The glorious reminders of aches and pains

An amazing thing happens when you reach forty. Your body begins to lose some of its ability to bounce back. What this means is that pulled muscles seem to happen easier and last longer. Yesterday afternoon I was kicking a soccer ball with my boys and well today I am still pondering that soccer ball as a muscle in my hip protest with every step I take. There are a couple of things this can do for me. It can drive me to distraction or it can remind me of my mortality. As I ponder my mortality I am inevitably drawn to think about my Lord Jesus and the home that He is preparing for me (John 14:2-3). In that home He will wipe away all pain (Revelation 21:4). My heart looks forward with greater longing to the day when I will see Him, all because of some little aches and pains. On reflection I can truly thank God for blessing me with these aches and pains. May God bless you with a focus on Him that allows you too to rejoice in ALL the gifts that He gives us.

The power of God focused words

Yesterday I called a ministry that we have supported for many years. Unfortunately we had to stop our monthly support at the beginning of this year due to my being laid off. I called them because I know that they have regular prayer meetings and I wanted to let them know that we are still looking for work. I really take God seriously when He calls us to pray, and so I look for partners who will pray with us just as I partner to pray for others.

If we are not on your prayer list please add us and keep us before the throne of grace. The leader of this ministry spent some time on the phone with me and then he prayed with me. During his prayer he talked to God about how David in the Psalms says, "I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread" (Psalm 37:25). Wow! What an incredible promise from God through David. These simple words were such an encouragement. Why? Because they put my mind and heart and hope where it needs to be, on my Lord. If you are going through a tough time. Remember there is no better place to be than resting in the arms of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why followers of God know peace

In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul bears witness to the fact that God has given him the grace to be content in any situation. What is the key to that contentment? A clear focus and dependence upon God. Paul faced times of plenty and abundance and realized that they were a gift to him from God. Paul faced hunger and need and realized that these too were a gift from God. How can hunger and need be a gift from God? Hunger and need are a gift to the believer who like Paul has a clear focus and dependence on God. Hunger and need are blessed reminders of how much we truly need God to sustain us. By thrusting us into the barren desert of need God helps us to let go of our dependence on things of this earth. We are put in a place where we truly must depend on God. When Paul says, "that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him" he is talking about being able to walk through adversity as well as plenty.

Paul's admonition earlier in the same chapter rings with greater force when we understand his personal heartbeat that follows it (Philippians 4:4-7). Paul started that earlier section with a call to rejoice in the Lord always. The only way you can rejoice ALWAYS is if you see everything that is coming to you as a gift. These are all gifts given to us by God for our own benefit. Paul continues with a call to be gentle with everyone. Even those who are not good to us? In a word yes! Why? Because the Lord is at hand.

He tells us not to worry. What should we do with the things that come our way? We communicate everything to God by prayer and supplication with one unusual thing thrown in - Thanksgiving. Paul wants us to make our request but in the midst of making them to be thankful for these same things because they are truly a gift from God. When your heart is tuned to being thankful and rejoicing in all the things that come our way we will gain something that is astounding. Peace! Not just any peace but the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

1. Rejoice always - because you see everything coming to you as a gift
2. Be gentle with everyone - because the Lord is at hand and He will make things right
3. Don't worry - take everything to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

Do these things and rivet your eyes on the Lord Jesus and an amazing peace from God that passes understanding will fill our hearts. Not only that but He will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. As we rejoice in Him He will secure our hearts so that they can continue to rejoice in Him. This is why the true followers of Jesus in the midst of persecution and a life devoid of external peace will exhibit a heart filled with supernatural peace that cannot be taken away. Join me as I try to follow Paul's plan for living a life completely focused on God.

The gift of sleeplessness

We read the Bible, stories from Christian history and usually a good book to our children each evening. We are currently reading a book titled, "Prisoners of the Sea" by Florence M. Kingsley. It was initially published in 1897 and it is an exciting cast away and adventure on the high seas story. Tonight chapter thirty-eight held our attention as an escaped convict planned to kill some of the stories heros while they slept. One of our heros is a Huguenot Pastor. In the story he could not sleep. What he says was a really great perspective on sleeplessness.

But the Huguenot pastor, Constantin Dinant, was not asleep. He had not slept during the night; he had beguiled the long hours with prayers, none the less fervent because they were inaudible.

"Why bemoan a sleepless night?" he was wont to say. "These are the hours that God snatches for us out of the thirsty waste of our lives, wherein to give us the living water. Rejoice then, when sleep forsakes thine eyes, for it is a sign of favor. Surely communion with the King of king is better than the unconsciousness of sleep."

To see sleeplessness as a gift from God (James 1:17). A gift of sweet communion with Jesus the King of kings. Now there is a perspective that strikes at the very core of living a life focused on our great God, Jesus the Christ.

 

Looking for love in all the wrong places

A headline on CNN this week read, "18 killed amid panic at Germany's 'Love Parade'". The Love Parade started in Germany in 1989 a few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall. It has been held every year since. It was created to be a political statement. They were calling for international understanding and peace. The creators thought they could do this through love and music. So this big music festival that attracts hundreds of thousands of people has continued until this year when 21 people died at the festival in a crowded underpass. People came looking for peace and love and found death. Things like this exult in man's ability to solve his own problems. Seeking peace in man whose biggest problem is sin is a futile enterprise. There will never be peace as long as there is sin. Jesus was the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). He told the disciples that He was leaving them a peace that was different from the world. He said that He was leaving His peace with them (John 14:27). The world's peace is an empty promise that it never delivers on. God's peace is available to anyone who repents of their sinful ways and trusts Jesus as their Lord. The peace that we receive from the Holy Spirit is one that the world cannot understand (John 14:16-17). Why does the world not understand it? Because they have not received the Holy Spirit and they are not interested in keeping God's commandments. I am not talking about developing a legalistic righteousness. But Jesus Himself said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Was Jesus calling us to be legalist? No! If you love someone don't you do things that will please them. If God has placed a love in your heart for Jesus and His kingdom you will find yourself longing to keep His commandments. This is not to make you more righteous but this is simply to take you to the feet of Jesus. Those who desire to live a God focused life will find their hearts embracing and seeking after God's law as a means of knowing Him better.

Money Matters?

I have been preparing to speak to a church men's group this Saturday. They have been going through a book by Timothy Keller called Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters. I have the chapter on money. This has been incredibly relevant for me. I have been without work since the end of December. God in His grace has been supplying our needs, as I pick up side jobs and continue to look for work. It is easy in a situation like this or any situation where money is tight to begin to become fixated on money. But the real question at the end of the day is, "Who is it that supplies our needs?" is it us or is it God. If we believe that it is us then we have cause for feelings of desperation and fear. Not only that but we begin to watch every little penny. I don't think that is why God put us on this earth. Our battle should not be for financial security our battle should be to keep finances from drawing our hearts and our focus away from God. Paul talks at length about God's provision in Philippians 4:10-20. Most people quote Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” usually they mean that God will allow them to be successful and an overcomer, but that is out of context. Paul talks in verses 11-12 about how he has learned “...in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” What Paul is saying here as he wraps it up in verses 19-20 is that God is the one that supplies his needs. So no matter what comes our way we must remember that it is God who brings us our work. It is God who grants us favor and sees to it that we receive a raise. It is God who provides the good deal on a house or a car that you bought. Truly in our lives we have seen God supply time and again. Even though I have seen it often it is good to be reminded that our flesh will long for the securities of this world and we must fight to put our hope and trust in God. We need to see Jesus as our greatest hope and treasure. We must never allow our hearts to be distracted from living a God focused life.

The Purpose of Suffering - Part 2 The Restrainer

Yesterday I started to explain how pain is a tool that God introduced into a fallen world for the sake of man. We looked at one part of suffering. I am seeking to address some of the issues raised by Sam Harris and qouted by John D. Sutter in an article on CNN.com called, "Philosopher: Why we should ditch religion." In the article Sam makes some comments related to suffering. These are recaps from his 20+ minute video presentation on the TED web site. (There is a link to it in the link above if you want to see it.) Sam's case is an emotionally charged one. He is passionate about the need to combat repression and pain wherever it exist. I pointed out how in many ways Sam seems to see repression and pain as the highest moral tragedy. Since this appears to be key to his discussion on science determining what is morally right and wrong without the need for religion I thought I should address it. Today we will look briefly at how pain is a tool of God to restrain mankind. Pain was introduced as a result of the fall of man (See yesterday's post). In the new heaven and earth it will not exist. So God introduced it into a fallen world for a good purpose. Imagine a fallen world in which there is no pain. On a purely physical level I could steal from you because I wanted to and be sent to prison for the crime. Would prison without pain have a reforming effect on me? No! Would there be any real reason for you to want me to go to prison since you do not feel pain either. We would be constantly cutting ourselves and burning ourselves because there would be no pain to restrain us. Pain in this regard is a grace because it makes reform possible and it provides protection. Certainly there are areas of our world where pain and suffering proliferate because the world is fallen. One of the reasons for this is so that we as followers of Jesus will reach out and help the sufferers. Mark 14:5-9 almost cast it as a forgone conclusion that we would be helping the less fortunate. Jesus calls us to help those in need. To comfort them with the comfort we have received from Christ. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-6 Paul makes it clear that suffering is a means by which we might bring comfort to the sufferer. In verse six Paul sees it functioning for the sake of not just comfort but for salvation. In the light of the gospel it becomes clear that pain and suffering is ultimately for the glory of God. He uses it to restrain what would be rampant sin and He uses us to bring comfort and salvation to those who are suffering. The truth of God's work through pain can only be realized as we live a God focused life.