This is Life

Every so often, the news media cover a story about a man or a woman who has lived to a ripe old age. And, it’s the custom to ask them the same question: “To what do you attribute your longevity?”

The answers differ. One will say, “A good family, lots of caring, a glass of wine with dinner.” Another, “No smoking, no drinking, in bed every night by 9.” A 100 year old man from Russian said yogurt was his secret ingredient.

Each, apparently, has found a personal formula for a long and full life. Of course, more frequent are the sad stories of people who have indeed managed to stay alive for many years, yet have not experienced a happy, successful life at all. What makes the difference?

Do we know how to live fully – abundantly? I am come, said Jesus, that they might have LIFE and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10). Christ came to bring us the abundant life.

What is an abundant life? What is abundance? Here is a definition: “possessing an overflowing fullness.” It means great plenty – great plenty of life and real living. It means exuberance. It means abounding. That’s the kind of life Christ came to reveal that we could have. Not many understand that.

What do we need to live successfully and abundantly?

The capacity to love. We need genuine caring and concern for others. It’s important to reach out a helping hand, to give of yourself, to do just a little more. Love, as the song says, makes the word go ‘round and it also binds people together.

The apostle Paul said that without love, we are nothing (I Corinthians 13:2).

What is love? It is silence when your words would hurt. It is patience when others are curt. It is deafness when scandal flows. It is thoughtfulness for others’ woes. It is courage when misfortune falls.

Read how Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:9-21. These are guidelines for the capacity to love.

The capacity to learn. The ability to learn from the Bible, from experience, from those around us. Learning today, of necessity, is a lifelong process, because changes come so rapidly. A mind ready and eager to absorb wisdom and knowledge is an asset worth cultivating.

Note Proverbs 9:9-11. What a promise. Is this our attitude toward learning? It should be.

The capacity to labor. There are times when a life of idle ease seems appealing. Actually, though, it’s work – hard work on the job, at home, in a volunteer situation in the Church or the community – that provides the real rewards, like the sense of satisfaction when you finish a big project, the feeling of accomplishment when you solve a sticky problem.

One of my favorite sayings is, “Success is sweet but its secret is sweat. Fortunately, no one has ever drowned in sweat.”

Read Paul’s admonition in II Timothy 2:15. The book of Proverbs is full of instruction on the capacity to labor. See Proverbs 6:6-8.

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.

The capacity to laugh, at yourself as well as with others. Life can sometimes be hard, dreary. The capacity to see the humor in certain situations, to enjoy the funny side of life, can brighten not only your day but someone else’s. There is a time for proper humor (Ecclesiastes 3:4).

When a person is gloomy, everything seems to go wrong: when someone is cheerful, everything seems right. Have a balance of humor and happiness in your life.

The capacity to leave. We all have people and things that we care about very much. But the day may and will come when they are no longer part of our lives. A loved one dies, a good job is lost, a valued situation changes for one reason or another. When that time comes a period of grieving may be in order but it should soon be set aside. That past is over and done with; it’s time to move forward.

On first pass, these may seem like some rather simple qualities, they do, after all, exist to some degree in all of us. But it’s in applying them, along with the fruits of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), in deepening and expanding them, in sustaining them, that we may live truly successful godly lives.

Is Your Back Against the Wall?

I like to watch movies and one that I enjoy is Catch Me if You Can. One of my favorite parts of this film is when Christopher Walken’s character, Frank Abagnale Sr., tells the story about two mice and the quarts of cream that they each fell into.

This little anecdote illustrates an important point of determination.

When trials, tests and problems arise in our daily lives, the immediate human tendency is to think things have somehow has gone wrong, that things aren’t the way ought to be.

Perhaps doubt begins to enter our minds. We begin to question God’s promises, His word or His love and His concern for us. And when our trails really get close to home and really “hot” we can begin to question: “Is God really concerned about me? Does He care about my problems? Or is He far off and uninvolved with my trails?”

Have you ever felt this way? I know I have. But, every time this happens we need to remind ourselves of our real objective in God’s big plan.

God’s objective with His people has never been primarily the rewards, security, wealth, longevity or happiness in this physical life. God wants much more for us than these temporary blessings. He is far more concerned with what is being produced in our lives for the world tomorrow.

A central part of the meaning of word endurance in the Bible is patience. Patience is a dual meaning for many of the words translated “endurance.” Endurance means not being rattled by trails and problems. It means facing them with a large does of calm. You don’t overly worry because you know everything is going to come out all right. You’ve read the end of the book (the Bible) and you know how it comes out in the end: We win!

“Behold, we count them happy which endure” says James 5:11. Enjoy your Christian life, you have the abundant life Christ promised (John 10:10).

Eternal life and the kingdom of God are worth sacrificing for now, worth all the effort, strain, struggles, suppressing the self, denying the old flesh. The reward will be worth it.

All in God’s kingdom will have been through hard trails, situations that involved sadness, sacrifice, discouragements and insecurity. They will be people who can relate to and understand and help others.

When trails, tests and troubles seem to take us right to the wall, we need to realize that being there is a step in the process that is used to prepare us for the kingdom of God.

Remember Paul words in I Peter 2:19-21.

If you have times when you doubt your ability to endure or overcome trails, ask God to give you more faith. Here is a short poem on faith that says it all:

Faith sees the way:
Doubt sees the long black night,
Faith sees the day:
Doubt sees dreads to take a step,
Faith soars on high:
Doubt thunders, “Who believes?”
Faith answers, “I.”

God tests and correct everyone whom He dearly loves (Hebrews 12:6). Trails are necessary so that we may serve in God’s kingdom and rule with godly justice, wisdom, compassion and patience.

Let’s remind ourselves to rededicate our lives as living sacrifices for God’s work, and daily prepare to receive the future reward God wants to give us.

The next time you butter your toast, remember how that little mouse endured his trail and received life for his determination.

Disciples Today, Teachers Tomorrow

Do you know how many disciples Christ had?

Many people would say 12 but the answer is quite different.

Notice John 6:66-67.

Jesus had 12 chief disciples who adhered to Him faithfully over a long period but He had many other disciples from time to time. Everyone who listened to Him and learned from Him was a disciple. The Greek word translated disciple throughout the New Testament is mathetes, which means, simply, “learner.”

In the gospels and the book of Acts, the world disciple occurs some 271 times. More than 90 percent of these instances refer not necessarily just to the 12 disciples but to the disciples in general.

In Acts 1:15 the entire group of 120 people still following Christ after His resurrection are called disciples. A little later, in Acts 6:1, we read that the “the number of the disciples was multiplied.” Acts 6:2 speaks of “the multitude of the disciples.”


Acts 11:26 shows us an interesting point: “The disciples were Christians first in Antioch.” So, that’s what God’s people were called before they were know as Christians, they were simply called disciples.

We call ourselves Christians and that is correct. But it’s also true that God’s people are disciples. Those in God’s Church today are the modern day disciples of Christ. We are the modern equivalents of those who, 1,979 years ago when Christ was on the earth, gave up their former way of life and followed Him (Matthew 4:18-22).

Have you considered yourself a disciple of Christ? It’s important that you do.

We should be learners, students, followers of the teachings of Christ, His disciples. The ministry frequently emphasizes that we need to be studying God’s way of life and constantly learning and growing. II Peter 3:18 admonishes us to “grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

We ought to know more about God’s law and His way of life now than we did a year ago, a month ago, a week ago, even a day ago. We should be studying our Bibles and growing in knowledge every day. We should be walking with Christ, daily learning and studying and growing.

But why do we need to study, learn and be disciples?

The final instruction Christ gave His disciples was “Go ye therefore and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19). This is something His followers have worked on ever since.

Many Bible prophecies have dual fulfillments. We generally think of the commission in the context of the way the Church has proclaimed the message to the world in this age. But this commission has a future fulfillment too.

In the Kingdom of God we, the true disciples of Christ, are going to be kings and priests (Revelation 5:10). As kings we will govern and rule. As priests we will teach people God’s way (Leviticus 10:11, Deuteronomy 17:8-12, Malachi 2:7).

As disciples and students now, we are learning a way of life so that we can teach it in the future.

Do you see how the commission of Matthew 28:19-20 applies to us in the future, in the Kingdom of God? When Christ returns and sets up God’s government on this earth He will say to us “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.”

At that time the commission will be fulfilled in its ultimate extent. The people will listen, then. All nations will be taught God’s way. The earth will be full of the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9).

Who will have the job of doing that teaching? The kings and priests of the world tomorrow will be those who now are faithful students, listening and learning and growing in the knowledge as disciples of Christ.

If we are faithful disciples today, tomorrow we’ll have the wonderful opportunity of teaching all the rest of humanity the incredible knowledge we are learning now.

Just Ask

In our society many are realizing the need for help. Yet many more of us are afraid to admit our need to ask for help. Why is that? Why is it such a struggle for us to cry out for assistance when we so desperately need it?

Asking for help when needed is smart. It’s also the answer to fatigue and the “I’m indispensable” image. So what keeps us from this wise course of action? I would say plain, stubborn unwillingness to admit need.

The greatest battle many have today is not with inefficiency but with super efficiency. It’s been bred into us by high-achieving parents, through years of high pressure competition in school by that unyielding inner voice that keeps urging us to “Prove it to ‘em” or “Show’em you can do it without anyone’s help.”

The result, painful though it is to admit, is a life style of frustrating impatience. We become easily irritated, often angry. We work longer hours. Spend less time with family and friends. Forget how to laugh. Allow longer and longer gaps between meaningful times with God’s Word. Enjoy fewer and fewer moments in prayer and meditation.

And all the while the specter of discouragement looms across our horizon like a dark storm front, threatening to choke out any remaining ray of light.

Maybe it is time we stop and realize our true calling. There is no way we can keep pushing our life at that pace and expect to stay effective.

Analyze it any way you please, we are human, nothing more. We are still qualifying for God’s Family. Step by step. Slowly but surely. All this qualifying takes time and patience.

So, slow down, let God do His work His way by developing quality in us, not quantity. We need to stop trying to cover all the bases and sell popcorn and peanuts in the stands at the same time.

We need to reread Solomon’s book of Ecclesiastes. It’s a revealing Bible study. So pause for a moment. Remember God wants us all to make in into His Kingdom and not burn up or spin out.

Now once we’ve put it into neutral, so to speak, crack open the Bible to Exodus 18 and read aloud verses 18 to 27. It’s the account of a visit Jethro made to the work place of his son-in-law, Moses.

Jethro frowned as he watched Moses flash from one problem to another, from one person to another. From early morning until late at night, the harried leader of the Israelites was up to his neck in decisions and activities.

He must have looked impressive – eating on the run, ripping from one end of the camp to another, planning appointments, meeting deadlines. But Jethro wasn’t impressed.

“What is this thing that you are doing for the people?” he asked (verse 14). Moses was somewhat defensive (most too busy people are) as he attempted to justify his ridiculous schedule.

Jethro didn’t buy the story. Instead, he advised his son-in-law against trying to do everything alone. He responded to him with strong words: “The thing that you are doing is not good. You will surely wear out (verses 17 and 18).

The Hebrew term here means “to become old, exhausted.” In three simple words, he told Moses to call for help.

The benefits of shifting and sharing the load? Read verses 22 and 23. “It will be easier for you … you will be able to endure.”

This is interesting. God wants our life style to be easier than most of us realize. We seem to think it’s most commendable and spiritual to have that tired-blood, overworked, underpaid, I’ve really got it tough look. You know the old martyr complex. That strained expression that conveys, “I’m working so hard, don’t you feel for me?’

We might fool some people but we are not kidding God. The truth of the matter is quite to the contrary. That hurried, harried appearance usually means, “I’m to stubborn to ease up” or “I’m too insecure to say ‘no’” or “I’m too proud to ask for help.”

Since when is a bleeding ulcer a sign of spirituality? Or, a 70 hour week a mark of efficiency? When will we learn that efficiency is enhanced not by what we accomplish but more often by what we relinquish?

We need to analyze our lives. Set priorities and drop some the nonessentials. Share some of those responsibilities with others. Simplify your life so you can give more attention to what’s really important.

In this way we all develop true character.

Are problems beginning to get you down? Feeling rotten? Too tired to pray or study the Bible – in too big of a hurry? Angered at a lot of things and people?

Let me suggest some words God loves to hear us call out when we’re angry or discouraged: “Help me, O Lord my God; save me according to Thy loving kindness” (Psalm 109:26).

We must not forget that God cares for us. He hears our cry for help no matter what the circumstances. And we must remember that God has given us His servants, the ministry whom we can and should go to for the encouragement and advice we need.

In Times of Distress

All of us at times encounter crises. The death of a loved, the birth of a deformed child, the break down in a marriage, the failure to be accepted (into a job or school), serious health problems, the occurrence of an automobile accident – these events shake us and can make us feel threatened, anxious, confused and depressed.

Sorrow and grief are natural emotions, a part of every person’s life. Being sorrowful should not make us feel ashamed or embarrassed. It should not make us feel weak. Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). There is a right time for godly sorrow.

The problem with most of us however, is that when something devastating happens, we become too sorrowful. When a crisis strikes each one us must understand that such things are a natural part of life. God designed the human trek of human life to have an occasional gully through which each of us must pass.

It is when one sorrows too much that he or she gets stuck in this gully. Balance should be used in every area of life – even in emotions. Paul spoke often of sorrow in trails he experienced. But he realized that the trails occur in every person’s life. He knew that the key to getting through times of severe sorrow and grief is to trust in God.

I Thessalonians 4:13 can give us great comfort in the time of grief that comes when a loved one dies.

Paul didn’t mean there should be no sorrow in a time of distress. But he did mean that we shouldn’t let the emotion control us like those who don’t have the hope of the resurrection that we have. Like exaltation, depression or any other emotion, sorrow and grief must be kept in check.

A person going through a time of deep grief can indeed take consolation in God. God understands sorrow. After all, He experienced the loss of His only Son. Christ Himself was called “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:2). He hears the prayers of those in distress, who need His help.

But we also must realize how God heals these hurts. Most of the time, He heals with the passage of time. If a woman has lost a husband, God doesn’t heal that hurt immediately giving her another husband. God heals that hurt by the knowledge that her Creator will provide for her that her husband will be resurrected and He heals with time. She will never forget him but in a few years his memory will not bring pain but joy.

The grieving person must be careful not to become mentally fatigued. This is a vulnerable time and Satan is sure to take fullest advantage of a person at a time of weakness. Face the fact that a change has taken place in your life. Analyze the change, find practical ways to cope with it, draw to family and friends and don’t forget to ask God for help.

A person who is suffering from such grief must be careful not be selfish. It is easy to become wrapped up in oneself, to become a recluse. We can’t believe that other people have experienced the same kind of sorrow or worse. Our own grief is always worse in our minds.

Don’t shut out those who love you. They want to help and you probably need their help more than you realize. Share yourself with other people. That is a major step in overcoming the sorrow – giving to others.

Even if you have not experienced this kind of grief, you need to understand the people who are experiencing it. Don’t be afraid to talk to them. As you reach out, admit your honest feelings to your friends. Don’t shy away from them.

They need your help and friendship now as never before. They are facing situations they might not have had to face before and they need advice and support as they make decisions.

Be supportive. Those who comfort must have a tender heart of understanding. Write a card of sympathy, help with funeral arrangements, make a nutritious meal for the family. All these little things are important. But the most important thing of all is just to be there – to stay in touch after the initial crisis. Be available.

True friends do not come to quote verses or leave a stack of literature. They come to simply show they care. Nor do they attempt to erase today’s hurt by overemphasizing tomorrow’s hope. People need friend who understand they need time to mourn.

Be committed to the support, the understanding of the grieving. Few things heal wounded spirits better than the balm of supportive embrace. Becoming more aware of the needs of others in these situations will help us be prepared when we enter into a time of sorrow.

Some other valuable scriptures when we are facing ‘gullies’ in our live are Isaiah 61:3, 60:20; Psalm 30:11-12 and II Corinthians 1:3-4.

The tragedies in this life will hurt but the hurt will heal and God will give every strength needed to go through the trails that we will face.

True Friendship

Have you ever watched a movie, or read a book, about a ship in trouble and when the words “women and children first!” are shouted out, you know that inevitably those words means that the ship is doomed to sink?

This tradition, a gallant one, was started in 1852 when the HMS Birkenhead sailed around the coast of southern Africa.

The HMS Birkenhead was a 1900 ton warship. Her hull was made out of iron, almost unheard of in those days, as hulls were generally made out of wood. Besides sails, she sported steam-driven paddles as well. Eight lifeboats were lashed to paddle boxes. On January 7, 1852 she sailed from Cork in Ireland on her fateful voyage to South Africa.

The Birkenhead stopped over at Simon’s Town and took on coal and other provisions. On February 25th she set sail for Cape Town. There were 638 people on board, including over 400 British soldiers along with 170 women and children. The soldiers were to be dispatched to the Eighth Frontier War in the Eastern Cape.

The Birkenhead had an uneventful voyage, there were no storms and they steered well clear of the coast of Africa, known for its treacherous rocks. No one is quite sure how or why it happened but in the early hours of the morning of February 26, 1852, the ship ran on to a pinnacle of rock, just off Danger Point – which lies between Cape Hangklip and Cape Agulhas.

The metal hull was torn open and just over a hundred soldiers drowned as they lay sleeping. The rest of the troops rushed on deck and tried to help the crew to man the pumps and free the lifeboats. But, the lifeboats had rarely been used and the rigging was clogged with paint and they were only able to free three of the lifeboats. The women and children were ushered into the three lifeboats.

The ship was sinking and the caption knew that time had run out. He shouted out the words “Every man for himself!”

The soldier’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Seton, drew his sword and ordered his men to stand fast – to rush the lifeboats might mean that the women and children aboard the boats would be swamped and would perish. He threatened to use his sword to stop anyone who panicked. He had no need to use the sword; each soldier remained in their ranks. The soldiers did not budge even as the ship split in two and the main mast crashed on to the deck.

A few men stayed afloat by hanging onto wreckage. But 445 people died before help came. One was Colonel Seton, who hung onto a plank until he saw two cabin boys drowning nearby. He pushed his plank to them and when he found that it would not support all three he let go and soon sank.

The Birkenhead story stirred England. Monuments were erected to its merit. Before the disaster, when a ship was stricken the usual cry was “Every man for himself!” But, the heroes of the Birkenhead made “women and children first” a sea tradition.

That tradition has saved countless lives at sea by averting panic.

This is an incredibly moving story; individuals who willingly laid down their lives for others. After hearing such a story I find myself asking if I would do the same thing. In a life-or-death crisis, most of us would rather die bravely than try to save ourselves by getting ahead of others. But, do we bring this same spirit to everyday life?

This inspiring examples calls to mind the type of love that the New Testament Greek word agape that God ascribes to Himself (I Corinthians 13:13). Agape, God’s own love is characterized by unconditional, unselfish giving. It is a conscious commitment to give without trying to get anything back.

It is this type of godly love that true Christians are to radiate.

The people who tend to inspire us most in our everyday lives are those whose actions are motivated by this type of outgoing concern. When we think about people we have considered our true friends, we usually think of people who have served us in times when we have had no means to repay them.

When people are truly motivated by a spirit of give rather than a spirit of get, they serve others regardless of whether they will be repaid or not.

From a physical point of view, it is easy to give to those who give to us. The real test of our Christianity is whether we can give to our enemies. Serving our enemies is the pinnacle of Christian love, as it involves total unselfishness.

Of course, godly love is not something we are born with or have by nature. We therefore have to continually ask God for His Holy Spirit of love – we have to ask Him to replace our human nature with His nature (II Corinthians 10:5).

And think: When we resolve, with the help of God’s Spirit, to love our enemies, it becomes much easier to love everyone else. By making a specific commitment to indiscriminately love others without expecting anything in return, we are building the very character and nature of God Himself (Romans 12:9-13).

Love, after all, is a quality that lasts – forever. Our physical lives don’t (James 4:14). When this life is over, we will be left only with the spiritual character we have developed by serving others, rather than with any physical possessions we may seek to get in this life (I Timothy 6:17-19). That godly attitude and nature ingrained into us is what will fit us for eternal life in God’s Family.

God never gets tired of loving and neither should we. When we lock ourselves into God’s way of give, we can feel real stability in this changing world, because God’s way of giving is the only thing that is permanent (I John 2:17).

When we unselfishly give to others, we are happy; because we are living the way that God live (Acts 20:35). Therefore we are sharing the spiritual fruits of God’s nature (Galatians 5:22-23) and we experience the deep-down joy of unselfishly loving and being loved.

At the resurrection we will be born as literal children of God (I Corinthians 15:52). We will then be graduates in the way of give and we will have qualified to live forever on the same plan as God. We will live exciting, new lives in the very Family of God, serving on an even grander scale (Revelation 3:21, 5:10; Matthew 25:21). We will then be love, just as God is love (I John 4:16).

When we unconditionally give to others, we are acting out our destiny (I Thessalonians 3:12, 13).

This is why God says that “pure religion” is “to visit orphans and widows in their trouble” (James 1:27), as they cannot repay us. God also says that when we “give a feast,” we should invite people less fortunate than us and not just those who are able to invite us back (Luke 14:13-14).

We become like God when we see the needs of others and supply them (I John 3:17). We grow the most spiritually when our hearts are dedicated to fulfilling God’s great commission of giving a warning and also a message of hope to this dying world (Ezekiel 33:6, Matthew 24:14).

Our relationship with the world is one of true friendship when we totally devote our lives to giving to others. It is not the type of “friendship” that accepts and follows this world’s evil ways. It is the type of true friendship and love that God displayed when He gave His only begotten Son, so that the world might be saved (John 3:16).

When we seek only to give to others, then we don’t worry about others not giving to us and we don’t fear losing anything (Mark 8:35-36). “Perfect love casts out fear,” say I John 4:18. When we are motivated by godly love, there is no fear even in laying down our lives, symbolically or literally, even for our enemies.

The crew of the Birkenhead gave of themselves without expecting anything in return. They were true friends. We can also look forward even more to the resurrection when we will meet Jesus, our elder brothers, who laid down His life on the stake and did it totally out of godly love, expecting nothing in return. He is our truest and most loyal friend; as He Himself said in John 15:13.

Contentment

Here’s a truth we all have to struggle with sooner or later: “Until you’re able to be happy in every situation, you can’t be really happy in any situation.”

The trick is to get the right inflection on the two key words. It might be helpful to repeat that bit of wisdom out loud. Shut the door if you’re afraid someone will think you’re crazy and lost your mind. Then say it a few times to the mirror on the wall.

Check it out for the best way to emphasize the words every and any. It shouldn’t take long before the truth comes through loud and clear, no matter your age or status in life, single or married.

Life is full of ups and downs – financially, physically, emotionally and every other way we can think of. That we are on top of the heap today is no guarantee we’ll be up there tomorrow.

A close friend begins to ignore you. You blow a big test and have to settle for a D. Someone you really love and need moves away – or dies – or someone you look up to falls off their pedestal.

In Philippians 4:10-13, 19 the apostle Paul gave three things that helped him in his own growth that I think we all can learn from:

First, is learning to accept where you are. In Philippians 4:11 he says, “Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content.”

Paul doesn’t say he got instant contentment the moment he was baptized. But through the years, as he grew in grace and knowledge and went through many hardships and tough experiences, he learned to be content in any circumstance.

For Paul, this positive statement was framed by what he had gone through in his past: numerous shipwrecks, angry mobs, trails and imprisonments, questions about his leadership from his own people. Paul knew what he was talking about. He was seldom out of a crisis.

Remember, he’s the one who sang songs of praise to God in jail in Philippi. He disciplined himself to rejoice and to give his anxieties and worries to God and to program his mind with positive thoughts.

In order to deal with any trail, we have to accept it for now. Peace of mind comes with acceptance and knowledge that God is with us in our situation. We are not alone.

There will be many days when we will want to look up and shout, “Why me, Lord?” If we listen, we might hear an answer coming back: “Why not you? I will give you the strength you need.”

The second thing Paul gives is to grow where we are. “Bloom where you are planted.” It is sometimes difficult to believe that and do it when we would rather taker our garden, flowers and tools and move to an easier place to bloom.

Paul showed his own strength by doing some of his blooming while in a prison. He longed to be free but used the experience. Read Philippians 1:12-14.

His secret is in chapter 4:13: “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.” Paul wasn’t growing on his own; neither can we. God was infusing him daily with the strength he needed. This same growth producing strength is available to us, through contact with God. Also read Philippians 2:13-14.

But, still others wait to be rescued. Their hope is that eventually someone will notice their plight and motivate them to grow. If no one does, other people’s neglect becomes their excuse for not changing.

Some say I’m too old and tired to attempt anything. From what I can find in the Bible God really doesn’t seem to care much about age. Retirement is not mentioned in the scriptures. Moses was well into his 80s when he undertook his greatest leadership and growth assignment.

The plain truth is that we have to do our own growing. Now, no one can do it for us.

The third thing Paul talks about is building. In Philippians 4:19, he says, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

You can’t build anything until God supplies you with materials. God supplies you with materials. His building design for our lives is in the area of supplying the things we need rather than the things we want. The problem is that we see what we don’t have rather than what God does have.

Read what Christ has to say about this in Matthew 6:31, 33.

We need to ask ourselves: How would my problem be affected if I changed my attitude from negative to positive? Can I see a possible purpose God might have in allowing me to experience this difficulty? If so, try writing out this sentence: “I believe God’s purpose for me in the problem is …” and complete the sentence.

Paul had a proven formula he was eager to share with the Christians at Philippi and with all of us today. Let’s use it.

Bitterness

Let’s face it; our humanness causes most of our problems. We are bundles of potential problems looking for a place to happen. One of those deep problems of human nature is bitterness.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul deals with the “gut” issues of enmity, theft, lying malice and to put off the old man and put on the new man (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Then as the fourth chapter of Ephesians closes, Paul zeroes in on the thorny problem of bitterness.

Bitterness destroys friendships, marriages and the fellowship in the Church. The theme of Ephesians is the unity of believers in fellowship in the Body of Christ.

Bitterness will destroy this unity. How?

A bitter person can’t keep his or her bitterness to himself or herself. Misery loves company. He finds sadistic pleasure in telling everyone who will listen how he has been mistreated.

The result is (if allowed to persist) his or her bitterness will spread through the Church and our other relationships like a malignancy.

Paul, writing in Hebrews, sheds practical light on the subject when he says we are to follow after peace with all men (even those who have wronged us), read Hebrews 12:14-15.

Are you “burned up” with someone right now? Have you let your anger grow into a grudge or bitterness? If you have, here are three essential steps to help break the bondage of bitterness.

-First of all we must recognize it for what it is – a sin! We are commanded to get rid of bitterness.

Read what Paul says in Ephesians 4:31. This command deals with a number of related disposition problems.

Bitterness here does not mean just anger or wrath but refers to a malignant disposition, a long-standing resentment or a spirit that refuses to be reconciled. We normally think of it as holding a grudge.

Wrath on the other hand, refers to the impulsive outburst – as when a person blows his top. This type of wrath or anger can lead to bitterness.

We have seen it happen in sports. We have seen football players jump up, throw their helmets on the ground and storm back to the huddle after the referees made what he considered a bad call.

The commentator observed the player’s anger and wonders if he would seek revenge. Sure enough, the angry player tried to get revenge the next play. His anger gave way to bitterness.

The vehicle for expressing most bitterness is the tongue. A bitter person is frequently involved in what the apostle Paul call clamor (Ephesians 4:31) or loud talking. Most of us have noticed that loud talking or arguing almost always accompanies anger.

Another way we express bitterness with the tongue is through what Paul called evil speaking. It also means failing to tell the whole truth. This is something that I have done far too often in my life.

Have you ever stretched the truth when recounting how someone wronged you? If you have, you are guilty of expressing bitterness through slander.

We are commanded in God’s Word to get rid of problems that come from an evil, harmful disposition. We are to make a clean sweep of the bitterness that causes our disposition to go sour.

Therefore, first, if we hope to deal with bitterness, we must begin recognizing bitterness for what it is – sin; and then deal with it as we would any other sin – confess it and go to God for help (I John 1:9). Please read the whole chapter.

-Try to keep from hurting others. Read what Paul says in Ephesians 4:32. This is a direct command to display human kindness to other people. Kind here means “pleasant or gracious.”

Greet people with a smile. A lot could be said about this simple gesture. A smile goes a long way toward removing seeds that would produce bitterness.

We are to be tenderhearted and compassionate. In practice we find it easier to be compulsive than compassionate. Think of the damage or hurt our unkind actions do in the life of someone else.

It has been said the most flammable material in the world is a chip on the shoulder. Our conduct with others should be based on compassion for them in their needs. This again is the real spirit of giving. Read Matthew 5:23-24.

Christ does not discuss who is to blame, or whether the brother has a right to be angry with you. The right or wrong of his or her bitterness is not the issue.

If your brother has something against you, you have the responsibility to take the initiative in restoring the brother and affecting reconciliation. Failure to do so will hinder your worship.

It’s impossible to worship God while you know a brother is holding a grudge against you.

In practicing human kindness don’t be concerned about who is right or wrong. The real issue is reconciliation and restoration between two people in order to prevent the fruits of bitterness.

You might say, “That is a hard thing to do.” I agree! But this is where real Christian character is developed.

Read Paul’s exhortation in Colossians 3:12.

-Practice human forgiveness daily. That’s what Paul meant when he say “forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

We are to display human kindness toward those who are upset with us whether or not we have done anything to them. Forgiveness, on the other hand, is to be practiced with those who have hurt us.

The word forgive in Greek is a participle picturing continuous action. It means to forgive freely; not holding back or forgiving grudgingly. Think of it.

We are to practice forgiving everything others have done against us, whether they seek our forgiveness or not. We are to seek their forgiveness when we offend them and then go ahead and forgive others who offend us. That’s not the way the world looks at it.

If practiced it solves lots of human problems. As Christians we have the responsibility to be kind to others as well as forgive them, and in so doing, we will bid farewell to bitterness.

When others offend us, we are to practice forgiveness freely because without a forgiving spirit, we will never be able to pry loose from the grip of bitterness.

Confession Time

What have we done wrong or not as well as we would have liked this past year? Have we figured out how to do better this coming year? It’s time to be honest with ourselves and with God. It’s true confession time as we approach the Passover.

Too many of us seem to feel that since we have been baptized and received God’s Holy Spirit we do not have a carnal mind any longer. We tend to consider the way we do or look at things as God’s way.

If we discover a fault in ourselves or if one is brought to our attention we tend to generalize or excuse it by saying “Nobody is perfect!” Or we say, “I know I have got to overcome and I am trying but I just can’t do everything at once.”

Yes, we’re trying. We’re very trying to God. These weak excuses are absolute proof we still have carnal, worldly minds.

How many times have you heard people say, “I’m just a stiff necked Israelite, that’s all,.” “I’m hard headed,” or “I have a very quick temper and I tend to jump to conclusions.”

Some try to blame their problems on their parents, spouse, siblings or friends.

Or, are we just weak and lazy? Overcoming takes hard work. We have been called to defeat, to conquer, and to overcome what we are.

God never inspired in His word that we are to come “just as I am.” We can’t come the way we are now to God. We must change.

Some people refuse to change their lives, even after receiving God’s Spirit, because they would rather stay the way they are and suffer. Suffering is familiar and comfortable. Some people would rather go on making the same mistakes over and over than to make the effort to admit them and to work on overcoming them. Sadly, this is a category I feel I have lived most of my life in.

To move ahead in Christian growth we must take chances, try things we’ve never tried before. We must stop using crutches, such excuses as family heredity, environment or even poor health, stand on our own two feet and work at overcoming the way we are. With God’s help all things are possible. Read Matthew 19:26, I’m glad He’s on our side.

Some are afraid to change. A lot of times it’s a fear of failure. Or we’re afraid to reveal where we’ve been wrong. We don’t want anyone to know we make mistakes.

All of us need to back off once in awhile, step out of the dense forest of our daily responsibilities and take a discerning and realistic look at ourselves, our labors, our fruits and even our daily shortcomings.

As we obey God’s will in our daily lives, we can overcome and bear fruit. We will not just occasionally serve; we will be “fruitful in every good work” (Colossians 1:10). And believe me there is a great spin-off if we are striving to learn God’s will and are overcoming.

As we walk, live by the commandments, work at overcoming and being an example to others as God instructs, we get to know Him better and better. We become more like Him in every way. This is what qualifies us for His family.

We need to ask ourselves these questions. Am I always putting off what I know I need to overcome? Do I find it harder and harder to say no to temptation? Am I seriously striving to overcome those little longstanding flaws in my life?

While God’s word exhorts us to change, He does not expect it to happen completely overnight. We often experience the tension between the old man Paul spoke of in Romans 6:6 and the new, so that we feel we are two people.

The apostle Paul felt this tension at times. Read his confession in Romans 7:15.

Paul felt his strong human nature sabotaging his good intentions. The forces of the inward man caused him to stumble and at times fail himself and others (verse 24).

But did Paul just give up and say “Oh well that just the way I am”? No. He believed in God and the living example of Christ. Christ shows us how to overcome. Read Romans 7 and 8 in your personal bible study.

In addition to his belief in God’s living laws, Paul could live with and work on his shortcomings because he believed in God’s people’s ability to change.

Throughout his writings Paul urges us to choose a more perfect way, which assumes our ability to grow with the help of God’s Holy Spirit. Through obedience and perseverance we gradually learn the new way of living God’s ways. We must be absolutely committed to eliminating harmful old habits and attitudes and to developing new way of doing and living God’s laws.

Learn to live by the Spirit of God, not human nature. By the grace of God the Father and help of friends and family, the gap between our intentions and actions will gradually narrow. Do as James wrote in James 1:4.

As we reach for godly perfection we need to learn to enjoy life, to laugh, to grow, to care, to work and to help others. Always remember we have the power to change, with God’s help.

Thank God daily for His Spirit and His willingness to help us change. We must never say, “I’m not able to change.” God just won’t accept it.

Keys to Compassion

I recall a few years ago I was standing in line at the LAX airport waiting to check in and get my seat for a return flight back to Asheville.

Near the ticket counter was a young woman in a wheelchair, who was talking to a flight attendant. The attendant reassured her that she would be cared for throughout the flight. Then, the young woman made a remark that surprised me, “How kind of you to care for me without me having to pay extra.”

I thought, isn’t it strange that anyone would think about paying extra to receive needed care and attention. Have we reached a place in our society where we expect that people only care when they are paid to? Have compassion and a caring attitude become obsolete? Sadly I’m afraid so.

Caring is something that must be given freely, with no strings attached. My heart went out to that young woman as I remembered Christ’s example in Mark 1:41.

Do we have compassion for the suffering of others? How much compassion we have affects the fervency, the desire with which we yearn for Christ’s return, which will end this world’s suffering.

One way to learn compassion is to begin expressing it. I suspect that almost daily someone comes to us who needs help in facing a small hurt or a large crisis.

How can we honestly express compassion, empathy and pity? We need five important skills: (1) We need to listen; (2) We need to show we humbly understand; (3) we need to show love and patience; (4) we need to express openness, honesty and trust; and most of all (5) we need to give hope.

Listening. The key to good listening is first, stop talking. One reason we talk rather than listen is that we really do not want to hear about others’ problems. We have enough of our own, we think. But if we in tend to be sympathetic and compassionate, we must listen.

The Bible is bursting with the words of men and women who poured out their hearts before God. God is not embarrassed or put off by what His people say.

Showing understanding. Besides listening, we need to show that we have heard.

Reverse the roles and see what we look for when we seek help from someone else.

It is the nature of pain, whether emotional or physical. No one can fully understand the pain another person who hurts or feels alone. When we respond to a hurting person, we are communicating. “I want to understand your particular experience. I want to try to help you carry the burden.”

The person who cares is sincerely humble, not pretentious, willing to learn, reluctant to impinge on the other’s privacy and in no way inclined to look down on others from a holier than thou perspective.

It is no accident that Jesus, the most compassionate man who walked on the earth, was also the humblest.

Romans 12 is filled with practical instructions for caring, compassionate Christians. Take time to read it.

Love and patience. Compassionate, sensitive, giving love is of prime importance if effective compassion is to be generated. Such love is patient and kind. It originates with God and is one of the fruits of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Patience implies endurance, persistence, sticking with a person or situation even when no change seems to be taking place.

The compassionate person is a patient person who stays with the one in need, giving him or her time to grow, patiently meeting needs and expecting that healing will come in due time. Like love, real patience comes from God.

Openness, honesty and trust. In our society, we are trained to hide our feelings. We learn to stifle our emotions and sometimes we can’t express our feelings or describe them in words even when we want to.

All of us need friends, who are authentic (not phony), genuine, honest about their own struggle and needs, willing to speak the truth in love and people who, by their example, encourage others to be honest and open in return.

Think for a moment of people who have really helped you. It is likely that such people accepted you, believed in you and had confidence in your ability to grow and mature even when you had no confidence in yourself.

Hope. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to have compassion for someone if you couldn’t offer any hope? Hope involves a desire for something we want but do not yet have. When we hope, we yearn for something we cannot obtain by our own strength or resources, something that possibly will or will not come.

Hope bring comfort and mobilizes our energy and enables us to keep on going even in the midst of difficulties.

The compassionate person must exude hope.

More than any other person who has ever lived, Christ showed compassion (Luke 7:13; Matthew 4:23-24). He set the example for us.

We need to heed Paul’s words in I Peter 3:8. Let us truly have compassion for everyone.

Keep on Smiling

The other morning I went into our break room at work to prepare my morning cup of tea.

I was surprised and amused to see our stuffed cat doll, Garfield, smiling cheerfully with only his head protruding from the garbage can.

We have a container for everyone in the office to pay for hot and cold beverages stocked in the break room. As you may know this is commonly called the ‘kitty.’ Therefore, one of the ladies in the office brought in Garfield to remind everyone to “feed the kitty” when they take refreshments.

Unfortunately for Garfield, some anonymous employees good-naturedly persecute the stuffed feline. It is not uncommon to enter the break room to find poor Garfield taped to the wall, stuffed inside a glass vase or peering from the depths of the trash can.

As I and other employees chuckle at the latest plight of poor Garfield finds himself in, I notice that at least Felix appears to take his trails well; a beaming smile always stretches from ear to ear. Perhaps we could all gain a lesson from Garfield’s ability to cheerfully endure.

We are begotten children of God, potential members of the soon to expand God Family. And our trails are correspondingly far more important – and more severe – than the amusing mild persecution inflicted on Garfield.

Perhaps you haven’t thought about the full importance of the trails you face. I suspect that all of us would agree with the Apostle Paul’s remark that “for the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant” (Hebrews 12:11). Perhaps we would term his remark as one of the great understatements in the Bible.

But Paul underscores the importance of that godly discipline: “later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (verse 11).

Let’s think about that. As mortal humans, we don’t like pain. Humanity’s progress is often virtually immobilized by the desire to be comfortable.

And when pain comes, we immediately react to reduce it, whether physical or mental.

But consider this: The trails we endure after surrendering our wills to the great God have a different portent than those suffered by the unconverted. God Himself fashions His divine righteous character within us.

I’m sure God prefers that we be self correcting. After reading His commands in personal Bible study or hearing them expounded in sermons, we should be spiritually conditioned to immediately change wherever we differ from God’s ways.

But let’s be honest. How often have you and I, after learning more of how our ways differ from God’s been a little slow to apply these principles in our lives? Perhaps we had good intentions. Perhaps we didn’t even realize at the time how much we differed from God’s way. But we practiced spiritual procrastination.

God doesn’t have time for us to spiritually procrastinate. Even as you read this, He is busy preparing the Church, making us ready as its members to become the Bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7). He thus uses our trails to teach us vitally important lessons.

We should therefore have a different attitude about our earthly afflictions. Notice the comments of James in 1:2-3.

But if you try to resist and wiggle out of God’s correction and discipline, you might miss an important lesson. See what James says in verse 4.

Understand that this doesn’t mean that you should ask for trails and persecutions. Instead, when you find yourself in torment, ask God not only for deliverance but for wisdom to understand the lesson He’s trying to teach you.

Appreciate that the great God of the universe is indeed personally working with you. If you’re in the full blown fury of a trail, use your prayer time, on your knees, to read and meditate on the 12th chapter of Hebrews. This is a simple principal that I have failed to follow far too often during my life.

Realizing the purpose of our trails helps greatly. You will then find yourself smiling in the face of great adversity.

Pleasantly enduring until the end in complete comfort was not promised by God. On the contrary, God say that “through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

But we have God’s incredible promise of salvation (read I Peter 1:6-7).

Watch Your Weak Points

In sports a coach searches for the weak points of the opposing team and tries to take advantage of them. In football when a rookie player comes in you will often see the play go in his direction.

In basketball the coach will send in a taller player against a shorter to get the advantage. In boxing each fighter tries to exploit the other’s weaknesses. You might have heard of the old saying “go for his glass jaw.”

The Great Wall of China was built at tremendous cost of time and labor. When it was constructed, in the third century before Christ, the Chinese thought it was the final answer to their security problems.

But within a few years the wall was breached three times, not by soldiers making an assault on the thick stone and masonry wall but by enemies who bribed the gatekeepers. A lack of integrity among the guards was the point of vulnerability.

In Satan’s war against God’s begotten ones, we can expect the same approach. Satan will attack at our weak points. We are told, (read I Peter 5:8).

When a lion hunts for food, it many times will search out the young, weak or defenseless animals in a herd, wearing them down.

Lions hunt communally and kill quickly, usually by springing or pouncing on the prey from behind and jerking the head back. They always go for the weak spots.

Sounds just like what Satan tries on us. Therefore, Paul encourages us to wear the breastplate of righteousness. (Read Ephesians 6:14).

The weapons Paul described are given so men and women may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Stand is the key word to this verse.

Three times he use the word (verses 11, 13 and 14), emphasizing that the great objective of the true Christian warrior is to be able to stand against great opposition.

“Stand therefore,” he says in the armor provided, which make us invincible. A righteous life is our best protection. But, periodic checks need to be made to see if there are cracks or weak spots in the armor. We must maintain our armor daily.

Along these lines consider the high costs of plumbing leaks – leaky faucets, faulty water pipe and the like. A circle representing a hole only one-thirty-second in diameter would permit 26,230 gallons of water to escape in one month.

Opposite a circle one-fourth inch in diameter through which 375,150 gallons would be lost in one month.

It is the same with us sometimes. We overlook what we consider little flaws or sins, explaining them away as just human nature. Certainly they are nothing to get excited about. Ever said that?

We forget that evil is evil in whatever degree it is found. And unless checked, it will grow in scope and intensity. Satan will try to pry into our lives through these little leaks and flaws. Evil can then flood in and overcome us.

To discover our points of vulnerability we need to examine our lives with the magnifying glass of God’s word. Sometimes we also need to scrutinizing helpful eyes of one of God’s ministers. Several times a year we need to do as David asked in prayer to God, “Examine me, O Lord and prove me; try my mind and my heart” (Psalm 26:2).

Are your weak spots in check? Read what Paul was inspired to write in Romans 13:11-12.