If you've been in church much or around Christians in general, you've likely heard Philippians 4:13 quoted: "I can do all things through him [Christ] who gives me strength." The discussion that would typically follow encourages us with the limitless power to accomplish whatever God calls us to. And, the premise is true but the context is flawed.
Let me explain. God does promise his children the power "to do more than all we ask or imagine according to his power at work within us" (Eph 3:20), but the Philippians 4 passage is not talking about accomplishing things, it is talking about enduring things.
To see its context, let's look first at verse 1: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Paul is calling us to rejoice in every circumstance, regardless. In verse 12 he goes on to say, "I know what is to be in need, and I know what is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."
Now, in verse 13, Paul reveals the secret of "being content" in "all things," which is employing the Christ-given strength that all Christians have available to them - even you. So, if your are a disciple of Jesus Christ and you are not able to find contentment in your circumstances, it is not what God is doing to you but what you are not allowing God to do in you. Jus' Say'n.
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Saturday, September 23, 2017
A New Command
In John 13:34, Jesus told his disciples, "A new command I have given you: Love one another." And, in the next verse (35) he continued, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
It is interesting that Jesus calls this command to love new as it was commanded in the days of Moses, "love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev 19:18). And, God, who "is love" (1 Jn 4:8), would certainly have expected his children to love each other from the beginning. Yet, Jesus does say, "a new command I have given you." How so?
Look at the qualifier of this love as we read the rest of 13:34, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Ah, this is the new, a love so deep it has no bottom. A love so exhaustive that it cannot be exhausted. A love that would give up everything, even life itself for the other, this is the new command. He love loved us to the point of death, "even death on a cross!" (Phil 2:8).
This new command pushes the old command to love neighbors as yourself, to loving others more than self, to "in humility value others above yourselves" (Phil 2:3). The "as much" is replaced with the "more than." And, this love is not to be reserved for those who love you.
Jesus would further add, "You have heard it said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies..." (Matt 5:43-44). Wow! This is a command so new that it hasn't quite caught on yet, has it? This command from Jesus is still a shocker to most of us, even as Christians. But it is his command and it is our commandment.
What will we do with it? How will we fulfill this new command? Will you keep it? Jus' Ask'n.
It is interesting that Jesus calls this command to love new as it was commanded in the days of Moses, "love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev 19:18). And, God, who "is love" (1 Jn 4:8), would certainly have expected his children to love each other from the beginning. Yet, Jesus does say, "a new command I have given you." How so?
Look at the qualifier of this love as we read the rest of 13:34, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Ah, this is the new, a love so deep it has no bottom. A love so exhaustive that it cannot be exhausted. A love that would give up everything, even life itself for the other, this is the new command. He love loved us to the point of death, "even death on a cross!" (Phil 2:8).
This new command pushes the old command to love neighbors as yourself, to loving others more than self, to "in humility value others above yourselves" (Phil 2:3). The "as much" is replaced with the "more than." And, this love is not to be reserved for those who love you.
Jesus would further add, "You have heard it said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies..." (Matt 5:43-44). Wow! This is a command so new that it hasn't quite caught on yet, has it? This command from Jesus is still a shocker to most of us, even as Christians. But it is his command and it is our commandment.
What will we do with it? How will we fulfill this new command? Will you keep it? Jus' Ask'n.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Expectations
If you don't get a million dollars deposited in your checking account next week, will you be disappointed? Probably not because you have no expectation of anyone depositing that amount. But what if your paycheck is not deposited in your account? In that case, "Heads will roll!" Why? Because you fully expect your paycheck to show up in place, on time and for the right amount.
Expectations play a larger role on our reactions than the actual action or event. A million dollars would be better but we're only expecting our paycheck so we are not disappointed when we don't get a million bucks.
If you sat down at a restaurant and was served a perfectly cooked and prepared hamburger, would you be happy with it? Depends. If you were expecting lobster, there is not a chef in the world that could make your hamburger good enough. If you were expecting a plain hotdog and a gourmet hamburger with all the trimmings came instead - well now, that's a different story!
This is one of the greater problems in relationships. Wives expect things from their husbands that aren't being provided, husband want from their wives things that they aren't considering, parents want performance levels displayed in their children that aren't being achieved, bosses are insisting on outcomes that employees... Get the picture?
In the church, we expect other Christians to behave in certain ways, live up to certain standards that we hold and hold over them in expectation. When they don't act or talk or react in a manner that meets that expectation, we are disappointed with them and sometimes deem them unworthy. Our expectations determine our reactions.
Sometimes there is a clear case of someone failing to keep biblical standards by lying, stealing, adultery, etc. We do have to deal with those failures. However, many times we are judging levels of commitment or amounts of giving or length of hair and so forth. We are judging others based on our expectation of what we deem acceptable.
We need to approach expectations with great care because Jesus plainly says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judge. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Matt 7:1-2).
I'm not saying we should not evaluate what people do, for Jesus goes on to say in verses 15-20 that we are to inspect the fruit people bear. What I am saying is that we need to be very careful and err on the side of grace not judgement. Be sure your expectations are biblical standards and not personal standards. Consider whether the other is up to the standard by which you are forming expectations. Just be careful and grace-filled in your expectations. Jus' Say'n.
Expectations play a larger role on our reactions than the actual action or event. A million dollars would be better but we're only expecting our paycheck so we are not disappointed when we don't get a million bucks.
If you sat down at a restaurant and was served a perfectly cooked and prepared hamburger, would you be happy with it? Depends. If you were expecting lobster, there is not a chef in the world that could make your hamburger good enough. If you were expecting a plain hotdog and a gourmet hamburger with all the trimmings came instead - well now, that's a different story!
This is one of the greater problems in relationships. Wives expect things from their husbands that aren't being provided, husband want from their wives things that they aren't considering, parents want performance levels displayed in their children that aren't being achieved, bosses are insisting on outcomes that employees... Get the picture?
In the church, we expect other Christians to behave in certain ways, live up to certain standards that we hold and hold over them in expectation. When they don't act or talk or react in a manner that meets that expectation, we are disappointed with them and sometimes deem them unworthy. Our expectations determine our reactions.
Sometimes there is a clear case of someone failing to keep biblical standards by lying, stealing, adultery, etc. We do have to deal with those failures. However, many times we are judging levels of commitment or amounts of giving or length of hair and so forth. We are judging others based on our expectation of what we deem acceptable.
We need to approach expectations with great care because Jesus plainly says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judge. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Matt 7:1-2).
I'm not saying we should not evaluate what people do, for Jesus goes on to say in verses 15-20 that we are to inspect the fruit people bear. What I am saying is that we need to be very careful and err on the side of grace not judgement. Be sure your expectations are biblical standards and not personal standards. Consider whether the other is up to the standard by which you are forming expectations. Just be careful and grace-filled in your expectations. Jus' Say'n.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Over The Horizon
Regardless of how clear the sky, you just can't see past the horizon. When the eye meets the curvature of the earth, that marks the end of one's vision. In order to see past that point one has to move in that direction so has to get past that part of the curve. Simple principle: Man cannot see beyond the bend, regardless of how hard he squints.
I've noticed as the meteorologists have a real limitation in predicting the landfall of Hurricane Irma. I just looked at a USA Today article posted an hour earlier that said, "It could be on a collision course with Sough Florida over the weekend." The fact is that the weather gurus cannot predict even 12 hours out with certainty.
However, those same scientific folk are assuring us they can predict the temperature within a degree in 50 years and the rise of the ocean levels accurately around the world two generations out. Really? I must say that I doubt their accuracy at predicting increases as the curvature of time increases.
Even more arrogant than their scientific prowess of predicting beyond our ability to see, is there lofty belief they can actually control climate change and determine the temperature beyond the curve. As climate change has been occurring as far back as evidence can reveal, how is it that we are going to stop it? Could we have stopped the last Ice Age or the ones before that?
How do we even know what the normal temperature of the planet is supposed to be? How can we know if we are not in the beginning of the end of another Ice Age? Is man really able to determine the weather patterns and changes in the seasons from one place to another? Really?
What is true is this: "Since no one knows the future , who can tell someone else what it to come?" (Eccl 8:7). We cannot tell the future, let alone determine it. As we've seen with weather predictions, we "do not even know what will happen tomorrow" (Js 4:14). We certainly cannot control beyond the curve. "As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes" (v. 16).
So, what do we do about the future? We trust in God and do his will, which will include being caretakers of the planet, making our best decisions about waste management, fossil fuel consumption, agricultural chemical use and land management. But let's not think that we will determine the future weather patterns or global climate change. Only God can truly do that.
Instead of arrogantly believing ourselves capable of seeing past the curve and determine what the planet will or will not do, let us humbly bow before the Creator, asking for his blessing and then being responsible in the management of the resources he gives us? Jus' Say'n.
I've noticed as the meteorologists have a real limitation in predicting the landfall of Hurricane Irma. I just looked at a USA Today article posted an hour earlier that said, "It could be on a collision course with Sough Florida over the weekend." The fact is that the weather gurus cannot predict even 12 hours out with certainty.
However, those same scientific folk are assuring us they can predict the temperature within a degree in 50 years and the rise of the ocean levels accurately around the world two generations out. Really? I must say that I doubt their accuracy at predicting increases as the curvature of time increases.
Even more arrogant than their scientific prowess of predicting beyond our ability to see, is there lofty belief they can actually control climate change and determine the temperature beyond the curve. As climate change has been occurring as far back as evidence can reveal, how is it that we are going to stop it? Could we have stopped the last Ice Age or the ones before that?
How do we even know what the normal temperature of the planet is supposed to be? How can we know if we are not in the beginning of the end of another Ice Age? Is man really able to determine the weather patterns and changes in the seasons from one place to another? Really?
What is true is this: "Since no one knows the future , who can tell someone else what it to come?" (Eccl 8:7). We cannot tell the future, let alone determine it. As we've seen with weather predictions, we "do not even know what will happen tomorrow" (Js 4:14). We certainly cannot control beyond the curve. "As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes" (v. 16).
So, what do we do about the future? We trust in God and do his will, which will include being caretakers of the planet, making our best decisions about waste management, fossil fuel consumption, agricultural chemical use and land management. But let's not think that we will determine the future weather patterns or global climate change. Only God can truly do that.
Instead of arrogantly believing ourselves capable of seeing past the curve and determine what the planet will or will not do, let us humbly bow before the Creator, asking for his blessing and then being responsible in the management of the resources he gives us? Jus' Say'n.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Curves in the Road
When I lived in the Panhandle of Texas, I could stand at my back door and see the night lights of Amarillo, 29 miles away. The way the crows flies and the way the roads ran were pretty much identical - straight ahead. You could always look up ahead for traffic jams, road blocks and weather changes.
Here in Arkansas, you can only look up ahead to the next curve in the road, which is about as far as you can throw an engine block. In this state roadkill is the leading cause of death (not among humans). I've know a fair number of folk who have gotten a deer on the way to the deer camp, rifle still in the case, rounds safely tucked in the box. Death by car seems to be the exit of choice of deer, armadillos, squirrels, turtles and most other woodland critter due to their propensity to cross the road in the curves. It is reported that one blonde asked, "Why don't they move 'Deer Xing' signs to safer parts of the road?" OK, moving on.
My point in all of this is that a consistent reality of the terminal patients I work with is: "Life didn't turn out the way I thought." It never does. Looking down the road, we plan for a future and as far as we can see, things seem to be working one way or another. The trouble is that just beyond where we can see, there is another curve in the road.
This is not only a reality taught by experience, it is a truth taught by Scripture: "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow" (Js 4:13-14). In the words of the old Doris Day song, "Que sera sera," 'what will be will be, the future's not ours to see...'"
That's the reality of life: We are not in charge of circumstances and we cannot determine what they will be. The truth of the matter is, "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" Pr 19:21.
So, what is the answer to the curves in the road? Get your pencil out or Ipad ready - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Pr 3:5-6). Jus' Say'n.
Here in Arkansas, you can only look up ahead to the next curve in the road, which is about as far as you can throw an engine block. In this state roadkill is the leading cause of death (not among humans). I've know a fair number of folk who have gotten a deer on the way to the deer camp, rifle still in the case, rounds safely tucked in the box. Death by car seems to be the exit of choice of deer, armadillos, squirrels, turtles and most other woodland critter due to their propensity to cross the road in the curves. It is reported that one blonde asked, "Why don't they move 'Deer Xing' signs to safer parts of the road?" OK, moving on.
My point in all of this is that a consistent reality of the terminal patients I work with is: "Life didn't turn out the way I thought." It never does. Looking down the road, we plan for a future and as far as we can see, things seem to be working one way or another. The trouble is that just beyond where we can see, there is another curve in the road.
This is not only a reality taught by experience, it is a truth taught by Scripture: "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow" (Js 4:13-14). In the words of the old Doris Day song, "Que sera sera," 'what will be will be, the future's not ours to see...'"
That's the reality of life: We are not in charge of circumstances and we cannot determine what they will be. The truth of the matter is, "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" Pr 19:21.
So, what is the answer to the curves in the road? Get your pencil out or Ipad ready - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Pr 3:5-6). Jus' Say'n.
Friday, September 1, 2017
Flood-Water Truth
The unprecedented rainfall caused by Hurricane Harvey has caused flooding of epic proportions. The economic loss is expected to be in the tens of billions of dollars, the displacement of families will be measured in years, and while Huston will eventually recover, some will never make it back. Some died in the floods, others were decimated to the point that there is nothing left and no way to return.
The tragedy Harvey rained upon Huston is truly unmeasurable in terms of family impact, job loss, personal property loss, real property loss, et al. But, in the middle of all the loss, there was something precious gained: the truth about the American Spirit.
While the media has been engineering a picture of a divided America in which white and black have little but disdain for each other, the flood water images flowing across the airwaves and the Internet displayed a united America, where the color of skin had no bearing on who helped whom.
Folks of all color were streaming into the Huston area brining food and supplies, pulling boats and coming prepared to enter into the flood waters to rescue those who were trapped by the deluge. The color of the rescuers and the color of the rescued was of no consequence. People were helping people. There is a flood-water truth that Americans, across the board, are decent and caring, willing to sacrifice for others they don't even know and whose color is not their own.
I know that there are Caucasian knot heads and African American knot heads. Stupid comes in all colors. Hate and fear reside in the hearts of the ignorant and the godless. There will be the radical KKK, NAZI, FATIMA, BLM and whatever initialized race-baiting, violence-spreading, culture-dividing knot-headed groups there might be, but the vast majority of Americans love their country and their countrymen.
The media has been actually reporting the news for the past few days. I wish that would continue, that they would seek to uncover truth rather than exploit the news in a fashion that creates a false narrative of this country. We have problems as we are human, but we are, by and large, a good people.
We need to hang on to the truth revealed in this tragedy when the media turns its focus again to the minority of people seeking to divide this country. For truth has a divine power to heal a nation: "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (Jn 8:32). Jus' Say'n.
The tragedy Harvey rained upon Huston is truly unmeasurable in terms of family impact, job loss, personal property loss, real property loss, et al. But, in the middle of all the loss, there was something precious gained: the truth about the American Spirit.
While the media has been engineering a picture of a divided America in which white and black have little but disdain for each other, the flood water images flowing across the airwaves and the Internet displayed a united America, where the color of skin had no bearing on who helped whom.
Folks of all color were streaming into the Huston area brining food and supplies, pulling boats and coming prepared to enter into the flood waters to rescue those who were trapped by the deluge. The color of the rescuers and the color of the rescued was of no consequence. People were helping people. There is a flood-water truth that Americans, across the board, are decent and caring, willing to sacrifice for others they don't even know and whose color is not their own.
I know that there are Caucasian knot heads and African American knot heads. Stupid comes in all colors. Hate and fear reside in the hearts of the ignorant and the godless. There will be the radical KKK, NAZI, FATIMA, BLM and whatever initialized race-baiting, violence-spreading, culture-dividing knot-headed groups there might be, but the vast majority of Americans love their country and their countrymen.
The media has been actually reporting the news for the past few days. I wish that would continue, that they would seek to uncover truth rather than exploit the news in a fashion that creates a false narrative of this country. We have problems as we are human, but we are, by and large, a good people.
We need to hang on to the truth revealed in this tragedy when the media turns its focus again to the minority of people seeking to divide this country. For truth has a divine power to heal a nation: "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (Jn 8:32). Jus' Say'n.
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