EVERY AGE HAS ITS OWN PROBLEMS

The Christian finds himself today thrown into a strange and difficult world, full of peril and anxiety. He knows Christ, he believes in Him, and he cannot forget what Christ has done for him in his own life. On the basis of this knowledge and faith [the Christian] seeks to understand and adjust to the terrible questions and uncertainties of the times. He knows it is unworthy of him as a Christian to bewail his fate and exaggerate the challenges in the midst of which he is thrown. Dangerous world? -- yes. Unprecedented difficulties? -- certainly. Tremendous challenges? -- of course. But God does not love him less, nor has [God] singled him out for trial in a special furnace beyond his power to bear or to subdue. He remembers what Paul told the Corinthians and he understands it to be exactly for him: "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it" (I Corinthians 10:13). Every age has its own problems, every age its own burdens and complexities, and throughout man is fundamentally the same, able to know and rest in the truth or to rebel... "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

-- Charles Malik, former President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, in “Christ and Crisis,” 1962

#5945

CONFRONTING GOSSIP

Gossip's main purpose is to spread misery. It's certainly not to build people up or minister to them in the name of Jesus. A gossip's wake is littered by damaged families and broken relationships: "A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends" (Proverbs 16:28).

As Christians, we're called to put the brakes on the spread of gossip. And not only gossip about people we know, but also gossip about those we don't know. Like others, I've been guilty of spinning pretty little stories about certain political figures, even though I had no proof that what I was saying even resembled the truth. I foolishly thought that spreading gossip would make me more popular.

How about you? Are you modeling God's standard of truthfulness and honesty? Are you known as someone who confronts gossip? Or do you pass it on with a few added details of your own?

…As you move beyond gossiping about others, you'll find more time to show them the unconditional love of Jesus. And you might just make a few new friends in the process. 

-- Matt Donnelly, ChristianityToday.com

#5944

OVER THE WEIGHT LIMIT

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  (Matthew 6:34 NIV)

What we have here may be the most important ammunition of all – a systematic strategy to weed out your worry. Jesus is saying something quite interesting: you won’t sink under the burden of today’s crises, but tomorrow’s agenda puts you over the weight limit. Have you ever tried to carry too many bags of groceries at the same time? After cleaning the eggs from your driveway, you’ll know better – and next time you’ll make two trips instead of one. Jesus tells us to carry today’s bag today and make a fresh trip tomorrow.

Living in the present tense is an art. Do you know someone who’s “not all there,” for his or her eyes are focused on some invisible horizon? This person is preoccupied with absent problems. But have you ever known someone who lives completely in the present? Such people seem lively, full of energy and charisma, and getting their money’s worth out of every new thing that comes along, and you won’t catch them worrying. That’s how Jesus wants us to live -- a day at a time. There’s a reason God placed us within the moment, bracketed away from both the past and the future. They’re both off-limits to us, and we need to post No Trespassing signs. The past is closed for good, and the future is still under construction. But today has everything you need. Come here and make your home. 

-- David Jeremiah in “Keep the Faith: How to Stand Strong in a World Turned Upside Down”

#5943

EMBRACING HOPE IN THE MIDST OF TRAGEDY

I cannot imagine what it would be like to endure a tragedy without the hope that God offers.  Without Jesus Christ, there is no hope.  There is simply an eternal, black, cold and unrelenting void.  Just last week I came face to face with a man who didn't believe in anything.  What a miserable way to end life.

Of course, we Christians grieve when those we love are taken from us, but we do not grieve as those who have no hope.  We do not believe that people cease to exist when they die; the Bible tell us that we will again see all those loved ones who put their faith in Christ.  As Paul writes, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who die, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.  We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have died in Him" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).

Hope is available to us, even in the midst of tragedy.  And not only hope for eternal life, but hope of being reunited with those we love.  Hope is available now, even in tragedy, because God has promised to walk with us through any disaster that might over take us.

-- Luis Palau in “Where Is God When Bad Things Happen?”

#5942

EXPERIENCING GOD’S PEACE

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT)

Imagine never worrying about anything! It seems like an impossibility; we all have worries on the job, in our homes, at school. But Paul’s advice is to turn our worries into prayers. Do you want to worry less? Then pray more! Whenever you start to worry, stop and pray. “If you do this,” Paul says, “you will experience God’s peace.”

God’s peace is different from the world’s peace (see John 14:27). True peace is not found in positive thinking, in absence of conflict, or in good feelings. It comes from knowing that God is in control. Our citizenship in Christ’s kingdom is sure, our destiny is set, and we can have victory over sin. Let God’s peace guard your heart against worry. 

-- Adapted from the “Life Applications Bible Study Bible” New Living Translation

#5941

PEACE IN CHRIST

Jesus said to His disciples, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33 NLT)

Saints are people who are faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ… A faithful Christian life exhibits ongoing and active faith.  Faith is tested by the tough stuff in life -- when the chips are down and the heat is turned up.  I read about an elderly woman, badly crippled by arthritis, who was asked. "Do you suffer much?"  She pointed to her hand and responded, "Yes, but there is no nail here.  He had the nails, I have the peace."  She then pointed to her head saying, "There are no thorns here.  He had the thorns, I have the peace."  Finally, she touched her side and declared, "There is no spear here.  He had the spear, I have the peace."  This faithful woman was a modern-day saint.  She understood the incredible gift of grace given to her by God, and she was filled with "God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand." (Philippians 4:7 NLT)

-- Lenya Heitzig and Penny Pierce Rose in “Pathway to God's Treasure: Ephesians” 

#5940

A WHOLE NEW STRUCTURE

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB)

If our view of ourselves is anything less than being a word spoken forth by God, then our self image is a self-constructed façade -- a crust of self…

I have come to realize that the primary work of God's grace in our lives is to liberate us from this destructive bondage to the crust of self in order to shape us into wholeness.  God is seeking to create in us a whole new structure of habits, attitudes, and perceptions, of dynamics of personal and corporate relationships, of patterns of reaction and response to the world.

This new structure is one of increasing Christ-likeness.  God is seeking to break the crust. 

-- M. Robert Mulholland Jr. in “Shaped by the Word”

#5939

A FREE LUNCH?

Clichés are a problem. Take this one, for instance: "There is no such thing as a free lunch." This sentiment is heard frequently, particularly at election time when politicians promise the earth without elaborating the cost. But it is not true that nobody gets a free lunch. Clearly some fortunate people do. But it is also true that somebody somewhere picks up the tab. In the interest of accuracy, we should really say, "While some people get a free lunch, somebody has paid for it."…

"How does a person get right with God?" A commonly heard answer to this is, "By doing enough good to outweigh the bad he's done." Should we then respond, "But the Bible says, 'The free gift of God is eternal life'" (Romans 6:23), the answer will not infrequently be, "There's no such thing as a free lunch!" Many people unfortunately base their theology on this cliché.

…To us -- salvation is free. But is there such a thing as free salvation? Certainly, provided we understand that Someone has paid the price. Christ did that. "When He was hung on the cross, He took upon Himself the curse for our wrongdoing" (Galatians 3:13). So we enjoy the benefits of salvation freely, by faith (3:14). Some people enjoy a free lunch because someone else paid. And heaven will be full of people who enjoy a free salvation because Jesus paid! And what a price.

-- Stuart Briscoe in “Daily Study Bible for Men” 

#5938

BEING GREAT AT THE GREAT COMMANDMENT – Part 2 of 2

Salvation is always granted on God's terms, and it reflects the nature of God Himself. The most identifiable characteristic of salvation is the quality of our love, first toward God and then toward His people. Without a love relationship on both levels, vertically and horizontally, we have not experienced God's salvation. If we get this basic truth wrong, we are in desperate trouble.

God's strategy to touch this world is vitally linked with these two basic relationships. When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He said in Mark 12:29-31, “The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

-- Henry Blackaby and Melvin D. Blackaby in “Experiencing God Together: God's Plan to Touch Your World”  

#5937

BEING GREAT AT THE GREAT COMMANDMENT – Part 1 of 2

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked Him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31 NIV)

We’re not great at the Great Commandment.  In too many instances, we’re not even good at it.

That, I believe, is our primal problem.  That is the lost soul of Christianity.  If Jesus said that loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength is the most important commandment, then doesn’t it logically follow that we ought to spend an inordinate amount of our time and energy trying to understand it and obey it?  We can’t afford to be merely good at the Great Commandment.  We’ve got to be great at the Great Commandment.

The quest for the lost soul of Christianity begins with rediscovering what it means to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Jesus used those four kaleidoscopic words to describe four dimensions of love.  And there is certainly overlap among them.  It’s hard to know where loving God with your heart ends and loving God with your soul begins.  But one thing is sure: loving God in one way isn’t enough.  It’s not enough to love God with just your heart or soul or mind or strength.  We are called, even commanded, to love Him in all four ways.  Think of it as love to the fourth power.

-- Mark Batterson in “PRIMAL: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity” 

#5936