Worth Repeating - June 7, 2017

Philippians 4: 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer.*

Worry. We’ve all done it. And we know it’s futile. There is no power in worry. Worry has never fixed anything. But when we are helpless to do anything, we seem to think that we are being irresponsible if we don’t at least worry about it!

Paul offers us a prescription for curing worry. He doesn’t just order us to be anxious about nothing and expect us to figure out how to accomplish it. He says we are to tell God what we want. He doesn’t say “Figure out what you need then ask God for it.” He directs us not to be afraid to tell God what we want. 

And how are we supposed to do that? By prayer, of course. And petition – which is just a stronger term for prayer. And wash it all down with a healthy dose of thankfulness. Not just to move us to an “attitude of gratitude” but to remind us of God’s faithfulness. When we start listing all the ways that God has blessed us – not just in providing for our needs but in giving us abundant life – how can we not trust that he will continue to see to the details of our lives? 

Letting God take charge does not make our problems go away – but how much of a problem is it if we don’t have to carry it around with us anymore? How much of a problem is it when we can claim the promise in the next verse?  “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 7)

You know you’re surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work.*

Worth Repeating - June 6, 2017

Psalm 18: 19 He rescued me because he delighted in me.

He delights to weave the adversity of our experience into his beautiful plan for our lives.*

David could have claimed that God rescued him because he deserved it. David was royalty – chosen by God to be the first of a dynasty that culminated in the Messiah. He was a warrior, a shepherd, a poet, a musician and a king, but he was also an adulterer and a murderer. Yet, David maintains that God’s favor is due to his delight in him.

Is it presumptuous to believe that the words of this Psalm apply to me as well as to David? I can’t claim to be as great a person as David, but I’m no greater (or less) a sinner, either.

Jesus, who was God in the flesh, demonstrated God’s delight in humanity. Unlike us, he found that other people “were not a source of stress, but a source of joy.”* Where I might find it draining to deal with people and their problems day in and day out, Jesus was energized by it - because his Father delights in us! I have done nothing to deserve it but I know that God delights in me. Maybe it will never be said of me, “She was a woman after God’s own heart,” but perhaps on my tombstone could be engraved these words: She was special to God.

God’s plans for us are for our benefit.*

Worth Repeating - June 5, 2017

II Corinthians 1: 3, 4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

There is a very sweet grace called sympathy, which is seldom found in persons who have had no trouble.*

Going through a divorce was one of the worst things I have ever experienced, but God took every painful step with me. I have since been able to be God’s instrument of comfort to others as they walked that path themselves. Sitting by my dad’s bedside for four days as he suffered and died was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Dreadful as it was, I knew God’s comfort throughout the whole ordeal. A few months later, one of my friends lost her father and I was able to offer her some comfort and perspective.

I see three benefits that come out of every bad experience suffered by a believer. The first is a closer walk with God. We seldom draw nearer to our Father during the sunshiny days, while storms usually lead us to greater intimacy. The second benefit is our ability to empathize with others. Every time I am able to draw on my past to come to the aid of another, I thank God that my experience was not wasted.

The third benefit? I can face adversity with hope and courage because I know firsthand that the God of all comfort will not abandon me. Praise be to the Father of all comfort!

Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.*

Worth Repeating - June 4, 2017

Acts 2: 1–13 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. . . . All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. . . a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. . .  Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

The church grew and permeated Greco-Roman society for centuries in the face of official hostility and mob hatred.*

Upon first reading that the disciples began to speak in other tongues, we might picture a rather chaotic scene. Lots of babbling and confusion and miscommunication. But keep reading. “Each one heard them speaking in his own language” it says. That presents a more orderly picture, doesn’t it? What would be the point of the Spirit’s enabling the disciples to speak another language if it only resulted in pandemonium? Instead, they opened their mouths and whatever came out was understood by their foreign listeners. There is no indication that they were rudely speaking over each other.

It’s odd that some observers preferred to make fun of the disciples’ new linguistic abilities and to accuse them of being drunk. A drunk does not suddenly begin speaking a language he has never learned; but perhaps the skeptics didn’t hear their mother-tongue because they were not filled with the Holy Spirit. In any event, it is a reality 2,000-plus years later that sometimes people think you’re drunk or crazy when you speak God’s language.

The new-improved version of Peter did not take offense at the mockery or false accusations. We might have been embarrassed or felt inclined to launch a counterattack, but Peter took advantage of an opportunity to preach. It was following that sermon that about 3,000 were added to their number - on that very day.

Being made fun of is never fun but following the Spirit’s leading in confronting your mockers is exhilarating. Let Peter’s example encourage you to speak God’s language bravely. The results could be astonishing!

Sermons may be clever, powerful, convincing, and yet, unless the Spirit’s power be sought . . . no spiritual harvest can be expected.*

Worth Repeating - June 3, 2017

Acts 2: 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

No time is lost waiting upon the Lord.*

On this occasion, the apostles were practicing the art of waiting. Perhaps they didn’t know what they were waiting for. We don’t know how they spent their time while they were all together in one place but when the Holy Spirit came to rest on them, it was because the time was right and they were ready. Their waiting period was not an excuse for inactivity but an opportunity for preparation. As Max Lucado observes, they were willing to “wait in the right place for power.”*

I talk a lot about waiting. For me, waiting is a spiritual discipline. You see, part of what makes it so hard to wait upon the Lord is that we grow bored and impatient. But there is more to the spiritual discipline of waiting than just killing time. Praying is the most effective method of preparing to receive power. Searching God’s word will help you to recognize when the waiting is over. And when you watch for his answer with expectant faith, you will be alert when it comes. What a shame to miss that moment of power because you gave up!

Are you waiting for the Lord to reveal his will? Are you waiting constructively or are you just pacing the floor? When the time is right for the Spirit to move, will you be watching alertly or will the moment pass unheeded? Learn the discipline of waiting: pray, search, watch.

Spiritual growth in the Christian life calls for the strenuous involvement of the believer.*

Worth Repeating - June 2, 2017

Hebrews 11: 6 Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Faith is indispensable to a good relationship with God.*

This whole chapter in Hebrews is a tribute to God’s faithful people. Read about them. What does it say about how, in their hearts, they believed in God? Nothing, actually. What Hebrews chapter 11 tells us is what these heroes did. Does it tell us that they were saved by their works? No, it doesn’t. It tells us that by faith they demonstrated their faith through their actions. And God was pleased with them.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Not just because of the missing element of faith, but because without faith, there are no fruits of faith. Conversely, you could work yourself to death for the cause of Christ and it would be wasted effort if you don’t have faith. Without faith, nothing you do is good enough. And, as we read in James 2: 17, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Faith is more than conviction of the reality of the facts that God has unveiled. Faith also exists as response to those facts.*

Worth Repeating - June 1, 2017

I Corinthians 13: 4-8 Love is patient, love is kind . . . Love never fails . . .

When it comes to love, feelings rule the day. Emotions guide the ship. Goose bumps call the shots. But should they? Can feelings be trusted? Can a relationship feel right but be wrong?*

Everyone knows that I Corinthians 13 is the Love Chapter. We read it at weddings. It makes us feel good to hear what love is. And that’s our problem – feelings. Love is alive – as long as it makes us feel good. Examine Paul’s words carefully and see what he says about feelings . . . Nothing. Not one word about romance or self-fulfillment, either. 

Paul has a few things to say about what love is but look at what he says about what love is not: 

· It doesn’t envy, boast, delight in evil, or keep record of wrongs 

· It is not proud, rude, self-seeking or easily angered 

· Love never fails 

Think of the worst relationship you have ever had, whether it was with a relative, a friend or a spouse. Without even considering what love is, how could that dysfunctional relationship have been improved – or saved – if both parties had just eliminated the behaviors that love is not? Can you recall which of them caused the most damage in your life? 

Paul’s final word about the things that love is not: it is not a quitter. Relationships fail because people fail to do love when they start failing to feel love. Relationships fail when one party gives up on love, but love never fails.

Our problem isn’t that we don’t know how to love but that we mistake love for an emotion.*