or the girl who is always taking care of others, bailing your friends out, staying up til 2 a.m. on the phone trying to talk them out of another crisis, then you will have a rude awakening when your own life expects you to give your undivided attention.

12.  You fall in love too fast. How many times have you told someone that you were “in love” with them since you turned 18? This may be an indication that you need to mature emotionally. Falling in love after every first date shows you haven’t really moved very far toward emotional maturity. It also guarantees you will get hurt as often as you fall in love, leaving your heart wounded for years to come.

13.  Your relationships are too physical. If you have a track record of messing around and messing up with just about everyone you’ve ever liked or dated, this is bad news. When you start out basing a relationship on making out, kissing or fooling around physically, you teach yourself to ignore the other person, their feelings and the self-control that is essential in a godly marriage. Adults draw the line and stand back. Children run ahead without caution and suffer for it.

14.  You have a problem with authority. Children hate being told what to do, regardless of their inability to be responsible for themselves. Are you like that? Do you tend to rebel against all forms of authority in your life? Do you balk at being told what to do by the government, the IRS, even a traffic policeman? Grown-ups understand that submission to authority is in their best interest, and they are willing to submit to God first and then to one another. Immature kids rebel. 

Taken from: 12 Questions to Ask Before You Marry. Copyright © 2011 by Clayton and Charie King. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR. Used by permission.

Read more at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/whole-life/features/26675-signs-you-need-to-grow-up#befyuEigPSDeoghM.99