Evil for Good

On December 7, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 35: 12 – 15

They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer kept returning to my bosom. I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother. But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together.

Let’s get real for a minute, especially with the holidays upon us. Life is not always fair though I believe it should be. David suffered what many of you have. People don’t treat you as you treat them. When they were sick or troubled, you humbled yourself and prayed for them as you would your own mother. However, without provocation they turn on you. They backbite and scoff saying all sorts of untrue and hateful things about you. The worst part of it for most of us is that these “friends” are usually Christians. That really hurts. Then when they have trouble again, Dad taps you on the shoulder and asks you to pray for them. Well, I don’t always want to pray for those people either, so I know how it pains you. I have argued with God about praying for people who aren’t nice to me. Now at the holidays, these issues seem to take on even greater proportions. So, what are we to say to this and how are we to deal with it.

Our praying for those obnoxious and hurtful people has way more to do with our relationship with Dad than those people. He asks us to pray because He is working with us. He binds Himself to us through these requests. When we do His work, i.e. blessing the unlovely, we move closer to Him. My survival technique, therefore, is to make it about God and not about them. It is something Father and I do together and it becomes a bonding experience, kind of like surviving a disaster. It still isn’t easy at times but the more I require Him to pray with me and through me, the easier it becomes. Face it, it is a lot harder praying for the people who don’t deserve it but that is where maturity enters in. David prayed for the hateful, spiteful people in his life because he knew it was the spiritually mature thing to do. He knew his father wanted him to. That does not make their behavior just or right. It’s just that God has to turn to the mature among us for these things. We don’t have to like it but when you find yourself growing together with God through the shared experience, it becomes tolerable.

So as you attend the company Christmas party and family get togethers this year, make sure to take Jesus with you. Pray before you go. Actually, begin praying now. Let the Lord speak and move through you. Let his voice and love soothe you and bless all God’s children in his name.

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Ouch!

On August 24, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 1: 7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

I am listening to a CD series by Dr. Jim Richards. The first CD is entitled Wisdom: The Principle thing. In this teaching Dr. Richards leads us to Proverb 1: 7. Now, I already have that one highlighted in my Bible so as I turn there I feel pretty good. That is until he started teaching it. I will say I have never heard this verse so loud before. However, I did immediately think of how often I have encountered this problem in society as well as in my own heart. Therefore, when I teach on this problem of rejecting wisdom, know that I am preaching to myself.

The Living Bible says, “Only fools refuse to be taught.” Not one of us wishes to be a fool. We have not made it our life’s ambition. None the less, so many of us get our backs up when someone tries to teach us. Somewhere in the great scheme of things we have decided that we already have all knowledge. Of course this is foolishness itself. The resolution of our inherent knowledge isn’t cognitive though. If I were to ask a person if he had nothing left to learn, he would of course answer in the negative. So what is really going on here?

I believe the truth lies in a weak self-esteem. We know that there is much we do not know but our hearts do not allow us to admit it to others. Our sense of inferiority makes us puff up like an old rooster and strut around in a way to deflect the shame we feel. To submit to the teaching of another is an admission of lowliness. The truth of the matter is that those who are strongest are most likely to submit to the teaching of others. They know that each person has specific knowledge from which they can benefit.

The reality of this problem is nowhere more obvious than in the church. To many, submission to the teaching and leadership of another is almost synonymous with hedonism. This should not be. Again I have noted that the most spiritually mature people do not suffer from this foolish delusion. They are the first to ask to be taught. They pull on you to get you to reveal your insights even though you know in your heart they know much more and have experienced much more than you. They are students and they always will be. They are students of life and they look for God’s epiphanies everywhere. Ego is replaced with zeal. And, it seems they are always a delight to be around because of their hunger for enlightenment.  

I really believe it is important for us to accept that God has placed people in, not only the body of Christ, but in our lives also, for the purpose of bringing us light. They are light bearers, if you will. Our pastors may not know everything we know, but they may know something we don’t. Isn’t that enough? And I have to admit that if I cannot sit under the anointing and teaching of another, then I am not as spiritually mature as I may wish to pretend. Worst of all is that my refusal to be taught is a loud clanging cymbal announcing my foolishness. My need to be right is as loud a report as a cannon blast.

Oh God, save us from our own foolishness. Touch our hearts and heal our brokenness that you may speak life and light into our lives. Give us, dear Lord, the strength of submission and lead us into all truth and knowledge through the power of your blessed son and Holy Spirit. Let the fire of your Spirit burn hotly within us; the fire, Father, of unquenchable yearning for more of you and lead us to those who can teach us. Amen.

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Overseeing in Christ

On February 23, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Titus 1: 7

Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless – not overbearing, not quick tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.

This is Paul’s message to Titus regarding the selection of elders for the church. We should all be pursuing spiritual maturity and this is a good measure of what it looks like. One might expect a spiritually mature person to have overcome any tendency toward drunkenness and we would expect that person not to attempt gain by deceitful or dishonest means. Certainly a spiritually mature person should not be a person of violence. Would we, though, have thought to include a quick temper and an overbearing manner to the list of characteristics that a spiritually mature person is not? 

Webster’s defines overbear as: to dominate, domineer over, overrule, or subdue; and overbearing as: acting in a dictatorial manner; arrogant; domineering, overriding. When we think we have the answers or God has shown us something that has helped us to mature we sometimes begin to shove those answers down other people’s throats. We sometimes try to overrule or subdue others thoughts or feelings. I doubt any of us wishes to be described using any of the terms above.

That is not God’s way. He was patient with us; let us, then be patient with others. Besides, our answers are not always their answers. If we are truly mature in Christ, then we can fully trust the Lord, even to helping others find their way.  

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Christian Leadership

On August 6, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 15: 1 – 2           NIV

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

This is one of my least favorite scriptures in the Bible. I can hear that voice in the back of my head saying, “So … you think you are a strong Christian, do you? Well, here is what strong, mature Christians do.” Then I look at my life and I am not sure that I measure up and it causes my heart to seize.  

This was written by the Apostle Paul who learned these lessons himself. Then, as though, he just didn’t have time to soften his expression he unleashes this teaching upon us all. One gets the sense from his tone that this is something very important but also urgent. The church was growing by leaps and bounds but there was no leadership in place. Everyone was new so they had to grow up fast and Paul was the leader in teaching spiritual maturity. 

I feel that same sense of urgency today. We are living in the closing chapters of the story and the time is short. I do not believe that we can afford the casual Christianity of our past. We must each put on our big boy pants and grow in the things of the Kingdom. I know that I fall short of the mark but as I look around I am convinced that I am not alone. We have played around with our Christian faith and used it as a convenience rather than adopting it as a lifestyle. Now Paul is calling us to higher ground. Awaken! The time is at hand for all of the children of God to grow into spiritual maturity.

There are three clear mandates in this short passage. Each one of them is a message unto itself but you will have to preach those three messages to yourself since this format does not lend itself to that level of comprehensiveness. First, there is a recognition that there are those who are weak and whose weakness is seen by their spiritual failings, chief among these failings is their inability to live up to this passage. There is an assumption that we are not one of the weak but rather the strong. Everyone was new and weak at one time but by now we should have grown up a bit. So, the first admonition is the carry your brother who is not yet able to stand for himself, bear him up on your shoulders. This necessarily precludes our judging them, by the way.

Second, we are not to spend our energies pleasing ourselves. How, then, do we spend our effort? First in supporting those who are weak and secondly in the third admonition; please your neighbor building him up as you do. We really are not supposed to have ourselves on our minds all of the time. Our thoughts are not to be consumed with our perceived wants and needs. It is God’s job to meet all your needs and you know how to pray. So, you say your prayers thanking God for meeting all of your needs today and then that is the last time you have to think of your needs. Now you can use your mental and physical power meeting the needs of others. You have it in your power to bless others. What are you doing with that power? Look around you. What are the needs of your family members and friends? How can you be a blessing? Are there those at work who could use a spiritually mature person to help them? Of course there are. Everywhere you look today are people you could bless if you should choose to do so.  

It is time for us to go to the next level of growth. Are you with me?

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