Affliction

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 10-13

Scripture:

7b  Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Observation:

Paul suffered from an affliction that he never names.  Many have speculated that it had something to do with his eyes.  There are even many bread crumbs dropped in scripture that support this theory.  Acts 9:30 describes his Damascus Road conversion that includes a bright light.  It was bright enough that he was many days recovering.  Gal. 4:13-14 talks about a "bodily condition".  Gal. 4:15 Paul says, "I know you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me."  Implying that he would have need of new eyes.  Gal. 6:11 says "See what large letters I use as I write you with my own hand."  (As an aside it was common then to dictate to a scribe, where the author would sign the closing greetings.)

In today's reading Paul confesses that he's prayed for this affliction (whatever it was) to pass three times before he heard from God.  And when he did, it wasn't what he wanted to hear.  "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Application:

There is a trap that I believe many of us fall into; a lie we want to believe that says "If I love  and obey God well enough, He won't let bad things happen to me."  When you say it out loud like that it's easy to see the fallacy in it.  After all, He didn't spare Job, Joseph or even his own son from terrible things.

It's wrong of course but still, we persist in thinking this way because it's the way we strive to treat our own kids.  It's the treatment we want for ourselves.  We trap ourselves into attaching our feelings of being loved to the level of our comfort.

When each of these  men looked back on their particular afflictions, and tried to make sense of what had happened in their life, Job said "should we accept good from God and not trouble?"  Joseph said "What you meant for evil, God meant for good."   Jesus said "If it be possible, let this cup pass.  Never the less, not my will but thine be done."

God told Paul "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  It seems that it was the perfect thing to answer Paul's inner struggles on the matter because he got it.  It made sense to him and he turned his frustration over.  The affliction became the thing he boasted in for it gave him the assurance that he would still be useful to the Lord, that "his power may rest on me."

I don't know where you are in your journey.   Are you going through trials?  Have you asked for God to take it way?  Do you doubt that he hears you?  Have you fallen into the trap of thinking that the terrible thing you are facing is because he doesn't love you?   Are you broken, sick, lonely, tired or afraid?  I confess that I have thought all of those things.

I entreat you to keep talking to Him about it though.  He will have answers for you, if you don't walk away.

Prayer:

Lord, forgive me for the times I've caught myself measuring your love for me by the events in my life.  I am so grateful for your Spirit that reassures me of your love, independent of the events that shadow me.

I pray also for those who are in crisis, that you would speak to them in their weakness and show them the sufficiency of your power over their circumstances.  I pray that their faith would deepen during this trial and they would come to know you better and trust you even more.  Amen

Let's Talk Turkey

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 5-8

Scripture:Concerning food sacrificed to Idols:

6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall. (1Cor. 8:6-13

Observation:

I couldn't help but use the verse talking about food on the day after Thanksgiving.  We live in such a different time and place from the culture that this was written to that it's easy to dismiss it as not applying to us.  I mean, when was the last time you knew anyone who actually had dinner with food that had been ritually sacrificed to appease one god or another?  It seems ridiculous to us now, but back then this was happening all the time.  Once the animal was dead and the sacrifice made, the leavings went to use.

It was causing problems in the church, to see people eating at these temples, because of the narrow scope of their understanding.  (If you don't recognize the power of a wooden idol, how can the meat have any power?  It doesn't.  So they ate.  But to the ones who were weaker, they saw this behavior (without the understanding) and participated in it.  This played havoc with their faith, messed up their thinking.  Today we have divisions in the church not based on food sacrificed to idols, but because of viewpoints on alcohol, tobacco, how we dress, dancing, etc..

Application:

While the idea of eating meat sacrificed to an idol seems silly to us now, we still have idols today.  We don't sacrifice animals, we sacrifice our time, energy, resources and ambitions to things that lead us away from God.  We don't wear sacrificial robes, instead we wear team colors, gang colors and business attire.

During this Thanksgiving weekend, while you are numbering your blessings and grateful for the things God has given to you, I urge you to invite the Holy Spirit to help you search your life for the things you have made into an idol.  The two tools to pull out and lay on the table beside your bible to help you make this examination accurate, are your calendar and your checkbook.  Where you spend your time and your money indicates where your treasures are.

Prayer:

Lord, Matthew 6:21 tells me: For where my treasure is, there my heart will be also.  Help me father, to invest in you and your kingdom.  Let me be open and listening for what you want done with the resources that are yours through me.  Reveal to me, Lord the places in my life where my thinking has become clouded,teach me understanding through your Word, then give me the courage to follow you.  Amen

Are You Different?

Prayer Focus: Tanzania

Bible Reading: Acts 15-16

Scripture:

5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”

6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”  (Acts 15:5-11)

Observation:

For the Pharisee's, much of their pride came in being the "chosen ones".  It was their birthright and circumcision was the outward sign of that they were keeping their end of the covenant .  The thought that others could be added and get the same promise seemed unfair to them.  They wanted to first make the gentiles into Jews, hold them to the same rules and restrictions they'd been striving for for generations.  But the Bible is pretty clear that we are saved by faith and not by what we do or who's family we were born into.  (Romans 3:28-30, 4:5, 5:1, 9:30, 10:4. 11:6; Galatians 2:16, 2:21, 3:5-6, 3:24; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:9)

Application:

It's so easy to take on the "well of course" attitude of hindsight when applying it to this section of scripture.  The adoption of gentiles (anyone not Jewish)  into The Promise (eternal life in heaven) is something that we have all grown up with.  Western culture predicates it's presentation of the "saved by grace" gospel that insists that we aren't saved by our works or by our lineage, but by this amazing thing that Jesus did for us if we only accept it.  Which makes it sound easy, doesn't it?

But there is more.  It's not just saying yes to an invitation, though that's where it starts.  I'd like to point you to one section in this passage that I think that we can do well to remember. Vs 8 and 9 says:

"8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith."

My question to you today, friend, is this:  what is the state of your heart?  Does God indeed know you?  Do you hear his voice and follow him?

Do you sometimes doubt your faith?  There is a way to know!  The giving of the Holy Spirit brings CHANGE (that's the purification the scripture is talking about, characterized by repentance - a turning away from sin).  Are you different after you made the decision to follow Him?

If not, then start asking the question why, and look at the places where you have justified your sin or only expressed regret instead of turning away from it.  Being sorry for sin and repenting of it are different things.  (2 Corinthians 7:10, 1 John 1:9)

Faith, the deposit of the Holy Spirit inside of us, is what makes us acceptable to him; not the laws and rules that we keep or break.  We can't obtain it by cultural or racial birthright either.   Being born in a "Christian nation" or from a "Christian household" isn't enough.

Prayer:

Lord, I pray that you deal with those who come to you with their lips and intentions and draw them into a deeper relationship one  marked by the change of the Holy Spirit. I pray for them as they struggle with doubts, fears, and addictions.  I pray that you guard them from the enemy while they examine if the life they have, is the one they wanted in you.  Give them the courage to reach for more of you and less of the world.

Amen.

Simon The Great

Prayer Focus: Sudan

Bible Reading: Acts 5-8

Scripture:9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. (Acts 8:9-13)

18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”  (Acts 8:18-24)

Observation:

It's so easy to be impressed by power, isn't it?  We go to magic shows specifically TO be impressed.  illusionist devote their lives to the study and practice of their art.

It's unclear if Simon actually had a power or if he practiced illusion, but when the apostles came and laid hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit, Simon was so impressed that he wanted to pay to have that power too.  Peter rebukes him quickly, telling him to repent.

Application:

When it's laid out so bare like this, it's obvious that Simon is wrong.  Obvious that he's chasing after fame and after the apostles to learn where they get their power in order to acquire it for himself.  But before I gloss over this, thinking that it doesn't apply to me, I want to look at it closer.

If I am honest with myself, I have to recognize that I like shows of power.  I am hardwired to want to see signs and miracles.  Harry Blackstone, David Copperfield and many more were like Simon, who called themselves "great" and made their living this way.  It's what drew Simon into the apostle's company in the first place.

The difference, of course, is that God sent Jesus and used signs and miracles as proof of his authenticity.  Jesus sent the apostles, and empowered them with the ability to do miracles to prove their authenticity.   The power they used, the source of it,  was from God - not their own.

Simon's sin was the pursuit of the power instead of the pursuit of God.  It's about who get's the glory, right?  When you are a follower of Christ, and using His power to heal, you act as a conduit, then there is no question about who is great or where the power is coming from.  Right?  Yet putting the issue of miracles or magic aside, I know that I have been guilty of first pursuing my power over pursuing God plenty of times.

While I might not apply the use of magic to myself, I totally understand the want for power, for fame.  I understand the desire to make your mark, be called "great" and leave something of yourself that people remember.  It's what makes this sin look so attractive to me.  So, I'm glad this cautionary tale is left for us here.

Prayer:

Lord, please check my life.  Show me where I transpose my glory for yours.  Test me,and show through any means necessary the places where I try to stand up and claim the victories that you've  secured.  Yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.  Amen.

The Cutting Room Floor

Prayer Focus: Spain

Bible Reading: John 14-17

Scripture:

6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:1-8)

Observation:

It seems to me that no matter if you are producing fruit or not, God will bring out the shears.  The true question is whether you will be cut back or cut off.  There is no escaping the gardener.  Jesus had just said in the chapter before in verse 6, "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me."  The  metaphor here in this section is his word picture to describe this truth.

We are all big fans of the famous John 3:16 verse "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life"  And that verse talks of the sacrifice that both the Father and the Son made on our behalf.  Where Jesus sacrifices himself for us.  But part of the "remain in me as I also remain in you" part is that we sit still for this pruning process, willingly sacrificing the parts of ourselves that are not in line with the purpose and will of the Father.

When it's done to a healthy plant (in keeping with the metaphor) the sap that carries the nutrients is then diverted to make the plant more productive.  The wounds seal and the vines thicken, making a sturdier structure, more able to support the weight of fruit.  The total shape of the plant reflects the intent of it's purpose.

Application:

This observation of course begs the question, "What does the cutting room floor of my life look like?"  What shape has my life taken?  Have I spent time looking at the choices I've made?  Have I submitted to the gardener and allowed my life to reflect a life that cultivates the fruit of His Spirit?  Galatians 5:22-23 list what those fruits are.  That's the litmus test isn't it?  Do I call myself a Christian?  If I do, am I producing the kind of fruit that pleases God and other's can see?

Prayer:

Father God, I declare you as my gardener.  I submit to you and the weeding and pruning you must do to make me fruitful.  Sometimes it hurts.  Sometimes I really don't understand why you do what you do, or allow things in my life that shape me.  I only know that I trust you.  Help me have the courage to sit still when you pull out the shears.  Help me agree with you on what sin is, and not spin it as something that's not that bad.  Expose the things in my life infected with sin and need cleaning out.  Amen!