Even the Greatest of Us Have Weaknesses

"When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling." (1 Cor. 2:1-3)

Sometimes I am surprised at how painfully shy I can be at certain events.  Because I feel nervous about a situation or a meeting, the thought of it can make my stomach turn.

In these moments, I am encouraged by these words of Paul -- that He too was a human being who experienced nervousness even when being one of the most powerful and memorable apostles for Christ.  I forget that as a Christian, I do not live on my own strength and on my own abilities, that I may be proud of my accomplishments and boast to the world my greatness.

No, Paul says, "The foolishness of God is stronger than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." (1 Cor 1:25)  In that vein, we give over our lives to Christ in full, so that we can do more than what our human strength (or weakness) can accomplish.

Yes, I have moments when my own strength is not strong enough and my own capacity is found wanting.  In those moments, how blessed am I that I can turn to the Lord and ask for more capacity and more strength to do the things that He has called me to do.  In the same way that Paul was called beyond his capacity to be an apostle, so too have I been called to the mission field of business -- and so I must rely and lean upon the Lord for my strength to go with courage even into the situations where I have none.

Lord Jesus, how great are You that I can lean upon You to do more than my human capacity allows.  Strengthen Your servant in those times and lead me with peace into any perceived lions' dens that the world may construct.  I pray that Your Spirit will always shine through in everything that I do. In Your awesome name I pray, AMEN.

Stay Away From Bad Associates

"I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich'..." (Gen. 14:22-23)

The King of Sodom had wanted to gain favor with Abram after Abram had won an important battle over many local Kings during a mission to rescue is nephew Lot. Politically, the move made sense for Abram to broker a deal with the King of Sodom to strengthen his ties in the region.

But, Abram already knew that Sodom was a place of great sin, and that to ally himself with them would be contrary to his worship of the Lord. In fact, Abram was angry at the thought that he should accept any assistance from the King of Sodom because he didn't want to create any kind of obligation or connection with such a city.

In America, we live in a capitalist society, which has many freedoms, and that's generally good. However, when we focus on capitalism instead of liberty, we are entrusting our decisions to strict monetary bases rather than to consider the larger spiritual ramifications of our conduct.

In my personal life, I think about the types of companies that I want to work for. Yes, a job is a job, but there are good companies and bad companies, and to choose to work for a company that has no morality except making money can lead to associating and tying myself spiritually to a place that is committing sinful actions.

The truth is that we cannot do the Lord's will when we compromise on the quality of our associations. If Jesus had only curried favor based on political cunning, he could have been the leader of the whole Jewish nation. That would have been a nice worldly outcome, but it would have been contrary to everything that He was sent to Earth to do.

Instead, He chose the harder path, and rebuked those who were twisting God's Word for their own self-aggrandizement. He butted heads with the religious and political leaders of the time, which led ultimately to dying on the Cross. Yes, Jesus lost His life, but He maintained His integrity and did not sin. The result was His ultimate defeat over death for us all evidenced in his resurrection.

We must remember Christ's example. The road we are called to walk as Christians is the same type of bitter cup that Christ underwent. Because we are asked to walk apart from the world, we will naturally undergo derision at our actions because we do not truly conform. For Christ, that led to the Cross; for us it can lead to many different trials.

In the end however, the Lord is sovereign over all, and our reward is assured and secured. We cannot lose even if we walk through troubling times that are temporarily difficult. More than any worldly gain that could be had through sinful associations, we stand to lose our souls to hell through compromises on God's Word. Is that a fair trade for a life of temporarily greater ease? -- For the devil will surely smooth our life's road if we would only forget the Lord.

Abram knew that God would grant him all that he needed for all of eternity as long as he remained faithful to Him. And that is the example that we need to remember always.

Lord Jesus, there will be many choices to make as I walk through this journey called life. Help me to make wise decisions that honor You, and to stay away from those who offer worldly gain that would cause me to fall away from Your path. Thank You for Your example to us. In Your name, AMEN.