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.

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.

Why no peace for followers of God

There is an article on Foxnews.com titled, "Obama Condemns 'Senseless Slaughter' of Israelis, Vows to Sustain Peace Talks". There have been almost countless attempts at peace in the middle east. Go back to the Romans in the time of Christ for the first versions, or perhaps we need to go back earlier then that. But the fact remains that there is no peace in the middle east. Why? Fundamentally the issue is spiritual in nature. The Jews claim a divine right to the land that they believe was granted to them by God. There is language that supports this view in the Old Testament. But even Jeremiah talked about how there would be no peace (Jeremiah 8:11). There will not be peace in this world until the Prince of Peace finally sets up His Kingdom here on Earth.

I bring this issue up because tonight while out street witnessing we encountered some opposition. Some people did not want to hear the truth about the pending judgment we all face if we do not know and accept Jesus as our Lord. Jesus knew that when we took a stand in the public square for Him we would no doubt face opposition (Matthew 5:11). The unsaved man has no interest in spiritual things because he is spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-3). We all were before we were made alive in Christ. If we realize what a great gift we have been given in Christ then we will begin to see the dilemma that faces all of those who do not know Jesus. This eternal damnation that awaits them should burden our hearts for them. We must realize that the utter terribleness of a never ending eternity suffering God's wrath is what awaits all unbelievers. Do we care? Is there a burden in our hearts for their salvation. If there is you will soon begin to see the persecution and reviling that comes to those who stand for Christ and reach out in love to the lost and dying world. May God grant us all a clearer vision of that which is coming so that we will be more diligent to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:9-10).

Emotional reminders of our insufficiency

Today was an admittedly challenging day. I looked at our bank account. (When your unemployed this can be a discouraging thing to do.) While I know that it is God that supplies our needs sometimes I get hit with a tsunami of emotion when I contemplate the gravity of it all. After applying for what seems like hundreds of jobs one begins to feel a bit rejected. My pride quickly kicks in and begins to feel injured. Thoughts like "No one wants me", "I'm just not good enough" and "Perhaps if I had just contacted this person or that one". All of this is really an emotional roller coaster that takes off from the platform of self, climbs the mountain of pride and quickly plunges into the maddening spiral of self in the pit of pity. Thank God for His grace, and the examples that we have in His precious word. Paul talked about being buffeted by a messenger of Satan. He requested that it be taken away. God's responded that His grace was sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). God's grace is just as sufficient today. These times of my failing are valuable reminders of my insufficiency. They cause me to depend even more on Jesus. Without Him this time of challenge would be truly overwhelming. Because He has so graciously granted me a heart that desires to focus on Him, He saves me from myself. The Holy Spirit draws my eyes to my magnificent God and plants my feet on the solid rock of Jesus. If you find the trials overwhelming turn to our Lord and use our insufficiency to embrace the sufficiency that can only be found in Him.

Happiness Vs. Joy

How many times have I heard the phrase, "God wants me to be happy"? It alway brings to mind the same internal response. "No God did not die on the cross to make me happy He died to make me Holy." If the situation seems appropriate I will share this phrase. But in a sense if God created us to begin with during the 6th day of creation then you would think that in a perfect world Adam probably was happy. I think that when people make this comment about God wanting them to be happy they are sensing the happiness that was lost in the fall. But happiness is not something we can manufacture. It is the result of circumstances. A child does something funny and we all laugh. Someone tells a joke with that perfect timing that brings a happy smile to everyone's face. Being happy is an emotional result of something that happens. Therefore in a fallen world happiness will be sporadic at best. Joy on the other hand is something that is abiding. Joy comes from the peace that floods the soul of the Christian who is resting in Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:7). Joy is not contingent on circumstances. A person can be going through a major trial and still have the peace and joy of the Lord. Happiness would have been blown away by that type of circumstance. Joy comes to us as a result of surrendering to Jesus. The more that we put to death the deeds of the flesh the greater our abiding joy will be. Even in the midst of adversity we will find joy in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 1:6). The disciples rejoiced when they faced demons and returned rejoicing (Luke 10:17). Seek to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ and you will find that joy begins to become a regular component of your life because true joy comes from God.

What is faith?

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
The evidence of faith is often a path that would normally be filled with fear and pain.

What I mean by this is that faith is not really faith if it does not meet the definition of Hebrews 11. There we find that faith is defined by assurance and conviction of things not seen. When I say that the evidence of faith is a path normally filled with fear and pain what I am referring to is the evidence of a step of faith taken in the context of living a God focused life in a sinful world. When we step out in faith we will usually experience pain in the objections and ridicule we receive from others. They will not understand the step we are taking because faith is acting on things not seen. Because of not seeing the things we are moving toward they will often be detractors, hence we will experience emotional pain. This will often be done by people calling us to be realistic. If you have peace in the midst of a direction that God is leading you and it does not contradict the Bible then what you are doing is the most realistic thing to do. This pain of isolation and rejection of our decision may be a reinforcement that we really are stepping out in faith. The step itself is the evidence of our faith in our almighty Father God. Normal fear comes into play when we take a step that may be financially risky like quitting a good paying job because of the havoc it is reeking in your family. Trusting that God will protect you when you try to save someone whose drowning and your not a good swimmer yourself. Anything that puts you in a place of risk because of your relationship with Jesus Christ and seeking to honor Him in your life has the potential to bring normal fear with it. But what is remarkable about the step of faith is that it is often devoid of fear. When we are walking by faith and it is to the glory of God, we will often experience an unexplainable peace. This is the peace that passes understanding. This is the peace that can only come from the Prince of Peace Himself. So like Peter in the boat during the storm even when it does not make sense, step out by faith and keep your eyes firmly fixed on the Lord Jesus. Steps like this serve to grow our faith and our relationship with Jesus.

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.