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So do not lose the courage you had in the past, which has a great reward. Hebrews 10:35 (NCV)
You started out strong enough. You went to church and a small group Bible Study. Maybe you even had one in your home and you were the leader. As a young person you had aspirations of being in the ministry or even being a missionary to some far off culture. You had visions of winning entire villages to Jesus Christ.
Then reality hit, and it hit hard. You never saw that divorce coming. If only you’d studied harder in high school, maybe your grades would have allowed you to get into college. Your health issues kept you from attaining many of the dreams you had at one time. You wonder what happened to your spouse. He/she once held the same values, the same fire you had for ministry but now, it’s the one hindrance in an otherwise great relationship and it’s keeping you from feeling fulfilled and squashing your ability to use your gifts.
There are those that will tell you that the level of your ability to ‘live for Christ’ is a measuring stick of your love for him. Often, it’s the other way around. The realization of our weaknesses and failures is proof of our love for Christ. That may seem like backwards thinking, but the more we desire to live for Jesus, the more His Spirit will show us areas that need change…and the more the enemy will try to send us on huge guilt trips.
Jesus shows us where we can change. Satan reminds us change is impossible. Jesus gently calls us to him. Satan screams accusations. Jesus calls to you through the darkness. Satan reminds you of the dangers lurking in the dark.
When you feel misunderstood, Jesus understands. When you feel attacked, Jesus sends endurance and safety. When you feel pressured to give in, Jesus sends encouragement to press on. “He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.” Isaiah 42:3 (NLT)
Take courage pilgrim. While we walk this Wilderness Road complete with rocks and the threat of attack from the bluffs on either side of us, we have one who walks with us. He knows the way. He is ready to defend, encourage and protect. He’s ready to walk with us all the way. When we reach the end; when endure this road we’ve travelled; victory will be ours and the reward great!
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I need your strength today to be strong. My own fear of failure and the enemies attack have done their work to keep me defeated. Empower me today to be strong through your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 106:1 (NLT)
Love that endures spans the test of time;
The love story between the Creator God of the universe and mankind began in the Garden of Eden. History isn’t series of unrelated, disconnected events but a love story between a loving Father and his earnest desire to have fellowship with his wayward children.
Love that endures weathers the storms of doubt;
Love endures in spite of doubt. In the human realm, when a loved one loses faith is us, and doubts our ability to perform, or our desire to continue in the relationship, it dies. We continually struggle with doubt in our lives. It attacks every facet of our being. But even though doubt attacks our belief in God, our doubt never diminishes his belief in us. Doubt may destroy our faith in God, doubt will never destroy God’s faith in us.
Love that endures seeks restoration when wrongs are done;
Forgiveness for wrongs done in the human realm is considered noble. When a human love relationship is wracked with infidelity, doubt, abuse and defiance, death of the relationship is inevitable. Our father has loved us throughout all of the above. He holds on in our defiance, he continues to show himself when we doubt, he welcomes us back when we cheat on him, he seeks us out when we ignore or blaspheme him. His love doesn’t change when we wrong him.
Love that endures focuses on the object loved, not on the objects condition;
The father didn’t choose the Israelites because they were the most powerful or the largest nation or the most faithful. He chose them because he loved them. Human love is too often based on what the object loved can do for us. God’s love for us is based on what he can do for us! He loves us, not our actions. He loves us, not our beauty. He loves us, not our piety or discipline or ability. He loves us. He loves you. He loves me.
Love that endures loves even when that love is unable to be returned;
Even in our deepest desire to love God, we fail. It’s not that we don’t try. It’s not that we didn’t start out with noble aspirations of being mighty believers in God. We’re human. We fail. We struggle with the very things we hate. Even when you can’t love God the way you want because of the rocks and crevices in the path of life, he loves you. His love isn’t based on our ability to love back.
Love that endures finds joy in the presence of the one loved;
My favorite thought of all. Imagine that. He enjoys just being in our presence. What more can be said? Sometimes I’m not very pleasant. I don’t even like being around me. Sometimes I’m angry, self-absorbed, arrogant, and the list goes on. When I’m at my very worst God finds joy in my presence. Such love!
PRAYER: Father God, Thank you for your enduring love. Thank you that your love for me has nothing to do with who I am, or what I can accomplish or do for you. I’m overwhelmed by your enduring love.
“Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 (NCV)
Isn’t it nice to feel chosen by someone? When we are growing up we love to hear mom or dad pick us up and say “You are my little boy/girl”. Our children long to hear the words “I’m proud of you!” As young adults it’s exciting when that special someone says, in a variety of ways, “I choose you. I want you to be with me forever.”
Unfortunately, the opposite is true far too often. Children, especially those from families torn apart by divorce, grow up wondering why they were put into this world. Young people see the world wracked by war, disease, and political turmoil and wonder why things are the way they are, how long before we self-destruct and why they were put in this world. We adults worry about being able to stay healthy, make our financial obligations, and hold our relationships together.
Life seems to go easier when we feel we have a purpose for being here. The path we travel can take us through times of wilderness. We can travel through areas of our lives when the path is shrouded in darkness, or at best enveloped in a fog that keeps us from knowing our direction in life. Our journey can elevate us to the highest mountain top, or through the deepest valley.
No matter what you are going through right now; regardless of the reason for finding yourself in the situation you are in, life is easier when you know you have a purpose for being here and that someone cares if you are successful.
Remember this, with God there are no unplanned pregnancies, no ‘accidents’ when it comes to conception. You are here as a result of a plan God instituted long before your mother gave birth. Regardless of what people tell you about your lack of value, God formed you as you are. The aimlessness of life you feel is God’s call to bring you closer to himself. Your failures are God’s instrument to help you grow stronger in life.
For Jeremiah, his calling was a prophet. For you it may be to show Christ’s love to the kids you teach, the people you package the fast-food burger, the lonely old couple at table 7, or the sick child in the hospital room. Whatever your calling, you were placed here by the Creator God of the Universe to grow in relationship to him and show his love and grace to those who cross your path.
You are NOT an accident my friend. You are a masterpiece created by the master creator himself. Don’t listen to the voices that want you to believe otherwise.
PRAYER: Thank you God for making me just the way I am. Thank you for putting me where you have in life so I can show those around me the love of Jesus. Strengthen me for the battles ahead through your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Think about Jesus’ example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him. So do not get tired and stop trying. Hebrews 12:3 (NCV)
The writer to the Hebrews challenges us to press on in the face of ‘wicked people’ intent on doing evil things to us. The example he uses is the ultimate example of love, grace, patience, mercy and forgiveness, Jesus Christ. Jesus, the writer reminds us, endured attacks by evil people yet he held on to accomplish the task before him in spite of the adversity.
You mind may conjure up visions of these ‘wicked people’ who were a constant thorn in Jesus side throughout his ministry. You may see battles similar to Cowboys and Indians, or Cops and Robbers. Maybe you see some heavenly version of ‘Star Wars’ being played out with Jesus in the center of the battle and enemy warriors surrounding him.
Before you let your imagination run wild, think for a moment of whom the ‘wicked people’ were that the writer is referring to. Maybe you are thinking it was the Romans. After all, they were ruthless warriors whose army ruled the known world with an iron fist. But frankly, the Romans weren’t interested in Jesus. Caesar was perfectly fine letting the Jews have their religion and their prophets as long as they remained in political subjection to the Roman Government by paying taxes and behaving themselves. Jesus was just another religious zealot in a long line of kooks that walked the paths of Palestine.
The ‘wicked people’ probably weren’t women in Galilee and the surrounding area. Jesus’ treatment of women was remarkable compared to society of the day. When Jesus walked the paths of Galilee the top priorities were livestock, children and women, in that order. Jesus elevated women to a place of importance equal to men.
Robbers? Tax Collectors? The poor and destitute? Prostitutes? The wealthy? Were they the wicked people? Not likely. These were the very people that sought Jesus out for comfort and a word of hope and forgiveness. Nor were those who opposed the Roman Government. Even though Jesus never spoke in opposition to the Romans, he certainly spoke a message of freedom and hope. Many mistakenly thought he would become King of Israel.
So, again, just who were the people the writer of Hebrews is referring to? Who were these wicked people that were always a constant thorn in the side of Jesus? Sadly, those who opposed Jesus the most were the religious people of the day. The ones with the status and respect of the people.
As you struggle through the path of life you are on, remember this. Jesus endured the same scoffing you have endured. He saw firsthand how people who ‘failed’ were treated. They are the ones he reached out to.
It doesn’t matter what struggle you are enduring right now, Jesus understands. Don’t give up on yourself. Don’t allow those who are intent on reminding you of your failures and weaknesses to pull you down. Jesus knows all about your struggle. He didn’t come to condemn you. He came to encourage, to offer hope and forgiveness. To extend the grace of God to you.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I thank you today for the fact that you understand my struggles and love me even though I fail. Empower me with your spirit to stop listening to those who want to pull me down. Help me rise above the attacks so I can live in the freedom a relationship with you offers. Amen.
So be very careful how you live. Do not live like those who are not wise, but live wisely. Use every chance you have for doing good, because these are evil times. Ephesians 5:15-16 (NCV)
“I don’t have enough time.”
How many times do we say that in a day? There are, of course variations of that saying. The reality is that sometimes ‘time’ is our biggest enemy. Everyone on earth has exactly the same amount of time, 24 hours or 1440 minutes or 86,400 seconds a day. That’s it. You can’t stretch them out. You can’t bank some today for use at a later time.
Someone once said, “Yesterday is a cancelled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note.
Today is ready cash. Spend it wisely!” You can’t do anything about the time you wasted yesterday, so forget about it. No sense crying over spilt milk. Planning for tomorrow it a wise thing to do, but putting things off until tomorrow only adds to the workload and stress for that day.
Today, more than ever we are being pulled in a multitude of directions. We have opportunities socially, spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and physically like never before. We can get tired out just going over our day planner!
The key to wise living is balance, but balance is hard to attain to. Take the story of Mary and Jesus and his disciples). One was concerned about Spiritual things (sitting at Jesus feet and listening to him). Jesus responded to the stress and frustration of Martha by saying (my paraphrase), Martha what you are doing is noble, but don’t sweat the small stuff.
There’s no easy formula or 12-step process to avoiding stress and making the most of our time because each of us has unique situations and opportunities. But here are a few things I am trying to learn in living wisely.
* ‘Just say no’. This is more than a quip to keep us off drugs. Sometimes we need to say no to some very good things in order to do better things well. We aren’t called on to save the world. During those tough decisions on whether to say yes or no, pray first, decide later.
* “Will this enhance my walk with God?” Our spiritual lives must take the forefront in all of our dealings with others. Is it more important to [blog, be on Facebook, get my ‘tweet’ in] than to spend time in God’s word and prayer? “Oh, (you say) but I use my blog, my FaceBook, my Tweet account to spread the gospel and encourage people. While these are noble gestures, Jesus is more concerned about your relationship with him than the number of blog readers, tweets or FaceBook Friends.
* “Will this benefit my physical health?” We are God’s holy temple. Take that walk (or run). Visit the gym. Skip the second helping at the dinner table or pass on desert. When our physical bodies are out of sync it can affect the way we think and act towards God, ourselves and others. Take care of your physical body before you take care of others.
* “Will this improve my emotional/intellectual ability to perform?” There are many good things out there. Things that can change society. Things that can make the lives of other people better. But if your own emotional or intellectual well-being is strained you eventually burn out and that never helps anyone.
When the Apostle Paul wrote these words to the Church in Ephesus he mentioned wise living before ‘doing good’ for a reason. Even during his life people were being pulled in many directions. Paul knew the importance of living wisely so that we can ‘do good things’ better and for a longer period of time.
The four ideas mentioned are not profound, but they take a lifetime to master. Allow God’s Spirit to lead you in what is best for you so that, as a Christ-follower you can change your world without destroying yourself and those around you in the process.
PRAYER: Father God, I won’t ask you for more time. You’ve given me all the time I need. What I do ask is that you empower me with your Spirit to see the wisdom of simple living, taking the time I need to take care of me so I can take care of those around me. Amen.
