Month: July 2024

From this verse, let’s look at patience from both our perspective & God’s. For most of us, patience is not an easily obtained virtue. Rather, we find ourselves careless – not from the matter of sin – but from the remnants of our old carnal nature. We lack self-control and give in too many times to impulsiveness, wandering thoughts, and self-independence. But this is where God’s patience steps in. For God will doggedly keep bringing us back to that same problem point…over and over again, until we finally learn the lesson…all because His purpose for our life is to produce a perfected & finished product, and nothing less.

If you’re like me, you’ve been watching the Summer Olympics with all its elite athletes. And if you listen to the interviews of the gold medal winners, you hear the same thing…they talk about the long, tough training and the blood, sweat, and tears it took to get to the podium. The Apostle Paul used an athletic metaphor here and in I Corinthians 9:24-25 to compare athletic training to spiritual discipline. Why? It’s because of the very well-known Isthmian Games that were held every two years, where athletes throughout Greece would converge to compete. But unlike the modern Olympics with its gold, silver, and bronze metals…there was only one winner. So, self-discipline, determination, and perseverance were the hallmarks of each athlete’s training prior. And just as they trained diligently…setting aside selfish interests to obtain the primary goal…we are to discipline ourselves, pursuing spiritual growth & godly character. Not to get a perishable wreath, but an imperishable crown at the finish line.

I have two questions for you today. The first is, “Do you follow Jesus?” However the second question is more important, and goes something like this, “Ok, you say you follow Jesus, but do you steadfastly follow the Jesus way?” The Jesus way can be found in His own words, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44) Or, “Do good to those who hate you.” (Luke 6:27) The Jesus way goes against everything within our corrupt human nature. It means to respond to curses with prayer…to face assault, both verbal attack & physical aggression, with non-violence…and finally, to persevere through exploitation and oppression with generosity & kindness. It’s easy to say I follow Jesus, and so much harder to follow the Jesus way.

Let’s get this straight…faith isn’t a feeling or a warm & fuzzy emotion. It’s an intentional decision to place your trust in Jesus Christ. Our faith being the instrument, not the grounds, of justification…or as Paul declared, that his justification was “through faith”, not “on account of his faith.” When Paul exhorted the young Timothy to, “fight the good fight of faith” he wasn’t asking Timothy to summon up fleshly emotions. Rather, he encouraged Timothy to face his tests of faith boldly – even when the road ahead seemed uncertain – to develop his faith… which would then develop his perseverance…which in the end, would produce a mature Christian character.

The Greek word in this verse for “trial” means to crush, press, compress, or squeeze. It encompasses also the idea of tribulation, troubles, and affliction…both together, conveying the picture of something being crushed under a great weight with grievous physical, mental, and /or Spiritual anguish and suffering. This is where the word perseverance comes in…or as Revelation 2:10 tells us, to those who persevere through trials & tribulations, they will receive the crown of life. So with every trial, frustration, and problem we can be either bitter or allow it to make us better…with every hassle, misery, and hardship we can decide to allow it to break us or make us more like Him…for ultimately, the choice is ours to be a victim or a victor.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “True prayer is measured by weight, not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a fine oration of great length.” Perplexity as just how to pray for ourselves is a universal Christian experience. We try to articulate our longings and verbalize the pain inside to no avail. But the Holy Spirit is there, strengthening us in our state of weakness and interceding before the Father. In Psalm 38, David is suffering physically, mentally, and spiritually, and in verse 8 makes this all plainly known, “I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.” Sometimes we don’t have the words to pray, and sometimes all that can slip out is a deep guttural moan indicative of all the built-up pain & grief within. It’s then we can rest assured that the Holy Spirit is already at work making our requests known before God.

“God is faithful in all He does.” (Psalm 33:4) when I am fickle & distrusting. He is unchanging in all His ways, (Hebrews 6:17-19) when I am inconsistent & double minded. Yet with all my failings, He tells me that I am His and He loves me even when I mess up…and promises that His loving devotion to me binds Himself in a covenant relationship forever.

The Apostle Paul’s journey was far from comfortable & safe. He suffered mightily for the sake of Christ & the Gospel Message…always looking beyond the hardships to the ultimate goal…his final destination becoming more important each day as God’s plan & purpose played out in the process. Nevertheless, most of us want to reach God’s goal in our life painlessly…but consider this: We will never fully appreciate it if we don’t first go through the long, hard process of transforming into His likeness. Just as the potter forms the clay, the silversmith works the metal. and the artist paints on the blank canvas…our lives are being changed for His good daily.

Paul’s exhortation to the Church in Philippi to rejoice & praise God, no matter what, can always be obeyed…even in the midst of conflict, strife, or adversity. How? Because our joy doesn’t rest on favorable circumstances, good health, or an easy life…but “in the Lord.” And that means whether we are up or down, going through good times or bad, in sunshine or storm, we are to continually and at all times praise Him. Our praise should be as unbroken as God’s promises are to us…or to quote Habakkuk 3:18, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord…” For if you take a moment to read verses 17-18 in Chapter 3, you’ll see as Habakkuk lays out the terrible devastation before him, he doesn’t lose his praise…because he is certain of God’s faithfulness to all His promises. So despite everything, Habakkuk gathered up his “at all times” trust and hope and praised God.

As Jesus tells us in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.” promising to lead Believers as the pillar/cloud of light went ahead of the Israelites in the wilderness…providing light & guidance. In the Word, light & truth go hand in hand…as does darkness, lies and deception follow each other. But ultimately, it’s our decision which path we follow. Though in contrast, there will also be difficult times when the decision isn’t ours to make, for the Lord will not lift the darkness from us. However, we must still trust in Him…even if He appears like an unkind friend, an unnatural father, or an unjust judge. The Lord still remains the light shining in the darkness.