Category Archives: Struggle

Daily Wisdom Challenge — Proverbs 24

This proverb has been working on me a lot — almost grating against some of the rough edges in my life. You see, I like to pride myself on my ability to be strong in the midst of adversity — in my ability to find another gear to get through whatever I need to get through. Well, you know what Proverbs 16:18 says: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

I guess I should have begun by saying that I used to pride myself on strength in the midst of and despite adversity. I really can’t say that any more. Over the last ten years, there has been plenty of adversity but a definite lack of strength on my part. If I once was able to find a gear to dig deep and get through trouble, my transmission has gone out leaving me with nothing more than low gear.

Several times over the last decade, I have found myself made low. My body has failed me. My mind has failed me. I have failed me. I look at Proverbs 24:10 and see a strength that is small because I have consistently fainted in the “day of adversity”.

I am so thankful that I did.

Yes, you read that right: I am thankful I failed and in the day of adversity and realized that my strength has always been small. The good news is my God has always been big, and His strength is more than enough.

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about his struggles with a “thorn” in his flesh “to keep [him] from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness” of visions God had given him (2 Corinthians 12:7). He pleaded with God to take away the thorn, but God did not remove the thorn (2 Corinthians 12:8). God’s answer to Paul is surprising, and it is so liberating to those who are trying to make it on their own steam and failing miserably:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Jesus’s answer to Paul was not to remove the thorn and let Paul be strong. No, it was to keep the thorn and allow Paul the opportunity to lean on the strength of Christ and trust Him.

No one likes to be weak. No one likes to need trouble. But, truth be told, we are all weak at times and all need help more than we would like to admit. The apostle Paul seems at times to be some sort of superhero, but he is just a vessel of the Lord that was of use to the Lord. Any greatness seen in Paul is the Lord.

Any greatness seen in me is the Lord, too.

Any weakness is all mine. Any failure is mine, too.

When I found myself down and ready to tap out, Paul’s response to Jesus’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:9 inspired me to look at my failings and weakness differently. I needed to look at my weaknesses through the lens of the Lordship of Jesus and the reliance He has called me to — the same He had called Paul to. Look at Paul’s response:

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Whereas Paul once boasted in his earthly strength and conquests (Philippians 3:4-6), he now boasts in Christ (Philippians 3:7-8)!

So, this proverb does not have to beat me down because my strength is not an issue here; my God’s strength is more than enough! Because of Christ, I can “faint in the day of adversity” and be caught in “the mighty hand of God” waiting and ready to lift me up (1 Peter 5:6)! I can faint because He is strong.

That’s good news!

If you are like I was (and still too often am) and wondering how you are going to make it because you just don’t have the strength to carry on, look to Jesus. He is strong when we are not. Our weakness is an opportunity for Him to lift us up. Look to Jesus and let Him carry you. For when we are weak, then we are strong in Him.

For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.

This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.

Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?

Daily Wisdom Challenge — Proverbs 17

For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.

This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.

Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?

This proverb his my right square in my heart.

I spent the bulk of my childhood being the butt of many jokes, and made fun of quite mercilessly. I was beat up and often bullied. The bruises faded and broken glasses were replaced, but the scars — physical and emotional — remain.

This is one of the reasons I wanted to become a teacher. Throughout those years of being bullied, there were a handful that took notice, but most, for whatever reason, were oblivious or chalked it up to that’s just the way kids are. If you have never been treated like this (or were on the giving side of these sorts of encounters rather than the receiving), you do not know what a relief it is when someone notices and helps you. Carrie Mack and Linda Bumpers at Willa Wilson Elementary were blessings from God that helped me see my value despite the efforts of bus riders and drivers who were glad to see it stomped out. These ladies still to this day look for and out for me and are encouragements in my life. Seeing either of them today fills my heart with joy and encouragement and reminds me of light in the midst of darkness.

In middle school, I know teachers saw me being bullied. The example that first comes to mind is Mike Miles. He knew what I was going through without being told. He went and had my schedule changed so that I would be out of the study hall where my misery was always the subject of study to his study hall. He taught me how to play chess. He encouraged me to read books if that’s what I liked to do. In fact, that was the gist of what he taught me (other than the math he was tasked with): he taught me to be who God had made me to be and not let others diminish that. When I see him even today, I never hesitate to tell him how thankful I am that God used him to save my life — that when others worked to convince me my life had no value, God used him to remind me who and Whose I was.

There was one particular memory that came to mind when I read this verse that convicts me still to this day. When I think of this particular memory, I am filled with nauseating guilt even though it has been over twenty years ago.

In sixth grade, Carolyn Swanson saw that I had been bullied and mistreated as well. She also noticed other students who endured the same. Sixth grade back then meant mandatory PE a few days a week (some days library or music). For me, that was like painting a giant bullseye because that meant either getting picked last for teams or not at all (this was the 1990s; participation was not mandatory, and exclusion/mockery were allowed). Even though I did not want to be picked because that would mean I could go up into the stands and read rather than embarrassing myself athletically in a very public way, I really wanted to be picked. Well, I really wanted to belong.

One particular day, a group of the more popular guys approached me and pointed out one of my classmates. Me and this other guy were basically tied for least popular in the sixth grade as well as in who could be made fun of more. Neither of us were athletic. Neither of us came from families with much money. Both of us were quiet and clothed differently than others. The guys convinced me that the surest way to be one of them — to get picked for teams and get to hang out with them — was to make fun of the other guy. He had just gotten some new boots that he was proud of and had worn them to school. It made me sick to my stomach to think of doing that to someone else, but this could have meant that I got bumped up a level and got a reprieve from being made fun of. So, right there in the middle school gym, I let the other guy have it. I was ugly. It was shameful. He cried. And then the other guys started in — on me.

Their plan all along was to embarrass me and show that I was fake. They knew I professed to be a Christian and saw this as an opportunity to cast aspersions on that profession of faith. They gave me every bit of what I gave the other guy and worse. I cried, too, but not so much for what I was receiving but that I had allowed myself to do to the other guy what I knew was terrible.

Mrs. Swanson somehow found out about this, and I can remember what she said to me about it like it was yesterday. She told me that it was worse for me to do that than the others because I truly knew what it felt like to be treated like that. This was not a means for her to belittle me but to invest in me. She fussed at me, and I deserved it. She told me that she expected more out of me and knew that I would learn from this and grow into the man she knew I could be — despite my failure and because I would learn from it.

I am ashamed to say that it took months for me to get the courage to apologize to the other guy, and before I could, he moved away. It took nearly twenty years to get in contact with him again. I won’t tell you a story of apology and reconciliation here because I do not want to paint myself as a good guy for any of this. I want to help you understand Proverbs 17:5.

Everyone you come into contact with is made in the image of God. He created them and formed them in their mother’s womb. Each of us is unique, with unique features and personalities. Some of us, like myself, are more different than societal norms than others. And it is all too easy to make fun rather than to show care and respect.

This is not wrong merely for the human life you did not respect. It is a slap in the face of their “Maker”.

If someone is going through a tough time — some “calamity” — whether it is their fault, someone else’s fault, or nobody’s fault, it is not a time for mockery. Even if you think someone is getting the “calamity” they deserve, it is not a time to mock and make fun; we sure don’t enjoy it when calamities of our own making find us.

I guess this is really a plea to be kind to others and recognize that the same God who made you made them. There is never a time to mock or insult. There is always time to show love and care.

For me, this drove me to become a teacher. The examples of those who took up for me influence how I interact with kids — all of them I have and all that I can — on a daily basis. The example of the one who saw me becoming like the others and intervened has a daily impact, too, on the man God made me to be as well as in ways that I can watch out for others as well. I pray that this little bit of testimony helps you along the way, whether you are the bully, the bullied, or the bystander. Let us look out for others and look to God for how He would have us to treat folks.

Daily Wisdom Challenge — Proverbs 15

For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.

This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.

Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?

Today’s proverb reminds me of an old Mac Davis song, “It’s Hard to Be Humble”. Check out the chorus, a satire of a prayer:

“Oh, Lord, it’s hard to be humble / When you’re perfect in every way / I can’t wait to look in the mirror / Cause I get better looking each day / To know me is to love me / I must be a [heck] of a man / Oh, Lord, it’s hard to be humble / But I’m doing the best that I can”

Mac Davis was right about one thing, it is hard to be humble, but it’s not difficult because of our perfection. No, it is difficult because we do not want to face our imperfections.

As it has been with so many of the proverbs we have read and those we have covered here in the #DailyWisdomChallenge, there is a contrast here, almost like a seesaw. In Proverbs 15:33, one side of the seesaw is the fear of the LORD learned from His “instruction and wisdom”; on the other is humility — that may or may not produce honor. The seesaw illustration helps us because, as it has been on every playground since its invention, balance is unlikely because one side is invariably heavier than the other.

Talk of “instruction and wisdom” here is likely referencing what needs to be learn to correct one’s way of life. Receiving instruction can be a humbling experience, especially when you get old enough to apply what you have learned. For example, I can remember in my teens and twenties being so frustrated with people, like my parents and some in authority, who could not see how much I knew despite my youth. Growing older and having to put my knowledge to work saw times when I learned the hard way that I did not know as much as I thought, and even in times when I was right, I was too inexperienced and foolish to apply what I knew correctly. This is not to say that everyone with more age always knows more or is wiser. No, unfortunately, foolishness hangs on with a death grip until, well, death. I find it much more humbling to find that some younger have wisdom beyond their years and I learn from their instruction.

The “humility” side of the seesaw gives the opportunity for honor — to gain “fear of the LORD” and bow to His “wisdom and instruction”. Essentially, this is the opportunity to both learn that you have been a fool and have an avenue to either stop being foolish or dive head-long into being a fool. This is a conundrum people have to deal with throughout their whole lives. As bad as I hate it, being humbled — which often means humiliation, comes around time and time again. Choosing to be a fool when confronted with your foolishness is called willful ignorance; it is not actual ignorance (not knowing) but living in a way where you try to fool yourself into not seeing you are a fool. That is a dangerous way to live. Or, you can choose to submit to God and walk in His ways, which is honorable.

Up and down, back and forth, the seesaw goes up and down. Sin and conviction. Correction and being humbled. Fear of God and willful ignorance. But this is real life and not a playground.

Which side will you give weight to: the instruction that comes from the “fear of the LORD” and leads to honor, or foolishness and fighting against humility?

Daily Wisdom Challenge — Proverbs 13

For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.

This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.

Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?

We spoke of discipline in the #DailyWisdomChallenge for Proverbs 12, and here it shows up again.

First, let me add a disclaimer that this is not a proverb or post advocating child abuse or the beating of children. God did not mean that in Proverbs 13:24. God is a loving Father who knows what appropriate discipline is for His children — and thereby ours.

Raising children is hard, but it is such a worthwhile thing. I thought I knew what love was until I met Candice; then, I found that my heart had the capacity for more love than I thought possible. Then, I heard Keri’s heartbeat for the first time in the doctor’s office and realized I knew nothing. Then, came Xander and I found yet more room and capacity for love. Add to them my nieces and nephew. I have discovered more love than I knew existed.

If you talk to me for very long or often, my wife and kiddos come up. I write a lot about Candice and our marriage as illustration for various Bible studies, but I try to lay off the kids because, well, the internet and to keep from them thinking their lives are nothing but sermon fodder. My children bring me more joy than I am capable of expressing in words, either spoken or written. Both of them are unique and special. I, of course, am biased. I am their biggest fan (by size only and second only to their mama). They are good kids. And they are bad kids, too.

My kids are not perfect, and I try to live with the understanding that I can never say what they will never do because, like their father, they have the capacity to sin and mess things up. That brings in my least favorite part of parenting: discipline. I hate having to do it. Read that again: HAVING to do it.

I have to discipline them because I want to protect them from dangers outside and inside of them.

I have to discipline them because they need to learn from their mistakes (and ones I have made in the past, too).

I have to discipline them because that is the way God set up parenting in this fallen world. It is the model He gives in the way that He parents us (Hebrews 12:5-8).

Our proverb today says that parents discipline out of love (Proverbs 13:24), and it mirrors the way that “the Lord disciplines the one He loves” (Hebrews 12:6).

I definitely don’t have all of the answers to how to discipline children, and I don’t claim to. What I do know is that the discipline that has to be done is supposed to be borne out of love. If it seems that I am repeating myself, it is because I am. I am repeating for emphasis, and not in a way pointed at others, but as a reminder for myself.

I can remember my daddy telling someone once that he was glad to be in the stage of life when my sister, brother, and I were grown. He said that once the parenting was over, he had gained friends in his children. The person he was talking to asked something, signifying that they thought his comment was odd. What he said after that is what is so poignant for our subject today. Daddy said that he loved spending time with us when we were growing up, but that he loved us too much to try and be our friends when we needed a daddy more than a friend.

When I look at Keri and Xander (and Sophie, Krislyn, Penelope, Caleb, Sunday, and Mae), my heart swells with love that I cannot describe. I love to spend time with them. I love to hear their jokes and their dreams and their complaints and whatever they want to tell me. I am so glad when they talk to me because I know it will not always be the case. As they grow, I will not always be a favorite person. When correction is needed, I am not what they want. But, Lord willing, I will have the Spirit-filled courage to be who they need. Then, when they are all grown up, I can rejoice in what the Lord has done in them and who He has made them to be.

In the meantime, the tough love of discipline is worth it because they are worth it.

Daily Wisdom Challenge — Proverbs 12

For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.

This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.

Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?

Today’s verse immediately brings a quote by fictional character Dwight Shrute. In an episode of The Office, Dwight was responding to the the faux documentary crew asking what the best advice his boss, Michael Scott, had ever given him. Here’s his response:

“Whenever I’m about to do something, I think, ‘Would an idiot do that?’ And if they would, I do not do that thing.”

While that is quippy and meant to be funny, it fits well with Proverbs 12:1. 

I had to read this verse twice, which led me to choose this for the 12th installation in the #DailyWisdomChallenge. After having the above quote come to mind, I asked myself who in their right mind “loves discipline”? Well, this is why we are seeking wisdom from God in this challenge – to get in the right mind and thereby set our minds on things that are above rather than on the things of this world and the false or anti-wisdom that comes with it (Colossians 3:2).

My views on discipline have changed drastically over the years. As a kid, I hated it. I genuinely hated everything about getting in trouble. The older I got, the more the discipline and correction changed. The things that did not embed in me through quick punishment required longer punishment. There were lengthy conversations and explanations of why right was right and the dangers of the wrong. When I thought I knew better (and was “stupid” by hating my parents’ “reproof”), the discipline hurt all the more as I got to see my parents disappointed in me, knowing that I was supposed to know better.

As I got older and began working with kids – whether it be at church or my time spent tutoring at the Reedy Acres campus of the Baptist Children’s Village, my views on discipline changed. There were times that “reproof” needed to happen, and I found myself on the side of doling out discipline. All my thoughts of wanting to try my parents’ side of discipline quickly evaporated as I learned that it was not at all enjoyable to work and repeat “reproof” often enough for it to have the opportunity to sink in. 

Now, I have kids of my own and classrooms full of kiddos at work. Discipline is part of it. It is a responsibility. It is not to be taken lightly. But it is necessary as it is how we learn. 

Who in their right mind “loves discipline”, then? Well, the man or woman who has received discipline and grown from it. This, of course, fits with the parental and teacherly discipline I spoke of above, but it fits even better when we look at the grace and love our heavenly Father shows us when He bears with us and disciplines us. Read that again: the discipline of the Father is a gift of grace borne out of His love for us. 

In Hebrews 12, we see a beautiful picture of how to interpret proverbs like ours today. The writer quotes Proverbs 3:11-12 in Hebrews 12:5-6:

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.”

It is easier to love discipline when you know what it is to be loved by the Father. It is easier to love the tough-love He gives from time to time when we realize that in so doing He is “treating [us] as sons” (Hebrews 12:7).

If you are struggling with this, you are not alone. But, if you’ll forgive one more fictional character quote, Forrest Gump’s mother spoke true when she taught him, “Stupid is as stupid does.” In the case of Proverbs 12:1, stupid is hating reproof and learning nothing. God graciously offers the opportunity to repent and learn from Him.

May we learn to love His discipline more than we desire to do what we want to do!

May we learn that it comes from His love and lean into His discipline rather than kicking against it!

Daily Wisdom Challenge — Proverbs 6

For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.

This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.

Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?

This #DailyWisdomChallenge is tough. As I said in the writing for Proverbs 5, it is meant to be. But this one hit me right square in my mind and heart.

I had intended on helping you understand how we should not be a part of things that God hates. And at least as I means of giving clarity and “the sense” of the passage to help people understand the reading (Nehemiah 8:8), I will.

God hates “haughty eyes” (Proverbs 6:17) — eyes lifted up in arrogance. This is not so much the eyes but rather the way that thinking you are above or better than someone is an attitude of the heart, an attitude of self-righteousness.

God hates “a lying tongue” (Proverbs 6:17) — mouths telling lies and bearing false witness rather than speaking the truth. Again, this is representative of the heart rather than one’s tongue and shows a refusal to acknowledge right and wrong but instead rearrange the truth into what suits and/or benefits you the most.

God hates “hands that shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:17) — the extinguishing of a human life, especially one innocent of any guilt or crime, without cause. This is murder and is rooted in the hands of the guilty and the violence and hate in their hearts.

God hates “a heart that devises wicked plans” (Proverbs 6:18) — coming up with whatever evil their wicked hearts can desire or devise. This is the root of these things that God says He hates. It shows the fruit of what is in the heart being planned more than merely impulse.

God hates “feet that make haste to run to evil” (Proverbs 6:18) — doing wrong and sinning enthusiastically. There is a contrast here that shows a desire to do the wrong one wants to do quickly rather than rushing to do good.

God hates “a false witness who breathes out lies” (Proverbs 6:19) — the second mention of lying in this list with specific difference. The lying mentioned above is generic whereas this one is specifically tearing someone down with lies, injuring their character and reputation. This shows a regard for what one wants themselves and a willingness to treat others and their lives and/or reputations as expendable.

God hates “one who sows discord among brothers” (Proverbs 6:19) — one who purposefully divides brothers and creates animosity where there was unity.

The English teacher part of me wants to show you how most of those — the first five, specifically — are examples of metonymy, which means the parts represent the whole. The eyes, tongue, hands, heart, and feet represent the whole person, indicating that the sin is not merely the byproduct of bodily functions but the body carrying out our sin. But the last two are not metonymy. They are the whole. A “false witness” and “one who sows discord” are sins that define the person.

It was at this point that I intended to wrap the writing by saying that we need to make sure that we are not about or doing the things that God says He hates but rather to be about spreading His gospel and thereby His love. And that is definitely true. What I did not intend was to be caught up in desiring to do some of the things God hates myself on the very day of the reading.

I won’t go into detail, but I was reminded yesterday how easy it is to get caught up in anger or aggravation and decide on a course of action that feels right. In that flash of anger, I could hear the Holy Spirit reminding me of the six things that God hates, namely the seventh that is an abomination to Him. I could see clearly how I was willing to devise a wicked plan that would sow discord. God stopped me. His Word stopped me. His Spirit stopped me.

I am thankful God humbled me before I showed myself to be a fool. This wisdom does God’s work within us.

That’s good news.

Lord, help me to hide Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You. Help me to remember who You are growing me to be and to be about what You told me to do rather than what I want to do. Thank you for letting me see that I was about to do something You hate, and show my brothers and sisters that, too. Amen.

Daily Wisdom Challenge — Proverbs 1

For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.

This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.

Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?

As we endeavor to seek the Lord in His Word, Proverb 1:23 is good guidance, especially for the wisdom found in the book of Proverbs. We all sin, and we all need “reproof” — we all need correction. The problem is that we do not always receive correction well.

I guess this really begs the question: why do I read God’s Word?

The answer to that question really drives how we respond to correction, because if we are reading it to check off some religious checklist, there are passages that may let us feel good about ourselves or feel righteous. That definitely won’t let us read the whole Bible, though. What if you decided to read it to grow closer to the Lord and to see Jesus impact your every day life by His Spirit. In that case, you would need to open yourself up to reproof.

That’s what this verse is talking about. In Proverbs 1:20-22, Wisdom personified is preaching in the streets and crying out over the noise of earthly wisdom and teaching asking whether we will choose to be willfully ignorant of the things of God and whether or not we will scoff at God’s Wisdom like the rest or the world, being fools who hate knowledge.

Proverbs 1:23 gives a picture of what responding to the Lord and receiving His Wisdom looks like: turning (repenting) at His reproof. He corrects; we repent. He leads; we follow. Turning from foolishness toward wisdom sees one filled with the Spirit of God and receiving His Word. It makes a difference in everyday life.

In Proverbs 1:24-33, however, we see the contrast of the person who receives correction well by getting a picture of the one who refuses to listen to correction. These elevate themselves to a position that they think is over God and decides to have none of His reproof or correction. They think they know better and that they can set their own path. The Bible tells us that rather than receiving God’s Word and His Spirit, these who refuse to turn and repent will reap calamity and terror. They want their own way bad enough, and they will keep it when they get their just comeuppance.

What about you?

Will you hear the Word of the Lord and turn? Or do you want to forge your own path based on your own understanding?

I can tell you from experience that I never knew as much as I thought I did in those situations. God’s ways are higher. He knows what I need.

Lord, grant us repentance and give us a yearning and desire to follow You in the paths you have laid out rather than get carried away by the sinful currents of this world. Amen.

Songs for Sunday, September 8, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming!

Do you ever feel like you are living in between two realities — like there’s a tension in where you are and where you want to be?

In a sense, all of us are, especially if you are saved. There is the reality of what Jesus has done in dying for our sins and raising again (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). There’s the reality of when His Spirit convicted us of our sin and we turned — repented — from our sin and put our faith and trust in Jesus (John 16:8, Acts 2:38)….

…when He made us born again (John 3:3-7)….

…when He brought us from dead in sin to new life in Him (Ephesians 2:1-5)….

…when He reconciled us from enemies to His friends (Romans 5:10-11, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20)….

…when He adopted us into His family (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:4-5).

Those who are saved know and understand that reality. They understand that confessing Jesus as Lord and believing He is risen is an eternal-life altering moment (Romans 10:9-10). And with that comes the assurance that Jesus is alive and reigning despite the way this world is going (Ephesians 1:20-21, Colossians 1:17-18). There is assurance that Jesus cannot be defeated. There is assurance that Jesus has promised to return for His Bride, the Church, in victory and bring her to be with Him forever and ever (John 14:3, Revelation 19:7-9). There is assurance that He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).

But living in between those bookends is tough. Salvation is already and, at the same time, not yet. There is a tension because we struggle with sin inside us and without us (Romans 7:21-25). There is a spiritual battle being waged (Ephesians 6:12), and with it comes pain and struggle and sorrow and danger and mourning and threat and…well, that list can go on and on, can’t it?

I’ve been thinking about that tension a lot this week, and, thankfully, the tension drove me to Jesus in His Word. Let’s look at the bookends of Romans 8 to see just how faithful and powerful our God is!

First, let’s look at Romans 8:1-2:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

God tells us here that, for those who are in Christ, there is NOW “no condemnation”. If Jesus has saved you, you are saved. He has paid the death penalty for your sin and given you His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Before He saves us, we are captives of our own sin yet we have no idea. We had a sort of sad Stockholm syndrome with our sin and could not see that our captor — the sin that we so enjoyed and pursued — was actively trying to kill us. But Jesus comes in as a powerful warrior King and rescues us from our captivity. He rides in and paid the price to free us. As the old hymn says, He sought us and bought us with His redeeming blood. Death and sin no longer own those He saves. He bore our sin and paid our price by His death to set us free and give us His life.

This is a powerful bookend — a significant beginning where our lifeless corpse, killed by the wages of our sin, is filled with life better than anything we could even hope for. But the life we have is still in a world where death and sin is rampant. The Fall is everywhere and still falling. There are temporal dangers that bring fear and reminders of captivity. They breathe threats that we still deserve condemnation. And our physical bodies, despite our eternal life, are decaying and dying.

Here in the middle is a scary place to be sometimes.

But GOD!

Look at the end of Romans 8 (vv. 31-36):

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ is the One who died — more than that, who was raised — who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or danger, or sword?

These rhetorical questions are helpful here in the tension of living eternal life in this fallen world.

The accuser can throw our sin in our faces all he wants to. Our past can testify against us as vehemently as it wants to. If God is for us, none can stand against us. He gave His Son to save us and will not withhold His grace. There is no condemnation because Jesus justifies those He saves — justifies in the present-tense because Jesus is alive and seated at the right-hand of His Father and actively interceding for us!

So, in the midst of fear — in the midst of those frightening things Paul listed in v. 36: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, danger, death by the sword — the answer to the question of “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” is a clear and definite NO ONE!

If Jesus has saved you, the world can throw its worst at you, and its greatest threat — death — is your greatest reward. Death brings those who are in Christ TO Christ (Philippians 1:21-23). I don’t know about you, but that comforts me. I don’t have to survive to thrive. Jesus has saved me, so I thrive in Him and eternally no matter what happens here (John 10:28-29, 1 Peter 1:3-5). The greatest threats in the midst of tension are merely part of a testimony of what Jesus is bringing me through, even and especially when I can’t see it right now (Romans 8:28)! I can know that because my Savior lives and reigns and intercedes for me even now (Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:34)!

How about you?

Are you in Christ?

If not, I invite you to call out to Him to save you (Romans 10:13)! He is still that valiant warrior King — the God who saves! He delights in reconciling sinners to Him (Zephaniah 3:17, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19)! He has the power to bring you from dead in sin to alive in Him (Ephesians 2:4-5).

If you are in Him, I invite you to breathe a sigh of relief because God has got you no matter what (John 16:33, Psalm 46:1-2). One way or the other, He is bringing you to Him (2 Corinthians 4:16-18), so let the things of this earth pale in comparison to His light and glory (Colossians 3:1-4)!

I invite you all to gather with us tomorrow at Christ Community as we sing to and about Jesus, all He has done and is doing. John will open the Word and point us to Jesus, the living Word of God (John 1:1, 14).

I can hardly wait.

In the midst of the tension between salvation and eternal life, we are going to remind each other of what He has done and can do — get a glimpse of what it will be to stand around His throne and worship Him — the Lamb who was slain, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ — forever and ever (Revelation 5:5-6, Titus 2:13).

Won’t you gather with us?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

21But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

9But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12saying,

“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

13And again,

“I will put my trust in him.”

And again,

“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”

14Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

Songs for Sunday, August 25, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming!

Jesus is coming!

It is so easy to look to the sadness and wickedness of the world (and even our own hearts) and be discouraged. Really, downtrodden is the word that comes to mind for me — like we are being walked over by so much evil, trampled by this fallen world and our own sin, weary under the burden of it all. But this is not a burden we can — or were meant — to carry.

Listen to the good news Jesus has for us in Matthew 11:28-30:

Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

Jesus offers us the opportunity to lay our burdens on Him and be sustained by Him (Psalm 55:22). We can cast our anxieties on Him, and He will lift us up “because He cares for [us]” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

So as we approach Sunday, the first day of the week, the day when God’s people gather around the world in celebration of the resurrection of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, you may find yourself burdened and exhausted. You may feel that you have to paste on a smile to come and gather with His people in worship or that you have to do something to make yourself worthy or right.

No, no, no.

Heed Jesus’s words in Matthew 11:28-30 and come to Him. Bring your weariness and trouble to Him. Bring your downtrodden self to be lifted up by Him. Bring your sin to be forgiven by Him. Come to Him.

Your face my be pointed down by the troubles and trials of this world, but, as the psalmist said, lift your eyes to the hills and see from whence your help comes. Your “help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2). Lift your eyes and await Jesus, our coming King who will return to gather His Bride, His Church, to Himself as surely as He returned from death and the grave.

That’s good news!

And that’s the King we will be singing to and about tomorrow. That’s the great God and Savior we will be reading about and John will be preaching about.

Won’t you gather with us, and come to Him?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In Your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with Your servant, for no one living is righteous before You.

For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.

I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that You have done; I ponder the work of Your hands. I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land.
Selah

Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, for in You I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.

Songs for Sunday, July 21, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming, and we GET to gather with our faith family and worship our resurrected King, “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:14)!

I had started writing this but something changed. It sounded, well, less than genuine. The truth is I am not always excited or upbeat (crazy, I know). This extends to looking forward to gatherings, even gatherings with my faith family. I imagine you identify with that idea, that sometimes you are weary or anxious or depressed. Sometimes we grieve. Sometimes we just feel melancholy and gloomy.

But that melancholy does not extinguish the JOY that comes from being in Christ. The good news of the gospel is still good when the bad news or tough realities of the world set in. You see, all things bad have a gospel expiration date because one day, as the Jesus Storybook Bible puts it, all the sad things will come untrue.

Isn’t that a beautiful thought? The sad and bad of this world will simply end when we find ourselves dwelling with God as His people and Him with us as our God (Revelation 21:3)! The last tear on our face will be wiped by His nail-scarred hand, and mourning, crying, pain, and death will be done with forever and ever (Revelation 21:4)!

For now, though, tears exist. Mourning exists. Pain exists. Death exists. But GOD….

There are two passages on my heart that hold promises that carry me when that melancholy sets in.

The first is John 16:33:

I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

This is part of Jesus’s last conversation with His disciples on the night before He was crucified. He told them that the time He had prophesied — the time of His death — was at hand. He promised them the Holy Spirit would come and comfort them. He told them of the tribulation and hatred the world would bring upon His people because of Him. He told them one of them would betray Him and that another would deny Him. He washed their feet, ate with them, and prayed for them. In the context of John 16:33, He had just told them that all of the sorrow that was coming in the next twenty-four hours and for the rest of their lives (and ours until He returns) would turn to joy.

Jesus promises two things in John 16:33. The first promise is tribulation. As the disciples noted in John 16:29, Jesus was no longer using any “figurative speech” with them but telling them straight up: “you will have tribulation”. No one wants that, but that terror comes untrue in the second promise: those who are His can “have peace” — they can “take heart” because He has already “overcome the world”!

Trouble comes. Trials come. Tribulation is a reality for His people. But Jesus had already overcome the world before He even died on the cross! Now, He has died and has risen, just as He promised.

He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).

The second is Hebrews 4:16:

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus told His disciples to “take heart” on the night before His crucifixion. Here, we can see our resurrected Lord tell us to “take heart” in a different way. He has ascended and is on His throne, but He has not left us alone — lo, He is with us always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20)!

When troubles come and trials abound, even when melancholy clouds our joy, we can approach Jesus’s throne with the confidence that He has the grace we need — timely grace — and will mercifully help us in our time of need. We can run to Him with the same confidence of a little child scared in the night can approach their parents’ bed. No other king or leader is that approachable, but our King is!

So, even though my excitement wanes, my joy does not. My mood and my circumstances change, but my God does not (James 1:17)! The realities of the bad make the good news that much better.

We just have to remember in the midst of that that He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23)!

That’s who we will be singing about and to this Sunday at Christ Community. We will have the opportunity to read from His Word and have His Word preached to us. We will GET to gather and hear our brothers and sisters lift their voices — not all happy but joyful nonetheless — and be lifted up and reminded of that glorious day when we stand before our King — our “great God and Savior Jesus Christ”, our “blessed hope” who “gave Himself for us to redeem us” (Titus 2:13-14)!.

And if we need to approach the throne of grace in prayer, there is time for that, too, and brothers or sisters who will approach with you because you are not alone!

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

15For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might 20that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

1O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens. 2Out of the mouth of babies and infants, You have established strength because of Your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

3When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, 4what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

5Yet You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!