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“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
Sometimes we get the idea that ‘Bible People’ were somehow a different species of animals. Not really human, not really susceptible to the same emotions, struggles and trials we have. They were from a different time with fewer struggles, they had a closer handle on life and faith…and God. Some of us even write them off as good characters from some novel. Not real, even though realistic.
Fact of the matter is, the stories of the Bible are stories of real people with real struggles surprisingly like our own. Sure, they didn’t have internet or electricity. They didn’t have to worry about a global economy. High gas prices wouldn’t be developed for centuries. But don’t let that keep you from the realization that these are real people with real problems.
They still struggled with relationship issues like divorce and dysfunctional families. There were still time issues and disease to contend with. Politics were just as dangerous as they are today, maybe even more so for some. There was worry and racism and gossip and religious intolerance.
So how did they manage? How did people like the Apostle Paul deal with the issues in his life of several near death experiences, enduring the verbal attacks of people who he sought to love and extend the Grace of God too? Where did he turn when tempted to lash out or lust attacked, or disappointment set in? What encouraged him when he was afraid of the future?
Paul tells us that he learned the secret. There were times in his ministry when people around him supported him emotionally, physically and spiritually. During those times he enjoyed the comfort and contentment of having a warm place to sleep and a full stomach.
There were other times when the hunger was unbearable. The only thing that hurt worse were the accusations, the harassment and the lies that were told about him. There were times he felt completely alone and wondered if his work of ministry was worth the pain.
So what was this secret of Paul’s stability? He learned that in times of need or times of plenty it was his reliance on Christ that kept him strong. The human soul was never created to endure life struggles alone. By our very essence we need a helper to keep us strong during the tough times. Sometimes that strength comes from leaning on others, but there are times when the only solace we have is in Christ. He longs to comfort you, embrace you and lift you up.
Regardless of what you are struggling with; or what others have done to you in your past; or what worries you about the future, Jesus Christ came to strengthen your heart to endure. He didn’t come to remove the trials; he came to walk through them with you.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you for the power you have to support me. During the trying times may I remember that it is you, only you that I need to make my way through life. Amen.
Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. Ephesians 4:2 (CEV)
The facts of this story are made up. The reality of the story is repeated at different levels all over the world. Those who Jesus prayed would love each other as a sign of God’s love spend time fighting about things of finite importance while the things of eternity are overlooked.
First Church was a charming church in a mid-sized city in the Midwest. The church was over 100 years old and had remained a solid influence in the community. Many were baptized, married and buried as a result of First Church.
As the small town grew, so did First Church. As a result it soon began to feel growing pains and it was evident that something had to change. Since it was located on a lot that encompassed and entire city block, the church leaders proposed adding on to the current sanctuary in order to minister better to the younger generation.
That’s when the trouble began. The thought of changing the century old building didn’t sit well with the Smith family. Great-great-grandpa Smith was one of the charter members of First Church. The family was wealthy and influential at First Church as well as in the entire town.
Then again, so were the Jones’. Old Martin Jones owned the lumber company that provided all the lumber for the building…free. Jones’ Lumber Company still held a sizable investment in the community and promised a good price on material for the building program.
Soon the church was divided between those siding with the official ‘Smith’ delegation and those who agreed with the Jones’ and the leadership that something must be done and adding on was the best, least intrusive way to improve the ministry.
Eventually, the disagreement moved outside church walls and into the courts as the Smith’s and Jones’ decided to duke it out in front of a judge. The lawsuit included the church and put a sizable strain on the church budget, not to mention the spiritual atmosphere of the church family.
The fight became so intense that eventually many left First Church and started their own church across town in the school gymnasium. The legal fees and the loss of membership not only tainted the image of First Church, it forced them to close their doors.
How we respond to people we disagree with determines our view of God’s power and their view of God’s Grace. The Apostle Paul challenged the church in Ephesus (and us?) to live in harmony with each other. The word ‘gentle’ can also be translated ‘meek.’ Meekness means we set aside our own feelings for a greater good. Meekness means we see the Kingdom of God as being more important than the work of a man’s hands.
The one admonishing the church to live in gentleness was far from gentle in his earlier life. Look at the description of Saul (Paul) before his conversion: Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Acts 9:1-2 (NIV)
What was the difference? Saul met Jesus. One need only to read the letters Paul wrote to the New Testament church to see that even in his gentleness, he never lost his tenacity. It was just redirected from his own personal convictions to the leading of the Savior.
We aren’t called to change people. We are called to be meek and allow God’s power to change people. The meek not only inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5), they show the world the love of Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you prayed in the garden for unity and love to show through us so others will see you. We haven’t done well with that. Help us to live in unity so others will see you. Amen.
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 2 Timothy 1:5 (NIV)
To read this blog post you need to start humming ‘The Way We Were’ as sung by Barbra Streisand.
“Memories, light the corners of my mind
Misty watercolor memories of the way we were.
Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we give to one another
For the way we were”
The last couple of months have been a little tough for me. Nothing bad or serious really. The journey has just been a little more than hectic. Unfortunately the thing that has taken the biggest toll has been my writing.
My time away from the pen (er, keyboard) hasn’t been wasted. I’ve enjoyed time with my family, time with my God and time with the great outdoors. So, what did I do this summer? I reminded myself of the importance of memories. The reminders were neither subtle nor painless. Memories, I’ve determined aren’t so plans in life as they are the life in the plans.
This summer my wife, her two daughters and I visited a small state forest campground that she’d gone to in her childhood. Twice a year she and her parents made the five hour pilgrimage north to get away from the city and away from people. It wasn’t a large lake. The fishing wasn’t fantastic, but they always had fish. No TV. No electricity. Not even any cell phone signal. But the place was huge in her mind.
We spent three days there. We did some fishing. It wasn’t great, but we caught enough for a great fish-fry. We re-walked the paths she’d walked and remembered the stories she’d told. We learned how to live without cell phones and electrical outlets.
When we left, my wife (who is nearly as big a sap as I am, but not quite) cried. No tears of regret or sadness, tears of joy. This place was so much a part of her. This place was a large piece of the puzzle that made her who she is. Even though none of us had ever been here, we were all returning to a place in our hearts because it was a place of her heart.
Like the young college student said to me once, “I know my parents loved me. They worked so hard to give us what we needed and wanted. But I don’t have any memories. We didn’t spend time with each other. Everything revolved around activity and not relationship.” His parents had missed the most important thing because activity in and of itself doesn’t build relationship, time together does. And memories come from time together.
As we began our own journey home I thought about what just happened and the verse in 2 Timothy came to mind. Timothy was a special person in Paul’s life. He was grounded in relationship. He was grounded in faith. Those two worked together to make him what he was.
Some say you should never mix religion and politics and that statement is true. Religion is nothing more than rules and politics are the same. But, our relationship with Jesus must permeate every aspect of our lives in order to build the character that will take us through the obstacles of our journey ahead.
I dare say that Timothy’s mother and grandmother didn’t raise Timmy with ministry in mind. They raised him with life in mind. Ministry grew from their efforts to prepare him for life. Each of us has ‘memories in the corners of our minds’. Events that make us who we are today. Some of those may be painful. Use them to comfort others in pain. Some may be happy, share them to life someone’s day. We may never be the ‘way we were’ but regardless, we can use ‘the way we were’ to encourage someone ‘where they are.’
PRAYER: Father God, I look at the path I’ve trod so far in life. I’ve stumbled over plenty of rocks, fallen on some slippery ground and missed a few curves. I thank you for the grace you’ve given me through Jesus to carry on. Help me to use the time I have left to make other’s lives better. In Jesus’ name I pray this, Amen.
Continue to have faith and do what you know is right. Some people have rejected this, and their faith has been shipwrecked. 1 Timothy 1:19 (NCV)
“Well, I know we shouldn’t have sex until we are married, but…”
“Sure, I push the speed limit a little, but I’m a careful driver. Never had an accident, so I…”
“I probably should forgive her, but how many times do I have to do it? I mean, she never even asks forgiveness. She deserves everything she gets.”
“Sure, I pad the expense account a bit. But the wages they pay me and the amount of extra time I end up giving this place isn’t exactly fair either.”
“At least I don’t have any big sins. Little sins here and there won’t matter, will they?”
I live near one of the most beautiful river valleys in the entire world…well, at least in my world. I like nothing more than to take my family or a few friends up the river in our boat. We take the trip slowly and enjoy the scenery. If we’re lucky we see dear, bald eagles, bear and a variety of other wild life. Nothing beats a quiet cruise on the river.
For all of its beauty, however, there is something ominous about the trip. Something that every boater must be aware of or else trouble can come quickly. That danger is dead-heads. Dead-heads are the tips of logs from trees that have fallen into the river over the years, or from logs from logging days long ago.
Dead heads are dangerous because they seem to appear out of nowhere and can render a boat helpless in seconds if one is not careful. They seem worse in spring so your first couple trips call for extra caution. Carelessness and lack of attention to details in the water are disasters in the waiting.
Our lives are much like a river trip. They require attention to detail. That’s why the Apostle Paul warns his young pastor/friend Timothy to continue to do what is right. Letting yourself grow careless in your spiritual walk is like driving the boat at full throttle without concern for what might be lurking just below the surface. The result? Spiritual shipwreck. Suddenly you find yourself floating aimlessly with no control over your life.
So maybe that’s where you are finding yourself on the voyage. Quiet calm waters are a thing of the past. Safe harbor is nothing more than a dream. You feel like you are taking on water at a rapid rate and sinking is inevitable. So, now what?
That’s the good news. A life that’s shipwrecked doesn’t have to stay that way forever. God is pretty good at building boats. Look what he had Noah construct. It doesn’t matter how many poor choices you’ve made. Each of the holes in that hull can be patched through the forgiveness Jesus has to offer. Grace says that no matter how badly shipwrecked you find yourself, there is always hope for a new voyage because of Jesus.
PRAYER: Jesus, you say you see me wherever I am. You say you will be my strength. You say all my sins can be forgiven through you. I’ve tried to navigate these waters on my own for far too long. It’s time for a change. I’ve run aground. I’m powerless to continue. I claim the forgiveness I can have in you and from this day forward will allow you to help me navigate the dangers of life. In your name, Amen.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:12
A friend of mine makes the statement “You can do anything for awhile if you see the end in sight.” There is some truth to this statement. If we know the struggle we are in is temporary we know we can probably endure. For example, a runner will see the finish line ahead and often get a quick burst of adrenaline that helps to cross the finish line.
But what about in the spiritual life? What about those times along this journey we call life when we don’t know the outcome. When the doctor’s report isn’t what we’d hoped. When our children start making bad choices. When our spouse begins to drift from us emotionally. What then? If we don’t see the end in sight what helps us to keep going?
It’s during those times when life seems uncertain that we need to look at the life of Paul and his motivation for moving on. Today’s verse seems like a ‘pie in the sky by and by’ statement until we realize what had happened in the life of Paul. He’d been stoned and left for dead. He’d been lost at sea after a shipwreck. He had spent nights in the cold dark cell of prisons and, on one occasion, lived through an earthquake while underground. Relationally he was hated by many of his closest friends, held in suspicion by his new friends, critiqued for his preaching and leadership styles, and now, sat in a Roman prison awaiting execution!
So with all that history and an uncertain future what was his secret to ‘being content’? Paul had learned the hard way that God can see us through anything. What Paul is NOT saying is that life in Christ is a breeze, and void of any adversity or conflict. What Paul IS saying is that every time he came upon an obstacle he found that his faith in Jesus Christ was powerful enough to see him through!
In Christ you can do anything when you realize that whatever is going on in your life is temporary. Temporary in the sense that here on earth the worst that could happen is death, and, for the Christ-follower the best that could happen is to be transformed from this frail human body into the glorious body we receive when we see Jesus.
Learning contentment comes from seeing how God helps you through adversity. Sometimes you don’t see it until you’ve come through the fire or through the flood. Sometimes you don’t realize it until after the divorce or miscarriage. Sometimes you won’t realize it until you are on the other side of life, looking back as Paul did.
The Psalmist says (Psalm 34:8) to taste and see that the Lord is good. Until we’ve tasted of his goodness through adversity we will never learn contentment in this life.
PRAYER: Father, thank you for the reminder that you know better than anyone what I’m going through right now. I don’t see even a hint of light at the end of this tunnel. I have no idea what lays on the other side. Empower me with your spirit to taste your goodness in the light of this trial. Let me look back on my life to see how you have seen me through. With you on my side I know I can ‘do anything’ because my future is in your hands. In Jesus name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 